Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Planted Corn with a little help.....


4/16/2012 Tonight we planted corn in the garden with a little help from Jaxson (sweet Grandcritter). He was persistent and completed the job!!! Thank you Jaxson!!!

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Quick english muffin pizzas....a quick meal for My Gardner Guy!!!

English muffin pizza's



Pepperoni, apple appetizer.....
Making dinner with odds and ends. Some nights you want to fix something simple, use up some odds and ends; for example I had some pepperoni and a 1/2 jar of tomato sauce taking up space in my refrigerator. So I took a package of english muffins and cut them in half, placing on a baking sheet face up buttering the tops. Because I am going to use a jar of tomato sauce (without seasoning) I add some garlic salt and Italian seasoning to the buttered english muffins. Next I toast them a little under the broiler just a few minutes. The next step is to add tomato sauce to the top of the toasted english muffin, pepperoni, cheese and a olive. Place under the broiler again long enough to melt cheese ect. Though my pictures did not show these as good as they did look My Gardener Guy and the kids poilished them off fast. When it comes to pizza I like lots of topping but with these just a few toppings like pepperoni, spinach, cheese, sauce, olives, mushrooms, thats about all you need to make a quick meal. Serve it up wit a salad or fruit and it's perfect!!! 
For a quick appetizer take a small apple slice, cheese slice, pepperoni slice top with jalapeno pepper and olive, use tooth picks to hold together and serve. My Gardener Guy likes these, you will enjoy the sweetness of the apple with the spicyness of the pepperoni.

Monday, April 9, 2012

Caramelized onion pizza with white sauce and sun dried tomato's ...


I love it when I can use stuff I have put up from the garden. This pizza works perfect because I always have all the stuff...


White Sauce

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 garlic clove, minced (from the garden)
  • 1 -2 tablespoon basil pesto (from the garden)
  • 3 tablespoons  flour
  • 1 cup milk

Remaining Pizza Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced onions (from the garden)
  • 1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomato (from the garden)
  • red pepper flakes (from the garden)
  • 1 cup mozzarella cheese
  • 1 prebaked pizza crust or make your own!!!
  • Pizza Crust recipe below

Directions



  1. In a skillet, saute onions in a little olive oil over medium heat until they have caramelized. This should take about 10 minutes. Set aside. 
  2. For the white sauce, melt butter in saucepan. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Sprinkle flour over top, then slowly whisk in milk. Add pesto, and season with salt and pepper. Stir until thickened. Preheat oven to 400.
  3. Spread sauce over pizza crust. Scatter caramelized onions and sun-dried tomatoes over top. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and red pepper flakes.
  4. Bake 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted and lightly browned.
Pizza Dough Recipe:
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 2 1/4 tsp. instant yeast
  • 4 cups (22 oz.) bread flour, plus more for dusting
  • 1 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 1/4 cup water, at room temperature
  • 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
(Makes 2 pizza doughs)
Directions
1. Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle the yeast over the top. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the bread flour and salt, mixing briefly to blend. Measure the room temperature water into the measuring cup with the yeast-water mixture. With the mixer on low speed, pour in the yeast-water mixture as well as the olive oil. Mix until a cohesive dough is formed. Switch to the dough hook. Knead on low speed until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, 1 1/2-2 hours.
2. Press down the dough to deflate it. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Form each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball. Cover with a damp cloth. Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no longer than 30 minutes.
3. If you don’t plan on using your dough immediately, freeze it. To do this, mix up the dough as usual and let it rise as normal. After dividing the dough into two equal portions, wrap each tightly in plastic wrap and store inside a freezer-safe bag, and transfer to the freezer immediately. Freeze the dough until it is ready to be used. The day you plan to use the dough, transfer it to the refrigerator in the morning to thaw in time for dinner that evening. (If using the dough for lunch, transfer to the refrigerator the night before.)

Sunday, April 8, 2012

A twist on the good old Deviled Egg....

High-protein eggs filled with creamy good-for-us avocados…WOW. Make lots.

Prepare these not too long before serving, as the avocados may turn dark.)


6 hard boiled eggs
1 medium avocado, diced small
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
Salt to taste
Cut boiled eggs in half lengthwise and carefully scoop out yolks. Mash yolks with a fork. Stir in diced avocados, mayonnaise, lemon juice, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and salt to taste. Fill egg whites with yolk mixture and place on a serving plate. Sprinkle with cayenne or fresh, chopped parsley. Makes 12 servings.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Deviled eggs and Easter???


Deviled eggs and Easter; can you say that in the same sentence? Whatever we call these delicious treats they are a good way to use up those many eggs you dyed for the Easter egg hunt. That is if you are still old fashion like me and enjoy the fun of decorating Easter eggs. As a family we have enjoyed deviled eggs and the fun of decorating and dyeing easter eggs!!! Though my Garderner Guy is not fond of these my kids are and so is My Gardner Guy's Dad and brothers and sisters....So every year I make a platter for them. This year I tired an idea I saw on pinterest. They are cute however I think I perfer the traditional way served on my crystal egg dishes. I have a hard time eating things that look like baby chicks....LOL

Deviled Eggs

6 hard boiled eggs
3 Tbsp of Mayo
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp honey mustard
1 tsp apple cider
salt and pepper to taste
Our 2011 Easter Eggs....
sprinkle with paprika or nutmeg


These are our 2012 eggs...I love spending time with my kids !!!
And busy Grandcritters...

Sugar Eggs...spring time crafts


Our display of our 2012 Easter Crafts that we managed to finish this year despite two babies and two 2 year olds....we had a good time...


Avery, Madelyn, Ty and Ella....

Brown paper bags were use to make these sweet little baskets, I want to warn you though they take a little time to finish up. This is not a project for little ones that loose their attention span fast. I made these baskets up ahead of time. Link on how to make is further down in this page.

Spring time fun with the grand critters....this is our 3rd year of doing sugar eggs for Easter.
Our 3rd year for getting together during spring break, enjoying time with one another, movies, birthdays, crafts, food........Easter stuff!!!
Sugar eggs are fun, inexpensive and if stored carefully can last for years to enjoy.
There are a lot of websites that can give you instructions and a sugar recipe, my is simple 1 cup of sugar to 1 TBSP of chilled water, mix well, press sugar into your mold, invert right away and allow a day of good drying time. Depending upon how you want your egg designed scoop out a hole to be able to view the inside of you egg design. Below is a link that can give you more details. On this website or any other sugar egg website you will find sugar eggs done with great detail. Don't worry, keep yours simple, we used little plactic eggs, bunnies, chicks, Easter grass, and silk flowers and leaves....and a few butterflies on ours. A little frosting to attach stuff and to hold the egg halves together. By using a frosting decorating tip you can create a cute design on the sugar eggs. Make it easy, make it fun!!!
http://candy.about.com/od/candybasics/ss/sugar_eggs.htm
I use a large plastic egg for my mold, you can find them around Easter time for under $2.00

This year I found a smaller Easter egg to use as a mold, it is perfect for the littler kids, we just decorate the top with goodies...


 This cute Easter chick is easy...for the body cut out a egg shape, trace your child's hand for the wings, use fasteners to attach the wings. Use wiggly eyes, and cut out a square shape for the beak folding it on a diagonal. Cut out some legs...very easy.


These cute baskets are made from brown paper bags...http://www.ellinee.com/diy-grocery-bag-easter-basket/
Cute cupcakes, simple to do...

This cute banner is made from paint samples, use stickers with letters if you want a saying like
 Happy Easter ect.


The grandcritters loved painting these...Angry Birds!!!
I think I will paint a set for my house and the garden...

These are our to babies.....this one in the swing is sweet Osmond...
He is really sweet and always has a smile!!! 


And this cutie is our Ayden....he loves to snuggle and we are so happy to have him!!!
Isn't he CUTE!!!


Loving mashed potatoes the Irish Way!!!

You can use kale instead of cabbage, but I personally prefer the softer and sweeter taste of cabbage. Colcannon is traditionally topped with...