Friday Favorites!!

Yahoo it's FRIDAY! 

I'm linking up again this week with Andrea from Momfessionals for Friday Favorites! If you have a blog, you should link up with your favorites from the week too! 

A few of my favorite things from this week...

*Family Time*

I mentioned last week that Cody was going to be coming home for a VERY short and quick visit because of the NHL All Star Break. He arrived home Sunday afternoon, and him and Brit came straight to our house from the airport! It was SOOO good to see him!! And he was SHOCKED at how big Sophia has gotten! We were able to spend lots of quality time with them in the 3 days that he was home, and I am so glad! We are so proud of him, and happy that he is living his dream of being a professional hockey player! BUT we sure do miss him when he is away!! The countdown to Summer has begun...

*Ice Cream and Babies*

On the weekend, we hosted games night with two other couples. And it just so happens that both of my friends are pregnant and due VERY soon. Soooo I figured that an 'Ice cream sundae bar' would be a fitting snack to go along with our games! It was VERY yummy! And they LOVED it!! 

*TEETH*

After what seemed like YEARS of teething, Sophia finally got her first tooth! And she didn't get just one. She got her TWO bottom teeth on the same day!! We were soooo excited!! They aren't all the way up yet, but getting there. And she is VERY protective of them!! She will not let you anywhere near them!! ha! I have been trying to get a picture of them ALL week and this is all I can get...

This is how she felt about me wrestling her to try to get a picture of her cute teeth...

NOT impressed!! ha ha 

*Ice on Whyte*

We headed to the Ice on Whyte festival with my little family this week! It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed looking at all of the ice sculptures. My favorite part was eating the maple syrup taffy at one of the food stations! YUM!

*Bows!*

I LOVE bows! That is one of the best things about having a little girl!! All of the fun hair accessories that I can collect for her! I decided to try making some of my own Valentine's Day bows for Sophia. I am still experimenting with a few different styles! I will be sure to share the final products once I have them figured out!! 

Thanks for stopping by!

 Have a great weekend!!

Rolo Rice Krispy Squares!

Looking for a quick and easy treat for the upcoming holiday season?! 

I whipped up these tasty lil rice krispy squares for my Tupperware party last weekend and they were a BIG hit!! I have always been a fan of the 'plain' rice krispy squares, but every now and then I like to throw something else into the mix to change it up. And these were YUMMY!! I will definitely be making this recipe a few times over the Christmas season that's for sure! 

What you need:

5 packages of Rolo's

1/4 cup butter

1 tsp vanilla

40 large marshmallows

6 cups Rice Krispy cereal

Melt the butter in a large microwavable container (about 30 seconds)

Add the marshmallows, stir until coated.

  Melt marshmallow mixture in microwave (about 2 minutes)

When melted, add the vanilla and all of the Rolo pieces.

Give a quick stir, but not TOO much as you don't want all of the Rolo to completely melt away!

Add in the Rice Krispies and mix well.

Pour into greased baking pan.

Let sit for about an hour.

Cut, serve and ENJOY!!

Apple Zucchini Spice Cake!

When I think of Fall I think of apples! I enjoy cooking with apples year round, but nothing welcomes the cool Fall season like delicious apple treats. Last year I made Apple Spice Cupcakes, and they were a real hit with everyone who tried them! This year I knew I wanted to make them again, but this time I added in some zucchini for some added taste. And they made the cake even more moist!! SO yummy!! 

For my original Apple Spice Cupcakes click HERE

This time I decided to make a cake instead of cupcakes, but the recipe works either way!

Apple Zucchini Spice Cake

What you need:

1 'Spice' boxed cake mix

3 eggs

1 1/3 cups water

1/3 cup oil

2 packages dry vanilla pudding

2 cups chopped apples

1 1/2 cups grated zucchini

Preheat oven to 350'

Prepare cake mix according to the box directions.

Add dry pudding mix.

Chop apples and add into cake mixture.

Grate zucchini and add to cake mixture.

Combine well! 

Pour into greased baking pan and bake for 40 minutes.

Let the cake cool, and then ice if you wish!

ENJOY!

Cinnamon Icing 

Combine 1 tbsp ground cinnamon with one container cream cheese icing.

Mix well! 

Dessert Pizza

I LOVE pizza. 

And I LOVE dessert.

 So this little recipe brings two of my favourite things together!!

And it was a real hit with my family when I made it for our Sunday dinner dessert last week!

The best part...It's SUPER easy to make, and doesn't require too many ingredients. Perfection!

Dessert Pizza

What you need:

1 boxed brownie mix

2 eggs

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup oil

12 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup icing sugar

1 banana

1 1/2 cups diced strawberries

1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 350'

Grease a 12 inch pizza pan (with a rim) with Pam.

Prepare brownie mix, according to box directions.

Pour brownie mix into prepared pizza pan.

Bake for 22-25 minutes. Let cool completely.

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and icing sugar.

Spread evenly over the top of the cooled brownie 'crust'. 

Slice bananas and place evenly on the crust. 

Sprinkle with diced strawberries and blueberries. 

Refrigerate until ready to eat.

ENJOY!!

*To keep bananas from 'browning' you can sprinkle the

 banana slices with some lemon juice before placing on the crust!* 

ENJOY!

Easy Easter Treat!!

Looking for an easy peasy Easter treat to make for this weekend?! 

Well your in luck!

On our recent 'Babymoon' trip to Vancouver (blog comings soon) I was inspired by the 'flavoured' rice crispy squares that they served in our hotel bakery! So when we came home I knew I wanted to incorporate my favourite Easter chocolate into a rice crispy square! 

This is definitely not rocket science people...but they ARE delicious!!! 

'Mini Egg' Rice Krispie Squares

What you need:

6 cups Vanilla Rice Krispies

40 large marshmallows

1/4 cup butter/margarine

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup chopped mini eggs

1/2 cup whole mini eggs

Melt the butter in a large bowl in the microwave for approx. 30 seconds.

Add the 40 marshmallows to the melted butter. 

Stir to coat the marshmallows in the melted butter.

Microwave approx. 2 minutes, or until fully melted. Stir.

Gradually add the Rice Krispies and all mini eggs.

Stir quickly, as the mixture will harden.

Press into a greased pan.

Let set for at least 2 hours.

Cut and ENJOY!!

'Mini Egg' Rice Krispie Squares

ENJOY!

Best.Cake.Ever.

A few weeks ago I had a MAJOR chocolate cake craving so I decided to whip up this AMAZING cake for Sunday dinner dessert at my parents house. And let me just tell you...it was the best.cake.EVER!!  And I wasn't the only one that thought so! Both Damian and Kellen decided that this might be the best cake that I have ever made for them...and then proceeded to request I make it for a variety of upcoming events ha! Trust me people!! Make this cake! I promise you will enjoy it!!

Chocolate Skor Cake

What you need:

1 box chocolate cake mix (and the ingredients to make it!)

1 can condensed milk

1 jar caramel/butterscotch topping

1 container cool whip

5-6 skor bars, chopped 

Make and bake the chocolate cake according to the package.

Let cool for about 5 minutes.

Using the end of a wooden spoon, poke holes in the cake all over.

While the cake is still warm, pour the condensed milk and caramel topping over the cake, making sure some gets into the holes on the cake.

Spread the cool whip over the cake evenly.

Sprinkle with skor bar pieces.

Refrigerate until ready to eat.

ENJOY!!!

Chopped Skor bar! You better sneak just a lil taste to make sure its good! ha! 

Using the end of a wooden spoon to poke holes all over the cake.

Condensed milk and caramel topping soaking in. YUM!

Top with cool whip and the skor pieces!

ENJOY!!!!

Apples! Apples! Apples!

Last week we enjoyed the Fall weather and headed out to my in-laws acreage to go apple picking! It was a beautiful evening and we had a great time picking TONS of apples with Damian's parents! 

Damian got really into the apple picking! Ha!

We managed to pick 2 BIG boxes of apples! And they are VERY delicious!!

Damian and his parents! 

 Apple picking was a great time! But then I realized, hmmm....now I actually need to DO something with all of these apples! I plan on peeling and freezing quite a few, but I wanted to whip something up with some of the apples right away. 

Now most of the time I make things from 'scratch', but sometimes its nice to just make something that is quick, easy, and with just a few ingredients! So I decided to create some 'Apple Spice' cupcakes! And I was VERY pleased at how they turned out!! 

Apple Spice Cupcakes

What you need:

1 'Spice' boxed cake mix

3 eggs

1 1/3 cups water

1/3 cup oil

2 packages dry vanilla pudding

2 cups chopped apples

Preheat oven to 350'

Prepare cake mix according to the box directions.

Chop apples and add into cake mixture.

Add dry pudding mix.

Combine well! 

Scoop into muffin tins and bake for 20-23 minutes.

Let muffins cools.

ENJOY!

**While reading one of my baking cookbooks I discovered that adding dry pudding mixes is a great way to make cupcakes moist and fluffy! And I was very impressed with the result in these cupcakes! Try it!! 

I decided that I wanted to 'ice' these cupcakes so again I took the 'easy' route and used store bought cream cheese icing! Sometimes easy is just better!! However I wanted to add a little something to the icing so I added 1 tbsp cinnamon to the container of icing.

Cinnamon Icing 

Combine 1 tbsp ground cinnamon with one container cream cheese icing.

Mix well! 

Ice the cupcakes and VOILA! 

An EASY and YUMMY fall apple inspired treat! 

Summer-ness, Dessert, and Sending good vibes to Florida!

So this blog post has a little bit of everything! My first week of summer recap, a yummy dessert recipe, and a special request at the end! Hopefully you can last through it all! ha! 

 I have been THOROUGHLY enjoying my first week of summer vacation and have been spending a lot of time visiting with my wonderful family and friends that I don't get to see all that often during the school year!! 

We headed to the Edmonton Eskimos home opener last weekend with my parents, and lets just say that the only enjoyable parts of the game were my delicious ice cream bar and the 26'C weather. We lost to Saskatchewan 39-18, and it was a pretty terrible game! Though the company was great, and I was able to work on my tan! Ha ha! 

Ma and Me!

Damian and Dad!

We opted for a 'low key' Canada Day this year! We spent most of the afternoon/evening on the deck enjoying the beautiful weather, playing some games, and having a BBQ for dinner. 

My cousin Lyndey had her baby!! Little Lucas John was born on Saturday June 15, 2013. My Mom and I went to visit them this week and man oh man is he ever precious!! I look forward to MANY more snuggles from Lucas!! 

And now onto a delicious summer time dessert...

Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake Squares

What you need:

2 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup melted butter

2 tablespoons white sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon 

16 oz (2 tubs) cream cheese, room temperature

2 eggs

2 lemons, zested and juiced

1/2 cup white sugar

2 cups fresh raspberries

Preheat oven to 325'

Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl.

Add the melted butter and mix well.

Pour into a 9" pan and firmly pat down evenly to make the 'crust'.

Bake for 12 minutes. 

Combine the cream cheese, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar, using an electric mixer. It should have a smooth consistency.

Pour onto the cooked graham cracker crust and sprinkle with the raspberries. 

Bake for 40 minutes, or until set. 

Remove from the oven and cool completely before refrigerating for at least 3 hours. 

Serve chilled. 

ENJOY! 

Prepare the crust.

Combine the ingredients for the filling.

Pour filling over the crust,
add the raspberries and bake.

Refrigerate and ENJOY!

I made this dessert for Sunday Dinner, in celebration of Canada Day because its 'red and white'! It was VERY tasty!!

And last but not least...

I would like everyone out there to PLEASE send some good vibes to my little brother Cody for the next week! He is leaving for Tampa Bay, Florida tomorrow morning to attend the Tampa Bay Lightening rookie camp! This is a very exciting opportunity for him and I KNOW he will do AMAZING!!! 

Good Luck Cody!! We are all SO proud of you!! 

Me and Cody in Alaska

Lets just hope they don't ask you to do any interviews...

Haha...What a guy!!