July Foodie Penpals Reveal

It is the last day of the month and time for another Foodie Penpal Reveal.  As I have said before, it is just like getting Christmas every month, so this month I had Christmas in July.  My package came from Jennifer at The Caffeinated Rooster.  She sent lots of breakfast and snack goodies.

For breakfast on the go there was this wonderful Cranberry Apple Breakfast Bar.  It was so good.

When I have a little more time, some instant oatmeal packets.  Apples and cinnamon are such  a good combination.  Just like apple pie.

There were two great mixes that I have never tried.  The Sweet Basil Pesto Sauce was wonderful over chicken breasts, and the Creamy Dill Dip went great with both veggies and crackers.

I have thought about purchasing almond butter many times but just never did.  This was very good, and almond butter will go on my shopping list.

I was able to fill my snack quota with these wonderful peanuts that came from a local farmer's market.

Last, there were cookies for Cookie Monster's grandmother.  These were spicy, crispy and delicious.

I am sorry.  I forgot to take a picture of the cute note that Jennifer sent me.  Thanks, Jennifer, for a great package.  I enjoy it all immensely.

I sent my package to Natalie from Fresh Life Findings.  She shares what I sent to her there.

Foodie Penpals is hosted by Lindsay at the Lean Green Bean.  If you would like to join in this great, fun exchange, you can find all the info on her Foodie Penpal Page.  Come and join us.  Sign up deadline is the 4th of each month.

I am linking to Foodie Penpal Reveal where all the participants share what they received.  It is a fun read.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Steak Strips in Leek and Red Pepper Gravy

When I purchased leeks for this month's  Eating the Alphabet, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them.  After I picked a recipe to post, I had extra leeks.  This is one of the recipes that I made.  Although I rarely cook with leeks, I put red pepper anywhere I can get away with it.  The combination of leek and red peppers sounded good to me. 

I had purchased some London Broil (round steak) on sale and wasn’t quite sure I what I wanted to do with it.  None of the recipes I found appealed to me.  Maybe because it has been so hot here the last few days, and I didn’t want to use the oven.  I ended up putting together something that did sound good to me and could be done on the stove top.

I remembered a Season Salt mixture that Tiffany had posted over at Eat at Home.  I adapted it and coated all my steak strips with the seasoning salt.  This gave lots of flavor to the gravy.

I served this over mashed potatoes, but it could be served over noodles or rice.  Hubby approved, and I will be making this again.

Steak Strips in Leek and Red Pepper Gravy
1 leek slice into 1/4-inch rings
2 T. olive oil, divided
2 t. Kosher salt
3/4 t. coarse ground pepper
1/4 t. paprika (smoked if you have it)
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. onion powder
3 or 4 turns of Spice Islands Chipotle Chili Seasonings Grinder
1 lb. thick cut round steak cut into 1x2x1/4-inch strips
1 (14 oz.) can beef broth or two cups water and 2 t. Better than Bouillon Beef Flavor Paste
half a medium size red pepper cut into short julienne strips
3 T. flour
1/3 c. water

Place leeks in a bowl of water and swish around to remove any grit and dirt.  Pour water off.  Rinse leeks again and drain.  Place leeks in a clean dish towel and squeeze to dry.  Heat 1 T. olive oil in a medium skillet.  Cook leeks over medium heat until soft.  Remove from skillet and set aside.  Meanwhile combine salt, pepper, paprika, garlic and onion powder and chili seasonings in a medium size bowl.  Mix well.  Add beef strips and mix well.  Make sure that all strips get some of the seasoning salt mix.  Heat second T. of olive oil in same skillet that you cooked the leeks in.  Add steak strips in a single layer and brown well on both sides.  Remove steak strips to container with leeks as they brown adding more strips to skillet until all strips are browned.  Return leeks and steak strips to skillet.  Add broth and red pepper.   Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and cook 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Mix flour with 1/3 c. water until well blended.  Slowly add to skillet mixture, stirring constantly.  Boil 2 to 3 minutes until mixture is thickened to gravy consistency.  Serve over mashed potatoes, noodles, or rice.  Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Linking to:  Mop It Up Monday
Must Try Monday
Melt in Your Mouth Monday
Recipe Sharing Monday
Hunk of Meat Monday
Mangia Monday

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Viggle-ing for Gold

Are you enjoying the Olympics?  I admit, I've had them on every moment that I've been home.  I enjoyed watching the men's Water polo game yesterday afternoon.  I think I only get to watch that sport every 4 years in the Olympics...as much as I enjoy it, I don't know why I don't check it out more.

I've done a lot of "coaching" of our Team USA swimmers this weekend too.  I hope they are taking my advice as I yell hints and tips at the screen.  (Mostly it consists of "GO FASTER!" which they are obviously listening to as Lochte and others have taken the Gold.

While I'm yelling at the TV and cheering on our athletes, I haven't forgotten to Viggle.  Have you?  I told you about Viggle back HERE in my week of Making Money Online ideas.  I don't know if you listened to me, but if you are an avid Olympics watcher, now is definitely the time to check it out!  After all, why not get a little "gold" for yourself while our athletes are getting some gold?

If you don't know about Viggle, it's an awesome app for the IPhone, and now the Android.  You "check in" to your TV shows when you're watching.  That simple means to let the app listen to your TV.  It will find the show your watching and let you earn points for the TV you are watching.  You can then turn those points in for free gift cards to things like Chilis, Fandango, or even a free Kindle fire.  Pretty cool right?

It's free and it's not hard to do.  Just "check in" at the start of your show and it will keep you signed in to that show until you check into another one or until the show is over.  At the end of the show, you'll get your points.  Then you can check into another show if you want.  Plus, there are lots of extra ways to earn points. You can watch commercials or take quizzes to get more.  Plus, during the Olympics, you can play along live and get extra points for predicting who will win races or answering trivia questions.

Not bad for something you're going to do anyway, right?  You definitely should go check it out HERE and bring home some gold of your own!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Friday Finds

 

For the last several weeks, life outside of blogging has gotten in the way when it came to posting Friday Finds.  Hopefully that has ended, and I will be around regularly again.  You might notice that I have a new tab above entitled "Friday Finds Links".  One thing I did manage to do was to make a page for all the links that I have posted under Friday Finds.  I found that I was spending too much time scrolling back through my blog to find a specific link I had posted for something that I wanted to make.  Now, hopefully, it will be easier for both me and you, dear reader, to get to those recipes.

Note:  I am only up to February 2012, but will get the remaining links up soon.  Take a look.  You might find something you want to make and a new-to-you blog also.

Now on to my Finds for this week.  I am continuing my posts of recipes that I have found at blog parties and the parties where they were found.

Pork Loin with Apple Rosemary Glaze

Kathiey's World

I found this at It's A Keeper Thursday.  We really like pork loin roast so I buy it a lot and am always looking for new recipes to use it.  This one looks really good, and I will be trying it soon.  I just have to add that this blogs has really great photos.  Wish I was that talented.

Ramen Broccoli Slaw

The Baking Bookworm

I think I would like this different take on the traditional ramen noodle salad.  Probably wouldn't be able to get it by hubby because of the broccoli.  Looks like a great one to take to a potluck or gathering though.  I found this one at Tastetastic Thursday.

Pineapple Pecan Chicken Salad

The Kitchen is My Playground

It's summer, it's hot, I got a great buy on chicken breast.  I can't think of anything better to make with some of the chicken than this delicious looking salad.  This was shared at  Full Plate Thursday which is hosted by our own regular contributor to Friday Finds, Miz Helen.

Nutella Coconut Popsicles
Morsels of Life

Again, it's summer, it's hot, Nutella is one of my favorite things, coconut is right up there, too.  I just may have to go purchase Popsicle molds so I can make this one.  Actually I really want one right now.  This comes from a regular contributor to Friday Finds and was shared at Tasty Thursday.

Strawberry Cupcake Puppy Chow

Cooking Up Good Times

BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf

Love Bakes Good Cakes

Ashton over at Something Swanky holds two blog parties each Thursday: Sweet Treats, which is for sweets recipes, of course; and Swanky Stuff, which is for everything else.  Here are two recipes that caught my eye this week.  The Puppy Chow would be great for any girl's get-together, young or older.  One can't have too many meatloaf recipes.  This one looks like a great new idea I want to try.

There were so many great recipes at each of these blog parties, it was very difficult to pick just one to share here.  I know that there are many other blog parties happening on Thursdays also.  These are just the ones I visit most often.  Each of the blog party links goes to the party happening on Thursday, July 27, 2012.  To find a newer party, click on the link, then click on the blog's home page to find the newest party.

As always, the photos were taken by and are the property of the owners of the respective blogs represented.

I am linking up to Friday Favorite Finds at Finding Joy in My Kitchen.  Just click on over to see what other bloggers have found this week.

 

 

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Olympic Ring Cookies

I'm so glad the Opening Ceremonies are on a Friday.  I know it's silly, but I miss having Cookie Friday with my kids.  We have a tradition of making cookies when they get home from school on Friday afternoons to celebrate the end of the school week and the start of the weekend.  We end up taking a break during the Summer months because we are usually home and baking all day.

I don't know what we'll do now that I'm at the store until dinner time every night.  I hope I can figure out a way to keep our family tradition.  I want the kids to look back on this time and remember the traditions we started.

When I saw these fun decorated cookies from Meaghan from The Decorated Cookie over on Birds Party Blog, I knew that I needed to have them at our Opening Ceremony viewing party.  They look super easy to make, which is good since I'll be making them late tonight after the kids have gone to bed (hope they don't wake up and make me have to share the frosting.)

Go check them out HERE for the complete directions and enjoy a little bit of celebration that the weekends finally coming!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Olympics on the Go

I love my little store...I really do.  But I admit, being here 24/7 is kinda hard sometimes.  I feel like I miss out on a bit of fun.  Fortunatly, I can make my own hours, so I don't miss everything.  I won't get to miss the Opening Ceremonies, but I will miss some of the best Olympic action since I don't have cable or a tv at the store.

I'm a little partial to the swimming events.  Maybe it was because I dreamed of being an Olympic swimmer...maybe it is me still dreaming of reaching that AAA in breaststroke.  Maybe it's just an exciting event with lots of great action.  And who doesn't mind watching Michael Phelps (both in and out of the water?)

Even though I'll be away from the TV, I don't have to miss all the action.  And in case you'll be out and about too, here are a few quick ways to catch all the excitement, glory, tears, and thrills of the Olympic games.

In case you have access to a computer with internet, you can go to www.NBCOlympics.com   They will have all the news, videos, and information on all your favorite sports.

Or you if you have a smart phone, NBC has two apps that you can download and use to catch all the fun.  They have the Olympics App and the Olympics "Live Extra" App.

The NBC Olympics App has all the news, medal counts, videos, and updates from London.  Plus, it looks like you can follow your favorite athletes and events so you won't miss all the swimming, diving, gymnastics, or track and field fun.  You can even interact with all your favorite social media platforms right from the app, so you can cheer your team on in full social media fashion!

The NBC Olympics "Live Extra" App lets you watch ALL 302 events so you can see some of the rarer events that don't get as much TV action as you might like.  Plus, access is free for subscribers to access is free for subscribers to a cable, satellite, or telco TV service package that includes CNBC or MSNBC.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Olympic Ring Dessert Plates

I guess every young child dreams of going to the Olympics some day.  When you are out practicing for hours on end while other kids are playing, the thought of some day standing on the podium while the national anthem plays keeps you going.  

Now that I'm an adult, I realize that I was never going to make it to the Olympics.  I just wasn't that good.  But I certainly had my dreams of out swimming Michael Phelps.

Now that I'm older and reality has set in, I empathize more for the mothers of all those Olympic athletes.  I feel a sense of pride and accomplishment as each of those athletes enters the stadium and enjoys the opening ceremonies.

This year, I'll be imagining my own children out there and we'll cheer each athlete that wins and mourn with each that misses the gold.

But while we are doing that...we'll enjoy lots of sweet treats. After all, the Opening Ceremonies are LONG! It takes a long time to walk that stadium and we'll need lots of energy to keep us going.  But we have to do it in style.  So today I made some Olympic Ring dessert plates for our Opening Ceremony viewing party.

I started by buying these clear plates from Dollar Tree.  I suppose I could have saved a few steps and just bought colored plates from Walmart, but I'm a cheapy and didn't want to spend $2.50 a plate.  I did buy a black plate and 4 clear plates.  Dollar Tree had yellow and green plates too, but they were more of a mustard and sage color than the bright colors I wanted.

Normally when I'm making cake display stands, I go with the small candle sticks, but I wanted to try something different, so I found these candle vases and picked up 3 of them to give my Olympic rings some height.

I spray painted the bottom of my plates in red, yellow, blue, and green.  By spraying the bottom of the plate, I wasn't worried about the color coming off on the food and being unsanitary. Now if you don't have these colors already on hand, it might not save you money by going this route, but since I have a strange love of spray paint, I was set.

At this point, I usually glue my plate to my candlestick, but wanted to try something new.  I wanted my plates to be interchangeable down the line so I could use the bases and not have to buy new ones.  But just placing the plate on the stand didn't make it very secure.  So I found some velcro circles that I had laying around from another project. 

I put one of the sides in the center of the plate and one on the center of the upside down vase.

This gives the back rings some height so everything on my dessert table isn't eye level.

Lastly, I laid the plates into the colors of the Olympic rings.  Now they are ready for LOTS of treats and the games to start!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Pineapple Chicken

Good Monday and thank you for stopping by to read my blog.  I appreciate those who take the time out of their busy lives to do so.  Have a great week.

Recently I wanted to make a Chinese meal.  I like many Chinese dishes and try to make them at home when I can.  One dish I decided to make was Pineapple Chicken.  I found a recipe for Chinese Pineapple Chicken at Soupbelly.com.  This is a new- to-me blog with great recipes and wonderful step-by-step photos.  If you want to see great pictures of how this is made just pop on over to her blog.

I did not have the time to let the chicken marinate a whole two hours, and it was fine; but it probably would have been a bit better with a longer marinating time.

I really like her method for marinating the chicken and making the marinade into a batter for the chicken pieces.  The batter clung to the chicken very well.  There is no deep frying involved so that was a plus for me.  I used about 1/4-inch of oil in a large skillet.  I used two set of tongs to fry the chicken, one to remove the chicken pieces from the batter and put them in the hot oil, the other to turn the chicken pieces and remove them as they were done.  This worked very well.  Be sure that the chicken pieces do not touch each other while they are frying, they will stick together.

I, of course, had to change a few things so this is my adaptation of Soupbelly’s recipe.

Pineapple Chicken
adapted from Soupbelly.com

1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 10 chicken tenders)
2 T. soy sauce
1 t. sesame oil
1 egg
1/4 t. pepper
3 T. flour
3 T. cornstarch
oil for frying
1 (20 oz.) can pineapple tidbits
1 t. grated fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c. chopped red pepper
1/4 c. chopped green onion
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 T.  soy sauce
1 T. water
1 T. cornstarch

Cut chicken into about 1 1/2-inch chunks.  Add soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper and the egg.  Cover and marinate in the refrigerator at least 2 hours.  Add flour and cornstarch to the chicken to create a thick batter.  Pour enough oil in a large skillet to make a depth of about 1/4 inch.  Heat over medium high heat.  Add chicken pieces to hot oil using tongs and not letting them touch each other.  Cook till underside is brown, turn and cook till second side is brown.  Remove chicken pieces to a paper towel lined plate.  Repeat until chicken pieces are done.  Pour off any remaining oil in skillet and wipe clean with paper towels.  Drain pineapple into a glass measuring cup.  If there is not 1 cup of  juice, add enough water to make 1 c.  Pour juice into skillet.  Add ginger, garlic  and red pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Add green onion, brown sugar and soy sauce.  Simmer for 5 minutes.  In a small bowl combine water and cornstarch and mix well.  Stir into sauce and stir until thickened.  Add chicken pieces back to skillet and mix until thoroughly coated and reheated, stirring often.  Serve over steamed rice if desired.  Makes 4 servings.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Olympic Shopping

Since opening the Candy store last month, I feel like most of my life has been consumed by work.  I get up, go to the store, come home, colapse in bed....not much interaction with my family.  I think they are beginning to wonder if they still have a mom.

I love having the store...it's been a lot of fun and I've met some amazing people, but I admit I miss my family a little okay, a lot.  So I think, I'm going to plan a fun weekend of Olympic excitement.  We are going to start with a kick off dinner and Opening ceremony viewing party and go from there.

When I start my party planning, I do a lot of "window shopping" on Etsy.  It really helps to give me ideas on things that I want to make for my party.  I'll admit, I was suprised how little Olympic party ideas there were to look at.  I managed to find a few that if you were to order today, you should have in time for the Opening Ceremonies.

Go check them out and support the small businesses of America and the world.

'Go for the Gold Olympic Party' 

All the necessities to help you have a fun Opening Ceremony Olympic party!

BACKYARD OLYMPICS by The Pro... theprojectbox $24.00	Olympic Party Invitation, Pr... HausofAriella $5.00
OLYMPICS TICKET INVITATIONS ... nowanorris $9.00	Olympic Wreath BumbleBasset $25.00
Cupcake Liners - Baking Cups... CakesAndKidsTo... $4.80	Photo booth Props. Olympic P... MaroDesigns $11.95
Olympic Mason Jar Tumbler Dr... bittersweetlem... $105.00	Blue Ceramic Serving Platter RedClayCo $39.00
Olympics Party Decorations -... BostonPaperCom... $24.00	Paper Straws - Olympic Rings... CakesAndKidsTo... $9.50
Olympics Gymnasts - Set of 2... TheBirthdayHou... $12.00	American Flag Headband Olymp... ThreeBirdNest $22.50
Olympic Gold Medals Machine ... EmbroideryGard... $6.00	Olympic Rings Headband MyLittleGrouse... $7.00
Celebrate London 2012 with 1... Garton1Creatio... $25.00	Handmade Olympic chess set r... plastercraftin... $25.50

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Improve Cooking Challenge-Corn on the Cob in Milk and Herb Butter Corn

The ingredients for this month’s Improve Cooking Challenge hosted by Brenda over at Frugal Antics of a Harried  Homemaker are corn and butter.  This challenge is great fun.  You can find information on joining the group here at Brenda's Improv Page.

I didn’t stray too far afield with this one.  We love corn on the cob and have it often during the summer.  Hubby would willing eat a meal of corn on the cob, deep-fried yellow squash, fresh local tomatoes and nothing else every day when it is all in season.  Unfortunately hubby cannot eat the corn on the cob so he has to cut it off.  I always cook enough corn on the cob to have leftovers. I cut the corn off the cob and add a garlic/herb butter blend to reheat the leftover corn. I make the herb butter ahead and add just a tablespoon or so when the corn is reheated it just has a nice sheen.

Today I am going to share a method that I ran across to cook corn on the cob that I really like.  I found it over at Siggy Spice.  The produces corn that is always sweet and juicy.  Siggy didn’t have a name for her method so I am calling it Corn on the Cob in Milk.  Thanks, Siggy, for a great idea.

Corn on the Cob in Milk
from Siggy Spice
6 to 8 ears of corn, husks and silk removed
water
1 c. milk (whole milk preferred)
1/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. (1/2 stick) butter (I slice it into several pieces)

Fill a  large pot with enough water to cover the corn.  Do not salt the water.  Add the milk, sugar and butter.  Bring to boil (this can take a little while depending upon the amount of water used).  Add the ears of corn.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until just tender.  Remove immediately and serve with butter, salt and pepper to taste.

Frugal tip:  I freeze the water/milk/butter mixture in 1 and 2 cup portions and use it instead of any water called for when I make potato or corn chowder.



Garlic Herb Butter
1/2 c. butter
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. garlic powder
1 t. paprika
1/8 t. pepper
1/4 t. marjoram leaves
1/4 t. thyme leaves

Melt butter.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  If made ahead, store in refrigerator and remelt before using.  Makes 1/2 c.

Caramelized Herb Butter Corn
Cut corn from leftover corn on the cob.  (I usually have about 3 ears.)  Place corn in a skillet.  Remelt Garlic Herb Butter and add just enough (1 to 2 tablespoons) to give the corn a nice sheen.  Heat and stir until corn is hot and starts to caramelize.  Servings depend on the amount of leftover corn.

Check out the links below to see what other Improv bloggers have done with corn and butter. 

reade more... Résuméabuiyad