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Monday, November 15, 2010

What are you doing for the Holidays?

I have started making gifts for my loved ones.  I wanted to go mostly homemade this year as I can't see paying money for something I can make.  On one of my stamping forums,smeared and smudged,  there was a discussion started a while ago about homemade holidays and I am in total agreement.  It's not that I don't like giving and receiving gifts, I just don't like all the bull shit that comes with buying gifts.  So this year, I decided, along with lots of other ladies, to have a mostly homemade Christmas!!! 

So I have started, I have made scarves, and fingerless gloves, crochet of course.  I am in the process of Jewelry, and room decorations.  It is just satisfying to know that what they are getting is something I made with love and not something I ran out and got cause it was there!!!  Who knows, maybe this will become a tradition for me!  So don't be surprised if you receive something that doesn't have a price tag on it!!!!

I will keep you posted and maybe even put a few designs or recipes up in the future! 

Blessed Be

Monday, November 8, 2010

Whats for dinner...

K so today I just have to share what we are having for dinner.  The house is clean (almost) and I actually have time to make something really yummy for dinner tonight!  So we are going to have Pork Chops with Cider Sauce, Roasted potatoes, green beans and broccoli(cause Hunter doesn't like green beans).  followed by Caramel Apple Cupcakes!!

OK so pork chops:

4 center cut pork chops
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 onions thinly sliced
1 tbsp. finely chopped fresh sage
1 1/2 cups apple cider

Season pork chops with salt and pepper. In a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, warm olive oil. Add onions and cook, stirring, until softened and golden, about 5 min. Push onions to edges of skillet and add chops.  Cook, turning once, until browned, about 6-minutes total. 

Sprinkle sage over chops and pour cider into pan.  Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until chops are cooked through, 8 to 10 mins.  Remove chops from pan, raise heat to high, and boil sauce until reduced and thickened, 2-3 min. Pour sauce and onions over chops and serve.

Roasted Potatoes:

Enough potatoes to serve the number of people you are serving!  Any kind of potato you want, although thin skinned potatoes work very well!  I used heirloom fingerling potatoes cause they were cute and on sale!  Garlic(chopped or powder) salt and pepper to taste, rosemary(fresh chopped).  Cut potatoes into bite size pieces and sprinkle with seasonings, drizzle 1/4 cup olive oil(depends on how many potatoes used actually, but enough to coat them all liberally).  Bake for 30-40 mins(until done) at 415*f.

If you have fresh veggies, green beans/broccoli throw them on a separate pan, season, and bake for 10-15 mins at 415*!!!!!


Caramel Apple Cupcakes:

Ingredients needed:  1 1/4 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. salt, 2 eggs, at room temperature, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup veggie oil, 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract, 1 lb apples( that's usually 2 nice size apples.  You can use any kind you want, I like to use 1/2 granny smith and 1/2 Macintosh or gala)(peeled and shredded), 1 1/2 cups chewy caramel candies(about 25), and 1 tbsp heavy cream.

What to do:  Preheat oven to 350*, line a cupcake pan with baking liners.  In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth.  Whisk in the oil and vanilla.  Stir into the flour mixture until just combined.  This will be kind of thick.  Stir in the apples.  Spoon batter into the prepared pan until almost full.(usually a little over 1/3 of a cup each for me).  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until done.(it takes 28 min in my gas oven).Let cool slightly in pan then transfer to a rack to cool completely.  It is very important that they be cooled completely!  In a small bowl, microwavable bowl, combine the caramels and cream. Microwave for 1 minute on medium power, then stir; repeat in 30-second intervals until melted and smooth. 
The first time I made these I let the caramel cool then spread it like a frosting on the cupcakes.  This time I poured it onto the cupcakes while it was still hot.... you decide what you want to do!
 
 
And that is what is for dinner tonight!  I will add pictures as we start cooking!!!
 

Saturday, November 6, 2010

So I'm thinking....

about participating/or starting this 30 days/posts of truth.  I'm not quite sure I will do 30 days in a row, but hey it can only help me improve myself right?  who knows.  I found it by roaming around one day, saved it to my favorites cause I knew I wanted to look into it further, and now as I was cleaning my favorites out saw it again.  I am quite sure I will give it a go. 

Oh just a side note..... 13 days until the Hubby comes home!!!

Friday, November 5, 2010

Welcome to My World

Like it says, Welcome to my World.  For a long time I have been thinking of starting a new blog, one where I could post anything I wanted to.  One where I didn't have to have a stamped project on it.  If I wanted to come in and say HI and that's it, I could.  I love stamping, and creating art, but that is not all I do!  So I was on the phone with my friend Terra today, and can I just say that it is scary how much she and I are alike, but we were talking and she told me that she just started a new blog for the same reasons.  I was like, no freakin way dude, I have been thinking of that for a while now.  So needless to say, she gave me that shove I needed, and made it my assignment for the day to get a blog up and running!  So I did and I thank her very much for getting me off my Arse and getting me going!

So for now, welcome to my world, grab a cup of coffee/tea/vodka, whatever you choose, pull up a comfy chair and lets start chatting!