Craft Tuesday: Felt Fortune Cookies

I found this ADORABLE idea on the Martha Stewart website and just had to try it. It is such a unique idea for Valentine's day, and it takes no time at all! This is perfect to make a bunch for that one special person, or one for a bunch of special people! You can stuff these with handwritten or printed "fortunes" or candies (Hershey's kisses fit perfectly).

You will need:

• Felt (one pre-cut sheet makes 2 cookies)
• Floral wire
• Scissors
• 4 1/2" circle to trace (or an adjustable circle cutter)
• Hot glue gun
• Stuffers (candy, fortunes, etc)

Start by cutting one 4 1/2" circle of felt for every cookie you want to make. Then, cut strips of felt that are about 4" long and 1/3" wide. Also cut floral wire in pieces that are a little smaller than your felt strips (so about 3.75").

Place the floral wire in the center of your circle, on the line where the fold will be. Place a line of hot glue over it, going a little over each end. Place your felt strip on top of the floral wire and allow glue to cool.

Next, fold your felt in half so that the felt strip covering the floral wire is on the inside and hidden. Now bend the two corners away from the curved side of the half circle, pinching them together to create the fortune cookie shape.

Fold up one of the cookie flaps and stuff your fortune cookie with fortunes, candy, etc. Fold your cookie back over and adjust. Now repeat until you have made all of your cookies!

See, that was pretty simple huh?

Happy early Valentine's Day!

Foodie Friday: Squash & Zucchini Parmesan

Every week I have a couple of friends over to watch a few of our favorite TV shows. I usually cook dinner as well, which can be a challenge because my best friend is a vegetarian, and everyone else sure loves their meat (we are from Texas, after all). This recipe was something I whipped up that everyone seemed to really enjoy. Even though not everyone liked squash or zucchini, they all seemed to love it served up as the classic Italian Parmesan dish. Best part is that it is pretty simple, especially if you use the pre-sliced, frozen veggies.

This recipe will make 4-6 servings.

You will need:

• 1 small yellow squash
• 1 small zucchini
• 1 egg
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cups plain bread crumbs (I always prefer Panko)
• 1 1/2 cups + 1 of your favorite spaghetti sauce
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• Pasta of your choice (spaghetti or vermicelli are my favorites)

Before baked

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Wash and slice your squash and zucchini into 1/4" slices. Or, thaw your presliced squash and zucchini
3. Beat egg in a small bowl, and pour flour into a shallow bowl and breadcrumbs onto a small plate
4. Coat the bottom of a greased 9x13 or similar baking dish with a thin layer of sauce (about 1/2 cup)
5. Dip one piece of squash/zucchini into the flour and coat fully, then dip into the egg, and lastly coat with breadcrumbs
6. In a frying pan, heat up a little bit of oil and brown your squash piece on both sides (about 1 minute on each side)
7. Place this piece into the baking dish, and repeat until all of your squash and zucchini are breaded or your pan is full

   

   After baked

8. Coat the squash and zucchini with the remaining pasta sauce (about 1 cup), and then sprinkle grated parmesan on top
9. Baking uncovered for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is golden and bubbling
10. While baking, boil your pasta and heat up the remaining sauce (feel free to make more or less than the recommended 1 cup)
11. Serve the baked squash over a bed of pasta and sauce

Craft Tuesday: Danish Heart Baskets

These beautiful heart baskets are simple to make and, even though they are a Danish Christmas tradition, they are now used for many different things. This year, I am making some to give as Valentine's Day presents! They are perfect to stuff with candy, cookies, or small presents. The baskets are so simple to make, it would be a great thing to make with children to give to their friends!

I made my baskets out of felt, but you can use paper too. Don't limit yourself to solid colors either! If you are doing paper, try different patterns of paper, or even something fun like an old map or sheet music.

You will need:

• Felt or paper
• Scissors
• Ruler

The first thing you need to do is cut your material. You will need two 9" x 3" strips for each heart.

After you cut your strips, fold each one in half and round the corners. Then, make three cuts from the folded end, up towards the open end. Leave about a 1.5" gap between the end of the felt and your cut. It's easiest to start with the middle cut, and then doing the outer two.

Once your pieces are cut, you can weave them together. It's simple! Take your first strip from one piece of your heart weave it in the strips of the other piece. Go around, then through, around then through. Weave each strip in this manner, alternating how you start. For example, for strips 1 and 3 you would start weaving buy going around, and for 2 and 4 you would start by going through. Hopefully that makes sense!

Now that you have finished weaving them, adjust them and make the pretty! Stuff them and give them as a gift, or hang them on a garland.

Happy crafting!

Foodie Friday: Nutella Cookies

I love Nutella, and the idea of Nutella cookies seems just delightful to me. I looked around for a recipe and just decided to try a really simple one I found on Pinterest. The modifications I did are totally optional, and I just did them to make the cookies stay soft, and not harden by the next day. So hopefully you like chocolate, because to me these cookies taste chocolatey and then have a bit of a hazelnut/Nutella after taste. Delicious!

This recipe makes 24 small cookies, or about 15 regular cookies.

You will need:

• 1 cup of Nutella (I used a whole 13oz tub)
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (or 1/4 cup light brown sugar, 1/4 cup granulated sugar)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp corn starch (opt, keeps your cookie soft)
• Chopped hazelnuts (opt, not pictured)
• Milk chocolate chips (opt, not pictured)

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Mix all dry ingredients together in large mixing bowl
3. Beat in egg and Nutella, and any hazelnuts or chocolate chips
4. The mixture will be dry and crumbly. Dig in with your hands and create 1" balls of cookie dough. You can add 1 tbsp of water to make the dough easier to handle, but I didn't and mine turned out very well
5. Flatten the balls of cookie dough a little, making them thicker for softer cookies and thinner for crisper cookies
6. Bake 6-8 minutes, depending on your cookie size, on a greased pan
7. When you remove them they will still be a little gooey. Let set and cool for 5 minutes before moving from pan to cooling rack or plate
8. Serve (or eat them all yourself)