S'mores Cups

Happy National S'mores Day! Ok, so it's probably not a national holiday, but I like to pretend everyone gets the day off to enjoy the deliciousness of sugar and carbs. Unfortunately, I don't go camping and I'm nowhere near a bonfire. You aren't either, huh? That's ok, you don't have to in order to eat these mini s'mores cups! My husband said they're the best thing I've ever made and he'd pay to eat them again, they're that crazy good. However, they are the messiest thing I have ever made, from beginning to end. You have been warned.


If you like s'mores, here's what you'll need to make s'mores cups:

* Graham crackers (I used 8 long pieces which probably could have made 10 or 11 mini s'mores but I just made 6)
* 1/2 cup of milk chocolate chips
* Marshmallows (since I made 6 cups, I only needed 3 marshmallows)
* 2 Tablespoons of butter




Start by crushing your graham crackers. Don't have a food processor? Neither do I. I prefer hammers.

Once they're thoroughly crushed, melt your butter and combine the two in a bowl. Here's where the messiness began.

Attempt to pour in the crumbs into your greased up mini muffin tin and make a little divot in each with your fingers. You will most certainly make a mess, but it's ok. Messes are fun. And delicious.

Brush off the excess and stick in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. While they're baking, prepare your chocolate chips and marshmallows. Each cup will get 4 chocolate chips and half of a marshmallow.

Once they're done baking, put 4 chocolate chips in the center and then place your half marshmallow (sticky side down) directly on top of the chocolate chips (which are probably starting to melt).

Stick the pan back in the oven for another 3 minutes. When you take them out, your marshmallows will have grown in size and will be nice and fluffy. Let them cool for 15 minutes before removing from the pan.

Melt your remaining chocolate chips in the microwave for 30-45 seconds, drizzle over the marshmallows, and top with your extra graham cracker crumbs. Warning: you will want to eat these over a plate, a napkin, or something because even eating them will be very messy but oh so gooey and delicious!

Why can't we have more holidays like this?

TOTAL COSTS: About $8 (if you don't have any ingredients - prices from Vons)
$1.67 for marshmallows
$2.50 for graham crackers
$2.50 for chocolate chips
$.99 for butter

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: About 30 minutes

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 2 out of 5
I wouldn't say they're difficult, they're just very messy. Be careful not to burn the cracker crusts, or burn the chocolate while it's melting in the microwave. Other than that, they're easy enough and, dare I say, more delicious than a conventional s'more!

Strawberry "Cheesecakes"

I don't like cheesecake. Is that weird? I love most desserts but cheesecake I just can't wrap my head around. However, these cheesecakes I devoured almost the second I was done making them. They're easy to make and, dare I say, they're healthy! Ok, they're healthier than an actual slice of cheesecake. These would be a great dessert option for the person who doesn't want a heavy cake or pie on their plate but something light and sweet instead!


To make these you'll want to grab:

* At least a dozen strawberries
* 4 oz. of cream cheese
* 1/4 cup of powdered sugar
* A splash of vanilla extract
* (optional) Chocolate chips for melting
* (optional) Graham crackers for sprinkling on top




Start by cutting off the stems of the strawberries (so they'll be able to stand on their own) and slice an "X" halfway through the strawberry. Do not cut all the way through or you'll have one heck of a mess!

In a mixer, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Once combined, pour it into a plastic bag, cut off a corner of the bag, and fill the strawberries in the "X" you just made.

Melt some chocolate chips in the microwave at 10 second intervals (as you don't want them to burn) and lightly drizzle over the strawberries. I recommend crumbling up some graham crackers too, to act as the "crust" of your cheesecakes.

And that's it folks! Fast, easy, and if you stick them in the fridge until they harden, they're addicting as well!

TOTAL COSTS: About $12.50 to make as many strawberries as you can! (prices from Vons)
$2.99/lb. for strawberries
$1.99 for cream cheese
$2.49 for powdered sugar
$2.50 for chocolate chips
$2.50 for graham crackers
Made my own vanilla extract

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 20 minutes to make 12

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 2 out of 5
It's really quite simple - the only thing you have to watch out for is not burning the chocolate in the microwave. Piping the cream cheese filling into the strawberries would be easier if there was someone holding the strawberries open but I did these by myself without any problems!

5 Minutes or Less Halloween Ideas

If you just found out you're hosting a Halloween party and you only have 20 minutes to get ready (I don't think that would actually happen but lets pretend, shall we?), here are four 5-minute ideas to get your place ready! And all of this didn't cost me a thing because I already had all the supplies so hopefully you do too!

Mmmm...bloody bandaids....

#1 - The food

Cookies take too long to make and you don't have time to run to the store. What do you do? Grab some ingredients out of your cupboards and fridge and make these Band-Aid Appetizers from Likes.com.

INGREDIENTS: Graham crackers, cream cheese, and jelly
TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 4 minutes, 45 seconds to make 9.
Notice that I didn't flatten out the cream cheese and make it square but if you get your kids to make these, they probably won't either!
EASY-PEASY SCALE: 1 out of 5. They're so easy to make and they'd be a fun project for the kiddos! Now whether they taste any good... well... that's up to your taste buds.

#2 - The mood

Pumpkin silhouette

So you don't have any fake cobwebs laying around? No zombies? That's ok, you can still make your space spooky! Cut out black paper, or print on black ink and cut out, different designs like jack o'lantern faces or bats! If you want to be really fancy, you could cut out one of these templates from Martha Stewart but it would take more than 5 minutes. Anyone else wish there was a face of Martha Stewart template to cut out? Maybe I'd only be spooked by that...

Bat silhouette

SUPPLIES NEEDED: Paper, scissors, tape (I recommend double-sided but if you don't have any, just make loops) and tape to the front of the design and the inside of the lampshade. Remember not to show the tape outside of the design or it will show through!
TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 4 minutes, 25 seconds
2 minutes, 25 seconds for the bat, 1 minute 30 seconds for the jack o'lantern, and 1 minute to tape them inside of lampshades
EASY-PEASY SCALE: 2 out of 5. It depends on how difficult of a design you're cutting out but again, something the kids could do and looks great! Just remember not to have paper too close to the hot lightbulb or you might have another kind of scary night!

#3 - The oooed (just go with it)

Mummy

What if the electricity has gone out? Well, put those candles to good use! This post from Thrifty Decor brings to "light" two different ideas and they're super quick and easy!

Creepy eyes

SUPPLIES NEEDED: For the mummy: Gauze or cheesecloth, googly eyes (I used Wilton Candy Eyeballs but you could easily cut eyes out of paper), candle, mason jar, glue. For creepy eyes: dark paper, scissors, tape, marker, hole puncher, candle, and candle holder
TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 2 minutes, 25 seconds for the mummy and 2 minutes, 30 seconds for the creepy eyes
EASY-PEASY SCALE: 2 out of 5. Again, very easy and very quick to put together. I didn't even tape the gauze for the mummy, I just tucked it in in the back and I didn't glue the eyes on but you certainly can. And while the original creepy eyes calls for strips of paper with eyes cut out, I opted for one sheet of paper wrapped around the candle holder to save on time, taped the paper to the holder, then punched out eye holes. I probably should have drawn the pupils bigger, though.

Tissue ghosts

#4 - The booed

I used to make these as a kid and when I saw this post, I was so happy to see Jen Banks at A Busy Mommy does it for her kids as well! This is probably my favorite but for sentimental reasons.

SUPPLIES NEEDED: Tissues, string or yarn (I used black thread which is harder to see from far away), and a marker
TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 1 minute per ghost (I made three), and 30 seconds to hang per ghost...unless you have a really difficult chandelier
EASY-PEASY SCALE: 1 out of 5. As I said, I used to make these as a kid so they're really easy to make. The most tissue ghosts, the better!

Happy Halloween!