Tip-sy Tuesday: rolled cookie tip

I got a book called "Rodale's Book of Hints, Tips, and Everyday Wisdom" copyright 1985 at a yard sale (side note: I loved how they ran this one - you paid what you thought was fair for the entire number of things you wanted, not on an individual item basis. So for 20 bucks we got a stack of books, a pretty platter, a hummingbird feeder, and a few other things. I guess I could have given them $5 but I would have felt guilty hahahah). I thought this book of tips would be interesting - I'm only on page 5 and came across this tip and am wondering if it works, I haven't tried it yet.

"When making rolled cookies or crackers, roll an cut out your dough directly on the baking sheet. This will see you time and cleanup."

Can't decide if this seems messier than just cleaning up the counter or cutting board. We are about to be in the season of rolled cookie baking and I'll try it once to see how it goes!

9.30.24: felt photo album cover

9.30.23: words

9.30.22: trailer trash

9.30.21: ham butter/ham salad

9.30.20: german chocolate bars

9.30.19: confetti gift wrap

9.30.18: 🔥
9.30.17: drying herbs
9.30.16: cauliflower pizza
9.30.15: photo vase

Cinnamon Apple Air Fryer Bites by Jen

When oh when am I going to learn not to try anything random on facebook?  Especially from a “weight watchers health” page. HAHA. 

“whoever suggested apple cinnamon air fryer bites.. I love you!!” and “obsessed”.  So ok. wow.. I should try this.  Its definitely a super simple “recipe” and I would like to be obsessed.  So lets give it a go! 

 

I have fresh apples from my weekly produce delivery (fantastic thing, story for another day) so this would be a great way to use them! Especially since I’m not really much of a pie baker.  😉

 

So simple.  Chop up the apples, toss with butter spray, cinnamon , sugar.  So excited for “warm, carmelized and taste just like mini apple pie bites but without the guilt”. 

So yeah.   Any guesses what this tasted like?  If you guessed mini apple pie bites you would be wrong.  It tasted exactly like.. drum roll please…

Warm cut up apples with cinnamon and sugar on them.  Not that there is anything wrong with that but “obsessed” I am not.  Also no idea where the words “carmelized” come in because it was literally just warm apples. HAHAHA

So.. if you are in for that and are tired of eating your apples cold, and would like to chop them into pieces feel free to try this amazing recipe and to be under-whelmed by it. 

 

Oh if for some reason you get better results feel free to let me know! Because I will happily look forward to being “obsessed”!  

🔥 Around the Campfire (week 39)

Dear Campers ~ 

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

Posts ~

9/21: 🔥 week 38

9/22: fall wreaths 

9/23: TT containing the mess 

9/24: tomato rice 

9/25: german chocolate cupcakes with ganache filling 

9/26: MSIH skillet enchiladas suizas 

9/27: words (charming gardeners)

What's Cooking ~

• swordfish tacos (brush the swordfish with a little lemon butter while grilling, serve it with toppings of your choice - we do coleslaw - and warmed corn tortillas)
• skillet enchiladas suizas (see above), spanish rice, steamed green beans 
• oven baked bbq ribs, sweet potatoes, chopped and steamed swiss chard with balsamic 
• steak, mexican street corn salad, roasted asparagus
• grilled chicken, pasta with roasted cherry tomatoes, caesar salad 

Miscellaneous stuff keeping me busy ~

• read 'Lethal Prey' by John Sandford about an un-solved murder and a sister who causes problems when she offers a reward to true crime bloggers to find information leading to the killer's arrest. Turns messy. It's a little slow and I hated the ending, honestly hated it - but it's John Sandford writing about Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers and I will read any and all of them. I'll go ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ even with that terrible ending because it's Lucas and Virgil. 

That's it for this week! See you next week for more projects, crafts, recipes, whatever we can think of to make at camp - bye :)

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor

9.28.24: words (best times)

9.28.23: shag cake

9.28.22: ice cream cookie bites

9.28.21: TT- make a paper plate bowl

9.28.19: banana coffee ‘ice cream’

9.28.18: chicken parmesan stuffed portobello mushrooms

9.28.17: my baking center

9.28.16: pumpkin nutella cookie bars

9.28.15: pumpkin tower  

9/27 ~ Words

 Let us be grateful

to the people who

make us happy;

they are the charming 

gardeners who make

our souls blossom.

Marcel Proust 

9.27.24: homemade strawberry sauce

9.27.23: mermaid scale cake 

9.27.22: pumpkin bread review

9.27.21: Kyle's charcuterie board/centerpiece 

9.27.20: 🔥 week 39

9.27.19: how to make a flip book

9.27.18: morse code and other bracelets

9.27.17: hawaiian cake

9.27.16: organizing socks

MSIH: Skillet Enchiladas Suizas

I made this for everyone in the family but my sister reviewed it for me so I'm still calling this a "My Sis is Hungry" post - although I like that she re-named it "My Family is Hungry" hahahah. The recipe is called 'skillet enchiladas suizas' but since I was making this for numerous households I didn't think putting everyone's in a skillet was very efficient or cost-effective lol - so I tripled the recipe and made it in my very large skillet, then divided it into containers for everyone and had them reheat it covered in a 350' oven for 20 minutes or until heated thru; uncover and top with cheese, bake until melted. I'll give you the recipe as written, the only other change I made is I added a can of rinsed black beans to the mixture. 

Here's what she has to say:

I got a new delivery for my sister is hungry!! In fairness it should be “my family is hungry” because I believe she made this dinner for everyone but either way.. I am indeed hungry.

 

No idea what this was called- but it was FANTASTIC.  No suspense there, cutting right to the point. HAHA.

She gave us a pretty good size portion and we ate every single bit of it.  We definitely should have stopped but it was so delicious we just kept going.

It was creamy, had great flavor and was filling.  I would have thought the tortillas would be weird in there but they weren’t.  It all blended together and was really fantastic. 

 

If I had stopped eating and saved some for lunch today I would have tried it with lettuce on top and maybe some jalapenos but I ate it so fast and it was so good I didn’t think of that until this morning when I was wishing I had some more. 

 

Thanks Sister for the delicious goodness!

SKILLET ENCHILADAS SUIZAS

Ingredients:

• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped (2 cups)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced 
• 1 1/2 t. ground cumin
• 1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 1/4 cup tomatillo salsa (note: I used mild salsa verde in a jar)
• 4 cups cooked shredded rotisserie chicken (note: I boiled chicken breast in chicken broth, shredded once cool enough to handle)
• 1 cup cream or sour cream
• 6 (6 in.) corn tortillas, torn into pieces
• 8 oz. shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided (note: I used a Mexican cheese blend)
• diced avocado, fresh cilantro leaves for serving, optional 

Directions:

Preheat broiler to HIGH. Place oil in a medium-size cast-iron skillet, and heat over medium, swirling to coat. Add onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 6 minutes.

1. Add garlic and cumin. Cook, stirring often, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. 

2. Stir in drained tomatoes and salsa. Simmer over medium-low, stirring often, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.

3. Remove skillet from heat. Stir in chicken, crema, tortillas, and 1/2 cup of the Monterey Jack cheese. Top evenly with remaining 1 1/2 cups cheese.

4. Transfer skillet to preheated oven, and broil until cheese is lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Top with avocado, and sprinkle with cilantro leaves.

1. recipe found here at southern living 

   
   

9.26.24: miniature cheesecakes with oreo crust

9.26.23: buttercream frosting

9.26.22: missed again

9.26.21: 🔥week 39

9.26.20: anniversary drawing

9.26.19: alfredo and pink sauces

9.26.18: german chocolate cheesecake

9.26.17: paper sunflowers

9.26.16: wood display box 

9.26.15: how to use a hulk sized zucchini

 

German Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache Filling

I made cupcakes for LeDonna's birthday - she loves German Chocolate cake and I have made many versions of it for her over the years (cupcakes, pie, poke cake, cheesecake...); this year I did cupcakes again but in a different way. I had leftover ganache from making the chocolate raspberry cupcakes  and that stuff is way too wickedly good to throw out, I'm glad I saved it because it made the perfect filling for this years' German Chocolate cupcakes. Just put it in a decorating bag with a big tip, insert into the top of the baked and cooled cupcakes and gently squeeze. 

I made my traditional German Chocolate filling/frosting and scooped mounds of it onto each cupcake using a 2 Tablespoon cookie scoop. They looked great!

for the filling:

• 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 4 large egg yolks, slightly beaten
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 package (7 oz.) sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

*place the evaporated milk, sugar, butter, egg yolks, and vanilla in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until thickened and golden brown in color, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the coconut and pecans. Cool the frosting to room temperature (about 20 minutes) before using. 

I drizzled some of them with room temperature ganache but I don't think it was necessary, they are already super rich and have so much going on!

click here for another version of German Chocolate cupcakes 

9.25.24: halal cart-style chicken and rice 

9.25.23: Ursula costume

9.25.22: oops - missed a day!

9.25.21: chocolate sandwich cookie

9.25.20: broccoli casserole

9.25.19: banana poppy seed muffins

9.25.18: framed photo collage

9.25.17: wine and design fall tabletop

9.25.16: veggie and white bean bake

9.25.15: soccer keychains

Tomato Rice

We had everyone over for dinner and I made tacos with spanish rice before realizing that the packaged rice mix has gluten in it so Macey and Georgie wouldn't be able to eat it. I quickly Googled for ideas doctoring plain white rice and this turned out so good we liked it even better than the packaged mix!

This is a winging it made up recipe so I don't have exact amounts, other than the ratio of rice to liquid, I just added half of a can of tomato paste, onion powder, minced dried garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and chicken broth instead of water along with the white rice in my rice cooker, and let the rice cooker tell me when it was done.  Stirred to make sure the tomato paste was incorporated, and fluffed it up with a fork. That's it! 

I forgot to take a picture of course - picture reddish colored rice!

This is a compilation of a few recipes, another common ingredient is tomato sauce and/or adding a can of drained diced tomatoes. 

9.24.24: TT keep a cake from sliding around

9.24.23: 🔥 week 39

9.24.22: thru the years

9.24.21: sprinkle sandwich cookies 

9.24.19: TT: power outage

9.24.18: jute wrapped candle

9.24.17: 2 cheese balls

9.24.16: ice cream carton tip

9.24.15: crochet bracelets

Tip-sy Tuesday: Containing the Mess

Yesterday I showed you my old Fall wreaths that were disintegrating and I thought I could re-work them (spoiler alert, I could not); before realizing they were too far gone though I tried picking the bad bits off without undoing the entire wreath. They were so messy that basically just looking at them made more pieces fall off and I didn't know how I was even going to carry them to my craft room without leaving a trail of crumbs. LeDonna had a great idea to put them inside a trash bag so it would catch the mess - and it did! So...if you have a similar situation where you know something is going to be sooooo messy, maybe working on it inside a trash bag will work for you as well! 

initially I just thought these leaves were the problem, they just turned
to scraps and dust when I moved the wreath

put them inside a big trash bag and gave them a good shake before 
hand picking off what I could...

saved all of this from going on the floor and all over my space!

9.23.24: felt cage cover

9.23.23: words 

9.23.22: thru the years 

9.23.21: necktie pillow 

9.23.20: mounds cake

9.23.19: driftwood art 

9.23.18: 🔥 week 38

9.23.16: painting pottery with Brooke

9.23.15: candy coated marshmallows

Fall Wreath

I made this Fall wreath a long time ago, I think it must have been before I started blogging because I don't find a post about it. This is like the worlds easiest wreath, short of just buying one already made haha; it is literally 2 garland strands wired onto a 12" wire wreath form. Soooooo easy.

After all this time tho the wreath was disintegrating, the leaves were crumbling and making a big mess, and another flower fell off every time we opened the door. I took the wreaths apart figuring I'd just remove all the crumbling parts and hot glue the flowers back on - but then I realized it was a hopeless endeavor and decided to give up on them. I removed the flowers that were still holding on and will use for another project, and I threw out the rest of the garlands.

the 2 garland strands I wired to the wreath form

I bought 2 boxwood wreaths back when Joanne was going out of business and they were doing super sales. They've been laying around for months now so I decided to add some of the leftover flowers from my first Fall wreaths and a big ribbon to the backside of the wreath, I didn't glue anything on so when it's time to put up my Halloween wreaths I'll remove the flowers and do something else with the plain boxwood side in the future. 

9.22.24: 🔥 week 38

9.22.23: MSTI TikTok egg sandwich 

9.22.22: thru the years

9.22.21: crockpot London broil stroganoff 

9.22.20: TT- baby washcloths 

9.22.19: ugh computer problems 

9.22.18: Cassie’s flower arrangement 

9.22.17: chocolate covered banana by Brooke

9.22.16: corn husk wreaths

9.22.15: decorate your outlet covers

🔥 Around the Campfire (week 38)

Dear Campers ~ 

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

Posts ~

9/14: 🔥 week 37

9/15: blogiversary contest

9/16: 10 years 

9/17: chocolate raspberry cupcakes

9/18: cream cheese stuffed peppers 

9/19: Mexican street corn salad re-run 

9/20: blogiversary drawing

What's Cooking ~

• burgers, air-fryer tater tots, corn on the cob, caesar salad
• grilled chicken, pasta with roasted tomatoes, steamed broccoli
• crock pot beef stew, green salad
• pasta with chicken, shrimp, spinach, tomatoes in albedo sauce, roasted asparagus
• bbq ribs, chopped kale salad, rice packet

Miscellaneous stuff keeping me busy ~

• read 'Verity' by Colleen Hoover with mixed feelings. It's an interesting story about a best-selling author in a coma, her husband hires a practically unknown author to finish the series his wife was working on...it's dark for sure but I found a lot of the plot to be far-fetched and slow. And I hated the ending. It's being made into a movie, I'll be curious to see if the movie version fixes the ending. I'll go ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2
• read 'Nineteen Minutes' by Jodi Piccoult - I'm a Jodi Piccoult fan but had a hard time with this one. It's about a teenager boy who has been bullied his whole life and a mass school shooting. The storyline was compelling until it turns into a legal procedural book that really weighed and slowed it down. For me it's a ⭐️⭐️⭐️

That's it for this week! See you next week for more projects, crafts, recipes, whatever we can think of to make at camp - bye :)

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor

9.21.24: words (florida summer water)

9.21.23: butterkin squash 

9.21:22: thru the years

9.21.21: TT - microwaving couscous

9.21.20: face mask with clear front 

9.21.19: antipasto pasta

9.21.18: rhubarb bbq sauce

9.21.16: sprinkles no-bake cheesecake

9.21.15: german chocolate cupcakes