domessticated

How to Cook From Your E-Reader

2012-01-31T23:14:00.001-07:00

Todd Wilbur has a couple useful tips for cooking from your e-reader.

Without destroying it.

Family Birthday/Anniversary/Special Event Calendars

2012-01-30T03:06:00.000-07:00

Have you guys discovered how nice Pinterest is at gift-giving time?

I’m not just talking about the thousands of ideas that you can make or buy for gifts. I’m talking about how suh-weet it is when someone for whom you need a gift is a pinner. All you have to do is check out their pins. Find something on their list of things to make. Make it for them. You KNOW they need/want it. They’re gonna love it. That makes it so much fun!

One of my favorite pinners, my SIL, had found & pinned this fun birthday calendar. Since she’d pinned it, I knew she would love one, and my other SIL is the kind of person who never forgets a birthday or anniversary. So I figured she would probably appreciate one, too.

I did change it up quite a bit, though:

I found some 18”x18” sheet metal at a local craft store for $6.

I cut some scrap fabric wider than the metal square (if your fabric scrap is bigger, give yourself more to spare…I just used what I had on hand. Ideally, I would have liked to have worked with about 4 extra inches all the way around…so, 26”x26”) and cut 90 degree angles in the corners in to the 18” metal. Basically, this just amounts to notching out a square in each corner whose dimensions are as many inches as your fabric is bigger than your metal. Have that ideal 26” square of fabric? You’ll cut 4” squares out of each corner.

Once you’ve got your fabric cut, you’re ready to Mod Podge it onto your metal square. Just glob some on there…

…and spread it out with a sponge brush. Try to get it fairly even. If the glue is thick in areas, you can end up with bubbles between the fabric & metal in those areas.

Now, apply the fabric carefully to the glue-covered front of the metal (*If you need the fabric to line up perfectly, or if you just want a more predictable way to get it on there, be sure to check out the instructions below, for covering the back of the board).

Flatten out the bubbles underneath the fabric and all the wrinkles in the fabric. You can run a ruler or straightedge along there to burnish it to the metal, or (if your fabric doesn’t have a geometric pattern that has to line up straight, you can actually just gently pull and stretch the wrinkles out. However you get them out, just GET THEM OUT; otherwise, you’ll have unsightly wrinkles (and don’t we already have enough of those?) and your magnets won’t want to stick.

Once you’ve got your front flattened out nicely, flip it over and Mod Podge the sides. Start by pulling one side around to the back and gluing it on all along its length. Do this on the opposite side, too. Then, fold and glue a 45 degree angle in each of the corners of your top & bottom border, like so:

…then simply glue the 3rd & 4th sides down all along their length, too.
Now just set it up on something and let it dry overnight.

After your glue has dried completely, you can start laying out your grid. I wanted a title on top of my board, but you could just as easily go without. Divide the board up however you choose, and draw your grid out on the front of the board with a pencil.

Next, cut your lines out of vinyl as follows:

Secure a piece of vinyl onto your cutting mat by taping (I used masking tape) it on both ends and in the center. Then, simply use your ruler and rotary cutter to cut as many 1/8” lenths of vinyl as you require to make your grid.

Now simply apply those strips to your gridlines and wrap them around to the back of the metal. Some advice: keep your strips long so they’ll wrap around onto a good portion of the metal on the back. The vinyl won’t stick very well to the fabric (not yet anyway) so having it stick well onto the back really helps them stay in place until you can get them sealed down.

If having the back look so messy with all this stuff bothers you (it did me!), you can easily cover it by just cutting a coordinating piece of fabric and Mod Podging it right on top.

*This time I didn’t want to be pulling & tugging wrinkles out from under the fabric. I wanted it to sit squarely and neatly on there. When you do the front of the board, if you choose a fabric with a pattern that has to line up, you’ll want to use this technique for applying the fabric there, too.

Lay your fabric on there lined up just exactly as you want it.

Now, fold it in half on top of itself without moving the stationary side. Apply glue to the exposed side.

Spread the glue, then carefully ease your fabric onto the glue, smoothing as you go, from the center (fold) outward.

Now just repeat on the other side.

Now you’re ready to seal the project. Simply apply a generous second coat of Mod Podge on top of everything. (The front, too – I didn’t take a picture but it’s important to seal the front. This really glues those vinyl strips down and seals them to the board.

(Pay attention to your brushstrokes on this final application of Mod Podge. It will dry with whatever texture you give it (but, obviously, clear instead of white).

The rest is pretty self-explanatory. Simply make your monthly tabs, your title (if desired), and your special occasion dates, including name & date. If you need help with this part, you can refer to my magnetic menu planning board post, which details how to make the tabs, laminate them, and apply the magnet backing.

Note: I wrote the month on the back of each circle just as a precaution in case one got knocked off or displaced somehow. If you have the month written on there, you can quickly & easily replace it under the appropriate month from whence it came.

Linking up this week.

Product Review (& GIVEAWAY!): Marinade Bay All-Natural Cooking & Grilling Sauces

2012-01-28T04:19:00.001-07:00

Sorry; this giveaway is now closed.

I received a package of marinades & sauces from Marinade Bay All-Natural Cooking & Grilling Sauces on my doorstep a while back, and I knew I had some research to do. I had never heard of Marinade Bay before (are you starting to think I've been living under a rock, or what?), and the flavors in my box were so intriguing, I wanted to know more.

Marinade Bay Cooking & Grilling Sauces began in 1993 with a single sauce flavor (the Jamaican Jerk Mild Cooking & Grilling Sauce) when Al Abronzino’s son told him that he should market the sauce, claiming it was “too good to keep to yourself!”. Today, 18 years later, Marinade Bay offers more than 30 different flavors of marinades, cooking & grilling sauces at grocery & specialty stores all over the United States.

Up for a challenge, are you? Just you try and read through this list of flavorful products without becoming hypnotized by your options: Baja Seafood Cooking & Grilling Sauce, Cilantro & Lime Cooking & Grilling Sauce, Garlic & Herb Cooking & Grilling Sauce, Ginger Teriyaki Cooking & Grilling Sauce, Honey & Soy Cooking & Grilling Sauce, Honey Bourbon Cooking & Grilling Sauce, Honey Ginger & Soy Cooking & Grilling Sauce, Jamaican Jerk Mild Cooking & Grilling Sauce, Korean Sesame Cooking & Grilling Sauce, Lemon & Herb Cooking & Grilling Sauce, Lemon Pepper Cooking & Grilling Sauce, Mango Teriyaki Cooking & Grilling Sauce, Not Just For Buffalo Wing Sauce, Orange Soy Cooking & Grilling Sauce, Rosemary Mint Cooking & Grilling Sauce, Santa Fe Cooking & Grilling Sauce, Seafood Cocktail Sauce, Seafood Scampi Grilling Sauce, Tequila Lime Cooking & Grilling Sauce, Thai Lime Ginger & Jalapeno Marinade, Thai Peanut Cooking & Grilling Sauce, Theo’s Steakhouse Cooking & Grilling Sauce, Wasabi & Soy Cooking & Grilling Sauce.

Sound good, right? Well, it gets better! Marinade Bay prides itself on making their products with all natural ingredients, no preservatives, no modified food products, no high fructose corn syrup, and no MSG. And, boy, can you can taste it! The sauces taste like something made fresh right in my own kitchen. (But without all the labor,which is infinitely better!) You can find all the nutritional information, including ingredients, allergens, and which varieties are appropriate for gluten-free, lactose-free, and vegan diets. There are no secrets in the ingredients at Marinade Bay. As importantly, the flavors are fresh and flavorful. The sauces that we tried each had their own very well-developed, highly distinct flavors. I’m a big fan of cooking from scratch when possible, but I have to admit how very nice it was to have these sauces on hand. I was able to start with really the very most basic of ingredients and in no time at all have a delicious, deeply flavorful meal to serve my family.

Here’s a quick-and-dirty lowdown on the 5 flavors we tried:

The Ginger Teriyaki Cooking & Grilling Sauce has a refreshing, tangy teriyaki flavor with a real tangible burst of ginger. I immediately knew I wanted it in a basic shrimp stir-fry. Outstanding! I loved that I could add the sauce throughout the stir-frying process to get just the right amount of flavor as I added veggies. The ginger was intense but well blended with the smokiness of the teriyaki. I’d also really like to taste this flavor on grilled chicken or grilled pineapple steaks. (Sorry; forgot to snap a pic!)

I expected a sort of A-1 type steak sauce flavor when I first sampled the Theo’s Steakhouse Cooking & Grilling sauce. What I got instead was a more mild, peppery , slightly mustardy flavor. This flavor would be outstanding on your grilled chicken or even as a salad dressing, but I saw a recipe for Theo’s Steakhouse Pizza in the recipes section of the Marinade Bay website and it sounded so unique, I just couldn’t resist! We used chicken, and it had a nice, mild (kid-friendly) gourmet barbecue chicken pizza flavor.

The Thai Lime Ginger & Jalapeno Cooking & Grilling Sauce was the first sauce we tried, because – as you know by now – I love me some Thai! I decided to use it in a cabbage roll variation of my summer roll recipe, with red peppers, onions, broccoli, and cilantro. I marinated the shrimp in half a bottle of the sauce, then used the remainder of the sauce when I stir-fried the veggies & rice noodles together. Then I wrapped it all up together in a cabbage leaf and wished I’d saved a little sauce for dipping! (For the record, we used a Thai sweet chili sauce that we had on hand for dipping and it complemented the flavor of the sauce very nicely!) Don’t be scared by the jalapeno in this sauce…it’s not that spicy at all!

The Jamaican Jerk Mild Cooking & Grilling Sauce tasted smoky and spicy. Perfect for a Jamaican Jerked pork (pulled pork) sandwich with melted cheese and cole slaw. Okay – you can have your cole slaw on the side. We prefer ours right there in the sandwich! I cooked a pork roast in the sauce in the crock pot, used the beaters on my hand mixer (takes only about 30-45 seconds) to pull it – still in the sauce – yum!

One major thing I noticed about the flavors of each of the marinades/sauces I tried (well, YES, I sampled them right out of the bottle! So will you!) was that I repeatedly kept thinking “this would make a really good dipping sauce/salad dressing for my blah-blah-blah.” Indeed, the sauces can also be used as dipping sauces, as we found out with the Honey Ginger & Soy Cooking & Grilling Sauce, which was actually the last flavor we tried. By the sound of it, it was the least inspiring flavor in our box. I was mostly expecting a mildly gingery, sort of sweet & sour–ish flavor. I was pleasantly surprised when I sampled it to find out that it has quite a powerful zing to it! Then I noticed the crushed red peppers lounging around in the bottom of the bottle. This one, for me, SCREAMED dipping sauce. And that’s exactly what we did with it: dipping sauce for a batch of healthy boiled potstickers! (The kids didn’t do too well with the spiciness straight up as a dipping sauce, but The Messy Mister and I thoroughly enjoyed it this way!)

I know I’ll be buying a lot more Marinade Bay products in the near future. I can hardly wait to try the honey bourbon flavor on some ribs; and – although I’m not exactly sure what I’ll use it for - I’ve just got to dip my tasting finger into that wasabi & soy flavor! Here’s some great news for those of you ordering online…the more you buy, the more you save, both on product and shipping. Buy one bottle for $4.99, 3 bottles for $4.49 each, 6 bottles for $3.99 each, or only $2.99 when you buy 12 or more. No, you don’t need a special discount code. The discount will appear automatically in your shopping cart when purchasing!

Here it comes…my one and only complaint about the sauces: there’s not enough in a bottle! Seriously, though…the little 8 oz bottles they come in are actually perfect for cooking for an average family. And this is by design something Mr. Abronzino did very intentionally. I don’t know about you, but my fridge door (where I store my sauces, dressings, et cetera) is the first thing in my fridge to fill up. Then I end up with a bunch of different bottles of sauces stuck here & there in random places all over the fridge. Either stuff either ends up going bad before it makes its return rotation on our menu or I forget it’s in there and open up a new bottle. These bottles are just the right size to make a meal, use up the bottle, and not have to store 1/3 of a bottle of leftover teriyaki sauce you’ll never use. Clever, efficient, and convenient.

Doesn’t the upcoming Superbowl have you craving some of that Not Just for Buffalo Wing Sauce? Me, too! Our Jamaican Jerked pork sandwiches would make a fun Superbowl meal, too, as would Marinade Bay’s recipe for Theo’s Steakhouse Pizza.

In celebration of the upcoming Superbowl, Marinade Bay has very generously offered to provide a giveaway package for each of FIVE lucky Domessticated readers! Included in the giveaway package will be an assortment of six different Marinade Bay Cooking & Grilling Sauces. This giveaway constitutes a $22. 50 retail value. To enter, simply visit the Marinade Bay website, have a peek around at all the sauce flavors, recipes, and tips for using the grilling & cooking sauces, and come back here to leave a comment here telling me which sauce most inspires the Superbowl chef in you. Please feel free to share what you’d love to make with the sauce, too! The winner will be chosen at random from among all qualified entries. (Remember, if you’re a no-reply blogger, your comment has to include an email in order for me to be able to contact you!) You have until SUPERBOWL Sunday, February 5 at midnight to enter. Good luck!

Coconut Shrimp Curry

2012-01-27T08:34:00.000-07:00

I’ve been reading a lot about how “thou shalt not attempt to make a from-scratch curry unless thou possesseth fresh kaffir leaf, lemongrass, and multitude other impossibles-to-find.”

Forgive me, Father, for I’m about to break this commandment. I’m making Mel’s coconut shrimp curry.

Pickle Dip

2012-01-26T06:20:00.000-07:00

Go ahead. Giggle. This pickle dip is one of those things I’m totally not knocking until I’ve tried it.

And that’s happening ASAP.

Buns in My Oven

New England Clam Chowder

2012-01-25T05:15:00.000-07:00

I know, I know – I’ve told you before that I’m not the biggest fan of chowders. But a really good, fresh clam chowder is the one exception to that rule. Maybe that’s why I don’t so much like other kinds of chowders – because they’re just not clam chowder.

Well, it’s one of my food resolutions for this year: I want to find my perfect recipe for clam chowder, and I’m starting with Brown Eyed Baker’s recipe for New England clam chowder.

Transporting Cupcakes

2012-01-24T05:02:00.000-07:00

I love Annie’s Eats simple, no-fuss (no fancy gear) tip for transporting cupcakes.
Ahhh. So simple!

Smothered Turkey Chimichangas

2012-01-23T03:11:00.000-07:00

Here’s a delicious, family favorite recipe that I’ve been cooking since my college days. The turkey that you use for the filling of the chimichangas is cooked smothered in salsa inside the crock pot, which makes it extra juicy and flavorful. The leftover salsa and turkey drippings are used to make a delicious gravy that goes over the chimichangas. And the best part is that these chimichangas freeze beautifully, so you can fry up a whole pile of chimis and freeze whatever you don’t eat for dinner that night in individual baggies for lunch portions or in gallon baggies for a second family dinner later in the month. I always grab a couple extra turkeys during the holidays when they’re on sale for the exclusive purpose of having them in the freezer later in the winter to make these chimichangas.

Ingredients (quantities vary based on size of turkey; guidelines offered in text instructions)
turkey or turkey breast
salsa
shredded cheese (we like sharp cheddar)
flour tortillas
frying oil
corn starch, for thickening
lettuce
tomatoes
olives
green onions
sour cream

(I usually start the process the day before I want to serve the chimis. It’s just easier to handle the meat if it’s cooled in the fridge overnight.) Start with a whole turkey or turkey breast. Place it in your crock pot or roaster oven and pour some salsa over it. Most often, I use two quarts of my home-canned salsa, but in the past I’ve used two or three 16-oz. jars of store-bought bottled salsa, too. Whatever you have on hand works. Cook the turkey in the salsa on low until the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 170 degrees. Allow it to cool until you can handle it, or refrigerate it overnight. Remove the turkey from the salsa and drippings. (Don’t discard the salsa/drippings! We’re going to use this to make the gravy for the chimis!) Clean the meat off the bones (I usually save the bones to make homemade turkey noodle soup) and dice or shred the meat into a bowl or gallon bag. (Check out all that salsa goodness mixed in with the meat!)

Set up an assembly line including shredded cheese, your diced/shredded meat, flour tortillas (whatever size you like), and a pan with frying oil (I used canola because that’s what I had on hand) preheated to frying temperature over medium to medium-high heat, and a paper towel-lined baking sheet.

Place 4-5 tortillas in between two moistened paper towels and heat them in the microwave for about 40 seconds to soften them.

Keeping the tortillas you aren’t filling covered by the moist paper towels, take one tortilla out and fill it with diced/shredded turkey and shredded cheese.

Roll the chimichanga as outlined below , being careful to tuck both ends in securely.

Place the rolled chimichanga, seam side down, in the frying oil and fry until golden*.

*Occasionally, the seam side will develop a giant bubble while frying. When the bubble attempts to float, it can disrupt your secure wrapping. If you see a big bubble forming, just puncture it with a knife so that things will stay together nicely.

Turn and repeat on other side. Remove to paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain. Chimis can be kept warm and crisp in a low oven until serving (remove the paper towel first!).

To make the gravy, pour the salsa+drippings into a saucepan and heat to boiling. Thicken with a cold water & cornstarch slurry until it thickens to the consistency of gravy**.

To serve, place one or two chimicangas on a plate, cover with warm gravy, shredded lettuce, sliced olives, diced tomatoes, green onions, and a dollop or ribbon of sour cream.

The gravy this recipe makes is wonderful, but it doesn’t keep like the chimis do (I’ve never been able to freeze it successfully). We usually eat the leftover gravy with a second chimi dinner later in the week and end up with more leftover chimis than gravy to go with them anyway.

No worries, though…we’ve found that we like them as much (if not better) with plain salsa instead of gravy over the top of them. Eating them with salsa is also more practical if you’re packing lunches with them. These chimis are one of my husband’s favorite take-to-work lunches. I pack a chimi or two in a baggy and put it on top of the lettuce, tomatoes, olives, green onions, salsa and sour cream in a large Tupperware. Then he can just take the baggie out, heat it in the microwave, and put it in with “the (cold) fixin’s” to eat it.

Linking up this week:

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

2012-01-20T08:34:00.001-07:00

10 minutes prep.
(Maybe.)

30 minutes bake time.

I’m betting 5 minutes for your family to devour the entire pan of this chicken cordon bleu casserole.

Organize & Decorate Everything

Cheeseburger & Fries Casserole

2012-01-18T08:12:00.001-07:00

This “healthy” cheeseburger & fries casserole is a winner on two counts:

1. Sure to please the kids.

2. Easy to make (heck, I might let them make it themselves!)

Healthified Kitchen

Healthy Ingredient Substitutions

2012-01-17T10:30:00.000-07:00

Better Homes & Gardens has a great “use this, not that” collection of healthy recipe substitutions and where to attempt them. Some you probably already know about (lean ground turkey instead of lean ground beef; applesauce & buttermilk instead of butter), but some might be entirely new to you (a couple were to me)!

Beef Taquitos

2012-01-17T07:18:00.001-07:00

Been craving Mexican flavors lately.

I rarely make taquitos; I sort of can’t stand the frying. But Your Homebased Mom‘s beef taquitos look like they might be worth the mess!

Cupid’s Arrow Cupcakes

2012-01-16T14:38:00.000-07:00

Here I go again with the honesty: sometimes Bakerella scares me.

Don’t get me wrong! Her stuff is amazing, but sometimes I wonder how long it would actually take me to accomplish. Well, here’s one I think is totally doable: these red velvet cupid’s arrow cupcakes (including a free printable to help you make the arrows) are frosted with a basic creamy cream cheese frosting.

Another treat my kids can help me make!

Category Pages

2012-01-16T04:32:00.000-07:00

After writing this post I got an email from someone interested in knowing what the page pictured here:

…said.

I thought I’d share a few of the “category pages” I made for the book. I make these pages to to put in front of the different categories of collections of pictures that never make it into blog a post of their own but are (in my humble opinion) too cute to leave out of the book. Here’s the one somebody actually asked to see:

…And here are a few of my other favorites I thought I’d share with you even though nobody asked to see them:

Conversation Heart Sugar Cookies

2012-01-13T15:29:00.001-07:00

don’t

love

Valentine’s Day.

(It has always seemed so commercialized to me…)

I also don’t love listening to kissy scenes in movies. Maybe I’m just anti-romantic?

BUT… I do love a great sugar cookie, and I love that these conversation heart sugar cookies are easy enough that my kids can help me make them!

Brown Eyed Baker

Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich

2012-01-12T05:50:00.001-07:00

I love the idea of getting all the flavors of an jalapeno popper without having to stuff, bread, and fry the darn things simply by making Closet Cooking’s jalapeno popper grilled cheese sandwich

Man, that looks GOOD! And you’ve gotta go see what he uses to simulate the crispy breading…

Mint Chocolate Chip Buttercream

2012-01-11T11:59:00.000-07:00

If you’re looking for something a little different (but no less delicious) than the overtly romantic (say, for your first grader?) this Valentine’s Day, you might consider making a batch of cookies using this mint chocolate chip buttercream frosting.

In Katrina’s Kitchen swears it’s so good, her family was spreading it, dipping it, doing this to it:

…and eating it directly from the bowl.

Easy, Adjustable, No-Slip Fabric Bookmarks (Hand-Made Christmas Gift #2)

2012-01-10T03:28:00.000-07:00

I’m the biggest fan of the public library. I think it’s just about the best idea anyone ever had! When we go, we take a big, black suitcase-on-wheels with us and we fill it up with children’s books, craft books, cookbooks, magazines…

And Clorox wipes, but that’s just me.

There’s only one thing (besides the germ factor – but you already know that about me) I don’t love about the public library. I have a really hard time not marking my spot in a library book by dog-earing the page I’m on. I know I’m not the only one. The dog-ear has to be the most popular bookmark ever, if the frequently-previously-bended pages of my books are telling me the truth.

Even though lots of people do it, I try not to. It feels a little bit…irresponsible…to me. I usually stick something in there – a receipt, a business card, whatever’s close by when I get done reading. The problem is, my kids are inevitably as interested in my book as I am – I cannot seem to keep them from picking them up, rifling through them, inevitably dropping them, and losing my place. I’ve been wanting to make a bookmark that will actually stay in my book – even if it gets dropped or cross-examined by a small child – for some time now. And I wanted to give a special, hand-made bookmark with each of the books I made for my kids’ Grandmas & Grandpas for Christmas. So I experimented with an idea I saw here, and I came up with the most adorable adjustable, no-slip fabric bookmarks!

They’re easy to make, easy to use, and they use up some of those fabric scraps you have lying around. They’re also a perfect, very thoughtful gift. Make one to go along with any book – for anyone! Make one to go inside your missionary’s scriptures; give one with a special journal to your teenage daughter; stick one inside a travel-planning book for your hubby for Valentine’s Day.

Start with two strips of coordinating fabric, sized 16”x2” and 20”x2”

Cut a piece of double sided fusible web (I really like Steam-A-Seam 2) to 15.5”x1.5”

Following manufacturer’s directions, fuse ONE SIDE ONLY to your short (16”) piece, keeping the fusible inside of your future 1/4” seam allowances. Don’t tear the paper off yet. I know you’re tempted.

If you want to add ric-rac, a contrast strip, or other embellishment, now’s the time… simply pin it to the right side of your long strip (remember to account for your 1/4” seam allowance)

Now place your short strip with fusible, right sides together, on top of the embellishment.

And sew your two strips together along that 2” seam, just outside your fusible paper.

Fold and press your embellishment to whichever side you want it on.

Place your strips together right sides together on the free ends. Line the strips up all along their length. They’ll match up for 16”, then your long piece will wrap around to the short side for two inches so that the entire thing is 18” long.

Now, sew the two strips together along the 16” strip just outside the fusible paper. Leave open the folded-over end of the long piece open on both sides. In other words, sew along the free end and sides just as far as the seam joining short and long strips.

Don’t get confused by my photos which is the long strip and which is the short – I made to different bookmarks with opposite short & long strips. This unsewn loop is the long strip.

Okay. NOW you can peel that paper off of your short strip.

Turn it right-side-out through one side of the loop you left unsewn. This part is just a little tricky because the fusible material can be tacky. I just try to ease it through by keeping the long strip – the one without the fusible material – touching the inside of the tube. Just be patient – it’ll be fine!

Now, tuck and press in your 1/4” seam allowance on each side of that end loop. Just eyeball it. It doesn’t have to be perfect because it’ll end up being gathered anyway.

Cut an 8” piece of elastic. I buy it by the yard in the notions aisle at JoAnn’s. It’s about the thickness of a strong hair elastic.

Feed it through the loop you left open.

And either hand sew or machine stitch the ends of the elastic together.

Pull the ends to just inside one edge of the loop end of the bookmark, to hide the stitching. Don’t center it in there; put it just inside one edge.

Beginning on the side you hid your elastic stitching under, topstitch along your bookmark from one open end almost to the other (Yeah, sew right over the top of the elastic to hold it in place, then along the entire side, across the top, and down the entire other side, stopping just before you sew over the elastic on the other side.

Gather the fabric along the elastic, then sew over the top of the elastic on the final side.

Now sew your button(/s) onto the end without the elastic.

I sewed one button near the end of the bookmark to perfectly fit my 10” tall book or most standard hardcover books, then sewed another one up about 6-7” up from that one (sorry; forgot to measure!) to perfectly fit a standard paperback book.

Linking up this week:

Mozzarella Stuffed Homemade Meatballs

2012-01-09T04:41:00.000-07:00

Just when I discovered how quick & easy it is to whip up a batch of meatballs using my cookie scoop, Picky Palate comes at me with these gorgeous mozzarella stuffed homemade meatballs that’ll have me making them by hand again.

Sigh. I almost wish these didn’t look so worth it!

(I’ll be making mine using dices of the kids’ string cheese, rather than with the pricier mozzarella balls the recipe calls for. I hope they’re almost as good!)

Mongolian Beef

2012-01-07T19:08:00.000-07:00

This Mongolian beef, from Blog Chef, looks just like the Mongolian beef at my fav Chinese place.

Fingers crossed!

Restaurant Style Salsa

2012-01-07T07:05:00.001-07:00

I don’t know why, but it seems like I crave salsa all winter long. I could eat chips & salsa for dinner (yeah, that’s right – JUST chips & salsa!) twice a week if I didn’t have my family to feed!

I like making it with all fresh ingredients, but – let’s face it – tomatoes aren’t as affordable (or as mind-blowing) in January as they were back in September. So I’m looking forward to trying Pioneer Woman’s recipe for restaurant style salsa.

Using canned tomatoes and Ro-Tel along with fresh jalapeno, onion, and cilantro…I think it might be a good winter compromise.

What kind of chips do you like to eat with your salsa? It’s okay – you can mention brands. I was recently introduced to Tostito’s Restaurant Style with A Hint of Lime. Love those, but I sometimes find myself craving some (greasy) warm, real restaurant-style chips. How ‘bout you?

(Skinny) Parm Crusted Turkey Cutlets

2012-01-05T08:43:00.001-07:00

Okay, okay, Dieters. Here’s a “skinny” recipe for us.

Parmesan crusted turkey cutlets look delish.

(Though Gina does admit – you’ll be tempted to have more than one!)

Gina’s Skinny Recipes

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Pie

2012-01-04T09:02:00.001-07:00

Dieters, spank me.

I could NOT resist the idea of this chocolate covered pretzel pie, from TidyMom.

Life Lessons From A Cracker…(And Hand-Made Christmas Gift #1)

2012-01-03T04:50:00.000-07:00

My maternal grandmother is still with us, and she is very dear to me. We’ve always had a very special relationship, Gigi and I. We used to be able to sit and chat for hours at a time. When I was growing up, we lived right across the street from Gigi, and I remember storming across the street to Gigi’s on the multiple and frequent occasions when something had broken my teenage heart (or when I perceived that my mother had ruined my teenage life). I could always confide in Gigi. Gigi was the best listener – very patient, understanding and comforting - and she was always able to communicate with me in a way that made it pretty much impossible for me to argue with her without feeling like the brat that I probably was at the time. More importantly, Gigi always had important perspective to offer. And she somehow provided it in a way that made me think outside of myself (a difficult task at those ages, I think). Sometimes I didn’t even realize the impact her perspective was making on my point of view until later into my adult life.

And she had the graham crackers. Gigi would pour two glasses of milk and tear open a package of graham crackers for the two of us to share. Gigi was a dipper. She’d take her entire rectangle of graham cracker and gingerly place what seemed like a mathematically predictable portion of it into the cold milk for just the perfect amount of time before raising it to her lips and breaking it off to eat it, perfectly soaked but not unmanageable. For some reason, whenever I tried that technique, the cracker always got too soggy and broke off into my lap or fell with a ceremonious plunk & splash to the bottom of my glass. Thus, I usually got around this problem by just crumbling up a bunch of crackers into my milk, letting them turn soggy, and eating them with a spoon. I remember admiring her ability to know just how long to dunk that cracker before taking it out of the milk. Or was it her ability to know just how much of the cracker she could put in there at once? Whatever the skill, Gigi had it. I always wondered when I’d have the skill or experience to manage a graham cracker like that. But I digress. My point was, simply, that somehow even the crunchiest of life’s problems became easily devoured when sogged up by an hour or two with Gigi by the fireplace, dipping our graham crackers & milk.

I’m so very grateful to have had my Gigi for as long as I have. I’m particularly grateful my kids have gotten to know the wonderful woman that she is. In her prime Gigi was a skilled quilter, embroiderer, and seamstress, and she loved to read and cook. She’s also the one who first taught me how to tole paint. She’s now slowly losing her eyesight to macular degeneration, and as difficult as it is to see her struggle with things that used to be so easy for her, I spend much time being grateful for all that she has taught me. I hope I can pass these skills and perspectives on to my kids one day. In the meantime, I have been trying to focus on letting her see and enjoy as much of these great-grandchildren as possible for as long as possible. Gigi is one of the primary motivations for the first hand-made Christmas gift I want to share with you.

(the bookmark in the picture above is a preview of my hand-made Christmas gift #2)

This Blurb blog-into-book publication is the second volume of a series that I hope will eventually occupy a shelf all its own on the bookshelves of each of our family members. (Here’s the first, from a couple years back:)

A true labor of love, each of these books takes me the better part of two-and-a-half months to complete but contains 440 pages full of photos of the kids in their daily activities, as well as my associated musings and journaling. Yes, a scrapbook would be prettier, but it would take me longer to put together, would be cost prohibitive to publish for each grandparent and sibling, and would likely not leave time for what I see as my real contribution to their family history: my words (which, as it turns out, are pretty much their words. I just write them down until they’re able to and/or interested in doing it themselves.) I hope that one day they’ll look back and be grateful that I’ve taken the time to chronicle the heartbreakingly cute things they say to us on a daily basis and to document the little things we do together as a family. I hope that seeing the pictures of these things and hearing about them through the pages of their books on a regular basis will help them etch those memories into their minds that much more deeply, so that the childhood they’re living now can truly be taken with them throughout their lives. Let’s face it: The gift, really, is ultimately for the kids but there’s usually not a dry eye among Grandmas or Grandpas who receive a copy for Christmas. I know from experience it’s something Gigi will read over and over again as long as she’s able. I know she glances through Volume I when she’s feeling melancholy or lonesome for the kids. And it makes me feel less helpless about being farther away from her than I'd prefer to be. If picking it up puts a smile on her face, then that makes all the work that goes into making the books so very worthwhile.

Blurb offers a free book-making software download that I find extremely user-friendly. When making your book, you choose layout styles and background colors, paper patterns, even embellishments (though nothing like scrapbooking, you can “pretty up” your book a little if you choose to). When you publish, you choose the size of your book, whether it’s hardback or softcover, the quality of paper it’s printed on, etc. And you don’t need a blog to publish a book, either. Just make it from scratch right there in Blurb’s software on your computer if you prefer. Once published, you can order additional copies of the book whenever you like; you can even publically promote your book and sell it for profit! I have received timely responses via Blurb’s customer service forum, and I’m in the middle of a customer service issue with them right now... I’ll let you know, once resolved, how I found the resolution to be. All in all, I have been satisfied with Blurb for my purposes in publishing a family history book combining photos and text.

I wish I had the time to spend with Gigi now that I had back then. To just sit by the fireplace, chatting and eating our graham crackers & milk. I’m proud to say I’m an accomplished dipper now, but just thinking about all this makes me wish I could go back – if just for an afternoon – and arrive at Gigi’s door with two glasses of milk, a package of graham crackers, and all the time in the world to patiently listen to her troubles and gently offer her some useful perspective that’s come from my years of experience. Since I’ll never trump Gigi in the experience department, I’ll settle for gifting her this labor of love, this way for her to see what’s become of me since those days way back when…when I ate graham crackers with a spoon.

New Year’s Revolutions: Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

2012-01-02T04:37:00.000-07:00

The New Year usually brings me into a purging frame of mind. And for some reason, I’m fighting one of my bad attitudes (I call them my badditudes) that’s been with me since about October. Some of what you’re about to hear might sound kind of harsh, but I don’t know of any other way to say these things, so I’m just going to say them. For quite a while now, I’ve been considering making lots of changes here at Domessticated.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don't want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Just gonna have to be a different man

I’m not talking about facelifts and makeovers. I’m kind of talking about a make-under. I know, I know – it’s the New Year. I’m supposed to be resolving to bring the sexy back. Get out of my sweats. Lose the weight. Read Anna Karenina. Go skydiving!

But let’s be realistic. I kind of don’t wanna.

So here are some of the ch-ch-ch-ch-changes you might (or might not) notice around here:

Recipes (I find Anna Karenina long & boring** – give me something that fits on an index card.)
I’ve been doing a lot of remote cooking lately (we’ve moved farther away from grandparents, and are making frequent trips to visit), and I hate cooking without my recipe box. So, I’m going to try to focus on getting all of my favorite recipes out of my box and onto this website. Then, I’ll always have access to them from any location. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that I’m trying to impress you with them. I know you probably already all have your own recipe for three quarters of this stuff, and it might even be better than mine (if it is, PLEASE SHARE!). I have a feeling you might not even be interested in some of the stuff I’m going to be sharing, but I really don’t want my tried-and-true family favorites lost in the proverbial house fire, so - boring or not - I’ll be posting them here, one at a time. My hope is that at the end of the year (or a couple years, if it takes that), I can self-publish for my kids a family cookbook with all these family favorites in it. I’m actually going to challenge you guys to do the same. If you have a blog, start putting things on there that you’ve been reluctant to put on there before. That shepherd’s pie recipe that calls for just 5 ingredients (including tater tots and – collective foodie gasp! – cream of mushroom soup, shame on you!)* but that has your family licking their plates EVERY TIME YOU MAKE IT? Might not propel you to Foodie Blogger Hall of Fame status, but I’m betting your kids will be pretty thrilled to be able to look it up when they’re spending their first year away at college, starving for some home-cooked-just-like-Mom’s simplicity. The food blog world is a pretty sparkle-y one: I frequently find myself overwhelmed by perfectly staged plates and gorgeous dishes made using fresh, fancy ingredients that I can’t even find except during those two bountiful weeks in September. Which, last I checked, fifty weeks out of the year aren’t. In fact, some of my family’s favorite recipes don’t have even the slightest whiff of “gourmet” ingredients or techniques.

Features (Okay, here’s the sexy for ya. And it isn’t even my sexy!)
This is one thing that won’t be changing. I still love browsing recipes, and I’ll still be sharing my fave finds with you here. If you have something to share, please email it to me at domessticated@hotmail.com. I love featuring your submissions.

Giveaways (Don’t hate me because I’m losing this dead weight. I might actually bring it back one day. Who knows?)
I have one more scheduled giveaway coming up. After that, I won’t be doing any more giveaways here at Domessticated. This kind of makes me sad, actually. The thing about giveaways, though….well, there’s actually several things. When I first started this blog, the giveaways were the thing I got the very most excited about. How FUN to get to share products with you guys for free! As it turns out, though, giveaways are more of a hassle than anything. It’s sometimes nearly impossible to contact winners. More often than not, I actually end up having to redraw winners because I’m never able to get the winners to contact me with their information. I just know that I’m ending up in junk folders all over the internet! Then, once I actually have addresses to send the winners’ stuff to, I have to go to the post office, wait in line, deal with the ornery clerks, and shell out a ton of money to insure, register, and get signature confirmation for prizes. Because if I don’t do these things, there’s no guarantee your prizes will make it there. And finally, I honestly don’t even know whether the majority of you guys really even like giveaways in the first place. Frankly, it’s really embarrassing for me when I have a sponsor or generous giveaway and I only get twelve entries for what I know is a good product. I don’t want people to feel like they’ve wasted their time, money, and/or product with me. And I feel like I have nothing to be ashamed of. So, for now, no more giveaways.

Pictures & Tutorials (Sweats are comfy. They’re clean sweats, so why complain? Oh, and the stretchy waistband might come in handy after dinner!)
Sometimes it takes me 15 minutes of struggling with despicable lighting – all the while shrieking at my poor starving children, “Don’t touch that plate! I need to get a picture!” - to get an adequately (or not) appetizing photo with my old point-and-shoot camera. One day, I’ll buy a fancy new camera. But I’m going to be honest with you. I won’t be buying it so I can get better shots of my food. I’ll be buying it so I can get better shots of my kids. And while I will still be ~~struggling~~ trying to learn how to take better food pictures, I won’t be constructing fancy light boxes like I’ve dreamed about in the past (where’m I gonna PUT that thing when I’m not shooting a plate?), and I won’t be working to capture the tendrils of steam rising up from – oh, and and the molten cheese oozing out from - my just-out-of-the oven lasagna so that you can appreciate the real beauty of the thing. Yeah, my photos might even have a crusty edge or two, because I’ll be waiting until AFTER my satisfied family leaves the table to capture them.

Facebook (Am I just dumb?)
I can’t explain it. I just don’t get Facebook. I can’t get excited about it, and I’m sorry for that. I resolve to work at it. I will try to be better. I will try to “get it” because I know that for some of you it is your favorite way to stay connected, but – despite its reach and it’s ability to grow a website – I have to be honest: if I can’t find a way to actually enjoy it, I’m going to have to officially “put it to sleep”.

Well, there you have it. Domessticated’s New Year’s Resolutions. Which might actually sound more like New Year’s Revolutions to you. But you know me well enough by now to know that my bark is probably worse than my bite.

Probably.

* Hi. My name is Tyra, and I cook with cream-of-whatever soups (COWS). I’m okay with that. Once I tried making cream of chicken soup from scratch for a recipe that called for it and my family just ended up having cream of chicken soup for dinner. Don’t get me wrong. It was really good. We’ll have from-scratch cream of chicken soup again, but I’ll never go to the trouble and extra hour of labor to make it as an ingredient for something else.

**I’ve never actually read all of Anna Karenina. I much prefer trash like Harry Potter, Timothy Kavanagh, Katniss Everdeen, James Herriot, and Bella Swan.

‘Tis The Season… (and winners announced)

2011-12-24T06:39:00.001-07:00

…For sick kids.

I haven’t been able to think about food much this week. The kids have been sick, and I’ve been experiencing the less-than-photogenic side of the food world. When it’s coming out at greater frequencies than it’s going in, you stop wanting to think about it altogether.

I’ll be back after the first of the year with more features, a few pictures and tutorials of my almost-exclusively-handmade Christmas, and a tip or two for helping you deal with sick kids. In the meantime, I’ll be focused giving extra snuggles, extra kisses, and just getting mine all better. With any luck, before Santa comes…

I’m hoping you find yourself surrounded by those whom you love most this Christmas and New Year. I hope you and they are healthy and happy. And I hope Santa brings you just exactly what you asked for.

From my family to yours: Merry Christmas!

Winners of the Vera Cruz Vanilla giveaway are: Wehaf, The Allen Family, and Shell. You have until next Friday, December 30 to email me with your mailing addresses!

No-Bake Tiger Butter Bars

2011-12-17T07:02:00.000-07:00

They’re a simple combination of Rice Chex, peanut butter, and milk chocolate. Cheeky Kitchen calls them no-bake tiger butter bars, and she has sort of a love/hate relationship with them.

I’ll be having the kids help me make them, emphasizing that their major responsibility will be to help me make them disappear.

Think they’ll cooperate?

Peppermint Patty Surprise Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars

2011-12-16T18:55:00.001-07:00

I’m always hoping Santa remembers to put some peppermint patties in my stocking.

IF there happen to be any left over I’m done devouring my share, I’ll be nice and make some of these peppermint patty surprise chocolate chunk cookie bars to share.

(Bring lots, Santa.)

Picky Palate

Buffalo Chicken Bites

2011-12-15T20:40:00.000-07:00

These buffalo chicken bites would be a fun change of pace for party appetizers.

As in GAME NIGHT party?

What’s Cookin, Chicago?

Carrot Cake Waffles

2011-12-14T20:38:00.000-07:00

Yum.

Just yum.

carrot cake waffles, Willow Bird Baking

Boiled Omelettes

2011-12-13T20:36:00.001-07:00

The idea behind boiled omelettes started out as a convenience for breakfast aboard a boat so that there were fewer dishes to wash.

Not Martha shows us the technique for making them at home. Because I don’t have to be living aboard a boat for
fewer dishes to wash to be a really welcome thing.

I can totally see a very convenient application of this recipe for camping, too. But don’t make me test it.

Vera Cruz Vanilla Holiday Special and Giveaway

2011-12-12T05:14:00.000-07:00

Sorry; this giveaway is now closed!

I know everyone’s Christmas preparations are in full swing right now. That’s why I wanted to take one final opportunity to remind you to order some Vera Cruz Vanilla for those last-minute stocking stuffers. This vanilla really is the ideal gift for those people who already have everything! Anybody who cooks or bakes - even if only occasionally - will notice the difference made by using using this real Mexican vanilla in their cooking and will very much appreciate this gift. Plus, order through December 31 and take advantage of their buy one get one free special. This means you can buy one as a gift and keep one for yourself…you simply will not believe the difference Vera Cruz Vanilla will make in your eggnog recipe!

Also, remember you have until Wednesday night, December 14, to enter (here, at the Vera Cruz Vanilla website) to win the KitchenAid.

That’s not all, though. The folks at Vera Cruz Vanilla are slipping on their Santa hats and dropping down the Domessticated chimney with another great giveaway for you. Three Domessticated readers will win a prize package, including one 4 oz. bottle of Vera Cruz Vanilla Extract, one 4 oz. bottle of Vera Cruz Vanilla Flavoring, and one package of Vera Cruz Vanilla Beans.

Each giveaway prize package constitutes a $25 retail value. To enter, simply leave a comment here telling me what holiday recipe you’d most like to try your real Mexican vanilla in (you don’t have to provide the entire recipe – just tell me what it is!) The winners will be chosen at random from among all qualified entries. Remember, if you’re a no-reply blogger, your comment has to include an email in order for me to be able to contact you! You have until Friday, December 23 at midnight to enter. Good luck!

They don’t sell vanilla from all over the world; they make the best vanilla in the world.

Slow Cooker Indian Butter Chicken

2011-12-12T04:45:00.000-07:00

There’s no better way to get that tender, melt-in-your-mouth, delicate texture of the chicken in some of your favorite ethnic dishes than by making them in your slow cooker.

And using thighs, people. I’m a BIG believer in the chicken thigh.

These slow cooker butter chicken use both those tricks. Gotta be good. (Especially if you love Indian like I do.)

The Meal Planner

Southern Chicken & Corn Chowder

2011-12-10T09:25:00.000-07:00

You may already know that I do not love chowders. I don’t even know why. I just can’t get on board with them. But I’m trying this Southern chicken & corn chowder anyway.

Add A Pinch

Mozzarella Sticks

2011-12-09T06:21:00.000-07:00

These mozzarella sticks make great, simple appetizer options for your holiday parties.

As suggested at Taste of Home, let your kids help you wrap them up!

Peppermint Eggnog

2011-12-08T09:24:00.000-07:00

I’ve been looking for a kid-friendly, cooked eggnog recipe. I’m hoping this peppermint eggnog, from Martha Stewart will taste as good as it looks!

Stacked Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas

2011-12-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

Feeling like something hearty but not guilt-inducing in this season-of-cream, butter, and indulgence? We’re going to be trying these stacked roasted vegetable enchiladas, from Perry’s Plate

Softening Butter

2011-12-06T05:19:00.000-07:00

It’s tempting for me when I decide at the last minute to make something calling for softened butter to just stick the butter in the microwave and nuke it. But I’ve learned I get much better predictability with my baking when I use butter at the proper temperature. Not to mention a cleaner microwave.

My mother-in-law has a “soften” button on her microwave that perfectly softens a cube of butter. JEALOUS!

For those of us whose kitchens lack this technology, Martha Stewart offers this trick, using a simple kitchen grater, for speeding along the process. (Yes, there are other methods out there, such as flattening the butter with a rolling pin, but I like this one because I can use it for frozen butter, as well as refrigerated.)

And I thought Cooking Light’s series on the “Most Common Cooking Mistakes” was a great one, with a wealth of information including – but certainly not limited to - a great visual on what a properly softened stick of butter should look like:

It is a very useful read. Be sure to check out all 41 tips!

S’more Dip

2011-12-05T06:21:00.000-07:00

Looking for a simple, warm dessert dip to serve at holiday office parties or family gatherigs? This s’more dip uses only four ingredients, three of which you probably already have waiting in your pantry.

TasteBook

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

2011-11-29T04:30:00.000-07:00

Trying to figure out how to make the perfect chocolate chip cookie? Ashley & Sierra will not only tell you the secrets to the perfect chocolate chip cookie, but they also tell you what the problem is when your cookies turn out…ahem…not so perfect.

Yep. Every single one of these looks familiar.

Buffalo Chicken Tacos

2011-11-28T16:37:00.001-07:00

My family loves tacos so much, they’re almost a regular menu item. These buffalo chicken tacos look like a fun way to mix things up.

Mrs. Regueiro’s Plate

Vera Cruz Vanilla Specials

2011-11-21T11:01:00.001-07:00

I wanted to sweeten your Monday morning by letting you all know about an awesome special going on over right now over at Vera Cruz Vanilla…

I’m so grateful that Vera Cruz Vanilla is a sponsor here at Domessticated, but I’d be passing this information along whether or not they were, simply because I believe so strongly in their product. I love Vera Cruz Vanilla, both the product and the people involved with it.

Vera Cruz Vanilla is giving away a KitchenAid™ mixer. Here are the details: it’s an Empire red KitchenAid™, 4.5 Quart 10 speed Mixer which features a Tilt Back Head and includes: Balloon Whisk, Flat Beaters, Instruction Manual, Dough Hooks, valued at $250.

Just visit here to enter. No purchase is necessary, but honestly right now is the perfect time to make a Vera Cruz Vanilla purchase…From now until December 31, both their vanilla extract and vanilla flavoring are buy one get one FREE! You guys, these make the ideal stocking stuffer and neighbor/teacher/hostess gifts. I know I’ll be taking advantage of the special and ordering a surplus stockpile!

Easy Chicken Marsala

2011-11-19T10:46:00.000-07:00

As my holiday preparations find me getting busier & busier, I go in search of quick, easy recipes for old favorites. Like this one, for chicken marsala from Savory Sweet Life.

We’re talking 30 minutes, people!

Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

2011-11-18T10:28:00.000-07:00

These caramel stuffed apple cider cookies are supposedly best served warm. But they seem like a great flavor option for a cookie exchange party….

Scrambled Henfruit suggests perching one atop a mug of hot tea to warm it. Mmmmmmm.

Bubble Up Pizza

2011-11-17T10:19:00.000-07:00

A few months back, I had a menu board-making party with a few fun friends. One friend’s board included a menu item called bubble-up pizza, among several other fun & amazing things I’d never made (some I’d never even heard of!). I’ve been bugging Jennalyn for her recipes ever since the party, and I was eventually going to ask her for this one, but then I found it on Pass The Sushi.

Is it similar to yours, Jen? ‘Cause if it’s not, then I’m definitely bugging you for that one, too!

Make Cinnamon Rolls in Your Waffle Maker!

2011-11-16T10:18:00.000-07:00

I haven’t heard of a quicker, easier way to whip up a few cinnamon rolls…make them in your waffle maker!
The Hen’s Nest

Freeze Chopped Green Onions

2011-11-15T14:59:00.000-07:00

I love Lunch In A Box‘s tip for freezing green onions. Buy several bundles when they’re on sale, chop them up and place them in a bottle in the freezer. (When I do mine I think I’ll take the extra step to freeze them in a single layer on a cookie sheet before placing them in the bottle, just to ensure they don’t freeze in huge chunks & get stuck in there!) When you need some, just take them out, shake some into your pan, & carry on with your day!

How to (Quickly! Easily!) Defrost Your Freezer

2011-11-15T06:09:00.000-07:00

Back in our early married life, DaddyO and I lived in this really OLD, really miniscule little trailer. Holy cow that sucker was little! It was so small that I used to vacuum the entire floor down on my hands & knees with a Dirt Devil handheld. The really awesome thing about it – probably the reason DaddyO had decided to buy it in the first place (other than the fact that it was cheap enough for him to pay cash for it)– was that it had a washing machine in the bathroom so we were able to actually do our laundry at home. Well, we could wash it, anyway…the drying was another story. I used to hang the wet laundry out to dry on racks in the living room (nothing like having your home teachers stop in on laundry night, with your undies hanging all over the place!) And it took forever for the laundry to dry in the winter because it was so stinkin’ frigid inside that trailer. It was so old and poorly insulated that it just couldn’t hold any heat. And we were too poor and cheap to give it much heat to hold in the first place. I used to have to wear DaddyO’s big, heavy duty Carhartt coveralls and a wool beanie around inside during the day just to stay warm. I’m not kidding! But I digress…

The thing that got me thinking about that old trailer was the fact that I get really frustrated with the ways I have to go about some of the menial tasks of household maintenance. Every once in a while (though admittedly not very often) I get frustrated enough that I lament and dwell upon the problem until I figure out a better way to tackle them. Here’s an example one of those menial tasks: I’d just about rather go out and buy a brand new freezer every year than have to defrost the one I’ve got. There’s something so monotonous about standing there with the hair dryer, waiting for those chunks of ice to slowly melt. To me, worse than proverbially watching paint dry.

Anyway, back when we were living in that little trailer [here she goes again…], I once got so impatient with the whole defrosting-of-the-freezer process one winter that I started mindlessly picking at the ice with a knife. I know, I know…You probably aren’t surprised to hear that I eventually ended up accidentally puncturing one of the Freon coils, and Freon started hissing out all over the place. It scared me so badly (Was it going to explode? Was the stuff toxic? Did it matter if I died in a toxic explosion, since surely my husband was going to kill me when he found out what I had done?) that I slammed the little freezer door shut and ran outside into the freezing cold. I stood there – in my socks, wild-haired and even wilder-eyed - shivering, wondering what in the heck I was going to do. At intervals that seemed like eternities (you know, every 45 seconds or so?), I’d crack open the door, peer inside, and become even more frightened to discover that it was still hissing out of the now-open freezer door! Was that stuff self contained, or was there some source line that I had to shut off? Where would it be if there was one? My nerves having finally escalated into an utter all-out panic, I knew at last what I had to do.

I drew in a deep breath, pulled my shirt up over my nose and mouth, and dashed inside for the cordless phone and a phone book, all the while never taking my eyes off that hissing monster. “Please don’t explode while I’m in here!” I silently begged the monster while I fumbled for the phone. I found the phone and phone book, sprinted back outside, took a deep breath and a moment to wish I’d thought to grab a pair of shoes, and proceeded to dial up the nearest refrigerator repair shop. Having been told with what felt at the time like an indelicate candor by the repairman - in no particular order - that the monster would, in fact, eventually stop hissing, that I was going to neither die nor suffer reproductive malign from inhaling the breath of the hissing monster, that I should never defrost a freezer using the chipping-with-a-knife method (oh, really, Repairman?), and that I was going to somehow have to acquire a new fridge and freezer today, I went ahead and did what any hysterical woman in my position would do: I became irrational. Curled up into a ball, my frozen-numb butt crunching on my frozen-crisp lawn, I whimpered and wondered what would have been so bad about an explosion, after all.

Over the years, we’ve finally upgraded to a full-size (non-portable!) house with a full-size stand freezer out in the garage. No way in heck am I standing around wasting an entire nap time blowing hot air at this thing. Here’s my better way:

I like to defrost my freezer in the early winter or late spring, when it’s cold enough to take my food out for a little while without having to worry about it thawing but not so cold that I worry about running the hose. Or about developing frostbite. Start by emptying out your freezer. I just put everything into a few Rubbermaid totes. Unplug your freezer, then have someone help you roll or haul your freezer out onto your driveway, or wherever you have a hard surface with a slope away from the house and access to a hose. Open the little drain hole at the bottom of the freezer, put a nozzle on the end of the hose, and just spray that ice away! It literally just melts away. Somehow, even though the water’s cold, the still-warmer-than-ice temperature combined with the force of the spray knocks those ice particles right out of there. As an added bonus, you can spray off any sticky popsicle/juice concentrate/freezer jam residue or whatever else might have leaked, dripped, or soaked onto your freezer. When you’ve got the ice all off, just dry it off with a rag, take it back into the garage, and fill it back up. Good as new, and you still have time to check Pinterest before the kids wake up from their nap!

Linking up this week:

Individual Apple Pies

2011-11-14T06:30:00.001-07:00

These mini apple pies are cooked right inside the apple. Everybody can have one of their very own!

(Except those four or five right there. Those are mine.)

Babble’s Family Kitchen

The kids will love helping you make these.

Apple Cider Caramels

2011-11-10T19:30:00.000-07:00

These apple cider caramels seem like the perfect marriage between a favorite fall beverage and a favorite holday candy.

Blondie’s Cakes

Chicken Parmesan Bake

2011-11-09T19:24:00.000-07:00

I love chicken parmesan
+I hate breading & frying chicken parm
I can’t wait to try this chicken parmesan bake!

Food Wishes

Grilled Cheese in a Standard Toaster

2011-11-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

This tip to turn your toaster sideways to make grilled cheese both intrigues and terrifies me. Would you consider this safe? I haven’t decided yet.

Grilled Cheese Social

Potato Nachos

2011-11-07T07:17:00.000-07:00

I’m hoping these potato nachos are the ticket to getting my kiddos to eat a potato every once in a while.

Seriously? I didn’t know kids could dislike potatoes, of all things!

Mama Grubbs Grub

Baked French Toast Casserole

2011-11-05T08:12:00.000-06:00

If we’re lucky, we’ll all be having tons of housegueests in the upcoming weeks. Something like this make-the-night-before baked French toast casserole, from Paula Deen via The Taste Place, is a less-stress-less-mess-breakfast-to-impress option I just might have to try.

Hot Chocolate Bar

2011-11-04T08:23:00.000-06:00

I’m loving the idea of a hot chocolate bar for your upcoming holiday parties. The Actor’s Wife shows some topping options, but no instructions or recipes. If anyone puts one of these together, I’d love to see how you tackle the details!

I love how you can make this friendly for kids or grown-ups (you could even offer some spiking options). Wouldn’t it be great at your cookie exchange?

Breakfast on the Go

2011-11-03T20:01:00.001-06:00

What CAN’T you do with a mason jar? This breakfast on the go is my latest case in point!
I Art You

Puff Pastry Wrapped Brie

2011-11-02T09:14:00.000-06:00

Four ingredients and three steps are all you need to make this mouth-watering puff-pastry wrapped brie. It looks and sounds a lot more complicated than it is.

Pepperidge Farm

Keep A Pot of Water From Boiling Over

2011-11-01T10:30:00.000-06:00

This trick, involving placing a wooden spoon across the top of a pot of boiling water to keep it from boiling over, is one of those simple yet genius things that I’m so HAPPY to learn!

Tumblr DIY tutorials, found via Pinterest

Foil Pack Chicken & Broccoli Dinner

2011-10-31T22:12:00.000-06:00

This foil pack chicken & broccoli dinner combines three of my favorite things: chicken, green stuff my kids will actually EAT, and cooking in foil!

Big Oven

Spicy Thai Noodles

2011-10-28T09:00:00.000-06:00

Spicy Thai noodles.

At 9:00 am?

Shoot, yeah!

Fine. Go ahead and have yours for dinner. (Party Pooper.)

A Small Snippet

Yummy Mummy

2011-10-27T10:09:00.000-06:00

We usually do dinner in a pumpkin on Halloween, but Busy Lizzy’s got me considering changing that up with this yummy mummy.

Wait ‘til you see what’s in there…delish!

Pumpkin Serving Bowl

2011-10-26T09:36:00.000-06:00

Serving from a pumpkin for your holiday parties couldn’t be easier.

Martha Stewart

Crock Pot Baked Potatoes

2011-10-25T09:49:00.000-06:00

Yet another reason the crock pot is a countertop appliance in my kitchen…

(What is it? What’s in there?)

Did you know you can make baked potatoes in the crock pot? That’s so perfect for a working weeknight!

Skip to my Lou

Make Your Own Mozzarella

2011-10-25T05:44:00.001-06:00

I’ll admit: I’m scared spit-less to try most “make your own” perishables. I’m afraid something will spoil during the process! But I think even I could handle this make-your-own-mozzarella, from A Good Appetite.

Oatmeal Breakfast Bar

2011-10-24T22:08:00.001-06:00

The simplicity of A Little Bit‘s idea of having an oatmeal breakfast bar appeals to me for something as simple as a cozy family breakfast, but I can also see this being a fun party option for a ladies’ brunch, a bon voyage get-together, or a morning baby/bridal shower.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

2011-10-22T07:22:00.000-06:00

Come ON! Cinnamon roll pancakes? Perfect for a fall weekend!

I cannot WAIT to try these, from Recipe Girl!

Coconut Chicken with Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce

2011-10-21T10:17:00.000-06:00

According to Budget Bytes, you can make this coconut chicken with sweet chili dipping sauce for just $1.15 a serving.

Beautiful, affordable, do-able. Love it.

Inside-Out Caramel Apples

2011-10-20T07:13:00.000-06:00

These inside-out caramel apples are Domestic Fits’ solution to the difficulty (the mess!) of biting into a whole caramel apple.

Great finger food/appetizers for a party, too!

Starbucks’ Caramel Apple Spiced Cider

2011-10-20T06:00:00.000-06:00

Back when I was in school, there were exactly two options for grabbing lunches or quick snacks. On the rare occasions when I forgot or didn’t have time to pack my lunch that morning, I could either eat at the hospital cafeteria (blech!) or at Starbucks (bliss!). I’d never even stepped foot inside a Starbucks before going away to school, but a girl can really only live on chicken strips & low-sodium green beans for so long.

I’m so glad I’m not a student anymore! Funny, though, how about this time of year – every single year - I always get a craving for one of those hot caramel apple ciders I used to order. Since I’m not within walking distance to a Starbucks kiosk (campus life does have its perks!) anymore, and since my beverage budget these days is more likely to go towards whole milk & 100% fruit juice, I figured it was about time to dig out my old re-creation recipe and share it with you.

You can make this beverage a couple different ways. Both ways turn out great. You can either make the quick-&-easy version by simply using store-bought bottled apple juice or cider, or you can easily mull your own cider for added depth of flavor. I guess if you want to go all Martha Stewart and juice your own (homegrown, perhaps?) apples, that would mean you can make it three different ways. In that case, knock yourself out...I’ll sit here, sipping my hot caramel apple cider and watching you work too hard. I’m lazy like that.

Like-Starbucks’ Caramel Apple Cider (makes about one 12-oz portion)
1 C bottled 100% apple juice or cider (mulled, if desired; recipe follows*)
1-2 T cinnamon syrup (if I’ve mulled my cider, I use about 1 T; if not, I like a little more)
whipped cream
caramel syrup

Heat juice or cider with cinnamon syrup in a saucepan on the stove. Portion into mugs (leaving plenty of headroom for whipped cream!). Top with whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel syrup.

*Mulled Apple Cider (makes 4-6 C)
4-6 C 100% apple juice
1-2 cinnamon sticks
4-6 whole cloves
1-2 pinches nutmeg

To mull your cider, simply place juice and spices together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Your house is going to smell ah-MA-zing! Strain spices from juice (careful! Don’t burn yourself!) and proceed with caramel apple cider recipe.

You can easily serve this beverage for a party. To do so, simply keep the cider/cinnamon syrup mixture warm in a crockpot and let guests serve themselves with a ladle. Serve chilled whipped cream on the side, and offer a squeeze bottle of caramel syrup for drizzling!

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This recipe has been shared with you as my contribution to a fun new cooking challenge in which I was invited to participate. Each month, participants in the challenge are provided with a combination of ingredients (this month, it was apples and caramel…easy, right?) and asked to post a recipe combining the two. If you’d like to learn more about the challenge or join in the fun by becoming a participant, please visit Sheryl at Lady Behind the Curtain.

Linking up this week:

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Chip Pretzel Cookies

2011-10-19T14:54:00.000-06:00

Sweet & salty gets me every time. Double each dose with these chocolate & peanut butter chip pretzel cookies.

Sugar Cooking

Coconut Whipped Cream

2011-10-18T09:39:00.000-06:00

There are few things I love more than the silky richness of coconut milk (I think it’s one of the reasons I love Thai food so much).

I can’t wait to see if this coconut whipped cream is as amazing as I’m imagining it will be…

Nutty Kitchen

“Better Than Take-Out” Orange Chicken

2011-10-17T06:44:00.000-06:00

The Noshery has dubbed this orange chicken “better than take-out”.

That ought to be a delicious theory to test!

Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole

2011-10-15T21:30:00.000-06:00

I’ve seen this crock pot breakfast casserole plastered ALL OVER Pinterest these last few weeks.

Pretty much a perfect Sunday morning breakfast or brunch!

A Latte With Ott, A

Apple Pie Dip and Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Chips

2011-10-14T21:30:00.001-06:00

I was already excited enough to try this apple pie dip, based on this picture alone:

…Then The Peach Kitchen mentioned cinnamon sugar tortilla chips to dip in it.

Stuffed Zucchini

2011-10-13T08:08:00.000-06:00

Still grabbing zucchinis out of the garden? Stuff ‘em!

Kayotic Kitchen

Baked Stuffed Apples

2011-10-12T20:06:00.001-06:00

According to Jen over at Nautical Wheeler, these baked stuffed apples, made in the crockpot, are like a lower-calorie version of an apple pie.

Can you imagine the added benefit of how delicious your house will smell while they’re cooking?

Apple Pie Oatmeal

2011-10-08T09:26:00.000-06:00

This apple pie oatmeal is just perfect for these chilly mornings (and apple season’s still in full swing!)

Family Feedbag

Mummies on a Stick and Ninja Mummy Cookies

2011-10-07T09:22:00.001-06:00

Your kids will love helping you make these mummies on a stick and ninja mummy cookies!

A Delicious Melody

Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches

2011-10-05T10:21:00.000-06:00

These juicy slow cooker chicken Caesar sandwiches couldn’t be easier.

The Girl Who Ate Everything

Gumball Machine Cupcakes

2011-10-04T07:45:00.001-06:00

I’m a little bit obsessed with gumball machines. These gumball machine cupcakes, with instructions for assembly here, are too cute not to share. Birthday party? Bake sale?

Cookies and Cups found via Oh! Cupcakes

Slimy Worms

2011-10-03T19:18:00.001-06:00

These edible slimy worms will be a huge hit at your kids’ Halloween party.

The recipe, at Divine Dinner Party, does NOT include instructions for how to keep yourself from gagging while taking them out of the straws you use to mold them. You’re on your own there.

Fried Apple Pancake Rings

2011-10-01T22:15:00.001-06:00

Apples, cored and sliced, are dipped in pancake batter and cooked on a griddle, then served with hot apple cider syrup.

Are you kidding me?

They’re called fried apple pancake rings.

From former Top Chef contestant Carla Hall (Hootie!) on ABC’s new show, The Chew

Stuffed Baguette

2011-09-30T13:19:00.001-06:00

Stuff a baguette with any filling you like, then slice it up as a pretty (easy!) appetizer!

Baking Obsession

Spicy (!) Shrimp & Avocado Lettuce Cups

2011-09-28T11:25:00.000-06:00

Things are cooling down around here. I love the weather this time of year.

However, if you’re already missing the blistering heat of summer, maybe you should try these SPICY shrimp & avocado lettuce cups.

Bev Cooks guest posting at Aggie’s Kitchen

Green Monster Smoothie

2011-09-28T09:18:00.000-06:00

Green smoothies are all over the place right now. I like the simplicity of this one, from Naturally Ella
green monster smoothie

Cookie Cutter Organization

2011-09-27T09:15:00.000-06:00

Great idea for cookie cutter organization at Annie’s Eats

Grilled Focaccia

2011-09-26T11:28:00.000-06:00

Can’t wait to try this grilled focaccia, from Sand & Sisal.

Crock Pot Apple Butter

2011-09-26T09:13:00.000-06:00

I got Michelle’s submission for crock pot apple butter in late February last year. It sounded so good, I’ve been holding onto it until apple season was here.

It’s here, Baby!

Dream Home DIY

S’mores Cobbler

2011-09-24T09:06:00.000-06:00

Dying to try this s’mores cobbler!

Created by Diane

Utah’s Best Funeral Potatoes

2011-09-23T14:10:00.000-06:00

Barbara over at Barbara Bakes was a judge for a recent contest to find Utah’s best funeral potatoes.

(We all have our own personal favorite recipe, but I can’t wait to compare this one to my own!)

Strawberries & Cream Soda

2011-09-23T09:04:00.000-06:00

This from-scratch strawberries & cream soda is so pretty!

Kitchen Simplicity

Thai-Style Chicken Salad

2011-09-22T14:12:00.000-06:00

Mmmmm.

Thai-style chicken salad

Just mmmmmm.

Bitchin’ Camaro

Sweet Heat Corn Chips

2011-09-22T09:02:00.000-06:00

I am so intrigued by Macheesmo’s sweet heat corn chips!

Chunky Mashed Taters

2011-09-21T14:00:00.000-06:00

I am incapable of making a decent batch of mashed potatoes. It’s kind of embarrassing, but it’s just one of those things I’ve never been able to perfect.

But this recipe, for chunky mashed taters, makes me want to try, try again. They look so great!

Real Mom Kitchen

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

2011-09-21T08:44:00.001-06:00

Don’t these lemon crinkle cookies, from The Queen Bee’s Hive, look gorgeous?

(Quick winner announcement: Jennifer Rzasa, check your email; I’ll be getting in touch for your mailing info for the Fiber One 80 giveaway. Thanks!)

Product Review: The Tomaccio Gourmet Cherry Tomato

2011-09-20T20:51:00.000-06:00

I was at the nursery this spring and I saw a bunch of cherry tomato plants with tons of blossoms on them. I read the card, and discovered that they’re a new variety – released in markets in the US for the first time this year - called the Tomaccio gourmet cherry tomato. I’m so glad I brought one home & tried it!

Also called the “sweet raisin tomato”, the Tomaccio was bred for its sweetness, which is said to only intensify when dried. The tomaccio plant produced oodles of clusters absolutely laden with fruit, in our experience throughout the summer and fall, with very little care required outside of regular watering and staking. I read and carefully followed the pruning directions, which asked me to cut off all the side shoots and allow only the main stem to continue to grow. This meant that I had to cut off blossoms at times, which was heartbreaking. The tomaccio is said to reach up to 12 feet in height (mine’s currently about 9.5), and is great for container gardening, which is how ours is planted…in a pot on our small deck. And we’ve been snacking on Tomaccio cherry tomatoes since July! DaddyO, an avid tomato enthusiast, has declared them “the best tasting cherry tomato ever”. And we haven’t even gotten around to drying any.

I really do want to dry some, since I think they’d be amazing tossed on salads or pizzas, or even just for snacking, but with this single plant I have a feeling we’re never going to make it past the snacking-off-the-vine stage. Which is totally okey dokey with me. When your kids are begging you for “matoes” at 10:30 in the morning, rather than a popsicle? Makes it so easy to say yes.

Next year I’ll be buying three Tomaccios. Maybe with a couple extras I’ll be able to get around to drying some.

Maybe not. Oh, well!

How to Peel a Fresh Tomato

2011-09-20T11:29:00.000-06:00

…but for those of you out there who prefer a chunkier salsa, it’ s nice to have a reliable way to peel all those tomatoes.
What’s Cooking America

How to Make & Can Salsa

2011-09-20T07:23:00.001-06:00

Maggie over at Smashed Peas & Carrots has a step-by-step tutorial for making & canning salsa!
Salsa is such a great way to begin learning to can, and Maggie’s looks positively scrumptious!

(One thing Maggie did that I really liked was to just dice & throw the whole tomato in there, seeds, peels, and all. She purees her salsa at the end, so leaving the peel on ends up being no big deal. Which is a BIG deal to me because that’s my least favorite thing about salsa-making: peeling all those tomatoes! I can’t wait to make a batch of this salsa!)

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2011-09-19T14:21:00.000-06:00

This buffalo chicken dip is the only convincingly good reason I can come up with for sitting down to watch a football game. (But that’s just me).

(It’s so good, they call it “crack” dip!)

Sing For Your Supper

Mummy Juice Boxes

2011-09-17T10:07:00.000-06:00

Pack one of these adorable mummy juice boxes in your kids’ lunchboxes on Halloween, or serve them at your Halloween party’s beverage bar!
Parents