Autumn Amethyst Blog

March 2014 Update

noreply@blogger.com (Brittanie) — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 17:00:00 +0000

I can't believe how much time has passed since we kept up with this blog.

I apologize to any followers who haven't had the opportunity to read more.

Hopefully in the near future we can go back and write/post

some of the unfinished blogs that we had ready to be posted

since the last time we were on.

Also, add new posts for this coming year.

Just a short note: Autumn Amethyst is still going strong.

We've been opened for a little bit over a year now,

and I hope to be adding new things moving forward.

For anyone looking to open an Etsy shop,

please use my code : http://etsy.me/1mYPofk

it will give us both 40 free listings!

Who doesn't want to save $8 in listing fees?

Also, for anyone that would like to purchase from my Etsy,

here's a coupon code that will be available indefinitely for blog followers.

Use the code : [BLOGFOLLOWER1]

for $1 off your total purchase from Autumn Amethyst.

Never expires. Only available for use at http://www.autumnamethyst.etsy.com

Now available is free shipping to the U.S. residents.

For more frequently updated media on Autumn Amethyst,

please follow us on Facebook!

http://www.facebook.com/autumnamethystetsy

August 2013 Update

noreply@blogger.com (Brittanie) — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 04:00:00 +0000

So my posts lately have been few and far apart.

Haven't been doing much, so I haven't had much to blog about.

However, my FAVORITE time of the year is coming about,

and although it's not autumn until Sept. 22,

I'm getting really excited anyways.

It's getting to the time of year where I'm at my busiest, and my absolute happiest.

We're just now entering the harvest season,

and so we'll be picking apples and pumpkins,

doing lots of baking, and bringing out the sweaters.

I absolutely love the fall season and everything it entails,

as I'm sure everyone could guess (Ahem, AUTUMN amethyst.)

So, definitely expect some posts as we near Mabon,

I'll have our yearly posts on apple and pumpkin picking,

recipes for fall, any trips we take and our PPD adventures.

Over the past few days I've been adding some new inventory to our shop,

random one of a kind amigurumi items.

I will be making and posting more over the next few weeks,

so make sure you get what you'd like,

because there's a low chance I'll be making more than one.

Here's a $1 off discount code for our etsy,

good for any purchase on www.autumnamethyst.etsy.com

[AUG1OFF]

Expires : Sept. 1, 2013

In addition to the new inventory, we've also made international shipping available.

So now our fans from all other countries can get themselves

a handmade something from Autumn Amethyst.

For items I will keep in stock on the store,

I am now taking requests for baby-friendly items.

That concludes our August update, but before I go,

I'd like to give a big happy birthday to Dave!

May 2013 : Update

noreply@blogger.com (Brittanie) — Mon, 27 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Spring has sprung, and we're nearing closer to Summer every day.
As for Dave and I, we decided to start our annual vegetarian diet for the months of May, and June.
We've been trying a new approach, compared to last year.
Rather than going the "let's try what all the vegetarians are eating" route,
we took the..."let's eat what we normally eat, but with no meat" route.
So far so good, and I've definitely been hearing a lot less complaining from Dave.
Haven't heard a count down to July 1st yet.

So just to give everyone a little idea of what's been going on with Autumn Amethyst...well not very much.
I'll be honest we kind of let this blog go for a little while,
but hopefully we're going to get this, and our Etsy back on track.

I'm hoping to start adding new inventory to our shop,
because I know people are getting super bored with me just selling 2 Amigurumi items.
I'm getting bored with them too.
Believe me, I know everyone was expecting more from me,
and I'm going to try and bring that for everyone.
Hopefully soon, I will start bringing in some apothecary items.
If anyone has any good ideas of what they would like to see me sell, let me know.
Any other Amigurumi? I'm open for ideas.

Since we opened our Etsy in February, we have made 25 sales.
We haven't been getting much business lately,
but I won't let that change my enthusiasm for things I like to do.
I need to learn a little more into marketing strategies, as well as international shipping.
I hate having to turn away the sales I could possibly make,
because I have no knowledge on how to send a package to Denmark.

So hopefully we can start this thing over anew with the changing seasons,
and getting things moving smoothly again.
Thank you for keeping up with us...until next time.

Use the code : [AMETHYST15]
For 15% off your total purchase from www.autumnamethyst.etsy.com,
does not include shipping charges.
Available all throughout the month of June, expires 06/30/13.

PN #6; Pierogi Lasagna

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000

The 6th edition of Pinterest Night is here! Hooray!

My turn again. I tried pierogis for the first time about 8 years ago at a bazaar that had a Polish booth.
I have loved them ever since. Any type of pierogi I can get my hands on, I will try.
So of course, when I saw this Pierogi Lasagna recipe, I had to try it.
The original post was another of the cut and dry, here's the recipe posts.
I think I have given up on trying to find ones with some personability to them.
I guess that's my job. ^.-

The recipe is all in all pretty easy to make, and even can be made with left overs.
It can also be made in under an hour.
We had no mashed potatoes left over, so we made ours fresh.
Left overs, fresh made, store bought mashed potatoes... Makes no difference at all.

I will say, however, that this is a bit of a disappointing recipe.
In general it was pretty bland. Below you will find the recipe as they had it.
Personally, I would make it differently next time.
I would add some sour cream and perhaps chives to the mashed potatoes,
and I would also add some more cheddar cheese.
Fresh shredded is always preferred to packaged.

The recipe definitely yields a large amount of food, as you would expect from a lasagna.
Add in the fact that it is pasta and potato, and it is quite a filling meal.
Don't forget to cover it with foil before baking it.
You'll end up with a lasagna "chip" as a top layer like we had.
Oh, well. :-P

Try out different combinations for the filling.
There are many different types of pierogis; why should there be only one pierogi lasagna?

Bon Appétit!

Pierogi Lasagna

Ingredients

12 Lasagna Noodles
1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
1 1/2 (6 Oz) Cup Cheddar Cheese, Shredded
1 Onion
6 Cups Mashed Potatoes

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Coat a 9'' x 13'' baking dish with cooking spray.

Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions; drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat.

Sautee onions 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned; set aside a half cup sauteed onions for topping.

Add pepper and cheese to mashed potatoes; mix well.

Line bottom of dish with noodles, add 1/3 of the potato mixture.

Repeat until 4 layers of noodles, and 3 layers of potato.

Top with onions.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake 25-30 minutes, or until heated through.

Original Pinterest Post: [http://pinterest.com/pin/91409067409185127/]

PN #5; Chicken Ranch Roll-Ups

noreply@blogger.com (Brittanie) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 04:00:00 +0000

These things were awesome, and very versatile.
Since we made them first, we have made them multiple times since.
They're simple to make, and they're filling.

The first time we ate them, we ate them hot, and the leftovers we ate cold.
We discovered that they were even better cold, kind of like a chicken salad sandwich,
only you bake the bread around them!
But you can choose to eat them however you would like.
They're good both ways.

I think that's really all there is to say about them.
That basically sums it all up.
These are definitely our number one pick,
out of all the pinterest nights so far.

Chicken Ranch Roll-Ups

Ingredients

2 Chicken Breast (Boneless, skinless, cooked and shredded) *Easy directions below
2 Packages of Crescent Rolls
1 8 oz Package of Cream Cheese, Room temperature
1 cup Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
1 Packet Ranch Seasoning Mix
Salt and pepper

Preparations

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Unroll crescents onto a baking sheet.

Mix the chicken, cream cheese, shredded cheese and ranch seasoning

in a medium bowl until combined.

Spoon onto crescents and roll up,

stretching the sides a little so they are sealed around the chicken mixture.

Sprinkle tops with salt and pepper

and bake for 20-25 minutes until they are golden brown.

Original Pinterest Post: [http://pinterest.com/pin/91409067409137483/]

Follow this link to learn how to make: Easy Shredded Chicken

Blueberry Cookies with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting & Easter 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Brittanie) — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 04:00:00 +0000

For Easter, I like to try and make things that are very spring-y.

I like to make desserts that usually contain a fruit, and fresh ingredients.

So for this Easter, I decided to pick something simple to make,

and what I chose was these easy to make cookies...although they're more like muffins.

It's difficult to make things for a large group of people for every holiday,

I'm not sure what to chose, as everyone's tastes are significantly different.

I try to make something that I hope many people will enjoy.

Sometimes I'm not always lucky, but I always get a large group of people
waiting to see what I have made for the holiday.

Because Dave had the entire weekend off, before Easter on Sunday,

we took the opportunity to spend both days with my Grandmother to help prepare for Easter.

This is something I haven't had the opportunity to do for years,

so I immediately entertained the idea of doing so.
And boy was she excited to hear we were spending the night.

Now our ferret, Rufus, is a big love bug and we couldn't stand to not bring him to be with us on Easter,

so we packed up our bags, and a travel cage for Rufus.

Everyone loved him, and thought he was the cutest thing.

But because we stayed at my Gram's,

it didn't give us much of an opportunity to take pictures, but I got a few.

Blueberry Cookies with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

For the blueberry yogurt cookies:

1 cup Granulated Sugar
1 1/2 cups Plain Greek Yogurt
1 Large Egg, Beaten
1 Tsp Vanilla
2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Cup Fresh Blueberries, Washed

For the lemon cream cheese frosting:

1 (8-ounce) Package Cream Cheese, Softened
2 3/4 Cups Confectioners’ Sugar
1/4 Cup Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
2 Tsp Grated Lemon Zest

Preparations

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the sugar and yogurt, then blend in the egg and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together,

then blend it into the wet yogurt mixture. Gently fold in the blueberries.

Drop tablespoonfuls of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets,

leaving about 2 inches of space between each cookie.

Bake for about 10 minutes, until the cookies start to barely brown at the edges.

Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for two minutes,

and then move the cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy.

Slowly add the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice and beat until creamy, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the lemon zest. Spread on top of the cooled cookies.

Yields ~ 48 Cookies

PN #4; Slow Cooker Chicken and Mushrooms

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 23:49:00 +0000

Pinterest Night has come again. Week 4, and we are back to my choice.
I chose a meal that let us break out the slow cooker again.
Slow Cooker Chicken and Mushrooms.

Once again, the original post was lacking in any kind of back story.
The food looked good however, so I decided to go for it.
I am pleased that I did. It was a good meal, but you need to plan the day before
that you are going to make it. It takes about 7 hours total.
If you are a fan of mushrooms, onions, and chicken, this recipe is a must for you.

One thing I will say about it, is that our "sauce" didn't really thicken very much,
so I would go with just a bit more corn starch.
You may notice that our recipe says boneless chicken breast, while the original called for bone-in.
Use which ever you would prefer.
We had some extra boneless breasts on hand, so we went with those.
Came out perfectly fine that way.

We decided to serve it with some rice pilaf. I would definitely recommend it.
The plate as a whole fit nicely together.
Should you happen to get some sauce on your pilaf, no big deal; tastes great. ^.-
Adding some green beans to it would also be good.
Let us know what you choose for sides!

Until next time; Eat Well and Live Well!

Slow Cooker Chicken and Mushroom

Ingredients

6-8 Boneless Chicken Breast
1 1/2 lbs Small to Medium Button Mushrooms
1 Large Onion, Diced
3-4 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
1 ½ cups Chicken Broth
2 Bay Leaves
1 ½ tsp Dried Thyme
2 tbsp Dried Parsley
3 tsp Salt
1 ½ tsp Pepper
2 tbsp Corn Starch

Preparation

Arrange chicken pieces on the bottom of slow cooker.

Add the mushrooms, onions, garlic and spices.

Add chicken broth.

Cook on low heat for 5-7 hours stirring.

About 30 minutes prior to being done, remove bay leaves.

Mix cornstarch in a small amount of cold water.

Add to slow cooker and mix well to get sauce to thicken.

Original Pinterest Post: [http://pinterest.com/pin/91409067409137482/]

PN #3; Crispy Cheddar Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Pinterest Night number 3. We had a guest over the house for this one.

Megan was spending a week with us while on school break, and we let her pick the meal.

She chose a delicious looking recipe; Crispy Cheddar Chicken.

The original post doesn't have much body to it.

A couple pictures of the process, and the recipe.

Generally I like to read about the meal being prepared.

Why you make it, how the family likes it, etc.

However, it was Megan's meal choice, not mine. It is a relatively easy dish to make.

Not many ingredients, and fairly simple to prepare.

The down side being it takes just shy of an hour from prep to finish.

It's a good dish, that could be paired with many different sides.

We chose to serve it with jasmine rice, and some broccoli bites.

Au Gratin potatoes would be my choice for next time. As always, though, be creative!

Enjoy!

Crispy Cheddar Chicken

Ingredients

4 - Chicken Breast, boneless and skinless
2/3 Cup Milk
3 Cups Cheddar Cheese, shredded
2 Cups Italian Bread Crumbs
2 Tablespoons Butter, melted
1 - 18oz Can Progresso Creamy Three Cheese Recipe Starter (Optional)
1 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley, chopped (Optional; Garnish)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut each breast of chicken into 3 pieces.

Dip each piece into milk, then cheddar cheese,

then Italian breadcrumbs.

Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with foil.

Bake chicken in preheated oven for 25 minutes,

then remove foil, baste with melted butter,

and cook 10-12 additional minutes,

or until chicken is cooked through and coating is golden brown.

While chicken is cooking, place the Progresso Cooking Sauce into a small saucepan

and simmer until reduced in half.

Remove chicken from oven and place on platter.

Spoon sauce over chicken. Top with fresh parsley.

Serve and enjoy!

Original Pinterest Post: [http://pinterest.com/pin/91409067408992870/]

PN #2; Creamy Slow Cooker Tortellini Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Brittanie) — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 05:00:00 +0000

This week I got to choose the meal from Dave's pinterest board,

I decided on Creamy Slow Cooker Tortellini Soup.

Firstly, I'd like to say that if you don't have some time to dedicate to this,

then you should probably wait until you do, to make it.

You need to be available to continue to add ingredients,

it's not a recipe where you just throw everything in the crockpot,

and it's done in a few hours.

I thought it was delicious, Dave also enjoyed it.

It's a great vegetarian recipe, that serves a good amount of soup.

I personally enjoy anything with fresh spinach, and mushrooms

so this was a win - win for me.

It was a decent meal for not a lot of money,

and it was perfect to have on a cold winter night like yesterday.

Creamy Slow Cooker Tortellini Soup

Ingredients

1 - 1 1/2 - 2 ounce envelope white sauce mix (If you can't find this, country gravy works too.)
4 cups water
1 - 14 ounce can vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 - 7 or 8 ounce package dried cheese tortellini (about 2 cups)
1 - 12 ounce can evaporated milk
6 cups fresh baby spinach leaves or torn spinach
Ground black pepper (optional)
Finely shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

Preparation

Place dry white sauce mix in a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker.

Gradually add the water to the white sauce mix, stirring until smooth.

Stir in broth, mushrooms, onion, garlic, basil, salt, oregano, and cayenne pepper.

Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 5 to 6 hours

or on high-heat setting for 2-1/2 to 3 hours.

Stir in dried tortellini. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 1 hour more

or high-heat setting for 45 minutes more.

Stir in evaporated milk and fresh spinach. If desired,

sprinkle individual servings with black pepper and Parmesan cheese.

Yields ~ 4 Servings

Original Pinterest Post: [http://pinterest.com/pin/91409067408936370/]

First Pinterest Night; Spicy Sausage Pasta

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Hello, readers! Me again with another food post.
As mentioned in an earlier post, I had an idea that would a.) help us post more on here,
and b.) give us the opportunity to try a new recipe every week.
Being fairly new to Pinterest, I've been amazed at the mass number
of good looking recipes I've come across.
So, I decided we should have a weekly 'Pinterest Night'
where we make a meal based on a recipe we have found.
The day of the week will vary, but it will usually be a Friday or Saturday.
In order to make sure we both will enjoy the meal, Brittanie and I alternate weeks picking
a recipe off of the other's Pinterest board.

Since it was my idea, I start off this weekly segment.
For our first Pinterest Night, I chose the recipe Spicy Sausage Pasta.
(Link at the bottom of the post.)

Over all the meal was quite enjoyable. It is also relatively quick and easy to make.
If you like a mild spiciness to your food, you will enjoy this.
It's not fire breathing spicy, but it still has a light kick to it.
The original post said "On a spiciness scale of 1-10, with 1 being mild salsa,
and 10 being a ghost pepper dipped in sriracha sauce, this pasta is about a 3."
I'd say that is a pretty fair explanation of it.
You can also change the degree of spiciness depending on which Ro-Tel you grab.
The most difficult part of this meal is having to smell it the whole time it is cooking,
but needing to wait to eat it. I don't know about you,
but to me smoked sausage and onions cooking in a pan smells delicious.
But in all honesty, if you can chop an onion, and open a can, then you should be able to make this recipe.
It yields about 6 portions. Unless you eat large portions like I do. ^.-

Chow on!

Spicy Sausage Pasta

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 - 14 oz. Package of Smoked Turkey Sausage, Sliced into Rounds
1 1/2 Cup Diced Onions
2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1 - 14 oz. Can Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1 - 10 oz. Can Ro-Tel Tomatos and Green Chilis (Choose Heat Level according to personal preference)
1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
8 oz. Penne Pasta (About 2 1/2 Cups)
1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
Thinly Sliced Scallions (Optional)
Salt (To Taste)

Preparation

Heat oil over medium-high heat in a cast iron skillet (or other oven-safe skillet) until smoking.

Add the sausage and onion, and cook until lightly browned, about 4 minutes.

Add in the garlic, and cook for 30 seconds.

Add the broth, Ro-Tel, heavy cream, uncooked pasta, and pepper, and give the mixture a good stir.

Bring to a boil, cover the skillet, and reduce heat to medium-low.

Simmer until the pasta is tender, about 15 minutes, stirring once or twice while cooking.

Preheat the broiler while the pasta is cooking.

Remove the skillet from the heat, and stir in 1 cup of the cheese.

Taste, and add salt as needed. Top with the scallions (if using them) and remaining cheese.

Broil until the cheese is melted and lightly browned - about 3 minutes.
(Make positively sure you're using a broil safe skillet / pan.
Aluminum 1 time use pans work, if you don't own a cast iron skillet like us.)

Yields ~ 6 Portions

Original Pinterest Post: [http://pinterest.com/pin/91409067408892050/]

New feature : Pinterest Night

noreply@blogger.com (Brittanie) — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 02:00:00 +0000

This is a post to introduce a new thing we're going to be doing on our blog.

We haven't had much of an opportunity to post anything lately,

and therefore we haven't really kept up with the blog as much as we should.

So to get us to post some more, Dave thought of an idea that

we would should hold a 'Pinterest night' every week or so.

'Pinterest night' will basically be a night where we decide to make a supper,

with a recipe that we found on Pinterest.

Meals may include anything from vegan to slow-cooker, we're not being picky.

So from here on, we will be posting about once or twice a week,

with a recipe for something we found on Pinterest.

The blog posts will have some photos of our process,

a review of the meal, the recipe, as well as a link to the original post on Pinterest.

While we're talking about Pinterest, if you would like to follow either Dave or myself,

you are welcome to. Our links are below.

We're not going to be making an Autumn Amethyst specific Pinterest.

Brittanie : www.pinterest.com/bperry1991

Dave : www.pinterest.com/unlucky13akadnl

That concludes my introduction to our newest addition to the blog, 'Pinterest Night'.

Now for a little information on how the shop has been doing.

We've been open for 3 weeks this coming Monday,

and we've gotten about 1,000 views, 40 favorites, and 8 orders.

We've sold about 17 octopus.

I appreciate all the support from everyone, and again, I thank everyone who has

shared our links, and even purchased from our shop.

We should be making some new inventory available in the near future.

So keep a look out for our facebook posts, and even our blog posts.

By the way, this will be our logo for our pinterest night posts.

We'll also make a new section at the top so you can easily navigate to our Pinterest specific posts!

Thanks for reading, and incase you didn't get to use the last discount code,

here's a new one : [PNTRSTNGHT]

This code is good for a 10% discount on any item, does not include shipping.
Valid on www.autumnamethyst.etsy.com

Expires 02 / 28 / 2013

Grand Opening!

noreply@blogger.com (Brittanie) — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 00:40:00 +0000

We're pleased to announce that our store is finally open for business!

HTTPS://WWW.AUTUMNAMETHYST.ETSY.COM

After long nights of making sure everything was just right,

and taking the time to prepare a decent inventory,

our store is FINALLY launched.

Things will start out small, and hopefully grow with time.

I had a large request for an amigurumi octopus that I had crocheted,

so I decided to bring a variety of them into my store.

Having chosen to do that, it was easier for me to open the store much sooner than originally planned,

because it was a lot less materials I had to start out with,

than a lot of other things I could have opened my shop selling.

With time more will come into the store, other amigurumi, as well as apothecary items,

among a variety of other handmade goods that I happen to make.

All things from one time sale items, and multiple sale items,

so keep an eye out for what's new.

All information about what's going on, and what's new will be posted on our Facebook,

as well as that and other more personal things right here on our blog.

A lot of time and effort has been put into choosing the right packaging,

and learning the proper selling techniques.

I am so happy I have the opportunity to finally offer things that I create, to everyone!

I'd like to take this time to thank everyone who has supported me thus far,

and people who continue to support us through this new experience.

Thank you everyone who has shared my facebook, etsy and blog,

as well as those who do so in the future.

Getting a small name out there is so much easier when you have such a supporting,

and loving group of friends and family, as I do.

I hope I can bring you all something wonderful,

and I hope to see all your beautiful faces back time and time again.

For all of my blog followers, here's your first discount code : [GO3DAY]

This code is good for a 10% discount on any item.

Expires 02 / 08 / 2013

Bacon - Cheddar Meatloaf

noreply@blogger.com (Brittanie) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 17:00:00 +0000

Bacon - Cheddar Meatloaf Recipe

Ingredients

2 lbs. Ground Turkey
1 Medium Yellow Onion, Grated
1/2 Cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Shredded (About 1 oz.)
1/3 Cup Ketchup
1/4 Unseasoned Whole Wheat Breadcrumbs
1/4 Cup Fresh Italian Parsley, Coarsely Chopped
2 Large Eggs, Lightly Beaten
2 Medium Garlic Cloves, Minced
1 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Fresh Ground Pepper
7 Thick-Cut Bacon Slices

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°F and arrange a rack in the middle.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil,

and turn up the edges of the foil to catch the grease as the meatloaf cooks; set aside.

Place all of the ingredients except the bacon in a large bowl.

Using clean hands, mix everything until just combined (don’t squeeze or overwork the mixture).

Transfer the mixture to the center of the prepared baking sheet.

Using your hands, form it into a 9-by-5-inch loaf.

Drape the bacon slices diagonally over the loaf, laying them side by side,

trimming as necessary, and making sure that the entire surface of the loaf is covered.

Bake until the bacon is just starting to crisp

and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 160°F,

about 50 minutes.

Set the oven to broil and broil until the bacon is completely browned and crisp, about 3 minutes more.

Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let the meatloaf rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Yields ~ 4

Blog Revamp

noreply@blogger.com (Brittanie) — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Back in October, I started learning how to crochet, from there

Dave and I decided it would be awesome if we could sell some of the things we make.

Not just things I crochet, but various other things as well.

So we looked into opening an Etsy shop,

and we're well on our way to publishing our first inventory item.

It's been a pending idea for a few months, and now coming into December,

we figured it would be good marketing having handmade almost all of our gifts.

We thought it would be beneficial for people to get an idea of items

I could potentially produce for our shop.

We're still playing with the idea of what to put in our inventory,

as well as figuring out other aspects of owning a small out-of-home business.

Recently, we've put a lot of time and effort into integrating our shop

into our ever-updating personal blog.

There's still a few kinks, so if there seems to be any links,

or pictures that aren't working, don't hesitate to let us know.

Links have already been prematurely posted for our shop,

so at the moment be aware that clicking on them will just bring you

to an empty inventory.

Be on the look out for an official shop opening blog post,

as well as other social networking posts.

We may even throw in a discount code for our blog readers,

or Facebook followers, so make sure to keep an eye open.

Our official opening date is still undetermined as of yet,

but it should be early 2013.

There's still much to do, but as soon as the holidays are over

we'll put 200% more effort into bringing this shop to life.

Everything previously posted will stay as marked,

but from here on out this blog will be under the name Autumn Amethyst Blog,

and no longer will be Crazy Hobby Adventures.

So for some of our followers who have bookmarked any old posts,

they will no longer work due to our change in web address.

We're sorry for any inconveniences that this may cause.

Our old Facebook will also be deactivated due to name changes,

and a new one has been made to replace it.

http://www.facebook.com/autumnamethystetsy

If you've gotten to this point, thank you for reading this entire post,

and we hope to see you back for future blog posts, and our shops grand opening!

Pumpkin Picking @ Mack's 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Brittanie) — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Yesterday Dave and I took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch.

Bringing along Megan, because she came to spent the weekend with us,

so we could include her in our autumn festivities.

We went to Mack's like last year, only we made sure to go early enough this year

so that we could actually get to pick them ourselves. I love Mack's due to their size.

They have 3 zones, so if there's too many people,

or not enough pumpkins in one zone, then you can always try another. (Same goes for apples.)

So Dave, Megan, and myself all picked one large pumpkin from the patch.

All pumpkins from the patch usually go for $.50 a pound.

So we made sure to get the biggest most beautiful pumpkin in the patch.

After we found our winners, we paid for them at the stands and walked them to the vehicle, then headed over to the farm stand to grab some small sugar pumpkins, cider, donuts, and soda.

Once we got everything we headed over to the benches near the duck pond

and relaxed for a little bit with our nice cold, New Hampshire made sodas.

Mack's is an awesome place to go in the fall, it's very pretty.

They even have a 4 season hiking trail through the farm,

which Dave and I might look into for something to do next year.

When we got home we carved some, and made a nice stuffed sugar pumpkin for dinner.

I didn't have much time to document them though, so I'm not going to write a post.

My pumpkin, and Megan's.

My pumpkin, and Dave's.

My large pumpkin.

Apple Crumble Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Brittanie) — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 04:00:00 +0000

First of all, I'm going to start out saying the significance of this picture below.
Or at least it has some significance to me, due to it's irony.
Last year apple picking, I found an apple with a perfect little green heart stained into it's red flesh.
This year, making apple crumb muffins, with the apples we picked, my spill happened too look like a heart.
It's cute, that something as small as that, keeps happening to me.

Anyways, we decided to make apple crumb muffins, because when we went to PPD this year,

we got an apple crumb muffin Cucina Aurora (aka Dawn the kitchen witch) had made.

Dave loved it, so I attempted to imitate it. It wasn't spot on, but it was delicious regardless.

It's a pretty easy recipe to do, but it'll take a little time to prepare.

I loved them, and I'll be making more this coming weekend,

because we devoured the 6 large ones I had made on Monday.

Apple Crumble Muffins

Ingredients

Crumble Topping

2 Tbsp Salted Butter (Cold, Cubed)
1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
4 Tbsp Light Brown Sugar (Firmly Packed)
1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Cup Rolled Oats
1 Pinch of Salt

Muffin

3 Eggs
1/4 Cup Unsweetened Natural Yogurt
1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
1/3 Cup Milk
1 Cup Sugar
2 Cups Flour
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
2 Medium Sized Apples (Cored & Diced)

Preparation

PREHEAT the oven to 350°F

Mix everything needed for the crumble together in one bowl.

Cutting in the butter, and using hands if necessary.

Set aside for later.

In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, yogurt, oil, milk, and sugar.
Mix well.

In another bowl, sieve the flour, baking powder, and ground cinnamon together.

Add all these dry ingredients to the other large bowl of egg mixture.

Stir until all the ingredients are uniformly combined.

Gently fold the diced apples to the muffin mixture.

Spoon into muffin papers, only about 70% of the way.

Sprinkle the top with crumble.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until crumble turns golden brown.

When finished, remove from oven, and let cool.

If you choose to drizzle with caramel, continue on.

Caramel Drizzle

2 Tbsp Butter (Salted)
1/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar (Firmly Packed)
2 Tbsp Milk
1 1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar

Preparation

Combine butter, 1 tbsp of milk, and brown sugar in a medium sauce pan.

Heat over medium - low heat until butter is melted, and sugar is dissolved.

Stir in powdered sugar, then thin to drizzling consistency with remaining milk.

Drizzle over cooled muffins, and enjoy.

Yields ~ 12 Normal Sized Muffins

Apple Crisp

noreply@blogger.com (Brittanie) — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 16:00:00 +0000

I absolutely love apple crisp, and I absolutely love this recipe.

I will never stray from this recipe, I tried out a different one this year, and it was definitely not the same.

I have never had a better crisp, and I will hang onto this until the day I can't cook anymore.

I hope one day my grandchildren will remember me by my cooking, and especially my apple crisp.

Just make it, and you'll understand.

I don't have many pictures, because it really is fairly simple.

I would have just had a picture of sliced, and diced up apples in my pan,

and a bowl of my top mixture. Not very entertaining, so I'll just leave you with the recipe.

Apple Crisp Recipe

Ingredients

7 Tart Apples, cut into slices
(I used Cortland Apples, they're good for everything.)
4 Tsp Lemon Juice
1/2 Tsp Vanilla
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Rolled Oats
1/2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Cup Butter (1 Stick)

Preparation

PREHEAT the oven to 375°F.

In a large bowl combine your sliced apples, lemon juice, and vanilla.

Mix by hand to coat evenly.

Evenly layer bottom, of a square cake pan, with your apples.

In another large bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and oats.

Cut in the butter with two butter knives.

Sprinkle on top of the apples.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top looks crunchy and the apples are tender.

Serve with whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

Yields ~ 8 Servings

Apple Picking @ Mack's 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Brittanie) — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 16:00:00 +0000

For the spirit of Mabon (the first day of fall), we started with our fall festivities.
We go apple picking every fall, as with a lot of things we do annually.
This year we took along Megan.
We went to Mack's Apples, like we did last year.
Mack's is New Hampshires #1 rated apple orchard, due to it's size and quality,
plus it's right down the street from us.

Fresh picked Cortland apple, from Mack's.

We bought 1 peck of apples, and Megan bought a 1/2 peck,

we spent a good 2 hours walking around the rows of trees looking for the best apples.

We only picked from the ripe Cortland apples, considering they're the best apples to use for everything.

After we were done picking, we brought the apples to the car, and headed to the farmstand.

The farmstand was busy with people grabbing pumpkins, fresh baked goods, and fresh farm milk.

We bought 3 New Hampshire made sodas, a gallon of apple cider,

some fresh apple cider donuts, and a tub of caramel to dip some apples in.

We took our sodas, and fresh donuts outside to sit at one of their picnic table set up by their duck pond.

Dave's Maple Cream Soda, and Cider Donuts.

Megan's Gallon of fresh NH cider.

Megan, and I by the Mack's Apples sign.
A good way to end our visit, I think.

Salem, Ma Trip 9-22-2012

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Once again, Britt and I headed down to Salem, Mass. Beating the crowd of Halloween goers.
This time with Megan in tow. We did the usual; walked around, did some shopping, etc. It was actually a beautiful day out. Not too hot, not too cold. It was a nice early Autumn day.

We took a walk through the cemetery.

After doing a lot of walking on my sore leg, we needed to stop for a break.

These benches were empty and quite inviting, so we sat down for a few minutes.

Afterwards, we headed to Artemisia Botanicals,

and grabbed a couple different types of loose leaf teas, and a Goddess charm for Britt's keys.

While walking around we went into Roost,
which has some pretty interesting stuff, and you should check it out.
We also went in Pyramid Books and grabbed some incense and some candles.
We took a tour through all of the stores at the wharf as well.

Salem Beer Works.

We headed to Polonus to grab some drinks while we decided where to eat for supper.

If you decide to ever grab a drink here, grab some glass bottles of juice.

The brand was Tymbark. It's 100% juice, and it's pretty good.

I couldn't read the flavors due to them not being in English (Being a Polish deli and all.),

but the pictures of the fruits on the labels were self-explanatory.

At the end of our night we headed to Salem Beer Works.

It was Megan's first time eating there.

The delicious Spinach and Artichoke Dip.

So of course we had to get her to try the Spinach and Artichoke dip. Which was delicious, as always.
I was disappointed to find out they had stopped carrying the Sodas made in one of the surrounding towns, but the birch beer that they had was great, so all was forgiven.

Megan's Fried Haddock Sandwich,
she was in awe at the elegance of the potato chip in her mashed potatoes.

Unfortunately, I dug into my food immediately, so we got no pictures of that, and Britt was operating the camera, and took none of her own food. Maybe next time.

Megan Approved of the Restaurant.

All-in-all it was another great trip to Salem, Mass. and of course, I'm sure we'll be back in no time.

Eastern Massachusetts Pagan Pride Day 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Brittanie) — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Eastern Mass Pagan Pride Day is a one day annual event, that usually happens around Mabon.
Mabon is the Pagan celebration of the Autumn Equinox.
It was located in Bradley Palmer State Park, and usually is every year.
Though, not always in the same part of the park.

PPD is run by Eastern Massachusetts Pagan Pride Project,
a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering pride in the Pagan identity through visibility,
public education, activism, charity and community.
Admission is a donation of non-perishable foods to benefit the Merrimack Valley Food Bank.

It's a relatively large event, with very enthusiastic and pleasant people.
It consists of educational workshops, live entertainment, activities for all ages,
and bewitching wares of many local merchants and craftspeople.

Dave and I, both being Pagan, went to partake in the festivities that this year's PPD held.
There were lots and lots of dragonflies, which went perfectly with the logo for PPD.

We went to two workshops.

We attended Dawn Hunt's workshop (The Secret Ingredient: Cooking with Heirloom Magick),

and Mulysa Mayhem's workshop (The Witch's Mark: The Magick of Tattoo).

They were both very informative, and interesting to listen to.

We loved Dawn's workshop so much we even visited her at her tent afterwards for some food,

she catered the entire event herself, and she made everything there right in her own little kitchen.

We also stopped by to buy her cookbooks, and have them signed,

as well as try some of her signature infused olive oils.

She was a very inspiring person, with a very uplifting personality,

and I would without a doubt stop in to one of her workshops again.

I didn't participate in this years open circle, but I sat on the side to observe instead.

Next year I might be a part of it though.

'Weaving the Web of Life'

Spencer Fair 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Brittanie) — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 16:00:00 +0000

The Spencer Fair is held every year at the same time, Labor Day weekend.
Admission is typically $10 a person to get in, if you're not a part of the fair.

It's a small country fair with everything you could imagine a country fair would have.

Tractors, livestock, rides, and fried unhealthy grease on a stick.

It's been a tradition for me growing up in East Brookfield, Massachusetts

to to go the Spencer Fair every year.

I've been with my friends every year since middle school.

It's the biggest thing that was ever in town, and although it never changed much,

and it wasn't ever all that interesting, we always had to go.

Not many people enjoy it, because it's such a small town thing,

and it's a "waste of money" for something that never changes.

There's always a huge crowd regardless of what the population of Spencer claims.

There's definitely one thing people never want to miss and it's the Demo Derby.

You need to dedicate your day sitting on the metal bleachers holding a spot if you want to watch,
especially now with people holding spots with blankets.

Otherwise, you will never get the opportunity to watch it.

Well we went this year, like every year, it was just Dave, Megan and I.

We spent the whole day walking around the fair.

We looked at the entire poultry show, rabbit show, and cattle show.

We walked around the exhibit hall, and looked at all the contest entries

everything ranging from best jellies and jams, to best photographs.

The largest pumpkin ever entered into their giant pumpkin competition was entered this year.

We even watched the Motocross show, acrobat show, and Dan Candall hypnotist show.

There was one thing different this year, which I enjoyed.

It was the mountain brew soda wagon.

$10 for unlimited fountain drinks all day, and a souvenir tin cup.

To be honest, that is probably the least amount of money

I've ever spent on drinks at the fair.
That's usually what I spend all of my money on.

So that was something I enjoyed.

The things we love most are the honey sticks for 5/$1.

Holding the baby chicks, and the fair food, obviously.

It's never anything different, but I enjoy the consistency, and time with friends (and family).

I'll always be there for the fair, no matter what.

It's tradition.

Hiking Pack Monadnock

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 16:00:00 +0000

I'll just get right to it on this one. Also, yes. This is not a food post. ^.-
On August 25th, I told Britt that we should go on a hike. She agreed to do it.
So we woke up on the 26th, went to the store to grab some stuff.
A new hiking backpack, lunch bag, water bottle and water, food for lunch, etc.
After getting all of stuff situated, we headed out on the hour long drive to Pack Monadnock,
located in Miller State Park, Peterborough, NH.
We paid the $4 a person (The fee for hikers) and parked the car.
After making sure we had all of our water bottles and everything,
I shouldered the new backpack and we headed on up the mountain.

Me on the way up the mountain.

We took the Marion-Davis trail up the mountain. It was actually a pretty nice trail.

Now neither of us being in the best of shape, we had to stop a little bit more often than usual.

But it was still an awesome hike. The weather was great for it.

Since we got to the mountain in the afternoon, there weren't that many people still on the trails.

We passed a few heading down as we went up, and one party later going up as we were heading down, and that was about it.

The trail up is a relatively easy trail, even for people who don't hike often, or at all.

A few steeper parts, but all-in-all an easy trail. Just watch out for falling acorns.

I took one or two off the top of the head.

The old fire tower.

At the top of the mountain there is a little picnic area.

A couple tables, 'bathrooms', and an old fire tower.

If you aren't afraid of heights, you can climb the narrow metal staircases

to the top and get an amazing view.

On a clear day you can even see Boston, Ma 50 miles off in the distance.

We stayed up here for about a half hour, ate our lunch,

and rested our legs, then it was right back down the mountain.

We took this trail back down. It has a lot of rocks.

The Wapack trail goes right over Pack Monadnock.
We decided to take the southern trail back down to the base.
It was a much harder hike than the one we took up.
For us less experienced hikers at least. There were a lot of rocks,
and you were basically rock climbing for pieces of it. Which wouldn't be a bad thing,
if we had done this trail first, and not after already hiking up the mountain.
Like I said, we don't exactly go hiking every weekend.

A cool grasshopper that Britt almost squished accidentally.

We finally made it back down to the base, exhausted,

sore (never wear steel-toed boots to hike down a rocky trail.), and relieved.

Just in time, too, since we finished the water we had brought a minute or two before the base.

With the slow pace we went, both to enjoy it, and to not kill ourselves,

it took about 3 1/2 hours to complete our hike.

I would definitely recommend the hike to other people.

So if you're looking for a new mountain to hike, or an old one to hike again,

or even looking to go hiking for the first time, definitely check out Pack Mondanock.

Though maybe don't take Wapack Trail South back down the mountain. ;-)

What's to come?

noreply@blogger.com (Brittanie) — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 16:00:00 +0000

I apologize for the lack of posts, but not much has been going on.

Last Sunday, Dave and I went hiking up & down Pack Monadnock,

so I may write a travel post about that soon.

There should definitely be a lot more coming in the nearing weeks!

It's almost fall, my absolute FAVORITE time of the year,

so there will definitely be a lot of things to keep me busy.

Among the many things Dave and I will be doing, I'll be posting about:

Apple Picking
A recipe for Apple Crisp
A recipe for Apple Pie
Pumpkin Picking
Pumpkin Carving
A recipe for Pumpkin Seeds
Halloween 2012

I'm sure there will definitely be more, no doubt about it.
I may even write a travel post about the Spencer Fair this weekend, and PPD's coming up.

I will take every opportunity I can get, to be outside in beautiful fall weather!

So, expect a spike in posts.

I may have slowed down, but that was definitely a 'calm before the storm'.

So keep an eye out for my Facebook posts, notifying you on what's new!

Can't wait to show you what we have in store!

For now, I'll leave you with this.

Have a great Labor Day, Everyone!

Mozzarella Sticks

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 16:00:00 +0000

It's me again! You know..... maybe some day I'll write a blog that isn't about food. Haha.

But until then..... Here's a food one that's about some homemade (mostly) mozzarella sticks.

These are incredibly easy to make, and actually pretty good.

So you know the drill by now.

We want to make something, look for a recipe, change it, and make it.

These would make for an awesome appetizer. Need to make a bunch of something for a party,

and not have it take a ton of time? These are your appetizer.

Total time (prep + cook) Is less than a half hour for a whole tray of them.

Got a big oven? Make a couple trays.

Want some spicy ones? Add a little bit of red pepper flakes, or cumin, chili powder, what ever!

Go crazy! Make any type of mozzarella sticks you want!

Don't feel like you have to use our breading mix.

And as always, if you mix this up a bit, leave a comment and tell us all about it!

Bon Appétit!

Mozzarella Stick Recipe

Ingredients

12 Full Sticks of String Cheese
1 Large Egg, beaten
2 Tablespoons Flour
5 Tablespoons Italian Bread Crumbs
5 Tablespoons Panko Crumbs
2 Tablespoons Parmesan Cheese
2 Teaspoons Dried Parsley

Preparation

Cut cheese in half to give you 24 halves.

Freeze the cheese, at least 30 minutes in the freezer.

Preheat oven for 400 degrees.

Make an assembly line for breading the cheese.

In the first bowl or plate, whichever you prefer, put your Flour.

In a second bowl, put your beaten Egg.

In your third, put your mixture of Italian Bread Crumbs, Panko, Parmesan Cheese, and Parsley.

First, dip your frozen sticks into the flour, shaking off the excess.

Then roll it in the egg to coat evenly,

doing the same in the crumbs after that.

Placing all finished sticks onto an aluminum foil lined baking sheet,

sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

When all are completely coated, and on baking sheet,

spray the tops of the sticks with your cooking spray.

Place in oven for 8-10 minutes, flipping half way through.

Yields ~ 24

"Watermelon" Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (Brittanie) — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 16:00:00 +0000

My Aunt had a family get together a few weekends ago,

and I made these cute little cupcakes.

I'm not posting this for the recipe, more for the idea.

I thought it was a cute idea to make something as simple as a cupcake,

a lot more summer by making it look like a watermelon.

I just used a simple french vanilla cake mix and mini chocolate chips,

added some neon pink food coloring.

For the frosting, I just used a simple whipped vanilla frosting with neon green food coloring.

I piped on with a typical swirl, and put a chocolate chip on top to top it off.

I always make my own boxes for when I bring anything anywhere.

I get clothing boxes from Michaels, as well as the ribbon, and usually the cupcake papers.

Nothing too fancy. I just get a ribbon that matches my papers (if it's cupcakes),

and I make a label with a font that matches as well.

I hot glue the ribbon around the box, and make a bow and glue that on as well.

Makes them look more professional, even if it is something simple.