Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Savvy Entertaining’

Spring Decor with Nests

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Entertaining Ideas, Home and Garden, Home Decor, tagged , , , on March 5, 2013| 1 Comment »

nest 1

One thing that always shouts “Spring” to me is nests. I love nests of all shapes and sizes and if there are robin eggs inside them, even better. This sweet design from Pretty Handy Girl is just awesome.

 

nest 2

This one from The Idea Room is so pretty, too. I like the distressed wood of the table, too.

umbrellaThe whimsy of this umbrella with flowers and a nest is full of great spring color and fun from Things I Love.

nest 3

This centerpiece ,complete with cheery flowers and a nest is perfect for spring from the creative folks at Good Housekeeping.

 

nest 4

The milk glass is a perfect accent to this nest with handpainted eggs from Creative Juice.

Have fun feathering your nest this spring!

She Who Needs to Find Some Eggs and a Nest

Read Full Post »

Fry Bread

Posted in bread, Recipes, tagged , , on March 1, 2013| Leave a Comment »

bread - fried and buttered

One of Captain Cavedwellers most favorite things on the planet is fry bread.

Anytime I make yeasty bread dough, he begs and pleads for me to fry up a few pieces for him.

Since I kind of like him, I usually relent and let him have his grease-soaked carb fix.

This is really fast and easy to make, especially if you already have bread dough made.

Just use this easy recipe for Bread Dough

And if you absolutely don’t want to make your own dough, you can always find it in the freezer section of your grocery store.

When you get to the stage of punching down the dough and forming it into rolls, you can make it all into fry bread or just a few pieces. (Just a few pieces is all that ever happens at our house. More than that and someone would be in serious trouble.)

Pinch off a piece of dough, about the size of a golf ball, roll into a ball and place in a greased baking pan. Uniformity is NOT my middle name, so mine are all uniquely sized. Continue with this process until you've filled the pan with rolls, leaving space between each one. Cover and place a warm spot to rise for another hour.

Pinch off a piece of dough, about the size of a golf ball, roll into a ball and then flatten it until it’s only about a 1/4 inch thick.

bread - in the fryer

Using a heavy saucepan over medium heat,  pour in enough oil that it covers a good couple inches or so of the bottom of the pan. To test the temp of the oil, drop in a tiny bit of dough. If it sizzles when it hits the oil, it’s showtime.

Carefully slide your piece of flattened dough into the hot oil. I like to use a long-handled fork, just make sure you keep your fingers far away from the hot oil.

Brown on one side (takes not even a minute, so watch it carefully). You’ll see the edges start to turn brown. Flip it over and brown the second side then place on a paper-towel lined plate to absorb the excess oil.

bread - fried

Captain Cavedweller will wait only until he thinks they won’t produce third degree burns on his tongue before he takes a bite of the hot, crispy bread.

bread- fried and hollow

I prefer to wait a little longer, liberally sprinkle mine with powdered sugar and then devour the airy goodness.

You can top with cinnamon and sugar, jam, fruit preserves, whipped cream or pile on salsa, cream cheese, taco ingredients – whatever floats your boat!

Enjoy!

She Who May Need to Make a Batch of Fry Bread Soon

 

Read Full Post »

Be Mean to Old People Week

Posted in Captain Cavedweller, Musings, tagged , , on February 28, 2013| 2 Comments »

jailedcat_01

Apparently, it must be National Be Mean to Old People Week.

Why didn’t someone warn me? How did I miss this memo?

After writing Monday about people treating the elderly disrespectfully, Captain Cavedweller and I arrived home last night to find a frantic message from his grandmother followed by a cryptic message from his mother which ended in “call me when you get home.”

CC called his mom to discover some scammer called his grandmother, pretending to be “her oldest grandson.”

When Grandma asked him what his name was, he couldn’t remember.

When she asked him why he sounded funny, he said he had a cold. (CC talks to his Grandma enough she’d recognize his voice if he had a cold – or was trying to holler into a windstorm.)

Not being the easy mark the scammer thought she’d be, he tried to play up a whole sob story about being in jail in Mexico and needing her to bail him out.

Since CC has never been in trouble with the law and never been to Mexico, both statements sounded fishy to Grandma.

So she hung up, called us, then called CC’s mom.

My most wonderful mother-in-law assured Grandma that if any of us were in jail in Mexico, she’d be the last person we’d call. (Not sure that helped Grandma’s ego at that point, but it was kind of funny.) Grandma was just glad for the assurance that CC had not completely changed his personality and turned to a life of crime and debauchery. We’re glad to know if something ever did happen and we needed her help, Grandma has got our back.

Anyway, to those who heard CC was in Mexico waiting for his grandma to bail him out – sorry to disappoint you. He was at work all day yesterday. I know that for a fact because we carpooled.

And to those of you who think it’s funny, cool, or clever to try and scam old people – knock it off. You obviously have creative skills that are not being put to good use.

Get a job.

Work for a living.

Be a contributing member of society instead of a trouble-making parasite.

She Who Has Had it With People Picking on the Elderly

 

Read Full Post »

Slow Cooker Desserts

Posted in Books, Referrals, tagged , , , on February 27, 2013| Leave a Comment »

cookbook crockpot cover

I received a cookbook to review the other day. If you like sweets (particularly warm sweets) and enjoy using your slow cooker – this is the book for you!

Slow Cooker Desserts by Jonnie Downing, offers recipes for everything from custards and cobblers to pies, cakes and more.

cookbook crockpot pers

You can make yummy things like Pears with Caramel and Maple.

cookbook crockpot chocolate chip cookiesChocolate Chip Cookie Bars (that’s right!) in your slow cooker.

And my favorite…

cookbook crockpot browniesTriple Chocolate Brownies. Vanilla Ice Cream puddling off the top of a delicious, warm brownie – oh, my!

Downing, along with her daughter,  offers dozens of slow cooker recipes on her blog Crockpotninja.com 

They showcase everything from new recipes to tried and true favorites.

This cookbook gives you the best of her dessert recipes with full-color photos and easy to follow step by step instructions.

She includes information about the different types of slow-cookers, cooking times, measurement conversions.

From pineapple crisp and luscious lemon cake to sticky toffee pudding and banana bread, you’ll find a great assortment of delicious desserts. She even has a section at the back of the back titled “Emergency Desserts” with several fun recipes.

If you love your slow-cooker and have a sweet tooth, check out Slow Cooker Desserts.

Available from Ulysses Press, you can find it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »