Congrats! It’s a….watermelon? {Watermelon Baby Carriage} #babyshower ideas

Last summer, I helped throw my sister a baby shower. It was so much fun, and I did a post sharing the punch recipe and the party favors. My plan was to share a bunch of other things…and per usual, life got in the way. Well, better late than never right?!

One of my favorite things was this watermelon baby carriage. I was so proud of myself for actually pulling it off! Granted, there are much more intricate ones online, but I love my creepy grapefruit baby and it’s simple watermelon carriage. It looks cute on the food table, and it can be used for a boy or girl, and with pretty much any theme!
This was our food table, with a side table to the far right (not pictured) with meatballs, and we had some candy that matched our color scheme (pink/green/white) sitting around throughout.
Since we had the shower in the summer, watermelon was in season, as well as most of the other fruits used, which was a money saver. You can use any combination of fruits you like or have available.

Watermelon Baby Carriage

  • 1 watermelon (any size, and make it easy on yourself and get a seedless one!)
  • 1 grapefruit, size will depend on the size of the watermelon. It’s going to become the baby’s head, so think about how much space you want it to take up. Note: You can also use an orange, if you need something smaller than a grapefruit
  • 1 pink or blue pacifier
  • grapes/blueberries or other small fruit to make “eyes” and “nose”
  • toothpicks
  • assorted fruit to fill “carriage”, again the amounts will depend on the size of the watermelon.
To prepare-
  1. Place watermelon on a flat surface (on top of newspaper or towels to catch the juice). If needed, cut a small slice of rind off the bottom to help it sit flat.
  2. Use a marker (or visualize) a line down the middle of the watermelon horizontally. Vertically, you will draw a line that is not quite centered…at about 1/3 or a little more of the watermelon.  Using a sharp knife, cut from the top vertical line, down to the center horizontal line. This is easier than it sounds…just take a look at a pic and cut accordingly. (I didn’t measure anything, and I just freehanded my lines. No perfectionism here! If your lines aren’t perfectly straight, it’s okay. If needed, you can go back and neaten/trim them up.)
  3. After you have cut out the top quarter of the watermelon, scoop out all the fruit. I used a melon baller, so my pieces looked nice and were ready to add back into the watermelon.
  4. Add some of the watermelon and assorted fruit to the bottom and back of the watermelon. Add whole grapefruit in center. Place fruit around grapefruit until “carriage” is full.
  5. Use 2 pieces of fruit to make eyes – I used a grape, cut in half. Place toothpick into grapefruit, where you want the eyes to go…leave enough of the toothpick sticking out to secure the eyes in place. Do the same for the nose…I used a blueberry for this. Make a small slit in the grapefruit for the mouth. Insert pacifier.
Congrats! You have a watermelon baby. This is just a basic one, if you have creativity and artistic ability, you can get as fancy as you want. I’ve seen some with scalloped edges, a handle for the carriage, wheels, etc.
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Warm Fruit Compote

If you are looking for a super easy, yet very tasty dish for your holiday table, this is it! Better yet, it can serve as a side dish for breakfast, brunch or dinner OR it would be tasty on top of pound cake or ice cream for dessert. The idea of warm fruit never really appealed to me, but a few years ago I stumbled across this recipe in an old cookbook (that I can’t find now!) and brought it to a Christmas brunch. It got so many rave reviews that I finally tasted it and realized it was yummy! I recently made it for a family get together and took a couple of pics so I could share it.

You can’t get much easier than this.
I’ve also made it with frozen fruit (just let it thaw, then drain).
Okay, so it’s not the most photogenic dish…but it really is good!

Warm Fruit Compote

1 can Pineapple Chunks
1 can Pineapple Tidbits
1 can Peach Slices
1 can Fruit Cocktail
1 can Mandarin Oranges
1 can Cherry Pie Filling
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2-1 tsp cinnamon
1/4-1/2 tsp allspice
  • Drain the fruit (except for pie filling) and add fruit to 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Stir to combine.
  • Pour Cherry Pie filling over fruit and spread evenly.
  • Sprinkle brown sugar over pie filling.
  • Sprinkle spices over sugar.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and gently stir. Careful, it’s HOT!
NOTES: You can really use any combination of fruit you like (pears work well). I used fruit that was canned in juice (except for the peaches and oranges, they had a light syrup), but I don’t know if it matters since you are draining the juice anyway. I used the 15-20oz cans (not the small ones and not the real large ones! I didn’t check the ounces on each can, sorry.) You could add raisins or nuts if desired. This reheats well and is also good over pancakes or waffles! This could also be made ahead of time and kept warm in a crock pot or reheated in the microwave. I’m sure the whole thing could be done in the crock pot, but I’ve never tried.

Southern Iced Fruit Tea

For 

Southern Iced Fruit Tea

from  
2 family-size iced tea bags
6 cups boiling water
1 cinnamon stick
1 can (48 ounces) pineapple juice
1 can (12 ounces) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 can (12 ounces) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
optional: fruit slices and/or mint, for garnish (I omitted)
  • Bring water just to a boil, remove from heat, then add tea bags and the cinnamon stick.
  • Steep for at least 15 minutes (longer for stronger tea).
  • After steeping, remove tea bags and cinnamon stick. Pour tea in a large pitcher (I used a sun tea pitcher).
  •  Stir in the thawed orange juice and lemonade.  Stir until blended.
  •  Add the pineapple juice, stir well.
  •  Refrigerate until fully chilled, and stir before serving (the juice tends to settle, so you will need to stir every so often,)

I think you could add in some rum for a delish grown up beverage too!

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Makin’ it Mo’Betta

Homemade Brownie Larabars

Do you eat ?
They are made only with fruit and nuts.  And my favorites, of course, contain chocolate.  When I saw over at Chocolate Covered Katie’s blog, I knew I wanted to give it a try.  I found a large container of dates at Sam’s Club the other day, and decided it was time.

Homemade Brownie Larabars

from
  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 1 and 1/3 cups pitted dates
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3-4 T cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Dark cocoa)
  • 1/8 tsp salt (optional)
  • chocolate chips (optional) (of course I used chocolate chips! Ghirardelli 60% chips)
Blend all the ingredients, using a food processor, Magic Bullet, etc. Form into bars. (bars are sticky, so I placed in between waxed paper and shaped them into ‘bars’)
Verdict?  They taste just like Larabars!  Wholesome ingredients that are great for an energy boost or quick snack on-the-go.  You can change up the nuts and add different fruits to make your own varieties of bars.

 

I’m linking this recipe up with   at All the Small Stuff, @ 33 Shades of Green, @ iBlog4Me,Wow Me Wednesday at , ,  , , , , , , , , for Savory Sunday