Kiddie Treats

It's finally Friday and guess what, it's Halloween tomorrow!

If you're doing some last minute shopping for all the trick or treaters who will be knocking on your door, maybe you can consider other fun stuff that isn't loaded with sugar.

Too much candy is a blah!
Even the dentist thinks so.

Give out juice or milk boxes instead.
It's a healthier choice.

And what child doesn't like colorful stickers like these?

Pencils are a neat idea that still fall in the season's
theme but can be used at school, too.

Tada! The kids may think these goodies are a trick (because they aren't candy) but what a treat for parents & kids alike!

Wishing you all a fun, fabulous and safe Halloween!

Treats for Toddlers

One of the things I look forward to Halloween is seeing little babies and toddlers in their cute costumes. They are simply adorable! They can't even say "Trick or Treat" yet and are too young to understand this concept of dressing up. Hey, they can't even have candy!

Babies & toddlers with a bucketful of candy
that they can't eat?!
What a blah!

Prepare treats like these rubber squirt toys that can easily fit
their tiny hands and make them smile.

You can also give out small packs of Goldfish brand
biscuits that they can nibble on.

No tricks for babies and toddlers.
We don't want to make them cry!

See you again tomorrow!

Gooey Ghosts

We're gearing up for Halloween and if you're up to making a homemade treat, you came at the right time!

Giving marshmallows to trick or treaters...it's a little blah.

But with some magic ingredients (chocolate chips &
white chocolate chips), we'll turn them into a Tada!

Step 1: With clean hands, make one end of the marshmallow pointy.

Step 2: Slip the other end of the marshmallow into a lollipop stick.

Step 3: Melt the white chocolate over a double boiler.
Once the chocolate has melted, dip in the
marshmallows, one at a time.

Step 4: Stick on the chocolate chips to make eyes & a mouth.
Allow chocolate to harden.

Tada! Little candy ghosts or marshmallow mummies!

You can add an extra marshmallow so your ghost has a body.

Serve it at your Halloween party as part of the candy buffet.
Use them as fun party favors.
Hand it to trick or treaters that come a-knockin'.
Keep one for yourself and have a super sweet holiday!

Say Cheese!

It's all about Halloween this week and I don't know about you, but I'm getting very excited! Sweets are on my mind and today we're making more treat containers.

Today's blah: empty cream cheese tubs.

Tada! A neat & nifty candy keeper!
We simply covered it with felt (using a glue gun) &
decorated it with our favorite Halloween icons.

Fill it with candy and you're ready to give
when someone's at the door saying "Trick or Treat!"

Hope to see you again tomorrow!

Happy Halloween

Hooray it's Monday and hooray it's Halloween this weekend!

Today we'll turn some of these cosmetic boxes from blah to...

Tada! All we did was wrap the boxes
in felt (attached using a glue gun).

Then decorated the front with Halloween characters
also made out of felt.

Fill these with sweets to hand out to trick or treaters or use them as party favors for your Hallow's Eve bash.

Candies Galore!

Halloween...that day when kids are allowed to take candies from strangers. And a lot of candy that will be, requiring them to carry a bag for all that loot! Yesterday, we made a bag from an old tank top. Today, we'll make a bucket out of these:

An empty ice cream container and yogurt tub...blah!

Clean it. Dry it. Cover it with felt (attached with a glue gun).

Tada! Easy, homemade candy bucket!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Sweet & Spooky Bag

Candy is one of the reasons why Halloween is so wonderful! To children, it's like currency. The more candy they get, the richer they are.

Today, we're doing a little project to hold all the candy the kiddies will get from trick or treating. It's a simple project requiring you to rummage through your closet.

An old tank top is today's blah.

Turn it inside out and close the bottom by stitching
both ends together.

Turn it over and make it pretty!
I used white felt for the spiders & letters.
I used a glue gun to stick them on.

Tada! A bag that's spooky yet sturdy for all your Halloween sweets!

Masquerade

Ah Halloween! You must have your costume all planned and ready to go. But for those of you who don't know who you'll be on fright night, may I suggest a little blah to Tada!?

Pieces of cardboard...what a blah.

Turn it into a mask for an instant Tada!

Here's a little trick: use a pair of sunnies to estimate the size of the mask. Trace with a pencil and cut, cut, cut away.

Jazz it up as you please -- with sequins and glitter!

Or what about some feathers?!

Make a few extras for friends who arrive at your party without a costume and then have a blast at your own masquerade ball!

Please Come In!

We've got Halloween on our minds and I have a bunch of ideas especially for this red letter day!

Today's blah -- an old cardboard box, all cut up.

Just flip it over.
Now it's a blank canvas ready to be spruced up.

Paint it. Decorate it. Cover it with glitter.

Tada! A sign you can hang on the door of your house or apartment to alert all trick or treaters that they're welcome to knock and that you've prepared something for their candy buckets!

Hello Halloween

Happy Monday Everyone! If you're already doing a countdown, you know that Halloween is just around the corner. So for you who marks this as their favorite holiday, I'm devoting the next two weeks for some serious blah to Tada! Halloween ideas.

Today's blah -- old bill envelopes.

We'll use these basic supplies to turn it into a Tada!

By piling the strips of paper on top of each other,
Tada!, we've created a mummy envelope!

Use it to hold party invitations.

Or a Halloween greeting card.

You can also use it as an envelope for sweets, tricks & treats.

Please stop by tomorrow for another Tada! idea.

Hearth to Hearty

Ohhh bread! It's one of life's little pleasures, especially when we catch the baker taking out fresh loaves from the oven...such a lovely scent! We leave the store clutching the soft and fragrant baked treat, dreaming of toast and flavorful sandwiches.

But sometime in the week, our dear loaf is ignored and because it can't seem to get our attention, it becomes lonely and dry. Then we discover it in its sad state. We become upset, "What am I going to do with stale bread?", we say. Blah indeed.

As we've seen in my blog this week, stale bread can be a Tada! if turned into croutons, breadcrumbs, an easy breakfast and a filling snack. Here's another Tada! to add to the list:

Ribolitta! It's thick, flavorful and hearty Italian soup.

It's a party in a pot where pancetta, onions, garlic, carrots, celery, cannellini beans, tomatoes, basil, kale, stock and bread are invited. You'll find the recipe here.

It's a good way to use up stale bread and makes a
healthy dinner for a chilly night.

Have a nice weekend ya' all!

A Pudding for Autumn

I hope you're all having a wonderful Thursday!

Today, we're still turning stale bread from blah to Tada!.

And we're doing that by making bread pudding!

Here's the recipe I used (adapted from the Little Bread & Butter Puddings recipe in the Marie Claire Cooking Book):

1 apple, peeled, cored and sliced (you can use pears)
6 small slices of bread, chopped (I used a Baguette)
1/4 cup raisins
2 eggs
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon sugar
dash of cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease two 1 1/4 cup capacity ramekins with butter. Place apples, bread and raisins in the ramekins. Whisk together the eggs, cream, milk, vanilla, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Pour mixture over bread and let stand for 5 minutes. Place the ramekins in a baking dish and fill the dish half-way with warm water. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until puddings are firm. Serve as is or with a scoop of vanilla or caramel ice cream. Serves 2.

I like this because I get to use up my stale bread plus apples which are abundant this time of year. I can have this for breakfast or for a snack with a warm cup of tea. Hmmm-yum!

Itty-Bitty Breakfast

Stale bread is the star of my blog this week and while "stale" isn't the most appetizing description for one of our favorite kitchen staples, I promise you, we'll put the sexy back to bread!

Here's what we'll do: Remove the crusts from your favorite white or whole wheat bread. If they are too thick, flatten them slightly with several swoops from a rolling pin. Put the bread into a greased muffin tin. The bread will look like a tulip or bird's nest. Add a piece of ham or bacon inside each slice and some whisked eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven (350 degrees Fahrenheit) for about 15 minutes or until the eggs are cooked.

Tada! Little breakfast cups that look like they came from a fancy brasserie. They're mighty yummy, too! You can easily substitute the filling depending on your diet. Happy eating!

Crumbled into Pieces

Turning stale bread from blah to Tada! is this week's theme. We really don't want to waste anything -- even if the bread becomes so hard, it's enough to be used as a weapon!

Slice the bread into cubes and put this in the food processor or blender. Give it a whiz until you're left with this:

Tada! We made breadcrumbs!

Use it as breading for chicken, fillers for meatballs and toppings for casseroles or macaroni & cheese. Put the left-overs in a resealable bag, label appropriately and store in the freezer.

See you again tomorrow!