Recipe: Chocolate Mint Martini

Last night, I was in the mood to make a cocktail. Although, recently I have decided to give up booze for a bit, I decided to make one for Keith. I pounded over all of our choices- we have a pretty well stocked bar, but not as many mixers. So I evaluated what we had and decided for a pretty easy- but strong- drink called the chocolate mint martini. I also topped it off with a thin mint cookie, which we are slowly eating all of the cookies in our household and will not be replacing them. (ugh, time to lose weight!) 

Here is my recipe for this easy cocktail:

• 1/2 ounce of creme de menthe
• 1/2 ounce of creme de cacao 
• 1 ounce vodka

Mix all ingredients in a shaker with ice for over 15 seconds. Strain and pour into a martini glass (or cocktail glass in our case) Serve. Enjoy responsibly.

I hope you like this cocktail and are looking forward to more blog posts. There are good things in the works, including a room renovation and recipes I want to share.

Have a great weekend!

How to: dishwasher magnet

So, I don't like doing dishes. There I said it. However, they won't do themselves, so I needed to figure out a way to know when I needed to do them. Keith has a weird schedule this semester, and some notes I am already in bed by the time he gets in. He usually is the one to start the dishwasher and because we have such a small place and the dishwasher is right next to where we watch tv, he always starts it at night so it won't be loud while we are talking or catching up on our stories. Well, this is very nice of him but because I am usually in bed, I never know if the dishes are clean or dirty to load or unload it. So, today I decided to make us a little tool to help us out. The fantastic clean/dirty dishwasher magnet.

Here's how! 

This is what you need: a hot glue gun, scrabble letters spelling out clean & dirty (our game was missing pieces so I didn't feel too bad pulling out these letters), self sticking magnets and I got a wood base that I painted gray.

First step- position the words how you want them. Remember, they have to be facing opposite ways.

I marked where I wanted the word to end on the wood base for when I started gluing the letters.

Hot glue the letters

Make sure they line up with the line you drew

Continue until you have one word done. Turn over the wood base and start on the second word. I found it was easiest to work backwards.

After gluing letters, get off all the stringy hot glue.

Once dried, flip it over and peel of the sticker on the self-sticking magnet. I attached one on each corner.

 

It holds like a champ .

This is a pretty easy thing to make and it's so useful. I am not sure why I haven't made it before!

Happy crafting!

Recipe: Bread Machine Italian Herb Bread

Blog world, I have been away for a week! But I have some good excuses. I was sick, then I got a new job, and then my sister had her baby. SO, Bottom line, things are coming up (aunt) Jenn. So, I apologize for the lack of posts recently, but I promise I will be better.

Tonight, I decided to make my favorite bread machine recipe. Italian herb bread! The photo is not great, BUT this recipe is awesome.

What you need:

• 1 cup of water
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of white sugar
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of salt
• 2 and 1/2 cups of bread flour
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of active dry yeast
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of italian seasoning blend (I added more)
• breadmachine

Place everything in bread pan, make sure you follow your machine's directions. Select white bread cycle (or light crust) My machine makes you add the "add-ins" i.e. seasoning and pepper in after the initial rise and mixing.  (about after 45 minutes) but every bread machine is different so read your instructions.

Enjoy!

Day Trip: Galena, Illinois (photo heavy)

This morning we were cleaning and listening to records and in a funk. So, on a whim, I asked Keith if he wanted to go on an adventure. Usually, Keith is the one to initiate these crazy ideas, so he went for it. I asked if he wanted to go to Iowa (about 2.5 hours away) and get dinner. He suggested instead that we go almost to Iowa and stop by Ulysses S. Grant's Home in Galena, Illinois. Here's something important about me. I love tea. I love puppies. and I love Ulysses S. Grant. I don't know when it happened but that bearded gentleman has found him into our house in the form of paper weights, dolls, and framed photos. Keith even got me an original campaign token for Christmas one year. So, needless to say- I was totally onboard going to Galena.

So, we drove 2.5 hours. So this could happen:

Me outside the Grant house

We really enjoyed the Grant house tour- which was our first stop. I snapped a few photos of the house, of course making sure it was okay with our guide.

Walking up to the house

U.S. Grant on door

Parlor

Dinning Room

Grant's bedroom

Leaving the house

So, after our house tour we drove the block or two to the downtown area and parked. It was a cold day, but we braved it and walked down the street.

Main Street

Rootbeer Shop (more about this under photos)

Hot sauce shop. We left empty handed :(

PBR. Keith was excited by the old poster

Wish it was open

Blacksmith shops call to me. I saw this red building from the main street and made Keith walk with me to it, then yelped for joy when I saw it was a blacksmith shop. Too bad it was closed.

Ha! Nice name for a store.

We stopped for tea and coffee to warm up. It was cold!

Dream house...? maybe. Very Victorian.

We made a trip to see the Mighty Mississippi River. It was covered in ice and the area was too muddy to get out.

However, Keith loved the "hovercraft" 

Downtown Galena was adorable. Keith said he liked how proud they were in their own history. I ate it up. Buildings from the 1860s, and flood gates greeting you to a city- AWESOME. We will be going back for sure when everything is open and the area is warmer. We wanted to walk the river- but it was just too cold.

I have to note the Rootbeer shop was awesome! We got a 6 pack that we mixed and matched- a butterscotch rootbeer, salted caramel rootbeer, etc. I cannot wait to devour these soon. VERY soon.

We had such a great time, and stopped on the way back at a barn for dinner. I had irish stew and mac and cheese. Delicious. I am so glad we did this and we need more of these day-long detours in our life...we all do :)

Happy travels.

Spring Wreath

I give you the next installment for Craft Month, my spring wreath! 

Look at how cute this is!

 What you need:

• A wreath blank
• green fur yarn
• flower ribbon
• hot glue gun
• scissors (not shown)

To start, hot glue the end of the fur yarn to the Styrofoam wreath mold. Then start wrapping. This project take patience. A LOT of it. Every few inches put a drip of hot glue on the back and wrap the fur yarn over it. Careful not to burn your fingers on the hot glue. (I did...)

Keep wrapping and gluing. Every once in awhile run your hand over the fur that is already wrapped around to fluff up the fur. 

Keep repeating

And repeating....

Once you finish wrapping the wreath, cut out the individual flowers. I cut out around 12. Hot glue them to the front of the wreath, wherever you would like. Then tie on a ribbon to hang and:

Ta-DA!

This project does take time and patience. I really enjoyed it though and the final product is just so cute. Happy crafting!

Hemingway Cocktail

Last year, around this time I read my first Hemingway book, A Moveable Feast. I feel in love instantly and couldn't put it down. His words were amazing and I wanted to be there to experience Paris in the 1920s. It was such a glorious book, I would say it change my life even for that brief little period. I talked about it constantly, I wanted to live it, etc etc. But, alas I have put off reading more Hemingway in case I didn't like it as much. 

Since I read that book, I have had a soft spot for Hemingway. I defended his honor in discussions of good authors a few time, but I felt bad because I only had the one book to basis on and of course what you hear. So, here it is, I cave. I'm reading another Hemingway starting tonight.

In honor of this, I present you with a delicious Daiquiri, especially made for Mr. Hemingway. This recipe can vary, but this is the one I really like. 

• 1 ounce of white rum 
• 1/4 ounce of maraschino liqueur
• 1/2 ounce of grapefruit juice (freshly squeezed is best!)
• 3/4 ounce of simple syrup
• 3/4 ounce of fresh lime juice

Shake all ingredients and strain into a cocktail glass. I put a cherry in there for good measure too. 

 

This drink is very tasty. drink responsibly. 

and seriously, do yourself a favor and read A Moveable Feast. 

Low-Cal Quinoa Harvest Chili

It is still winter...........therefore I tried out an awesome chili to make the night warmer!  This is a chili recipe I found in Midwest Living magazine.  It attracted me by the picture and the heading of low-calorie dinner.  I tried this recipe out and it is very easy to cook.  As long as you can cut up some veggies, then its a matter of throwing things in a pot and just letting it do its thing.  :)

So here it is......

Quinoa Harvest Chili (Low-Calorie Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 Medium Onion, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced

2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed

1 large zucchini, chopped

3 1/2 cups water

2 cups vegetable broth

1 6-ounce can tomato paste

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed

1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained

In a large covered pot, cook onions in hot oil over medium heat until tender, stirring occasionally.  Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes.

Stir in the beans, sweet potato, zucchini, the water, broth, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin and oregano.  Bring to boiling; reduce heat.  Simmer, covered, for 5 minutes.

Stir in the quinoa.  Return to boiling; reduce heat.  Simmer, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes or until quinoa and potatoes are tender.  If desired, top with plain greek yogurt.

This was such a flavorful warm chili that fit perfectly on a cold snowy night.  It makes 3 servings(2 1/2 quarts).  Nutritional facts per serving: 248 cal, 5 g fat, 808 mg sodium, 44 g carbs, 9 g fiber, 11 g protein

I hope you all enjoy this delicious meal!!

Meg :)

Converting clip on earrings to hook earrings, part 1

In honor of March is Craft Month I deiced to take on a few projects. One of those is turning my grandma's collection of clip on earrings to wearable dangle earrings with a hook. My grandma never had her ears pierced but loved earrings. I have my ears pierced but never wear earrings. This about to change. I just inherited my grandma's earring collection. I have at least six tackle boxes full of earrings.

My grandma passed away while I lived in Glasgow back in 2005. My grandpa held on to these, and I got them recently, after his death in November. My grandpa was one of my most favorite people on the planet and even writing this post makes me misty eyed. I got a lot to remind me of my grandpa, but these are special. You see he was a boat maker by trade, but he also made and fixed jewelry, mainly for my grandma. Once I start my jewelry business, he kept telling me if I moved back to Detroit, we would go in business together. And man, I wish I did.

Anyway, I want to show the process of turning her clip-on earrings to wearable earrings for me. I find clip-ons horribly uncomfortable. So, this is my easy post, my next one will involve a dremel and Keith helping me to get the backs off these things.

First, I got out my supplies. I picked out my favorite, easy to change earrings, two hooks and my trusty pliers.

I removed the jump ring (the circle connector), careful not to bend it, because I wanted to reuse them. Then I removed the clip on.

I attached the hook to the jump ring.

 Carefully reattach to the earring, closing the jump ring tight, so you do not lose the earring.

Done!

Me showing off the earrings, excuse the disaster that I am today.

That was easy enough, right? Well, watch for part 2 which I promise will be an adventure for all of us.