2014 - 52 in 52 #4 - Balloon Banner

I always want to do something cute for a decoration for my children's birthday parties.  I like to make a 'Happy Birthday' banner but it is so time consuming and we end up throwing it away after the party, which is entirely too wasteful for me to feel comfortable with.  I was looking for something else that looked cool, was creative and relatively easy. 

I found this pin over a year ago and knew that I wanted to give it a try.  I mean, it looked easy and festive and may be just the thing that I was looking for. 

The first time that I tried it was at Isabella's rainbow birthday party.  I bought all the different colored balloons without thinking how I was going to get them blown up.  I didn't want to rent a helium tank because I didn't need them to stand up on their own and that just seemed like a waste.  Luckily, my genius hubby came up with the idea to blow them up with an air compressor - this turned into an amazing idea!  It was fast and didn't require me to lose all oxygen in my body blowing up 48 or so balloons.  The banner went together easily, stayed together and the balloons remained inflated in my other daughter's room for at least a month, which was nice. 

I decided to try again with my son's second birthday party.  I knew this time I wanted to make a spiral balloon banner.  I had several problems with my son's balloon banner but they were all in my preparation.  I didn't buy the same brand of balloons so it was hard to get them blown up evenly, and I didn't watch to ensure that they were blowing up to be the same size.  If the balloons are not the same size, then they don't fit together properly in the banner, which is frustrating.  However, if you follow the steps outlined below, you are guaranteed to end up with a cool looking balloon banner. 

Balloon banner

You will need 48 balloons, and some string to make this banner.  Because I always have leftover string that I use to wrap presents, I just used that.  You can use anything that resembles string, yarn, twine, etc. 

The first step is to blow up all of your balloons.  Ensure that they are the same size and shape. 















Next, tie the ends of two balloons together. 




















Next, you will tie two pairs of balloons together. 

The next step will be different depending on which type of banner you are making.  If you want to recreate one like the rainbow then you would just place one set of a certain color on top of the same color.  You will need to turn the second set just a bit to ensure that they fit down inside of the first set.  I usually just wrap the string around both sets from top to bottom, but there is no set way to tie it together.  As long as they are wrapped together strong enough to keep it steady and held together. 

If you are making the spiral banner you will ensure that you use four colors, that each color is always in the same spot within the four tied together balloons and that each time you go to tie one set of four balloons to the stack that you rotate the color always the same direction. 
















Repeat until you have all of your balloons strung together in the banner and hang up at your party! 

Enjoy!!  Post pictures of your balloon banner!! 

52 in 52 #9 - Homemade Taco Seasoning

Homemade Taco Seasoning – Pinterest Project #9

 

I have had my eye on this pin to make my own taco seasoning for months.  This is one of those items that I would not have previously brought up to my husband.  My husband is very practical and one of the things that he always wants me to think about is the amount of time, effort and money that it would take to make something personally versus the amount of money that it would cost just to purchase something pre-made at the store.  Since a packet of taco seasoning is like $.80 at the store and I figured that he would be less inclined to indulge my desires to try this recipe at home.  Luckily he was feeling generous that day and he actually seemed like he was into it. 

 

The original pin that I used as inspiration is here.  I was very interested in at least trying this because I figured that it would solve at least a few of my issues with the packets of taco seasoning.  We eat tacos, salsa chicken and other recipes that require taco seasoning a lot, so we were always buying at least a few packets of that seasoning mix when we went to the store.  We buy a lot of spices for chili mix and other cooking adventures so I knew that we would have everything on hand, I was always just hesitant to try a new recipe because I didn’t want it to be horrible.  Also, with the packet of seasoning, I was always getting HORRIBLE heartburn with it no matter what we put it in.  I am not sure what is in that mix that causes that but this homemade version definitely does not do that, which is awesome. 

 

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Prep time: 10 minutes

 

2 Tbsp chili powder

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp red pepper flakes

½ tsp oregano

1 tsp paprika

1 Tbsp cumin

2 ½ tsp salt

2 tsp black pepper

 

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.  Mix well and store in an airtight container.  Use 2-3 Tbsp per 1lb of ground meat depending on how flavorful you like your dishes. 

 

This seasoning blend tastes amazing in any dish that you would use the store bought mix in.  There are several different things that I love about this mix:

 

·         It’s customizable – you can add more or less salt if you like.  We use smoked paprika in place of regular paprika and we also usually add more red pepper flakes since we like ours a bit more spicy than some other people.

·         You don’t get that gross, heartburn-y feeling after eating this mixture.  There are no preservatives that aren’t already in the spices themselves and there is no MSG to leave you with an upset stomach like the package mix. 

·         We buy our spices in bulk most of the time, so this recipe ends up being fairly comparable as far as price is concerned to the package.  It will cost maybe a few cents more per use but to have something that tastes much better and you can customize makes it totally worth it.  Plus, people are impressed when you say that you make your own spice blend. 

 

You can buy cheaper mixes and get a bland result but if you are looking for something to add some kick to your dishes that require a taco seasoning packet, give this one a try.  Let me know what you would add or remove to make this blend different for your family.  I am always in the market for substitutions to try. 

 

52 in 52 #5 - No-Bake Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Cookies

52 in 52 #5 – No- Bake Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Cookies

Pinterest project – 5
Pinterest projects to go – 47

This weekend I have to work an overnight shift to test a system upgrade at my job. Insert happiness and joy here. I knew that I would need something with sugar in it in order to keep myself awake for the multiple hours that I would be there. My boss would be there as well and I knew that she recently gave up chocolate and marshmallows for Lent, so this instantly became a challenge to find something that looked delicious and didn’t include those two ingredients.

Insert a pin that I saved MONTHS ago and never did – Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Cookies. Original pin: http://www.marthastewart.com/343255/no-bake-peanut-butter-rice-krispies-cook . This definitely fits all three requirements of looking delicious, not including chocolate or marshmallows and including enough sugar to keep myself awake.



On my last visit to the store I bought an enormous box of Rice Krispies and decided to make a double batch so we would have some for the house as well. This made two 13x9 pans of treats – I cut one batch into the stated 16 squares and they seemed a bit large so I cut the next batch into 20 and they were definitely a more appropriate size.

Original recipe:
Ingredients
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups salted peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 4 cups Rice Krispies
Directions
1. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with wax paper or baking parchment. Place the corn syrup and sugars in a large saucepan over medium heat and stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat.
2. Stir in the peanut butter and mix well to combine. Quickly stir in the vanilla and Rice Krispies. Spread into the lined baking pan. Cool and slice into squares.

A few important things to mention:
1. This mixture needs more cereal than it calls for – the texture is completely different than a normal Rice Krispie treat. It is a lot more dense than normal and adopts a slightly sticky texture on the bottom of the bars even after they are refrigerated.
2. Remember to spray your wax paper or parchment liberally. These are very sticky and will stick without being sprayed with cooking spray or buttered. I used aluminum foil and sprayed heavily with cooking spray.
With that being said, this recipe is amazing! It has a strong peanut butter flavor and is a good texture, even though different from ‘normal’ Rice Krispie treats. The instructions are easy to follow and the recipe takes about 10 minutes total to make. This was a hit!