DIY Child Size BBQ Grill

Hello! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We have been out of town for a few days and we are glad to be home. Our family has had such a busy month, and I would be crazy to think December would be any less then the same. In the last 6 weeks we have probably been to 9 or 10 birthday parties. I decided I needed to start making some of my gifts by the 4th or 5th one. Therefore, I whipped up two of these child size BBQ grills for two different sweet little boys.

 

Supplies:

 

Red plastic bowl

1 1/4" dowel rod

1" x 2" wood

1/4"-1/3" dowel rods

Wood glue

Drill

3 screws and washers

Silver spray paint

 

Let me start by saying I did these without my husband's assistance, which proves they are simple to make. However, if you have not used a saw before please get some safety lessons first!

 

Directions:

 

1. Cut two 1" x 2" pieces of wood to the appropriate length to slide into your bowl. I cut a 45 degree angle at both ends to help them fit snugly.

 

 

2. Cut small dowel rods as shown above. Make sure you allow room for them to hang off both sides of the bowl.

 

3. I marked my wood and put the design on a flat surface for the next step. Use wood glue to adhere your small dowel rods to the 1" x 2" pieces of wood at your marks.

 

 

4. Spray your grill top silver. (It remains removable.)

 

5. Cut 3 pieces of 1 1/4" dowel rod for your legs. I made my grill short for the 1-3 year old age range. I cut the top of the dowel rods at a 45 degree angle.

 

6. Next, I  drilled holes in the top of my dowel rods (the 45 degree angle section) and I drilled holes in the bottom of my red plastic bowl.

 

7. Drill your screws in place with a washer between the screw head and the red plastic bowl.

 

I made up a little grill basket to go with the grill and I had a little apron monogrammed to match.

 

Next, I tied it up in a cellophane wrap for a special birthday delivery!

 

I almost didn't make it out of the house with the child size grill because my 2 year old wanted to keep it!

 

 

Optional: You may want to put some supports between the legs if necessary. One of my plastic bowls held it securely without supports. However, the other style I bought did not. Just a tip.

 

I am wishing now I had taken a few more pictures along the way. Please let me know if the description does not make sense and I would be glad to help! Good luck! This would make a fun Christmas gift for a little boy or girl too. I think handmade unique gifts for kids are often the biggest hit!

 

Host a Free House Party

I am so excited. My husband and I are leaving the kids with grandparents, and taking off to Mexico in the morning. If I were only done cleaning the house, packing, and preparing for the trip! I just needed a quick break and I wanted to tell you about the party I  had recently.

I stumbled upon an amazing website 3 months ago called Houseparty.com. I registered on the site and they soon began to send me upcoming party events. Some examples of past events are Budweiser beer, Wii games, Johnoinville Sausage, and Shutterfly. All I had to do was fill out a 2 minute online questionnaire and wait to be picked. I finally got my first party last month. It was for Chef Boyardee. I emailed out the invites and waited for my lucky guests to respond.

Two weeks before the party my "party pack" arrived on my front porch. I still could not believe someone was willing to send me free supplies to throw a house party. The box was full of goodies including a chef's hat, coupons for free cans of Chef Boyardee, recipe cards, a Chef Boyardee cooler bag, notepads, and coupons for my guests. I was so excited!! (Oh...and I am not being paid to write this post. I just wanted to share my discovery)

Last weekend was the party and we had a great time. I chose 3 out of the 5 recipes they sent me to make. The best part is they were fast, easy, and delicious. My favorite was the Ravioli Lasagna.

Ravioli Lasagna

Ingredients:

Pam no-stick cooking spray

1 cup frozen loose cut leaf spinach

2 cans Chef Boyardee Beef Ravioli

1 can diced tomatoes, drained well

1 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning

1 cup 1% low-fat cottage cheese

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 cup shredded Italian blend cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray. Place spinach in microwave safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high 2 min. Squeeze spinach dry.

2. Combine ravioli, drained tomatoes and Italian seasoning in medium microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high 3-4 minutes or until mixture is hot. Combine cottage cheese, spinach and black pepper in small bowl.

3. Place half or ravioli mixture in bottom of baking dish. Top with half cottage cheese mixture and 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Repeat layers. Bake 15 minutes or until cheese is hot and bubbly.

The funny thing was everyone had a different favorite recipe. The second one I made was a Pepperoni Spaghetti Bake.

Pepperoni Spaghetti Bake

Ingredients:

Pam original no-stick cooking spray

1 1/4 cups original baking mix

1/2 cup reduced fat milk

2 cans Chef Boyardee Spaghetti and Meatballs

3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

1/3 cup sliced turkey pepperoni

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray. Combine baking mix and milk in medium bowl; stir until soft dough forms.

2. Drop dough by spoonfuls on bottom of baking dish. Spoon 1 can spaghetti and meatballs over dough and sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese. Top with remaining can spaghetti and meatballs, remaining 1/4 cup cheese and pepperoni.

3. Bake 20-25 minutes or until dough is done in centers and browned.

The third recipe I chose was titled Taco-roni. I forgot to take a picture once I added broken tortilla chips and cheese on top.

Taco-roni

Ingredients:

2 cans Chef Boyardee Beefaroni

1 can diced tomatoes drained

1 can Premium whole black beans, drained, rinsed

1 cup frozen whole kernel corn

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 cup shredded mexican cheese blend

1/2 cup broken yellow tortilla chips

Directions:

1. Place beefaroni, drained tomatoes, beans, corn and cumin in large saucepan; stir to combine.

2. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and broken chips just before serving.

Which recipe will you try?????

Free Chick-Fil-A Breakfast Deal

Chick-fil-a has done it again. They are so generous. This week through 9/10, they are giving away free breakfast entrees. Just make a reservation for a date and time at a location near you. It takes one minute to complete.  Click here!

Free Chick-fil-A on Cow Appreciation Day

Our family loves Chick-fil-A!  Friday, July 8th, is their official Cow Appreciation Day. The best part is children and adults can dress up and receive free meals or entrees.

Here are the official rules from their website:

Q: What is Cow Appreciation Day?

A: For one day only, black and white spots, cow bells and furry ears will be appropriate attire in the nation's second largest chicken chain. In celebration of July 8, Cow Appreciation Day, an unofficial – yet nationally recognized holiday, Chick-fil-A will award a free combo meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner) to any customer who comes to one of the chain's 1,200-plus restaurants fully dressed as a cow.

Q: What does "fully dressed as a cow" really mean?

A: "Fully dressed like a cow" means effort to be dressed like a cow from head to toe. "Partial cow attire" means just a cow accessory, such as a cow-printed hat, vest or purse.

I decided to join in the fun. First, I made my youngest son a cow shirt by sewing cut up pieces of a black t-shirt on a white shirt. Simple.

Next, I decided to tackle a costume for my three year old who is currently very entertained by super heroes. I decided on a cow cape. Of course, being the fabric pack rat that I am, I happened to have some cow print fabric at home. Here is what I designed.

I started by tracing a super hero cape I had at the house. I cut out one piece in cow fabric and one in plain black fabric. I then cut out blue and yellow felt to decorate my son's super cow cape and stitched it in place on the cow fabric.

I sewed right sides together, leaving a little opening, and then turned it right side out. I did not take pictures of all the steps because there are so many great tutorials out there for super hero capes. The point is any cow creativity will score you free Chick-fil-A on July 8th! My son is very excited about the "cow party."

Other Ideas:

• Cut out cow spots with black vinyl or paper and adhere them to a white t-shirt.
• Cut holes out of a white t-shirt and wear a black t-shirt underneath
• Use a sharpie marker to decorate a white shirt
• Carry anything with cow print

Parties I linked to: