Old & New

First, the new...

I tried this recipe for Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos over the weekend and it was AMAZING!  So easy - dump everything into a crockpot and walk away (the only way I cook).

I've eaten it as tacos and as nachos (just throw some tortilla chips on a plate, top with this chicken and some cheese and microwave).

SO good!

Source

Now the old...

Lili is going vintage!

I've been stockpiling vintage clothing and home decor for a while, and the time has come to try to part with some of those great finds that I have no use for (but couldn't pass up!).

We'll see if I can bring myself to actually do it...

Back to lili

I recently reread The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and remembered my vow to start eating better. Back then, I was feasting on stale microwave popcorn. Lately, it's been chex mix and sweet tarts.  Delicious, yes. But not for dinner. (Not every night anyway.)

So I went onto Pinterest, pinned a bunch of recipes and headed to the grocery store.

I started with this mushroom pizza with havarti cheese, fresh herbs, and white truffle oil.

It was AMAZING!

The recipe says it takes 8 minutes but that's a lie. It takes 8 minutes to BAKE. It takes longer to cook the mushrooms, grate the cheese, etc.  But not much longer.  (And it was worth it!)

My little shop is doing well in its new location. Changes may be afoot (I swear I'm cursed!), but until then I'm continuing to proceed (with caution).  Worse case scenario is still ending up with a house full of cute stuff.

That wouldn't be so bad...

Summer 2016

Well, this summer did not turn out as I expected.

I was hoping to take some time off, get some projects done around the house and set up shop in my friend's store.

Unfortunately (?) I got a job.

(I know, that's not actually a bad thing.)

Anyway, I got a phone call about a potential position, met with them on a Tuesday, got an offer on Thursday and started on Monday.

I'm working in the mortgage division of a real estate company.  I've done this before - many years ago - and actually really liked it.  At one point I even thought that if I won the lottery, I wouldn't quit my job.

(I do not feel this way now.)

The good part is, it's in the same town where my family lives.  The bad part is, that town is about an hour from where I live.

So, instead of living in Bellevue and coming to visit my family on the weekends, I flipped it and now I live in my dad's house (he's in assisted living and really likes it), and just go to Bellevue on the weekends.

I actually like it!

Before, I'd drive an hour, stop by my dad's, run out to get him whatever he needed & take it back to him, go visit my mom, go to my dad's house and take care of anything that needed to get done there - go through the mail, mow the lawn... Maybe stop by my brother's. Then I'd run my own errands and drive the hour home.

It was stressful and exhausting.

Now, I do all that running around during the week and when I go to Bellevue, I have to mow the lawn.

That's it.

The rest of the time I do whatever I feel like doing - read, watch tv, hang out with friends...

It's relaxing!   So, I officially have a "weekend home"!

The process of starting the little business in my friend's shop has been grueling - the paperwork! - but the end is (finally) near.

We're actually moving in some merchandise this Friday and will be open for business in time for the Labor Day weekend.

I'm so excited!!

You can follow the progress at lili (of course!).

In all my spare time (ha!), I've read a couple of really good books - The Light Between Oceans (can't wait for the movie!), and All the Light We Cannot See.

I've also tried a few new recipes that were just ok.  Except for this one - this Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Soup was awesome! And, it's so easy - just throw it all in the crock pot and walk away.  (I do love those!)

One Down, Eleven To Go!

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to find 12 new recipes to add to the rotation and I've already found one!

I just made this recipe for Easy Slow Cooker Shredded Mexican Chicken and it was really good!

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds chicken breasts
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup mild salsa (medium if you like spicy)
3-4 tablespoons brown sugar*
1 4 oz. can green chilies
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chili pepper (optional for more heat)
1/2 teaspoon dry oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoons liquid smoke
hot sauce to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

• Rub chicken breasts with oil and place in the bottom of your slow cooker.
• Add all of the remaining ingredients except for the hot sauce. 
• Cook on high for 2-4 hours or on low for 6-7 hours or until chicken is tender enough to shred.
• Remove chicken, and let rest 5 minutes before shredding.
• At this point, she says "Return shredded chicken and let cook on low for an additional 20 minutes to absorb some of the liquid/juices. " I didn't do that.  I just put the chicken in a bowl and added a few tablespoons of the liquid.
• Then she says to "Drain all excess liquid", and suggested using it to make rice. I didn't exactly do that, but I did make a bunch of brown rice (4 servings) and threw it into the crock pot and stirred it all together.

Then I wrapped the chicken in a flour tortilla and ate it like a burrito.

It was really good and really easy!

* NOTES
Use 3 tablespoons brown sugar if using mild salsa and not using ground chipotle chili pepper.
Use 4 tablespoons if you are using medium salsa and/or the ground chipotle chili pepper.

Two months later...

The last two months have gone by so fast (too fast!).

About a month ago we moved my dad into the memory care unit of an assisted living facility.  It was, I think, meant to be...

We were given two day's notice by the rehab facility that he was being released the day before Thanksgiving. Of course we weren't prepared for that, so made arrangements to move him into their skilled nursing section (how convenient for them).

Skilled nursing is what you think of when you think "nursing home" - hospital beds and old people sitting in wheelchairs in the hallway.

I couldn't stand it.

Then, the director of one of the assisted living facilities I'd visited when he was first taken to the hospital called the day after Thanksgiving.  I had liked the facility, but thought it was too big - all elevators and long hallways.  He'd never find his way back to his room.

But she suggested their memory care unit.  I'd driven by it.  It was smaller.

Well, I happened to be in town.  She had time to meet with me an hour later.  I called my brother and he was available too.

They had three rooms available and by the end of the day we'd put down a deposit and by that Monday he moved in.

I didn't know if he'd like it.  He always said he wanted to stay at home, with visiting nurses to take care of him.

But he actually likes it! (Maybe because they took the guys to Hooters last week.)

I don't really care why.  I'm just happy he's happy and being taken care of.

Work is still going well.  I like it. It's stressful and I am REALLY busy.  But the people are nice (for the most part!).

I've been doing a lot of work on the house.  I'm tired of living in a construction zone, so am focusing on getting rooms done livable. I'm still working on multiple rooms at once (currently the master bedroom and dining room), but there is a plan and a light at the end of the tunnel!

Part of that plan involves getting "new" furniture.  My furniture consists mostly of hand-me-downs and IKEA.

I love the hand-me-downs.

I hate the IKEA.

So, I got rid of it.  All of it.

Then, just last weekend, I finally moved back into the master bedroom (remember this? That was almost exactly a year ago!).

I moved in a dresser I got from a garage sale, and a chest of drawers I got from a thrift store in New York (Thomasville!).  I set my little tv on top and hooked up the Wii so I can watch Deadwood, and thought "This is horrible.".

I needed something I could set my big tv on to watch Deadwood (it is SO GOOD!).

I needed one of those low, wide dressers.

I needed something like this...

This is a photo of an Ethan Allen dresser that was being sold by a furniture store in Maryland.

Two days ago, I found a dresser exactly like this at Goodwill for $35.88 (for Ethan Allen!).  Similar dressers are currently listed on eBay from $595 (without the mirror) to $1,200.

Also in the plan is removing the old, ugly medicine cabinet in the bathroom...

again, not my photo. this time it's from Home Depot

with a mirror and light fixture.

And, since I'm putting the big tv on the dresser, I won't be needing the mirror, so...

Two birds, one $35.88 stone.

That same night I found found The Light Between Oceans, which is supposed to be really good, and at a different Goodwill near me (that has the BEST selection of books),  I've recently found The Girl on the Train and The Goldfinch, in hardback, for $1 each.

The Girl on the Train was really good. I'm 88 pages into The Goldfinch (only 683 to go!), but it's already really good too.

Finally, I've tried a few new recipes - some were just ok, some were really good...

This Balsamic Mushroom Pasta from Girl Gone Gourmet was incredible! It was so good, I've already made it twice.

I also liked this Pineapple Fried Rice from Damn Delicious.

And finally, I was at my brother's house on Christmas Eve, and someone claimed their homemade Ritz Cracker fake Girl Scout Peanut Butter Patties (one of my favorite Girl Scout Cookies!!) were even better than the real thing.

No way.

Way.

Pretty in Pink

I've always wanted a pink bedroom.

And now I have one!

Benjamin Moore First Light

Usually when I start painting, my initial reaction is "I hate it!".

But I'm cheap, and not about to repaint, so I forge ahead and after the 2nd coat I always love it.

This time, it was love at first light (uh, sight).

I still need to prime, paint and hang the trim.  Install new blinds. And new closet doors.  One of those closet organization systems would be nice...

It'll be a while before it's "done".

I also made this recipe for Chicken Mozzarella Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes that I've been seeing all over Pinterest and it was GOOD!  I didn't include the chicken so it took less than 30 minutes.  (Nice!)

Ingredients

• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small jar (3-4 oz) sun-dried tomatoes in oil
• 1 lb chicken breast tenders (or not)
• salt
• paprika (just a little bit for the chicken)
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 8 oz pasta
• 1 tablespoon basil (if using dry basil), if using fresh basil you can add more
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (at least, add more to taste)
• 1/2 cup reserved cooked pasta water (or more)
• salt, to taste

Instructions

• If using sun-dried tomatoes in oil (in a jar), drain the tomatoes, reserving 2 tablespoons of oil for sauteing.
• In a large pan, on high heat, sautee garlic and sun-dried tomatoes (drained) in 2 tablespoons of oil (reserved from the sun-dried tomatoes jar) for 1 minute until garlic is fragrant. 
• Remove sun-dried tomatoes from the pan, leaving the oil, and add chicken tenders, salted and lightly covered in paprika (for color) and cook on high heat for 1 minute on each side. 
• Remove from heat.
• Cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve some cooked pasta water (Note: I think this is SO gross so I didn't do it and the sauce was just fine). 
• Drain and rinse the pasta with cold water (to stop cooking).
• Slice sun-dried tomatoes into smaller bits and add them back to the skillet with chicken. 
• Add half and half and cheese to the skillet and bring to a gentle boil. 
• Immediately reduce to simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until all cheese melts and the sauce is creamy. 
• Add cooked pasta to the skillet and stir to combine. 
• Add 1 tablespoon of basil, and at least 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Stir to combine.
• Optional (in my book): Add about 1/2 cup reserved cooked pasta water because the creamy sauce will be too thick (do not add all water at once - you might need less or more of it). This will water down the thickness of the cheese sauce and make it creamier.
• Immediately, season the pasta with salt and more red pepper flakes, to taste, if needed. 
• Let simmer for a couple of minutes for flavors to combine.

End of December 2014

On Friday I delivered the last of the donations for our community giving tree, and now have a lull until I either find another job or have to start preparing for next year's events (hopefully the former).

I do love this job, but I'm getting excited about the future - meeting new people and doing something different.

Over the weekend, I relaxed - finished one book (The Meadow, by James Galvin) and started another (A Visit from the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan).

Although one book takes place in the mountains along the border of Wyoming and Colorado, and the other is set in urban New York and California, the books are very similar - both move back and forth in time to tell the inter-related stories of several people.

And they're both really good!

Sometimes I feel like I can't do anything fun while the house is such a mess, but this weekend I decided that the fact that my bedroom looks like this...

so I have to sleep here...

doesn't mean I can't use the kitchen, so I made this recipe for Creamy Crockpot Potato Soup.  (I left out the bacon until the end, though, because soggy bacon is so gross.)

I also made this No-Knead Crusty Artisan Bread and it really couldn't be easier!  I was shocked!  I'll try adding in some flavors next time - cheese, rosemary, jalepeno...

To get in the holiday spirit, I watched Love Actually, #2 of my holiday movie trilogy that started last week with The Holiday.  Tonight I will finish with The Family Stone, before spending Christmas Eve with family (SO thankful I don't have to fly anywhere!) and then having dinner with friends on Christmas Day.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Bacon Cheeseburger Chowder

It may have been 70 degrees outside today (it's almost November!), but...

it's almost November.

Soup season!

And this is a really good one...

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium red pepper, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
3 T flour
2 1/2 cups 2% milk
1 lb potatoes, peeled & chopped
1 1/2 cups water
1 T beef bouillon granules
12 oz Velveeta
bacon, cooked & crumbled

Directions
In a large pot, cook beef, onion & pepper
Drain
Add garlic, cook 1 minute
Stir in flour until blended
Gradually stir in milk
Add potatoes, water & bouillon
Bring to a boil
Reduce heat
Simmer covered 15-20 minutes until potatoes are tender
Add cheese
Stir until melted
Sprinkle servings with bacon

Originally printed in Taste of Home magazine, November 2014.

Cinco de Mayo

Yes, I know it's Ocho de Junio.

But, I had planned to make this recipe for Cinco de Mayo.  I actually made it last weekend, but am just now getting around to posting the recipe.

Do you notice a trend?

I also finished knitting a scarf today.

Yes, a scarf.

Yes, I know it's June.

Anyway, this was muy bueno and totally worth the wait.

Slow Cooker Taco Chicken Bowls


Ingredients
1½ lbs. chicken breasts
1 (16 oz.) jar salsa
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained
½ lb. (8 oz.) frozen corn
1 Tbsp chili powder
½ Tbsp cumin
½ Tbsp minced garlic
½ tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ tsp salt
cracked pepper to taste
2 cups dry rice (or not!)
8 oz. shredded cheddar
½ bunch cilantro (optional)

Directions

1. Add everything except the rice, cheese, and cilantro to the slow cooker with ¼ cup of water. 
2. Stir, making sure the chicken is covered in the mixture.
3. Cook on low for 8 hours.
4. Near the end of the cooking time, cook rice according to the package directions.
5. Stir chicken mixture with a fork to shred the chicken.
6. Build the taco bowls by placing rice on the bottom, then the taco chicken mix, shredded cheese and fresh cilantro.

Personally, I thought the rice was ok, but I also think this would be great on tortillas, or even tortilla chips.

Sweet & Sour

I came home from work Friday afternoon to find a box on my front porch (a box from my friend Winavie, who has the blog Lemons & Chambray).

Winavie has a lemon tree in her back yard (hence the name), and she sent me a box full of fresh lemons!

with a cute little origami heart!

So sweet!!

(Winavie, not the lemons.  The lemons are sour, as lemons should be.)

And when life hands you lemons, you make Starbucks Lemon Cake Copycat Recipe.

(Obviously.)

Ingredients

1½ cups flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

3 eggs, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons lemon extract

⅓ cup of lemon juice

½ cup oil

zest of one lemon

GLAZE:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons whole milk

½ teaspoon lemon extract

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 and grease and flour a 9×5 loaf pan.
• In a large bowl, combine salt, baking soda, flour and baking powder and mix well.
• In a medium bowl, combine eggs, vanilla extract, lemon extract, butter, sugar and lemon juice with a mixer until well mixed.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and blend until smooth.
• Add the oil and lemon zest and mix again.
• Pour mixture into loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• Towards the end of the cooking time, put your glaze ingredients in a small bowl and wisk together until blended.
• Remove cake from oven, pour glaze on top and let cool.

I wish I'd read this part sooner...

Notes

I like my glaze to stay a little thicker so I let my cake cool slightly before I pour on the glaze.

In spite of the fact that most of my glaze melted down the sides of the pan, this cake was delicious!

And luckily I have a lot more lemons, so I can try a lot more recipes (or a lot more cake!).

Thank you Winavie!

Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler!

Sometimes the timing is just so perfect you have no choice.

This past weekend, I bought an old, greasy (SO greasy!) deep fryer at an auction. 

(I'm becoming addicted to auctions.  I'm going to another one this weekend.)

It was gross.

But, I cleaned it (and cleaned it and cleaned it...), and it looked really good.

Then today I saw a recipe for beignets, which reminded me of New Orleans, which made me wonder when Fat Tuesday is.

Turns out, it's TODAY!

So, I printed the recipe, stopped at the grocery store on my way home and voilà...

I used this recipe from Paula Deen and they were really good!  Not quite Cafe du Monde good, but good.

All You Need is Love

Happy (Belated) Valentine's Day!

Last week, about an hour before the store closed on February 13, I stopped into the Goodwill in Maquoketa, hoping to find a heart shaped cookie cutter (for an upcoming project), and found a set of Pottery Barn Kids Valentine's Day placemats (still in the package!) instead.

Now, I don't have kids (or a Valentine), so why do I need kids Valentine's Day place mats?

Because they are SO cute!!!

Source

And they were only $2!

I also found these salt & pepper shakers, also by Pottery Barn, also still in the box, for $3 (original price $24).

Source

They have nothing to do with Valentine's Day (or love) whatsoever, but they're so cute!

Also this weekend, I tried a recipe that I've been seeing on Pinterest a lot lately (with good reason - it's SO good and SO easy!)

Crockpot Italian Chicken 

4 chicken breasts

1 packet Zesty Italian dressing seasoning

1 8 oz. cream cheese (softened)

2 cans cream of chicken soup

Cook on low for 4 hours. If sauce is too thick, add a little milk. 

Serve over pasta. 

Source

"Wowzers" indeed!

I may have to send these place mats to my friend Winavie at Lemons & Chambray (who actually does have kids and a Valentine!).  In the meantime, check out what Goodwill Hunting deals she found!

Next Month - It Ain't Easy Being Green!

The Grand Total

$43.64

Not bad.

The breakdown...

• $7 - lunch.  I had to.  (Really!  It was for work.)
• $4 - beer.  Again, I had to!  My boss bought me one, so I felt obligated to buy her one.  I didn't buy one for myself though! (I didn't NEED it.)
• $32.64 - dry cleaning.  Really, this money was spent when I dropped my clothes off back in November (yes, November!).  This did make me think, though...  I don't have to dress up for work.  I can (and usually do!) wear jeans to work.  So the "dry clean only" clothes are going into storage.  Since I've been wearing "business casual" for (many, many!) years, I'm probably going to have to replace some of that clothing.  But I've been scouring sites like The Sartorialist for ideas, and I'm making a list of pieces that I need and I'm going to start searching for good deals (or, Goodwill!).  I'm thinking (hoping) it'll be cheaper in the long run.

The best part of this experiment?  It worked!

I went to the grocery store today, with a list of ingredients for several recipes.  One of the recipes (Moroccan Couscous) calls for a lot of ingredients (a lot!), most of which I won't use for anything else (Raisins?  Yuck.).  So, I skipped everything I needed to make that (despite the fact that I've been CRAVING it), and got the few remaining ingredients I needed to make Four Cheese Lasagna. 

Here's the recipe I use (with a few of my own modifications)...

INGREDIENTS

• 16 ounces lasagna noodles (I use the kind you don't have to cook)
• 1 (26 ounce) can spaghetti sauce
• 1 pound cottage cheese (I use ricotta)
• 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
• 8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.  (or don't!)
• In a blender or with an electric mixer, blend tomato sauce and cottage cheese together until smooth. (I just stir it up with a wooden spoon.)
• Spoon a little of the sauce mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Place a layer of cooked noodles over the sauce, and sprinkle a portion of the mozzarella, the cheddar and the parmesan over the noodles. 
• Repeat layering of sauce, noodles and cheese; finish with a cheese layer.
• Bake in preheated oven 30 to 45 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and golden.

I think I made the right choice - this is really good, and I have enough for lunch all week!

For Good Luck in the New Year

Supposedly eating black eyed peas on New Year's Day will bring prosperity in the new year.

I need all the help I can get, so this year I made Black Eyed Pea Salsa using another recipe from The Pioneer Woman.

Ingredients

FOR THE DRESSING:

½ cups Olive Oil

⅓ cups White Wine (or Regular) Vinegar

2 Tablespoons (to 3 Tablespoons) Sugar

1 teaspoon Celery Seed

½ teaspoons Dry Mustard

½ teaspoons Salt

Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste

VEGGIES:

3 stalks Celery Finely Chopped

3 stalks Green Onions, Sliced

1 whole Red Bell Pepper, chopped

1 whole Cucumber, Peeled, Seeded, And Chopped

1 whole Jalapeno (optional), Seeded And Chopped

1 cup (or More If Desired) Chopped Cilantro

2 cans Black-eyed Peas, Drained

Directions

Mix together dressing ingredients. Set aside.

Combine all vegetables (except cilantro) with black eyed peas. 

our dressing over the top and gently stir together. 

Add cilantro and stir gently.

Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. 

Serve with tortilla chips. 

So good and it reminds me of the restaurant Cowgirl in New York.  It's one of my favorites!  (Good salsa & great margaritas!)

Here's to a happy (and hopefully prosperous!) New Year!

Are You Ready For Some Football?

I am!

With the big Packers/Bears game tomorrow (go Bears!) and the Wisconsin and Iowa bowl games on January 1 (go Hawks!), I needed some good chili...

Something like the Simple, Perfect Chili by The Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond.

Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef
2 cloves garlic, chopped
One 8-ounce can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup masa harina (I skipped this)
One 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
One 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
Shredded Cheddar, for serving
Chopped onions, for serving
Tortilla chips, for serving (I used Fritos)
Lime wedges, for serving

Directions
Brown the ground beef in a large pot with the garlic over medium heat
Drain off the excess fat
Pour in the tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and cayenne
Stir together well, cover, and then reduce the heat to low
Simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally
If the mixture becomes overly dry (mine did!), add 1/2 cup water at a time as needed (I used beer)

This is the part I skipped...
After an hour, place the masa harina in a small bowl. 
Add 1/2 cup water and stir together with a fork. 
Dump the masa mixture into the chili. 
Stir together well, and then taste and adjust the seasonings. 
Add more masa paste and /or water to get the chili to your preferred consistency, or to add more corn flavor. 

Then...
Add the beans and simmer for 10 minutes.
Serve with shredded Cheddar, chopped onions, tortilla chips (Fritos!) and lime wedges.

I don't know if I'd call this chili "simple" or "perfect", but it is really good!

Oh Fudge

Every year, my mom made fudge for the holidays.

This year, I decided to try.

It's so easy!

And, of course, it's good (it's fudge!).

I used this recipe from Carnation...


Ingredients
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup (5 fl.-oz. can) Carnation Evaporated Milk
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 1/2 cups (9 oz.) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Line 8-inch-square baking pan with foil
Combine sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt in medium, heavy-duty saucepan
Bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly
Boil, stirring constantly, for 4 to 5 minutes
Remove from heat
Stir in marshmallows, morsels, nuts and vanilla extract
Stir vigorously for 1 minute or until marshmallows are melted
Pour into prepared baking pan; refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm
Lift from pan; remove foil
Cut into pieces (they say 48, I say 16)

Enjoy!

"Unwrap the Magic of Christmas"

In Bellevue, the big holiday weekend is the weekend after Thanksgiving.

On Saturday, we have a craft fair...

Fireworks...

and a Lighted Christmas Parade...

 

On Sunday, we have a Holiday Open House Tour.

It's fun, but exhausting (when you're in charge of it).

Now, though, I can relax and enjoy the holidays...

These Hershey's Candy Cane Blossoms are delicious!

KISSES CANDY CANE BLOSSOMS

Ingredients
One bag Hershey's Candy Cane Mint Candies
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk
Red or green sugar crystals

Directions
Heat oven to 350°F
Remove wrappers from candies
Beat butter, granulated sugar, egg and vanilla in large bowl until well blended
Stir together flour, baking soda and salt
Add alternately with milk to butter mixture, beating until well blended
Shape dough into 1-inch balls
Roll in sugar crystals
Place on ungreased cookie sheet
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned
Cool 2 to 3 minutes
Press a candy piece into center of each cookie
Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack
Cool COMPLETELY (Don't touch them!  If you don't the candy will melt all over, and while they still taste really good, they're not as pretty.)

Wandering

One of my favorite things to do is wander.

In New York, I would get on the subway and wander around the Upper West Side, or Lower East Side, or somewhere in between.

I still wander around the "tri-state" -  Iowa, Wisconsin & Illinois now (instead of New York, New Jersey & Connecticut).

A couple of weeks ago, St. Donatus, a small town (population 135 in 2010!) just north of Bellevue was having it's Sorghum Festival (sorghum is like molasses).

St. Donatus is home to the Gehlen Barn.  Built in 1839, it is supposedly the oldest building in Jackson County and was recently included in an article in the LA Times about Iowa barns.

And it is COOL.

Just up the street from the barn is the St. Donatus Catholic Church.  I am not Catholic (at all!), but the church is pretty.

 

Behind the church is an outdoor Way of the Cross, consisting of 14 stations winding up a hillside...

to the Pieta Chapel at the top.

After that little hike, I headed to Kalmes Restaurant to rehydrate.

After a quick stop to check out the renovations at the Old City Cemetery in Bellevue,

I headed south to Gravert's Apple Basket Orchard just south of Bellevue.

Then I wandered across the river to Savannah...

(I did NOT get a tattoo.)

After all that, I came home and made another macaroni & cheese recipe.  I think this makes three, but can anyone have too much macaroni & cheese?

Creamy Baked Macaroni and Cheese

16 ounces elbow macaroni (about 3 cups)

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 ½ cups milk, divided

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 lb cubed Velveeta cheese

8 ounce shredded Kraft Mild Cheddar Cheese divided

8 ounce shredded Kraft Monterrey Jack Cheese 

(I used a 16-ounce bag of shredded cheddar jack)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees

Cook macaroni until tender but not mushy, about 8-10 minutes 

Drain well and pour into a large mixing bowl

Melt on low the Velvetta Cheese and ¾ cup milk until melted (stir often)

Pour the melted cheese sauce over pasta and stir 

Add in butter, ¾ cups milk, eggs, 1 cup shredded cheeses, salt and pepper

Mix well and transfer to a 2 quart baking dish

Pour the remaining cheese on top

Bake until top crust is golden brown and casserole is bubbling, about 25 minutes. 

Enjoy!

Labor Day 2013

Two outta three ain't good either.

The three day weekend started out ok...

On Saturday, we wandered.

We started in Dyersville, home of the Field of Dreams movie site.

Then we checked out Elkader, a super cute little town that gave me lots of ideas for Bellevue.

I loved this store!

Just outside of Elkader is the little town of Gunder.

VERY little

Gunder is known for the Gunderburger at The Irish Shanti.

A Gunderburger is one pound (!) of locally raised beef served on a locally baked bun.  (I love that everything's local!)

I did not have the Gunderburger, but the smaller version from the kid's menu was delicious!

After Gunder, we wandered over to the flea market in Marquette (it was very hot and everything was very expensive).

Across the river is Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin where we stopped at a couple of garage sales.  I found a large, white enamel bowl with red trim for $3.

not the one I bought, but mine is just like this

After Prairie, we drove through the orchards in Gays Mills (orchard after orchard after orchard after...), to Richland Center where I saw this shelving unit on the side of the road with a sign that said 500.

I had seen this...

at Addicted to Decorating, and wanted to do something similar for this girl...

so cute!

Luckily, in this case 500 meant $5!

Now we'll see if I ever do anything with it.  It's real wood (not particle board) and I almost hate to "ruin" it!

Sunday, we went to the pork roast ("Iowa's Largest"?) at the church behind my house.  We ate pork sandwiches, listened to music (some good, some...), and "visited" (small town Iowa's version of "hung out".

On Monday, we broke up.

(my idea)

On the bright side, when the going gets tough, I get super productive.

First on the list was ripping up the carpet in the living room.

after

I also made this Rotel Chicken Mexican Casserole.

The actual recipe is...

Ingredients

3 split fryer breasts cooked and cubed

1 bag of tortilla chips crushed

1 can of Rotel

1 can Cream of Chicken soup

1 small can of chopped green chiles

1 lb of Velvetta or American Cheese

Directions

Cook and dice your chicken 

Mix together your Rotel, Soup, Green Chiles, and cubed Cheese

Heat this mixture in a microwave till melted and then add your chicken 

In a casserole dish, layer 1/2 your chips and 1/2 your cheese mixture

Repeat these layers and top with a few crushed chips

Bake at 350 until hot and bubbly

But I threw everything (except the tortilla chips!) into the crock pot on low for about 8 hours, shredded the chicken, then layered it into the baking dish and threw it into the oven.

It was SO good!  If you like that cheesy Rotel dip (who doesn't???) you'll love this.