Sew Crazy

Whew! What a weekend!  Both of my kids were sick with colds, so we stayed in the entire weekend.  That means that I got a lot of sewing time in and Rob got a lot of hide-and-seek time in...

Friday we watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.  I thought it was alright.  The beginning was very slow, but the ending was so sweet.  I'm glad I saw it, but probably wouldn't watch it again.

On Saturday I went to my new favorite store, JoAnn Fabric and bought a few patterns (McCalls were 1.99!).  I chose one that said "Easy".  Well, this pattern was anything but easy. The directions were so hard to follow.  But, I read through them and decided to go for it.  I measured myself (scary!) and found my size. I cut, marked, and pressed.  I got the bottom sewed together, tried it on, and it was about 3 sizes too small. This was around 9 at night.  I then searched the internet for about 3 hours and found a few skirts that I could make, but no information on why my skirt turned out too small. Being the OCD person I am, I had to finish the skirt, so I came up with a way to do it with no pattern and finished around 1 am.  Do you sew? Any idea why this didn't turn out? I checked my seams and they are the 5/8 that the pattern calls for...also rechecked my measurements, and still the same.

Sunday, more JoAnn Fabric!  I bought some more fabric, elastic (for my new skirts), and some ribbon.  I put in the zipper on my skirt I started last night (which is still a bit small), started a lazy days skirt for Ava, and washed and pressed fabric for a 20-minute skirt for myself.

I also tried out 3 new recipes for my other blog, Real Moms Cooking.  I posted about the Pasta Puttanesca last night here. Try it, let me know what you think!  I also made Taco Boats and Baguette French Toast.  I'm  posting about those later this week.

We also started our homemade Valentine's for our Mom's group Valentine pizza party.  I'll post about them tomorrow.

Of course thrown in there was cleaning and laundry.  I'm lucky that my husband took care of the kids all weekend so I could get my sanity back.  I know I'm very lucky.

How was your weekend?

Recipe: Crock-pot Pulled Pork

This is the easiest recipe you will find. You'll need:

2lbs. of pork (butt, shoulder, loin)

12 oz. Root Beer (I buy the cheapest I can find)

BBQ Sauce (I use Sweet Baby Rays, Original)

Buns

Crock-pot

Place the pork in the crock-pot. Poor root beer over the pork. Cook on low for 6-7 hours. When pork is done, empty root beer. Shred with a fork (it should shred very easily). Place pork back in crock-pot and add BBQ sauce. (I like it to be moist, but not overly wet. You can always add more to your sandwich.) Heat on low for 1/2 hour more. Serve.

Easy-Peasy, Lemon Squeezy!

No time to bake a pie?

(image: Bakerella.com)

How are you feeling on this Thanksgiving eve? If you are like me, you have been baking all morning!

Since we are hosting Thanksgiving at our house, I've been baking away all week. Today, instead of making a traditional pumpkin pie, I made Pumpkin Pie Bites. I found them at Bakerella and thought it was such a cool idea!

I found that they needed to be baked them for 16 minutes, so keep an eye on them. I, of course, had to try one and they are delicious. I plan on serving them with a little bowl of whipped cream on the side.

Hope this helps with that last minute baking!

Sweet Potatoes & Pears

Looking for a new sweet potato recipe? Well, I have a very sweet one for you to try.

You'll need:

2 medium sweet potatoes

2 pears

2 TBS Butter

1/4 c. brown sugar

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. allspice

1/8 c. milk

Peel and cube your sweet potatoes. But them in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are fork tender, about 15 minutes.

Peel and cube the pears. While the potatoes are boiling, melt the butter in a small pot. Add in the sugar, cinnamon, and allspice. Cover and let simmer until the pears are very soft.
Drain the water from the tender sweet potatoes and smash partially with a fork. Add in pear mixture and continue to smash with a fork until you reach your desired consistency.
At this point, you can add in milk if needed. Enjoy!

Homemade Bread Day

Who else is celebrating today?! I don't know about you but I love obscure holidays (can anyone say National Pig Day?). Maybe it is the teacher in me, but I just love them.

Anyway, today, November 17, is National Homemade Bread Day. In honor of this holiday, I'm baking homemade bread for my family. I've made this recipe once before and we gobbled the bread down very quickly.

Homemade Wheat Bread

Description:

A slightly sweet, healthy half-whole-wheat bread

Yield:

1 loaf

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees F)
1 tablespoon milk
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (see additional notes for a 100% whole wheat version)
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons instant active dry yeast

Instructions:

1. *Combine first 6 ingredients in a large mixing bowl; stir.

2. Add flours and yeast, and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10-15 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover with a clean towel and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.

3. Punch dough down; knead for a few minutes until smooth and then form into a loaf. Place in greased loaf pan and cover. Let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. If loaf starts browning too soon, lightly lay a piece of foil on top of the loaf to prevent too much darkening.

5. Remove bread from oven and allow to rest in pan for a few minutes. Remove to a wire rack and cover with a cloth. Slice and enjoy while still warm! Leftover bread can be stored in an airtight bag or frozen until needed.

Recipe from Tammy's Recipes.

If you have a great bread recipe that you use or found, please let me know. I love trying out new recipes.

Pumpkin and Chocolate

Could it get any better?

I love Martha Stewart. She can be cold, demanding, set totally unattainable goals for the normal housewife, but isn't that part of her appeal? I find her so intriguing.

How in the world does she get all her sheets changed every 3 days? How does she do all these arts/crafts things while running a huge empire? I think we all know the answer to these questions... Help. She has help, a lot of it. I don't have help. I have myself and my husband. So, I read her website, watch her show (sometimes), and gaze at all her items for sale at the store.

I know that one day I'll have time for all her crafts/homekeeping. I also know that at that time my babies will be grown and I'll long for these days of chaos.

Where was I? Oh yeah, the bars.

I found this recipes when I was looking for something "Fall" to bake. Let me tell you, they are WONDERFUL. Yes, they are full of butter, and yes they are not healthy at all, but man, they are good.

I did change one thing, sorry Martha. I only used 1/2 the chocolate chips because I like the pumpkin taste and even then, to me, it was a bit too much chocolate (and I love chocolate).

Super easy. Try them, let me know what you think.

Stuffed Peppers

Another recipe from my Mother-Inlaw! I was not a big fan of peppers, but after a few weeks of forcing them in my diet I am actually starting to like them. They have to be very tender for me to even try them though.

Ingredients:

4 Green Peppers

1/2 c. chopped onions
1/2 lb. ground beef

1 Tbsp. margarine/butter

1 can Tomato Soup

2 Cups Cooked Rice

1 tsp. worchestershire sauce

Salt and Pepper to taste

(1 very cute 3 year old cutting her onion to help you out!)
Remove tops and stems from peppers. Cook in boiling salted water about 5 minutes. Brown beef and onions. Stir in 1/2 can soup and remaining ingredients.
Spoon mixture into peppers.
Place in 1 1/2 QT. casserole dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Heat and serve remaining sauce over peppers.

This was a big hit. My husband loves it because it reminds him of his childhood. I liked it and that is saying a lot because I tend to be on the picky side. :)

Recipe: Meat and Veggie Soup

This recipe was given to me by my Mother-in-law.  I make it with or without the meat.  On this day, I made it without the meat.  I also used all frozen veggies. I usually buy a mixed bag of veggies, but Meijer had a sale on veggies so I just bought a bunch of frozen and placed them in the freezer downstairs for later use.

Ingredients:

1 lb. of hamburger meat (optional)

2 cups water

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce

1 pkg. french onion soup

1 pkg. mixed frozen veggies

1 tsp. sugar (optional)

Brown hamburger and drain.  Add the remaining ingredients into the pot.  Simmer until the veggies are at your desired softness.

Baked Ziti

I'll admit, this is not the most healthy recipe, but it is so good!  I made this the first time for a potluck on New Years Eve.  I guess it is my signature dish now as everyone loved it.

I don't change a thing about this recipe. I found it on my favorite recipe site, All Recipes.  It was submitted by Colleen B. Smith.

 

Baked Ziti

PREP TIME	20 Min
COOK TIME	35 Min
READY IN	55 Min

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 1 pound dry ziti pasta
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
• 6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.
2. In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.

Homemade Cliff Bars

I'll admit, I've never had a real Cliff bar. My husband started eating them a few months ago and he loves them. So, when my friend Laura posted a homemade cliff bar recipe I had to try it.  I used raisans as my dried fruit, but I think they would be great with almost any dried fruit. 

It seems like there won't be enough liquid to combine them into bars, so make sure you mix well and press them hard in the pan. Also, you may want to cool them in the fridge to make sure they are set well before cutting.  Cutting in to 12 bars is really small, so 8 bars.

Homemade Cliff Bars

1 1/4c Rice Krispies
1c quick-cook oats
3T flax seed meal
1/4c finely chopped, dried fruit (I increased to 1/2c)
1/4c finely chopped nuts
1/4c honey (or maple syrup or light molasses)
2T dark brown sugar
1/3c nut butter (peanut, almond, cashew, soy nut)
1t vanilla extract

Combine cereal through nuts in a large bowl.
Bring honey and brown sugar to a boil on medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in nut butter and vanilla.
Pour heated mixture over cereal mixture, stirring until coated. Press firmly into greased, 8" square pan. Allow to cool.
Cut into 12 bars. Wrap tightly in plastic and store in refrigerator.

Beef Stir Fry Recipe

I was looking for a recipe today to keep with our new eating habits and found a few that I liked. They merged into one, and it was really good!

1 package beef stripes

1/3 c. Stir Fry Sauce

1 TBS Wok Oil

1/2 c. Rice Sticks, boiled or fried

1/3 c. green onions

3/4 c. carrots

3/4 c. zucchini

3/4 c. broccoli

Marinate the meat for at least one hour in the Stir Fry sauce.  I did it for almost exactly one hour, but I think it would be better a little longer.
I served this meal with lettuce cups and brown rice.

Cut all the veggies to approximately the same size so they cook evenly.  Cook your rice sticks (takes about 10 minutes).  Warm the pan and pour in the Wok Oil.  Brown the meat in the stir fry sauce.  Poor in the veggies and cook until your desired tenderness. I put the lid on the pan for a few minutes to steam the veggies.
I was going to take a picture of the finished product, but it was gone before I thought of it.  It was good over rice or in the lettuce wraps.  

Recipes of the Week

I tried out two new recipes this week. Both are what I would consider "Blue Zone" and Green entrees.

The first one is Ratatouille.  I love eggplant, so I just went to AllRecipes and typed it in and this was the first recipe that came up that didn't have any meat in it.  This recipe was submitted by Lynette Marie and it passed the test. It makes A LOT, so I used a 2 1/2 quart baking dish and cooked it for 60 minutes.  I served it over brown rice. To be honest, it was better the next day for lunch, so make sure you make a little more brown rice than you'll need for dinner.  This follows the Blue Zone because it has all fresh plant based ingredients and no meat.  It can also be considered green if you went with all organic ingredients and it has no meat.

Ratatouille

4 Servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes (took me 25)

Cook Time: 45 minutes (I did 60)

INGREDIENTS 

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• 1 eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• salt to taste
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 zucchini, sliced
• 1 large onion, sliced into rings
• 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat bottom and sides of a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
2. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic until lightly browned. Mix in parsley and eggplant. Saute until eggplant is soft, about 10 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
3. Spread eggplant mixture evenly across bottom of prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with a few tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Spread zucchini in an even layer over top. Lightly salt and sprinkle with a little more cheese. Continue layering in this fashion, with onion, mushrooms, bell pepper, and tomatoes, covering each layer with a sprinkling of salt and cheese.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.

The second recipe is Mozzarella Chicken Ciabatta Sandwich.  This was excellent! I felt like we were in a restaurant and not in our dining room.  I found it on RecipeZaar which they found in Cooking Light Magazine.  This follows the Blue Zone because there really isn't that much chicken on each sandwich, it is more of a side than the focus of the meal.  Make sure you get the fresh basil for the sandwich because the flavor combinations are great! I also got fresh mozzarella rather than shredded, so it needed a little more time under the broiler.

Mozzarella Chicken Ciabatta Sandwich

SERVES 4 (change servings and units)

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup sun-dried tomato pesto
• 2 tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise
• 3/4 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 (8 ounce)  ciabatta, loaf
• 12 large basil leaves
• 3/4 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup roasted red pepper, sliced (bottled ok!)
• 1 large tomato, thinly sliced

Directions

1. 1

   Combine pesto and mayo in a small bowl, stirring to blend.

2. 2

   Sprinkle chicken with pepper and salt.

3. 3

   Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

4. 4

   Add chicken and cook until done.

5. 5

   Remove and place on cutting board to cool slightly.

6. 6

   Cut chicken lenghtwise into thin slices.

7. 7

   Preheat broiler.

8. 8

   Cut ciabatta in half horizontally.

9. 9

   Place bread, cut sides up, on a baking sheet.

10. 10

    Broil until lightly browned (please watch so bread doesn't burn!). Remove bread from pan.

11. 11

    Spread pesto mixture evenly over cut sides of bread.

12. 12

    Arrange the chicken slices evenly over bottom half.

13. 13

    Top chicken evenly with basil leaves, and sprinkle cheese over top.

14. 14

    Place bottom half on baking sheet and broil until cheese melts (watch it!).

15. 15

    Arrange bell pepper and tomato over cheese and cover with top half of bread.

16. 16

    Cut into 4 equal slices and serve immediately.

It seems like a lot of steps, but they just break it down for you.  I found the pesto in the ethnic food isle of the grocery store by the tomato sauces.

Try them out and let me know what you think!