Beef and Mushrooms

I bought a package of very thinly sliced steak (very, very thinly sliced) from Costco and am thinking of ways to prepare it. First up - beef and mushrooms based on Jiji's cooking lesson for beef and broccoli (click to read all about that amazing meal). 

I pretty much followed how Jiji taught us to make beef and broccoli but I did do it a little different in that I  sautéed a container of sliced mushrooms and one cubed zucchini along with a small amount of broccoli in a pan with a little oil over medium-high heat until the mushrooms were cooked and the broccoli softened; the meat is so thinly sliced that I added it to the veggies and cooked for just a couple minutes and it was done. Then I seasoned with soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, a bit of raw cane sugar, salt and pepper (all to taste like Jiji does) and I added a little hoisin sauce because I have it on hand. I drizzled a teensy bit of sesame oil overtop but didn't add sesame seeds. 

This turned out SO GOOD!! I hope I made Jiji proud haha :)

8.31.22: hawaiian quilt

8.31.21: TT - how to make cake layers

8.31.20: crochet band for face mask

8.31.19: braised short ribs

8.31.18: farmhouse projects

8.31.17: remoulade sauce

8.31.16: coconut cream filled cupcakes

Godzilla Cake

You know how I love to make cake, and I make lots of them - but nothing like this one that Mark and LeDonna made for Dave's birthday last week!! Dave and I were camping for a few days before his birthday and I was talking out loud to M and L wondering how I was going to have time to make his cake and they volunteered to make it for me - and then apparently Mark's active imagination kicked in and he came up with the idea to have a rubber Godzilla stomping thru cake. 

We ended up coming home a couple days ahead of time so I was able to assist but pretty much all I did was make 3 batches of buttercream frosting and show LeDonna how to use cake decorating bags and tips. She baked 2 9x13 cakes, one yellow and one chocolate; the chocolate one was frosted with chocolate buttercream and she piped the words on with white frosting - the letters are spaced out so it would be easier to cut the cake into pieces and set around the figurine (like he had busted up the cake on his rampage). 

The yellow cake was cut into 4 square pieces that they frosted and stacked on top of each other creating a building. We thinned some buttercream to frost the whole building with a 'crumb coat', put a skewer thru the middle of the top to help it to not tip over, and then put it in the freezer overnight (that makes it easier to frost and not get crumbs in the frosting). The next day while Dave was out for a couple hours we got everything back out from where we hid it and went about assembling the cake. LeDonna frosted the building with gray buttercream and piped on windows in white frosting, then edged along the bottom with green frosting. Set the Godzilla figure by the building, cut cake pieces and stack them around him. 

Mark nailed together a couple pieces of scrap wood to look like telephone poles, I threaded cross stitch thread thru the overhead piece resembling the telephone wires; they are held in place on either side of the cake board with duct tape, slanted to make it look like Godzilla caught the wire in his mouth and is pulling the poles down. Someone stuck a candle in his mouth and then we lit another candle placed in a piece of cake (didn't want to light the one in his mouth and melt the figurine haha!) 

I took lots of pictures to share with you, and I have to say we had a LOT of laughs putting this together! Hilarious - oh, and the cake tasted great too!

starting the building by stacking cake squares and frosting with a crumb coat

funny side story - We did this over a couple days while Dave was out. We only had 2 hours each day before he'd be back so when he drove away the 3 of us scrambled to get as much done as possible, plus hide what we had completed and washed/put away all the dishes and frosting supplies. Then the next day we repeated hahaha. He never suspected a thing :) 

8.30.22: TT rv spice cabinet

8.30.21: layered birthday cake

8.30.20: 🔥 week 35

8.30.19: card holder hack by Brooke

8.30.18: photo storage cheat sheet

8.30.17: Robert Redford cake

8.30.16: repotting plants

Tip-sy Tuesday: Elevate a Cake Mix

I found these tricks to change up a boxed cake mix on The Pioneer Woman's website, I already do a couple of these but there's some I hadn't done before (as you know, I make lots of cake so am always looking for some different ways of making them!). 

• add an extra egg. Most mixes call for three eggs, using four makes a richer-tasting and moister cake.
• replace the water called for on the package with dairy. Buttermilk adds a little bit of tang, I like to use whole milk.
• or replace the water with other liquids for added flavor. Use coffee for a deep, dark chocolate cake. or ginger ale in light and bright yellow cake. Combine with dairy to get the added fat by using 3/4 cup liquid and 1/4 cup sour cream or buttermilk.
• add a mix-in. Pioneer Woman suggests cream of coconut and shredded coconut, I often add chopped up chocolate chips (or white chips, butterscotch chips, etc.) or if you use mini chocolate chips you don't need to chop them.
• go all-citrus. Make a cake with a citrus punch by replacing the water with juice and adding lots of zest. Try orange, lemon, or lemon-lime. Add lemon and lime zest to a cake made with lemon-lime soda for the liquid. 
• Add extracts. I usually add vanilla extract, I think it helps make it taste more homemade from scratch. Any extract can enhance the flavor - try almond extract in a strawberry cake mix. 
• add pudding. Add a small box of dry pudding mix in with the cake mix - it adds additional flavor, moistness, and a denser texture. 

8.29.22: Man-day Monday: walleye sandwich

8.29.21: 🔥 week 35

8.29.20: old world sauerkraut supper

8.29.19: spiral pull-apart pizza

8.29.18: coconut rum cake

8.29.17: to do list by Brooke

8.29.16: bling your shoes!

Pallet Board Centerpiece Box

Ronda gave me a bundle of pallet wood boards like 3 years ago and I had the idea to build a box to put on the dining room table that could display different things throughout the year like flowers, candles, plants, seasonal items, etc. I bought metal clasp things and wood glue to connect the boards, and proceeded to join 2 boards together and put the project aside. 

Fast forward 3ish years and Mark was in my craft room helping me with some things and wondered what the pile of wood in the corner was - I fessed up that I had good intentions but was in over my head with how to build the thing. 

Now fast forward a few days to when he whipped out this box for me! WooHoo! It turned out 1000 times better than I imagined and there is no way it would have looked this good if I had managed to complete it hahaha. I felt better when he made the comment that it was actually quite a bit of work and was glad he could assemble it for me because I wouldn't have been able to! The boards weren't all the same size and he ended up having to rip some of them so they'd be the same thickness, and he cut some boards to make the ends and bottom of the box (I have a jigsaw but hadn't thought far enough ahead as to how I was going to make the ends or attach a bottom hahah). Thanks Mark!! 

Right now it's filled with candlesticks that are usually on the mantle and a couple small plants but as soon as I have time to go to the craft store I'm envisioning artificial hydrangeas filling up the box (cut down so the flowers are pretty much even with the top of the box, I'll update with a picture once I make that happen!

PS: if anyone actually wants to know how he built it I can ask for more details!

8.28.22: 🔥 week 35

8.28.21: computer prob, no post

8.28.20: homemade jeopardy game

8.28.19: giant whoopee pie cake

8.28.18: s'more cookies

8.28.17: hoop earrings with beads

8.28.16: steakhouse wedge salad

🔥 Around the Campfire (week 35)

Dear Campers ~

Here's a quick recap in case you missed anything at camp last week:

Posts ~

8/20: 🔥 week 34

8/21: bobble stitch baby blanket

8/22: TT random stripe generator

8/23: carrot orzotto

8/24: plum bbq sauce/spoon sweet

8/25: MSTI dish scrubber

8/26: words

What's Cooking ~

• pasta with italian sausage and mushrooms, steamed green beans
• steak, potato salad, wedge salad
• grilled thin chicken breast, pierogi with peas and tomatoes
• taco bar, spanish rice

Miscellaneous Stuff Keeping Me Busy ~

• read 'The Glass Castle' by Jeanette Wells and I'm torn on how I feel about it. The cover says it's a "remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption and a revelatory look into a family at once reply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant". It is very well written, the author is a great storyteller and I was captivated enough to read the whole thing - I definitely rooted for the children of 2 awful parents and hoped they'd rise above what they endured! One review I read sums it up for me - "a humerus, horrifying, angering, and lovingly heartbreaking story..." I'll go ⭐️⭐️⭐️ but the storytelling alone should make it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
• read 'Land of Shadows' by Rachel Howzell Hall, a crime fiction police procedural with a female homicide detective. Took me a minute to get interested in the characters but ended up liking it and can recommend if murder/mystery is your thing. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Look how ADORABLE my grandniece Georgie is!! I'm sure I'm not biased at all, I mean just look at that face hahah!! Georgia Garnett is Mickey and Kyle's baby girl born 8/8 - I cannot wait to meet her! In the meantime I'm just soaking up all the photos and videos they are sending. Yep that's a lot of exclamation points but I'm so excited! 🥰🥰🥰

That's it for this week - see you next week with more fun projects, recipes, crafts, whatever we think to make at camp :)

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor

8.27.22: roasted radishes

8.27.21: computer prob, no post

8.27.20: comeback sauce

8.27.19: TT wrapping paper holder

8.27.18: newspaper purse update

8.27.17: broccoli salad

8.27.16: Moscow Mule

8/26 ~ Words

8.26.22: charcuterie egg plate

8.26.21: marinated goat cheese w/roasted grapes

8.26.20: baked steak fries

8.26.19: giant crepe paper garland 

8.26.18: 🔥 week 34

8.26.17: a funny for the day...

8.26.16: matching game

My Sis Tried It: Dish Scrubber

Continuing with my trend of posting things that I have purchased from Amazon, I have found some thing else that I love! Let me point out again that I do not get any sort of kickback from Amazon, I am just one of those people who orders way too many things, and then tries to hide the Amazon boxes from my husband when they arrive. This one tho is super great! Almost as great as that pineapple corer/slicer I posted awhile back! This scrubber does exactly what I hoped. I had one of those regular wand style scrubbers that you put the dish soap in the handle, but for some reason it always seemed to leak. Then one day I saw this little gadget and decided to give it a try. This thing is awesome! You fill the handle just like you do the wand but in this case it is airtight and no leaking. You push the button on the end to dispense a few drops of soap, use the scrubber to clean things up and then place it wet on the provided dish. Another great thing is the price!  I love this!!

8.25.22: easy swedish meatballs

8.25.21: s'more brownie pie

8.25.20: TT - celsius to fahrenheit

8.25.19: 🔥 week 34

8.25.18: skinny margarita

8.25.17: dutch braid pig tails by Brooke

8.25.16: notebook paper frame 

Plum BBQ Sauce/Spoon Sweet

I bought a bag of plums intending to eat them fresh but they didn't taste great - so I figured if I added sugar and turned them into a simple jam they'd taste way better! And they did hahahah.

So I started making them following a recipe I found online that called for plums, water, granulated sugar and lemon juice. I chopped 10 plums into chunks (skin on, remove the pit obviously), brought to simmer in a large saucepan with a little water for a few minutes until softened. Add a cup of sugar and boil. (I'll attach a link for the full recipe below). While boiling the fruit I was googling other recipes for things to do with plums and came across one for plum barbecue sauce and since we were having pork tenderloin that night I decided to switch gears and make that instead! 

The new recipe called for 6 plums and 1/4 cup maple syrup for the sweetener but I'd already put quite a bit of sugar in the plums, so I strained approximately 6 plums worth of chunks out of the sugar water and didn't add the maple syrup when making the bbq sauce. Other than that I followed the recipe exactly. I couldn't blend it into a normal bbq textured sauce that I'd brush on the tenderloin so we had it on the side more like a dip. The flavor is great even if the texture was a little thick - that could very well have been because I slightly changed the ratio of plums and syrup! I hate when people leave bad reviews on recipes that they changed  LOL. 

Now for the second part of this post - have you ever had, or heard of, Spoon Sweets? It's a Greek dish that is like super thick jam with chunks of fruit in it and it's fantastic. We had it in Greece on top of yogurt and fell in love, I've looked at different recipes thinking I'd love to make some but just haven't got around to it yet. There's a point to this rambling - the fruit that I didn't fish out of the sugar water was still on the stove so I boiled it some more until most of the liquid was absorbed figuring I'd just have a sort of jam like result, but it turned into the amazing texture of spoon sweet! I accidentally made spoon sweet and was thrilled. Bonus!!! 

click here for the easy plum jam recipe found at It's Not Complicated 

click here for the plum barbecue sauce recipe found at food.com

8.24.22: nutter butter trifle

8.24.21: TT - air travel water bottle

8.24.20: amish friendship bread, part 2

8.24.19: aperol spritz

8.24.18: eek - spiders! (and removing them)

8.24.17: apple pudding (cake)

8.24.16: banana muffins

I saw this recipe on BHG.com and thought I'd try something different - we love orzo and risotto so cooking the orzo like you would risotto was interesting to me. I didn't even know they sold carrot juice but sure enough, our grocery store had it, they didn't have shredded carrots tho and I'm lazy so I bought skinny matchstick carrots. Pretty much followed the recipe other than (1) I was texting with the family and slightly burned some of the orzo hahah (2) didn't add lemon zest (just a splash of lemon juice) or mint leaves. 

We really liked this recipe (even burned it tasted great), it wasn't as labor intensive as making risotto which was nice, and it tasted good cold the next morning for breakfast. I'll definitely make this again!

Better Homes & Gardens

Carrot Orzotto

Fast-cookoing orzo and a savory carrot juice blend give you the creamy goodness of risotto in a fraction of the time.

By Hali Bey Ramdene 

 

Published on February 10, 2015

Total Time:

 

30 mins

Ingredients

• 2 cup carrot juice

• 1 14.5 ounce can chicken broth (1 3/4 cups)

• 2 tablespoon butter

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 10 ounce dried orzo pasta (1 1/2 cups)

• 1 cup purchased shredded carrots

• ½ cup water

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• ½ lemon, zested and juiced (1 teaspoon zest and 1 1/2 tablespoons juice)

• ½ cup crumbled feta cheese

• Mint leaves

• Cracked black pepper

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan heat carrot juice and chicken broth over medium-low heat; cover to keep warm. Meanwhile, in a large skillet heat butter and oil over medium heat until melted. Add orzo; cook and stir 3 to 5 minutes or until orzo is golden brown. Stir in carrots. Add about 1 cup of the hot broth mixture to the orzo. Stir until absorbed. Continue adding broth mixture, 1 cup at a time, stirring until just absorbed. Cook until orzo is tender. Remove from heat. Slowly stir in up to 1/2 cup water until creamy. Stir in salt, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Top with feta, mint, and pepper. Serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts 

              

calories302
total fat 10g
saturated fat 5g
cholesterol 23mg
sodium 555mg
total carbohydrate 45g
total sugars 6g
protein 9g
vitamin c 8.7mg
calcium 96mg
iron 2.2mg
potassium 371mg
folate, total 121.1mcg
vitamin b-12 0.2mcg
vitamin b-6 0.3mg

recipe found here (I copied and pasted directly from BHG)

8.23.22: TT culinary torch

8.23.21: columbia 1905 salad

8.23.20: 🔥 week 34

8.23.19: sausage stuffed dates

8.23.18: freezing tomatoes 

8.23.17: buckeyes

8.23.16: how to baste eggs

Tip-sy Tuesday: Random Stripe Generator

The crocheted blanket I made for baby Georgia (click here for that post) used 7 different colored yarns and I didn't want to have them be in a recurring pattern; the site that had the stitch instructions said she made her stripes random by just reaching into her bag to blindly select a color for each different row, but I didn't like that idea so I used the free 'random stripe generator' found here  at biscuits and jam. You plug in how many different colors and how many rows and it generates the random rows - best part is if you don't like how it looks you just keep refreshing the page and it changes the random rows. I went thru probably 25 different examples before selecting one that I liked - maybe not necessary to 'plan' randomness LOL but it was fun and I liked knowing what the 'random' pattern was going to look like before starting.

8.22.22: baked meatballs

8.22.21: 🔥 week 34

8.22.20: amish friendship bread

8.22.19: MSIH: zucchini pizza boats

8.22.18: buckeye brownie cookies

8.22.17: diy chip clip by Brooke

8.22.16: directional sign

Bobble Stitch Crochet with Flannel Baby Blanket

I made this blanket for my grandniece Georgia (my first grand and I'm so excited! I'm 'Grant Jill' now!!!), it looks complicated but the pattern is not hard - it's just the changing of the yarn every couple of rows that's a little time-sucking. Actually, changing colors is easy, it's the weaving in of all the ends that isn't very fun hahaha. But it's a baby blanket and not very big (about 36" square) so it didn't take too long to finish burying the loose ends. 

I followed the pattern for the bobble stitch crochet found here at mooglyblog.com  but there are lots of free patterns for this stitch online. 

Once I had the crochet top finished I cut a square of pre-washed flannel about an inch bigger than the crochet square, turn under the edges about 1/2" to fit the crochet part, and sewed them together using my sewing machine. I read a tip to make a small sample of the crochet pattern and experiment sewing it to a small piece of flannel to make sure the machine wasn't going to catch - so I did, and it didn't. I sewed on the flannel side with the crochet part underneath and the yarn didn't catch or pull on the machine feeder dogs. 

changing colors for every row = lots of loose ends!

I weave in the ends using a large plastic needle or a small skinny crochet hook

the reverse side of the bobble stitch, in case you
don't want to add a flannel lining/back

that face!!! 😂

8.21.22: 🔥 week 34

8.21.21: chocolate peanut butter layered pie

8.21.20: cricut baby onesies 

8.21.19: crustless mini quiche

8.21.18: t-shirt rag quilt

8.21.17: ceiling light decoration

8.21.16: stuffed cabbage rolls. 

🔥 Around the Campfire (week 34)

Dear Campers ~

Here's a quick recap in case you missed anything at camp last week:

Posts ~

8/13: 🔥 week 33

8/14: how to sew a pillowcase

8/15: tt opening clamshell packaging

8/16: chocolate caramel cookies

8/17: tricolore salad with oranges

8/18: msti air-fryer drumsticks

8/19: words

What's Cooking ~

• salmon, couscous, roasted green beans
• chicken potpies, green salad
• pork chops, sweet potatoes, roasted asparagus
• broccoli stuffed chicken breasts, carrot orzotto (recipe this week!), wilted spinach

That's it for this week - see you at camp next week for more fun projects, crafts, recipes, and whatever else we can think of to make! Bye :)

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor 

8.20.22: ambassador shirley temple

8.20.21: banana cream pudding pie

8.20.20: sushi tower

8.20.18: Marcia's green chili frittata

8.20.17: potato squash gratin

8.20.16: chopped competition

8/19 ~ Words

 

8.19.22: snackle box

8.19.21: personalized mimosa glasses

8.19.20: gingersnaps

8.19.19: shadow box memory collage

8.19.18: 🔥 week 33

8.19.17: twisted frozen grapes

MSTI: Air-Fryer Drumsticks

OK, this one is not a recipe, but let me start with a question: 

Am I the only one who didn’t know you could make air-fried chicken drumsticks?

I have a bunch of packages of drumsticks from Costco that I have had no idea what to do with. Most likely I bought them because they were cheap, not because I actually have a love for an abundance of chicken drumstick packages. Anyway- I was short on time and looking for a dinner and saw the same packages of chicken that have been in the freezer for months. I then started looking for ways to cook them. I happened to google across “easy air fried chicken drumsticks”. The “recipe” was nothing which was right up my alley.  Lay in the basket, drizzle with oil, and season.  I got out my trusty creole and blackening seasoning that I use for my fish, sprayed with cooking  spray (because I absolutely hate using oil) and seasoned.  7 minutes on one side at 400, rotated and cooked 7 more. VOILA! They were delicious. Like legit delicious. The skin got crispy, the inside still juicy, just really great! 

Lucky for me I have 17 packages left to make for future dinners. 

8.18.22: chicken breast in cream sauce

8.18.21: oreo rice krispie treats

8.18.20: tip-sy tuesday: measuring sticky ingredients

8.18.19: 🔥 week 33

8.18.18: scrambled eggs and toast 'chick'

8.18.17: school hairstyle by Brooke

8.18.16: 30 day ab challenge 

Tricolore Salad with Oranges

from Barefoot Contessa, cook like a pro 2018

1 cup shallots, peeled, thinly sliced in rings and separated (2 to 4 shallots)
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1 large radicchio, halved, cored, and shredded like slaw (12 oz.)
1 large endive, halved lengthwise, cored, and sliced crosswise 1/2 inch thick (8 oz)
3 ounces baby arugula
4 navel oranges, peeled and sliced in 1/4 inch thick half rounds
2/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 to 3 lemons)
1/2 t. Dijon mustard
kosher salt and black pepper
1/2 cup good olive oil

Place the shallots in a small shallow bowl and pour the vinegar over them. Set aside for 10 minutes to macerate.

In a large shallow serving bowl, combine the radicchio, endive, arugula, oranges, and olives. Lift the shallots from the vinegar with a slotted spoon, sprinkle them on the salad, and toss lightly (discard the vinegar).

In a 1-cup glass measuring cup, whisk together the lemon juice, mustard, 1 t. salt, and 1/2 t. pepper. While whisking, slowly add the olive oil. Pour enough of the vinaigrette over the salad to moisten well. Sprinkle with one more teaspoon salt, toss well, and taste for seasonings. Serve at room temperature.

my notes: I skipped the shallot step, replaced endive with green leaf lettuce because I don't like endive, segmented the oranges instead of slicing into rounds, and omitted the olives because I didn't have them and forgot to buy! This is a great salad - Ina says it's great in the winter with roast chicken, we like this any ol' time.

8.17.22: yard sign

8.17.21: tip-sy tuesday - fruit filled crescent rolls  

8.17.20: painted letters and an engagement cake

8.17.19: grape and broccoli salad

8.17.18: morse code bracelets 

8.17.17: caprese salad (tomato mozzarella salad)

8.17.16: chocolate peanut butter layered dessert

Chocolate Caramel Cookies

I thought I'd posted this easy cookie idea in the past but I can't find it so when I made them twice in the past week I took pictures so I can tell you what I did (also so I'll remember how to make them the next time I go looking for the post!). I start with a Betty Crocker Double Chocolate Chunk cookie mix, mix according to package directions - doctor it by adding a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and a pinch of coarse salt.

2 notes: (1) the second time I made these I forgot to add salt to the dough, so I sprinkled a tiny bit on top of the caramel that I put into the center of the cookie before encasing it. (2) I use unsalted butter in the mix, if you are using salted butter I probably wouldn't add additional salt. 

Cut 11 soft caramels in half (Werther's work really good when stuffing cookies); scoop out the dough using a medium scoop - I scoop them all out onto a piece of parchment paper first before rolling over the caramels; place 1/2 of a caramel into the center of each dough ball and push the dough over the caramel completely covering it. Refrigerate for a couple hours. Bake according to package directions and cool completely on a wire rack - some of the caramel might come out a little bit, if you just let them set on the rack until they are cool the caramel firms up and it won't be messy. 

I get 21 cookies using my medium scoop. 

8.16.22: TT things to toss

8.16.21: personalized drink cups

8.16.20: 🔥week 33

8.16.19: tuna avocado egg salad

8.16.18: sloppy joes

8.16.17: s'more pie

8.16.16: mashed cauliflower