We Are in the Thick of It

Memorial Day kicked things into gear and now we are heading toward July 4th. Picnic food, reading a book on the deck, yard games and bicycle rides are on the agenda. Of course, there have to be some crafting going on too. So let’s get to it!

Recipes

Breakfast Burritos

8 inch flour tortilla wraps eggs, cooked your way cheese, your favorite veggies, cooked and your favorite meat, of your choice cooked Salsa for dipping or topping (optional)

Just warm the tortillas a few at a time wrapped in paper towels for about 20 seconds in the mircrowave. Then on the bottom part of your tortilla, layer your ingredients allowing for a lower edge that will be folded up. So don’t place ingredients all the way to the lower edge. Once all your ingredients are in place fold up the bottom edge, then each side toward the center, one at a time. Then complete the burrito by folding over the top. Place on a cookie sheet with wrapped edge down. Bake at 350 degrees to crisp up the tortillas and there you have it! You can also freeze leftovers or keep in the fridge for a few days. It makes an easy grab and go breakfast.

Pizzatilla

8 inch flour tortillas pizza sauce pepperoni or sausage (or both) mozzarella cheese peppers and/or onions (sauted)

Just lay your tortilla flat on the cookie sheet. Put your sauce on and your cheese. Add the meat and veggies as desired. Put in the oven at 425 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes to melt cheese and crisp up the tortilla. Enjoy!

Crockpot Mac and Cheese (everydayfamilycooking.com)

I shared one recipe a few posts ago but this one is a little different as it useds Velveeta cheese and cheddar. It turned out really great. I just finished the leftovers.

  • 16 ounces elbow macaroni
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1 stick butter cubed
  • 6 ounces evaporated milk
  • 16 ounces Velveeta cheese cubed
  • 1 cup sharp shredded cheese
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
  • cooking spray
  • Spray the slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. 
  • Cube your butter and Velveeta. 
  • Add all of the ingredients to the crock pot. Stir to incorporate all of the ingredients, making sure all of the noodles are damp. 
  • Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 1.5 – 2 hours. Stir it a few times throughout the cooking time to keep the Velveeta and butter distributed as it melts. 
  • Test the noodles at 1.5 hours, and if they are not al dente, then continue to check on them in another 30 minutes.
  • Turn the crockpot off and serve.

Pizza Crack Appetizers

crackers butter pizza sauce pepperoni or sausage mozzarella cheese grated parmesan cheese

My Mom used to make these for my brother and I when we were little but they are great for people of all ages. A few to nosh on with an adult beverage is a good thing. They are so easy to make and look cute on a tray.

Just put a little butter on each cracker. Add a spoonful of sauce. Sprinkle with cheese and top with the meat of your choice. For a little extra zip you can add a little parmesan to the top. Broil in your oven for 3 or 4 minutes until cheese is melted and cracker crisp.

Crafts

Cute Calendar

I saw these in a shop and thought, “I can do that!” and so I did. I ordered small clipboard from Amazon and some Black card stock which measured 5″ by 7″. You could use a stencil for the numbers and color them in. You could also buy sticky numbers pre-made. I used my Cricut to cut vinyl numbers out and then realized a problem with the transfer tape being so sticky it clung to the card stock. A friend of mine suggested I use a sheet from a lint roller to transfer the vinyl and that worked perfectly. Anyway you choose to do it will be fine.

Area Code Sign

Once again, I saw this in a shop and then I made one. I bought a piece of wood 3/4″ by 1 and 1/2″. Then I cut 5″ piece off. I sanded the rough edges, gave it two coats of paint, sanded the edges a little once the paint was dry to give it a worn look. Using my Cricut I cut out the numbers for our area code and affixed them to the painted wood. I think it is CUTE!

Firecrackers!

To make this cute little firecracker decor is super easy. We purchased wood that was 1 1/4′ square and cut pieces in 10″, 8″ and 6″. As you can see one was painted red, one white and one blue. Before they were painted the rough ends were sanded and a small hole to hold the pipe cleaner wick was drilled in one end. Once the paint was dry we added a wooden star cut out which can be painted or not with your preference. I just put a light coat on mine. I hot glued each firecracker together and then glued the star on, just a little off center. The final touches were to add the pipe cleaner wicks and wrap the jute around and tie the ends with a bow. You can customize in any way such as; sparkly colors, different wicks, ribbon not jute. You get the idea. However you choose to do it, it will be super cute!

Hacking Away

*Need a quick dewrinkle of a collar or some little spot and don’t want to get out the ironing board and iron? Use your hairstraightener. It works like a charm!

*Need an emergency heating pad? Just fill a sock with rice, put a knot on the open end and heat in the mircrowave for 2 to 3 minutes. Viola!

*Freeze leftover coffee in ice cube trays and then used them for your iced coffee. It adds a little zip and doesn’t water down your iced coffee.

*When packing for a trip put your shoes in those cheap plastic shower caps. The rest of your clothes will be protected frrom dirty shoes.

*Did you know you can turn two ziplock bags into one big one if you need it? Yep! Just turn one bag inside out and then you can seal them together (one tiny note, put your item in one bag first and then pull on the next bag from the opposite end and fasten together).

As I always say, thank you so much for reading and I hope you can use something I have shared. See you in July!

So Many Projects, Not Enough time

Hello! The sun is shining and all is right with the world. I am going to share what I have been up to lately and I have just a huge bundle of ideas for more! Let’s just dive in!

Recipes

New York Style Baked Cheesecake

Crust 1.5 c. flour .5 c. sugar 1.5 t. vanilla 2 egg yolks 4 eggs 1.5 c. soft margarine

Grease a springform pan well. Mix ingredients and pat the dough on the bottom and halfway up the sides of the pan. Bake at 425 degrees until light brown.

Filling 2.5 pounds of cream cheese 1.75 c. of sugar 1.25 t. of vanilla 2 egg yolks 4 eggs .25 c. heavy cream

Add eggs one at a time to the first three ingredients beating after each addition of egg or egg yolk. Add heavy cream and beat until incorporated. Bake in a 525 degree oven for 10 minutes. Lower temperature to 275 degrees and bake for an hour and ten minutes. It will still be jiggly in the center. Turn off the oven and all the cheesecake to cool in the oven for an hour.

*I don’t use a water bath as if the cheesecake cracks on top it doesn’t bother me. If it does you, just wrap about 3 layers of foil around the bottom and up the sides of the pan, place in another larger pan with about 2 inches of water. Otherwise, the directions stay the same.

Donut Holes/ Baked Donuts (aseasyas applepie.com)

  • 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup+1 tablespoon (65 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ⅓ cup+1½ tablespoon (100 ml) skim milk feel free to use full fat milk
  • 2 tablespoons (30 g) unsalted butter melted
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • For the cinnamon-sugar topping:
  • 2 tablespoons (30 g) unsalted butter melted
  • ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Spray a donut pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
  • In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
  • In a small bowl whisk together the milk, butter, egg and vanilla extract.
  • Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula just until combined. Be careful not to overmix the batter.
  • Spoon the batter into the donut cavities or use a large ziplock bag. Cut a corner off the bottom of the bag and pipe the batter into each donut cavity, filling ¾ of the way full.
  • Place the pan in the oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
  • Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan before inverting onto a wire rack to cool down until you can handle them.
  • Make the cinnamon-sugar topping. In a small bowl mix together the sugar and cinnamon.
  • Brush each donut with melted butter, then dip in the cinnamon sugar mixture until well coated.

*I used a donut hole pan instead and it lowered the cooking time. I just started watching them after about 6 minutes evaluate how brown they were.

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies (joyfoodsunshine.com)

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
  • Mix together peanut butter and sugar.
  • Add egg, vanilla and salt and stir until combined.
  • If desired, mix in chocolate chips.
  • Roll 1 TBS portions of dough into balls and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (or use a cookie scoop to scoop the dough onto the baking sheet)
  • Bake for 8-10 minutes or until bottoms are just barely browned.
  • Let the cookies sit on the pan for 10 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool.

Crafts

I did a couple of fun and simple decorations for Cinco de Mayo.

Corona Bottle

I just put orange paint (you could use any color you would like) inside the bottle and twisted and turned the bottle until it was completely covered inside. Then I turned it upside down to allow excess paint to drain out. After it was dry I added some brightly colored flowers.

For this one I just bought a few cans of Spanish foods, ate the food, of course, and cleaned out the can. I put some floral foam inside and placed some more bright flowers in the can.

Summer Item

I used a tin can and hot glued driftwood pieces around it. For a little extra zip I tied some jute around it and added a shell. I have a few battery operated candles and I used one for this. Just a cute little accent for summer. We live by Lake Erie so it is locally sourced driftwood and fitting for the area.

I had been seeing people marbling the outside of dishes with different products. I decided I would try the nail polish version. It was so easy! You have a pan with 2 to 3 inches of warmish water in it. Then you have a few nail polish colors. You hold the bottle as close to the surface of the water as you can and pour some in. If you hold it up higher the polish sinks to the bottom and you want it to float. When all your colors get in there you twirl the colors gently with a wooden skewer and then dip the outside portion of what ever dish you’re doing in the water and pull it back out again. This whole process from the pouring of the color to the dipping of the dish has to be rather quick. When you lay your dish down to dry, take the wooden skewer and twirl it through the polish which is now dried and floating on the surface. Then you can add more colors, either the same or different ones and do it again. It is really fun. The mug I double dipped to see the difference. The second dip was lighter in color. I don’t believe you should microwave these pieces or use a dishwasher but that’s ok with me.

Hacks

*If you have a sick pet, before you go to the vet video your pet displaying the sound or movement that is a concern. The pet may not display this particular thing at the vet but you will have the evidence for the vet to see.

*When traveling to a new city, check out Free Tours By Foot. The site has tours listed for more than 50 cities across the globe. There are pay what you wish tours and self-guided tours as well.

*You can save 35% on food and 20% on drinks if you eat during happy hour rather than peak dinner hours or later. Learn something seniors have been doing for years and save some dough! LOL

*Experts now say that between substantial monthly cellphone bills, often large deductibles and hidden clauses in the contracts insurance on your cellphone is not a great value.

*If your still frying meatballs in a frypan, save the mess and bake them in the oven. Put the meatballs in the sauce and warm all of it in the oven. Baking bacon in the oven is a lot less messy too!

*When browning ground beef there’s a step to take prior to cooking. Break up your meat (2 pounds), add 1.5 t salt and .75 t baking soday. Let the mixture setr for 20 minutes and then brown. This methold allows for the meat not to shed a lot of moisture and it browns nicer.

*Staying in an Airbnb or other rental? Take a quick video of the place before you leave. That way you have evidence as to the condition you left it in incase you should need it.

*Want to repurpose your used dryer sheets? Use them to clean your electronics. The material works perfectly since it is designed specifically to not cause friction.

A final note, if you haven’t explored diamond painting yet, you need to! Super relaxing and fun. Don’t know what it is? Google to see!

Have a great month and see you in June.

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