Saturday, August 19, 2023

8/19 ~ Words

 


8.19.22: snackle box

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Friday, August 18, 2023

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. 






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Thursday, August 17, 2023

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

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Wednesday, August 16, 2023

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


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Tuesday, August 15, 2023

Tip-sy Tuesday: opening clamshell packaging

This tip is from postfun.com: That hard clamshell packaging is almost frustrating enough to make not buying something worth it. Almost. Next time, skip almost cutting yourself with scissors or scratching cup your fingers and use a can opener to open the package.

I tried this idea and sure enough, it does work - but not easily. It totally mangled and chewed up the edges so if I wanted to return whatever was in the clamshell packaging it wasn't going to be pretty haha. But it works and was an interesting experiment! 

By the way - if you have a can opener that is difficult to use (like turns really hard) my favorite is by Swing-A-Way, I've had good luck with them and they're easy to crank. Just fyi. 


8.15.22: baked walleye





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Monday, August 14, 2023

How to Sew a Pillowcase

When cleaning out my mom's house we found an old sheet that she had saved of our brothers - Jenny had the idea to make pillowcases out of it and I loved that idea. I've never made a pillowcase so of course spent way too much time watching youtube videos before remembering it's just a rectangle and get making one already hahaha. 

The sheet is 64"wide x 95"long and the pattern runs across the width. I wanted the pattern to be horizontal on the pillowcase so I had 64" max to work with - standard pillowcases are approx 20x30 with about a 4" hem on the open end but I didn't have that much fabric so my hem is only about 2". There are lots of videos showing how to do special hems or cuffs but short of sewing on additional fabric I couldn't do anything special. 

For each pillowcase I cut a rectangle 64" x 21 1/2" figuring on a roughly 1/2 inch seam for the sides. Fold in half with right sides together and sew the long ends together. I made a second seam using a zigzag stitch along the raw edge to help it not ravel. Fold the open end back 2" and iron. Unfold and fold the raw edge under about 1/4" and iron, folding the edge under and then folding again will help keep the raw edge from unraveling. Sew the hem close to the folded edge, Then again about 1/4" from the first seam. 

Turn right side out, poke the corners from the inside to get them fully turned. Iron so it's nice and sharp and you're done. Easy!

If you have more material to work with you can make a deeper hem/cuff or endlessly watch videos to see how to do some different cuffs!


1/2" seam where the pin is above

and a zigzag seam along the raw edge (the pin is pointing at it in the above pic)


2 seams to hem the open end (where you'll insert the pillow)




it also works as a cover for the back of my office chair. the pattern is going
the 'wrong' way but it's still cute and I enjoy seeing it every day while working!

8.14.22: 🔥 week 33

8/14.21: buffalo dip




8.14.17: make a personalized shopping bag

8.14.16: quebec chicken



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Sunday, August 13, 2023

🔥 Around the Campfire (week 33)

Dear Campers ~

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

Posts ~

8/6: 🔥 week 32

8/7: baby play ring

8/8: TT herb flowers

8/9: bacon and boursin stuffed peppers

8/10: shortcut chicken pot pie

8/11: MSTI coffee chiller update

8/12: words

Super short recap this week, we are up north camping and I'm waiting for friends to come over for lunch (burgers, bean and corn salad, potato salad) and I'm out of time to share anything else today. See you next week for more recipes, crafts, projects, whatever I can think of to make (or get other people to make for me!) at camp. Bye :)

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor 

PS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SIS! 



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Saturday, August 12, 2023

8/12 ~ Words





8.12.22: candied almonds

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Friday, August 11, 2023

My Sister Tried It: Coffee Chiller Update

If you have been reading any of my past posts you might remember I discovered the most amazing life changing thing and posted about it. It was a fantastic coffee chiller. Here is the gist: you put water in the plastic outer chamber, screw it into a metal inner changer and freeze it. You then can brew keurig coffee right into it,, leave it sit for 30 Seconds and pour your chilled coffee right into a glass. Voila! Cold coffee at home in seconds! 

I loved this so much and enjoyed happily for the last couple months.. and then.. something terrible happened. 

The outer plastic cracked. Brooke thought perhaps I filled the water too full so it co I’lld take it when it expanded? Good theory and it’s possible?  I then went and re read more Amazon reviews. Turns out I am not the only one this happened to!! Turns out I should have read more thoroughly before I purchased. That brings us to today and this post. I did some research and have found this same type of chiller but metal!! Tried it today and worked just the same but no plastic!! Anyway- just wanted to post an update in case anyone else likes cold coffee like I do! Give it a try! 



8.11.20: TT - brownie liners
8.11.18: boozy bears (gummy bears soaked in vodka!)
8.11.16: citrus pesto


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Thursday, August 10, 2023

Shortcut Chicken Pot Pie by Jenny

I had a recipe I made once in awhile a few years ago for homemade chicken pot pie. It’s delicious but takes a little too much time. That led me to deciding to try a cheater version. (Aka a Jenny version vs. my sisters version). Haha. 


Here is what I did- and it was delish. 
  • Rotisserie chicken
  • Bag of stir fry veggies 
  • 1 can cream of chicken soup
  • 1 can broccoli and cheese soup
  • Can of reduced fat crescent roll dough
Remove chicken from bones, cut into pieces. Microwave veggies until just slightly cooked. Add all together and bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees or until bubbly.  While that cooks break crescent roll into bite size pieces. When chicken/soup/veggie mix is bubbly Place dough pieces on the top and cook for 10 minutes more until crescent roll is browned. 
Super delicious and super easy. Definitely fits my criteria for cooking. 😉

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