Avery's Big Girl Furniture

    With my kid's rooms I wanted something "one of a kind" and creative. With Avery, I did find a crib set that my husband and I both liked. The set is "Cherry Blossom" by Migi. I liked it because it was girly but sophisticated and not over the top with frills & nonsense.

       Av used the set till we got pregnant with Mark. She was still using the crib as a toddler bed, along with the dresser and changing table. But since the clock was ticking away, to a deadline I couldn't set back, I had to find new "big girl" furniture for cheap and with a quickness.

      By some stroke of luck, my neighbor had decided to throw out an old full sized spindle bed, along with a matching vanity. It was all maple and in great shape, but someone had tried to refinish the vanity, and did a terrible job at sanding. My mother in law also had a twin bed in storage, that was in perfect condition, along with an old dresser. (I'm saving the spindle bed for later.)

This is after I sanded the hell out of it, to fix all the gouges left from improper sanding. Beautiful, right?!

      While I was pregnant with Avery, I saw these pillows and absolutely loved the pattern. I had to have them!! They sat in her room for forever, not really having a place, then it occurred to me that I had the perfect opportunity to really create the perfect bedroom for my little doodle bug!!!

      To the left is my inspiration piece.

      I made a stencil of the pillow pattern by tracing over it, cut it out (which was miserable, but worth it) After painting the base and top coats to the  dresser & vanity, I stenciled the pattern in coordinating colors and sprayed a coat of polyurethane to protect from scratching.

      Please excuse the terrible quality of the photos, I took them with my iPhone.

      The base is a warm metallic brown, the flowers are actually a metallic silver, the leaves are a matte grey. I used Martha Stewart's metallic paint. You have to use a nonmetallic base coat in a similar color!! The metallic paint doesn't cover very well, but the effect is amazing.

      To the left is the side view of the vanity and below is the dresser.













      I still haven't found a comforter that I like, but the room is still a work in progress.






xoxoxo,
:0)
Cel

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

    I have 2 kids under 2, I'm a stay at home mom, & my poor poor amazing husband works like a dog. I try, like hell, to do things in a way that makes my life easier. "Work smarter, not harder", as Benjamin Franklin would say. So, I do things like group recipes together, when I make up a menu for the week, that use similar veggies or meats or what not. I do all the prep at once, during nap time or whenever, and then VIOLA, a dinner that would generally take me an hour to prep & cook takes 20 minutes. It's worth the effort, for me.

    That being said, once or twice a week, I boil a chicken & shred it to use in any chicken dinner under the sun, from chicken stir fry to fajitas, from chicken salad  to chicken wraps. It's already cooked so you just throw it in at the last minute to warm it up. Easy peesy lemon squeezy!!

    Now, I wish I could take total credit for this recipe, but I actually got the initial idea from mad hungry & kind of then made it my own. I like the idea that she uses a whole chicken, dumps it into a pot of water, with a few veggies (washed but not peeled or chopped) & an hour later something magical happens. You end up with 4 lbs of cooked chicken, homemade chicken stock & dinner and lunch for a few meals.

    I generally use a whole chicken, carrots, celery & an onion, just because its always cheap and what I have on hand. I throw it into a large stock pot, fill the pot till the chicken's covered with water, cover with a lid & let that puppy boil away for an hour. It's really a no fuss way of cooking chicken. Just make sure that the chicken is at least mostly defrosted, if previously frozen.

The byproduct of a perfectly tender juicy chicken is this amazing homemade chicken stock! And it was done for a fraction of the cost!! The stock can be used immediately, for chicken soup or chicken & dumplings or you can freeze it in ice cube trays or freezer bags to use another day!!

Tips & tricks -
Premeasure how much liquid a cube in your ice cube tray holds. Once you freeze the stock, place the premeausred cubes in a freezer bag to store & write on the freezer bag how much each cube holds. Fast and easy, no defrosting to measure & no extra dirty dishes, just plop them into what ever is it your cooking & let them melt away!!

I also saw this amazing idea in In this Crazy Life's blog on how to shred chicken using a Kitchen-aid mixer. Haven't tried it yet, but I plan on it!

Recipe-

3-6 lb whole chicken, gizzards removed (fryer or roaster chicken doesn't matter)
3-4 medium sized carrots, washed (you can peel if you can peel them if you like,
        I don't)
3-4 medium celery stalks washed
1 onion cut in half, papers & roots removed
pot of water
1 Tbls kosher salt

Place chicken, carrots, celery & onion into a large stock pot & fill with water till chicken is covered.
On medium high heat, bring to a boil.
Once a rolling boil is reached, cover & reduced heat to simmer & cook for 45-60 minutes.
Check for done-ness*.
Remove chicken from pot & place on a carving board or a large bowl (juices will obviously leak from the   
      chicken) to rest and cool.
While chicken is resting, remove vegetable solids from stock & discard. They've done their job.
Add salt to your chicken stock & bring back up to a boil and boil for 20-30 minutes. (This concentrates the
        broth, which would otherwise taste diluted).
Remove broth from heat and let cool to room temp or use immediately for your dish. Please don't be an
       idiot, like myself, and forget about the chicken stock!! I have done it hundreds of times & curse myself
       when I remember it after its been sitting out for way too long.
After chicken has cooled enough to handle, shred away! Rachel usually sticks hers in the fridge till the next
      day to shred or cut up or whatever.
Once broth has cooled, you can freeze it in any kind of container you like. Ice cube trays really work great!

*To check for doneness - pull at a chicken leg with a set of tongs, if the leg moves around freely, its done. If it slap comes off, its definitely done.

Enjoy!!
Cel

Apples, Oats & Oranges

Ok, so... last night I was gonna make steak & potatoes & then post it, but I got an invite from my neighbors that I couldn't pass up. Who could say no to brats & beer?!?! NOT ME!! So, to feel like I contributed something, I used my go to dessert recipe, Apple crisp. go ahead, you can say it. mmmmmmmmmmmm (in a very Homer Simpson way).

I have tried several variations to this. I have added mixed berries, raisins, green apples, red apples, mixes of apples... the possibilities are endless. It's always the first dessert to be demolished, its a total crowd pleaser, its easy to make, & it's cheap as hell to make!

Like an idiot, I forgot to take pictures. The next time I make it I will. But I will tell you a few tricks that I've learned.

-For instance, when using green apples, add half the juice of a freshly squeezed small to medium orange. I've used  store bought orange juice & it's not the same, fresh squeezed is sweeter, among other freshly picked attributes. BUT if it's all u got, use a decent splash. The orange juice still helps keep the apples from browning, it counteracts the tartness of the green apples & adds a nice balance of sweet and tart. Which is exactly what you want when uses green apples. Green apples are my favorite to bake with. They're perfectly tart and firm and yummy.... I'm rambling...moving on.

-Out of brown sugar?? NO WORRIES, make your own!! its just molasses & white sugar. I've googled it several times & sources all say, for light brown sugar - 1 cup sugar, 1 tbsp molasses. throw in a blender & mix till thoroughly incorporated & fluffy. I generally use a bit more molasses. I like mine a bit darker than light brown but lighter than dark brown. Play with it, it's not gonna hurt anything! If you think u added too much molasses, add a few spoonfuls of sugar till you get it where you want. By the way, it will take a few minutes to mix together & the molasses will clump, initially. Just don't use your wire whisk attachment if you have a Kitchen-aid... I almost broke mine. It does get a little thick. You can also mix it with you hands, which is always fun... if you like getting dirty. ;)

- Quick cook oatmeal or regular, that is the question... it honestly doesn't matter for this recipe. Quick cook oats, visually are thinner, more flake -like They also produce a little more tender, slightly softer, cake-y, but still crunchy texture after baking. Regular or traditional oats give a thicker, more stiff/ crispy texture after baking. Both work fine. I've used a mix of both of them. I'm only telling you this because I wondered the same thing for forever, until I experimented with it. It's not a tremendously noticeable difference, I only noticed because I was the one who made it. haha

- If you want to add berries, fresh or frozen DOES NOT MATTER, add 1/2 cup to 1cup, & add an extra 1-2 Tbsp of  flour, depending on how juicy your berries are. Depending on your tastes... I like blackberries the best. They're sweet & they kind of crumble into little berry pieces so you get these teeny bits of berry goodness in every single gigantic apple-y bite. Hence Homer moan again... mmmmmmmm


Celeste's Apple Crisp
pre heat oven to 350 degrees.

Apple mixture-
4-6 medium apples peeled & thinly sliced
1 tsp cinnamon
2-3 Tbls All purpose flour
1/4 c packed brown sugar
juice of 1 lemon (half an orange if using green apples)
2 small pats of butter, cut into quarters (about 2 tbls)

Mix all the above ingredients together, till apples are beautifully coated

Topping mixture-
1/2 c rolled oats
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c softened butter or veggie oil
2 tsp cinnamon

Mix together wheat flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon & butter or oil are completely integrated. should be slightly clumpy and crumbly.

Baking directions-
Using a 2.5 qt baking dish, coat in a non stick spray or butter, concentrating on the sides (I'll explain later). Dump apple mixture into baking dish, spread around evenly, place a few small pats of butter on top of the apples and top with oat mixture.  It's ok if there are a few apples poking out.
Bake for 30-40 minutes until nice & brown & bubbly. (when using a deep dish, you won't always see bubbling)

let cool slightly & serve with whipped cream, ice cream or by itself.
& there you have it, perfection.

Now, a few other things... it's ok to use AP flour in the oat mixture if you don't have wheat flour, but DO NOT use wheat flour in the apple mixture. It leaves an unpleasant gritty texture and can still sometimes taste of raw flour, which is never good.
Also, the apples can get stuck of the sides of the baking dish, to make for easy clean up, just butter or spray the sides... it's worth the extra step.

Enjoy!!! Let me know how yours turns out, or what variations you like!
xoxo,
Cel

Coupon Crazed

    Today is Sunday, which means THE SUNDAY PAPER!!!!! Which in turn means COUPONS!!!! Ok, so yes, I clip coupons. Don't hate! On average I save roughly a third of my grocery bill. It adds up, especially when u have a 120 lb dog & 2 kids in diapers. That's $150-$250 a month in dog food & diapers alone, so every penny counts. Plus, it's my way of feeling like I'm contributing monetarily. Besides, we're in a recession!

    Oh the money you can save if you plan! Every Sunday, I clip coupons, look at my grocer's circulars, make a weekly or bi weekly dinner menu & write out a grocery list according to whats on sale & what I have coupons for. No, I am not an extreme couponer & I do not have an over abundance of crazy items tucked away in my bomb shelter somewhere. I don't even own a bomb shelter! This is free money & if all I have to do is cut it out of a newspaper, then so be it. There are all kinds of neat little tricks can learn if you pay attention.

    Anyways, I'm sitting in bed, my daughter was sitting in bed with me & WAS watching Mickey, I had just finished clipping my coupons, I was typing this post & this happened...

Apparently my toddler had a different idea as to what to do with all my fresh clipped coupons.... its gonna be a 2 cup kinda day.

Oreos in search of Inspiration

I'm sitting here, creating my blog, eating oreos and I realize that even after I had this great catchy subject to write about, I forgot it & I am drawing a blank. As I shove another double stuffed in my mouth, all I can think about is how this idea actually started. It started like most of mine & my friend's ideas start. It's that typical "OH, that would be so cool!" & we just ran with it. Just read on...
    My girl wife, Rachel, (Btw, "girl wife" is a term we use instead of bestie.) and I have become obsessed with creating good healthy food for our family & them blabbing to eachother about it over the phone, among other things. So, in one of our blab sessions, we started talking about cook books & how we thought it would be really great to write our own, together. We have very different styles of cooking but we compliement eachother so well, that we thought it would actually be a pretty good read. Well, there went the seed, planted, fertilized, watered & growing. I think for a few months after that we'd talk about it, exchanged ideas, recipes etc. It kind of died down but then somehow came back to life, don't ask me how. I had started following a few blogs & became really intreged by them, how creative, how original & how personable they were & mentioned it to Rach. She liked the idea so she started researching EVERYTHING (like she always does) about blogs. Life happened, I got pregnant & she got busy with family as well & so our idea got put on the back burner. It recently came back to life (last night, actually) & here we are. Atleast that's the short version.
   I've noticed that most of my best and most fun creations start with just a general idea that grows into something bigger than imagined. Regardless of the mutated creation, I'm always more than pleased. I'm not really sure where this blog will take me, but I'm pretty sure that, if nothing else, it'll be fun. We shall see. :)