Recipes – Page 2 – Our Beautifully Messy House

DIY Chocolate Orange Sugar Scrub

February 15, 2015September 26, 2015 Porter Leave a comment

As we move towards Spring, I keep thinking of citrus, lemon-blueberry muffins, lemonade and sunshine! Unfortunately though, we’re not quite there yet…wind chills today in the negative digits! I think it was 4 degrees out when we woke up this morning! Brrr… And let me tell you, this cold weather is not helping the chocolate addiction I acquired over the holidays. So with all that stirring around inside of me, I dreamed up this CHOCOLATE ORANGE SUGAR SCRUB and it is divine!!! Just what I needed today! This would be great to use in the bath or shower!

Ingredients:

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
3 Tbsp olive oil (almond oil or coconut oil)
~15 drops (1/2 tsp) Sweet Orange oil
1-2 tsp orange zest (optional)

First, mix together the sugars with a fork. If your brown sugar is clumpy, try to mix until most of the clumps are gone.

Mix in the 2 Tbsp of cocoa powder.

Next, stir in the olive oil one Tbsp at a time. Some olive oils are pretty potent…if you have almond or coconut oil on hand you can certainly substitute that for the olive oil. I’m all about using what I already have though…and it turned out great!

Once the olive oil is added, stir in some Sweet Orange Oil. (I found mine in the organics section of our grocery store.) To really bring the aroma up a notch, add about 2 tsp of orange zest to the scrub! Now it is certainly good enough to eat, but even better to exfoliate your skin with in the bathtub! The sugars will scrub away any dry, dead skin and the oil will leave you with just the right amount of moisture.

Spoon your concoction into 2 jars…one for you and one for a friend! Enjoy!!!

It’s Tea Time!!! Tea Party Ideas

February 1, 2015September 26, 2015 Porter Leave a comment

Over at Our Beautifully Messy House, we love a good TEA PARTY! We have breakfast tea parties and mid-afternoon tea parties, tea parties in a teepee outside, and tea parties on the kitchen floor! We have tea parties with friends and tea parties with fairies! There is only one rule in our house when it comes to having a tea party: Everyone must wear a hat! It doesn’t matter if you are still wearing your pajamas, everybody starts the tea party with a hat!

If you’re planning ahead, you can make some “Floppy Newspaper Hats” for tea time! (DIY here.)

Tea Ideas

Obviously you can steep any flavor of tea, but with little kids you may want to get creative! Sometimes I pour L half a cup of Blueberry Wild Child Tea, fill the rest with milk and she drinks it out of her fancy tea cup with a straw. Anything goes! Kids can drink water, milk, juice mixed with water, or hot chocolate…if it’s in a tea cup, it’s tea!

Tea Cups

Tea cups don’t have to be fancy, but fancy is fun! The best place to find tea cups is at antique stores, yard sales and flea markets. Such places are filled with tea pots and cups and, at only a couple of dollars a piece, it’s no big deal if one breaks.

Tea Party Treats

For breakfast tea parties, we make PANCAKE SANDWICHES with cream cheese and strawberry jam layered in-between two pancakes. To make them extra fancy, cut the pancakes with a heart cookie cutter and let the red, strawberry jam shine through!

These Strawberry Jam Scones are perfect for tea time! Get the recipe here.

No-Bake Acorn Treats are fun and yummy for your tea party outdoors! Get the quick and easy how-to here.

If you’re just throwing together a tea party last minute, anything will do…a granola bar cut into bites, muffins, a bowl of popcorn. Your kids will love it!

A Tea Party for Fairies

If you don’t have fairies and fairy furniture, you can easily make some!

DIY Fairy Folk

DIY Fairy Furniture

Acorn Cap Treasures (aka Fairy Hats!)

Use cheerios to make FAIRY DONUTS. If you have a microwave, simply place one chocolate chip on top of a cheerio and zap it for a few seconds. Top with mini-sprinkles! We don’t have a microwave and melted the chocolate chips in a double-broiler on the stove-top and it worked just as well! For powdered fairy donuts, dip the cheerios in some maple syrup and then toss around in some powdered sugar. Silly, sweet, and so much fun!!!

If you don’t have a mini-tea set, you can use buttons for fairy plates and thimbles for the tea cups. Have the tea party on top of a box or a colorful pillow!

Please don’t think that if you have little boys that they can’t partake in your tea party fun! Everybody loves a party and if you must, call it a “picnic!” Enjoy!!!

Sprinkle Star Sugar Cookies (GF)

January 17, 2015September 27, 2015 Porter Leave a comment

The “DIY Planetarium for Kids” we built under our dining room table this week inspired these SPRINKLE STAR SUGAR COOKIES. (Since we use gluten free flour in everything we bake around here, these too are gluten free!!!)

I browsed around on the internet looking at other sugar cookie recipes and found a few recipes for “Sprinkle Cookies.” I adapted the recipes to what we had on hand and…Voila! SPRINKLE STAR SUGAR COOKIES!!!

These really are the quickest sugar cookies I’ve ever made…no refrigeration necessary before baking! And aren’t they adorable??? All those lil stars and mini-sprinkles… So yummy! So colorful! So much fun!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1-2 tsp vanilla extract
1 (1.25 oz) jar of Star sprinkles
1/3 – 1/2 jar mini-rainbow sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, cream of tartar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a med-large bowl, beat butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. (It’s important that your butter is at room temperature, nice and soft.) Add egg and vanilla, mix until combined. Next, add flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time, mixing until the dough is well-combined.

Add the stars and rainbow sprinkles. Mix, using a large spoon or spatula, until the sprinkles are evenly distributed.

Place tablespoon-sized balls of dough on cookie sheet. Make sure you leave about 1 inch on each side for spreading.

Bake for 8 minutes. The cookies will not brown and are still soft coming out of the oven, but as they cool they will harden. Let cool for about 5 min on the tray before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yumm!!!! See any constellations in your cookies???

GF Strawberry Jam Scones

January 16, 2015September 27, 2015 Porter Leave a comment

This quick, easy, absolutely delectable, melt-in-your-mouth recipe for GF STRAWBERRY JAM SCONES is adapted from Parents’ “Jammy Scones.” One of the best things about them is you probably already have all the ingredients in your cupboard! L and I whipped up these GF STRAWBERRY JAM SCONES one afternoon while WB took a nap. It was our first time making scones and was a big success!!!

It’s hard not to devour them all hot out of the oven! I had to hurry up and take a picture before they were gone! GF STRAWBERRY JAM SCONES are such a yummy breakfast on these chilly, winter mornings. If you make them the day before, just pop them in the oven for a minute or two to warm them up! Add a cup of coffee or tea…pure heaven!!!

Ingredients:

2 cups flour (I use Arrowhead Mills GF flour)
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cold
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 – 1/3 cup strawberry jam
egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1 1/2 tsp milk)

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a med-large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter into small cubes and add it to the flour mixture. Using your hands, mix, squeeze and crumble the mixture together until it’s crumbly.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and milk. Add the egg and milk to the flour mixture. Stir with a fork until evenly moist and the dough comes together.

Next, pour the mixture out on a floured surface and with flour on your hands, knead dough together. Separate the dough in half. Roll each half into a ball and then press flat with your hands. Makes about a 7 or 8-inch disk.

Transfer one disk to the cookie sheet. Spread the strawberry jam over the disk leaving a half-inch border. Lay the second disk on top of the first and pinch around the edges to seal them.

Carefully, cut the dough into 8 equal wedges and spread them apart a bit on the tray. Leave about 1 inch of space between the scones. Brush the tops with the egg wash. If you don’t have a brush, use a spoon to gently spread the egg wash around. If you want a little heart on top of each scone, gently press a mini-cookie cutter about 1/4-inch deep on top of each scone. So cute!!!

Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until the scones are gently browned. (Better brew some coffee or tea while you’re waiting!) Let cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.

This is when you think you’ll just take a teeny tiny taste of one and before you know it an entire STRAWBERRY JAM SCONE has disappeared! Good thing you had some coffee or tea ready to complete the moment! Enjoy!!!

Magical Fantastical Christmas Fudge

December 22, 2014January 12, 2016 Porter Leave a comment

This MAGICAL FANTASTICAL CHRISTMAS FUDGE is always a favorite among my friends and family…I make it every year! It’s quick and easy to make, looks beautiful, tastes divine, and the kids love to help with this one! The recipe is adapted from the “Sweet Dreams Chocolate Fudge” recipe by Max Brenner…we like to leave out the nuts and add some candy cane dust instead!

Ingredients:

1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow cream (clouds)
1 1/2 cups white sugar (princess diamonds)
2/3 cup evaporated milk (mountain snow)
1/4 cup butter (candy bricks)
1/4 tsp salt (the lost sea)
3 cups milk chocolate chips (from the milky way)
1-2 crushed candy canes (from Candy Cane Forest at the North Pole)
1 tsp vanilla extract (from a magical island)

Line an 8x8in pan with aluminum foil. Set aside.

In a large saucepan over med-low heat (on a scale of 10, put the stove on 4), combine the CLOUDS, PRINCESS DIAMONDS, MOUNTAIN SNOW, CANDY BRICKS and the LOST SEA. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly for 5-10 minutes. You don’t want the mixture to burn, but you do want the sugar to be good and melted so the fudge isn’t gritty…that’s why I turn the heat down to just below medium and stir, stir, stir!!!

Turn the heat off and pour in the CHOCOLATE CHIPS FROM THE MILKY WAY. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in the VANILLA FROM THE MAGICAL ISLAND and 1-2 tsp of crushed CANDY CANES FROM THE CANDY FOREST.

Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining CANDY CANE DUST on top. Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours or until firm. Lift the fudge out of the pan, holding onto the foil and place on a cutting board. Peal the foil down and cut into small squares. Store, layered in wax or parchment paper, in the refrigerator. Devour and enjoy!!!

DIY Peppermint Play Dough

December 17, 2014January 12, 2016 Porter Leave a comment

While you escape to the bathtub to enjoy your Candy Cane Sugar Scrub you need something to occupy the kids, right? So, here’s my recipe for PEPPERMINT PLAY DOUGH!

This play dough takes only a few minutes to make, but stored in a gallon-sized bag or an air-tight container, it’ll keep for nearly a year! Whenever L has friends or cousins over I love whipping up a batch of play dough…it keeps them happy and busy for at least an hour and I can split the dough in half and send the other kid home with some. This recipe makes plenty for 2 or 3 kids to play with!

A tip to keep your kids entertained playing with play dough for longer: Start off with plain play dough. Let them play 15 or 20 minutes, then throw some glitter into the mix. Once their attention starts to drift, add some colorful beads or buttons. Add some measuring cups and kitchen utensils, some lil plastic dinosaurs or army men. Just don’t give them everything at once, instead add to the play dough in intervals…works every time!

Ingredients:

2 cups + 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 Tbsp cream of tartar
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1.5 cups boiling water
food coloring
1/2 – 1 tsp peppermint oil

First, put the water on to boil. Add about 10 drops of red food coloring to the water. As the water is heating up, mix 2 cups of flour, salt and cream of tartar in a large mixing bowl. Then add and mix the vegetable oil into the flour mixture. Once the water is boiling, add it to the bowl and mix with a spatula. The dough will be a sticky mess while warm. Mix it as best you can, then let it cool off. After a few minutes cooling off, sprinkle your working surface with some of the remaining flour. Dump the play dough onto the flour, adding more flour to the top, and knead the dough. Continue working with the dough, adding a bit of flour as needed, til the dough is not sticky anymore and you’ve reached the desired consistency. Once the play dough is made, fold in the peppermint oil to make a fun smelling PEPPERMINT PLAY DOUGH! Enjoy!

Candy Cane Sugar Scrub

December 16, 2014January 12, 2016 Porter 2 Comments

As I was brainstorming the other day, thinking about switching out the honeysuckle oil in my Semisoft Honeysuckle Soap with peppermint oil, it occurred to me that I could try making something new altogether…a sugar scrub! Even better, a peppermint CANDY CANE SUGAR SCRUB! I had never made a sugar scrub before, but I figured it couldn’t be too hard and I was right…this one is easy peasy! What a beautiful, fun, tasty-smelling gift to give to friends this holiday season!

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup olive oil (you could also use coconut or almond oil)
1 tsp peppermint oil
red food coloring
candy cane (optional)

Materials needed:

2 jars
spoons
fork
rolling pin
freezer bag
mixing bowls
thin cardboard (old cereal box…optional)
scissors

First, put the 2 cups of sugar in a large bowl and slowing add the olive oil while mixing with a fork. The texture of the sugar scrub should be similar to wet sand.

Next, add the peppermint oil and mix thoroughly.

Once the sugar scrub smells like a delicious candy cane, divide the sugar scrub and put half of the mixture into a separate bowl. Add about 10 drops of red food coloring to one of the bowls and mix thoroughly.

Place your candy cane into a freezer bag (either the gallon or quart-size). Crush it finely with a rolling pin. Add the candy cane dust to the red sugar scrub mixture.

Now you have to decide how you’d like your sugar scrub to look in the jar…either a layered, candy cane effect or a peppermint candy swirl.

To make the layered jar, it’s pretty self-explanatory…just spoon some white sugar scrub in the jar, pat it down and spoon some of the red sugar scrub on top. Pat that layer down and repeat until the jar is full!

To maker a peppermint swirl, it takes a little more time, but is still rather easy. First, cut the cereal box-cardboard into three equally sized strips. Make sure they all fit across, inside the jar.

Next, cut about half an inch off the top of one strip. Cut a full inch off another strip. The shortest strip should be the height of the jar, not any shorter.

Now, with the middle sized strip and the tallest strip, make a vertical cut up the middle of the cardboard, leaving the top half-inch uncut. Place the shortest strip of cardboard inside the jar. Next, slide the mid-sized strip down on top of the shortest one. Follow with the tallest strip. Arrange the cardboard, so the jar is equally divided.

Next, carefully fill each section using a small spoon. Baby spoons work great, but if you don’t have one you could always roll some paper into a funnel-shape and use that.

Once the jar is filled and you’ve gently pressed down on the sugar scrub, very carefully removed the cardboard pieces one at a time. Voila! A peppermint swirl!

L and I took a shower together this morning to try out our new CANDY CANE SUGAR SCRUB creation…amazing! And fun! The sugar gently exfoliates the skin, leaving it nice and smooth. This sugar scrub smells good enough to eat!

Enjoy some pampering amidst all the craziness this holiday season!

DIY Semisoft Honeysuckle Soap

December 5, 2014September 28, 2015 Porter Leave a comment

I have to start by telling you that I’m not a fan of smelly soaps, smelly candles. I don’t even own perfume. This honeysuckle soap is perfect though…its mild smell reminds me of childhood summers, playing outside in the woods, drinking the lil drops of honeysuckle nectar pretending it was a real treat. Just about everyone I give this soap to has asked for the recipe. It’s just that good!

Ingredients:

1 bar of unscented, white soap (my favorite to use is Dove for sensitive skin)
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/2 to 1 tsp honeysuckle oil (I buy mine at the Handworks Gallery in Winchester, Va.)
4 drops red food coloring
10 drops yellow food coloring

Tools needed:

blender
cutting board and knife
cooking spray
paper towel
12 little jars and lids
hot glue gun and glue (optional, to secure lids)

First, put the water on to boil. While waiting for the water to boil, cut your bar of soap up into small pieces.

Place the soap into your blender. (Have the lil kids help with that step!) Pour in the boiling (or nearly boiling) water. Add the honeysuckle oil and food coloring.

Blend for 15-30 seconds. Your blender will fill to the top with foamy, lotion-like soap.

Prepare your jars with a quick spray of cooking oil. Follow by wiping the spray around the inside of the jar briefly with a paper towel.

Carefully pour the soap concoction into each little jar. Set the jars aside for a few hours before putting the lids on. The soap will firm up a bit, but will continue to have a creamy, semi-soft texture. (Most canning jars come with the lids in two pieces. Just use a hot glue gun to secure the lids together if you like. Don’t use super-glue or crazy glue!!! I made that mistake once and all the soap ended up smelling like toxic glue! Ick!)

Stick a little label on the lid; tie a ribbon or string around the jar and you have the perfect “anytime gift.” Enjoy!

No-Bake Acorn Treats

November 25, 2014December 3, 2015 Porter Leave a comment

I’ve been making these ACORN TREATS for Thanksgiving for a few years now. I wish I remembered the source where I originally saw them to give the right person credit…somewhere on this big internet universe! I usually pack my ACORN TREATS into little jars and give them away to family and friends on Thanksgiving day. They are so simple to make and everyone always gobbles them up immediately…I think I’d be in trouble if I came to Thanksgiving dinner without them anymore!

Ingredients:

Hershey Kisses (dark and original)
Nutter Butter Bites
mini-chocolate chips
chocolate frosting (in a pouch or in a can)

First, to make things go quicker, prepare your work station by taking the Kisses out of their wrappers, putting the mini-chocolate chips in a lil bowl and spreading out some Nutter Butter Bites nearby.

Put a little dab of chocolate frosting on one side of the Nutter Butter Bites and push a Hershey Kiss into place. (This is the perfect time for little hands to help!)

Put a teeny, tiny dab of chocolate frosting on the opposite side and push a mini-chocolate chip in place.

Presto! Too easy, right?

Place them in a little mason jar, tie a string or ribbon around the top and you have a sweet little gift to share! Enjoy!

Low Fat Nutella-Banana Bread (Gluten Free)

November 18, 2014September 28, 2015 Porter Leave a comment

Today I decided to incorporate Nutella into my favorite low fat banana bread recipe that I came up with years ago…and the results were amazing! Chocolatey, gooey Nutella mixed with sweet banana bread and the fat content works out to be only 2.5-3 grams per serving! This recipe made 12 muffins and one large loaf of bread.

Most people would probably mix the wet and dry ingredients separately and then combine, but I usually mix the wet ingredients then add the dry on top…mix the dry together a bit with a fork and then mix deeper, incorporating the wet ingredients.

Ingredients:

5 ripe bananas
1/3 cup applesauce
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour (I use all purpose Gluten Free flour)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1-2 tsp cinnamon
1/4-1/2 cup water
3/4 cup – 1 cup Nutella

**If you want to “half” the recipe, you can use 2 bananas, 1 egg and 1 eggwhite.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

First, mash the bananas in a large bowl (L’s favorite part!). Add the applesauce, eggs and vanilla and mix together.

On top of the wet ingredients, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. With a fork, mix the dry ingredients a bit. Add water. Mix deeper with a fork, hand-held beater, or electric mixer…beat until all is combined.

Spoon Nutella into an oven-safe bowl and melt in the oven for a few minutes. Carefully remove the bowl from the oven and stir with a fork. Spoon in about 1/3 of the banana bread batter into the bowl with the Nutella and mix gently with the fork.

For muffins, I like to use silicone muffin cups…been using the same ones for years. No spraying or buttering necessary. Fill each muffin cup about halfway with the banana batter. Then add a spoonful of the Nutella mixture on each muffin. Top each one off with another spoonful of banana batter. Swirl each muffin gently with a toothpick.

Bake for 23-25 min. The “clean knife” testing method doesn’t work too well with this recipe because the Nutella will always be a little gooey. I knew ours were done when the tops of each muffin had turned golden brown.

To bake in a loaf pan, grease first with butter. Again fill about halfway with banana bread batter, then add Nutella mixture and finish off with more banana batter. Swirl with a knife. Bake for 40-50 min.

Yummmm!!! Enjoy!!!