Another Easy Valentine's Day Dinner

Heart-shaped meatloaf, cooked in the crock pot. Just use your favorite recipe, but shape it into a heart. Doing this also gives you a good excuse to use a lot of ketchup.

A Creative and Easy Valentine's Day Dinner

Mashtinis!

These were so easy and fun to make! I used the following ingredients and layered them in a martini glass:

-Mashed potatoes (I microwaved potatoes until soft then seasoned and mashed with butter)
-Frozen peas (cooked in a bowl in the microwave with a little water)
-Gorton's Classic Grilled Shrimp, prepared in the microwave
-Frozen meatballs, prepared in the microwave
-Sweet Potato Chips

I garnished the shrimp mashtini with cocktail sauce and the meatball ones with barbecue sauce. I topped them all with a fresh cherry tomato. So easy!

I used extra large, plastic martini glasses, and they were more than enough for a meal. The plastic made them a bit top-heavy, though, so be sure to hold them steady if you use plastic.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day Dinner

Heart-shaped pizza - it doesn't get any easier than this. Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day Cake Pops

Earlier today, these cake pops popped into my head and it took my sugar-deprived body a couple of hours to shake it. I made them two years ago, when I was going through my cake pop phase. I usually go with the standard Bakerella recipe - combine a baked cake with frosting, mix it all together, then shape, chill, and dip (or in the case of these... cover in marshmallow fondant).

To make the heart-shaped pop, I used a heart-shaped cookie cutter and filled it with the cake/icing mixture, added a stick and chilled it in the freezer. Then I covered it with fondant, and used tinted fondant and a smaller heart-shaped cookie cutter for the smaller heart decoration.

I've noticed that you can buy cake pop baking pans now, and it kind of makes me sad. I applaud the inventor's moxie for identifying the market and getting out the product, but it's just baking regular cake on a stick, right? Regular cake on a stick will never, ever be as moist and delicious as the original cake/icing combination.

How to Make Cupcake Paper Carnations

I'm always looking for easy crafts for my 4-year-old, and she had a great time making these pretty carnations for Valentine's Day. They're really easy for little hands to make, as long as an adult helps with the steps that require a sharp knife.

What You'll Need:

-Cupcake cups / muffin pan liners of various colors

-Green chenille stems (pipe cleaners)

-Sharp pointed knife

Start by creating groups of 2 - 3 cupcake cups, and use your sharp pointed knife to cut two holes in the bottom, spaced about 1/2" apart. 

Start by making a hook out of one of your pipe cleaners. From the top, push the long end of the hook through one hole, then push the short end through the other hole, ensuring that both ends go through all cupcake cups.

Gently tug the pipe cleaner down until the top of the hook is up against the cupcake cup.

While holding both ends of the pipe cleaner up against the bottom of the cup, use your other hand to squeeze the cup from the bottom up, slightly twisting as you go.

Add another cupcake cup group from the bottom up, by inserting the long end of the hook into one hole and then moving it up, until you can then feed the small end of the hook into the other hole. Gently push the new layer up against the first layer.

Again, hold the pipe cleaner under the cups and use the other hand to squeeze the papers together, gently twisting as you go.

Continue adding more layers until you have the fullness you desire.

When you're done, twist the small end of the pipe cleaner around the large end. If desired, you can fold the long pipe cleaner in half and twist it around itself to make it strong enough to hold the flower. You can also wait until you have an entire bouquet and twist them all together. 

 This was such a fun craft for my little girl. I cut the holes for her and she enjoyed doing everything else herself! 

Make a Heart-Shaped Wreath for Valentine's Day

It's that time of year again, when everywhere you look you see red hearts. Love is in the air, and if you're feeling festive and want to decorate, try this easy DIY wreath from upcycled materials.

What You'll Need:

-Wire Clothes Hanger (2 will be needed for a large wreath)

-Pool Noodle

-Duct Tape

-Scissors

-Needle nose pliers

-Fabric (I used a red sweater that had a fringe trim)

-Ribbon and any other decorations of your choosing

-Small plastic bead necklace

-Needle and thread (or glue)

First, cut your pool noodle into 2 pieces of the same length. If you don't want a large wreath, you don't have to use the entire noodle, but it's better to start with pieces that are too big and trim them down than to start with pieces that are smaller than you'd liked.

Then, use your needle nose pliers to cut the hooked top off the wire hanger. Straighten out what remains of the wire hanger, and check its length against the pool noodle pieces. The wire should be long enough so that several inches of wire remaining stick out of each side of the noodle pieces.

If one piece of wire is long enough for both pieces of pool noodle, cut it in half; if you need more, prepare a second wire hanger by cutting it and straightening it. Feed each piece of wire into the hollow centers of the two pieces of pool noodle.

Start molding the pool noodles into a heart shape. Bend the wires as you go so that the noodle holds its shape. You'll want to cut notches into the underside of curves so that the noodle bends easily. Cutting the upper edges of the heart at an angle will also help the heart fit together more easily.

Cut the top of the bottom pieces of the noodle at an angle as well, so that they are flush.

Use your needle nose pliers to twist the two pieces of wire together. Once they are twisted, use the pliers to trim away the extra wire.

Now, use pieces of duct tape to ensure that everything stays put. I taped the stress points - where the two pieces joined together at the top and bottom, as well as the curves of the heart.

I then cut the fabric of the sweater to wrap the noodle all the way around, plus a few inches for overlap. I used a needle and thread and a simple tacking stitch to join the fabric edges together and attach the bow and hanger, but you could also use fabric glue or a hot glue gun if you don't want to sew.

That's it! You can always buy a wreath form at a craft supply store, but I had a pool noodle that I really didn't want to throw into a landfill. By turning it into a wreath, I'll be able to enjoy it for years to come!