Naked Cupids and Some Cupcakes!

Mama was baking some Valentine's Day 

treats and she needed some HEARTS!

I found these little naked guys

at The Graphics Fairy!

I stole a few hearts from them to finish off my treats!

Thank you little naked guys!

and

Thank you Graphics Fairy!

oh and I almost forgot…….

Happy Valentine's Day to all the Mamas

out there in Blogland!

Papas too!

XXOO

The AMAZING Graphics Fairy 

graciously allows you to print her graphics 

to assist you in your Valentine projects!

Visit The Graphics Fairy to see 

more of her amazing images!

Linking up!

Guns and Coffee - Texas Mamas

Baby Girl #1 and I were back to Texas recently.

I enjoyed stuffing my face with Mexican food,

several trips to Whataburger and maybe some 

fried chicken and such!

(but you didn't hear that from me)

As you are aware this mama really likes her

Starbuck's cocktail around 2:00pm.

While I was tooling around I saw this!

What an amazingly brilliant bumper sticker!

GUNS

and 

COFFEE

Yes, in TEXAS the mama's can drive around

packing guns and caffeine!

So you best NOT

MESS

with 

these BAD Mamas!

No sir!

Missing some good Texas Food?
Check out these favorite Texas Recipes!

Tex Mex 7 Layer Dip

Colleen's Texas Queso

Holli's Hotsauce

More Recipes!
Go HERE!

Mama Loves Crayons!

NO 

this 

is 

NOT Candy 
NOR Soap

NOR Vitamins, 

          Drugs or 

              Jello Shots

It's CRAYONS Silly!

Who doesn't LOVE crayons!

Mama decided to be a little crafty today and melted down some old crayon stubs

to make some pretty new chunky ones! 

Here is how I did it.

Peel the paper off of the old crayons.

Spray the inside of muffin tin or oven proof baking mold.

Drop the crayons in the mold.

Bake it for about 10 minutes in an oven at 275 degrees.

Let them cool nice and long.

Pop them in the freezer if you have to!

Then POP those babies out and

get to coloring!

Nice and CHUNKY for little hands or old hands like mine!

So fun to do with the kids or NOT and say you did!  ;)

Mama LOVES A Good Burger!

Oh how I LOVE a good burger!

In Texas we grill our burgers outside and then bring them inside

to dress them up nice and pretty!

My hubby always laughs at me because by the time

he has finished his burger I am about done "fixin" mine up!

Usually I like mayo and mustard on my buns but every

now and then I like some special Texas sauce!

My special Texas sauce tastes a little like the sauce from

In N Out

Just a little.

Here is my recipe………

Texas Special Sauce

1/2 Cup Olive Oil Mayo

1 1/2 T Ketchup

1 T Apple Cider Vinegar

3 t  Sweet Pickle Relish

3 t chopped white onion

1 drop of Tabasco

Stir it up, chill and then slap it on a burger bun! Good on burgers, chicken, and even shrimp poboy sandwiches! 

YUM!!

Baby Cakes

Baby Girl #2 Can BAKE A cake!

I mean REALLY BAKE a cake!

She made her very first wedding cake!

It turned out beautiful, tasty and so very moist.

It was all from scratch.

She tried out three recipes and had a taste test.

I was so proud of her! She baked it the day before 

and decorated it the morning of the wedding so it

would be fresh and perfect!

It was a LONG drive to the venue

but the cake made it safe and sound!

Vanilla cake from scratch!

One layer at a time!

Buttercream Frosting

3 Layers!

Here she is with her cake at the wedding!

Pretty girl

Pretty Cake

Proud Mama

"Summer Lovin" Part 1

Summer for this Colorado family means a pilgrimage 

to

TEXAS!

This pilgrimage consists of family, fun and food.

Not always in that order.

FOOD

in

TEXAS

is 

CRAZY GOOD

I mean

CRAZY GOOD!

Even fast food is Good!

The first food stop is usually in Amarillo, Texas.

We have mapped out the nearest and newest

WHATABURGER!

If you have never had a Whataburger

then you are surely missing out.

SOOOOO YUMMY!

I have tried to reproduce the WHATABURGER
without success but I do have some Texas recipes that I have perfected
that hold me over until I can get me some Whataburger!

Texas Sausage and Cheese Crescents!

Go HERE! 

To DIE For!

Mama Colleen's Amazing Queso!

Go HERE

Granny's Icebox Cookies!

YUMMMMMM

Go HERE!

Horrible Photo
but it tastes soon good!
King Ranch Chicken Casserole
Go HERE!

More recipes HERE!
I'm so hungry!

Mamas Who Do The Right Thing

I have always been a firm believer in Karma. At minimal just do 

the right thing and good things will come back around to you.

I try to teach my kids to do the same.

So here is the deal……

I sold a book on Amazon.

When I went to ship the book, I flipped through it and saw that 

there were pencil marks on some of the pages.

I went back to look at my listing and saw that I listed the 

book's condition as NEW.  So obviously it wasn't new.

I erased almost all of the marks but  few remained.

I shipped the book to the new owner in TEXAS.

I also enclosed a note explaining my mistake in the description

and that I would happily refund them the money in full

if they wanted to look for another book.

I also included a $5 bill which brought the cost of the book down to

what  a book in "almost new" condition would cost.

Being that I am from Texas, I also added a note at the end that said,

Texans Take Care of Texans!

Several weeks later I received a letter in the mail from the customer who bought the book.

She and her mom wanted to thank me for my honesty.

Honesty? I had just done the right thing!

They went on to say that it was rare to find this honesty and that

in gratitude they were gifting me with a $25 WalMart gift card!

How beautiful is that?

All I had done was

THE RIGHT THING

and

I had been rewarded Ten Fold 

AMAZING

SO

What's a Mama to do?

I sent the gift card to school to donate to the orphanage my daughter 

serves at in the summer. I then sent a message to Brittany and her Mama

letting them know

I Was Paying It Forward

So I challenge you to do the same.

Every single deed, big or small contributes

to making the world a better place.

oh

and 

one

more 

thing

At the bottom of the letter she wrote,

TEXANS TAKE CARE OF TEXANS

You Gotta LOVE it!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail!

Pulling these Sugar Eggs out of the closet!

I made these over 15 years ago!

NO ANTS!!

Yippee!

New post coming very soon!

Go HERE 

to

HOP

to 

EASTER

PAST

Mama is Getting Pretty Tired of the COLD!

It is always about this time of year that I start yearning for 

COLOR!

I WANT IT

I REALLY WANT IT

I want to step out on my patio and see

FLOWERS!

PRETTY FLOWERS!

Mama will just have to be patient

as it is going to be a little while before that happens.

SIGH…..

I can just sit and stare at Baby Girl #1's

latest oil painting!

It has COLOR!

I miss watching her paint in the kitchen.

Just another thing I have to be patient about.

Wishing you a beautiful and colorful day!

file:///Users/hollin/Downloads/pinterest-bc6b6-4.html

file:///Users/hollin/Downloads/pinterest-bc6b6-4.html

Mama's Easy Crockpot Breakfast Casserole

Not the prettiest of photos but it taste so good!

Mama's Texas cousins came in town to see snow!

They drove all day and most of the night to get here.

I wanted to have a nice warm breakfast

to fill up them up before they headed

to the mountains to play.

I decided to try my usual breakfast casserole

BUT

in the crockpot instead of the oven.

Mama

was

nervous

But guess what? 

It worked like magic!

I fooled my cousins to thinking I was

up all morning cooking up a storm.

They awoke to the smell

of eggs and sausage.

The crockpot did all the work!

Mama

slept

in

So needless to say it was a big hit and I will

most definitely be making it again!

Crockpot Breakfast Casserole with an Italian Twist

8 -10 beaten eggs
10-12 slices of bread (cubed) any kind of bread may be used. (I like to use french bread)
3 Cups of whole milk
2 1/2 C mozzarella cheese (really any kind of cheese is fine)
1 lb. Italian sausage crumbled, cooked and drained
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper (more or less to taste)
fresh spinach and or sliced mushrooms can be added if desired. (no more than 1/2 C each)

Optional add-ins 
1/2 Cup Chopped onions
1/4 Cup Jalapeños
1/2 Cup Bacon
1/2 Cup Chopped Cilantro

Directions
Grease the sides of the crock with butter. Make layers in the crockpot of bread, followed by sausage, followed by cheese, ending with a cheese layer. Beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper together. Pour over crockpot mixture, cover and turn on low. Cook for 8-12 hours. Put it on before you go to bed and wake up to the smell of an amazing breakfast. Serve with fresh fruit and you are done!

Here is another amazing breakfast idea for you! This can also be made ahead, frozen and reheated

when you need them! Everybody will ask you of this recipe!

Go HERE for the recipe!

Cousins!

Mama Gets Her Christmas Craft On

So what can a mama and her baby girl do with some 

old jars, old books, ribbon and miniature Christmas trees?

 A LOT

says 

Mama

A LOT!

Miniature Trees - Dollar Store

Ribbon - Mama's Closet

Old Glass Jars - Mama'a Garage

Old Books - Mama'a Basement

Mama 

is

a

HOARDER

YES

SHE 

IS

Sad but true!

How cute are these little guys?

Way Cute

says

Mama

Hot glue the trees in place.

Add a little shredded book pages 

or 

fake snow

Put the lid on nice 

and 

tight

AND

YOUR DONE!

Not a creature was stirring

not even 

a

Mama

Peace Out

Chinese Pepper Steak Mama Holli Style!

Before 

After

Long ago when Mama Holli's babies were young pups, she would load up her bus and haul the pups to Hallettsville, Texas to stay with Granny when her hubby traveled.

Granny LOVED to cook for her family but 

every now and then she

 would request one of us "GIRLS" 

to whip up some Chinese Pepper Steak.

It was a recipe not found in her usual amazing

repertoire of family favorites. Granny was Czech and Czech's did not cook up Chinese food, not even with a Texas twist. She would very quietly ask if I would mind making it for "DINNER" which was actually "LUNCH".

Then we would have leftovers for "SUPPER" 

which was actually "DINNER"!

This is the adapted recipe we would pull out.

The original was posted by Pam Post in the 

Holy Ghost Booster Club Cookbook

back in the 1970's!

Chinese Pepper Steak

1 1/2 lb Cubed Steak - cut in small bite size pieces

1/2 ts Ginger

1/2 ts Sugar

2 Garlic Cloves - minced

1/2 med Onion - sliced

1 Green Bell Pepper - sliced

1 med Tomato - sliced into wedges

1/2 C Soy Sauce

1 C water

1/2 C flour

Toss steak in flour. Brown steak in a skillet with about 3 tablespoons of oil. In a bowl mix soy sauce, ginger, and sugar. Add to steak and then add water. Gravy will thicken quickly. Add more water if needed to keep from sticking to bottom of skillet. Add garlic and simmer 10 minutes covered.

Add peppers, onions and tomatoes to meat, cover and cook on low until desired tenderness. Check every 5 minutes to see if more water is needed to keep from sticking to bottom as gravy will be thick. I usually cook for 10 - 15 minutes on low and then serve it hot over brown rice.

To spice it up add a little chili paste to your liking.

Have a Happy Day

and

REMEMBER

Nobody Puts Mama In A Corner!

Graphic courtesy 

of

Summer Dance Recitals! A Mama's Gotta Love it!

Go HERE to see more DANCE pics!

Ballerinas in The City
By Holli Nucci Photography