Birthday "Cake" Tower

This is from my sister - I asked if she wanted me to make a cake for my step-niece's 21st birthday but she said no, she had it covered. And then she sent this 🤦‍♀️ I mean I'm proud of her creativity (and she IS very creative when she wants to be) but I was robbed of the chance to make cake hahahha! Here's what she did, in her words:

Birthday Time!! You may recall I did a post a couple years ago for my Stepson which was a birthday "cake" made out of beer cans and other drinks (click here to see that post). This one though is for my Stepdaughter who I can't imagine is going to be a beer fan. (I'm sure she has never tried any alcoholic beverages so I'm just assuming that to be true). Everyone who knows my skill set won't be surprised by my choice of birthday cake but in my defense in this case she doesn't like cake anyway. LOL.

So I started with a trip to the party store to get 21 airplane bottles of various kinds. I then hit a dollar store for mini shot glasses, a light up cake topper, a small balloon and Little Debbie Birthday Cakes (way better than anything I could have cooked anyway). You could of course choose anything else your young adult likes and add that as well. 
I had leftover cardboard cake rounds from the last birthday (since I don't cook I had them just sitting around). I decided to hot glue gun these bottles and other things down just to make it more stable and so I could move it around if I wanted to. I laid out the layers including bottles and cakes, glued it all down and topped it.

When it came time to sing I unwrapped the top cake and put in the candles. She was thrilled with all of this and best part is that she shared. Gift for her and gift for me!! (reminiscent of when Brooke insisted on giving every one of her friends a "best friend" necklace for their birthday so she could get half! HAHA. Gift for them = Gift for her!). 

So that's it. Another birthday cake made better than probably anything my sister can bake. HAHAHAHAHA.. wait strike that- if I keep being mean she will stop cooking for me. Nevermind. Her cakes are way way better. 

4.30.19: pillbox travel container
4.30.18: Kyle's smoker
4.30.17: hasselback potatoes
4.30.16: recital

Well, not my grandma's cinnamon twists (I don't remember my grandma making cinnamon rolls, hmmmm don't all grandmas make cinnamon rolls tho? So I bet she did hahah), but Janis sent this recipe and photos with the title so I'm assuming it's her grandma's recipe - whatever, whoever, doesn't matter, cuz look at these! Tell me you don't want to go be like someone's grandma and bake these right now - if only we had a smell button on the computer ;)

GRANDMA'S CINNAMON TWISTS

2 tbls dry yeast

1 pint scalded milk

2 tbls sugar

4 tbls butter

6 cups flour

1 tbls salt

4 eggs, beaten

Mix 1-1/2 cups brown or white sugar with 3 or 4 Tbls cinnamon in bowl.  Melt 1 square of butter in pan.  Set these aside.

Dissolve yeast and sugar in ½ cup of lukewarm water.  Scald milk and pour into large bowl.  When cooled to warm, add butter, beaten eggs and 3 cups of flour.  Mix until smooth.  Cover and let rise until double in bulk.  Stir down and add salt and remaining flour or enough flour to knead into soft dough.  Knead well in mixer or by hand and let rise until double in bulk.

Option 1:

Pinch off an egg size piece of dough, roll it into a worm shape approx. 6 x ½”, dip in pan of butter, roll in sugar-cinnamon mix and tie in overhand knot.  Place on greased pan, let rise to double bulk, then bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Option 2:

After second rise, split dough into two.  Roll half into flat ¼” 14 x 8 inch rectangle.  Add melted butter and sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture on top.  Tightly roll up dough in shape of a log and cut into 10-12 pieces.  Place in greased round pans or baking sheets.  Repeat for second half of dough.  Let rise again for 60-90 minutes.  Bake at 375 for approx. 15-20 minutes.  

Add your favorite vanilla icing if desired.

CREAM CHEESE ICING

2 cups confectioner’s sugar

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

½ cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine ingredients and stir to soft frosting.

4.29.19: make a cork trivet
4.29.18: Mickey shows how to make a raised bed
4.29.17: dance recital
4.29.16: dollar store frame with clip

Tip-sy Tuesday: baking powder

Now that everyone is on a baking kick with all this free time on our hands, you might be pulling out old ingredients and wondering if they're still good - I read this handy tip about baking powder and thought I'd share:

According to the The New Food Lover's Companion, you can test if baking powder is good by combining a teaspoon with 1/3 cup of hot water, and if it bubbles enthusiastically, it's fine.

 I didn't know this, did you? Now go test it and get back to baking something delicious! I can recommend LeDonna's beer bread from the other day, it's easy and SO good (kind of reminds me of english muffin bread, thick and dense - great toasted fyi).

4.28.19: 🔥
4.28.18: cucumber cooler
4.28.17: Brooke made slime
4.28.16: sample sale photography

T-Shirt Face Mask Hybrid

This is the last face mask idea I'm going to show you (I know, this is the 4th version I've made!)  - I took the no-sew t-shirt version from last week and gave it a little structure; so it's a half sew/half no sew hybrid! Still very easy to do, you just need a little bit of sewing to add a wire across the nose bridge to customize the fit a little, and sew a couple pleats in the sides which helps shape the mask across your nose and mouth.

 Cut off one sleeve and the hem from a t-shirt. Sew a 6" piece of thin wire or pipe cleaner along the top edge - I folded the edge over the pipe cleaner before sewing it in place.

Cut the hem in half, put both pieces thru the loop of the sleeve on either side, pull a bit to scrunch up the sides of the sleeve. Add pleats on both sides by simply pinching the fabric as shown above and sew in place (I tacked the ear loops in place along with making the pleats).

front side

back side

Here's Sydney wearing the no-sew version that her mom made,

 and Tesha added felt dots to jazz it up!

4.27.19: Brooke made a bubble maker - hey, that'd be a fun boredom buster for the kiddos!
4.27.18: Mickey's beersbee - an adult boredom buster!
4.27.17: accessories closet - organizing, now that's my kind of boredom busting ;)
4.27.16: decadent chocolate cake - not sure I can call cake a boredom buster LOL

Around the Campfire 🔥 (week 17)

Dear Campers ~

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

Posts ~
4/19: 🔥 week 16
4/20: Claudette's paint by number boredom buster
4/21: roasted eggplant parmesan
4/22: garden sign
4/23: beer bread
4/24: parmesan fondue
4/25: coffee filter hack

What's Cooking ~

• delivery pizza, first time we've done delivery since being isolated and not sure what took us so long - nice to not cook!
• grilled bone-in chicken, chopped salad, green beans
• shake and bake pork chops, roasted broccoli, mushroom ravioli
• steak, potato salad, chopped salad kit
• grilled marinated thin cut chicken, parmesan couscous, roasted asparagus
• ham and lentil soup, kale salad

Miscellaneous stuff keeping me busy ~ 

• still making masks, have ordered more fabric but in the meantime came up with a hybrid half sew/no sew t-shirt mask that will do in a pinch. It's more structured than last week's no-sew version and has a wire across the nose bridge to get a better fit - I'll show you tomorrow!
• read "Beartown" by Fredric Backman. Was under the gun to finish it quickly before the library took it back so I almost didn't read it (I'm a very fast reader but don't like when I have to read on a time limit - turns it into 'work'!); I'm so so glad I did!! At first I didn't think I was going to be invested enough in the story to bother, but once I got going I actually couldn't put it down. Story of a sad-sack town pinning all it's hopes and dreams on a hockey team - yes it's about hockey (which I happen to love) but it's not really about hockey. It's about the people who make up this tiny community for better or worse, the decisions they make and secrets they keep, and there are some nice 'life lessons' thrown in. I loved this book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• to counter that lovely book I read 2 dumb vampire ones. Sigh. Sookie Stackhouse and the true blood stories are addicting and I'm a touch ashamed of myself for getting hooked LOL

That's it - this next week I'm getting in a mask-making routine and instead of spending solid days making them my plan is to pace myself and just make a couple a day or as requested. That'll hopefully give me more time to do my chores and make some fun things hahaha. Hope you had a great week, are staying busy and aren't bored! See you next week with more boredom busters, recipes, and whatever projects I can think of to do. 

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor and obsessive mask maker


4.26.19: how to design a spring planter
4.26.18: Mickey's spring flowers
4.26.17: double chocolate oatmeal bars
4.26.16: canister vacuum wand guard

Coffee Filter Glass Cleaner

I would normally share this as a 'Tip-sy Tuesday" post but I have been making masks all week and got behind on my housecleaning schedule - so today is the day to catch up on housework, and I only have a second for a quick post (or I'll get distracted and the house will still go uncleaned!). I recently learned this tip and I gotta say, it works! Save those paper towels that everyone is hoarding and use a coffee filter when cleaning glass - no lint, and streak free. Cool, right? 

Talk about an uninteresting photo! Ok, Cinderella's, um I mean,  I'm off to clean...😉

4.25.19: topopo salad
4.25.18: Mickey's DIY sensory boxes
4.25.17: organizing recipes
4.25.16: washi tape feathers

Parmesan Fondue

This is the recipe I told you about yesterday that LeDonna sent along with the beer bread. I love her idea to keep the fondue warm in her small crockpot, I've never thought to do this! And hello - melted cheese for dinner, she is my idol right now!! 


Wanted to share our dinner from the other night. 

I first made beer bread (got recipe from Kriss) and I did add shredded cheddar cheese and garlic to the butter for top of bread.  Oh yeah the bread is great!

Then I made Parmesan Fondue (this recipe I have from high school homec😂).

I don’t have a fondue pot, but used my small crock pot to keep warm and melted while dipping.

For dipping:

-cut up pieces of the beer bread.

-steamed Brussels sprouts (broccoli or other veggies would be great too)

-meatballs

-cut up dill pickles

It sure was fun and yummy!

• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 (8 0z) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt and regular salt
• 1 (2 1/2 oz) container shredded parmesan cheese (about 3/4 cup)

With electric mixer add milk to cream cheese, mixing til well blended. Heat slowly in saucepan; add 1/2 teaspoon salt and garlic salt. Slowly add parmesan, stirring until smooth. 

Pour into fondue pot; place over fondue burner. Spear dipper with fondue fork; dip in fondue, swirling to coat. If mixture becomes too thick, stir in a little milk). 

Suggested dippers: bread sticks, warm cooked turkey or chicken. 

4.24.19: double chocolate oatmeal bars
4.24.18: how to use an aqua painter
4.24.17: curvy keepsake lamb and bunny
4.24.16: slow cooker mongolian beef

Beer Bread

I don't think I've ever had beer bread - LeDonna sent me this picture and recipe that she got from Kristina and it looks so good I am definitely going to make a loaf or two! Seems like this would be delish with chili, or come back tomorrow and I'll share another recipe from LeDonna that she served with this bread! It also looks and sounds great, and its something different you might want to make for dinner soon ;)

BEER BREAD

• 3 cups flour
• 3 t. baking powder
• 1 t. salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 can beer

• 1/2 cup melted butter
• note: can add shredded cheddar cheese and garlic salt to the melted butter

Mix dry ingredients together, add beer. Put into greased loaf pan, pour melted butter over bread. Bake at 375' for approx. 1 hour.

4.23.19: tipsy tuesday: makeup wipes
4.23.18: hedgehug card
4.23.17: spinach and cheese stuffed mushrooms
4.23.16: perfectly peeled hard boiled eggs

Garden Sign

This is from Mickey, they live somewhere way warmer than Michigan and are already planting their garden - so lucky. How cute is this sign? I asked if I could share, it might be snowing out but we can work inside in preparation for warmer weather that's just around the corner! 

As you prepare to plant your garden, whether that be in a pot, in the ground, in a planter box, you name it - you can always add cute creative touches to make it fun. I took an extra scrap piece of wood, spray painted it white and grabbed some sharpies. So easy, so quick, and it’s a cute way to make the garden more personal. Now we just need this quarantine to end so people can come see it!! 

4.22.19: make a dreamcatcher
4.22.18: LeDonna's polenta with meatballs
4.22.17: make a cork wall
4.22.16: garden statue facelift

Roasted Eggplant Parmesan

Ok, Ok, I know I said I wasn't making Dave eggplant parmesan because I don't like it (click here for that rambling post hahah); but then I saw this in Ina Garten's cookbook "cook like a pro" and I caved - because check out how good this looks!!! I like that the eggplant is roasted, and the addition of goat cheese intrigued me. I'm lucky that D doesn't read this blog so he doesn't know that I didn't want to make it when he asked for it, but as soon as Ina said it's good I made it ;)

serves 6

2 1/2 pounds eggplant, unpeeled, halved lengthwise, sliced 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick
3/4 cup good olive oil
1 T. dried oregano
kosher salt and black pepper
1 (24oz) jar marinara sauce, such as Rao's
1/2 cup julienned fresh basil leaves
1 pound fresh buffalo mozzarella, thinly sliced
8 oz garlic and herb goat cheese, such as Montachet
1 1/2 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese

for the topping:
1 1/3 cups fresh bread crumbs from a country loaf
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or parsley leaves
1/4 cup good olive oil

Preheat oven to 400' and arrange three racks evenly spaced.

Lay the eggplant in one layer on three sheet pans and brush both sides with olive oil, using all the oil. Sprinkle with the oregano, crushing it lightly in your hands, then sprinkle with 1 1/2 T. salt and 1 1/2 t. pepper. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the slices and rotate the pans in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes, until tender. Leave the one at 400'.

In a 14x10x2 inch ceramic baking dish, spread a third of the marinara sauce. Arrange a third of the eggplant on top in one layer. Scarter a third of the basil, a third of the mozzarella, a third of the goat cheese, and a third of the parmesan on top. Repeat twice, starting with the marinara and ending with the parmesan, making sure each layer is evenly distributed.

For the topping, place the bread crumbs, garlic, and basil in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the 1/4 cup olive oil and 1 t. salt and pulse to moisten the crumbs. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the dish.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, until bubbling and golden brown. Allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.

my notes: I omitted the fresh basil; used homemade spaghetti sauce I had in the freezer; and instead of fresh bread crumbs I substituted panko.

from barefoot contessa, cook like a pro 2018

4.21.19: 🔥
4.21.18: boozy cherries
4.21.17: crayon canvas by Brooke
4.21.16: parrot portrait

Boredom Buster: Paint by Number

I am pretty crafty, but one thing I'm not great at is painting. And I really, really wish I was! When Mark sent me his mom's latest project I thought this might be one way I can paint and have it actually look like what it's intended to be hahahah. I don't know if his mom is a painter outside of paint by number, I should ask that, but judging by how great this looks I bet she is! Love this - thanks for letting me share it Claudette. How bad do you want to get a paint by number kit right now? What a great boredom buster - gotta go, I'm now going to find an online kit :)

work in progress...

almost done, gotta finish the driveway...

Done!

PS: He said her only comment about this is "you have to be patient!" Uh oh, I might be in trouble!!

Around the Campfire 🔥 (week 16)

Dear Campers ~

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

Posts ~
4/12: 🔥week 15
4/13: Miss Lori's latch hook
4/14: DIY: fabric face mask
4/15: tuna salad stuffed avocado
4/16: make an herb planter box
4/17: DIY: no sew face mask
4/18: ham and spinach wagon wheel

What's Cooking ~

• turkey sausage, mushrooms, spaghetti squash baked with marinara, roasted asparagus
• grilled tuna, orzo mixed with tomatoes, cukes, feta, roasted garbanzo beans
• grilled chicken, caesar salad
• meatloaf, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables
• grilled pizza, chopped salad
• baked pork chops, roasted broccoli, pierogi with mushrooms and peas

Miscellaneous stuff keeping me busy ~

• made a few more masks, officially out of fabric so experimented with no-sew ones made out of t-shirts (they are good, make one if you need one!)
• re-did the crazy channeling-my-inner-9-year-old nail polish :) doesn't get tiresome lol!
• read "Fractured" by Karin Slaughter #2 in Will Trent series. Liked it better than the first one, still gruesome but not as bad as the first! ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
• also read "From Dead to Worse" #8 in the Trueblood series. Because I'm a glutton for punishment and can't stop reading these dumb books. The 'good news' is that there are only 5 more to go and then I can move on. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
• finally finished a jigsaw puzzle I've been working for a couple weeks - it's in my puzzle stash in a baggie with no picture or box to follow. I had no idea what it was going to be hahahaha, it took me waaaaay longer than it would have if I had a frame of reference! I should take a photo of it to include in the baggie for next time...

Hope you had a good week, that you're staying healthy and not letting yourself get too bored! Create while we wait :) See you next week for more fun projects, recipes, whatever else I can think of to make!

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor and vampire sucker (wait, that should be sucker for vampire books😂)

4.19.19: sports team paddle
4.19.18: book challenge
4.19.17: caramel apple pie with crumb topping
4.19.16: car trash cup

Ham and Spinach Wagon Wheel

This is from my sis - yay I love when other people blog for me! And this looks delish - doesn't she realize that her sis gets hungry too? 😉

Ok ok. cooking every night has gotten tiresome.  Perhaps I shouldn’t have been so quick to rule out Hello Fresh all those months ago?

Had some leftover Easter Ham, Spinach, and a tube of crescent roll which took me back to my archives to bring out this oldie!

2 cups chopped ham

2 cups chopped fresh spinach

½ cup shredded cheese (or in my case I had Colby jack slices so used that)

1 tube crescent roll (I used reduced fat)

Lay out the crescent in a sun pattern. Overlapping corners, press down and spread out a bit.

Put spoonfuls of ham/spinach mixture in the wide part of the crescent roll. If using shredded cheese combine it with the ham and spinach, or sprinkle on top. 

Since I did cheese slices I then placed a slice over each spoonful of meat mixture.

Fold the points of the crescent down over the mixture, pressing in the inside to make a ring.

Bake 350 for 12-15 minutes until crescent is browned!  

So delicious.  The husband and teen both approved.  Maybe not filling enough for a dinner without salad or something on the side but they still liked it!

4.18.19: 'healthier' potato soup
4.18.18: texas chocolate cream pie
4.18.17: Lisa's nieces make k-cup bunnies
4.18.16: hair tie

DIY: No-Sew T-Shirt Face Mask

I posted the other day about the fabric masks I've been making - and after making a couple more I'm officially out of fabric. But people still need masks! I've been seeing lots of new-sew options, or how to tie a bandana/scarf into a mask so I thought I'd experiment with that. Guys, you can totally make a mask for yourself out of an old t-shirt! For real - it's so easy. There are tons of online ideas but I thought I'd show you what I found to work...

My first try is very easy but it only gives you one layer of t-shirt and while that might be better than nothing it doesn't feel thick enough. But it'll work in a pinch:

 - cut about 7" from the bottom of an old cotton t-shirt, depending how wide the t-shirt is you'll have a band of fabric. Mine was from a guys shirt and about 24" wide x 7" tall. Lay the band down and cut a long rectangle from one end towards the other, stop short about 4.5" from the fold at the other end. You're left with an 9" square and two long ties (cut the loop in the middle of the tie to form 4 ties). Then wrap around your face and tie in the back.

The second one I did ended up being thicker, almost pleated so there's more fabric over the nose and mouth, and just as easy - if anyone needs a mask I'd recommend this one:

-cut off a short sleeve from the t-shirt and the hem around the bottom of the shirt. Cut the hem in half so you have one long strip, then cut that in half. Fold the sleeve so the underarm seam is in the middle. Put one hem strip thru the sleeve on either side, scrunch the shirt down and tie into a loop that will go around your ear. Fold the pointed top part down under the mask and put it on, adjust the loop ties to fit your face.

I have so many cut up t-shirts from making my t-shirt rag quilt (which doesn't use the sleeves or hem so I have lots of them!) - you just need to find an old t-shirt you don't mind cutting up to make these masks. You can get two masks out of one shirt (two sleeves = two masks!), for the second one just cut a strip of  t-shirt from the bottom - even without the hem t-shirts don't fray so it'll work fine.


4.17.19: Cathy's baked mostaccioli perfect for today - it's snowing out!
4.17.18: shoelace tightening tip
4.17.17: money origami
4.17.16: baeckeoffe - can't pronounce it but it's good!