Going BANANAS....Banana Split Dessert, Bananas Foster Upside Down Cake and...Easter Fun!

Hey Y'all......thought I better stop by and send a shout-out to my PEEPS:)

I hope everyone is doing well and getting ready for SPRING!!

I didn't mean to be gone so long but with a few health problems,
birthdays and busyness in general............life happens.
I promised myself that I would try to do more frequent, 
short posts but I find myself
 with a ton of stuff to share and I figure I better
 cram it all in, once again:)
So here we go..........

First up, one of my ALL-TIME FAVORITE desserts,
and perfect for Easter!
Banana Split Dessert 
We've made this in our family for years and I cam across it recently in 
one of our old cookbooks.
Everything about this is pure YUM. 
 TRUST ME:)

Seriously, this is so good I think you just need to try it:)
Banana Split Dessert

2 cups graham crackers 

1/2 cup butter melted 

1/2 cup butter 

2 cups sifted powdered sugar 

2 eggs 

5 bananas 

1 15 1/2 ounce can crushed pineapple, well drained 

1 8 ounce container frozen whipped dessert topping, thawed 

semisweet chocolate, shredded 

1/3 cup chopped nuts optional 

maraschino cherries 

In a mixing bowl toss together the graham crackers and the melted 1/2 cup 

butter.  Press crumb mixture onto the bottome of a 13X9X2 inch baking 

pan.  In a small mixing bowl beat the remaining 1/2 cup butter about 

30 seconds til softened.  Add powdered sugar; beat till fluffy.  Beat in eggs. 

Spread egg mixture over crumb mixture. 

 Slice bananas lengthwise into halves 

and arrange over egg mixture.  Spoon pineapple over bananas.  Spread with 

dessert topping.  Sprinkle with chocolate and the nuts, if desired.  Cover 

refrigerate at least four hours before serving.,  Cut inot squares to serve. 

Top each square with a cherry.  Cover and chill to store.  Serves 15. 

From the Avon International Cookbook 1983 

Ready for more banana goodness?

How does Bananas Foster Upside Down Cake sound?

Pretty good if you ask me:)

So here you go........

Bananas Foster Upside Down Cake

1 cup brown sugar, packed

3/4 cup butter, softened and cut into pieces, (divide 1/4 cup for sauce and 1/2 cup for cake)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 large bananas, yellow but firm, sliced diagonally into 1/4-inch pieces

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sour cream

Place brown sugar, 1/4 cup of the butter and cinnamon in a small saucepan. Heat over medium low heat until butter is melted and mixture is smooth, stirring occasionally.

Pour into a 9-inch round cake pan or a 9" square pan.

Arrange banana slices over brown sugar mixture.

Place remaining 1/2 cup butter and sugar in a large bowl; 

beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

At low speed, beat in flour mixture in 3 parts alternating with sour cream,

 beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Spread batter over bananas.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 min or until cake is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in pan on wire rack 15 minute.

Run small knife around edge of cake; carefully invert cake onto serving plate. Serve warm.

Before we get to the fun stuff,
here's another cute idea for Easter.......Deviled Egg Chicks!

Simply make your usual recipe for deviled eggs but instead of slicing the egg
lengthwise, slice it horizontally and scoop out the filling that way.  

(Does that make sense?))

Add peppercorn eyes and a tiny carrot nose and you have the perfect brunch dish:)

Okay.......moving on to some fun stuff!
I think I am desperate for little kids again.
I know this for sure.......
if i did have a little one, I would grab some cotton balls, 

cut out bunny shapes and make a bunny photo frame of my kiddos!
Like it?

Using those plastic eggs and some pipe cleaners, make some egg bunnies to hold
a little treat.  This would be a great way to share treats with the rest of the class:)

Next is one of my favorites.......
Now you can "egg" your neighbors (without getting in trouble:)
I made this one because to me, it's the perfect combo of Easter Bunny fun
with a lesson/reminder on the TRUE meaning of Easter.
The reason we celebrate...........our risen Savior.

The obvious thing to do would be to share this with families with children.
However, I think the opposite would be a wonderful treat.
Do you have an elderly couple or someone living alone, who may like to wake up to some eggs in their lawn on Easter?
Now that would be a special treat:)

If you do a search online for "you've been egged", you'll find many variations on this.

Easter treats.........

these are so adorable!

I tried looking around for the exact instructions but came up empty.

However, it looks like these cute faces were made with pumpkin cookie cutters!

CLEVER!!

 Oh gosh, I have to share these EVERY year..........
Bunny Butt Cookies!
 
Here is the link with instructions: Bunny Butt Cookies

Kids would LOVE these straws.........
PEEPS Straws!

How about some bunny pancakes?

This is sooooo cute:)

Need a last minute favor?

These are super cute and easy...Cotton Tail donut Holes.

Follow the link for the free printable:

Bunny Tails

And who couldn't use advice on life once in awhile?

Especially if that advice is from the EASTER BUNNY?

Here's something just for fun........

What's your Easter Bunny Name?

My name is Bubbles MacDoodle!

Okay, told you I had some fun stuff:)

But now I leave you with this.

It's great to have fun............

but it's more important to remember this:

Happy Spring and may God Bless You!

XOXO Suzanne

A.K.A Bubbles MacDoodle

Yummy, SWEET Valentine's Treats That You Can Make in a Hurry!

Happy Hearts Day!!!!!

Need some last minute ideas for your sweethearts?

 (big and small ones alike:)

well I've got you covered.......and I can vouch for them all! 

(and i'm starting to look like it;)

Let's get to it.........

Oreo Cookie Balls (or Oreo Truffles)   

 So good and SO easy!

What you need:

1 pkg.  (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

40  OREO Cookies, finely crushed, divided

4 pkg.  (4 oz. each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, broken into pieces, melted

MIX cream cheese and 3 cups cookie crumbs until blended.

SHAPE into 48 (1-inch) balls. Freeze 10 min. Dip balls in melted chocolate; place in single layer in shallow waxed paper-lined pan.  (Tip: use a toothpick to dip)

Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.

REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm.

(Substitute white chocolate if desired)

We have a tradition of making pink or red foods on Valentine's day.

This next drink is on the menu:)

Maybe I should stop here and get to dinner rather than dessert:)

No complicated dish here.........

Pizza with heart pepperoni!

Or take it a step further and shape your own dough in a heart:)

Me?  I'm lazy.  It's the heart shaped pepperoni for this girl:)

Okay, okay........you want something healthier, right?

How about fruit kabobs?

(Well, there IS fruit!  And marshmallows too!)

Don't you just love vintage Valentines?

The good old days:)

Sweet and Salty Valentine Popcorn

1/2 cup unpopped popcorn

1 bag Colorburst Pastels Candy Melts 

(Wiltons............or use any white chocolate to melt)

1 bag Valentine M&Ms

Sea Salt to taste

Lastly, I share you cookies made by my own little Valentine:)

Love, Love, Love on Valentine's Day!

XOXOXO

Suzanne

Bunny Butt Cookies for Easter...

Okay, are these the most adorable, stinkin cute cookies ever???????

Bunny Butt Cookies!

Seriously, even the name makes me smile:)

Pillsbury does it again...super cute and super easy sugar cookies. 

And I personally promise your kids will think you're the coolest mom for making these!;)

here's how you do it...

Bunny Butt Cookies

*Note:  This is the Pillsbury recipe but we like to make our own 

sugar cookie and frosting recipe.  

We also don't slice the cookies, we roll out our dough and use round cookie cutters. 

 For those who want exact instructions, read on...

Ingredients:

1  roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury™ refrigerated sugar cookies

1/3  cup all-purpose flour

1  container (12 oz) fluffy white whipped frosting

Pink gel food color

22  miniature marshmallows

Candy sprinkles

Directions:

1  Heat oven to 350°F.

 In large bowl, knead cookie dough and flour with hands until well mixed.

2  Reshape dough into 9x1 1/2-inch log.

3  Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate 30 minutes.Remove plastic wrap. Cut cookie dough into 33 slices. Cut 11 slices into 4 equal wedges; shape each wedge into ovals for bunny feet. Place cookie dough slices and bunny feet on ungreased cookie sheet.

4  Bake 8 to 12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.

5  In medium microwavable bowl, stir frosting and 1 to 3 drops pink food color until well blended. Microwave uncovered on High 10 to 15 seconds or until soft but not translucent.

6  To make bunny butt, frost 1 whole cookie slice and 2 bunny feet with frosting. Place bunny feet on bottom of cookie as shown in photo. Place 1 marshmallow in center of each cookie for tail. Decorate bunny paws with candy sprinkles. Repeat with remaining cookie slices and bunny feet. To add ears to your bunny, place pink jelly beans at the top of each cookie.

I'm pretty sure this cutie pie will be honored if you make Bunny Butt Cookies! :) 

XOXOXO

Suzanne

Sno Cone Cupcakes and Teddy Bear Treats. . . .

just when you think you've seen it all,

some brilliant person (Bakerella?) discovers 

sno-cone cupcakes.

aren't they the cutest idea for cake since. . . . .

cake pops?

here's the good news. . . . .

they're super easy to create yourself.

first, buy some short paper cups or

paper sno-cone cups from a party store,  like party city..

you're gonna need those on hand or you have a regular cupcake:)

next, make vanilla cupcakes. . . . 

color them if you want the cupcake to be colored like the frosting.

try to make them so they have at least a bit of a rounded top.

when cooled, remove from wrapper and place

in the short ice cream cup

 or sno-cone cup.

finally, frost and add sugar sprinkles.

pop a pretty little straw or mini spoon in the cupcake and

enjoy your sno-cone cupcakes:)

here's another cute treat. . . . 

help me now, this is adorable!

Teddy Bear's in a Bubble Bath!

awwwwww. . . .

the recipe uses cake mix but it seems

to me it would be just as easy with a brownie mix.

1 (18 1/4 ounce) box chocolate cake mix
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg
24 Rolo chocolates, unwrapped (optional)
2 cups miniature marshmallows
48 Teddy Grahams honey graham snacks (any flavor) or 48 Teddy Grahams chocolate graham snacks (any flavor) or 48 Teddy Grahams cinnamon graham snacks (any flavor)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cake mix, melted butter and egg together. This should be like a soft dough. Take a spoonful of batter and roll into a small ball. Push dough ball into a mini-muffin tin. Take a Rolo and push into the center of the batter. Fill up the muffin tin and bake for 10 minutes. Take the muffin tin out and add 3-4 mini-marshmellows on top of each treat. Push in 2 Teddy Graham bear cookies into each treat. Bake for 2 more minutes to melt the marshmellows a bit. Cool and enjoy!NOTE: Please use muffin tin liners and spray with cooking spray -- these treats get sticky!

(food.com)

it's hard to beat yummy and cute!

***************************************

don't forget about the giveaway for an Origami Owl Locket!

all you have to do, if you want to do the least possible,

is go to tammybrewer.origamiowl.com and see what you like most,

then come back to leave a comment on my blog 

or

my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ShabbyChicksNaples

that's it!

come on. . . .you know you want this!

xoxo

Suzanne

WANTED: My Birthday Girl. . . . . .

 my baby girl has a birthday today.

a special birthday.

today she is sweet sixteen!

let me tell you a bit about her.

she's a God-fearin

country music lovin,

cowboy boot wearing

football watchin

sweet tea drinkin

southern girl.

she has down home values 

and old fashioned morals in a modern world.

her faith is solid and strong.

(she's actually been called a "female Tim Tebow" by people she just met:)

she's fun

she's brave

she's thoughtful

she's generous

she's a cutie

she's adventurous

she's friendly

she's smart.

she's my girl.

she's 16.

and i love her!

happy birthday baby girl!!!

xoxoxo

mama

AND a birthday cake to match those boots,
made by a sister, with love:)

Princess Cupcakes, Silly Eggs, Sea Glass and Spring. . . .

well, that's a lot to cover for sure.

and i know what you're thinking. . . .

at least some of you;

spring???

  what's that???

but you know it's coming. . . .

and for what it's worth, it's going to be WAY nicer for most

of you than us here in south florida.

cause that's when our humidity hits full blast for, like, EVER!!!!

some people deny that but it's all too real.

the good news. . .we have nice winters.

it's all a trade-off, right?

so today, i have a few cool, random things i stumbled on 

over at pinterest.

see what you think. . . . .

are these the cutest princesses or what??

and surprise. . . . . . 

they're cupcakes!

yep. . . .some genius person turned a cupcake upside down,

stuck a plastic doll pick in it, frosted it and

voila!

adorable!

actually, i think what i like best about these is it looks like a regular mom

frosted these.  

don't get me wrong, they look yummy and cute,

but they are not some fondant frosting or something perfect like that, you know?

the best kind:)

keeping with the kid theme for a minute here,

these alphabet crayons are amazing!

they melted down crayons and hardened them in 

silicone alphabet trays.

you can get these trays at Amazon for $10.99

a tip i saw was to use cooking spray to enable them to pop out.

there are tons of tutorials all over the web if you want to make these.

i know. . .looks like a bit of a project.

but think what great favors these would make:)

spring makes me think of Easter.

and we used to color eggs when i was little.

what's funny,

except for some super creative types who came up with a new way to do that,

we still pretty much color eggs the same way.

with colored tablets and vinegar.

and some pathetic little egg dipper thing that never worked:)

but how about adding google eye stickers to your colored eggs.

isn't this cute?

i always get an urge to paint something in the spring.

and besides various shades of cream and white,

my favorite color around the house is aqua.

like sea glass.

so very pretty!

okay, this next one is way off track but i had to share.

inside out caramel apples.

oh gosh, i'd love these. . . .

spring, summer, fall or winter!

go to cup of sugar pinch of salt for the how to's:)

pretty soon, y'all will be trading in those snow shovels for these. . . .

pretty bicycles and flowers.

so hang in there!

xoxo

Suzanne

Lucky Leprechaun Treats and Rainbows. . . . .

so tell me, do you celebrate  

St. Patricks Day?

not a huge fan of the holiday, myself.

(i do like a yearly shamrock shake from McDonald's, though:)

and i guess i like the rainbow aspect of it.

however, when my girls were little and in school,

i did celebrate it in a way for them.

because every chance we get to celebrate with our kiddies, 

we should, right?

so in the morning, 

i'd wake up early,  throw some green shamrocks on the floor, 

blow up ballons, hang green and gold curling ribbon everywhere. . . . 

and start making breakfast.

not just any ol' breakfast. . . . .

green shamrock pancakes, thank you very much.

with green milk, i might add:)

(ahem. . . .and this was BEFORE pinterest:)

having said that, i am shocked at the lengths some go to

for shamrock pancakes.

seriously, i was a bit of a mommy overachiever when it came to this stuff.

but even i wouldn't make heart pancakes, piece them together and add a stem.

wow. . . . . .

it may be cute-ish. . . .but so are shamrocks.

now, don't try to make a shamrock free hand or you might get this. . . .

simply whip out your handy shamrock cookie cutter. . . .

(cause cookie cutters are my number one tip:)

make regular green pancakes and cut the shapes out. 

you or the hubby can eat the scraps, can't ya?

so simple, so easy and so cute!

(these are tortillas but you get the idea...perfect shape every time!)

and way quicker, too!

okay, so breakfast is done, what next?

lunch, of course.

my girls would get shamrock shaped mini sandwiches,

green grapes or kiwi, a few stalks of celery and a shamrock cookie.

see...those cookie cutters come in handy!:)

then for dinner, we had something green...like green mashed potatoes,

green peas and chicken tenders with a little shamrock on them.

but we never really celebrated St. Patricks Day;)

now, for those of you who want a few more ideas, here you go. . . .

a few Christmas's back, we made green crinkle cake batter cookies.

we called them  "Grinch Cookies".

well, guess what they are now?

LUCKY LEPRECHAUN COOKIES.

they are the easiest cookie to make ever.

and they taste good, too.

you can find the recipe at the bottom of this post:)

you could also dip some pretzels in green colored white chocolate.

trust me, this looks pretty but they taste just as good in a simple clear package

with a green or gold bow tied on.

and use the mini pretzel sticks. . . .

okay, we are soooo making these today:)

maybe.

and who doesn't love rice krispie treats?

for these, get out the green food coloring and. . . . .cookie cutter!:)

www.elizabethannsrecipebox.com

okay, but like i said, the rainbow aspect appeals to me more than shamrocks and leprechauns.

so here are a few awesome and easy ideas for y'all. . . . .

 rainbow pancakes for breakfast!

or how about some rainbow fruit kabobs?

for dessert, have you seen those AMAZING rainbow layer cakes?

well, here is our lazy chicks version of a rainbow cake. . . .yeehaw!

click here for directions

love, love, love cake pops!

i think this year we'll starve all day so we can make some of these:)

http-::www.munchkinmunchies.com:2012:02:insideout-rainbow-cake-pops.html

if you're like me, you sent in class treats.

because you just LOVE playing Martha Stewart, you know it's true:)

 these are all a similar idea, but the key is they're cool,

quick and easy. . . .again.

spoonful.com

aren't they cute?

well, that's it from the girl who doesn't celebrate the shamrock holiday.

hope you're happy today. . . . . .

and i hope you know that- - - -

XOXOXO

Suzanne

BEST cake batter cookies this shabby chick has ever tasted.

give em a try...you'll be hooked!

LUCKY LEPRECHAUN COOKIES

       makes about 36
1 box French vanilla cake mix
6 T butter
2 eggs
Green food coloring (60 drops)
1 C powdered sugar
1 t corn starch

Preheat the oven to 375°. Melt the butter and set aside to cool. In a shallow dish, mix together the powdered sugar and cornstarch with a fork.  In a large bowl, mix together the cooled butter, cake mix and eggs. This will be a little hard to stir together. Add the green food coloring and make sure it is all mixed in. drop a blob of dough in the powdered sugar.

Move it around with spoon until it is mostly covered in powdered sugar. Then, once it is already covered, roll it into a ball and place it on a cookie sheet.

Make sure you don't over crowd the baking sheet because these cookies spread out. 

bake these for 9 minutes. (They won't look done but they are.) They will look slightly puffed up and crinkly...very cool!