Unless....

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

The Monkey's school didn't have an official birthday party for him, but they did declare today "Crazy Hat and Sock Day".  I wish I took a picture of her this morning, but time slipped away.  Just know that she wore slipper socks and a big red yarn hat.

We didn't think socks and hats were enough to celebrate one of our favorite authors, so we decided to make cupcakes.  And not any old plain cupcakes.  We wanted to make Truffula Tree cupcakes.  If you aren't aware, Truffula trees are from the Lorax.  The Once-ler cuts down the trees to gather material to make his "Thneeds", which is something "everyone needs". 

You can find these cupcakes all over Pinterest, but I got the idea from Tablespoon.Com.  They do a great job decorating their cakes.  We did it the quick and easy way.  I think you can get the point from the picture: bake 24 cupcakes, add green coloring to vanilla frosting, add cotton candy to the top of a pretzel stick, and put the stick in the cupcake.  One word of advice: Add the cotton candy on the day you plan to serve the cakes.  Cotton candy will lose its "fluffiness" when left out overnight.

We took it one step further, and made Lorax cookies...courtesy of Pinterest!  All you need are Nutter Butters and frosting.  Truth be told, I think most of these look like ducks!

Remember...Unless someone like you care a whole awful lot.  nothing is going to get better.  It's not.

Until next time....

Operation Baking Gals

A few months ago I came across an article (can’t remember where) about this great program called Operation Baking Gals.  GALS stands for Give A Little Support (so men can play along too!).  It’s a group of volunteer bakers from around the country who bake and ship homemade treats to military men and woman that are currently deployed in war zones.

I became a member of the program back in October, and this was my second time participating.  Teams are formed each month, and how much you want to participate depends on you.  Don’t have the time this month?  Don’t sign up.  It’s as easy as that.  Not a baker?  Send a box of Oreos.  It’s really not what you send – it’s the fact that you sent them something.  The men and women need to know that they are thought of, and that they service is appreciated.

I whipped up a quick batch of Banana Muffins to send, only because I had all the ingredients on hand.  I was short on time, so that’s the only homemade goodie I made.  I didn’t want the care package to look “skinny”, so I included boxes of Girl Scout cookies, peanuts, oatmeal packets, and candy that I had in my pantry. The Daisy Girl Scout troop that meets at our school made Valentines (it was a way for them to earn their Caring and Considerate petal).  I think a little note from a 5 year old would bring a smile to anyone’s face, wouldn’t you?

Operation Baking Gals is a fun way to give back, and would make a super service project for scouts.  If time permits, I would like to do this each month.  I am always looking for people to play along, so let me know if you would to.

Oh, by the way.....the boxes are free from the US Postal Service, and they have this neat image on the side.

Easy Banana Bread

• 4 large bananas (well riped), mashed
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• ½ tsp.salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mash the bananas in a mixing bowl.   Add sugar, eggs, and oil to the bananas, and mix well. Sift the dry ingredients together, and add to the banana mixture.   Spoon into well-greased muffin tins.  Bakes for 15 to 20 minutes, or until done (the tops of the muffins will bounce back).  

Until next time.....