Wednesday, January 25, 2012

2 minute brownie - aka, the most dangerous recipe in the world

Only click on the link below if you have willpower. Click it not for curiosity or for thrill seeking. Those who are ruled by sweet teeth or forbidden fruits must not enter the website which I shall shortly share. There is a whole world of instant indulgence where the innocent are laid bare before the awesome power of creative thinking in the kitchen, taking us to places and heights of lazy decadence from which many never return.

Who among our beloved children with the shining eyes could ever imagine the great calamity of hot, gooey brownies made from ingredients immediately at hand, using a common cooking device which divorces us from effort and the process of creation, and dirtying no more than two individual dishes? Not even Poe himself could have contrived such an awful state of lucid captivation by a diabolically seductive substance.

Click at your own risk. But one final warning, friend. Do not increase the lure of this recipe by getting (shudder) creative. Don't even contemplate the addition of peanut butter chips, toffee bits, chopped peanuts or (The Horror!) whipped cream with a drizzle of caramel sauce!

I do a disservice to the world by providing dangerous knowledge in a medium most likely to ensnare the unsuspecting. Go forth, and be strong.

Do Not Click This Link!


(mine took 2 mins of microwave time, which just goes to show you how evil this recipe is, making me wait a whole extra minute)

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Cheesy veggies chowder

Inspired by this recipe: Cheesy Vegetable Chowder

Alas, I have no picture to share. This made a pretty sizable pot of soup but that last serving went into my belly for breakfast and I didn't even think to get out the camera.

Here's my take on it.

2 Tbsp butter
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 large sweet onion
3-4 stalks of celery
1/2 pound shredded carrot
1 Tbsp ground coriander seed
1 tsp smoked paprika
3 tsp chicken bouillon
4 cups of water
about 1/4 cup flour
1/2 pound broccoli florets
1/4 pound frozen peas
4 ounces cream cheese
1 cup Mexican blend cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a pot. Add chicken, onion, carrots, and celery. Put lid on at an angle and allow to simmer until chicken is cooked through and veggies are tender. Add the coriander, paprika, bouillon, and water. Whisk in flour. Add in the broccoli and simmer another 10 mins. Add in cream cheese and cheese and stir until melted. Correct salt and pepper. Serve with home made bread.

Verdict: all of the kids ate at least one full helping, which around here gets 5 stars. It was a great way to use up the broccoli from a side dish and the carrots that have been languishing in my freezer, not to mention the last remnant of a block of cream cheese from the last time we got bagels and the last handful from a big bag of cheese. All of the little odds and ends of veggies went into the pot without complaint and it smelled wonderful.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Baby cabbages

Thanks to Bountiful Baskets, we enjoy a wonderful variety of fruits and veggies. There are some things that we tend to get frequently like lettuce and tomatoes (homemade salsa from fresh tomatoes??? Mmmmm, thank you) but then we get nice surprises like persimmons and fresh Brussels sprouts.

We used to eat Brussels sprouts frequently but I got tired of them blowing up in the microwave while steaming. Yesterday I took the fresh ones, removed some of the tougher leaves, split in half long ways, sprinkled with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roasted cut side down on a jelly roll pan at 350° until they were toasty. Holy run on recipe! They were so very good and sweet and pungent. I should have done the same with sweet onion slices on the side.

We'll be eating more Brussels sprouts from now on. Especially since there are all these recipes involving bacon.... Yum!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Homemade cleaners

Asthma, allergies, and cost are all beasts of hurdles around here. My fragrance sensitivities cause me to make quite the production of buying even simple things like deodorant. I will go the the deodorant section, pick something out that looks promising and take a deep whiff through the nose. Then I wait. If I don't get a stuffed nose and an itchy face, I buy it. After that it's still a bit of a crap shoot.

Anyway, I've taken to making household cleaners because it's cheaper, there is no fragrance (at least once the vinegar dries) and the cost is mere pennies.

This is the glass cleaner we found yesterday once we ran out of the blue stuff.  And it works!  There's cornstarch in it which is totally counter intuitive but what can you do in the face of solid evidence that it works?

The bathroom cleaner we use is a mix of 1/4 cup vinegar, 1 T borax, and 1 T dish soap and fill the rest of the bottle with warm water. Swirl it around to help dissolve the borax. My dish soap happens to have bleach in it (Ajax, once again CHEAP) and I use the grapefruit scented variety. It seems to work pretty well, and of course it's ridiculously cheap.

Other homemade products I love include using normal baking soda as an exfoliant for the face. Wash your face with your normal soap. Sprinkle a bit of baking soda on a damp cloth, gently massage your skin with it (paying particular attention to the T-zone), and rinse. Finish with toner and lotion.

What are your favorite homemade solutions?

Thursday, January 19, 2012

The New Samaritan

Luke 10: 25-37 describes the parable of The Good Samaritan.

This past Sunday I had the privilege of teaching a lesson called "Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself" and the first parable that came to mind was of The Good Samaritan. However, the young and those not well versed in the parable don't always understand the significance of the different players in this brief drama. So I printed out some appropriate clip art, dashed off a retelling, and it was a real hit.

Here is the text:

[post picture of a tourist]

A certain man went on a vacation to see Yellowstone Park. On his way from Denver through Wyoming he stopped at a picnic site to enjoy a thoughtfully packed and most frugal lunch. He was about to get underway again when a carjacker held him at gun point, took his keys, wallet, and phone, and spitefully kicked him in the ankle.

The tourist sat on the ground, his ankle swelling by the moment, and wondered what to do. After a period of time, a caravan of large vehicles pulled to a stop at that very picnic site. Within seconds the whole area was swarmed with college youths in matching t-shirts, a passel of men in black suits and sunglasses, sweaty camera operators, perfectly coiffed reporters, and a good looking, middle-aged incumbent senator with huge, white teeth.

[post picture of politician at lecturn]

The politician stumped for education, environment, economic reform, and immigration policy. He was just getting to the welfare system when he saw the stunned tourist and, sensing a photo opportunity, went to sit beside him. He shook his hand and asked for whom he'd vote in the coming election. Blinded by camera lights and white teeth, the tourist stuttered that he was from Colorado. The Wyoming senator said "that's too bad, son," and in a whirl everyone packed up and left the tourist sitting in the dust.

Not too long after that, a certain caped crusader [post batman symbol] came to a screeching halt in a flying-rodent-mobile.

"Citizen," he said with deep voice and chiseled jaw. "I'm responding to a certain signal that was spotted just south of Rexburg, Idaho. [the home of BYU-Idaho] Apparently some reckless youths got hyped up on Mountain Dew and are on a rampage through the city, cutting neckties and stealing left shoes. Can you tell me how to get to the I-15?"

The tourist responded that he only had directions for getting to Yellowstone, but good luck anyway. Away the super hero sped and, as in the tradition of sad tales, it began to rain.

The next person to pull up was a trucker named Billy-John. [post pic of Billy-John. Let's just say that I Googled "scary trucker clipart" and picked the most grotesque face out of the bunch]

His cattle truck was as unwashed as he was, and both made the same sort of windy noises. Billy-John silently looked over the tourist, taking in his swollen ankle, sad expression, and inexplicably and offensively bright button up shirt. The trucked spat an enormous geyser of tobacco juice on the ground and said in a drawl:

"Y'all need some hep 'ere?"

The tourist tried to hold back tears of relief and pain as Billy-John helped him into the filthy but dry cab of the cattle truck. They traveled into Casper where trucker helped tourist into an urgent care center, telling the front desk to mail him the bill. He also booked a room at a modest motel and gave his new friend his spare shirt and pair of pants. The tourist gratefully embraced his most unlikely savior and was forever grateful.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Hungry monster pillow!

This little guy comes from here: Leslie's Art and Sew.


It's the perfect little project for a beginning sewer or someone who is rashly considering making 28 of these things for Valentine's Day! All of the seaming and stuffing was done by my little friend B. I did the cutting and put the eyes on. The "mouth" is actually a little pocket! Our version is about 4" tall and 3" wide. I love that this little guy doesn't need a hard and fast, let alone complicated pattern.

Sea Turtles

For Christmas this year, my interest in sewing simple little "softies" was kindled. Softies in the new name for stuffed animals. Go figure.

Anyway, after making up elephants, manatees, frogs, turtles, and mazes, I thought it might be fun to try a sea turtle on my own. They have flatter shells and more wing-like front feet so I thought it might actually be easier to make them.

Wrong!

I began the process by finding a good line drawing of a sea turtle online and tracing it right from my computer monitor. I then added a 1/4" seam allowance.

Prototype #1, made with muslin because I'm cheap:



His poor front feet didn't get nearly the wing shape I was going for, his head looks like a tail, his tail looks like a pimple, and the shell is puckered. My girls took the opportunity to take markers to it to make it look more festive.

So I modified the pattern to make prototype #2:



The front feet are what I want. I sewed them, turned, then added the extra lines of stitching to keep the feet flat. Then I stuffed (using a chop stick, which works very well). I added small lines of stitching to the back feet to keep those flat, too. I'm considering adding a circle of stitching to the shell to help with puckering and to keep that relatively flat, as well. Perspective in this picture make the head look nicer than it is, but it still needs some work. Crusty, I know I'm being self critical, so let me qualify all of this by saying I love how my sea turtles are evolving! The little girls love them and I can't wait to get my final pattern worked up so I can make this little guy radiantly colorful! I look at them and want to talk like the surfer turtle dudes in Finding Nemo!

Rice Cooker Lunch: chicken, brown rice, and spices

1 tsp cajun seasoning
1 1/4 cup brown rice
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp chicken bouillon
4 chicken thighs
2 1/2 cups water (if you're at my altitude, add an extra cup of water)

Throw rice, spices, and water into the rice cooker. Top with chicken thighs. I also added about three shredded radishes that were starting to wilt. It's part of my "don't waste food!" campaign. I couldn't taste the radish at all but some sort of inner voice from my childhood whispered that it was at least adding nutrition and, more important right now, it's using up food that might otherwise get tossed.

Verdict: Chicken was nothing special. The rice was tasty. I served with sliced cucumber and tomato, splashing my veggies with a a bit of balsamic and ground pepper. Hot rice and cold tomatoes in the same bite were absolutely delish.

Also, why 1 1/4 cups of rice? Because that's what I had left in the bag.  :D



Simple, filling, and nourishing. The side of veggies is very important with this meal. Steamed broccoli or a Normandy blend would work well, as would a shredded radish and sprout salad. I removed the skin since this was basically boiled.

Monday, January 09, 2012

Organization

I've been thinking about organization. Why is it that I like to organize things but I'm so terrible at keeping them organized in my own home? I've come to realize that I'm very good at the sort of organization that goes away and leaves me alone, or organizing for storage. What I need to work on here in functional organization, or a system of order that helps us to live and thrive.

Ergh.

My baby


My last baby. She just turned 4 and knows with an absolute certainty that she's cute, beautiful, and brilliant. I love it! She's into ponytails again, which I also love.

Ring out the old, ring in the new

Happy New Year! A week late. I hope it was safe and that you are now well rested.

I'm at a huge crossroads in my life right now and it seems to be appropriate that it would happen right around the new year.

I've recently completed an online certificate course in medical coding. I now have the opportunity to work, or to do more schooling of the brick and mortar variety, continue and expand on my volunteer work, or focus almost exclusively on my family, home, and church.

There are many complicating factors for every choice I make, whether it's funds or finding quality child care for my youngest. Swapping hours with a husband who's rocketing toward grad school and working a part time job is no mean feat. His options regarding working hours are limited and his homework has to get done at some point.

Anyway, there are other things I'd like to do besides those of a professional nature.

1. I teach once a month for the women's group at church.
2. Assistant scout leader for Webelos.
3. I want to read the Bible from beginning to end, instead of just studying one book at a time.
4. Continue (albeit slowly) in the Young Women's Personal Progress program. My current project for that is making preemie packets that include wee hats, blankets, and a small stuffed animal.
5. Organize my home. It isn't a dismal hole or anything but it certainly has more chaos lurking in closets than I can appreciate. How can I streamline this place so that my kids don't find chores quite so overwhelming? Sure, they need to learn to muscle past difficult circumstances but they're kids, not contractors! And who really needs all this stuff?
6. Learn how to have less waste in every area of my life. Included in this is learning how to plan meals that are welcomed as leftovers or sides later in the week, how to keep the self agreeably occupied when "bored" (haha) or, to put it better, how to recharge my batteries in a more constructive way.
7. Continue my education. Whether or not I work or attend accredited school, I've decided to go through the CERT courses.
8. Continue to take care of myself by eating well and working toward my first 10k run.

Add to this the daily joy and necessity of loving on my husband and kids, putting out dozens of life's fires, maintaining treasured friendships, and making scriptures and prayer a priority in my life. Perhaps I'll work on the various short stories floating around my head. I still want to home can food for its wonderful frugality and flavor. Maybe this whole post would sound a lot less ambitious if I had waited to write it after the Prozac kicked in (anti-anxiety meds for the win!).

So! Since I'm a woman and getting my thoughts out in words, whether spoken or typed, helps me work through problem solving scenarios, I've decided to update the blog more often than I update my Facebook status. Also, it's time to get the dust off the camera and start posting my progress mostly for my own benefit. It's back to journaling online.

Ready to see my sewing projects and kids and cooking again??? Thanks for bearing with me. And, my wonderful Crusty Cupcake, thank you so much for faithfully commenting on my sporadic blog posts! Squishy hugs for you, fine woman!

Friday, January 06, 2012

Cottage cheese, bowties, and onions

Yes, all of those go in the same recipe. Years ago, when I still lived in California, my friend M told me about a recipe that I just didn't understand at the time. What in the world could onions do for cottage cheese???

It turns out that there is more that one website with more than one recipe for this questionable cuisine.

Behold:

Ingredients

1 1lb. box of bow tie pasta
1 medium onion
1 stick butter
1 16oz. container of cottage cheese.
salt and pepper to taste

Chop onion and saute with half a stick of butter. Cook until tender on low heat, then increase heat to medium-high just until onion turns gold. When onion is done, turn off heat and add remaining butter.
Boil pasta according to manufacturers directions.
Mix onions, pasta and cottage cheese in large bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.


Now... I'll be trying this soon and let you know how it goes. Has anyone else ever heard of such a thing??

M, if you're reading this, big hug!!