Nicole's Creative Outlet

COLD DAY, WARM SOUPS

2011-12-05T20:58:00.000-08:00

I made two delicious and simple soups tonight. Normally I make a huge pot of soup and we have tons of leftovers. Tonight I resisted the urge to make a huge pot and it worked for the butternut squash soup, but not for the creamy potato soup! Even so, I'm only left with one bowl of butternut squash in the fridge. I can't believe how my kids devoured that much potato soup. I'm tempted to make it again....like, tomorrow! Here are the recipes:

(Butternut Squash Soup with a little cream.....HEAVEN!)

Butternut Squash Soup (revised a bit from Allrecipes)
1/2 of a 2-3 lb butternut squash
2 Tbsp butter
med. onion, chopped
1/4 c. flour
4 c. chicken stock
nutmeg/salt/pepper to taste

First, I preheated my oven to 350 degrees. I cut my squash in half and seeded it. Then I placed it face down on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray or oil and baked it for 45 min. to 1 hour. I just check for it to be fork tender through the peel. I cooked my squash earlier in the day, then you start by melting the butter in your stock pot then add the chopped onion. Cook until translucent. Then add your flour and stir it into the onions and butter. Whisk in your chicken stock and let simmer. While that's simmering away, I put 1/2 of my roasted squash in the blender with a little bit of the broth from the stock pot. Once it's pureed, pour it carefully into the broth and stir. Then season with nutmeg and pepper, taste. Add salt if needed.
Delicious!

Creamy Potato Soup
2 Tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
1/4 c. flour
6 c. chicken broth
Diced potatoes (I didn't count how many....maybe 2-2 1/2 lbs)
1 c. cream (or half & half, or any milk)
1 cup of grated cheese
season to taste with salt/pepper/oregano/thyme

Heat your stockpot with the butter, when melted add the chopped onions and cook until translucent. When the onions are done add the flour (you may need a bit more) and stir. Whisk in the chicken broth and add the diced potatoes. Keep at a low boil until the potatoes are very tender, then mash with a potato masher. Stir again and add the cream, seasonings, and cheese. Stir to combine, taste. Adjust seasonings if needed. So delicious!

We had rolls and cornbread with our two soups and it was such a feast! Enjoy!

4 THANKSGIVING CRAFTS AND A "BOO" BANNER

2011-12-03T11:47:00.000-08:00

I know, I know.....I've neglected this blog. There's a great reason for this.....I've totally neglected crafting! I'm recommitted to taking some time for me to create and post what I finish. I have stored up lots of ideas and supplies lately and hope banish procrastination! Here are 4 crafts that I actually accomplish recently for Thanksgiving. First, Turkey Flowers as seen here. I really love how mine turned out!

Second, my burlap placemats. I've seen these on several blogs. My mom made the placemats for me, just a zigzag stitch around the edges and then she frayed the four sides. I took 3 different foam alphabet stamps, 6 words and black paint and started stamping. I love all three designs.

Third, my framed pumpkin in the bronze glittered frame. It's not exactly what I pictured, but I like it enough.

A closer shot of the frame.

Fourth, a glittered dollar store pumpkin. It was hard to get every little bit covered. I'm glad I used a coupon to buy the glitter spray paint. It wasn't worth the money to me. The can was pretty small and only finished an 8x10 frame and this little pumpkin. Oh well, I'm glad I tried it!

Finally, here's my "boo" banner. I started this last year and then quickly put it away. I was proud of myself for finishing it up before Halloween this year. Sadly, it's still on my piano. I'm pretty sure I'll take it down when the Christmas decorations go up....I hope!

Closer shot.

And even closer!

I used chipboard to cut out the banner, lots of gemstones, ribbon, stickers, paper and embellishments in my stash. The owl was a die cut from the dollar store.

Here's to a great month of crafting!

BACK TO COOKING!

2011-08-27T12:16:00.000-07:00

It's been a hot week here.....VERY HOT!!!! We've seen 113 - 118 degree weather all week and to make matters worse....our van's a/c broke!!!!! The last thing you'd think I would be doing is cooking, but I am. I never have enough time to cook in the afternoons during the school week. I always think "I can't wait for the weekend when I can have time to cook/bake" but it never materializes. I get excited to not have a normal schedule and I ditch the kitchen. I guess without a way to leave the house (remember the van without a/c) I'm stuck indoors and decided to cook. I'm currently baking chicken drumsticks that were covered in seasoned breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. I also threw 6 drumsticks in a stockpot and covered with water.

It's boiling on my stove top and is the beginning of a chicken noodle soup to be enjoyed this evening and maybe tomorrow. I even browned up some pork country style spare ribs and placed them in a baking dish. They're in the fridge waiting for their sauce and to be placed in a low heat oven tomorrow morning. Can't wait to come home and enjoy them for lunch over some rice.

Presenting today's lunch:
Baked Drumsticks with Mashed Potato Pancakes or just mashed potatoes (ok...maybe I'm the only one who will enjoy the pancakes since the boys made faces.)

Sorry I didn't take a photo of the beautifully browned potato pancakes...they were so good! Tony and I were the only ones who ate them. The chicken turned out nice and moist....delish!!!!! Now if I could just find my air pop popper I could make some cinnamon bun popcorn or some peanut butter and honey popcorn.

AUDRA'S BRIDAL SHOWER RECIPES

2011-06-18T07:59:00.000-07:00

Here was the menu:

Veggies with dip

Fruit

Hot Corn Dip with Tortilla Chips

Hummus and Pita Chips

Sliced Apples and Toffee Apple Dip

Cinnamon Sugar Chips and Pumpkin Dip

It was all so yummy that I had to come home with recipes! I've already made the Toffee Apple Dip for my friends....YUM!

TOFFEE APPLE DIP (Anna Jensen)

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 (8 oz) package Heath toffee bits (I found these at Walmart, but I don't think it was 8 oz. Use what you can find)

Beat cream cheese, sugars and vanilla together until fluffy. Stir in toffee bits and serve with sliced apples.

Next up....

PUMPKIN DIP WITH CINNAMON SUGAR CHIPS (Anna Jensen)

16 oz. light cool whip, thawed

1 (5 oz) packet instant vanilla pudding

1 (15 oz) can Libby's pumpkin

1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp. vanilla

In a large bowl mix together pudding, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla. Gently stir in cool whip. Mix about 5 minutes for smooth mixture. Refrigerate until serving.

CINNAMON SUGAR TORTILLA STRIPS

about 7 large tortillas sliced with a pizza cutter

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

1/2 c. sugar

butter flavored cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cinnamon and sugar in bowl. Place strips on foil-lined baking sheet. Spray pam on top side facing you. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top. Lightly spray pam again. Bake 10 minutes or until brown - cool. Then serve with pumpkin dip.

And finally...

HOT CORN DIP WITH TORTILLA CHIPS (Anna Jensen)

2 Tbsp. butter - divided

3 1/2 c. corn (fresh or frozen)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/2 c. finely chopped roasted red bell peppers (from a jar)

1 c. finely chopped yellow onion

1/4 c. chopped green onions

1 jalapeno, seeded and minced

2 tsp. minced garlic

1/2 c. mayo

1/4 tsp. cayenne

4 oz. monterey jack, shredded - divided

4 oz. sharp cheddar, shredded - divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in pan, then add the corn, salt and pepper. Cook about 5 minutes until deep golden brown, put aside in bowl. Then melt another 1 Tbsp. butter in pan and add the red peppers and yellow onion. When the onion is wilted, add the green onions, jalapeno and garlic. Cook for at least 2 minutes, then transfer to the bowl with the corn. Next, add the mayo, cayenne and 1/2 of the cheeses. Mix well and pour into an 8" baking dish. Top with the other 1/2 of the cheeses and bake for 10-12 minutes - until golden.

I can't wait to make the other two recipes soon! I'll post other recipes that Audra received at the shower soon. Here's what you can look forward too:

Party Cheese Ball

Crockpot Pesto Lasagna (we've had this and the boys LOVED it!)

Broiled Tilapia Parmesan (Colton, Tony and I LOVE this one too!)

Black Bottom Cupcakes

UPDATE

2011-02-28T07:31:00.000-08:00

I know I've neglected this site.....I feel like I've neglecting anything creative for a while. I went to my photos to see if I could find ANYTHING somewhat creative to post and help jump start my creative juices. Here's what I found. The DELICIOUS chocolate cake I made for Asher's 12th birthday!

My first attempt at roasting pumpkin seeds. Here they are all rinsed and ready for the oven. I have to say they were fabulous and we couldn't stop eating them! It will be a tradition in this house!

Thanksgiving! This year we had two of them. First, the Saturday before the holiday. My brother and his wife came into town to be with his six kids and we couldn't pass up an opportunity to celebrate with all of them. I then turned right around on Thanksgiving day and made my 2nd turkey! It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without my chocolate pecan pie!!!

Here's my find from the farmers market this past month - swiss chard! I love swiss chard and it always reminds me of Papa's garden. He and Mita loved it too and I have to say that this batch was definitely Mita and Papa worthy!

Baked zucchini!!!! I used to love getting fried zucchini when we ate out. I've wanted to try baking it for quite some time and finally took a recipe and did just that. My kids ate it up so quick I could barely get a photo! We will be making these again soon!

I've slowed down on photography lately, but decided to start capturing more of our everyday life. This tree is behind our home and I thought it was so pretty to look at our gorgeous sunset through it. I think I should take more opportunities photographing beauty like this.

Finally.....my third turkey dinner in as many months. We celebrated Presidents Day with a full turkey dinner. It gave me an excuse to make stuffing and sweet potato gratin with our mashed potatoes. A very yummy meal and yummy leftovers!

When I started grabbing photos it was inspiration enough

that my life hasn't been without any creativity.

And now for the best creation of 2011:

My niece - Jade!

Congratulations, Sean & Catherine!

I'M BACK.....IN THE KITCHEN!

2010-08-10T10:28:00.000-07:00

I haven't felt inspired lately to do much baking or crafting. When I turned 40 in May I decided that I would count the pages I scrapbooked this year. As the kids started school I decided that I would start doing more of the things I wanted to do in the kitchen. Here's the first one! I've seen these mini pies on a few blogs before and really wanted to make them (I also want to make the pies in a jar - maybe that's next)

I had the excuse (and push) to make these for church. I discovered that my linzer cookie cutter set is the EXACT size of the top of my mini muffin pan......who knew?!? I have six cut outs and can't wait to use the cutter on future baking projects!
They're so perfect and cute! I can't stand it!!!!

I also made mini apple pies. I had the heart cut outs from the cherry and my mom suggested three hearts for the pies. (she also provided the supplies for the baked treats and all the work in assembling the apple pies! Thanks!!!!) I sprinkled cinnamon sugar on the tops before baking. It was pretty simple (as simple as this could be) since we used refrigerated pie crust and canned pie filling. I filled them a little more than 1/2 full and baked them for 12-14 minutes at 375. Check them after 10 minutes, if the crust is getting too brown, cover loosely with foil. I didn't have to do that, but I did turn my muffin tin around after 10 minutes (the back of my oven is much hotter than the front)
Here's how they turned out!

Apple or Cherry?

OR BOTH!

YUM!

2010-02-23T11:26:00.000-08:00

I've gotten away from cooking lately and my family has had way too much take out. I've been making menus, looking through the grocery ads and starting to get back into a routine. This week was an abitious menu and I would have been fine if I didn't get sick. My cooking schedule was off! Tony did cook what we had just not the same menu I put together.
Problem: ingredients in the fridge that need to be used.
Solution: A wonderful potato hash with an egg, over-easy on top!
It was so delicious!!! I warmed a grill pan with a little olive oil and added a chopped green onion. Then a small baked potato (from dinner on Sunday) diced and an entire container of sliced mushrooms. I seasoned it with kosher salt, white pepper and a little sprinkling of red pepper flakes. Two handfuls of baby spinach was added at the end and just until it wilted. I orginally wanted to add a poached egg on top. But since I was new to poaching, my first attempt didn't work and I wasn't patient to practice again. Besides, my breakfast was almost ready. I quickly cooked the egg over easy and placed it on top. Again, can I tell you how delicious it was!!!!! The bonus: it wasn't in my planned menu! I love that when I'm cooking more and more, even my impromptu meals are GOOD!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

2010-02-14T07:38:00.000-08:00

I was so excited to decorate these empty crystal light containers. After much procrastination:

Here they are ready for Valentine gift giving!

I love the tops of them.....cute punched out paper with a huge heart brad.

Special Thanks to my brother, Jean-Jacques....he saved these containers for me!

Just be forewarned, they hold A LOT of candy!!!!! It took over a medium bag of M&M's to fill ONE container! I opted for hershey's nuggets and mini reese's pb cups - and only filled them about 2/3's full. Next time, I'll be filling them with the appropriate sized cookies (homemade of course)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

KAZAN'S SKETCH #45

2010-02-04T08:10:00.001-08:00

My first post for 2 Sketches 4 You (2S4Y)! I saw all the beautiful examples with their ribbons and bling. I did intend to go that direction, but my life with all boys won out! My second son will be using this card for a birthday party on Saturday.

I especially love the barbed wire edge on the card!
It was the first circle card I've made....thanks Kazan for getting me out of my comfort zone!

MOJO MADNESS #124

2010-02-04T07:59:00.001-08:00

My 2nd Mojo post! (still working on procrastination!) I think I'll give this to my Mita....she'll turn 96 the day before Valentine's. I love the gem stones and the border punch I used.

Thanks Mojo for the ideas!

NO TIME TO CRAFT......APPARENTLY!

2010-02-04T07:50:00.000-08:00

I always have grand intentions of being able to craft....especially during the kids break from school. Then my kids get home and we're even busier!!! Here are a few cards that I'm putting together for a little project (that I thought would be done for Christmas....oh well) I love this Christmas card, but I haven't been able to make those stinkin' leaves stick!!!!! I think I've given up on the card. That doesn't mean I still couldn't photograph it.....it really is cute!

A simple fall colored Thank You card.
A simple Halloween card......do we have a theme - SIMPLE!

Flowers and Paisley

Since the kids are in school, maybe I can get back to business!

MOJO MADNESS #112

2009-11-09T09:22:00.001-08:00

This is a big deal to me....my first mojo post! I wake up Monday mornings and check out Mojo's new sketch. Sometimes I even make a card, but I've never posted one to their site. Today (after a major clean-up job in the scrap room last night) I decided to make a card and link it to their site. I'm happy with my first attempt.

goodbye procrastination!

BABY SHOWER - GIRL

2009-11-09T07:56:00.001-08:00

I love making invitation for parties. This was a simple invitation I made for a visiting teaching lady's baby shower.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my butterfly punch!

The nursery is so cute with green and pink stripes and paisley on the curtains and light and dark pink stripes on the wall. I think the invitation is cute and simple.
I'll try to get an invitation that a friend and I made Saturday night. I used the cricut to cut everything out. We thought it would make the invitation so easy to put together....I'm just glad Deanna was there to help with the assembly!
(plus it's always nice to talk with a friend until 1:00 am!)

HALLOWEEN 2009

2009-11-08T19:00:00.000-08:00

I just had to post my favorite, most favorite halloween card. My cousin Jacquelen sent this to us and I had to share it with everyone! I wish you could see all the glittery goodness....I LOVE IT! I haven't been in my scrap room lately....sure I've put out 2 different baby girl baby shower announcements, but nothing else. Today I spent over six hours in this room - cleaning, organizing, prioritizing. The result: I'm in the room right now, on my laptop. I have desk space open and it's ready for a project. Even my cricut is set up and ready for action! Too bad I have to get up with three kids and a dog tomorrow - I'm tempted to stay up and just create! Tomorrow I'll definetly post a card!

SO EXCITED!

2009-10-24T09:31:00.000-07:00

My latest project is my sister's wedding album. I'm so excited (and terrified) to do this! Catherine has so many great photos that I'm having a photo book made of them. I'll also be doing some mini books of: her bridal shower, the ring ceremony, etc. I've really been working hard and will finish the main album soon. It's crazy since I've been married 20 years and have yet to finish my wedding album! Oh well.....here's a sample of Catherine and Sean's wedding photos.....can you tell why I'm so excited to do this!

The happy couple - Catherine & Sean

Could there be a more beautiful bride? I don't think so, but maybe one just as beautiful (since she has an identical twin sister!) I love, love, love this picture!

My sisters and youngest brother - Audra, Austin and Catherine

I think this photo belongs in a fairy tale story - so sweet!

I'll post the book when it's finished.....

and maybe I'll be so inspired to make my 80's wedding album.

SPICED PEAR BREAD

2009-10-03T11:25:00.000-07:00

My fourth grade teacher LOVED miniatures. We had 3 or 4 projects where we created a miniature room that year. She taught us how to make super mini Kleenex boxes once.....TOO CUTE! They really were....especially with a little tissue popping up out of the box. I think I became obsessed with making them and my friends became the willing recipients of these mini boxes. My love for mini things is still going strong. (maybe that's why I love babies so much!) This is what my micro mini loaf pans make:

That's Kyler's hand behind it!
And how cute is this pan - my super mini bundt pan. (with a cute micro mini loaf in front)
It was the first time to use my super mini bundt pan.....what do you think? Unfortunately, I overfilled the cavities and they ended up look muffins!
This was my first time making this recipe. It was good, not great. It did get better to me the second day. I will make them again, but I think it needs something else. Maybe a little more spice, maybe adding a secondary flavor (my choice would be vanilla), my friend wanted more sugar! I think it's still worth making and it did kick off my fall baking!

Spiced Pear Bread

3 cans (15 oz) pears, drained and mashed

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup applesauce (sweetened or unsweetened)

1/2 cup canola oil

3 eggs

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp salt

In a large mixing bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Combine the remaining ingredients; gradually add to pear mixture and mix well. Pour into four 5"x3"x2" pans coated with non stick cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

* I used micro mini loaf pan and the super mini bundts.....I was able to get 24 loaves and 12 bundts from the recipe. These pans baked up in 22 minutes. Or make a large loaf and toast it!

recipe provided by Peri Janis in cooking club

BOO! PART DEUX

2009-09-28T17:43:00.001-07:00

The owl is finally dry! Here's the 2nd card made from that Mojo Monday sketch. Same basic card, different base color, ribbon instead of letter beads, owl instead of ghost.

I especially love the glittery look.....viva Las Vegas!

BOO!

2009-09-28T12:49:00.001-07:00

As I've said before, I've had grand visions of what my life would be with all the boys off to school. I imagined a VERY clean house, dinners always well thought out and executed without problems, the dinner table picture perfect every evening, and TIME TO CRAFT! Time (after all the cleaning, shopping, carpooling, laundry, etc. was taken care of) to sit calmly in my scrap room and enjoy a clear mind as I created. What's that saying???? Oh yeah, life's what happens when you're making other plans! Today, after taking boys to school and visiting a cousin and her son before they flew back home (we'll miss you Candice and Gunnar!), I went to my scrap room. Mission: create a card.....ANY CARD! I decided to hit Mojo Monday's blog and let them think up the card idea for me. I did a second card, but I'm still waiting for the glitter paint to dry. I'll try to post that one when it's done.

I'm just glad to have another card finished.....thanks to Mojo Monday.....maybe I'll get my crafting mojo back!

MY SCRAP ROOM PART 1

2009-09-20T16:04:00.000-07:00

I wanted to start to share my scrap room with everyone......I say start because the room is still too cluttered to show you all of it! Here's my find from last year....my tower. I have four side to place these pegs and as you can see, it houses A LOT of supplies! Here are my ribbons spools and loose ribbons. I put my loose ribbons in clear baggies, hole punch the top and put like colors on a ring. Then I hang the ring on the pegs. It's made it so easy to use my ribbons and not lose any of them!
Here's my brads, eyelets, jewels, buttons, glitter and flower side of the tower. Again, it's so amazing to me how many embellishments can be housed on this thing!

As sad as I was to say goodbye last month to the scrapbook store ONE MILE from my house, I was able to pick up my latest find - this 30 slot 12x12 paper holder. All my paper (cardstock & patterned) is loaded up and organized. It just makes me feel good to see this!

The best part of this room.....It's

During spring break our RS had a women's retreat. I came up with a couple of crafts and brought up supplies to make cards. This SPRING banner was one idea. (not many people made the banner, but they all LOVED the cricut) I love the colors, using different fonts on my cricut, and the ribbons. I meant to create one for every season, with fall starting, I guess I'm behind! If I wait a little longer, Spring will be appropriate again!

Monday I need to clean my house, but I am determined to craft something! Till then.

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF CARD

2009-09-17T08:33:00.000-07:00

I found this squirrel stamp at Michael's a couple of weeks ago and thought it would be too cute to use this fall. The next week I found this oversized acorn and knew I would use it with the squirrel. I've been wanting to use my new butterfly punch and saw the idea for the tree in a magazine recently. I was going to originally say DREAM BIG - but I found two stamps to chose from: BELIEVE IN YOURSELF & FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS. Tony preferred believe in yourself. When I showed this card to Asher he said: "Believe in Yourself..............whatever!" Again, is it any wonder why I created a blog for this!

I love how the textured papers made the stamps look. I really love the striped tail on the squirrel.

This butterfly punch is my favorite right now! I added a little gold glitter to the edges and a little gem on the heart. Tony's comment was: "wow....a heart-shaped apple." Hope you enjoy it more than my boys.....that wouldn't be hard!

MY FUN

2009-09-15T18:35:00.000-07:00

First, I love to blog about my family life. I love the crazy things that happen in my home. I love sharing that with friends and family. Next, I love seeing what's going on in my friends and family's lives. While visiting their blogs, I sometimes get sidetracked on even other blogs. I love to see what people are cooking.......sewing.......crafting! Even though I have made some of the recipes and copied some crafting ideas in my own projects, I want to do more. I enjoy making cards, scrapbook pages, mini scrapbooks and other paper projects. I enjoy photography. I enjoy cooking and baking. I enjoy decorating for the holidays and seasons. I've even started to enjoy reading again. All of this is MY FUN. Instead of trying to incorporate some of these things in my family blog, I'm going to have my own creative outlet on this blog. It will be a place I can go and reflect on past accomplishments and a place to post new ones. With all my boys in school for the day, I now have the time to focus on me a little more. And this is one of the things I'm going to focus on. This was the plan weeks ago when the boys started school - time seems to pass fast and I wasn't creating. Since last Thursday night I've been under the weather. This has given me lots of time to sit back and think. When I woke up today, I HAD HAD IT! I thought I was going to go crazy if I didn't get something accomplished. I knew I couldn't clean, it would wipe me out! But I could create something.....that's what spurred me into action today. Enough talking....here's my first completed project. I had two of my friend's photos from June 2006 - her daughters and their friends enjoying some bowling. I had some ideas for this layout, but as I started I went a completely different direction. I used this big scalloped paper and punched out circles that mimic the bowling balls and it gave me a place to stamp the girls names. Color choices are not always easy for me, especially with everyone wearing differenct colors and the purple and red in the background. But I think I did OK....at least I did something!
One of my original ideas for this layout was to use red jewels - maybe as the lines on a big bowling pin. The page was clearly going in a different direction, but I still had the red jewels out. Problem: I wasn't using any red! How was I going to tie red into the page? That's when I decided to paint the title white and draw the red lines. Then I could use the red jewels and I don't feel they are out of place.

So there you have it, my first post on my new blog!