Saturday, October 15, 2011

New Treasures!!!

So, today, Saturday, on my way to check out a Goodwill I've never visited before, I see a sign for a yard sale. Screeeeee, turn...found the yard sale. (That was me making a sharp turn past the sign) I get there and 1st thing I see is a vintage red & white table. Unfortunately, I have no more room for tables and I'm not yet to the point where I will actually refurbish something. This table needed major love.

However, I quickly saw a cute mirror with a painted wooden frame that I will make a small side table out of when I have the chance. In the meantime, It's hanging up in my sitting room.

New mirror (plus a little bunny butt under the couch) in the background.     




Then, I turn around and I see a cute stool and an even cuter bench. You can see the bench above.

Sort of the same pic as above, but better view of the bun posing. ha (I am using the suitcases as footstools for now until I'm ready to make tables out of them.) Ummm...can you tell I'm obsessed with my new couch?






Then, I finally found the Goodwill and found an old Backgammon set. I remember watching my parents play the game for hours and I never paid any attention as how to play. My daughter and I decided to youtube a tutorial. We're pretty good at it.

It's a pretty cool set. The inside is wooden rather than felt.
    


I love treasure hunting.
























Friday, October 14, 2011

Vintage Couch

Look what I found!!!!! I'm so so so so excited to have my new couch!!! Ahhhhhh!!!!! I love it!!!

Beautiful Vintage Velvet Lime Green Couch



Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Baking During The Long Weekend

 I'm not much of a baker...I'm the cook in the family and teaching my kids to cook is so much fun. Especially when they make ME dinner. 99.9% of the time it turns out very yummy. HOWEVER, my daughter is obsessed with baking. She's always asking me to bake with her and I have always thought I wasn't a baker and hated it. Not that I won't do it...I just don't do it often and it usually involves savory baking rather than sweet. So, finally...now that Fall is here, I was totally in the baking mood!

And I discovered...



I loooove baking!!!! Especially with...


 <=======





























Maisee's Ready!!! Cherry Pistachio Biscotti (She eventually changed the hook to the actual attachment needed - she loves her mixer)
Helpin' out



They turned out DELICIOUS!!!
Then I decided to bake a pie on Sunday...this was my first pie since I was 10 yrs old. I was very proud. It turned out delicious!!!
And Maisee decided to make mini tartlets. They were sooooo yummy!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The Last of the Iced Tea

Summer has come to a close and the other day was my last glass of Iced Tea. The kids were starting to get sniffley from the change of weather so I made green tea. With a sprig of mint from my garden, it was ready to cool me off on the last warm day of the season.


Homemade Pickles!!!

I finally found a beautiful cucumber in my garden!!! Unfortunately, it also had a yellow friend that I didn't catch in time. :( I still kept it in the picture in remembrance of what could have been. So, what to do with one lone cucumber?














                                                                                                                      Make pickles, of course!!!

I used my most favorite Red Wine Vinegar made by Rozendal. You have to order it online, but it's my one "must have" treat to myself that I get each year. 

I had some dill drying above my stove and some fresh garlic lying around. A pinch of sugar and some sea salt and voila! Of course, my son ate about 3/4 of them...but what I had was delicious!!!

Procrastinating

I'm supposed to be studying Chemistry and working on homework in my other classes, but instead, I picked my first watermelon. I don't know if I picked it too soon or not, but I had to get it out of my garden since some critter decided to munch on it.

I can't cut it yet, though...I promised my daughter I would wait and cut it with her. 
I guess I just work on my school work for now. Ugh...


Tuesday, September 20, 2011

My Favorite Season of Cooking is Coming!!!

The weather has cooled substantially, and quickly and I am FULLY EMBRACING IT! Fall is my most favorite season. When I lived in Arizona we got Fall weather for maybe three weeks. Growing up in Wyoming prior to that, I had my fair share of season changes and felt like something was always missing. Now, being in NJ, I'm able to experience the warm days and cool nights.

So, how am I embracing it you ask? I broke out the Evergreen Candle. The fragrance smells like the holidays (I know...I'm a sick person - who wants the holidays to come so soon???) and makes me want to COOK!!!! 



Right now, I have a few windows open and I've got an artichoke dip baking in the oven. It smells delicious! Next, I'm running to the store to get some free range boneless/skinless chicken breasts and I'm going to crock pot it up tonight! I got this recipe from a good friend of mine and tweaked it to make it my own. It's SO DELICIOUS!













                                                                                                                        All done!!! 



Before:

                             Waiting for food

After:                                                           Ta Daaaa!!!

Southwestern Chicken in a Crock Pot


8-10 Boneless Skinless chicken thighs or 4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
(3) 8-oz cans black beans (you can also add in a can of pinto beans as well)
(2) 8-oz cans corn
(1) 16-oz can diced tomatoes w/ green chiles
1/2 Jar Salsa Verde 
(1) 16-oz can Hominy
½ Cup Spicy Hot V8 juice
1 Tbls Cumin
1 Tbls Chili Powder
***(you can also substitute the chili powder & cumin with a packet of Taco seasoning)
2 Garlic cloves
1 Cup Chopped onion
Salt & Pepper to taste

***Add all ingredients into crock-pot and cook on high for 4 hrs, then medium low to low for another 2-4 hrs

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Catering Gig for Little League Parents

I believe this is the beginning to a strong career in catering.
Catering a 100 person Little League Beef & Beer Fundraiser

 It smells so delicious in here!  The menu you ask? Check it out below!



MENU


Main Dish
-        Roast Beef “IN” Beer on rolls
-        Sausage & Peppers
-        Vegetarian Baked Ziti

Side Dish
-        Tossed Salad w/ various dressings

Condiments
-        Horseradish
-        Parmesan Cheese
-        Dijon Mustard

I've finished searing all of the Sweet Italian Sausages.










While the sausages were searing, I was boiling ziti & setting up my storage area for the "trillion" rolls for tomorrow night's feast!




Finished chopping all of the onions & peppers, then sauteed, & joined them with the sausages. They're all ready for the stove.


Stay tuned...

THE NEXT DAY:

It went off without a hitch! I had such a great experience!!! Everyone loved the food and even went up for THIRDS! I still had food left over and didn't run out of anything. This was a great evening.



Time to replenish the food










These are the gifts I made for the Little League Board members. Tea cups with cupcakes & a cute bag of tea. Didn't forget my business card for future consideration!