Sunday, February 26, 2012

P52 Week 7


I've gotten behind in Project 52 and it's all because of week 7.  I really struggled to come up with an idea.  I didn't want to just photograph red hot candies.  That seemed pretty obvious, you know?  I racked my brain and kept my eyes peeled for something red that would make an interesting photo.  Finally I was grocery shopping the other day and thought, "Hey.  I could photograph Twizzlers."  In reality, this might have just been an excuse to *buy* Twizzlers, but there you have it.  Week 7.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

What's in a name?

This is a very simple project but I love the way it turned out.  I was browsing Pinterest the other day and saw the cutest idea to make a monogram out of buttons.  I thought that would be so cute hanging in Clara's room.  I have a ton of pink buttons in my scrapbooking stash, so I opted to use shades of pink on a blue patterned paper.  I laid the buttons out first to make sure I liked the way it looked.  Then I went one by one and added a dot of Tacky Glue to the back of each one.  To display, I simply put it into a 12"x12" frame that I had.  The best part?  I already had everything I needed for this project! 

To take it one step farther, I bought cardboard letters to spell the rest of her name.  I traced the letters onto scrapbook paper and cut out the paper.  Then I used spray adhesive to glue the paper to the letters.  For the letters that had holes in the middle, I used a knife to cut that part of the paper out.  To give it a more finished look, I took a nail file (for the small areas) and sandpaper (for the larger areas) to smooth the edges.

These were easy to hang with the 3M poster hanging tabs.  They're great because they won't damage your wall when you remove them.   The finished product:


Thursday, February 16, 2012

Caramel Apple Dip


I went to an all day scrapbooking event recently and volunteered to bring this dip.  I had seen it on Pinterest and it looked scrumptious!  I have a group of girls that I scrapbook with and we always have good food when we get together, so I thought this would be perfect.  It's super simple to put together and really delicious.  The topping is toffee bits, but I think you could use chopped peanuts or mini chocolate chips also.  Any of them would be yummy.  If making ahead of time, I would set it out 1-2 hours before serving so it can soften up a bit.

Caramel Apple Dip
from http://www.tastykitchen.com/

  • 16 ounces Philadelphia 1/3 Less Fat Cream Cheese, Softened
  • ½ cups Powdered Sugar
  • 16 ounces Old Fashioned Caramel Apple Dip (I Used Marzettis)
  • 1 cup Heath Bits-O-Brickle Toffee Bits
  • Apples for dipping
Combine the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar.  Spread into pan or on a plate. 

Spread caramel on top of the cream cheese mixture.  I warmed my caramel for a few seconds in the microwave first because it had been refrigerated and was pretty thick.

Sprinkle the top with toffee bits or topping of choice.






















Monday, February 13, 2012

Snow Day!

We finally got some snow today!  We have about 2 inches right now but could get a few more before tonight.  Clara and I got all decked out in our snow gear and headed outside.  She actually lasted longer than I thought she would.  She kept falling down, though.  I think it was because of her boots.


Ready to go?

Fell down!



Trying to taste a snowflake.







Marshmallows and hot chocolate.



Sunday, February 12, 2012

Barbacoa Tacos with Avocado Ranch Dressing


If you've ever been to Chipotle, you might have tried their Barbacoa meat.  I discovered this recipe for Slow Cooker Barbacoa Beef on Pinterest.  It claims to be similar to Chipotle's recipe, but you can make it in the slow cooker.  There is a lot of flavor going on in this recipe.  I wasn't sure about adding cloves to the sauce, but they weren't over-powering.  I did cut the amount in half, though.  I used my Magic Bullet knock-off to mix up the sauce for the meat.  Below is a recipe for ranch dressing that is very simple and quite tasty.  To make it more Mexican, I added an avocado before I pureed everything together.  I like to garnish these simply with the ranch dressing below and chopped red onion.  It would also be good to make a burrito bowl like you can get at Chipotle with cilantro lime rice and black beans!


Barbacoa Tacos with Avocado Ranch Dressing
4 chipotle peppers (from one small can) plus all the adobo sauce it sits in
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 red onion, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 head garlic, peeled and cloves smashed
5 dry bay leaves
2 teaspoons ground cloves (I only used one teaspoon)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
Juice of 4 limes
1/2 cup cider vinegar
5 to 7 pounds beef brisket (I used a 4 pound brisket and kept the cooking time the same)
4 to 6 cups beef or chicken stock.

Stir together chipotle peppers and sauce, cilantro, red onion, garlic, clove, salt, lime juice, and cider vinegar in the insert of a slow cooker (if you have a food processor, pulse till combined first before adding). Place the brisket on top of this mixture. Add stock to cover the meat and place bay leaves on top. Use tongs to move the meat around gently to combine everything and put the lid on.

Cook on HIGH for 4 hours. Once finished, turn crock pot to WARM and let sit for 6 to 8 hours.

Remove meat from slow cooker and use two forks to pull the meat apart.  Place shredded beef in large bowl and ladle cooking liquid over the top a few scoops at a time. You want the meat to hold the liquid but not swim in it.

Serve with fresh tortillas, onion, and avocado ranch dressing (below).






Avocado Ranch Dressing
adapted from Smells Like Home

3/4 cup light mayo
3/4 cup light sour cream
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 to 1 cup buttermilk
1 small bunch of chives or 2 scallions, roughly chopped
Small handful of parsley
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 medium avocado (optional-leave out for traditional ranch dressing)

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and process until smooth.  I ended up using about 1 cup of buttermilk.  Start with 1/2 cup and add more as needed.





P52 Weeks 5 and 6

I forgot to post last week's photo, which was "Best Friends."  I was having a hard time coming up with an idea for this, so I decided to think outside the box.  Aha!  Peanut butter and jelly.  There's no better combination than that, right?  PB&J has been the subject of much debate in my house.  Hubby says you have to spread the jelly on first.  Then you can wipe your knife on the second piece of bread to clean it before dipping it into the peanut butter.  He likes a 2:1 PB to jelly ratio.  I prefer a 2:1 jelly to PB ratio.  I don't think I need to describe his reaction when I told him that sometimes I like to mix the PB&J in a bowl before spreading it on the sandwich.  Yikes!  Anyway, here they are:  Best Friends!



This week's theme was "Culture."  Another thinker.  I originally planned to do something reflecting Mexican culture because I have visited there several times and spent a semester in Guadalajara, so I have sundry Mexican cultural items around.  Unfortunately time got away from me and we ended up not being home most of the day yesterday and I needed to get the photo taken.  While we were at the mall, I thought, "What better place to see the American culture?"  So, here's a typical scene from our local mall on a Saturday afternoon. 

Friday, February 3, 2012

22 Months

I can't believe Clara is 22 months.  I was looking back at pictures from this time last year and she has changed so much.  She has learned to walk, run, jump, say over a hundred words, and so many more things!  We took these pictures the other day when the sun peeked out for just a little bit.  I had a black fleece background and Clara was looking over the back of the couch, which was also covered with fleece.  She was at a 45 degree angle to the largest window in our house, which faces east.  I love the expression in the first one.  It is so "her."  I don't see any of the baby in her anymore.  She's such a little girl!