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!

Homemade Bloody Mary Mix

Last week I shared how to make bacon flavored vodka, which of course made me want a bloody mary, which then led to my trying to make my own bloody mary mix.  I like bloody mary mix all on it's own (without alcohol, that's my go-to drink on an airplane), when I drink the mix at home I doctor it with olives and olive juice, a spicy pickle spear, a dash of lemon juice and some pepper - so when I saw this recipe that has olives and lemon juice in it I thought I'd give it a whirl. The flavor is really good although the texture was a little odd, maybe I didn't blend it enough, it was a little thick and coarse. Still worth making but next time I'll let it process longer. I did make a couple changes -  removed the cuke seeds, added more olives and a splash of spicy pickle juice, I used bottled lemon and lime juice, and left out the garlic. Play around with adding more of any ingredient to get it just right for you. And if you want to add bacon flavored vodka I wouldn't try to talk you out of it ;)

• 2 cups chopped peeled English cucumber (from 1 large cucumber)
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (about 4 limes)
• 10 Spanish Queen olives with pimientos
• 1/3 cup jarred Spanish Queen olive brine
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed
• 3 T. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 t. Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2 t. celery salt
• 1/2 t. black pepper
• 1/4 t. kosher salt
• 1/4 t. smoked paprika
• 1 (64 oz) bottle tomato juice, divided (8 cups total)

Pulse all ingredients with 4 cups of the tomato juice in a blender until smooth. Transfer mixture to a large pitcher; add remaining tomato juice and stir to combine. Cover and chill until ready to use.

saw this at Coastal Living Magazine


Happy Leap Year! there's only been one other 2/29 since I started the blog:

2.29.16 Oscar party games and decorations

Dryer Sponges

I saw this idea on the Doterra website to make reusable dryer sponges instead of using store-bought dryer sheets. I figured what the heck, I'll try it - and it works (not sure why I made them if I was doubting it would work haha!). Our clothes are soft, static free, and smell good - can't ask for more than that from a dryer sponge. The original instructions say to keep the sponges in a glass container, I didn't have a glass container on hand (and didn't want to buy one in case this was a fail!) so I put mine in a rubbermaid container and so far it's working just fine - eventually maybe I'll upgrade to glass but for now the plastic holder is good. I didn't measure the essential oil drops and I only have 2 sponges (from the dollar store so this is a very inexpensive project), not sure why I'd need 5-10?

Ingredients:

• 1 cup hot water
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 5-10 drops lavender oil
• 5-10 sponges

Instructions:

1. Combine baking soda and hot water in a glass container with a lid and stir.

2. Add vinegar and mix, then ad lavender oil and stir again until all ingredients are combined. 

3. Fill container with sponge3s, trimming to fit if needed, and place lid on container.

4. To use, shake up container, remove one sponge, wring out slightly, and place in dryer with wet clothes.

5. After dryer cycle is done, place sponge back oil container and reseal with lid for future use. 

I'm not really sure why I thought I needed to show you the sponge in the dryer - so you'd believe I actually use the sponges? LOL!

A New Old Cookbook and Goldenrod

My mom gave me a bunch of recipe booklets that my grandmother got in home ec back in either junior or high school; they were published as a series by Procter and Gamble copyright 1935. Just like my first new/old cookbook that I've been sharing some 'throw-back' recipes with you, these manuals are a gem and I can't wait to read thru and find what I'm sure will be unusual recipes and 'helpful' tips and hints! I'm very happy to have a second source of old recipes, and what I especially love is that my grandma has written her name in pencil on the front of each one - how great to have a piece of her history. I have no idea if she actually used these booklets or if they were just something she had to have for home ec, but she saved them so I'm assuming she used them. I'm totally going to try some of these recipes and will share my findings and any fun nuggets of info.

Mom found 10 of the booklets for me and is looking for others - for now I have:

• Perfect Pies and how to make them (first paragraph says " 'home-made pie' is a phrase which causes the mouth to water in anticipation of future joys...")
• A Manual of Cakes
• Quick Breads Quickly Made
• Desserts 
• Soups and Sauces
• Candies and Confections
• Cheese and Eggs
• Yeast Breads
• Vegetable Cookery 
• School Lunches 
• Table Serve and Accessories 

Flipping thru the recipes I'm seeing a few unusual (to me anyway) ones - like Prunella cake, Cotton Tops, Snow Peaks with Marshmallow sauce, Eggs Creamed with Sardines (have no fear, we will NOT be making that one!), Boiled Cucumbers with Egg Sauce, and Peanut Butter Bread. 

Here's one recipe that caught my eye because Dave has told the story for years about his mom making "Goldenrod", which I'd never heard of.  It's a take on what we did eat often tho - good old "chipped beef on toast" which I found out as an adult is commonly known as, pardon my french haha, 'SOS' (shit on a shingle). My mother did not call it that, just fyi 😂 He makes it sound like his mom made this recipe up because they were too poor for chipped beef and she improvised with eggs, but here it is in black and white and is an actual recipe. I'm not going to share this info with him, he's told the story too many times and would be bummed hahahaha. I haven't made this so don't have a picture to include, but it's just cream sauce on toast and if you've never had it or don't know what it is - which means you are clearly not from the Midwest - just picture what cream sauce on toast would look like and it looks exactly like that LOL.

• 6 hard-cooked eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 4 T. Crisco (shortening, the book is sponsored by Crisco - I'd probably substitute butter)
• 4 T. flour
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/4 t. pepper
• 8 slices toast

Remove yolks and put them through a sieve or potato ricer. Chop or slice whites. Make a white sauce by blending flour with melted Crisco, adding hot milk, and cooking until thickened. Stir in salt, pepper, and egg whites. Pour over toast. Sprinkle with grated yolks. Garnish with parsley. Serve hot. 

Serves 4-6

My Sis is Hungry: Chicken with Balsamic Peppers

The title of this threw me a little. Balsamic chicken and peppers something or other.  I love Balsamic and I love peppers.  Sounds promising.

Oh and some kind of delicious mashed potatoes.  Can't go wrong with mashed potatoes in any form.

So lets start with those.  Yum.  Better than I can buy pre-made in the fridge section at Kroger!! Yep. that’s a compliment.  They were amazing.  Didn’t need butter, sour cream, anything.  So great. I did try it with some of the juice from the chicken and peppers just for fun and that was also great!

So onto the chicken and peppers.  First of all she clearly knows the husband likes “sauce”.  There was a lot of juice in the bottom of this.  Not sure if that’s what kept it so moist (yes I said moist).  Balsamic in the title made me think it would have a distinct balsamic flavor.  It really didn’t -  it was a pretty “basic” chicken as that goes.  I know that doesn’t sound like a compliment but it is.  Nothing over powering or distinctly flavoring this dish.  Just a solid, good chicken meal.  The peppers were more of a “side dish” I felt.  They were in slices on top of the chicken so really it became more of a vegetable side dish, if that makes sense.  They were also delicious and flavorful. 

All in all this was a safe chicken dish that seemed within my abilities to make (unless that sauce was complicated?).  The star of this meal was definitely the potatoes. 

Time for breakfast- I hope there is some of those leftover. 

Jill here - I can't believe I forgot to post this 'my sis is hungry' from November! Oops! I pretty much followed the recipe, although I chopped the chicken breasts into big pieces, and put it in a big bowl along with the oil and seasoning and tossed it around before putting it on the prepared baking sheet. Before I got my mortal and pestle, I crushed spices using a small glass bowl and a shot glass! I doubled the chicken and broth - I kept some of the chicken but not the pepper mixture which is why she had so much sauce, and added a sliced orange bell pepper because I had it on hand. And I hate to break it to my sis but the potatoes were store bought because I was in a hurry to get this dish to her LOL. Shhhhhhh....;)

• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 3/4 t. fennel seeds, crushed
• 1/2 t. pepper
• 1/4 t. dried oregano
• 1/4 t. garlic powder
• 2 T. olive oil
• 4 (6 oz.) skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• cooking spray
• 2 cups thinly sliced red bell pepper
• 2 cups thinly sliced yellow bell pepper
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots (about 1 large)
• 1 1/2 t. chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 T. balsamic vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 450'.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. combine 1/2 teaspoon salt, fennel seeds, 1/4 t. pepper, garlic powder, and oregano. Brush chicken with 1 1/2 t. oil; sprinkle spice rub over chicken. Add 1 1/2 t. oil to pan. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes or until browned. Turn chicken over; cook 1 minute. Arrange chicken in an 11x7" baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 4540' for 10 minutes or until done.

3. Heat remaining olive oil over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers, shallots, and rosemary; saute 3 minutes. Stir in broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Stir in vinegar, 1/4 t. salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Serve bell pepper mixture over chicken. 

     

 

Click here for original source. From 1/12 Cooking Light