DINNA TIME!

Grilled Panini's

Whip out your George Foreman!  ( I love ours!) I grilled the peppers and Nick's tomato slices (marinated in balsamic and parmesan) first.  Then i threw the sourdough, peppered turkey, pepperjack and peppers on the sandwhich and tada, lunch.

Chicken Chilaquiles

2 chicken breasts (I baked mine)

chopped green onions 1/2 cup plus more for top

cheese (you decide :) )

2 Tbsp. parmesan

1 tsp. chili powder

salt & pepper

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

11oz. canned tomatillos (or green salsa if you are like me and don't have access to tomatillos)

4.5 oz. green chilies

corn tortillas

Combine chicken, green onions, cheese, parmesan, chili powder, salt and pepper in a bowl.  Mix milk cilantro, salsa/tomatillos and chilies in a food processor until smooth.  Pour a little of the sauce mixture into pan, place tortillas on top, and half of the chicken mixture, repeat.  Top with cheese and more green onions.  Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

If you are like me and don't have a small pan, you can just wad up some foil and make a barrier :)

Lemon Blueberry Bars

1 1/2 sticks butter, melted

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt

2 1/4 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1/3 cup flour

6 eggs

rind of one lemon

juice of one lemon

blueberries (you should rinse yours, so your bars don't turn out like mine :))

1/4 cup powdered sugar

Mix crust ingredients (first 5), press dough evenly over bottom of your 13x9 foil lined pan.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  In a bowl mix sugar and flour, whisk in eggs.  Stir in lemon ingredients and fold in the blueberries.  Pour filling over crust.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Dust with sugar.

Turkey Spinach Pita's with Tzatziki Sauce

1 cucumber diced

2 plum tomatoes cored and diced

7 oz. plain greek yogurt

salt

garlic powder

1 lb. ground turkey or chicken

9 oz. spinach

feta

1 Tbsp. fresh oregano

1 Tbsp. bread crumbs

1 tsp. onion powder

salt & pepper

pita's

Mix first 5 ingredients and set aside.  Combine everything except the pita's :) and shape into patties.  Grill 12 minutes or until cooked through.  Bake Pita's until soft.  Stuff and eat with a side of your homemade Tzatziki.

Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels

2 Tbsp. reduced fat blue cheese salad dressing

2 tsp. franks

tortillas

lettuce

chicken breast

Mix the two sauces together and spread on the tortillas.  Line each tortilla with chicken and lettuce and roll.

Steak it's what's for dinner (Literally)

Montreal Seasoning

Grill to perfection and dig in!

Chicken & Corn Chowder

2 chicken breasts

2 fresh ears of sweet corn

32 oz. chicken broth

1 small green pepper, chopped

1 cup milk

1 1/4 cups instant mashed potato flakes

salt & pepper

crushed red pepper

Combine chicken, corn and broth in a pot, cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 12 min.  Remove chicken when it is cooked through.   Add half of the pepper, stir in milk and potato flakes.  Shred the chicken and return to pot.  Cut kernels from the cobs of corn.  Plate corn back in pot and season.  Sprinkle each serving with remaining pepper.

Tis' the Season

For Gingerbread parties

For homemade hot cocoa, gingerbread and my stripey socks

Our Christmas Tree

And the Reason for the Season.

Pumpkin Pie

Pie crust:

2 cups flour

1 cup crisco

1/4 cup cold water

1 tsp. salt

Mix.  Easy as that.  This is Grandma Susie's foolproof recipe and i receive compliments on it's taste every time.  This makes 2 crusts, but i usually make the bottom layer pretty thick and then use the rest to make the fall leaves, or pumpkins or Turkeys, just like Grandma taught me.

For the pie i follow the directions on the pie can EXCEPT i don't use the evaporated milk, i use eggnog. This year we used REAL eggnog, with Brandy.  It was delish.  I also grate fresh nutmeg on top.  Yum.

If you would like the pie cutters i use... go here:

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/search.aspx?query=pie%20cutters

Except Rachel and Sara, i already bought them for you.  :)

Knives

The other day, while making my Thanksgiving feast (yes, early, it's a long story) i was being randomly thankful for my wonderful knives.  I got to thinking about how i got these knives.  2 years ago i asked for a nice cutting knife for Christmas.  Nick bought me the Kitchen Aid one and Grandma Susie bought me the alsdfjk one.  Just kidding it's a Forschner, made in Switzerland.

I was so thankful for a loving husband (and grandma) who not only bought me a wonderful knife but put so much effort into the gift.  He researched the best knifes and this is the one he found.  He also researched technique and brought home celery for me to practice on because that is what he read was the best way to learn.  You should push the vegetable and not move the hand with the knife for best results he found out.  I love my hubby!  :)

Here is my diced celery from the other day!  haha... random.

Okay, so the knives.  I do think that the Forchner provides the easier slice, but the Kitchen aid wasn't too far behind.  I like that the Forchner is heavy and does most of the work, as long as you have a steady hand and fluid motion the chopping comes out quickly and easily.  Again, the kitchen aid is not far behind in performance.  I decided to do a little more research and in the $50 category the Forchner is still the top pick by cook's magazine.

If you are looking for a NICE knife, first you shouldn't be reading my knife comparison as i am a newbie to all of this stuff and pretty much make things up as i go along, but this is the top recommended knife at the moment.

Shun Classic 8-Inch Chef’s Knife | High-Carbon Steel Damascus Blade | Cutlery Review

Posted on: Mar 20

The Shun Classic 8-Inch Chef's Knife is a great example of the high-end ultra-sharp Japanese knives that are now all the rage.
It is made from premium VG-10 steel -- a high-carbon, molybdenum and vanadium blend which is known for its extreme sharpness. The blade is hardened to a Rockwell hardness of 61, making it one of the hardest and sharpest kitchen knives available on the market.
The blade is encased in 16 layers of SUS410 that protects the cutting edge and provides stain-resistance. Despite this, it should be cared for properly and hand-cleaned promptly after use.
Shun Classic knives are works of art, having intricate patterns like Damascus knives. You'll want to display these knives on a magnetic knife strip so that others can see them.
The handle is a D-shape, rather than round, for better stability while cutting and the handle is also smaller, like many Asian knives, making it an especially good choice for those with smaller hands.
The knife handle is crafted from Pakkawood veneers that are fused together with resin giving it the durability of plastic and yet still look like the real wood that it is. It has a stainless steel bolster that is offset, making it safer to use while still being comfortable to grasp.
The Shun Classic 8-Inch Chef's Knife comes with a limited lifetime warranty. It is dishwasher-safe, though that is not recommended for this kind of steel.
Twenty-five buyers have written about this item on Amazon.com and have assigned it a mean rating of 5.0 stars.That's a mighty fine recommendation in and of itself.

Vodka Rustica a.k.a. yummy in my tummy

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• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 2 Tbsp. garlic
• 3 Tbsp. wine ( i used what i had, no need to go buy something new for one recipe)
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup parmesan
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vodka
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 tsp. chicken bullion
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp. dijon
• 2 tsp. minced rosemary plus more for garnish
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. minced thyme
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne
• 1 box penne
• 
  

Melt 3 Tbsp. of butter over medium heat. Add garlic and sweat it for about 5 minutes. Be sure the garlic doesn't brown. Add the wine and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients for the sauce and whisk until smooth. Bring mixture to a simmer and keep it there for 10 minutes or until it's thick. Cover sauce and remove from heat.

Cook the penne 7-9 minutes in boiling water. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Use a 9 inch glass pie plate.  Load the pasta, sauce and chicken into your dish, top with remaining cheese.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until tops begin to brown. Top with rosemary.

Pictures

Okay, so i ordered a photo book of our first year together, i have the second year, and dating in my cart but i figured i would buy them one at a time.  I am SO VERY THANKFUL i did.  Winkflash stinks!

I repeat, do not go to Winkflash.com

I also ordered our Christmas cards from them and am not too excited about them either.  Back to the books, the page layouts were few and not impressive and the quality of the pictures was horrible.  My mom made us a book on shutterfly for our wedding and it was beautiful, absolutely gorgeous.  Sure the pictures were professional, but the layouts were also awesome, the pictures took up the page and the price difference is not significant!

Shutterfly is also having a 20% off sale on their books at the moment and you receive 50 free 4x6 prints when you sign up!

I recommend shutterfly.com for all of your photo needs.  The end.

I love Etsy!

Anywho... i love everything on Etsy.

I constantly decide whether i want to learn how to make the things on Etsy, or if i just want to buy them.

When this year of school is over... i may just turn into a crafting Fein!

A Cozy Day Inside

I just filled my sugar and flour containers... what does that mean?

TIME TO BAKE

So on today's agenda, Banana Bread, Caramel Creme Brulee, Cranberry Bliss Bars
&
Catching up on my blogging!

Banana Bread

2 cups flours

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

5 overripe bananas

1 tsp of each: cinnamon, ginger, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, cloves and freshly ground nutmeg

• 
  
  Heat oven to 350 F or 175 C & grease your bread pan.  I am in love with the Baking Pam!  Mix banana, spices, butter and sugar.  Add the dry ingredients and pour into pan.  Bake for 1 hr and cool for 10 minutes.
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  Caramel Creme Brulee
  Makes 8
  
  
  

  2 cups heavy cream, divided
  

  1/4 cup coffee grounds
  

  1 cup sugar, divided
  

  1/2 cup water
  

  2 cups half and half
  

  8 egg yolks 
  

  1/4 tsp. salt
  

  8 tsp. raw sugar
  

  
  
  Bring 1 cup cream to simmer in small saucepan (I placed the grounds in a tea bag and threw the whole bag into the cream).  Remove from the heat, and let steep 20 minutes-1 hour.  
  Preheat oven to 325 F.  Stir 2/3 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water in a medium saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves.  Increase heat to medium high and bring to a boil.  Boil without stirring until syrup is a deep amber color, swirl the pan occasionally, this takes about 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and turn the stovetop to low heat.  Add the remaining 1 cup heavy cream, mixture will bubble up and harden.  Place back on the low heat and stir until caramel is smooth.  Stir in half and half.  Stir in the coffee cream.  Whisk yolks, salt and remaining sugar in a large bowl.  Gradually whisk cream mixture into yolks, and pour custard into your ramekins.  Add enough water to your pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins.    
  Bake custards until just set in center 65-70 minutes.  Transfer individually to refrigerator, chill uncovered until cold 3 hr up to 1 day.  
  Sprinkle top of each custard with raw sugar, broil until sugar topping melts and browns, 2 minutes.  Refrigerate custards until sugar topping hardens, 30 minutes to 1 hr.  Serve cold.
  

  
  

  
  
  Cranberry Bliss Bars
  

  1 cup butter, softened
  

  1 1/4 cups brown sugar
  

  3 eggs
  

  1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  

  1 tsp. ginger
  

  1/4 tsp. salt
  

  1 1/2 cups flour
  

  3/4 cup diced dried cranberries
  

  6 oz white chocolate chips
  

  
  
  

  4 oz. cream cheese, softened
  

  3 cups powdered sugar
  

  4 tsp lemon juice
  

  1/2 tsp. vanilla
  

  1/4 cup dried cranberries
  

  
  
  

  1/2 cup powdered sugar
  

  1 Tbsp. milk
  

  2 tsp. shortening
  

  
  
  Preaheat oven to 350 F or 175 C.  Beat butter and brown sugar until smooth.  Add eggs, vanilla, ginger & salt, beat well.  Mix in flour until smooth.  Add cranberries and white chocolate by hand.  Pour into a greased baking pan.  Bake for 35-40 minutes or until light brown.  
  
  
  Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon juice and vanilla until smooth.  When cake is cool spread frosting over the top of the cake, sprinkle the cranberries over the frosted cake.
  
  
  Whisk the powdered sugar, milk and shortening together and drizzle over the cake.
  
  
  Allow cake to sit for several hours then slice lengthwise, and then across making 8 bars.  Slice each bar into a triangle, creating 16 bars.
  
  
  

  
  

  Salmon with Harissa sauce and Veggies
  

  
  

  I tossed a 12 oz. jar of roasted red peppers in the blender with 1/2 tsp. cayenne and a clove of garlic.  We grilled the Salmon on our beloved George Foreman and poured the sauce on top.
  

  I roasted the carrots and potatoes for 30 minutes after drizzling some olive oil and tossing them with salt and pepper.  The spinach i sauteed in 1/2 Tbsp. butter and topped with some parmesan.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Apple Stuffed Chicken
  

  
  

  I chopped up one fuji apple and mixed that with some bread crumbs, thyme, orange juice, salt and pepper and stuffed that into the chicken breast with a slice of mozzarella on top.  I placed all of the chicken breasts in a foil lined pan and poured chicken broth, and apple cider in the bottom, i mixed some dijon mustard into the wet mixture and baked for about 15 minutes.  I steamed brussel sprouts and asparagus on the side.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Chicken Pesto Pizza
  

  
  

  Chop your basil FINELY, mix in parmesan and olive oil until it is the consistancy that you want.  Spread tomato sauce over pizza, add oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes and garlic.  Spread an italian cheese blend on top, then dot with your homemade pesto.  Place mozzerella balls on top, with chicken and tomatoes.  Bake until cheese is bubbly.
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  "How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you."  Psalm 31:19

  "O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker."  Psalm 95:1-6
  "Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."  Psalm 100
  "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."  Psalm 107:1
  "Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name." 1 Chronicles 29:11-13

  
  
  
  
  

Warm dinners & crazy friday

We were going to have TV dinners (I know, i know) because i haven't been feeling well... but then i really wanted some mussels.  Yes Shannon, we did have them chillin' (literally) in our freezer for such a time as this.  I bought them inspired by our trip to Belgium, granted they weren't as tasty as the ones we ate there, but we liked them and i think Grandma would be proud.

White wine, cream/milk, can of tomatoes, onion, garlic, whatever you've got!

The next day still not feeling well, i figured i could talk Nick into some grilled cheese if i spiced em up a bit.  This is what happened.  Flax seed bread YUM!!! New fave for sure!  Basil, cajun turkey and mozzerella, grilled until warm through.  Tomato soup with shredded carrots, basil, milk and red pepper flakes.

Then we chose to spend our friday night embarrassing ourselves.  We went to a "ball" on base, our group of friends decided to dress up in ridiculous outfits for said event.  Nick and I were the only ones to show... or so we thought.  Here we are looking crazy on our friday night!

Yup that's my hot hubby!
Oh, and don't feel bad for us.  We still had a ball making up songs on the way home!

Take home gifts My 100th post!

We made take home gifts for the guests at the harvest party, here is what we did.

Skull jar

Owl jar

Pumpkin Jar

These jars are for chocolate chip or cowboy cookies.  I did both.

Start by layering the jar:

On the bottom put 1 cup of brown sugar, pack it down to make a smooth line.

Next 1 cup of white sugar.  Then layer your chocolate chips, about 1 cup.  More is okay too!  *You can add nuts to this, or M&M's, add them with your chocolate chips. Next mix 3 cups of flour with 1 teaspoon soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  This is your top layer.  Seal your jar and decorate!  It is that simple.

You could make these for Christmas gifts for the neighborhood with Christmas trees, back to school or teacher appreciation gifts with little apples on them, anything really!

This is the recipe card that I printed out and tied to the jar for easy access.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (175 C).  Line one baking sheet with parchment paper.  Empty the contents of the jar into a large bowl and mix until all the ingredients are well combined.  Using your hands work in 1cup softened butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Beat 2 eggs with 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, then add 2 teaspoons hot water.  Work this into the flour mixture until well combined.    Shape dough into 1 inch alls and place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.  Slightly flatten the balls with the palm of your hand.  Bake for 10-14 minutes or until the edges are slightly browned.  Makes about 2 dozen. 

Roasted Fall Vegetables

Butternut squash

Carrots

Red onion

Red potatoes

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Rosemary

Bake at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes

I threw our vegetables on a Boboli crust with mozzarella and ricotta.  Perfect fall dinner!

Caramel Banana Cupcakes

I just mashed two bananas into a devils food cake mix.  Once i filled all of the muffin tins with the batter, i pressed a caramel into each.  I made regular buttercream and just added about 1/4 cup of cocoa to the frosting, piped the frosting and topped with caramels.

Fall Sugar Cookies

1 C butter, softened

1 C sugar

1 large egg

1 T. cinnamon

2 t. vanilla

2 t. baking powder

3 C flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Cream butter and sugar, add egg and vanilla. Then add dry ingredients.  Bake for 8 minutes.

Now let's learn why leaves change color

We all enjoy the colors of autumn leaves. Did you ever wonder how and why a fall leaf changes color? Why a maple leaf turns bright red? Where do the yellows and oranges come from? To answer those questions, we first have to understand what leaves are and what they do.

Leaves are nature's food factories. Plants take water from the ground through their roots. They take a gas called carbon dioxide from the air. Plants use sunlight to turn water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and glucose. Oxygen is a gas in the air that we need to breathe. Glucose is a kind of sugar. Plants use glucose as food for energy and as a building block for growing. The way plants turn water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and sugar is called photosynthesis. That means "putting together with light." A chemical called chlorophyll helps make photosynthesis happen. Chlorophyll is what gives plants their green color.

As summer ends and autumn comes, the days get shorter and shorter. This is how the trees "know" to begin getting ready for winter.

During winter, there is not enough light or water for photosynthesis. The trees will rest, and live off the food they stored during the summer. They begin to shut down their food-making factories. The green chlorophyll disappears from the leaves. As the bright green fades away, we begin to see yellow and orange colors. Small amounts of these colors have been in the leaves all along. We just can't see them in the summer, because they are covered up by the green chlorophyll.

The bright reds and purples we see in leaves are made mostly in the fall. In some trees, like maples, glucose is trapped in the leaves after photosynthesis stops. Sunlight and the cool nights of autumn cause the leaves turn this glucose into a red color. The brown color of trees like oaks is made from wastes left in the leaves.

It is the combination of all these things that make the beautiful colors we enjoy in the fall.

Thank you Sciencemadesimple.com

All i can think when i read this is Chlorophyll more like Boraphyll! 

The cleanup begins!

We had our harvest party last night, here is a recap...

These were our take away goodies.  Cowboy cookie mix dressed up in Owl's, Pumpkin's & Skulls

Our front porch.  With our Martha-would-be-proud pumpkins, and our candy corn filled lantern.

Nick decorated our house, this was our spider infested bathroom.

Our living room, skeleton banner, balloons, bobbing for apples bucket, and our happy pumpkins smiling from outside.

Our beverage bar.  Monsters (because i thought it was cute for halloween... monsters, halloween they go!)  Our pumpkin cooler with tangerine cream soda and root beer.  Crazy straws, pirate coasters, ugly cups (thank you commissary!), tea, ice, booscotti, coffee, and thai iced tea (because it is orange).

Our table.  My favorite part is the napkins and plates, thank you Target!

Pumpkin seeds, satsumas, owls sugar cookies, pretzels, Hawaiian sweet rolls, pumpkin butter, pumpkin cheesecake and brownie bites.

carmel apple slices, pumpkins with pepperjack and turkey, and baked macaroni.

Mauled Apple cider... looks spooky huh!

Our goody table.  Candy eye balls (in my topless jar, i dropped the top and it shattered! :( ) Candy corn, bad teeth suckers, gummy worms, m&m's, hershey's, york's, cookie jars and silly string.  (We will not be doing silly string again.)

Nick... the freddie crougar of forks.

My costume started falling apart, AND my cupcake shoes did not come in time!  BUMMER!

A cake & Fork

Yes, he loves me!

Eric & Jakob

Let me see that Tootsie ROLL

The Zemke's, Scattergood's, Jakob and I all dressed up