January 22, 2013 – 6:09 pm
Lemon Spinach Hummus
I got this recipe in my farm box along with the fruits and vegetables today and just had to try it. I’d say it’s a winner. You don’t even have to go out and buy tahini!
Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 cloves garlic, peeled (I put a bit less because I don’t love it)
3 Tbsp chopped chives (I didn’t have any, but it turned out fine)
3 cups baby spinach leaves, washed and dried
zest and juice of 2 small lemons
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Combine the chickpeas, garlic and chives in food processor and pulse until roughly mmixed. Add the spinach, lemon zest and juice an puree until smooth.
With the processor running, drizzle in the olive oil. (Could use a little more or less depending on the texture you prefer.)
Taste and season with salt and pepper.
by: runningwithtweezers.com
January 16, 2013 – 9:20 am
I know, it’s a month away, but apparently it is time for Valentine crafts and decorations. There are so many cute ideas for “art time” plus a million more for actual homemade Valentines for classmates, that it’s hard to narrow it down.
To start off with, here is something for grownups from Over the Big Moon. It’s a pretty printable to frame. I did the white with pink and red, but I think they’re all pretty.
Valentine Printable
I’m pretty sure I’ll be doing this for my son’s preschool class. It’s cute, and goes well for both boys and girls. Plus, stickers are very easy to come by. I”m pretty sure I have all I need sitting in our sticker box.
Thanks For Sticking By My Side Topper and Printable
By:Over The Big Moon
January 15, 2013 – 10:10 am
Caramel Pecan Turtle Blondies
Just the name sounds like delicious heaven doesn’t it? Let me just say–they actually are.
Bars:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups pecan halves (toasted, optional)
Topping:
12 caramels, halved
24 pecan halves, (toasted, optional)
2 oz semi sweet chocolate, chopped (or about 1/4 cup chips)
1 tsp shortening
1. Heat oven to 325 F. Line 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving extra foil extending over the edges. Spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, stir flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, stir together brown sugar and butter until smooth. Whisk in eggs and vanilla until blended. Stir in flour until just incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips and 1 1/2 cups pecans. Batter will be very thick. Spread batter in pan.
3. Bake 35-45 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs. Do not over bake. Remove from oven. Immediately place caramel halves on top of bars. Return bars to oven and bake 2-4 minutes, or until caramels are soft and slightly melted. Top caramels with 24 pecan halves. Cool completely on wire rack.
4. Place chocolate and shortening in small microwave-safe bowl; microwave 20-60 seconds or until melted, stirring occasionally. Drizzle over bars. Let stand until set. Using foil edges, lift bars from pan. Cut into 16 pieces on cutting board. Cover and store at room temperature.
From: Cooking Club of America
January 8, 2013 – 9:25 am
As the year begins, I’m sure a lot of you are looking for way to clean out and clean up. Maybe also redecorate a little bit. I know I am! My husband thinks it’s the nesting though =)
Here are a few ideas from HomeMadeSimple that can have your place looking great–without much expense–in no time.
By Bryn Dunn
1. Mirror Makeover: The entryway is usually one of the smallest spaces in a home. Whether you have a designated one or just a hallway, adding a mirror or making over an existing mirror is one of the easiest decorating updates you can do, plus it helps the space feel bigger. Try finding an antique mirror at your local thrift store and hang it with its existing years of patina. Or, if you’d like a more contemporary look, spray paint an old mirror with a can of high gloss paint.
2. Stairwell Gallery: Transform unused wall space in your home’s stairwell by displaying a gallery wall of photos. Here’s a designer tip: Purchase inexpensive frames from craft stores or used frames from thrift stores and have mats custom made to fit the frames and your pictures. This helps create a custom look for much less than what you’d likely spend if you were to get all of your photos professionally framed.
3. Floating Shelves: They not only look good, but are very functional as well! Hangthree or four floating shelves on the wall above the toilet. Then, add vases and baskets to store items you don’t need every day. This is a great way to increase the storage in a small bathroom and helps creates a spa-like feeling, too.
Get the remaining 5 ideas here:
I must say #7, adding layers may be my favorite and one that I am going to try to implement first!
What idea do you think you may try?
January 5, 2013 – 9:31 am
Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever
This recipe comes from family friend Diana Jesperson, and a family member makes them too. But, it’s probably been more than 10 years since I’ve had them. When I saw the recipe in a family cookbook (Thanks Annie!)I knew I had to make them. So, last night when my son requested a treat after dinner and before I said yes he had decided on chocolate chip cookies. I knew this was the perfect time to try it out.
This recipe makes A LOT, so consider halving it.
Add to mixer:
3 sticks butter, room temperature
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
Cream for 5 minutes
In a separate bowl combine:
6 level cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 cups chocolate chips (We used milk, semi-sweet and white)
Mix well and add to creamed mixture. Mix until just combined. Bake at 375 for 8 minutes. Will be just brown on bottom and may not look done on top.
Let cool on sheet for 1 minute, then transfer to cooling rack. Let them cool for at least 10 minutes. They’ll likely be gooey and not done, but will firm up as they cool.
Variation that’s super yummy:
I saw a recipe recently somewhere that had Rolo candy in the middle of chocolate chip cookies. I tried this for my second batch. Take about 2 Tablespoons dough, wrap it around a Rolo candy and bake an extra 1-2 minutes. Soft, gooey and caramely (Yes, that’s a word!)
December 18, 2012 – 11:47 am
Delicious, Soft Sugar Cookies
I have a lot of sugar cookie recipes. Most of them I really like. But, I looked for another one and found this and I must say, it’s great. The cookies are soft without being doughy and taste good too. I modified it a tiny bit from the original. The kids had fun cutting them out and decorating them too.
Ingredients:
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (reserve 1/2 cup for rolling)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
Directions:
Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together, set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and almond.
Gradually blend in the sifted ingredients until fully absorbed. Cover dough, and chill for 1-2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (200 degrees C).
If you have parchment paper, line cookie sheets with it. I did a couple of batches on the paper and one with out and liked the paper better.
Sprinkle your reserved flour on a clean surface, roll out small portions of chilled dough to 1/4 inch thickness, incorporating the flour as needed. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters.
Bake 8 to 9 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are barely brown. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.
Frost as desired.
November 20, 2012 – 3:45 pm
Thanksgiving Tree Craft
I’ve seen similar activities around for a while now, and had been wanting to do something with my son to help him think of the things he’s grateful for before the holiday.
Plus, we recently created an “art” area (that’s for another post) and he has been wanting to do a craft.
We started out with some brown cardstock. I was going to cut it out and put it on white or something, but figured it would be fine how it was.
I had him draw a tree. I helped a little with the main branches, then he made the little ones.
Then we cut out leaf shapes in red, orange and yellow construction paper. I made about 7-8.
I had him write one thing on each leaf that he was grateful for and let him choose whatever he wanted. His list may be my favorite part of it. He chose: apples, pumpkins, my dad, sharing, turkey, November, dinner. When he was about done Grandma came in and “cheated” by reminding him of mom. He thought that was a good idea, so that was the last one.
Then we glued each leaf to the tree and it was done. Super easy. He did almost everything by himself and had a lot of fun.
Happy Thanksgiving!
November 19, 2012 – 4:27 pm
Pumpkin Pecan Pie
I’m not a fan of pumpkin pie. It’s a texture thing. But I had a small little sugar pumpkin I wanted to use. So, we found a compromise. A pumpkin pecan.
It’s from Plain Chicken, adapted a little bit.
Plain Chicken
Ingredients:
1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell (I’d bake it for 5-10 minutes, ours got a bit soggy)
1 cup pure pumpkin (canned or homemade)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3 Tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2-2 cups pecan halves
Preheat oven to 350.
Combine pumpkin, sugar, egg and pumpkin pie spice in medium bowl; stir well. Spread over bottom of pie shell.
Next, whisk together corn syrup, sugar, eggs, butter and vanilla extract. Carefully spoon over pumpkin layer. Carefully add nuts to cover the top.
Bake for 50 – 60 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.
November 7, 2012 – 8:00 am
I made a craft. A grown up one. It’s practically unheard of for me…especially since I moved away from my crafty friends.
But I couldn’t pass this one up–it looked so cute and easy.
The full tutorial is here: Life of A Cheap Chickadee. She calls it a 20 minute wreath. It took me an hour and a half…though I wasn’t in “super fast” mode.
I don’t have a sewing machine, so I didn’t make lines on the leaves, but I really like that all the leaves and flowers are just stuck on with pins, so I can make change it for Christmas, Winter, Valentine’s Day, Spring, Independence Day etc. And I just have to cut out some felt!
Let me know what you think. I’d love to see your wreaths too! Send us a picture.
October 29, 2012 – 2:47 pm
When I was in high school my mom came up with this recipe to have on Halloween. It’s become a tradition and I’ve tried to have it every year since.
Beef pumpkin stew, Taste of Home
As with most of my mom’s recipes, nothing is exact. These are my best estimations of what I do.
1 medium pumpkin, 7-8 pounds, or whatever will fit into your oven.
2 medium carrots diced, or sliced
2 medium potatoes, diced into 1 inch cubes
2 stalks celery, sliced
1-2 chicken breasts, chopped into 1 inch cubes
1 crown broccoli, chopped (optional)
Any other veggies you want to add.
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp oil
oregano, parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Maybe about 1 tsp each.
Heat oven to 350
In medium saucepan cook chicken in half of the oil until no longer pink on the outside. Remove from pan. Add remaining oil and cook potatoes 5 minutes until partially cooked. Add carrots and cook 5 minutes more. Add remaining ingredients and combine thoroughly. Heat for 2-3 minutes.
Wash and cut off the top of your pumpkin. Clean out seeds and “goopy strings.” Pour stew into pumpkin. Place on baking pan and put in oven. Cook for 1-2 hours, until pumpkin is soft. Don’t over bake.
Serve stew out of the pumpkin, scraping some of the sides into each serving.
There is also a beef version that has good reviews here: Taste of Home
Happy Halloween!!
