Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Weekend Football Dip: Another Ready, Set, Craft! Rerun
I'm still feeling a little under the weather, so here's a great game-day snack going into the weekend that I posted last fall. Enjoy!
Football season is in full swing and as the weather gets cooler, my husband spends many a weekend afternoon watching "the big game" with friends or with our puppy... : ) This is a fast, super-easy dip to throw together for a half-time snack that's a surefire crowd pleaser!
Ingredients:
Tortilla chips (for dipping)
1 block cream cheese
1 can hormel chili - no beans
shredded cheese
Football season is in full swing and as the weather gets cooler, my husband spends many a weekend afternoon watching "the big game" with friends or with our puppy... : ) This is a fast, super-easy dip to throw together for a half-time snack that's a surefire crowd pleaser!
Ingredients:
Tortilla chips (for dipping)
1 block cream cheese
1 can hormel chili - no beans
shredded cheese
Melt cream cheese in the microwave until soft and gooey.
Add chili and mix together.
Sprinkle liberally with shredded cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve hot with tortilla chips for dipping. ENJOY!
Happy Weekend!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
A Ready, Set, Craft Re-Run: Gnocchi with Summer Veggies
Originally posted here on RSC last summer, this recipe (courtesy of Everyday Food Magazine) is a summer staple in our home. Travis (he's the cook in our house!) made it last night with fresh, locally grown squash, zucchini and grape tomatoes from the farmers market and it was amazing. Simple and quick to prepare, it's an easy no-meat meal that's full of flavor. Enjoy!
Gnocchi with summer vegetables
serves 4
prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
1 tbsp olive oil
2 zucchini or summer squash, or one of each quartered and sliced (we used one of each!)
2 garlic cloves, minced
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 package (15 to 16oz) frozen or fresh gnocchi
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
2tbsp grated romano cheese
1 tbsp butter
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add squash and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until squash in crisp-tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until juicy, about 2 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook gnocchi according to package instructions. Reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid, drain gnocchi and transfer to skillet. Toss gnocchi, adding enough cooking liquid to create a sauce. Remove from heat and stir in basil, cheese, butter, and lemon juice.
Gnocchi with summer vegetables
serves 4
prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
1 tbsp olive oil
2 zucchini or summer squash, or one of each quartered and sliced (we used one of each!)
2 garlic cloves, minced
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 package (15 to 16oz) frozen or fresh gnocchi
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
2tbsp grated romano cheese
1 tbsp butter
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add squash and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until squash in crisp-tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until juicy, about 2 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook gnocchi according to package instructions. Reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid, drain gnocchi and transfer to skillet. Toss gnocchi, adding enough cooking liquid to create a sauce. Remove from heat and stir in basil, cheese, butter, and lemon juice.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Lily's Bug Birthday Party - Part 2
Here are the rest of the photos from the Bug Birthday Party! Missed the rest of the bug party posts? Click on the Bug Birthday Party link to your right... ---------------->
After much baking the day before the party, and lots of frosting and decorating that morning, Heather and I filled three cupcake trees with chocolate, lime and orange spice cupcakes...
The dessert table was full of delicious-ness!
We strung more garland on all of the food tables... and I found these super cute butterfly straws at Pier One for the drinks...
I made little dirt cups... just 2oz each... the perfect size for wee ones...
And Heather made these AMAZING jello jigglers using a silicone mold (thanks, Mum!) from Avon of all places...
Some of Lily's gift-opening highlights included her own little chair...
My Mum made Lily this beautiful dress with matching bolero jacket! She is so talented!
Lily was the most patient 2 year old ever - meticulously opening every card and gift. One of the gifts Travis and I got her was a musical tea set...
Which prompted a little tea party - led by Lily's big sister Mariah. The kids really got into it!
And Lily was even able to blow out her candle all by herself! She just didn't want anything to do with the cupcake afterwards! : )
Thanks for checking out my pictures from the Bug Birthday Party! It was so much fun to do! Can't wait to start dreaming up themes for NEXT year's party!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Mother's Day Brunch Wrap Up
This weekend was a big one for us: Mother's Day Brunch and Lily's Bug Birthday Party in one 48 hour period. I was incredibly busy all week getting things ready... I guess in retrospect it's not a surprise that in true Joanne fashion I fell sick on Friday afternoon. I'm still not sure if it's allergies, a cold, or a sinus infection, but I do know it's been pretty awful. And a disappointment, for sure, to have to "make it through" all of these fun events instead of 100% enjoying them.
That being said, everything went really well. I had a hard time deciding which event to post about first! Believe me, there will be a LOT of photos shared this week -- I hope you don't mind!
We had both sets of parents, Travis' brother and his grandmother to our house for brunch on Mother's Day. It's the first family holiday we've ever hosted at our place - so I really wanted to make it special.
Here are the placecards I made...
And here's the table. Being sick and busy I for sure didn't take as many or as great a photos as I would have liked to, but these should give you an idea at least. I sewed the tablecloth and the runner and napkins myself.
Lots of delicious goodies to eat... so glad Travis likes to cook and was a huge help in this area...
(We also had mimosas, bloody marys, and coffee to drink...)
We were running a little later than planned (don't family meals almost always run that way?!) but we finally sat down to eat...
Here are a few shots of the family. Top left is Travis and I with his mom and brother. Top right is the three of us kids with Grandma. Bottom left is Travis and I with my parents, and bottom right is a cute snapshot of my parents.
And finally... a shot of me and my Mum...
We had a lovely brunch. There were a couple of decorative things I just didn't end up doing (too sick, not enough time... you've got to know when to stop and put your sanity and health first, you know?) but I think everything still looked (and tasted!) nice.
I hope that all you Mum's and Mom's (ha!) had a lovely Mother's Day!
PS) In all the craziness of last week I forgot to mention that I have another article over at Babble. I hope you'll check it out!
PPS) Dot over at Dabbled re-featured my Flower Pinata from last year. In case you missed it, be sure to take a peek!
That being said, everything went really well. I had a hard time deciding which event to post about first! Believe me, there will be a LOT of photos shared this week -- I hope you don't mind!
We had both sets of parents, Travis' brother and his grandmother to our house for brunch on Mother's Day. It's the first family holiday we've ever hosted at our place - so I really wanted to make it special.
Here are the placecards I made...
And here's the table. Being sick and busy I for sure didn't take as many or as great a photos as I would have liked to, but these should give you an idea at least. I sewed the tablecloth and the runner and napkins myself.
(We also had mimosas, bloody marys, and coffee to drink...)
We were running a little later than planned (don't family meals almost always run that way?!) but we finally sat down to eat...
Here are a few shots of the family. Top left is Travis and I with his mom and brother. Top right is the three of us kids with Grandma. Bottom left is Travis and I with my parents, and bottom right is a cute snapshot of my parents.
And finally... a shot of me and my Mum...
We had a lovely brunch. There were a couple of decorative things I just didn't end up doing (too sick, not enough time... you've got to know when to stop and put your sanity and health first, you know?) but I think everything still looked (and tasted!) nice.
I hope that all you Mum's and Mom's (ha!) had a lovely Mother's Day!
PS) In all the craziness of last week I forgot to mention that I have another article over at Babble. I hope you'll check it out!
PPS) Dot over at Dabbled re-featured my Flower Pinata from last year. In case you missed it, be sure to take a peek!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Guest Post: Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake
I constantly find myself in awe
of the wonderfully talented people I encounter daily - especially here
in the land of blogging. I share links to some of the fabulous
projects I come across each weekend in my Week in Review posts, and now
on (most) Wednesday's... at least for a awhile... I'm going to be going
a step further and inviting one of those creative folks to guest blog
here at Ready, Set, Craft!
Please give a big warm welcome to today's guest blogger, Abby from Steinway Street...
I love reading Joanne's blogs, so I was thrilled when she asked me to share a springtime recipe with her lovely readers! I'm not sure about your town, but strawberries are readily available (and cheap) in NYC right now. So when I walked past my local green grocer the other day and saw their display of ruby fruits, I immediately knew which recipe I wanted to share with you: Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake!
To make this delicious dessert, you'll need the following ingredients:
I bet you have most of these items in your pantry already, which makes this recipe a great addition to your book. You'll begin by adding your dry ingredients to a large bowl, starting with flour...
Sugar...
Baking powder...
And salt.
Next, you'll need shortening (although this can be replaced with butter if you prefer).
Using a pastry mixer, blend the ingredients...
You should continue mixing until the dough has the consistency of peas or oatmeal... like this:
Once everything is incorporated, in a separate container beat an egg...
And add that, along with some cream, to the dry ingredients.
As you work, you should be careful not to over-mix the dough. Once things start coming together (and pulling from the sides of the bowl), you can stop.
At this point, you should turn your dough onto a flour-covered work surface.
( You're probably wondering about that shaker in the photo above. A friend shared this trick: fill a shaker with flour, and use it to dust your surfaces when baking. Isn't that a great tip?)
But back to the dough! Once you've rolled it out to your desired consistency, cut out your biscuits. You can use a cookie cutter, but depending on what size you want your shortcake, you can also use a glass or mug!
Once the biscuits are cut out, just lay them on a baking sheet and toss them in the oven for a bit.
While they're baking, I would recommend you take a moment to hull and slice your strawberries. If they're fresh, you can sometimes get away with serving them plain- though I often prefer to sprinkle a little sugar over them, just to taste.
When the biscuits are slightly golden on top, you can remove them from the oven and set them on a rack to cool slightly.
I prefer not to let the biscuits cool too much (because I'm usually pretty anxious to eat dessert). Whenever you're ready to eat, slice your biscuit and place it inside a bowl.
I sometimes butter my biscuit, depending on what mood I'm in... you can't go wrong with extra butter!
Then you should add as many berries between your biscuit slices as possible.
And while that looks pretty good, you're not done yet! Go ahead an add a dollop of whip cream on top! (I didn't have any pre-made in the fridge, so I used an immersion blender to whip up some heavy cream.) Doesn't that look just perfect?
This is such an easy, yet scrumptious dessert! I think it's especially fun if you lay everything out in a self-serve style, so that your family/dinner guests can make their own version of this tasty treat for themselves.
If you'd like to try this baking this, here's the recipe:
Please give a big warm welcome to today's guest blogger, Abby from Steinway Street...
I love reading Joanne's blogs, so I was thrilled when she asked me to share a springtime recipe with her lovely readers! I'm not sure about your town, but strawberries are readily available (and cheap) in NYC right now. So when I walked past my local green grocer the other day and saw their display of ruby fruits, I immediately knew which recipe I wanted to share with you: Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake!
To make this delicious dessert, you'll need the following ingredients:
I bet you have most of these items in your pantry already, which makes this recipe a great addition to your book. You'll begin by adding your dry ingredients to a large bowl, starting with flour...
Sugar...
Baking powder...
And salt.
Next, you'll need shortening (although this can be replaced with butter if you prefer).
Using a pastry mixer, blend the ingredients...
You should continue mixing until the dough has the consistency of peas or oatmeal... like this:
Once everything is incorporated, in a separate container beat an egg...
And add that, along with some cream, to the dry ingredients.
As you work, you should be careful not to over-mix the dough. Once things start coming together (and pulling from the sides of the bowl), you can stop.
At this point, you should turn your dough onto a flour-covered work surface.
( You're probably wondering about that shaker in the photo above. A friend shared this trick: fill a shaker with flour, and use it to dust your surfaces when baking. Isn't that a great tip?)
But back to the dough! Once you've rolled it out to your desired consistency, cut out your biscuits. You can use a cookie cutter, but depending on what size you want your shortcake, you can also use a glass or mug!
Once the biscuits are cut out, just lay them on a baking sheet and toss them in the oven for a bit.
While they're baking, I would recommend you take a moment to hull and slice your strawberries. If they're fresh, you can sometimes get away with serving them plain- though I often prefer to sprinkle a little sugar over them, just to taste.
When the biscuits are slightly golden on top, you can remove them from the oven and set them on a rack to cool slightly.
I prefer not to let the biscuits cool too much (because I'm usually pretty anxious to eat dessert). Whenever you're ready to eat, slice your biscuit and place it inside a bowl.
I sometimes butter my biscuit, depending on what mood I'm in... you can't go wrong with extra butter!
Then you should add as many berries between your biscuit slices as possible.
And while that looks pretty good, you're not done yet! Go ahead an add a dollop of whip cream on top! (I didn't have any pre-made in the fridge, so I used an immersion blender to whip up some heavy cream.) Doesn't that look just perfect?
This is such an easy, yet scrumptious dessert! I think it's especially fun if you lay everything out in a self-serve style, so that your family/dinner guests can make their own version of this tasty treat for themselves.
If you'd like to try this baking this, here's the recipe:
Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake Ingredients: 2 cups flour 2 Tbsp sugar 3 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 cup shortening (or butter) 1 beaten egg 1/2 cup light cream Mix ingredients and bake at 450 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.
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