Pin Love

Lovin' the Pinterest.  Don't we all?!?!  I want to make sure that all you lovely Pinners are checking out the original source.  A lot of pins are "corrupt" or take you to a homepage of a blog not necessarily the post you want.  So PLEASE make sure if you're pinning, re-pinning, that you check out the original source!

So I thought I would share my most "Pinned" posts.

#1).  Microwave Potato Chips

#2).  DIY Hairmask 

#3).  Daddy Lou's Nuts & Bolts

#4).  Scalloped Potatoes

Have you checked out these Pin-popular posts?  Well you should!  They're pretty great, even if I do say so myself (which I do)!

Happy Pinning.

DIY Photo Board

I know I'm not the first person to post a tutorial like this.  But I totally upcycled my old bulletin board and I'm pretty darn proud of it.  You know I had one of those half cork board half white boards, but it was quite old and the white board was worse for wear and you couldn't erase anything from there anymore.  I had been wanting to make a photo board for a while (I've made two now) so I finally had some time to make mine.

Here's how I did it.

I took pillow stuffing/batting and sort of glued the batting down so that it wouldn't move too much.

I measured some burlap, laid it down and then put the board down, batting side down.  Then I placed strategic hot glue dots along the edges before using upholstery tacks to secure it.

It's just the back so don't worry about making it look too nice.  Just make sure it's secure. Because my batting was so puffy I really reamed on the burlap to make it as tight as possible.

Here's the back and the front. 

Sorry the burlap is basically the same colour as my flooring!

Then I turned it over and started laying out my ribbon.  

A note: if you don't know how much ribbon you have, start with the longest ribbon from corner to corner.  

I attached them with hot glue.

Then I went the other way!  Thank goodness I had SO much ribbon.  It was a long spool.  I would recommend buying 2 rolls of ribbon just to be safe!  My board was 24" across and 17" high.

The next step is to put the tacks where the ribbon crosses.

Because I used so much batting (it was pouffy) I knew the tacks wouldn't stay in.  So I decided to put a little hot glue where the ribbon crossed and then pushed the tack in as far as it would go.

Ready for the final product?!?!?!

A big thank you to everyone who sent me Christmas cards that I used here!  It wouldn't look nearly as lovely without your beautiful faces!  Now I just need to find a place to hang it.  It will most likely be going in the kitchen, I'm just not sure where yet.

Have you made a ribbon photo board? 

I'd love to see it.

Penny Pinching Wednesdays 

Coq-Au-Vin

I don't know if I mentioned it or not but I got Tony Bourdain's Les Halles cookbook for Christmas from my very awesome (almost) brother-in-law Adam aka Mr Envirocraftiness.  Does he know me or what? Not only do I love to cook but I freakin' LOVE Mr. Bourdain.  He is like the epitome of cool.  So badass!

This recipe isn't from that cookbook (there is a coq-au-vin recipe in there that I will have to try eventually), but I am feeling more adventurous after trying this traditional French dish!

What You'll Need

8-12 skinless chicken thighs

1 tbsp butter

1 cup (or more) button mushrooms

1 cup sliced onion

1 tsp thyme

salt and pepepr

2 bay leaves

2 tbls tomato paste

2 cups dry red wine

1-2 cups chicken broth

Clean up your chicken thighs removing excess fat (if you're weird like me).  I've never cooked with anything except boneless skinless breasts so this adventure into thighs was interesting.  I found a pretty good chunk of bone in one; then I got all crazy about checking for bone in each thigh.  I also halved the thighs.

In a deep, heavy, skillet heat the butter and brown the chicken.  I like to sear my chicken so I cranked that heat.  They're gonna simmer forever in the sauce so DO NOT cook through.  Once browned, remove from skillet and place on a plate.

Add the mushrooms and half of the onions.  

Fry over medium high heat until the mushrooms are browned.  Remove from skillet.

Add remaining onions, thyme, salt, pepper, and bay leaves to the skillet and cook until the onions are softened (I added some butter to facilitate the cooking).  Once the onions are softened stir in the tomato paste and cook for about a minute.

Add the wine and the broth and bring to a boil over medium high heat, scraping any brown bits.  

Oh, and just for a little reality check, here's what my kitchen looked like as I was elbow deep in the adventure. Mr Bourdain would be displeased with my Mis en Place.  So was I.

Return the chicken and any juices on the plate to the skillet.  Reduce the heat but maintain a gentle simmer.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  Then add in the mushroom onion mixture to the skillet and continue to cook, covered, until the sauce thickens (you may need to add some flour/cornstarch), about 25 minutes.  While the chicken was cooking I cleaned up the rest of the thighs and froze them into packages.

I chose to serve this hearty meal with garlic mashed potatoes to soak up the delicious au-jus.  And because I need something green in every meal I also had broccoli.

Mmmmm! So delicious.  So hearty.  A great change from the typical stew, chilli or soup that we love to indulge in during this chilly weather.

Coconut Curry Chilli

I found this recipe online when I was looking for ground turkey recipes.  I really love ground turkey and substitute it in my stroganoff and chilli.  So when I found this recipe  I was excited.  It was a interesting and intriguing recipe.  

Coconut Curry Chilli.  It even sounds weird.  But if I can interest you into making this recipe you will be surprised and delighted with the result!  

What You'll Need

1 lb lean ground turkey 

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup water

2 cans tomato soup

1/2 cup chopped carrot

1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup mango chutney

3 tablespoons curry powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup coconut milk, divided

(I'm sorry that I don't have step by step photos-I honestly didn't think this was going to turn out well so I passed on the photos.  But the next time I make it I will update this post-I promise)

So first you're gonna brown your turkey in a skillet.  While you're doing that, combine the garlic, tomato soup and water in a Dutch Oven and bring to a boil.  Add the browned turkey to the pot and return the mix to a boil and then lower the heat to medium.  Add in the chickpeas, kidney beans, carrot, chutney (I used closer to 1/2 a cup of chutney because I LOVE it), curry powder, onion powder (I used onion salt) and bring the pot to a simmer.  Cover and let simmer for about 15 minutes.

Now as we all know, the key to good chilli, even more so to good curry is slow cooking for a long time.  So you will need some time; grab a book.  

After 15 minutes stir in 1/4 cup of coconut milk, cover the pot and continue to simmer another 15 minutes.  Pour the remaining 1/4 cup coconut milk into the chilli, stir, and simmer for another 30 minutes.

I served this over coconut steamed rice.  You already opened the can of coconut milk, and you don't need it all for the recipe, so put it in the rice instead of the full water amount!  

It's the best!

While I was making this I never thought "this is a cool chilli recipe".  It definitely felt more like a traditional curry, even though the ingredients maybe aren't that traditional.  You could also serve it straight up with some naan bread.  Anyway you eat it, it's freakin' delicious.

It was SO cold in Saskatchewan....

... * all together now* "HOW COLD WAS IT?"  

F$%KING cold (pardon mon francais)!  

But seriously it was super cold. 
Like -30* CELSIUS! 
That's -22* for the Yanks! 

So cold I had to make myself a new scarf while I was there.  

Do you like it?  I love it!  I made it with Martha Stewart Alpaca, Wool, Acrylic blend that I got for $2.99 a skein!  Yes you read that correctly!  The wool was normally $14.99/skein and I got it for $2.99 each! I may or may not have purchased copious amounts of said wool.

If you crochet you can find this pattern on Ravelry.  It's super easy, takes three skeins (don't skimp, it really takes three) and one evening (depending on how fast you are!)  I made three while I was in SK over the break and made two for Christmas gifts.  It's a great winter warmer.  It hasn't been very warm here inVancouver, so I've been able to wear this lovely since being home.

East Meets West Dinner

Awe man!  I wanna eat this meal every day forever!  That's how good it is.  Bonus?  It's SO super easy, quick and affordable!  This is an Asian inspired meal that you can make in 30 minutes!

What You Need

Butter/Oil

Shallot

5 cloves garlic

Brussels Sprouts

2 Chicken breasts, halved length wise

4 tablespoons brown sugar

rice

Ok here's how you make this full meal deal.

First, mince about 2 cloves of garlic and half of the shallot.  Melt some butter or EVOO over medium heat in a large sauté pan and add in the garlic and shallots.  While that's cooking, remove the stems from the Brussels sprouts and cut them in half.  Once the garlic and onions are fragrant place the halved Brussels sprouts flat side down.  Cover and cook over low to medium heat for about 10-15 minutes. You'll want to brown the flat side to bring out the flavour.

While that's cooking pre-heat your oven to 500*F.  This is when you'll want to start your rice.  I made brown rice (cuz that's what I eat)  I also used chicken stock instead of water to cook the rice in. Delicious.  Get your rice boiling and let it cook.

Next prepare a small square casserole and place the halved chicken breasts evenly in the pan.  Season with salt and pepper. Place casserole to the side.

Mince 3-4 cloves of garlic.  In a small sauté pan heat some EVOO and toss the garlic in and sauté on low heat until tender.  

Once that's done, add in the brown sugar and whisk together.  I know it looks thick but don't worry! (I added too much oil and had an oily sauce when it was done).  

Once the brown sugar has melted spoon 
the garlic sugar mixture over the chicken.  
(See the butter in the bottom of the casserole? Oily)

Place the chicken in the pre-heated oven and cook for 15-30 minutes.  Mine took 20 minutes and they were still a little frozen in the middle when I put them in the oven.  Oh, I also turned on the broiler to finish up the chicken.  Only about five minutes just to caramelize the top a little.

Then plate up.  If you have some sauce from the chicken spoon it over the rice.  I also recommend putting a little soy sauce on the rice.  That blend of sweet from the brown sugar and salty from the soy sauce is deadly delicious!