Perfectly Peeled Hard Boiled Eggs (re-run)

I forgot to schedule something to post this morning so I'm going to give you a quick re-run of how to get perfectly peeled hard boiled eggs in case you're thinking to make them for Supper Bowl Sunday. This way of boiling and cooling in ice water absolutely works to get nice pretty eggs when making deviled eggs. 

I just boiled a dozen eggs that I just bought this morning and look - every one of them is perfect!

from 2016:

I have been making hard boiled eggs for years the same way (put the eggs in a pan, fill with water, bring to a boil for 5 minutes, turn off heat and cover, let rest in hot water for 20 minutes) and they are foolproof, perfectly done everytime. But if the eggs are too fresh then it's always a crap shoot if I could peel them easily (did you know that fresh eggs are the culprit behind difficult-to-peel hard boiled eggs? Yep!) and if I wanted pretty deviled eggs then it was such a pain hoping to get enough nice ones.  I'm making deviled eggs to take to a friends house and of course bought brand new eggs this morning...and then I saw this method with the claim that even fresh eggs will peel perfectly...well of course I'm going to try it!

Bring a pot of water to a boil and then carefully lower the eggs into the pan. Let them boil in a gentle simmer for 15 minutes. Drain; then put the hot eggs into a bowl of ice water and let cool for 5-10 minutes. And sure enough, every one of the eggs peeled super easy - I'm shocked. A couple have a sort of dent on the side (I put them on the top in this picture), not sure what that's about, but when I halve the eggs I'll just make sure to put the dented side on the bottom.

Click here to see where I found this - my new method when I need perfectly peeled hard boiled eggs!

2.10.22: taco stuffed shells

2.10.21: dessert (football) cheeseball (shoutout to Meghan and Mickey!)

2.10.20: fabric flower pins

2.10.19: 🔥week 6 (and there's a cute Valentine bookmark idea)

2.10.18: organizing food containers

2.10.17: two toned swirly frosting

2.10.16: layered jello parfait perfect for Valentine's day

Cinnamon-Sugar Pretzels

Here's a very quick and easy snack just in time for the Super Bowl party you may or may not be hosting or attending - or just a yum snack for any ol' time!

• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 t. ground cinnamon
• 1 16 oz. package small pretzel twists

In a large roasting pan, stir together oil, sugar and cinnamon. Add the pretzels; toss well to coat with the cinnamon-sugar.

Bake, uncovered, in a 300' oven for 30 minutes, stirring a couple times. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in an airtight container.

Makes 12 (1 cup) servings.

Microwave directions: In a very large bowl, stir together oil, sugar and cinnamon. Add pretzels; toss well to coat. 

Place half of the pretzel mixture in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on full power for 3 minutes, stirring every minute. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Repeat with thee remaining pretzel mixture. 

note: I mixed the oil, cinnamon and sugar together in a bowl, put the pretzels
in the big roasting pan and poured the oil mixture over top; then toss well to coat. 

recipe from a Midwest Living magazine 12/2010

2.9.22: valentine felt gnome

2.9.21: tip-sy tuesday: baking center organizing (see my sprinkle storage update here!)

2.9.20: 🔥week 6

2.9.19: monthly maintenance projects

2.9.18: colored pencil tattoos

2.9.17: sweet potato toast

2.9.16: 'bee mine' honey bear

Citrus Marinated Chicken

I've got a chicken marinade recipe that I've used for years (I posted it back in '17, click here for that one), so when Macey gave me a big bag of oranges and lemons from her tree I thought I'd change up my old recipe a little bit.

Put about 1/4 cup olive oil in a large ziplock baggie. Cut a big orange and lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the baggie. *Note: here's a little tip-sy tuesday tip on a Wednesday - hold the cut half of the orange and lemon facing up when you squeeze it and most of the seeds will stay in the fruit, or yes, you could just squeeze thru a strainer). Add a splash of soy sauce, spring or two of rosemary, and a teaspoon of thyme leaves. Mix it all up to blend, and add the chicken. Seal and refrigerate until you're ready to cook the chicken. 

Just like back in '17, I don't have a picture of what it looks like haha, all these years later and I still don't always remember to take photos! 

2.8.22: heart treat holder or bookmark

2.8.21: Valentine caterpillar by Brooke

2.8.20: double chocolate kisses cookies

2.8.19: diy: air freshener

2.8.18: make a heart-felt Valentine card

2.8.17: mini bundt brownies

2.8.16: Valentine slider box (to hold chocolates)

Tip-sy Tuesday: dust mop

I ran out of swiffer sweeper dust pad things (what are those called? sweeper dust pads? you know what I mean, right? The swiffer sweeper has holes in the top and you press the pad into the holes to keep it in place) and had the thought that I don't actually need the official pad things to dust the floors - I grabbed a microfiber cloth, wrapped it around the sweeper and pushed the fabric into the holes. Totally worked! Then I just threw the cloth in the wash for next time.

I've seen another swiffer hack putting a sock over the swiffer base and that seems like it'd work too - I was just too lazy to walk upstairs to see if Dave has any lone socks that I could dust with, the microfiber cloth was in the cabinet where the swiffer things usually are. I'll try the sock thing next time and let you know how it goes. 

2.7.22: Miss Lori's painted wood hearts 

2.7.21: 🔥 week 6

2.7.20: candy slider box

2.7.19: hide a key container

2.7.18: oatmeal chocolate cranberry cookies

2.7.17: sliding side lunge

2.7.16: "Palentine"/Valentine dinner menu

 

Crocheted Afghan/Fleece Tie Blanket Mash-up

Hmmm what to call this afghan and tie blanket throw/lap blanket? Haha I'm going with 'mash-up' - I literally sewed a crocheted afghan to a piece of fleece material, then cut a fringed edge all the way around the overhang of the fleece. Easy and pretty quick (once you have the throw part crocheted - that's also easy but will take a little bit longer!).

I crocheted the afghan using soft fluffy yarn so it would be soft and fluffy like the fleece side, in a basic single crochet stitch. It measures approx. 48 x 28". Make yours bigger or smaller, this is a totally winging it kind of project! Crochet til it's as big as you want.

Cut your fleece material so it's 5" bigger all the way around than the afghan (so add 10" of material in both directions). The extra 5 inches is to make the fringe - the fleece adds some weight and coziness, the fringe only adds fun and texture :) 

Examples: 

• my afghan is 48" long so the fleece material needs to be around 58", and mine is 28" wide so the fleece is 38" = you'd need a piece of fleece that is 58"x38" rectangle. 
• if you want to crochet a 48" square throw then your fabric should be a 58" square
• a larger throw will need a bigger piece of fabric (obviously) - you'll need to check how wide the fleece is before you start, it might only be 58 to 60 inches wide and that will be important so you know how wide you can crochet the afghan side. 

                          

Once you have the afghan crocheted and finished (weave in the ends), pin it evenly to the fleece material. Sew around the edge to join the 2 sides. I put tape on the bottom feeder of my machine so the yarn wouldn't catch, and sewed on the fleece side, just be careful where the afghan is since you can't see it'd edge. I just went slow and felt the afghan with my fingers as I was sewing to make sure it stayed in place. 

After joining the two sides, cut strips in the fleece that is overhanging the afghan. My fringe is about 1/2" but you can do larger if you want. You could knot each strip but I didn't want to feel knots so I just left it as fringe. 

2.6.22: 🔥 week 6

 2.6.21: bumblebee valentine and pickup truck by Brooke

2.6.20: alligator pear salad

2.6.19: sheet pan curried shrimp biryani

2.6.18: making a master grocery list

2.6.17: making heart artwork from dots 

2.6.16: Nana's pralines

🔥 Around the Campfire (week 6)

Dear Campers ~

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

Posts ~

1/29: 🔥 week 5

1/30: origami heart

1/31: TT chinese takeout container tip

2/1: sausage and spinach stuffed shells

2/2: salad bundles

2/3: heart mosaic

2/4: pumpkin snickerdoodle muffins

What's Cooking ~

• sausage and spinach stuffed shells, green salad bundles, crusty bread
• meatloaf, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies
• pork chops, gnocchi with peas and roasted tomatoes, chopped salad
• grilled marinated chicken, basmati rice (made with chicken stock instead of water), broccoli
• steak, stuffed portobellos, wilted spinach 

Miscellaneous stuff keeping me busy ~

• read "Paris for One and Other Stories" by Jojo Moyes, it's a light book and I enjoyed most of the stories. I don't always love short stories because they are just over too fast if I'm enjoying the characters and storyline - this one was pretty good though. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Dave put up a hummingbird feeder in our deck planter box on the kitchen patio and we have had so much fun watching them! Seriously, they are entertaining little things, full of personality (and they're mean to each other protecting the feeder!). We've been making lots of hummingbird food, click here for the simple recipe). He got a couple great pics of them:

That's it for this week, hope to see you next week for more projects, crafts, recipes, whatever I can think of to make at camp! Bye!

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor 

2.5.22: wine and design (on a dollar store budget)

2.5.21: valentines wreath by Brooke

2.5.20: baked pork chops

2.5.19: heart shaped cork trivet

2.5.18: paracord camera wrist strap

2.5.17: crock pot mac and cheese

2.5.16: valentine poppers

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Muffins

This recipe for pumpkin snickerdoodle muffins came in an email from mels kitchen cafe and when I saw 'snickerdoodle' I knew I was going to make them immediately! I followed the recipe exactly, the only change I'll make next time is to add additional cinnamon - in my opinion they just needed a bit more spice. Otherwise these are really good. The streusel on top was crunchier the first day I baked them, then became softer the next day which doesn't really make them any less delicious, it's just a texture thing that changes. 

I made these Wednesday and they are still really moist this morning, I just stored them on the counter in a covered container. It made 16 just like the recipe says. 

For the muffins:

• 15-ounce can canned pumpkin 
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (or melted butter, I used oil)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (or you can use whole wheat)
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Snickerdoodle Streusel:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed

• Preheat oven to 350'. Line muffin tins with paper liners (this recipe makes about 16 muffins). 
• For the muffins, in a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, granulated sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla until well-mixed.
• Add the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until just combined and no dry streaks remain.
• For the streusel, in a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add the butter cubes and cut in with a pastry blender, two knives, or a fork, until the mixture is evenly combined and crumbly. 
• Scoop the muffin batter into the prepared liner, filling the muffin cups about 2/3 full.
• Divide streusel evenly over the muffin batter (about 1 tablespoon streusel per muffin, give or take). Bake the muffins for 18-25 minutes until the tops spring back lightly to the touch. Remove from the muffin tin and let cool completely on a cooling rack.
  
  

  2.4.22: sprinkle racks

  2.4.20: tip-sy tuesday: messy lily pollen

  2.4.19: man-day monday

  2.4.18: last minute super bowl ideas

  2.4.17: super bowl party games

  2.4.16: super bowl party planner
  

  
  

  
  
  
  

Mosaic From the Heart

Dave bought me one of these beautiful mosaic hearts made by a local friend in Michigan and it's so different, unique, and creative that I wanted to share her with you. This isn't my exact one, I took a picture from her Etsy site of a similar one, each is a handmade original piece of art - they all have different materials such as mosaic tiles, fabric, rhinestones, flat back pearls, beads, chain, wood...you should see how many different ones she has on her site. And I'm pretty sure Dave said that she will make custom ones if you have special materials, colors, patterns, etc. that you want included. Isn't it pretty? So creative!

click here to go to her Etsy site (or type in mosaicsfromtheheart in the Etsy search bar) and check them out. 

2.3.22: slow cooker crack chicken

2.3.21: valentine layered cookies 

2.3.20: doctored up brownies

2.3.19: 🔥week 5

2.3.18: football toss game

2.3.17: root beer bbq pulled pork

2.3.16: cookie bites

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Salad Bundles

I made these to go with the stuffed shells for Sunday Supper last weekend, they were inspired by a dinner we went to in Long Beach years ago for the Grand Prix and it's been in my idea file since. It's just something a little different for serving salad - wrapping mixed greens in a zucchini ribbon. 

I thinly sliced the zucchini lengthwise using my vegetable peeler, laid out a couple overlapping pieces on my cutting board and topped with a bundle of greens at one end and roll up in the zucchini. Secure with a toothpick.

To serve the salad I stacked the bundles on one side of a platter, forgot to take a picture but I put a bowl of homemade croutons on the other side; also had small bowls of blue cheese crumbles and dried cranberries that everyone could add if they liked, and instead of making dressing I used Brianna's blush wine vinaigrette.

There were  a couple bundles left over so I put them in a plastic baggie and we had them at dinner the next night, I found when I removed the toothpick they stayed rolled up (unlike when I made them fresh) so next time if I don't want to leave the toothpick in when serving I know I can make them the day before and remove the toothpick before serving. 

2.2.22: dry ranch seasoning mix

2/2/21: tip-sy tuesday room temp butter tip 

2.2.20: 🔥week 5

2.2.19: groundhog day card or decoration

2.2.18: super bowl games

2.2.17: preserved lemons

2.2.16: organizing wrapping and tissue paper

Sausage and Spinach Stuffed Pasta Shells

I made these for Sunday Supper last weekend and they were a big hit. They're so good that when I told Dave I was going to make another batch on Monday to take to friends he replied 'I'd rather you made them for us and put in the freezer for later' hahaha. So I did both of those things - 1/2 for friends, 1/2 for a freezer meal.

These are sooooo easy, and you can change up the filling if you want. I used a recipe I found here as inspiration with the addition of cooked Italian sausage crumbles and cooked spinach - you could just do the cheese filling if you prefer no meat, or do cheese and spinach... you have options. 

I boiled an entire box of jumbo pasta shells which is way too many - another reason I made a second batch of filling so I could use up the shells. First round I made 2 pans with a total of 43 filled shells, second batch I made an additional 24. 

Here is the filling for the first batch making around 40 shells:

• jumbo pasta shells
• 20 oz. ricotta (1 and 1/2 (15 oz) containers
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella, divided
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 2 eggs
• 2 t. Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper
• 1 and 1/2 jars pasta sauce (I used Ragu chunky traditional)
• 3/4 lb. Italian sausage (I used mild but hot would be good too), cooked and crumbled
• 8 oz. frozen spinach, thawed

To make around 24 shells just reduce the amounts of above ingredients - note I had leftover filling so you can reduce these amounts further if you want, but here's what I did:

• 15 oz. ricotta
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 cup parmesan
• 1 egg
• 2 t. Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper
• 1 jar pasta sauce
• 1/2 lb. Italian sausage, cooked and crumbled
• 5 oz. frozen spinach, thawed

Preheat oven to 375'. Spray a 13x9" baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Boil the pasta shells until they are cooked enough to be pliable but not done all the way, about 10 minutes.  They'll cook more when you bake the shells. 

Squeeze out as much liquid as possible from the spinach, I press it between my palms and then blot it with paper towels so it's very dry.

Combine ricotta, three-quarters of the mozzarella, parmesan, egg, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the cooked sausage crumbles and spinach. 

Put a layer of pasta sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. Fill the shells and place on top of the sauce then drizzle the rest of the sauce over top. Sprinkle with the remaining shredded mozzarella. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes, uncover and bake another 10 minutes until the shells are hot and the cheese is melted and slightly browned. 

NOTE: you can assemble these ahead of time, cover and refrigerate until you're ready to bake, add a couple more minutes baking time since they'll be baking from cold. You can also freeze them, bake them from frozen and add 30 minutes onto the baking time. 

cheese filling without sausage or spinach

squeeze and blot as much liquid as possible from the spinach

cook sausage in a pan until no longer pink, break into crumbles

I got this text from Janis after they had the shells for dinner: 

Oh wow!  A 10!  I knew it would be.  We could not stop eating them.  They are addictive!  Yummy!  Thank you so much. It was wonderful not to cook an entire meal.  I just made a salad and they paired perfectly.  Many thanks!  

2.1.22: TT heart shaped cake

2.1.21: pleated paper heart

2.1.20: Miss Lori's winter wreath

2.1.19: Jen's baby poop party dip

2.1.18: squat challenge

2.1.17: triple berry muffins

2.1.16: repurposed frame