'Tis the Season

I've actually got some free time to sit down and blog a little. Kinda nice actually. The months are passing by so fast now, it's hard to keep up. This month has definitely been busy. Parties, get-togethers, lunch dates, baking, delivering, cleaning, decorating, shopping, and trying to keep the relaxed attitude that one really wants for the christmas season.

 The most time consuming was the treats. And because I'm all about making things uncomplicated, I decided to make magic cookies. In my book, Magic=Sparkles, which in the baking world=sprinkles.

 The first batch went pretty quick because they were so big. Like 7inch big! Ooooh Eeeee! :o)

 Each kid decorated their own. I did the rest. And then they picked one to give to a friend. Which we delivered. I sold a few. And then they were gone.

 This was my favorite! They're fragile cookies and I broke one when decorating it. It started to bleed.

 I got a call from someone else that wanted to buy some. So I made more. Cause I like late nights. But not really. I just like creating, I guess.

For Ashton's football party, I made these chocolate covered brownie balls. They turned out so cute and S.U.P.E.R. Yummy! I love brownies.

So what I did was cooked a pan of brownies till they were soft. Let them cool down and then cut them in cubes that Mykael rolled into balls for me. I then dipped them in candied chocolate, topping with white sprinkles. WAY time consuming, but totally worth it!

I did make another kind of cookie. Home made oreos, that I rolled the sides (with the frosting) in crushed candy cane. Super awesome flavor combination. Just no pictures.

Halloween 2011

Southwest Chicken Pasta Casserole

Jared believes in premade meals from the frozen department and coming home and nuking them for dinner. Me, not so much! But he picked something I would've totally snubbed my nose at and kept walking. But because I wasn't with him when he made this purchase, I couldn't prevent it. And I'm glad that was the case. It was SOOOO good!

With each bite, I was seriously trying to pin point every ingrediant so that i could make it myself. Which is what I did. This is what I came up with:
1pkg of penne pasta boiled and cooked.
1lb of cooked diced chicken breast.
1 can of cream of celery or c.o. mushroom
16 oz sourcream
1/2 pkg of taco seasoning
grated cheese
crumbled up corn/flour chips.
Add all but the cheese and chips and pour into casserole dish Top with crushed chips and grated cheese. Cook at 375' for about 20-30 min.

You'll LOVE it!
Note: I originally used a full packet of taco seasoning and it was too much. SO that's why I cut that amount in half. If you do use the full...it's still really good and the kids gobbled it up! Seriously surprised me! Not a flavor you imagine with pasta but it worked wonderfully. I think I'll go make some right this minute!

Biscuits and Gravy or (savory scones)

Here ya go Lish....the recipies you have deprived yourself and family of for HOW MANY YEARS!???!

*Biscuits Supreme  (there's really nothing supreme about them. That part bugs me but that's what they're called)
2 C. White flour (or more)
4t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2T honey (I use more cause I like mine sweeter)
1/2 C. vegetable oil
2/3 C milk
1egg

Mix dry ingrediants together. Then add wet. (This recipie calls for a lot of oil so I usually add more flour). Mix and then knead until well incorporated. Roll out to desired thickness (1/2inch-ish). Cut out with your butterfly cookie cutter (or the boring round one.). Place on ungreased baking sheet and cook till golden brown (8-10 min).


Chipped Beef Gravy

2T. Butter
2T. Flour
1C. milk
salt and pepper to taste
Cut dried beef. (you can find it in a jar by the canned meat (like tuna) section of your grocery store) Don't forget to save the jar to drink out like mom, grandma, and now, I, do. :oD

Melt butter in pan and add flour. Stir to make a thick paste. Add milk stirring constantly *whisk those unsightly clumps away. Add the beef and bring to a boil. Turn off heat.
Gravy will thicken as it cools.

Note: This recipie is for 1 c of gravy. (dumb considering you just made a pan of biscuits!) Good luck trying to be satisfied  with just one cup. SO....I do about 4T butter 4T flour and pour in milk till I think it will be enough to feed my mini army here. If it doesn't thicken...I had more flour (causing it to clump and become ugly). But still tastes fantastic! 

Another Note: this recipie (minus the beef) is called a "rue" (I think that's how it's spelled) and is used as a basis for A LOT of different recipies. Instead of dried beef, add 1C parmesan and you've got alfredo sauce! Make it more soupy (less flour) add steamed broccli and you've got an awesome homemade creme of broccoli soup! Add cheddar cheese and you've got a yummy cheesy gravy. The skies the limit. Be creative and let me know how it comes out!

p.s. don't burn it! Please.

Anyone else know of some great recipies using a rue?

YUMMY!

I made biscuits and gravy with chipped beef the other day and they were REALLY good!

Just wanted to share the love.

You're welcome!

Can't get pinched chomping on one of these.

I made cookies today with Angelle! This is just a sneak peak because these babies are being shipped off to lucky people!

I've got just as much to do tomorrow with great company as well!!!

btw....I love love LOVE St. Patrick's Day. No reason why. Just do. Jared's nickname for me is "Lucky"...that could have something to do with it. Or maybe it's the green. Doesn't matter. I needed an excuse to make super cool looking cookies because of Lindsay. She's so inspirational like that! She made the most beautiful Valentine's cookies last month and I wanted to make beautiful cookies as well. Not bad for straight lines and dots. ;o)

It's ALL About the Details.

*I just comentated this whole post and something weird happened. SOOOOO HATIN on Blogger right now!!!!!! *Insert angry eyebrows here* I guess I should be glad that it didn't delete the pictures!!

OK....back to redoing the words.

It really is about the details, I've since discovered. And details this cake had! Originally I was going to do a "tea party" themed cake and it wasn't until I was online "cheating" for ideas that I found this cake. I've tried to locate that link to post here, but it was good enough to change my mind instantly and go with this instead. I spent A LOT of time coloring, rolling, shaping, rolling, coloring some more, molding, and drying.

It took me TWO DAYS of preping for this cake till late hours, but I'm not complaining! I had quiet time at night and LOVED it!

More prepping....

The top layer of this cake was chocolat filled with buttercream and mini chocolate chips.  I didn't get pictures of that (i really don't know why! Maybe because my camera BROKE!) and I was having to use Mykael's lower resolution pics. Which explains the yellow coloring and burry shots.

For the bottom cake, I used rice crispy treats molded in a spring form pan. X2. If you notice the middle...there's a line. It was too squatty for my likes so I made another and mashed them together. Looks good, huh? I thought so too!

At this point, I was not liking the colors or how it was turning out. It looked too cartoony to me. (as weird as that sounds). But it was now like 9pm the night before the "delivery" and I just didn't have the time to change my mind.

Did I mention I had to roll? A LOT!? So much so that it just became a blur. *No blurry running pics for me, Lish. But I've got blurring rolling pics.

I didn't get anymore pics of the "putting together" phase. Maybe because it was so late. I was tired. My camera was broken. Borrowing someone elses. Or maybe I fell asleep at this point and the fondant fairies came to my rescue and finished it for me. I'm going with the latter cause I never would've thought I could make a cake that looked like this!.......

*The rest of the pics were taken by the recipient herself with her awesome camera and incredible picture taking skills!

The cartoony-ness had evaporated at this point and I absolutely LOVED it!

The roses turned out well. But the big one here is cracky because the fondant dried too fast as I was "gathering" it. Oh well, can't be perfect.

There's so much to look at on which adds to the awesomeness! Like I said, it's all about the details.

Oh! Those fondant fairies. So Silly! HOppy Birthday! Get it? HAHAHAHAHA

It wasn't until I put my floating flower wires in that I felt it was complete! (I had to take them out so it would fit in my fridge!) There's just something about small pretty things floating in the air that make things so magical . If we all had floating things around our head we would be a happier people (in my opinion). Make mine sparkly please. Thanks!

Thank you to Lindsay for the endless knowledge and massive collection of cake making tools. This cake would NOT exist if it weren't for you. YOU ROCK!!!!!

Good enough to clog the veins

I ate these awesome appetizers at a graduation party and couldn't stop eating them. Of course self control kicked in and I refrained from finishing the plate and socially embarrassing myself, but they were GOOD! Lil 'smokies wrapped in bacon with brown sugar "sprinkled" on top. (I say sprinkled, but I was a little more liberal with it. Love the salt and sweet flavor)

This picture totally makes it look gross with all the raw bacon and a child's hand, but necessary sanitizing procedures were constantly being practiced during the preparation of this dish. (I have issues with raw meat).

I was going to get an after picture of crusting sugar, crispy bacon, and sizzling weiners, but I made these for a bbq and was already late. (There weren't any leftovers!!) I placed them on a plate with a paper towel to absorb any unnecessary grease and took off.

You're suppose to cook them until the bacon is done so I guessed with 20 minutes. But ended up a little more than that. I guessed the temperature at 375 but hiked it up to 400 when I was running out of time. If any of you out there knows the offical name of this yum stuff, please let me know. (not that it matters, just curious I guess.)

The comment at the graduation party from the woman that made them, "You can't eat just one." And she is SOOOO right!
******************************************************

Later that night, I found this next to Eli's bed. Sproutin Lil' smokie. He wouldn't let me throw it out, I think this weekend will be a great opportunity of "out of sight, out of mind, and remember no more." But the attempt was cute regardless.

Rainbows

Once a month I teach Eli's preschool class. This month we are learning about different kinds of weather. Rain, thunder and lightning, wind, rainbows, rain.....etc.

I was lucky enough to get rainbows. I say that now, but I was NOT looking forward to teaching it. For some reason, I felt that it wasn't going to be very fun teaching how to mix colors and stuff like that. But I took the time to have a great lesson and the kids loved it.

These were the snacks. Rainbow jello  with ALL six colors. Took about 30 min per color to set up. So this project is SUPER time consuming, but super rewarding. It made A LOT of jello cups and it was the biggest hit among children AND adults. I had a blast eating it. The colors look so cool when you spoon them out. Hold it up to the sun or a light. It's so pretty! If you want exact measurements for this recipie...Just ask and I'll email it to ya.
I don't have a picture, but for the color mixing portion of the lesson I came up with 6 of these plastic cups filled with about 1/2 c water. In three separate cups I took my handy dandy food coloring drops and made red, blue, and yellow water. Mix it really well. To make the secondary colors take two of the colors and pour simultaneously into a clear cup of water. MAGIC! The water turns. I was so proud of myself for coming up with it. At midnight. The night before I was to teach.Try it. You're kids will love it! And the jello too!

Catching up...

....cause that's what I do, and I'm on a roll with the catching up on bloggin thing.

Here we have Dylan's b-day cake. (sorry Adrienne it took so long.) Nothing too impressive, the creative juices emptied a bit by the time his big day came around. It's cute though, I think. And if you couldn't tell....the skittles in the middle spell his name.

For the next pic....I know I gave you Bakerella's site to check these out, but I just wanted to show you how mine turned out. Super yummy!!! (who doesn't LOVE pumpkin pie?)

AND....I've been trying to master a technique with the cam, where you blur one object and focus on another. Sometimes focusing on a non-traditional object. (Dang it....I thought I downloaded the one particular picture that I was so pleased with. I guess this will have to do.)

*She hates those cute little spots all over her cherub face, but I LOVE THEM!

I don't think I'm ready for the teenage years. (-/+ 2 yrs away!!!!! AAAHHH)

These were just for the fun of it....not trying to be "professional" in any way.

Bakerella style

i made mini pumpkin pies tonight. soooo fun and cute. i got the idea from bakerella. totally awesome blogger. when you can check her out. www.bakerella.com. you're gonna have to copy and paste that link. and when i get this gliche figured out...i'll post pictures.

Chicken Ramon Salad

I'm not one to turn this blog into a food blog, I'm really not one of those kind of cooks. BUT, if there is some "love" in the food area that I want to share with you, I will.... You're welcome! If you've had this... feel free to comment to the joy of it's healthy goodness.

This is a recipie I got because I was sick. My aunt brought me dinner, breakfast, and lunch (in that order). This was "lunch".

It's one of those light, fresh, tasty dishes that are craved after a week of saturated fast food consumption. (Hubby will vouch for that) And SUPER easy to make. After you've tried it, thank my aunt!

1-2 chicken breast cooked and shredded or chopped

1-2 bunches of sliced green onion

2 pkgs Top roman, Roman noodles, long noodles, (Whatever you call it) smashed to small pieces

1 bag Shredded cabbage and carrots. Or the "cold slaw" bag in the salad area of your store.

1/4 c sliced almonds

1/3-1/2 c red wine vinegar

1/2 c sugar

1/3 c olive oil or veggie oil

Cook chicken and season to preference. I did onion salt and garlic salt. Set aside to cool.

Combine Vinegar, sugar and olive oil till sugar disolves. You can even heat it up if you'd like. Add chicken to the liquid and marinate over night or up to 4 hours. THEN...throw it all together and you're done. I thought maybe adding in craisins or sunflower seeds.... would still make it taste really good. Be creative.

It actually made quite a bit so this would be great to take to pot lucks or just to have to munch on. Yummy yummy!

A Request

Tortillas:

6 C. flour
3 t. baking powder
2 t. salt
2 1/2 C. hot water
4 T. oil

Mix dry ingredients together. Add wet. Knead till smooth.
While cast iron past is heating up to SUPER HOT...Cover dough and let sit for about 10 min.
Divide dough in half and cover one of them. Divide that half into 12 sections. To keep sections from drying out, cover. Roll out to thin circle and cook till bubbled. Flip and cook a little bit more.
Wrap up in a towel and store in ziploc bag to keep fresh.

This one's for daddy

We made these treats after "family night".

There is: a cupid, a heart, a "daan daan", a mug with "hot chocolate", a chinese bowl with sppon, and one for you!

Can you guess which is which? And WHO made what? (Everyone else can play too.)

OH! And It tasted REALLY good.

XOXOXOX

We Love you Dadddy!

I made and ate these last night.

And they tasted REALLY good.

That's all I have to say about that!

p.s. They're homemade tortillas incase those of you couldn't figure it out by the perfect round shape that they don't take on.