Mixed Martha 'Motions

It's supposed to be "emotions" but the 3 M's just taunted me too much. I give in so easily to that little voice that snickers in my mind at things like that- the voice sounds a LOT like my friend Danielle Wolf.

ANYWAY- the real reason you are reading this post- MARTHA STEWART. That name brings strong emotions for many people. Some love her and emulate her every move, others loathe her and want nothing to do with her. I'm somewhere in the middle. I'm not a follower of her to the point that everything in my house is a soft breezy color and every gift or goodie I make is homemade but I'm also not a hater. She has some good ideas some of which I use and some I throw away knowing I will NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS use/make that!

No matter how you feel about Martha I have a link for you. On her website she has set up a "Santa's Workshop" page and it is CHOCK FULL of fantastic ideas! There are some really great recipes I'd love to try- these are just too cute!

And talk about GIFTS GALORE!!! They are all homemade gifts and you can search for different categories like 'for her,' 'for him,' 'for kids,' and others. I found several things that would be great ideas for not only Christmas, but birthdays and other celebrations!

Go check it out and if you make anything please let me know how it turns out!

Bloggie Giveawy

Hello All~

I wanted to tell you about an ADORABLE Etsy shop called Jesse Janes. (Isn't that cute first of all!) She make some beautiful item and they are reasonably priced too! Can't beat that... or CAN you????

Go to Songberries and you could WIN one for FREE wahoo! Plus she has some really great recipe ideas. So head over to Songberries and enter the giveaway, and then take time to look through her recipes. The Chocolate Buttermallow Cake she has up looks TO DIE FOR!!!!!

Texas Style Chili

In case you didn't know..... IT IS FALL!!!!!!

I love this time of year so much. Other than some memories th

at are hard for me at this time of year, it is probably my favorite few months of the year. The weather is just gorgeous, the trees are so distinct, and of course the FOOD! :)

Let's just be honest the food at any time of year is the biggest thing we look forward to. Fall brings wiener roasts, s'mores, pumpkin flavors, cinnamon, nutmeg, apples, caramel, soups, and of course CHILI! Confession ALERT: until the last year or two I wouldn't eat chili. NEVER in a million years would I have eaten, let alone MAKE it!

I've grown up though folks and here I am, a total chili LOVER! We

ndy's chili was what originally got me hooked and I only ate it because I was trying to eat a little healthier to fit into my wedding dress. Chili at Wendy's was a better option than the fried chicken sandwhich and french fries I used to get there! So now I love chili of all kinds but not too spicy. The following chili has become my all time FAVARITO! It came from my Mother-In-Law's friend and I have changed it a little bit to fit my taste and to simplify it. Feel free to do the same! :)

Texas Chili *This was a double batch in the pictures, recipe is a single batch*

3-5 lbs stew meat

1 Tbsp vinegar

3 beef bouillon cubes

1 envelope of dry onion soup mix

2 Tbsp chili powder

1 onion chopped (I only use a full onion if I make a double batch cause we don't like it much)

1 can of rotel (only used 1 can in the double batch and it worked fine)

2 cans kidney beans- drained and rinsed

1 can of chili beans

Toppings (Optional): Cheddar cheese, fritos, sour cream

Put meat in a 4-5 qt heavy stock pot with 1/2 cup of water (with

double batch don't double water.)

Cover and cook on med/high until meat is cooked and grayish. About 30 minutes.

Uncover and cook away juices, turn meat so that it browns as evenly as possible. About 25 minutes. Lift out meat and put into a separate bowl.

In original pan add 1/4 cup of water and vinegar. Scrape down sides to loosen any brown bits (YUMMY!) and add bouillon cubes, onion soup, chili powde

r, and onion. Cook and stir for 10 minutes.

Add rotel and beans.

Stir to mix well before adding the meat back into the pot.

Cover and simmer until the meat falls apart- 2 hours is good but

can simmer for a while if needed.

**I added some tomato juice and water to this batch because it was pretty thick. It IS a thick chili so add as much tomato juice as you feel comfortable for your taste. Have fun with it!**

Dave loves his with fritos and cheese, I also put sour cream on mine. Woop woop!

Lastly- keep your dogs away from it. My dogs accidentally got a taste of chili a while back and now ANY time they smell that wonderful aroma they go nuts! I was sitting here working on this post and looking at Facebook and had to snap this shot!

Chocolate Molasses Cookies

I made these quite a while ago, but they were so delicious that I had to make a 2nd batch- mostly for my parents! Since they have fairly small amounts of sugar in them they are a great treat for my Dad. He has been dealing with cancer of the blood and since sugar feeds cancer he's been staying away as much as possible.

ANYWAY- I get daily e-mails from Martha Stewart's website with the "Cookie of the Day" and it's fantastic! You have to sign up for some of her daily e-mails cause they are gold.

Chocolate Molasses Cookies

4 oz semisweet choc OR 3/4 Cup semisweet chips

1 stick of butter

1 1/4 Cup flour

2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2/3 Cup light brown sugar

1 egg lightly beaten

2 Tbsp dark unsulfured molasses

1 tsp vanilla extract

*Preheat your oven to 350

*In a large bowl melt choc and butter in the microwave- stir every 30 seconds

*In a separate bowl whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt

*Add brown sugar, egg, molasses, and vanilla to the choc/butter and mix well

*Add the flour mixture to that ^ and stir to combine

*Scoop by the tablespoon into your hand and quickly roll into a ball- about 9 per sheet

*Bake about 12-13 minutes until the tops are crackly but cookies are soft to the touch. (They will harden as they cool)

*Let cool 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely. Then sprinkle with powdered sugar

*Devour these tasty treats that can even be considered 'good' for you. Molasses has been proven to be great for 'women problems' so eat up girls! :)

Sophronas Bakery

So someone I actually know outside of the 'blog world' has recently started her own blog and could use a little encouragement! Please stop by SophronasBakery and see what she has in store for your taste buds. She is incredibly talented and makes the most amazing cakes. I can't wait for you to see some of her work!!!!

Found a fun new one for you all...

Lindsay at "Passionate Homemaking" is a stay at home mother of 2 in the Northwest-Portland area. She has a TRUE gift for saving money and keeping her family healthy. Not just in the food she serves them but also in their cleaning supplies, laundry, and even toiletries! I've read through her entire blog and it's AMAZING! Please take some time to visit her because she has wisdom you can glean.

One of my favorite things about her and her family is their intense belief in modesty. Even on her wedding day she was completely covered- and for a woman in this day and age that is a DIFFICULT task! Her posts are inspirational and I am excited to get to know her better through her blog. Please join me!

New Recipe- Crescent Chicken Squares

So last night Dave and I tried a new recipe- and I'm trying something new myself. I'm taking pictures of our meals and posting them with the recipe. A photographer I am NOT so please give me grace for my horrendous photos! The food looked better in person!

Crescent Chicken Squares

8 oz pkg cream cheese softened

1 tbsp butter softened

2 cups cooked chicken shredded OR a 10.5 ox can of chicken

3-4 tbsp milk

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup frozen peas or broccoli cut into small pieces

2 tubes of crescent rolls

1 tbsp melted butter

1/8 cup bread crumbs

Heat oven to 350* In a medium bowl beat cream cheese and softened butter until smooth. Add chicken, milk, seasoning, and veggies. Set aside.

On 2 baking sheets make 8 rectangles by pressing two crescents together. Scoop chicken mixture in the center of each and pull the four corners together and twist together to seal- brush with butter and sprinkle bread crumbs over top.

Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

OUTCOME: It was okay-Dave said it was more like chicken salad than anything else. I think next time I'll use the same crescent pocket idea and maybe do BBQ chicken with some mozzarella cheese. It's a fun concept but needs some work. Any ideas???

What in the WORLD?

I'm sitting here finishing my large Wendy's chili with 5 packs of crackers my boss bought me for lunch and searching the internet/blog world for quick and somewhat healthy recipes. Why? you ask... Because work is DEAD! This week is so strange. Mom is gone at camp all week so it's me and the boss-man holding down the 'fort.' Monday morning, boss-man was at a meeting in St. Louis until 2 and I was here all alone. I was SLAMMED! Claims, questions, a STACK of payments I couldn't even touch until 2:30, and so many calls I can't even tell you- if I still drank alcohol this would have been a Cosmo and White Russian night people! Crazy crazy crazy!

So this is what I look forward to all week right- 5 days of crazy nutzos and jerks... NOPE. Yesterday was a fairly average day for us lately. Mom still gone of course and Rich physically here most of the day yet non-existant mentally. Not a huge amount of stuff going on so I caught up on both mine and Mom's work from Monday. Wish I would have known then that today was going to be so slow. Seriously I've had my work done since about 11:00 and I'm here until 4:00 (usually 5 but the boss had to have lunch with his Mom and then run some errands.)

Waiting for 5:00 can be so frustrating! I try to stay busy with work stuff like cleaning, filing papers, cleaning out files, etc but I've done all that last week so there isn't much to be done. So I'm spending the rest of my day finding new blogs and new recipes! :) The silver lining to my day!

I found a GREAT blog that I want to share with you... Frugal Antics of a Harried Housewife She makes homemade breads, candies, and even BAGELS! I can't wait to try that recipe for myself!!!! There are TONS of recipes on her site and they all look fantastic. So happy reading all!

A New Favorite!

I found a new favorite blog today- Culinary Adventures of a New Wife

She has pictures, recipes, and all sorts of good things! Some of her recipes are beyond my preferences, but her desserts look fantastic, and lets be honest- that's all I really care about! I'm a BAKER not a cook. My 'staples' include flour and sugar not salt and saphron. Yes I know I should expand my horizons, but why change something when it works?!

Be sure to check out my new favorite and let me know what you think... (she has a great spin on the cupcake bites I love so much!)

Strawberries Galore!

My new obsession has become strawberries- bad for Dave since he's allergic but good for me and the neighbors cause there is more for us! :) Sorry honey! Last week I went to Aldi though and got a pint of strawberries for $1 each!!!! WHOA NELLY! Since they go bad pretty quickly I have frozen them and I thaw them out as needed.

The strawberry shortcake cookies were AWESOME! I used some fresh strawberries from the grocery store cause the thawed ones turn to mush and juice when they thaw, you need firm strawberries for the recipe. Also, I used the coarse salt as instructed but I think when I make them again I will use regular salt since one of my bites I took had a large chunk of salt and it tasted kinda strange. If you like your cookies super sweet, this might not be the best choice because they do have some tartness because of the berries. They are a great summer treat! Can't wait to make them again!

Another thing I made for Monday was Strawberry Lemonade. This was a HUGE hit, and a lot easier than I thought it would be. Since I had the mushy strawberries I thought I would put them to good use! I found the following recipe online and it was pretty good once I made a few adjustments.

Strawberry Lemonade
2 cups lemon juice (if you do all fresh lemons it takes about 16- I used 2 fresh lemons and used lemon juice for the rest)
1-1 1/2 cups strawberries
1 3/4 cups sugar
Zest of 2 lemons (zested before I juiced them)
5 cups cold water

In a medium saucepan make a simple syrup by putting sugar, lemon zest and 1/2 cup water in the pan and heat on medium- simmer 5 minutes until sugar dissolves. Cool completely.

Squeeze the lemons juice and put all lemon juice into a gallon pitcher-set aside. Place berries (best used is the mushy thawed ones!) and 1 cup water in a blender. Process on high for several seconds until all strawberries are pureed. Be careful not to do what I did and make it frothy!

Sieve the strawberry puree through a mesh strainer or cheese cloth (didn't do this and wished I had) and add it to the lemon juice. Then add the simple syrup mix and stir. Here is where you can adjust your taste. I added a little more water to dillute it because it was pretty thick. Just add water to your taste. :)

Hope you get a change to try either the lemonade or the cookies. Let me know how they work for you!

Mmmmm!

Monday nights have become a fun time for Dave and I lately. We've gotten into a circle of friends that we really enjoy. There are 5 couples (including us) that get together for dinner, sports for the guys, and conversation for the 'gals' and I went to school with ALL of them but one wife. It's so much fun getting to know them again because I didn't really know any of them in high school that well.

Anyway, this coming Monday is our night to host everyone and we've decided to grill out since it's supposed to be pretty nice out. Then for dessert I'm making Strawberry-Shortcake Cookies from Martha Stewart. I'm trying them out this weekend, but if you try them before me, let me know how they are. I'll give our report on them after dinner Monday!

Strawberry-Shortcake Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen

2 cups diced strawberries
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp granulated sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 oz (6 tbsp) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup heavy cream
Sanding sugar for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 350 Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 tbsp sugar. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining sugar in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or rub in with your fingers until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cream until dough starts to come together, then stir in strawberry mixture.

Using a 1 1/2 inch ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with sanding sugar and bake until golden brown, 24 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. They are best served immediately but can be stored in an airtight container at room temp up to 1 day.

My Friday

Tonight we are having our Young Adult Sunday School Class over for dinner. Thanksgiving type dinner that is! Dave and I are in charge of mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, and TURKEY! I'm using THIS turkey in the crockpot recipe to make things easier since I'm doing THREE turkey breasts! 2 are in crockpots and 1 is going in the oven.

Everyone is bringing salad, corn, sweet potatoes, stuffing, cheesecake, and we are also doing FONDUE for dessert!!!! Wahoo!

I'll let you know how everything turns out later!

~Jenna

Say it ain't so!

Has it REALLY been 2 WEEKS since I last wrote here??? Guess I've been too busy with the craziness that is my life to realize!

Well I wanted to let you all know about a recipe I tried that was AMAZING! Now I do NOT claim to be Suzy Homemaker by any stretch of the imagination, so when I made this Apple Butter I think Dave was quite shocked. (In a good way!) Since we are having a 'light' Christmas this year and scaling back on purchases for others, this might be an idea for me to make for people.

As Christmas draws ever closer, and along with it my sister's wedding, I'm getting busier and busier so I am going to start working on gifts probably this week or next. Like I said, we are going 'light' so most if not all gifts will be homemade. I don't want to do too much food, because almost all my family is on diets and my Dad can't have any carbs so most holiday snacks are out for him. I'm thinking about doing a "Coffee/Tea Basket" for most people.

I found a bunch of different recipes for making Coffee and Tea mixes that you just add water to, along with homemade flavored coffee syrups, and maybe biscotti? Then for those that don't like coffee or tea I could make the apple butter and some soup mixes or something.

What do you think? Is it too cheap sounding, or do you think people will like it????

Recipes

Okay I am SO sorry I haven't posted those recipes yet for you!

Cornished Game Hens: Makes sure they are thawed and rinsed. Individually wrap them in foil after seasoning them with a mix of 1/4 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp lemon pepper, and 1/2 tsp salt. Cook at 350 degrees for 45 minutes then open each and brush with melted butter. Cook another 15 minutes or until thoroughly cooked. Make sure to cook these on a RIMMED baking sheet. I didn't and we had a MESS from the juices while they cooked.

Orange Ginger Green Beans: Use 1lb fresh green beans- snap off the ends and cut in half if you want. Simmer them for 5 minutes drain and put them in a bowl. If using fresh ginger: place 1tbsp butter with 1/2 c chopped shallots and 1tbsp finely chopped ginger in a sauce pan and saute 5 minutes. Once shallots are tender toss mixture with green beans and 1/2 tsp grated orange peel.

Hope that takes care of the ones requested. I'll try to get recipes out quicker next time someone asks!

~Jenna