Side Dish #24: Mother-Daughter Aprons!

My sister is an apron-loving kind of girl, so for her birthday and then for her daughter's birthday (back in FEBRUARY...yeah, i am kind of late!) I decided to make them some matching aprons!

For Mary's I copied my favorite apron...one that was from Japan. I loved how the straps criss-crossed so that if stayed up higher in the front.

my japanese one used buttons and then had separate straps to tie it... by accident :) I discovered an even better way...using D rings I was able to  use 2 long straps instead of having to use 4. 

I used bias tape to trim Mary's all the way around.

Lizzie got a little ruffle at the top and bottom of her apron. 

I used a small quick release clip as a fastener for the top, so they could adjust how long it was.

I meant to get pictures with them wearing it but forgot! :( 

Fun times...although I realized I need to do all my gift projects in the summer because it gets really stressful trying to find time to work on them during the school year!

This has been my year for reading. I have realized I don't have time to read and craft so I have to pick one or the other!

Recipe #335: Coconut Cake

Blogging has become a chore lately. Life in general is a chore because there is so much going on right now...testing, closing out the school year, my brother's graduation, life has been really busy, so finding moments to type up the recipes falls to the very end of my to do list, then gets shifted to the end of the next days too! But the year is almost up. I don't know what this will turn into after June first, because I am certainly not going to pursue this again! We now have a ton of recipes we love and this next year will probably be spent revisiting some of the favorites and being so thankful that I can go to some of my stand-by recipes when i cook for guests!

So i thought that maybe typing up a fun recipe would get me in the mood for the several I should do tonight!
Coconut cake is a Schaeffer favorite and definitely not a Will favorite so when Mary had bought the ingredients for Donnie's grad party I asked if I could make it to count it as a recipe! This is one of mary's favorite cakes to make! It was so delicious. It is best if you make it the day before!

You need:
1 white cake mix and necessary ingredients
1 small tub of cool whip, thawed
1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups coconut

• make and bake cake according to package directions
• when the cake it done, take it out to cool.
• meanwhile, mix milk, sugar, and 1/2 cup coconut in a small saucepan for about a minute or two
• poke holes ALL over the cake, the more holes the better.
• pour milk mixture all around on top of the cake. Cover and leave in fridge overnight.
• A couple hours before serving fold in 1/2 cup of coconut into the cool whip
• spread cool whip all over top of cake
• top with remaining cup of coconut
• refrigerate a couple more hours.
• it looks really pretty when you do a layered cake, but this 9x13 was perfect for an outdoor party!

Recipe #333 Basil Spaghetti with #334 Cheese tomatoes

Real Simple has this as one recipe, but i am behind and the count down to May 31st is approaching rather quickly! Will loved the spaghetti and said it is such a great summer pasta. I am sure we will make it again. He is not a huge fan of tomatoes so I don't think we will be doing that too much! I highly recommend making this meal with as much freshness as possible! The tastes are so amazing!

You need:
Half a box of spaghetti noodles
handful of fresh basil
a couple leaves of oregano
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
3 cloves of garlic
grated parmesean

• make noodles according to package directions.
• cut up garlic and add to a small sauce pan along with olive oil and red pepper
• heat for a couple minutes then take off heat.
• mix in with drained noodles until they are evenly coated
• stir in torn basil and oregano, along with a bit of fresh, grated parmesan

for the tomatoes...

you need:

4 roma tomatoes

shredded mozzarella (fresh would have been nice but I was out!)

grated parmesan

• turn on broiler
• lightly coat a foil lined baking pan with olive oil
• arrange sliced tomatoes on the baking sheet then top with the cheeses
• broil for 3-5 minutes
• put on top of spaghetti and enjoy!

Recipe #332: Curried Egg Salad Sandwich

Another Real Simple Recipe!

you need:
4 eggs
1/4 cup mayo
1/2 tsp curry powder
chives,
cucumber
2 tortillas
spinach

• place eggs in water, bring to a boil, then turn off heat and cover. let it sit for 12 minutes
• then run under cold water, peel and chop up
• in a small bowl mix together mayo and curry powder
• add eggs and mix together.
• add chopped up chives
• on a tortilla later some sliced cucumber and spinach, top with half of the egg salad

Recipe #330 and #331: Cinnamon Rolls and Spinach Tomato Scrambled Eggs

The boys slept in this morning, giving me sometime to make a good breakfast for when people started to wake up!

First the cinnamon rolls. I found the recipe here on the blog by the authors of my favorite bread and pizza books!

you need:
about a grapefruit size of bread dough (recipe found here)
mixture of cinnamon, sugar, and brown sugar (maybe like a handful of sugar and brown sugar and a couple pinches of cinnamon)
chopped up walnuts

• take out dough and form into a ball. let it rest for 15 or so minutes
• roll out into a 1/4 inch thick square. 
• cover with sugar mixture, then walnuts
• roll up and cut into the size rolls you want (I did six)
• let it rest for 45 min to 1 hr 
• preheat oven to 350 and bake for 25 minutes

Eggs:

you need:

2 eggs and 1 egg white

spoonful of feta cheese

spoonful of mozzarella

spinach, cut into thin pieces

1/2 roma tomato, diced

basil

• in a bowl mix together all ingredients
• scramble over medium heat until eggs are no longer runny

Recipe #328: Open-Faced Caprese sandwiches (on #329: Basil Feta Bread)

Another Real Simple recipe. No picture though because my camera battery died!)

First the bread:
Follow the recipe found here, but after resting the bread for a bit fold in some fresh, cut basil and feta cheese!

Now the sandwich:
You need:
bread
1 chicken breast
1 roma tomato
munster cheese (technically you should use mozzarella, but i didn't feel like it!)
basil leaves

• cut chicken in half long ways to create thinner pieces
• heat pan with a little olive oil then cook chicken
• slice bread and top with chicken, basil, tomato slices, then cheese
• broil until cheese is melted!

Recipe #327: Spicy Pork and Soba Noodles

I found this recipe in a Real Simple Magazine or you can find it here!

You need:
soba noodles (1.5 little packs)
2 small pork chops
1/4 of an onion
long slices of an English Cucumber
2 Tbsp mirin
2 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp sweet chili sauce

• start bowling noodles
• meanwhile, thinly slice pork and season with salt and pepper
• heat fry pan with a little olive oil and cook up pork, add thinly sliced onions
• turn heat to low and add in sweet chili sauce, and stir together.
• once noodles are finished, add soba, pork and cucumber to a bowl, stir in sesame oil and mirin