AWESOME Stuffed Mini Sweet Peppers

These are absolutely AWESOME!  I bought these beautiful mini sweet peppers at Aldi's; I just could not resist, they were so pretty!  

But I got them home and I just didn't know what to do with them!?  

So, I found this recipe at... From Which Things Grow.  Its a keeper and I have made this recipe at least 3 times already!  Truly enjoy!

Ingredients:

-8 ounces cream cheese, softened

-1/2 tsp garlic powder

-1 tsp seasoned salt

-1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese {or other shredded cheese}

-about 1/2 bag real bacon pieces (2 1/2 ounce bag) {or 5 slices cooked and crumbled}

Process:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly spray with cooking spray.

3. Prepare peppers.  I cut off the tops, sliced them in half lengthwise and removed the seeds and pith/ribs.  {The original recipe cut off the tops, removed the seeds/pith and placed them in a muffin pan for baking; I think cutting in half is easier.}

4. In a medium mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, garlic powder, seasoned salt, shredded cheese and bacon.

5. Stir well to combine.

6. Spoon cream cheese mixture into prepared pepper halves and place on greased baking sheet.

7. Bake peppers for 20 minutes, remove from oven and serve.

8. Enjoy!

Baby Shower Gifts & Pictures as Promised!

I'm so excited, my sister and her husband are having twin baby girls soon!  This past weekend we had the baby shower for them and in typical "Me" fashion I couldn't help but make some of the gifts for the twins! 

I started with these stuffed owls, the zebra print part is a pocket.

I also made some little mice for the owls to put in their pockets.

 The backs of the owls are a very soft fuzzy fabric.

 Here they are all ready to go to their new home!

I also made them a diaper/wipe cuff.  Its a long stripe with Velcro that can go around at least 8 diapers and the small wipe container!  Hopefully 8 diapers is enough when going out with twins!

I also made this little contraption  you hook the two loops on the inside and outside knobs of a door and it prevents the door from latching if the kids pull the door shut and it also makes it easy to close the door without making any noise when their sleeping.

I found this idea for making story dice; I changed it to Story Blocks!  

They're five blocks, each with a theme: Magical Items, Things/Objects, Characters, Animals and Places.  To play, you roll the blocks and use the images to help give you ideas for a story, if you get stumped you can just roll the blocks again to continue and add to the story!

I recycled a hard plastic bag to store the blocks and the instructions in; I added some Velcro for easy opening and closing also a pretty ribbon.

I found these super cute bibs at a craft sale I recently worked at; they were made my one of my son's friend's mom.

Here's all these things with the addition of a couple pair of pjs ready to go to their new home.

Now Big Mr. J wanted to make something to give the twins so I found this plaster bird head I made a long time ago and he wanted to paint it for their room.

Working hard!  It has to be just right!

Now for the party...

Little Miss J just had to sit on my sister's lap during gift opening; good thing my brother-in-law was up for opening all of the gifts.  :D

My cousin just had a baby about 1 month ago and Little Miss J just couldn't stay away!

Big Mr. J was a great helper with the gifts.

Oh, cool!  What is it?

Little Miss J painted a picture for the twin's room!

Finding the Story Blocks.
I think my brother-in-law will have the most fun with these!

And finally the twin's owl stuffed animals, made with love by Aunt Jacqueline!

I had a lot of fun making all of these things for my nieces!  If you are interested in making any of them let me know and I can post a tutorial on any/all of them for you!  Just ask! :D

Mom's Macaroni Salad

Yum, yum, yum!  This is one of my mom's recipes and its just one of those recipes I crave at different times of the year; especially now that its getting to be grilling season!  You can make this up to a couple of days in advance.  Once again, yum!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

-4 cup uncooked pasta of your choice

-1 small onion, chopped small

-1 cup sugar

-2 cups miracle whip salad dressing

-1 tbsp salt

-1/2 cup milk

-1/8 cup water, optional {I don't usually add the water, I think the consistency is good as is; its up to you.}

-about 3-4 ribs celery, diced

-about 1-2 cups frozen peas {I like to use the ones I froze from last season's garden}

-about 8 oz. cheddar cheese, cubed

Process:

1. Cook pasta according to the package directions, al dente is best.

2. Place frozen peas in a large colander.

3. When pasta is cooked, pour hot pasta over peas and drain, stir the mixture to mix in the frozen peas and rinse with cold water.  {The pasta helps thaw the peas and the peas help cool the pasta!}

4. Combine the miracle whip, sugar, salt and milk {and water if using} in a large mixing bowl.

5. Whisk mixture until well combined.

6. Add the celery and onion to dressing mixture.

7. Mix in onion and celery.

8. Add the cubed cheese to the dressing mixture.

9. Stir the cheese into the dressing mixture.

10. Pour the cooled pea and pasta mixture over the dressing.

11. Stir well to combine thoroughly.

12. Cover with plastic wrap or pour into an air tight container.  

13. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

14. Stir before serving and enjoy!

Hi!

I know I haven't posted in a while, I've been busy making baby gifts for my sister and her husband who are having twin baby girls in the next couple of weeks.  

The shower was today so this coming week I will share with you some of the things I made for them and some pictures from the shower. 

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!  Take care!