Swiss Steak and Cornbread

Hi everyone!
First off, Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful Mom, and to all of you Moms out there.  I hope you all have had a wonderful day.

This morning, I decided to shop my pantry/cupboards/fridge for this week's new-to-me recipe.  And since I wanted to get caught up on my resolution, I decided to make two recipes again.

The past few days have been rainy and gloomy, so I decided this morning to take the slow cooker out of the cupboard and put it to use.  I've had this Swiss Steak recipe from allrecipes.com bookmarked for a while now, and as I was shopping my pantry, I found steak in the freezer, and everything else was already in my cupboards.  Yay!  Here is the link to the recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Grandmas-Slow-Cooker-Swiss-Steak/Detail.aspx

It was ok, I guess.  Kind of bland.  I won't make it again.

The second recipe of the day comes from my friend Lynn (the owner of A Pile of Scrap!).  In January at a scrapbooking crop at the store, we had chili for supper and Lynn made cornbread.  I loved it!  And of course asked for the recipe.  Today is the first time I've made it myself.

 It was delish!  Here is Lynn's recipe:

1 cup flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
2-4 tbs sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1/3 cup veg. oil
2/3 cup milk
Mix together just until all ingredients are combined. Pour in a greased 8x8 square or round pan.
Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes.

Thanks for the recipe, Lynn - it's a keeper as far as I'm concerned!

National Scrapbooking Day!

Yesterday was National Scrapbooking Day - and even though I'm still fighting a nasty cold, I was NOT going to miss the crop put on by my local scrapbooking store, A Pile of Scrap!  I haven't worked on anything scrappy since my LOAD project back in February, so it was really nice to get back at it.

I was at the crop from 10am to about 7pm or so (with some time in the afternoon where I went back home to let the dog out).  My plan for the day was to get 2 layouts done, 2 cards, and work on a special project.  And I brought a few more pictures with me, just in case.

Well, the special project didn't turn out the way I was hoping for, so I stopped working on it after an hour or so.  I ended up creating 5 layouts, and the two cards.  I could have done another layout, but I didn't bring any other photos with me.  Oh well!

Here are the layouts:
This is a photo of my grandparents on my Dad's side; and my brother, sister and I with three of our cousins (the other cousins weren't born yet, LOL) at our grandparents' house on Stout Court in Bathurst, New Brunswick.  I think this picture was taken at Christmas of 1979 or 1980, I'm not quite sure.  See that cabinet on the right-hand side?  My Grampy made that for my aunt (she had porcelain dolls).  I have that cabinet now, and it holds my collection of pottery.

This layout is of my niece Chelsea.  She's 16 now, so looking at this old photo of her really brings back memories.  She might have been 2 or 3 here? 

This layout is for my friend Jackie, the manager of Paw & Order, where Rudy goes to daycare.  Her little Sierra passed away last fall, so this layout will be framed and given to Jackie.

The layout below is another memorial layout.  This is Winnie, and her Mom Stephanie owns Paw & Order.  I told a story on this blog back in February about how Stephanie and her family went to a medium, and Winnie came through, asking why she didn't have a "plaque" on the wall like her brother Calvin did (I made a layout of Calvin for Stephanie a few years ago, and it's been hanging on the doggy daycare wall ever since).  Winnie passed away around Christmas time, and I had plans to make a layout, but Steph was going through a lot at the time, so I waited to ask for photos.  It will be framed and given to Stephanie this week, and I'm sure will be on the daycare wall by next Monday.  I've got you covered, Winnie girl!

And finally, this layout is of me, my high school graduation photo.  Yep, that was in the 80's.  Although my hair wasn't nearly as high as other girls.  But I do have the "wings", LOL.  Good times!



So those are the layouts!  I can't share the cards just yet - they need to be given to their intended people before I post them. 

I had a great time at the crop yesterday - Lynn always does her best to make sure we scrappers are comfortable, fed, and have a good time.  This time was no exception.   Thanks Lynn!

Until next time,

Dana

I'm back!

Wow, a month has gone by since my last post.  Oops!  Those of you who know me, know that I was really busy preparing for the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championships and the World Senior Curling Championships which were held here in Fredericton from April 13 through April 20.  I was Chair of the Officials committee, and I am happy to say, we had a very successful event!  Fredericton showed the world what we can do, and I am very proud of that.  I need to say a very special thank you to my group of volunteers - they were the BEST!

Being so busy, my new-to-me recipe resolution kind of went on a hiatus.  I did a couple of recipes after the waffles, but just posted those on Facebook.  And the two weekends of the Curling Championships?  Forget it, I was at the arena from 7am til 10pm most days.  So there was NO cooking being done in this house, I can guarantee you that!

I am back at it this weekend, though - two for one!  I've been wanting to try a chicken in wine recipe for a while now.  So I went on a search of the Allrecipes.com site, and found this recipe:
Quick Chicken in Wine

I also needed a side dish to go with it.  And since the chicken recipe had parmesan cheese in it, I found this recipe for asparagus which ALSO used parmesan cheese.  I like asparagus - but I've never cooked it before.  Bonus!  Here is the asparagus recipe, again from Allrecipes: Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan

I tweaked the chicken recipe a bit as per a few of the comments from reviewers on Allrecipes: I dredged the chicken in flour seasoned with pepper, oregano, basic, garlic powder, and onion salt before dipping it into the egg wash and parmesan cheese.  When cooking the wine, I added in two cloves of minced garlic, and a chopped green onion.  I also added a bit of flour to the wine sauce to thicken it up, but I would not do that next time.  I also squeezed in some fresh lemon to the sauce while it was cooking.

Cooking the chicken, before the wine and extra butter were added:

The asparagus, before hitting the oven:

And the results!  I obviously also made a side of carrots to go with it.

I overcooked the asparagus since I lost track of time.  But it was still really good!  And the chicken was tasty too - like I mentioned above, I would NOT do my tweak of adding flour to the sauce to thicken it up.  It thickened it up too much, so I basically ended up with very little sauce. 

Verdict? I'll make both recipes again, but I'll learn from my mistakes. :)

Thanks for looking!

Gingerbread Waffles!

Hi everyone!

I've been wanting to make this recipe since I decided on my 2013 New Year's Resolution, to make one new-to-me recipe a week.  Gingerbread waffles!  Yum!

This is where I found the recipe: Gingerbread Waffles Recipe

The one problem with wanting to make this recipe?  I don't own a waffle iron.  So I borrowed one from my friend Natalie (thanks, Nat!).  Natalie's waffle maker doesn't make your traditional square waffles - oh no, it makes HEART waffles, sort of like a flower.  Fancy, right? :)  And they're BIG!  The recipe says it makes about 14 waffles; for Natalie's waffle maker, I ended up with 8.

I plated two waffles (big mistake, I should have only plated one - like I said earlier, they are BIG!).  Added a few pieces of strawberries, and some maple syrup.  All I needed was a little dusting of icing sugar. :)

These were delish!  I could see these being for special occasions, or used as a dessert waffle.  You can really taste the molasses.  I'm going to freeze the leftovers, and reheat them in my toaster oven when the fancy strikes.  Honestly? I don't think they're going to be in my freezer for very long, LOL.

Thanks for looking!  And let me know if you give this recipe a try, will you? Thanks!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hi everyone!

Wow, I definitely took some time off from blogging after LOAD.  Oops - it wasn't supposed to be this long!

In honour of St. Patrick's Day, I decided that this week's new-to-me recipe would be Guinness Cupcakes, with Bailey's Irish Cream buttercream frosting.  And I'm not even Irish!! ;)  This is where I got the recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/guinness-cupcakes-with-baileys-frosting-360499

The only tweak I made to the recipe - after reading some of the reviews - was that I used 1/2 cup less of the icing sugar for the frosting.  And I didn't use any milk in the frosting - all Bailey's, baby!

The ingredients:

The first batch fresh out of the oven!

And the completed cupcakes!  Some of my frosting work isn't that great, but I don't think my co-workers will mind.

I don't really taste the Guinness in the cupcake itself.  To me, it just takes like a good chocolate.  So I'd say the Guinness enhances the chocolate flavour.  You can definitely taste the Bailey's in the icing, though. :)

I didn't post last week's new-to-me recipe here, I just mentioned it on Facebook.  I had leftover Pomegranate juice from the roast I made on my birthday, and I remembered seeing a recipe for a Pomarita (pomegranate margarita) a while back, and I found it!!  Here is the recipe for the Pomarita: http://cocktail365.blogspot.ca/2012/06/pomegrante-margarita.html

So sue me, I don't have any Margarita glasses in the house - I had to make due with a wine glass. :)  Regardless, it was very tasty!!!  And the best thing? I still have a bit of pomegranate juice, so I can make more.  Yay!

Thanks for looking, and I hope you have a great St. Paddy's Day!



LOAD Day 28 - I did it!!!!!

Yaaaaay!  I DID IT!  I'm glad I had the blind drawn in my scraproom tonight, because I'll admit I did a little happy dance when I finished tonight's layout.  28 layouts, 28 days.  And I followed the prompt each day too.  What the heck am I going to do tomorrow night???

Oh right.  I have to clean my house.  I've been a little slack on that this month.  Huh.  Oh well.

Anyway, today's prompt was to scrap "your spot".  Your safe place.  For me, "my spot" is really my couch.  That's where I eat, read, watch tv, talk on the phone, surf the 'net, cuddle with Rudy, nap when I'm sick.  Definitely my spot. 

Supplies:

Cardstock: Reflections

All pattern paper and diecuts: My Mind's Eye "On the Bright Side"

Thickers

Sharpie Pen

Take a look at that pile of layouts!!!  I've been waiting to put them in my album just so I could take a picture like that, LOL.

SUCCESS!  Thanks for checking in on me this month!

Back to my happy dance - AFTER I close the curtains. :D

LOAD Day 27 - Learn Something New

OK, I am *really* losing steam here, LOL.  Today's prompt was to "learn something new" - either learn something new and scrap about it, or learn something new and apply it to your page.

I learned about alcohol inks before, but I haven't used them in AGES.  So I watched a couple youtube videos and dug out my alcohol inks.  First, I played on glossy paper, then I grabbed a tag and played with the alcohol inks and it a bit (porous paper totally takes alcohol inks differently than glossy paper).  Once I created the tag, then I needed to find a picture to go with it.  So I flipped through my LARGE pile of photos and found this one of my friend Stacy's girls.  This photo is about.... 10 years old I think?

This is a super simple, plain page, but as I said earlier - I'm losing steam. :)

ONE DAY LEFT!!