Cupcakes for dinner---well, sort of:) {From my kitchen}

I thought this would be a very cute idea to try!

I made turkey meatloaf and put them in individual cupcake liners and baked them in the oven at 350.

I piped on the whipped potato "frosting" with a Wilton bag and piping tip. I suppose you could get a similar affect with cutting the tip of a heavy-duty plastic storage bag.

Here is a recipe similar to what I use for the turkey meatloaf. I usually just toss a bunch of seasonings in depending on my mood:)  I used 1.25 lbs of lean ground turkey and got 10 cupcakes out of it. In the future, I will do different variations-bbq, cheddar cheese, etc.

For the whipped potatoes, I just boiled some petite yukon gold potatoes until fork-tender. Then, I plunged them into ice water to cool them and loosen the skin. I peeled off the skin and drained them well. I put them in a bowl and mashed them up with my electric mixer (just until mashed). I then warmed up about 1/2 to 2/3 cup of organic rice milk and added it along with 2 TBSP of butter and a few pinches of salt and pepper. I quickly whipped them up with the mixer, just until smooth. You can add a little more milk if they are too thick. I just played with it until I got the right consistency.

 The whole family LOVED them!!

Enjoy this fun recipe and please let us know if you make it!!

Blessings, 

Aria:)

Messy Monday Fun Day {Part 9}!!

WOW-is it just me, or has this summer just flown by??

This week, the girls wanted to make some bird feeders for Messy Monday Fun Day. We have mad them in several different varieties, but this week, decided to do a simple bird feeder using bread, peanut butter and bird seeds.

We simply toasted the wheat bread, and put a hole in it to thread some rope through.

Smear on the peanut butter and sprinkle on the bird seed--easy peezy!

Ta-da!!! All finished!

We think the birds will be very happy:)

Blessings,

Aria:)

Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday Bash! {Em turns 3}

Here are the photos from Em's 3rd birthday bash! It was so much fun planning this party! Em picked the theme because, she just LOVES to eat (just like her Mommy:) and she also loves the Very Hungry Caterpillar book by Eric Carle!

The birthday girl was VERY happy with her party!! It was laid-back and fun and she really enjoyed just playing with family and friends:) Perfect Party!

Blessings,

Aria:)

Messy Monday Part 8!

For this week's Messy Monday Fun Day, we made our own finger paints!

It was super-easy and fun to make. 

All we did was combine equal parts of flour with water and then added in a little

washable tempera paint!

The girls loved watching the white change colors as they added in the various colors!

The flour made the finger paints a fun texture to work with! 

Em LOVED it:)

The messier, the better for this kid, lol.

Elle, ever-so-carefully, dipping each finger into the paint as not to mix the colors. *Sigh* She gets it from her neurotic neat-freak Mommy:)

Elle still had loads of fun, though:)

Clean up time!

We hope you are enjoying our Messy Monday Fundays---we certainly are!

Blessings,

Aria:)