Just a Tip

If you'd like to receive updates on your dashboard every time the Pink Pistachio is updated - add your name to the followers box on the right side. I'm not saying you have to. It's just the name of the game - you snooze, you looze! I would hate for you to loose any fabulously-amazing-life altering-funtastically great ideas. But No PRESSure! Just a tip...

Fool your Family

April Fool's Day is quickly approaching. I collected a few tricks to be played on your families this year during meal times. They're quick and simple. Most of us have these basic things lying around the house somewhere. Go on a treasure hunt in closets and cupboards to find all of the materials and ingredients you'll need to pull of these great pranks! Enjoy!

Have a great reaction using any or all of these menacing meals? Be sure to leave us a comment and share your hysterical story!

Gigantic Pancakes

This is such a simple prank to pull! It's a guaranteed to make your little ones' eyes bulge! Want to make it an all-out experience? Be sure to read, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett. There's a page out of the book where it rains giant pancakes.

Ingredients:
1 packet quick-acting dry yeast
1 box instant pancake mix

Directions:
Mix quick-acting dry yeast into the prepared pancake mix. Cook according to box directions. Be prepared to witness the biggest pancakes you've ever seen. It's sure to be a BIG hit! Don't forget to tell them, "April Fool's."

or make 'em from scratch...

Simple Pancake Recipe:
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
* (secret ingredient) quick-acting dry yeast!

Directions
In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together, breaking up any lumps. Pour batter onto a hot griddle. Flip pancakes when the edges appear cooked and the batter bubbles on top. Serve immediately.



P.S. Just because this is fun doesn't mean they can't be delicious as well. Try adding toppings such as sliced bananas, walnuts, powdered sugar, & maple syrup! Chocolate chips, strawberries, drizzled with chocolate sauce and whipped cream wouldn't be bad either? Play around...have fun.

Frozen Cold Cereal

Most mornings call for a quick and simple bowl of cold cereal. But for April Fool's Day it can't be just any ordinary cold cereal. Make it REALLY cold...say, frozen?

Instructions:
The night before April Fool's, pour cereal into a bowl. Add milk 2/3 of the way full. Put in the freezer overnight. In the morning, add a layer of milk on top. Call your family to breakfast and see their reactions in trying to eat "frozen" cold cereal! Gotcha! I promise it'll be an April Fool's Day to remember!


[pic from www.ppsrx.com]

Magic Carrots

Do you have a garden that you've just planted? If so, or even if not, these magic carrots will be sure to surprise your families!

Instructions:

Buy carrots with tops at the grocery store. Go home and plant them in your garden or in the ground. The next day, April Fool's Day, take your family outside to see the magic carrots. Explain you don't know how they just seemed to grow overnight? They must be magic! Pull them out and steam them for dinner. They'll go great alongside your "Faked Potatoes"! Hahaha!

[pic from www.maycottage-lops.co.uk]

Faked Potato

These dud spuds make a great side dish at dinnertime on April Fools' day. After the joke's been sprung, kids can serve up the pretend potatoes at playtime.

Craft Materials:
Nude-colored nylons
Pillow batting
Needle
Thread
Scissors
Yellow craft foam or yellow construction paper
Time needed: Under 1 Hour

Instructions:
1. For each potato, stuff an 8-inch section of nude-colored nylons with pillow batting (A).

2. Twist both ends and use a needle and thread to sew them to the bottom (B).

3. For each eye, push the threaded needle up from the bottom and out the top of the potato, then back through about 1/8 inch from where it came out (C). Pull the needle out the bottom and knot the thread to secure it. Before "serving," use scissors to cut a slit in the top and add a pat of craft foam/paper butter.


[pic & content from familyfun.com]

It's Tea Time!

Welcome to the new Pink Pistachio! This blog was developed to host recipes with personality! What does that all mean? Stick around and you'll soon find out. What better way to launch, than with a part-ay? That's right little or grown-up girlie-girls, a party in the best way - a TEA PARTY! Go ahead, grab your favorite frilly dresses, lacey linens, and infamous tea sets. I'll provide the recipes to make your little girl's or better yet, grown up girls tea time an absolute treasure. Prop up your little pinkie and enjoy your afternoon tea & treats. Bon Apppetit!


P.S. Want to share how your tea party turned out? Leave me a comment to let us all know the little details that made your party priceless...

Simply Herbal Tea

I find that not all herbal teas are considered equal. It's a hassle to taste-test various name brand's teas just to be disappointed. So why not make your own according to your own taste? Here's one that my lovely and talented mother swears by. I do too! It's a new take on the orginal AVEDA herbal tea.

Ingredients:
*equal amouts of ea. loose herb (~1/4 cup of ea)
-licorice root
-basil
-cut shavegrass (aka horsetail)
-nettle leaf
-peppermint leaf

Directions:
Combine all loose herbs in a container of choice (I used a cute glass candy jar). Loosely mix all herbs together until combined. When ready to use, seep 1 T herbs per 1 cup boiling water. You may also prefer to use a Tea Ball Infuser that can be used to seep loose tea.

*Note~ not only is this tea delicious, it has many health benefits. Don't be afraid to swallow the herbs...it won't hurt a thing.

Variations:
Don't have time to make your own tea? Do your little girls despise classic tea? Simple fix! Try warming your child's favorite 100% juice in the microwave and seep any Celestial Seasonings Herbal tea in the warmed juice.



P.S. Find a Nature Food's Store (i.e. Whole Foods) that sell herbs in bulk

Ooey-Gooey Sticky Buns

Ingredients:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup pecans, chopped in very large pieces
1 package (17.3-ounces/ 2-sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted

For the Filling:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup white or original raisins

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the 12 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Place 1 rounded tablespoon of the mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups. Distribute the pecans evenly among the 12 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture.

Lightly flour rolling surface. Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with the melted butter. Leaving a 1-inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with 1/3 cup of the brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of the raisins. Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down. Trim the ends of the roll about 1/2-inch and discard. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches wide. Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry to make 12 sticky buns.

Bake for 30 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Be careful - they're hot! Allow to cool for 5 minutes only, invert the buns onto the parchment paper (ease the filling and pecans out onto the buns with a spoon) and cool completely.

Optional: You can leave them as classic sticky buns, or dress them up by adding a cinnamon roll flare with icing. I used the leftover icing from the Carat Cake and Coconut Cake recipes. Alter by reducing recipe to 1/4. Microwave for 1 min. or until warm and runny. Then drizzle on top! Voila!

Fruit Salad with Honey Yogurt

Every great treat needs a healthy companion. It's helping a little guilty pleasure feel "balanced". I've found this is the perfect accomplice to help "bail out" our Ooey-Gooey Sticky Bun suspect.

Ingredients
2 cups plain yogurt
2 tablespoons pure honey
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 vanilla bean, sliced and beans scraped (optional)
1/2 orange, juiced
1 banana, sliced

1 peach, cubed
1/2 pint fresh blueberries
1/2 pint fresh raspberries
1 pint fresh strawberries, cut in halves
1 bunch seedless green grapes, halved

Directions
Combine the yogurt, honey, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean seeds in a bowl and set aside. Combine the orange juice and banana slices in a separate bowl. Add the berries and grapes and gently mix the fruit mixture together. Spoon the fruit into serving bowls and top with the yogurt. *garnish with a sprig of mint (optional)