My Dad's Egg McMuffins

My dad did not really cook, but there were a few things he made that my mom never did so I always think of him when I make them. French Toast was one of those things and Egg McMuffins are the other. I have fond memories of my dad making me Egg McMuffins when I moved back home for a brief time when I was 24 and also anytime we went to the airport in the early morning, whether I was taking him and my mom or they were taking me.

My dad's Egg McMuffins are probably similar to most others, but there are a few added touches.

To make a "Carl" Egg McMuffin:

:: Fry an egg, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Try your best to shape into a square or rectangle.

:: While egg is frying toast an English muffin.

:: When egg is done frying, turn off heat and put half a piece of American cheese on the egg so it melts a little.

:: When the English muffin is done toasting, spread a little bit of mayo on the bottom half (if you don't like mayo, use butter or margarine, but I was leery of the mayo at first too and it really tastes good!)

:: Add your egg.

:: Add sausage or bacon if desired (I like mine without).

Serve with black coffee and eat OR for the "To Go" version, wrap in foil and take your coffee in a travel mug.

A story about how I made a gourmet sandwich for dinner

I don't know if this post can possibly top pregnancy news, but let me tell you, I have always loved me a hot ham and cheese sandwich. There is something so comforting and warm about it. So when I saw this recipe on Posie last week, I made up my mind to make it, and Tuesday night that it is just what I did. A Croque Monsieur...doesn't that just sound sophisticated? And yet, when it comes down to it, it is just a hot ham and cheese. Of course, it was much more complicated to make and I think that is where the sophisticated part comes in. I may have spent 3 hours making it (that includes my 2 trips to the grocery store though...pregnancy seems to be affecting my mental abilities, mainly that I forget things very quickly and often). It was very good, VERY rich and completely bad for us. But so good. The mornay sauce is definitely worth making, but it takes forever to make and you don't need much of it -you end up pouring it over the sandwich and then broiling it. I put a little too much on. That was my only mistake.

Finally, around 8pm, David and I were able to eat dinner and I of course snapped a photo first. It amuses me to take photos of my food. I often think how funny it would have been if before dinner, when I was growing up, my mom would have said: "Wait, I need a picture of those cabbage rolls first!" This could very well be a common occurrence for my children someday!

A Saturday Afternoon

Perhaps you would like to go apple picking with me? It was the last weekend for 'U-pick' at Lynd Fruit Farm. My mom and I went yesterday...the weather was perfect, why don't you come along?

Almost there...

Peeking through the trees...

Winesap apples, ready to pick!

Gold Rush Apples too high up for my arms to reach!

And this is what 16 pounds of apples looks like...don't worry, they keep 'til February. We made a delicious apple crisp when we got home too. This was my first time picking apples and it was so relaxing and rewarding. The apples really do taste better...I think I may have started a new fall tradition!

You can call me a granola girl if you want

Earlier this week I made homemade granola. I've been wanting to do this for several months, but kept forgetting to hunt for recipes. Well I finally did it. The end result was delicious and it was super easy to make. A good bowl of granola with milk has always been one of my favorite breakfasts -I like it both cold and warmed up in the microwave for 30 seconds or so. It also tastes great with vanilla yogurt (which is how I had it this morning). It seems at least slightly cheaper than box cereal to make my own so that's nice too. I adapted my recipe from three I found online at Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, The Kitchen Sink, and Curious Bird to come up with the recipe below. In future batches, I hope to try and make the granola a little more clumpy, however, from what I have googled this seems a little tricky. And the taste is the most important part right? Here is the WIP (work in progress) recipe I used. I am sure the next time I make granola, it will be slightly different, but customizing your own is half the fun!

Ingredients:
4 cups rolled oats (old fashioned variety)
1/2 cup coconut (most recipes called for unsweetened, however, I had sweetened on hand already so just used that and it didn't taste overly sweet)
1/2 cup nuts (I used almonds and hazelnuts)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
2 Tb honey
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup brown sugar (although next time I'll probably try more than this)
pinch of salt
2 cups raisins (or any other variety of dried fruit)
1 Tb maple syrup (most recipes called for real maple syrup, but I didn't have that and didn't want to pay for it either so I just used the fake kind, it turned out fine)
2 Tb water

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Combine dry ingredients except dried fruit. Whisk together wet ingredients. Pour wet mixture over dry ingredients and mix until well covered. Pour mixture onto a cookie sheet with ridges (so the granola won't spill over the edges). Bake 20-30 minutes until golden brown. Stir every 10 minutes. Cool pan on wire rack. Once cooled, add raisins or other dried fruit.

See doesn't that sound easy?

Pizza! Pizza!

August seemed to be a mad flurry of craftiness and now September is flying by entirely too fast. Too fast for me to get much of anything done at home. I've been in a bit of a crafty rut these last couple weeks....just coming home completely exhausted, barely enough energy to knit in front of the TV. So I thought I might as well share a recipe. I have been cooking at least. David and I have been making pizzas for the last several years, we have it down to a rather specific routine -I make the crust, he tops it. Here is one of our favorite pizza recipes:

David and Amanda's BBQ Chicken Pizza.

Ingredients:
**note these measurements are approximate, I usually just eyeball it

1 Martha White Pizza Crust (can use other brands, but we like this one the best)
cumin
chili powder
garlic pepper or powder
BBQ Sauce
1/4 cup red onion, sliced
3/4 cup frozen or fresh corn
shredded cheddar cheese
1-2 cups cooked chicken, cut or torn into bite size pieces. I use leftovers or those rotisserie chickens from the grocery store also work great for this!
cilantro

Preheat oven to 425.

Make the crust:
Make the pizza crust according to the instructions on the package, but before adding water mix in cumin, chili powder and garlic pepper. I don't use a precise amount of the spices, I just sprinkle it all in till it feels about right.

Prepare the toppings:
Grill corn and onions on the stove until onions soften and start to brown. Add some of the spices you used in the crust if you like

Chop cilantro and remove stems. Set aside.

Top the pizza:
When the crust is ready to be topped, spoon BBQ sauce onto it. Add corn, onions, chicken and top with cheese. Bake according to crust directions, I think about 15-20 minutes.

Top with chopped cilantro

Eat and enjoy!

Sushi for Dessert

Last weekend when we had our niece and nephew over for a visit we had 'sushi' for dessert. It turned out like this:



Yes, we even ate the 'sushi' with chopsticks! I got the idea straight from the pages of the May 2008 issue of Family Fun. Unfortunately they do not have the instructions on line...but it is just pound cake cut into circles and rectangles. You ice the pound cake and sprinkle it with coconut (that's the rice). Then you just press various candies on top (we used Swedish fish, M&Ms, and licorice) for the insides. Lastly, wrap it with a fruit roll up. Easy peasy! We made these with the kids, but I suppose if you wanted them to look cooler you could make them ahead of time and pop them in the fridge until it is time to eat.

Warning: This dessert sushi is very messy and the amount of sugar consumed in such a short period of time will induce hyperness, even in the adults! Plan a trip (run) to the park after eating.

Here are a few other links to dessert sushi I found afterwards:

• From Not Martha --this one uses Twinkies!!!
• A different one from Family Fun that uses rice krispie snacks
• From Brownie Points, a more involved, but delicious looking version!
• And if you still need more dessert sushi links head here.

Summer Lovin'

Since most of my craftiness this past couple weeks has been in the kitchen or the yard (I should say containers within the yard) and my camera, well it just sucks, and it's refusing to photograph, I've decided to just share a list of some of my favorite things lately which make me all giddy inside!

1. Spoonflower: A new "shop" which allows you to upload and edit designs to be printed into fabric. The black apple, one of my favorite crafty artists has already uploaded hers! I'm still waiting to be approved for membership (it's still in beta I think) and I may not have the cash for my own fabric, but it is fun to admire the designs. They also have a flickr group.

2. Farmer's Markets: I'm going to TRY and hit one on each of my Saturday's off. It just feels better to eat fresh, local food. Plus I discovered a new (to me) site called local harvest which tells me there is one only a few miles away, which is so much better than travelling to Clintonville or the North Market since they are sadly so far away from me now!

3. A.D.O.P.T and Rascal Unit: These are two fabulous pet advocate organizations. I would be so lost without them this month! Last week we finally caught mama cat, got her spayed and have released her back out into our yard. This was quite a task and she did not like it one bit, but she is finally fixed! She doesn't seem to like us like she used to --as much as a feral cat can like humans anyway-- but the food we put out is gone every morning. Her kitten (aka "Chicken" around here) will hopefully be listed on ADOPT's page very soon, pending my approval as a foster parent. So if you want to take his cute little butt home there is still time! Chicken Lickin' will be a hard little guy to part with...he gets his first round of shots this AM.

And one not so giddy piece of news...I've pretty much decided 2008 will NOT be the year of the craft fair for me. As much as I really do want to try my hand at a craft fair, I think I would be doing it for the wrong reasons. And things I can 'mass produce' are limited and not my favorite things to make. What I am truly wanting to make lately are clothes, things for the house, perhaps another quilt...the list goes on...for now it will still be just me and the etsy shop.

You MUST make this omelet!

We had my family over for a Father's Day brunch today and MAN we ate well! I made an Oven Omelet from The Splendid Table's: How to Eat Supper.

So. Freaking. Good.

It has 2 types of cheese, green apples, onions and chard. I had never even heard of chard before this recipe and I used red chard actually, because it was what they had at the grocery store. It tasted great, kinda spinachy, but better. And the apples added an amazing twist to the whole thing.

How to Eat Supper is an amazing read. I've been reading about it over at angry chicken and finally my much anticipated copy arrived on reserve from the library last week. I think I'm going to have to buy this one though. I have made two recipes from it this week and both exceeded my expectations (I also highly recommend the Santa Fe Summer Pot with Avocado and Shrimp -made that Monday night). This is actually a cookbook you can sit down and read as well, lots of little stories, which I am digging. It is so much more than a cookbook...

As this very busy Sunday winds down I am going to head out into the setting sun and plant me some herbs! I'm going to give this whole gardening thing another try I guess...and then maybe finish off the wine from brunch. Oh and do you know anyone who wants a kitten? I know a really cute one who needs a home. I cannot keep this one, but I am teaching him superb kitty manners. Don't you want to take this cutie home with you?

Snowed In, UPDATE

Still snowed in, but I thought I'd post updates as my snow day continues...kinda of giving off a "LIVE" effect...so I might be back one more time today, we'll see...So far so good on snowed in crafts. I finished a top: Pattern is Simplicity 3835. It's my first time using a Built by Wendy pattern and it was very simple. I made the elastic a little tight in the arms, but other than that it turned out well. The fabric is Denyse Schmidt...from her Katie Jump Rope line. I got it from a new fabric store in Beechwold, (on the corner of High and Garden), called Sew to Speak (thanks Angie for telling me about this place. I've already been twice!) This is the only place locally to buy some of the fabric she carrys. And the owner, Anita, is super sweet. I'll defintely be back again and again! I also baked cookies today...Cranberry Chocolate chip from the cookbook Apples for Jam. I am loving this cookbook which is organized by color of the dish and full of memories and excellent photography! The cookies are from the red section.

How is your Saturday going?

Pie

I had a revelation last weekend that in my 30 years on this earth I have never baked a real homemade pie. It just seems like something a girl (or guy!) should do at least once in her life...so yesterday I baked a pie from scratch. And it turned out disaster free and even looked pretty. I took a picture of course:


David picked peach pie...It has a coconut-almond crumb topping. The recipe was from the book Pie by Ken Haedrich, which has a ton of pie recipes, 300 or so. The only thing I did not like about this particular recipe is it called for lemon zest and lemon juice. I guess this is supposed to make frozen peaches taste more fresh, but I think it ended up overwhelming the peaches a bit. I'd probably just use half the amount of lemon juice if I make this again and I'd ditch the zest.

But all in all I'm pretty proud to have conquered baking a pie! What other challenges should I tackle next?

Short and sweet

So 11pm seems to be my average post time...giving me that "just in the nick of time" feeling...but here I've made it a week and a day so far for NaBloPoMo and I really don't feel like I have been too at a loss for words. But I am tonight...

I had the day off work for Veterans Day and despite a late start (I slept until 10 this morning!!!) I began making a stuffed bird, a Book Bird. I'm not quite sure how I am feeling about it though, so I am not posting any pictures. It was one of those types of projects where I started out feeling very excited about it, but then I stumbled and now I am a little bit frustrated with it. It may explain my lack of things to say tonight.

We did have a fabulous dinner though. David and I want to start our married life off as much better cooks to ourselves. In particular, we want to be more organized and less wasteful. So far we're sticking to our guns. Habits are forming I do believe! Tonight I made a Weight Watchers Dijon Chicken with garlic and dill red potatoes. Yummy!

Well, until tomorrow...

Goodies

Yesterday I made goodie bars! These were one of my grandma's special recipes. They're basically just rice krispie treats with peanut butter and chocolate but man, they are good :) The night of my grandma's funeral last February my cousins and I were sitting around talking and then we just scoured the kitchen and made goodie bars. It is a memory I really cherish. A bright spot in an otherwise difficult day. I thought I'd try my hand at sharing a yummy recipe. Here are the ingredients (minus the salt and pepper in the background):

1 cup sugar
1 cup karo
1 cup peanut butter
6 cups of rice krispies
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips

First you pour together karo and sugar into a pot. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add peanut butter:

Pour over rice krispies and mix together. Scoop mixture into a 9 x 13 rectangular cake pan. Use Wax paper to press flat if you like. Set aside

Melt chocolate chips and and butterscotch chips on very low heat or double broiler if you have one. When completely melted pour over pan of krispies.

Cool in fridge for at least 2 hours - overnight. Cut into bars and chow down!

I love these! I think I'll go eat one now actually :) It is about time for dessert...But before I do I also want to share my first swap received. Technically this was my second swap, however, My first one was quite a bummer, I never got anything and I had two partners! I was so happy to receive this today from Marylyn:

My faith in swaps is restored. I especially love the little knit and embelished needle case. I will make sure to take extra special care of it!!! Thanks so much Marylyn! Can't wait to knit up my new project!