Rolo Turtles....sorry for such a lousy picture....I was going to take a better one, but then they were all gone!
Crockpot Cranberry Pulled Pork
There are more....I forgot to take pictures of the homemade pita pockets.
Showing posts with label Pinterest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pinterest. Show all posts
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Pinterest Projects....so far....
Rolo Turtles....sorry for such a lousy picture....I was going to take a better one, but then they were all gone!
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Homemade Twix Bars--YUM!
For the month of February, I am going to be cooking up treats for the guys that I love! I want to shower them with love for the love month.
Last year, in February, I was diagnosised with Trigeminal Neuralgia and the month quickly went down hill from that...MRIs, Blood work, numerous trips to new doctors, having to leave my job, pain, exhaustion and then add a yahoo running into my car and having to also deal with insurance, repairs and rental cars for 2 weeks, then turning 40 in the middle of it...yes, last February....frankly...sucked...bit...was not the best month of my life.
So I am taking control of this February, and with God's grace am trying to be the opposite of last. As my DH said yesterday, "Merry, Merry February!!" INDEED! So, I had him pick out one of the sweets recipes I have pinned over on Pinterest for me to make. He actually said "um....all of them?" But we settled on this one first.
Shortbread layer
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used the homemade stuff from Christmas!)
2 cups Flour
Caramel layer
2 cups caramel, cut into small chunks
3 tablespoons heavy cream
Chocolate layer
3 cups chopped milk chocolate or dark chocolate, melted
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening (optional)
Directions
1) FOR THE CRUST: Preheat your oven to 300°F. Spray a 9" x 13" pan lightly with cooking spray, or line with parchment, and set aside.
2) In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla. Add the flour. At first the mixture may seem dry, but will come together as you continue to beat at medium speed.
3) Take the dough (it will be somewhat stiff) and press it evenly into the pan. Lightly flouring your fingertips will help with any sticking.
4) Prick the crust all over with a fork. The holes will allow steam to escape and the crust will bake evenly with fewer bubbles.
5) Bake the crust until it's lightly golden brown on top and the edges are deeper golden brown, about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately run a knife around the edges to loosen the crust. Set it aside to cool completely. I left it to the next day.....
6) FOR THE CARAMEL LAYER: Melt the caramel and cream over low heat in a small saucepan. Pour the caramel over the cooled crust and set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill and firm up. Or for two hours while you read a new blog!
7) FOR THE CHOCOLATE LAYER: Melt the milk or dark chocolate slowly in a double boiler or over very low heat. If it seems very thick, add a tablespoon of shortening to thin it. Pour evenly over the chilled caramel layer and spread to cover all of the caramel. Return to the fridge until the chocolate is well set.
TIP: Buy twice as much chocolate than you need because there will be snacking...I'm just saying.
8) Cut into 2X2 squares, or long narrow strips, or whatever shape you like. I found the cookie crumbled WAY too much so for the most part were 1 inch by 2 inches. Best to use a BIG kitchen knife that is cold.
8) These bars can also be cut and dipped in milk chocolate to resemble Twix ® bars. After the caramel layer has chilled firm, cut down the length of the pan, splitting the bars into two long, narrow bars. Then cut each long strip into "fingers". Dip the chilled bars into melted chocolate and place on parchment paper to set for several hours.
But really, after almost 3 days of working on this project....this is as good as it gets!
Recipe summary
Hands-on time:
20 mins. to 30 mins.
Baking time:
35 mins. to 45 mins.
Total time:
2 hrs 5 mins. to 2 hrs 25 mins.
For me: Three Days!!!
Yield:
One 9" x 13" x 2" pan
AND then take a swig of Diet Citrus Drop and take a diabetes pill!
Oh, and find a cool site and airbrush a picture that your DH insisted on taking so you look like you have on make-up, no wrinkles, extra white teeth, and the background mess all faded! I'm just like the "Big Bloggers!"
Last year, in February, I was diagnosised with Trigeminal Neuralgia and the month quickly went down hill from that...MRIs, Blood work, numerous trips to new doctors, having to leave my job, pain, exhaustion and then add a yahoo running into my car and having to also deal with insurance, repairs and rental cars for 2 weeks, then turning 40 in the middle of it...yes, last February....frankly...
So I am taking control of this February, and with God's grace am trying to be the opposite of last. As my DH said yesterday, "Merry, Merry February!!" INDEED! So, I had him pick out one of the sweets recipes I have pinned over on Pinterest for me to make. He actually said "um....all of them?" But we settled on this one first.
 |
| This picture is from the website, not mine. Let's see how close I can get! But for you ReynBFF, because of your snarky comment, there is a collage just for you ;)  This recipe came from a Pin that I followed to the King Arthur Flour website. However, I used my milled white wheat flour. It is definitely delicious, however the cookie is terribly crumbly. IF I were to make it again, I would not use as much flour in the cookie. |
Shortbread layer
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used the homemade stuff from Christmas!)
2 cups Flour
Caramel layer
2 cups caramel, cut into small chunks
3 tablespoons heavy cream
Chocolate layer
3 cups chopped milk chocolate or dark chocolate, melted
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening (optional)
Directions
1) FOR THE CRUST: Preheat your oven to 300°F. Spray a 9" x 13" pan lightly with cooking spray, or line with parchment, and set aside.
2) In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla. Add the flour. At first the mixture may seem dry, but will come together as you continue to beat at medium speed.
3) Take the dough (it will be somewhat stiff) and press it evenly into the pan. Lightly flouring your fingertips will help with any sticking.
4) Prick the crust all over with a fork. The holes will allow steam to escape and the crust will bake evenly with fewer bubbles.
5) Bake the crust until it's lightly golden brown on top and the edges are deeper golden brown, about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately run a knife around the edges to loosen the crust. Set it aside to cool completely. I left it to the next day.....
6) FOR THE CARAMEL LAYER: Melt the caramel and cream over low heat in a small saucepan. Pour the caramel over the cooled crust and set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill and firm up. Or for two hours while you read a new blog!
During this step I lamented that it would be nice to have an on-staff photographer like some bloggers have, and my darling hubby stepped up and took a bunch of pictures...he didn't listen when I said that I didn't want to be in them....only take pictures of the food! I love that he took pictures from way different angles than I do! And I love him....this was actually on our 19th anniversary.
After the carmel has been in the refrigerator, it becomes very glassy and pretty!
7) FOR THE CHOCOLATE LAYER: Melt the milk or dark chocolate slowly in a double boiler or over very low heat. If it seems very thick, add a tablespoon of shortening to thin it. Pour evenly over the chilled caramel layer and spread to cover all of the caramel. Return to the fridge until the chocolate is well set.
8) Cut into 2X2 squares, or long narrow strips, or whatever shape you like. I found the cookie crumbled WAY too much so for the most part were 1 inch by 2 inches. Best to use a BIG kitchen knife that is cold.
8) These bars can also be cut and dipped in milk chocolate to resemble Twix ® bars. After the caramel layer has chilled firm, cut down the length of the pan, splitting the bars into two long, narrow bars. Then cut each long strip into "fingers". Dip the chilled bars into melted chocolate and place on parchment paper to set for several hours.
But really, after almost 3 days of working on this project....this is as good as it gets!
Recipe summary
Hands-on time:
20 mins. to 30 mins.
Baking time:
35 mins. to 45 mins.
Total time:
2 hrs 5 mins. to 2 hrs 25 mins.
For me: Three Days!!!
Yield:
One 9" x 13" x 2" pan
AND then take a swig of Diet Citrus Drop and take a diabetes pill!
Oh, and find a cool site and airbrush a picture that your DH insisted on taking so you look like you have on make-up, no wrinkles, extra white teeth, and the background mess all faded! I'm just like the "Big Bloggers!"
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Homemade Pita Bread
As of lunch today, I have made these successfully twice, so it is time to share.
Now, I am a bad blogger in that I forgot to take pictures of the first few steps. So let's pretend that there is a picture of the ingredients
 |
| HERE! |
1 tablespoon yeast
1 ¼ cup warm water
1 teaspoon salt
3- 3 ½ cups flour
Dissolve yeast in water for about 5 minutes in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add salt and 1 ½ cups flour and with the dough hook, beat to make a batter. Add additional flour until a rough, shaggy mass is formed. Knead 8 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Add more flour if it is too sticky.
And as it is mixing up, what "shaggy dough" looks like
 |
| HERE: Shaggy |
Turn out on a floured (clean) counter. And pull into 6-10 balls.
Roll out to circles about 1/4 inch thick and let sit for 30 minutes.
Flip your round pita upside down on cookie sheets or pizza pans, whatever you can find. Put them in the oven and watch for the first 5 minutes. OK, you don't HAVE to watch them, but it's a kick to watch them puff up like balloons!!
Bake for 15-20 minutes.
Take out and make pita pocket sandwiches (I filled ours with chicken salad with grapes), or use with dip. If you have any that make it to a day old, you can use them to make awesome little pita pizzas!
 |
| This picture taken by Boy |
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
WOW! The forcast today!
EGGS and lots of em! Finally my "baby" chicks and ducks have figured things out. Yesterday we got 13 eggs, 4 of which were duck (or turkey, not sure I've actually seen a turkey egg yet) That means out of the 12 hens, 9 laid yesterday! WoOHoO!!!
Also, the forcast for today is 59*. Really?? On the last day of January? I realize it is La Nina, but still...we are going to pay for this..in the meantime though....YEAH!! I'm about to go let the girls free range for the day. The laying should be done for the day.
I have a good friend coming over for a visit today. We met in the funniest way. She came to my yard sale in W'ville forever ago. Found out she was going to homeschool. Became email buddies. She joined our homeschool group. Then moved to West Virginia. We became Facebook friends and send instant chats from time to time. She has family in our city so she comes up every month or so. Today, she is going to come out to the farm to see me...and she's bringing her boy that is friends with my boy! I'm excited to see her again. Side bonus...the downstairs got cleaned up!
I haven't been blogging as I should....Pinterest has an evil side....it sucks me in, challenges me and then overwhelms me! However, I have been keeping busy. I will be posting a recipe tutorial in a bit. I actually made another fun, from scratch dinner that was "blog worthy". When I try new recipes, I like to actually have them 2-3 times before I post them to make sure that I'm not giving incorrect information. You'd be proud though...I remembered to take pictures of all the steps! But Boy is doing math on my computer and I'm on the little netbook, so I will have to wait until later to post it.
Along with the whole Pinterest thing....I know I am supposed to be finding ideas to use the junk I have here, but as I spend time on there, my list of what I will be looking for at yard sales and thrift stores is getting longer! :) I'm always amazed at the creativity of people. I feel like I am creative, but I see some of this pictures and know if I had the same pile of stuff, I would toss it out as junk and they make a really pretty "scene." So I don't even pretend that these are my ideas. I am totally hijacking someone else.
Also, the forcast for today is 59*. Really?? On the last day of January? I realize it is La Nina, but still...we are going to pay for this..in the meantime though....YEAH!! I'm about to go let the girls free range for the day. The laying should be done for the day.
I have a good friend coming over for a visit today. We met in the funniest way. She came to my yard sale in W'ville forever ago. Found out she was going to homeschool. Became email buddies. She joined our homeschool group. Then moved to West Virginia
I haven't been blogging as I should....Pinterest has an evil side....it sucks me in, challenges me and then overwhelms me! However, I have been keeping busy. I will be posting a recipe tutorial in a bit. I actually made another fun, from scratch dinner that was "blog worthy". When I try new recipes, I like to actually have them 2-3 times before I post them to make sure that I'm not giving incorrect information. You'd be proud though...I remembered to take pictures of all the steps! But Boy is doing math on my computer and I'm on the little netbook, so I will have to wait until later to post it.
EXCEPT....my guys did take me to Goodwill this weekend...I know...month of nothing, but still....I found 5 things and only spent $2.14, and $0.50 of it was boy's and he paid me back. I am not going to say too much, as I am working on something that actually might be unique and "Pin" worthy!!
Here's a picture from my back step this morning.....even anti-social Timmy is coming up to the house to see if we have any mice for him. (Nope! They're doing a great job!)
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Scattery and sick....
I've been wanting to post, but we've all gotten the nasty head cold that is going around. UG. The boy has had it for over a week now. I only had to suffer for about 3 days (Yeah, Probiotics!!) But I'm still very scatter-minded. This should be a better week.
I changed #19 on my 101 list after much consideration. It was Attempt to go Vegatarian for a month. First of all, I am seriously a carnivore...so much so that I know that Vegatarian is spelled wrong, but every attempt to correct it seems to look wrong as well...so in keeping it real, I would likely not accomplish that goal...instead I put one in place that is doable.
Do 20 things that I have "pinned" on Pinterest. So rather than just sit on my backside looking at pictures and pinning them, I am getting up to do them. I just need to be better at actually taking the photos of them and uploading those. Already we have 4 done. One of which, I proudly can say I did yesterday!
I made homemade from scratch pita bread for lunch yesterday. It was De-Lish!! Will be doing that one again.
On a funny side note, I found a list of 10 things to expect when you dine with a food blogger. Now don't get me wrong, I have never claimed to be a food blogger....I'm not really a consistant "anything" blogger and I think I now how 5 readers (Waves: "HI"), but after making the pita bread, my son asked one of the points in the list. Before ever taking a bite he asked "Have you taken a picture of these? Or is the light not good." Hahaha.
Anyway, thanks for tuning in...I'll be back for my newsy update tomorrow while I'm waiting for the bread to rise!
Love y'all!
I changed #19 on my 101 list after much consideration. It was Attempt to go Vegatarian for a month. First of all, I am seriously a carnivore...so much so that I know that Vegatarian is spelled wrong, but every attempt to correct it seems to look wrong as well...so in keeping it real, I would likely not accomplish that goal...instead I put one in place that is doable.
Do 20 things that I have "pinned" on Pinterest. So rather than just sit on my backside looking at pictures and pinning them, I am getting up to do them. I just need to be better at actually taking the photos of them and uploading those. Already we have 4 done. One of which, I proudly can say I did yesterday!
I made homemade from scratch pita bread for lunch yesterday. It was De-Lish!! Will be doing that one again.
On a funny side note, I found a list of 10 things to expect when you dine with a food blogger. Now don't get me wrong, I have never claimed to be a food blogger....I'm not really a consistant "anything" blogger and I think I now how 5 readers (Waves: "HI"), but after making the pita bread, my son asked one of the points in the list. Before ever taking a bite he asked "Have you taken a picture of these? Or is the light not good." Hahaha.
Anyway, thanks for tuning in...I'll be back for my newsy update tomorrow while I'm waiting for the bread to rise!
Love y'all!
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
So...what a way to start the year...
Yesterday the breaks went out on our work van....we were able to take it in to be fixed but the roads were seriously icy and we saw two accidents on the way back home. The mechanic is only 6.2 miles away!
My computer got infected this morning with some Trojen virus. Great. NOT. Luckily, I caught it as soon as it started and after being on hold with Norton for over an hour (Their on hold music is WRETCHED-it even sounds like evil hackers lurking around every corner), the nice Indian lady remotely took over my computer and $99.99 later...here I am again!
So, I discovered that I spend WAY too much time on my computer and not doing much while on here...except perhaps my current addiction to Pinterest. So many great ideas can't possibly be bad! Right?
I did get my scrapbooking goals figured out...somewhat. It looks good on paper, until I get into the work room. Yikes. I also managed to get all the Christmas stuff put away. Just waiting until it isn't 19* to take it back down to the cellar. The siding is mostly up now. There is just one section of the attic not done and then all the trim pieces. And none too soon. Boy it is COLD out there! Mostly I'm spending my time "feeding" the wood burner or hiding under my electric blanket. One of my health issues is that my bad foot has very little feeling, and what I do feel is cold, even in the summer, so I have 3 socks on that foot, in my shoe and the dog laying on it :)
Well, now that I am done catching up on my 'current' bellyachin' I should post some pictures from the last month from my lack of blogging....
Let's see...I can't really blog what the secret project was as my Reyn BFF still hasn't gotten hers....hmm...let see....what else.
I mentioned Pinterest....here's from our Christmas Eve "finger food" party. No, I am not that clever....I found it on...let's say it together....Pinterest.
My computer got infected this morning with some Trojen virus. Great. NOT. Luckily, I caught it as soon as it started and after being on hold with Norton for over an hour (Their on hold music is WRETCHED-it even sounds like evil hackers lurking around every corner), the nice Indian lady remotely took over my computer and $99.99 later...here I am again!
So, I discovered that I spend WAY too much time on my computer and not doing much while on here...except perhaps my current addiction to Pinterest. So many great ideas can't possibly be bad! Right?
I did get my scrapbooking goals figured out...somewhat. It looks good on paper, until I get into the work room. Yikes. I also managed to get all the Christmas stuff put away. Just waiting until it isn't 19* to take it back down to the cellar. The siding is mostly up now. There is just one section of the attic not done and then all the trim pieces. And none too soon. Boy it is COLD out there! Mostly I'm spending my time "feeding" the wood burner or hiding under my electric blanket. One of my health issues is that my bad foot has very little feeling, and what I do feel is cold, even in the summer, so I have 3 socks on that foot, in my shoe and the dog laying on it :)
Well, now that I am done catching up on my 'current' bellyachin' I should post some pictures from the last month from my lack of blogging....
Let's see...I can't really blog what the secret project was as my Reyn BFF still hasn't gotten hers....hmm...let see....what else.
I mentioned Pinterest....here's from our Christmas Eve "finger food" party. No, I am not that clever....I found it on...let's say it together....Pinterest.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)