friday love

Is it just me, or are the weeks going by much too quickly???I LOVE Whitney of Rookie Cookie, and love her even more for doing a little guest post for me today! I LOVE curry, but have no idea where to start when it comes to making it....so she did all the dirty work for me! I cannot WAIT to try it out! Make sure to check out her blog....this girl knows her food (and she is a crack-up!)Much too

Peanut Butter Patsy's

We spent the weekend at the beach with some friends and had a great time.  So I can report back to all of you who are afraid to go to the oil stricken beach, head on down to Galveston... it's still as beautiful as ever, not a tar ball in sight. Our biggest problem was that we woke up Saturday morning and realized we didn't have anything to snack on all day, which is one of my favorite activities no matter where we go.  We headed to the grocery store to get some snacks  and were doing our best to come up with something quick and easy.  I remembered these little sussies that I hadn't shared with you yet.  Our family friend Patsy told me about these  so I thought this was an appropriate name.
If you like the combo of sweet and salty as much as I do, you are going to love this one. That's about it... They are quick, easy and addicting.

Peanut Butter Patsy's
Ingredients
Saltine crackers
Crunchy peanut butter
Large marshmallows
Step by Step
Preheat to oven to broil.  Spread 1-2 teaspoons of crunchy peanut butter in the center of each cracker.  Place a marshmallow on top of each dollop of peanut butter.  Place crackers on a baking sheet, not touching each other.    Place in oven until tops of marshmallows are golden and bubbly.  Watch carefully so that marshmallows do not burn, they will cook very quickly.  Allow to cool slightly and serve.

Up & Running...

They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  I'm sure later in my life I will look back on these last weeks and wish I had the problems that I do now, but let me tell ya, this little kitchen move almost did me in.  I would also like to share the story because maybe, just maybe there will be someone who is as clueless as we were and won't launch into a project that could be poisonous.  I'll start from the beginning...

So we had no plans of moving, but a great deal popped up that we just had to take, which landed us in a charming little house about a block and a half away from where we were living.  We are still renting,which might make this story a tad ridiculous, but as we were moving in, Mr. Hungry decided to redo the kitchen cabinets.  I know that sounds crazy to do as a renter, but he has lots of interest in me being happy in the kitchen and to be quite honest we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.  I didn't take the best before photos, but basically you can see that the kitchen cabinets do not close.  Apparently, the hinges had been painted over about 5 times and the cabinets would no longer shut.  They were pretty dingy too so one late Sunday, Mr. Hungry started scraping away, full of hope and determination.

These cabinets are not just left open... they did not shut. 

Dingy...

The culprit of the cabinets not shutting... hinges that have been painted over quite a few times.

Flash forward to the next day, Mr. Hungry gives me the job of cleaning the hinges since we can't find that are similar and finds that scraping about 5 layers of paint off of cabinets is no walk in the park.  With about 2 out of 10 cabinets scraped, we decide we need an electric sander.  I go to sleep that night with an over excited Mr. Hungry in the kitchen who is just blasting away at the paint.

The next day, I continue to work on moving the rest of the stuff and start to research how I can take paint off of the hinges.  One link led me to another and I started reading about lead paint. Long story short, I find that sanding old paint is extremely dangerous and if it contains lead, you could get lead poisoning and basically turn into a vegetable.  I'm about to faint thinking about how Mr. Hungry has just been huffing this stuff for about 3 days.  I mean look, I don't think you could get any closer to this stuff.  {sidenote: we are still not sure if there was lead in the paint, but the test kit takes two weeks to get results in the mail, and this house was built in 1942 so the chances were pretty high}

Enter day 4 (which seems like day 22) when I go pick up a respirator.  I had also read reports that you could absorb this stuff through your skin so poor Mr. Hungry spent the next two days with most skin covered in the blazing Houston heat sanding away.

After working day and night for two weeks, the kitchen was done... I could hardly believe it.  And while this all seems manageable, I for some reason was having a melt down thinking that Mr. Hungry could become a vegetable because of this silly little renovation.  Anyway, the whole thing already seems a bit comical when I see the pics of what seems to be an alien redoing the kitchen....

Moral of the story: Check for lead paint before tackling a painting project that has anything to do with old paint!

Once again, thank you Mr. Hungry for this amazing kitchen.  I promise to make you lots of macaroni and cheese in here. 

On top of that, there has been a broken oven, refrigerator and water heater that are now all taken care of.  But finally, finally, I'm back with a fully functioning kitchen.  I will be back with pics of the new (and not so new features) of the new little kitchen and for goodness sake, I'll get back to the recipes!

summer.

loooong summer afternoons.stacks of pbj's out in the grass.sticky fingers, from popsicle juice.making sprinkler "soup"and mud pies.water balloons.warm towels.if I squint my eyes, and listen really closely,It's like I never grew up.note: if you don't see me around here every day...it' s because I'm too busy playing outside:)

4 Soups, $5.00, 15 Minutes Prep in the Crockpot, Again!

Tuscan White Bean and Spinach Soup topped with fresh Parmesan

This blog post accompanies my talk on BTO for Friday July 30th.
**Edited to add- cinnamon roll recipe I spoke about here!

I had such a great time last time making soups in the crockpot for 5 bucks or less I decided to do it again! This time with a few more exotic options.

Lets get to the recipes!

Tuscan White Bean and Spinach Soup

Ingredients

3/4 lb dried small white beans- a whole bag is 1.09, so for this about .80 cents
2 sm cans (15 oz each) diced tomatoes, mine are .59 cents each, so 1.20
pkg frozen spinach, chopped (sm box) 1.25
4-8 cloves garlic, minced (I used about 6) .30
1/2 med onion , chopped.20
1 stalk celery diced .10
1 large carrot chopped .12
5 cups water or homemade broth or a combination of both
salt and pepper to taste
2 bay leaves
dried Italian seasoning, or if you don't have that, you'll want some basil, oregano, parsley and thyme and perhaps some rosemary, about 1 tsp each, or start with 1/2 tsp each, and taste it, adjust accordingly.

TOTAL $3.97

Directions

The night before, place beans in a bowl covered with water by 4 inches or so. They will expand.

The next morning when you are ready to make the soup, drain the beans and place in crockpot. And everything else except the spinach. Cook on high for 6-7 hrs. or low for 10-12. During the last half hour of cooking add the spinach and heat through. Remove the bay leaves. You can puree some of the beans to thicken it if you wish. Delicious topped with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

Options- Use fresh spinach, it will take 4-6 cups or so. The directions for it are the same, just add it in at the end of cooking. Or you can use kale or escarole.

If you want to add meat, ground beef is good, or small meatballs, add them precooked at any time.

You can add pasta to this also to make it very hearty. Add about 1/2 to 3/4 cup during the last hour of cooking. It expands alot, so beware.

Pesto would be a good topper for this as well.



Turkish Red Lentil Soup

Ingredients
1 lb red lentils-mine are from the bulk dept. at Fred Meyer-1.99 lb
1/2 med size onion, chopped .20
1 cup potato peeled and diced, I used 1 med potato .25
2 cloves garlic, minced .10
1 sm can (15 oz) diced tomatoes .59
8 cups water or homemade vegetable stock
2-4 tsp paprika (I used part sweet paprika, and some smoked paprika, your choice)
1-2 tsp salt (to taste) be careful if you are using bouillon or broth it may add a good deal of salt
cumin about 1 tsp (or more if you like)
coriander about 1 tsp (to taste)
2 bay leaves
2 or 3 pieces roasted red bell peppers chopped(from a jar) .50 (or if you have a fresh red bell pepper, than by all means add that, chopped.)
1/2 to 1 tablespoon vinegar for the end of cooking
TOTAL $3.63

Directions

Add everything to the crockpot except vinegar. Cook for 6-8 hours on high, or about 10 hrs on low. At the end of cooking, taste and adjust spices as necessary, add the vinegar. And remove the bay leaves. Puree with a stick blender, or regular blender or food processor if desired. Red lentils cook down alot, they don't keep their shape as well as the brown variety, so it will be sort of almost pureed.

Beef Barley Soup

Ingredients

1 lb. Beef Stew Meat (which is Round Steak) or you may use Chuck Roast or Chuck Steak, Chuck has a little more fat, and some would say a little more flavor, Round is much leaner, your choice.

Mine is from Stewarts, both are about the same price at $3. 39 lb.

1 onion chopped .33

1 lg carrot chopped .12

one stalk celery chopped .10

one clove garlic chopped .5

one cup barley (the whole pkg of barley at Fred Meyer is .59 cents for 1 lb.) one cup is less than 1/2 pkg. .30

bay leaf

4 0r 5 shakes of Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp dried Thyme

1/.2 tsp dried Basil

1/2 tsp dried Oregano

4 cups water or broth

Salt and pepper to taste

TOTAL $4.74

Directions

Cut the beef in cubes if it's not already. Salt and pepper all of the beef. In a large pan add a little oil. Heat the pan to med high. Wait until the pan is very hot. Sear the meat in batches, making sure not to crowd the pan. Turn the meat to get a nice sear on all sides. Add the meat to the crockpot.

** If you are on a very tight schedule and don't have time to sear the meat, go ahead and throw it in the crockpot as is. (After it's been salt and peppered.) The sear you get from pre browning it gives it a nice flavor, but the meat is still going to be nice and tender.


Add everything else to the crockpot as well. Cook on low is best for 10-12 hrs. Cooking the meat low and slow is going to result in yummy falling apart tender meat. If you need to cook it on high go ahead, for about 7 hrs. When finished taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Remove bay leaf.

Options- You can add sliced or chopped mushrooms to this. Or you can omit the beef and add a pound of fresh mushrooms sliced or chopped and have mushroom and barley soup.

If you want a more meaty soup, you can increase the beef, up to 2 lbs.

Persian Split Pea and Barley Stew

This recipe is based on one from the Moosewood Cookbooks

Ingredients

1/2 cup barley (from 1 lb bag which is .59 cents at Fred Meyer) .20

1-2 garlic cloves minced .10

bay leaf

1 cup split peas (from 1 lb pkg, less than 1/2 the pkg) .42

one small onion chopped .33

1 lg carrot chopped .12

2 medium potatoes peeled and diced into cubes .50

one 15 oz can diced tomatoes .59

1/2 to 1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 to 1 tsp ground cardamom

pinch to 1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper

6 cups water or broth or combination of both

bay leaf

lemon juice for finishing (optional)

fresh parsley chopped for finishing (optional)

TOTAL $2.26 This amount baffles me! This stew has so much flavor and is so unique. But I warn you, you must like cardamom to like this dish. It's not for everyone, but I think it's absolutely delicious.

Directions

Place everything besides potatoes in crockpot. Cook for 10-12 hrs on low, or 7-8 on high. Add the diced potatoes at the last hour or 2 of cooking. OR if that isn't convenient for you, you may add the potatoes in the beginning, they will just be quite soft, but if that doesn't bother you, then go for it! When the stew is done, taste and adjust seasonings as necessary, remove bay leaf, and if using, stir in some lemon juice, and top the bowls with some chopped parsley.

Spices

A note about the spices in these recipes. I talked last time about buying spices, but if you are reading this and didn't read my last post, this is for you. The best place to buy spices is in bulk at a natural food store. In this area, the co-op in Olympia has bulk spices very inexpensively. Also Fred Meyer has a bulk spice section. This allows you to buy only the quantity that you wish. It really cuts down on waste, and lets you try different spices you wouldn't have tried otherwise.

Crockpot and Energy Usage

Did you know? Using the crockpot instead of the stove can save you money.
This Blogger Energy Miser 101, states that using her stove for 3 hours to cook a soup takes one dollars worth of energy, whereas using her slow cooker for 8 hours to make the same soup only cost .20 cents! She states that if she cooked a soup in the crockpot every week with a savings each time of .80 cents, she could save $50.00 a year!

This article, How to Use Less Energy While Cooking, states that using a crockpot costs .2 cents an hour, whether on high or low. Using an electric oven costs .30-.60 cents an hour, a gas oven is between .5-.10 cents an hour.

browned butter brownies

(or browndies? just doesn't sound right)

It's still reeeeally hot.But I also reeeeally needed some brownies. (and you know I like them fancy)
Browned Butter Brownies10 TBS butter1 cup sugar3/4 cup cocoa powder1 tsp pure vanilla extract (I used Mexican vanilla)2 eggs1/2 cup flour1/2 tsp salt
Heat oven to 325°
To brown butter:
Heat pan on medium heat.
Cut butter in to pieces and melt in pan.
Stir

over the weekend....

We celebrated Pioneer Day!An afternoon at Heritage Park.Pioneer games. Pony rides.The parade!Good food.Playing with grandma and grapndpa J.And.... after hating running his whole life.....finally convincing him to run a race....and he LOVED it! Vegas here we come!the end.

Liesl Made Winner!

Annie!!email Liesl at liesl52 at gmail with your choice of apron.Be sure to check out Liesl Made--she's always adding cute new stuff!

Friday Love

Crazy week!! But so happy to be back as a family again!And happy to have another fun filled weekend with Grandma and Grandpa who are up from California! This weekend will be filled with good old-fashioned (literally) fun as we celebrate Pioneer Day here in Utah!We LOVE Mango and Black Bean Salsa!1 Mango, diced1 can of black beans, rinsed 1 handful of bell pepper, diced1 handful of red onion,

mandy and kevin

blogged over here

"eeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatt....."

(she said, in her most gluttonous sounding voice) Oh where to start. How about with unbuttoning my pants to make room for all the wonderful things we've been eating.So yeah, we like to eat. And when the kids were gone last week--it's basically all we did.I'm still dreaming about it.Here's a little peak at our menu (and please excuse the phone photos....my big camera is like our third child and

artist spotlight: liesl made!

Meet Liesl of Liesl Made!She is adorable. Her blog is full of pretty things. And her shop is loaded with everything I love!How long have you been sewing? How did you get started?I’ve been sewing pretty nonstop for about ten years now. When I was very little, I wanted to make some doll clothes and my Mom showed me how to thread the sewing machine. Then it kind of lay dormant until I was about

A cake for Ellie!

I juni gjorde jag denna lilla tårtan till Ellie som fyllde 1 år! Jag visste bestämt att jag ville göra något vitt med rosa blommor och spets. Blommorna var tänkta att likna pioner, vilket de kanske inte riktigt gör. Jag blev väldigt nöjd med tårtan, men jag undrar om det är någon mer än jag som har problem med att sugarpasten går sönder i kanterna när man täcker tårtan? Jag har aldrig haft problemet förr, men det har hänt på alla tårtor jag gjort den senaste tiden. Någon som har tips på hur man kan undvika detta?

no bake (thank goodness) cookies

It's hot.The air is stale.and hot.You haven't been spending much time in the kitchen.Because it's hot.But you still want a cookie......right??Right.So why not make No Bakes? Or maybe you call them Gorilla Poops? That seems to be the name that has stuck around here......please let me know if you call them something that doesn't contain the P word.Oh--and these are made with agave nectar (this one)

the barbershop winner!

Anna is our winner! Anna you can email Amie at amiebarber8 at gmailFor those that didn't win, head over to The Barbershop! And remember to grab a print now while she's donating proceeds to National Wildlife Federation and the National Audubon Society to help the relief efforts in the Gulf Coast. Through the end of the month, add "The Little Red House" to your notes to seller, and receive a free

big sky

{see the winter version HERE)the end.

Margarita Cupcakes

I made some Margarita flavored cupcakes for my friend's event tonight.
My roommate said they were the best I have made yet!

The cake mix was made from scratch--
a few of my yummy additions in the cake mix included margarita drink mix and lime juice.

The frosting was even more of a surprise-lime juice, itty bitty shredded pieces of lime peels, margarita drink mix...and Tequila!
Of course I rimmed the cupcakes with faux salt. (Sugar for sweetness-probably better than salt for a cupcake!)

I made regular size and mini margarita cakes.
The margarita cakes were definitely a hit-and there is just something about the mini cupcakes that everyone adores!

Some would say that they felt a little happy "buzz" after eating too much of the frosting :)
Again..cupcake love to the rescue!

excuses, excuses

after spending last week here:and then spending this week childless,with my favorite person,eating at all our favorite restaurants, my blog is feeling a little left out.no worries blog, I'll be back soon.don't forget to enter the giveaway!you can find me blogging over at SEI all week!do yourself a favor and go eat here.

artist spotlight: the barbershop!

So excited for our artist spotlight today! Meet Amie Barber from The Barbershop!How long have you been painting? How did you get started?I painted and dabbled in art when I was younger and growing up. I was always doodling and sketching when I should have been paying attention in class, but really didn't start painting until August 2009, when my boyfriend's brother & sis-in-law (who also happens

eight.

look at those dorks.I love dorks. I love us.8 years ago today, we became "us"eight years.whoa.

psssst....

I am guest posting over at SEI this week......all week! Check it out here!

Candy Land Castle Cake

The Candy Land Castle Cake I created this weekend was probably one of the most fun projects I have completed so far. Right now it is sitting in my apartment looking all pretty with no place to go! (I made it for fun. Yes, while my roommates went out to play on Saturday night, I was in the kitchen creating fondant and candy wonders for this edible fantasy land).

Here are the details...and of course photographs!

The Bricks: Jolly Ranchers and/or Chiclet Gum
The Stones: Rock Candy and Mini Marshmallows
The Frosting: Fondant & Buttercream
The Flowers: Buttercream Frosting
The Water: Blue Piping Gel
Pointed Towers: The four points on the towers are cupcakes.
The back tower point is made out of a sugar cone and covered with melted candy.
The actual tower is made out of fondant & ice cream cones.

xoxo..
Amanda Cupcake

Christians birthday!

Förra helgen hölls födelsedagskalas för min kära sambo Christian. Temat blev grönt och vitt eftersom jag tycker att det är en väldigt fin färgkombination, och för att Christian önskade pistagemacarons och de måste ju självklart vara gröna! Vädret var helt fantastiskt, men kanske inte helt rätt för att göra tre tårtor, macarons, cupcakes och maränger... Jag testade tre olika recept på maränger. De två första misslyckades helt, men tillslut kom jag fram till ett bra som finns nedanför bilderna.






Maränger

Ingredienser
3 äggvitor
2 dl socker

1. Värm ugnen till 100°.
2. Vispa äggvitorna tillsammans med hälften av sockret till en hård marängsmet.
Vispa sedan ner resten av sockret samt eventuell smaktillsats (vaniljstång, rivet citronskal etc.)
3. Spritsa ut små toppar på ett bakplåtspapper.
4. Grädda ca 1 timme eller tills de släpper från bakplåtspappret.

hello.....

I am here: and having so much fun.....see you soon!happy weekend!

from one little kitchen to another...

There is a pretty darn good reason that things have been so slow around here… we moved! I
had big plans of sharing the final days in the little kitchen, but things just got down right crazy. I
of course also wanted to share the new little kitchen (and yes, still very little), but we took on a
project that almost did me in.
We moved into a very old, charming house. It gives us just a little more room, which I had no
idea how nice that would really be. You can actually stand in one room and not be able to see
other people in the house… nuts!
The part I have been most nervous about with this move is the kitchen. I will share more details
about that later, but I have just come to absolutely love the little kitchen and while some people
wouldn’t dare fry an egg in that little space, I had really mastered the art of cooking in there. I
had everything right where I wanted it and I found the narrowness to just make everything at a
very convenient distance.
But alas, it is time to move on and I’m sure I will make a new home in the new little kitchen. The
main reason for the delay is that Mr. Hungy decided that he would redo the kitchen cabinets
and while it is absolutely wonderful now, there were days I thought we would never see the end
of this project.
I will share the journey of our little renovation soon, but for now I have to get ready for the in-
laws to stay with us.

So give me just a little longer and I will get back to the cooking.

Strawberry and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Why have I never made ice cream??

I couldn't believe

1)how easy it was

and

2) how insanely delicious it was.



I decided I would make it every week....and then I reminded myself that ice cream is probably the absolute worst thing for you.

cream.

sugar.

eggs.

mmmm.......isn't that the best combination?

And we licked the ice cream maker clean.



Soooo maybe just once a month.....

backyard picnic

so easy. so good. the burger: whole wheat bun, toastedgrass fed beef, grilledfresh sliced mozzarella (put on the last few minutes of grilling)fresh tomato slicesyour favorite greensfresh basilherbed mayo (light mayo+fresh oregano, thyme, chives + a splash of basalmicthe fries:sliced potatoes + olive oil + salt & pepper wrapped in foil and thrown on the grillthe farmer's market

tayler and nate

blogged over here

over the weekend....

What a weekend! There was the farmers market. cherries. peas. melons. greens as far as the eye could see.[scary] clowns.we met Lee who told us everything about honey. we LOVE honey.There were backyard picnics. sprinkler runs.fireworks. no shoes.laaaaaaaate nights. and sleeping in.and you know there was good food (more on that to come)Why did it have to end?more to come!

linkel designs winner!

Rach H!! Please email Kelly at kellisima at hotmail dot com And for those of you that missed it, make sure you check out Kelly's great shop--there's something there for everyone!

My Own Cake Challenge

Although cupcakes are adorable and have definitely been rewarded starpower within the last few years..
we all need to be reminded where these babycakes came from.
Cakes. Beautiful, lavish cakes.
I want to be known for creating not only beautiful baby cakes, but also the woah momma kind of cakes.

So I made a plan. Every weekend, I am going to make a new cake.
The cake challenge is on.
And this last weekend, it went pretty well.
I am hoping that one day in the near future someone will hire me to make their wedding cake because of this.