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You will want to catch up if missed my latest Easter Post, Southwest Bacon Ranch Deviled Eggs!

Looking for a Fun and Spiritual Craft for your elementary aged child for Easter?

Then I have the perfect solution!

Easter Cut & Color Cross Craft will keep your child busy with fun, while it opens the door for a perfect conversion and discussion about The Resurrection of Jesus!

Even though this craft is geared more toward 6-9 year olds, with a little help it can become a great craft for preschoolers.

What you will need to have on hand:

• Crayons or Markers
• Scissors
• Paper

What you will need to do to complete this Easter Craft:

• Fold Paper according to the step by steps pictures
• Parents tell The Resurrection of Jesus Story (optional)
• Cut final paper vertical, keeping the piece you are holding
• Unfold the piece you are holding
• Color your cross
• Hang up to enjoy

The Bible tells us that on Thursday after Passover, Jesus was arrested and sentenced to die on a cross.  Good Friday, is the day we remember Jesus’ death on the cross.

Jesus was laid to rest in the tomb.  Fearing that the disciples might try to steal Jesus’ body, the high priest asked for  the tomb to be sealed and guards outside.

On Sunday morning (Easter), three women went to the tomb to finish anointing Jesus’ body for burial. But when they reached the tomb, they made a shocking discovery.

They could not imagine how the tomb had been opened – or what had happened to Jesus!

In the other gospels we read that an angel appeared to the women and told them Jesus was risen. But even with that message, they did not understand what was going on. They wanted to see Jesus – and they would see him soon enough.

Jesus was alive! The Son of God had risen from the dead just as he said he would.

Jesus would later appear to his disciples and thousands more. He told them to go and tell the world that he was alive and that anyone who believed in him could have… a new life. 

The post Cut & Color Cross Craft and Easter Story appeared first on GraceandGravy with a side of life!.

Happy Easter Week!

All week I will be sharing Easter Recipes, Crafts and Goodies to celebrate one of the best weeks all year.

Not only is Easter one of the most Special and Important Holidays for us as living beings, but it’s also Spring, the sun is shining, the flowers are blooming and the bumble bees are buzzing.  What could be better than celebrating our resurrection of our Lord Savior, all while enjoying the beautiful season he created that special day to take place in!

The first I wanted to share was my Southwest Bacon Ranch Deviled Eggs Guest Post for Sidetracked Sarah.

“Deviled eggs are a staple food at any Southern get-together. I grew up standing in the kitchen watching my momma make a platter for family reunions and bbq’s.     These Southwest Bacon Ranch Deviled Eggs definitely aren’t my momma’s recipe, but I do believe she would approve 100%!!”

And yes, I even used my fresh eggs from my girls, Agnes, Mabel, Olive, Ellie May, Bertha and Opal!

So make sure you stop by Sidetracked Sarah’s and try my latest recipe!

Enjoy!

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Spring is here!!

And all I have to say is, “YAY, FOR SPRING!”.

But I seriously cannot believe Easter will be here in two short weeks! It feels like this year is flying by already!

It you feel the same way,and you have little ones running around, then this post is for you!

is the perfect memory maker craft with your kiddo’s.

“No mess, no hassle, just memories to create and remember”.

Make sure to “HOP” on over to SideTrackedSarah’s to check out my Basket of Eggs “Easter” Printable!

Hope you enjoy!

The post Basket of Eggs “Easter” Craft Printable Guest Post for SIdeTrackedSarah appeared first on GraceandGravy with a side of life!.

I wanted to sneak in one more St. Patrick’s Day post before tomorrow.

I keep telling myself I had plenty of time, but before I knew it, it was the day before!  So here I am, typing a way!

My hubby and I are huge coffee fans!  I mean I literally cannot function before I have had my two morning cups.

So, I wanted to create a drink that was fun and festive, but also something we would drink more than on one occasion.  I decided to create a Shamrock Expresso.

My Shamrock Expresso is super simply, yet so delish.

It’s sweet and highly caffeinated which is always a must at the top of the list!

But most important, it only takes two ingredients!

What you need:

• Very Strong or Bold Coffee
• Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

What you do:

• Brew your mug of coffee
• Add a scoop of Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream on top
• Enjoy

See, I told you it was SUPER easy!

It has a wonderful minty taste, and the chocolate mixed with the coffee gives the perfect mocha flavor.

This will be a big hit at a St. Patty’s Day dinner or get together.

Don’t forget to serve in some really cute glasses or mugs to create the more lavish look!

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Can you believe that St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner.

St. Patty’s is one of my favorite holidays, mostly because of the fun that surrounds it.

I mean come on, how many days you get to walk around saying, “Top of the morning to you laddy!”.

My hubby finds it ever so amusing to see just how long it takes to annoy his co-workers in his Irish Accent!  Sometimes I wish I was a fly on the wall just to see the reaction out of everyone!

I wanted to create fun activities for little ones, no I don’t mean Leprechauns, to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.  Perfect for a day at home celebrating, or for classroom fun! (Geared toward PreK-1st) -FREE- St. Patrick’s Day Play and Learn Printable Pack

In the pack you will find the following fun activities:

• Memory Game
• Counting Practice
• Matching Practice
• Coloring Sheets
• Fun with Dots

What you will need to have on hand:

• Crayons or Markers
• Scissors
• Cardstock and Laminate (if you prefer longer lasting durability)
• A Printer
• Paper

To Download click -FREE- St. Patrick’s Day Play and Learn Printable Pack.

I hope you enjoy and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

The post *FREE* St. Patrick’s Day Play and Learn Printable Pack appeared first on GraceandGravy with a side of life!.

In honor of”Mardi Gras”, I  decided to celebrate by having a few friends over for dinner.

Since I was preparing a pretty large meal, I wanted to keep dessert on the easy side.  In my “Birthday Party on a Budget” Post, I talked about how much I love making Cake Pops.  They are fun and easy to create, just the recipe I needed for dinner.

I decided to use a box cake mix and frosting since I was wanting to spend as little time as possible on the dessert.

Add a little green food food coloring to the white chocolate, sprinkle with gold sugar sprinkles and voila…..We have Mardi Gras Cake Pops!

Hope you enjoyed your Fat Tuesday and these fun and festive Cake Pops!!

What you need:

1 Box Cake Mix

1 Container of Frosting (13-15 ounce)

1 Package of White Chocolate Bark

Gold Sugar Crystal Sprinkles

Green Food Coloring

What you do:

1) Bake your cake according to directions.

2) Let cake cool completely.

3) After cooled, tear cake up into pieces and place in large bowl.

4) Mix your frosting into cake pieces. (Hands work the best!)

5) Roll your cake into balls (I prefer golf ball size) and stick cake pop sticks in each one.

6) Place cake balls on a parchment paper lined pan and place in freezer for appx 45 minutes-1 hour.

7) After cake balls are frozen, melt your chocolate bark in microwave stirring as you go.

8) Mix in 4-5 drops of green food coloring.

9) Dip cake balls into chocolate bark, covering completely.

10) Gently tap excess chocolate off on side of bowl.

11) Place back on parchment paper and sprinkle with sugar crystals..

12) Continue until finished and return to freezer for appx 15-30 minutes.

13) Enjoy!

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Need a last minute Fun and Frugal Valentine Gift?

Valentine’s Day is so hard for me because there is only so many balloons and boxes of candy you can give and receive.

Since I am a canner, I always have an endless supply of Mason Jars on hand so I thought it would be fun to do a gift in a jar.

I still wanted to incorporate candy of some sort into the gift so I decided on S’more’s in a jar.

It’s a fun, easy  and frugal gift idea.  Since I wanted it to be a Valentine Theme I decided to use heart shaped marshmellos and Valentine wrapped candy.

Of course I couldn’t just use regular graham crackers, I had to use chocolate graham crackers to go with the strawberry marshmellos and chocolate bars!

I created Valentine Tags for labels and Voila, a perfect Valentine Gift that fits everyone!

Click the download link below for my *FREE* Valentine Tags.

S’More Valentine Printable Tags

Enjoy and Happy Valentine’s Day!

The post Valentine Love In a Jar with *FREE* Printable Labels appeared first on GraceandGravy with a side of life!.

I was hosting a Church Couples Connect Night (CCCN) at my house recently and we decided to go with a Valentine Theme since it was a couples event.

I wanted to make something fun and festive, so I supplied the Punch and a Sweet Bar.

I love making punch for parties and events.

One thing I always try to do, is incorporate the holiday or season into the recipe.  Right now I am into cherry flavoring so I thought why not a cherry punch!

Of course I have to dabble a little here, and dabble a little there, to get the recipe just the way I want it!

And if I think I perfected the taste I was going for.

What you need:

2 quarts of Cherry Flavored Drink (example Koolaid)

1 quart of Pink Lemonade

1 liter of Ginger Ale

12 oz of 100% Pineapple Juice

6 oz of Maraschino Cherries and Juice

What to do:

1) Pour all ingredients together into a large drink dispenser.

2) Stir together.

3) Serve.

*Works best if all ingredients are very cold or are slushy from the freezer.

I also wanted to do a really cute food idea for the CCCN.

I came up with the idea of a Sweet Bar from my Winter Cocoa Bar.  I had decided to leave my Cocoa Bar up all Winter, but when I came up with the Sweet Bar idea, I just rearranged a few things, took away the cocoa supplies and added a lot of sweets and candy instead.

I added jars of gumdrops and jellybeans, chocolate covered pretzels, heart shaped bowls of assortment fun size candy bars, chicken feeders filled with M&M’s, and cute pink and red paper bowls to put our treats in.

It was a big hit and such a cute and simple way to decorate for Valentine’s.

I will leave it up through February and  keep it stocked with sweets for any guests that might drop.

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I am a Cupcake Queen!

Baking and decorating cupcakes is one of my most favorite stress relievers.

I know, I know, your probably thinking, WHAT? But I enjoy creating and trying new things.

I actually run a Cupcake Business out of my home called “Crazy About Cupcakes”, which helps support my love for Guatemala Missions.

So I am always eager to try new creations but I think my Raspberry & Vanilla Cupcakes are perfect for Valentine’s Day.

The Raspberry & Vanilla flavor is just enticing enough to draw you back for more, without knocking you into a sugar coma (:

But what’s more important than the flavor, is knowing how to create perfectly even baked cupcakes.  After lots of trial and error, I think I have almost perfected my recipe.  Hope you enjoy a little sweetness for Valentine’s Day!

Raspberry & Vanilla Valentine Cupcakes

Yields 12-14 cupcakes

What you need:

No Fade Cupcake Liners (you will thank me later)

Muffin Pan

1 1/2 cups of All Purpose Flour

1 1/2 tsp of Baking Powder

1/2 tsp of Baking Soda

1/4 tsp of Salt

1/2 cup of Oil (coconut oil works fine)or Margarine

2 Eggs

1 cup of Sugar

1/2 Milk

2 tsp of Vanilla Extract or Paste

2 tsp of Raspberry Extract

Icing:

1 cup of Real Butter

3-4 cups of Powdered Sugar

1 tbsp of Milk or Heavy Whipping Cream

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 tsp Raspberry Extract

What to do:

1) Preheat Oven to 350 F.

2) In a medium size bowl, Whisk Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, and Salt together and set aside.

3) In a large bowl, Mix on low, Sugar, Butter and Sugar until creamed together.

4) Add in Vanilla and Raspberry and stir.

5) Slowly add dry ingredients and milk into large bowl of wet ingredients and continue mixing on low.

6) Add liners to muffin pan and pour 1/4 cup of batter (will be on the thin side) to each liner.

7) Bake on 350 for 15 minutes.

8) Remove from oven and let cool completely before Frosting.

Icing:

1) Whip butter with the mixer until completely smooth. (make sure butter is soft before mixing)

2) Add in 1 cup of powered sugar and 1 tbsp of milk or heavy cream, at a time to butter and whip together.

3) Continue adding the sugar and cream and whipping until all powered sugar has been added to butter.

4) Add in your Vanilla and Raspberry

5)If your frosting is to dry add another tbsp of cream. If frosting is too thin add another 1/2 cup of powered sugar until you get the consistency you desire.

6) Decorate the cupcakes by icing from a piping bag, or spreading across the top.  Whichever is easiest for you.

7) Add fondant hearts or candies if you desire.

*Please note I do not add food coloring or dyes unless necessary.  If you desire colored frosting, I recommend using fresh raspberries mashed up and added to icing mixture.

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