I'm pretty sure she's a lady lizard.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Crock-a-gators and Alli-giles
In December I applied a premade fish patch to one of my favorite pair of jeans. A few weeks ago the other knee sprung another leak! So I covered it with this cutie pie.
And here's what the jeans look like as a whole. There is a part just above where the fish patch is that is getting threadbare as well. I'm working on another patch as we speak. Maybe this time I'll get it patched before I wear another hole through the fabric!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
2012 Thankful Thurs #10
1. Three and a half weeks without a digestive issue is a lot better than every week.
2. Mrblocko had enough coupons to almost get a free oil change.
3. Tax refunds.
4. My best friend.
5. Making time to read.
6. No major branches fell in our yard during the huge windstorm.
7. I wasn't sitting on the basement toilet when they were doing work on the sewer down the street.
8. The house has finally stopped smelling like rotten eggs. (see number 7.)
2. Mrblocko had enough coupons to almost get a free oil change.
3. Tax refunds.
4. My best friend.
5. Making time to read.
6. No major branches fell in our yard during the huge windstorm.
7. I wasn't sitting on the basement toilet when they were doing work on the sewer down the street.
8. The house has finally stopped smelling like rotten eggs. (see number 7.)
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Dinner Rolls....With Cake Mix!
Wouldn't it be nice if I could maybe cut something even remotely even? Below is a photo I took of Cake Mix Dinner Rolls from Mommy's Kitchen Cafe while I was waiting for them to rise.
On a good day, I can't cut or draw a straight line without a ruler. In fact, for bake sales, I have been known to whip out a ruler to get things presentable. Even then, it looks I like I didn't use a ruler. So thinking I could divide a circle into 10 equal parts was probably expecting a bit too much. Next time I'll divide the circle of dough into 8 parts. Halving something is slightly less challenging. Slightly.
Here's what the finished rolls look like. At least what they look like after you take a big piggie chomp out of it. In my defense, I wanted to show you the nice fluffy interior of the crescent rolls. (And my messy kitchen counter.)
I loved how soft this dough was. I don't know if it was the cake mix, or the fact that I decided to knead the dough by hand. After the dough had risen it was like a little bread dough pillow. Perfect for taking a nap in. (Although, I think my family would have frowned on that.)
So why in the world would I knead this dough by hand when I have a swanky wondiferous stand mixer that could do the kneading for me? The recipe didn't say how long to knead the dough and I was afraid of over kneading it. (Which, I am realizing, is what I've been doing when making bread sticks.) I didn't want chewy little crescent rocks. I wanted fluffy pillows of goodness. Which is exactly what I got.
The rolls themselves are slightly sweet. Someone compared them to Hawaiian Rolls, but I don't feel like that is an accurate description. I had some Hawaiian bread not too long ago, and I think it is much too easy to say any slightly sweet dinner roll tastes like Hawaiian bread. Let's just say this is a different kind of light and airy sweet-ish sort of taste that works for a dinner roll.
I didn't taste the cake mix at all in the rolls. Just the hint of sweetness. I'm slowly becoming aware of the chemically taste in a lot of the pre-packaged foods out there (particularly Hamburger Helper.) Thankfully, cake mix is not on that list. I think cake mix is awesome and these rolls are just one more example that my opinion is right. Yay cake mix!
Cake Mix Dinner Yeast Rolls from Mommy's Kitchen Cafe
1 - (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp)
1 1/2 - cups warm water (110F)
3 1/4 - cups all-purpose flour or bread flour
1 - 9 oz package Jiffy yellow cake mix or 1 1/4 cups of a standard 18.5 oz yellow cake mix
1/4 - cup margarine, melted + additional butter to brush on baked rolls
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 min. Stir in flour and cake mix. Beat until dough is smooth. Add some flour on counter and knead any additional flour to dough. Knead until it is not sticky anymore. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hr.
Lightly grease 2sheets. Deflate dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 2 equal pieces and form into rounds. Let rest for 5 min and then roll into 12" circles. Brush melted margarine onto circles. Cut each circle into 10 wedges (or 8 if you are spatially challenged like me.) Roll up wedges, beginning at wide end.
Place on prepared baking sheets. Make sure you put the pointy seam down or they will puff up wonky, and not crescent like at all. Cover with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with baking spray. Let rise until doubled, about 25 min. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 F . Bake 12-15 min, or until golden brown. Brush with additional butter when done.
 |
| Hello one little tiny crescent roll! |
Here's what the finished rolls look like. At least what they look like after you take a big piggie chomp out of it. In my defense, I wanted to show you the nice fluffy interior of the crescent rolls. (And my messy kitchen counter.)
I loved how soft this dough was. I don't know if it was the cake mix, or the fact that I decided to knead the dough by hand. After the dough had risen it was like a little bread dough pillow. Perfect for taking a nap in. (Although, I think my family would have frowned on that.)
So why in the world would I knead this dough by hand when I have a swanky wondiferous stand mixer that could do the kneading for me? The recipe didn't say how long to knead the dough and I was afraid of over kneading it. (Which, I am realizing, is what I've been doing when making bread sticks.) I didn't want chewy little crescent rocks. I wanted fluffy pillows of goodness. Which is exactly what I got.
The rolls themselves are slightly sweet. Someone compared them to Hawaiian Rolls, but I don't feel like that is an accurate description. I had some Hawaiian bread not too long ago, and I think it is much too easy to say any slightly sweet dinner roll tastes like Hawaiian bread. Let's just say this is a different kind of light and airy sweet-ish sort of taste that works for a dinner roll.
I didn't taste the cake mix at all in the rolls. Just the hint of sweetness. I'm slowly becoming aware of the chemically taste in a lot of the pre-packaged foods out there (particularly Hamburger Helper.) Thankfully, cake mix is not on that list. I think cake mix is awesome and these rolls are just one more example that my opinion is right. Yay cake mix!
Cake Mix Dinner Yeast Rolls from Mommy's Kitchen Cafe
1 - (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp)
1 1/2 - cups warm water (110F)
3 1/4 - cups all-purpose flour or bread flour
1 - 9 oz package Jiffy yellow cake mix or 1 1/4 cups of a standard 18.5 oz yellow cake mix
1/4 - cup margarine, melted + additional butter to brush on baked rolls
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 min. Stir in flour and cake mix. Beat until dough is smooth. Add some flour on counter and knead any additional flour to dough. Knead until it is not sticky anymore. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hr.
Lightly grease 2sheets. Deflate dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 2 equal pieces and form into rounds. Let rest for 5 min and then roll into 12" circles. Brush melted margarine onto circles. Cut each circle into 10 wedges (or 8 if you are spatially challenged like me.) Roll up wedges, beginning at wide end.
Place on prepared baking sheets. Make sure you put the pointy seam down or they will puff up wonky, and not crescent like at all. Cover with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with baking spray. Let rise until doubled, about 25 min. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 F . Bake 12-15 min, or until golden brown. Brush with additional butter when done.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
White Chicken Enchiladas
If you are on Pinterest, chances are you have seen this recipe for White Chicken Enchiladas. It is everywhere and it seems like everyone and their brother can't say enough good things about it. With such glowing reviews. I felt I should give them a try as well. I saw this recipe for white chicken enchiladas as a pin from Joyful Momma's Kitchen, so I'm going to use that blog as a reference. I have no idea who pinned/posted it first, so don't get upset if you are the creator of this recipe. I would give you credit if I knew who you were!
This might be a case of the dish not living up to all the hype, but we all found these enchiladas to be rather bland.The only flavor in this dish comes from one itty bitty can of green chilies. No salsa and no other spices of any kind. We've had lots of different types of enchiladas (Chipotle enchiladas, ranchy benchiladas, and cranchiladas), all of them very very flavorful.
I thought maybe the creaminess of the sauce would make up for the lack of spices. The white sauce was good, just not enough to make up for the lack of seasoning.
Because I wanted a little bit more hearty of a dish I added about a cup of frozen, defrosted corn and 1 1/2 cups of black beans. I also thought that the tortillas turned out a bit soggy. I would suggest adding about a 1/2 c of the sauce to the meat mixture. This will cut down on the amount of sauce on the top of the enchiladas, and also help the meat stick together a bit better. I had a hard time getting the filling to stay inside the tortillas as I rolled them up. That could be due to the fact that I used corn and beans. Those little guys kept jumping out the ends of the tortillas.
Even though this didn't turn out as good as other enchilada dishes, there are lots of things you could to to increase the flavor: add taco seasoning to the filling, add a chopped up chipotle in adobo to the filling, add green chilies to the filling, add salsa to the filling or even swap out the monterey jack cheese for pepperjack cheese.
I do understand why these were a huge sensation on the web. Most kids are picky eaters, and won't eat food with strong flavors. This is a mild dish that I think even the pickiest kid would gobble up. Sometimes a peaceful dinnertime makes the meal taste that much better.
Chicken enchiladas with green chili sour cream sauce from Joyful Momma's Kitchen
10 soft flour tortillas
2 c cooked, shredded chicken (I used turkey)
1 c defrosted frozen corn (optional)
1 can (or 1 1/2c cooked) black beans (optional)
2 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese
3 T butter
3 T flour
2 c chicken broth (I used turkey stock)
1 c sour cream
1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9x13 pan. Mix chicken, corn, beans and 1c cheese. Roll up in tortillas and place in pan. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add broth and whisk until smooth. Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Stir in sour cream and chilies. Do not bring to boil, you don't want curdled sour cream. Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.
Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.
This might be a case of the dish not living up to all the hype, but we all found these enchiladas to be rather bland.The only flavor in this dish comes from one itty bitty can of green chilies. No salsa and no other spices of any kind. We've had lots of different types of enchiladas (Chipotle enchiladas, ranchy benchiladas, and cranchiladas), all of them very very flavorful.
I thought maybe the creaminess of the sauce would make up for the lack of spices. The white sauce was good, just not enough to make up for the lack of seasoning.
Because I wanted a little bit more hearty of a dish I added about a cup of frozen, defrosted corn and 1 1/2 cups of black beans. I also thought that the tortillas turned out a bit soggy. I would suggest adding about a 1/2 c of the sauce to the meat mixture. This will cut down on the amount of sauce on the top of the enchiladas, and also help the meat stick together a bit better. I had a hard time getting the filling to stay inside the tortillas as I rolled them up. That could be due to the fact that I used corn and beans. Those little guys kept jumping out the ends of the tortillas.
Even though this didn't turn out as good as other enchilada dishes, there are lots of things you could to to increase the flavor: add taco seasoning to the filling, add a chopped up chipotle in adobo to the filling, add green chilies to the filling, add salsa to the filling or even swap out the monterey jack cheese for pepperjack cheese.
I do understand why these were a huge sensation on the web. Most kids are picky eaters, and won't eat food with strong flavors. This is a mild dish that I think even the pickiest kid would gobble up. Sometimes a peaceful dinnertime makes the meal taste that much better.
Chicken enchiladas with green chili sour cream sauce from Joyful Momma's Kitchen
10 soft flour tortillas
2 c cooked, shredded chicken (I used turkey)
1 c defrosted frozen corn (optional)
1 can (or 1 1/2c cooked) black beans (optional)
2 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese
3 T butter
3 T flour
2 c chicken broth (I used turkey stock)
1 c sour cream
1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9x13 pan. Mix chicken, corn, beans and 1c cheese. Roll up in tortillas and place in pan. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add broth and whisk until smooth. Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Stir in sour cream and chilies. Do not bring to boil, you don't want curdled sour cream. Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.
Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.
Monday, March 5, 2012
S'more cookies
I found this recipe for S'more cookies on pinterest. The recipe can be found at The Cherry on Top who found it over at The Girl Who Ate Everything. Mine more closely resemble the ones over at The Girl Who Ate Everything because I made my cookie dough scoops on the smaller side.
I think using the small cookie scoop was the way to go. Seeing as I made these for a bake sale, I wound up with more S'more cookies. And more cookies meant more money. That aside, I feel that there was a good graham cracker to cookie ratio. Aside from raising money, that was pretty darn important too. I mean you want your cookies to taste good cause then people come back for more! (Which a few people did!)
I had hoped to prevent the cookies from spreading too much by using half margarine and half butter. I couldn't taste the margarine in the cookies so I think this was a good thing. However, as you can see, my cookies still spread out quite a bit. I think I just need to scoop the dough and then let it chill for a few hours. I am going to attempt that the next time I make these. I need to plan better and not be so terribly impatient!
S'more Cookies from The Cherry on Top
5 T butter
6T margarine
1 cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 ½ cups flour
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows
3 - 4 regular sized Hershey Bars
1-2 packages graham crackers, broken into squares
375 F. Line baking pans with parchment paper. I used 11x17 and 9x13 pan, but if you want more cookie dough on your graham cracker, just use the 11x17 pan. Lay out graham crackers side by side on the pans as close as possible (they should be touching).
In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, sea salt and cinnamon to combine. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter with white and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.Add flour mixture to butter mixer and combine on low speed.
Fold in chocolate chips and marshmallows. Scoop the dough into balls and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour to overnight Place dough on graham crackers about 1 – 1 ½ inches apart. Bake 5 min then remove from oven to press Hershey piece on top.Bake 5 – 7 more min or til dough is beginning to turn golden brown at the edges. Remove to a wire rack to cool. For clean cutting make sure cookies are completely cool and cut with a sharp knife.
I had hoped to prevent the cookies from spreading too much by using half margarine and half butter. I couldn't taste the margarine in the cookies so I think this was a good thing. However, as you can see, my cookies still spread out quite a bit. I think I just need to scoop the dough and then let it chill for a few hours. I am going to attempt that the next time I make these. I need to plan better and not be so terribly impatient!
S'more Cookies from The Cherry on Top
5 T butter
6T margarine
1 cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 ½ cups flour
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows
3 - 4 regular sized Hershey Bars
1-2 packages graham crackers, broken into squares
375 F. Line baking pans with parchment paper. I used 11x17 and 9x13 pan, but if you want more cookie dough on your graham cracker, just use the 11x17 pan. Lay out graham crackers side by side on the pans as close as possible (they should be touching).
In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, sea salt and cinnamon to combine. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter with white and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.Add flour mixture to butter mixer and combine on low speed.
Fold in chocolate chips and marshmallows. Scoop the dough into balls and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour to overnight Place dough on graham crackers about 1 – 1 ½ inches apart. Bake 5 min then remove from oven to press Hershey piece on top.Bake 5 – 7 more min or til dough is beginning to turn golden brown at the edges. Remove to a wire rack to cool. For clean cutting make sure cookies are completely cool and cut with a sharp knife.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Feb Reads
Holy moley Rocky! How in the what did it get to be March already. March second even. Who makes up this crazy "it's too fast flying" time anyhow? I read a total of 2 books this month. I just didn't have enough time to read more. Guess it's sort of funny that I'm complaining about time flying and the two books I read this month were from the river of time series.
1. Waterfall: Book 2 in the River of Time Series by Lisa T. Bergren. I enjoyed this book. There was lots of romance (G rated) and fast paced action. I was all happy with how the story was going until the end of the book where they manage to go back to almost their present modern time from Medieval Italy, to save their dad from getting killed in a car accident. I was like what? I think it ruined the storyline for me.
2. Torrent: Book 3 in River of Time Series by Lisa T. Bergren. This last book in this trilogy was a big let down for me. I thought the book was slow comparatively to the first 2 books. Maybe this was because the main characters kept doing the exact same things in each all the stories. Oh the girls from a different time are in a dangerous situation and manage to kick butt against men who are twice their size. Yawn. The story has a happy ending and the whole entire family decides to stay in medieval Italy, even though they know that the plague is coming in a few short years. REALLY? I know love is a powerful thing, but how come they didn't just go forward in time to live in the modern world?
1. Waterfall: Book 2 in the River of Time Series by Lisa T. Bergren. I enjoyed this book. There was lots of romance (G rated) and fast paced action. I was all happy with how the story was going until the end of the book where they manage to go back to almost their present modern time from Medieval Italy, to save their dad from getting killed in a car accident. I was like what? I think it ruined the storyline for me.
2. Torrent: Book 3 in River of Time Series by Lisa T. Bergren. This last book in this trilogy was a big let down for me. I thought the book was slow comparatively to the first 2 books. Maybe this was because the main characters kept doing the exact same things in each all the stories. Oh the girls from a different time are in a dangerous situation and manage to kick butt against men who are twice their size. Yawn. The story has a happy ending and the whole entire family decides to stay in medieval Italy, even though they know that the plague is coming in a few short years. REALLY? I know love is a powerful thing, but how come they didn't just go forward in time to live in the modern world?
Thursday, March 1, 2012
2012 Thankful Thurs #9
1. JEANS! I found a pair of jeans that fit just as good as any other pair I've tried on. I found them at Target of all places. They have color coded fits and short sizes for shorties such as myself! Amazing.
2. No one was hurt, maimed or otherwise physically or emotionally injured when Mrblocko and I attempted to fix Blockette's ceiling fan.
3. Said fan was unrepairable, and all three of us agreed on a new fan relatively quickly.
4. We actually got customer service at Home Depot. (And some free popcorn and a free bag of fertilizer!)
5. Nothing was set a blaze when Mrblocko touched one of the wires with a plastic handled screw driver and sparks arced all over the floor. (You'd think that if you flip the circut breaker that turns off the electricity for all the other rooms in the upstairs, it would turn off Blockette's ceiling fan...apparently not.)
6. Although there are a few gouges in the screw driver, it still works just fine.
7. Both the fan and light on Blockette's new ceiling fan function appropriately. (Hooray!)
8. Mrblocko did not choose the most expensive bicycle in the shop. (Double hooray!!)
9. I found a loaf of Raincoast crisps in the freezer from over a year ago. I sliced them up, baked them and they were still just as delicious as ever.
10. Catching that $10 fee from the bank that shouldn't have been there, and getting it reversed. (Makes you wonder how many people are getting charged a needless fee every month.)
2. No one was hurt, maimed or otherwise physically or emotionally injured when Mrblocko and I attempted to fix Blockette's ceiling fan.
4. We actually got customer service at Home Depot. (And some free popcorn and a free bag of fertilizer!)
5. Nothing was set a blaze when Mrblocko touched one of the wires with a plastic handled screw driver and sparks arced all over the floor. (You'd think that if you flip the circut breaker that turns off the electricity for all the other rooms in the upstairs, it would turn off Blockette's ceiling fan...apparently not.)
6. Although there are a few gouges in the screw driver, it still works just fine.
7. Both the fan and light on Blockette's new ceiling fan function appropriately. (Hooray!)
8. Mrblocko did not choose the most expensive bicycle in the shop. (Double hooray!!)
9. I found a loaf of Raincoast crisps in the freezer from over a year ago. I sliced them up, baked them and they were still just as delicious as ever.
10. Catching that $10 fee from the bank that shouldn't have been there, and getting it reversed. (Makes you wonder how many people are getting charged a needless fee every month.)
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