Whipped Potatoes...The way potatoes were meant to be eaten...take 2

*I must apologize.  Something went wrong with my pictures from the original post.  Hopefully it will work this time.*

Start with baked potatoes.

 How many you use will depend on how many people you want to feed. Each potato will make 2 whipped potatoes.

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise, like so:

I forgot to mention that it is best to let the potatoes cool a bit so you don't burn your hands while you're handling them.

Now, scoop out their guts and put them in a bowl. A regular spoon works very well for this.

Melt a stick of butter or margarine...

and dip the empty potato shells into the butter.

 Be generous.  Make sure that whole thing is covered, dripping even, with butter.

Place the butter covered shells skin side up on a baking sheet.  (I cover mine with aluminum foil to help with clean up.)

If so desired, now is a good time to season them with a bit of salt or garlic powder or both.

Place the skins under the broiler for 5 to 10 minutes, until they are crispy enough for you.

Mmmm..... perfect.

In the meantime, take the potato guts and mash them up.

Stir in (or mash in) some sour cream--probably about a cup.  This is, once again, based on how many potatoes you use and how much you like sour cream.

Add some ranch dressing mix (I used about 2 tablespoons).

And top it all off with some cheese. 

(Stir the cheese in.  I don't know why I only took a picture of the cheese on top!)

Now, take your crispy broiled shells and fill them up with the mashed potato mixture and place those back on the baking sheet.

Top them all with a heap of cheese.  

 Don't worry if some of the cheese falls off of the potatoes and on to the baking sheet.  In fact, I even put some there on purpose.  

Because, when you bake them at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, they come out like this:

And that wayward cheese turns into crispy little bites like this:

So good!

P.S.  I forgot to mention that this recipe is my dad's.  He's a potato genius.

*Linking up*

Putting Pinterest to Good Use

Have I mentioned that I love Pinterest?  (send me an e-mail if you want an invite!)

It stems from my love of lists..and my love of planning.  For years and years I have collected ideas and planned on doing them only to be left with a pile of ideas that I plan to do someday.

That is a part of the reason I started this blog: To give myself an excuse some motivation to finish those long anticipated projects.  

I also have been so inspired by all the craft blogs in this great blog world and this is a place to test out those tutorials I have been adding to my pile of projects to be done.  It is time for me to start my tutorial testing and my Pinterest planning.

So, at least once a week (that's the plan, anyway) I will work through at least one planned Pinterest project or one waiting to be done tutorial.*  

It's going to be so fun!

So, here's where I started.

This cake has been all over Pinterest.  It links back to the blog Made in Melissa's Kitchen.  

When I saw this, oh....I knew I was looking at my next birthday cake.  It is cake, surrounded by Kit Kats (one of my favorites for years!), and topped with M&Ms.  Seriously, could it be any better?

I made it on Sunday.  

Here is my result: 

Underneath it is a chocolate cake (of course)...

I used peanut M&Ms (because they're my favorite).

It was a hit!  It is as easy as the tutorial says it will be and so delicious....soooooooo rich (lots and lots of chocolate!).  

And here's my niece 

With the cake.

Check my Linky Parties tab to see some of the sites I've linked this to!

Hoo Are You #53

1.  What are some of your pet peeves?

Milk that is left out, loud chewing...um...I can't think of any other than that.  I'm not a very picky person.

2.  Do you have a favorite or lucky number?

I have always liked the number 14.  There is no good reason for that.  It's just a pretty number.

3.  What is one of your family traditions?

Something my husband and I have just started recently is to have a First Day of Spring party.  We have good food and decorate the house to welcome spring.

4.  Is there anything you are OC about?

Haha!  There are plenty of things I am OC about.  I really like plan out my schedule (hour by hour).  Before I fall asleep, the blankets have to be just right and my hands can't be covered up.  I try to be very organized, but that is mostly in my head.

5.  What is your favorite kind of food?

Easy...chocolate!  Brownies especially.

Head over to Night Owl Crafting to link up!

WINNER!

I had a fantastic birthday!

Thank you to everyone who commented and/or asked me questions.  I will be answering the questions very soon, so keep watching!

Now, on to the winner.  I made a list of all the comments and using random.org I have chosen a winner.

Number 4 is Mrs. Sassy Crafter (Fabi)!

Congratulations!  Send me an email (creatingsarah@gmail.com) with your address so I can get your package sent out!

Thanks again everyone for participating!

Quiet Book: Dot-to-Dot or Let's Get Back to Crafting!

Don't forget to sign up for my birthday giveaway!  It ends tomorrow night!

I am on vacation.

I love vacation.

I am spending time with my family, hanging out in my parent's super perfect yard, letting my girls run barefoot in the grass, reading, crafting (or at least planning to), talking for hours with my mom (which explains why I've only planned my crafts), playing with my nieces and nephew, napping whenever I want to, not working.

It's wonderful.

But, I digress.


To get here, I flew.  Me and my two girls.  Alone.

I was a little nervous about the whole thing.  So, I decided that the best defense would be to be well prepared.  I knew right away that I wanted to make a quiet/activity book.

I have had so much fun making this!  Seriously, I'm addicted.  (And, between you and me, I've been playing with the idea of selling these pages...let me know what you think!)

I managed to finish 5 pages before we left, but I have many more ideas running around in my head (and on my Pinterest page).

So, enough talk.  Let me show you the first page.

I made each page so that it could stand alone.

It has the eyelets on the side so that I can tie them together with ribbon or using ring clips.
This way, I don't have fighting over the book.  *essential*

Here is what it looks like inside:

It is a dot-to-dot!

Each dot is a different color and the string has matching dots.  (I was going to sew numbers on the string of dots, but my girls are young and still learning to match colors.  Numbers are just not necessary at this point.)

The best part is, the dots are magnetic!  

There are teeny tiny (but super strong) magnets sewn into the dots on the page and the dots on the string.

I had so much fun making this page!  And, honestly, I have spent a lot of time playing with it.  It's kind of thrilling to put the string close and have the dots snap together...almost like magic!

Page 2, Fabric Chain

Page 3, Matching

Page 4, Marble Maze

Page 5, Make a Face  



(I'm linking this up with my usual linky parties!)

August 25

It is one of my favorite days today.

It is my birthday.

*woohoo*

I have always loved my birthday, even if it makes me a little bit older. It is still a day to enjoy.

It is a day to look back at all the good things I've accomplished in a year.

It is a day to look forward to more fun things to do.

It is a day to celebrate a beautiful life!

I like to spend my birthday relaxing. No chores on my birthday. I usually wear a crown, but this year I am on vacation and I left it home. (oops!)

I like to have cookies for breakfast...I always like that, but on my birthday, it is expected.

It is just an all around good day!

And, of course, there's the presents. =) Birthdays are good for presents.

Actually, I'm not really expecting a lot in the way of presents this year. All I really want is a nice night out with my husband...maybe a new pair of shoes...

I was thinking about what I wanted to do for my birthday. My thoughts drifted to what I want to do with this happy little blog this year. I decided to use my birthday to restart Creating Sarah back up with a bang.

What defines a "bang"?

How about a giveaway?!

Ok.

So, here's what I've got. Nothing big.

Just a few things I found that I would enjoy receiving:


A happy little package that will go to one winner.

To enter, leave me a comment. Say whatever you would like to say. Maybe tell me what you like to do on your birthday.

And, since I crave love comments, here are some opportunities for extra entries!  (Leave a comment for each, please!)

• Be a follower.
• Spread the word...you know, Facebook, your own blog, call a friend...whatever.
• Go to this post and leave me a question or two.

I'm going to make this a quick entry time since I want to get the package mailed out before I head back home.  So, I'll leave it open until 11:59 (Mountain time) on Sunday, August 28.

Ok, I think that's all you need!  Good luck!

I'm going to go have cake for lunch.

About Me

I wish I could remember where I originally saw this idea.  It was a super good one!  I'm going to borrow it, but please know, this is not my original idea.

What is the idea?

Hang on....I'll tell you!

Do you see my little tabs up there?  I'm working on those.  I have one called "About Me" and it is not living up to my expectations.  I want it to be entertaining.  I want to fill it with information that people really do find interesting; stuff that you all are just aching to know!

So, here's my request:  Will you ask me some questions?  Ask me what you want to know about me.  What random, or not so random, Sarah fact would you like to read?  Please, oh please, help me set up an entertaining page About Me!  I'll answer all questions as best as I can.  You can ask as many as you like, they can be weird, funny, boring, crazy, interesting, random...whatever!  (Just, of course, please keep them clean and appropriate please.)

I would appreciate it so much if you would do this for me!  And now I'm all excited to see what you're going to ask me!

Thanks!

Hoo Are You #52

Hello, Friends!  
I've missed you.  Very much.
I am on vacation, but I think I am ready to jump back in to my blogging.  
So, as O would put it, "Let's do this!"

This one has a fun little back to school theme, which I think is kind of funny.  Mister has been in school all summer and is actually doing his finals right now!  Next week he gets a break before starting again the week after.  How can we go back to school if we barely got to leave?!

Anyway...here's the questions and their accompanying answers:

1.  Do you prefer to use a regular pencil or a mechanical pencil?

I am a lover of most school supplies.  It makes me happy to walk among the back to school aisles and see the huge selection of notebooks and pens and pencils and folders and binders and staplers and pushpins.  Oh!  It gives me chills just thinking about it.  I try not to play favorites, but I would have to say that, given the choice, I would pick a mechanical pencil.  No need to search for a sharpener, it writes so neatly and precisely, and, when the need arises for correction, it erases so cleanly.

2.  What is your favorite color in the crayon box?

It just so happens that I have a crayon box sitting beside me, so let me check...So many pretty colors to choose from!  But today I'm going to pick Red Violet:  Bold and just enough off of red to be its own unique color.

3.  Bottled glue or stick glue?

Totally depends on the project.  I like them both.  (And I also love Mod Podge.)

4.  Calculator or do it in your head?

Again, it depends on the problem.  I can do stuff in my head pretty well...the easy stuff.  But, if it gets too complicated I have to pull out some paper and a calculator.  That is if I am doing math...which isn't incredibly often.

5.  Favorite subject while in high school?

Easy...choir.  I loved to sing then and I love to sing even more now.  Choir membership also included a yearly choir tour.  I got to go to Calgary, Canada, and also Seattle, Washington.  Good times!  I also took a Music Theory class in high school which was pretty awesome.  

And, there you have it!  

Now, stay tuned.  I have some cool projects I've been working on and I'm making a list of more to work on.  

Also, I may or may not have a giveaway coming up pretty darn soon.  (Oh boy!)