Valentines Marshmallow Pops

My girls and I had some fun making these Valentines Pops recently.   They had seen these for sale in Anthropology for $4.00 a piece.  Inspiration was born; they thought "we can make these easily". And then they inspired me as well. We shopped for  the ingredients we wanted and went to work, and let me tell you they were very quick and simple to make. They made delightful Valentines presents for several of the get-togethers we had, and they also made the cutest  Valentines Bouquet in our dining room. This is something that young and old alike will enjoy making.  You will have to be patient to let the kids have their turn... because other wise you might be tempted to do it all yourself.

Valentines Marshmallow Pops

Ingredients:

Lollipop Sticks (found at craft stores or baking supply stores).

Clear Plastic bags (for wrapping each finished Marshmallow).

Ribbon (to secure plastic bags around lollipop stick).

1 bag Marshmallows: Large and extra large Marshmallows are what we used(in the picture above, Elizabeth is holding the extra large Marshmallows)

1 bag Melting wafers or melting chocolate of choice (we used 1 each of chocolate and pink melting wafers).

Assorted Sprinkles, Shredded Coconut or Nuts

Instructions:

1. Prepare a work surface, by placing Lollipop sticks and Marshmallows neatly within grasp, various sprinkles in separate bowls, 2 or 3 mugs or cups to place dipped Marshmallows in for drying, and bags and ribbons for wrapping once dry.
2. Heat melting wafers or chocolate in a double boiler and heat slowly and stir until melted and smooth.
3. Form an assembly line with melted chocolate, Marshmallows, sticks and sprinkles with in grasp.
4. Place a popsicle stick into the middle of a Marshmallow and dip halfway into the melted chocolate. Use a knife to help remove excess chocolate.
5. Use one hand to hold the marshmallow, and the other hand to sprinkle the coconut or sprinkles onto the melted chocolate covered marshmallow.
6. Set Marshmallow "stick side" down into a mug or glass, and allow to dry completely.
7. Once dry, cover with plastic and tie a pretty bowl around the plastic to seal.
8. Display or carry in a cute Valentines bucket.  We had some Florist Foam, that we put into a bucket and covered with confetti type filler.  Then each pop could be stuck into the foam and made to look like a cute bouquet; you could also use this as a way to dry your pops.

Have fun!

Owls for Tea: A Fall Tea Party

My daughters and I are fond of the word "Cozy".  There is something about that word that makes us feel safe, content, relaxed and happy.  We are also very fond of the words "Tea Time", and have found that these three words do very well together as we often like to  have a "Cozy Tea Time" together.  It turns out that my grandsons are fond of tea time as well, and when they take a break from playing war, riding four wheelers, and digging in dirt and wrestling, being cozy suits them fine just as it does us.  So we are often in pursuit of a tea party with whatever member of the family we can include. You will find many varieties of tea parties on this blog, and this particular tea party, is a Wonderful Cozy Fall Tea Party, with an Owl theme, because 3 of my grandchildren were working on a little "Owl" Study in their work this week, and Owl seem the perfect accompaniment to the theme of this Fall Tea Party.  Here are a few pictures of our fun... and a couple recipes will follow; so, put the kettle on and enjoy with us.

We put up banners and decorated.

Himilce (my daughter in law), bought us these owl mugs from "Family Dollar".

So, so cute don't you think?

There were many owls at our party.  This one, and the little owl rocks that we painted (as seen at the base of the table arrangement in the first picture).  Himilce also checked out Owl books at the library;

An Owl Cheese Ball

....Sugar Bug wore her little Owl dress;

We painted some owl faces.

The Cowboy tea and coffee set, seemed appropriate because of the "Fall" colors.

Pumpkin scones

and of course, tea sandwiches, quiche and muffins.

Our favorite Fall Party Mix.....

.... and we drank cup,

...after cup....

...after cup of tea.

We read owl stories (love their sweet faces... such good listeners).

....and laughed and played and ate some more.

A Fall Tea Party Menu

Quiche

Tea Sandwiches, including Cucumber Sandwiches, and Humus Sandwiches

Owl Cheese Ball with crackers

Pumpkin Scones

Pumpkin Muffins

Fall Party Mix

English Breakfast Tea, Peach Tea, and Herbal Teas

Have a lovely Week Everyone!

Cowboy Caviar

I've been making my Hubby of few of his favorites this weekend.  This is one of them.  You probably guessed by the title of this post that this dish is called "Cowboy Caviar".  I love the name don't you?  It is one of those eat off and on through the day sorts of dishes that disappears quickly. It can be served with chips as a bean salsa or as a side dish as a bean salad and it is delicious in either capacity.  It is a hit at "get togethers", and is nice to keep in the fridge to serve to a hungry cowboy with some tortilla chips to take the edge off of a hungry appetite before dinner.  

Here's what you will need: 

1 15 oz can of Black Eyed Peas 

1 15 oz can of Black Beans, 3/4 cup Fresh Corn off the cob or two cobs of corn (Frozen is okay).

1/2 cup red onion, diced

3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 1/2 cups tomatoes, diced (I like to use the little grape tomatoes…but any will work).

1 Pickled Jalapeño  pepper, diced (optional… or you can replace with green chilis).

1 ripe avocado, chopped

6 strips of bacon fried and crumbled

1 cup crumbled feta or chopped queso fresco or cheddar cheese

Cilantro for garnish.

Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Tortilla Chips

Begin by chopping vegetables, frying bacon and cutting the corn from the cob; Reserve 1 Tablespoon of bacon grease after frying, and lightly and quickly brown the corn.  Set to the side until needed.

Drain and rinse your beans and place in a medium sized serving or mixing bowl.

Add peppers,

Tomatoes, onion and corn,

Avocado,

Cheese,

and bacon.

Stir gently.

Whisk together dressing ingredients.

Drizzle over beans and vegetables. Stir until dressing is well distributed.  

Put into a nice serving bowl.

Enjoy!

I love this as a bean salsa and so does Steve.

Num Num!

Ingredients:
1 (15 ounce) can seasoned black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 (15 ounce) can seasoned or plain black beans or pinto beans drained and rinsed
3/4 cup Fresh Corn off the cob or two cobs of corn (Frozen is okay).
1/2 cup red onion, diced
3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 1/2 cups tomatoes, diced (I like to use the little grape tomatoes…but any will work).
4 or five slices jalapeno pepper slices, diced (optional… or you can replace with green chilis).
1 ripe avocado, chopped
6 strips of bacon fried and crumbled

1 cup crumbled feta or chopped queso fresco or cheddar cheese
Cilantro for garnish.

Dressing:
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1  large lime, juiced (or two small limes juiced)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Fry up bacon and reserve 1 Tablespoon of drippings.
2. Cut corn from the cob and brown quickly in the bacon drippings; no need to cook thoroughly, allow the corn to remain crisp.
3. Chop remaining vegetables.
4. Gently combine all ingredients except Cilantro.
5. Make dressing by combining all the ingredients and whisking together well.
6. Drizzle the dressing over the bean and vegetable mixture, then stir gently.
7. Garnish with Cilantro.
8. Serve with Corn Chips or as a salad/sidedish.
9. Enjoy!

This makes a nice appetizer for a Holiday.  I'm serving a it up for our Labor Day weekend.

Have a nice Labor Day Weekend Every One!