My Corned Beef Adventure!

So Hubby and I decided that we were going to have a St. Patrick's Day party 10 days late, because he wasn't home on the 17th and we were busy on the 20th. So we hand out our invites, and I wait for all the responses back to buy corned beef, so that I have enough and so I don't have to go back to the store. I was expecting around 12 people to respond "yes". Well, in the end, I was right (I'd just like to point that out now), 12 people did show up, but on Thursday... 2 days before our shindig... we have a final count of 18 people. 18!! I'm not even sure how there COULD be 18 people given who we invited, but Hubby said 16 in the morning while I was out shopping, and 18 by the time he got home that night. Woah... that's a lot of corned beef... and potatoes... and carrots... and EVERYTHING else! So I'm at the store getting all my supplies. I get everything I need, but I can't find the corned beef.

"Hello Mr. Meat Department Man (not an actual quote), can you please tell me where the corned beef is?"
"Well ma'am, we don't have any right now. In fact, we sold out even before St. Patrick's day this year, and haven't gotten another shipment in yet. We MIGHT get some more on Tuesday."
"Tuesday!?!?  That does me no good! (huge smile on my face, I was not yelling at the man) I have to feed 16 people corned beef on Saturday!"
"You can always try [our sister store in the next town over]... they might have some left over.  I think they get a truck in more often since it's a smaller store too."
"OK, well thank you, have a nice day!"

Darnit. No corned beef. NOW what am I gonna do? I should add now, that my schedule for the day was 1. Go to gym. 2. Stop at Sam's for beer for party. 3. pick up bracelet at jewelers (in my stinky gym clothes because I was out in town, and I wasn't making that trip twice!) 4. shower. 5. go to store for party supplies and powdered sugar for cake icing. 6. Eat lunch 7. Ice the cake for that night's party (monday's blog) 8. make sugar cookie dough. 9. go to party/meeting.  "Tomorrow" I was booked from 8:30 in the morning until 5:00 at night STRAIGHT. So everything HAD to get done "TODAY".

It's now 2:00, and I'm standing at the store with no corned beef. And at 6:00, I needed an iced cake, a salad, and rolls to be at the Meeting/Party. Somewhere in between I needed to eat lunch, ice a cake, make sugar cookies, and go BACK out to town to FIND corned beef and get back (at LEAST an hour). AWESOME.

So I get back home, make myself a sammy, and head to my neighbor's.

"I can't believe it. There's no corned beef at the store, and I have 16 people to feed this weekend. What am I going to do?!?!"
"Did you try Sam's?"
"yup. No corned beef there either."
So she calls the "sister store" and THEY don't have corned beef EITHER! But they MIGHT get some in on Saturday. Well... at least that's better than Tuesday!
I start calling stores out in town. "Sorry ma'am. We don't have any corned beef left." BUT WAIT... IT GETS BETTER!! "There's been a shortage at the manufacturer, so the only people who have corned beef right now are the ones who have some left over from St. Patrick's day." WHAT!?!? A CORNED BEEF SHORTAGE?!?! HOW DOES THAT EVEN HAPPEN!!??! "Your best bet is to try the store on [the main drag] or [some long road I never drive on]."
"Thank you sir"

DARNIT!

So I call the store on the main drag. "Do you have any corned beef left?"
"Why yes ma'am, we do."
"YES! Can you hold some for me?"
"Ummmm... yes. How many do you want?"
"4 or 5!"
"I'll be here till 6."

FABULOUS!... ish. Now I have to run out to town before traffic gets bad to pick up corned beef BEFORE I can ice my cake or make cookies... but at least I don't have to store hop.

So I get out in town in record time (ok, I sped a little), and I find the guy in the meat department...
"Hello Matt! (some dude in the store told me his name) I'm the crazy lady with the corned beef?" (actual quote)
"Oh hi. I've got it right here, hold on" as he goes in the back and brings out a big tray with 4 corned beef on it.
"So did I buy you out of corned beef with this?" (Big smile and giggling to myself)
"No ma'am. The rest is right there" as he points to 3 more packs of corned beef.
"Hahaha... excellent. I'm going to check my sizes then" and I start trying to find the 4 LARGEST packs possible. This worked out to 13 pounds by the way... but as I'm there, flustered, trying to add in my head and decide how much I actually need (at $4.07/lb!), we get to talking. I'm from NJ, he's from PA, oh, my hubby's from PA, where are you from? Altoona? I sat on a train stuck outside Altoona for a few hours. You're a Stiller's fan? My hubby is too. and then... the sentence that made the trip out to town worth it...
"I'm the one with the stiller's car"
"Seriously?!? I have a picture of your car!"


The sad part of this story? I don't have the picture. I don't know if I didn't REALLY take the picture on my phone, or if I accidentally erased it (as I am good at doing on my cell-phone). But it was awesome. It had been in the Home Depot parking lot at the time, parked away from everywhere else. Steeler's stripes from hood to tail, Steeler's plates, Steeler's decals. The whole spiel. It was awesome. And by the end of the day, I knew the man who owned it, had my corned beef, got my cake iced, made the sugar cookie dough AND made it to my meeting/party at the exact same time as everyone else. Fabulous. lol... now I just need a nap!

Recipes by Request

So at our St. Pat's shindig this weekend, we had Irish Soda Bread. Well... not REAL Irish Soda Bread, because I added raisins, but it just tastes better with raisins, so they're in there.

 Not really my picture, but it came out JUST like this :-P

ALSO, I made some fabulous "Shamrock" sugar cookies. They were a little tough to work with since the butter content is so high, they got soft really fast, so I wouldn't work with them and little kids at the same time... but they are delicious. 

(Awful camera phone pic of what is left of the cookies day 4)

I was asked for the recipes for both of these, so...

Sugar Cookie Recipe:

This recipe is actually the "Rich Roll Cookie" from Joy of Cooking which my wonderful hubby got for me. I go to it CONSTANTLY for some of the best recipes and instructions on making all sorts of things. It's fabulous. If you use unsalted butter, add the 1/4 tsp salt (it makes it sweeter). If you use salted butter, just don't add any additional salt.

1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter (unsalted)
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/4 tsp baking powder
(1/4 tsp salt)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour
(food coloring)

- Cream Butter and sugar
- add and beat until combined, egg, baking powder, (salt), vanilla, (& coloring)
- Stir in until blended, flour
- Divide the dough into thirds or quarters, shape into disks, and wrap in plastic, then refrigerate until firm. (I did an overnight, but I'm sure a few hours is sufficient)
----------------
When ready to roll your cookies, preheat your oven to 350*F for 20 minutes to make sure temps are even throughout.
- Roll the dough out to 1/4" thick, cut your shapes and arrange on a greased or lined cookie sheet 1" apart
- Reroll and cut scraps into shapes. You may need to re-chill the scraps.
- Bake until slightly colored on top and slightly darker on edges (10-12 minutes)
- Cool slightly on pan and move to a paper bag or a rack to fully cool. If the cookies stick to the pan, place it back in the oven for a few minutes until they warm up again, and then remove from pan.

Soda Bread Recipe:

I got this recipe from the internet somewhere, but it is super easy. The trick (because there is always a trick with "easy" recipes) is to get a pastry knife or pastry blender.

This is the one I have - from Bed Bath and Beyond.

or you can get a fancier one, that looks like this:

Either will work.

Use that to cut pads of butter into the flour mixture. And sifting is important. Not before you measure, but to make sure that the flour is ready to be cut into the butter... or vice versa :). I use a cast-iron pot to cook it in, but a regular cookie sheet or a stone would work too.

So the recipe...

4 to 4 1/2 cups flour (The variablity in flour is because some flour absorbs more fluid than others... as well as some eggs are larger, so to compensate, there is a flour range. Always start with the smallest amount, and add as-needed)
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp butter (1/2 stick)
1 cup raisins
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups buttermilk (1 pint or 1/2 a quart)

- Sift together flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.
- Using a pastry knife (or a pastry blender, or two knives, or just your fingers), work butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal.
- Stir in raisins well
- Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add beaten egg and buttermilk and mix with a wooden spoon until dough is too stiff to stir. Gently knead dough in the bowl just long enough to form a rough ball. If the dough is too sticky (makes a BIG mess on your floured hands), add more flour. Do not over knead! (AKA, no kneading just for the fun of it. Only knead to work in extra flour and to get into a ball).
- Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and shape into a round loaf.
- Transfer dough to a lightly greased cast-iron skillet (or baking pan, or stone) and score the top with an "X" about 1/2 inch deep.
- Place in oven to bake for 35-45 minutes, or until bread is golden brown, and a skewer comes out clean (or sounds hollow when tapped with a knife. I like the skewer method. Less interpretation)
- Cool bread on a rack briefly. Serve warm, at room temperature, or sliced and toasted.

Slices work best when cut across as opposed to in wedges... even though the bread is round :-P
Delicious with butter, marvelous toasted the next morning with some cream cheese, and pretty darned good turned into "french toast"

Experimental Birthday Cake

So I decided to make the birthday cake for a 

surprise, pot-luck, birthday party/meeting. (yup.)

And I decided that I should try making the  
avocado chocolate mousse 
I saw on TV the other day.

(really? avocado mousse? it CAN'T be good. I must try it.)

So I made the mousse, and it wasn't bad, 

and I decided it should be the filling of this cake.

Then I realized that I made

Mexican Avocado Chocolate Mousse. 

What kind of cake goes with  
Mexican Avocado Chocolate Mousse? 

The mousse itself is yummy... 
it's like fluffy Mexican hot chocolate. 

You don't taste the Avocado at all 

(unless you know it's there... but it still tastes good). 

But it's this spicy chocolatey flavor. 

What kind of cake goes with that? 

Especially since I decided it had to be a white cake,  

(because I had leftover egg whites, and I was NOT going to make a yellow or chocolate cake with egg whites, and what ELSE was I going to do with 3 eggs worth of egg white?)

So I decide I'm going to make a super VANILLA cake 

to go with my crazy chocolate filling. 

Wait. How do I make a super vanilla cake?

(out of a white cake mix box, cause that needs to get used too)

Well... I added 2 tsp powdered vanilla 

(because it too is white, I had it, and had never used it) 

as well as a can of cream soda (yes, soda) 

and 1/2 cup egg whites

(which works out to just under 3 eggs worth of egg-white).

NO oil. NO water. 

Just a whole can of soda, more vanilla, and egg white. 

You're never going to believe this. 

1) it was not super vanilla-y. Dangit.

2) It was the lightest, fluffiest cake I have ever encountered. YES!

Like... nearing angel food cake fluffyness. 

Which is super cool, it just seems really delicate...

The recipes I looked at said to use 1-2 egg whites... 
I used almost 3...

But it is yummy. 

And it goes with the chocolate mousse.

(Praise God)

Now I need to frost it. 

I totally revert to the good old stand-by

Vanilla Buttercream.

Totally ganked this one from my neighbor, 

and I should get some more vanilla flavoring out of it. 

But... if I've experimented with every OTHER part of the cake

can I really NOT mess with the frosting too?

NO!

But I'm not going to go all crazy with it either.

No avocados.

No soda.

Just extra vanilla.

You can't have too much vanilla :-P

 And this is what I ended up with (prior to decorations)

The ladies who were lucky enough to indulge in this cake said it was delicious, and one even asked for a slice to bring home. I truly was a little worried, but it really is a fabulous combination!

So when you're looking for some CRAZY dessert... try some Mexican Avocado Dark Chocolate Mousse and call it healthy :-P 

Or try a Cream Soda Cake for a light and fluffy oil-free treat 

(P.S. I read that if you use 2 parts cake mix to 1 part soda, it makes a nice little cake "at will"... and you can use ANY flavor that suits your fancy. I hear Diet Dr. Pepper and Vanilla makes a good combo... and for those who like chocolate and orange flavors together, chocolate cake mix and orange soda! I'll never try it, so you'll have to tell me if you liked it. I just can't handle chocolate and orange together.) 

Or if you just ran out of eggs... you can still make cake!

And don't forget the super vanilla icing... mmmmm.

And the recipes so you can make it yourself 

without running around the house, 

searching the internet and  

forcing sweets upon your neighbor,  

MAKING her be your "taste-tester"  

(which she minded OH so much, lol) 

are right here.

(Mexican) Chocolate Avocado Mousse:

This recipe is from Dr Oz's show - the ONE time I watch, I have to try the darn recipe... 

1 ripe Avocado 

3/4 cup Brown Sugar (They used light brown... I used dark, cause that's what I had)

12 oz chocolate (They used dark chocolate for the anti-oxidants... I used semi sweet cause that's what I had)

2 tsp ground cinnamon (totally optional... they didn't actually use it on the show... I did for who knows what reason)

1/2 tsp chili powder (also totally optional because they didn't use it on the show either... I did for the same reason I used the cinnamon - who knows. The recipe I found said 1 tsp... but I decided to half that and am glad of it.)

6 Egg Whites (I used the pre-packaged kind for pasteurization and lack of 6 egg yolks that had no home)

1) Whip the egg whites until they form firm peaks. The rest of the recipe goes REALLY fast, so no problem doing this first.

2) Peel the avocado and place in your food processor (I used a mini chopper, and it was a TIGHT fit, but it did work...) Mix it up with the brown sugar until smooth.

3) Melt the chocolate (microwaved it shouldn't take more than two 1 minute cycles... make sure to stir frequently... chocolate doesn't change it's shape until it's been touched, which is why the chocolate kiss keeps it's shape in those thumbprint cookies...)

4) OPTIONAL!! If you want Mexican Chocolate Mousse, add the cinnamon and chili powder to the chocolate and mix well. If you try and use a different flavoring in the chocolate... do NOT use any liquid. It will cause the chocolate to cease. If you're determined to use a liquid flavoring (alcohol maybe?) add it to the avocado mixture and blend WELL... but definitely do not add it to the chocolate directly.

5) Put the melted chocolate in the food processor with the avocado and blend again.

6) Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg white until combined and refrigerate.

Cream Soda Cake:

1 box cake mix (I used white)

1 can Cream Soda

3? egg whites. You may want to try just 1 or 2. You can actually use none... but it will be more like pound cake. So no eggs = pound cake texture. 3 egg whites = angel food cake texture. You pick egg quantity :-P

Optional: vanilla... I used 2 tsp powdered... no idea what would happen if you used extract. Not sure if it even made a difference to the cake I've got.

Mix the cake mix, soda and egg white together, place in greased cake pans, bake according to the box directions (mine were done faster than expected)

Extra Vanilla-y Buttercream Icing:

Now, this recipe is based off a Martha Stewart recipe, which normally, I would shy away from, but my neighbor makes it all the time and it's too darned delicious to hold it against Martha Stewart. I suppose there's nothing really WRONG with Martha Stewart, but there's something that makes me want to avoid her. Maybe jailtime... I dunno. Plus, it's not even HER recipe... she got it from Billy Reece from Billy's Bakery in NYC. So it's essentially Martha free. But this isn't the original recipe anyway. It's half of the recipe she gave me with extra vanilla. LOTS of extra vanilla :)

1 stick room temperature butter (calls for unsalted... I used salted, which just brings out the sweetness a bit more)

3-4 cups confectioners sugar (I used about 3.5 cups)

1/4 cup milk

2 tsp pure vanilla extract (about 2 times the recipe :-P)

Good for a little over a dozen cupcakes... or one 2 layer cake :)

AWESOME Chucks Pattern

So I haven't done much Etsy-wise this week. Putting together a special order of wine bottle tags, but for some reason I seem extra busy this week!

However... I did finally WRITE the pattern I plan on using for my AWESOME Chucks. These will look SLIGHTLY different than the Almost Chucks I posted before :-P.

 AWESOME Chucks.

Using the sole color (tan/peach)

R 0:      Cast on 32 stitches

R 1:      K2, m1, k13, m1, k2, m1, k13, m1, k2

R 2:      P

R 3:      K2, m1, k15, m1, k2, m1, k15, m1, k2

R 4:      P

R 5:      K2, m1, k17, m1, k2, m1, k17, m1, k2

Switch to White Yarn

R 6:    P

R 7:    P (ridge)

R 8:    P14, k16, p14

R 9:    K14, p16, k14

Add Red Yarn and carry the white yarn to use when there are black numbers

R 0:     P14, k16, p14

R 1:     k17, k10, k17

R 2:     p17, p3, p2tog, p2tog, p3, p17

R 3:     k17, k2, k2tog, k2tog, k2, k17

R 4:     p17, p1, p2tog, p2tog, p1, p17

R 5:     k17, k2tog, k2tog, k17

R 6:     p16, p2tog, p2tog, p16

R 7:     k15, k2tog, k2tog, k15

R 8:     p14, p2tog, p2tog, p14

R 9:     k13, k2tog, k2tog, k13

Right Booty

R 20:     p4, p3, p5, p2tog, p2tog, p12

R 21:     k18, k1TF, k4, k3

R 22:     p2, p7, p17

R 23:     k17, k7, k2

R 24:     p2, p7, p17

R 25:     k18, k5, k3

R 26:     p4, p3, p19

R 27:     k

R 28:     p

R 29:     k

R 30:     p

R 31:     bind off

Left Booty

R 0:     p12, p2tog, p2tog, p5, p3, p4

R 1:     k3, k1TF, k4, k18

R 2:     p17, p7, p2

R 3:     k2, k7, k17

R 4:     p17, p7, p2

R 5:     k3, k5, k18

R 6:     p19, p3, p4

R 7:     k

R 8:     p

R 9:     k

R 10:   p

R 11:   bind off

Finish off both booties by embroidering a black star on the white circle, and adding white “laces” up the front as well as the white spots for the grommets on the sides.

the new deal

So I've been trying REALLY hard to post every day... 

and it lasted a good 2 weeks!

I'm proud of myself. 

I only missed two days... lol!!

But hubby was gone for most of that time...

so I didn't feel bad blogging while watching TV at night. 

But *YAY* his "field work" should be slowing drastically.

so I'm gonna cut back a bit 

and take some advice from my Fabulous Blogging Friend, 

and only post a few times a week. 

The plan is a "What's for Dinner?" on Mondays, 

because... who wants to think about cooking dinner on Monday? 

No one. 

So there will be a recipe there just waiting for you to try.  

I figure Wednesday would be a good day to blab 

of my misadventures of the weekend/past week, 

because we all need a little excitement to get through our "hump day"... 

even if we DON'T work :-P

And then Friday...

you'll all get to see how productive I've been 

as far as Etsy goes... or otherwise. 

Hopefully I won't have too many 

"Darn. I didn't do ANYTHING this week!" posts... 

Oh!

Don't forget to make me feel loved!

Leave me a comment when you come visit!  

P.S. I do take requests :-P 

Especially for Monday's :-P

I love a good excuse to cook!

And don't worry.
For all my totally random posts...
There's always Tuesdays and Thursdays

What's for Dinner? Salmon! Salmon! Salmon!

Today, I'm sharing TWO recipes for Salmon. One is more a "on a whim" salmon, and the other is... not. Neither have any real measurements... so good luck :-P

Lemon Dill Salmon

Easy salmon recipe that you can make just about any time. If you don't have a lemon on-hand, you can PROBABLY sprinkle some lemon JUICE on top before cooking and it'll still be yummy.

Ingredients:
Salmon
Dried Dill Weed
Lemon
Olive Oil

Directions:
-Choose enough salmon for each person to have about 2" of salmon steak.
-Put some olive oil in the bottom of a baking pan and lay the salmon, skin side down on top of it.
-Drizzle oil over the salmon and sprinkle generously with dill. You should still be able to see the pink of the salmon through the dill, but this is where almost all your flavor is coming from, so don't be shy.
-Slice a lemon into thin circles, and cover the salmon and dill with the slices
-Cover the pan with tinfoil and bake in an oven at 350* for 45 minutes or until done

Pistachio Encrusted Pesto Salmon

This is like "gourmet" salmon, but super easy - and marvelously decadent. It has a very full flavor that makes people think you tried really hard, even though you could do it in your sleep!

Ingredients:
Salmon
Pesto Sauce (Jarred works, fresh is better - either homemade or from the refrigerated section)
Pistachios - shelled (I shelled mine myself, but if you can afford the extra $$ for the pre-shelled ones.. you'll save your fingers some tenderness)

Directions:
-Choose enough salmon for each person to have about 2" of salmon steak. 
-Coat the bottom of a baking dish with oil and place the salmon, skin side down, in the pan.
-Pile the pesto on top of the salmon- about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick (no need for oil on top of the salmon, since it's in the Pesto)
-Place the shelled pistachios on top of the pesto - as many as you can, but only about 1 layer thick
-Cover with tinfoil and bake at 350* for 45 minutes or until done.


Both these recipes go very well with potato, but you can use any starch you like. Remember to remove the skin from the salmon before serving. You can peel the skin off before baking, or just slide the salmon sideways carefully after it's cooked and the skin will separate.  Never eat the skin of any fish if it has scales on it. OK, that was my "public service announcement" for the day :-P

The weekend.

Today, I worked a few hours at Hidden Talents, which was HOPPING - ok, not really, but the phone would NOT stop ringing. Craft Fair is this weekend, and while it's going to be a fun time... it did not leave me much time to work on Charles' Chucks! I tried making another one to match the "Almost Chuck", but am gonna have to start all over... I should probably get on that. At least they'll be the "Super Cool" chucks... My friend Julie had her little baby boy on Sunday, so after visiting her, I got down to making him a little hat to go with his brown booties. And Pete has been working on his bow (like, bow and arrow bow) and a kayak... with my help of course. I am apparently the queen of adhesives and sketches. :-P *shakes head* I just hope he doesn't start on the kayak before we move!  I made sausage and peppers for dinner tonight, and Pete did dinner last night with some chicken wings. mmmmm... Maybe I'll do better tomorrow morning and get some more posts ready for this week...

Pbthhhhh

I think... I have a cold. No fun. I'll live however. So since I've been visiting Melissa, I haven't made any dinners lately... and I drove all day yesterday, so I haven't made anything crafty, and I spent today planning a vacation for my sister (OK, just scouring the internet for deals cause I'm awesome like that), so I wasn't that exciting. I did go to Gourmet Club, and had some WONDERFUL food that once I make myself can go up here. But overall, I don't have all that much to share today.

So off I go to cook something for dinner (It may be hot dogs again tonight like it was yesterday :-P) and then finish the second brown booty for Nate and maybe the Almost Chuck for the NEW BABY that showed up earlier this week!!  And then maybe start another set of Chucks because my lovely friend Casey wants some too :-P.  If I'm REALLY lucky and the weather turns nice, I might get a few new crafty pics taken, but we'll have to see about that one...

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY!!!

That's all.

And then there were Cats

So as you all know, I've been spending the week with my friend Melissa in Georgia. I love chillin with her, and we've been having a grand old time. Included in my "activities" this week is my acceptance into her "pride". She's got 3 cats...

Beowulf

Beowulf is the definition of "scared-y cat" but over the past few days has decided I'm OK, and has cuddled with me a few times (sat on my feet) - I'm the 4th person that's happened with... ever. I think it's the fact that I brushed him. Melissa agrees.

Grendel

Grendel is "head cat" around here, and is the more social of the two older cats. He drinks out of a pint glass and has learned how to spell "out" - so "out" is now "you know where" or as I like to call it... "the word" :-P He's taken to sleeping on the top of the couch until I actually lie down for the night, and thinks I might even give him food now and again.

And Inara

Inara is the "kitten" of the pride, and is the only one brave enough to sit NEXT to me on the couch without a TON of coaching. She was brave enough to come back downstairs after Melissa fell asleep and try and sleep with me. Scared the ever-loving out of me when she went to climb on my legs. But I figured that it took her a lot of courage to stalk me long enough to climb up (I'd noticed her pacing on the coffee table for a while beforehand), and she didn't run away when I screamed (when she scared me) so I made room. I'm writing this for posting tomorrow, and she was much quicker today to climb up on the couch next to me... I kind of wonder if I'll be sleeping on the floor tonight...

So I suppose I'm part of "the pride" now... I hope they don't miss me TOO much when I leave!

What's for Dinner? Kugel!

In visiting with my bestie Melissa... we made Potato Kugel. YUMMY. Fabulous and easy, especially if you "cheat" like we did and use a box mix.  We had this with some Lemon Dill Salmon and a green salad and it was delicious!

And sorry - no picture today... we ate it all :-P

Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 cups water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 matzo meal
6 oz box of Potato Pancake Mix

Directions:
Beat eggs with fork
Add water and oil, mix well
Mix in matzo meal
Mix in Potato Pancake Mix until combined
Let stand for 3 minutes
Put in 8x8 pan and pat down with fork
Bake at 450* for 45 min-1 hr or until browned on top and crispy!

EAT with sour cream or apple sauce (or just slather in butter like I did.)

This recipe can be halved (or doubled :-P) if you use only one envelope in the potato pancake mix. USE REGULAR POTATO PANCAKE MIX!! Veggie is nasty and sweet potato is just weird. Or so Melissa says.

1/2 recipe:
1 egg
1 cup water
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp matzo meal
1 envelope Pancake mix (3oz)
**smaller pan :-P**

What's for Dinner? Blondie Sundaes!

I have to be honest, I haven't been eating that spectacularly lately. Something to do with Hubby being gone in combination with not going to the grocery store when I'm supposed to and the fridge therefore being bare...

BUT, that does not mean that I did not eat leftover Blondie's in a Sundae for lunch the other day :-P

These are in no way nutritionally beneficial, but boy are they yummy, and oh so easy!! Strange measurements to half Nestle's Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe, but I think you'll manage.

Rockin Day!

So yesterday I drove down to Georgia to visit with one of my best friends, Melissa, from HS. I WAS going to drive down today... but I got too excited. So I drove yesterday. Today... has been awesome. So FIRST, I found out that another best friend had his little baby boy this morning - 7lbs 14oz!  Which is super exciting... but now I have to finish those knit Chucks ASAP!  Then we went out for breakfast at IHOP where I discovered Butter Pecan Syrup. Delicious. Across the street from IHOP there was a KOHL'S!! - that shouldn't be really exciting, but it is. So I got 2 pairs of jeans and 2 shirts (Whoo hoo! - I don't have to look like a slob... I'm on my way to being a hussy jess! :-P).  After that, we rocked the Publix and got groceries for the week, came home, and I checked my email - I'm waiting to hear back on a beach house... and found out that I had my FIRST ETSY SALE!!  A set of the Wineglass tags!  I'm not sure what could happen today to make it better :)

I can't believe I was this productive!

I got myself moving today and took care of a bunch of Etsy work!! I uploaded a bunch of stuff... completed some unfinished projects and reworked a bunch of my photos. I also reduced some prices, but to make it even MORE exciting - I'm giving a friends and family discount on my items!  Purchase an item through Etsy, make yourself a follower of this blog and make note of it and the friends and family deal in the notes to seller... and get $2.00 back on your purchase!  But do it soon because it only lasts till May 15th!

"They" say you shouldn't put all your stuff up on one day if you can avoid it. I've been such a slacker, that it doesn't really matter. I'd be nice to get people to STAY at the shop for more than 30 seconds, so I need to fill-er up! Especially since most of the stuff is made and sitting in my house waiting! :-P

So today I was able to list...

A white knit fashion tam:

 

A blue baby tam:

The Brewski Tag:

A wine glass tag:

And one more specialty mat (as well as updating all my old specialty mat photos)

WHEW! 

New Etsy Posting!

So time for another Shamless Plug for my Etsy Site!

I posted a cute little green hat that was too small for Hubby's melon. I'm fairly certain it would fit a "normal sized" person however :-P

Tomorrow, my goal is to be inspired again and get the other boatload of Etsy items I have stashed in my craft room up for sale, and possibly finish the 4 that are sitting waiting immediate completion... or the 1 sewing project hiding under my desk... or those knit booties I'm so excited about... or another painting...

Popcorn Chicken Salad!

Last night, we had Popcorn Chicken Salad.  Yes folks, fried chicken that almost LOOKS healthy! The jury is till out as to whether it is or not though...

Notes on the recipe cards below:
-You're basically making a full salad and a full serving of chicken per person... whatever that is for you & yours.
-DEFINITELY use butter - way nummier than oil for pan frying - especially when it's just flour
-We used romaine last night, but I prefer it with spinach
-Colby cheese is my favorite, but cheddar, or any other cheese in your fridge will do well too.
-Keeping the cheese on TOP of the salad makes it melt ever-so-slightly when you throw the chicken on top... mmmmmm... 
-I cannot allow any dressing other than ranch to be used for the eating of this recipe. Except maybe buttermilk ranch. :-P


-Feel Free to let your kids help in the shaking of the chicken bits. I don't suggest the handing off of too many knives to the little ones though :-P
-Can be served family style or with portion control (and veggie controls ;-P) for individual servings.

Nate's Presents

So I'm pretty sure you're supposed to like, span days with your posts, not front-load them all on one day... but I have my ducks in a row today, so you're getting it all darn-it! :-D

My friend Julie is having a little boy Nate soon... and here are some knit bits (although the blanket is crocheted) that he's getting when he makes his arrival :-P

 

His brown booty (working on this guy's pair) He's also the inspiration for the Almost Chuck's and once I finish his pair and Almost Chuck's pair... I can do the pair of Closer to Chucks :-P lol

Mr. Blue Booty (this one has a pair, it's just with Julie already)

His blankie!!! Crocheted, and way easier than it looks!

Scnazzy artsie shot of the blankie.

And I'm stoked, because I made all these things, and I still get to have people see them, cause they aren't for sale, so I can't put them on Etsy :(. But they can go here!!

The Almost-Chuck

So I got my camera out... and the battery was dead. So I got my spare battery out... and it was dead. Awesome. Especially since the spare won't take a charge! Raar!  BUT, I did get some juice flowing, and took a couple pictures of my almost chuck, which is still missing his pair... but I'll get to that eventually. :-P

Aren't those little laces too cute?!?!

And that little rough sole edging and capped toe!!

 

And it's even got a little tan sole on it!!

But then again... I might be a bit biased :-P