Around the Campfire 🔥 (week 28)

Dear Campers ~

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

Posts ~

7.7: 🔥 (week 27)
7.8: beaded hoop earrings
7.9: Tip-sy Tuesday: Jen's hair bun hack
7.10: cookie dough cupcakes
7.11: my niece is hungry: oslo pasta bake
7.12: za'atar bread with kefir cheese (sounds weird, but it's so good!)
7.13: Cathy's banana pudding

What's cooking ~

• steak, stuffed mushrooms, sautéed green beans and spinach
• grilled chicken, veggie tots, salad
• grilled pizza, salad
• grilled brats, potato salad, kale salad
• bbq ribs, roasted green beans, mashed potatoes

Miscellaneous stuff keeping me busy but not worth a whole post ~

• Spent all morning weeding, staking, and working on my miniature garden which is just popping with beans right now! and the plumeria stick has 4 leaves on it, yay I'm actually growing a tree.
• Read #2 Amos Decker series book "The Last Mile" by David Baldacci ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and "A Dangerous Act of Kindness by LP Fergusson ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 
• Our cc&r's forbid (among many things) pink flamingoes in our yards. Sigh. So guess what I have all over inside the front courtyard where you can only see them from the house? Yep - lots and lots of pink flamingoes 😂 I will not be denied my flamingoes - just sayin'. 
• Made my sis another golf stroke counter, maybe if she didn't need to count so high every game she would stop wearing them out LOL!! Don't tell her I said that...

Have a great week - stop back often to see more recipes, crafts, whatever else is happening at camp!

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor and flamingo lover

Banana Pudding

Cathy made this banana pudding for a party and it is SO good - really, I don't even like bananas and I just about licked my bowl clean! When other people at the party said they didn't want to try it we forced them to at least take a bite, sure enough they didn't stop at one bite hahahah.

Ingredients:

• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (5 oz.) package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 3 cups cold milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 (8 oz.) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 4 bananas, sliced
• 1/2 (12 oz.) package vanilla wafers

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in condensed milk, pudding mix, cold milk, and vanilla until smooth. Fold in 1/2 of the whipped topping.

2. Line the bottom of a 13x9" dish with vanilla wafers. Arrange sliced bananas evenly over wafers. Spread with pudding mixture. Top with remaining whipped topping. Chill.

Za'atar Bread with Kaffir Cheese

Janis and I had lunch at Sammy's in El Segundo and shared the most delicious appetizer - I wasn't familiar with Za'atar or Byblos Lebni before having this dish and am now obsessed with both!  Za’atar is a Middle Eastern spice blend that you can purchase or make your own - it tends to be a mix thyme, toasted sesame seeds, oregano, and sumac. Byblos Lebni is a rich creamy dairy product, similar to thick greek yogurt or sour cream - if you can't find it I'd substitute plain greek yogurt in a pinch.  This is a very easy, flavorful, and pretty appetizer - thanks to Janis for the recipe so we can now make it at home!

Za’atar Bread with Kefir Cheese

Pita Bread, Flat Bread or Frozen Dough Rolls

Olive Oil

Zaatar Seasoning

Byblos Lebni (pasteurized kefir cheese) - add salt to increase flavor

Chopped Tomatoes

Preheat oven to 350.  Brush olive oil over bread and sprinkle with a generous amount of Za'atar seasoning.  Place in oven to for approximately 6-8 minutes or bake until dough is cooked if using raw dough.  Cut into slices and serve with kefir cheese and chopped tomatoes. 

note: to serve, I put the byblos lebni or yogurt in the middle of a big bowl or plate, top with more za'atar seasoning and chopped tomatoes; place the warm seasoned bread around the outside edge of bowl or plate as shown above. 

I bought za’atar seasoning at the grocery store, here’s a recipe if you want to make your own: 

Combine all in a small bowl ~
1 tablespoon ground sumac
1 tablespoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

My Niece is Hungry: Oslo Pasta Bake

My niece questioned why my sis is getting meals to review (all those "my sis is hungry" posts I've been running), as she is also hungry. So today it's "my niece is hungry"! Here's her review - recipe and notes follows what she has to say:

This weekend my Mom came to visit me in Chicago, and brought a dish in a cooler that my aunt made for me. (I didn’t even ask what it was but excited for 1. Free food and 2. Who doesn’t love pasta? 

At first glance, the dish looked like some sort of lasagna/red sauce casserole? The small bag of shredded cheese on top of the dish made me excited (more cheese!) and her directions seemed easy so I popped it in the oven and was ready to give it a try. I’m not really sure what kind of meat she used but it was good.  It wasn’t overly seasoned and not too heavy (where afterward you’d most likely feel ‘gross/too-full’??)  Overall I thought the pasta was super delicious; total comfort food, yet felt somewhat ‘healthy’ thanks to the sauce. The base of the sauce felt more like real tomatoes than pasta sauce, which I enjoyed. My only suggestion/recommendation would be to enhance the spiciness...maybe something with more heat, or even additional pepper. I personally would’ve liked it over a bed of spinach or chopped spinach or another “green” for dimension (which I did the second day, when I packed leftovers my for lunch!) I’d definitely enjoy this meal again (take 2 ‘my niece is hungry?’ or maybe I’ll save the recipe and give it a whirl!)

Personally, I’d love if there were more ‘my favorite niece is hungry’ recipes 😉!!

 😊 Thanks Auntie/Make My Daycamp!!

XOX - Buffy

Jill here: This pasta dish is layers of tomato meat sauce and pasta in a cheese sauce. I have no idea where this recipe came from, it's in my file of clippings to try sometime and the original name is "Oslo Macaroni Bake" which is slightly confusing to me since it calls for rotelle pasta and not macaroni. So I've renamed it "Oslo Pasta Bake"; it would be fine to use other shapes for sure - I'm thinking any short pasta that you'd use in macaroni and cheese like shells, bowties, penne, heck even macaroni! The way the original recipe is worded is also a little confusing to me - I'm just going to give you the recipe as I made it:

1 pound lean ground beef
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 16 oz. can tomatoes, chopped, drained

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 cups milk
2 cups shredded Swiss/Gruyere cheese, divided

3 cups cooked rotelle pasta
1 8oz. can tomato sauce

for the meat sauce:
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan, add the mushrooms, onion, red pepper, and season with salt and pepper; cook until the veggies are tender. Add the ground beef breaking it into small pieces (I don't like big chunks of meat in my sauce, do it how you like) and cook until the beef is done, stirring often. Stir in the chopped tomatoes. Set aside. (I drained off any standing liquid before assembling this casserole).

for the pasta and cheese layer:
In a saucepan, melt remaining 1/4 butter. Add flour and cook, stirring, several minutes. Remove from heat. Gradually blend in milk; cook, stirring, until thickened and smooth. Stir in 1 1/2 cups cheese. Stir in cooked pasta.

To assemble and bake:
Alternate layers of pasta and meat mixtures in a buttered 2 qt. baking dish. Top with tomato sauce. Bake at 350'F for 35 minutes, top with remaining cheese*. Bake 5 minutes longer until the cheese is melted.

Makes 6-8 servings.

*note: the extra 1/2 cup cheese you put on after baking for 35 minutes is the small bag of cheese that Macey is referring to in her review. I put the casserole together for her but didn't bake it, sent it wrapped up with the above baking directions.

7.11.18: banana cupcakes with marshmallow filling
7.11.17: spider mum paper flowers
7.11.16: coco lopez

Cookie Dough Cupcakes 2.0

I posted cookie dough cupcakes back in '16, here is another version that had everyone at Al and Cathy's raving - Cathy said "I don't even like cupcakes and these are the best cupcakes in the entire world!" and Al texted "Cathy & I agree your cupcakes are the best we have ever had" and thanked me for bringing them...wow, high praise! This is obviously a keeper recipe.

You'll need:

• yellow cake mix (without pudding in the mix- I used Betty Crocker Favorites yellow cake mix, note the amount of liquid and fat you need might change depending on what brand you buy - change my amounts below if yours calls for something different)
• banana instant pudding (I did not use sugar-free)
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup whole milk (instead of water)
• 1/2 cup melted butter, cooled slightly (instead of oil)
• dash of vanilla
• 1 24-count tray of store-bought chocolate chip cookie dough (I used Nestlé Toll House, the kind that comes in squares you can break off and bake individually)
• buttercream frosting
• 1/2 block of cream cheese

Directions:

1. Cut the cookie dough into it's pre-scored 24 squares, freeze until solid.
2. In a large bowl mix together the eggs, milk, melted butter, and vanilla. Add the cake mix and pudding, beat with hand mixer (or standing mixer, or by hand) for a couple of minutes.
3. Divide the batter evenly into 24 cupcake tins lined with cupcake liners. 
4. Place 1 frozen cookie dough square on each cupcake batter, slightly press into the batter but don't push it all the way in. 
5. Bake at 350'F for 16-18 minutes. Do not overbake or the cookie dough will bake solid. Sticking a toothpick or skewer in the cupcake to check for doneness like normal doesn't work because you want the cookie dough soft - check the edges of the cupcake to see if the cake is done. Remove to a rack to cool.
6. Meanwhile, make the buttercream frosting. Blend 1 stick of butter with 1/2 block cream cheese until fluffy. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla, a pinch of salt, and one cup of powdered sugar, mix to combine. Slowly add 3 more cups of powdered sugar alternating with a little milk or cream until you get the right consistency. 
7. Once the cupcakes are cool frost with the buttercream cheese frosting, sprinkles optional :)

*note: I set the cookie dough on top of the batter and didn't press down. The dough didn't sink all the way to the bottom and made the top of the cupcakes uneven - but once you frost them no one will ever know! Don't freak out if they come out of the oven a little wonky. I will lightly press the cookie dough into the batter next time.

I kind of like how a scoop of frosting looks on the top
before I smoothed it out - reminds me of a scoop of ice cream

Update * Cathy made these cupcakes the following day and made 1/2 with macadamia white chocolate chip dough; she said they taste great but one thing she found is that the dough was portioned into bigger pieces and filled up the cupcakes a little too much - the Nestle dough I used is a total of 16.5 ounces, check the weight of whatever dough you use. If you use homemade dough I would just put about a couple teaspoons in each cupcake.

Tip-sy Tuesday: Hair Bun Hack...by Jenny

So we have established I don’t cook or craft but there is something I do well... I purchase crap off Amazon. I see an ad usually popping up on Facebook (because they have tracked my history of buying crap so keep popping things up for me).  Here is my latest thing I couldn’t live without. It’s an odd version of a slap bracelet used to make a bun. Yes we have all seen the sponge bun- I have that also. That one makes my bun GIANT and obviously fake. This one looked so easy and great! So boom- $8 on Amazon prime overnight and here it is. 

I eagerly open the packet and pull it out and race to try it out! All the time this will save me in the morning before work!  I put my hair in the pony tail and place the bun maker on- boom. It immediately curls up (like a slap bracelet does). Not to be deterred I try it again. And again. And again. 

On the 10th try I got it. A semblance of a decent looking bun. Maybe with more practice this will get faster. So my verdict? Decent bun but not quick. I’ll keep practicing because I do love the idea. 

Ignore the dirty hair in these pictures but hey.. what do you expect from someone who purchases a slap bracelet to do their hair for work?

Jill here - this is one thing I miss out on since I have short hair, I'd love to play with this bun-making-slap-bracelet! Looks great Sissy!


7.9.18: beach terrarium

Beaded Hoop Earrings

Made these pretty beaded earrings at the campground table, they came together really quickly and will go with pretty much everything in my closet.

You'll need 2 wire hoops, a couple lengths of thin wire (thin enough that you can wrap it around the hoop by hand), and approx. 40 beads in your choice of colors - mine are clear, gray, and black and I used silver wire but there are lots of different wire colors available. Wrap wire around the earring hoop a few times, then add a bead and wrap the wire around, add another bead and wrap again. Continue adding beads and wrapping the wire for as long as you want, then wrap the wire around a few times to finish and hold the beads in place. Easy!

The technique is similar to the beaded ring I posted in '17, click here to see more on how to make wire wrapped jewelry.


7.8.18: gazpacho
7.8.17: 3-ingredient sangria
7.8.16: mushroom rice

Around the Campfire 🔥 (week 27)

Dear Campers ~

Here's a recap of what happened this week at camp (in case you missed anything):

Posts ~

6.30: 🔥 (week 26)
7.1: mosaic stepping stone
7.2: Tip-sy Tuesday: storing ribbons
7.3: mini fruit pies
7.4: Fourth of July
7.5: Lego Scottie
7.6: propagating plumeria

What's cooking ~

• crock pot bbq shredded chicken, sweet potato cornbread (both recipes to follow), roasted green beans
• grilled pork tenderloin, butternut squash spiral salad
• marinated chicken, mashed potatoes, mexican street corn salad (recipe to follow)
• grilled tuna, greek salad, roasted garbanzo beans
• grilled chicken sausages, sweet kale salad, potato salad, mexican street corn salad 
• steak, black bean salad with corn, tomatoes, avocado in vinaigrette 

Miscellaneous things keeping me busy in addition to the above, but not worth a whole post ~

• I'm writing this from the campground, it's such a gorgeous day! Brought a couple crafty things with me to make, but first I'm being lazy enjoying sitting outside under the umbrella catching up on the blog. 
• read "Before We Were Yours" by Lisa Wingate and loved it. Cathy recommended, it's a historical fiction based on a true story of a woman who runs an orphanage in the 20-50's. Really good, couldn't put it down ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Also read "Memory Man" by David Balducci, also recommended by Cathy - loved it too, in a very different way than the historical fiction one! Memory Man is quite the thriller, while reading it I kept thinking "am I reading the correct Memory Man? Does Cathy like these creepy suspenseful thrillers?" Yes she does, and it's a good one. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• picked about 4 meals worth of green beans this week, things are happening in the garden! Tomatoes are still green but they're coming...I'm feeling another 'tomato week' in my near future. 

Hope you had a great week and a happy 4th long weekend. Check back this week to see what fun things and recipes happen at camp! 

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor and lazy camper

Propagating Plumeria

Back in the first part of May you might remember I planted a plumeria cutting to see if I can turn it into a new plant  ~ I mentioned that I was giving it a try in week 18 Around the Campfire, here's the picture from back then, and yes they are exactly what it looks like - 2 planted sticks:)

Backstory - Dave came home a few days before we were getting ready to make our spring migration back to Michigan with this big ol' stick,  said a friend of his gave it to him and I "needed to plant it and it'll become a tree". Um, ok - what kind of tree? And how am I going to do this with our leaving? Am I taking the stick to Michigan? He thought it's plumeria, after doing a little research it is indeed plumeria and I set about learning what the heck to do with it. Turns out it is pretty easy - I made three cuttings from the one large cutting, let it dry for a few days, dipped the end in rooting powder and planted it in a fast draining mixture of soil and perlite - and guys, guess what? It's working! Well, at least one of the cuttings is...

You can see the new growth on the front cutting, the back one hasn't rooted yet and I'm thinking it's not going to,  but I set it outside to get more sunlight and warmth and we'll see.

Now that it's producing leaves I repotted it into a larger pot to give it room to grow. I mixed the same 1/3 lightweight potting soil with 2/3 perlite to plant it in, plumeria doesn't like to sit in water so the soil needs to drain quickly - adding that much perlite will keep the soil airy and loose and help promote drainage. It needs to dry out in between waterings - I put it outside but we have been getting an insane amount of rain this spring and I might have to bring it inside. Here in Michigan the plumeria will be an inside plant, but I'm putting it outside while the days are sunny and warm.

On a side note - the insane amount of rain has made my garden seriously flourish! I cannot believe how big everything is already - I planted 6 different tomato plants, bush and pole green beans, bush and pole sugar peas, and climbing sweet peas.

Lucy is so cute when I bring her in some fresh-picked peas, she literally grabs them from me she is so excited to eat them. 

Lego Scottie and Hydrant

Yes, I'm a grown up. Yes, I have other things to do. No, I haven't given away the Legos yet. 

That's all I'm gonna say. Bam - shortest post ever.