Update the Cover - output / Chicken Salad recipe - input

Creative Output

Cookbook Cover

Now that looks better than this

even if it's been awhile since I broke out my

watercolors so I am a bit rusty

this is still better than before

The new binder has a front clear pocket, so I found some black construction paper, bent it over the clear pocket to form a crease - I can't cut a straight line!

Then I cut out the pieces of fruit I am happiest with

secured them to the black background with a small piece of tape on the back of the cut out

and voila!  A cookbook I can add to as I go - and it's my own work/

Creative Input 

Chicken Salad Recipe

from 

Cooking Light Magazine

It's August, it's hot.  Who wants to sit down to a hot chicken dinner?  No one in this house!  This recipe for chicken salad is another winner for the new book!  Greek yogurt instead of sour cream or heavy cream, light mayo and a dash of lemon juice - it was really good!  

The recipe called for 2 lbs poached chicken.   Cooking Light instructed in the recipe to cook them in boiling water in plastic wrap!  Yuck!

I poached them my way - put your chicken in a large dutch oven pot with a lid, add garlic and make a herb bundle

Place this in the pot on the chicken and cover with water.  Poaching the chicken with herbs and garlic adds so much flavor to the chicken.

"They" say you can add leftover white wine for more flavor but I don't know what this thing called leftover wine is?

Simmer the chicken for 20 mins, let cool, discard the solids and save the broth for a future soup or when you need stock.It can store in 

the freezer for 4 - 6 months.

The other thing I like to do is double batch it.  Now I have a baggie in the freezer of already cooked chicken for a future enchilada, casserole, or whatever so you can quickly get dinner on the table!

School is starting soon - for me too!

The recipe:

Creamy Chicken Salad

 Cooking Light Magazine May 2011

yield: 6 servings (1 cup chicken salad and 1 cup salad greens  Hands on time:  24 mins   Total time: 2 hours, 19 mins  Level: easy 

Ingredients

2 lbs boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves

1/2 cup light mayonnaise

1/2 cup plain fat free Greek yogurt 

1 Tbs lemon juice

1 Tbs white wine vinegar

1 Tbs Dijon mustard

1 tsp honey

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/3 cup chopped celery

1/3 cup dried cranberries*

7 Tbsp chopped almonds *(I used neither as both kids won't touch it with the cranberries mixed in and one child has a tree nut - but I imagine it would be tasty)

6 cups mixed salad greens

**bundle of herbs of your choice and 3 garlic cloves for poaching and leftover white wine if you know what that is!

1.  Fill a Dutch oven with chicken, herbs, garlic and enough water to cover.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 mins.  Remove chicken and set aside to cool completely or store in the fridge to get cold.  Freeze half of the chicken for future use; strain out solids and freeze the stock for future use.

2.  Combine mayonnaise and the next 7 ingredients(through black pepper) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk until combined.  Add cubed chicken, celery, cranberries, and almonds; toss well to coat.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.  Serve over salad greens.

I think it was really good, as did my family but we all agreed it needs more celery next time.

This recipe is a keeper.  Not only was it a light and tasty supper, but I got a good chicken stock waiting in the freeze for another night AND a freezer bag of cooked chicken!

The bundle of herbs added another layer of flavor so I know the stock for soup will be good

and the future enchilada, chicken pot pie or whatever I use it for will be tasty too!

Pam

Creative Output - Upcycling CD Covers

Trash to Treasure

CD Covers become a 

Cute gift of one of a kind coasters!

This craft idea was born from clutter.  Our CD's were taking up too much space!  Our stereo is in my already too small kitchen, so I decided that the shelving unit for them needed to go and house the CD's in a zippered pouch that could be stored away - and taken away on a car trip!

The process was easy and the added

space on the table is always a good thing.  When I was taking the CD's out of their cases, I remembered I really liked some of the cover art - a lot.

Why throw away these beauties - let's make coasters out them!

So I bought some cork Contact paper, yes there is such a thing, and now that I have a whole roll of it, I am going to have to come up more ways to use it...but back to the coasters!

Like all Contact paper there is a handy ruler on the back side so you can measure and cut accurately

I had a little trouble cutting this smoothly

with regular scissors I so used my tiny rotary cutter on my cutting mat and that worked much smoother and easier. 

 

and continued to work from here - trimming the CD covers as needed

after peeling and sticking - the coasters started curling!  The cork was cut from a roll so not too surprising.  I gave them a little rest under something heavy.

It took about 2 days to convince them that coasters are better when they lay flat!
Once you've they are convinced and flat, you need to add a protective coating

 like Mod Podge which is a water protective sealer and be found in any craft store.  Let dry, tie up four to six with a pretty ribbon, and you have a cute hostess gift.  And a good conversation starter!

So cute!  Thanks for having me!

Pam

p.s.  You might have noticed I share my craft table with some friends

Here's the thing, my profile pic is from awhile back and the baby is now a teenager who agrees with me that the stable is just too nifty to throw away or even give away!  Sorry my picture is not current, but I am the photographer of the family so there are very, very few pictures of me!  Sad but true.  Even sadder is that I am not very photogenic, so selfi's  look awful.  The most recent picture of me is pretty good - but blurry!  I can't win at this!

but I love the horses!

Creative Input - Two recipes to try

Creative Input

will these two recipes make it out of the over stuffed cookbook

and earn a place in the new one?

Today's recipes are both from Martha Stewart's living magazine, one from a year ago and one from this past July issue which I can't find the cover of, but you get the idea.  

The first is called One Pan Pasta.  I thought it time to cook this one up because Martha has just released a cookbook called One Pot Wonders and I am sure this will be in it.  That and my husband and son have requested pasta for dinner!( Martha Stewart's kitchen)

I had everything for the recipe prepped and was ready to cook when our neighbor needed my husband and me to take her and her daughter to the hospital.  Just as we were leaving, my son came home and when I asked him to to follow the recipe on the fridge and cook the "one pot wonder" pasta - he did!

I am sorry I don't have any pictures other than these two but the trip to the hospital through me for a loop - happy to report everyone is fine.  Basically, you throw a handful of basil, sliced onion, tomatoes, garlic, a pinch of red pepper flakes and spaghetti into a large pot, cover it with water.  Bring to a boil and simmer until all the water is evaporated and serve with a healthy dose of Parmesan cheese.  How could this work?  Well - it did and it was so good!  

Although there are measurements in the recipe, my son made it the way I described.  When I asked him if he liked the outcome and would he want to make this when he goes back to his kitchen equipped dorm he said "Yes!  I like a recipe where you don't have to measure, just throw a bunch of stuff in!"  This from a second year math and engineering college student - just proves he's still my teenager!

One Pan Pasta

prep time:  15 min (unless your Matt) cooking time:  about 9 mins  level:  teenager easy  serves: 4

12 oz linguine

12 oz cherry or grape tomatoes, halved 

1 onion, thinly sliced 

4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced (I sliced the onion before I left, but Matt threw in the garlic hole)

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes 

2 sprigs of basil

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (I am sure he left this out too)

4 1/2 cups water

Parmesan cheese for serving

Combine  pasta, tomatoes, onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, basil, oil, a teaspoon of salt, 1/4 tsp of pepper, and water in a large straight sided skillet.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Boil mixture, stirring and turning pasta frequently with tongs until pasta is al dente and water has nearly evaporated, about 9 mins,  

Season to taste with salt and pepper and garnish with Parmesan cheese on each serving.

How could this work again I ask?  It was delicious!  The pasta was coated with a lovely "sauce", so light and fresh!  Even with Matthew's omissions!  I am looking forward to making this myself, measurements and all!

At the end of the recipe was this blurb from one of Martha Stewart's food editors: "At a tiny restaurant in the Puglia region of Italy we saw a chef place dried pasta in a skillet with water, tomatoes, onion, garlic, herbs, and a glug of olive oil, and then cook everything together.  It has been one of our "back pocket" recipes ever since"

You, my lovely so easy even my son will make you, recipe are a keeper!

The following evening both teenagers were out so I made this Martha Stewart Living Magazine recipe for my husband and me for supper using only half the ingredients.  Martha never fails to disappoint, does she?!

Stuffed Tomatoes with Mozzarella

Active/Total time:  30 mins   Level:  easy   Serves 4

2 1/2 inch slices of rustic bread, torn into small pieces (3/4 cup)

4 medium size ripe tomatoes, halved

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

pinch of red pepper flakes

1 shallot, thinly sliced

1 cup corn kernels (from one ear)
3 cups packed chopped greens, such as beet, Swiss chard, or spinach

3 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced (1/3 cup)

Preheat broiler and toast bread on a rimmed baking sheet, turning once until crispy.  Remove from oven and set aside.  

Scoop out the insides of each tomato and reserve all the flesh and seeds in a bowl.  Arrange halves in a broiler safe baking dish; season with salt and pepper.

In a large skillet, heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.  Add pepper flakes and shallot; cook until just tender, about 2 mins.  Increase heat to high; add reserved tomato flesh and juice.  Cook, stirring until reduced by half, about 2 mins.  Add corn and greens; cook, stirring, until vegetables are tender, about 2 mins.  Season with 1/2 tsp of salt.

Fill tomato halves with vegetable mixture, then sprinkle with toasted bread, drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and top with cheese.  Broil until cheese is bubbly and golden in spots, about 2 mins.  Serve warm.

 I toasted the bread in the toaster - just easier!

I also didn't halve the tomatoes, instead I just cut the tops off and scooped them out

They made nice little bowls this way.

This was so good!  The flavor from just these 

few ingredients was incredible!  If the kids were home for dinner, I know they would have liked it, so it gets a **** star rating and into the cookbook it goes!

Even as incredible as these 2 recipes were and I plan on making them again and again, I am ready for our dinner OUT tonight!

Pam

Creative Output - Gabriel Rabbit Topiary

A trip to the National Cathedral recently led me to a crafters motto:  "I can do that!"

Once a year or so, my family and I visit the National Cathedral.The Bishops Garden is beautiful and the views from the Observation Tower are unparalleled!  

There is a sweet gift shop called "The Herb Cottage"  and another inside underneath the church.  It was there I saw a beautiful topiary in the shape of a rabbit.

 The problem was it cost close to $200!  Whoa!  But that's when you say - "I can make that for myself"!  So home I go with ideas brewing and a search of pen and paper.

I decided to add a horn and name him Gabriel - the National Cathedral was the inspiration after all!

I bought wire and a pot from the hardware store and started crafting - and I nearly cut my fingers to ribbons!  I have made wire sculpture before but I used the lightweight floral wire instead of hardware store wire.

This is a fish mobile I made for my sister when she launched her jewelry making business Fishtown Creations.   And this is my Gabriel Rabbit - 

I filled the pot with potting soil and some ivy 'volunteers' from the backyard.  Well, they didn't take.  Spending $5.00 on two small pots of ivy wasn't a hardship - and the ivy's name is "Needlepoint"!  I like needlepoint and you thread the yarn in small spaces, perfect!  

I had one more problem with Gabriel Rabbit, he kept tipping over!  Everyday I'd come home to find the sculpture lying on the ground next to the pot.  I made his horn too heavy and long.  So I've cut it off, the ivy is starting to take - with a little coaxing from me on where I want the ivy to crawl, it's coming a long

Not quite the ivy covered creation I had imagined by the first week of August - but I was away for the month of July (please check out "Buttoning Up a Fashion School with Mimi" to find out why!)

 I will add a refashioned horn once the topiary has really taken hold.  When I do - I think I'll use this lighter cooper wire, easier on the hands and the rabbit!

Pam