We can all use a few more hands
Since we had such a lovely time visiting Crown Reef Resort last fall, we were eager to return to Myrtle Beach when we were invited by another resort, Captain’s Quarters! We are spending 3 nights here and then moving on to visit Fayetteville, NC for a night! Can’t wait to tell you all about our adventures in the coming days!
So I’ve been keeping a big secret from y’all! We are expecting another blessing, baby #5! I’m 11 weeks now, so come September, we should have a new family addition! We are super excited!
This means I’ll be upping my baby posts! I kinda dropped off posting them since my “baby” is 4.
Any of my readers expecting? When are you due?
Super Bowl is almost here! Here are some of my recipes that you may want to check out for your party food. For more ideas, visit the Super Bowl Food pinterest board that I created. I’d love more pinners for it as well, so if interested in adding to it, email me at mommyoctopus at gmail.com.
Slow Cooker Macaroni & Cheese. Perfect to fix it and forget it 🙂
Tie Dyed Marshmallows – make in your team’s favorite colors!
Homemade Sandwich Rolls – perfect for making little sliders.
Simple Radish Dip – this is a favorite among my kids! I love it, too!
3 Ingredient Guacamole – It doesn’t get easier than this! Take 5 minutes and have some fresh guac!
Avocado Eggrolls with sweet and tangy dipping sauce – another favorite around here! This one was my husband’s creation. So good!
Fresh Corn, Avocado, Tomato Medley – so simple and fresh!
Easy English Muffin Pizzas – Another family favorite that can be made in just moments.
Gluten Free Sausage Balls – The perfect addition for the friend that can’t eat gluten. Plus they are delicious!
This morning my hubby was checking out the weather app on his phone and came across this! I’d highly recommend all my local readers staying inside tonight 😉 Hope you enjoy the smile!
How adorable are these Homemade Snowman Marshmallow Straws! My friend Meghan over at JaMonkey made these and includes the recipe and directions! We have a Christmas party coming up soon and I think I may make these! I’ve never tried making marshmallows from scratch. They look fun!
We’ve made a tradition of making Christmas Morning Cinnamon Rolls with our family for years. We’ve even added to the fun by also making these for every birthday that a member of our family has to celebrate. The kids love knowing that they will wake up to a wonderful smell of cinnamon rolls baking in the oven. I love knowing how easy it is to make these and I can even use my bread machine!
First up, put the following ingredients in your bread machine. Select the dough cycle and let the bread machine do it’s magic!
Dough Ingredients:
Other ingredients needed on the side:
Once done, roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface to create a large rectangle. Be sure to flour your rolling put as well so the dough doesn’t stick to it. I try to make it fairly thin.
Next, spread 3-4 tablespoons of softened butter over the entire surface of the dough. Make sure to be generous and get to all of the edges. I like to use my hands just to make sure it gets everywhere.
After it is well coated in butter, sprinkle 3/4 cup brown sugar over the entire surface. On top of the brown sugar, sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon of cinnamon, making sure to get it on each area of the dough. Either using your hands or a spatula, rub all the cinnamon/sugar mixture all over to coat the dough well.
Now it’s time to roll! You’ll want to start on the longest side and bit by bit, start rolling up the cinnamon rolls. Keep rolling all the way up until it’s a really long cinnamon roll. Once it’s all rolled up, you can start cutting! The thicker the slices, the taller the roll. I typically make them about 1.5-2 inches. Be sure to cut very very gently so you don’t mush the rolls.
Place in a greased pan and allow to rise in a warm place about 2 hours or until the rolls are doubled in size. It’s okay to put them close together or barely touching. I typically make my rolls at night and let them sit in the fridge covered overnight. In the morning, I pull them out around 6am and let them rise. Then into the oven around 8.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool about 5-10 minutes before frosting.
Buttercream Frosting:
Apply generously on top of still warm cinnamon rolls to allow the icing to melt and drop between the rolls. Eat and enjoy!
Excuse my giddiness, but I actually met Paula Deen! Like hugged her, talked with her, took a selfie with her, and she even met my hubby and kiddos! We had a fun media event yesterday and there was about 25 bloggers/media and Paula! It was great!
Paula was in town visiting the Guy Gunter Showroom in Atlanta and telling us about Springer Mountain Farms chicken. We were even given a goodie bag of chicken when the event was over.
When I got home last night, I wasn’t sure what to make for dinner and figured we would go ahead and throw some of the chicken on the grill. Oh my goodness, y’all! The chicken was fantabulous!
The meal Paula made was her Jambalaya. SO delicious!
It was so cute watching Paula and her hubby goof off and cook together! Aren’t they adorable!
Don’t forget about the Paula Deen Live! show that will be happening this Sunday in Atlanta! Still time to grab tickets. Find information about that here.
With the holidays coming, deals will be flying like crazy! I suggest following our facebook page, our twitter page, and on Pinterest. Also be sure and check right here at MommyOctopus.com to know about the current deals. Even better, sign up for our mailing list below to get deals sent right to your inbox!
Since our Fall Printable Activity Sheets were such a hit, I thought I’d offer Thanksgiving ones as well! My kids love having holiday themed activity sheets! To download, simply click on the picture and print! Enjoy!
Color By Number
Pilgrim’s Coloring Page
Write the Letter
Count and Color the Hats
Thankful List
Note, these are for personal use only and not to be resold. Be sure and pin it so you can find it later!
My family loves chocolate chip cookies. My oldest son and I came up with this idea to make them even better!
Chocolate Chip Kiss Cookies
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup margarine or butter
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 12 oz package (2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips
Dark chocolate Hershey’s Kisses
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly mist mini-muffin pan with cooking spray. In a mixing bowl beat the shortening and margarine or butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add about HALF of the flour and all of the brown sugar, sugar, eggs, vanilla and baking soda. Beat mixture till thoroughly combined. Beat in the remaining flour. Stir in chocolate chips.
Scoop rounded spoonfuls into the lightly greased mini-muffin pan. Let them bake in 375 oven about 10 minutes or until they are slightly brown. When you take them out of the oven and while they are still hot, gently press an unwrapped dark chocolate Hershey’s Kiss into the middle of each cookie. Let them cool a few minutes before removing them from the mini-muffin pan, or they will fall apart as you take them out!
We left some of them as just plain chocolate chip and, of course, they are wonderful too. You could use other candies to put in the middle of them too . . . milk chocolate kisses, or Rolo’s, or even a peanut butter cup! We’ve made peanut butter cookies with a peanut butter cup in them like this and they are awesome too!
