Ranch Dressing

Original Source: Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing

1 cup Dannon Oikos plain nonfat greek yogurt
1 packet hidden valley ranch (dressing, not dip)
1/2 cup 1% milk
Whisk together in bowl and chill for 1 hour before serving.

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Me: I was really excited to make this because the whole jar is only 6 Weight Watchers points.  I used skim milk and 3 Tbsp. mix. Right after making this, I tried it.  Gross! I tried it again the next day, after letting it sit.  It was okay, but kind of grainy.  I really tried to like it, but it just wasn’t good to me.  I will stick with my Bolthouse Farms Yogurt Ranch Dressing. 

Make Your Own Ice Pack

Original post: Make your own shapeable ice pack

To make your own shapeable ice pack, mix 1 part rubbing alcohol with 3 parts water in a ziploc bag and put in the freezer. The alcohol will prevent the water from freezing completely. When it’s frozen, wrap with a towel or cloth of some sort and apply. If the mixture freezes too hard, just add a little more alcohol.  If it’s too slushy, add a little more water.

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Me: I made 6 of these when The Teenager had his wisdom teeth taken out. They work like a gem!  I double bagged them so if they leaked, it wouldn’t get all over.  They are really awesome! 

Kit Kat Cake

Original Source: Kit Kat Cake

All you do is take your favorite cake recipe, bake and let cool. Before frosting, make sure your cake is shorter than a Kit-Kat bar, if not trim some off the top to leave room for the M&M’s. Frost with your favorite frosting.

Take a bunch of Kit-Kat bars (about 4 large packages), cut or gently break each bar into two sections. Place the bars on the cake, gently pushing into the frosting. Tie with a ribbon and fill the center with M&M’s (about 1 large bag). You can leave some out to pour around the base of your cake, but since this cake was traveling with me to work, I didn’t bother. That’s it! Easy peasy!

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Me: This cake was super easy to make, but oh…so expensive!  It used 10 Kit Kat Bars and a huge bag of M&M’s, plus the cake and frosting.  If I were ever to make it again, I would definitely make it smaller to make it cheaper!  But The Chocoholic was thrilled to have this for his birthday cake!

I fixed my cup holders!

Original Post: Honda Odyssey Cup Holder Fix

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Me: Okay, I admit I pinned this just so I could blog about it.  But it’s the coolest thing ever!  I didn’t take before pictures, but look at the picture below.

See the little flaps?  Imagine them the same color as the holders, but cracked and falling out and 2 of them missing.  That was the state of my flaps. 

No more!  I was going to buy new ones, until I discovered that they are $5 each!  Ouch.  Then I found a forum where a man said he made new ones out of mouse pad holders.  Really?  I have a few of those laying around.  So then I found the forum listed above where he gave step-by-step instructions on how to take the center console apart so they could be replaced.  I was so stoked!

So I grabbed my took box and went to work.  It took me about an hour, but I did it all by myself…with the help of the internet.  I love the internet!  And now I have cup holders that will actually hold my cups again!  Whoo hoo!

Indoor Snowball Fight

Original Source: Indoor Snowball Fight

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Me: Basically, you make a bunch of pom poms out of yarn, then have a “snowball” fight!  We made white and black ones because that is what color yarn we had on hand.  My kids loved doing this! It kept them entertained for several hours!

Painted Pumpkins

Original Sources: Easy Polka Dot Pumpkins & Stacked Pumpkins

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Me: I love decorating for Halloween.  When I saw these cute pumpkins, I knew I couldn’t resist.  So I bought pumpkins, spray paint, and ribbons and went to town.  The Doctor thought I was insane, but I absolutely love how they turned out!

Monster Jars

Original Source: Halloween Painted Jar Luminaries

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Me: The original post used glass jars, but I didn’t have enough.  I really wanted to do these, so I just collected plastic jars from around the house.  The big green one is a 2-liter soda bottle.  The big white one had protein powder.  Because they were plastic, I just cut holes in the back and put in electric candles.  It was so fun to see them all lit up!

Milk Jug Ghosts

Original Source: Line Up of Ghosts

This great idea came from Disney Family Fun Magazine. It was super easy. We cleaned out the milk jugs. You can use as many as you would like. Use a permanent marker and draw a face on each one. Then cut a piece out of the back of the jug so you can put lights in it. Put the lights in the back of the jugs and line them up.

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Me: This was so easy and fun to do.  The biggest problem was storing all the milk jugs until we had enough.  After Halloween, my kids were shocked when I threw them all away, but I was not going to buy more tubbers to store them.  I will just make more next year!

(Caffeine-free) Diet Coke Brownies

Original Source: Diet Coke Brownies

1 box fudge brownie mix (I used the 9 x 13 pan size)

1 (12 oz.) can Diet Coke (I used caffeine-free, of course)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl dump the brownie mix in.  Open that can of Diet Coke and slowly pour over the dry brownie mix. It will foam up a lot.

When all of the Diet Coke has been stirred in and well incorporated the batter will be very liquid, but that's OK.

Pour into a 9 x 13 pan which has been lightly coated with non-stick spray (bottom of the pan only),and bake for 30-35 minutes or as directed on the box. Let them cool, cut them into 24 pieces and try not to eat the entire pan before the family gets home!

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Okay, I made these and Yum!  Delicious!  They were a little chewier, but so good.

But I have to say one thing.

24 pieces?  Seriously?  24? Who cuts them that small? 

If you cut them into 12 pieces, that makes them 4 1/2  WW+ points each.  Of course I cut them even bigger than that, but we won’t go there.

Okay fine, 6 brownies are 9 points each.  I calculated that if I had made them traditionally with eggs and oil, those 6 brownies would have been 16 points each! I saved 7 points!

Earring Holder

Original Source: Graceful Earring Stand Made From a Picture Frame

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Me: I thought this was a great idea!  Halloween night, while my boys were watching “Arachnophobia,” I decided to make one.  I already had a picture frame ready, I just used some cute ribbon I had lying around and used a staple gun to attach it.  I absolutely love how it turned out!