Hi there! And welcome to Craft Goodies. I'm thrilled that you've stopped by and hope you find something here that makes your visit a great one...

Monday, April 18, 2011

Easter Brunch Ideas...

This year we will be having an Easter Brunch instead of dinner as church is later in the day and the family that we will have here are flying out that evening. I've been trying to find a few tasty and new recipes to make it special. Let me know what you think...
 
Maple-Bacon Oven Pancakes
(I think I've mentioned our LOVE of pancakes before, and oven baked ones are like heaven!)
 
Maple-Bacon Oven Pancake
 
Makes: 12 servings
Prep: 15 minutesBake: 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1-1/2  cups  packaged biscuit mix
  • 1  cup  shredded cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
  • 2    eggs
  • 3/4  cup  milk
  • 1/4  cup  maple-flavored syrup
  • 5  slices  bacon, crisp-cooked, drained, and crumbled
  •     Maple-flavored syrup (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degree F. Grease and flour a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a medium bowl combine biscuit mix, half of the cheddar cheese, the eggs, milk, and the 1/4 cup syrup; beat until nearly smooth. Spread in prepared baking pan.
2. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese and the bacon; bake for 3 minutes more. Cut into squares. If desired, serve with additional syrup.

Sweet Cheese Blintzes

Sweet Cheese Blintzes
Prep: 35 min.Cook: 10 min.

Ingredients

  • 1  8-ounce carton  mascarpone or cottage cheese
  • 1  tablespoon  honey
  • 1  tablespoon  milk
  • 1/2  teaspoon  finely shredded lemon peel or snipped lemon verbena
  • 1/4  teaspoon  anise seed, crushed
  • 3/4  cup  all-purpose flour
  • 1/2  teaspoon  baking powder
  • 1    egg white
  • 3/4  cup  milk
  • 1    egg yolk
  • 2  teaspoons  walnut oil or hazelnut oil
  • 1-1/2  teaspoons  granulated sugar
  • 1/2  teaspoon  vanilla
  •     Nonstick cooking spray
  • 1  cup  seedless green grapes, sliced
  •     Powdered sugar

Directions

1. For filling, in a small mixing bowl beat together mascarpone cheese, honey, the 1 tablespoon milk, shredded lemon peel or verbena, and anise seed. Cover; set aside.
2. For blintzes, stir together flour and baking powder. Set aside. In a small mixing bowl beat egg white with an electric mixer on medium to high speed until soft peaks form.
3. In a large mixing bowl combine the 3/4 cup milk, egg yolk, walnut or hazelnut oil, granulated sugar, and vanilla. Beat with electric mixer until well combined. Add flour mixture; beat just until mixture is smooth. Fold in beaten egg white (texture should be that of a milk shake).
4. Spray a nonstick griddle or skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Heat over medium heat 1 to 2 minutes. For each blintz, pour about 2 tablespoons batter onto griddle. Quickly spread batter to 4- to 5-inch circle.
5. Cook blintz pancake for 20 seconds or until light brown. Gently turn with a spatula; cook second side for 15 seconds. Invert blintz pancake onto a plate lined with paper towels. Repeat with remaining batter to make 10 to 12 blintzes. (You may cook up to 3 or 4 blintzes at a time in a large skillet.) Place a dry paper towel between each layer of blintz pancakes. Cover and keep warm.
6. To serve, spoon 1 slightly rounded tablespoon of cheese mixture across pancake just below center. Fold the bottom of pancake over filling. Fold in sides, then roll up. Arrange blintzes, seam-side down, on individual dessert plates. Top with grapes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Lemon Pancakes With Fresh Berries
  
Lemon Pancakes With Fresh Berries
 
20 min.prep time 35 min.total time
make 8 servings

Pancakes

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk
1 cup sour cream
2 Eggs
2 tablespoons Butter, melted
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest

Topping

1/2 cup red currant jelly
2 cups fresh strawberries, halved*
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed

Directions

Combine flour, powdered sugar, baking soda and baking powder in large bowl.

Combine all remaining pancake ingredients in small bowl; mix until smooth. Stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until well mixed (batter will be thick).

Heat lightly greased griddle or frying pan to 350°F or until drops of water sizzle. For each pancake, spoon 1/4 cup batter onto hot griddle; spread to form 4-inch circle. Cook until bubbles form on top (1 to 2 minutes). Turn pancakes; continue cooking until browned (1 to 2 minutes). Keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter.

Meanwhile, melt jelly in 2-quart saucepan over medium-low heat (2 to 3 minutes). Remove from heat. Add strawberries and blueberries; stir gently to coat. Serve over warm pancakes.
*Substitute 2 cups frozen strawberries, thawed.


So hard to choose, just might have to have all 3!!!

Happy Crafting...


Friday, April 15, 2011

T.G.I.F.-Thank GOODIES it's Friday #13 & Usborne Books Giveaway WINNER!

 
Another week come and gone, hope it was a good one.
 
I'm super excited for this week's party, it seems as a holiday get closer the more we get busy crafting.
But first, a little announcement...
 
Ladies and (gentlemen?) may I present to you,
the WINNER of $20 in Usborne Books...
 
True Random Number Generator
 
43 Powered by RANDOM.ORG
 
Tales of Tiff said...
I can't pass up books! If I were to win I don't think $20 wouldn't be enough- there's simply too many great books.

However, here are some of my favorites: The Secret Garden- picture book (This is my son's favorite book), Stories from Around the World (sounds like a good addition for a classroom), The Wicket Chronicles Book 1 (this looks like a fun series), and the Animal Facts Flashcards...I could keep going, but I have hit the $20 limit.

And I am a follower.

Congrats Tiffany, look for my email later today!
(just fyi, I took the number of linky participants and added that to the number of commentors to get 58 entries)
Now, on to the party!!!
Happy Weekend, I'm looking forward to visiting each of you...
 
Happy Crafting!


A Few More Baskets...plus the PATTERNS!

So this was the promised third post for Thursday, it was interupted by my daughters ball game and some other family stuff...but I will work on it through out the day.
 
Stay tuned...cuteness is coming!
 

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Blinged Up Easter Banner...

Was it two weeks I posted my first ever fabric banner?
 

Up close and personal...




All five little pennants in a row...


If you remember that post, you'll remember that I said I'm not a huge fan of banners and bunting, well, I'm still not. But in fairness to my banner I do like it, and my girls LOVE it.
But it was sad and a little blah...okay, a lot BLAH!
So I gave it a "Bling-Lift".


I added some raffia bows in between the flags but it needed color. So I tied on another ribbon bow and while it was better, I wasn't completely happy with it.

Then I remembered these little gems...

Cheap pastel plastic eggs, made pretty by adding a layer of Mod Podge and then rolling it in some iridescent glitter.
(I drilled a hole in the end and tied a ribbon hanger when I thought it would be fun to hang these outside. Then I remembered the sprinklers and decided that probably wasn't such a great idea...)

I pulled out the ribbon hangers and replaced them with the ends of my long bows on the banner...

So much better!
 Now it has a bit more pizazz and I found a use for those sparkly eggs, (Bonus!)
Here she is all dressed up and happy...



Now, I can tell you I won't be running out to quickly replace this with a Mother's Day one, but it was fun.
And now that she sparkles, I am glad I jumped on board the banner wagon, even if it was for just a short stay!

Happy Crafting!






Visit thecsiproject.com

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Grapevine Easter Basket Tutorial...

Hey guess what, it's Thursday!
I  got a bit consumed by an order yesterday and pretty much missed the entire day...whoops!
 
I'll  make an attempt to make up for it with 3 posts today!
What? THREE?
 Oh, yes you read that right. Pretty sure that's a personal best for me, so let's get on with it.
Here we go with post numero uno...
 


Kinda cute huh? I'm so loving it, and it was super easy to make.
Cute not just for Easter but for the entire spring season, and ya, I'm thinking it'll make a come back in the fall.

Let's get you one made.
 Here's what you'll need:

Little note here, the basket pictured above used 2 six foot grapevine garlands and craft/floral wire,
flower stems and sheer ribbon.
That's it. 


When I went to get 2 more garlands to make this tutorial, they didn't have any!
 Ugh, what to do?
I ended  up buying four grapevine wreathes instead.
 Three the same size and the fourth the next size bigger.
I used the remaining piece of garland I had for the handle, if needed, get another of the larger wreathes to cut for a handle.


Make the base by wiring the smaller wreathes together.


Start with two, tie off in at least three places being sure the wire twists are inside and the ends are tucked into the wreath.
I went up and through the wreathes so that the wire didn't show on the outside of the basket.


**If you're using the garlands, shape the vine into a circle the size you want and wire together.
Make another circle layer and wire that one to the first.
Keep going in that manner (form a circle, wire it into place) until your base is as tall as you'd like.



 
Once all three wreathes are wired together, add the larger wreath to the top and wire into place.
(Somehow I managed to not take a picture of  that part, sorry)
**If you're using the garland, cut any remaining vine from the basket base. Wire together a seperate circle just larger than the base, add on more layer, wire it together then cut any remaining vine off.
Wire the larger circle to the top of the smaller circle base.
 
From there you're going to make the handle.
 


Cut the last wreath so that you remove about 1/3 of it.
(You need some twigs to sit down in the basket, if you cut it in half your handle will be very short.)
Sit the cut wreath into the basket vertically and wire the handle into place.
**For the garland, cut a piece of vine the length you wish and wire each end into place. I doubled mine just so it was a bit thicker.
And you're done. 
Your basket is ready to be filled.


You can place a vase down inside the basket and add some fresh flowers or go with the Easter thing and add some painted plastic (or real) eggs...


Can't you just see it full of fall leaves and acorns too?
So  quick and easy, make a bunch!

Happy Crafting... 


Visit thecsiproject.com
This week's theme is Easter, come and play along with your Easter themed projects!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Tuesday Treats featuring...YOU!

Can I just tell you how much I LOVE Friday's linky party?
It's like someone just handed me a present full of unbelievable ideas with a note that says,
"Here you go, be impressed and inspired!"
 
Thanks to those of you that take the time to link up. I may not get to comment on all of them, but I do visit and check out your posts.
{I seriously spend a lot of time reading all about you, I love getting to know you through your projects}
 
Anyway, here's a few of my favorites...
 
My girls and I made a few of these on Sunday. Such a great idea and so much fun!
This fantastic fun comes to us via
Occasionally Crafty 
 
 
Jenn from Clean and Scentsible
is a calendar goddess and they are SO cute!
I love the umbrellas.
She posts the new ones the first of each month and are so very worth taking a peak at...
 
I am having a serious love affair with little chicks this spring. I can't seem to get enough of them, so this post just screamed out to me...
 
I LOVE IT!!!
They are so cute, and sound really easy. I'm thinking they might make an
appearance at my pre-school party next week.
You can find all the how-to's at
Last Minute  Mel
 
and one more just cause...
I'm dying to get my back patio into proper "sitting" form.
Something like this would be perfect:
 
Find a great inspirational post on lighting refurbishing at
Claremont Avenue
{It's gorgeous lit up at night!}
 
Again, thanks to all of you for linking.
If I featured you, grab a button and wear it proudly!
Craft Goodies

I can't wait until Friday...
Happy Crafting!
 
 
 

Tuesday Treats featuring...Measured by the Heart & Easter Printables!!!

Hi everyone *waves* I’m excited to be here at Craft Goodies.  Isn’t Wendy the greatest!!
Let me introduce myself.


My name is Connie and I blog over at Measured by the Heart.  My blog is a big jumble of everything because well, isn’t that life.  I do some furniture make overs, hair tutorials, blog design, crochet patterns and book club.
Wait, did you just say book club on your crafty mommie blog?
Why yes, yes I did.  Thanks for asking.  I host a monthly book club on my blog and I am so super excited about April’s book club selection!!  I would love it if you would come over and check it out.   Even if you don’t participate in book club, you have to read this book.  Yes, I love it that much and so will you!!
For all you Craft Goodies readers I made some Easter Printables.
easter printable 4easter printable 3easter printable 2easter printable 1
easter printable
Click on each picture to download a high quality print!!     
{Once the website opens, hover over the picture and then you can click file-download}
These would be super cute framed in a row down a hallway or up the stairs.  Even way cute as a four square above a desk.  So many possibilities!!
It’s been great spending time with you guys today.  I hope you’ll stop by my blog and take a look around!! 
A BIG thanks to Wendy for being such an awesome chicky!!
{get it Easter theme hehe}
Photobucket

Connie is awesome!
 I'm so glad I've gotten to know her a bit better. She has a fun blog with lots of great "mommy" ideas, and she gets bonus points for having all girls too!
I'm excited to be a part of her book club, (more excuses to read a good book!) If you're interested in participating there is a permenant link to the club on my sidebar.
Go check her out, be sure to say Hi!
And thank her for these SUPER CUTE printables, I'm off to Walgreen's to print mine...
Thanks Connie!!!

Happy Crafting!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...