Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Button Cards

   
  As I'm restocking my box of handmade cards, I'm endeavouring to make multiples of each design to save some time. It's also a great way to use up multiple scraps & other left over supplies. These are the latest design. 




They were inspired by the button cards that are actually packaging that My Mind's Eye mounts their buttons on. 
I changed some of the buttons to fit my colours & style a little better.




The papers are all My Mind's Eye. I used bits of ribbon & sentiment stickers to finish things off.




Easy & sweet... Just my style!

Stay tuned for a papercrafting blog hop I'm participating in this weekend with a chance to win a great prize... come back on Friday for more details. It's going to be good!

Thanks for reading!


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Monday, March 19, 2012

Root Beer Cookies

Hello, friends!

Well, I took a week off blogging & had a nice little breather. My posts may continue to be touch & go in the next few weeks, so thanks for going with the flow. :)

While I had my aforementioned breather, I had a chance to do some baking; trying some new recipes as well as pulling out a few oldies that needed to be dusted off. 

This is one such recipe. 

Who doesn't like root beer? Well, I guess that could be a silly question since I didn't like it as a kid. 
I had a sip of a friend's as a teenager & wondered, "What was I thinking, not liking this?!" 
Thus began an adulthood enjoyment of my favourite flavour of pop (or soda for my American friends).

And when you can combine the flavour of your favourite beverage with a favourite type of food, life gets just a little bit better.


Root Beer Cookies with Root Beer Frosting
makes 3 dozen large cookies

Cookies:
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. root beer extract or concentrate (I found mine at the Bulk Barn. Check natural or specialty food stores.)
4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 375º.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter & brown sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in buttermilk & root beer extract. 

Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture. 

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375º for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. 

Frosting:
3 1/2 cups icing sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
3 Tbsp. water
1 tsp. root beer extract or concentrate

In a mixing bowl, combine all frosting ingredients. Beat until smooth. 

Frost cooled cookies.




Enjoy with a cold root beer on the side! YUM!


Enjoy your day!


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Friday, March 09, 2012

Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

I hated mushrooms as a kid. Actually, I hated a lot of vegetables as a kid. I grew out of that as an adult, thankfully. And, because there is justice in the world, now my kids hate mushrooms (among a few other things). Sweet justice, according to my parents. 

Oh well. 

When I make something our kids don't like, they have to have at least some.
When it comes to this appetizer, that just leaves more for the adults in the room. :)


Crab-Stuffed Mushroom Caps
20 mushrooms

20 large white mushrooms with stems
1 tsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp minced onions
1 can (4 oz.) crabmeat, drained
2 Tbsp. unseasoned, dry bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. low-fat mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. chopped, fresh parsley
1 Tbsp. grated, Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 black pepper
2 or 3 drops hot pepper sauce

Preheat oven to 400º. 

Wash the mushrooms & pat dry with paper towels. Pull out stems, leaving a hole where the filling will go. 



Mince all or most of the stems to make 1 cup. Set aside.


Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add minced stems & onions. Cook & stir until vegetables are  tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Be careful not to burn them. 

In a medium bowl, combine mushroom-onion mixture with all remaining ingredients. Using a teaspoon, stuff mushrooms with filling, mounding on top.


Arrange stuffed mushrooms in a single layer in a shallow baking pan. Bake at 400º for 15 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature. 




And now here's the whole thing without the pics:

Crab-Stuffed Mushroom Caps
20 mushrooms

20 large white mushrooms with stems
1 tsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp minced onions
1 can (4 oz.) crabmeat, drained
2 Tbsp. unseasoned, dry bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. low-fat mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. chopped, fresh parsley
1 Tbsp. grated, Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 black pepper
2 or 3 drops hot pepper sauce

Preheat oven to 400º. 

Wash the mushrooms & pat dry with paper towels. Pull out stems, leaving a hole where the filling will go. Mince all or most of the stems to make 1 cup. Set aside. 

Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add minced stems & onions. Cook & stir until vegetables are  tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Be careful not to burn them. 

In a medium bowl, combine mushroom-onion mixture with all remaining ingredients. Using a teaspoon, stuff mushrooms with filling, mounding on top.

Arrange stuffed mushrooms in a single layer in a shallow baking pan. Bake at 400º for 15 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature. 

Grab one before your guests get them all! ;)

~~~

This week I've been so busy that blogging has taken a bit of a back seat. Maybe you noticed? If you have, you are indeed a faithful reader. Thank you!! My posting schedule was kind of off & the time I usually have to write & prepare posts was pretty abbreviated. 

I do have some reasons:

1) Our church is in the midst of preparing for our annual Easter musical which means a couple of practices a week. (Have I ever told you that I'm a singer? Yup, true story.) This is great fun & one big highlight of our spring, but as you can imagine, it's a huge amount of work as well. In addition to me singing in the musical, my husband is playing the saxophone in the orchestra. As my former voice teacher (who is also the one who writes the musicals we perform - Amazing? Yes!) says, "If the musical is in your future, then practice is in your present." Truer words were never spoken.

2) We've been dealing with some sickness in our home - sore throats & my daughter fractured her arm a couple of weeks ago. Sick kids home from school, doctor's appointments, x-rays... 

3) Those things combined with life in general & a couple other extra things on our plate just takes up what free time we have. 

I'm not complaining. 
I'm simply asking you to please have pity on me if I go AWOL for a few days this month. :) 
Deal? 
Thank you, my friends! You rock!

Now, have a wonderful weekend!



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Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Note Card Set No. 2

My card making days have been few & far between lately, but this past weekend I was able to pump out this notecard set using a bunch of Echo Park scraps I had kickin' around. 


All these patterned papers & stickers are from Echo Park's Country Drive, Little Girl, Splash, Summer Days collections. 



Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Nut Jar Upcycle

Can you guess this little container's humble beginnings? 
Well, you likely already have because of the name of this post. :)


But in case you skimmed over that part & really are wondering, it all started with a little almond jar like this.


After we ate the yummy almonds, I kept the little jar thinking it was a great size. But what to do with it???

I finally just started playing, not really having the whole vision when I started. 



Here's what I did:

1. Paint the lid black with craft paint.

2. Cut some patterned scrapbook paper to fit the jar. 

3. Apply the paper with Mod Podge.

4, 5, 6. One by one, layer the tabs on the bottom of the jar, using Mod Podge on top of each one. 




7. Apply a layer of Mod Podge over the entire paper surface. Let dry.

8. I learned how to make rolled paper flowers using this tutorial. I made 3 bigger ones & 3 smaller ones. Apply with hot glue. 





Now to figure out what to do with it now that it's all prettied up... any ideas? 




I'm thinking it would be great as gift packaging with a sweet little gift inside (maybe jewelry?).



Please share your ideas as to what you think I should do with it! :)

Enjoy your day!
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