Nutcracker Inspired Dress-up Ballet Skirt

Last year Emilie and I went to the Pacific Northwest Ballet's Nutcracker. She loves to dress up in ballet outfits and gymnastics leotards and dance around, so I thought she would enjoy having a long ballet skirt to recreate some scenes from the ballet.

I found a long tulle dress at a thrift store and transformed it into this skirt.

Look for a fancy dress roughly the size of the child you are making it for. One that fastens with buttons up the back, and has a sash that cinches the waist are a plus. The sash isn't entirely necessary, but it makes it simpler. If you find a great dress with no sash, you could make a sash and attach it, or make a waist band from elastic - you would have to improvise something to keep the skirt on the child. Here is the one I found:

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List of Materials:
dress (wash and dry it)
needle (I used a longish strongish one to sew through the layers, but I don't know that it matters)
good quality thread
relatively sharp scissors
pins

How To Do It:

1. Fold the bodice into the skirt, leaving a 2-3 inch "waistband".  Make your waistband the size of the sash. See how it lays. This will tell you what cuts you need to make in the bodice. Mine laid quite nicely, so I knew I wouldn't have to make that many cuts, and could leave most of the bodice intact. I knew this would be helpful to prevent unraveling, and would add more body to the skirt, always a plus with a poofy skirt. 

2. Cut your bodice through the top of the sleeve, as if you are cutting from the center of the arm through the shoulder seam. If your dress has long sleeves, I would recommend trimming those off. (You could use that fabric to make a sash if your dress doesn't have one)

3. Tuck the bodice back in and pin the waistband. I found it helpful to pin at the top and bottom of the waistband, so I knew it could lay half-way nicely once sewn. It does not have to be perfect. This is dress-up, and your kid doesn't care if it's perfect.

4. Form the waistband by sewing (tacking, really) around the bottom of the waistband, just above the skirt seam. I did mine every 1/2 inch or so. The picture below is the outside of the waistband. See how the needle is going back into the fabric close to where it is coming out? That's what you want to do on the outside. On the inside of the waistband is where you will travel the 1/2 inch. I like to sew with double thread, so that it's easier to knot the ends when you need to change thread. I'm sure this is "wrong" but it works for me (my mother didn't teach me this - I take all responsibility - Hi Mom! Love you!). This is the hard part because it takes a while, especially if you are making it for a bigger kid, because, bigger waist. But mine only took me 2 or so days to sew up - working on it whenever I had some free time.

 5. Wa-la! Here are finished pictures of the waistband. You can see why it's useful to have a button opening - so the waist opening is already finished. When Emi wears it, she just puts it on and we tie the sash to keep it snug.

You can see that my waistband is not perfectly perfect, but you absolutely can't tell when it's being worn.

After wearing it for a while, she asked me to tack the sash to the waistband in the back, because the back waistband would slip below the sash when she was dancing around. So I tacked it down 2-3 inches from the back opening, This helped keep the waistband up. No picture of this....sorry.

If you have any questions about a step, let me know.

One last picture for you of my ballerina:

 aaaaand another one.

Apple Muffins

Hi friends. 

This is a recipe from my dad's side of the family, and it's the most delicious fresh treat you can make with apples.  I've yet to be proven wrong on this, but feel free to bring me nummy apple treats in an attempt to prove me wrong. Please. 

These are basically apples with a bit of muffin mix holding them together. Try them! You won't be sorry. 

Oven to 400 (I do 375 because my oven runs a bit hot)

Grease muffin tins. I don't use paper liners. I think they would tend to stick to the liners, and they just pop right out of the muffin tin, even when hot.

Mix:

4 c chopped apples (usually 3 granny smiths)

1 c nuts (pecans or walnuts best)

1 c raisins (I leave this out, but it's in the original recipe)

1 c sugar (I use 1/2 c and add 8 drops vanilla stevia to the egg mix)

Mix:

2 eggs

1/2 c oil (you can do 1/4 c oil & 1/4 c apple sauce, but it makes a difference)

1 t vanilla

1 t baking soda

Mix:

2 c flour (sub gluten free if you like - add 3/4 t xanthum gum)

2 t baking powder

2 t cinnamon

1 t salt

Stir apple and egg mixtures together, add flour mixture.

Pile high in muffin tins.

Bake for 30 minutes until tops are dark golden brown.

These are about 300 calories if you use 1/2 the sugar. I limit myself to one for breakfast, one for lunch, and one for snack. And another for second snack. And I think we may have them again for breakfast tomorrow. 

Happy fall!!!

Goat Cream Cheese

I'm inspired to share this with you today because one of my dreams has come true. My daughter, Emilie, has made our cream cheese two times in a row.

Imagine a world where someone else is responsible for and enthusiastic about a food staple that should always be in your fridge, ready to feed the family. That's right, people, the stuff dreams are made of. 

To quote Emilie this morning, "Hey! If I made this when we would need it the next day, instead of waiting till we do need it, that would be really good!" I love this girl.  I love her, I love her, I love her. Love. 

Goat Cream Cheese
1 log goat cheese
3/4 cup to 1 cup heavy whipping cream (cow)
- cream together.
Allergy Notes: I think you could make this with another type of milk. I would start with 1/2 a cup and add more as needed. 

Our favorite ways to use this are:
- goat cream cheese toast, way better than butter. Sprinkle with a bit of salt, fresh ground pepper & Kirkland Signature No-Salt Seasoning. Or strawberry jam. Or onions and lox. Etc.
- on tilapia, with Kirkland Signature No-Salt Seasoning, salt and pepper, baked in the oven.
- in enchiladas for added creaminess and flavor.
- a tablespoon of it on lentil soup or chili adds delicious flavor.

You can add herbs, onions, citrus juices as you like.

Here is a what the No Salt Seasoning looks like from Costco. It's really great.

Let me know if you make it and like it! It's a much cheaper to make it this way (and it makes enough to enjoy all week), instead of buying it at Trader Joe's in a teeny-tiny container that is gone in one setting. Enjoy!

Goings On

Here are some happenings in our neck of the woods:

My parents finally! moved into their house. So happy for them to sleep in their comfy bed again, and to help them move their furniture in to their new home! 

delicious breakfast before a day of heavy lifting

Dennis' version of hugging my dad. Probably smart on moving day...it was a little stressful. :) 

First cousin sleepover at Nana & Papa's. Oy, the politics of who sleeps where and next to whom.

My smart talented daughter made this out of an old T-shirt of Dennis'. That's right, people. Sans pattern. On her bed. Fit it to herself. She came down with it on and I was like, "What!?" I hope she feels as cool as she is, cause she's pretty cool.

Let's just make Taylor the Star of the Week:  her Herbst appliance was just removed, and she's just about to have lower braces put on. So it will be 16 months before she looks quite like this again.

And here she is with lower braces on:

Wishing you all happy days! Stay warm!

Simple DF Ranch Dressing (otherwise known as 'The Reason My Kids Eat Raw Vegetables')

This recipe was given to me by my friend, Eileen (thanks, Eileen!!!). I keep a container of it in the fridge, alongside containers of cut-up broccoli, thinly sliced carrot sticks & sliced cucumbers. The kids pack their own lunches, and they never "forget" to add vegetables if this dip is on hand.

Combine and whisk:
2 cups mayo (Best foods or Costco's Kirkland Brand)
Juice of 1 large lemon 
6-8 cloves of garlic, pressed through garlic press
4 tablespoons finely chopped onion (I'm pretty generous with the onion & don't measure)
1/2 to 1 teaspoons of salt to taste
pepper to taste (1/2 teaspoon) 
a pinch of cayenne (I've put this in and left it out - kids ate it either way)

You will need to add a bit of liquid at this point to thin it to your desired consistency. Things I've used in the past:
    - squeeze another lemon (or half) into it
    - add some milk, milk alternative or cream, a bit at a time, whisk 
    -  use a food processor to process your onion instead of finely chopping so it releases more juice. A good alternative if your kids won't be receptive to finely chopped onion in the dip.

Eileen's recipe also called for 4 teaspoons dill, but I don't add that because I have two very picky tasters. For them, simpler is better.

You may want to 1/2 this recipe if you have a smaller family.

Can you think of other tasty ways to thin it? Let me know in the comments. 

Gluten Free Pancakes - pretty delicious

I am making a double batch of these this morning: 
http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2011/08/karinas-gluten-free-pancakes.html

My daughter, Emi, says these are the best pancakes ever, and I agree. They don't fall apart or get soggy in syrup like some gf pancakes can.

And for the wheat kids, I am trying out a pancake recipe from Gwyneth Paltrow's cookbook.

I make a bunch, freeze them, and the kids have fresh toaster pancakes for a couple of weeks.

Dessert for Breakfast - Cinnamon Doughnut Muffins

I made wheat muffins for some high schoolers this morning, and then adapted this recipe for my kid's breakfast. These are a treat...not healthy enough for every day. I'll end up making them more healthy for everyday eating, but if you are looking for a treat you can whip up with pantry ingredients, this is a good one. 

Preheat your oven to 375.

Combine:
1/2 cup liquid oil (melted butter or earthbalance, vegetable oil or olive oil)
1 c sugar (I reduced this to 3/4 cup, but some gf flours taste funny without enough sugar)
1.5 t nutmeg
1 egg (could leave this out if you need to)

Mix in:
1 c milk (I used 1/2 almond milk & 1/2 heavy whipping cream :D because Emilie tolerates the cream)

Mix in:
2 cups flour (I used 1 c brown rice flour, 1/2 c sorghum flour, 1/2 c tapioca starch & 1/2 c potato starch)
1 teaspoon xantham gum
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon salt (could leave this out if making with wheat flour)

Bake at 375 for 17 minutes till toothpick comes out clean.

Melt butter or df margarine (1/4 to 1/2 cup).

Dip muffin tops in butter, then in cinnamon sugar (1 c sugar to 2 teaspoons cinnamon)

Enjoy! (my kids sure did:)

Notes: Next time I will use all almond milk & replace some sugar with something else (not sure what yet), and replace the tapioca and potato starches with brown rice flour to see if I can make it more healthy but still delicious.