Homemade Strawberry Milk Recipe

Remember drinking strawberry milk as a kid, that irresistibly pink sweet drink that had a great strawberry taste, but was full of artificial flavors and artificial colors and words that you can barely pronounce?  My daughter saw it in the grocery store with me the other day, and begged me to bring some home.  I told her we would try making our own instead!

After a little experimenting in the kitchen, I came up with this tasty recipe.  It contains only 4 easy ingredients (one being water), and makes your house smell simply amazing!  I was inspired by this recipe, but I have to admit, my finished recipe looks nothing like the original.  I cut way back on the sugar, because I think strawberries are pretty sweet and tasty themselves without adding too much sugar.  Next time I think I could get away with adding even less sugar!

Not only is this drink totally delicious, but it also is a great drink for Valentine's Day with its' pretty pink color.  Make yourself a nice glass of strawberry milk today!  You know you want to.  This recipe makes one glass full.

Homemade Strawberry Milk Recipe:

• 1 cup chopped strawberries 
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1.  Combine the strawberries, sugar, water, and vanilla in a small pot over medium heat.  Let the mixture boil, and then simmer on low for about 10 minutes.  

2.  Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve, and let cool completely.  You can also place mixture in the fridge or freezer to speed up the process.  Once the syrup is cool, add it to a cold glass of milk and stir.

Now wasn't that good?  So much tastier than the processed version, and a nice flashback to the few times I was actually allowed to drink it as a kid.

My little friend was begging for a sip, and he couldn't drink it fast enough!  Enjoy!

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

xo, Laura

Rosemary Irish Soda Bread

It's been a family tradition for many years now that on St. Patrick's Day I make corned beef, potatoes, and Irish soda bread.  Yum!  I thought I'd share one of the Irish soda bread recipes that I use.  This bread is really moist, unlike some of the other recipes I've tried where the bread is really dry.  I switched up the original recipe I found a bit, added some rosemary, and it was delicious!!

Rosemary Irish Soda Bread

4 cups flour

4 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup softened butter or margarine

1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk with 2 tsp. white vinegar added)

2 eggs (one for the dough, and one for an egg wash, where will you just use the white)

Fresh rosemary, chopped

1.  Grease a baking sheet, and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2.  Mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, butter, and rosemary.  I did this in my Kitchen Aid.  Stir in the buttermilk and egg.  (If you don't have buttermilk, like I didn't, just add a couple teaspoons of white vinegar to 1 cup of milk, and let it sit for a few minutes.)

3.  Pat the dough into a round shape, flatten the top slightly, and place on the greased baking sheet.  Brush on a slightly stirred egg white, and cut an X in the top of the loaf with a sharp knife.  Bake the bread for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Recipe adapted from this recipe on allrecipes.com.

I hope you enjoy this bread as much as we did!  The rosemary is optional, but I'm a sucker for any bread with fresh rosemary in it!

Does your family have a specific meal that you eat every St. Patrick's Day?  I'd love to hear!

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

XO, Laura

Linking Up Here:  Lil Luna, Someday Crafts, The 36th Avenue, Tatertots and Jello, Whipperberry

Free St. Patrick's Day Treat Bag Printables

With St. Patrick's Day quickly approaching, I made some cute printable St. Patrick's Day treat bags from plain old white lunch bags, perfect for gift giving from you (or your leprechaun?).

In less than 5 minutes, you can print these free downloads and have almost instant cute gift bags!

I created three different free printables...  Just click on each title below to take you to each free download!

"Lucky me" printable

"Kiss Me, I'm Irish!" printable

"I'm not Irish, but you can kiss me anyway!" printable

These are so easy to print!  Here's what you do:

• Cut off about an inch off the top of your bag.  Tape the bag to the center of a piece of plain printer paper like the picture above.  I placed two pieces of tape on each side, and one at the top of the bag, just to be safe!

• Download one of more of the free printables (links above).  Place paper with the bag taped on it face down, with the top of the bag going inside the printer first.  Press print, and watch in amazement as your adorable bag comes out of the printer, ready for gift giving!!

I added a little piece of striped lime washi tape to seal the bags, but you could just fold them over, staple, or punch two little holes in the top and tie a piece of twine in a bow.

I plan on filling one bag for each of my kids with some gold coins, and some other tasty treats.  These delicious Lucky Charms treat pops would be perfect in the bags, too!

I hope you enjoy these bags!  Leave a comment and let me know if you plan on giving these a try, and who you'll be giving them to.  Do you have a sneaky little leprechaun that comes to visit you each year like we do?

Happy crafting!

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

xo, Laura

Linking Up Here:  The 36th Avenue, Whipperberry, Tatertots & Jello, Lil Luna, Someday Crafts

Lucky Charms Treat Pops + Free Printable

Last weekend I made the most fabulous treat-

Lucky Charms treat pops!

Basically, they are Rice Krispie treats, except made with Lucky Charms cereal... and boy, were they good!

They must have been magically delicious, because every time I left the kitchen and came back, my pile of pops was smaller and smaller, until they all had finally disappeared in one afternoon....

If you like you can just make Lucky Charms treats, and cut them in squares...

OR, to make them a little more fun, you can use a round biscuit cutter and cut them into circles, and stick a sucker stick into them- instant pops!  And isn't any treat just a little more fun when you put a stick into it and call it a "pop?"  I think so!

And I made some cute free printable St. Patrick's Day sayings that you can tie to the bottom of each Lucky Charms pop.

Here are the easy directions... and it can all be done in the microwave!!!

Lucky Charms Treat Pops

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 pkg. mini marshmallows
8 1/2 cups Lucky Charms cereal

1.  Microwave the stick of butter in a large microwavable bowl for 45 seconds on high, or until melted. Add in the package of marshmallows, and stir.

2.  Microwave for 45 seconds, then stir.  Microwave for another 1 minute, and stir again.  Pour in the cereal, and mix well.  Press the treats firmly into a greased 9" x 13" pan.

3.  Cut when cool if making the treats.  If making the pops, use a circular biscuit cutter or cookie cutter to cut the pressed treats into circle shapes.  Stick a sucker stick into middle bottom of each circle.

Download the free printable tags for your pops. There are 12 per page, with 3 different designs.  Cut around each one, or use a circle punch or scallop punch.  Punch a small hole in the top, place each in a sucker bag, string the printable tags, and tie with twine, string, yarn, etc.  Enjoy yourself, or give away to friends and family!

I hope you enjoy these tasty treats!  They really are quite delicious, and a fun treat for kids to give to their friends or family for St. Patrick's Day.  They are so easy and fast, which is necessary for a busy mama like me!

Happy treat pop making!!

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

xo, Laura

Linking Up Here:  Lil' Luna, Someday Crafts, The 36th Avenue, Whipperberry ,Tatertots & Jello