Delicious Dishes: Chicken pot pie

It ain't pretty but is is SO scrumptious. The leftovers only lasted a day. You can find the recipe here, although I did make my own adjustments. Instead of using a bag of frozen veggies, I used about a quarter of a bag I had left in the freezer, chopped three to four fresh carrots up and added in 3-4 chopped stalks of celery. The rest of the ingredients and instructions I followed to the t. {Tee?}

I prepped most of what I needed during nap time {including cooking the chicken} and was able to get the pie in the oven within 15-20 minutes.

Delicious Desserts: Glazed donut muffins

Yup, you read that right. Glazed. Donut. Muffins. Fan-tastic. These were a mess to make, but the end result is so worth it. I wanted to try this recipe so bad, and bringing most of them for coworkers to consume seemed like a perfect compromise.

They are very good and very sweet, so like I always do, I cut down on the sugar. I usually half the sugar, and they come out just as delicious. I didn't skimp on the glaze sugar though, since that's about all it's made out of.

I thought I would document the messy process. Here's a stash of mini-muffins in the glazing process:

And here's what mine looked like about five minutes after it was ready to taste-test:

The mini-muffins were a big hit with little hands. The entire stash disappeared at work and there were lots of compliments flying around. I doubled the recipe to make sure I had enough to make the mini versions and ended up with a few dozen. If you decide to do the minis, only bake them for 12 minutes. The original glazed donut muffin recipe resides here. Enjoy!

Delicious Desserts: blackberry crumble

Doesn't this look amazing? That's probably because it is. It was simple and easy. I'll keep this in the recipe book for a nice relaxing summer day. You can find instructions here.

Craftilicious: The ever-evolving key holder, or how to make life complicated

I'll be the first to admit when something just doesn't work. Well, the second since my husband is usually the first to point it out... Sometimes my crafty images of grandeur, just end up flops. And that's okay, because I like that my decor and design is always evolving. I get bored if something stays the same for too long. So after just a couple of months of living with this:

This is the hot mess I had envisioned as an organized entry station for all our important necessities to land. I wanted it to do too much, and I didn't like how the fabrics didn't match. The pocket side bugged the heck out of me and it just looks so, so, messy. Ick.

I decided it was time to upgrade to this:

 

I found the piece at Marshall's in the clearance section. It was badly beat up, corners all torn up and the white paint was marked and marred. Honestly, I probably should have asked to pay less than the 15$ I did. Anyway, after getting it home, I promptly removed the hooks, patched the corners and painted on a lovely shade of blue, the color I just can't seem to walk away from. A spray painted coat of glossy sealer for extra protection and we're good to go. I'm very happy with the end result and even received kudos from the husband. And he's not one to shy away from telling it like it is.  

Craftilicious: Pillow pals

I made some pillows about a week or so ago. It's been a loooong dreary transition into spring and I just needed a little color pick-me-up. A girl can only take so much brown and tan and all shades in between. These pillow covers are perfect for the pop I wanted. I spent a nap time {maybe 2 hours?} and was able to get four covers completed! It's very exciting for me because the last time I was able to sew was....hmm...yeah, I can't remember.

The chevron print is my favorite, but don't stare at it too long or your eyes will go bonkers on you. I think it's my favorite simply because I put the most effort into it. Funny how that happens.

I'm pretty happy with them, so I think they'll stick around until at least fall. And bebe and lamby approve. And on a side note, I think the chevron is her favorite too...

Craftilicious: Frozen hand savers

Okay so this last week has been AWful around here. The bebe is teething something fierce. Our saving grace has been homeopathic tablets and liquid and when she's really in a fit, the frozen yogurt. It's the best thing ever. Just freeze those kid yogurt tubes you find at the grocer, they work great to numb up the gums. I sit her down, give her a tube and she's in feeding frenzy bliss for the next ten to fifteen minutes. Enough time for me to regain a little sanity and maybe even start dinner.


So the husband had a splendid idea. Instead of wrapping the tubes in face cloths to keep her hands from freezing {which she always unwraps eventually}, why not make some sort of an insulated pouch. Brilliant! So that's what I did. I insulated them with iron-in batting, but I'm sure you could pick up some of that special lunchbag insulating material if you wanted to get all fancy. She didn't get it at first but eventually she caught on. Now I just need more than two, because both of them always seem to be in the wash...

Photography spot: Spring in bloom

A little photo-break. Some spring happiness for you all:

Delicious Sides: Roasted asparagus

This isn't as much a recipe as it is a recommended cooking method. A friend of mine told me to do this and we haven't cooked asparagus any other way since. Trim the ends off your stalks, then spread them on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper then pop them under the broiler for 7 minutes. They. Are. Fantastic. Even the bebe scarfs them down, and she's a pretty finicky eater, already. I did these for Easter dinner and they were a big hit. We have them about once a week. Mmm mm.

Delicious Desserts: the oreo peanut butter double stuffed brownie

Do you want to try the most ridiculous brownie concoction known to man? I give you the oreo peanut butter double stuffed brownie. And yes, it is that ridiculous. My husband said it was too complex for his likes, but I have to tell you all it was delicious. Amazing. FATtening. Seriously, I don't know the calorie count on this, but I know it's high. Too high. So only make these if you have lots of people to help you eat them. Or you can pawn them off on friends. Because trust me, these bad boys will call your name.

To make them, you just need brownie mix, oreos and peanut butter. I would link to the recipe, but it was just floating around Facebook, so here it is in all its copy and pasted glory:

OREO PEANUT BUTTER DOUBLE STUFFED BROWNIE

Brownie mix (any favorite will do)
Oreo's 
Peanut Butter 
Muffin tin 
Paper cupcake liners

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1). Prepare brownie mix according to directions on pkg.
2). Line muffin tin
3). Spread peanut butter on top of Oreo's
4). Add another Oreo on top & spread with peanut butter
5). Put in muffin tin
6). Pour brownie mixture on top
7). Bake for 10-15 minutes

I'm pretty sure it took about 20 minutes for mine to bake. This recipe is a serious sweet tooth killer. I give it two chubby thumbs up.

Soaking in the sunshine

One ray at a time. With all this 'warm' spring weather, trips outside have been, well, nonexistent. So I thought it was high time we bundled up and went out there anyway. To enjoy the dirt. To practice climbing up and down steps. To pick up acorns and sticks and throw them at, I mean for, the dog!

Look what I found! I'll probably stick it in my mouth now so pay attention.

 Ha! Fooled you, I just want to laugh at how funny this little tiny stick is.

The partner in crime, making certain she didn't find anything too interesting.