On a fit of whimsy I decided to make some hot fudge sauce. I found the recipe over at simply gourmet. Although, all you have to do is remember the 3 "c" s.
A Cup (of chips)
A Can (of condensed milk)
A Cube (aka stick of butter)
You melt the butter in a pan, then add the chips. When they are melted add the condensed milk and stir over the heat until it's all mixed together.
Nice and rich and chocolatey.
But when you store it in the fridge it hardens up like this:
Ok so this one has been in the microwave for 30 seconds so it's spreadable, or easier to eat by the spoonful.
It gets pretty solid, or fudge-like once fully chilled.
Aside from straight off a spoon, this is the best way to eat it:
SMORES!
Spread some of this softened fudge on a graham cracker, then place the other graham cracker square on a microwaveable plate. Pop a marshmellow on that bad boy and nuke it for 10 seconds until it looks large and in charge. Top with the chocolate coated cracker, and BAM...instant smores sans fire.
It beats roasting the marshmellows over your gas stove and almost setting your house on fire.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
PB Cup Mug Cake
Since I can't seem to find an enjoyable version of hot chocolate, I'll just drown my sorrows in mug cake. This peanut butter cup mug cake from the Frugal Foodie Mama sure does the trick nicely.
Sadly, thieves broke into my house and ate all my Reese PB cups so I had to use chocolate chips instead. They did a fair job, but I think I will have to have one or ten more cups to make sure it's a passable substitute.
PB Cup Mug Cake from Frugal Foodie Mama
2 T flour
1 T brown sugar
1/4 t baking powder
pinch of salt
1 T canola oil
1 1/2 T peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
1 1/2 T milk
1 Reese Peanut Butter Cup or chocolate chips
In a mug mix flour through salt. Add oil, milk, and peanut butter. mix well. Push Reese cup down into center of mug. Nuke 45 sec.
Sadly, thieves broke into my house and ate all my Reese PB cups so I had to use chocolate chips instead. They did a fair job, but I think I will have to have one or ten more cups to make sure it's a passable substitute.
PB Cup Mug Cake from Frugal Foodie Mama
2 T flour
1 T brown sugar
1/4 t baking powder
pinch of salt
1 T canola oil
1 1/2 T peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
1 1/2 T milk
1 Reese Peanut Butter Cup or chocolate chips
In a mug mix flour through salt. Add oil, milk, and peanut butter. mix well. Push Reese cup down into center of mug. Nuke 45 sec.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Bird seed ornaments
Way back over Christmas break, Blockette and I made these Birdseed ornaments. I made them with the intention that the squirrels would eat them.
You see, we had a bird feeder in our backyard growing up. Those darn squirrels ate every last drop of seed from the feeder. And when they ate all the birdseed? Do you know what those little devils did?
They ate the feeder.
Yes.
The squirrels gnawed off the plastic top of the feeder.
Thus ended the feeding of the birds and/or squirrels. The squirrels are such ruiners.
So I hung these birdseed ornaments off these weird hooks on what used to be the inside of our 3 season room, now covered patio.
Yeah...I know this picture is horrible, but it was cold out and my camera hates taking pictures through the screen. I also hate being in the cold and was too lazy to put on my coat.
I made the ornaments in a mini bundt pan. The pan has 6 mini bundts and this recipe from saltwater- kids filled the entire pan up perfectly. The little bundts just lent themselves to being hung as ornaments.
So far, the squirrels have only figured out how to get one of the birdseed dealies down. Everytime we get a new layer of snow I can see all these squirrel tracks all around the post they are hanging near.
Could it be that I have finally outsmarted the squirrels?
We'll have to let the rest of the winter progress to find out.
Squirrel (or not) Birdseed feeder ornaments from Saltwater-Kids
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup water
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
3 tbsp. corn syrup
4 cups birdseed
molds (muffin tin, cookie cutters, etc.)
straw
yarn or twine
Combine flour, water, gelatin and corn syrup in large mixing bowl. Stir until well-combined. Add birdseed, stir until well coated. Spray mold(s) with cooking spray, and spoon birdseed mixture into each mold. Use bottom of measuring cup to pack it down, and make the top smooth. If needed, poke a hole through top of each birdseed mold using a drinking straw, making sure it goes all the way through. Leave birdseed mixture in molds for 2-3hrs. Then, remove straws and lay out a sheet of waxed paper. Gently remove hardened ornaments from mold, and place on wax paper upside down. Allow to dry overnight.Thread those bad boys and hang them up outside where you can watch the animal antics.
You see, we had a bird feeder in our backyard growing up. Those darn squirrels ate every last drop of seed from the feeder. And when they ate all the birdseed? Do you know what those little devils did?
They ate the feeder.
Yes.
The squirrels gnawed off the plastic top of the feeder.
Thus ended the feeding of the birds and/or squirrels. The squirrels are such ruiners.
So I hung these birdseed ornaments off these weird hooks on what used to be the inside of our 3 season room, now covered patio.
Yeah...I know this picture is horrible, but it was cold out and my camera hates taking pictures through the screen. I also hate being in the cold and was too lazy to put on my coat.
I made the ornaments in a mini bundt pan. The pan has 6 mini bundts and this recipe from saltwater- kids filled the entire pan up perfectly. The little bundts just lent themselves to being hung as ornaments.
So far, the squirrels have only figured out how to get one of the birdseed dealies down. Everytime we get a new layer of snow I can see all these squirrel tracks all around the post they are hanging near.
Could it be that I have finally outsmarted the squirrels?
We'll have to let the rest of the winter progress to find out.
Squirrel (or not) Birdseed feeder ornaments from Saltwater-Kids
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup water
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
3 tbsp. corn syrup
4 cups birdseed
molds (muffin tin, cookie cutters, etc.)
straw
yarn or twine
Combine flour, water, gelatin and corn syrup in large mixing bowl. Stir until well-combined. Add birdseed, stir until well coated. Spray mold(s) with cooking spray, and spoon birdseed mixture into each mold. Use bottom of measuring cup to pack it down, and make the top smooth. If needed, poke a hole through top of each birdseed mold using a drinking straw, making sure it goes all the way through. Leave birdseed mixture in molds for 2-3hrs. Then, remove straws and lay out a sheet of waxed paper. Gently remove hardened ornaments from mold, and place on wax paper upside down. Allow to dry overnight.Thread those bad boys and hang them up outside where you can watch the animal antics.
Friday, January 24, 2014
A big Cross Stitch Finish for December
I wrote about this one separately because I was too lazy to iron it in time for the post I made on Wed.
So here it is in it's ironed glory.
The design is called Bethlehem by Imaginating.
For my birthday in 2012 my husband gave me a free for all in the most awesome cross stitch store near where my mom lives. (Big shout out to Stitchville USA. You rock!) One of the things I purchased was this chart and the fabric. The fabric is 32ct hand dyed linen.
I started it in December of 2012 but stopped because it wasn't Christmas anymore and I was tired of stitching all in dark brown. I picked it up again in Dec 2013 and finished it one week before Christmas.
Normally, we don't frame the cross stitches I make anymore, but I think I may ask for this to be framed for my birthday this year.
Here are a few close ups:
As a side note, I named all the buildings while I was stitching them. They are from Left to right: Mushroom, Castle, Bullet, Alamo, Plantation, and the Adler Planetarium. (Because I'm sure Jesus was born right next to the Adler Planetarium.)
So here it is in it's ironed glory.
The design is called Bethlehem by Imaginating.
For my birthday in 2012 my husband gave me a free for all in the most awesome cross stitch store near where my mom lives. (Big shout out to Stitchville USA. You rock!) One of the things I purchased was this chart and the fabric. The fabric is 32ct hand dyed linen.
I started it in December of 2012 but stopped because it wasn't Christmas anymore and I was tired of stitching all in dark brown. I picked it up again in Dec 2013 and finished it one week before Christmas.
Normally, we don't frame the cross stitches I make anymore, but I think I may ask for this to be framed for my birthday this year.
Here are a few close ups:
As a side note, I named all the buildings while I was stitching them. They are from Left to right: Mushroom, Castle, Bullet, Alamo, Plantation, and the Adler Planetarium. (Because I'm sure Jesus was born right next to the Adler Planetarium.)
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Nov and Dec Small Cross Stitches
I've been trying to get back into crafting. I always feel better when I've got a project to work on. Sometimes it's just knowing I have a project that I CAN work on is more important than actually working on the project.
Over the holiday season I wanted to do projects that didn't require a lot of concentration.
A few weeks before Thanksgiving I started Bent Creek's Thankful Quaker.
I used a piece of 18 count cream/antique white colored aida I had in my stash. I also used DMC thread instead of the specialty threads listed on the chart.
I've no idea what to do with it, but it was a fun little seasonal chart to work on.
Being in the mood for whimsy, while I was visiting my mom over Christmas, I stitched this Grumpy Kitty.
Eventually I'll finish him into an ornament.
The chart is by Brooke's Books Publishing and can be found here for free.
This design was stitched on a scrap of blue grey 28ct evenweave I had in my stash. Amazingly I left this design unaltered!
Don't you just love Grumpy Kitty?
Over the holiday season I wanted to do projects that didn't require a lot of concentration.
A few weeks before Thanksgiving I started Bent Creek's Thankful Quaker.
I used a piece of 18 count cream/antique white colored aida I had in my stash. I also used DMC thread instead of the specialty threads listed on the chart.
I've no idea what to do with it, but it was a fun little seasonal chart to work on.
Being in the mood for whimsy, while I was visiting my mom over Christmas, I stitched this Grumpy Kitty.
Eventually I'll finish him into an ornament.
The chart is by Brooke's Books Publishing and can be found here for free.
This design was stitched on a scrap of blue grey 28ct evenweave I had in my stash. Amazingly I left this design unaltered!
Don't you just love Grumpy Kitty?
Monday, January 20, 2014
Three New Christmas Cookie Recipes
I stated earlier how my goal was to make the 4 favorite Christmas cookies for the family. I wound up needing to make a few others for parties and just because. Some were winners and others just meh. Here they are, in the order I made them.
First off is these Dutch Cookies for St.Nicholas Day called Pepernoten. I got the recipe from the blog In My Red Kitchen.
They were made for a bake sale at church that was held the day after St. Nicholas day. I thought it would be a fitting recipe. I also liked that they were egg free. There is a boy at our church who is allergic to eggs so I thought that would be cool for him to have some more choices.
The thing is was that they were supposed to be nugget shaped. I don't know why they spread out. They tasted ok, sort of like a soft more spiced version of a gingersnap. I dipped half of them in chocolate. They were not a big hit at the bake sale. I won't be making the recipe again. While they didn't taste bad, if I'm going to have a spiced cookie, I want it to be crisp.
The second cookie is a Oreo Peppermint Crunch cookie from Inside BruCrew Life.
I used red velvet cake mix instead of white cake mix, and chopped up chocolate crinkle cookies instead of Oreos. Both were poor substitutions. The Chocolate crinkle pieces were not distinguishable from the rest of the cookie and the red velvet cake mix turned everyone's teeth red for a short time. Of course no one knew this cause I kept my mouth shut, but I did feel bad that I sent a huge plate of these with Mrblocko to work. Everyone liked them but I keep picturing people with red teeth chatting it up. If you ever choose to make these, I guarantee you will love them...just don't veer from the original recipe like I did.
Finally, we have our winner of the holiday season...Maple nut cream truffles from Crazy for Crust.
Ok. So they look horrid. I am lacking in chocolatier skills. They are bloody amazing. They rank right up there for me with Russian Tea Cakes. I mean they are pretty similar. Think Russian tea cakes minus the flour, with the addition of maple extract, dipped in chocolate. I feel delirious just thinking about them. The only bad thing about them is that they are so good they get eaten quickly and then there are no more to eat. Although, Mrblocko thinks they are too sweet. (What does he know? More for me right?)
Maple Walnut Truffles from Crazy for Crust
1/4 c softened butter
1T maple syrup
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
1 t vanilla
1/4 t maple extract
1 c chopped, toasted walnuts
8 oz candy melts
Mix all ingredients except for chocolate with a hand mixer until creamy. Chill 30 min. roll into 1 T balls and chill for 10 min or til ready to dip. melt dipping chocolate per directions on bag. Dip truffles in chocolate and try not to make a huge mess like I did in the process. Store in the freezer or fridge.
Mix
butter, maple syrup, and powdered sugar with a hand mixer. Add both
extracts and beat until creamy. Stir in walnuts. Chill for 30 minutes.
Once
chilled, scoop 1 tablespoon sized balls of dough and place on a wax
paper lined cookie sheet. Chill again until just ready to dip (at least
10 minutes).
Melt
your candy in a microwave safe bowl according to package directions.
Dip each truffle in the bowl of chocolate. Do not roll it around, use a
spoon to spoon chocolate over the top. Lift onto a fork carefully and
tap to remove excess chocolate. Place on a wax-paper lined cookie sheet.
I find it best to use a toothpick to help the truffle slide off the
fork without disturbing too much of the coating.
Note: these truffles soften quickly. If you find them getting to soft, re-chill them and only remove a few at a time to dip.
Chill
dipped truffles for just a few minutes, until coating is semi-hard.
Meanwhile transfer the remaining chocolate to a squeeze bottle (or a
plastic bag with the tip cut off) and pipe swirls or swipes of chocolate
over the top for decoration.
Read more at http://www.crazyforcrust.com/2013/09/maple-walnut-truffles/#qRdH9vs4IjHBcfuX.99
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon maple extract
1 cup chopped toasted walnuts
8 ounces chocolate candy melts (such as Candiquik)
Read more at http://www.crazyforcrust.com/2013/09/maple-walnut-truffles/#qRdH9vs4IjHBcfuX.99
Read more at http://www.crazyforcrust.com/2013/09/maple-walnut-truffles/#qRdH9vs4IjHBcfuX.99
First off is these Dutch Cookies for St.Nicholas Day called Pepernoten. I got the recipe from the blog In My Red Kitchen.
They were made for a bake sale at church that was held the day after St. Nicholas day. I thought it would be a fitting recipe. I also liked that they were egg free. There is a boy at our church who is allergic to eggs so I thought that would be cool for him to have some more choices.
The thing is was that they were supposed to be nugget shaped. I don't know why they spread out. They tasted ok, sort of like a soft more spiced version of a gingersnap. I dipped half of them in chocolate. They were not a big hit at the bake sale. I won't be making the recipe again. While they didn't taste bad, if I'm going to have a spiced cookie, I want it to be crisp.
The second cookie is a Oreo Peppermint Crunch cookie from Inside BruCrew Life.
I used red velvet cake mix instead of white cake mix, and chopped up chocolate crinkle cookies instead of Oreos. Both were poor substitutions. The Chocolate crinkle pieces were not distinguishable from the rest of the cookie and the red velvet cake mix turned everyone's teeth red for a short time. Of course no one knew this cause I kept my mouth shut, but I did feel bad that I sent a huge plate of these with Mrblocko to work. Everyone liked them but I keep picturing people with red teeth chatting it up. If you ever choose to make these, I guarantee you will love them...just don't veer from the original recipe like I did.
Finally, we have our winner of the holiday season...Maple nut cream truffles from Crazy for Crust.
Ok. So they look horrid. I am lacking in chocolatier skills. They are bloody amazing. They rank right up there for me with Russian Tea Cakes. I mean they are pretty similar. Think Russian tea cakes minus the flour, with the addition of maple extract, dipped in chocolate. I feel delirious just thinking about them. The only bad thing about them is that they are so good they get eaten quickly and then there are no more to eat. Although, Mrblocko thinks they are too sweet. (What does he know? More for me right?)
Maple Walnut Truffles from Crazy for Crust
1/4 c softened butter
1T maple syrup
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
1 t vanilla
1/4 t maple extract
1 c chopped, toasted walnuts
8 oz candy melts
Mix all ingredients except for chocolate with a hand mixer until creamy. Chill 30 min. roll into 1 T balls and chill for 10 min or til ready to dip. melt dipping chocolate per directions on bag. Dip truffles in chocolate and try not to make a huge mess like I did in the process. Store in the freezer or fridge.
Read more at http://www.crazyforcrust.com/2013/09/maple-walnut-truffles/#qRdH9vs4IjHBcfuX.99
Read more at http://www.crazyforcrust.com/2013/09/maple-walnut-truffles/#qRdH9vs4IjHBcfuX.99
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon maple extract
- 1 cup chopped toasted walnuts
- 8 ounces chocolate candy melts (such as Candiquik)
Instructions
- Mix butter, maple syrup, and powdered sugar with a hand mixer. Add both extracts and beat until creamy. Stir in walnuts. Chill for 30 minutes.
- Once chilled, scoop 1 tablespoon sized balls of dough and place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Chill again until just ready to dip (at least 10 minutes).
- Melt your candy in a microwave safe bowl according to package directions. Dip each truffle in the bowl of chocolate. Do not roll it around, use a spoon to spoon chocolate over the top. Lift onto a fork carefully and tap to remove excess chocolate. Place on a wax-paper lined cookie sheet. I find it best to use a toothpick to help the truffle slide off the fork without disturbing too much of the coating.
- Note: these truffles soften quickly. If you find them getting to soft, re-chill them and only remove a few at a time to dip.
- Chill dipped truffles for just a few minutes, until coating is semi-hard. Meanwhile transfer the remaining chocolate to a squeeze bottle (or a plastic bag with the tip cut off) and pipe swirls or swipes of chocolate over the top for decoration.
Read more at http://www.crazyforcrust.com/2013/09/maple-walnut-truffles/#qRdH9vs4IjHBcfuX.99
Friday, January 17, 2014
Greek Black Eyed Pea Soup
Apparently it's good luck to eat Black Eyed Peas on New Years.
No.
Not those Black Eyed Peas.
I wanted to make something different from the usual crockpot Black eyed pea soup I usually make. I thought this Greek style black eyed pea stew from The Cozy Apron would fit the bill.
Sadly, while my family enjoyed it, I thought it was a bit on the bland side. I doubled the amount of spices called for in the recipe, but it still lacked that certain something I was never able to put my finger on. I'm wondering if the culprit might be that I used turkey stock instead of beef stock. That is a definite possibility.
Greek Black Eye Pea Soup from The Cozy Apron
3 T olive oil, plus extra
½ pound lean ground beef ( i used 1 lb)
½ t sea salt
½ t black pepper (I used 1 t)
1 onion, diced
3 celery ribs, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ T dry oregano (I used 3T)
½ teaspoon ground cumin (I used 1 t)
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon (I used a scant t)
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
6 (15 ounce) cans black-eyed peas (I used 1 bag of dried beans that had been soaked and cooked about 6 cups)
5 cups beef (or chicken) stock, hot (I used turkey stock)
2 T flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 t lemon zest
2 t lemon juice
Place a large pot over med-high heat, and once hot, add the 3 T olive oil; once oil's hot, add grbeef , break up to crumble,brown 2 min. add salt and pepper, onion, celery, carrots, minced garlic and dry oregano. Cook 2 min, add cumin, cinnamon and tomato paste. Stir to combine; cook 2 min, add the black-eyed peas and stock. stir to combine, and simmer, covered, for 20 min; after 20 minutes, smash black-eyed peas lightly with potato masher to break them up to thicken the stew; cover, and simmer an additional 20 min, stirring ever so often to keep peas from sticking to bottom of pot; to finish stew, add in parsley, lemon zest and juice.
![]() | |
| via |
Not those Black Eyed Peas.
These:
![]() |
| via |
I wanted to make something different from the usual crockpot Black eyed pea soup I usually make. I thought this Greek style black eyed pea stew from The Cozy Apron would fit the bill.
Sadly, while my family enjoyed it, I thought it was a bit on the bland side. I doubled the amount of spices called for in the recipe, but it still lacked that certain something I was never able to put my finger on. I'm wondering if the culprit might be that I used turkey stock instead of beef stock. That is a definite possibility.
Greek Black Eye Pea Soup from The Cozy Apron
3 T olive oil, plus extra
½ pound lean ground beef ( i used 1 lb)
½ t sea salt
½ t black pepper (I used 1 t)
1 onion, diced
3 celery ribs, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ T dry oregano (I used 3T)
½ teaspoon ground cumin (I used 1 t)
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon (I used a scant t)
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
6 (15 ounce) cans black-eyed peas (I used 1 bag of dried beans that had been soaked and cooked about 6 cups)
5 cups beef (or chicken) stock, hot (I used turkey stock)
2 T flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 t lemon zest
2 t lemon juice
Place a large pot over med-high heat, and once hot, add the 3 T olive oil; once oil's hot, add grbeef , break up to crumble,brown 2 min. add salt and pepper, onion, celery, carrots, minced garlic and dry oregano. Cook 2 min, add cumin, cinnamon and tomato paste. Stir to combine; cook 2 min, add the black-eyed peas and stock. stir to combine, and simmer, covered, for 20 min; after 20 minutes, smash black-eyed peas lightly with potato masher to break them up to thicken the stew; cover, and simmer an additional 20 min, stirring ever so often to keep peas from sticking to bottom of pot; to finish stew, add in parsley, lemon zest and juice.
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