. . . Happy Halloween Sale . . .

It's a Halloween Sale at www.itsybitsypaper.com!  

31% OFF all purchases today only.  Happy Halloween

. . . beefy taco bake . . .

We love anything "taco" in our house.  My son is a very picky eater but if I say tacos he is all over it with no questions asked.  When I ran across this recipe over on 30 Days I knew it had to be pinned and made as soon as possible.  I found out it's an old Campbell's Soup recipe but I'm sure over the years of it being passed along people have made it their own.  I doubled mine so we would have leftovers and I am glad I did because there wasn't all that much leftover after my two guys hit this hard.  It is a really yummy recipe and so easy!

 

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.  Get the kiddos involved in helping pour everything.  My son loved dumping the salsa and soup and cheese and also helping tear up the tortillas.

 

 

**Photos below show a doubled recipe

 Beefy Taco Bake

You will need:
1 lb. ground beef
1 can condensed tomato soup
1 c. thick & chunky salsa
½ c. milk
6 flour or corn tortillas torn into 1″ pieces
1 c. shredded cheese
Optional sour cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a skillet over medium heat, cook beef until browned. Drain grease and add soup, salsa, milk, tortillas and half the cheese. Mix and spoon into a sprayed baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake until browned.

Serve with sour cream and enjoy! ♥

 

 Cut or tear up all your tortilla shells.

 Prepare your soup and salsa to be poured into the meat mixture

 You will need milk to make this nice and creamy

 Brown your ground beef and drain grease off it but leave it in the pan

 Pour your soup, milk, salsa and tomato soup into the pan with the meat

 Add your torn up tortilla shells 

 Add your cheese and then mix well until it's all combined

 Pour the mixture into a sprayed casserole dish and cover with foil

 Right before the casserole is done baking add the rest of the cheese to the top and bake a few more minutes until it's nice and brown.  

 Serve with a scoop of sour cream and enjoy it!  I made taco rice and corn to go with ours and it was the perfect dinner.

. . . a few more designs . . .

Here are a few more new designs that are available now!

www.itsybitsypaper.com

. . . New Designs . . .

I don't know about you but the holidays are creeping into my mind and I'm starting to think of what I need for gifts.  Well, today is your lucky day because there are some great new designs available in the shop.  Perfect for your holiday gifts.

 www.itsybitsypaper.com

. . . Dream Whip Dream Pie . . .

A few years ago we went out to dinner for Mother's Day and we had the absolute best chocolate mousse I've ever had.  On the way home my husband said "You really need to figure out how to make chocolate mousse that good".  Well, I tried several recipes and they were really good but none ever tasted quite as good as the restaurant's mousse.  So I moved on and haven't made anything similar in a long time until now.  I think this is the easiest pie you can make and it tastes heavenly.  My husband said it reminded him of that yummy chocolate mousse we had on that Mother's Day.  Wow, that is a compliment I would say since the other mousse recipes never lived up.

My grandmother always has Dream Whip packages at the ready but it is not something I have ever purchased until I found this recipe.  I can't wait for you to make this recipe because I know you'll love it.  If you've never used Dream Whip I think you will be a believer if you use it for this pie...I know I am for sure!

You will need:

2 envelopes of Dream Whip

2-3/4 C cold milk, divided

  1 tsp. vanilla

 2 pkg. instant pudding (I used chocolate this time around but can't wait to try others)

  1 pie crust (Oreo is perfect for chocolate pudding)

Beat Dream Whip, 1 C of milk, and vanilla on high speed for 6 minutes until the mix thickens and peaks form. Add remaining 1 3/4 cups of milk and both pudding mixes. Beat for another 2 minutes, scraping sides of bowl periodically. Spoon into pie crust and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours.

 

 

 Gather your ingredients

 I love the Dream Whip box--so simple and sweet.  Very old school.

 You will find this recipe on the back of the box of Dream Whip and even some other great suggestions and don't forget the great cake recipe too!

 Whip your 2 packages of Dream Whip, vanilla extract and 1 cup of milk until thickened and peaks form

 

 Add your chocolate pudding mixes (or whatever flavor you choose) and add the rest of your milk and mix for about 2 minutes

Grab your prepared pie crust (I used store bought but you can use a homemade one too)

 Fill up your prepared pie crust with the Dream Whip mixture.  

 

 I had a fairly good amount of mixture left over so I just put them in ramekins and served them with a little cool whip on top.  My son thought these were better than the pie itself and I have to admit they were scrumptious too!

♥ Enjoy!!

. . . Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings . . .

I have never shared a recipe without taking photos of it with my real camera but this one was so good I wanted to share it right away.  I apologize in advance for the ipad photos but it's worth making anyway!  If you want to look at beautiful photos of this recipe please be sure to stop by Pioneer Woman and check her post out too.

My husband loves anything apple--apple pie, apple bars, apple cheesecake, apple dumplings, you get it right?  Ok, so when I was cruising Pinterest and kept seeing this recipe pop up I knew it was a must.  I just happened to have almost everything in my kitchen to make it but I made due by using a can of Sprite instead of Mountain Dew and it was still amazing.

This is so darn easy and the sauce is so buttery tasting.  If I had the exact soda it called for I can't imagine it being any better but I suppose it's possible.  I even used Diet Sprite so I'm sure I made this recipe very healthy for us.

You will want to make this right away, I kid you not.

**I actually only had one package of Crescent Rolls in the fridge so you are seeing my recipe as just half the one below.

 

You will need:

2 whole Granny Smith Apples
2 cans (8 Oz. Cans) Crescent Rolls
2 sticks Butter
1-1/2 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
Cinnamon, To Taste
1 can (12 Oz.) Mountain Dew Soda (Or Sprite since I can tell you it's great) 

Peel and core apples. Cut each apple into 8 slices. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll. 
Place in a 9 x 13 buttered pan.
Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, stir, and pour entire mixture over apples. Pour Mountain Dew (Or Sprite) around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream or cool whip and spoon some of the buttery sauce from the pan over the top.

I will warn you now...this recipe is dangerously delicious and you may not stop at just one!

 

Serve warm with a big scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream or Cool Whip and enjoy! ♥

. . . Picture Frame into a Beautiful Tray . . .

I really don't recall where I first saw this idea but I am sure it was on Pinterest or on a blog so I apologize for not sharing an original source.  Either way it is going to blow your mind!  Ready?  Here we go!

You know those inexpensive acrylic photo frames that you can buy at craft stores like Michael's?  Well I made it into a beautiful clear acrylic tray by turning it upside down and adding drawer pulls with E6000 glue.  Can't get any easier than that!

These would make such pretty gifts and the nice thing is you can do them in different sizes.  I am thinking you could use them for perfumes and lotions, a make up display, a coffee station, using them to serve party food, etc.  The list is endless for ideas.  I like the idea of lining it with pretty scrapbook paper or even a printed pattern with a monogram.  You could also use a vinyl sticker you print or you purchase to decorate it. 

As you can see I filled mine with dry split peas and a couple candles and some pumpkins.  This is perfect for a centerpiece or decoration amongst your other decor.  Whatever you decide to do with it you will love it and you will feel so crafty making it.

•You are going to need an acrylic photo frame in the size of your choice.  These are pretty inexpensive and you can use a coupon at Michael's for them.  I got an 11x14 size knowing I wanted it for a centerpiece and didn't want an 8x10 to be too small for my needs.  This one was just $4 and change with my coupon--can't beat that! 

• A set of drawer pulls of your choice.  I got mine at Target and loved how they were silver with a clear insert so it really looks like it was meant for this clear tray.

• E6000 Glue (the best stuff on earth)

 No one has believed me when I tell them this tray was made from a photo frame flipped upside down.  

 

 Turn the tray upside down so the open part is face up.  Decide where you want your drawer pulls then adhere them with E6000 glue. 

 To hold mine in place I just stuck a couple clothes pins over the drawer pull ends until they dried completely. 

 Of course I was impatient and couldn't wait to decorate with mine so I filled it up with the peas and pumpkins and candles even though the glue was still wet.  It wasn't going to effect the glue so I figured why not?

 Autumn is here!

 LOVE!

Pure genius!