Gettin’ Crafty

I was so excited about my many pinned projects but I couldn’t share these with you until I gave them to their lucky recipients. I made coasters for my bridesmaids  as part of their gifts.
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The coasters were SUPER easy. Also very inexpensive. They’d make a really quick weekend project so get to work.

“Ingredients”

4 ceramic tiles (16 cents per piece)
1 piece of scrapbook paper (32 cents per piece, reversible if possible or wrapping paper)
modge podge & sponge brush
acrylic spray
16 self adheasive furniture protective footers, or 8 cut in halves (or small squares of felt)

Directions

Cut scrapbook paper for each tile. I did 2 coasters with a square and 2 coasters with the design carefully cut out.
Lay everything out and modge podge over it.
Let dry, and repeat (don’t forget the edges)
Let dry, and spray with acrylic spray
When dry, apply the furniture protective footers to each bottom corner

I thought these were fun and very easy. The longest part of the project was letting them dry! Supplies were cheap and I assume I’ll use the modge podge and acrylic spray again on other items.
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My sis/maid-of-honor got something else and requested some coasters for xmas. She’ll be really surprised to open some…wink, wink.

I saw huge tiles that screamed “I want to be a kitchen table trivet”. Maybe it will get that chance.

I’m baaaaaack!

I’m baaaaaaaack! I didn’t forget about you. Life just got away from me and between honeymooning, jet lag, seeing friends and family without a wedding focus, a trip for work, and not feeling so hot, I’ve been slow to get back to life. It all caught up with me after NYC kicked my butt. The pup can attest that the apt looks insane and I haven’t been cooking regularly. It’s craziness.
I have lots of fun to catch you up on. Here are some teasers you can just sit on the edge of your seat for:1) I’ve tried to get crafty…with a food/drink focus
2) A blue Le Creuset made it’s debut in my kitchen
3) Mr. J falls for sangria in Spain and I swoon over Paella
4) We could get used to 3 course meals all the time
5) birthplace of pizza was a pizza dining adventure
6) 2 words: chili cookoff
7) It’s time for crockpots, apples, and pumpkins ohh my!

I feel terrible that it has been so long, but never fear, I’m back. I am trying not to feel guilty since I do this for myself and it’s not like it’s my job or I’m letting any sponsors down (cough, cough:sponsors-welcome;cough).

Honey Limey Shrimpy

Here’s a quick dinner I wanted to share. Today I’m off to NYC for work after only been home from my honeymoon for 10 days. I was away for the weekend too. Phew! What a whirlwind! November definitely quiets down so I can’t wait to get some fall-ish meals going!

One night we thought a his & hers dinner would be good so we shared some roasted asparagus and each made our own thing. I had some grilled shrimp and Mr. J made some beefy thing. Chicken fried steak maybe? The only trick was that I started the asparagus wayyy too early, and my shrimp didn’t take long to cook either. Our tiny kitchen isn’t really conducive to 2 chefs so it didn’t surprise me that the timing wasn’t perfect.
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Anywho, onto my made up marinated & grilled shrimp!

Ingredients

7 shrimp, peeled & deveined (I buy them frozen that way)
1 tbs lime salad dressing (or lime juice)
1 tbs honey
½ tsp chopped garlic
½ tsp crushed red pepper
salt & pepper

Directions

Soak 2 bamboo skewers in water for 5 minutes to avoid splinters
Whisk marinade together and let shrimp rest in it for 10 minutes
Grill 4 minutes on each side, flipping once
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The asparagus was just roasted in the oven with olive oil, salt, and pepper. The shrimp was really delicious. It got a great carmelization from the honey and was perked up from the lime and red pepper.
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I like skewers just for the ease. Do you remember my ‘On A Stick’ appetizer for fried ravioli on a stick? I thought the stick just made it easier. Same story for the grilling.

I don’t always think about shrimp when I’m coming with up a quickie dinner but maybe I should!

Bacon Bread

Hi, my name is Emily. I am Pintrest obsessed. “Hi Emily!”

Do you pin? It’s addicting. Pinterest is a virtual pin board.  I just love the creativity being shared on it!  It seems like such an efficient way to keep track of foods I want to make/attempt my twist on. I love introducing people to it, though I’ll warn you…if you’re on Pinterst and don’t pin then you’re a mooch! Go ahead, follow me.
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I saw a pin from somebody’s blog that became widely popular. Cheesy bacon ranch bread. Duh, why wouldn’t that be popular?? It seems to have originated on a fun blog called Plain Chicken. Also, today is Monday and I’m worried you might not have had enough bacon in your life over the weekend. Oh, I forgot. Today is a holiday for some lucky people to continue their weekend life…not me though.

Mine wasn’t exactly to-die-for, but I think I’d attempt again. Without further ado, I give you Cheddar Bacon Ranch Pulls (from Plain Chicken)

Ingredients

1 round loaf sourdough bread
8-12 oz shredded cheddar cheese
3 oz bacon (I used 3 slices, chopped)
½ cup butter (I used ⅓ cup but should have used more)
1 tbs ranch dressing mix

Directions

Cut bread in 1 inch slices going almost all the way through, in both directions
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Sprinkle cheese and bacon between the cuts
Mix ranch powder and butter together and drizzle all over the top
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Cover with foil and bake at 350-degrees for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10 minutes

I think more of everything would have made mine better. Mine didn’t open up like Plain Chicken’s. Hers is beautifully separated just waiting to be pulled apart.

I think more is more in this case, and I think it would be easier with another set of hands to separate while filling & drizzling. Maybe if there was just so much cheese & bacon then it would automatically separate the bread pulls.
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I see the potential. That blogger also made a brunch one with cinnamon & sugar which sounds good. This is a dish to eat with close friends or family. I can’t imagine a shy group getting in there and pulling it apart with you! I made this at my parents house so I prepped everything and assembled there. Can’t you tell the beautifully bright photos after I sliced in my windowless dungeon of a kitchen?

Easy-Peasy Pizza

This isn’t just any pizza…it is Greek pizza. I remember making this pizza back in my grocery shopping days at Trader Joe’s without a car. It wasn’t alllll that long ago, but it sure feels like a different life. My shopping modus operandi was: lightweight. Carrying bags on the subway is really not fun, especially when they are heavy. Trader Joe’s is great for random ingredients to put together. I came home with an artichoke tapande and wasn’t sure how I would use it. This time I used a sundried tomato spread that wouldn’t be great as a sauce otherwise.
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This pizza is super easy and thrown together. I whipped up these for a week of lunches while making dinner one night. My recipe makes 5 pizzas. Making little pizzas only took me about 20 minutes, including the baking time! So simple!
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Ingredients
wheat pita bread
1 cup tapenade or pesto (I used sundried tomato pesto)
1 cup shredded mozzarella
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried basil
3 cups baby spinach, chopped
1 cup fetaDirections
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Top pitas with pesto and dried herbs & salt/pepper.
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Layer mozzarella onto the pizza
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Add chopped spinach to each pizza and top with feta.

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Bake 10 minutes.I undercooked these somewhat so I could pop one in the toaster oven at work for lunch each day. It was good! The flavor comes from the pesto and the seasoning. Feta gets even better after being baked.

My fridge only had scant amounts of mozzarella and feta leftover so next time I might use more. I used full sandwich sized pitas but think the mini pitas would turn this into a fun appetizer.
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I like the freshness and ease of these.