Make This!!!

Blueberry Pie Bars!

 

This recipe for berry pie bars is a winner! Sweet with a subtle hint of cinnamon and a deliciously flaky crust. These bars are perfect for a picnic, office potluck or for dessert at home. The recipe comes from The Novice Chef blog. These bars came together in no time and didn’t bubble over onto my oven floor (yay!). I am already planning to bake a second batch for later this week. ☺

Blueberry Pie Bars adapted slightly from The Novice Chef
3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
zest & juice of one lemon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter cut into 1 inch slices
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla
4 cups fresh blueberries (or blackberries)
4 tsp cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 375*. Grease a 9×13 pan. In a food processor, pulse together flour, 1 cup of sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt & lemon zest. Add the butter, egg and vanilla extract. Pulse until the dough is crumbly. Pat half of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan, saving the remaining dough for the topping.

In a medium size bowl, stir together the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the berries. Sprinkle the berries over the crust. Crumble the remaining topping dough over the berry layer.

Bake in a preheated oven for about 35-45 minutes (depending on your oven) or until the top is slightly brown (you are only looking for the top to slightly brown, if you cook for too long, the bottom will burn).

Cool completely before cutting into squares. Store in an airtight container.

The Shred - Update!

 

August is right around the corner & I cannot believe it. It seems like we just got out for summer vacation. July was not the best month for us. Lots of changes, some good, some bad. I am welcoming August with open arms and look forward to it being a good month! Power of positive thinking, people!

 

A friend told me about this book, The Four Agreements. Have you read it? The recommendation came at just the right moment for me. This book is a super quick read and I think, amazing. I picked it up from the library and finished it in about an hour.

The book is divided into agreements with a chapter explaining each one. I found this infographic on Pinterest and plan to print it so I can read it daily.

Regarding my Shred update: I have been doing GREAT on the eating more fruits, veggies and eating little to no processed food. I feel so much better in the last four months that I have been following that plan. It's now 'habit' for us to eat this way. A very good thing! To help me keep track of my water intake, I posted this cute printable in the kitchen & mark off each time I drink a glass of water.

What I am not doing good on? Following the 3 glasses of wine a week rule and exercise. Walking, yes, as I have to walk Remy, but I need to increase the cardio. I have several workout videos that are gathering dust. I dug them out and have a plan to do one of the workouts a day.

Jillian Michaels dvds.
I found them at Costco last year for about $7 each.

 This is the best workout video ever!

Whenever I finish it, I can barely walk for about an hour after. My legs are like noodles and I can't even walk up or down the stairs. I found this dvd when the local Border's store closed & I  had a gift card I needed to use. It was the best $11 I ever spent! The entire workout is set to a military march on a snare drum. So funny.☺

To keep  myself accountable, I cut up some PostIt notes (a tip I found on DietGirl, via Pinterest). Each time I finish one of the workouts, I take off one of the PostIts. This countdown is kept right in the family room, so I won't forget about it. The numbers go up to 21, as the thinking is: it takes 21 days to create a habit.

 

 

Lastly, I found this great quote on Pinterest. Omid says this all the time and it's so true!

I will check in again & update you after my 21 days is up. Wish me luck!☺

Netflix This!!

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone!

 

This movie received terrible reviews when it first came out, but Matty & I laughed our way through it. It's actually quite funny.

 

Yes, it has a few (maybe more) crude moments and the storyline is predictable; but all in all it was a good movie. It definitely earned 3 stars in my book and not the 1/2 star that most movie reviewers gave it.

 

Jim Carrey does not disappoint as a creepy street magician. Steve Carrell's character is a little reminiscent of his Michael Scott persona from The Office (which I enjoyed!). Steve Buscemi & James Gandolfini are also in this movie, and I love both of those actors. So, if you are in need of a much needed laugh & don't mind movies that are predictable & silly: then this is the movie for you. It's definitely PG-13, so don't watch it around little ones.

Mini Blueberry Pies

Blueberries are nature's candy and summer has given Vancouver a bounty of beautiful blueberries this year. In the past three weeks, I have picked just under thirty pounds. What to do with all these berries? We ate most (so good for us!), I froze a few pounds and the rest I have baked into fruit crisps or mini blueberry pies. In fact, I have baked these mini blueberry pies 3 times in the last 4 days. They are that good! We are eating them for breakfast, snack & dessert. True story!☺

The berries I've picked are so incredibly sweet, only a tablespoon of sugar is required (if at all) compared to what most cookbooks recommend: 1 full cup. I never add the full amount of sugar, as I think the pie would be way too sweet to eat and a waste of good berries. But if you have a major sweet tooth, then by all means - add the full amount of sugar!

I like to bake my individual pies in a muffin tin. I also use a two crust pie recipe to have enough pie to top the pies and have enough pie crust left over to make some cinnamon-sugar topped pie crust cookies. Better to have too much pie crust than not enough!☺

Mini Blueberry Pies
1 recipe for a two crust pie
4 cups fresh blueberries
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs flour
1 egg, whisked with 1 tsp of heavy cream, for an egg wash
Turbinado sugar

In a medium size bowl, toss blueberries with the flour, sugar & lemon juice. Set aside. Make your pie crust & cut with a biscuit cutter or large glass to fit the size of your muffin tin. Press the pie crust firmly into each muffin cup. Fill each mini pie with approximately 1/4 cup of berries. Top each individual pie with a crust & press firmly to seal.  Brush each pie with the egg wash & sprinkle turbinado sugar over the top. Bake in a 375* oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the pie crust is a golden brown and the berries are bubbling. Let cool for a bit then serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

Make This!!

Pie Crust in a Mixer!

 

We have been doing so good (since March!!) on our diet of eating little to no processed foods. I wanted to bake a pie today and always use Pillsbury ready made pie crusts. Why? They are convenient & always bake to perfection. Today though, that wasn't an option, since they are processed. I called my sister Brenda who bakes pies all the time. She told me her secret & that is to make the pie crust in a mixer. I was dubious, but tried it. How did it turn out? Perfect! The dough was similar to a sugar cookie dough. I plan to always make my pie crusts this way from now on. Thanks, B!☺

 

Mini blueberry pies before...

...and after!



Pie Crust (for one pie crust - double the recipe for a two crust pie)

1 1/4 cups flour

1 Tbs. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

3 Tbs. ice cold water

8 Tbs (one stick) cold butter, cut into 16 pieces

 

In a stand mixer, mix flour, sugar & salt. Add the butter & toss into the flour mixture until coated. Mix on medium low until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal with the butter pieces no larger than small peas. Add the water & mix until the dough just comes together. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap & let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 15 minutes before using. 



Get Crafty!

 

 

DIY Woolen Dryer Balls!

 

Have you seen the Woolzies brand of dryer balls that are all over the internet right now? 6 wool balls for $35.00.

They are supposed to cut laundry drying time in half. I found a tutorial via Pinterest on the blog Overthrow Martha.  They looked so simple to make that I decided to make my own dryer balls.

I bought a large skein (465 yards) of wool yarn from Michael's for about $9.00 (with a coupon). I wanted to purchase hot pink, chartreuse & sky blue yarn; but unfortunately, Michael's only sold 'winter' type colors of wool yarn.

I wrapped the yarn around my fingers ten times, then took the yarn off my fingers & wrapped it around the middle ten times as well.

Next I brought the two ends together & continued wrapping.

 I kept wrapping until it took on a crude ball shape.

I didn't stop wrapping until the ball was the size of a tennis ball. This took about ten to fifteen minutes (per ball).

 

To prevent the ball from unraveling, I took a large embroidery needle & sewed the tail through to the other side.

Next I placed the balls into a pair of pantyhose. I tied each section off with dental floss and washed the balls in very hot water and then dried them on high heat (still inside the pantyhose).

Voila! Homemade dryer balls. I can't wait to try them out to see if they really work.☺
UPDATE: They really work! The 'normal' setting on my dryer is for 41 minutes & today the load was dry in less than 20 minutes. Thinking I will have to make more of these & give them as gifts.

Wallpaper Removal Project

Last Sunday, I had the bright idea to finally remove the horrid wallpaper & border in one of our upstairs bathrooms. This was supposed to be done seven years ago after we moved into this house. Suffice it to say that after removing wallpaper border in two of the upstairs bedrooms, I didn't want to tackle the job of the bathroom & thought we could live with it. Have you ever removed wallpaper or border? It's a messy, horrible job!

 

I love dogs, but these pups are downright creepy to me, especially the Cocker Spaniel.

 Removing all the paper/paste took me 2.5 days & would have gone much, much faster if I had used a tip I found on Pinterest right away. The tip: use straight white vinegar to strip away the paper/paste. Instead, I used two different brands of wallpaper stripper before using the vinegar. I finally wised up & used the vinegar. The difference: See for yourself!

This is the size of the paper/paste I was able to remove with Dif & Chomp. It was a very slow process.

THIS is the size of the paper/paste the vinegar removed!
What a difference!

Finally making progress!

Goodbye ugly wallpaper!

Voila! The bathroom looks much bigger now.

 

Now the hard work begins. Patching all the exposed drywall (sorry Omid!) & applying texture to the drywall. I was hoping there would be texture underneath the paper so all I would have to do is paint over it. But....no. This little project got much bigger. What's next? Tearing out the pocket door, sinks & counter. Hopefully it won't take another 7 years to get that done.☺ Right now I am finding lots of inspiration via Pinterest with all the bathroom remodel ideas. ☺

Happy Birthday Remy!!

Happy 9th birthday Remy!!!

We love you lots!!!♥

Make This!!

Sizzlin' Chicken  Skewers

These chicken skewers are extremely tasty. The marinade is really simple and tangy. I'm sure you have the ingredients in your pantry right now: peanut butter, barbecue sauce & soy sauce. I found this recipe in a 2005 issue of Kraft Food & Family magazine.

Kraft Food Kitchens used to mail Food & Family out for free, now they charge for their subscriptions. I finally bit the bullet & paid for a new subscription ($13.98/1 year - $18.98/2 years). The magazines are full of great recipes and I have a stack in my cupboard from 2005-2007 that I can't bring myself to recycle. You can click this link to get your own subscription. It's worth it!

Sizzlin' Chicken Skewers adapted slightly from Food & Family Magazine

1/3 cup hot water
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sesame oil
1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs

Mix water, bbq sauce, peanut butter, soy sauce & sesame oil in a bowl. Cut chicken into strips & place in a gallon sized Ziplock bag. Pour half of the marinade over the chicken & refrigerate for several hours. Thread chicken onto skewers & grill. Serve with reserved marinade for dipping.
NOTE: I actually poured all of the marinade over my chicken & made up extra marinade for dipping, as I used about 1.5 lbs of chicken.

Make This!!!

Bleu Cheese & Bacon Potato Salad

 

This potato salad packs a lot of taste with just a few ingredients.  It's the perfect side dish to a barbecue & oh so easy to make.

Bleu Cheese & Bacon Potato Salad adapted slightly from Mommy Savers

6 slices cooked bacon, chopped
1/4 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
6 oz bleu cheese, crumbled
1 bunch green onions, sliced

Boil potatoes until fork tender. Let cool, then quarter. In a bowl mix mayo, sour cream, salt, pepper, green onions & cheese. Add potatoes. Refrigerate for several hours. Enjoy!

Make This!!

After eating leftover roasted pork for the last few days (trust me: it get's old!), I decided we needed a different protein for dinner. Matty suggested we go out to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner, but I dislike their prices & the paltry celery & carrot sticks they serve. I vowed to make him delicious chicken wings that rival BWW. Matty was doubtful, but I was sure I could do it.

Enter Pinterest! After looking at what seemed like hundreds of chicken wing recipes, I found one via the blog, Eat, Live Paleo that sounded interesting & delicious. This recipe called for boiling the wings first, then baking them in the oven. I had never heard of this method before and decided to try it. The only difference was that the recipe on Pinterest used drummettes, not wings. My wings were 5 times the size of the one on the recipe. No problem, challenge accepted.

I whipped up the marinade & boiled the wings. I tried to do this while Omid was preoccupied with something else. We are always competing in the kitchen and I didn't want him to see that I was boiling the wings. I was afraid he would think I was crazy. I have to admit, I said a little prayer before I started that the wings wouldn't be ruined by boiling them. This was $14 worth of wings!

After I took the wings out, they felt really 'tacky.' I let them cool & boiled the rest of the wings. I boiled both sets for about 8 minutes each.  After the wings were completely cool, I poured the marinade over them.

I tripled the marinade amount since my wings were larger than the drummettes in the original recipe. I also added some extra ingredients like sesame oil & soy sauce, as we like our wings to have an Asian flair to them.

When the wings had marinated for about an hour, I baked them in the oven for 30 minutes at 450*, then flipped them over and baked them for another 15 minutes. The result? Perfect crispy chicken wings! Continuing with the Asian theme, I poured Thai Kitchen's Sweet Red Chili sauce all over them.

You can find this delicious sauce at Costco.

I had to try it myself to believe it, but it's true! Boiling your chicken wings first, then baking them does result in crispy chicken. Try it!!  All the wings were gone. I love when there are no leftovers! What did Matty think? He liked them a lot!☺

Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Wings Marinade - adapted slightly from Eat.Live.Paleo.

9 garlic cloves, grated
Juice of 4 limes
6 tbsp olive oil
1.5  tsp cayenne
salt + pepper to taste
1/3 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbs Montreal Chicken Seasoning (found at Costco)
*Note - this recipe was tripled because I used regular sized chicken wings.

Make This!!

Carrot Cake!

 

Omid & I LOVE a good carrot cake. I like mine with raisins & pecans, Omid likes his without either of those ingredients. I scoured Pinterest the other night for recipes that I thought Omid would like & came up empty.

I finally turned to the two bloggers I always visit when I need a great recipe: Noble Pig & The Pioneer Woman.  Cathy from Noble Pig had several carrot cake recipes on her blog. The one I can't wait to make is apple carrot cake with goat cheese frosting. Sounds simply scrumptious! I finally decided to go with Ree's simple carrot cake. Just the basics, nothing fancy.

I made two changes with Ree's recipe. I substituted coconut oil for the vegetable oil. I was really nervous about how it would turn out.  It actually turned out great! I also cut the powdered sugar amount down from one pound to 1.5 cups in the frosting. We like our cream cheese frosting more tangy than sweet. In my opinion, nothing ruins a carrot cake than super sweet cream cheese frosting. I also left the pecans out of the frosting & just sprinkled them on top of individual slices instead of all throughout the cake.

This cake got two thumbs up from Omid. ☺ Make it! You won't be disappointed!

Coconut Oil Carrot Cake adapted slightly from Ree Drummond
2 cups Sugar
1 cup Coconut Oil
4 whole Eggs
2 cups All-purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
2 cups Grated Carrots

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 stick Regular Butter, Softened
1 package (8 Oz) Cream Cheese
1 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
2 teaspoons Vanilla
1 cup Pecans, Chopped Finely

Preheat oven to 350F.

Mix together the sugar, coconut oil and eggs in a large bowl. In another bowl sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add to first mixture and combine. Then add carrots and mix well. Pour into a greased and floured pan  and bake at 350F until done (insert a toothpick), about 50 minutes.  Cool completely.

Frosting:
In larger bowl, cream butter and cream cheese. Add sugar and vanilla and blend. Spread on cooled carrot cake. Sprinkle nuts on top or onto individual servings.

Pig Roast 2013

We had our 2nd annual pig roast this past Saturday. The weather was a perfect 79*, 65 people were invited, 63 guests came. It was a huge success and we want to thank everyone for coming! Here are some photo highlights of the day.

 

 

Barley & Remy inspecting the pig.

 Omid & Ward stuffed the pig with lemon grass, bay leaves, limes & garlic.

Check out those sutures. Ward could have been a surgeon!

The pig was on the rotisseries for 9 hours!

We had a surprise for the guests after everyone was done eating. A belly dancer! I passed out dollar bills to the guests & told them we would be playing a game. I didn't know how else to explain why I was passing out money, as I didn't want to give away the surprise. If you are ever in need of a belly dancer, contact Zahara! She did an amazing job! It was so much fun to watch her dance & to see the guests' reactions as well.

Thanks to everyone who came & to the Kelloggs, Stevens & Bacons for helping to make the pig roast a huge success!☺

Power of Prayer

 

This is my dear friend Salla.

 

 

 We have been friends for 28 years.

 

 

Salla & her family are in need of a miracle right now. Salla's husband, Jyrki, has been living with cancer for the past few years and most recently had a stem cell transplant. His body is now rejecting the transplant and Jyrki is losing his battle.

 

Jyrki

 

Do you believe in miracles? I do!

 

Please keep Salla, Jyrki & their three children in your prayers. They really need your prayers & healing thoughts at this time.

♥
Maija, Helmi & Lauri

Update: Dear friends, thanks for praying for Jyrki & his family. Sadly, Jyrki passed away on July 19th. Please continue to pray for Salla & her children!♥

Barry & Blogging

Remember that wonderful Mother's Day gift that Omid gave me? Tickets to Barry Manilow?

Well, the Rose Garden screwed up and double booked a high school graduation for the same day & time. So Barry was cancelled. I am so bummed! I hope I don't have to wait another 8 years for Barry to come to Portland again.
Barry: When Will I See You Again?!?

On a happier note, I was chosen to contribute recipes for our local newspaper, The Columbian. My friend Michelle told me they were looking for food bloggers, so I applied and was accepted. My first post was published today in The Columbian's Sugar & Spice food blog. I wrote about those delicious Monkey Squares. Speaking of which: have you baked some yet? I will also be posting recipes to On the Table featured in The Columbian as well. That blog profiles all types of food, not just dessert.