DIY Edible Easter Basket

Easter is just days away and baskets are on my list this week. I like to have them finished and put together before Easter weekend because it's always very busy. While the kids are easy to shop for when it comes to baskets, the hubs is more of a challenge. I don't go all out for him but always like to do something little to let him know I was thinking of him. 

This year, I decided to make him a candy basket. I saw a picture on Pinterest and figured it would be easy to make and fun to gift. It definitely was easy to make, only taking about 10 minutes to put together. Hopefully it's a gift that will make him smile. Maybe he'll even share some of the candy with me...

Materials: 

4 boxes of candy

hot glue gun with glue sticks

Nerds rope

Easter grass

cardstock

small candy for filling

Directions:

1. Hot glue the boxes together at the edges. 

2. Trace the outside of the candy boxes onto a piece of cardstock. Cut out the rectangle you created. Glue it to the bottom of the boxes. This is creating a bottom to the box so that you can fill the basket without things falling through. 

3. Hot glue the Nerds rope to the middle of two of the candy baskets. 

4. Fill the basket with Easter grass. 

5. Add some candy to the top. 

Easter Snack Mix

Easter is around the corner and today I'm going to share an easy snack mix with you. 

This snack mix is perfect for Easter egg hunts, playdates or just for fun for the littles! 

Snack mixes are always something fun to make for the holidays. I love all of the Easter themed candy and snacks that are out, they make putting these snack mixes together much more fun and festive. I have one very picky eater in my house and what I love about snack mixes is that chances are she'll find something she will eat in the mix. 

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 cups of Chex

1 1/2 cups of stick pretzels

1 cup of cheddar bunny crackers

1 cup of spring M&M's

1 cup of bunny animal cookies

1 cup yogurt raisins

Directions:

Mix ingredients in a bowl and serve!

This recipe makes a large bowl of snack mix. You can either serve it at a party or keep it in a sealed freezer bag and use it as needed. 

For more festive fun, check out our bunny breakfast! 

Easter Bunny Juice Boxes

Last weekend, we put up all of the Easter decoration in our house. At three years old, AG gets really excited about the holidays. Her excitement makes them just that much more fun. The one thing she doesn't quite understand yet is that they're just one day and they're gone as quickly as they're here. She still asks for Christmas decorations or Valentine's Day hearts. Thankfully, when one holiday passes, there is another around the corner. 

I thought it would be fun to kick off the Easter holiday with a little bunny breakfast to get AG excited about the upcoming holiday before we took out all of the decorations. One of the decorations I put together for the breakfast was little bunny juice boxes. They took less than 5 minutes to make and AG absolutely loved them. I think they're pretty cute too! Now, everyday she asks for a bunny juice box. 

Materials: 

1 white pom pom for the tail

1 colored pom pom for the nose

2 pipe cleaners

2 eyes

1 sheet of pink cardstock

1 sheet of white cardstock

juice box

black marker/ pen

Directions: 

1. Remove the straw from the back of the box. 

2. Measure the height of the juice box on the white paper. I measured each side of the juice box across the length of the paper and cut it out. You want it long enough to wrap around the entire box. 

3. I hot glued white paper with a thin line of glue around the juice box. Make sure there isn't excess paper at the bottom, or else the juice box won't stand up. 

4. Once the paper is on and the juice box in white, glue the white pom pom to the back to make a tail. 

5. Next, cut the pipe cleaners to make 6 pieces. You can make these as small or as big as you'd like. When glueing the pipe cleaners, I put a small dot in the center of the juice box and attached the pipe cleaners. Do this for all 6. 

6. Once pipe cleaners are attached, glue the colored pom pom on top to make the nose. 

7. Next, glue on the eyes. 

8. Now it's time to make the ears! I just winged it for these. I used the leftover white paper to make the ears. Once the outside of the ear was cut to the size that worked for the box, I did the same with the pink paper inside. 

9. I glued the pink paper to the white to make the ears. Next, I glued the bottom of the ears and attached them to the back of the juice box. 

That's it! You're kids will think you're the best once you whip these out! 

Mini Carrot Cake Muffins

I wasn't sure whether to call these muffins or mini cakes.  I decided that since they were made in a mini muffin pan, muffins they would be. If you didn't add the icing on top, these would be the perfect bite sized breakfast treats. With the icing on top, they become a fabulous dessert.  

I made these for Easter this year. While looking for items to add to my menu, I looked for simple recipes. I was three and a half months pregnant at Easter. I was sick, exhausted and not really in the mood for spending all Easter in the kitchen making a meal. These muffins ended up being the perfect dessert. They were quick, easy to make and even easier to just pop in your mouth. The little one snacked on them from the minute they came out of the oven. She was a big fan. Everyone else enjoyed them after our lunch. I loved that they weren't too filling yet satisfying for the sweet tooth. Exactly what we needed after a filling Easter lunch.

Mini Carrot Cake Muffins

Courtesy of Six Sisters' Stuff

Bite-Size Carrot Cake:
(Makes 48 cakes)
Ingredients:1 carrot cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 8 oz can crushed pineapple
1/2 cup raisins
3/4 cup coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Cream Cheese Frosting

Directions:Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix together cake mix, eggs, oil, pineapple, raisins, coconut, and walnuts until completely incorporated. Spoon the mixture into greased mini muffin tins, until each one is about 2/3 full. Bake for 15 minutes. Let cool completely, and then top with frosting. I used store bought frosting and a Pampered Chef icing tip.  ]

Bacon Cheddar Deviled Eggs

Deviled eggs are an Easter tradition at our house. I absolutely love them and have no idea why I don't make them more often.  Every holiday I try a new recipe.  Not because I haven't found one I like, but because there are so many amazing recipes out there.  This one was probably a personal favorite.  It's the first time I've made them with bacon and I don't think I'll go back from here.  Hubs agreed.  We definitely won't be waiting until Easter to make these again. Enjoy!

Bacon Cheddar Delived Eggs

Courtesy of Kitch Me

Ingredients Serves 24

1. 12 egg
2. 1⁄2 cup mayonnaise
3. 4 slice bacon
4. 2 tbsp cheddar cheese, finely shredded
5. 1 tbsp mustard

Directions

1. Place eggs in a saucepan, and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Cover, and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, and cool. To cool more quickly, rinse eggs under cold running water.
2. Meanwhile, place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Alternatively, wrap bacon in paper towels and cook in the microwave for about 1 minute per slice. Crumble and set aside.
3. Peel the hard-cooked eggs, and cut in half lengthwise. Remove yolks to a small bowl. Mash egg yolks with mayonnaise, crumbled bacon and cheese. Stir in mustard. Fill egg white halves with the yolk mixture and refrigerate until serving.

Peep Brownies

How cute are these?

A friend of mine posted a picture a few days before Easter of this adorable dessert.  

I knew I had to make them.  

Ingredients: 

Brownie Mix

Green Icing

Peeps

Peanut M&M's 

Directions: 

Make the brownies according to the package directions.  

Bake them in a brownie pan (I love my Pampered Chef pan) 

When they're done, let them cool on a cooling rack.

After they are completely cooled, use the green icing to make it look like grass.
I cheated and bought the Betty Crocker Cupcake Icing with tips.
It was so easy, worth the extra few dollars.
After that, place a peep and some M&M's on top.

These treats are sure to be the talk of the party! 

Spring Yarn Wreath

Last year, I made this wreath for spring/ summer.  This year I wanted something different.  I wanted something bright and fun.  Something that made people smile when they looked at my front door.  When I was at the store last week, I picked up the perfect yarn that I knew would make a perfect wreath.  

Materials: 

Foam Wreath

Yarn

Fabric Scraps 

Buttons

Hot Glue

Ribbon

Instructions: 

Wrap the wreath with yarn.  I bought multicolored yard in spring colors. 

Once you're finished tie the ends together in a double knot.  

Next, you make the flowers using coordinating colors.  

Here is the tutorial I used to make the flowers.  

I used two different circles to make two different size flowers.

  When they were finished, I just hot glued them to the wreath.  

From here, you can use ribbon to hang it or hang it just the way it is off a hook.  

I did both and decided I liked the look of the ribbon better.  

That's it.  The entire wreath took me less than an hour. 

It brightens up the front of our house, I love it! 

Egg Garland

This project was inspired by Pinterest.  I remember pinning it last year but never got around to making it.  This year I made sure to add it to the top of my list and gave myself a good amount of time to get it done.  This entire project took me about 20 minutes and didn't cost a thing since I used items I already had at home.  

Aren't those the best kind of projects?!? 

Materials: 

Paint Chips

Yarn

Hole Punch

White Chalk Marker 

Egg Shaped Tracer

Instructions: 

I started out with paint chips I grabbed at WalMart.  

Next, I used an oval/ egg cookie cutter to trace shapes on all of the paint chips. 

Make sure to trace on the back, not the colored side.  

Then you don't have to worry about cutting it perfect. 

After that, I decorated the eggs with a chalk marker.  

You could use paint but the white for the chalk marker shows up best for me.  

To finish it up, I hole punched the top of the eggs and put yarn through the holes.  

I used a scrapbook hole punch, smaller than the regular paper punches. 

The holes were just big enough for the yarn to fit through.  

That is it.  Now find the perfect place to hang it up! 

Easter Jars

Easter is just around the corner.  I don't have a lot of Easter decorations, so I headed to Pinterest for a little pinspiration.  

After searching for seconds I found an idea that I could recreate with items I already had at home.  I used to large glass jars, plastic eggs, Easter grass and peeps.  

Here is my final creation...

Ranch Deviled Eggs

I love me some deviled eggs!  I selfishly add them to every holiday menu and know I'll be the one enjoying them the most.  I may even set some aside before I put them out for the guests/family to enjoy.  This again, was an Easter recipe from Betty Crocker.  We enjoyed the eggs while we were cooking before our pasta course.  I love ranch dip and thought the addition of ranch to the typical deviled eggs recipe was genius! I enjoyed more than I'd like to admit, they were just. that. good.  Please note: I did not add any salt to this recipe and felt it did not need any.  Taste before you add salt.  I also omitted the chives, hubs doesn't like them. 


Ingredients:

12	eggs
3	teaspoons dry ranch dressing mix (from 1-oz envelope)
1/3	cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
1	teaspoon Dijon mustard
1	tablespoon chopped chives 1In 4-quart saucepan or Dutch oven, place eggs in single layer. Add enough water to cover eggs by 1 inch. Heat to boiling. Immediately remove from heat; cover and let stand 15 minutes. Drain; rinse with cold water. Place eggs in bowl of ice water; let stand 10 minutes. 2To remove shell, crack it by tapping gently all over; roll between hands to loosen. Peel, starting at large end. 3Cut eggs lengthwise in half. Into medium bowl, slip out yolks; mash with fork. Stir dressing mix, mayonnaise and mustard into yolks. 4Spoon or pipe yolk mixture into egg white halves. Sprinkle with chives. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving

Easter Egg Nests

Here comes peter cottontail…

Easter is right around the corner and I am looking forward to it.  I've been in a baking mood lately and have enjoyed coming up with some different holiday creations.  This is now the third time in three weeks I've made a variation of my snickerdoodle cups.  These cups couldn't be easier and are under $5 to make. I've now stocked up on cake mix and frosting incase I need to make these on a whim.  I have to say that this is the best one yet.  My absolute favorite.  They tasted like little german chocolate cakes. 

Ingredients: 

1 box of devil's food cake mix

1 egg

1 stick of butter (melted) 

green food coloring

1 cup of coconut

Robin's Eggs (whoppers) 
Frosting of your choice 

Directions: 

Melt your butter then add the cake mix and then the egg. Mix until it forms dough. 

Once you get your  dough, simply scoop into a mini muffin pan. I greased mine first. 

Bake at 350* for 8-10 min (until light brown)

When your cups come out of the oven they will be slightly brown, spray a mini tart shaper with cooking spray to help them not stick and press down the center of each cup. This will make the brownie bites in to a cup. 

Once all the tops are pressed down and the bites have cooled a bit, move them to a cooling rack. 

To finish them off, fill with your favorite frosting. 

I used chocolate buttercream for this recipe.  

Place a cup of coconut in a plastic bag and add a few drops of green food coloring.  Mix thoroughly until coconut is the color you want.  Empty onto a paper towel. I let it dry for 10 minutes.  Place 1-2 tsp of coconut on top of the frosting.  

Top them off with 2-3 Robin's Eggs.  

Happy Easter!

Easter Basket Cupcakes

How cute are these?  I decided to make my students a special treat before the Easter weekend.  Thanks to Publix's BOGO on Duncan Hines Cake mix, I now have over 10 boxes at home.  I didn't feel like making a cake, so cupcakes it was.  

I made confetti cupcakes and frosted them with vanilla icing.  I bought Starburst jelly beans as "eggs" and sour strawberry straws for the basket handle.  I added some sprinkles to the cupcakes for additional color.  Love Love Love how these turned out.  I can't wait to see what my students think tomorrow! 

*Note: I used the entire straw and pushed both ends into the cupcake.  

TP Bunnies

I was instantly in love with this No Sew TP Bunny the moment I saw them over at Oopsey Daisy.  As I scrolled through her tutorial, I realized that I had all of the materials.  So of course, I made one three.  I brought one into my classroom and my students were obsessed with it all day.  I’m probably going to keep the other and give the last one as an Easter gift.  I may even make some more, they’re too cute not to share!

I did make a few changes to the materials.  I didn’t have white felt or ric rac.  So I used white and pink foam for the ears.  Then I used a Sharpie paint pen for the eyeballs and pipe cleaners for the whiskers. 

Love how they turned out.  You HAVE to try one!