🔥Around the Campfire (week 7)

 Dear Campers ~

Happy Valentine's Day! Hope everyone is having a good day, whether with your valentine, palentine, galantine, or just your own 'tine :)

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

Posts ~

2/7: 🔥week 6

2/8: Brooke's valentine caterpillar

2/9: tip-sy tuesday: organizing your baking stuff

2/10: dessert cheeseball

2/11: pasta sauce with sausage, meatballs, and hard boiled eggs

2/12: triple berry muffins

2/13: bubble tree

What's Cooking ~

• crockpot pork loin in cranberry sauce, mashed cauliflower, green beans
• grilled tuna, greek salad, air fried garbanzo beans
• grilled chicken breast, butternut 'rotini', roasted asparagus
• baked pork chops, roasted carrots, potatoes, and broccoli (all veggies on one sheet pan, start carrots and potatoes and add broccoli for the last 15 minutes)
• burger salad
• baked salmon, couscous, chopped kale salad

Miscellaneous stuff keeping me busy~

• I read a couple books this week, I'll tell you about them next week 'cuz I have to run now. Going sledding!! Woohoo!!! First I need to find some snow pants, it's super cold here. Fingers crossed I don't crash LOL! 

Have a great week - stop by often to see more fun projects, recipes, crafts, whatever else I can think of to make at camp. Bye!

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor 

2.14.20: wine glass lamp shade

2.14.18: dried cranberry and chocolate cookies
2.14.17: flower heart by Julie
2.14.16: tuna over nice (basically a Nicoise salad)

Valentine Bubble Tree

Yes -  I realize this is a very, very last minute Valentine craft but if I don't show you now there is no way I'll remember to post it a year from now!! So you're getting it the day before V-day and can reference it for next year (or for an anniversary, or Christmas, or just 'cuz?) or maybe you're bored today and see this and want to make it now! Either way - here it is:

This idea came about because my sis and I were shopping at Target before Christmas and she saw a pompom Christmas tree decoration and asked if I'd make it for her - I said sure, if she buys the pompoms because there is no way I'm making as many as it'd take to fill in a tree. Guess what? No pompoms appeared at my door and she did not get a tree. So when shopping at Hobby Lobby the other day and I saw a bag of red and white balls (titled 'scatters and fillers' - but they look like bubbles to me so that's what I'm calling them) I thought I'd try a Valentine tree - if it turned out and she likes it then I'll give, otherwise whatever, I've now got myself a Valentine tree hahaha. 

I did not go with the Elmers, but here's what the cone, topper, and bag 
of filler look like...before I switched to hot glue!

In addition to the balls and cone, I also bought a wire pick with a rustic metal heart for the tree topper. It's a little big for the scale of the tree but I like how that looks. These are maybe foam balls coated in glitter, or some other slightly squishy lightweight balls; my original plan was to elmers glue the balls to a paper mache form but that wasn't very good thinking on my part - the glue isn't going to dry fast enough to apply a hundred balls...so I switched to hot glue. I still had to hold each one in place for a few seconds but it was way faster than regular glue would be. After gluing one layer all around the tree I added a second layer to cover up some of the holes - it isn't completely filled in but short of buying another bag of balls (the day before V-day) it'll do. Maybe I'll pick up another bag after the holiday when it goes on super sale and fill in more later. Or maybe not. 

This actually turned out pretty cute - I could add a bow under the heart with long tails hanging down, but since I never know when enough is enough I think I'll see what my sis thinks and if she wants a bow I'll make one. If she doesn't want the tree I'll leave it bow-less, pack it away, and think about it next year when I pull it out to display! 

2.13.20: hot dog heart

2.13.19: asian style meatballs with sweet chili sauce

2.13.18: shrimp cocktail in a wine glass

2.13.17: heart suncatcher

2.13.16: wine label for Valentine's day gifts

Triple Berry Muffins (re-run)

I've been looking thru past posts and came across this one for triple berry muffins posted in 2017 - I have a bad memory but I totally remember these, they are so good! I'm feeling like baking today and these are calling my name, thought I'd share again in case you're in the mood too :)

Brooke and I made these muffins so my sister (and her houseful) would have an easy wedding morning breakfast - I was planning to make a big breakfast casserole but then realized no one was going to eat that so muffins seemed perfect. I had some frozen blueberries and raspberries in the freezer so googled for muffin recipes using berries, found this Ina Garten recipe that sounded good and yep, it is. I made double berry muffins instead but otherwise followed the recipe - she adds the sugar to the berries instead of to the batter, and for some reason that makes the muffins almost have a crunchy top sort of like if you put streusel on them...yum. Really really good!

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1-1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1-1/4 cups milk
• 2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup fresh raspberries
• 1/2 cup diced fresh strawberries
• 1-1/2 cups sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line muffin tins with paper liners.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a large bowl.  Stir with your hand to be sure the ingredients are combined.  In another bowl, combine the milk, eggs, and melted butter.  Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture, pour the wet mixture into the well, and stir until just combined.  There will be some lumps but don’t overmix the batter!  Add the blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and sugar and stir gently to combine.

Using a 2¼-inch ice cream scoop, spoon the batter into the muffin cups to fill the liners.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean and the tops are nicely browned.  

Copyright 2006, Barefoot Contessa at Home by Ina Garten, Clarkson Potter/Publishers, All Rights Reserved

2.12.20: yarn heart

2.12.19: add a pin to pearls

2.12.18: Valentine ball jar vase and candleholder

2.12.17: goat cheese tart

2.12.16: Brooke and Sydney make 'cootie catchers'

Pasta Sauce with Sausage, Meatballs, and a Twist

Al and Cathy make the best pasta sauce and I finally got the recipe. I changed a couple things and it was still fantastic, see my notes at the bottom. I'd never seen 'Italian sauce' before, Al sent me a picture and I went searching and sure enough - our grocery store carries it in the canned tomato aisle (not by the jarred pasta sauce like I imagined). They add Italian sausage links, meatballs, and peeled hard boiled eggs to the sauce when serving - sidenote: Mary also adds sausage links and meatballs when serving and I've always loved that, I've never heard of hard boiled eggs tho and they are great served with the pasta sauce! Weird but great.  I didn't ask but in step 1 it says to brown sausage but doesn't list that in the ingredients, so I just cut 4 links in half and browned them in step 1. 

• 1 (45 oz.) jar Ragu Chunky garlic and onion sauce 
• 1 can Italian sauce 
• 2 (6 oz) cans tomato paste
• 2 (28 oz) cans of water
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 t. garlic powder
• 1 t. salt
• 1/2 t. pepper
• 1 T. fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 t. thyme
• 1 t. basil
• 1 t. oregano
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 t. rosemary
• 3 T. sugar

1. brown sausage in a little olive oil in stock pot, remove sausage but leave juices in pot
2. add onion to pot and saute until soft
3. add the rest of ingredients and simmer slowly stirring often to prevent sticking to bottom of pot
4. after about one and a half to two hours when sauce starts to thicken a little add sausage, meatballs, and eggs; simmer until you get to desired thickness. 

Jill's notes: I used Paul Newman's tomato and basil pasta sauce and only 1/2 of a small onion diced very small because if Dave saw the Ragu jars that say 'garlic and onion' and/or see a bunch of onion in the sauce he'll complain! I also didn't have fresh parsley so substituted with dry. I cooked this on the stove top for 3 hours, turned it off and let it cool until closer to when we were going to eat it and then heated it back up. Everyone commented on how good this sauce is without my even asking! Oh, and in all the years I've grocery shopped I have never seen 'Italian Sauce' so I asked Al where he finds it (thinking a specialty store) - uh yeah, it's at the regular ol' grocery store with the canned tomatoes...who knew?! 

Dessert Cheeseball

This recipe is from my niece, Mickey (well - Meghan made the cheeseball, and Mick wrote the post and sent me the picture...so credit goes to both of them!) Thanks for sharing with us M & M! 

Tired of a boring old cheeseball? Well, how about a dessert cheese ball! For the super bowl last night, my friend Meghan made this cheeseball that was too good not to share. You will need only 5 ingredients (the original recipe called for chocolate syrup but she didn’t use that). Cream together 1/2 cup of unsalted butter (kind of soft), cream cheese (1 square) and powdered sugar (2 cups). Leave out a couple spoonfuls for the laces (put into a ziplock bag). Crush Oreos (18 Oreos), and mix into the creamed sugar mixture. Cover with Saran Wrap (sprinkle the Saran Wrap with sugar so it doesn’t stick) and mold into a football. Coat with mini chocolate chips (1 cup), draw your laces using the bag with the tip cut off and chill for one hour! Serve with wafers, pretzels or be like me and eat it with a spoon! 

Jill again: um, yum. How good does this sound? I thought she might have to thin the reserved cream cheese mixture for the laces but nope - it's thick but she was able to pipe it. And of course you don't have to only shape this into a football if you want to eat it on a random day haha, just shape into a round ball!

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

Tip-sy Tuesday: Baking Center Organizing

Just a quick idea today - how to organize all those cookie cutters, sprinkles, decorations, etc that are floating around in your cupboard.

I've had my cookie cutters grouped in categories, labeled and put in baggies for awhile now (I posted about that way back in 2015!) but I took it one step further and put everything in plastic shelf/drawers things (what are these called, hmmm...I guess organizers?) that fit in my cupboard. I can just pull out a drawer and easily find what I need - sprinkles have a couple drawers, same for cookie cutters; I have a drawer for food colors, candles, cake decorating, etc. 

Maybe not necessary for most people, but I have ALOT of this stuff and I love being able to just open a drawer and grab something!

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

Valentine Caterpillar by Brooke

Here's another cute Valentine craft from Brooke - I loved the bumblebee, heart wreath, and pickup truck that she made last week but this is my favorite. Cute and easy - perfect kid craft! Here's what she did, in her words:

hey guys! Today I made this super cute Valentine’s Day caterpillar. All I used was paper, scissors, a marker, glue, and googley eyes! First I cut out 5 small hearts and 1 bigger size heart in red and pink paper. Then I glued them down moving left to right. after they were all glued I drew him some legs, a mouth, some antlers, then put the eyes on! He was so easy to make and he is so cute!

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)

🔥Around the Campfire (week 6)

 Dear Campers ~

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

Posts ~

1/31: 🔥week 5

2/1: pleated paper heart

2/2: tip-sy tuesday: room temperature butter

2/3: layered heart cookies

2/4: bee valentine (posted 2/6)

2/5: valentine paper wreath

2/6: valentine pickup truck

What's Cooking ~

• baked scallops, pine nut couscous, chopped kale salad
• homemade mac and cheese, steamed broccoli
• crockpot country ribs with mushroom sauce, mashed cauliflower, green beans
• air fryer salmon, couscous, roasted asparagus
• shake and bake pork chops, roasted carrots, mixed vegetables
• baked chicken breast, roasted butternut squash, green salad

Miscellaneous stuff keeping me busy ~

• read 'For Whom the Bread rolls' by Sarah Fox. Another mystery with recipes series (what is it about this genre of mysteries solved by chefs - or in this case by a woman who owns a restaurant - that includes recipes?) This is #2 in her 'Pancake House Mystery' series, I'm waiting on #1 from the library - don't love it, don't hate it. I'll read another and see if I like it better before giving up on the series 
• read 'Rules of Prey' by John Sandford, #1 in a very long series that I'm very excited to be starting from the beginning. I've read most of them (he's up to like maybe 25?) but if I've read the first ones I've forgotten them - great thing about having a bad memory, everything old is new again LOL. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ great book if you like thriller/serial killer/bad guys and good guys. Which I do. 

Have a great week - stop by often to see what else I think of (or get others to contribute!) to make at camp this week! Brooke has at least one more valentine craft and I think it's the best one yet :) Bye!

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor

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

Valentine Pickup Truck by Brooke

hey guys! I made this super easy valentines truck - it’s so cute! All you need is craft paper, popsicle sticks,a red marker, scissors, and glue or tape. 

First I colored 4 popsicle sticks red, then I taped them together on the back and put a smaller piece of a stick overtop to help hold them together. I cut out 2 pink hearts, and the front of the truck and the top. Then I glued the truck pieces on the popsicle sticks for the front and top of the truck and glued the hearts on the back to make it look like they were in the bed. After that I cut out a window and 2 tires then glued them on! This was so easy and so fun to make and it turned out so cute!

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 - I haven't made these in a long time, they are SO good!!!

Bumblebee Valentine

Oh My Gosh I love this so much. Brooke made the cutest bumblebee valentine and it makes me happy to just look at it hahahha. Here's what she did, in her words:

(note: I just realize this was supposed to be posted Thursday and it didn't go - so now you get 2 fun Valentine's Day crafts today!) 

Today I made this super cute bumble bee Valentine’s Day card! 

All I used was paper, scissors, double sided tape, and a marker! 

First I took a yellow piece of paper and folded it in half and drew a heart with one side of the heart touching the crease in the paper. You need it to be on that crease so it stays connected for the top heart (head) of the bee. Be careful when cutting your heart out to not cut the crease. then after that I used that heart as a stencil to cut out the rest of the hearts. The other hearts are single pieces of paper, not doubled over like the head heart. I cut 2 blue hearts, 2 black hearts, and 1 more yellow heart. Then i cut out 2 tiny yellow hearts and 2 black rectangles for the antenna. Then I put one black heart down, put double sided tape on the top of it, and put the yellow one on top. Then the same with the yellow putting the other back heart on top. Then I put the yellow heart that can open on top. I drew a face and wrote on the inside. Then I put the tiny yellow hearts on the top of the rectangles. After I flipped my bee over and taped the antennas and wings on. Then you have a super cute bee!!🥰

 2.4.20: tip ~ 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