Home-Made Ranch Dressing & Dry Mix

We use Ranch a LOT in our house, so I was searching for a recipe to make my own (figured it would be a lot cheaper!).. anywho..  I found a few of them and decided to go with this one.  I found it here at The Crafty Blog Stalker.

You will need...
Black Pepper ¼ C
Parsley Flakes 1 1/2 C
Garlic Salt ½ C
Kosher Salt 2 T
Granulated Garlic ¼ C
Granulated Onion 3/4 C
Dill Weed 2 T

When you mix all of those together you have the dry ranch mix from the store, only you KNOW what is in this one! :)
 I keep mine in a cleaned out peanut butter container.

Here is the recipe to make ranch dressing with the dry mix from above...

You will need..
Mayonnaise  2 cups
Buttermilk  2 cups
Sour Cream 1½  cups
Lemon Juice 1 teaspoon
Dry Mix 2 Tablespoons

Mix all together in a large bowl.  I then dumped mine into a reused coffee creamer container. 
It is best stored in the fridge for 2 hours before you use it.

Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark

I found this recipe on Pinterest awhile back and pinned it for Christmas goodies.  The time has finally come!

This was YUMMY!  Will FOR SURE be made again, and NOT just for the Christmas season! :)

Here is the link I use for the recipe...

Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark

Though mine looked NOTHING like the pictures that they have posted.

I changed the recipe a little bit.. just because I thought this was better... the following has my adjustments made to it :)

 enough pretzels to cover a jellyroll pan

2 sticks of butter (1 cup total)

1 cup of brown sugar

1 1/2 bags of chocolate chips (I mixed it up and did a bag of chocolate and 1/2 a bag of butterscotch)

 parchment paper

 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees..

 

Cover the jellyroll pan with a piece of parchment paper..

Cover paper with pretzels..

 

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar until the sugar is dissolved..

Let it boil on a lower heat till it is thickened..

Remove from heat and pour onto pretzels.

 

Place pan in oven for about 5 mins..

 (this helps spread out the caramel topping to "cover" the pretzels)

 

Take out of the oven..

Put the chocolate chips over the pretzels & caramel..

Put back in oven for about a min.

 

Take out of oven and spread chocolate so it is flattened.

 

Place in freezer till caramel is hardened..

 (It only took about an hour for mine)

 

When ready, take out of oven..

 

Break into pieces and enjoy!

 

ImPress Press-On Manicure

I was recently choosen to get the College VoxBox from Influenster.  This post is about the ImPress Press-On Manicure.

This is the info provided to me..
ImPress Press-On Manicure: $5.99 for colors, $7.99 for patterns
Introdusing the revolutionary new way to apply polish!  Featuring advanced nail technology, you can get a salon-perfect manicure in seconds--simply peel off, press on, and you're done.  There's no drying, a killer shine, and a manicure that lasts up to a week.

I was going to use these last night, but found out that my thumb nails are too big.  (see picture below) 

I am going to put them on my 3 year old daughter since she LOVES having her nails done and I will update this post then with the pictures of them on her, how they went on, and how long they lasted.  :)

So, I had time tonight and put the nails on my daughter.  She LOVED them.. at first.  She wore them for a couple hours, and then got sick of them and wanted them off.  She was able to take them off herself. 

They looked super cute and wish they would have fit me.

Energy Sheets

I was recently picked to get an influenster College VoxBox.  This review entry is on the Energy Sheets.

I was provided with a card that had information on each product I recieved, this is what was on the card about the Energy Sheets.

Energy Sheets: $5.95 per pack or 10 sheets
Don't have the energy to finish all your school work and still enjoy campus life?  Try Energy Sheets, the new way to do energy.  Simply place a Sheet on your tongue where it dissolves instantly so it can be easily swallowed and digested to deliver hours of energy.  And no liquid means there's no bloating and no extra pit stops!

I used one of these Thanksgiving morning as I knew I was going to have a busy day followed by Black Friday shopping. 

YUCK!  I am glad I didn't spend $5.95 on these.  They are so gross!  I opened the package they were in, you can take up to 3 of them.  I am glad I started with one.  I put it on my tongue and the min I closed my mouth it stuck to the roof of my mouth, and it tasted awful!  And the after taste took forever to go away.

They may however work.  I was up for about 25 hours, between Thanksgiving and shopping.  I had about 12oz of a Rockstar, a med coffee from Starbucks, and one Energy Sheet, and I crashed when I hit my pillow, but until that point I wasn't sleepy.  So, I MAY try another without coffee or other engery drinks to see how it works then.

I also found they come in 2 other flavors besides Mint Boost.  They also come in Cinnamon Rush & Berry Blast, so maybe those might taste better.

Necco Tropical Wafer

I was recently picked to review items from Influenste . This one was called the "College VoxBox 2012".

This review is on the Necco Tropical Wafers.   My discription card gives this info..

Necco Tropical Wafers : $1.25 each, $24.00 per Box, $37.50 per Tub
Necco has introduced a new delicious candy item to be hitting store shelves soon, and you're lucky enough to try it first!  A tropical version of the famous Necco Wafer will feature exotic flavors like Coconut, Passion Fruit, Strawberry, Lime, Banana, and Mango.


I personally really liked the Strawberry, Banana, and Coconut.  I wasn't a fan or the Passion Fruit, Lime, or Mango.  The Lime left a bad taste in my mouth.  The Passion Fruit didn't taste very good at all.  The Mango wasn't horrible, but it wasn't good either.  I would eat the Mango, though it was hard to tell if it was Mango or Passion Fruit.

My 3 year old also liked them, she really didn't care what flavor it was.  I am sure I would buy these and share them with her.

PeanutButter Bird Feeder

I found these on Pinterest, but I can't find the page anymore.

I made these with my 2 year old & my 3 year old. 

What you need..
empty toilet paper rolls (or paper towel rolls would work too!)
peanut butter
bird seed (I just used the cheapest I could find at Wal-Mart)

I put some PB in a small dish for each kid and gave them a spoon to use to put it on the roll.  I am sure that they could have used their hands also!
I also gave them each a plate like the one shown in the picture with some bird seed on it.  The plate has a pretty good ridge on it to keep the seed in the plate.
My 2 year old was more interested in eating the PB, but still had a fun time! 
My 3 year old got into it, and even LOVED watching out the window at the birds eating from them.
The birds ate everything from the rolls.. even the PB!  We will deff be making these again.  :)

Iced Coffee

I have been looking for a way to make iced coffee at home, because we always end up with some left over after the hubby goes to work.  I stumbled upon this one on Pinterest awhile ago and finally decided to try it. 

Here is what it calls for..

10 cups of coffee
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of vanilla creamer


We were out of vanilla creamer (usually ends up at work with my husband!), so all we had at home was Almond Joy flavored creamer.

This is WONDERFUL!
I made as directed, but changed the vanilla creamer for the Almond Joy creamer.  I think it would be really good if you completely chilled it and put it in a blender with some ice.  YUM!


Here is the link where I found this recipe.

Shaving Cream Tub Paint

This is SUPER easy to make and a HUGE hit with the kids at bath time!

All you need is..
Shaving cream (I use the cheapest stuff I can find)
Food Coloring
Cups
Spoons (I use plastic ones, or you could use a type of paint brush too!)


Fill the cup with shaving cream.
Add food coloring to make the color you want.
Mix.
Play!

CornDog Muffins

I seen these on Pinteres , but failed to acctually read the recipe.. So.. I came up with this..

 

I took a box of Corn Bread mix and made it as directed on the box.

 

I then took a package of hotdogs and cut them up.

 

Then, mix the cut up hotdogs in with the cornbread mix.

 

Grease muffin pan.

 

Fill cups with hotdog/cornbread mix.

 

Bake as directed on the cornbread mix box.

Here they are finished.  Top with mustard, ketchup, or eat as they are!  My kids LOVED these!

 

Mini Fruit Pizza

I used Ready to Bake Pillsbury Sugar Cookies, and whatever fruit I had on hand.
Bake the cookies as directed on the package and set aside. 
Prepare/cut fruit that you want on your pizza and set aside.

For the sauce/frosting you will need..
1 c. sugar
1 lg. pkg. cream cheese
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix them together in a bowel.
Frost the cookies.
Top with fruit.
Enjoy!

These are great for any get together and are a BIG hit!

Rolo Sugar Cookies

I seen on Pinterest how to make sugar cookies filled with Rolos.  They looked SUPER yummy and though I would give them a try!

They were GREAT!

I used the Ready to Bake Pillsbury Sugar Cookies & 2 rolls of Rolos (make sure you get 3 because I ran out!).  You also need to freeze the Rolos before you use them to bake.

After the Rolos are frozen, take a cookie and smash is around the frozen Rolo, place on a cookie sheet, and bake as directed on the package.

Here is my finished product.  They were GREAT! 

PullUps Night Time training pants

After having two kids, one out of training pants & one still in them, I have tried MANY different ones.  I have ALWAYS found myself going back to the Pullups brand.  They seem to hold up better than the rest, hold more, and with stand a toddler's everyday life.

With my son, we have started using the Night Time Pullups.  I recently bought a package at Wal-Mart only to find out when I opened them that most of the pullups were not attached at the side like they usually are.  I finally got tired of having to pull them apart so I could put them together again, only correctly, so I e-mail Pullups and told them of my complaint.  They got back to me WITHIN 24 hours!  Thanked me for e-mailing them and are sending me coupons for getting a faulty package.

I have emailed and complained to a couple other companies, where their training pants won't even hold up to 3 hours of wearing, and heard NOTHING back.  I will continue to spend a couple extra dollars on the Pullups brand because they have WONDERFUL customer service, and a WONDERFUL product.

http://www.pull-ups.com/na/nighttime.aspx?WT.mc_id=PUG&WT.srch=1


(I BOUGHT these to use with my son, and am reviewing them because I LOVE them :)   )




***Oct. 29th I received in the mail 2 high dollar coupons for ANY Kimberly-Clark product :)

Munchkin Click Lock Sippy Cups

I recently found a couple coupons for the Munchkin Click Lock straw sippy cups, and since my kids needed some new cups I thought I would give them a try.

We bought a Hello Kitty one for my daughter..
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Munchkin-Hello-Kitty-Click-Lock-9-Oz-Insulated-Straw-Cup/20933039

And we bought a dino one for my son...
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Munchkin-Click-Lock-9-Oz-Insulated-Straw-Cup/20933019


After only having these cups for 3 days I will not buy these again, nor recommend anyone to buy them.

After the 1st day of the kids using them they had broke the lids that hold the straw down off.. the Hello Kitty one we have since found and fixed (for now!) but the dino one is still MIA.

Also, with the dino one, my son can only take a drink or two before he has to stop because the air is all gone and the straw closes up.  It then takes forever for it to release so he can drink from it again.

Here are some pictures of the cups..

 

This picture shows how we had to cut the straw.

This picture shows how far past the "click" we had to turn them before they were even tight.

You would think tight ment no leak.. but they still leaked.

 

This picture shows what they look like AFTER the click... when they should have been leak proof.

I purchased these cups on my own... I was not given them to do a review, I just wanted to share my opinion of these with you.


*** I have been emailing Munchkin and they are sending me replacement cups since they have a leak-proof guarantee.  Will add pictures once everything is said and done.  I will continue to buy Munchkin brand items, as I was very impressed with their customer service!
        I have gotten my replacement cups.  They were NOT the same cups, but I was totally OK with that!  We LOVE the replacement cups we got and will continue to buy the Munchkin brand cups! :)

Welcome!

Hello & Welcome!  Here I will be posting things I have tried.. and tell you what my personal opinion of the items/things is.  :)