Happy 4th Birthday, Nathanael!

In honor of my middle child’s fourth birthday, we had a Fire Truck birthday party for him last weekend. His actual birthday was yesterday, but Mondays are no good for holding parties :)

Thanks to Pinterest, I may have gone a bit overboard with the party decorations. now I have to think of how to top this one for Kahlen’s next birthday!

It started with the invitation:

I used the Cricut Cartridge Everyday Paper Dolls for the fire truck, axe, fire hydrant, and hat. I used the Create a Critter cartridge for the flames. It was actually my husband’s idea to make an aperture out of the fire truck window so we could see Nate from the front and inside. It’s on a 8 1/2” x 4” blank so that it will fit inside a regular mailing envelope.

After that, I found a YouTube video on how to make the cake simply yet perfect for what I wanted:

Fire Truck Cake courtesy of Family Fun Video

Then I went looking for some game or activity ideas and found this great tutorial on how to make a pull string piñata.

Also, a ton of the fire truck / fire fighter themed parties that I saw were held actually AT a fire station. I didn’t think this would work, until I just called them to ask. We were planning on having it at a park that is right next to a fire station anyway, so it wouldn’t hurt to ask, right? Well, they said YES (as long as they weren’t out on a call, of course). Turns out, they were on a call when we first tried to go over there, but we were flexible about it and just came back after we saw them pull back into the station:

Nate said this was the best part!

I also found some great decoration ideas for a banner, food and cute signs, and cupcake designs. Naturally, me being me, I had to make all of those things. By hand. *sigh* sometimes my crafty side gets the better of my practical side.

The banner as it's hung up at my house. I didn't get a good picture of it at the party :(

"Matches" - Pretzels dipped in red melting chocolate. "Fire Truck Wheels" - Oreos. "Fire Hoses" - Licorice, both black and red. I also had some gluten free candies because one of his friends has a bad reaction to gluten.

The cupcakes. The red rope ones were lemon flavored and the flame ones were chocolate flavored. I also made the cupcake wrappers by cutting them out with a template first, then using decorative scissors to cut the tops. I then stuck on the little decoration on the front, which I also made, since I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for.

I am so grateful for good friends. I tried to do the flames, but I’m just not that skilled at decorating cakes. So I called in one of my best friends and she did them for me. Thanks, Melissa!

So, how did everything turn out? GREAT!! I think that Nate will never forget this one :)

 

Happy 4th Birthday, Nathanael!

~S

Tasty Tuesday–Cheesy Cornbread Waffles and Slow Cooker Chicken Chili

Welcome to Tasty Tuesday here at The Young'ns!
There’s a recipe index under the food tab above if you’re ever looking for a recipe I’ve already blogged.

It’s been hot here this week. Like mid-90s hot. Not when I want to use the oven or the stove particularly. Enter the slow cooker. And the waffle maker. I’m learning that my waffle maker is good for more than just plain waffles.

I came across this idea on Pinterest, and thought I’d give it a whirl. I also took a chicken chili recipe from an online cookbook and modified for mild-food-me. Tim said it was still flavorful enough, but I think he ended up adding Tabasco :) So here’s…

Cheesy Cornbread Waffles and Slow Cooker Chicken Chili

{Ingredients}

FOR THE CHILI:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
• 1 can black or pinto beans
• 2 cans petite diced tomatoes
• 8 ounces tomato paste
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
• extra cheese for topping later

FOR THE WAFFLES:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup club soda
• 1/3 cup canola oil

{Directions}

• Put everything for chili in slow cooker and cook for 6-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high.
• For the waffles, mix first 5 ingredients in a large bowl (I used my KitchenAid). Stir in cheese. Combine eggs and next 3 ingredients; gently stir into dry ingredients just until blended.
• Pour the recommended amount into your waffle maker. Mine does well with 1/2 cup batter. It will be thin when you pour it in, don’t worry! Cook for 3-4 minutes.
• Once waffle is done, you can eat right away, or freeze on cookie sheet and store in gallon ziplock bag for later use. If you freeze them, thaw them in the microwave, then pop them in the toaster to get a little crispier before adding the chili.
• Place waffle on your plate, load it up with chili, then add some extra cheese. I used Monterey jack, and Tim used pepper jack, so whatever sounds good to you!

Oh yea, one other bonus about this recipe: both my little boys thought it was amazing! (Kahlen is a super picky, plain food kinda kid, just like I was, so she didn’t like the chili at all. Cornbread waffle: good. Chili: yuck). Another bonus: the chili is really easy to throw together, so I actually got it ready on Monday, froze it, then was able to just dump the bag in the crockpot today without any other prep work. Dinner with less than 10 minutes of prep time today? Yes, please!

~S