Harry Potter inspired Recipes

I am a huge fan of Harry Potter, I love the books, and am so excited for the movie.  It will be sad to see it all come to an end.  This week, I will be sharing all things Harry Potter, and to start the week off, I thought I would share these recipes I found, and one that I made.

Rosmerta's Recipes - Ton Tongue Toffee

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 8 tablespoons of butter
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (or imitation)
• 1½ cups water
• Additionally, a candy thermometer is required

Directions:

Step 1: In a medium saucepan, mix all ingredients and melt over medium heat until sugar is completely dissolved.

Step 2: Without further stirring, boil until mixture reaches 290°F on your candy thermometer.

Step 3: Pour mixture into a greased or buttered 9"x12" pan and let cool until almost firm to the touch.

Step 4: Score surface into 2" squares with a sharp knife, but do not cut completely.

Step 5: When cool, break into pieces (this should be easier if toffee was properly scored).

Step 6: Enjoy! Makes 1¼ pounds of toffee. 
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Cauldron Cakes
Ingredients:-

Tastycakes or home made cupcakes.

Cotton candy

Licorice string

Method:-
1. Scoop out center of cupcake.
2. Put cotton candy into center.
3. Add licorice Handle

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Jelly Slugs
Ingredients:-

8 - tablespoons sugar

2/3 - cup cranberry juice -EDIT-

4 - tablespoons light corn syrup

4 - envelopes (4 tablespoons) unflavored gelatin

Red Food Coloring

Confectioners' Sugar ( also known as icing sugar )

Method:-

Place sugar, juice, and corn syrup into a saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Sprinkle in gelatin and cook and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Stir in 2 or 3 drops of food coloring. Pour mixture into a bread pan coated with cooking oil spray. Let stand at room temperature until very firm, about 2 hours. Turn the pan over and remove the jelly (If jelly sticks, set the bottom of the pan in hot water for a few minutes.) Place on a work surface sprinkled with confectioners' sugar. With a sharp knife or a small cookie cutter, cut the jelly into worm shapes. Place on a platter lined with wax paper. Store in a cool, dry place. Do not refrigerate.

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Cockroach Cluster

Ingredients:-

6 oz. melted chocolate

6 oz. peanuts (unsalted)

chocolate jimmies/ chocolate sprinkles

Method:-

1. Melt chocolate in double boiler or microwave.
2. Stir in peanuts.
3. Drop onto wax Paper.
4. Before chocolate sets sprinkle jimmies onto cluster...enjoy!

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Treacle Fudge

Ingredients:-

1/2 cup light cream or evaporated milk

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 ounces or unsweetened chocolate

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/3 cup molasses

Method:-

In a large bowl, mix cream, brown sugar, and salt together. In a saucepan, melt the chocolate and butter together. Remove from heat and add molasses. Add the chocolate mixtures and cream mixtures together. Pour mixture into a pan and let cool. Cut into squares after cooled and serve.

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Pumpkin Pasties:-

Ingredient:-

Pre-made sugar cookie dough (break apart; otherwise slice and mold sugar)

Cookie to fit into muffin pan.

Pumpkin pie filling

Powdered sugar

Method:-

1. Mold sugar cookie into muffin pan.
2. Pour pie filling into muffin pan.
3. Let Bake at 350 degrees.
4. Allow it to cool
5. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top

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Acid Pops

Ingredients:-

Lollipops

Honey

Pop rocks

Method:-

1. Dip lollipop into honey.
2. Then roll lollipop into pop rocks. Enjoy.

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Magical Wands

Ingredients:

Twizzlers

Chocolate melts

sprinkles

Melt Chocolates according to packages.  I always use Wilton's chocolate melts, they taste amazing and are easy to use.  

Dip twizzlers into chocolate and lay on wax paper,

 top with sprinkles while still warm, let cool and enjoy.   

Use whatever twizzlers you enjoy most, we love the sweet and sour ones, so I knew they would disappear. 

Not only are they pretty, they taste so good, chocolate makes everything better!  

The great things about these, is you can put them in a Ziploc bag, and carry them in to see HP7 on Friday!  

Have a Tasty Week!

The best laid plans of mice and men…

If you are reading this I have already dropped my wife off at the airport and my little boy is already in West Virginia with his nunny and pappy. I know what you are thinking, a whole week with no wife or kid, man his next blog is going to have pictures and yarns spun about his crazy adventures he went on while his wife and son are away. Sadly enough friends and neighbors this will not be the case. Or will it?

Fate has sent my wife and my assistant manager at the store I manage out of town. I am fortunate to have a job that I love and the ability to accrue overtime hours when need be. Hopefully I can venture out of the house before I get into my lonely funk; without my wife and little boy I am a pretty boring, near middle aged man. I come home eat a dinner that does not include all 5 of the food groups, pour myself a drink and watch entirely too much TV then go to sleep.

This vacation from my wife and kid, as long and lonesome as it may be, will not be spent dwelling in lonesomeness. I promise to go out and hike, wet wade the stream near our house, or do something fun. I have nearly every morning to do cool stuff. I will do cool stuff and I will have a good story and maybe even some pictures! I need to do something to keep my mind off just how miserable I would be if I didn’t have Jo or Sammy around. I will do it, and then I will share my awesome times with them when they return.

The outdoors is truly the perfect place! It is a place that can be best enjoyed with your friends and family, or it can be a place for quiet self reflection and peace. We must not forget this because we will all find our selves alone in one way or another. Let us praise mother nature; a great nurturing place that is made to be enjoyed, cherished and admired. The next time you find yourself lonely, or in a funk, or just out of sorts take the time to reflect on the beauty that is sometimes as close as our own back yard.

Week in Photos

Learning to mow

playing in the sprinklers

chillaxing

sparkler fun

My sweet boy made us breakfast this morning.  

I just love this kid, he never seizes to amaze me!

I hope you all had a fabulous week!

Have a great weekend!

Beach Must-Haves

I am a beach lover!  One day I will live close enough to the beach that I can drive there and spend the day, be able to go home, and do it all over again. Until then, I will continue to go for 2 weeks and enjoy the time I'm there.
I wanted to share the things I can't live without when I go, these are the items you'll see me tuggin along in hand onto to the beach.
1. A comfy beach chair.  I like that this one lays down for your backside.  I found this one
here

2. A huge comfy beach towel, not only to have in your chair, but to completely cover you up when you've cooled down in the ocean. I found this one here

3. I have to have my shades!  My wonderful husband bought me my Oakley's last summer, and I treat them like one of my babies, you can order them from oakley, and they have free shipping.  I love these!

4.  You'll never catch me without my tumbler, I bought my first one last year from tumblerbay.  This isn't my exact one, but I wish it were!  It keeps my drinks cool enough between visits to the camper.

5.  All summer long I sport my Clarks flip flops, I could buy several pairs of cheap ones, but I have had mine for years, they last forever, and they never hurt my back or feet.  I found the newest one I want to add to my stash. You can order them here

6.  I love a comfy cover up to get back and fourth.  I'm not one to walk around everywhere with my bathing suit on, I don't want to make people jealous. Bahahaha, just kidding. 

7.  Australian Gold with Bronzer is my favorite sunscreen, hands down.  Ever since I was in middle school I've loved it.  When we go to Myrtle I always buy several bottles to last me until the next summer.  This smells good, and makes you all pretty. You can order it from here if you don't have anywhere close to buy it.

8.  A great book is always a must, of course if you have little guys, you don't get much time to read, but I love these books, if you didn't already know.

9.  Lastly some tunes to fall asleep to, or just lose yourself in

I hope you find something you'd like to add to your list.  Share with me what you can't live without, I'd love to hear.

Have a great Friday, and join me over at FTLOB for

Yellow Bird cocktail

How many of you are as thrilled as I am that it's Thursday?  I am in desperate need of a drink or two, or three, but whatever, it has just been one of those weeks.  While on vacation in the Bahamas years ago, I fell in love with this amazing drink called a Yellow Bird.  I had never heard of it before, and still am not sure if you can get it while at your local bar, or restaurant.  So one of my friends while visiting the Bahamas asked for the recipe for me so that I always have it, (I really like it that much.)  So now it's time for me to share it with you.  Try it out, and let me know what you think, I love comments!

Yellow Bird

1 1/4 oz. Light Rum
1/2 oz. Banana Liqueur
1/2 oz. Galliano Liqueur
2 oz's. Orange Juice
2 oz's. Pineapple Juice
1 Cherry and/or Slice of Orange

Pour over ice, stir or shake and Enjoy!

If you need any more yummy recipes, check out what they have here

Best Sunscreen for Kids

When I first started using sunscreen on Da Freakout I used Hawaiian Tropic Sunscreen.

Actually the first two years of his life I used this.  The third summer, I put it on him, and 30 mins later, he was broken out from head to toe.  I knew automatically that it was an allergic reaction, but I called the doctor, who wanted to see him, because it sounded like something more serious to them.  Really?  I think they just want you to come in for every little thing just to get paid.  Now I'm not an M.D.  but I am pretty smart, and can figure out usually what's wrong with my kids and even myself most of the time.  I told them thanks, but I would see how he does, and call back if I really need them.  I called the dermatologist and asked them what kind of sunscreen they would recommend.  The first thing out of their mouth, Neutrogena,  it won't break him out.  I jumped in the car, bought 

for his face

and

which, this is the new bottle, the old bottle was white and yellow.  

I have been using this ever since.  I started using it on Baby Diesel when I could put it on him, and haven't had an allergic reaction since. 

Yes this stuff is a little more than all the other kids stuff, but it is totally worth the money you pay, especially if you don't have to see your precious little one broken out from head to toe.

Another plus, I use the 70 spf, and they have never burned, not once.  We take it to the beach, to the pool, and just playing out in the yard, and they have darker skin than I do, and I hardly use anything.  (It's kind of annoying)

If you would like to try it out, I found a coupon for $2 off here  I do believe it's on sale this week also at Walgreens, making it $4 off total.  For that price, it's worth giving it a try, right?

Here are the facts, straight from Neutrogena

Being at the pool, beach or in humid climates make applying sunscreen difficult since ordinary sunblock drips and whitens under wet conditions. New Wet Skin Sunblock with 
is the first line of sunscreen specially formulated to be applied
to wet skin.

Wet Skin spray technology instantly cuts through water to form a broad spectrum UVA/UVB protective barrier.

I truly love this product, and highly recommend it.  This is all my personal opinion, and just what I know from experience.  If you don't want to take my word, try it out yourself.  Just have a safe and happy time in the sun!

Happy Humpday! 

New Sponsor Love Feature

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Hey friends! We're adding a new sponsor love feature to our little neck of the woods and would love to share you with the internet world. We have some amazing sponsors over there on the right sidebar and will be adding a special size for one sponsor per month. This sponsor will get the top ad for the entire month with no rotations. It will be a Large Ad size 200X200 for a low $10.

The smaller size ads are 200X100 that will go right below and be shuffled throughout the month for maximum exposure. You can grab this size right now for a low $5. Contact me here.

Each sponsor will get a full feature post (optional) and that will also include several tweets and mentions. Thanks for being such great friends and supporters, it means a lot!