Recipes and Fabulous Things

Apples

2011-09-30T12:53:00.000-07:00

Brown up butter. Add some brown sugar and kosher salt, then toss in a sliced apple. Cook for awhile, till desired apple softness. I added pecans. Then, pour on a nice amount of Southern Comfort, light it on fire. Serve over ice cream.

John's Zesty Shrimp

2011-09-27T12:46:00.000-07:00

Johnny made this for me, so I will just post what I think he did.

1 pound of pealed deveined shrimp
2 cloves garlic
1 cup of tomato sauce
1 cup of orange juice
Feta Cheese

Cook the minced garlic in olive oil for a minute, add tomato sauce and orange juice. Cook for a few minutes on medium. Place the shrimp in the bottom of a baking dish, cover with the sauce, then sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 5 minutes at 350, until cheese starts to melt.

Fiestaware Stamps

2011-09-20T12:49:00.000-07:00

My tangerine Fiesta pitcher has it's very own forever stamp now!

Side note: there are also forever stamps out there staring the loveable Pixar characters. Those sound like they would turn into very expensive stickers in my home!

Marshmallow Apples

2011-09-09T11:06:00.000-07:00

These are kind of fun. We went to the apple orchard (twice) this past week, so we have plenty of apples.

I don't have an apple corer. Just the ones that slice and peal, so I tried to use a knife to cut out the core, but it just got crazy. So I had to slice the apple in half, then cut out the core. Replace the core with a marshmallow, sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. Put a tiny bit of butter and salt on top, bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Jalapeno Poppers

2011-09-01T07:54:00.000-07:00

I know, pretty bad pictures. But trust me, they look better than this. Just bad circumstances of photography!

What you are going to need:

Jalapeno Peppers
Bacon
Steak (I use the cheap stuff)
Italian salad dressing
toothpicks

Cut the steak up into one inch cubes or chunks or whatever. Marinate in Italian dressing over night. Or as long as possible.

Get your rubber gloves AND goggles on. Trust me, I have gotten burned too many times not to wear BOTH.
Cut the steams off, and slice the jalapenos in half. Scoop out the seeds, get them all, you don't want it to be too hot. Folks complain.

Slice the bacon in half if regular, or thirds if thick cut. Put the steak into half of a jalapeno, wrap it with bacon and secure with a tooth pick. Toss it on the grill, remember to flip them. If you get too many on the grill, like in the top picture, you are going to get flare ups, and will have to just cook it in the oven. Which works well too.

Rib-Eye Steaks and Caprase Salad

2011-08-26T07:42:00.000-07:00

John and I were getting all romantic, and ate a dinner all by ourselves. Well, really, he had volleyball and wasn't home till 9, so we had dinner with out the Connor. But I did break out the place mats!

I like my steaks pretty natural, just fresh cracked pepper with kosher salt. Rub in an extra amount, and I let them sit for a few hours in the refrigerator, then on the counter for a half hour or so. I don't like throwing cold meat onto the grill. I grill on preheated medium-high for about 4 minutes on one side, and another 4 on the other. I would recommend more if you like yours more than medium!

Caprase Salad:

Roma Tomatoes
Fresh Mozzarella
Fresh Basil
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Cracked Pepper

Assemble it cutely. Goes very well with the steak. And wine. Of course.

Fried Egg Salad

2011-08-24T07:33:00.000-07:00

As I was running out of food last week, I made up these.
Just a basic green salad with cucumbers, red and yellow tomatoes, green peppers, romaine lettuce. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Topped with a fried egg, with I managed NOT to break the yolk. I know, real simple, but sometimes the simple recipes with fresh veggies are the best.

Blue Cheese, Lettuce and Tomato Pizza

2011-08-22T07:27:00.000-07:00

I made this from a Rachael Ray magazine. So, check out the her's here. Of course, minus the onions and PLUS bacon. Even Johnny liked it.

Just standard crust, with blue cheese and mozzarella baked on to it. Topped with romaine lettuce and cherry tomatoes that were soaked in olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and basil. Then sprinkled on cooked bacon.

Bathroom Fix

2011-08-11T07:36:00.000-07:00

Husband Johnny was away at a convention for a few days. I couldn't sleep. The bathroom wallpaper HAD to come down. So over 2.5 days, I did some changes to the bathroom.

Let me break down the supplies I used:

White Semi-Gloss Paint for trim $14.97
Summer Memory Paint $25.74
Trim Tray Set $2.89
Paint Tray Set $2.77
Vent $4.89
Wall Paper Scrapper $6.97
DIF Remover $4.97
Outlet $2.95
Switch $1.88
Covers x2 90 cents

TOTAL: $68.93 + tax (but I did use a $10 Menard's rebate check)

The blue paint I used was leftovers from the living room. Menards had a big paint square with several colors on it that they say match and look nice. So I just keep using colors only from that square. They are the experts.

BEFORE:
Hunter green sponge paint, rusty vent, dark trim, icky hinges.
AFTER:
I painted the trim white, painted the walls Summer Memory, painted the cabinet Merced Blued. I bought 8 hinges (at $10.99) to replace the icky ones, but after removing them I noticed they just needed to clean them. After a good cleaning, they were fine. Which was great, since it saved me $11, and saved me from having to measure and drill new holes.
BEFORE:
Connor removing the wallpaper.
AFTER:
Removed wallpaper. The walls aren't in the best shape, so there are all sorts of bumps. Sigh. Replaced the old tan/off-white/cream colored outlet with a white one. My first time doing that. My good buddy Joel helped me, by guiding me through text messages.
BEFORE:
Connor removing more wall paper. He helped me peal it off. I had to soak it with the DIF spray and scrap off the gluey residue. It was hard work, but the spray worked great. About 90 minutes to get it all down.
AFTER:
No more wallpaper, doors painted white, and light switch replaced with a white one. My first light switch replacement too.
BEFORE:
I forgot to take a picture with the wallpaper still on, so I drew what it looked like in. When we first looked at the house, we were like "Oh my god, we have to fix this bathroom before we even move in!" 5 years later..... Also, notice the weird brown rusty spots under the mirror. I tried to cover those with paint too.
AFTER:
And here I am. Pretty much done. I do need to touch up some spots with white paint, but i am always needing to do that.

Strawberry Float

2011-07-13T12:35:00.000-07:00

Strawberry Crush Soda
Vanilla Ice Cream

Together. Love.

Deck

2011-07-08T14:08:00.000-07:00

Yikes. It needed re-staining. And it is not done yet.
And, it needs some serious fixing. One thing at a time.

Grill Pizza

2011-07-01T12:41:00.000-07:00

Excuse the picture, it's not a good one, but it's hard to photograph with one hand, and hold a smoking hot pizza in the other!

I took my standard pizza crust recipe to make this. Once the dough had a few hours rise time, I used a good chunk. Using my hands, I formed out a circle, covering it in extra olive oil. I preheated the grill to a pretty hot temperature, then tossed it on! After about 3 minutes, I very carefully flipped it. Once the crust was flipped, I put on my toppings and cheese, and continued to grill it with the grill cover on, for maybe 5 minutes. The crust turned out FANTASTIC.

Lego Cars

2011-06-29T12:38:00.000-07:00

Check out the cute cars Cobby made by himself. He is a very talented Lego creator.

Salt and Pepper

2011-06-28T12:08:00.000-07:00

I haven't been really posting much. Summer, Cabo, Vacations, Laziness.....you get the point.

Anyway.

For my 30th birthday, I went to Cabo San Lucas Mexico. And picked up these lovely salt & pepper shakers. John hates the Fiestaware ones so much that he won't even buy them for me. But we agreed on these cuties. For 100 pesos. (That is about $8.50) They are petty cute, but the holes are really big, so I am going to have to do something about that. I don't really use salt & pepper shakers though, I am a Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper kind of person (snobby, I know) but they do look cute next to my Tangerine Fiestaware Pitcher!

Vanilla Honey

2011-06-04T20:01:00.000-07:00

When I buy yogurt, I HAVE to have a coupon. Period. And, it preferably has to be on sale. I have zero brand loyalty. I do like the Greek style best, but that gets expensive, and I have been known to eat up to 4 a day.

Danon Light & Fit are good, come in a 4 pack, and are responsibly priced. I was at Wal-mart, and they only had vanilla left. Not my ideal choice, but I'm cheap, so hooray. Of course, it's bland. And Greek yogurt with that honey flavor has spoiled me. So, I made my own. I just squirted some honey in, gave it a little stir, and it was wonderful. So great, I bought vanilla on purpose, just so I could do it again.

Since the yogurt is cold, the honey "hardens" a bit, and swirls of honey can be seen throughout it. Making it keep a good strong honey flavor.

Taco Pizza

2011-06-02T19:49:00.000-07:00

1 Pizza Crust
1 can of black beans
2 cups shredded cheddar
lettuce
tomatoes
1 cup sour cream
cumin
chili powder
garlic powder
chip crumbles

Put the dough on a well olive oiled baking sheet. I cook the crust a bit at 475 just to get extra crispy.

Cook can of black beans (with the juice) on stove top for 10 minutes on medium, crushing the black beans with a potato masher. Add some spices, like cumin, chili powder and garlic. Spread this mixture on top of the crust. Then top with the shredded cheddar. Bake in oven for 8 to 10 minutes.

I allowed it to cool just a bit, then topped with lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream. I jazzed the sour cream up by adding the same spice line up: cumin, chili powder and garlic powder.

John wants you to know, add chip crumbles on top. It really makes it.

Puzzles

2011-05-29T10:10:00.000-07:00

I have two boys who love puzzles, but I hate all the boxes that come with them. So I cut the covers off, and pop them into a sharpie labeled ziploc bag. Toss them into a giant bin, and we are golden.

Trees

2011-05-21T11:08:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to take a picture of the trees in the backyard, I am sad that the one only blossoms for a week or so. It rained last night, so a lot of the pink pedals have already fallen off.

Beefy Beer Stew

2011-05-11T14:08:00.000-07:00

2 pounds stew beef
3 cloves minced garlic
4 cups of beef broth
1 can of the most flavorful beer (Boxer Beer used here!)
4 potatoes, cubed
4 carrots, french cut, peals on
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
ground pepper
parsley

Brown the stew meat with butter and olive oil. Remove the meat, and cook the garlic in the drippings for a few moments, DON'T let it burn. Or your done. Add the beef back in with broth and beer. Add the salt, paprika, and pepper. Cover and cook at a low simmer for 2 hours.

Add the potatoes and carrots and cook for another half hour. Serve topped with parsley and bread.

Jbiz hated it. Too many veggies. I liked it. Sigh, story of my life.

Knock You Naked Brownies

2011-05-09T13:35:00.000-07:00

I made this using Pioneer Woman's recipe. I made it for Teacher Appreciation Day. The recipe calls to use a 9x9 pan, but I only have an 8x8 pan. So, I used my 8x8 and 2 ramekins, called it close enough. That way the heart ramekins were leftovers for John and I. I should have cooked the ramekins for a shorter period of time.

Ingredients

1 box (18.5 Ounce) German Chocolate Cake Mix (I Used Duncan Hines)
1 cup Finely Chopped Pecans
⅓ cups Evaporated Milk
½ cups Evaporated Milk (additional)
½ cups Butter, Melted
60 whole Caramels, Unwrapped
⅓ cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
¼ cups Powdered Sugar

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, chopped pecans, 1/3 cup evaporated milk, and melted butter. Stir together until totally combined. Mixture will be very thick.

Press half the mixture into a well-greased 9 x 9 inch square baking pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and set aside.

In a double boiler (or a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of boiling water) melt caramels with additional 1/2 cup evaporated milk. When melted and combined, pour over brownie base. Sprinkle chocolate chips as evenly as you can over the caramel.

Turn out remaining brownie dough on work surface. Use your hands to press it into a large square a little smaller than the pan. Use a spatula to remove it from the surface, then set it on top of the caramel and chocolate chips.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for several hours. When ready to serve, generously sift powdered sugar over the surface of the brownies. Cut into either nine or twelve helpings, and carefully remove from the pan.

Sparkle Chucks

2011-05-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

How cute are these? I got them at Target for $8.74. Pretty sweet, they were on the clearance end cap, 75% off. I like them, they have no laces, just slip right on for easy AND stylish runs out to the mailbox. Plus, all the toddlers love them. Target has a pair of black ones I have my eyes on right now, but they are still $34.99.

Apple Dumplings

2011-04-30T11:03:00.001-07:00

I didn't make these, my friend Joel did. But I'll give a recipe anyway.

4 big apples
4 pie crusts (I think 2 come in a box)
Brown Sugar
Cinnamon
Soften Butter

Peal, core, then slice the apples in half. Cover the apples in sugar and cinnamon. Then put butter in the core. Wrap with the pie crust, then put more butter on the outside, and more cinnamon too. Bake in a smoker for an hour. Or maybe an oven. He did smoker, and it was fabulous.

Served with Snickers ice cream and caramel syrup.

Week 5: Kitchen, Day 3

2011-04-28T12:04:00.000-07:00

BEFORE:
AFTER:
Just a general pull everything out and start over job. I put the cans in order, placing extra ones down in the pull out pantry drawer. On some of the cans, I couldn't see the labels, even though I have that stand. So, I wrote what they were with maker on the top. I also recovered 2 of the over-sized Gladeware from the "to be recycled" zone, and used them to store all my cake decorating sprinkles. Right middle shelf.

BEFORE:
AFTER:
I organized the cans by expiration date, and wrote what they were on the top with a Sharpie. No more digging to find some Dark Red Kidney beans. Side note, I have 5 cans of pumpkin. Gotta do something about that.

Now no judging what we eat! No one in my family is overweight, so we must be doing SOMETHING right.

As days go by, I keep straying away from that scary corner cabinet. The one that goes back 6 feet into darkness. I need back up to tackle that one.

Week 5: Kitchen, Day 2

2011-04-27T11:49:00.000-07:00

BEFORE:
AFTER:
I made a decision that Connor is too big for plastic cutlery, so I threw them all away. I also got rid of 4 plastic stir sticks that were broken or icky. Also tossed an old bottle opener. I then had this idea, the tray that holds the cutlery always slides to the back of the drawer, so I put the spare spices in the back to hold it in place. These spices are ones that I use to refill my spices in the pretty rack I have.

BEFORE:
AFTER:
Nothing too crazy here, just got rid of duplicate or expired cleaning supplies. Moved the Windex to the bathroom, where it gets used more.

BEFORE:
AFTER:
This drawer has always been a headache for me. I got rid of this huge paint brush thing that was for basting meats (never been used) along with a device for testing the temp of meat. Connor broke the "toaster tongs" while I was cleaning, took care of that problem. Moved the plastic forks to be with their friends in the cupboard containing disposable dishware.

BEFORE:
AFTER:
Folded the towels and wash rags (crazy idea, right?) Put towels on the left, wash clothes on the right and oven mitts in the center. My chem goggles behind the oven mitts. I use them for when I am cutting peppers. Seriously, it was an issue.

BEFORE:
AFTER:
Just a general cleaning job. Got rid of 2 little cookbooks, some decorate ice trays, vase, lids to ice cream buckets. Made space fro the new coffee grinder.

Whew.

SO, I purged out:

5 empty spice bottles
All plastic kid cutlery
4 stir sticks
Toaster Tongs
Meat paint brush
Meat thermometer
Half dozen gross wash rags
Expired cleaners
Vase
Cookbooks
Random lids
Over sized and unused Gladeware
Several rouge half burnt birthday candles

Week 5: Kitchen

2011-04-26T14:25:00.000-07:00

Day one of Kitchen duty.

BEFORE:
We have A LOT of plastic containers and A LOT of glassware. I have a problem with stealing glasses from bars. I know, it's bad, and I need to stop doing it. I can't control it. I wake up the next morning and there they are. It's awful, I know.

AFTER:

I took all the plastics out of the far left, and got rid of any that didn't have lids to match. Got rid of the sippy cups. Got rid of the scratched up gross plastics.

Top shelf of the middle, I got rid of 2 broken water bottles, combined disposable cutlery.

Far right, was pretty much done, since I just got my Fiestaware dishes. I also store my candy there. SHHHHH.....
These are all the broken plastics, or ones I don't use. Some oversize ones, and ones that I just have way too many to ever use. I am the PTA treasurer for Connor's school, and I like to hand out samples of the homemade laundry soap I make. So I will use those for that. The Glade ware gets a new life!

Week 5: Kitchen

2011-04-26T12:09:00.000-07:00

This is the week I am dreading. The Kitchen. On the surface, things look all nice and orderly. It really is just the surface though. Every day, when Connor goes down for a "nap", I set a timer for 10 minutes, and clean the kitchen/living room area. Pretty much just unload dishwasher, pick up lunch stuff, wipe down the counters, and I'm done. So, since I do maintenance cleaning every day, on the outside it looks "good enough".

Every cupboard is full to the max, and dangerously has things piled inside. It is always an adventure when opening up some doors, you never know what will hit you!

Anyway, here is what my kitchen looks like on any average day. The counters aren't too cluttered, so you would never guess what lurks beneath. This project will take several days and posts to do, so hold on to your hats.

Smeeps

2011-04-25T18:00:00.000-07:00

So cute.
Graham cracker, chocolate bar, Peep. Put it under the broiler for a few minutes, top with another graham cracker.
Divine.

Fiestware

2011-04-23T18:47:00.000-07:00

It's all here! Johnny built me a lovely rack to hang the teacups from.
In rainbow order:

Scarlett
Tangerine
Sunflower
Lemongrass
Shamrock
Peacock
Colbalt
Plum

My parents will be bring me a Tangerine platter and pitcher. Super exciting.

iCar

2011-04-20T15:38:00.000-07:00

Connor really wants the Apple race car from the Pixar movie Cars. Since it is not available, and all you can buy are custom ones on ebay for $60, I made one for him. I'll let you guess which ones is the ebay version and which one I made.

Pyrex Tips

2011-04-20T12:52:00.000-07:00

Pyrex sent this to me today! If only I would have followed these tips before mine EXPLODED on me.

Week 4: Sun Room

2011-04-19T13:16:00.001-07:00

On to organizing the Sun Room. This room just needed more cleaning than anything. And we are planning a massive Easter day party, so what better time than now!

BEFORE:
AFTER:
I took down the mirror down into the downstairs bathroom. I picked up the books. Connor has thousands of books, so I put 7 of them into the sell-room. The little table next to the chair is ready to go outside. It's my outdoor coffee table.

BEFORE:
AFTER:
Cleared off the pool table. There were random toys, tools, pictures, paint supplies, a coffee maker - you get the idea. Everything went to the basement. That must be why basement is one of the last zones to clean, as everything is making it's way down there!

There was a bunch of 12 packs of soda next to the fridge, and I put the INTO the fridge. Genius.

The liquor box got a SERIOUS upgrade. The cardboard box on top of the black fridge was what we used to haul our liquor to Winona when we moved here 5 years ago. It has just been a handy place to keep the bottles. But really, an eye sore. So, I replaced it with a green bin that was housing puzzles. (a problem for another day.)

BEFORE:
AFTER:
Just another shot of the cleaned up zone. You can see near the door, a shoe tray I recently bought to put our outdoor shoes on. I bought it at Menards for around $6, but now the Target Dollar Spot has super cute pink and green ones for $2.50.

BEFORE:
AFTER:
Put the extra kitchen chair BACK in the kitchen, and the back massage portion in the basement. Put the magazine rack back into Connor's room. So his books now have a storage area, instead of all over the floor of his bedroom.

So, in the end, I only got rid of 7 books, 3 pictures, the old liquor box, and boxes that held the sodas. Not much, but cleaning up the zone, and putting thing back were they belong helped this room out a ton. I did do a mini-make over not that long ago on the microwave cart in the room, HERE.

Fiestaware

2011-04-18T14:57:00.000-07:00

I did it. I bought the Fiestaware. First meal? Leftover pizza.

It's been in the back of my mind for awhile now, and we had broke 4 plates, 1 mug, and 1 bowl. So our old set was on the way out.

We picked out the following sets:
Scarlett
Tangerine
Sunflower
Lemongrass
Turquise
Shamrock
Cobalt
Plum
Sets include a dinner plate, salad plate, bowl, teacup and saucer. The teacup is too small to be a coffee cup, so something will have to be done there.

I also got a platter and pitcher in Tangerine (of course).

What to do with the old plates now? They are nice, heavy duty (and I think they were expensive) dishes. Do you sell them? Donate? Keep? They are in a shelf on the basement until I make a decision.

Goodview Days Mugs

2011-04-17T19:03:00.000-07:00

How great and wonderful are these? A set of a dozen mugs from Goodview Days, dating from 1979 to 1994. They were 50 cents a piece at Salvation Army. I am going to go back and try to find the missing years, as these will become a very important part of our annual Goodview Days party. Everyone knows, Goodview Days is my FAVORITE holiday.

I just can not believe that someone would get rid of these.

Mailbox Drama

2011-04-13T12:22:00.000-07:00

At one time, our mailbox looked somewhat nice. I mean, it was never a stunner, but it wasn't the worst one on the block either. The flowers and the baby kind of spruce it up!

Then the City of Goodview decided to run it over, 4 times, with a snow plow. The last time actually snapped the post right off the base pole.

It was able to be speared into the snowbank for awhile, probably a month. But as the snow melted, we were losing our "base".

I used a stool to help prop it up, it was like this for 2 days. I waited for the mailman to come both days, and apologized like crazy. This fix up job even made it to ThereIFixedIt.

I bought a new mailbox from Menard's. A Rubbermaid Gentry. This is quite the set up. It is sitting in a 5 gallon pail with various weights in it to keep it up. It wasn't staying up well, so John chained it up to the old mailbox to keep it from tipping over.

Connor got sick of it in a bucket, so he went out and dug a hole for me.

And now it is finally cemented into the ground. My mailman is so happy. And so I am.

Maybe it is time to put some decorative bricks and plants along the bottom. Wouldn't that be stunning?

Week 3: Living Room

2011-04-12T12:56:00.000-07:00

I started to work on the Living Room zone! This won't be too hard, as I try to keep it and clean and toy-free as possible.

BEFORE:
AFTER:
I removed a dead plant from the window, an extra pillow, several extra blankets, and the toys that made their way upstairs.

BEFORE:
AFTER:
There were two cubbies forming of DVD/PS3, so I condensed them into one, taking the extras into the closet shelf with the rest of the movies. In the top right cubby, I set our current Netflix movie along with a Mason jar full of shells. I took the hammer off the top. I then started in on the top left cubby. That basket is actually a trash can re-purposed into a bin for PS3 accessories and the like. The basket needed some help.
All the crap in the basket:
I didn't get rid of anything (except the paper 3D glasses and name tags). Mostly because once again, I don't know what the heck most of it is. I know John doesn't use that crazy headset, so I just took it down stairs to his desk.

This is the plastic bin full of stuff that belongs to the basement. I also took down a blanket and pillow that didn't fit in.
Not to much stuff, but really, I feel I was in good shape before tackling this room. It only took about an hour, plus I dusted while I went. And watched Sister Wives.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes

2011-04-11T13:59:00.000-07:00

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 and 3/4 cup AP flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/4 cup milk

Cream together butter, PB and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Sift four, salt and baking powder together, and slowly add into mixture, adding milk slowly as well.

Fill cupcake wrappers little over halfway and bake at 350 for 20 minutes-ish.

Allow to cool.

Frosting:

4 cups powedered sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
4 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons peanut butter

Cream together, add more milk if desired.

Frosten. Add rainbow marshmallows if you are feeling adventurous.

Big Blue Wall

2011-04-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

Long Before, even old carpet:
After:
There is "Merced River".
On the far left, you can see a bit of the tan "Summer Memory" peeking through.

Long Before, very long, you can see the sponge green even! That light fixture was short lived there, then moved to the entry way.
After:
Now I need help. Bad.

WTF do I put on the wall? Seriously, it's a big, blue, EMPTY wall. Before over the kitchen table the entire wall was wallpapered with Con's art work. And in the living room, the TV was there. Now it's so empty. What do you even do? Can I get away with nothing, and the blue can act as its own artwork?

Hummus

2011-04-09T11:49:00.000-07:00

16 ounces chickpeas
1/4 cup of the chickpea juice
4 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of tahini (they sell it at the Co-op in the bulk peanut butter section)
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 teaspoon of Kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

Pop everything into the food processor for 3 minutes, and serve! I like to dip baby carrots into it. Or my fingers. Yeah, I'm gross like that.

The John's Bathroom

2011-04-08T11:36:00.000-07:00

I know John is anxiously awaiting to find out what I threw away from his bathroom. So, here it goes. NOTHING. I didn't throw away a single thing.

This is his "under the sink" zone. A half dozen full bottles of man soap, and a carrying case. And one lone roll of toilet paper. Everything there is something he is or will be using.
There is a scary corner in his bathroom. Right now, there is a rolled up large IKEA rug, toilet plunger and random plastic bags in it. The rug is from our old house, 5 years ago, and has not been unrolled. Maybe I could get rid of it, or use it. I'm not ready to make a decision yet. So there.
And here is the behind-the-mirror storage area. Just more stuff he actually uses. Well, maybe not the cologne, but who knows.
And here is ME! I know, you are probably thinking, "What is with the pink flowers and shower curtain?" They are all from our old house (I'm sensing a pattern) and since I NEVER use this bathroom, I don't think about it, and if John didn't like it, he knows where Target is.

Bathroom Organized

2011-04-07T11:08:00.000-07:00

I want to make this clear, I am utterly aware of how bad the bathroom looks. I know that there is forest green sponge painting with rose wall paper. I know. I go in there several times a day. You should take a close look at the floor in there! Redecorating is NOT what this is about. That is a summer time project, decoration efforts and FUNDS are concentrated to living room/kitchen right now.

The Before:

The After:
You can't really see much of a difference, I just cleaned things up and out. I got rid of old make up, unused bath products, razors, and Con's little potty. Consolidated pill bottles and Band-Aid boxes, don't really need 3 boxes of Band-Aids open, when they can easily be made into one (one Diego, one Hello Kitty and one regular).

I had this idea, that everytime I need some pills, I have to pull out every bottle to find the right one, messing it all up and just tossing them back in. SO, I took a black Sharpie marker and wrote the name of the med on it. So I can just pull the bin out and peek in at the top.

The Befores:

The After:
I just got rid of the excess stuff on the counter, and got rid of junk underneath. Underneath is pretty much empty now, except for a bucket of cleaners and toilet paper. Behind the toilet paper is an old shower curtain liner, that I cut up in to 3 big strips and use as a drop cloth for painting. Seriously, works wonderfully.

And here is the bag of stuff I tossed (minus the plastic and glass containers that were able to be recycled). And because John reads the blog, I can't disclose EVERYTHING that was in the bag. But it was one of those standard Wal-mart bags, so you can get an idea of the quantity of stuff.

Week 2 of De-Cluttering has been a success, watch for an update on John's bathroom!

Week 2

2011-04-05T19:26:00.000-07:00

Week 1 of de-cluttering the playroom pit went well. I tossed out all sorts of broken, loud and sad toys. I took about half away, and they are in their storage bins in a room Connor does not have access to. And a bunch are in the pile of things to be sold. Gotta nail down a garage sale date now.

Onward!

Week 2: Bathroom
I'm begining work on de-cluttering the bathroom. I have made great strides in orgainzing the bathroom. Awhile back I redid the whole closet to look like this:

And now it looks like this:

Yikes, it got messy!

WTF is going on here???? Seriously, I don't give my dogs baths (shhhh....) and I don't use pads.

Messy, Messy, Messy!

So, I am going to go through all those adorable pink/green/blue baskets, purge out old make up, and unused bathroom products.

And, I'll use my nice camera instead of BB to capture the transformation.

AND, I may do some tricks to Jbiz's bathroom, but that place is NASTY.

Brussel Sprouts

2011-04-05T13:10:00.000-07:00

Toss the fresh brussel sprouts in olive oil, sprinkle with fresh pepper and kosher salt. Roast in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes, tossing them a few times while cooking.

"these taste like the bad part of the egg roll" ~from the man who eats nothing green.

I liked them, and they were easy!

12 Week Decluttering Plan

2011-03-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

I was reading Women's Day (don't laugh, it's an awesome magazine, and even if you are in your 20's!), and there was an article in the April 2011 issue about decluttering, and gave a 12 week plan on how to do this. I have been real good about it lately, but could always use some more help. So, I'm up for the challenge!
Here is a link to the complete article.

But, here is my recap of it.

Week 1: Attack the Obvious. Connor and the pit of toys for me.
Week 2: Bathroom.
Week 3s and 4: Public Rooms. This will be my living room and sun room.
Week 5: Kitchen.
Week 6: Clothing
Weeks 7 and 8: Bedrooms (I've got 3, mine, con's,and guest)
Weeks 9, 10, 11: Attic (don't have one), Basement, Garage, Home Office (AKA room of computer doom)
Week 12: Throw Yourself a Party!

So, Week 1 is under attack.

Women's Day says "Begin with the area that's motivated you to declutter in the first place". That for me is the pile of toys in the basement. I had made up a wonderful toy room for Connor, and moved all the toys to the basement (except books and a few board games). You can see the transformation here.

I have come to realize there is just too much stuff down there. So I am purging. I am tossing anything that is broken, missing pieces, or generally pisses me off. This means, McDonald's toys, cars without wheels, and things that make noise. I have a growing pile of things that he has outgrown and will be put in a garage sale this Spring. I will work on pictures later. Wish me luck!

Peanutbutter Banana Chocolate Chip Sammy

2011-03-22T09:53:00.000-07:00

2 pieces of bread (whole wheat, of course)
Peanut Butter
Chocolate Chips
Thinly sliced Banana

Spread peanut butter on two slices of bread, put chocolate chips and banana in between. Put inside the waffle maker for 3 to five minutes. Enjoy!

Sticker Stain

2011-03-18T09:01:00.000-07:00

Connor loves this shirt. I don't. Neon yellow/green, it just is not my color.

Anyway, he put one of those big square stickers on his shirt, the kind you get at the bank. I didn't check his clothes carefully enough before tossing it into the washing machine. And then into the dryer. So the sticker left an awful residue.

Fortunately a few months ago I recalled reading about what to do if this happens in a magazine, maybe Good Housekeeping or Real Simple. Get out your Goo Gone, or WD-40, a washcloth and a toothbrush.

First, soak the area with Goo Gone. You will want to put a towel or something in between the layers of fabric, to avoid getting the Goo Gone all over the shirt. The stuff stinks, and can leave an oil mark. Allow the Goo Gone to soak for about five minutes. Then gentle brush it away with the toothbrush. When I did this, all the glue residue came right off.

I wanted to avoid an oil mark, so I sprayed it down with some Tide brand spray-n-wash, and laundered it up right away.

The shirt came out nicely. There is a slight oil mark if you look real close at it, but it's nothing compared to some other stains that are on the bottom of this shirt. The marks you see in this picture is actually the back side number 6 showing through. So, soccer jersey lives another day!

The shirt did smell like the Goo Gone, even after laundering it. So, I am going to rewash it.

Poop Scoopin'

2011-03-17T19:01:00.000-07:00

This is my secret way of poop scooping. I take a five gallon pail with a handle, line it with an dog food bag, and scoop away! The handle stays pretty clean, and makes it easy to move it around the yard. I save all dog and cat food bags, I find they are very sturdy and don't leak. Then I put the food bag directly into the trash can. Be sure and do this the day before garbage day, or else your garage will stink!

I did announce the other day how I love to pick up poop. There is something nice about doing a mindless task. I have some music usually going, and everyone leaves me along while I do it.

Bedroom Make Over

2011-03-15T17:31:00.000-07:00

We finally "finished" the bedroom. When we bought the house, the walls were painted white and there were lace curtains. I couldn't find a picture of that....so, just imagine! This is as close as it gets. ;)

The befores:Blue carpet??? That 13" TV/VCR combo has been returned to its original owner - Jessica.
The quilt hanging up as a make-shift curtain, I never meant for it to be a curtain. I bought it at a yard sale for $4, and I thought it was just beautiful. It is a handmade one, and now it has a home in the living room over a railing so that everyone can enjoy it.

Garbage can was sitting on top of the dresser, so the dogs could not get into it.
Cat bed on top of a dresser, on the right. We just threw that away, as Sammy never used it. Ever.
The carpet was in bad bad bad shape. We painted the room in September 2009, and were going to replace the carpet once the paint dried, so we didn't really cover the carpet much. It was full of white paint drops. Finally, the carpet has been replaced.

The Afters:

We completely re-arrange the furniture, trying to open the tiny room up.
New tan with brown flecks carpet. We changed out the brass colored closet door nobs with some darker metal ones. They match the metal hardware on the rest of the bedroom furniture.
We replaced the white sheer curtains with some brown and gold ones. They are Better Homes and Gardens ones from Walmart for $10 a piece. Now that is a steal. We have just white min-blinds behind them. The one is fine, but one still needs replacing. We need to wait till Spring, when the window plastics come down.
The old 13" TV/VCR was replaced by a flat screen from my parents. Fits much better! In the center towards the door, I put a new-to-the-room laundry hamper. This hamper was in Connor's room, and we just had a plastic laundry basket sitting in ours. I figure, might as well have the nice looking on in our nice looking room. Purple plastic moved the Connor's room!
The blue bedding has been replaced with this lovely brown and gold set. Another Walmart Better Homes and Gardens purchase. I bought just a bed-in-a-bag for $75. The sheets from the bed-in-a-bag are actually decent quality.
Now, I didn't clean up the closet very well. This is how is normally looks. You can see on the bottom right side of the closet, I moved the garbage can into there. There was space there, we don't have to look at it, and the dogs can't get into it now.

Cream Cheese Cookies

2011-03-14T18:51:00.000-07:00

1 box of Butter Cake Mix
1 stick of Butter
1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla
1 package of soften Cream Cheese
Powdered Sugar

Mix everything together then refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350. Form into balls, I used my medium cookie scoop. Roll the ball in powdered sugar. Fit a dozen on a cookie sheet. Flatten with a fork, I like making nice cross hatches.

Bake for about 10 minutes.

Quick Make-over

2011-03-13T16:58:00.000-07:00

This lovely old microwave cart. Sigh. You know you have one, or two. We had two, but the one got severely broken. This one did have a 25" TV (don't walk by too quickly or it could collapse). We sold the TV on Craigslist for $25. Then the cart just turned into a dumping ground.

The ice cream pail was always there, it housed my "outdoor" things.

So, I cleaned it off with Murphy's Wood Soap (even though I am sure this is not real wood). I took two baskets that were downstairs, full of crap. But that is another story.

The top basket is full of "pool table" junk. Like chalk, racks, dice, brushes. The lower basket replaced my "outdoor" ice cream pail. This basket has things like sunglasses, bug spray, ear plugs for lawn mowing, animal brushes and sunscreen.

I got rid of that awful fantasy football trophy. And the bird house is headed outside.

I'm not a big fan of the picture frames just chilling on top, but that is a project for another day. Suggestions? I was thinking maybe an over sized serving tray or something. This was a ZERO cost makeover, as I already had the baskets. Gotta love that.

Cookie Monster Cupcakes

2011-02-27T12:18:00.000-08:00

These are the cuties I made up for the Cupcake Walk, a fund raiser for my son's school. They were a total hit.

And easy.

I used my standard butter cream frosting, dyed it blue, and piped with the star tip little star kisses on to a chocolate cupcake. Then I just regular piped white frosting eye dots, chocolate chips for the pupils. Baby chocolate chip cookies for the mouth. The cuteness is really overwhelming.

Eggplant Parmesan

2011-02-19T20:04:00.001-08:00

The Sauce:

2 cans of 28 ounce whole tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic, minced or finely chopped
Olive Oil
1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (or more or less, depending on how spicy you feel)
1 teaspoon of oregano, basil and another spices (sometimes I use Italian seasoning)
Black pepper and Kosher salt

Using a large pot, heat up some olive oil to medium heat. Cover the pan, maybe 2 tablespoons. Then add the garlic. Careful not to burn, or else you just need to start over fresh. Brunt garlic ruins things, and you can not save it. Once the garlic is cooked and smelling nice, add the tomatoes. Depending on if you like it chunky, you may want to puree the tomatoes in the food processor. I like it chunky, so I just use a potato masher to break up the tomatoes once they are in the pot. Cook for 10 minutes, then add the spices. Don't be stingy with the salt. I have no idea how much I use, I just keep adding and tasting. Cook for 10 more minutes.

The Eggplant
Slice up two eggplants, in 1/4 inch slices. Salt both sides liberally, and let them sit. I have mine sit on the counter under plastic wrap for a few hours. Doing this makes the eggplant much less bitter. After they have sat for the afternoon, I rinse off the salt. I just use cheapo regular table salt to do this.

Now get the assembly line ready. One dish with AP flour (about a cup), one dish with 3 beaten eggs, and one dish with 2 cups of bread crumbs. I just make my own bread crumbs by putting the ends of bread loaves into the food processor. Then, coat the eggplant in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs. I set them onto a cooling rack. Then you have to let them sit for about 15 minutes to firm up.

Get a nice pan with a half inch of canola oil in it. Heat the oil to a medium heat. Put about 4 or 5 slices of eggplant in. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes, flip and repeat. When you remove from the oil, allow to cool on a paper towel.

Now, assemble. And preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Coat a 9x13 baking dish with olive oil. Add a cup of the sauce. Layer of eggplant. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. More sauce, then more parmesan cheese, and another layer of eggplant. Another layer of parmesan cheese, the remainder of the sauce, then a good layer of mozzerella cheese. I use about 1 cup and a half of parm, and 2 cups of mozz. I find it key to when doing the layers, make sure you have parm cheese on all sides of the eggplant.

Bake at 375 with foil on top for 30 minutes, and then another 15 with out the foil, let the cheese get all brown and bubbly.

I'll work on a getting a picture of it up. Promise.

Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie

2011-02-10T14:48:00.000-08:00

1 stick of unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 and 1/2 cup AP flour
1/4 t Kosher salt
1/2 t baking soda
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a skillet type pan over medium low heat, any higher, and it will turn brown. But if you are into that, go ahead, brown butter is fab. Stir in both sugars and the vanilla. Allow to cool just enough so you can mix the egg in. Then stir in the four, salt and baking soda. Finally, add the chips. Bake in the same skillet for 20 minutes. Probably less if you have a cast iron skillet you are using. I used my Earth Pan. <3

Serve as fast as you can with vanilla ice cream. Don't mind the picture, using a Toy Story plate. I am running low on dishes. Send some to the Bberg's!

Corning Ware French White with Lasagna

2011-01-30T07:13:00.000-08:00

It came, I used it. It was nice. Very beautiful looking stoneware. No lid, so I have to use Saran wrap, cause you know the Bberg's aren't eating a full 9x13 of lasagna in a sitting.

Have a done a regular lasagna?

1 can of crushed tomatoes
1 sliced up green bell pepper (just cause I had one)
2 to 4 cloves of garlic minced or finely chopped
olive oil
salt, pepper, basil
1 pound of whole wheat lasagna noodles
2 cups of shredded mozzarella
1 thing of fat free cottage cheese (like the bigger container)
1 egg
more salt, pepper, basil and now some nutmeg
1 cup of shredded parm

Cook up the garlic and peppers in the olive oil. Add the crushed tomatoes with some salt, pepper and basil. Cook for awhile, about 15 to 20 minutes.

While that is going, in a larger bowl, stir together the mozzarella, cottage cheese, egg, salt, pepper, basil and nutmeg.

Now, to assemble.

In your new 9x13 Corning Ware, cover the bottom with some olive oil. I use my fingers to spread it all around. Then put some of the red sauce on top of it. Wet the noodles, start to layer. I don't use "no-boil" or anything, I just get them wet before I begin the layer, and I have never had a problem with it. So, noodles, half the cottage cheese mix, red sauce, noodles, last half of the cottage cheese mix, red sauce, noodles, what is left of the red sauce, then the parm cheese.

At this point, I usually put it in the fridge and wait till dinner. You can even do this the night before. Then, bake at 350 for 45 minute with foil on top. Take the foil off after 45 minutes, and cook for another 15 minutes to get the parm all bubbly.

Pyrex

2011-01-19T11:20:00.000-08:00

After the exploding Pyrex situation, I filed a complaint online. They called me back today, I retold my story to the customer service woman. She offered to send me out a replacement, but since I am nervous about using the glassware. She agreed to send me a Corning ware Stoneware one instead. I've never used them before, so I am excited about that. She even offered to pay for the meal that was in the Pyrex at the time of the explosion, but I had removed the tenderloin before it broke. I am very pleased with the level of service, and I am exceptionally glad I contacted them instead of just sitting and stewing.

My new dish comes in about a week via Fedex.

Chai

2011-01-18T13:45:00.001-08:00

I have made iced chai, now today I just made hot chai. I steeped a bag of chai in about 1 and 1/2 cups of hot water. Then allowed it to cool, not a lot, just till it was warm. Added about 2 tablespoons of sweeten condensed milk, and now I am happy. As I am on my second glass.

Wine Lables

2010-12-25T12:40:00.000-08:00

How is this for festive? I used those sticker gift tags to label everyone's wine glass.

Baked Brie

2010-12-23T06:48:00.000-08:00

I've done this one before right? Well, stop reading then.

1 wheel of brie
1/4 cup or so of slice almonds, toasted
2 tablespoons of raspberry jam
1 sheet of puffed pastry
1 egg

Slice the brie in half, spreed jam inside. Top almonds on the jam. Put on the other half of the brie. Wrap up with puffed pastry. Do a quick egg wash. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or so. Let the pastry get a nice golden color. Serve on water crackers. Seriously, this is all the basic food groups. Cheese, jam, carbs, nuts and love. Lots of love.

Cheddar Rosemary Crisps

2010-12-20T06:44:00.001-08:00

2 cups of finely shredded sharp cheddar
1 cups of soften butter
2 and 1/4 cup of AP flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper
2 teaspoons of finely chopped rosemary

Combine the cheese and butter in your mixer. Add the pepper, salt and rosemary. Then slowly add the flour. Once mixed, divide in two. Roll into two long cylinders, and wrap in saran wrap. About an inch wide or so, it will be almost a foot long. Put in the fridge over night. Next day, slice super thin, about an eighth of an inch. Put on a Silpat and bake at 375 for 9 minutes. Allow 1 minute to cool on the baking tray, then move to a wire cooling rack. Serve with wine and friends.

Oreo Cheesecake Balls

2010-12-14T12:39:00.000-08:00

1 package of Oreos 17 ounces (I used Wal-mart's Twist and Shout generics)
1 package of cream cheese 8 ounces
almond bark
sprinkles

In food processor, combine Oreos and cream cheese. Form into balls, I used my small cookie scoop to make the balls more uniformed. Put in the freezer for a half hour or so. Dip into the melted almond bark, and sprinkle right away with the sugar/sprinkles/whatever. I bought new dusting sugar, and Connor covered it with his construction stickers. I love it.
Allow the almond bark to harden, store in the fridge. Tasty if you let them sit out a bit, to get more room temp before eating it.

Jar of Memories

2010-12-07T14:02:00.000-08:00

I came up with this fabulous idea all on my own. I had a photo box I was keeping of "memory" pieces of Connor. I don't like to keep stuff, so I try to keep only the important stuff. I wanted a nice way to keep things. So, here it is.

1 quart mason jars. One for each year of Connor's life. The first one has his onesie he wore home from the hospital, his nuk + chain, and a hand print. The second one has some favorite cars, and it goes on. I intend to put some nice sticker labels on them. All in good time. So, now as we approach year 4, I can save little momentos throughout the year.

Cranberry Mash

2010-12-06T12:50:00.000-08:00

This was a true, off the cuff, Heather Creation.

1 bag of cranberries
2 apples
1/3 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of vanilla vodka

Peal and slice up the apples, pretty thin. Let them cook down a bit, mash them a bit with a potato masher. Add the sugar and the cranberries. Allow to cook till they cranberries start to burst. Then add the vodka. For fun, light it on fire.

Serve over ice cream, serve by its self, bake up apple crisp, and put it on as a top layer. I did all 3, and I liked all 3.

Grilled Acorn Squash

2010-10-31T15:27:00.000-07:00

Make an infused olive oil, by cooking the oil at a low heat with sage. Dunk the sliced (quarter to half inch thick) and pealed squash into the oil. Grill 4 minutes on a medium heat on each side.

Sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper.

Purple Carrots

2010-10-29T15:26:00.000-07:00

Purple Carrots. Need I say more?

Pumpkin Soup

2010-10-27T17:54:00.000-07:00

I had a whole pumpkin, and wanted to try something different. Once I pureed up the pumpkin, it looked like it would make good soup. And it did.

1 Whole Pumpkin, pureed (maybe that is a can's worth)
1 can of chicken broth
1 cup half and half
3 tablespoons of brown butter
rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper to taste (you won't need much salt)
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup potato flakes

Toss all into crock pot, on low for about 2 hours, ta-da!

Cider Soco

2010-10-09T12:45:00.000-07:00

2 cups ginger ale
2 cups apple cider
4 shots Southern Comfort
1 orange, studded with cloves
2 cinnamon sticks

Put everything into a pot, and bring up to a steamy hotness. Cook it slow, want is more orangy? Zest the orange a bit.

Leaf Bowl

2010-10-08T14:28:00.000-07:00

This beautiful leaf shaped bowl:
Better Homes and Gardens Brand for Wal-mart, $10, dishwasher, microwave safe. Apple Beautiful.
Seriously, $10.

Garage Light

2010-10-07T16:20:00.000-07:00

How is that for a quick makeover? Got rid of the old one brassy light (there was only one) and replaced with two more modern looking ones. Fabulous.

Caramel Apples

2010-10-05T20:01:00.000-07:00

We bought some caramel apples from Ferguson's. They were super yummy, so yummy it turned Connor into the Incredible Hulk who does not share!

We decided to make our own, but they did not turn out as lovely as the Ferguson's one. I just melted some caramel candies down, and dipped the apples in. Of course, I had no Popsicle sticks, so I used plastic forks. Decorated them with M&Ms. The caramel got way too hard when it hardened. So, next time I will make my own caramel. I need to get a candy thermometer.

Potato Topper

2010-10-04T18:53:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Topper's Potato Topper Pizza.
Here we go:

Heather's Special Ranch Dressing (mayo, sour cream, fresh dill, garlic, thyme, oregano, kosher salt, pepper)
2 cups cheddar cheese
4 potatoes
5 slices of bacon
1 minced garlic clove

I used my standard crust, but did 3 cups AP flour, 1 cup whole wheat.
Cut the bacon up into smallish pieces, and fry up. Remove bacon, let sit on some paper towels. I boiled the potatoes till they were nearly done, then cut them up into 1 inch chunks. Fry the potatoes up in the bacon grease with the garlic. Get them a little crisp.
I blind baked the crust for about ten minutes at 400, just get it ready for all the ranch.
Spread the ranch, I used about 3/4 a cup of it. Top with cheddar cheese, the potatoes and bacon. Bake for about 10 minutes.

I talked to an employee of Toppers, and they said that Toppers uses garlic butter for the sauce and puts ranch on top. But, they don't use Heather's Special Ranch either. I like the way mayo tastes when it bakes, so that is why I did it this way.

I really loved this. John did too. Blind baking the crust really helped make it nice and crisp.

Eggplant Parm

2010-09-28T20:48:00.000-07:00

1 eggplant, pealed and slice in 1/4 inch slices
bread crumbs
garlic, minced
salt
egg
parm cheese

After slicing the eggplant, sprinle salt onto both sides and let it sit for awhile, the longer the better. I like at least 1 hour. This removes that weird biter flavor if you buy the wrong sex of eggplant. I can never remember how to properly sex a eggplant. How dirty is that?

Rinse the eggplant slices well. Remove all the salt you can. Dip the eggplant into a beaten egg, then dip it into the breadcrumb/garlic. Shallow fry it in canola oil, 2 to 3 minutes a side. Remove from oil, put onto a paper towel, sprinkle with shredded parm. The eggplant is hot enough that it will naturally melt the parm cheese.

Devour.

Fajitas

2010-09-27T18:21:00.000-07:00

Shredded chicken, from the whole chicken I made on Friday
Poblano Peppers
Zavory Peppers (these crazy little guys, look like habanero, taste like them, without the heat....so they are actually fruity)
Fresh Cilantro
Salt and Pepper

Chop and saute everything together with a splash of Canola Oil. Fabulous.

Apple Crisp, Strawberry style

2010-09-26T18:43:00.000-07:00

Filling:

1 pound of strawberries
2 pounds of apples (I used firecrisp - that is right - firecrisp apples)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping:

2 cups oats
1 stick of butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt

Combine all the filling ingredients, I slice and peal the apples. You don't need to peal. It's up to you. Put the filling into a greased 9 by 13 inch Pyrex baking dish. Combine all topping ingredients, I cut it with a pastry blender. Sprinkle on top of the filling. Bake at 350 for about an hour.

Try to let it cool a tiny bit, then serve with ice cream.

Creamy Sweet Squash

2010-09-22T14:12:00.000-07:00

Acorn Squash
Butter
Sugar
Kosher Salt
Half & Half

Half the squash, remove the seeds, put a tablespoon of butter in each half. Sprinkle with sugar and bake at 400 for 75 minutes. Make sure the squash is tender, scoop it out into a large bowl. Add a some half and half to making is nice and creamy.

This is crazy good, and I ate nearly all of it in one sitting. 4 hours later, I still felt like there was a lead balloon in my stomach. Everything in MODERATION.

Hot Crash Potatoes

2010-09-21T14:07:00.000-07:00

Easy stuff.

New/Red Potatoes
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Pepper
Rosemary

Boil the potatoes in salted water till fork tender. Then, get your potato masher out, and crush the potatoes onto a baking sheet. I always use a Silpat, and I always put olive oil down first. Brush more olive oil on the top of the crashed potatoes, then put lots of salt, some pepper and rosemary on top. Cook at 400 for about 20 minutes. Adapted from Pioneer Woman.

SweeTango Apples

2010-09-20T06:51:00.000-07:00

Here it is, the SweeTango apple. Have you heard about these? They were developed by University Minnesota, and are a cross between the Honey Crisp and Zestar! apples. So, it's very sweet, and very crisp. It may be the best apple I have ever tasted. I despise Red Delicious apples, always have. I don't like my fruit "mealy". Anyway, all the praises being said about how fantastic this apple is, still does not make it worth $2.70 a piece. FYI.

This is the first year you can get them, and quantities are EXTREMELY limited, so good luck. I got mine at Hy-vee last week. Hurry if you want them!

On a side note, I find apple trees disturbing. The ultimate in Frankenstein design.

Devil's Food Cake and Pasty Frosting

2010-09-14T12:47:00.000-07:00

I used the standard recipe from the Betty Crocker Bridal Edition cookbook. So to avoid plagiarism, go look it up yourself. Con wanted to make chocolate cake, and it was the first recipe I found in my stack of books.

For frosting, I used this crazy recipe I found online.
5 tablespoons flour (AP white)
1 cup skim milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar

Seemed like you almost start out making a roux, put the flour in a sauce pan and slowly add milk. Stir with a whisk, adding the milk a few tablespoons at a time to avoid the lumps. Continue to whisk (I was having a shit day, so I forcefully whisked) until it thickens. It becomes very thick. I continued to heat and whisk a bit, even after it was thick, to cook out the paste taste. Allow to cool.

After it has cooled, whisk in the vanilla. Add this mixture to a creamed butter and sugar.

OK. So, I am not sure what to think about this. The cake was fab, the frosting was a bit runny, and tasted pasty, and needs salt. I actually sprinkled a bit of Kosher salt on the top. I love my salt though. Con liked it

Garlic

2010-09-08T07:22:00.000-07:00

Look at the size of that clove! The garlic head was the size of a normal one you would buy at the grocery store, but there was only 4 cloves on the head, normally there are like 10. Big Garlic = Big Love. I could have ate it raw.

Purple Beans

2010-09-07T07:21:00.001-07:00

The beans were actually purple. I swear. It was crazy. When I cooked them, they turned green though.

Tomato Goodness

2010-09-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

That is it. I have a new favorite food. I don't even know what to call this.

Handful of Cherry tomatoes (I had green, red and orange ones)
Sweet Red Pepper
Clove of garlic
Fresh Basil
Salt & Pepper

Heat some olive oil to medium-low, add chopped garlic clove. Cook for a few moments, add the pepper. At this point, I added some kosher salt and pepper. Cook till the pepper is slighly mushy, I like mushy veggies. Add the halved cherry tomatoes and the fresh basil. Cook till warm. This is so good. I put it on ziti pasta and topped with some shredded parm. Seriously, this is my new favorite food. I had regular slicing tomatoes, that I just used. Removed the seeds, and they worked just as well. This dish is so pretty, I almost feel bad when I am licking the plate.

Sugar- Brookies

2010-09-01T06:44:00.000-07:00

So, I'm working on a name still, but it's my own new creation. Brownies on the bottom, Sugar Cookie on top.

Brownie Bottom:

4 Eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks of melted butter
Handful of chocolate chips

Beat eggs till fluffy, add sugars. Add the rest of the ingredients, melted butter last. Put into a greased a floured 9 by 13 pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile

Sugar Cookie Top:

1 and 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup margerine
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Sprinkle of turbinado sugar

Cream butter/margarine/sugar. Add eggs, milk and vanilla. Sift together flour/baking powder/salt. Add to mixture.

After 20 minutes of baking the brownies, remove from oven and carefully spread the sugar cookie batter. I used it all, next time I'll use just half. So, keep that in mind. Top with turbinado sugar. Bake for another 25 minutes.

Tomato Pizza

2010-08-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

Heather, you make too much pizza. Impossible. This one is completely different from any I have made in the past for these 3 reasons:

I used 50/50 wheat/white flour in the crust
I used "fresh mozzarella"
I reheated by placing it on a piece of aluminum foil on my NEW grill, and placing it on top

Those are 3 great new changes. I like it. Other toppings included my standard tomato sauce, sweet red pepper, cherry tomatoes and garlic gloves. John's half was peppers and pepperonis.

For my normal crust

For my normal tomato sauce

Ultimate sadness, I forgot I have some fresh basil in the fridge! Damn you dried convenient stuff.

Jar of Cars

2010-08-29T11:10:00.000-07:00

Con loves his Pixar Racecars. Sometimes, they have to go to toy jail, which is this lovely canning jar. Don't they look pretty?

Flowers

2010-08-28T11:07:00.000-07:00

Finally, Waterford gets an upgrade from it's normal dandelion flowers.

Ribs

2010-08-27T10:24:00.000-07:00

First, clean off the ribs. Cut away that pesky membrane from the back. It's tricky to do the first few times, but I got a hold of it now. Just take a sharp fillet knife in there, and dry off the part you cut away, get a good hold and tear it off.

Dry Rub:
Brown Sugar (about 1/3 of the mix)
Lawery's Salt
Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Coriander (I leave it whole)
Chili Powder
Cumin
Paprika

Mix these all together, and rub away! I like to put lots of salt, cause salt is yummy.

Put onto the grill for at least an hour, maybe even an hour and a quarter. Flip halfway through. Then take your BBQ sauce (I use a combo of Famous Daves Devil Spit and whatever other sweet sauce I have on hand), paint it on with a nice brush. I prefir those fancy silicone ones for a nice even coverage, with super cleaning powers. Grill for another 15 minutes or so. Allow to cool for a bit before chopping up.

Johnny loves it, 2 picky boys under 5 loved them, I call it a crowd pleaser.

Kale Chips

2010-08-26T12:05:00.000-07:00

A bunch of clean ripped up Kale
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Parm Cheese

In a bowl, pour the olive oil over the kale. Add the salt and cheese, to your liking, and stir around with your hands. Make sure all the kale gets a good even covering.

Bake at 425 for a few (less than 10) minutes on a Silpat lined baking sheet. Comes out crispy.

It's not the best tasting, but what else are you going to do with kale? Seriously folks, what else are you going to do? I just read an article in TIME magazine about chimps and their sign language skills. They kind of make up their own phrases, and the chimp calls kale "Slow-Lettuce" cause it takes much longer to eat than lettuce, but resembles it. Cute.

Tomato Sauce

2010-08-25T11:57:00.000-07:00

About 20 Roma tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
1 sweet red pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
salt
pepper
basil

Peal and de-seed the tomatoes. Chop into eighths. Do the same with the pepper. Head olive oil to medium, cook chopped garlic for a moment. Don't let it burn! Add the tomatoes and pepper. Add salt, pepper and basil and cook forever, stir every once in awhile on low heat. Seriously, I let it simmer for at least a half hour. The tomatoes will break down by themselves in that amount of time.

It's a crazy amount of work for sauce that will cover MAYBE 2 pounds of pasta, I know. But, I like to control what I eat. I hate onions, and all store bought sauce has onions in it. I normally make my own sauce with a can of crushed tomatoes, but with fresh tomatoes in season, it was time to try it the hard way.

As Connor would say, "Tomato sauce, it's not growssy!"

Crayons

2010-08-02T13:10:00.000-07:00

You take broken crayons, put them into a silcon mold or into paper cupcake holders, bake at like 200 degrees. For a few minutes, not long, maybe 5. I like to swirl the wax with a tooth pick when they come out of the oven. Let the wax cool off, pop out, and you have a fun multi colored crayon.

Pancakes

2010-07-25T20:30:00.001-07:00

I tried a new recipe. I really love Perkin's Pancakes, and was reading somewhere that they use "club soda" instead of milk. So, I subbed it in.

2 cups Bisquick
1 and 1/4 cup club soda
2 tablespoons melted margarine (ewwww....)
1 egg + 1 egg yolk

Mix it up, pour onto a medium hot griddle that has been slathered with canola oil. I added a handful of blueberries to mine, Con is a purest.

Fried Green Beans

2010-07-20T20:35:00.000-07:00

1 pound green beans, trimmed
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon regular pepper
frying oil

Dunk the beans into the buttermilk, then dredge them into a bowl of flour/salt/garlic/cayenne/pepper. Fry them for a minute or so until golden brown. Place onto a paper towel then sprinkle with salt, or even parm cheese.

Blueberry Lemonade Mintness

2010-07-19T20:15:00.000-07:00

From Real Simple:
1 1/2 cups blueberries
1 cup lemonade
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, plus more for serving
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup of Vodka

Directions

In a blender, puree the blueberries, lemonade, mint, confectioners’ sugar, Vodka, and 3 cups ice until smooth.
Garnish with mint sprigs.

I liked it, Jbizz felt it was too "leafy"

6 green veggie beef Stir Fry

2010-07-18T20:11:00.000-07:00

1 Green Bell Pepper

1/2 cup green beans

1/2 cup chopped kale

1/2 cup chopped Napa cabbage

1/2 cup broccoli

Garlic Scape

1 pound of some steak or beef strips

2 cups brown rice

Brown up the beef with some soy sauce. Add bell pepper, beens, broccoli and garlic scape. 4 minutes later, add cabbage and kale. Top on brown rice.

Think Jbizz is sick of stir fry yet? Nah, add some beef and he forgets all about the green veggie organic love.

Chorizo Steak Taco

2010-07-17T20:01:00.000-07:00

The picture does not do it justice.

1 pound of steak, something cheap is just fine

1 bay leaf

1 tube of chorizo, maybe a pound

1/2 cup sour cream

1 avocado

a squirt of lime juice

salt

Boil the steak with a bay leaf till cooked, like a half hour. Then shred the steak up. Or cut it up. Shredding is pretty though. Put the steak into a fry pan with the chorizo. Cook for awhile, like 15 minutes, let the flavors get all good and crispy.

Mash up an avacado with the sour cream, lime and salt.

And any standard taco toppings, I just do cheese.

I like crunchy, Jbizz likes soft shell. Sometimes, we get wild and just top chips.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

2010-07-16T19:47:00.000-07:00

I've never made a strawberry pie, let alone, a strawberry rhubarb pie. I even tried out a new crust. Let us discuss.

Crust:

1 stick of supa cold butter, cubed
1 tablespoon of Crisco
1 and 1/2 cups AP flour
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
4 tablespoons of ice water

Combine butter/crisco/flour/salt into food processor. Pulse 3 times for 3 seconds. Put in the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulse for 3 seconds after each. Maybe you won't even need the last tablespoon, but I tend to always need it. Normally, I use lard for crusts (it's not gross, Crisco is gross - a fat that doesn't need to be refrigerator, and is stable at room temp. That is wrong. Stepping down from soapbox.) Form into a nice disc in plastic wrap, put in fridge for at least a half hour. This is my own trick now. I put a Silpat down, sprinkle just a tad of flour. Place dough disc on it, put the plastic wrap on top of it. And roll it out, keeping the dough between the plastic wrap and silpat. I have this god-awful marble rolling pin, and stuff just sticks to it. I want a nice wood one. (TWSS)

How about the filling?

1 pound of strawberries, hulled and quartered
1 cup of rhubarb chopped up, one inch pieces
1 and 1/2 cups sugar, Turbinado please
3 tablespoons of corn starch
1 teaspoon Kosher salt

Mix this all together, fill the crust. I try to blind bake crusts, but I always junk that up. Put a few pats of butter on top of the filling for luck. Make the edges pretty. I cut off the hang over, then make a faux lattice on top. Bake for about an hour at 350.

Sea Glass Necklace

2010-07-15T13:14:00.000-07:00

While photographing my jewelry, why not show this lovely necklace? My dear friend Stephanie gave it to me for my birthday. It appears to be sea glass on a leather cord.

Pizza Cutter

2010-07-14T12:30:00.000-07:00

Just a fancy pizza cutter that stands up nicely?

NOPE, look closely! It's a dog, and the blade is a frisbee! Neat right? We received this as a wedding present from my darling Meghan over 7 years ago. It took us about 3 years to discover it was a dog. Funny, right?

The Koziol Cutter.

Turquoise Necklaces

2010-07-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

Aren't these beauties? My grandma was getting rid of some of her old jewelry, and I snagged them. She said she bought them from a trip to Arizona 50 years ago.

Creamy Chai Goodness

2010-07-10T20:14:00.000-07:00

I found this in Real Simple Magazine.

Boil 4 cups of water, steep 4 bags of chai tea for 10 minutes. Allow to cool. I put my saucepan of chai out on the pool table so it wouldn't warm up the house anymore on this blistering 95 degree day. Fill a tall glass with ice, add a shot of clear rum, not the spiced, yuck. I used a soup ladle to get the tea into the glass. Add two tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk to the top. I slowly stirred it into it as I drank. Supa Yummy. You can make it w/o the rum to become a lovely afternoon sipper as well.

Basement Redux

2010-07-06T12:26:00.000-07:00

Everyone is talking about the big basement make over. (ok, so I've been talking to everyone who will listen) With the inspiration and assistance from IHeartOrganizing, and my shopping buddy Jenna, my financier John and my supportive Pre-Schooler Connor.

Before: Large TV in corner, toys leaking into the "computer room", toys piled on top of the TV. Toys scattered all over the place, with no real proper home.

Now: Large new shevling units! The big one is new ($99 at IKEA) and the smaller one used to be our TV stand up in the living room. It has been replaced by something new. Green Rubbermaid bins from Target for the toys, $6.99 a piece. The large bins on top are also from Target.
Connor, so happy to show off his new shelves. He helped me with the big one. The corner space he has a few pillows. He likes to hid back in there when he gets overwhelmed. It's a nice sensory break space. The top right on the smaller shelf is MY shelf. I keep my coffee cup there, along with some magazines for me to read while Con plays.

Connor and I made labels for each shelf, so that everything has a home. And since Connor isn't too good at reading, we painted pictures on the labels. I was not planning for Woody and Buzz to have their very own shelf, but Connor insisted. I gave him a few days to sort things out, put the toys where he wanted before attaching the labels. It's his space, let him put things where he wants!

The door to the "computer room" is closed, and no toys are in there. Unburied couch, super comfy! Considering a storage ottoman.

Before: Small TV sitting there, piles of old clothes stacked up next to it, random junk on the top shelf.

After: Got rid of the little TV, turned that stand into a place to play cars. It's the right height for a car garage to be parked on. The tool box is under the window, and he uses it as a stool to peak outside.

Before: Utter and complete chaos.

After: All the little toys are picked up and put into there proper homes on the shelves.

Before: Big open space in the center of the room being unused.

After: Plenty of room for his train table, with more than enough open floor space to play on the floor as well. In the back corner is a "bean bag" I made awhile ago, that homes all of Connor's stuffed animals. The green bucket on top has a few large/long toys that don't fit onto the shelves.

Chicken Stir Fry

2010-07-06T12:05:00.000-07:00

1 chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
lemon-pepper
1 tablespoon of oil
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1/2 cup of shredded carrots
1/2 cup of pea-pods
1 garlic scape
3 large napa cabbage leaves shredded
3 large chard leaves shredded

Season the chicken with lemon-pepper. Heat the wok to a medium-high heat with oil. Cook the chicken throughly, about 4 minutes or so. Add the soy sauce about half way through cooking the chicken. Add the peas, garlic scapes and carrots, cook for 2 minutes. Add the cabbage and chard, cook until wilted, about 2 or 3 minutes. Serve over brown rice.

Croc Scutes

2010-07-02T14:37:00.000-07:00

I bought the pink and orange ones at Canadian Tire, maybe 2 years ago. I think they were less than $10, and who knows what brand they are. John bought the blue and white ones last week, for around $12, Croc brand. They are exactly the same. The holes are even in the exact same place. All that is different is the word "Croc" is no painted on the soles of the orange ones. Makes you wonder......