Browsing the blog archives for February, 2012.

Skully Guitar Strap

Crafty

My husband’s grandmother has always been super nice to me, and has always been helpful when it came to teaching me something new that I really wanted to learn. This past Christmas, she came to my rescue when I brought a kit for a homemade guitar strap that I had bought from Jen Stephens on Etsy along with a bag of skully fabric I bought specifically for the project and a really muddled look on my face. I had tried to make it happen on my own – I really wanted to make it happen on my own but I just couldn’t do it. The directions weren’t the problem I don’t think, it was my reading of them. Once Nanny took control of the situation, the project moved along pretty quickly and about half an hour later, we had a really snazzy guitar strap for one of our dear cousins on my husband’s side. I hope he loved it as much as I loved making it – I may even be able to make one myself next time!!

skully guitar strap

skully guitar strap
skully guitar strap
The cutting and the pinning were for sure the easiest parts. The directions were really clear and it came together no problem.
skully guitar strap
Sewing the fabric to the webbing was also not an issue, thankfully.
skully guitar strap
This is where I started to get a little confused, when it was time to sew the leather to the strap.
skully guitar strap
skully guitar strap
With Nanny’s help though this worked out with just two tries!
skully guitar strap
Voila!! Totally adjustable guitar strap!! It’s a really cool project because you could make it form Hello Kitty or Spiderman fabric depending on who you’re making it for!
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The Duggar’s Tater Tot Casserole

Domestic, Healthy, Kids, Small Town

I’m participating in Menu Monday at Organizing Junkie and Life as a Lofthouse

I didn’t blog last week because honestly I have been extremely distracted. It’s all been pretty fun distractions though!! Since Christmas we thought we were going to be planning a long distance short-term work-related move. We were extremely excited because it was to a place we’ve always wanted to go. Then last weekend we thought that it wasn’t going to happen after all, only to find out a few days later that it’s going to happen, just not as soon as we thought. For a planner this was at first, extremely painful. However, after a while I have come to appreciate that it can be fun to just live my life as I live it (playing in the kitchen while making sock puppets and cocktails) and let surprises unfold on their own – and in their own time. I asked my husband not to keep me in the loop about this work move. Only to tell me when it’s a sure thing and it’s time to start packing. Which honestly takes a load off. So now I’m focusing on Wee One #3’s teeny weeny Hello Kitty birthday party next weekend. It’s teeny weeny because she only really has one friend, I mean she is just turning three after all!

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that my oven died, thankfully my stove stop still works perfectly so I’ve been cooking quite a bit, and working through my ‘no bake’ recipes but I haven’t been doing any baking at all. Le sigh. I love baking. At first we looked into having it fixed, but it’s not much of a savings compared to getting a new one and then we have a new warranty. Anyhoo, it’s Menu Monday so while we pick a new stove here’s yet another stove top menu!

This Week’s Menu (Feb 27 – March 5)
*I mentioned last week, I make two separate dinners most nights because I’ve made some dietary changes and I’m not pushing it on my family. They tend to join in with a healthy May-style breakfast and lunch and I make their faves for dinner. Wee One #2 has started eating ‘dinner like mommy’ though, so that’s something!

Monday – Chicken with Rice for the fam, Falafels with Rice for me

Tuesday – Tacos for the fam, Butternut Squash Soup for me

Wednesday – Chicken Slovakia for the fam, Vegan Quesadilla for me

Thursday – Beef Romanoff for the fam, ‘Creamy’ Leek Soup for me

Friday – Homemade Chicken Fingers and Wedges for the fam, Tofu Nuggets and Salad for me

Saturday – Stew and Salad for the fam, Black-Eyed Bean and Tomato Broth with homemade crackers for me

Sunday – Hamburgers and French Fries for the fam, Chick Pea Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries for me

This week, I will photograph these meals as I make them so I can blog about them and link back to those posts when I mention them in a future Menu Monday, which you know I probably will!

Today though, since I have no oven and you probably do, I will hit you with this recipe for Tater Tot Casserole so you can make it for me! It’s the ultimate in trashy food (I have a weakness for such things, remember?) I’m not even going to lie to you (though it would save face if I said something like ‘I don’t remember where I came across this recipe‘), this is totally a Duggar Family recipe. Don’t look at me like that! Don’t act like you don’t love that show too! Johanna is my fave little one and I think Jessa is fierce. <3 the duggar's tater tot casserole with homemade tater tots

Casserole: from The Duggar’s Favorite Recipes
*I cut it in half and it’s still enough to feed an army, though it’s so good you might not have any leftovers!
1 lb ground turkey cooked, seasoned, drained
3lb tater tots*
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can evaporated milk
1 can cream of chicken soup
Tater Tots: from Macheesmo
4 Russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 egg
1/2 Cup milk
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 Cup all-purpose flour
Salt
Pepper
the duggar's tater tot casserole with homemade tater tots
the duggar's tater tot casserole with homemade tater tots
First, make mashed potatoes however you usually do that. I toss mine in the pressure cooker and then mash them up with some garlic and butter.
the duggar's tater tot casserole with homemade tater tots
the duggar's tater tot casserole with homemade tater tots
Now add the egg, milk and flour or else they will just be mush in the oil. MUSH. The original tater tot recipe coats them in breadcrumbs and I didn’t. I totally will next time though! This is when you heat a pot of oil and toss these babies in. They only need to be in the oil for like 30 seconds. I had my first few in for about 2 minutes and look what happened!!
the duggar's tater tot casserole with homemade tater tots
They were perfect on the inside, burnt to a blackened crisp on the outside. Whoops!
the duggar's tater tot casserole with homemade tater tots
I had the next batch in for about 45 seconds and that’s all they needed!
the duggar's tater tot casserole with homemade tater tots
the duggar's tater tot casserole with homemade tater tots
Now for the actual casserole part. I just browned the ground turkey (you could use chicken or pork or beef or fake tofu-ish stuff) with a little parsley, garlic and onion though none of those three are technically called for in the recipe, and spread it over the bottom of a casserole dish. Then I put the tater tots on top!
the duggar's tater tot casserole with homemade tater tots
the duggar's tater tot casserole with homemade tater tots
Then in another bowl, I mixed the evaporated milk with the cream soups and poured it over meat and tater tots in the casserole dish.
the duggar's tater tot casserole with homemade tater tots
the duggar's tater tot casserole with homemade tater tots
Bake at 350F for about an hour and OH MY shit this is amazingly good.

If my new oven isn’t chosen and delivered by Friday, I’m going to have to bake a Hello Kitty cake at my neighbor’s house. Oh small town living, you come in handy sometimes.

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Sugar Cookie Rice Krispie Treats

Domestic

We make a lot of Rice Krispie treats around here. I don’t mean like, a few times a month a lot, or ever once a week a lot. I mean, like, a lot of Rice Krispie treats. My husband snarffles down a handful as a midnight snack, my oldest requests them in his lunch nearly everyday and the girls are all over them. Sometimes I add things like wheat germ or ground flax seeds to them and no one is ever the wiser, in this case however, I added more sugar to them via the addition of sugar cookie mix. I know, I know. A treat comprised mostly of marshmallows and I added more sugar? Blame Jaclyn over at Cooking Classy for this one. Aren’t her pictures so cute?! Don’t they make you want to run to your kitchen and whip up a batch? You’re a dirty liar, I know they do.

Ahem.

I had to run to the grocery store to pick up some cookie mix because DUH I don’t keep that shit in my house on the regular. Theeen, I ran to my kitchen and whipped up a batch – with my husband because he was intrigued. I was messing with one of his favorite snacks, so he wanted to know what was up.

After we made them, (sorta) let them cool and iced them, they were good but not so much better than regular Rice Krispie treats for me to add the cookie mix to them all the time. It did get me thinking though, if adding sugar cookie mix made them taste sort of like a sugar cookie, what about adding chocolate cookie mix? Is that even a thing? It must be. Or maybe the same amount of brownie mix? I will have to experiment!

sugar cookie rice krispie treats

As I mentioned above, the recipe was originally posted at Cooking Classy.

Rice Krispies:
1/3 cup butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 cups miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup sugar cookie mix
6 cups Rice Krispies Cereal
Frosting:
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
pinch salt
2 cups icing sugar

I trust that you know how to make Rice Krispie treats, but here’s the blow by blow anyway.

sugar cookie rice krispie treats
sugar cookie rice krispie treats
Melt the butter and the marshmallows together till it’s soupy.
sugar cookie rice krispie treats
sugar cookie rice krispie treats
Now add the sugar cookie mix and mix till it’s dissolved. Then add the Rice Krispies and stir until they are all coated with marshmallowy goodness. Press them into your pan/s and let them cool off a bit.
sugar cookie rice krispie treats
sugar cookie rice krispie treats
For the frosting, beat the butter, milk, vanilla, salt and icing sugar till it’s the consistency you’re going for. If you want thicker frosting, add more icing sugar. Spread it over the top of your cooled Rice Krispie treats and you’re done. Well, add some sprinkles or something to make them festive!
sugar cookie rice krispie treats
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Vegan Coconut Brownie Balls

Healthy

Over the last year or so I have discovered that I absolutely love dates. Maybe three years ago my dear friend Gill brought over a snack of dates stuffed with almonds and I was all ‘um, oooookay, whatever Gill’. Not only was chocolate not involved at all but this was nature stuffed with nature. It reeked of health, and at the time that soooo wasn’t my bag. Now though, I am all over that shit. Loving dates or at least liking the general taste and texture of dates is a serious plus when experimenting with vegan desserts, especially raw vegan desserts. My favorite kind of raw vegan desserts (and man there are a lot of them) are the kind that are sweetened mostly with dates and made by smashing all the ingredients together in the food processor. They’re always so so dense and gaaaah, just so good.

These little treats are so extremely dense you can’t just throw everything in the food processor and make balls from the batter. Hehe. It’ll seize up the food processor! This recipe originally has the mixture in a brownie pan and then sliced into squares. I scooped them into balls instead!

They’re so good. They’re sweet without being obnoxious and chocolaty with out having any chocolate in them at all! They curb the sweey snacky cravings with a single dose! True story! Believe it or not, they’re very similar to Eat More chocolate bars.

vegan coconut brownie balls

These treats are from Kat Eats Real Food, via a guest post by Angela from Oh She Glows.

1/2 cup chopped dates
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup carob powder
2/3 cup raw walnuts
1/3 cup raw almonds
3 Tbsp Agave Nectar

vegan coconut brownie balls
vegan coconut brownie balls
Since it all had to be done separately, first I chopped the dates, then the almonds and walnuts.
vegan coconut brownie balls
vegan coconut brownie balls
In a small bowl I mixed the coconut, carob powder and agave nectar.
vegan coconut brownie balls
vegan coconut brownie balls
Theeeen, I added the dates and the nuts and mashed it all together with a spoon.
vegan coconut brownie balls
vegan coconut brownie balls
Then instead of putting this mixture into a brownie pan, I rolled them into balls. They’re about 120 calories each which isn’t bad, especially considering how dense they are.
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Sweet and Sour Chicken

Domestic

I found this recipe over at Life as a Lofthouse forever ago and bookmarked it for ‘later’. This recipe was originally posted in September of 2010! I finally made this for my dear friend Brigitte, her brother Mike and her husband Hal when they came for a visit around Christmas. Brigitte was with me in the kitchen when I made it (hilariously typical) while the guys were, where else? In the garage (omg what a horrible poster group for stereotypes ha). Anyhoo, later when we served this, along with a few other tasty apps I’ll post about later this month, Hal totally thought the sauce came from a jar! Not like ‘this sauce is so bland I bet it’s from a jar’, more like ‘omg this sauce is so good, as if you made it yourself’. It’s always a super rad feeling to be able to whip up something that family and company loves, but to do it with such basic ingredients that we all have on hand? Super mega rad, my friends.

I also just noticed that Life as a Lofthouse has a Menu Monday!! I will link up with her next week!

sweet and sour chicken

Coating:
3-4 boneless chicken breasts
salt +& pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil
Sweet and Sour Sauce:
3/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 cup vinegar
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp garlic salt

Preheat your oven to 325F, rinse the chicken in water and then cut into chunks. Season with salt and pepper (or not, your call).

sweet and sour chicken
sweet and sour chicken
Dip each piece into the cornstarch first.
sweet and sour chicken
sweet and sour chicken
Then dip into the eggs! Mix the sugar and the ketchup in a medium sized bowl.
sweet and sour chicken
sweet and sour chicken
Add vinegar, soy sauce and garlic salt. Mix, mix, mix!
sweet and sour chicken
sweet and sour chicken
Transfer the cooked chicken chunks to a baking dish and pour the sweet and sour sauce over it. Bake for about an hour and give it a stir once every 15 minutes or so.
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Peas and Thank You’s Crack Wrap

Healthy

Yet another winner from Sarah Matheny’s Peas and Thank You cookbook! And no, I am NOT giving you the recipe for this amazingness, but I will break it down for you a bit. First of all, it’s called a Crack Wrap because after you have one, no – after you have a bite of one, it’s all you’ll ever want to eat. I’ve got it bad, man. The main difference of course is that as addicting as it is, it’s actually good for you, as opposed to crack, which I’m sure you’re aware is not at all good for you. Ahem.

So this recipe could be made using store bought ingredients, but I swear on a stack of Seventeen magazines that the from scratch deliciousness cannot possibly be replicated with bar codes. I repeat, not possible.

There are two recipes from the book that are actually part of this recipe, Crazy Good Hummus (totally lives up to it’s name) and La Hacienda de Peas Tortillas.

Peas and Thank You Crack Wrap

Peas and Thank You Crack Wrap
Peas and Thank You Crack Wrap
Peas and Thank You Crack Wrap
Peas and Thank You Crack Wrap
I started on the tortillas first. I have tried way. too. many tortilla recipes and they have all more or less sucked. However now that I have this one? I will likely not ever buy tortillas again. True story. They’re pretty quick really, and you probably have all the ingredients in your kitchen already.
Peas and Thank You Crack Wrap
Peas and Thank You Crack Wrap
Then I made the hummus, and again, I will likely always make hummus this way (though Mama Pea really is a bit of a slave driver with this one), because the difference really is crazy good. Then I did some other stuff that would be giving away the recipe if I posted all the pictures I took and just a few minutes later, I was chowing down on the yummiest treat in this book – SO FAR. I’m only like 11 recipes in and I already have what I think is the crown jewel. I only sound dramatic till you taste it, then you’ll be all ‘ooooooh, I get it now‘! In the book, recommended partners for this wrap are two Peas and Thank You soups. Good idea! When I get to those soups later this year, I will make this again. Because duh, I’m making it all the time anyway!
Peas and Thank You Crack Wrap
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Window Shopping Wednesday – French Attic Finds

Domestic, Window Shopping

That’s right, Window Shopping Wednesday is back!!

I just love handmade and vintage shops too much to not post about them. I also have an incurable addiction to baking/crafting supplies so there’s that too. Lately I have been drooling over the vintage kitchen gear at French Attic Finds. It all reminds me of my grandmother and makes me want to do my entire kitchen up with items from this shop.

French Attic Finds is a weekly updated Etsy shop with treasures from France!

Just look!!

window shopping wednesday french attic finds

window shopping wednesday french attic finds
window shopping wednesday french attic finds
window shopping wednesday french attic finds
window shopping wednesday french attic finds
window shopping wednesday french attic finds
window shopping wednesday french attic finds
window shopping wednesday french attic finds
window shopping wednesday french attic finds
window shopping wednesday french attic finds
window shopping wednesday french attic finds
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Work in Progress Wednesday #8

Crafty

I’m participating in Work in Progress Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

My WIP this week is a little sad, but it was just Valentine’s Day so I was buried in chocolate and red construction paper natch! I did manage to squeeze out some knitting time in the car this week and last night I knitted and knitted and caught up on some Law & Order SVU. Mariska Hargitay is so seriously hot. Like, dudes. I’m also really loving Danny Pino as her new partner, but I digress. I accomplished two repeats on this sock before attacking my husband and going to sleep. Lovely ending to our (does quick math) 13th Valentine’s day together.

The pattern in Flying Arrows by Helen Waittes, it’s a really simple (and really pretty) 10 row repeat, where every other row is the same so it’s fairly simple to zone into it. I may be a little sad when I’m done, but that’s no reason to knit slowly! I had intended to finish these as my January socks, but I got sidetracked by the cute baby legwarmers I posted last week. I think I will officially call those my January socks, even though they are legwarmers and they are so wee.

There is a lot going on around here that I am BURSTING to talk about but still can’t juuust yet. Soon! So even though I am mega super distracted, I am aiming to have these socks finished by this time next week so I’m casting on for my official February socks by then!

work in progress wednesday #8 flying arrows socks knitting

work in progress wednesday #8 flying arrows socks knitting
work in progress wednesday #8 flying arrows socks knitting
work in progress wednesday #8 flying arrows socks knitting
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Valentine’s Day 2012

Crafty, Domestic, Kids

It’s been a super busy, super fun Valentine’s Day around here today! Here’s the parade of the love fest we sent to school!

First up, for the teachers, we made the same caramel corn as for Miss America but I halved it and made the other half purple. I packaged them up in baggies, and used these super cute tags from Our Best Bites – here’s the PDF for them. They say ‘Just popping through with a Valentine for you’. I used red and white baker’s twine that I just ordered from Keeley Behling to wrap them all up. There’s just something about baker’s twine that makes me feel like a serious domestic goddess. I also dipped pretzel rods in melted chocolate and rolled them in pink sprinkles, then wrapped those in parchment paper and tied with more baker’s twine. Love!!

valentines day 2012

valentines day 2012
valentines day 2012
valentines day 2012
valentines day 2012
valentines day 2012
valentines day 2012
These adorable little friendship bracelets were for Wee One #2’s class. They are just three strand braids that we made together; green/orange/blue for the boys and pink/light pink/purple for the girls. They’re strung through another sweet printable that says ‘our class would knot be the same without you’. Ha! I know, it’s mega uber cheese, but dudes please, it’s Valentine’s Day, what do you want from me?! The printable for these is from Dandee Designs over here.
valentines day 2012
valentines day 2012
These are my favorite treat I’ve ever sent to Wee One #1’s class. They are jumbo Rolos (the kind with 10 in the package) wrapped in red construction paper. I secured the construction paper to the wrapper with double sided tape so it couldn’t be seen and I also rolled half a black pipe cleaner in with it! Instant stick of dynamite! Love it! I made the labels in Photoshop with a similar font from the one it was originally pictured with. This idea came from Make It Do. Our oldest will be 12 this summer, so he’s borderline too old for this shit, you know? It’s hard to find ideas that still fit the holiday without being too lame for him to be down. This? Totally worked!
valentines day 2012
Wee One #2 wanted a little something extra for the kids in her class so we made a fairly classic chocolate covered Oreo for each of them and to keep it festive we added red and pink sprinkles! They’re pictured drying with the equally festive chocolate covered pretzel rods included in the teacher’s loot.
valentines day 2012
valentines day 2012
valentines day 2012
valentines day 2012
valentines day 2012
valentines day 2012
The Oreos were hard to package, because short of bringing a tray of them into the school, how do you wrap an individual chocolate covered Oreo?! My solution was to plunk each one in a pink cupcake liner, wrap with pink tissue paper and secure with — you guess it! BAKER’S TWINE. I need help, is there a support group for this sort of thing?
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Good Housekeeping’s Oatmeal Cookies

Domestic

I’m participating in Menu Monday at Organizing Junkie

My oven died a few days ago, so this Menu Monday is a creative one! Just as I had finished mopping up my tears over discovering it wasn’t just a fuse issue, my wonderful husband delivered another striking blow – it could take over a month for us to get the part our oven needs. Shake it off, May! It’s ok, there are plenty of stove top, no bake and slow cooker options. Deeeeep yoga breaths. Ok so I think I’m alright.

This Week’s Menu (Feb 13-19)
*In case you’re wondering why I’m making two meals every night, I made some dietary changes that were important to me earlier this year and my family is a little slow to jump in. They usually join me in a healthy breakfast and lunch and I refuse to bicker over dinner.

Monday – Chicken Alfredo for the fam, Vegan Quesadilla for me (tortillas, daiya cheese & hummas)

Tuesday – Spaghetti with homemade sauce for the fam, Falafels with Rice for me

Wednesday – Beef Stroganoff for the fam, ‘Creamy’ Tomato Soup for me

Thursday – Chicken Stir Fry for the fam, Tofu Nuggets for me

Friday – Beef Barley Soup for the fam, Won Ton Soup for me

Saturday – Hamburgers and Fries for the fam, Veggie Burger and Fries for me

Sunday – Tacos for the fam, Tofu Nuggets for me (yes again, I’d eat them everyday if I could with homemade BBQ sauce)

I know this recipe is not mentioned at all in my menu for this week but let’s totally ignore that and be thankful for moderately healthy cookies. If you like your Oatmeal Cookies Granny-style, just add a cup of raisins at the very end and mix them in with a wooden spoon. None of us are fans of raisins in baked goods (except maaaaybe cinnamon buns but even then not really), so I didn’t use any.

good housekeeping oatmeal cookies

Grandmother’s Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies – From Good Housekeeping Cook Book (p. 722)

3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats, uncooked

good housekeeping oatmeal cookies
good housekeeping oatmeal cookies
As you’d expect, cream the butter and the sugars together first. Then add the egg and vanilla.
good housekeeping oatmeal cookies
good housekeeping oatmeal cookies
Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a smallish bowl before you tip that bowl into the wet mixture. Beat till just combined.
good housekeeping oatmeal cookies
good housekeeping oatmeal cookies
Finally, mix in the oats with a wooden spoon (this is where you’d add raisins if you’re so inclined).
Bake for about 15 minutes at 350!
good housekeeping oatmeal cookies
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