Recipe and Superbowl Layouts with the March Stamp of the Month and Studio J

Happy Wednesday!  I'm back today to remind you about the awesome March specials with Close To My Heart as well as share 2 layout projects: one I made with the March Stamp of the Month and one that I created with Studio J (CTMH's PERFECT answer to digital scrapbooking).  They even both share one photo in common.  Hang on and enjoy the ride!

1.  March Stamp of the Month:  with every $50 you spend in March, you qualify for this darling nesting dolls stamp set ($17.95 value) at only $5.  Spend $50 and get one, spend $100 and get two, and so on!  I have had fun playing with this set this month.  Today I thought I'd share a layout that I created for my family recipe book* (you can see another page that I created for this book here ).  The whole layout is pictured above and here are a few detail shots.  You can shop on my website 24/7...but this little gem of a set is only available in March.

March Stamp of the Month - Happy Place

*for those of you who haven't been following my blog for very long, I am working on a family recipe book.   Each month I try to scrapbook at least one family recipe page. On it I include the recipe, who the recipe came from and why it's important to our family.  I think it will be an amazing treasure one day!

2.  Studio Savings in March:  During the month of March, order your Studio J™(CTMH's digital scrapbooking program) 2-page  layouts—including ones using our new Photo Express Collection—for only $5 each! That's only $2.50 per page!!!!

Quickly create gorgeous, personalized studio layouts using our wide selection of papers, collections, patterns, and embellishments. And don’t forget to check out the templates in our new Photo Express Collection, which allow you to design layouts entirely comprised of photos in minutes. You’ve taken the photos. Now keep the memories™.

Begin your Studio J adventure on my website today. It's absolutely free to sign up and play. You don't pay a penny until you order the layouts you've created! Here is a Studio J layout I created of one of our family traditions, a Superbowl party each year. And, yes. That IS the same photo on this layout of me with our deviled eggs as the one on the recipe. This layout was from our party in 2011.  You may notice that Tannon is missing from the photos.  That's because he was serving a 2 year mission for our church in Spain at the time. How crazy is it that he's home and MARRIED now?  That was only 3 years ago. I wonder what will be happening in Dawson's life in 3 years.  He'll be home from his mission in Sydney, Australia in June of 2015 and will be starting college that Fall.  He looks like such a little boy in this layout!

 Here are close ups of each of the pages:

Enjoy the fun March specials! March is going quickly, so get 'em while you can!  Stay tuned for another wedding sign in book that I'll be posting in the next couple of days. I just finished the one for our nephew, Tyler and his fiance', Angela. They get married on Friday.  It has been a week and a half of weddings in this family!

Deviled Eggs

I promised 3 recipes this week, and
this is #3. My family LOVES deviled eggs, and they especially love them while watching the Super Bowl. So, along with the other 'feast items' Kori and I made last Sunday, we made sure to make a double batch of my family's favorite deviled eggs. The recipe I use started out as the recipe from the famous Salt Lake "Lion House" but I have adapted it a little bit here and there over the years until it has come out 'just right' for the Pedersen taste.

We like ours with a little kick, so you'll notice we use a little miracle whip in with the mayo, and there is also a little bit of tabasco in there too.

Deviled Eggs - Karen Pedersen
Makes 12
(I usually double the batch so that we have 24!)

6 hard cooked eggs
1/8 C. mayo
1/8 C. miracle whip
1 tea. white vinegar
1 tea. prepared mustard
1/8 tea. salt
Dash white pepper (you can use regular ground black pepper, the white just keeps your filling from having little black specs in it)
1/8 tea. worchestershire sauce
a couple of drops of tabasco sauce
paprika

Peel eggs and cut in half lengthwise. Slip out yolks and mash with fork in small mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients (except paprika) to yolks and mix until well blended (no lumps!). Either spoon or use a food decorator to squeeze mixture into egg white halves (I like my food decorator!). Sprinkle with paprika.

Just for fun, I thought I'd share a few more photos from our Super Bowl Party last Sunday. When the kids were little, we invited lots of friends, but as they got older we really just started enjoyed having mostly just our family. This year we added a few extras, but it was mostly just us.

Dan and Daci decided to just park themselves at the buffet and pig out. Notice Daci is not wearing a shirt.
When Grandpa Dan is in charge, that is the solution to not being able to find a bib:

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Dawson just chilled on the couch after stuffing his face. Notice that no matter how 'chilled' he gets, the phone is always close at hand. Essentials, essentials!:---------------

Kori and her cake masterpiece:
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Easton even got into the frosting act with Kori. Of course an apron was needed:---------------

Daci insisted that Bear needed to watch the game too. Grandma was happy to oblige:------------------

The newlyweds in their newlywedded bliss:

We missed Tannon on his mission and Rick who had not yet arrived from Chicago at our party. After the game, Kori and Daysha decided that Daci needed her fingernails and toenails painted for the first time. Girl Power!

Super Bowl and a Recipe

We were invited to a family friend's house (Mike, Susan and their boys) for the Super Bowl. We have always done a family Super Bowl party here at our house so we were a little leary to accept and change our tradition. But, I'm glad we did. We had a "SUPER" time! You can see my post of a Super Bowl layout I did to chronicle our usual family Super Bowl traditions here.

Our three boys. It's so good to have them all back together again.
Dan and I chillin' on the couch at Mike and Susan's house
Kori and Rick enjoying the game
Easton (what a beautiful face), Dawson and little Daci
Daci having fun at the party

The house was divided between the Saints and the Colts but no matter who you were cheering for, you have to admit it was a good game. In fact, I might even venture to say that is was my favorite Super Bowl ever.

The company was great and the food was delicious: home made ribs, baked potatoes, garlic bread, corn and green salad, 7 layer Mexican dip, all kinds of munchies, chocolate dipped strawberries, homemade 'cake balls', and chocolate pies. I told you a little bit about Susan here. She has her own candy company and is a master cook and 'dipper', and one of the kindest and best hostesses around.

Here is the recipe for my 7 layer Mexican dip (it's great with tortilla chips, fritos, triscuits, wheat thins, etc.):

Karen's 7 Layer Mexican Dip:
1 can refried beans (I like the Taco Bell brand best. They are the moistest)
guacamole (see recipe below, or cheat and buy some at the store. But, it won't be as good! lol)
2 1/2 - 3 C. sour cream
2 envelopes taco seasoning mix
2-3 C. shredded cheddar cheese
2-3 roma tomatoes (I like to use romas because they are 'meatier')
1 can sliced black olives
green onions

1. Spread can of refried beans evenly on a platter or dish (I use a fun rectangle platter that I have that has kind of deep sides, but you could even use a 9" x 13" casserole dish if you want)
2. Make guacamole and spread this evenly over layout of baked beans.
3. Mix sour cream and taco seasoning together in separate bowl and then spread on top of guacamole layer (I like the sour cream/taco seasoning layer to be pretty thick. If you like it thinner, just do one envelope of seasoning and 1 1/2 c. sour cream)
4. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top
5. Chop roma tomatoes and put this on next
6. Then come the olives.
7. Last are the green onions

Refrigerate until serving. DELISH!

Karen's Guacamole* (I once had the GREATEST guacamole ever at a restaurant in San Antonio. They made it right at our table. I took good notes and this is the recipe I came up with based on that):
2 lg. ripe avacados
1 Tbs. finely chopped green onion
1/2 tea. salt
dash oregano
1 Tbs. orange juice
1 Tbs. lemon juice
1 Tbs. lime juice
few drops of red pepper sauce

*I usually double this recipe for the 7 layer dip.

Traditions

Traditions. I love them. I really love them. They make our family closer and are something we all look forward to. Dan the Man and I have tried to create as many of them as we can over the years of our marriage and building our family. I just feel they are so important. Being the sports-crazed family that we are, of course we have a tradition for the Super Bowl.

I was looking through some layouts today and came across this one from this year's Super Bowl. It made me smile. I thought I'd share it will all of you today in hopes it might make you smile too. There were some 3D moments during this year's game and of course we all had our 3D glasses on to be sure we didn't miss a thing. The photos of us in our glasses make me giggle.

Each year we make a Super Bowl Cake. I am certainly not a cake decorator, but I do the best I can to create a cake that resembles the playing field for that year's game. We have lots of good food and munchies too. I think the deviled eggs are always the first to go. Not being a deviled egg fan myself, I guess that says that the other family members are! There are usually 24 eggs and with 7 family members, and only 6 who eat them, that tells you what deviled egg lovers the rest of them are! It is a fun day every year and something I think my kids will always remember.

Here's to traditions!