Potato Packets

A summer staple in our house.  I love these because they are so tasty and easy (yay for no peeling).  And as a bonus you can make them in your oven, on the grill, on a campfire easily.  It is rather versatile.

Potatoes 1 large per person or a few smaller ones (I always make too many for 2 1/2 people)
1 medium onion (I like red)
1-2 tablespoons butter
season salt and pepper
parsley (I use dried)

Slice of the potatoes, about 1/2 inch thick.  You don't want them too many of them too thin or they are too mushy, too thick and they take forever to cook.  Slice the onion then cut the slices in half.

Get out some aluminum foil and sprinkle season salt, pepper, parsley and some of the butter on it, then put the onions and potatoes on it.  Then top it off with some more salt, pepper, parsley and the rest of your butter (alternatively you could spray the foil to help it not stick so much).  Cover with another sheet of foil and then crimp the edges up.  Put it in the grill for about 20-30 minutes until the potatoes are softened.

I like these with steak, chicken, fish but I would eat it alone too they are so good.

Father's day!

Here is my darling girl with my wonderful husband.  She has him wrapped around her finger, as any good dad should be. ;) 

This guy here isn't my dad but if I could choose one I'd want him to be just like Sweet Pea's "Guy".

Popsicles III

This time one of my favorite summer treats gets a twist.  Root beer floats!  I'm rather partial to Faygo, being it is Michigan company, but my second is A&W root beer.  We used to have floats as a kid and I thought they were the best thing ever, the way it got all foam and you had to drink some of the foam to pour more pop on.

So when I saw this recipe I had to make these (by the way, I love the background on that blog).

 The only thing I did different was chop up the cherries because I used 3 different sized popsicle molds and some were too small for a whole.  And I only made half a batch.

Bangers and Mash

I know this was a little while back but because I was being a slacker I thought I would post it now.  For the royal wedding I decided I needed to make a proper British dinner and settled on bangers and mash.  I felt it was something I could handle and the ingredients weren't too hard to find.  I had to settle for a sweet Italian sausage since there are no places that carry English sausage around here but I did alright I think.  I did not get pictures because I was trying to cook everything so it would get done close to the same time.  I did take pictures of my left overs the next day (it was still just as good!)

First I used this recipe (and substituted creme fraiche for sour cream) by Suzanne Schecter

Ingredients

• 2 pounds potatoes
• 8 links Cumberland sausage (Italian sausage may substitute)
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 large onion
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 4 tablespoons cream
• 2 ounces butter
• 2 tablespoons creme fraiche
• 2 tablespoons grainy mustard, plus mustard for dipping
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Peel and dice potatoes. Place in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, add salt and simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, prick sausages with a fork, heat a skillet and brown the sausage in 1 tablespoon oil. Slice the onion. Remove the sausage to a plate and add the onion to the pan. Cook onions until soft, then add 2 tablespoons flour, cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and return the sausage to the pan, cooking it through for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and run them through a food mill into a saucepan. Add the cream, butter, creme fraiche and mustard. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with side of grainy mustard for dipping.

 Then I made some Americanized mushy peas.  I just boiled frozen peas then mashed them with some cream, salt and pepper.  And boiled up some carrots for more color.

I did make Yorkshire pudding (popovers) too but I did manage to snag a picture before they were put on the table.

 
 For dessert I used my British friend Keith's Banofee Pie recipe, which is the same as Paula Deen's.  The only difference being that he boils the milk in the can on the stove top.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 10 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
• 3 large bananas
• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix graham cracker crumbs with softened butter and press mixture into 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes.
Lower the oven to 300 degrees F for the toffee filling.
To create toffee filling, caramelize the sweetened condensed milk. Pour the condensed milk into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Cover with foil and place dish inside a larger poaching pan. Add water to poaching pan until half way up sides of baking dish. Bake for 1 1/2 hours.
Once both the crust and toffee filling are cooled, spread half of the filling evenly inside crust. Slice the bananas and layer on top of filling. Pour remaining half of filling over bananas, spreading evenly. Whip the cream with the confectioners' sugar and vanilla and spread on top of toffee filling and bananas.

I really enjoyed the dinner and everyone else said they did too.  It was so easy too, so I would make it again even if the first think the Mr. said was "where are the buns".

Scones and tea

First thing on the morning of April 29th, I got out my London coffee mug (a gift) and my English Breakfast Tea (one of my favorites!) so that I could have my daily cup of tea but this time in celebration.  As most girls my age I grew up crushing on Wills, (but as I've gotten older I find Harry much more attractive) so there was no way I was missing this wedding.  Unfortunately, I had to wait until naptime to watch it but I did get a lovely breakfast in the mean time.

So I dug up this recipe and made mine but with Zante Currants in it.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups /225g self raising flour
• 1/2 stick/55g cold butter
• 1 level tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 pint / 150 ml milk
• 1 egg beaten with a little milk

Preparation:

• Heat the oven to 400°F
• Grease and flour a baking sheet.
• Sieve the flour into a roomy baking bowl then add the butter, baking powder and salt. Quickly rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Make a well in the center and using a dinner knife, stir in enough milk to make a soft, pliable dough.
• Turn the mixture on to a floured board and knead very lightly until just smooth then lightly roll out to 2cm / 3/4" thick.
• Cut rounds with a 7.5cm/3" cutter or cut into triangles with a sharp knife.
• Place on the baking tray and brush with the beaten egg and milk mixture. Bake near the top of the hot oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown and well risen.
• Cool on a wire rack before eating.

 

Don't forget the clotted cream!

 And note to self never share a jam with a toddler, most of it will end up on you and not the scone.

No bake cookies

No bakes have to be one of my all time favorite cookies.  They are also idea for making when you need that something sweet but don't want to turn your oven on.  Chances are you also have most the items in your pantry anyway.

No Bake cookies (from my mom)
2 cups sugar
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
3 Tablespoons cocoa
 Mix all above in a medium pan on the stove.  Bring to a boil for 1 minute (I set a timer, it is important to get a full minute).  Remove from heat.

1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups oats
Mix in peanut butter and vanilla until smooth.  Then add the oats and stir to coat.  Drop by the spoonful onto waxed/parchment paper and let cool.

Popsicles II

In honor of it being humid and warm today, some more lovely summer treats.  This time a pudding pop.  I again used stuff I had on hand to make them. This time it was about a can of peaches and a small box of french vanilla pudding.

First I buzzed the peaches in the mixer for a little bit.  I wanted them to be bit chunky.

Then I mixed the juice from the peaches with milk to make 2 cups of liquid, with the instant pudding mix.  Whisked it for about 2 minutes then stirred the peaches in.

So good!  I had bit left over so I put them in to my little jello shot cups and after it set up for a while I put tooth picks in them.  Who doesn't love mini popsicles.

Popsicles I

Can I just say right here, I love popsicles.  Last year I picked up a couple popsicles molds to try out and got like making them even if they were rather simple.  Yesterday changed that, I started googling some recipes and found a few that sounded good and tried them out with things I had in the house.

First up I made Banana, peanut butter chocolate chip.  I kind of made it up as I went after I saw the recipe.
1 banana
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 t vanilla extract
milk (I eyeballed it so I have no idea how much it was 1/3-1/2 cup maybe)
1/8 cup mini chocolate chips (optional of course)

First put the mini chips in the bottom of the mold.

I put all but the milk in the smoothie maker thing and when it was smooth added milk and the mixed it again until I got a pretty good consistency.  You don't want it to be too thick.  Then add a few chips to the top if you want and put it in the freezer.

It will need about 4 hours to fully set up.

 

 Now you'll have to look for me to do a series of popsicles since there are so many that I want to try.

Huh...

Blogger must have fixed the problem because my posts were back.  I'll just direct you to Popsicles I that was posted and you can all sleep save knowing my time wasn't completely wasted. ;)

Foiled

So apparently yesterday was not the day that I should have written up my new posts (about 5 in total) and published one of them right then.  Damn it blogger!

Neglect

I have it.  I've not been much feeling up to crafting though I have  a few projects like making curtains on my list of things to do.  If I can get around to it I'll post my British dinner that I made in honor the the royal wedding.  If you know me at all you know I left at least half my heart in England and I very badly wish to return again.   I have some great recipes to share too.  At least I've been cooking.  My people have to eat and curtains can wait. 

Here is an adorable ladylike picture to get you through until I get back. :)

Snow Globe, kind of

I had a bag of baby food jars that I was saving from ages ago but that person who asked for them must have forgotten.  I was going to toss them when I realized that I could probably find some crafting use for them.  One was put to work holding all those tiny colored rubber bands for Sweet Pea's hair.

I got to thinking about how much she loved her Grandma's snow globe that I should make her one. I went to my local cake decorating store and got a few cake toppers pretty cheap.  I cleaned up the glue from the jars. and picked some coordinating glitter colors.


Paint the lids to match the character

I hot glued Diego because he was not sitting flat, Minnie and Dora I used E3000, but use whatever works for you.

When they are dry fill the jar to the top with water and a tiny by of glycerine.  Put the lid on.  You can also glue it on so it stays tight and dry.

 Give em a little shake.

Playdough

I favorite in this house is playdough with the adults too.  One thing, I just can't stand the smell of the stuff the comes from the store.  Not to mention it is hard to get out of the container without making a mess of your fingernails.

I know there are only a million and a half recipes out there for it, but here is my favorite.

Playdough
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup salt
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon peppermint/almond/vanilla extract (peppermint being my favorite)

Mix the dry ingrednets in a pan.  I like to use my old crappy nonstick pan.
Add in the water and oil, heat on medium high.
It is going to start to look weird as it cooks, just keep stirring it around so that the middle will cook because it will want to ball up a bit.  When it looks to be done about 2-3 minutes put it onto wax paper/cutting board.
Then divide it and start to color.  I find that using rubber gloves can be very nice.
 

Time to play.

Cookie cutters

Some people might think it is a problem but I don't.  I love cookie cutters and my new goal is to get all 50 US states in cookie cutter form.  Thus far I have one, that state of Michigan with upper and lower peninsulas.  But soon I will have North Dakota in my hot little hands, courtesy of an online friend.  But this post isn't just about me going on and on about my love for them although I could.  I was having issues with my cutters.






















They were somewhat organized but in gallon sized baggies and I could never remember where any were so I got some bins and got to organizing them.

Winter/Christmas

Easter/Spring

Shapes and other random stuff


Halloween/Fall

Valentines, who knew there were so many ways to make a heart.

Animals

Organized!

Freezer paper

I'm sure you've seen them on all the blogs at some time or another, but finally it was my turn to take a try at using freezer paper.  It was really easy and I used a simple picture to do it from.  I was pleased at how easy it was to do and I'll be doing it again sometime I am sure!

I decided to make a fabric bow because homemade by jill had some cute ones and so I used the same idea.  To make the bow I used a technique similar to this but with fabric.  I used hot glue to hold it together and to stick it to the shirt.

 I think they turned out pretty well.  I might have to make a goofy one next, Sweet Pea love that guy.  Here is a great place for some Disney images.