Everything Sweet

April Showers...

2012-04-18T17:25:00.000-07:00

I love Spring Time. Spring here in Utah is so unpredictable, a couple of weeks ago I spent every day at the park basking in the sun, getting a sweet base. The last couple of weeks however have been cool and rainy. Which I love too. All the tulips are coming out and my lawn is starting to look lush and green, so the wreath I did is perfect for a Utah Spring door! I would have done a couple of things different, like use the right wreath and use the wide pink ribbon (actually follow the tutorial) But I love it anyway!

Pinterest Goodness

2012-04-18T14:21:00.001-07:00

My husband says that being addicted to Pinterest is way better than being addicted to Facebook. Pinterest, is my true addiction. Hopefully a good one, because everyone benefits right? So I have been trying some yummy new recipes, and have made some cute fun baby, and birthday gifts. Each day I have found something new to do. All in all, I am doing what I love. Cooking, baking and making special gifts for those I cherish most.

Here are a few recipes and sewing projects that I have done.

Pizza Hut Personal Pan Pizza's

Sloppy Joe's

The best Roasted Almonds

Honey Sesame Chicken

Polka dot tote

Yummy Nutella Rice Krispy treats

Cinnamon Roll Cake


Felt animal rattle boxes

Heart Felt wreath

Poppy seed lemon muffins

Convenient Cosmetic bag

St Patricks Day Treat

2012-03-13T11:00:00.003-07:00

I know it has A LONG time and I do have some catching up to do, so I will start with today and work my way back to what I have been doing.

Chase's teacher asked me to do a treat for his class, so of course I headed straight to Pinterest.
And this is what I found. They turned out so cute! I am so excited for Cha to give them to all the little leprechaun's in his class tomorrow.

Snowman, Quilt and Chowder

2011-12-04T17:45:00.000-08:00

I have been in full swing with crafting, and cooking. It has been fun finishing up projects, and trying fun new recipes. Here are a few.

9 patch Christmas quilt. Who would have thought it first started out as a tree skirt.

Mr. Snowman

And finally, chowder.
We love going to Market Street Broiler and they have the best Chowder. It is a little too spicy for the kids, so I changed up a few things. Here is how I did it.

1 cup potatoes, diced ½ inch
1 cup celery, diced ½ inch
1 cup onion, diced ½ inch
¾ cup chopped clams (canned or fresh)
¾ tablespoon coarse ground black pepper
1 ½ tablespoon salt
¾ tablespoon whole thyme
6 bay leaves
1 teaspoon Tabasco
2 cups water
¾ cup clam juice (drained from canned clams or purchased separately in can)
¾ cup butter, melted
1 cup flour
2 quarts half-and-half ( I used 1 quart and just added a little bit of milk)

Combine melted butter and flour in oven-proof container and bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. In large saucepan, combine remaining ingredients except half-and-half. Simmer until potatoes are thoroughly cooked. Stir butter-flour mixture into chowder and stir until thick. Mixture will be slightly less thick than cookie dough. Remove chowder from heat. Stir in half-and-half until blended. Heat to serving temperature, stirring occasionally.

The BEST blueberry muffins

2011-12-03T10:37:00.000-08:00

I saw this recipe on my favorite Saturday afternoon cooking show. America's Test Kitchen. They truly are the Best Blueberry Muffins, so yummy with the Lemon -Sugar topping. A perfect Saturday morning add on to breakfast.

Here is how I did it.

Lemon-Sugar topping
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated zest from 1 lemon

Muffins
2 cups fresh blueberries (about 10 ounces), picked over
1 1/8 cups sugar plus 1 teaspoon
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the topping:
Stir together sugar and lemon zest in small bowl until combined; set aside.

For the muffins:
Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Bring 1 cup blueberries and 1 teaspoon sugar to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries with spoon several times and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to ¼ cup, about 6 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk remaining 1 1/8 cups sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Using rubber spatula, fold egg mixture and remaining cup blueberries into flour mixture until just moistened. (Batter will be very lumpy with few spots of dry flour; do not overmix.)

Use ice cream scoop or large spoon to divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). Spoon teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into center of each mound of batter. Using chopstick or skewer, gently swirl berry filling into batter using figure-eight motion. Sprinkle lemon sugar evenly over muffins.

Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating muffin tin from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.

**photo courtesy of America's Test Kitchen

Chessy Vegetable Chowder

2011-12-01T10:52:00.000-08:00

I have felt a little cold the last little bit, and so that always puts me in the mood for some good soups. I have found some great recipes on Pinterest that I have been trying, so of course I have to share.

Here is how I did it:

2 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup finely chopped carrot

1 stalk celery, finely chopped (love the celery)

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

4 cups chicken broth

2 large baking potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 Tablespoon flour

1/2 cup water

2/3 cup milk (I used half and half)

2 cups chopped broccoli

2 heaping cups shredded cheddar cheese (I used Colby Jack)

Melt the butter in a large soup pot. Add onions, carrots, and celery and saute over medium heat until tender. Add garlic and cook 1 or 2 additional minutes. Add chicken broth and potatoes, bring to a boil, and cook until potatoes are tender. Mix flour with water, add, and simmer until soup is slightly thickened. Add milk and broccoli and cook until broccoli is just tender and soup is heated through. Stir in cheese, allow to melt, and serve.

**pic and recipe courtesy of Lulu the Baker

Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T14:06:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was such a wonderful day spent with family. Dinner was great and the day was nice and relaxing. I made my traditional pumpkin, apple, chocolate cream and coconut cream pies. They turned out great!

This year I started a new tradition. According to my little brother, I am going to have to make them each year. I don't know about that, maybe I will find something new each year. These little guys took some time and a pretty steady hand. But they did turn out pretty cute, and the kids gobbled them up.

Hope you all had an amazing day with your loved ones. There is so much that we all have to be thankful for.

What happened to Thanksgiving?

2011-11-09T15:33:00.001-08:00

My sweetheart doesn't usually have much to say about the decorations around the house. Until yesterday. His comment? It's time to take down the Halloween stuff and put out the Thanksgiving decorations.

Ummm, what Thanksgiving decorations? Every year I go from Halloween right into Christmas. I love the holiday, turkey and all. and I can see how he is a little sad that so many forget that we have a holiday before the bearded man comes to town.

So I got a few fun ideas and put the Halloween away and now I have some Thanksgiving decorations.

Its Fall again

2011-10-07T15:38:00.001-07:00

I think there is a switch inside my brain that triggers when it starts to turn fall. It turns on a lot of things for me. Like, more baking, cooking warm soups, doing crafts, and major cleaning.

For instance, today I decided to totally gut out my room and rearrange everything. It took all morning, but there is nothing like a clean and clutter free room.

Another thing that has helped my fall obsession, is an awesome site that I am truly addicted too. pinterest. I have found so many fun ideas. This is one that I did for my kids and Dave's lunch today.

Another fun idea I did for my friends new little baby boy.

Chase must have the same little switch, he woke up this morning saying he wanted to bake a cake, and he wouldn't let it go. He wanted a mountain cake with a Y . So I did this yummy spice cake with Pumpkin Cream Cheese frosting.

What a perfect fall day, rain and all.

Babies, babies and more babies

2011-03-11T16:11:00.000-08:00

I am surrounded by lots of women having babies. One of my staple baby gifts are receiving blankets. My sweet Mother-in-law taught me how to do them, and they are quick and easy. I love the extra decorative stitching that I have on my machine to add the extra cute touch.

Where it all began

2011-03-11T15:54:00.000-08:00

I have been quilting for a long time now. My Mom was responsible for giving me the bug years ago. I started out by using her sewing machine and eventually when I moved out, I would just head to Mom's to sew. It was a couple of years after I was married that I looked into getting my own machine. It got to be a pain every time I wanted to do a project that I would have to haul Colton (as a small baby) and all my stuff up to her house to sew.

So, I headed to a local shop and began shopping around. The reality of how expensive sewing machines were, sunk in. I was lucky however, because lay-a-way was how I would get my very own sewing machine.
I loved it, I was so determined to have it that I saved a little grocery money each month to put down on my lay-a-way. Now don't laugh, but it took me an entire year to pay it off. In the end, it was all mine. Dave had even forgotten that I had it. I was so excited I don't think that I put it away for months, there it sat on our little kitchen table, and I sewed as often as I could.
The reason for this geeky post? As I was sewing today (on the kitchen table). I had the sun shinning in and felt an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. I know, its dumb, but when I sew it makes me happy. I love to create, give and make others happy with what I create. And it is something that I worked hard for, and that is what it is all about.

A honey do project

2011-03-07T13:45:00.000-08:00

Chase would be in heaven. So when do I tell Dave I have a project for him to finish by Chase's 4th birthday in May? Maybe over a romantic dinner and a back massage?

See the whole project here, and hopefully come back in May to see the finished project at the Lindsey house.

Its a hoot!

2011-03-07T12:51:00.000-08:00

I LOVE this new material. It has owls. Next to giraffe's, I love owls and when I saw this material shopping with my Mom, all I saw was a bag, and a dang cute one to hoot! I have this new design with the middle section being pleated. It gives it a little ruffle effect.

For my honey

2011-02-24T18:18:00.000-08:00

It was time to restock Dave's office with goodies, and pictures. I found this cute idea from a blog I follow and decided to try it out. I changed one of the bottles to "hot" because Dave loves Hot Tamales, and not sour stuff. You could customize your bottles to fit your hard workin man!

Scrumptious Blueberry Muffins

2011-02-07T18:28:00.000-08:00

I think that everyone loves a good blueberry muffin, at least I do. But oh my... this recipe that I saw on my all time favorite show is the best I have ever had! It is a little labor intense, but totally worth it! You have to try!

A project for Valentines

2011-02-07T18:20:00.000-08:00

Thanks Loni for the great Valentines projects.

We had fun making it up as we went, and they turned out pretty cute.

Breakfast and the girls

2011-01-18T18:32:00.000-08:00

It was so much fun today having some of the girls over for playgroup and showing them a yummy breakfast recipe.

It is any easy and not so non-fat version of french toast. Give it a try!

French Toast Croissants
Spray a 9x13 pan
Melt 1 cube butter, 1 cup brown sugar and 2 Tbls karo
Pour into bottom of pan

Cut the croissants into 1" pieces and put on top of brown sugar mixture

Beat 6 eggs, 1 1/2 cups half and half, vanilla and 1/4 tsp salt
Pour over croissants. Push bread down so it gets all nice and soaked.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40 mins.

Let it cool for about 5 mins and then serve with bacon or sausage and orange juice.

My etsy shop

2011-01-18T18:28:00.000-08:00

One of the things that I wanted to accomplish in the month of January was to stock my etsy shop back up.
I am glad to say I have some things posted and even have gotten a sale.
So check it out. I will have a boys quilt posted by the end of the week.

January Sewing Class

2011-01-04T09:02:00.001-08:00

**So sorry, but there has been a change in plans. I was unable to find the interfacing for my boxes, and had to order some online. I will reschedule the boxes for another month, and will still plan on either an open sew day or another project. (most likely crayon rolls)

Here is just one more excuse for a bunch of us ladies to get together. It is always fun to do a new project, but why not with your friends. I found these really cute storage bins a while back and thought it would be a great way to start the new year off right. Let's get organized. I am going to use mine for my sewing stuff, but why not for your babies room, or even for you kids toys or school supplies. There are a hundred different ways to use them!

RSVP to the right and I will send you the supply list.

Happy New Year and Rustic Rolls

2011-01-03T06:53:00.001-08:00

I am so excited for 2011! I have so many fun ideas and great things that I want to do. The year couldn't have started out any better!

I really like watching America's test kitchen on PBS. It airs on Saturday afternoons, so it is perfect after doing all our house chores the fam sits down and to see what awesome stuff they are doing.

So after getting home from our New Year's sleepover and cleaning up all the Christmas decorations, I was worn out and settled in for an episode.

My down fall in eating habits is carbs. Any kind really, but mostly in the bread category. I love them, give me a good roll or slice of cinnamon bread and I am good to go.

So you can imagine my excitement when I turned on my favorite show and they were doing breads!

I thought I had learned a lot before, but wow this was a great episode. Okay now I am sounding a little nerdy, and rambling. I will get to the point...

Rustic Dinner Rolls!

They were the best. A lot of raising steps, but well worth it. They were a hit, and yes we downed all 16. (with the help of a couple of friends)

Let me know if you have any questions, and I think I will even do them for one of my cooking classes this year.

Oh yum

2010-12-22T15:36:00.000-08:00

Christmas candies done and passed out. I have to say they turned out nice. The centers were so yummy. The lemon and orange were delicious, but I would say the raspberry was my favorite.

So with Christmas a few days away, I can say I am done and am going to sit back and enjoy.
With the exception of a couple of pies, a frog eye salad, I don't have any more baking to do.

What will the new year bring? Lots of new projects! I am going to start a small cooking group and a monthly sewing group. So next week I will be getting lots of ideas put together and a schedule down.
I also have a special project up my sleeve. Hopefully I can get it going, and hope it will be a hit.

2010 has been an amazing year. I am so blessed to have had so many wonderful experiences.
Thanks to all of you, have a Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year!

Christmas candies

2010-12-06T20:26:00.000-08:00

Every year we have the tradition of making holiday candy. Dave's Grandma was a great candy maker so I have lots of fun recipes from her. I also have a few from my childhood that I remember making with my Mom and Aunt.

But this year, I went outside of my normal box and decided to try something new. My sister-in-law CiCi starting making hand dipped chocolates a few years ago, and they are to die for. My favorites are her orange cream. So I did some research, and try it out.

I am so excited to get them dipped. I had no idea what to expect when making up the fondant, but it all turned out okay. I made some peppermint, orange, lemon, cherry and chocolate.

Of course I am still doing my normal root beer caramel's, and cashew brittle, but it is always fun to add some more goodies to the neighbor packs.

This is what I poured onto my marble from the pan, I wasn't sure how I was going to get that to a nice creamy chocolate center.

But after a lot of kneading they came out perfect. Now just waiting to be balled and dipped.
(I will post the finished product later)

Learning our ABC's

2010-12-06T20:13:00.001-08:00

I saw this really cute idea on a blog that I follow. It took me a little bit to collect the orange juice lids, but finally got them all, and Morgan and I did the project in less than an hour! All it took was 2 pieces of 12 x 12 scrapbook paper, a set of capitol letters (I used the cute puffy polka dot ones), 26 orange juice can tops (no sharp edges) and a empty peanut can or jar with wide mouth.

Chase is doing really good at recognizing all his letters, he did however learn that they slide really well on the floor and uses them as hockey pucks. Needless to say, I have to put them up when we are not using them to learn!

Kitchen Tools

2010-11-02T14:09:00.000-07:00

I love anything kitchen. So if I am near a Williams-Sonoma or Spoon's and Spice, I stop in and just browse.. People love cars, books, or clothes, I love kitchen tools.

With a new sugar cookie and donut recipe, I learned a couple of new tricks of getting them the perfect thickness.
So I put my honey to work in the wood shop and saved me some dough. :)

I had the standard size rolling pin, but I saw Alton Brown rolling out his donut dough with a little bit of a longer one. The reason is so that he could roll it along these handy little sticks. They are cut at 3/4 of an inch thick so that your dough will roll out to that measurement.
Now with sugar cookie dough, you don't want it that thick, so I have a set that is 1/4 of an inch. The perfect sugar cookie.

If you don't have a wood shop or a honey in a wood shop, I did find some plastic rings and a long rolling pin at Williams-Sonoma that do the same thing. Also the sticks can be found at any craft store in different thickness's.

enjoy!

Big fluffy donuts

2010-11-01T06:22:00.000-07:00

As another Halloween tradition that started way back when and I brought back a couple of years ago is homemade donuts.
I have tried a couple of different recipes and this years is the one I am sticking with.
They were so good. One of my fav's from food network is Alton Brown. (here it is) I love how he gets so scientific about stuff and really explains things. Try it out. I think I will try a maple glaze next time.
Good thing I only got one and the rest got gobbled up, they would have been dangerous lying around.