Fresh Fruit Kabobs, Tacos, Cones, Parfaits and MORE Crazy Combos!

 It's that time of year again.......

Warm weather, Summer Holidays, Picnics, Fireflies and Family Fun!

It's also the time of year when so many fruits are at peak season........

which means fresh, healthy, fun snacks!

I'm all about EASY.  And DELICIOUS!  And if a snack can be FUN, even better;)

I swear, I can think of all kinds of treats for kids (or young at heart).

Just don't ask me to do sophisticated, please! 

So here are some SUPER FUN and EASY treats for a picnic, birthday party, cookout or anytime in between........

Summer Holidays usually have a bit of red, white and blue going on,

so why not make our treats that way too!

1.  Red/White/Blue Parfait.......just layer whipped cream (or yogurt) with blueberries, raspberries and strawberries.  Personally, I'd add a cherry on top:) BHG

2.  Fruit "Sparklers" or Kabobs:)  Berries and Marshmallows in the shape of a flag.  Berry Kabobs

3.  Flag Fruit and Cheese Tray......Don't just bring a boring fruit and cheese platter.....dress it up like a flag! Red, White & Blueberries & Cheese Tray

4.  Watermelon Pop Stars.........Star shaped pieces on a popsicle stick! Watermelon Pop Stars

5.  Flag Fruit...........This is also a cute and simple way to display fruit....The stars are black raspberries and the stripes are rows of banana slices with strawberries on top.

More Fruit Fun.........

1. and 2.  Kids LOVE fruit in an ice cream cone.  Trust me on this one:)

3.  Sugar Cookie Fruit Taco........so cute and delicious! Just a Pinch

4.  Chocolate chip cookie cups with fruit.......cookie cups

Don't you think the little picnic munchkins will love these ideas?  The not-so-little ones do too:)

If these summery fruit ideas don't get you excited for summer......how about these?

Summer flowers.......daisies in a glass of water with food coloring aded.  Cute:)

Guess that's it for now, my chicas!

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

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!

Cool Summer Treats and Cool Stuff to Do in the Heat of Summer!

Happy Monday Morning to you!

Looks like it's going to be another HOT one.

Coming from south Florida, we're used to the miserable

heat and humidity.

the only thing we have going for us in the summer heat 

is that it isn't the busy tourist season......

so we can park at the beach, go to the movies when we want,

go out to dinner without a reservation a week in advance,

get places quicker...and that's about it.

Otherwise, we are suffering right along with you.

so how about some FUN for these red HOT days?

The kiddies are gonna love some of these drinks!

just in time for July 4th.....

A red/white/blue kiddie 

Firecracker!

3 ounces fruit punch
3 ounces blue Gatorade (not sugar-free)
3 ounces diet 7-Up or Sprite (must be sugar-free; so diet only)
ice

Fill glass 1/3 full with ice cubes. Pour fruit punch almost (but not quite) to top of ice cubes. Fill another 1/3 with ice cubes and slowly pour blue Gatorade almost to top of cubes. Fill final 1/3 ice cubes and slowly pour sugar-free Sprite. Add straw and voila!

or check out this super easy kiddie drink.....

let's see.....what should we call this one?

something with rainbow in it, obviously.

you make up the name......cause your kiddies are gonna love it, and you will too.

it's SO refreshing!

Rainbow Blast

Freeze different fruit juice in ice trays and put in glass. 

Pour sprite over ice cubes. That's it!

how about a 

Raspberry Lemonade Slushie

from just us girls......

Raspberry Lemonade Crystal Light Slushy

Ingredients

2 Cups of Ice

1 Packet of Raspberry Lemonade Crystal Light

1 Cup of Frozen Raspberries

Directions:

Make packet of Crystal Light as instructed with water.

Pour ice, frozen raspberries and then crystal light drink into blender, blend and enjoy!

Check out this "good for you" protein drink.....

and another healthyish one, courtesy of Paula Deen.....

Pina Colada Smoothie.

1 cup fresh pineapple chunks 

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk  1 banana  1/4 cup ice cubes  2 teaspoons honey, optional  pineapple wedges, for garnish

Directions

In a blender, combine the pineapple chunks, coconut milk, banana, ice and, if desired, honey. Puree until smooth. Pour into 2 large glasses. Garnish each serving with a pineapple wedge.

if you're feeling artistic, because these are so pretty.....

you could make some summer fruit cookies!

If you have read my blog, you know I am addicted to

homemade Caramel Corn!

Hopelessly.

Addicted.

So you can imagine how i felt when i saw this.......

Marshmallow Caramel Corn.

1/2 c. brown sugar 1/2 c. butter 9-10 marshmallows 12 c. popcorn. Microwave brown sugar and butter for 2 minutes. Add marshmallows. Microwave until melted, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Pour over popcorn.

yikes...this is good!

make a batch and chow down while looking at this list of FUN things

to do this summer.....

or if you would rather psych yourself out with sone

"SNOWBALLS",

then you have to try these...

Lemon Snowball Cookies

1/2  cup lemon drop candies

1  cup butter or margarine, softened

1/2  cup powdered sugar

1  teaspoon grated lemon peel

1  teaspoon lemon extract

2 1/4  cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

1/4  teaspoon salt

Additional powdered sugar

Directions

• Heat oven to 400ºF. Crush lemon drops in food processor or blender. In large bowl, beat butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, the lemon peel and lemon extract with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in flour, 1/4 cup of the crushed lemon drops and the salt.
• Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake cookies 8 to 9 minutes or until set but not brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet; roll in powdered sugar. Cool 10 minutes; roll in remaining crushed lemon drops. Cool completely on wire rack, about 30 minutes. Reroll in crushed lemon drops if desired.

 if you have a pool, sprinkler or plain old hose...

just go out and get wet.

that always works to cool off in the summer heat:)

just be sure to

HAVE FUN!

How To Be The COOLEST Mom EVER.....FUN FOOD edition

okay, some of you may or may not know i have another blog,

confessions of a cool mom.

SERIOUSLY!

i love that little blog because being a fun, cool, down to earth mom

is hard in this world.

being a christian mom trying to raise her children with

FAITH, values and morals is even tougher sometimes.

it's a subject that means a lot to me.

mine are teens now.....and it STILL means a lot to me.  

maybe even more.

ONE of these days i'm going to get that blog going again.

you can visit it if you like:)

but for NOW, i'll share some COOL MOM ideas

i found recently, right here on this blog.

hope you like them and take the time to try just one.

kids love this stuff:)

 here are some FUN food ideas,

starting with one of my favorites.....

cause i LOVE giraffes:)

now i THINK this is a PBJ with a little extra detail but i could be wrong.

still.....SOOOO cute!

 for a fun way to eat fruit.....

just make a tiny slit in the rind and VOILA.....

WATERMELON POPS!

or how about some apple cars?

about those pancakes.....

you could be BORING i mean traditional, and make them the usual way.....

or you could start your child's day with RAINBOWS.....

bears.....

snowmen.....

mr. potato head.....

and a good ol pumpkin!

if you're not too worn out.....

maybe you could pack a lunch like this.....

next time you make pasta,

add a bit of food coloring to make this.....

and for dessert, 

how about PAINT BRUSH rice krispie treats?

see.....pretty cool!

now, it wouldn't surprise me if these are so YESTERDAY.....

because I'm always a bit behind:)

but maybe this served as a refresher course.

until next time, when i share a few cool PARTY ideas!

Be Blessed,

Suzanne

p.s.  don't you just love this?