Friday, March 29, 2013

How to Hard Boil Eggs in 12 Minutes

Ok, so I am thirty-something years old and I have never hard-boiled an egg.  I don't eat eggs ever, but do enjoy the occasional quiche.  I know, it doesn't make sense. 

Mason's school had sign-ups for helping in the classroom in September and I thought bringing hard-boiled eggs in for the class to decorate would be easy.  Again, I really don't know what I was thinking since I never did this. 

So, off to Google I went and found these super easy directions from simplyrecipes.com.  It worked like a charm and I had perfect eggs to send in with Mason!



How to Make Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs
  • Cook time: 12 minutes
 
Hints:
  • If you want hard boiled eggs that are easy to peel, make sure they are several days old. If this is Easter time, and everyone is buying their eggs at the last minute, buy your eggs 5 days in advance of boiling.  Hard boiling farm fresh eggs will invariably lead to eggs that are difficult to peel. If you have boiled a batch that are difficult to peel, try putting them in the refrigerator for a few days; they should be easier to peel then. If you need to hard cook fresh eggs, and want them easy to peel, steaming the eggs works well. Even fresh eggs steamed for 20 minutes will be easy to peel.
  • I also find that it is very hard to overcook eggs using this method. I can let the eggs sit, covered, for up to 15-20 minutes without the eggs getting overcooked.

Method

  1. Put the eggs in a single layer in a saucepan, covered by at least an inch or two of cold water. Starting with cold water and gently bringing the eggs to a boil will help keep them from cracking. Adding a tablespoon of vinegar to the water will help keep the egg whites from running out of any eggs that happen to crack while cooking, but some people find that the vinegar affects the taste.  Adding a half teaspoon of salt is thought to help both with the preventing of cracking and making the eggs easier to peel. Put the burner on high and bring the eggs to a boil. As soon as the water starts to boil, remove the pan from the heat for a few seconds.
  2. Reduce the heat to low, return the pan to the burner. Let simmer for one minute. (Note: If you are using an electric stove with a coil element, you can just turn off the heat. There is enough residual heat in the coil to keep the eggs simmering for a minute.)
  3. After a minute, remove the pan from the heat, cover, and let sit for 12 minutes. If you are doing a large batch of eggs, after 10 minutes you can check for doneness by sacrificing one egg, removing it with a slotted spoon, running it under cold water, and cutting it open. If it isn't done, cook the other eggs a minute or two longer. The eggs should be done perfectly at 10 minutes, but sometimes, depending on the shape of the pan, the size of the eggs, the number of eggs compared to the amount of water, and how cooked you like them, it can take a few minutes more. When you find the right time that works for you given your pan, the size of eggs you usually buy, the type of stove top you have, stick with it.
  4. Either remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and place them into a bowl of ice water (this is if you have a lot of eggs) OR strain out the water from the pan, fill the pan with cold water, strain again, fill again, until the eggs cool down a bit. Once cooled, strain the water from the eggs. Store the eggs in a covered container (eggs can release odors) in the refrigerator. They should be eaten within 5 days.


Chasing Tiny Feet

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Boo-boo Bunnies

Looking for a basket stuffer for Easter instead of candy?  Here is a super cute bunny idea to help your child feel better when they are down and out or have a boo-boo.

 
Materials:
  • small towel or washcloth
  • rubber band (or use clear plastic ponytail holders)
  • thin ribbon
  • google eyes
  • small pom-pom (for the nose)
  • craft glue

 Directions:
  1. Fold the washcloth in half to form a triangle, then roll it from the top point to the long side and fold in half. 
  2. Fold washcloth in half again so that the loose ends point back toward the original fold.  Place a rubber band around the washcloth about 2 inches from the fold. 
  3. Cover the rubber band with ribbon and make a bow. 
  4. Glue the eyes and pom-pom nose onto the bunny. 
  5. When the glue is dry, either insert a small ice pack or small plastic bag (snack size) inside the bunny's tummy section, with instructions to add ice to the bag or place a frozen ice pack inside the boo-boo bunny.
  6. Place in your child's Easter basket and you will be ready to give to your toddler to help get rid of ouchies when needed.

 

 

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

FREE Easter Printables



I cannot believe Easter is right around the corner!  I will be decorating around the house this week for sure.  Along with my usual decorations, I will have Mason color some pages to hang around the house to show off his brilliant use of colors!


Click HERE for printable letters from the Easter Bunny and Easter coloring pages from FreeEasterPrintables.com

Click HERE for Easter mazes, coloring pages, cards, egg decoration printables, mini Easter basket printables, and word puzzles from kaboose.com

Click HERE for coloring pictures of Easter eggs, Easter bunnies, baskets and more from freecoloringpages.com.

Click HERE for free Easter craft patterns and projects. Print and color your own Easter holiday coloring books, calendars, games, and more from About.com

Click HERE for Easter word searches, coloring pages and more from momsbreak.com

Click HERE for free Easter printables from coloringbookfun.com

Click HERE for free Easter coloring printables from coloringpages.net

Click HERE for the cutest free personalized letter from the Easter Bunny to your child from easterbunnyletters.co.uk

Click HERE for free Printable 3D Easter Bunnies from allfreeprintables.com

Click HERE for free Easter coloring pages from hp.com.  Once you are there, be sure to click around on their site.  They have other free printables like cards and games too.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

I'm back....


  
SO... I was busy planning Amanda's First Birthday party!  I can't believe she turned a year old on March 9, 2013!  In addition, to her birthday festivities, we have been busy with doctor appointments, as Amanda has to have tubes put in her ears early next month.  So, as you can imagine between party planning and attending to a sick child, I have been overly busy over here.

No worries tho!  While I was busy and not posting a whole lot, I was busy finding new recipes, crafts, and ideas to share with you.  You will see some going up in the next couple of weeks!



Chasing Tiny Feet

Crescent Roll Cheesecake Recipe

Can you say YUM! I am trying this for Easter as a dessert, but I think it would be good for any occasion. I really can't see how you can go wrong!


Crescent Roll Cheesecake~~Southern Mama


2 cans Pillsbury Crescent rolls
2-8oz Cream Cheese (room temperature)
1 1/2 cups Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 stick butter (1/2 cup real butter not margarine)



Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Unroll and press 1 can crescent rolls into the bottom of your baking dish press the seams together. In a separate bowl blend the cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and 1 tsp vanilla (Tina used a tsp and a half, because she loves vanilla extract. I think it would be fun to try other extracts like almond extract) spread over top of dough. Unroll the second can of crescent rolls and place on top of the cream cheese mixture pressing seams together again. Melt butter and pour over top layer of crescents. Mix the reaming 1/2 cup of sugar & cinnamon together. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture generously over the top. If you don’t think that’s enough cinnamon sugar on top add more its really up to you there’s no rules on this part of the recipe. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until bubbly and bottom crust is slightly brown. Cool, slice and enjoy!
Crescent Roll Cheesecake~~originally by Southern Mama's Down Home Cookin

Ingredients:
  • 2 cans Pillsbury Crescent rolls
  • 2-8oz Cream Cheese (room temperature)
  • 1 1/2 cups Sugar
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1 stick butter (1/2 cup real butter not margarine)
 
Directions:


  1. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Unroll and press 1 can crescent rolls into the bottom of your baking dish press the seams together.
  2. In a separate bowl blend the cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and 1 tsp vanilla.  Spread over top of dough.
  3. Unroll the second can of crescent rolls and place on top of the cream cheese mixture pressing seams together again.
  4. Melt butter and pour over top layer of crescents.
  5. Mix the reaming 1/2 cup of sugar & cinnamon together. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture generously over the top. If you don’t think that’s enough cinnamon sugar on top add more its really up to you there’s no rules on this part of the recipe.
  6. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until bubbly and bottom crust is slightly brown. Cool, slice and enjoy!


Chasing Tiny Feet