Category Archives: How-To

Homemade gifts from the munchkin

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Racking my brain to figure out what to do for gifts for the family on an incredibly limited (read; nonexistent) budget was killin me!

And then…
A stroke of genius!
Hahahaha!!!
No! Definitely not genius, but certainly a pretty good idea…if I do say so myself. ;)

I was staring at these scraps of white cardstock that have been taking up space in my craft tote for months now and it occurred to me…”Hey, those are just about the right size for bookmarks.” So…knowing that nobody (but the incredibly untrained and forgiving eyes of Justice) wants to see artwork of mine, I decided that Justice’s love for coloring was going to pay off! :)

So…guess what the fam is getting this year??
That’s right fab fans and followers. Homemade bookmarks a la Justice!
So easy but heartfelt and personal. Bingo baby!

 

All done and ready for wrapping

the little details

She had quite a good time making these (as is evidenced still on her hands) and everyone gets to enjoy her artwork now. :)

We’re also going to be making some handprint ornaments which I’m quite looking forward to. Can’t go wrong with flour, salt, water, and paint! I’m loving the whole handmade gift thing! I’ll post the source and pics of the ornaments either tomorrow or Wednesday when I get them done.

Hope you enjoy this quick little craft/gift. If you have any along these lines, PLEASE! share :D

Happy crafting/gifting/wrapping

Mo

Sticky white rice…A how-to

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Until earlier this year, the only time there had ever been real (the non-minute kind) rice in my house was because it was delivered…a la local Chinese restaurant.
Yeah…I know….lame and lazy. But…it is what it is.
Now however, it is not that way. Yes, I have used the minute kind a few times but only in recipes that are made for it. I would LOVE a rice cooker to do it “For Real” but….for now, I do it like this;

Put 1 cup of rice and 1½ cups of water in a small (one-quart) saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. (1 cup dry makes 3 cups cooked)
Bring the water to a boil over high heat. Steam should be coming out from under the lid; keep the pot covered and don’t peek under the lid. (For novice rice cooks, a glass lid is a big help.)
Reduce the heat to very low. The rice grains swell as they absorb the water. If the temperature is too high, the bottom of the pan can scorch while the top rice is still undercooked. Set a timer for 20 minutes.
When the timer rings, turn off the burner and remove the pan from the heat. Let the rice sit, covered, for an additional 5 minutes (and no peeking under the lid–the steam will escape).
Remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork to separate the grains.
My only caveat to these directions would be that if you’re using Enriched rice, to rinse it well first. I have not done so and my rice has not been cooking completely.

Hopefully this helps you with your rice dishes in the future.
If you have any other tips/tricks for cooking rice, PLEASE! Drop me a comment so you can share your knowledge.

Mo

Weekly meal plan 09/18/11

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Well, I’m finally doing it.

I’m finally getting the weekly meal plan up for you all. Partly because I want you to see and understand that I’m really not skimping on sharing recipes. LOL  For example, this week, there isn’t a single new one on the plan. Just repeats and stand-by’s for us this week.

Do I know how to be exciting or what?!?!  ;)

I know… I know… Please just try to contain yourselves though….

Really! Try a little harder…..You can do it. I promise. I have faith.

 

Now that you’ve successfully calmed yourself down, I can share with you this weeks’ glamorous and highly interesting plan for the evening meals…

 

This weeks' dramatic dinner draft

 

Sunday we “scrounged it”…we hit up the remaining leftovers or grabbed a microwave dinner from the store, whichever tickled our fancy. :)

Yesterday had Fried Rice scheduled. It’s easy enough and delicious and can be found here, but for some reason, I totally dread making it….I think it’s cooking all that rice that throws me. Eh. I’ll get over it.

Tonight is Nachos!! One of this house’s faves! (Even Justice eats Nachos) These, you can find here.

Tomorrow is spaghetti with turkey meatballs and green beans. Nothing spectacular but still delicious. I’ll get my little recipe up for spaghetti sauce later this week.

Thursday is a ham and rice skillet that’s easy. You can find that recipe here.

Friday is incredibly exciting…scrounging for leftovers again! :) Wooooo!

And Saturday is just burgers and sweet potato fries. Again, nothing fancy, but yummy. I’m going to be playing a little with the fries so I’ll be sure to post what I try and how it went. :)

As for the actual paper meal plan itself….did you see what it says across the top?! LOL

Yeah…I know…big whoop! So I typed the name across the top of a paper that has a few lines and the days of the week on it… I know. But still! I think it’s pretty cool. It’ll be even cooler yet when I put a personalized logo across the top instead!! :) And that will hopefully be happening soon. :) As soon as I have a logo to put across the top, I’ll be posting it for you all to use if you’d like. :)

 

Enjoy your week and the meals that go along with it,

 

Mo

Perfectly Poached…A How To

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I’d often seen “poached chicken” listed in ingredients lists or in recipe directions but I never really knew what it actually meant. Well, finally one day, I looked it up.
Huh….Talk about easy!
Sweet! A guaranteed way to cook chicken and have it come out moist every time. I’m there!

So here you go. Your chicken poaching how-to;

Place desired number of chicken breasts in a saucepan with a lid. Cover breasts with water (or seasoned broth). Place over high heat and bring to a boil, uncovered. Once liquid is at a full boil, cover and remove from heat. Let sit for 20 minutes, untouched.

This will yield tender moist chicken every time, regardless of how many breasts you’re poaching.
(If you’re going to be freezing them afterwards, make sure to add enough of the liquid to the freezer bag to cover the chicken. This will help insulate against freezer burn.)

Your friend in cooking,

Mo