Strawberry pie and a Promo Code

So last weekend was Super Pi (3.1415blahblah) day, did you make a pie? I always mean to but forget every year. (Well, okay, I really just don’t want to mess with pie crust but…..)  This year the kids asked me a week or so before if I would make a pie on Pi day. Instead of cringing like usual, I said yes with a big cheery smile. Why?

Because I have the DoughEZ!! So why not make a pie and keep my counter tops clean too?!  So I did. You would have thought my family has never had sweets before as that pie was gone the next day!

So here I go. Pie dough on the DoughEZ all ready for rolling out.


Roll out the pie dough to match one of the circles the best you can that fits your pie pan with some room to spare.


Look at that!! I almost got a perfect circle!! woo hoo


I laid the pie pan on top of the dough, closed up the DoughEZ and flipped it over so the pie dough would fall right into the pie pan.


Look how the DoughEZ just peels right off the pie crust dough! No mess at all!


Flute the edges of the pie crust and then baked it before filling it.


Before baking it. I wasn’t fast enough to get a picture after it was baked and topped with Whipped Cream.

So are you wanting your own DoughEZ now? Well I have a Promo code (good for only the month of March)  for you to get $10.00 off your order. Promo code has been extended till after Mother’s Day, 5/11/15!!

Just enter "ambersantics" all lower case for $10.00 off your order. And to help you even more, I have placed a button (Precision Dough Rolling System) that will take you straight to their order page on the side of my blog.

And now for the recipes that had my family asking me to make another Strawberry Pie soon (like the next day!)

I got the Strawberry Pie recipe from With a Grateful Prayer and a Thankful Heart. She has a link to print the recipe.

Strawberry Pie

3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 cups sugar (It is a SWEET dessert, you might want to reduce the sugar.  We like it sweet)
1 1/2 cups water
3 oz box strawberry Jell-O
2 cups sliced strawberries

Pre-bake a 10" pie shell.

Line bottom with the sliced strawberries
Combine cornstarch, sugar and water in small saucepan.  Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring constantly, until thickened.  Add the Jell-O and stir until dissolved.  Pour over the strawberries and refrigerate until set.
Serve with whipped cream

I used The Gracious Wife recipe for my pie crust.

No Fail Pie Crust

3/4 cup shortening
2 1/14 cups flour
1/2 cup cold water

In a large mixing bowl, cut shortening and flour together. A pastry blender is preferred but a fork works with success too.

Then add water and stir with a fork until it forms a ball. If there’s still flour at the end, add water, a teaspoon at a time. You want the dough to be stiff, not sticky, so be careful not to add too much water.

Divide in half. If you’re only using half, you can freeze the other half now. Let the dough chill* in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before rolling out.

Poke dough with fork to prevent air pockets and bake for 10 mins at 350* or until the crust is golden.

*Oops! I just realized I never let my dough chill but it still rolled out great and tasted awesome!

      Thanks for stopping by!
                   Amber

Looking Back at NCC November Release

Today we are taking a look back at North Coast Creations November Release!

For more inspiration using the November Release, be sure to visit the North Coast Creations Blog. 

So what happens when your dogs have no food? You decide to make doggie treats in the shape of snowmen, stockings, trees, stars and bones of course. Then you decide to make a container for the doggie treats. And hey, while I’m at it, I might as well make it fit for one of my design teams!

I used Santa Paws for my project. Colored it with copics and cut it out completely. Cuttlebugg’d the French Fry container with an ornament folder. Added a silver bow and attached the oval/dog with pop dots.



Taking a picture was challenging as I used my end table in front of my Christmas tree which is of course dog level! Just look at that face, how could you refuse those puppy eyes?



So I wasn’t sure if my above idea would work out how it so I had a plan B. Still using Santa Paws, I masked the branch to add some more greenery to it. Colored it and the dog with copics and cut them both out completely. This time I attached them to a see through box. Both ideas worked out perfectly and my dogs love the treats.

You can find the rest of the design team’s projects just by following their links:
Julie * Dawn * Lori * Sandee * Amber * Lisa

And for your doggie’s pleasure:

Pumpkin Dog Biscuits

2 eggs
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons dry milk
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 1/2 cups brown rice flour * (I used unbleached flour instead)
1 teaspoon dried parsley (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.

In large bowl, whisk together eggs and pumpkin to smooth. Stir in dry milk, sea salt, and dried parsley (if using, optional). Add brown rice flour gradually, combining with spatula or hands to form a stiff, dry dough. Turn out onto lightly floured surface (can use the brown rice flour) and if dough is still rough, briefly knead and press to combine.

Roll dough between 1/4 – 1/2″ – depending on your dog’s chew preferences, ask first – and use biscuit or other shape cutter to punch shapes, gathering and re-rolling scraps as you go. Place shapes on cookie sheet, no greasing or paper necessary. If desired, press fork pattern on biscuits before baking, a quick up-and-down movement with fork, lightly pressing down halfway through dough. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully turn biscuits over, then bake additional 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely on rack before feeding to dog.

* Brown rice flour gives the biscuits crunch and promotes better dog digestion.

          Thanks for stopping by!

                    Amber

Trick or Treat

It is my turn to post over at Craft-Dee BowZ but I had to share it here with you too. Donna gave us a theme of Halloween and a non card at that!

I know you have seen a few Halloween cards from me but really we don’t do Halloween. Yes, our kids do dress up but for a Harvest party and they are not allowed to dress up as anything scary so you see a lot of princesses, army guys, puppy dogs, cotton candy (my middle went as last year), paper doll (my youngest last year). Any ways I digress….Back to this challenge Donna gave us.

Halloween… non card…. what to do? I like to send goodies to work for hubby’s coworkers so why not decorate a container that he could put on his desk with some kind of treat in it for them?

Took some of the ribbon Donna sent us and made a triple loop bow by doubling up my ribbons. Instead of just laying the ends of the ribbon around the container, I decided to twist the two ribbons together.

  Using a spider web die, I cut out the spider web and attached it just by the corner. If you look closely you will see a small little spider (sticker) on the web. Printed out a pumpkin digi image from Paper Pretties that I colored and added in the corner. Attached the little sign to the container so everyone would know they could have a treat.

Now what to fill the treat container with? How about Pumpkin Oreo Muddy Buddies? Oh my gosh! I didn't think I was gonna have any left to put in the mini baggies as this stuff is just that good! Tied each baggie up with some ribbon that I had (keeping with the black/orange color theme).

Close up of the Pumpkin Oreo Muddy Buddies.

But what you are really saying is “Amber!! Stop teasing us and give us the recipe!!” I can’t take credit for the recipe as I got it from Something Swanky blog which I found via Pinterest.

Pumpkin Oreo Muddy Buddies

Ingredients

• 2 cups Pumpkin Spice Hershey Kisses
• 7 cups Chex Cereal
• 1 cup crumbled Oreos
• 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  
  Instructions

1. In large microwave safe bowl, heat the Hershey Kisses for 45 seconds or until melted. Stir until smooth. Add the cereal to the bowl, a few cups at a time, stirring gently and coating the cereal as you go.
2. Add the Oreos to the bowl, and stir gently to coat.
3. Place the powdered sugar in a gallon sized zip top bag. Spoon the coated cereal mixture into the bag. Seal the bag, and shake to coat the cereal mixture.
4. Serve immediately or keep sealed in bag, and store for 3-4 days
   
   
   .Don’t say I didn’t warn you on how good this is! 
   
   
           Thanks for stopping by!
   
                      Amber
   
   
   

Doughnut Muffins

Saw this recipe floating around on Facebook and decided to make them for breakfast this morning. While I can’t say they do taste like doughnuts in the form of a muffin, they are pretty tasty.

Doughnut Muffins
(that taste like doughnuts or so they say)

1 1/3 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/3 c oil
3/4 c sugar
1 egg
3/4 c milk

Combine dry ingredients. Mix liquids, beat till well mixed. Add to dry ingredients and mix till just blended. Put into muffin tin and bake at 350/F for 20-25 min.

While muffins are hot dip into 1/4 c melted butter and roll in powdered sugar or a sugar/cinnamon mix. (1/4 c sugar with 1/4 tsp cinnamon)

Enjoy with a cup of coffee!

          Thanks for stopping by!

 
                   Amber

Paper and Such April blog hop

It’s that time again… time for another release over at Paper and Such! 2 new sets are being released this month.
I used Patriot and Friends Stamp set for my card. I used the The Pet Stack design paper for my card and colored the image with copics. I had to use my new spellbinders Decorative Elements nestabilities. Stamped one of the sentiments and added bling above and below it.



The second set that is being released is called Tender Hearted. You’ll have to come back tomorrow to see the card I made using it for the Paper and Such challenge. You may also find it below on the other DT gals blogs. So check them out and don’t forget to comment along the way.


Paper and Such Design Blog
Teresa Kline - Guest DT Member
Julie Smith
Janice Melton
Kim O'Connell
Amber Hillman
Pattie Goldman
Kendra Sand
Meredith Winston
Stephanie Mino
Mindy Young
Paper and Such Design Blog

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I didn’t get a chance to post yesterday so I thought I would share with you the dessert I made for our Easter Luncheon at our church.  It is called a Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Cake Cheesecake and had to weigh over 10lbs as that thing was so heavy! But it tasted so oh yummy!

You can find the recipe at Chef This Up.


            Thanks for stopping by!

                      Amber

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes!!

So I get this email yesterday from my good friend, Kyla, with the subject of “My Mouth is Watering”. What was she sending me??? What was I going to have to bake now??

How about Cinnamon Roll Pancakes??!!! OMG!!!  Here are some pictures of my breakfast this morning! Please don’t lean too close to the screen as drool is not good for your keyboard!

Here we have the cinnamon mixture just added to the pancake.

Cinnamon mixture is baking into the pancake.



Cinnamon Pancake all done….. wait it is missing something still!!



You have to have Cream Cheese “syrup” on them!!



That first bite!!

Okay, so you are probably going “Amber, WHERE is the recipe?!??!!” Well you can find it here at Recipe Girl. Side note, I doubled my batter recipe but left the filling and icing the same as hers. Even then I still had filling leftover! So whatever you do DON’T double the filling recipe!!! lol

Enjoy!!!!

 

         Thanks for stopping by!!

                    Amber

It’s my Birthday and I have PRESENTS for YOU!

Today is my 36TH birthday!! I am not old but young at heart as you have seen me coloring, playing with glue, learning to tie bows, making cakes/cupcakes in my posts.  And so today I have a fun and SWEET blog post to share with you.

I looked through my CUPCAKES! From the Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn book and decided on White Russian Cupcakes covered with Kahlua Whipped Cream for my birthday cupcakes. Made them before we went to Mad River Mountain to do some tubing (that’s another post). Came home and made up the Kahlua whipped cream just so I could take pictures as I need the cupcakes to go along with my blog post. And then since I had covered at least two cupcakes, we had to try them!  They are soooooo good!!

So since it is my birthday, I have a few surprises for you!

Cake Crystals sent me some cake crystals to give away to one of you! Isn’t that cool?? What are cake crystals you ask? This is what they on their site: “Cake Crystals® are the only edible jewels on the market that are faceted top and bottom for the highest level of realism and sparkle.”

Here is a few pictures of them on my cupcakes. Aren’t they fun?! Who doesn’t like bling on their cupcakes?

I can’t wait to make some cakes or cookies and add some crystals to them. And incase you were wondering, Cake Crystals had no clue it was my birthday when they sent the sweet blog candy.

So how would you like to try a jar of Cake Crystals? How about a 2.75 oz jar of PINK (approx. 90+) crystals just in time for Valentine’s Day?!  This is what you will get, (minus the cupcake, I just put it there to show you the size of the jar.) 



So how do you go about winning the jar? Go to Cake Crystals Facebook page and “Like” them, come back here and tell me you did and you will be in the running. (at the bottom of their website is a button that will take you right to their Facebook page)

Don’t have Facebook? Then tell me how you would use the crystals and you’ll be in the running too. 

I will pick a winner on Feb.2nd.

NOTE: Drawing is only open to those in the USA. Thank you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now how would you like the recipe for the White Russian Cupcakes? Well here you go! Enjoy!

White Russian Cupcakes

1 package plain yellow cake mix*
1 package 3.4oz vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup whole milk
4 eggs
1/4 cup vodka
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Kahlua
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

*I used yellow cake mix that had pudding in it so I left out the package of pudding mix.

Kahlua Whipped Cream:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
1 tablespoons Kahlua

Optional: 2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate shavings for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners.

Prepare the cupcake batter: place the cake mix, pudding mix, oil, milk, eggs, vodka, 1/4 cup Kahlua and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend on low for 30 seconds. Stop machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Increase the speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more. Spoon or scoop 1/3 cup batter into each lined cupcake liners, filling it three quarters of the way full.

Bake the cupcakes until they are golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 17-20 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Brush the tops of the cupcakes with the remaining 2 tablespoons Kahlua. Cool.

Whipped Cream: Place a large, clean mixing bowl and electric mixer beaters in the freezer to chill for 1 minute. Remove. Pour the cream into the bowl and beat on high speed until the cream has thickened, 1 1/2 minutes. Stop the machine and add the sugar and Kahlua. Beat the cream on high until stiff peaks form.

Place a heaping tablespoon of the whipped cream on each cupcake and swirl to spread it out with a short metal spatula taking care to cover the tops completely. Garnish with chocolate shavings.

Store these cupcakes, in a cake saver; in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

           Have a great day &

                thanks for stopping

                 by on my birthday!

                           Amber

MyGrafico #71 - Embossing

This week at MyGrafico we were to emboss. Any type of embossing or embossed items; like embossed papers, embossing with stamps, embossed elements, dry embossing etc.  We used Breakfast Clip Art by JD Digi Design & Falling for Autumn Paper Pack by Cupcake Cuties.

Christmas is only 9 1/2 weeks away so it’s time to start thinking of gifts. I love to give home made gifts and seeing the coffee cup image in the Breakfast Clip Art set gave me an idea.  Cappuccino Mix!

So I found a Cappuccino recipe and made up the mix (and of course had a cup to keep the creative juices flowing). I then printed out the directions on how to use the mix. Using Spellbinder’s Scallop & Standard Circle nesties, I cut out the directions, coffee cup and the layers, made sure I embossed them. Used Martha Stewart border punch for my trim. The design paper is from the Falling Autumn Paper Pack. The coffee cup is attached with dimensions.


Here is a look at the lid:

And here is the recipe so you can make your own Cappuccino Mix:

Cappuccino Mix

1 cup instant non-dairy coffee creamer
1 cup instant chocolate drink mix
2/3 cup instant coffee crystals,
    regular or decaffeinated  (I used 1 cup)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine creamer, drink mix, coffee crystals, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, and mix well. Store in airtight container. (can leave out spices, can use flavored non dairy coffee creamer)

Makes 3 cups dry mix, 15 servings.

To prepare one serving, add 3 tablespoons mix to 6 ounces of hot water and stir well.

My project is also entered in the following challenges:

Gingerloft – Winter (winter means drinking warm stuff all day long!)
StampInsanity #31 – Creative ways to use die cuts 
Craftalicious Challenges #10 – Anything Goes
Wee  Memories #27 – Celebrate Good Times (my gift can be used for Birthday, Christmas and so on)
Just Inspirational #16 – ink or digi
Paper Cutz #63- Anything Goes
Creative Friday #28 – pimped everyday objects

          
           Thanks for stopping by!

                   Amber

Lake Dipping, Birthday cake, Grilled Pizza (recipe) & Slumber Party!

Whew! What a long day yesterday was and what a long post this will be.

We are lucky enough to be 5 mins away from a State Park Lake (Kiser Lake) and every year our library tries to make sure the Summer Reading program has an activity out at the lake for the kids. Yesterday was that program “Lake Dippin’ with Debbie”. Debbie is the Naturalist out at the lake. 

Each of the kids were given nets and allowed to go in a certain area (only up to their waists) to dip in the lake to see what kind of critters they could find. Here are a few pictures of my two youngest kids in the lake:

Benjamin with some other boys.

Jorden enjoying the lake.
 

Benjamin does have a net! Just can’t see it at all.


Jorden doing some dipping by the lily pads.

So after the lake dipping, we had to rush home to finish Allie’s birthday cake as today is her 11th birthday but her party started yesterday. I had left her at home to start decorating the cake and I was going to put the finishing touches on it (wording and edging of cake, I had done the cones and forest trees the night before).  This is the cake she picked out for her birthday:

  
Here is the birthday girl herself with her cake.

Then it was time for her friends to show up along with their sleeping bags as it was a SLUMBER party!  But wait, it gets better! I was crazy enough to make individual grilled pizzas for everyone! My kids love when I make these as they can be involved in the cooking of them. So I thought I’d share the recipe with you too.  Enjoy!



Grilled Pizza

1 package active dry quick rise yeast
1tsp sugar
2/3 c warm water
2c flour
3/4 tsp salt
3T olive oil, divided

Sprinkle yeast and sugar over warm water in small bowl; stir until yeast is dissolved. Let stand 5 mins or until mixture is bubbly. Combine flour, yeast mixture and salt in large bowl. Beat with electric mixer at medium speed until dough forms a ball. Add 1 T oil; beat until well mixed.

Place dough on lightly-floured surface; flatten slightly. Knead dough 8-9 mins or until dough is smooth and  elastic. Shape dough into a ball; place in large greased bowl. Turn to grease entire surface. Cover bowl with clean kitchen towel and let dough rise in warm place 30 mins or until doubled.

Prepare grill.  Punch dough down; divide into 4 equal balls. Flatten each ball into a circle on a lightly floured surface. using lightly floured rolling pin, roll out each ball, into 8-in circle (or the best you can get it!).


Place 2 circles on grid.
Grill, on covered grill, over medium 4 mins or until bottoms are lightly browned. Transfer to large plates, grilled side up.

Spread pizza sauce evenly over grilled sides of crusts. Add your toppings of your choice.


Place pizzas back on the grid. Grill, on covered grill, over medium for about 5 mins or until cheese is melted and crusts are cooked through.

(these are mine and hubby’s pizzas just finishing up on the grill. Yes, he has real bananas on his!)

Serve warm or at room temperature and ENJOY!!

A few more pictures…

Here are the girls fixing their pizzas.



Girls’ pizzas all ready to be eaten.


The girls enjoying their pizzas.


Well I hope you have enjoyed a glimpse into how my day went yesterday. All in all i think the girls had a good time as it is almost 11am here on Friday and they are still sound asleep!!

       Thanks for stopping by!

                Amber