Father's Day Fun

For Father's Day Zoey had three gifts to make -- one each for her Daddy, Grandaddy, and Grandpa.  After spending time browsing on Pinterest (probably too much time if I'm being honest), I came across a really cute hand print card.  And no, I didn't care that it was supposed to be a Valentine's Day card.  Toddler hand prints are always in season.

I can't find the original one I pinned.  I swear I pinned it, but now I can't find it.  After a little searching, I finally found something similar to the pin I can no longer find.  And no, it probably isn't because I have too many pins to look at.  Unless we're talking food and drink pins.

 

Zoey had never had her hand print traced before, so having her hold her hand still was interesting.  Apparently it tickled.

 

After folding the card stock in half, I traced her hand along the folded edge and cut it out, so that it sort of made a heart when opened.  Then it was time to paint!  Zoey wanted to use her dot paints, and then the next day wanted to add glitter.  She had a blast making these, and was so proud that it was her hand.

Happy Thanksgiving.... and Go Frogs!

I hope you all had a relaxing, tasty Thanksgiving!

We have two Thanksgiving get togethers over here.  On Wednesday we go visit one big group of family, and then on Thanksgiving we visit another group.  Being a vegetarian among a bunch of meat-eaters, and people who like to cook their veggies with bacon, I brought a yummy veg-friendly dish to both places.

This year I decided to try something new, the Festive Chickpea Tart from Let Them Eat Vegan by Dreena Burton.  The one I made Wednesday was kind of dry and crumbly.  But the one I made this morning turned out great and I thought it was quite tasty.

I also made Dreena's Artichoke and White Bean Dip, also from Let Them Eat Vegan.  Zoey and I thought it was pretty good.  Make sure to let it sit a little bit before eating it.  I tasted it right after making it, and it was much better by the time it was actually being served.

For Christmas, which will be at our house, I think I'll try a couple of her other holiday meal ideas.

Now as for the last part of the title... You see, Ben is a University of Texas grad.  And yours truly went to Texas Christian University.  And at the moment, we're watching a TCU vs. UT football game.  So, definitely a big Go Frogs.  Otherwise, Ben and his brother (who is also a UT grad) will never let me hear the end of it. 

Firecracker Cheez-Its

During this past school year, I received some ridiculously yummy Cheez-Its as a teacher gift.  Spicy Cheez-Its.  Genius.  Ben has been after me ever since to figure out how to make them.  While browsing Pinterest recently I found a recipe to make Firecracker Crackers.  Instead of making it with saltines like the recipe suggested, I used an entire box of Cheez-Its.

Please excuse the extra stuff in the background on the counter.  :)

I used 1 cup of oil, but I think one box of Cheez-Its is less than the 4 sleeves of saltines called for.  Next time I'm trying 3/4 cup oil.  Also, I really don't think I mixed them up for long enough.  She says 5-10 minutes of mixing the crackers.  I didn't mix for that long, and some of the crackers are spicier than others.  :)

They're really good though, spicy, ranch-y goodness.  Yum!  If you like spicy things, you definitely need to make these.