Family history

I love family history and like finding creative ways to do it. Here are a couple of sources with great ideas.

Martha had this template for a nice fan shaped way to frame a page.

Geneology4kids has a fantastic list of ideas to make finding and working on family history fun for everyone.

Some I want to mention today are:

36. Choose a few old family photographs to frame and display in your home (I really want to do this and am working on organizing photos to choose some great ones to frame).
47. Visit the homes, places of birth, or burial sites of some of your ancestors or find pictures of these places (We have done this a few times and I really want to do some more).

this is an old family house in Utah.

"Follow the path of the unsafe, independent thinker. Expose your ideas to the dangers of controversy. Speak your mind and fear less the label of 'crackpot' than the stigma of conformity. And on issues that seem important to you, stand up and be counted at any cost."

-Thomas J. Watson

For more random and great quotes, check out the Quotations Page in my linklist.

TV thursdays continued

So another fun TV thursday party we did was...

The OFFICE.

Check it out here.

Map Purse

I think this is a super cute and fun idea.

For exact how-to go here.

basic supplies you need are:

1 map

1 toy car

clear laminate

velcro

cardboard

sewing machine

I love maps and travel!

Fat Tuesday

It's here, Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras. It's a wickedly fun celebration.

To read some of the history go here or here.

Since the King's cake is such a big traditional part of Mardi Gras I am posting the recipe as my Tuesday Treat.

Read the history of the King's cake here.

King's Cake

2 packages active dry yeast (2 Tbsp)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup warm milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
5 egg yolks
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp grated lemon zest

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp multicolored candy sprinkles

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and white sugar in warm milk. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

2. Stir the egg yolks and melted butter into the milk mixture.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, nutmeg and lemon zest. Beat the flour mixture into the milk/egg mixture 1 cup at a time.

4. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 8 minutes.

5. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

6. In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar. Mix well.

7. In another small bowl, combine the remaining 2 cups confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons milk. Mix well and set aside. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Roll the dough out into a 6x30 inch rectangle.

8. Spread the cream cheese filling across the center of the dough. Bring the two long edges together and seal completely. Using your hands shape the dough into a long cylinder and place on a greased baking sheet, seam-side down. Shape the dough into a ring press the baby into the ring from the bottom so that it is completely hidden by the dough.

9. Place a well-greased 2 pound metal coffee can the center of the ring to maintain the shape during baking. Cover the ring with a towel and place in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

10. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

11. Remove the coffee can and allow the bread to cool. Drizzle cooled cake with lemon/sugar glaze and decorate with candy sprinkles.

Cajun Cooking

I love good cajun food, and in a Mardi Gras spirit here is a favorite cajun recipe...

Cajun Burgers

1 pound ground beef
3 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
1 egg
3 green onions, chopped
1 Tbsp Cajun seasoning
1 Tbsp mustard
1/4 cup BBQ Sauce (jack Daniels BBQ sauce is my personal favorite)
1 tsp Cajun seasoning
sliced Cheddar cheese

In a medium bowl, mix the ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, green onions, 1 Tbsp Cajun seasoning, and mustard. Form into patties. In a small bowl, blend the barbeque sauce and 1 tsp Cajun seasoning. Lightly oil the grill and cook the patties 5 minutes per side, or until well done. Place a slice of cheese on each burger, and allow to melt. Serve with seasoned barbeque sauce. Top with red onions, lettuce, tomatoe, etc...

At allrecipes I found this recipe for crunchy cajun fries, that should be a great side for the burgers...

Crunchy Cajun Fries

2 pounds russet potatoes, cut into fries
1 cup corn flour
2 tablespoons cornmeal
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
1 quart oil for deep frying
salt to taste

Place cut potatoes into a large bowl of cold water. Soak for 10 minutes. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the corn flour, corn meal, and Cajun seasoning. Shake the bag to blend. Drain the potatoes, but leave them wet. Place the fries in the plastic bag with the seasoning, and shake to coat. Heat the oil in a deep-fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Cook fries in hot oil for 7 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the fryer to paper towels to drain. Season with a small amount of salt.

encyclopedia/dictionary idea

in the latest issue of Simple Scrapbooks there was an article about creating a personal "Encyclopedia of an ordinary life." The basic idea is to list 4-5 things (or really however many you want depending on the length of the book you want) for each letter of the alphabet to describe your life and then talk about them. Throw on a couple of pictures and you have a simple and super meaningful book. I really like this idea for a couple of reasons...
1. I am terrible at journaling, but it has been really fun to write a few words down about a lot of random things.
2. It uses up some of those extra pictures you have laying around.

I'll post an example when I finish one, but here is an example of things I listed for a couple of letters. a shorter way to do this would be to change it into a dictionary, with just a sentence or 2 about each word, and how it defines you.

ex. B- Blog, Barbies, Blue, Berry flavors, Brynn, basketball
N-Nurse, Naughty or Nice, Nursing school

To check out the inspiration for this scrapbook see "the encyclopedia of an ordinary life" website.

It's starting to feel like spring in the Wasatch Front...at least it is at my home, we haven't had snow for a few weeks, the birds are out, and I haven't needed my coat yipee!!

Some fun spring related crafts I want to try are...

Make and Takes fun spring straws.

I love this Happy Spring Apron from Feathered Nest...I think sassy aprons are so much fun!! too bad I suck at sewing but hey these don't look too hard... Another easy and darling apron she has posted is found here.

I love making mini-scrapbooks and finding new ways to display pictures. In January Martha posted this accordian album idea as a simple yet fun way to display some pictures.

Fun Friday for Fat Tuesday

This coming tuesday is Mardi Gras. This is one of my favorite celebrations, and I really want to go down to New Orleans to experience it one year!!!

Here is a great link from Allrecipes to a wide variety of Mardi Gras inspired food.

Some fun activites for all ages...

Face painting

Eating of Kings Cake

Making Masks

Fortune Telling

and don't forget the beads!!

TV Thursday

When I was in college I had a fantastic group of roommates and friends, and we would always throw themed parties. This all started with "TV Thursday." The best shows are on TV and our favorites included, ER, Friends, Grey's Anatomy, the OC, Smallville, and the Office.

It all started when we got together for the ER and Grey's season premeirs. Most of us being nurses, and wanting it to have a theme we did a hospital style party. We were pretty extreme that first year...emesis basins and ene..yeah ok, pretty extreme. But it was a party none of us would EVER forget. We would watch our favorite clips from past episodes, rewatch the finale, and eat, drink, and be merry!!

One fabulous menu included (In true medical fashion):

BBQ Ribs.

Deviled Eggs

Rolls (baked in a muffin tin)

fruit punch with a floating hand

finger shaped cookies

Fruit salad...

The idea was that everything looked like a body part. The coolest was the hand floating in the fruit punch. To make that you freeze water in a plastic medical glove. It looks really cool.

So there you have it, the beginning of TV Thursdays and a medical themed party (or Halloween)!!

Rainy Day Jar

Did you ever write a list of "things to do when you were bored" as a kid?  Or even as an adult?  I know I wrote many a list of things like that when I was younger.  I think I want to do it again.  There are so many things I want to do but I never seem to remember them when I am bored.  Instead I just pop in front of the TV, or watch a movie.  While that can be fun and entertaining, maybe I need to adopt the old idea of a "rainy day jar."  It's simple you know, you just actually have to take the time!

Somethings I need to put in my jar:

1.  Work on my family history.

2.  Scan in some old pictures.

3.  Make a set of cards for an easy gift.

4.  Actually call one of those many people I always want to "get together with sometime."

5.  Read a good book...still need to read Peter Pan, the Princess Bride, and the Secret Garden again.

6.  Work on my Chinese cooking skills.

7.  Work on my Gryiffindor quilt.

8.  Organize my over abundance of scrapbook supplies.

9.  scrapbook.

10.  and of course have a DI day...

I came up with 10 random and mostly free ideas in 1 minute.  not too bad...

What else could you put in the Jar?

 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownie Bars...

So I have seen this recipe on the back of the Betty Crocker cookie dough packages. Then I stumbled across this entry about the bars on Bakerella. I was sold, her pictures made it look so good!! So to see her entry check it out here: Delicious Chocolate Cookie Dough Bars. I was also intrigued by her article because she used Ganache instead of frosting. I'd heard of ganache many times but never really understood how to do it. This article: Ganache How to clears up a lot of questions...

So basically the recipe is actually pretty simple. Just mix up a bow of Brownies and pour in your 9x13 pan. Then you mix up the cookie dough and drop it in spoonfuls into the brownie mix. Bake, cool, and then frost! Simple, and scrumptious. (I don't know if I've ever used that word...)

Photo borrowed from Bakerella.

Chicken Piccata

A patients husband made this for all of us at work as a Valentine's gift for dinner. Oh.My.Gosh. it was FANTASTIC!!!

Chicken Piccata

Ingredients:
6 to 8 chicken breast halves, boneless, no skin
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika, or to taste
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup chicken broth (water, or white wine)

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6 to 8 thin slices of lemon
3 tablespoons capers (optional)*

1. Put chicken breasts between 2 sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap; pound to flatten to about 1/4-inch. In a shallow bowl, combine flour, salt, pepper and paprika; dredge chicken breasts to coat well.
2. Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet. Sauté chicken breasts in batches, about 3 minutes on each side.
3. Drain off all but 2 tablespoons of fat. Stir in chicken broth, scraping to loosen browned bits. Add lemon juice and heat through.

4. Return chicken to the skillet with the lemon slices; heat until sauce thickens. Add capers, if using.

5. Serve with your favorite pasta, rice, and a green vegetable.

Chicken Piccata recipe serves 6 to 8.

It was served with a side of rice and grilled asparagus. From what I can tell the rice was like chicken Rice r Roni cooked with lemon juice. Fantastic.

*I picked the Capers off of mine.

** There was no parsley on ours, this is a pic I found online.

typing your handwriting!!

So I like my handwriting pretty well but I can't write straight when i scrapbook...so perfect solution: Turning my handwriting into a font so i could do whatever i want with it!

I discovered a website to make your own font out of your handwriting! AWESOME!
Here is my Jill font:

Here is my jillybean font:
you can download Jill here.

you can download jillybean here.
To create your own handwritten font go here.

New Layout

I love this blog, but I have had/seen so many ideas and feel like there is little structure occuring. Thus I am going to copy a common idea. Each day will have a different purpose, and then I will feel more organized with the ideas.

Thus I now introduce::

Main Dish Mondays (for all of my new favorite recipes)
Tasty Treat Tuesdays (because who doesn't love dessert!)
Wacky Wednesdays (full of fun ideas for kids, gifts, etc)
Theme Thursdays (Inspired by my college roommates, when we'd have "TV Thursday" parties)
Fun Fridays (A day where I can post whatever I want)
Super Saturdays (crafts galore)
Scrapbook Sundays (New favorite scrap tricks, ideas, layouts, etc)

Ah, I feel better already!

Dinner for 2

I was speculating on what a good Valentine's Dinner would be and I decided that you really can't beat homemade Italian... So here is a menu for a good and fairly easy meal.

Stuffed Shells
Elise's Parmesan Bread sticks
Salad
Italian Love Cake

Stuffed Shells

1 box uncooked lg shells or manicotti
1 jar spaghetti sauce
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese
5oz frozen spinach, thawed
1 pinch fennel
2 garlic cloves, diced
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
salt
1 lb Italian sausage or 1 lb ground beef

In a large sauce pan, pan fry the diced garlic in a splash of olive oil until browned. Mix in the ground beef and Italian sausage, cook thoroughly. (optional: remove sausage skin and blend into ground beef). Add spaghetti sauce, oregano and basil. Simmer. In a large pot, bring water to a boil and cook shells according to package directions. In a large bowl, combine ricotta, mozzarella, and spinach. Salt to taste. When shells are cooked, drain hot water and run cold water on cooked shells to stop the cooking process. Spread a light layer of sauce on the bottom of a large deep baking dish. Using a narrow spoon, spoon cheese mixture in to shells and place into the baking dish. Cover with remaining sauce and sprinkle Parmesan on top. Bake in oven covered with foil at 400 F for 40 minutes. Let cool before serving.

Elise's Parmesan Bread sticks

My roommate Elise introduced to us these amazing bread sticks in 2004.

1 packet or 1 Tbsp yeast
1 1/2 cup warm water
3 cups flour
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt

Mix water and yeast together until dissolved. Add sugar. Salt Add flour 1 cup at a time mixing with a fork until dough has formed. Knead until well mixed and allow to rise 20 minutes. While rising melt 1 stick butter on a cookie sheet while pre-heating oven to 375 degrees. Roll out dough and cut into strips with a pizza cutter. Place strips on buttery pan allowing butter to run over each bread stick. Sprinkle with Parmesan or cinnamon-sugar mix. Bake for 20 minutes until brown.

Italian Love Cake

this recipe was introduced to me by my CNA instructor in 2002.

1 package chocolate cake mix
2 pints part-skim ricotta cheese
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup milk
1 container frozen whipped topping, thawed

1. Prepare cake mix as directed on box. Pour batter into 9 x 13 greased baking dish. Set aside.
2. Combine ricotta cheese, sugar, vanilla, and eggs. Blend well. Spread mixture evenly over the top of the cake batter.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 75 minutes if using a glass baking dish, 90 minutes if using a metal pan.
4. Blend pudding mix and milk until thickened. Blend in whipped topping. Spread over cooled cake.

mmm typing this up makes me hungry and want to watch Under the Tuscan Sun!

Star Wars Rules!

So for the recipe of the month I am choosing "Princess Leia Cinnabons." My family has been on a Star Wars kick lately so I made these cinnamon rolls that are featured in my Star Wars Cookbook. They were pretty dang good!

Princess Leia Cinnabons

1 package active dry yeast (1 Tbsp)

3/4 cup warm water

1/4 cup white sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg, room temperature

2 1/2 cups bread flour

1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with the sugar, salt, egg and 1 cup flour; stir well to combine.

3. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well with each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes.
4. Lightly grease an 9X13 inch baking pan. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thick rectangle. Spread dough with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. Roll up the dough along the long edge until it forms a roll. Slice the roll into 16 equal size pieces and place them in the pan with the cut side up.
5. Cover pan with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in volume, about 45 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake rolls until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

7. Frost with cream-cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/2 package (4oz) cream cheese, softened
1-2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

mix to desired consitency.



As for a starwars party I thought Make and Take offered a lot of great ideas. I especially loved the light-saber cupcakes, and death star pinata. Not gonna lie, i just may throw a starwars birthday party for myself this year. Who wants to wait to have kids!!

Game that sounds fun:

Release Hans Solo... this comes from a link on the Make and Take page...

"We also played "Release Han Solo". I used two of my son's Han Solo action figures and placed them in plastic rectangular containers. I then filled them with water, just so that Han was covered, and froze them solid. I explained to the kids, that in the movie "The Empire Strikes Back", Han was frozen in carbonite and that we were going to release him from his icy prison! We divided into teams, and the kids formed a bucket brigade line by dunking small buckets (one to each team) into large water-filled buckets (that I had set in the sun to heat up slightly), and passed them down the line and poured them over their frozen Han that was laying on the driveway in front of the last person in line. The first team to release Han won."

Valentines Day

Valentines day is just around the corner. Those of you who know me, know I frequently complain about valentines day, February, etc.

Well it is a dirty filthy lie. I really do like Valentines day. I love decorating for it, coming up with new treats and ideas, and giving gifts. Sometimes it just isn't fun to be on the single end of it, that's all. Over at Crafting Chicks they have posted a lot of cute gift ideas.

A Feathered Nest is offering a lot of fun decorating ideas, including crayon hearts. I made these years ago when Martha had them as an idea in an issue of Martha Stewart Living. I loved crayons as a kid, and I love them now. Plus kids get a kick out of them, and who doesn't have a bunch of broken crayons laying around??

Another fun idea is chocolate dipped pretzels. First of all they are just good. Second, these ones look like little heart snacks. For the how to go to Make and Takes.

Some scrapbook ideas I want to try...

1. Backwards brads. They are actually super cute, especially when used similarly to staples.

2. Name blocks, they are a cute hybrid project, especially for babies. I never was really into the collage blocks, but these are pretty simple and cute.

3. Another hybird idea is with heritage pictures turned into little metal rimmed tags and hung on a tree silouhette. I have been going through major amounts of heritage pictures lately at my house and really want to do some cool things with them.

4. Use more vintage clipart. I love the 40's and 50's era look. There is some fun ideas over at:

todaysinspiration.blogspot.com.