Rainbow Fruit Pizza–St Patricks Day Recipes

Take a little twist on the sugar cookie fruit pizza for one of your St Patricks Day recipes this year.  A little healthier way to cure your sweet tooth.

fruit-pizza-rainbow 4

Sugar Cookie Fruit pizza is a great and tasty treat for a party or a shower.  They are also easy to serve.  You can also let your guests decorate their own with the fruit of their choice.

fruit-pizza-rainbow 1

Simply take your favorite Sugar Cookie Recipe and add a nice light and fluffy frosting. Then pull out your favorite fresh fruit.

 

Rainbow Fruit Pizza

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup butter flavored Crisco
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  • 4 3/4 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • 3/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Instructions

  1. Combine soda and sour cream in mixer.
  2. Then add the rest of the wet ingredients and mix well.
  3. Mix in the dry ingredients.
  4. Roll out dough till it is about 1/4 inch thick, on a lightly floured surface and cut out with cookie cutters into desired shapes.
  5. I cut out circles that were 4 inches in size. This is be better if you are making rainbows.
  6. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees or until lightly browned.
http://www.theidearoom.net/2013/03/rainbow-fruit-pizza.html

Amazing Whipped Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of salted butter, room temperature
  • 1 tsp Vanilla
  • 3-4 cups Powdered Sugar
  • 1-2 tsp. Milk
  • 1 16 oz. tub of Cool Whip

Instructions

  1. Use room temperature butter (otherwise you will get chunks of butter in your frosting), place it into mixer and whip together until nice and smooth.
  2. Then add 1 teaspoon of vanilla.
  3. Gradually add about 3-4 cups of powdered sugar (Confectioner’s sugar).
  4. It will be a bit chunky and not very smooth.
  5. Gradually add 1 teaspoon of milk while mixing frosting.
  6. If it is still not the consistency you desire, add another teaspoon of milk until you get a nice thick frosting that is smooth.
  7. Then fold in 1 tub of Cool Whip.
  8. Serve immediately or keep in refrigerator before serving.
http://www.theidearoom.net/2013/03/rainbow-fruit-pizza.html

fruit-pizza-rainbow 2

In this case I wanted fruit that was the color of the rainbow.  I used Raspberries, oranges chopped, crushed pineapple, kiwi, and blueberries.

fruit-pizza-rainbow 5

These got pretty rave reviews from my built-in taste testers.  But unfortunately these fall in the category of things I can no longer eat….but that is okay…I was happy just eating the rest of this colorful plate of fruit for my dessert.  Everyone was happy and you can’ t beat that…and you have another addition to your simple St Patricks Day recipes.

fruit-pizza-rainbow

Summer Vacation 2012

 Sand Hollow 2012 a  Sand Hollow 2012 b

My family just got back from TWO different vacations…back to back.  This was not planned as we were scheduling our summer calendar a while back.  We were originally planning to go to California for a family reunion with my husband’s side of the family which we did do at the end of June.

Sand Hollow 2012  bishop 1  bishop 2

As we were packing for that trip, my mom and sisters planned an impromptu trip for the following week…over the 4th of July.  My sister’s husband was studying for a big test and had taken the week off to study…so they decided to get the kids and go play so he could have some nice and quiet study time.

bishop 3  bishop 4  bishop 5

The only problem was that they were leaving just one day AFTER we were home from Cali.  And that one day we were home just happened to be my birthday.  But I decided it was worth it to be able to spend some time with my family.  Although it was a bit crazy getting there! I basically dumped everything out of the car, washed it or refilled it and then repacked it.  I was able to squeeze in a quick birthday lunch with the hubs.

bishop 6  bishop 7  bishop 8

We had a great time with both sides of the family!  Playing in the water was basically our main focus since it has been so stinking HOT!  Is it hot where you are?  Whew! 

bishop 9  bishop 10  bishop 11

We went rafting down a river, went swimming and played in a big pond, hiked to a waterfall and played in the falls, swam at the pool, went hiking up to a little slot canyon and launched off some rockets.

bishop 12  bishop 13  bishop 14

Probably the best part though was reconnecting with the cousins and family members on both sides.  My kids are pretty lucky in the cousin department.  PLENTY of cousins their ages on both sides.  We have 19 cousins on my side of the family (the oldest is 16) and 19.5 cousins on my husbands side (oldest is 19). 

bishop 15  bishop 16  bishop 17

I have been so busy catching up with work, home and church duties that I have had ZERO time for any creative endeavors or home remodeling…but that is okay.  Summer is supposed to be like that…right?!  Is it crazy to feel like I miss you guys?  Cause I kinda do!  I feel like I have been mentally away from this blog for a little while.  Have you missed me? :)  Don’t feel like you have to answer that unless it is a resounding YES!

Bishop 2012 a  Bishop 2012 b  Bishop 2012 d

Let’s get back to some good fun summer projects…shall we?  Sounds good!

What are your favorite things to do on your summer vacations?

PVC Sprinkler: Lowe’s outdoor challenge

The last week here has been H.O.T…HOT!!  With temps in the high 90’s and low 100’s we have been feeling the heat.  So when Lowe’s challenged their Creative Network to create something to make the outdoors more fun and memorable, I knew this PVC sprinkler would be a perfect fit and would cool us off.

pvc sprinkler 2

I have seen a few of these around, but the first one I saw was in the Family Fun magazine a couple of years ago.  I have always wanted to make one.

pvc sprinkler 6

I decided to come up with my own design and drew it out before we even got started. My husband and I made a few changes to the design when we actually put it together.

pvc sprinkler 4

I was really happy with how it turned out.  The kids LOVE it.  We even had the neighborhood kids and some cousins over to play in it with us.  The kids rode their scooters through it and we have plans to put it over the slip and slide.  Doesn’t that sound like a ton of fun?!

pvc sprinkler 3

PVC is really inexpensive and we were able to put this whole thing together for $25.  That is a pretty great price for something that entertained the kids for a couple hours every day and cooled them off during the hottest part of the day.

pvc sprinkler 5

I will be back to share with you the specific details for how we build this in case you would like to make something similar at your house.

pvc sprinkler

What are some fun ways you are making memories outside this summer? We could always use some fun ideas around here!

Next month I will be back with another outside idea, courtesy of Lowes and I’ll be giving away another Lowes Gift Card!  So be sure to keep checking back!