Thursday, August 27, 2009

A father's Day Card - or - a quick layout idea! :)

We are in Fort McMurray right now for a little over a week.  Getting stuff out of storage that we want to sell and getting those last minute things done before the big trip.  Also a few things still to get done with organization for home-schooling.  Very excited about it this year (is that because it's my first year?) but also very overwhelmed with it all.  Thankfully there's others out there who remember their first year & they have given me such help!  (thank you Tania, Lila & Diane!!)
Stamping time has no existed these last few weeks.  It seems that the end of summer comes far too quickly & then it's so busy.
This is a card I haven't shown you yet - one I had to do in a panic as Father's Day was fast approaching and I needed to get it in the mail!  I actually like how it turned out.  I used a photo from a special time and layered it and then used stickers to "write" the sentiment :)
Hope you're having a great week!
.j.



Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Orzo with Parmesan and Basil

I had never made orzo before going to my sister-in-laws house & tasting this amazing dish. Kids loved it as did all the adults! A keeper FOR SURE! Have you tried Orzo before? It's found in the pasta section & looks like chubby rice :)

Orzo with Parmesan and Basil
3 TBSP. butter
1-1/2 cups orzo
3 cups of chicken broth
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
6 TBSP chopped FRESH basil (or 1-1/2 tsp dried, but TRY TO GET FRESH!!)
salt & pepper to taste
2 tbsp. plain yogurt (thinned with a little milk)
Melt butter in skillet over med-high heat. Add orzo and saute 2 min. until slightly brown. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover & simmer until orzo is tender & liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Mix in parmesan and basil. Season with salt & pepper. For a creamier pasta (YES!) stir in 2 tbsp. plain yogurt thinned with a little milk. Enjoy!

Friday, August 21, 2009

Getting ready....

We head out today....I'll post when I can along the way if I can find Internet access, otherwise, chat when we're back. How's the back to school planning & prep coming along? Get those cameras charged & ready to snap those back to school photos!! :)

This is the start of the actual wedding day. I used the threading water punch on the main photo & down the edge of photos on the second page. That's her father "looking" at her on the balcony.
Enjoy your weekend!
.j.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Another page

Just a quick post to show another page...
It's our 15th wedding anniversary today, so we'll be celebrating & then tomorrow heading out to Alberta...might be posting next time on the new Mac! :)
OK, I just searched to post a pic of hubby & me and there isn't one to find! Not good. ONE of us is always behind the camera! Must get the kids to take more pics of us!! :)
enjoy your day!
.j.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Film strip

Have you ever made your own "film Strip" with the spiral punch for Stampin' Up? I think it's a cool idea so I played with it a bit on this page when the wedding party went to the Lava Tubes. I love Tidy Alphabet stamp sets as I find it so nice to stamp, trim, mat and trim ... and use! I added eyelets (hard to tell on this paper) around the photos here & there in pairs along with stamped and cut out words.....the design paper was busy enough so I wanted to keep it simple.
I will be starting a blog (soon I hope) of our family adventure of travels....I'll let you know when we get that up & running if you want to follow us around :) We've got a fabulous vacation home booked in Lake Havasu City for 5 weeks and it is SWEET! Amazing pool (the kids will FREAK!), love it. But first we'll do California and Disneyland...fun to get it all planned out and start booking things, makes it seem very real! :)
.j.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Japanese Chicken Wings

We made this a couple of weeks ago and the kids kept walking into the house saying WHAT SMELLS SOOOOO GOOOOD? :) Mom's love to hear that!

JAPANESE CHICKEN WINGS
3 lbs of chicken wings, tips removed (I used the dumettes)
1 egg
1/3 cup of flour
1 cup of butter
**I ended up needing more egg & flour, but I think I had more than 3 lbs of chicken.
SAUCE:
3 TBSP. soy sauce
3 TBSP. water
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
Cut wings in half. (obviously skip this if using drumettes) Dip in slightly beaten egg and then in flour. Fry in butter until deep brown and crisp. YUM. Place in shallow roasting pan. Mix all sauce ingredients together and pour over chicken wings. Bake at 350 for 1/2 hour baste wings with sauce during cooking. So easy & delish! Kids & hubby LOVED them!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Beach Day

I loved how this page worked out(yes, still the the wedding album, I do not even know these people, LOL). Isn't that rub-on from Stampin' Up (12" flowers) fabulous?! Made me hunt for more of these rub ons (Thank you Marie!!! She sold me FOUR SETS!!) I think if you click on the image it's bigger? Does that work? I added stamped images as embellishments. I also used some linen ribbon and stamped treasure on the end (with StazOn) with a little collection of buttons on the end. :) Simple & pretty...and I love the paper!
Picking up a new Mac laptop on our trip to Fort Mac - yahoo. I'm sure I'll be on a steep learning curve, so if you have any tips for me...BRING THEM ON!! leave me a comment if you have one, love one, or have any tips for me on WHICH one you'd recommend :)
.j.

Friday, August 14, 2009

In the thick of planning....

Life has been crazy. So busy planning, and booking, and getting very excited about the trip. Leaving on September 16th...and that is coming up quick! We're heading back to Fort Mac next week to go through storage stuff - the 'ol sell, sort, what to take, what to store...won't be fun. But I'll be singing "Pleeeease release me let me gooooooo" as I fling stuff we DO NOT need. Wow, we hold on to stuff for so many reasons besides NEED.
I haven't had any more stamping time, but I will continue to show you some pages from the wedding album. I'll try to send a bit more often, than just the recipes on Wednesdays :)

How's your summer going? What have you been working on?
This page was SIMPLE! They were photos she wanted to include, but we were really hard to trim down & work with. I ended up just matting them, and using chipboard elements.
Enjoy your day,
.j.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Chocolate Pavlova

Pavlova is one of our favorite desserts - so yummy & so light. I came across this recipe in a cookbook that also had a chocolate layer....will HAVE to try it!! It does take TIME, not a last minute throw-together dessert. But looks like it's worth the effort. :)

Chocolate Pavlova
3 large egg whites
3/4 cup superfine sugar (I use regular, just takes more beating)
1 tsp. white wine vinegar (I use regular 'ol vinegar)
1 tsp. cornstarch
FILLING:
1 pound (16 squares - WHOA!) semisweet chocolate
1-1/4 cup heavy cream
GARNISH:
4 oz semisweet chocolate
1 pint fresh strawberries
2 oz white chocolate
1 cup fresh raspberries
The process:
Preheat oven to 350. Draw a 9" circle on a piece of waxed paper and put upside down on a baking sheet.
Beat the egg whites until very stiff, gradually beat in the sugar. Fold in the vinegar & cornstarch.
Spread the meringue over the circle on the baking paper. Make a large hollow in the center of the meringue.
Bake for 5 minutes then reduce oven temp to 250 and bake for 50 minutes more. Set aside to cool slightly. Carefully peel away the waxed paper & let the meringue cool completely.
Meanwhile, make the filling. In the top of a double-boiler set over simmering (NOT BOILING) water, melt the chocolate. Heat the cream in a pan until almost boiling. Gradually whisk the cream into the melted chocolate until smooth. Set aside for 2-3 hours to thicken but not to set completely. Stir occasionally.
Put the meringue on a large serving plate and carefully spoon the filling into the hollow. Garnish with chocolate curls, chocolate dipped strawberries.

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Butterscotch Chocolate Chippers

Haven't tried these, but they looked yummy.

Butterscotch Chocolate Chippers
1-1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp water
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (mini)
1 cup butterscotch chips
3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted
The process:
Preheat oven to 375
Mix together flour, baking soda & salt
Beat together butter, sugars at med. until light & fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla & water
At low speed, beat in flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time until soft dough forms. Fold in choc. chips, butterscotch chips & nuts.
Drop batter by rounded tsp onto ungreased baking sheets 2 inches apart.
Bake until golden, 7 minutes.
Makes 4 dozen.