Distressed Dresser

Cathy did a very cool transformation of an old brown dresser and I love it so much that I'm looking around my house trying to find something I can distress! She sanded the top and painted it dark brown, but didn't sand the rest of the cabinet - she painted the base with chalked paint and it'll stick without sanding, I didn't know that. Since I'm not a sanding fan I'm looking forward to using this kind of paint! Her chalked base coat was too white so she went over it a bit with some creamy trim paint that she had on hand, let it dry and then hand sanded areas to get the distressed look. Her best advice is that if you don't like how the sanding looks, or if you remove too much, just add more paint and try again! 

Once she was happy with her distressing she wanted to give it more of a dirty/older look so she dipped her brush in the same dark brown she painted on the top, removed as much as she could with paper towels - so the brush was dry - then smudged the brush around different areas. There is still paint in the brush but not so much that it left brush brushstrokes so you can barely tell there's dark paint over the light. It's just enough to give the dresser the 'dirty' look she was going for. Isn't this a great transformation? I love it! Gotta go - I'm off to find furniture that needs to be painted...;) 

before...

after!

3.26.20: road trip day 4

3.26.19: the front tuck

3.26.18 and 3.26.16: Peep cupcakes

3.26.17: Al's west african peanut soup (oh gosh I love this soup so much!)

Oatmeal Bread

I made 2 batches of this recipe - 1 regular-sized loaf, and 2 smaller free-form loaves (I didn't use a bread pan for the small ones, just shaped into loaves and placed on a baking sheet). At first I was thinking it was just ok, not a ton of flavor and certainly not very pretty, it's very much a 'sandwich' bread - more about the filling or topping than about the bread. But then I served it with yesterday's 'Beer-Glazed Sausage and Apples' and it was amazing. The perfect texture and flavor to soak up the sauce - it went from 'pretty good' to 'great' just that fast!

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup oatmeal, plus additional for topping
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 T. honey
• 1 T. molasses
• 1 T. oil
• 1 t. salt
• 1/4 cup warm water, about 110'F
• 2 t. yeast  
• 1 pinch granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. Mix the oats and whole wheat flour in a bowl, add the boiling water and stir. 
2. Stir in the honey, molasses, oil, and salt and let cool about 1/2 hour.
3. In a small bowl, mix the warm water with the yeast and a pinch of sugar, stirring to dissolve yeast. Place in a warm spot for about 10 minutes until foam forms on the top of the mixture. 

. 

4. Add the yeast to the oat mixture and mix well. Start adding the all-purpose flour 1/2 cup at a time until a firm dough forms.

5. Turn out on a lightly floured board and knead 4 to 5 minutes, until the dough is elastic and somewhat smooth. Form the dough into a ball and place in a clean, oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot (70 to 85') until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

6. Shape the bread into a sandwich loaf (see below for directions) and place it in the pan. Spray the top of the loaf with water and sprinkle oatmeal on the bread. Cover with a towel and let rise until almost double. 7. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 450' for 1/2 hour. 

8. Slash the top of the loaf a couple times with a sharp knife. Place the loaf pan in the oven and turn down to 400'. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until done (you can check the internal temperature to confirm it's done when it reaches 190'). Let cool before serving. 

How to shape the bread into a sandwich loaf:

• begin by adding a light dusting of flour onto your board or counter. Be sure to flour your rolling pin and hands as well. Using the rolling pin, roll the dough into a rectangular shape. Roll up the dough starting along one of the long sides to form a long, loaf-like shape. Pinch the seam closed with your fingers (you can use a little water to help it stick together if it won't stay closed by just pinching it together). Bring the ends up over the seam and pinch it closed. Roll the loaf over so that the seam is on the bottom. Finish shaping the dough into a loaf by pushing on the ends so it will fit inside your bread pan. 

3.25.20: road trip day 3

3.25.19: 3-strand beaded bracelet

3.25.18: glazed baked ham and pineapple stuffing

3.25.17: frozen smoothies

3.25.16: Brooke has some Easter kid crafts 

Beer-Glazed Sausage and Apples

This recipe was in an email I got one morning from bhg.com and I made it for dinner that same day! It just sounded so good and different to me - and we loved it! The original recipe says it makes 4 servings, but there were 3 of us and we finished every bit and definitely would have liked more - I'll increase the ingredient amounts next time in the hopes that I'll have some leftovers for breakfast :)

• 1 (12 ounce) bottle Belgium-style wheat beer, divided
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 14 ounce package smoked sausage, such as kielbasa, cut in 3-inch pieces 
• ½ pound fresh green beans
• 2 tablespoons butter, divided
• 2 medium cooking apples, cored and thinly sliced 
• 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar 
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel
• 8 small sage leaves

1. In a large saucepan combine 1/2 of the beer and the crushed re pepper; bring rio boiling. Add sausage and green beans. Return to a simmer, cover and cook 5 to 8 minutes or until beans are tender. Drain. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt 1 T. butter; add apples. Cook turning occasionally, until apples are just tender. Transfer to a platter. 

3. Add sausage to skillet. Cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides. Add to platter; cover. Drain fat from skillet.

4. Carefully add remaining beer to skillet (mixture may foam); stir to scrape up browned bits. Add remaining 1 T. butter, brown sugar, cider vinegar, and orange peel. Bring to boiling; reduce heat and boil gently, uncovered, 5 to 6 minutes or until slightly thickened. Return sausage and green beans to skillet to coat in glaze. Fold in apples. Return to serving platter. Sprinkle with sage. Makes  4 servings. 

Note: the only thing I changed is that I lightly fried the sage leaves after browning the sausage in the skillet, I'm not a huge fan of fresh sage and thought I'd prefer it cooked a bit. 

I googled what 'Belgium-style wheat beer' is and the first thing to come up was Blue Moon Light Sky Wheat Beer and for some reason I had one in the beverage fridge - weird. Someone must have left it, lucky for me hahaha. Oh, and in case you're wondering - this doesn't taste like beer at all!

per serving: 409 calories; total fat 24g; carb 31g; fiber 4g; sugar 18g; protein 15g

3.24.20: road trip day 2

3.24.19: 🔥week 12

3.24.18: organizing craft paper

3.24.17: B's bubble maker

3.24.16: deviled egg chicks

Tip-sy Tuesday: air fryer 'boiled' eggs

My sis made a crack about hoping her new air fryer would make hard boiled eggs (the only thing she uses her Insta-pot for, click here for that post), then she sent me a link she found saying yep - you can make them in an air fryer! That's crazy but ok, I'll bite. 

I only made 2 just in case. 

It totally worked! Obviously they aren't 'boiled' because there's no water in the air fryer, but they came out just like hard boiled eggs. The only thing I didn't do was listen to the amount of time to cook them - the recipe said 16-18 minutes but that seemed too long so I pulled them out at 15 minutes and they were a bit undercooked. Still edible but the yolk didn't cook all the way thru...next time I'll do 18! 

not cooking until the yolk was firm also left the white
part too soft - it's cooked but broke apart when I peeled it

Preheat the air fryer to 250'. Put the eggs in the basket and air fry for 16-18 minutes for hard boiled. (11-12 for soft boiled, 13-14 for medium boiled). Remove from the oven and plunge into an ice bath to stop the cooking.

I have a Cuisinart toaster oven/air fryer combo, not sure if everyone's air fryers will cook the same. 

click here for original source

3.23.20: road trip day 1

3.23.19: herb crusted buttermilk chicken

3.23.18: perler bead Easter eggs

3.23.17: a laugh

3.23.16: Easter side dishes - pineapple stuffing, creamed new potatoes, roasted carrots

Easter/Spring Wreath

I added plastic eggs and yellow peep bunnies to the wreaths I made a couple weeks ago (click here to see how I made it) - just hot glued them on top of what was already there and it turned out super cute. Hopefully it's still cool enough at night that the ants or bugs don't find the sugary marshmallows hahahha, that'd be bad.

Here's what it looked like before:

First I played with where to place the eggs and peeps, then hot glued in place:

I added a big white ribbon for hanging it this time, before it was just a 

little loop of twine but it covered the door's eyehole - the ribbon let's 

it hang a little lower now. 

Those little peep bunny faces make me smile :) 

3.22.20: 🔥week 12

3.22.19: 12 week workout plan

3.22.18: how to cook spaghetti squash

3.22.17: creating a gallery wall

3.22.16: fold napkins into bunny ears

🔥Around the Campfire (week 12)

Dear Campers ~

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

Posts ~

3/14: 🔥week 11 

3/15: leprechaun veggie tray

3/16: TT: improvise a steamer basket

3/17: pots of gold cupcakes

3/18: corned beef grilled cheese

3/19: flourless chocolate raspberry cake 

3/20: corned beef and cabbage soup (re-run)

What's Cooking ~

• grilled marinated chicken, baked and breaded eggplant, green salad
• beef enchiladas (beef leftover from making beef stew a few days ago, mixed with corn and black beans, salsa), salad
• corned beef dinner (steamed cabbage, roasted carrots, twice baked gold potatoes)
• grilled steak, leftover stuffed potatoes, air fryer asparagus (so far our least favorite thing made in the air fryer! I much prefer roasted in the oven)
• pizza, make-your-own salad bar, make-your-own sundae bar
• marinated pork tenderloin, carba-nada noodles with light alfredo, chopped kale salad

corned beef and fixings 3/17/21

Miscellaneous stuff keeping me busy ~

• read 'Mind Prey', #7 in John Sandford's Lucas Davenport series - a seriously creepy, graphic, scary, awful storyline with a really bad bad guy. Yikes. Disturbing. So of course I loved it hahaha. Might have nightmares but it was good. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• it's been warming up and sunny this week so I've been doing outside chores - scrubbing outdoor furniture, cleaning out drains, etc. My back is tired but there's such a nice sense of accomplishment after doing dirty manual labor hahaha!

I realize this past week was all about food - some weeks there's no time for crafting or projects, I did make 3 masks and a few mask leashes but you gotta be tired of my talking about them so no need to show you LOL. Have a great week, hope you'll stop back often to see more recipes (maybe not a whole weeks worth but who knows!), crafts, projects, whatever else I can think of to make at camp this week. Bye!

Oh, PS: happy spring!! We made it thru winter, woohoo! ☀️🌷

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor

3.21.20: shrimp salad

3.21.20: Teri's stacked shrimp appetizer 

3.21.19: Jen's Hello Fresh Update

3.21.18: coffee and cookie brownies
3.21.17: watch Mark from Paul's Photo talk about framing your photos and prints
3.21.16: 2 different bunny cakes for Easter and Spring

Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup (re-run)

This is a re-run from 3/2018 and since we still have quite a bit of corned beef and cabbage leftover I'm making this soup again - I'm sharing it in case you're in the same situation! I saw a recipe the other day that added quick-cooking barley to a soup similar to this one, not sure if it's necessary (especially if you're adding potatoes?) but it's a different idea if you have barley on hand and want to try it. Here's the original post:

Now that St. Patty's Day dinner is over, do you have lots of leftovers? Here is an easy, quick way to use them up - make soup!

I don't have a recipe, just wing it based on what your leftovers are...I start with putting a little oil in a big soup pot and sauteing some diced onion until translucent; if you don't have cooked potato and carrot leftovers but want them in the soup I'd dice up some raw and add with the onions until they are softened. Anything else you want to add that isn't pre-cooked (celery, garlic, whatever), add to the onion mixture at this point - when it's all softened add chicken broth (enough to make a pot of soup!), and then once it's hot add chopped up pre-cooked leftover potatoes, carrots, cabbage and corned beef. Let it simmer on the stove for a while so the flavors all meld together. That's it!

PS: don't add salt until you taste the finished product - the corned beef is so salty it might be enough. You can also add other seasonings if you want - thyme, bay leaves (remove when you're ready to eat the soup), parsley, and pepper would all taste good.

Flourless Chocolate-Raspberry Cake

Well this is interesting...I made this cake and it turned out really good, dense and chocolatey with a hint of raspberry flavor. Dave loves it and said it's definitely a repeat recipe. So I'm writing up this post and realize that I didn't add the 1/2 cup of sugar while beating the eggs! I can't believe it still tasted so good - I don't recommend reducing the sugar when you make this, who knows if it'd work the second time around!  

The recipe doesn't say to serve with whipped cream, but I did and it's great. Instead of adding sugar to the cream while whipping it I used a bit of Chambord to bring out even more berry flavor - yum. 

• 

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces (plus more for the pan)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar (divided)
• 10 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 T. Framboise (raspberry liqueur - I used Chambord)
• 1 t. vanilla
• 4 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• fresh whole raspberries for serving
• whipped cream optional for serving

Preheat the oven to 375'. Butter a 9" springform pan.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter with 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar over low heat, stirring to dissolve. Add the chocolate and stir until melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the framboise and vanilla.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and egg yolk with the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar until pale yellow, fluffy, and tripled in volume, 5 to 6 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold about 1/2 cup of the chocolate mixture into he eggs. Pour the remaining chocolate mixture over the eggs and fold in gently with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. 

Bake until a crust forms on the top and the cake puffs slightly yet is not completely cooked in the center (a skewer inserted in the center will come out coated with some chunks of batter), about 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a rack. Run a small knife around the edges of the cake to loosen them. The center of the cake will fall; you can even it out by pressing down lightly around the edges. Cool. The cake may remain in the pan overnight, if you wish.

Release the pan from the sides and remove them. Sift confectioners' sugar over the cake. Serve with berries (and whipped cream if using).

Serves 8

from 'real life entertaining' by Donata Maggipinto

Corned Beef Grilled Cheese Sandwich

I've never thought about making grilled cheese sandwiches with corned beef - I mean, I guess it's basically a Rueben without the sauerkraut but I've never done it. So with the leftovers from our crockpot corned beef dinner that's what I'm going to do. I'm posting this before I make the sandwiches in case you have leftovers and also want to make yummy grilled cheeses! 

I'll thinly slice or chop the corned beef and use Havarti cheese on seedy bread (we like the Dave's Killer Bread varieties); rye, swirled rye, or pumpernickel would also be great. I looked at a bunch of recipes, many include carmelized onions or sauerkraut but I'm sticking with just meat and cheese and I bet a bit of dijon will taste great too. Yum, I haven't made these but I'm drooling hahahha. Will update with a picture after I make them - Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

3.18.20: spaghetti squash mac & cheese

3.18.19: hanging jewelry holder

3.18.18: corned beef and cabbage soup (use those leftovers!)

3.18.17: wine bottle storage using ABS drain tiles or PVC pipe

3.18.16: duct tape pencil holder (kid craft)

Pot O'Gold Cupcakes

Super last minute, I know - but maybe you're sitting there thinking you'd like to make a fun dessert for St. Patrick's Day but don't have any ideas and here I am to give you one hahaha! Or file this away for next year :) Or just switch out the shamrocks and gold sprinkles and change them to any other day of the year! 

I started with a dark chocolate fudge cake mix and doctored it a bit - not as much as usual but still a few additions:

• 1 T. instant coffee granules
• 1 t. vanilla 
• 1 small box of instant vanilla pudding
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• big handful of mini chocolate chips

Bake as directed on the box - I made 48 mini cupcakes. Cool.

Once completely cool, insert the big end of a piping tip into the center of a cupcake, twist and pull out a small plug of cake (the tip is probably about 1/2" diameter, use anything you can think of you don't have a piping tip - even a small spoon to scoop some cake out will work). Spoon about 1/2 t. sprinkles into the hole and replace the cake plug back into the hole to smooth out the top of the cupcake. You might need to remove a smidge of cake from the underside of the plug if it won't fit back into the hole. Once you frost the top you won't see where you made the hole. 

For the frosting ~ I made my standard buttercream but added a couple big spoonfuls of caramel ice cream topping. And let me tell you, it is SO good!!! 

1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature

4-5 cups powdered sugar

5-6 T. cream or milk

1 t. vanilla

pinch of salt

caramel topping to taste

Cream the butter until smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar (if you add it all at once it's gonna fly out of the bowl all over the place - trust me hahah) and the other ingredients, blend until everything is incorporated and is smooth and fluffy. 

To finish the pot's of gold - sprinkle gold sprinkles on top of the caramel frosting, add a big gold chocolate ball if you can find them; if not I'd do maybe a candy gold coin or just do the gold sprinkles. Or do more of the shamrock sprinkles. Or heck, just leave them plain - they still taste great! 

3.17.20: TT: marinated artichokes

3.17.19: 🔥week 11

3.17.18: shamrock plant

3.17.17: mini trash can by Brooke

3.17.16: photo class - landscapes