🔥 Around the Campfire (week 3)

Dear Campers ~ 

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

Posts ~

1/12: 🔥 week 2

1/13: opt out of unwanted emails 

1/14: TT grocery list

1/15: hunter's schnitzel sauce 

1/16: Christmas punch 

1/17: salmon wellington 

1/18: words (today...) 

What's Cooking ~

• grilled chicken, spaghetti squash with marinara, wilted spinach
• meatloaf (I made 2 last week), mashed potatoes, cole slaw
• baked salmon with crab topping, parmesan couscous, chopped salad 
• lamb chops, potato salad, steamed asparagus (Dave had to fend for himself!)
• west coast chili , corn bread muffins

Miscellaneous stuff keeping me busy ~ 

We've started book club back up:

• Last month we read "Rock, Paper, Scissors" by Alice Feeney; it's a psychological thriller that is full of twists and turns, others liked it better than I did - there's a whole lot of holes, some parts were a little too improbable, and the ending left me with 'what just happened?' - but it's definitely full of twists and is readable. 
• Next up was going to be "Saving Noah" by Lucinda Berry but Mickey read it first and deemed it too awful and sad and wanted to pick a different book (I'll still read it but am not in a big hurry after her comments haha) so now our next book is...
• "Never Lie" by Freida McFadden. Last month I read "The Housemaid" and "The Housemaid's Secret" by the same author and they are quite good and twisted so I'm looking forward to reading "Never Lie". 

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

1.19.24: office in a closet

1.19.23: peach mustard barbecue sauce

1.19.22: 12 week workout plan

1.19.21: TT Teri's baked chicken tenderloins

1.19.20: 🔥 week 3

1.19.19: tri-color veggie saute 

1.19.18: carved watermelon helmet

1.19.17: color coded keys

1.19.16: chopping vegetables (and not your fingers) 

  

1/18 ~ Words

 

1.18.24: omelet wrap

1.18.23: ham. potato, and bean soup

1.18.22: healthy-er potato soup

1.18.21: chain mask leash

1.18.20: avocado fries 

1.18.19: meat lovers pasta sauce
1.18.18: birthday card gift box
1.18.17: cinnamon roll fail
1.18.16: parachute cord dog collar

Salmon Wellington

I made Beef Wellington for New Year's Eve which is always a hit; I saw a recipe for 'salmon wellington' (aka: salmon en croute) and thought I'd give that a try as well - easy to make, way less steps than the Beef Wellington, and everyone who tried it loved it. I'll give you the original recipe as written, with my changes after. 

photo credit: Feasting at Home

For the Salmon: 

• 1–2 large sheet puff pastry sheets- thawed overnight in the fridge
• 1 – 1 1/4 lb salmon fillet, skin off, pin bones removed 
• 1/4– 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

For the Spinach Filling:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 shallot, finely diced
• 2 garlic, roughly chopped
• 8 ounces fresh baby spinach, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
• 2/3 cup cream cheese, cut or spooned into pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, more as needed
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 egg yolk

Egg wash to assemble: 

• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon milk or half and half

1. Thaw puff pastry overnight in the fridge. Then place on the counter 10 minutes before rolling. 
2. Make the Filling: In a large skillet or pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add shallot and garlic and saute until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes.  Lower heat and add the chopped spinach, stirring and wilting. Add the dill and cream cheese, turn off the heat, and stir until the cream cheese is fully incorporated. Add salt pepper, and lemon zest and set aside.  Let this sit for 5 -10 minutes, then mix in the egg yolk. You could do this all ahead and refrigerate overnight. 
3. Make the egg wash: In a small bowl, whisk one egg with a splash of half and half or milk,  whisk well and set aside. 
4. To assemble: on a floured piece of parchment paper, gently unfold the puff pastry. Flour the top of it and roll it out just a little, to fit the salmon - you don't want it to thin. (see notes). Make sure your puff pastry will fit over the top of the salmon and filling with 1 inch around all three sides - otherwise you'll need two sheets. Note: you basically want the puff pastry twice as big as the piece of salmon with a little extra overhang to seal it. You'll set the salmon at one end of the pastry and fold the pastry overtop. 
5. Season the salmon generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Place the salmon on one side of the puff pastry, leaving an inch of space around it to seal. Brush the salmon with the dijon mustard. 
6. Spoon the spinach filling over the salmon. Smooth it out as best you can. Brush the egg wash lightly on all exposed puff pastry, then carefully fold it over the salmon, pressing out any air bubbles before sealing. Press the edges together with the side of your hand to seal. Trim excess puff pastry to 1/2 inch. Crimp the edges. Brush the top of the pastry with egg wash, as well as the edges. Cut or crosshatch the top to create a design if you like.
7. Slide the salmon on it's parchment paper onto a plate or platter and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
8. Place a sheet pan in the oven and preheat the oven to 400'. When ready to bake, slide the salmon with the parchment paper onto the hot sheet pan, and bake in the middle of oven until golden brown, about 30-35 minutes. Turn the pan halfway through if need be. 
9. Let stand 5-10 minutes, slice into pieces and serve. 

NOTES 

Baking this on a HOT, preheated sheet pan will help the bottom crisp and cook through.

Puff pastry: Depending on the brand of puff pastry you use and the size of your salmon, you may need one or two pastry sheets. You can always cut the salmon to fit the puff pastry better. I’ve even done this with pieces of salmon pushed together. When using the Darfour brand, one large sheet is usually enough; when using the Pepperidge Farms brand, I use both sheets in the package- placing one on top of the other instead of folding them over. 

Salmon: I’ve had the best luck with oiler, thicker salmon (sustainable Nordic Atlantic, coho, or wild king salmon), which is harder to overcook and dry out, versus wild sockeye salmon, which tends to cook faster. That being said, the wild sockeye salmon, though slightly overcooked, still tasted good. 

Cream Cheese: You could replace this with store-bought vegan cream cheese made with cashews. 

Assemble ahead: The whole thing can be assembled a day ahead and refrigerated, then baked right before serving. Remember to use a hot sheet pan. Wait to brush the surface with eggwash until baking. 

NUTRITION

• Serving Size: 1/6 slice
• Calories: 532
• Sugar: 2.2 g
• Sodium: 524.9 mg
• Fat: 31.7 g
• Saturated Fat: 8.8 g
• Carbohydrates: 38.4 g
• Fiber: 2.9 g
• Protein: 26.4 g
• Cholesterol: 95.5 mg

 

Jill's notes: I forgot to brush the salmon with dijon, used dried dill instead of fresh, and didn't have lemon zest so added a small amount of lemon juice - even with those changes it still tasted great!

Recipe found here at Feasting at Home, there is a lot more information and photos if you're interested. I know I took pictures of this but I can't find them now! 

1.17.24: hot and sour soup

1.17.23: ham stock

1.17.22: sliding side lunge

1.17.21: 🔥 week 3

1.17.20: fried cabbage with bacon

1.17.19: how to clean a fan

1.17.18: baked eggs in avocado

1.17.17: tuna-egg salad

1.17.16: best meatballs ever

Christmas Punch

We wanted to have a specialty drink for Christmas dinner, I had everything on hand to make this punch so that was the winning idea. It was a little sweet for me, and I don't love champagne cocktails, but we drank all of one batch and 1/2 of another so I can't knock it because it wasn't my favorite thing. Obviously other people liked it! I don't know why it's "Christmas Punch" other than the fresh cranberries I guess, if you can't find them it won't change the flavor to leave them out. Once again I forgot to take a picture, check out the original post for photos and more details (found here).

Ingredients

  

• 1 large bag of ice
• 5 cups 100% cranberry juice* 40 ounces, NOT cranberry juice cocktail
• 2 bottles very dry sparkling wine (750 ml bottles) , such as champagne, cava, or Prosecco 
• 2 cups apple cider
• 1 ½ cups diet ginger ale (12 ounces) (from 1 can or poured from a liter bottle)
• 1 ½ cups dark rum or brandy (12 ounces)
• 2 oranges thinly sliced into rounds
• 1 cup fresh cranberries

---

Instructions

 

Make sure all of the ingredients are well chilled. 
Fill a large punch bowl with ice.
Top with the cranberry juice, sparkling wine, apple cider, ginger ale, and rum. 

Stir gently to combine.Top with the orange slices and fresh cranberries. Enjoy!

recipe found here at well plated 

1.16.24: TT buttercream frosting fix

1.16.23: MNIH: gluten-free poke brownies

1.16.22: 🔥 week 3

1.16.21: crochet cat basket version 2

1.16.20: TBT: potted ham

1.16.19: removable wallpaper

1.16.18: beading basics

1.16.17: unfinished projects

1.16.16: whiskey sours

Hunter's Schnitzel Sauce (from a packet)

I bought a packet of 'hunter schnitzel sauce' because it looked like stroganoff and I was in the mood for mushrooms in a creamy sauce and this seemed like something we'd like. The directions are to make the sauce using the seasoning mix, fresh mushrooms, cream or half-and-half; pour it over pork or chicken in a casserole dish and bake it for 30 minutes. For us, Dave grilled pork chops and we put the sauce overtop of them and gnocchi (not german haha but still delish, spaetzle is a more traditional side) and we loved it! I will definitely keep this packet on hand for a quick dinner idea - I followed the sauce directions other than I added more sliced mushrooms, and I used half-an-half but also added some water as the sauce started to get really, really thick. Yum!!! 

I found this at our local Meijer for $2.19 in the International foods section 

1.15.24: indoor treasure hunt

1.15.23: 🔥 week 3

1.15.22: Dave's cosmopolitans

1.15.21: skinny chicken parmesan

1.15.20: spinach salad with warm bacon dressing

1.15.19: chocolate chip marshmallow cookies (the worlds ugliest cookies!)

1.15.18: bird cage slipcover

1.15.17: Mimi's neighbor's fish tacos 

1.15.16: dipped shortbread cookies

Tip-sy Tuesday: Grocery List

I posted about how we use a master grocery list back in '18 and we still use this exact system today. While tweaking it a tiny bit yesterday (I removed a couple things we don't really buy often anymore and added a couple new things) I thought I should share it again because it works so good for us. I keep a grocery list on my phone for when I'm at the store, but this paper list helps people in the house let me know when we are out of something - by people I mean Dave, and by 'we are out...' I mean he uses up things only he uses and then wonders why I didn't replace them hahaha. This way if he doesn't check the item or write it on this master list, then he has to wait until the next time I go to the store - I don't take the paper list with me very often, I transfer all the checked things to my phone list. 

Original post from 2/18:

In the quest to be more organized and stop going to the grocery store every day - and also to stop writing things we need on little scraps of paper - I made this master grocery list of the regular things we buy and like to have on hand. When something is getting low or we run out, we just make a little check next to it - and after I make our weekly meal plan (I'm actually sticking to that, see the post about the new way I'm using my planner) I add what we need to this list before heading to the store. My goal is to cut down to twice a week trips and so far, so good.

I did this in Word, just use whatever word processing program you like. For our regular grocery needs I was able to list everything in 4 columns on a half sheet of regular paper (font is chalkboard, text size 8 for the body, 9 for the titles), after getting it like I wanted on the top half of the paper, I copied it and pasted on the bottom half of the paper. Then just cut the pages in half and clip to a small clipboard.

1.14.24: 🔥 week 2 

1.14.23: sweet tea swagger

1.14.22: t-shirt rag quilt

1.14.21: dog crochet basket 

1.14.20: TT: cleaning your mattress

1.14.19: bath salt cakes

1.14.18: west coast chili

1.14.17: Janis's chicken soup

1.14.16: fringe and chain necklace

New Year to do: Unsubscribe from Email Lists

Someone once told me they unsubscribe from all email lists at the beginning of the year (except the ones they actually like to get!) and the idea stuck with me; I've done this for a couple/three years now and getting rid of so much junk - at least for a while - is so great for me since I tend to let them accumulate and suddenly end up with hundreds of unread emails which gives me such anxiety!! You will inevitably be added back to lists as you shop and browse online, but it takes awhile to build them back up and is totally worth spending a few minutes unsubscribing from the unwanted ones. 

Just go to the bottom of each email you get from random stores and other sites, you should see an unsubscribe link - click it, usually it takes you to another screen that either says you've successfully unsubscribed or will ask you to confirm how you want to manage the email from that company (opt out of all, or change how often you receive...). Ahhhhhh goodbye to a bunch of emails that I never signed up for or wanted in the first place!

There are websites that help you manage your email subscriptions if you want to go that route, I don't find it too time-consuming to just individually opt out of the ones I don't want. 

1.13.24: words (breathe)

1.13.23: vegetable parmigiana 

1.13.22: chicken parmigiana stuffed mushrooms

1.13.21: lemon honey dijon chicken

1.13.20 - crocheted messy bun hat

1.13.19 - 🔥week 2

1.13.18 - lentil gravy

1.13.17 - bath bombs

1.13.16 - cover a side table

🔥 Around the Campfire (week 2)

Dear Campers ~ 

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

Posts ~

1/5: 🔥 week 1 

1/6: chicken stir fry 

1/7: TT prepping brussels sprouts 

1/8: bean burritos

1/9: tiramisu cake

1/10: photography station 

1/11: words (funny dogs)

What's Cooking ~

• chicken enchilada suizas, salad, spanish rice 
• shake n bake pork chops (I coated them with dijon mustard before shaking them), gnocchi with fresh tomatoes and peas in olive oil, roasted green beans (I roasted them along with the chops using this foil method)
• macaroni and cheese with chopped ham, caesar salad
• grilled chicken sausage, white beans baked in red sauce, wilted spinach
• meatloaf, mashed potatoes, roasted broccoli 

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

1.12.24: 2-toned candy melt curls

1.12.23: coconut pecan filling

1.12.22: chocolate caramel tart

1.12.21: TT: fennel

1.12.20 - 🔥week 2

1.12.19 - sour cream chicken enchiladas

1.12.18 - sweet dill pickles

1.12.17 - what to purge list

1.12.16 - closet organizing

  

1/11 ~ Words

1.11.24: couscous cakes

1.11.23: italian style meatloaf

1.11.22: tip-sy tuesday: more past tips

1.11.21: creating a schedule

1.11.20: spiked martinelli's sparkling cider

1.11.19: how to clean your yeti

1.11.18: contact paper chair cover

1.11.17: fudgy chocolate frosting

1.11.16: wrapped wire ring

Photography Station

I've experimented for years now on the best place to take blog photos and usually end up just snapping them wherever I am, like the work table, my desk, the kitchen counter...the lighting and background isn't usually great but I do it anyway.

 I recently changed my craft room around and set up a dresser with standing lights and a backsplash using an old beat up shutter cut to fit across the back of the dresser. I'm very, very happy with this new set-up and hopefully it will help me take better photos now that I can control the light, and it's already set up for me to just set the item down and take pics instead of hunting around for a spot. Can't guarantee that all of the photos will be taken here hahha, I'll still be too lazy to walk upstairs for every one, but it should make things better overall!! 

1.10.24: creamed new potatoes and peas 

1.10.23: tip-sy tuesday: clear light fix

1.10.22: car air freshener 

1.10.21: 🔥 week 2

1.10.20 - sweet and sour cabbage

1.10.19 - watching for happy moments

1.10.18 - savory monkey bread

1.10.17 - kitchen tip, date your spices 

1.10.16 - bean and vegetable soup