Pumpkin Squares

Okay, so this is yum, yum, yummy! You'll never want plain old pumpkin pie, again. There are many pumpkin square dessert recipes, but this particular recipe was given to me by my college internship teacher (Thank you, Mrs. Steele!) One day, coming into work (student teaching, 2nd grade class, Florida) I had this wonderful little treat waiting for me on my desk. I inhaled it, she asked if I wanted the recipe, and the rest is history.

Notice removed cup -- save this
 for the topping!!

You'll need:


Crust

• 1 box of yellow cake (remove 1 cup)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c. melted unsalted butter

Filling

• 1 large can of pumpkin puree (30 oz) OR 2 small cans of pumpkin puree (15 oz. each) 

(**NOTE: DO NOT GET PUMPKIN PIE MIX...I've almost made that mistake.)

• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 3 eggs
• 2/3 c. milk

Topping

• 1 c. cake mix (that you removed, remember?!?)
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 3 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/2 c. chopped nuts (I prefer walnuts. But any, or none, would do!)

Directions:

1. For the crust: grease 9x13 pan. Mix the yellow cake mix (except for the 1 cup you set aside), the egg, and butter. Mix together and press onto the bottom and sides of the pan.
2. For the filling: mix pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, spices, 3 eggs, and milk. Pour over cake mix in the pan.
3. For the topping: mix the 1 cup of cake mix, sugar, butter, and nuts. Sprinkle on top of filling.
4. Bake at 400 F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 F and bake for 40 minutes.

And there you have it! Easy as pie...pumpkin pie! I don't know if that's easy, never made it. Enjoy :)

<3 Katie

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hope everyone had a great holiday! 

It's sleeting outside which is making me lazy...but not lazy enough to not post some yum yum recipes!

Alton Brown's Chewy Chocolate Chip Recipe

I found a few cookie recipes on various sites but after reading several reviews and comments I asked myself...What Would Alton Brown Do? I stumbled across his recipe for "The Chewy", which included the Good Eats video clip explaining how to make it. Good thing I read the comments because it was noted that the recipe printed on the Food Network website is WRONG, and to follow the mentioned recipe in the Good Eats episode. Lesson to all: read the comments.

Yields: 2 dozen 

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Inactive Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 30 minutes

This is your best friend.

You'll need:

• parchment paper
• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 c. bread flour
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1 1/4 c. brown sugar 
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tbsp. milk
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 12 oz chocolate chips (yes, that's one bag -- side note: I prefer the chunky chips)

Directions:

This is a paddle attachment.
 It's meant to work with thick batters (cake, cookie...) 

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Set aside to cool slightly.
2. Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda into it's own bowl and put aside. Pour the butter into your stand mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar and beat with the paddle attachment on medium speed for 2 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, whisk together the whole egg, the egg yolk, milk and vanilla extract in small bowl. Reduce the mixer speed and slowly add the egg mixture. Mix until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds.
4. Gradually integrate the dry ingredients, stopping a couple of times to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Once the flour is worked in, drop the speed to "stir" and add the chocolate chips. Chill the dough for 1 hour.
5. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and place racks in the top third and bottom third of the oven.
6. Scoop the dough into 1 1/2-ounce portions (I eyeballed it) onto parchment-lined half sheet pans, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake 2 sheets at a time for 15 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through (I didn't actually do this...if you think you need to, go for it.) Remove from the oven, slide the parchment with the cookies onto a cooling rack and wait at least 5 minutes before devouring.

And enjoy! My theory is: if you can read, you can cook. But baking comes with a little more practice and intuition...make sure when baking, you keep an eye on your treats and get a feel for how your kitchen appliances work. I'd take the cookies out as soon as you see a hint of golden edges...waiting for them to brown, you'll regret it. Happy baking! Next up, pumpkin squares.

<3 Katie

Santa IS real...really yummy!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas is, by far, my favorite holiday...the tree, the lights, music, presents, food...yum. Love it.

In this post, I'll be sharing a cute and healthy appetizer idea and a few of the gifts that Santa brought me this year :) I also made chocolate chip cookies and a pumpkin squares dessert for tonight and will be posting the recipes for those later. 

So this is definitely the cutest and easiest way to be festive. I have to credit Pinterest for the idea, but, of course, mine turned out cuter. You'll need:

• strawberries
• Cool Whip 
• Black or brown sprinkles OR Black decorating gel (can be found in the baking aisle)
• Knife 
• Toothpick
• Cutting board (if you care about your counters)

Just by looking at the picture, I'm sure you can figure out how to do this. Wash the strawberries, cut off the leaves so they can stand up straight, and cut off the tips for the little hats. Don't worry about keeping the same tip for the same strawberry...that's crazy. Put a dollop of cool whip on the strawberry, add the hat, and another smaller dollop for the hat's poofy ball. I used a toothpick to make Santa's buttons...just dip it into the cool whip and give Santa a couple pokes ;) On Pinterest, the woman used sprinkles for the eyes but I found some black decorating gel that seemed like a better, more controlled option. And voila! Cuteness.

And here are some of the goodies Santa my family and friends have given me!

I've run across this book on a couple different websites and I was always curious what was in it. Now, I know! Maybe I'll Julia Child-style this book...maybe. Regardless, I'm excited to get crafting!! Thanks, brother!

4000 piece puzzle (52 in x 38 in) -- I will be attempting this, though I can't promise I'll ever do it again.  

GIFT CARDS! Money is always nice but knowing I can only selfishly spend it at a store I love, makes me a happy girl. Anthropologie, Francesca's and Birchbox :)

And, of course, peppermints and chocolate <3

So, I'm excited to share the recipes with you, but it's Christmas! I must get cute, go out, and be merry with mi familia. I will post tomorrow, for those of you who would like a little post-Christmas, pre-New Year's treat.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

<3 Katie 

   

Kiddie Krafts and Teacher Haul!

So, it has been almost four months since I last posted...fail. But, I'm back!

I've mentioned before I'm a preschool teacher, but I ultimately aspire to be an elementary school teacher. So as I've been getting things for my current rascals, I've also been slowly building a collection for my future rascals. Here are a few of my recent purchases!

I've started to read chapter books to my five year olds, and they love it! Just because they can't read upper level books, doesn't mean they can't understand them! One of the classrooms has a fake, glowing campfire they use during story time. It's basically the most awesome thing I've ever seen. I've borrowed it a few times, and would love to have my own, but instead I impulsively bought the next best thing. Distracting, much? Probably. But I can guarantee they'll love it. 

Some may listen to the story. Some may stare at the lights. Others may feel the need to boogie. 

Moving on! With the Fourth of July coming up, I've been thinking of patriotic (and cheap) ways for my little ones to celebrate. I went to Michael's today and found some great deals on scrapbook paper (5 sheets for a dollar!) and a pretty legit star lever puncher. I bought a bunch of sheets with red, white, and blue patterns and a few sheets of yellow. I plan to cut the paper into little pieces and punch the yellow papers into stars. And, voila! Patriotic collage. Have at it, kiddos. Happy Fourth.

Cuteness.

And here are a few things I've been collecting for my future classrooms. (Hello, jobs! Call me!)

$10 a piece at Barnes & Noble. I couldn't resist the cuteness. There were more  than these three, but  I forced myself to hold back.

Blank puzzle pieces for children to customize, subject headers, compound word matching game, and fun  ice breakers/reading prompt question jars.

And this is just about my most favorite thing I've ever seen in my life. Pizza Box math manipulatives. They're games for practicing multiplication and division facts. 

Well there's my little update. Now I must end this Thursday night so I can get through Friday, and begin my weekend asap. Good night!

<3 Katie

Tip of the Day: Stock Slowly and Meaningfully

A few years ago, I decided I wanted to get into crafting. I literally had nothing to work with, so I went CRAZY, buying all sorts of random things. To this day, I still have a stock pile of felt, feathers, and pompoms...ew. Thankfully, I'm a preschool teacher.

It takes time to find your "niche" so start small. I remember wanting to get into painting, and with the fear of wasting my time and money, I literally bought the crappiest, cheapest palette of watercolors and watercolor paper. I gave painting a try, and I realized it was something I enjoyed. So little by little, and over time, I began buying nicer paints and actual canvas.

Same with crafting materials (stamps, stickers, papers, beads, buttons, etc.) When I take a trip to Michaels, usually I have an item in mind. But they always have deals and steals and I'll snag a few random things. The other day, I bought a bunch of stamps (teacher necessity!) that were a dollar each (and usually ONE stamp is at least $5).

Can't wait to stamp my students!

So my tip in a nutshell is...stock slowly and meaningfully...or else you'll end up with a bunch of worthless pompoms.

And speaking of deals and steals, I went to Michaels tonight on a failed mission for contact paper. Instead, I bought a couple more stamps (I couldn't resist) and these adorable photo boxes! Six boxes for 10 bucks, total! I plan to replace my shoe boxes, and use these boxes to store random supplies.

They had plain white, brown, and black boxes...but color always wins in my book.

Well, that's it for tonight! Good night, lovelies!

<3Katie

Thinking Outside of the Box

In this post I'll be showing you how to make a keepsake box. This is one of my favorite projects because you get to use cute papers, buttons, beads, etc. and mix and match it however you want! So many choices, thankfully, I bought a lot of these little boxes.

I already have a bunch of cardstock/scrapbooking papers but today I bought a fresh batch of papers at Great Scraps in Millersville, MD. It's a great little store that my mother introduced to me. They have tons of paper and stickers, as well as, scrapbooking classes and gatherings, which takes place in a small studio within the store. I haven't used scrapbooking paper for actual scrapbooking, but I still joined their mailing list and look forward to whatever it is they will send me!

I bought these boxes at Michaels a long time ago. They were barely a dollar!

Scrapbooking paper from Great Scraps in Millersville, MD. I love the gold foil! 

I can't wait to use these papers! The bicycles are adorable, and I think I'll cut out the houses and use them on their own for a future project...that crumpled edge bothers me.

Shoe boxes are an awesome way to store buttons, beads, ribbon, etc. I have about six boxes full of little things. Eventually, when I have the money and the space, I'd love to get a legit organizing contraption.

So the first thing I did was paint the box (inside and out) a similar color of the paper I will be using to cover it. You could paint it any color, but I do suggest painting it because little bits of the box will show through the paper and hardware in the finished product.

 

I decided on gold hardware for my box cover. Mixing different colors and types of hardware makes the box interesting, so don't hold back! I have a ton of buttons and I love them, but they can be a bit challenging to glue on because they have backings that stick out. You just have to play with it a bit and allow them to overlap and rest on other buttons in order for them to stick on. There will be a lot of glue strands. You can use tweezers to pull them off. I really go at it with the tweezers when I'm completely finished.

Let the "hawt" gluing begin! Where to start gluing, you ask? I take the random approach.

You be the judge on when enough is enough, but I like to really load up the cover in order to create a full and rich look. I chose the gold and pink floral paper to cover the sides of my box. You can either measure the size of the sides and cut out the pieces or do it like I did...eyeballed it, glued it on, and then trimmed the excess off with scissors.

Don't you love the panda?!

So after gluing on the sides, you may notice how the edges look unfinished. Nothing I make is perfect but I'd hate to waste my time making something that doesn't look clean! I cut out small strips that will match the length of the open edges. I created a fold in the strips, glued it on, and then cut off the excess.

Icky edges...be gone! 

Here's the edges after covering them...much better. For the record, I didn't worry about the continuity of the pattern all the way around the box. I suppose you could take the time to make the patterns match up to each side, but I'd really only think about doing it if you are using a very clean and specific pattern (stripes, polka dots, etc.) My pattern is random enough looking that it doesn't make much of a difference. I'm also incredibly impatient, so that was just never going to happen!

After gluing everything in place, take the paint and touch up parts of the box that may need it. I also glued a button onto the front of the box to make it look complete and adorable. I cut off the backing to ensure it laid flat on the box. And now it is ready to enjoy! The following pictures show the final product. I also included pictures of another box that I made a few months ago.

 Hope you enjoyed my first project and blog! Whew...that took some time. I'll be brainstorming for my next craft to share with you. In the meantime, I need to surrender to daylight savings time and try not to go to bed too late...I want that hour back! Oh well...

Happy crafting!

<3 Katie

Hey There!

I'm Katie and I'm 23 years old. I enjoy blogs of all kinds and always wanted to have my own, but never had a good enough reason to make one! Well, I've found a reason and I'm excited to see how this goes...

One of my favorite things to do is arts and crafts. During the week, it's hard to find the time or inspiration, but now that I'm finished with college and working full-time during the week, my weekends have freed up and I'm ready to start crafting again! I'd like to use this blog as a creative outlet, a place to share my art and ideas, and a place for inspiration...from me to you, and you to me!

Anyways, best way to get started, is to get started! I'll being posting my latest project soon.

Happy crafting!! Go outside, it's gorgeous out today.

<3 Katie