Valentine's Day recipes, homemade decorations, heart-shaped cupcakes, cookies

Arrgh! Your child did it again. She volunteered you to make three dozen cupcakes (pink, heartshaped, with sprinkles, please) for her class Valentine's Day party--tomorrow! And when does Lil Miss Cupid spring this news? 9 p.m.--no time to go to the store for supplies. Well, have no fear, Mama Been-There-Done-That has super-fast, last-minute, homemade treat recipes made with on-hand ingredients. You get bonus DIY heart-shaped snacks and improvised frosting, sprinkles and decoration tips.

DIY heart-shaped cookie cutter--Murphy's Law will have it that if you need heart-shaped cookies you won't be able to find your heart-shaped cookie cutter. If you ever had one. So, here are quick, homemade ones. Bend a coat hanger or large paper clip into a heart shape. Or draw a half-heart on the folded edge of a piece of sturdy paper. Cut out the heart and place on rolled out cookie dough. Trace around it with a butter knife, toothpick or metal skewer. Or just freehand it! The kiddies will
Pink cupcakes made with diy food coloring

Heart-shaped cupcakes--Make paper cupcake holders shaped like hearts by folding in half. Open and fold top point inward to form rounded sides of heart. Place folded cupcake paper in cupcake tin with three marbles: one between the halves of the heart to keep it open and one on each side to support the point.

Homemade pink frosting. Mix three parts red and one part blue food coloring and dye vanilla frosting. No food coloring? Use these mix-ins: red juice (grape, cherry, cranberry or beet), red pop, strawberry jam; strawberry ice cream syrup or red gelatin dissolved in a little hot water. Or melt red hard candy in the microwave.

No frosting? Blend a stick (or 8 ounces) of margarine with powdered sugar and milk to desired consistency. Add a dash of salt and vanilla or almond flavoring. For chocolate, add baking cocoa, melted baker's chocolate or melted chocolate chips. No powdered sugar? Heat granulated sugar in sauce pan to make glaze? No margarine? Use milk for icing.

Homemade Valentine decorations. Fresh out of requested sprinkles? Shave chocolate pieces. Crush hard candies in the blender. Form heart shapes with tiny candies: M&Ms, Runts, Nerds or other small candy. Use mini-marshmallows, pretzels, chocolate, cherry or vanilla chips, Snip fruit snacks, jelly beans, gum drops, red licorice into small pieces. Cut letters from gum strips or Fruit Roll-Ups. Kid's favorite: decorate with breakfast cereal: Lucky Charms, Fruit Loops, Trix, Fruity Pebbles.

DIY Valentine decorative frosting. To make icing you can write with, place frosting in small plastic bag. Squeeze frosting into corner, tie end closed and snip the tip off the corner. Use like decorator icing to write Valentine messages, like "These cookies brought to you by a creative mom who's kid forget to tell her till the last minute!" (Probs too long, but tempting).

DIY Valentine sentiments. Add messages to cookies and cupcakes with valentine conversation hearts. Write valentine words with Alpha-Bits cereal or letter-shaped pretzels. Cut letters from Fruit Rollups. Write on cookies with diluted gelatin water in a turkey baster. Form letters from thin cut strips from licorice or use string licorice, also called licorice laces.

Let little last-minute Lucy help and you'll get some fun bonding time, too. Your emergency Valentine treats may turn out to be the most popular yet!

Halloween candy leftovers use-up recipes, ways to reuse stale candy from Trick-or-Treat

 

So trick-or-treat is over and now your kids have a haul of Halloween candy. And of course you want them to eat all that sugar as soon as possible (not!). Or maybe you're stuck with stale candy you couldn't give away because it rained on Halloween or you didn't get as many trick-or-treating children. Or maybe you gave out yucky kinds like Mike-N-Ikes or Mary-Janes, tsk-tsk. You could blow your diet, eat all the treats and then regret it. Or you could try one of these healthy ways to use up leftover trick-or-treat goodies.  

"Buy" trick-or-treat candy from your children. Have them sort out and keep their favorite candy (the

chocolate candy bars, maybe?) Bring the rest to a dentist or doctor who is participating in Halloween

Candy Buy Back program. Caregivers "buy" kids' candy to spare patients' teeth and health. If you

can't find one, offer to trade your children a new book for their unwanted candy. 

Trade leftover candy for fruit. Make a big fruit salad and serve it with your child's favorite meal.

Freeze leftover candy and use for stocking stuffers. Use to fill Easter eggs in the spring. Save

chocolate for baking. Have an ice cream party and use fruit candies (Nerds, Runts, gummy worms) for

toppings. 

Bake cupcakes with candy surprises inside. Use Halloween candy to decorate birthday

cakes. 

Save trick-or-treat candy for birthday party treat bags and party game prizes.

Take leftover Halloween candy to nursing homes or area senior centers. Give the candy to staff to

distribute. Not all elderly people can eat candy, but those that can will love it! Many enjoyed trick-or

treat as kids and passing out candy as adults. Halloween is sad for them because they don't see

many children. Take a few minutes to visit and maybe make a new friend.

Donate candy to local food pantries. Share leftover candy with those who come to soup kitchens and

homeless shelters. Look for food giveaway truck locations. Give the candy to be distributed. 

Add candy to Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes. Through the Samaritan's Purse organization,

people fill shoeboxes to go to children around the world who lack basic necessities. Candy is a rare

and sometimes unheard of treat. They will appreciate the leftover Halloween candy more than those

kids who already have so much.

Fat burning 4th of July dessert recipes: Decadent patriotic RWB diet desserts

Hello friends! Part of how I lost 100 pounds was with calorie restricting and diet food swaps. Holidays are the hardest times for dieters. So how about decadent diet desserts that actually burn fat instead of create it? Here are fat-burning 4th of July dessert recipes with a patriotic, red-white-and blue theme. 

* Red, White and Blueberry Cream Pie: Cream pie---on a diet? No way. Yes way. Swap non-fat sugar-free Greek yogurt for sour cream. Blend with instant sugarfree, fat-free Jell-O cream cheese or vanilla pudding, sugarfree vanilla almond milk, sliced strawberries and blueberries. Line pie tin with reduced-fat crushed graham crackers blended with milled flax seed (omit butter or shortening; crust will be looser, but doable). Arrange berries on top in star shapes. Make star patterns with spray whipped topping. 

* All-American Apple Upside-Down Pie: Spray pie tin with zero-calorie cooking spray. Pare and slice tart Jonathon or Macintosh apples. Arrange in pan. Dot with light margarine. Sprinkle with zero calorie Ideal sweetener, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ginger. Blend oats, Ideal sweetener, flax seed and Bob's Red Mill 7-grain pancake mix. Bake till crust is browned. 

* RWB Super-fruit Parfait. Make applesauce leaving skins (for color) on and milling. Cook raw cranberries with one cup water and Ideal sweetener to taste. Cook cubed rhubarb with water and Ideal. Alternate layers of fresh blueberries, spray whipped cream and fruit sauces in fluted or dessert glass, 

* Chocolate Indulgence Cake. Prepare boxed chocolate cake mix with homemade applesauce instead of oil and flax seed for eggs (three tablespoons per egg), half cup Greek yogurt and cold coffee. Melt unsweetened dark chocolate (70-percent or higher cacao). cold coffee, coconut or almond milk, sea salt and Ideal sweetener to glaze consistency. Serve over cake. Top with shaved sweetened dark chocolate, raspberries, and spray whipped topping. 

* Rocky Road Trifle. Cut angel food cake in squares. Melt dark chocolate (70 percent cacao), Before chocolate hardens, blend cake cubes, peanuts and spray whipped topping. Allow to set and top with sliced strawberries. Angel food cake has only 70 calories per serving, no fat and less sugar than regular cake. 

* Caramel-lotta. The cake in the picture features diet food swaps of whole milk Greek yogurt for dairy, flaxseed and sugarless applesauce for oil and eggs,  keto coffee (with coffee, ghee butter, MCT-medium chain triglycerides and coconut oil) and Medjool dates and pure maple syrup for sweetness. We subbed gluten-free almond flour and added pepitas for extra fat-burning protein. 

* Almond Joy Trifle. Follow procedure for Rocky Road Trifle, but substitute unsweetened shredded coconut and almonds for peanuts. Omit berries. 

Capitalize on antioxidant goodness of red and blue berries, apples and dark chocolate and fiber-plus-fatty-acids in almonds, coconut and flax seed. These recipes are so yummy you'll have non-dieters begging for some! Photo is (believe it or not) a fat-burning caramel cake made with yogurt, nuts and seeds, pure maple syrup and coconut oil. 

Father's Day gifts: Man-pleasing recipes, menus and foods dad will flip over!

 

At the risk of gender profiling, let's agree women and men don't always eat the same foods. Gals will subsist on tofu and sprouts to lose weight. We may even fake we like it. Guys typically can't and they certainly won't pretend to like it. On Father's Day, they shouldn't have to. So here's a recipe shout-out for the boys. Use these Father's Day menus of man-pleasing foods to satisfy the y-chromosome! Dad will flip over any one of these Fathers Day menus Happily, recipes are easy and mostly inexpensive. 

There's an urban legend, propagated by marketers that to give dad a nice Fathers Day, it's necessary to spend big. Take it from this penny pincher parent--that's not true. For very little money, you can make big fun, especially on Fathers Day. How? With food--the secret to most any dad's heart is through his stomach. Here are kid-friendly recipes, man-pleaser menus and party food dads love that dad will eat up! These Fathers Day recipes get kids involved and teach children useful cooking skills, too. Here are some of the most successful Fathers Day fetes. 

* Fix-your-own outdoor buffets. Give dad a day off from the grill and use Fathers Day as an opportunity to teach older kids how to use a grill safely. Popular inexpensive kid-friendly recipes and party food dads love include make-your-own-chili dogs, tacos, hamburgers or pizza (wrap pizzas loosely in foil and bake on the grill). 

* From-the-sea feast. Take dad fishing and then cook what's caught. It's good to have some back-up salmon in the freezer just in case the big one gets away, though! Grilled fish makes great kid-friendly recipes. Have children clean and wash fish. Then spray aluminum foil with cooking spray and wrap fish in foil. Whisk a dressing of olive oil (not EVOO for high heat), dill, sage, garlic, pepper, celery and lemon juice. Marinate fish and bake. Firmer-bodied fish like trout, catfish, swordfish and tuna steaks work well for grilling. Or make fish kebabs--kebabs are perfect for man-pleaser menus. Skewer shrimp colored peppers, yellow squash and cherry tomatoes (season with lemon marinade). Kids love assembling kebabs--just make sure they do so carefully.

* Cold party food bar (for hot Fathers Day gigs). Set out deviled eggs, baked beans, a relish tray, cole slaw, fresh fruit chunks, a veggie tray, chips and ham sandwiches. The dad in this house loves Polish roses--snipped green scallions wrapped in baked ham and cream cheese. Children love making these super-easy kid-friendly recipes and dad will love eating them! 

* Crock pot buffet of party foods dads love. Cook outdoors in a crock pot or 3-section food steamer. Put sausage and sauerkraut in a crock pot and cook outside. Meatballs work well too. Add frozen meatballs, grape jelly and ketchup for sweet and sour meatballs. For meatballs in gravy add French onion soup, sour cream and mushroom soup to frozen meatballs. Steam mussels in one of the sections. Or make nacho dip (Velveeta cheese and Ro-Tel tomatoes--easy-peasy kid-friendly recipes for Fathers Day!)

* Indulge dad's sweet tooth. Make an outdoor dessert buffet of party food dads love. Cheesecake, strawberry shortcake, pies and cupcakes are popular on man-pleaser menus. Dads also love gelatin mixed with fruit and whipped topping. These kid-friendly recipes make good summer coolers.

* Enjoy a world food bar of man-pleaser menus. No money for travel? Throw an around the world party with food dads love. Men's favorites include souvlaki and baklava from Greece, brats from Germany, hummus and pita chips from the Middle East, pierogies from Poland, tiramisu from Italy and tropical fruit salad from the Caribbean. 

The man-pleaser menus will be a Fathers Day hit with dads and kids. Phot is me getting ready to make up some homemade salsa! 

Graduation open house party planning guide: cheap graduation menu, recipes

Hosting a graduation open house and need easy, budget-friendly tips? Use this party planning guide

to throw a cheap, nice backyard bash for your graduate! Here are recipes, tips shopping lists for

groceries, supplies, decorations and equipment. DIY alternatives for a graduation open house party under $100. 

Some basic money-saving graduation open house tips. Don't rent anything. Make do with what you have and borrow. Ask people to share their patio umbrellas and arrange table around the yard. Grill or griddle your own foods, to pay through the nose for catering service entrees. Skip excessive decorations--huge waste of money and bad for the environment. Repurpose holiday lights as decor. 

Graduation open house menu: Shop dollar stores, Aldi's, Walmart, Sam's Club, Costco, Gordon Food Service and Target. Don't fuss with outdoor electrical outlets. Prep ahead, chill or warm, and serve. 

* Diploma roll-ups appetizers

--flour tortilla shells 

--cream cheese 

--sliced ham

--spray cheese

Spread cream cheese on tortillas, Place ham on top. Roll thin. Slice in half lengthwise. Draw "tie" with

spray cheese (or use licorice ropes). Arrange on serving tray. Chill.

* Watermelon basket (or any large fruit like cantaloupe or honeydew melon) : Cut watermelon in basket shape. Make two cuts two inches apart in center. Cut one-third of the way down on each side. Cut a horizontal line around each side (connecting with the vertical. Remove cutaway portions, leaving handle. Clean out fruit with melon baller (save melon balls). Cut a scalloped or zigzag edge if desired. Carve "Congratulations Class of ____" on side. Mix melon balls with partially thawed 4# bag Walmart frozen tropical fruit (reserve two cups). Fill basket.

* Hawaiian meatballs. Blend and heat in large disposable foil pan:

--16 ounces salsa

--5# frozen meatballs 

--reserved tropical fruit

--smoked paprika, celery salt to taste

* Veggie tray:--baby carrots --celery stalk --sliced cucumbers --yellow and red peppers --dip

* Auntie Mary Mac and cheese: Mix in large disposable aluminum pan and bake:--3# cooked mini seashell pasta --2 large cans mushroom soup --2# Velveeta cheese (cubed) --French friend onions (top with) (love goes out to Auntie Mary DeKorte and probably the Dutch Reformed church in Grand Rapids cookbook circa 1959)

* Mortarboard graduation hat cookies (in lieu of cake).These went over crazy-well at our youngest

son's open house. Here's my tutorial and recipe for graduation cap cookies. Set extras out for party favors and decorations. You'll need:

--peanut butter cups (Reese's, Palmer, generic) 

--chocolate covered graham cookies (or square chocolate pieces)

--M&Ms (school colors) 

--spray frosting (in one school color)

Additional groceries and supplies: 

--serving supplies (plates, napkins, utensils, cups, table cloth) in school colors for dual purpose decorations (Dollar Tree, Aldi)

--assorted chips/pretzels 

--assorted 2-litre bottles of soda (clear, cola, fruit-flavored, diet, caffeine-free) 

--water 

--instant coffee --tea assortment --creamer --sweetener 

--2 disposable rectangle aluminum pan (turkey size) for meatballs and mac and cheese 

--2 large plastic serving trays (for veggies and Diploma roll-ups) 

--large plastic bowls (for chips or pretzels) 

--plastic tablecloths (for buffet and gift table-guests tables, optional)

On-hand or borrowed supplies--2 picnic or outdoor buffet tables --folding chairs (campfire chairs work great) --portable awning or large umbrella (for food) --30-cup coffee pot or large carafe (for hot water) --2-gallon insulated beverage cooler --2 coolers (for ice, pop)

Decorations:

Make a memory table of your graduate. Arrange memorabilia, artwork, photos, projects, mementos,

awards, instruments, sports equipment, ribbons, trophies, scrapbooks, baby pictures. Place box

discreetly for cards.

Easter egg decorating: Homemade egg dyes, Easter baskets, Easter eggs recipes

Waited till the last minute to color Easter eggs, did you? Need to pull a rabbit out of a hat (pun intended) and come up with your own Easter egg decorating stuff? Take it from this parent of four--

been there, done that. Never fear--last-minute Louise is also super DIY mom! Here are for Easter eggs recipes and homemade egg dyes. These Easter egg decorations use recycled and on-hand materials. And best of all--homemade egg coloring is cheaper and safer than store-bought Easter egg decorating kits!

Easter egg recipes

Do you need to do Easter egg coloring on a time crunch? Then skip blowing eggs out and do Easter egg coloring on hard-boiled eggs. Blowing eggs is a tedious, messy, unsanitary exercise in frustration. Easter egg coloring on hard-boiled eggs is less wasteful, plus these Easter eggs recipes may be eaten. Cook eggs in boiling water for 15 minutes (about six eggs per child). No matter how you prepare Easter eggs recipes, follow USDA Food Safety Guidelines for tips on handling, storage and expiration of eggs.

Homemade egg dyes

If you have no egg dyeing kits for Easter eggs, don't worry. They don't work very well

anyway. Here are safer homemade egg dyes. Food coloring and vinegar make great homemade egg

dyes. Write on Easter eggs using food markers and cake decorator pens. Dip eggs in Kool-Aid or

colored soda like orange or red pop, Baja Blast Mountain Dew for blue, Mountain Dew for green.

Make homemade egg dyes with colored gelatin or dissolved colored candies. Use natural food

coloring for homemade egg dyes. Soak an onion skin for yellow, blueberries or purple cabbage for

purple, beets for red, use juice from spinach for green.

Easter egg decorating supplies

Unless you're blowing eggs out, skip egg glitter or swirl coloring kits. They're sticky, messy and

contain chemicals that render Easter eggs unfit to eat. Instead, use non-toxic markers or crayons and

watercolor paint, but check ACMI (Arts and Crafts Materials Institute) guidelines for craft product

safety. Write messages and draw designs with white crayon or food-grade paraffin wax. Then dip

Easter eggs in egg dye. Wax will resist food coloring and show design.

Recycled decorations for Easter eggs

Make your own Shrinky-dink egg wraps. Draw pictures on plastic food wrap or recycled food-grade

clear plastic (from produce). Cut strips the width of the egg. Wrap around egg and dip in boiling water.

This shrinks plastic wrap to fit Easter eggs, just like store-bought Easter egg decorating kits. Plastic

can be removed and eggs eaten using shrink wrap. Use free printable egg decorations printed on

recycled paper. Here are free printable Easter egg decorating patterns, stencils, templates, and

stand-up egg holders. Ukrainian pysanky egg patterns are included.

Easter grass

No Easter grass? No problem--it's not good for kids or pets. Shred construction or colored paper.

Make crepe paper egg nests. Use green colored shredded coconut. Snip recycled green paper and

cardboard scraps. Use cloth scraps or make a "bed" with a reusable towel or washcloth. Use leaves

from safe non-toxic plants or trees. Have children trace and cut handprints from green construction

paper and arrange to resemble grass.

Repurposed Easter baskets:

There's no need to buy Easter baskets, if you haven't already. Here are free printable Easter baskets

kids can make. Or make homemade Easter baskets from a sand pail, tote bag, craft basket, jewelry

box or gardening bucket. These double duty baskets serve as useful containers after Easter. Or make Easter baskets from a recycled plastic milk jugs and decorate. Here are free printable Easter egg basket templates from Made for Mums. 

Don't leave Easter eggs unrefrigerated for more than two hours if you're going to eat them. Don't eat

eggs you've hidden outside. Hide plastic ones outside. Before coloring eggs, check the FDA website for recalled egg dye kits or products. The Consumer Product Safety Commission lists safety warnings and recalled Easter decorations, too. But the best practice is to use homemade egg dyes and egg decorating supplies and household products listed. Your kids won't ever go back to bought decorations, promise!

The cute  little bunny image is from Marilyn the Toymaker. You can find lots more free printable holiday crafts at her website. 

Valentine's Day recipes, homemade decorations, heart-shaped cupcakes, cookies

Arrgh! Your child did it again. She volunteered you to make three dozen cupcakes (pink, heart

shaped, with sprinkles, please) for her class Valentine's Day party--tomorrow! And when does Lil Miss

Cupid spring this news? 9 p.m.--no time to go to the store for supplies. Well, have no fear, Mama

Been-There-Done-That has super-fast, last-minute, homemade treat recipes made with on-hand

ingredients. You get bonus DIY heart-shaped snacks and improvised frosting, sprinkles and

decoration tips. 

DIY heart-shaped cookie cutter--Murphy's Law will have it that if you need heart-shaped cookies you

won't be able to find your heart-shaped cookie cutter. If you ever had one. So, here are quick,

homemade ones. Bend a coat hanger or large paper clip into a heart shape. Or draw a half-heart on

the folded edge of a piece of sturdy paper. Cut out the heart and place on rolled out cookie dough.

Trace around it with a butter knife, toothpick or metal skewer. Or just freehand it! The kiddies will

never know!

Heart-shaped cupcakes--Make paper cupcake holders shaped like hearts by folding in half. Open

and fold top point inward to form rounded sides of heart. Place folded cupcake paper in cupcake tin

with three marbles: one between the halves of the heart to keep it open and one on each side to

support the point.

Homemade pink frosting. Mix three parts red and one part blue food coloring and dye vanilla

frosting. No food coloring? Use these mix-ins: red juice (grape, cherry, cranberry or beet), red pop,

strawberry jam; strawberry ice cream syrup or red gelatin dissolved in a little hot water. Or melt red

hard candy in the microwave. No frosting? Blend a stick (or 8 ounces) of margarine with powdered

sugar and milk to desired consistency. Add a dash of salt and vanilla or almond flavoring. For

chocolate, add baking cocoa, melted baker's chocolate or melted chocolate chips. No powdered

sugar? Heat granulated sugar in sauce pan to make glaze? No margarine? Use milk for icing.

Homemade Valentine decorations. Fresh out of requested sprinkles? Shave chocolate pieces. Crush

hard candies in the blender. Form heart shapes with tiny candies: M&Ms, Runts, Nerds or other small

candy. Use mini-marshmallows, pretzels, chocolate, cherry or vanilla chips, Snip fruit snacks, jelly

beans, gum drops, red licorice into small pieces. Cut letters from gum strips or Fruit Roll-Ups. Kid's

favorite: decorate with breakfast cereal: Lucky Charms, Fruit Loops, Trix, Fruity Pebbles.

DIY Valentine decorative frosting. To make icing you can write with, place frosting in small plastic

bag. Squeeze frosting into corner, tie end closed and snip the tip off the corner. Use like decorator

icing to write Valentine messages, like "These cookies brought to you by a creative mom who's kid

forget to tell her till the last minute!" (Probs too long, but tempting).

DIY Valentine sentiments. Add messages to cookies and cupcakes with valentine conversation

hearts. Write valentine words with Alpha-Bits cereal or letter-shaped pretzels. Cut letters from Fruit

Rollups. Write on cookies with diluted gelatin water in a turkey baster. Form letters from thin cut strips

from licorice or use string licorice, also called licorice laces.

Let little last-minute Lucy help and you'll get some fun bonding time, too. Your emergency Valentine

treats may turn out to be the most popular yet