Granola

I just made my second batch of this granola, which is so good.  My sister gave me the recipe and we have really been enjoying it.  All five us of like it!  Here is the recipe from the card where my mom wrote it:

You can basically add whatever you like in the amounts you like.  I added a little bit more honey than was called for in this recipe.  This is really filling and tastes great!

Lego Cakes!

My son wanted a Lego birthday party, and his cake request was cookie cake.  I don't know why all 3 of my kids want cookie cake when real cake is so good, but they do.  I used a recipe I found on pinterest to create the cookie cake, except the recipe called for it to be baked in a 12-inch round pan, and I used my Pampered Chef stoneware jellyroll pan (love that thing).

(click photo for cookie cake recipe)

Source: cookiemadness.net via Alicia on Pinterest

Mine looked like this:

I used 6 M&Ms to measure how big I would cut the Lego pieces, and then used my first piece to draw lines for all the other pieces:

I had a big bag of M&Ms, and I chose blue, red, green, and yellow for the Lego cakes.  I used this frosting recipe:

Decorator Frosting:

Cream with mixer: 1 and 1/2 cups Crisco (I used butter flavored, but use regular if you want the frosting to be white) and 1/2 tsp salt.  Slowly add 2 boxes powdered sugar along with 1/2 cup water and 1 teaspoon vanilla (use clear if you want the frosting to be white).  If you don't use butter-flavored Crisco, add 1/4 teaspoon butter flavoring.  Mix well.  Add water by the drop if it is too dry, and small amounts of powdered sugar if it is too wet, until you get the consistency of frosting.

I divided the frosting into 4 bowls and used Betty Crocker gel colors to color(conveniently, the 4 colors I chose come all in one box :).  Start with a little of the color and stir until you see what color you are going to get, then add more as needed.  For some colors, I needed almost the whole tube!

I frosted the little cookie cakes by using a decorator spatula, but you could use a knife or regular spatula.  I frosted the sides, then sat it on my palm and did the top as best I could.  They are by no means perfect, but the idea is there.

After I had done a few, I placed 6 M&Ms on the top so they would resemble Legos.  Don't let them sit too long before placing the M&Ms because the frosting will dry, or harden a little bit, and the M&Ms won't stick as well.

Finished product:

Birthday boy seems pleased:

Savory Herb Pull-Aparts

I know this isn't a craft, but it's a good recipe we made tonight.  My daughter checked out this cookbook from her school's library today:

We looked through it after school and decided to make this bread, which turned out to be delicious.  I have to say we only used 2 cans of biscuits and scaled it back a bit, because it seemed like such a large recipe.

1/4 cup butter
1 clove garlic
3   7.5 oz cans refrigerated biscuits
1 cup shredded Italian cheese mix
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a tube pan or a Bundt pan. (My oven was on 400 degrees because I was cooking chicken at that temperature.  I, of course, lessened the time.  The directions on the cans of biscuits called for 400 degrees anyway).

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Use a garlic press to squeeze the garlic into the warm butter.  (OK, I melted the butter in the microwave and put some of that jar garlic in it).

Separate the biscuits.  Brush a third of the biscuits with garlic butter.  Cover the bottom of the pan with the buttered biscuits.  Sprinkle a third of the herbs and a third of the cheese over the biscuits.  (I wasn't going to buy $9 worth of fresh herbs at the grocery store, so we used dried in smaller quantities.  It would be great if you had these growing in your yard).

Butter half of the remaining biscuits and place them in the pan.  Sprinkle herbs and cheese over the second layer.  Brush the rest of the biscuits with garlic butter and put them in the pan.  Top the biscuits with the remaining herbs and cheese.

Bake for about 35 minutes.  The top of the bread should be golden brown.  Cool on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes.

Turn the pan over on a plate.  Tap the bottom to loosen the bread from the pan.  Serve the bread while it's warm.

I forgot to take a picture of ours fresh from the oven, but here's a  picture with the damage we did: