Tip-sy Tuesday: hidden bank

This post is from Brooke - I love this idea, although maybe she shouldn't share this because now everyone will know where she hides her car money LOL!

aunt jill says today is tipsy tuesday - and i have a tip for you! i personally don’t like to keep a lot of cash on me or take any cash into school with me just in case i lose my wallet 😂( don’t tell my mom) so i use an empty gum container and put money in it and store it in there!

Shamrock Garland

I've been sick for a few days and haven't felt like being crafty - so hope you don't mind a repeat post! Here's an easy St. Patty's day craft I originally posted 3/16 you can whip out in no time:

Brooke must have been busy this week, I didn't get any of her awesome kid craft videos to share with you today...so instead I've decided to channel her and come up with my own craft that I think she'll approve of - naturally by asking myself "what would Brooke do?" I had to use the hot glue gun! And yep I burned my thumb - she seems to be better at being careful than I am!

(2020 tip: I've said it before but here's a reminder - have a bowl of ice water sitting on your work station when using the hot glue gun. If - and when, if you're like me - you get burned, immediately stick your hand in the ice water. Trust me, it helps)

I had a left over package of foam shamrocks from making the wreath the other day (see here for that project) and some twine, and of course the hot glue and thought a quick garland to hang from a door would be cute.

That is literally all I did, glued shamrocks back to back (making sure the stems matched up) every few inches on a long piece of twine. Stuck up one of those little Command removable hook things to the top of the door and looped the top of the garland string around it.

Around the Campfire 🔥 (week 10)

Dear Campers ~

A quick recap incase you missed anything at camp last week:

Posts ~
3/1: 🔥 week 9
3/2: breaded and baked eggplant
3/3: TT: copycat old bay seasoning
3/4: baked mushrooms
3/5: TBT: chipped beef on toast/goldenrod update
3/6: paper masks
3/7: framed St. Patrick's day art

What's cooking ~

• usually I try to give you some weekly menu ideas, but I've been sick all week and the only 'cooking' has been done by Dave. Which is to say we had pot pies, take out chicken, he made himself lamb chops and I ate mashed potatoes, deli mac and cheese, etc...let's just say it wasn't a low-calorie or low-carb week! 

Miscellaneous things keeping me busy while I laid in bed all week:

• So pretty much all I did this week is read books! And I read a bunch...6 books in 6 days. 

1. 'Criss Cross' by James Patterson (#27 in his Alex Cross series) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I always like Alex Cross and this one is no exception. Didn't like the end but overall enjoyed the read. 
2. 'Banana Cream Pie Murder', 'Raspberry Danish Murder', and 'Chocolate Cream Pie Murder' all by Joanne Fluke. I'll give them all a ⭐️⭐️⭐️ and maybe 1/2 for being light and fluffy 'murder'  books that I've just realized are basically Hallmark Channel movies waiting to happen. I've read a bunch of these in the past, mostly because she gives recipes along with clues haha. They are fine and not at all scary, very definitely the opposite of most of the thriller books I read. If you like baking, eating, and/or Hallmark movies then you'll probably like these 😉
3. 'Dead Until Dark' and 'Living Dead in Dallas' by Charlaine Harris. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ The first 2 in a series of vampire books that the show "True Blood" is based on. They are not very good, not gonna lie, not sure why they are so popular that they inspired multiple seasons of the HBO show (which I didn't watch, maybe it's very loosely based on the books!). Even tho the whole time I'm reading them I'm thinking how dumb they are, I still kept reading and borrowing more from the library! Kind of like reading those awful 50 Shades books, they're stupid but I just kept reading LOL. I currently have #3 on hold from the library 🤦‍♀️😂

Thanks Marky for the laugh!

Hope you had a good week and that you are staying healthy! This is like the 3rd time I've been sick this winter and I'm over it - and yes, I wash my hands and use hand sanitizer! Sigh - back to bed to read another book (the one good thing about sick days hahaha). Check back often to see what I decide to make once I'm back on my feet - in the meantime I have some recipes I've been saving and maybe I'll do a repeat or two so I'll still be posting!

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor and lone person keeping Kleenex in business

Framed Art for St. Patrick's Day

This is a repost from March '16, too cute and easy to not re-share in case you're looking for some St. Patty day decor ~

Here's a couple quick little project for St. Patrick's Day using frames I found at a dollar store:

The first one is simply a print out from here that I just stuck in an 8x10 frame. I didn't take the best picture of this - it's really cute in person!

Next is a 3.5 x 5 inch piece of cardstock with the word "LUCK" cut out of glittery gold paper glued on it. Use any color paper and cardstock you like. I used a stencil to shape the letters, you can free hand or print templates out if you prefer. Then I put it into a 3.5x5 frame.

This shamrock and butterfly card takes a couple minutes longer to put together but I think it's super cute and if you have a small heart shape punch it is a simple thing to make. I got the idea here.

you need: 

• 3.5 x 5 inch cardstock
• 12 mini hearts cut out of another color cardstock
• glue
• marker

Place the hearts on the card so you have an idea where you want them, then glue in place. To make the shamrocks put 2 hearts sideways so the bottoms are touching then put a third heart straight up on top of them. 

After gluing everything in place draw the stems on the shamrocks, a dashed line to indicate the butterfly flying away from the 3rd heart and the butterfly antennae. Put in a frame.

Paper Masks (and feather heaven)

These paper masks are very easy and quick to make - just google a free mask template, cut out of  cardstock and decorate to your hearts content. Fun for Mardi Gras last week but this is a super cute craft for any time - and a perfect kid craft! I glued on feathers and sequins, then made other lines and decorating with glue and glitter. So easy. So fun. So silly. What's not to love about this one?

I just used these as table decorations, but if you punched a little hole on either side and added a thin elastic cord you could totally wear these. I'm also thinking for a future party it'd be fun to cut out a bunch of masks and set out a table of decorations and let everyone design their own - wonder if I can get the guys to join in?!

On a side note that has nothing to do with making masks:  I have a big bag of feathers that I got when I went with Dave to a fishing store and I was inspired by all the feathers they had for tying flies. When I was trying to pick out what I thought I could use for crafting the owner asked what I was going to make and said "I hope you're making hair clips?" I asked why, and he said because back when that was a thing he used to go to hair shows and sell feathers - and has tubs and tubs of leftovers. I might have started breathing quicker and had slight heart palpitations and asked if I could see his tubs of feathers? Please? He brought out a couple huge rubbermaid totes full and said for me to have at it. I. Was. In. Feather. Heaven!!! I literally sat on the floor and sorted feathers while Dave waited for me hahahahah. The owner said I can come back anytime for more. YAY!!! Best (feathery) day ever.

...and while trying to find the right little feathers for this mask project I realized that there is no reason for these to be such a jumbled mess and one thing led to another and next thing you know I'm organizing feathers! I put them together by color or type, put in smaller ziplock bags making sure they are laying flat and not all kinked up, then 'filed' them away in a folder. Nope, pretty sure I don't have OCD. Pretty sure...

PS: this is only a handful of all the feathers I got that day at the fishing store!

TBT: update to Goldenrod

Today's 'throw back Thursday' is an update to last week's post about my Grandma's old cookbook and Dave's mom making 'goldenrod' (click here to see that post); my mom sent me a couple more versions of  SOS (or chipped beef on toast, or goldenrod, or whatever you call it at your house!)...here's what mom has to add:

Grandmas version was simply milk thickened with flour slurry and adding jarred chipped beef cut up. I always add butter at the end cause I like butter in everything. Grandma also made a version with substituting the chipped beef with a can of tuna, was really pretty good. She used it over toast. 
I still have the SOS version when I feel like comfort food. Some people have it with hamburger.

I found this image online at buddig.com - the meat we use for chipped beef on toast looks like this, comes in a small package in the lunchmeat section. I see online that other people use dried beef in a jar but I have no idea what that is like so can't comment. Click here for a bunch of other recipes using this packaged meat (the pinwheel appetizers are easy and yummy, jazz them up by adding a slice of pickle or green onion before rolling). 

Baked Mushrooms

Baked mushrooms. Yuuuuummmmm. I stumbled on this idea and ran with it - they are a new personal favorite of ours. Perfect side with steak, but I can just eat a bowl of these on their own! Not sure why I've never thought to roast mushrooms before, I roast just about every other veggie - and I love mushrooms... shoulda been a no-brainer, but better late then never - we eat these a lot!

Preheat oven to 375'; line a baking sheet with foil or parchment, or spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Toss 1 pound sliced or halved mushrooms with a drizzle of olive oil, coarse salt and pepper, 1 teaspoon thyme, 1/4 cup grated parmesan; sprinkle with a little lemon juice (I don't know how much I use, maybe 1 Tablespoon) and toss again so everything is evenly incorporated. Spread out on the baking sheet in an individual layer.

Bake for 15 minutes, turning occasionally, under brown and tender. At about the halfway mark there will be a lot of liquid in the pan, I carefully remove the baking sheet from the oven and pour off what liquid I can without spilling the mushrooms; return to oven until done. If you cook them long enough maybe the liquid will evaporate but I've never waited that long. 

Tip-sy Tuesday: Copycat Old Bay Seasoning

Back in 10/16 I made a copycat version of Old Bay Seasoning that wasn't exactly right but still tasted good; apparently I don't use Old Bay very often because here we are 3.5 years later and I'm just now needing to make more for my bloody mary rim salt (I'll post that soon!) - decided to try a different recipe this time and found this one from The Pioneer Woman; it's closer to Old Bay than my old version so thought I'd give you an updated recipe:

Combine in a small bowl:

1 T. celery salt
2 t. ground bay leaves (I ground whole dried bay leaves in a small food processor)
2 t. smoked paprika
1 1/2 t. pepper
1 t. dry mustard
1/4 t. allspice
1/4 t. cayenne
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of ginger

from The Pioneer Woman, click here for original post

The old recipe is to combine the following in a small bowl:

• 2 tablespoons celery salt
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 pinch dry mustard
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg

• 1 pinch ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground cardamom
• 1 pinch ground allspice
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 1 pinch ground ginger

Breaded and Baked Eggplant

Our camping neighbor asked if we wanted an eggplant...

....I hesitated for a few seconds going "uuuhhhmmmm..." not being able to think of a nice way of declining or saying 'yuck' because I've never met an eggplant that I liked! I did admit to her however that I don't really know what to do with eggplant, I've never been a big fan so I never cook it. Dave jumped in with "eggplant parmigiana - yes!" so I thanked her and took the eggplant (knowing I wasn't cooking eggplant parmigiana while camping). She gave me a couple ideas how she cooks it - halve it the long way, rub with oil, grill face down; or cube in a pan with oil and salt - then I googled for additional ideas. Came across a bunch of recipes for breaded and baked slices and decided to give that a try...oh my...gotta say that I now love eggplant prepared this way and have even bought more since then! I had to go over to her camper the next morning gushing about how great this turned out and thanks to her I'm now an eggplant convert.

How 'bout you? An eggplant fan? Do you have other ways for me to try making it? Don't say 'eggplant parmigiana' or I'll think Dave is paying you to tell me that ;)

Ingredients:

• eggplant
• 6 T. unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup breadcrumbs, panko breadcrumbs, or cracker crumbs 
• 1/4 cup parmesan
• 1/2 t. Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste

Trim the ends of the eggplant, peel if you want (it's fine to eat with skin on, whatever you prefer). Slice eggplant into rounds about 1/2" thick. Put the slices on a paper towel or baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and let sit for a few minutes to release some of the moisture from the eggplant (which helps the eggplant get crispy when baking).

Melt butter in a small bowl. In another bowl mix together breadcrumbs, parmesan, and spices. Brush both sides of an eggplant slice with butter, then dip in breadcrumb mixture to coat. Place on foil or parchment paper lined baking sheet, repeat with remaining slices. Bake in 400' oven for 15 minutes, then flip each slice and bake another 5 minutes until golden brown and crispy.

*note: the first time I made these I used Ritz cracker crumbs I found at the grocery store, since then I've used Panko - both are delish. Also, you can dip the slices straight into the butter and save the brushing it on if you prefer.  One more thing - this is really good served with a side of marinara - yep, sort of like eggplant parmigiana hahahaha.

Around the Campfire 🔥 (week 9)

Dear Campers ~

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

Posts ~
2/23: 🔥(week 8)
2/24: St. Patrick's flower wreath
2/25: tip-sy Tuesday: organizing curly ribbon
2/26: my sis is hungry: balsamic chicken with peppers
2/27: TBT: new/old cookbook and goldenrod
2/28: dryer sponges
2/29: homemade bloody mary mix

What's Cooking ~

• grilled marinated chicken thighs, veggie skewers, orzo with fresh tomatoes
• baked chimichangas (recipe to follow)
• grilled pork chops, chopped salad, roasted green beans
• baked salmon, cauliflower rice, roasted broccoli
• steak, wedge salad

Miscellaneous stuff keeping me busy ~

• read "Ali Cross" by James Patterson, quick read and I didn't realize until halfway thru that it's meant to be a younger reader book - didn't matter tho, I enjoyed it. I love his "Alex Cross" series, this one is about Alex's youngest kid doing an investigation of his own. I probably liked it even more after coming off last week's boring Goldfinch haha, I read this in one day! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Read "MatchUp" which is like the book I read a month ago (FaceOff), a collection of thriller stories by paired up authors. I didn't like FaceOff very much but MatchUp had mostly good stories and I read thru them really quickly ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
• also read "Things My Son Needs to Know about the World" by Fredrik Backman and enjoyed it - it's a funny heartwarming collection of stories he's written to his newborn son. Really cute ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hope you had a great week - check back and see more fun projects, recipes, whatever I can think of to make at camp next week!

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor who apparently had too much time on her hands this week and read 3 books!