Queasy Bake Oven – Cooking Mixes for Boys

A family friend’s son turned five last week. Knowing how hard it is to have a birthday so close to Christmas, I really try to be creative each year with his gift. Last year, we got him a nice chef hat, mixing utensils, an oven mitt and all the supplies needed to make cupcakes. The kid likes to cook. His Mom and Dad are foodies and spend time in the kitchen. Just after Christmas, my friend posted a picture of this, now five year old, using a hand-me-down Easy Bake Oven. He looked like he was having a blast. Then, it clicked for me…he needed some Easy Bake Oven Recipes for boys. After doing some research, I found this great post from Budget101.com with all kinds of Easy Bake Oven Recipes. When scrolling through all of the great recipes, I saw the short list of “Queasy Bake Oven” recipes, and there my idea was born! Why not take the same recipes and give them yucky, gross names? So here goes…

Queasy Bake Oven - Easy Bake Mixes for Boys! - The Pomegranate Chronicles

I took some snack size ziplock bags, added the ingredients and sealed it up. From there, I put them in brown paper bags. Then I made cute labels with bugs and changed the names of the recipes to peek the interest of any little boy. Then to finish the boy look, I tied each brown bag with twine.

Which recipes did I use from the Budget101.com recipes?

Yellow Cake Mix became Yucky Yellow Mix.

jan2013 031copy

Snow Mound Mix became Snowball Fight Cookies

Queasy Bake Oven - Easy Bake Mixes for Boys - The Pomegranate Chronicles

The Creepin’ Crud Chocolate Mix stayed the same, cuz let’s face it, it’s cool.

Queasy Bake Oven - Easy Bake Recipes for Boys

Then, to explore what other things they could make in their oven, I used Ken’s Deep Dish Pizza recipe. I changed the name to Dirty Dish Pizza (I do feel sorry about this one, Ken seems to really know his pizza, but it’s for the kid!)

Queasy Bake Oven - Easy Bake Mixes for Boys - The Pomegranate Chronicles

I made two packages of each and also included a quick flip book of other recipes from EBOrecipes.com.

Cheesy Bake Hot Dogs became Tader Toes
English Muffin Pizzas became Brain Muffin Pizza
Lasagna became Lizard Lovin’ Lasagna
Quick Quesadillas became Quick Flying Saucers

I also included two of my family frosting recipes:

Fishy Frosting
Ingredients:
1 Large Egg
½ tsp cream of tartar
1 lb confectioners’ sugar

Directions:  Beat the white of one large egg with ½ tsp cream of tartar until foamy. Slowly beat in 1lb confectioners’ sugar until stiff peaks form. Keep covered with a damp cloth.

Cruddy Cream Cheese Frosting
(adapted from Cream Cheese Frosting by foodnetwork.com)
Ingredients:
4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract.

 With all that packaged in a birthday bag, I think we did pretty good this year. Griffin loved them so much, he wants an Easy Bake Oven now! I better keep my eyes out at the thrift stores!

Happy Baking!

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Yarn Along

Yarn Along - The Pomegranate Chronicles

Knitting: I am knitting away on my Abalone. So far it’s been a very enjoyable knit. It is going really fast. I think I would have been a lot further along if it wasn’t for getting the flu before the holidays, then of course, the holidays. I have completed the arms and am working up the back of the body. It’s so simple to knit. I am anxious to get the back done and kitchener the arms. It would be great if I could get it completed this month – then I’d still have a few months to enjoy it.

Reading: For Christmas I received an amazing cookbook from My Mom, Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros. Organized by color, this collection of recipes, photographs and stories bring you through the joy of Tessa’s kitchen.  Delicious recipes are printed alongside the photographs of the food staged on an array of vintage plates, linens and boards. I have slowly been reading through each page trying not to be distracted by all the eye candy in the photos. I can’t tell what I like more, the food, the photography or the vintage styling! It’s just such a joy to flip through. I find myself anxious to see what’s on the next page. It was a perfect pick for me and I recommend it for any visual reader.

What are you working on/reading?

Joining Ginny at Small Things

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Handmade Holiday 2012

Now that Christmas is over and all of our presents have gotten to their proper homes, I’d like to share a few of the handmade ones with you. I saw a pin for an adorable hand print Christmas plate. I thought they would be the perfect gift for my Mom and Mother-in-Law, so we headed to our local pottery painting store To Your Arts Content in Exeter NH to make our own.

Hand Print Christmas Plate - The Pomegranate Chronicles

Truth be told, I made myself one too. He’s getting so big, so fast and I didn’t want to miss out! Pin this for next year!

For my SIL, I found some beautiful yarn at the LYS. It’s a really nice cashmere blend in the most lovely sage color. She is an avid crocheter and makes the most awesome projects and I thought she deserved a really nice wooden hook. I had to do some digging, but I found a nice Brittney G hook online. I also sewed up a matching case for her hooks using this old project pattern. I modified it to be a few inches longer to be sure all her hooks fit.

Crochet Hook Case - The Pomegranate Chronicles

Lastly, I took some of my best nature shots from last year and created “Thank you” cards in Shutterfly. They really came out beautiful and again, in full disclosure, I kept one pack for myself!

Thank you cards - The Pomegranate Chronicles

I didn’t make as many handmade gifts this year, but these are a few. I also made some liquid soap for my yearly “gift in a jar” gift. But I will save that for another post.

Did you make any gifts this year?

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{this moment}

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

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All the Fuss

All the hustle and bustle was worth every minute. What a beautiful Christmas.

Christmas Eve dinner was an amazing crockpot ham recipe that I am attaching here for you to add to your recipe boxes. This is the second time I have made this recipe and I highly recommend it. It feeds up to 18 people an amazing gourmet ham that allows you to enjoy all the holiday festivities without being tethered to the kitchen. The results are a beautiful moist sweet melt in your mouth ham!

The best part of the day was the little guy. He was so excited and so polite. He did not complain when we took our time savoring each gift from under the tree.

I was so excited (and honestly, had been hoping) to get a new pair of crocheted slippers from my favorite Sister In Law! You may remember the beautiful gray ones from last year, well I wore a hole right through the bottom of them. I have retired them until I am able to sew soles on them. I was so excited to get another pair! It was an added bonus that they couldn’t match my Christmas Pj’s any better if they tried!

Crochet Goodness! - The Pomegranate Chronicles

Christmas concluded with an amazing Prime Rib dinner. I used an old recipe from my husband’s family. I should post that recipe for you too, eh? Okay, I will add it to the blogging inspiration list, I promise! Our tradition is Prime Rib and Yorkshire pudding (popovers). We added an old family recipe for Cesar Salad, some yummy butternut squash and an incredible dessert of Mimi’s own homemade Tiramisu.

Christmas Prime Rib - The Pomegranate Chronicles

The perfect Christmas with amazing family, wonderful memories and many, many leftovers!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas filled with friends, family and many happy memories. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and all the love and hope for a wonderful 2013. Happy New Year!

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Merry Christmas!

It’s Christmas Eve and I couldn’t be more excited! I am just getting over a nasty flu that has had me down the last week, but am finally feeling better and am ready to enjoy the next few days. We enjoyed a preview to Christmas yesterday with great food, family and gifts.

I have a very anxious little one who has already asked me if he could sleep downstairs to catch Santa under the tree. These are the memories I want to remember forever.

As the 5th year of writing The Pomegranate Chronicles comes to a close, I want to thank you for another great year. I’ve already been thinking about what I’d like to accomplish in 2013 and have started to make a list. I hope your a thinking about yours (you know I am going to ask you to share!)

From my family to yours, have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!

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To Better Days

My days have been spent less online and more enjoying the comforts of our family holiday traditions.

I’ve been spending less time in front of the TV and more time enjoying the the beauty around me.

I am cuddling a little harder and trying to burn each memory into my mind and heart.

I am happily capturing simple moments, dusk, the first snow, and the joy in my life.

Finding solace in the rhythm of my needles, finishing off this beautiful button tab hat for an amazing preschool teacher.

In light of the recent events of last Friday, it’s hard to get away from the echoes in my head. I have all these thoughts and feelings bouncing around and want desperately to express them to you. There seems to be a disconnect between what I am thinking and what will flow down to my fingertips. I think that it is just too hard, too unimaginable, too heartbreaking. With that, I express my deep, deep sympathy, my loving prayers and my hope that we all look on this tragedy and be kinder to one another.

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Tuesday’s Space- Christmas Mantel

Tuesday’s Space, a day late, but I don’t think you will mind, right? As I mentioned last Tuesday, my living room mantel has been bugging me. After about 10 attempts (yes, 10!) I think I finally got it where I want it.

Here is the final mantel. This is completely different than when I started. Most is thrifted and repurposed items. The wreath was used outside on my front door a few years ago. The bulbs on it are mostly from the Dollar Store and were hot glued and tied together in clusters of two to three bulbs each. I rescued the red ribbon from the bottom of a storage bin. It’s been a few years since it has seen sunlight, but with a little bit of steam, it is as good as new. To the left, I repurposed my thrifted pewter vase (not bad for a $2 investment) and filled it with some faux berries I had purchased a few years ago. To the right are the three candle sticks I thrifted last year and a deer candle holder that was actually thrifted at the same time (not sure why I didn’t show you guys!) To give a  nice layered effect, I used different size bulbs, while adding some interest with different colors and finishes. Our stockings are a few years old now, purchased from Target. I added a bit of visual weight with a simple garland hung under the mantel. On the hearth, there are two silver vases I purchased from the Pottery Barn clearance section years ago. I think I paid under $20 for both. I decorated them with some bells hung from ribbon purchased at JoAnn Fabrics. I also added a little flair with some bulbs and greenery. Ahhh, and I think it’s finally done!

How are your mantels coming along?

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Yarn Along

Knitting: I’ve been plugging away since last week on my Abalone cardi. It’s a really fun knit. I have challenged myself to knit at least an inch a day to see how fast I can get it done. I am almost through the first skein (hoping to be through it tonight!) The yarn has been so nice to work with, making it a breeze to get through the increases. Another 16 inches to go and I’ll be almost finished the body!

Reading: Not so much going on here. I’ve been attached to pinterest and seeing so much inspiration, my brain is going to explode.

Look at these Mason Jar Soap Dispensers. Add this Handmade Liquid Soap, and you have the perfect gift. If you were going to get really fancy you could make them blue mason jars.

These clever magnet boards for the family control center would make a great gift. Or make them kid themed for an art space with these great story book magnets and old tins backed with magnets for crayons and pencils.

Or how about a quick window herb garden? Paint planters or containers with chalkboard paint and plant with fresh herbs. You could also use this cork idea or these rock markers instead of painting containers with chalk paint.

Lastly, for that man in your life 31 Fun Ideas for your Hubby’s Stocking.

 

Joining Ginny…

What are you working on? Any great websites you’ve been reading?

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Tuesday’s Space – Decking the Halls

We enjoyed a quiet weekend at home, spending most of it decking the halls adding some Christmas spirit! There’s something about taking those dusty plastic bins out from the attic that fills me with anticipation. The last few Decembers, the magic has been magnified by my favorite helper.

He and Daddy put together our Scrooge village. This is the first year he really understands the story A Christmas Carol. He was very careful to put the ghost of Christmas future pointing at Scrooge himself, right in front of his house. At night, he sits in front of each house and tells the whole story.

Decorating the mantel is always my favorite part. I know it should be the Christmas tree, but I just love how the stockings look dangling between the garlands and lights. This year, I struggled with the mantel. I pulled it all apart three times before settling on a set up I liked. I am still not sold on it, but as my husband said “Sara, walk away from the mantel!” The advent stockings I made last year are just adorable. This year, they are filled, for a very lucky boy, with Lindt Christmas chocolates.

I also finished a few of my bells. I had planned on giving these out as gifts, but they are just so darn cute and match our Christmas tree so well, I decided to keep them. Maybe next year I’ll knit more for friends and family!

What decorations are decking your halls? Please leave a link to a “Tuesday Space” post on your blog, and we can all gain a bit of inspiration!

Happy Decorating!

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