4th of July

We had a very laid back but fun Fourth of July this year. We started out at the parade. The Portage parade is the longest parade in the world! Last year it was at least 2 hours long. This year we only stayed for an hour. It was also like 110 degrees at 11am so we didn't last very long.  After the parade we came home and relaxed. Mike went out on the four wheeler and me and the kids stayed cool. Later that afternoon we went to the beach with Rusty, Stacy and their kids (All four of them!) After the beach we stopped at Uncle Bob's for dinner.  Once it got dark out we went to Hobart to see fireworks. It was a very laid back but fun day!  Marley said it was parade day when we asked her why we were going to a parade and seeing fireworks.

Since it was Mason's first Fourth of July and he was a day shy of 3 months I did a little impromptu photo shoot while Mike was out riding.

Hope everyone else had a great day too!

Cooling off at the parade

Just chillin'

She crashed out once we got home from fireworks.

Crescent Dogs aka Pigs in a blanket

I made these for lunch. Wait- back up. Let me start by saying that I LOVE HOT DOGS! I could eat hot dogs for every meal every day of my life. So, of course before I even show you a picture or tell you the recipe I am giving these a big thumbs up!

Okay moving on... I found the recipe here. Except they say to use bacon and I didn't when I made them.

After I took them out of the oven Marley asked why the hot dogs were in a sleeping bag. I didn't take pictures of the "process" of making them, but here's the recipe-

8 hot dogs

4 slices American cheese, each cut into 6 strips

1 can crescent dinner rolls 

Heat oven to 375°F. Slit hot dogs to within 1/2 inch of ends; insert 3 strips of cheese into each slit. Separate dough into triangles. Wrap dough triangle around each hot dog. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, cheese side up. Bake at 375°F. for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Corn Dog Mini Muffins

Today's recipe we're trying is corn dog mini muffins. I found the recipe here through Pinterest. It seems fairly easy to make and I had everything already in my kitchen except for the corn muffin mix.

Here's the recipe-

1-8.5 oz. box of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/3 cup milk

1 TBS honey

4 Hot dogs, each cut into 5 pieces

Spray the wells of a mini muffin pan with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a med bowl, combine the mix, egg, honey and milk. Allow to sit for 3 - 4 min. Stir batter.

Fill each mini muffin well with about 1/2 TBS batter. Place a piece of hot dog into each well, pressing in.

Top each hot dog with about a tsp. of batter, covering hot dog.

Bake in oven for 10 - 15 min. or until golden brown. Allow to cool in pan for 5 min. before removing.

Marley liked them. I thought they were okay. I would rather have a regular corn dog. These were very messy because the corn muffin crumbled once you took a bite.

Pinterest Challenge Accepted

Two blogs that I read every day while feeding Mason are hosting-

Young House Love and Bower Power are great DIY blogs. I mentioned the Pinterest Challenge a while back when I installed this bar under the kitchen sink.  When I did that I was to late to actually join in on their challenge, but this time I have accepted their "challenge" and have my "pin" done on time five days early!

I actually first saw this idea on Young House Love's instagram photo.  After browsing Pinterest for the actual recipe/instructions I came across them here and drove to the store the next day for cinnamon rolls. It is fairly easy to do and smells wonderful!

The first time I made them I used Pillsbury mini-bites. They were more flat then the regular rolls so it didn't turn out as good as they did when I used the regular cinnamon rolls this morning.  I did notice if you open the waffle iron too early that they were splitting in half. Nothing awful, but just a side note. Here's a little photo play by play of the whole process-

Here's what you need. 

Just set it in and shut the lid. I waited about 2-3 minutes and then took them out.

I put the icing on while they're still warm. YUM! 

You know they're good when you get a thumbs up from Marley. 

 I love them so much I could probably eat them for breakfast everyday.

Besides participating in YHL and BP's challenge, I've also decided to challenge myself in a way. I have decided that I will try, key word here is try, to make a new recipe that I have found on Pinterest every day. Whether it be for breakfast or dinner or just a snack.  Every night I will report back on what we all thought of the food. So consider this post my first recipe review!

Waffle iron cinnamon rolls receive an A+