In Case of Emergency Gift Idea

I made this for a graduation gift years ago, never shared the idea with you because I can't find a picture of how mine turned out - I borrowed this image found here, it's similar to what I did. Super easy, quick, and fun graduation (or any time) gift. 

I printed the words on a piece of paper leaving a space in the center for the money. Place it all in a frame and you're done! You could also cricut the letters and stick them to the front of the frame (I didn't have a cricut machine back then or I probably would have done that), or buy letter stickers. Cute, right? 

5.3.21: melting potatoes

5.3.20: 🔥week 18

5.3.19: how to mat and frame pictures

5.3.18: protein pancakes

5.3.17: braided herb bread

5.3.16: houseguest treat bucket

Graduation Cap Mason Jar (rerun)

I originally posted this in June of '17, good time for a rerun since graduation season is almost here! 

Here's the original post:

This might be too late for you to make this year since it's almost mid-June and most kids have graduated by now...but it's a cute easy idea if you still need a gift! Or if you are hosting a graduation open house these would be super cute decorations on the tables.  It's been on Pinterest for a while now, I have no idea who to credit for the original post! I'll try to remember to re-share this idea next Spring in time for you to make one ;)

Supplies:
black cardstock
embroidery thread
1 brad
hot glue
mason jar with ring

Directions:

1) from black cardstock cut out a 3.5" square and a 1" strip as long as needed to go around the ring that screws onto the top of your mason jar
2) glue the strip around the ring, then glue the square to the top of the ring.
3) make a tassel out of embroidery thread (whatever color you want but if you can make it the school colors that'd be nice!) that is about 3" long, leaving a 6" tail. If you need instructions for making a tassel click here but remember to find something to wrap the embroidery thread around that will give you the correct length of your finished tassel.
4) poke a hole in the top of the cardstock square and run the tail thru it, letting the tassel dangle off the edge of the square. I put a star shaped brad in the hole over top of the thread to make it look nicer, a round one would work fine. Or whatever you have that will cover the hole! Then trim any thread off that is hanging on the inside.
5) it's not necessary but I cut a circle out of the black cardstock to cover the underside of the cap where the thread and brad are, just to finish it a little more.
6) fill the jar with anything - I rolled up dollar bills and stuffed the jar full but you can fill with whatever gift you want that will fit! gift cards, candy, a mini survival kit...or just use these for decorations - so cute!

5.2.21: 🔥 week 18

5.2.20: Lisa's stuffed mushrooms 

5.2.19: provencal vegetable bake
5.2.18: garbanzo bean cookie dough
5.2.17: DIY hair treatments
5.2.16: dipped candles 

🔥 Around the Campfire (week 18)

Dear Campers ~

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

Posts ~

4/24: oops, looks like I forgot to do the 🔥 recap!

4/25: chocolate caramel pretzel candy

4/26: Tip-sy Tuesday: front or back?

4/27: stuffing and zucchini

4/28: MSIH: crock pot cheesy chicken and rice

4/29: eggs florentine

4/30: dance recital '22

What's Cooking (I've had recital stuff most of the week so didn't make many dinners!) ~

• grilled tuna, greek salad (tomatoes, cukes, feta, garbanzo beans)
• grilled chicken, cole slaw, roasted green beans
• steak, mushrooms, baked potato
• chicken spinach sausages, baked beans in red sauce, green beans (bought a giant bag at Costco so we are eating lots of green beans this week haha)

That's it - I'm off to get ready for our last recital today! I see it was mostly food posts this week, haven't had much time to make anything other than food hahaha. Stop by next week to see what (if anything) I make at camp :) Oh, and 'hooray hooray, it's the first day of May!'

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor 

5.1.21: tri-fold card

5.1.20: testing old seeds

5.1.19: lemon cake

5.1.18: smoked meat 

5.1.17: butternut squash salad

5.1.16: breakfast frittata

Dance Recital '22

It's that time of year again - this weekend is Spirit Expressions dance recital and I'm in it with my adult tap class. The recital theme is 'It takes a Village' so all the numbers represent a place, person, or thing in our town. I was really not happy with our assignment representing the retirement center! I don't think adults being older adults is fun LOL - like I'm already an old person so playing even older isn't cool! But then I decided if I'm gonna play a granny I'd make her a funky granny and got more into the spirit of the thing, I ended up really enjoying my costume and the routine.  

Everyone made their own costumes which is pretty funny so we've got everything from granny in rollers and robe, rehab granny, farmer, a couple of men, church lady, etc. My favorite has to be Angela who totally went for it - she's got a bald wig and a big hairy belly sticking out of her too short tshirt (it's a belt bag haha). 

Here's a couple pics that I took off Facebook of the old-timers - I don't have a picture of all of us together but I'll update this post after the recital, I'm sure there'll be lots more:

4.30.21: mushy-roomy rice

4.30.20: birthday 'cake' tower

4.30.19: pillbox travel container

4.30.18: Kyle's smoker

4.30.17: hasselback potatoes

4.30.16: recital

Eggs Florentine

I've made my version of eggs florentine forever - so long I don't even remember how I came up with doing it this way - when I google for actual recipes some are served over english muffins or toast; some have wilted spinach and hollandaise sauce; others have mushrooms, prosciutto, etc. For what it's worth this is what I do, and we love it! 

Ingredients:

• creamed spinach, heated thru (either purchase in frozen section or make your own, see below)
• poached eggs
• swiss cheese (or other white cheese that melts nicely), thin slices or shredded

Directions: 

For each serving: spread a spoonful of hot creamed spinach in a shallow bowl or larger ramekin. Top with a poached egg or two, sprinkle with cheese or lay cheese slices over the eggs, pop under the broiler until the cheese melts. 

not my photo but wanted you to have an idea
what it looks like, image found here

Giada De Laurentiis has a recipe on the food network that looks good - she places a tomato slice on each plate, topped with creamed spinach and poached eggs, then sprinkled with crumbled cooked prosciutto. I will try adding tomato to my standard version. 

This is a simple and quick dish if you can find frozen creamed spinach - if you can't I'm copying and pasting a recipe below that I found at cafedelites.com

INGREDIENTS

• 16 ounces (450 g) baby spinach leaves, washed and dried
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, divided
• 1 an onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or minced
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk, or half and half
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg, optional
• 1 pinch of cayenne pepper,optional
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese, to serve

INSTRUCTIONS

• Melt 1/4 cup of butter in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes until light golden. Add in the onion and cook until transparent (about 2-3 minutes), then add the garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds). 
• Pour in the milk (or half and half), whisking constantly until the white sauce thickens (about 5 minutes). Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne (If using). If the sauce is too thick, add another 1/4 cup of milk to the sauce, whisking it through until reaching your desired thickness.
• For the spinach: melt the remaining butter in a separate pan, and add spinach in batches, wilting each batch before adding the next, until all spinach is wilted. (Add a small spoon of water if the pan gets too dry.)Alternatively: Cook the spinach in a pot of boiling water for just one minute; then immerse in a cold water bath to stop the cooking process. Squeeze out any excess water from the leaves and set aside. Season the cream sauce with salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne. Add wilted spinach to the cream sauce, stirring gently to combine. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

NOTES

*Instead of fresh spinach, you can use 1 x 16 ounce package of frozen chopped spinach. Thaw and squeeze dry before adding to the sauce.
4.29.21: lemon glazed chicken breast 

4.29.20: grandma's cinnamon twists

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

MSIH: Crock Pot Cheesy Chicken and Rice

My sister asked me this week if I’m hungry and of course the answer is heck yeah!!

I sent her some random recipe’s I found and saved to see if she wanted to try any of those. (last time that’s how I got that awesome crack chicken stuff.. yum.  Look that one up if you haven’t tried it yet).  oh also I think I sent her that amazing peanut butter one that had nutter butters in the bottom.  I could eat that one for dinner – even if I shouldn’t. LOL.

So anyway- this time was some kind of crock pot chicken and rice dish.  She was kind enough to make it for us so I was of course happy to try it and tell her what I think! (the least I can do!)

This one wasn’t an award winner for us.  It had “potential” but the way the recipe was as written was only ok.  The chicken had good flavor, I loved the corn, I think the issue was just that it all kind of blended together in one big mush.  Not a ton of flavor but “decent”.  The second night we still had left overs so since I don’t want to cook for myself I decided to doctor it and try again.

I added more chicken soup (to make it saucier), a scoop of light sour cream, and some more Colby jack cheese on top.  I then baked it in the oven until cheese melted.  This honestly was a bit better.  It gave it more flavor.  Upon more thought I think I should have added maybe broccoli?  Or mushrooms?  Just to add a different texture?  It definitely has potential with a little more something.  I make suggestions only- I’m sure Jill can figure out what that right “something” is- and I’ll be ready to try it again. HAHAHA 

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts 

1 large onion, chopped 

1 (10.5 ounce) can cream of chicken soup 

1 (8 ounce) box Zatarain's Yellow Rice Mix 

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 

1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained

1. Place chicken in the slow cooker. Sprinkle chopped onion over top and dollop cream of chicken soup over top. Cook on low for 7 hours or high for 3 hours. 
2. About 30 minutes before serving, cook the rice according to package instructions. 

3. Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred; return to slow cooker.

4. Once rice is cooked, stir it into the chicken mixture in the slow cooker. Stir in shredded cheese and corn. Continue cooking just until cheese is melted. 

found here

Jill here - I agree with the review, the flavor is good but it melded together into the same texture and color so it comes off as 'mushy'; adding broccoli and/or mushrooms, or peas to add another texture and color would make it better. It's a worthwhile recipe, just needs a little tweak. 

4.28.21: tortilla pizza

4.28.20: TT: baking powder

4.28.19: 🔥

4.28.18: cucumber cooler

4.28.17: Brooke made slime

4.28.16: sample sale photography

Stuffing with Zucchini

Stuffing with Zucchini? Stuffing and zucchini? Or should it be 'zucchini with stuffing'? Don't know - don't care as all of them are dumb names hahahah. I do know that I'm not a huge zucchini lover, or a big stuffing fan - but for some reason combining I really like the combination of the two! Whether it's because it tones down the zucchini texture (I don't like when it's cooked and gets really soft) or because it lightens up the stuffing - either way this is a keeper in my book.

I know it's starting to warm up and a side dish of stuffing might not sound right, but we had it with a salad and grilled pork chops so didn't seem too heavy - if you don't want it now just save it for later in the year!

Super easy - chop up zucchini into bite sized chunks and put in a shallow casserole dish (I sprayed the dish with non-stick cooking spray first); make stove-top (or your favorite stuffing mix) according to package directions and layer it over the zucchini. (note: I didn't add anything to the stove-top, just mixed the seasoned bread with water and melted butter). Bake for 30 minutes until the stuffing is hot and golden brown. Stir it up and enjoy (hopefully you'll like this as much as we do!)

4.27.21: TT stovetop splatter tip

4.27.20: t-shirt face mask

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

Tip-sy Tuesday: front or back?

I love when tops don't have a tag sewn in, most of the time if there's a tag I have to remove it (and yep, I have quite a few shirts with tiny holes in the back from my clumsy tag removal!). But there have been times if there is no tag, or the printed label wears off, or I removed the tag and can't tell where it was, that I can't tell which is the front and which is the back. I just discovered that for women, if there is a tag sewn along a side seam, usually towards the bottom, wear the shirt so the tag is on the left side. Not sure why I've never noticed this but since reading that tip I keep looking and sure enough, all of my shirts (and even my coats) have the tag on the left side. 

I don't have a picture of a shirt with the tag on the left hahahhaha, use your imagination ;) 

4.26.21: crockpot golden mushroom pork chops

4.26.20: 🔥week 17

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

Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Candy

Long story but the gist of it is that while we were camping in Florida, the a/c went out in the motorhome and it was only like 4,000 degrees there, and Al and Cathy offered up their cool and comfortable house while they were away. In addition to the a/c I was also able to take advantage of having an oven and space to make a couple things - like the previously posted easy tiramisu (click here), and this wicked and addicting chocolate caramel pretzel candy. This stuff is money!

Dave says it's his new favorite thing. Fortunately it's also very, very easy to make. Unfortunately it's very,

very delicious and dangerous to have around hahahha. 

• 4 cups butter snap pretzels, or mini twists
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 (12 oz) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
• coarse salt, optional

Preheat oven to 325'. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Lay pretzels out, tightly packed together but not overlapping. 

In a small saucepan, melt the butter and sugar together over medium-low heat. Bring to a boil, then continue to boil for 3 minutes stirring constantly. 

Pour the bubbly mixture over the pretzels. It's ok if they aren't all coated, the caramel sauce will even out as it bakes. Bake at 325' for 8 to 10 minutes until the entire top is bubbling. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over top, bake for an additional minute or two until the chocolate is soft enough to spread. Using a spatula or knife, spread the melted chips into an even layer. Sprinkle with coarse salt if desired. 

Place in the freezer for 30 minutes. (note, the pan wouldn't fit in Cathy's freezer so I left it on the counter until it cooled and then put it in the fridge for a few minutes until the chocolate was hard). Crack or cut into pieces and enjoy!

I challenge you to try to resist eating all the little scraps - hahah just kidding, you don't want to waste any of this deliciousness!

original recipe found here at onelittleproject.com

4.25.21: 🔥 week 17

4.25.20: coffee filter glass cleaner

4.25.19: topopo salad

4.25.18: Mickey's DIY sensory boxes

4.25.17: organizing recipes

4.25.16: washi tape feathers

🔥 Around the Campfire (week 17)

Dear Campers ~

I just realized I never did a recap for this week, and am doing it a couple weeks late just so it's on the blog in case you want to reference it! This is what happened this week at camp:

4/17: 🔥 week 16

4/18: turkey taco filling

4/19: TT drink coaster hack

4/20: pork tenderloin glaze

4/21: MSIH: chicken broccoli casserole

4/22: Jen's toaster bag review

4/23: filled mini stuffed peppers

The shortest post ever, but at least there's a recap in place now! Bye!

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor

4.24.21: dance recital '21

4.24.20: parmesan fondue

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