I’m linking up with The Tuesday Glam Party, One Project at a Time, Take a Look Tuesday, Tuesday’s Treasures, Ta-Da Tuesday, Tuesday Time Out and Tuesday Tutorial Link Party. Check out some of the amazing projects in these link ups!

Making something cute and meaningful can be tricky when your recipients aren’t as into DIY as you are, or when you’re giving to a couple and don’t have time to knit an afghan. These cups though? They’re adorable and useful too! Even people who aren’t down with crafts are down with useful!

A few months after we gifted these, we surprised them for coffee and holla these cups were in use! If you’re hoping the cups get used on the regular, make sure you choose nice, big coffee mugs (unless of course you know they are more into tiny little capp cups, in which case, get some of those instead).

Monogrammed Cups via Design Mom

Plain white mugs
Graphite paper
Dishwasher-safe paint
Scissors
Tape
Pen

Cut out the design and tape it, over top of the graphite paper to the cup and write over top of it with a pen or pencil.
Take the paper off and using a fine tip paint brush, paint over the image you traced. Then bake them for 30 minutes at 300F.
Aren’t they cute?!? They’re dishwasher (and wear and tear) safe!

I’m linking up with Flock Together Blog Hop and Inspiration Linky Party.

Don’t forget about our giveaway with Keeley Behling Studios! Like the Keeley Behling Studios Facebook page and leave a comment there about something in her Etsy shop to enter. It wouldn’t hurt if you liked the So Very Domestic Facebook page too. 😉

I have made chili from maybe half a dozen recipes over the years, but I had never made cornbread before. These recipes made a heap ton of chili and cornbread. All five of us ate our fill and then the family of five next door ate their fill and there was still some left over!

It’s a liiiiiiiittle spicy, but not too spicy for the kids. A couple of the grown ups said it wasn’t spicy enough, but it’s always easier to add than to take away.

The cornbread is moist and perfect for dipping. It doesn’t fall apart in the chili but it does absorb just enough of the sauce.

Combine the cornmeal and milk, set aside for 5 minutes. Grease a 9 x 13″ baking dish and whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
Mix in the cornmeal mixture, eggs and oil until smooth. Now pour the batter into the baking dish.
Bake for 35 minutes at 400F…and onto the chili!
Brown the hamburger with the onion and maybe a little garlic. Add the tomato sauce, chili beans, black beans, and kidney beans.
Add the tomatoes and spices.
Let it simmer for about 30 minutes and then add the spinach puree. Slow cook it for another hour or so and amaze your neighbors.

This week, I’m linking up with Polly Want a Crafter, Motivate Me Monday, Made By You Monday, Make It Monday, More the Merrier Monday, Masterpiece Monday, Craftomaniac Monday, Make It Monday, Metamorphosis Monday, Making the World Cuter, Make It Yourself Monday, and Bedazzle Me Monday! Check out the projects in these links, so creative and so fun!

Don’t forget about our giveaway with Keeley Behling Studios! Like the Keeley Behling Studios Facebook page and leave a comment there about something in her Etsy shop to enter. It wouldn’t hurt if you liked the So Very Domestic Facebook page too. 😉

Sidewalk chalk is amazing and fun for little kids, and even my girlfriend and I have been known to scribble some masterpieces on the sidewalk outside our old house in Toronto. Out here in the woods though, it’s 99.9% gravel driveways and seriously lush grassy yards. Pretty, yes. Sidewalk chalk friendly, not so much. One of the selling points for this house (to the kids anyway) was the concrete patio in the backyard. The girls immediately realized they could make chalk drawings out there. Sidewalk chalk was, no lie, one of the very first things they went hunting for to unpack when we first moved in. Hilarious. So when I came across this quick project, I was aaaaall over it.

Chalk Paint adapted from Infarrantly Creative

1 teaspoon washable paint
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup cornstarch
squirt dishwashing liquid
1 squirt bottle

This little project is crazy easy and fun for the wee ones. Add the cornstarch to the hot water and mix till there are no clumps, then add the paint and soap and voila! Chalk paint!

I drew outlines of a crown and some stars on the back patio for the girls to fill in and they were out there painting till it got chilly and I had to turn the lights on and get their coats!

Today, I’m linking up with KD Buggie Boutique, Mom Blog Monday and Tough Cookie Mommy for Mingle Monday.

Don’t forget about our giveaway with Keeley Behling Studios! Like the Keeley Behling Studios Facebook page and leave a comment there about something in her Etsy shop to enter. It wouldn’t hurt if you liked the So Very Domestic Facebook page too. 😉

I mentioned a few days ago that I borrowed one of my neighbor’s pro cook books and that I was overcome with joy at the concept of baking and cooking my way through a book he used in culinary school?! Insert dramatic gasping here.

This recipe is from that book and it’s one of those recipes that was so weird I had to try it. I mean, I’ve been around a few kitchens in my day (omg who says that?!) and I’ve never seen this or even heard of it. It was super weird to wrap a roast in a big, heavy (but still pliable) sheet of pastry, but it turned out really well! It was extremely moist and juice. Easy to carve and the kids ate it up and asked for more – always a win in our house!

Salt Dough-Wrapped Roast via The Cook’s Book

1 cup fine table salt
3 cups coarse sea salt
7 cups flour
2 egg whites
2 1/2 cups lukewarm water
large handful of mixed thyme, rosemary, lavender flowers, and sage, chopped
cut of meat, your choice
+ egg wash (2 eggs + about 3 tablespoons water)

Mix all but the spices and water in a large bowl. Then stir in the spices.
Work the dough on a floured surface for a few minutes until it’s smooth. Then wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest at least 2 hours before rolling it out to wrap your roast in. Season your roast as you normally would, I cut slits in it and poke small pieces of garlic inside. Once your roast is spiced up, wrap the salt dough around it.
Use an egg wash to secure the salt dough around the roast.
Bake at 400F for about an hour. Let it rest for about 20 minutes after coming out of the oven to it can finish cooking.
Then crack it open and toss out the crust.

Don’t forget about our giveaway with Keeley Behling Studios! Like the Keeley Behling Studios Facebook page and leave a comment there about something in her Etsy shop to enter. It wouldn’t hurt if you liked the So Very Domestic Facebook page too. 😉

Everything is better with bacon. Right?! The addition of bacon to pretty much anything I can add bacon to has been mounting. Perogies, check. Breakfast pie, check. Cookies, check. I will post about all these bad boys eventually. The bacon wrapped tater tots are a personal favorite, and have won me over in the hearts of both strangers, neighbors and randos everywhere. This? Is the ‘impress my family’ version, and it totally works.

Bacon Mashed Potatoes

4 baking potatoes
1/4 cup butter
6 strips bacon
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Bake your potatoes however you like, (I took a shortcut and stuck them in the microwave), then mash them with butter.
I used my hand blender to make sure there were no chunks and then I added in the bacon.
Spread the mashed potatoes in a casserole dish and sprinkle the cheese over top. Bake at 375F for about 20 minutes.

Don’t forget about our giveaway with Keeley Behling Studios! Like the Keeley Behling Studios Facebook page and leave a comment there about something in her Etsy shop to enter. It wouldn’t hurt if you liked the So Very Domestic Facebook page too. 😉

This is the cake to make for people who generally tell you that chocolate cake is ‘too rich’ or ‘too heavy’. It’s also the cake to make for people who complain of cakes being too dry. The buttermilk here makes this cake seriously moist without being too fudgey or puddingy. It’s another winner from one of the first cookbooks my husband ever bought me, yes I’m still working through the Good Housekeeping cookbook – it’s that good.

I have made this cake so many times now that I haven’t been making the Stir and Bake Chocolate Cake that I used to make on the regular. This one is just as easy but even better, I swear.

Chocolate Buttermilk Cake via The All New Good Housekeeping Cook Book

2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa
1 3/4 sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Mix the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mix the buttermilk, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla extract.
Mix till well combined, then add the flour mixture to it and beat. Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes.

Don’t forget about our giveaway with Keeley Behling Studios! Like the Keeley Behling Studios Facebook page and leave a comment there about something in her Etsy shop to enter. It wouldn’t hurt if you liked the So Very Domestic Facebook page too. 😉

I have a bookcase full of cookbooks, binders full of recipes pulled from foodie magazines and an alarming number of pins and bookmarks of recipes to try. And yet? The very best pizza dough recipe I’ve ever made / eaten came from a grocery store flier! I know right?! Way to go Foodland!

Obviously, my kids see me in then kitchen everyday. Sometimes, I’m messing around and making something utterly ridic and other times I’m making something painfully run of the mill like stew or chicken alfredo or something. No matter what I’m up to though, at least one of them wants to be a part of the action. Usually, I can find some task to delegate to them, so they are helping without helping so much I have a serious mess on my hands. But then there are times when they want to do something that screams let them make a serious mess in the kitchen, and so I do.

When we make pizza, they are hands on the whole way. They help knead the dough, they roll out their own pizzas and they choose, chop and put on their own toppings. They even help each other, it’s the cutest thing. It is a disaster too though, like, I can’t even understand how they make such a mess. But. They are so happy while they do it and when it’s time to eat their creations, they’re all so proud of themselves!

Chicken Pizza with Caramelized Onions via Foodland Flier

Dough: 1 cup very warm water (120F-130F) 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast 3 1/4 – 3 1/2 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon olive oil

Pizza: 1 cup shredded cheese (your choice) 1 chicken breast, cooked and cubed 1 onion, chopped and caramelized 1 teaspoon rosemary

Combine the water, salt and yeast. Add 1 cup of flour and mix with a wooden spoon until you have a loose batter.
Add another two cups of flour and mix a few minutes more until it looks a little ragged. If it feels too stuff add a little water (up to about 1/3 cup). Now attack it with your electric mixer and dough hook attachment. Let it sit for a bit while you gather toppings.
The only real tip worth sharing when it comes to caramelizing onions is that you can’t possibly rush it. It’s all about bringing out the natural flavor of the onion, so you’re going to have to cook them for about 30 minutes in a little olive oil. If your burner is too hot, you will have to add a little water to keep them from drying out. Now having said that, if you like your onions sweet, you can always add a pinch of sugar to help that along.
Roll out your dough to whatever size you’d like, either on a lightly floured counter or between sheets of parchment paper. We all made little individual pizzas. We baked them for about 20 minutes at 375F and they turned out great! I love, love, love this dough recipe.

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caramelized onions, chicken pizza, pizza