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!