Monogram Mania

So this all started with a crayon monogram pin I saw.  "What a great idea for teachers!"  A teacher friend poo-poo'd my idea, stating - "just give them gift cards, they don't want homemade stuff."  I made one for my sister and brother in law (both teachers).  After making them I could not help making some for my son's teachers.  They are too stinkin' cute!  And judging by my sister and BIL's reaction to their gifts (and requests from their teacher friends) I think I made the right decision!

I then wanted to make a monogram for a friend and the babysitter, but crayons no longer seemed appropriate... what about buttons?  I think they came out nicely :-)  Oh yeah, and the grandparents?  "Mimi" and "Papa " monograms were a big hit.  And then, of course, was the surprise, my fiance is being deployed next month, we're now getting married in 11 days, not 7 months!  I made a beach inspired monogram for this crazy couple!



Fruit Turkey

A turkey made out of fruit!  I found this Fruit Gobbler recipe at Disney's Family Fun website (they always have so many cute ideas here!).  I think the adults at our Thanksgiving feast were just as intrigued as the little ones.  The only drawback is that people were so hesitant to eat the fuit masterpiece!

Body = Melon (cut a slice off bottom to make a flat surface)

Head = Bosc Pear

Beak & Tail Feathers = Cheese

Snood, Feet, Side Feathers = Peppers

Eyes = Raisin

Tail Feathers = Grapes

Assembled with bamboo skewers and toothpicks.

In my continued search to find a purpose for all of these apples, I stumbled upon this Herbed Pork and Apples recipe. My pork loin was only 1-1.5lbs, but I still used the same amount of apples and onions.  OMG.  This was devine.  It might be my favorite pork recipe.  Yep.  It is.  And I could eat leftovers for days - as long as I don't eat it all on the first day!

Jack O'Lantern Pizza

This is an easy, fun fall meal to make for your little ones.

I got a Boboli crust, some pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese, and peppers to make the face.  You can get as elaborate or simple as you'd like.  Obviously I went the simple route:

Just as a side note, this pizza was pretty darn yummy.  I have never bought the Boboli crusts before - I think they are way better than making your own or buying the dough from the grocery store.

Apple Oatmeal Cookies

My son was having a bake sale at school and I needed to come up with something creative (and nut-free).  We also had just gone apple picking and had more apples than we knew what to do with.  I stumbled upon this Apple Hermits recipe and decided to give it a go.  (and after an internet search, I was relieved that nutmeg was not considered a nut).  I added a little extra apple - the recipe calls for 1 cup... I probably put 3-4 in.  I also probably chopped the apples up too finely.  To soak up the extra juice from the apples, I decided to add in oatmeal.  They came out super yummy, super moist, and tasted like oatmeal cinnamon cookies.  It was a stretch to taste the apples (even though I put too much in!).  I would suggest not cutting the apples so finely next time.



Don't they look delish?!