Monthly Archives: August 2011

Aug31

more tomatoey yumminess – chicken and bacon caprese sandwich

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more tomatoey yumminess – chicken and bacon caprese sandwich

I have found my new favorite dinner…  an open-faced, chicken, mozzarella, tomato sandwich…  with BACON!

I, again, had a lot of tomatoes awaiting me at home, so it was time to try something else.  I love bruschetta and I love caprese salad, so this sandwich is a chicken and bacon homage to that.  And, it was pretty good!

Here’s what I used:

  • 3 large beefsteak tomatoes
  • 1 loaf of french bread – cut into 14 slices
  • 7 chicken breast tenders
  • 7 or 8 or 12 slices of bacon (whatever makes you happy…)
  • one package of buffalo mozzarella
  • some fresh basil
  • kosher salt
  • fresh ground pepper
  • butter
  • Italian seasoning
  • one garlic clove
  • olive oil

Here are the steps:

  • Sseason the chicken on both sides with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper – grill

  • Cook the bacon
  • Toast your bread on both sides – once they are both done, take a stick of butter and quickly rub a little bit of butter on each piece of bread and then quickly rub with the garlic clove to give the bread a nice garlicy tone

  • Slice the tomatoes and the cheese
  • Cut the chicken in half and break up your bacon
  • Begin layering your sandwiches… bread with garlicy side up, then chicken, bacon, cheese and tomato slice

  • Put under the broiler to melt the cheese
  • Remove and season with salt, pepper, and drizzle of olive oil
  • Finish with some fresh basil on top

Sit back with a nice glass of wine and enjoy a  yummy take on a chicken and bacon caprese sandwich.

Aug26

favorite summer salad

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favorite summer salad

Yup… More tomatoes.  This time, cherry tomatoes.  You could also use grape tomatoes if you have those, too.  Either works perfectly well, I just happened to grow the cherry variety.

This is my summer party go-to staple salad dish, because it is simple and easy and you can make more or less without any issues at all.

Steph’s Fave Summer Salad (for 2)

  • 1 small cucumber peeled and diced
  • about 15-20 cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • 4 oz. of mozzarella cheese – either pearls or block that you dice.  (I prefer pearls, but if your store doesn’t carry them, then block cheese diced works just fine)
  • 1/4 white or purple onion, diced
  • Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
  • 1 t. Italian seasoning – I know, dried herbs, really?  But trust me on this one, it’s good.
  • about 1 T of olive oil – now, put a little in to start and if you feel like you need more, add a bit more.  It just needs to lightly coat your mix, not drench it, so start small.

 

Chop, dice, add, and mix.  This is another one that is better after a few hours in the fridge.  It makes a great salad for a potluck or for a quick lunch with some almonds on the side. 

Have I mentioned tomato season is a favorite of mine?

Aug25

fresh summer salsa

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fresh summer salsa

Well, I am still so crazed that crafting has taken a back seat to regular life, which often means I shift my creative energy into the kitchen, so recipes and food are a flyin’ at my house.

One of my favorite times of year has started – tomato season is here!!!!  It feels like every year I add one more tomato plant to my garden, which has gotten MUCH smaller and is now mainly tomatoes and peppers.  We have too much shade to grow much else unless I start planting in the front yard, which I can’t quite bring myself to yet…

Anyway, last week we started seeing the first large batches of ripe tomatoes.  I have big boys and cherries and my favorite, Romas.  Romas are great because they are big enough to slice for sandwiches and have less water and seeds than big tomatoes, but also pack the same flavorful punch that the smaller varieties have.  Romas are especially good for pasta sauces and soups – they are just my favorite.  What more can I say?

So, as they are coming into my kitchen, I have decided that I need to find fun ways to feed them to people without it being pasta for dinner every night.  This salsa recipe has been my go-to for years and I adore it.  I packed some up today and brought it to work with chips as a nice snack for my fellow co-workers.  In about 30 minutes, it was gone.  I think that they might have like it…  I hope you enjoy it, too! 

Steph’s Fresh Summer Salsa

  • 4 cups diced Roma tomatoes
  • 1-2 jalapeno peppers – with or without seeds (your choice) finely diced
  • 1 poblano pepper – diced
  • 1 large green pepper – diced (or in my case, three tiny ones…)
  • 1/2 large white onion diced
  • 1 T. minced garlic
  • juice from half a lime
  • Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
  • red pepper flake
  • 1/2 – 1 full batch of cilantro finely chopped
  • 1 T white wine vinegar

That’s it…  chopped, minced, add, mix. 

Now, with the peppers, if you want more heat, add more; if you want less heat, remove some.  This goes for the jalapenos and the red pepper flake. 

I usually make it the night before and let it set in the fridge overnight so that all of the flavors come together.  This is a good chance to check the heat level of your mix to see if you want to add more or not, as well a chance to see if you need to add any S&P, etc…

You can keep this in the fridge for about a week or so.  You can also can it, following canning procedures and keep small batches of it over winter.

Now, tonight I am making simple fish tacos and using this as the primary ingredient with the fish and cheese.  Mmmmm…  fish tacos.  Oh, sorry, about that, I got distracted for a moment.  Hey, is it 5:00 yet?  I am feeling a bit peckish…

Happy Summer Everyone!

Aug10

dreaming of my new craft room…

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dreaming of my new craft room…

In March, we got water in the basement.  It was a pain for Matt because I was out of town for work and it sucked for me because most of it ran right into my craft room.

Now, my craft room is the furnace room in our basement.  It came complete with “carpet” that was “blue”, unfinished drywall that has yellowed over time from not ever being primed or painted, nor has it been taped or mudded, and a rather unflattering shade of “off-white” paint. 

It was, however, a big space that I quickly filled and embraced after years of living room floor/dining room table/bedroom floor corner crafting, so I don’t want to complain!!!  When we first moved in I felt like the luckiest girl on the planet!  What I have, over time, however, realized that you can hang a chandelier in a furnace room, but you can’t take the dingy out without a lot of work. 

So, with the onset of losing half of the “blue” “carpet” and all of my stuff getting rather un-neatly being shoved into a corner, I decided it might be time to rethink my craft room and to dive into what the dream might be…  without garage storage shelves and maybe with a coat of paint.  Here is where I am in terms of dreaming the dream…

Now, I am going in with an idea in mind – bright, light, happy, and super cheerful.  Since it is in the basement and has two teeny tiny windows that get next to no sun through them, I am trying to go bold and bright.  It would be a big departure from the rest of my house and I think that the colors and textures could lend themselves to be truly inspirational!

Expedit Shelving from Ikeain white.  The height allows for 12×12 paper, plus with all the extras you can get baskets, doors, etc… that all fit within it to neatly manage the mess.  Plus the bright white will help brighten up the room.

EXPEDIT Bookcase, white Width: 58 5/8 " Depth: 15 3/8 " Height: 58 5/8 " Max load/shelf: 29 lb Width: 149 cm Depth: 39 cm Height: 149 cm Max load/shelf: 13 kg

Now, as long as I am dreaming…  this is something I have eyed for years!  The white Olivia sewing cabinet from Arrow Cabinets!  While sewing is not my strongest skill and only a small portion of my crafting, having a cute and appropriate space to do it would make the entire thing that much more enjoyable.  Seriously…  how cute is this thing?!?!?!

Now, when I think about paper crafting workspace I am mixed.  I used to dream of a vintage library desk.  Big.  Oak.  Solid.  Now I wonder if something still with a bigger work space, but a bit lighter and bit less intimidating might not be the answer.  This is a puzzle to yet be solved.

As far as having a few fun pieces just to add pop, color, and pizazz to the room, that part the fun stuff…

SKRUVSTA Swivel chair, Ankarsvik multicolor Min. height: 31 1/8 " Max. height: 33 7/8 " Seat width: 18 7/8 " Seat depth: 17 3/4 " Min. seat height: 18 1/2 " Max. seat height: 21 5/8 " Min. height: 79 cm Max. height: 86 cm Seat width: 48 cm Seat depth: 45 cm Min. seat height: 47 cm Max. seat height: 55 cm

How cute is this rolly chair from Ikea?

NILS Armchair, black, Eslöv black/white Width: 23 5/8 " Depth: 22 1/2 " Height: 31 1/2 " Seat width: 18 1/2 " Seat depth: 16 7/8 " Seat height: 18 7/8 " Width: 60 cm Depth: 57 cm Height: 80 cm Seat width: 47 cm Seat depth: 43 cm Seat height: 48 cm

or this one if you don’t care about it rolling?

This print from Z Gallery is just cool and adds a fun pop of color

Click here to view larger image

And this one, well, I think this one might be better in my living room, but still wanted to share it as another option from Z Gallery.

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This little, adjustable sofa from World Market would be a great place for the kids to lounge and watch tv while I work.  Not sure it will fit, but I am dreaming over here. 

Studio Day Sofa

Some cute pillows could add to the fun as well…

World Market:

Bird Embroidered Pillow | World Market

Target:

Product Image

Product Image

Now I realize none of these match…  I am just having a bit of fun seeing what is out there.  Plus, I am still trying to find a cool one  in teal or hot pink.

The floor is cement under the carpeting that needs to come out.  I think I might leave it and polish it up and then just put a nice rug down.  Again, a chance for color and texture.

I love this from Ikea because they are 2′x2′ and then come in a variety of colors.  I could do something really cool with it.

HAMPEN Rug, high pile, dark pink Length: 2 ' 7 " Width: 2 ' 7 " Pile coverage: 4.75 oz/sq ft Max. pile length: 1 ¼ " Length: 80 cm Width: 80 cm Pile coverage: 1450 g/m² Max. pile length: 30 mm

Yet this is fun, too!

LUSY BLOM Rug, low pile, white, multicolor Length: 6 ' 5 " Width: 4 ' 4 " Max. pile length: 0 " Length: 195 cm Width: 133 cm Max. pile length: 11 mm

Who knows – I just like to look at the fun bright stuff!

Finally, paint.  I have been back and forth on this for a while.  I have decided on white.  It will brighten the space and feel like it has opened up.  Plus the ceiling is open beams (pipes, water tubes, and wires) so I don’t even have white up there to play off of and it is low.  I am still hunting for the perfect shade.

Now that I have gone on and on, I will stop.  Back to reality.  Will dream more later…

Aug9

feeling grateful

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feeling grateful

I haven’t done this in a while…

Today, at this very moment, I am grateful:

  • for my family.
  • for my friends.
  • for music that makes me smile.
  • for movies that make me laugh, no matter how stupid they are.
  • for creativity.
  • for the smell of clean clothes right out of the dryer.
  • for a simple home-cooked meal.
  • for candles.
  • for Angry Birds.  Seriously.  Don’t judge.
  • for The Real Housewives of _____.  Doesn’t matter where, it is always a train wreck worth watching to make me realize my life is normal.
  • for swimming pools.
  • for a nice glass of Pinot Noir after a long day.
  • for Sharpie pens.
  • for Mt. Dew.
  • for, and this is a big one, being free in SO many ways to be me.
  • for feather pillows.
  • for all of those little moments that fly by unnoticed and unacknowledged, but that make up most of life.
  • for snuggles.
  • for popcorn with real butter on it.  Lots of butter.
  • for pretzel M&M’s.
  • for a good book and a comfy couch.
  • for the opportunities in life to share my creative spirit with others.
  • for 4″ heels, even though I am already about 6’0″ tall.
  • for gumption.
  • for black and white photos.

I will stop here for today.  I have one last thing to be thankful for that I will share - my class at Confectionique.  Here is the link for info.

Happy Tuesday.

Aug3

it’s august already!

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it’s august already!

I feel like I say this a lot – where did time go!

I blinked and CHA was over, I was on a plane to Calgary for a week, and now it is Wednesday the following week.  2 weeks were virtually erased from my life!

I have, however, decided to embrace August with vim and vigor.  Jacob **my baby** starts Kindergarten on Sept. 1 and Owen ** too big for his own good ** starts 2nd (gulp) grade this year.  I plan on capitalizing on every second I have this month to be with them, play, laugh, and just enjoy the last fleeting moments of summer before they are gone.  I even made Matt sit down over our lunch date yesterday and look at the weekends for the remainder of the month and decide what we were doing, where we were going, etc…  Yup.  I must plan to make the most of it.

I also wanted to let you all know about a few events that I will be taking part in over the next couple of months.

  • First, I will be teaching a class on August 30th from 7pm-9pm at Confectionique in Middleton, WI.  Images and info will be coming soon!
  • Second, I will be attending Spark No. 3 and hosting make-n-takes.  That event runs Oct 21 and 22 in Lindon, UT.  Images for that will be coming soon as well!

And, here are a few pics to share of our recent adventures…  Seriously trying to squeeze stuff in whenever we can, no matter how small (Krispy Kreme for example.)