I don’t know about you, but cinnamon sugar is a favorite flavor combination at our house. We even have a sugar shaker just for cinnamon sugar so we can use some whenever the mood strikes. Since we love it so much, I thought that I would share this easy churro chip recipe with you all.

When I was little, my parents would make these cinnamon sugar chips for us as a special treat. We loved it! We ate them just as fast as my parents could make them.

Print

Churro Chips

Light and crispy tortilla chips covered in cinnamon sugar.

Course Dessert

Author Amber Simmons

Ingredients

• Flour tortillas
• Cinnamon
• Sugar
• Oil for frying I used vegetable oil

Instructions

• Cut tortillas into chips. You can do wedges or strips. Whatever you like.
• Mix cinnamon and sugar together in a large bowl. You will be tossing the chips in the mixture so make sure there is room.
• In a deep pan heat your oil to 350-375. It can vary depending on your type of oil. It is best to have a thermometer so you know if your oil is getting too hot.
• Fry a few chips at a time until both sides are a dark, golden brown. Remove chips from oil and let excess oil drain for a minute.
• Put hot chips into cinnamon sugar and toss to completely coat.
• Enjoy.

One person can easily make these, but it is helpful to have a second set of hands just to man the cinnamon sugar. That’s the part the kids love to do anyway, so I am sure I will have no shortage of help. This time, I manned the sugar and my mom fried them. (Thanks, mom!)

For more fun ideas be sure to follow me.
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Check out some of my other tasty snacks.

The BEST Caramel Corn Ever

Apricot Hand Pies

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Hi! This is Amber from “Rick-a-Bamboo” and I love shortbread. It is the perfect combination of crispy, buttery, and sweetness. These have a little something extra as well. Sprinkles. Every cookie is more fun with sprinkles. Kids especially love the addition of sprinkles.

The recipe is super simple and they bake up so quick that you can easily whip them up any time. These flavorful cookies are made with ingredients you already have on hand.

Print

Sprinkle Shortbread Bites

Author Amber Simmons

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 tsp sprinkles

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325.
• Prepare an 8 x 8 pan with parchment. Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment.
• In a mixer, cream butter, sugar, and vanilla together until fluffy.
• Turn mixer down to low and add flour and salt.
• Once it is mixed throughly add the sprinkles.
• Press dough in to the pan.
• Lift the parchment out of the 8 x 8 pan.
• Cut the dough in to 1/2" squares. Move squares to the cookie sheet spacing them 1 1/2 inches apart.
• Bake for 15 minutes or until the bottoms start to brown.

Tip: When you cut them use a pizza cutter. It is the perfect tool for nice, smooth cuts.

I just love how cute and little they are. They are perfect for a tea party or just because. The only problem when they are bite sized is that you will want to eat them all. I would highly recommend not sitting next to the plate of them while you surf Instagram.

Be sure to follow me for more fun ideas and check out my other fun posts.
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Be sure to try some of my other delicious treats:

Snickerdoodle Popcorn

Toffee Fruit Dip

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Dying Easter eggs is a lot of fun.  It’s even more fun when you can add baking soda to the vinegar.  Who doesn’t like to watch that reaction fizz up?  Let me tell you, the little kids LOVE it.  So when I saw these over on Lacey Placey I knew we had to try them.

These eggs are a lot of fun to color and can be done with things you already have at home.

You will need:

• Baking soda
• Vinegar
• Food Coloring (The neon set is really great for Easter eggs.)

For each color you will mix 1 tablespoon of baking soda, 1-2 teaspoons of water, and a drop or two of food coloring in a small dish. Mix with a paint brush.  The thicker the paste the more it will react with the vinegar.

Then you let kids go crazy and paint the eggs as much as they want. Once they are good and covered with the paste, place an egg into a bowl. Add a drop or two of food coloring, or maybe a few, to the egg. The more drops you add the more intense the color will be. I liked the results better when we added 3+ drops to an egg.

Then comes the fun part. Very slowly add the vinegar to the backing soda. You can add it a few drops at a time if you have a dropper or baster. Otherwise you can slowly drizzle some from a measuring glass or cup. This is where the marbling effect comes in. The slower you add vinegar the more marbled it becomes.

When the reaction stops you take the egg out of the bowl, dry it off with a paper towel and put it back in the carton. Be sure to rinse the bowl in between eggs or else your colors will mix and get muddy.

It’s fun to play around with different combinations of colors, numbers of drops, and amount of vinegar to see what you end up with.

Be sure to follow me for more fun ideas and check out my other Easter posts.
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Did you know that you can make hard boiled eggs in your pressure cooker?

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Hello again. Today I am sharing a cute party decoration with you all. I saw this a while back on Made and I have been itching to try it.

They are so fun and frilly and colorful. I kind of want to keep them up all the time. These streamers are very easy and inexpensive to make. You just need two or three rolls of streamers and a sewing machine.

To make them you just set your sewing machine to the longest stitch it will do. Over on Made she said to change the tension as well, but I didn’t and I think they turned out great.

If you are going to make a duel colored streamer then overlap the streamers about 1/2″-3/4″, lightest color on top, and stitch right down the middle of the overlapped section.  For a tricolored streamer overlap two colors like before and then lay a third right down the middle of the overlapped section. Then you just sew down the middle of the center color.

If doesn’t matter if you swerve out of the middle, just aim for the middle. This is not an exact science and no one will be checking your stitches for accuracy.

The red and yellow one is exactly how it came out of the machine. But for the green, blue, and purple I wanted it more ruffled. To achieve this I just held on to one thread at one end while I slowly and carefully scrunched the streamers toward the center of the garland. I just kept scrunching until I reached my desired ruffliness. (That’s totally a word, because I just used it in a sentence.) Then I started from the other end and did the same thing.

I love how these turned out. And if you are careful when you hang them and take them down then you can just roll them up and save them for another occasion. I really love them all rolled up too.

For more fun ideas be sure to follow me.
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Need more ideas for your party? Check out some of my awesome recipes.

Toffee Fruit Dip Recipe

Texas Sheet Cake Recipe

BBQ Pork Wonton Tacos Recipe

The post DIY Ruffled Streamers appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

Moon sand has made a huge come back. Or at least that is what my mom says. She remembers it from the first time around. But it’s not exactly cheap. I would have a hard time letting Thor play with it, knowing that he still gets things like that everywhere. Luckily there are a ton of DIY recipes on Pinterest so that your littles can get their play on.

This was something great to have in the house over the holiday break. While the baby was napping this kept the toddler quiet and entertained without the use of TV. Win!

I looked at Pinterest and found a pin from Happy Mothering. I then went to Target and bought a big 32 quart bin to make a double batch in. I chose that one because the lid clips on. I wanted it to be good and secure when it was being stored. I wanted it to be big enough for there to be room to play in without making too much of a mess. Turns out I probably should have bought a bigger bin. As it was moon sand was everywhere. Luckily it is very easy to sweep up.

When we came home I put ingredients in. For a single of moon sand batch you will need:

8 cups of flour
1 cup of baby oil
A couple drops of lavender essential oil (optional)

I just filled the bin with flour, added the essential oil to the baby oil and poured the oil over top. Then we mixed it all together with our hands. It didn’t take too long to get it all mixed. Maybe five minutes.  Now it was time to play. I was hoping the lavender would entice Thor to nap after playing. It didn’t, but it did make the whole thing smell lovely.

I gave him a scoop, measuring cup, silicone baking cup, a lollipop stick, and a plastic kids cup. He had a lot of fun for a few minutes. Then he stared grabbing toys to add when I wasn’t looking. The dinosaur wasn’t bad, but the car, not a good idea. Haha. So definitely keep an eye on that. I had to wash a whole sink full of toys that weren’t supposed to be used in the moon sand.

Over all it was a win. I even enjoyed playing with it. I couldn’t believe how soft it was. It will probably get everywhere, so just keep the play on a surface that is easy to sweep. And probably keep the dogs away. Mine was trying to eat it as it fell out of the bin.

Want more kids activity ideas? Check out these posts.

Lego Minifigure Matching Game

Rainbow Rice

Velcro Sticks

If you are looking for more ideas for kids be sure to follow me and check out similar posts on my blog.

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Hey, everyone! Amber Simmons here from rick a bam boo. It’s gotten really cold here in Utah. We’re talking below freezing. So you know, it’s really cold. This month I am going to share with you a simple DIY project to help keep you warm when you have to go out.

It’s all about hand warmers. These little babies are great for the whole family. And are so easy to make that you won’t mind making up a whole batch for everyone on your list!

For each set of hand warmers, you need fabric cut into four 3.5 inch squares and six tablespoons of rice.

1. Place two pieces of fabric right sides together. Using a 1/4 inch seam allowance, sew around all four sides leaving a 2-inch hole on one side.
2. Trim down the corners to eliminate some of the bulk.
3. Use the hole to turn the hand warmer right side out.
4. Using a funnel fill the hand warmer with 3 tablespoons of rice. I didn’t have a funnel small enough on hand so I just rolled up a piece of paper to create one.
5. Top stitch the hole closed. Be sure to start and end with a couple back stitches for extra stability.

Top stitching tip: I like to move my needle to the left so that I can get really close to the edge. It can be tricky to get close to the edge will all the rice in the pouch if your needle is in the middle.

Look how perfectly they fit in little hands!

In case you are wondering where I got these fabrics, here is the list:
Red is Kona Cotton in Poppy.
Black with white pluses was a print exclusively from Joann’s.
And the snow globes are from the Cotton + Steel holiday 2015 Tinsel line.

These are so easy I whipped out three sets in less than 15 minutes.  Being such a quick project also makes them great for last minute gifts. They would also be good stocking stuffers, especially if you are looking for something candy free.

To use them you simply pop them in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. Watch out. They will be hot. Then you put them in your coat pockets for your hands to be nice and toasty while you are outside.

I plan to use these whenever I have to scrape the car. How nice would that be to get in the car and be able to instantly warm your freezing fingers?

Want more gift ideas?  Check out these posts:

Gingerbread Sugar Scrub

DIY Infinity Scarf

Craft Room Essentials

Also, be sure to follow me via your favorite social media to see new gift ideas as I share them.

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Hey everyone, it’s Amber from rick•a•bam•boo. Today I am going to share a delicious salad with you that would be a wonderful addition to your Thanksgiving table. A few years ago my mom found this recipe on Miss Mustard Seed and knew that we needed to try it.

It is a fairly simple salad but it packs a lot of flavor and texture.  It’s sweet and chewy and fruity and totally yummy.

The barley is the trickiest part. I know that last year I bought a quick barley but I couldn’t find this at the store this year. So just cook the barley according to your instructions.

Print

Sweet Barley Salad

Course Salad

Servings 6 - 8

Author Amber Simmons

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked barley chilled
• The seeds of 1 pomegranate
• 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1 cup walnuts roughly chopped
• Maple syrup

Instructions

• Mix all the ingredients, except maple syrup, in a bowl.
• Dress salad with a drizzle of maple syrup.

Notes

We like to leave the salad plain and dress our own servings.

You can make this ahead of time and put it in the fridge.  It is meant to be a cold salad. My mom and I like to eat it for breakfast. Or for dessert. Or for snack. We just love it.

It is a great addition to your holiday dinner and it won’t take up any of your time the day of. And all of us cooks know that the more things we can do before Thanksgiving day the better.

Be sure to follow me so that you don’t miss any of the great holiday stuff I have planned!

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If you are looking for more holiday meal ideas check out some of my other recipes.

Pistachio Salad Recipe

{TOP SECRET} Stuffing Recipe

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Hello everyone! Amber from rick•a•bam•boo here again. This month I am going to share a really fun recipe with all of you. How to make your own Candy Googley Eyes. These are so fun and are perfect for Halloween! Well, anytime really. Isn’t all food more fun with little candy eyes?

I saw these on Instagram from My Name Is Snickerdoodle and immediately went over to Pinterest so that I could pin them for later. I didn’t know at the time what I would need them for, I just loved them. They ended up being the perfect thing for a monster themed birthday party for Thor.

The recipe is simple. But I’m not going to lie, they can be really hard to pipe. My piping skills are a bit rusty, but if you are a master piper then you should be fine.

Print

Candy Googley Eyes Recipe

Course Candy

Author Amber Simmons

Ingredients

• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 5 TBSP meringue powder
• 1/2 cup cold water
• TOOLS
• black gel food coloring
• 2-3 cookie sheets
• parchment paper
• 2 pastry bags fit with a #3 tip OR a freezer bag
• 2 large drinking glasses

Instructions

• First line your sheets with parchment paper.
• Then in a mixer blend together the powered sugar, meringue powder, and cold water. Beat for 3-5 minutes to make it nice and smooth. When the you lift the whisk out of the mixing bowl the part that drizzles back down should absorb back into the rest in 10 seconds or less. Add more water or powdered sugar as needed to achieve the desired consistency.
• When you have the right proper texture place your white piping bag, tip down, in to a large drinking glass. Roll the top of the bag down around the glass and start filling your bag. Leave about 3/4 a cup in the mixing bowl.
• Add the black food coloring a few drops at a time to the remaining mixture. Continue until you reach the desired darkness.
• Fill the second pastry bag with the black mixture.
• Pipe eyes starting with the white on to the prepared trays. It's okay if some of them stick together. They are googley eyes after all.
• Once the white as dried a bit it is time to start adding the black. The whites are probably dry enough once you finish piping them all. Just start adding black to the first whites you made. You can add the pupil anywhere, in the center or off to the side.
• When you are finished let the eyes dry for 24 hours and then store them in an air tight container. They are good for a whole year.

Don’t worry if all your whites aren’t perfectly round. That just makes the eyes more expressive. I basically just touched the black to the white to make the pupils. I didn’t squeeze at all, but my black was probably a bit on the thin side.

This recipe makes a ton of eyes so you can have fun with your food all year long.

Here’s a peek at how awesome Thor’s monster birthday cake turned out.

Be sure to follow me so that you don’t miss any of the awesome Halloween stuff I have planned!

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Here are a few of my recipes that you will enjoy also:

BBQ Pork Wonton Tacos

Scrumptious Italian Pasta Salad

 Honey Sriracha-Glazed Chicken

The post Candy Googley Eyes Recipe appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

Hello. Amber from rick•a•bam•boo here with another fun DIY post for you. I am so excited that fall is upon us. It’s my favorite season and it contains my favorite holiday. I love, love, love Halloween. So I thought I would take this chance to share a Halloween craft with all of you.

We all know that Halloween is all about the candy. So why not have a count down to the most candy filled day of the year?

My mom found this super cute Halloween count down from I Heart Naptime last year and we just had to make them. And yes, it is actually 53 days until Halloween. So it is time to panic about costumes. Sorry.

We used her instructions as a guide and made a few small tweaks here and there to better suit our needs. We each purchased:

• Four  5 1/2″ x 6′ fence boards and cut them into 2 foot lengths
• Two  2″ x 2″ x 8′ boards and them cut to 5 1/2 feet

Note: I would buy the boards about a week before you plan to make this project and take them home to let them dry. We thought we chose ones that were pretty dry and went home and cut and assembled our signs. The next day we had slight gaps between the boards from them drying out more at home overnight.

To assemble, we just hammered the fence boards to the 2 x 2 pieces of wood. Don’t worry about lining the boards up to make straight sides. It looks best a little wonky.

Once it was assembled we used a 1:1 ratio of white craft paint to water to give the sign a white wash.  When the wash was dry we used a candy corn shape cut from the silhouette to stencil on a scattering of candy corns. Our candy corns are 5″ x 3.8″.

Start with the white and fill the candy shape as much with white as you like. Then move to the yellow and last paint the orange. By going lightest to darkest we were able to free hand them without any issues. They aren’t perfect lines but they still look great.

We also used the same fonts she did, which were Crackhouse, Addict, and Adler. I downloaded them free online. I just Googled the names to find their free sources. Then I set to work figuring out which font we wanted for which text and how big to make it.

“It’s all about the” – Crackhouse at 400.25 pt
“CANDY!” – Addict at 390 pt
“Days until trick or treating” – Alder at 250 pt
numbers – Didot at about 348 pt

Note: You might have to break up some of the words in order to fit them on to the sheets of cardstock. We had a couple of single letters that we had to tack on to the end of a couple words.

We then cut all of the text from cardstock using the Silhouette. Then, using painters tape or masking tape we gently taped the text in place. There is such a big white area on the bottom so that you can stack pumpkins and other fall/Halloween decor there with your sign.

Once we were happy with how it looked it was time to paint. Using a sponge brush, get paint on the brush, dab off the excess, and lightly apply a thin layer of paint while holding the stencil firmly to the sign. You will want to do a couple layers to get the text nice and dark.

For our numbers we decided that we wanted to make ours weatherproof. We cut the numbers from white cardstock using the Silhouette and mounted them to black cardstock cut to 4 1/4″ x 6 1/2″. Once the adhesive had dried we ran them through the laminator to make them waterproof.

We chose to mount them to the sign with a 1 1/2″ piece of velcro at the top and bottom of each number. That way the numbers couldn’t flap up in the breeze. We adhered the hook half of the velcro to the top of the numbers and the loop part we put on the bottom of all the numbers. Then we used the opposite on the boards to make them stick.

The spider up in the corner we found at Dollar Tree and just velcroed him up there as well.

We joked about making it so you could put three digits up so that you can just start over on November 1st and leave it out all year. However, I think the neighbors might not like their kids counting down to Halloween all year long.

Want more Halloween fun? Check out these posts.

Zombie Brain Rice Crispy Treats

Printable Hero Masks

Anna & Elsa Crochet Hats

Be sure to follow me so that you don’t miss any of the awesome Halloween stuff I have planned!

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Hello everyone.  Amber from rick•a•bam•boo here again with another crafty installment.

Today I am sharing a super dee duper simple craft. Homemade hair ties. I found them on The Superettes. These are great because you can make them in any color you like and you can customize them to your hair type.

I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time finding good hair ties. My hair is super, crazy thick so there are only a couple that I have found that really work for my hair.

Plus these make fantastic gifts. I am keeping a bunch on hand to add a little something extra into gifts for friends. Especially for a new mom, because if you have long hair you are rocking a top knot for the first few months until you have the energy to actually do something with your hair. Or at least that was me.

I think these would also make an awesome make and take for a party or a girly event. They are so easy that even those who are not crafty can make them. If you can tie a knot you can do this.

All you need is fold over elastic, a ruler, and scissors. You can get fold over elastic at any craft store. It comes in all sorts of colors and even some printed patterns. If you can’t find what you are wanting at your local store tons of places online sell it. I ordered mine from Elastic By The Yard. They have a ton of colors. Pictured here I have aqua, silver, ballet pink, and bright red.

For a hair tie you simply cut a piece of elastic 9 inches long. Then you fold it in half and tie a knot near the ends. You can trim the ends flat or at an angle to make them look nice and even.

You can even make headbands the same way. You will just cut 18 inches for a child and 20 inches for an adult. These make great baby headbands for little girls. They are soft and comfy.

To give as a gift you just slide them on to a card. The size of the card will depend on the size of your bands. My card is 2 ¼ inches. I just printed a message on a piece of cardstock and cut it down to fit. Be sure to make your card smaller than your hair ties. They will stay in place with a little tape on the back of the card. Tip: If you are printing a card, measure your tie openings and use the ruler at the top of you word processing program to make sure your message will fit once the card is cut down.

Done! See? That wasn’t hard at all. The hard part is stopping at just a handful.

Be sure to follow me so you can see all my current projects.

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Hi everyone. Amber from rick•a•bam•boo here again.  Did you try the Raspberry Tiramisu I shared last month?  Delicious, huh?  Well this month I have a quick and easy craft to share with you.  These chalk painted canning jars are super fun and simple to make.  Plus they are an adorable home for a little succulent.  And who couldn’t use more succulents in their life?

Well, maybe me.  I love the way they look, but I am a succulent killer.  I don’t know if I over water or under water, but I had one that melted down into a puddle of mush. And the other succulents in the pot were eaten by my dog. True story.

But for those of you who are much better at caring for your plants there are just a few items needed for this project:

• a wide mouth canning jar
• chalk paint (I used Folk Art Chalk Paint in Summer Porch)
• foam brush
• fine grit sandpaper
• potting soil
• a succulent

We know you can hardly wait to start, so lets get going with creating our chalk painted succulent jars! First you paint the jar.  I like to put my hand inside the jar. It makes far easier for me to paint it without getting paint all over me or the table.  It took me three coats to get a nice, even coverage.  The chalk paint dries pretty fast.  I think it took about an hour to be completely dry, however it is summer so that helps.

After the paint is good and dry, take the sand paper and give all the embossing a light sanding to get the glass to show through.  You can sand a little or a lot.  We are just going for a chippy look.

Then you fill the jar 2/3 the way with potting soil and plant your succulent.  Easy peasy and super adorable. The reason that these are so great for succulents is because succulents don’t require a lot of water so you don’t need a pot that drains.

These chalk painted succulent jars make great teacher or hostess gifts and are perfect for adding a pop of color to any space.

This mason jar DIY comes from the cute girls at Lolly Jane.

Tell me, are you a succulent lover?  What are you going to plant in your chalk painted jar?

Be sure to follow me so you can see all my current projects.

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This awesome post has been shared with Home Stories A to Z

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Hi everyone!  Amber from rick•a•bam•boo here again with another delicious dessert.

If you are looking for something simple and delicious to take to a picnic, BBQ or any gathering you will love this Raspberry Tiramisu from The Girl Who Ate Everything: It’s delicious!  Plus it is a no bake dessert which makes it great for making during the summer months.  It is also awesome for brunch, which happens to be the occasion I first made it for.

Unlike traditional tiramisu, this dessert has no coffee.  It is all creamy, fruity goodness.  Which basically makes it a big shortcake type of dish.

Print

Raspberry Tiramisu

Servings 12

Author Amber Simmons

Ingredients

• 1 cup seedless raspberry jam
• Zest and Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 cups mascarpone cheese room temperature
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 28 soft ladyfingers or 2 12-ounce pound cakes, cut into 3 by 1 by 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 1/2 cups fresh raspberries washed and set aside to dry

Instructions

• In a small bowl mix the jam and 2-4 tablespoons of lemon juice together until it is the consistency of thinned sauce.
• In another bowl blend 2 tablespoons of raspberry juice with the mascarpone cheese.
• Beat heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla together in a mixer until soft peaks are formed.
• Add a tablespoon of lemon zest and mascarpone mixture to the whipping cream and gently fold together.
• In your dish layer: ladyfingers, raspberry jam sauce, cream mixture, and top with raspberries.
• Continue layering until your dish is filled.
• Garnish with more lemon zest.

The recipe calls for ladyfingers, since those are traditionally used in tiramisu.  However I like to slice up some pound cake and substitute it for the ladyfinger biscuits.  I find that since the pound cake is already soft it make the dessert ready to eat.  Also if you want to be super quick about it, you can just slice pieces of cake and layer up the toppings on individual slices.

And if you have some left over raspberries you can use them to make some Chocolate Raspberry Cups.

Be sure to follow me so you can see all my current projects.

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Hi everyone.  Amber from rick•a•bam•boo again.  I’m here today to share Mini Key Lime Pies!

I know what you are thinking.  Citrus again?  

And you’re right.  I did share Brazilian Limeades with you and then Blender Lemon Curd.  But to be fair, I did warn you that I have a citrus problem.

Back to the pies.  I tried this recipe from The Recipe Critic a while ago.  If you have ever enjoyed a key lime pie at Cafe Rio (a local Utah restaurant) then you will love this recipe.  It’s pretty much a copy cat recipe even though the original post does not say that.  Plus the greek yogurt gives it kind of a cheesecake consistency, which is supper yummy.

Print

Mini Key Lime Pies

Servings 18

Author Amber Simmons

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs crushed (about 12 squares)
• 3 T Sugar
• 3/4 stick butter melted
• 3 eggs
• 2 14 oz cans sweetened condensed milk
• 3/4 cup lime juice
• 1 T Lime zest
• 1/3 cup greek yogurt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Using a food processor, grind graham crackers into crumbs.
• Place crumbs in a bowl and add butter and sugar. Mix well.
• Put foil cupcake liners into the cupcake pan.
• Divide crumbs evenly between foil cups. About 1 Tablespoon each. Press firmly into the bottom.
• In a separate bowl throughly combine eggs, sweetened condensed milk, lime juice, zest, and greek yogurt.
• Fill the baking cups about 1/4" from the top of the liner and bake for 12-15 minutes.
• Cool completely. Garnish with whipped cream
• Keep refrigerated.

These key lime pies are super yummy.  I dare you to eat just one.

And if you are addicted to lime too, check out my other lime recipes.

Mint Limeade

Disneyland Copycat Mint Julep

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Hi everyone.  Amber from rick•a•bam•boo here again.  In my last post I proclaimed my love of lime.  Well my taste for citrus doesn’t end with lime.  So today I’m going to tempt you with delicious lemon curd!  And the best part?  It’s super easy and only takes five minutes.  Okay, that was two things.

What makes it so simple is that you make it in the blender.  Now you’re probably thinking, What? The blender?  She’s crazy.  And I am crazy.  Crazy for lemon curd.  When I first saw over on She Knows that I could make it in the blender.  I couldn’t believe it either.

You will need a high power blender such as a Vitamix or a Blendtec.  Regular blenders won’t work because they can’t blend fast enough to create the heat needed to cook the eggs.

Print

Easy Blender Lemon Curd

Servings 2 cups

Author Amber Simmons

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup lemon juice freshly squeezed
• Zest of one lemon
• 1 cup sugar
• 5 large eggs
• 1/2 cup butter

Instructions

• Place lemon juice, zest, sugar, and eggs in high speed blender.
• Put the lid on securely and turn the blender on to the highest setting for 5 minutes.
• Turn the blender down to medium high and add butter through the lid in tablespoon sized chunks, being careful to avoid the steam.
• Once all the butter is added blend for one more minute at the medium high speed.
• Turn off blender and carefully remove the lid. Pour lemon curd in to a canning jar and let sit on the counter to come to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator.

The hardest part of this recipe is not eating the whole jar while it sits out on the counter.  Lemon curd is so tangy sweet it tastes like sunshine on a spoon.  I like to eat it with yogurt and granola but it is delicious with just about everything.

It would also make a great alternative filling to my Apricot Hand Pies.

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Hi again!  It’s Amber from rick•a•bam•boo.  Today I am here to share one of my favorite drinks with you.

My husband loves to eat at Brazilian grills, because, you know, all you can eat meat.  I also love to go to Brazilian grills because I know that I will be getting the best Brazilian limeade.

I am addicted to lime.  And lemon.  And orange.  Anything citrus really.  But lime is my most favorite.  It comes as no surprise then that I love Brazilian limeades.

So when I saw the Brazilian Lemonade recipe from Our Best Bites I was super excited.  Sometimes it is known as Brazilian lemonade.  In Brazil limes are called limons.  So even though it is called a lemonade it is still made with limes.

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The Best Brazilian Limeade

Servings 2

Author Amber Simmons

Ingredients

• 2 juicy limes
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 cup water cold
• 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk about 1/4 a can

Instructions

• Throughly wash the limes. Cut into eighths.
• Put the water and the limes in the blender. Pulse several times to pulverize the fruit. Strain into a pitcher. Rinse blender.
• Return lime juice and water to the blender. Add sugar and sweetened condensed milk. Blend for 15 seconds or until the sugar is dissolved.
• Serve over ice.

If you haven’t had a Brazilian limeade before then you are in for a real treat.  It is one of our favorite drinks to make at our house.  Thor calls it “Lemon-lime Egg Nog”.  Personally I think that name sounds gross.  We will definitely not be letting him name the drinks any time soon.

This does not keep well, due to the lime zest, which will make the drink bitter as it sits.  However if you want to make it ahead of time it is recommended that you juice the limes instead of blending.  I have not tried it this way, because I am too impatient.  When I make it I am going to drink it right now.

If lime is your thing too, check out my other lime drinks.

Mint Limeade

Disneyland Copycat Mint Julep

Also, be sure to follow me so you see all my latest and greatest posts.

Pinterest  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Google+  |  Instagram

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Hi everyone.  Amber from rick•a•bam•boo again.  This month I made a Chocolate Italian Cake to share with you. Since we are new friends, you probably don’t know that I love cake.  I. Love. It.  So it was a no brainer that I was going to share a cake recipe with you.

When I came across this cake on Pinterest from Chew Nibble Nosh I was immediately drawn to it due to its multi-layer structure.  It is a chocolate cake, sitting on a layer of sweet and creamy cheese, all topped with a light and chocolaty whipped frosting.  It’s an Italian cake because of the cheese layer, which is made with ricotta.  So it’s not as smooth and creamy as cheesecake, but it is still delicious.

Print

Chocolate Italian Cake

Servings 15

Author Adapted from Paula Deen

Ingredients

• 1 box chocolate cake mix I used Devil's food.
• Eggs and oil to bake cake as directed by the box
• 2 lbs. ricotta cheese
• 4 eggs
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 small package instant chocolate pudding mix
• Milk to make the pudding according to the package
• 8 oz. Cool Whip thawed

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Prepare a 9x13 baking pan by spraying with nonstick spray.
• In your mixer prepare cake mix according the package instructions. Pour batter into the the prepared pan.
• Wash out mixing bowl and cream together ricotta cheese, eggs, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Pour evenly on top of the cake batter. Gently spread ricotta layer to cover the cake layer completely.
• Place pan in over and bake cake for 1 hour.
• Remove cake from over and cool completely.
• When the cake is cool, mix the pudding according to the directions on the package.
• Fold the Cool Whip into the pudding to create a light chocolate frosting.
• Frost the cooled cake with the Cool Whip topping mixture.
• Cover cake and refrigerate for 6 hours.

Notes

The layers will switch places during the baking process.
Refrigerating the cake will allow the flavors to combine and the cake to become super moist.

I made this to take to a craft day and everyone loved it.  My mom said that she liked that it wasn’t overly sweet.  And the nice neat layers will really impress your guests.  This is definitely a great cake to try!

If you are looking for some more chocolaty goodness, check out some of my other recipes.

Texas Sheet Cake

Chocolate Raspberry Cups

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Rocky Road

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