tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89920138589338957042024-03-13T04:40:51.304-07:00Four Girls Walk into A BlogWhere four girls craft, cook and live - on a budget.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14267667017335010358noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8992013858933895704.post-27361946998705301662020-06-11T15:53:00.001-07:002020-06-11T15:53:21.269-07:00Strawberry lemonade<br />
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Between the heat, its 95 degrees here in Orange County right now, and the boy having dental surgery there hasn't been a whole lot of cooking going on around here. I went for a hike yesterday and drove by a strawberry stand. Strawberries are by far one of my favorite foods and they had full flats discounted to $20. So its strawberry everything right now. Friends of the family gave us some lemons from their tree and I just knew that I had to make strawberry lemonade.<br />
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I juiced the lemons, their tree gives huge lemons so 3 gave me almost a cup and a half of juice. I made a simple syrup with half that amount of sugar. I cut up a handful of strawberries and let the strawberries float in the syrup while it was hot for a few minutes. So it would pull out some of the color and flavor a little faster. Then I mixed it all together and topped the pitcher up with water. I used a 2 quart pitcher. If you want to serve immediately fill the pitcher up with ice before adding the syrup, lemon juice and water. Then mix the same.<br />
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1 1/2 cups lemon juice<br />
3/4 cup of sugar<br />
1 cup water<br />
handful of strawberries sliced<br />
water<br />
pitcher<br />
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Juice lemons. Place sugar and water in pan, heat and stir until sugar dissolves completely. Add strawberries to simple syrup. Add to pitcher top with water and stir.<br />
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<br />Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14267667017335010358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8992013858933895704.post-69246784614992291102020-05-28T16:31:00.001-07:002020-05-28T16:31:11.089-07:00Thai Tea<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I love Thai food and one of my favorite things to get when I get Thai food is Thai tea. It's sweet and delicious and has the beautiful orange color. I just love it. I decided to look up how to make it and it is based off of a drink mix. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UPNK9S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Pantai</a> mix seems to be one of the more popular options so I found it on Amazon for $7.40/lb. <div>
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There are instructions on the back that are very simple, add to boiling water, strain add dairy of choice. I searched online for how long to let it sit and discovered that there's a little bit more to making it right than the back seemed to imply.</div>
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The secret is to boil the water, add the mix and sugar and allow to boil for 3 minutes, then steep for about 30 minutes. I made four cups of tea so I needed 1 cup of mix and about 3 quarters of a cup of sugar. The ratio is four tablespoons for each 8 oz of water. </div>
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After it had set I strained it through a strainer several times, first I poured some from pan into measuring cup, then again through the strainer into a glass, one more time through the strainer back to the measuring cup and then poured into a bottle. If you have cheesecloth you can do one pass but there hasn't been any noticeable sediment. </div>
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I usually would use sweetened condensed milk as my dairy of choice but I didn't have any on hand so I used a small amount of cream. </div>
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All that's left is to stir it up to create that perfect orange color. It tasted just the restaurant I was super excited that I decided to figure out how to make this. Its so much cheaper than getting it out and now I can have it all the time!! </div>
Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14267667017335010358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8992013858933895704.post-63916433013145123842020-05-25T13:55:00.002-07:002020-05-25T13:55:38.256-07:00Sausage and Pepper Pasta<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I made Red Beans and Rice a few days ago I just made a small portion because the boy had never had it and I didn't know if he'd like it so I had some smoked sausage left over. It's not something that I usually use in my cooking so I had to come up with something to do with it. I decided pasta sounded good. So I came up with this pasta with bell peppers, onions, smoked sausage and some mozzarella. Italian sausage would be just as good in it if you have that on hand. Really any kind of sausage would work well.<br />
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I wanted a good bite to the pasta so I used penne. Rigatoni, medium shells or bowties would also work well, whatever you have on hand. I like to have as many shapes of pasta as possible because I'm a crazy pasta lady. I measure out my pasta by putting a serving in the bowl I'm going to use. You want to have half as much dry pasta in the bowl as you want cooked pasta to eat. I made enough to have leftovers for lunch so I used what was left in the jar. Salt your water with about a tablespoon of salt and add a few drops of olive oil to the water and then cook according to package directions.<br />
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While the pasta is cooking chop up bell peppers I had the little baby ones on hand so I used those the package comes with yellow, red and orange, but green peppers would be tasty in here if that is what you have. Chop the onion and the sausage as well. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add about a tablespoon of olive oil add the veggies and let cook down. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste I usually do a light sprinkle across the top of the pan. Add the sausage and the fresh herbs. I happen to have fresh herbs growing outside if you don't that's totally fine the dried stuff works just as good.<br />
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Drain the pasta and add it to the pan. Stir everything together until combined. Add the pasta sauce. The amount of sauce you use is totally up to you if you want it saucier add more sauce. I'm not the biggest fan of tomato sauce so I want it very lightly coated. If you love the marinara or are looking to cut fat then stop here this is a lovely pasta. Add just the cheese if you want. I add the cream to the marinara to cut the acidity cause it messes with my stomach and gives the boy terrible heartburn. Add the cream and the mozzarella and stir to combine.<br />
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My pan here was clearly too small. Save yourself the hassle of catching pasta that falls out while you try to mix and use a bigger pan. Remember all the things have to fit in there including the pasta. Be better than me. Serve and top with parmesan. I had left over biscuits so I added one. Garlic bread would be delicious and a nice salad to help round out the meal.<br />
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Ingredients</h4>
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pasta (penne)</div>
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3 small bell peppers diced in medium sized pieces</div>
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1/2 medium onion diced in medium sized pieces</div>
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salt, pepper to taste</div>
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garlic powder </div>
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1 sprig fresh rosemary </div>
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4 leaves basil </div>
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1/2 smoked sausage </div>
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marinara (approx 1 cup)</div>
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cream (approx 1/4 cup)</div>
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1/2 c shredded mozzarella </div>
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<br />Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14267667017335010358noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8992013858933895704.post-55071747126888203122020-05-24T15:19:00.003-07:002020-05-24T15:19:37.908-07:00The Tea Club<br />
I'm a huge fan of tea. I really enjoy a nice hot cup of tea but this time of year I drink most of my tea iced. I'll brew a pot of tea let it sit on the counter and pour it and a little simple syrup over ice and sip on it all day long. I usually get my tea from <a href="https://theteacoffee.com/" target="_blank">The Tea and Coffee Exchange</a>. Its a little shop in Lake Arrowhead, California. Their Lake Arrowhead Chai is so unbelievably good I have to have it in the house all the time. They do online orders and a while ago they would sell single ounces of tea so I would order a few bags of stuff that I knew I liked and toss in a bunch of single ounces of things I wanted to try since a three ounce bag is a lot of something you don't know if you like. I ran out of a tea I liked and went to reorder and was really sad that they didn't do single ounces anymore.<br />
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I wanted to get varieties of small amount of loose teas so I searched around to see what I could find and I found <a href="https://www.theteaclub.com/tea-shoppe/" target="_blank">The Tea Club</a>. They give you samples of tea that will brew two to three cups and their introductory subscription is 3 flavors for a dollar. There's a shipping charge of I think $4 so it ends up being more than a dollar a month but that's life. You can add an infuser, tea bags and honey sticks for additional costs. They sell the full sized bags in their online store for around $8. Seemed like it was what I was looking for so I gave it a go.<br />
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I just received my first order and I was super excited to give the tea a try. They sent Wedding Cake, Mocha Roca and Peaches and Dream. I ordered an infuser, but I also received a tea bag and a honey stick in the pouch. Unfortunately my honey stick burst and was empty when it arrived. Oh well it was free anyway. I love peach and fruity teas so I brewed <a href="https://www.theteaclub.com/tea-shop/peaches-and-dream/" target="_blank">Peaches and Dream</a> and put it over ice with a little simple syrup. Oh it is delicious light and peachy a little creamy its so fresh and flavorful. It's made of apple, rosehip, hibiscus, peach pieces and camomile.<br />
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I was really impressed and wanted to share for those of you who like tea.<br />
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<br />Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14267667017335010358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8992013858933895704.post-29863850960140239892020-05-24T15:16:00.000-07:002020-05-24T15:16:15.585-07:00LUSH saved my face!I first went to LUSH because my sister wanted to try a bath bomb. I picked out the Dragon's Egg, found it interesting and loved the smell but decided it was an experience I didn't need to pay for again. But I kept being interested in it and looking at their catalog and stuff. I learned that it was a company from the UK and thought they might actually have products that were designed to help reduce the redness in my skin. I went in to the store and talked to them and they listened to my concerns and recommended a variety of products to help my situation I asked if they had samples cause my skin is stupid and hates everything I put on it and they totally hooked me up. My addiction began in that exchange. The idea that I could try out a beauty product before I bought it made the idea of shopping for things so much more interesting. I have always had a full shower and under sink of products that I don't like but can't make myself throw away. That was 2 years ago and I've never looked back. I've been converting everything I use over to LUSH now and my skin, and my hair have never been happier. So here are the magical products that have saved my face.<br />
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<a href="https://www.lushusa.com/face/cleansers-scrubs/fresh-farmacy/9999908214.html" target="_blank">Fresh Farmacy</a></h3>
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This product used to be in a large bar of soap that was cut to order and now it is pressed into individual portions with a cute little design on top. I was scared to order this new version because many of the reviews were poor and said that it had changed and didn't work the same. That has not been my experience. I ordered my Fresh Farmacy online in mid March and I get plenty of lather from it and the same results. This a soap designed for sensitive skin. Fresh Farmacy has chamomile, rose and lavender, tea tree and calamine powder. Its designed to calm, soothe dry patches, and keep skin clean and clear. It does exactly what it promises. My skin is never happier than when I use Fresh Farmacy in my daily routine. I struggled to use it at first because I don't like wetting my face to wash it. I learned to wet my hand and then rub the soap on my hand and put the lather on my face and it works much better for me that way. I then wipe it clean with a wet washcloth. The skin feels a little bit tight immediately after washing but that's what moisturizer is for. I prefer to use this soap in the morning. In the shower I will use <a href="https://www.lushusa.com/face/cleansers/aqua-marina/9999906955.html" target="_blank">Aqua Marina</a> in the winter and spring and <a href="https://www.lushusa.com/face/cleansers/herbalism/9999906956.html" target="_blank">Herbalism</a> in the summer and fall as my skin is more acne prone in the warmer months and drier in the cooler months. If I'm washing my face at the sink at night I will either use Fresh Farmacy or <a href="https://www.lushusa.com/face/cleansers-scrubs/sleepy-face/9999908727.html" target="_blank">Sleepy Face</a>.</div>
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One of the things that people don't realize is that when they switch to natural products there can be a period of purging of the skin while it acclimates. When ever I stop using Fresh Farmacy and start up again I will see a few blemishes, when I first started using it I noticed that the redness was gone and my skin looked better even though I was getting lots of zits. I read online and discovered that this purge was a thing and decided to stick it out I am so glad that I did. It's totally worth it. </div>
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<a href="https://www.lushusa.com/face/toners-and-steamers/tea-tree-water/9999900405.html" target="_blank">Tea Tree Water</a></h3>
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This is a toner designed for oily skin. I've always been fond of toner as I have stupid combination skin that is super dry and yet oily and acne prone at the same time. After using LUSH's moisturizers though I've discovered the true godsend that is <a href="https://www.lushusa.com/face/toners-and-steamers/tea-tree-water/9999900405.html" target="_blank">Tea Tree Water</a>. After washing my face I put a few spritzes of this on my face and then I can use the most minimal amount of moisturizer to actually work on my incredibly dry face. So not only does it help to balance my skin and keep my acne at bay but it lasts for a good 6 months or so and works to make the moisturizer last longer saving me money at the same time. Thank you <a href="https://www.lushusa.com/face/toners-and-steamers/tea-tree-water/9999900405.html" target="_blank">Tea Tree Water</a> you do so much for me.</div>
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You may have noticed that my bottle has a white sprayer. With all the things that LUSH does incredibly well the spay nozzle is not one of them. So I swapped it out with the sprayer from and old bottle of <a href="https://www.urbandecay.com/all-nighter-setting-spray-by-urban-decay/ud803.html" target="_blank">All Nighter Setting Spray</a> from Urban Decay. (Another love of my life, and godsend product)</div>
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<a href="https://www.lushusa.com/face/cleansers-scrubs/grease-lightning/9999902896.html" target="_blank">Grease Lightning</a></h3>
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This is a gentle spot treatment that works to reduce acne without drying your skin out like salicylic acid and it doesn't discolor everything it comes in contact with like the benzoyl peroxide stuff. It works really well. Its a thin clear gel made of thyme, tea tree and rosemary. It also has aloe vera and grape juice in it. I swipe it across my whole chin and then spot treat any other problem areas like my temples.I use it everyday in the morning because I can't stop my self from resting my chin in my hand no matter how hard I try to be aware of it and I always break out like crazy from it.</div>
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The pump on this is super sensitive and just a tiny bit of product goes a long way give it a really, really gentle pump to get just a little bit out. If you press it all the way down you can cover your whole face and share some with a friend.</div>
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<a href="https://www.lushusa.com/face/moisturizers/imperialis/9999900303.html" target="_blank">Imperialis</a>/ <a href="https://www.lushusa.com/face/moisturizers/skin-drink/9999900028.html" target="_blank">Skin Drink</a></h3>
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My skin is finicky it likes to pretend that its dry and dehydrated af (no matter how much water I drink) but if it gets too rich of a moisturizer in the spring/summer it'll go into grease overload and I'll break out. So I have two regular moisturizers in the fall and winter I'll use Imperialis in the morning and Skin Drink at night. In the spring/summer I just stick with Imperialis for both am and pm. </div>
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Imperialis is a medium weight moisturizer designed to soothe the skin. Its designed for most skin types to ease and soothe irritations. It has lavender to help balance the skin and orange blossom water to brighten dull skin. It smells lightly floral but not overwhelming and I'm super sensitive to floral scents. This is a great moisturizer and it really helps to balance my skin.</div>
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Skin Drink is LUSH's richest moisturizer and is totally amazing for dry skin. My mom has the worst dry skin and she loves this product so much. It has rose petal extract, avocado and aloe vera to moisturize skin. Evening primrose, neroli and rose oils help with skin texture and make you glow. It has an earthy almost tahini like smell but it doesn't linger after its on. I swear by this in the winter but as soon as the California heat cranks up my skin is like nope now I get super oily and I switch back to the Imperialis. </div>
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I mentioned when I was talking about the Tea Tree Water that it helps me to use the smallest amount of moisturizer. I simply take two fingertips on each hand and lightly dab them onto the top of the lotion then I rub it on my forehead and down my face. I might need a second dab around my cheeks and that's it. My sister always complains that their moisturizers go to fast but I get a good 6 months or so out of them with the way I apply it. </div>
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You may have noticed my <a href="https://www.dermalogica.com/solar-defense-booster-spf50/140-01,default,pd.html?redirect=false&?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=search_shopping&gclid=CjwKCAjwtqj2BRBYEiwAqfzur0AQjnI4Wf-Vj71TRa3ooR0YS7GLdxG7vI2yDyyC8iQ72PGEMrwTDxoCuXYQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds" target="_blank">Dermalogica Solar Defense Booster SPF 50</a> in the picture. Since LUSH doesn't do sunscreen in the US and I'm terrible about applying sunscreen to my face cause I hate the feel and it makes me break out like crazy I decided to try these out. I got it at Ulta (after searching for the link it looks like ULTA doesn't carry it any longer) its pricey but it lasts a while I don't know if I'll rebuy or just try and get over my sunscreen issues. This is an ultra thin, concentrated sunscreen that you can add into your moisturizer I will add a drop onto the moisturizer on my fingertips and rub them in together on my face. They seem to work cause I don't burn when I use it. </div>
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Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14267667017335010358noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8992013858933895704.post-78464676317344551082020-05-23T14:09:00.000-07:002020-05-23T14:09:43.901-07:00Easy Pink Sauce Pasta<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I adore pasta and I eat entirely too much of it. This is one of my favorite easy pastas to make for lunch or dinner. I'm not the biggest fan of marina too much tomato bothers my stomach but sometimes I just want to have that marina flavor. Solution? Pink sauce. Pink sauce is an amazing combination of alfredo and marina that cuts down on the acidity of tomatoes. Even the staunchest tomato sauce haters in my family enjoy this sauce. You can make it on any type of pasta you like. One of my favorites is bow ties. I decided to have spaghetti today. This it totally flexible so I'm not going to include a lot of measurements just ingredients and instructions. Best part is you can make it one pan and there's no time consuming thickening of the alfredo.<br />
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Select your pasta of choice and make an appropriate amount for who ever is eating. I had about a quarter box of thin spaghetti in the pantry so that's what I used today. If using long noodles I usually do about a quarter pound per person, you can also use the large hole in the middle of the spaghetti scooper to measure, but I find that pasta amounts are not quite enough or all the pasta in the world. Cook according to package directions in water that has about a tablespoon of salt in it and a small amount of olive oil. Strain pasta and set aside.<br />
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In empty pan place butter I use about a half tablespoon per person. Add the drained pasta. Add a tablespoon or two of Parmesan cheese, the Kraft stuff works perfectly fine. I just happened to have the shredded one on hand. I used a bit more cheese than I normally would but it was what was left in the container. Then add heavy cream. Its somewhere between two tablespoons and a quarter cup of cream you want enough to cover the pasta but not drown it. As shown in the picture below.<br />
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Now turn the stove on to medium heat and stir like hell. If you're using fresh Parmesan it usually clumps into a sticky mess on the spoon so scrape that goo on the side of the pan and then work it back into the pasta. Add salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. I usually just do a light sprinkle across the top of the pan. Now you have super easy alfredo. I totally make my pasta like this all the time. It cuts down on the amount of cream and sauce that is used and I don't feel sick like I do if I get alfredo out and there's a lovely lake of cream in my bowl. Obviously this isn't low-fat by any means but its a little bit better of an option than it could be.</div>
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To make pink sauce add three to four spoon fulls of marina sauce, more if your a big sauce or marina fan, when I make it for my good friend I always add some extra sauce for him cause he likes things super saucy. I usually use a tomato basil sauce if I don't have any homemade on hand. Bertolli makes a pretty decent sauce. Top with Parmesan cheese and some fresh basil if you happen to have some on hand. When I make this for dinner I usually will add some Italian sausage. I use about a quarter pound of sausage for two people or one link. Spread the sausage out when you cook it so its in small chunks and stir it in between the white and marinara sauces. It makes a freaking awesome dish. Serve with garlic bread and a salad for a complete meal. </div>
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<br />Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14267667017335010358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8992013858933895704.post-19130896546078416752020-05-23T12:31:00.001-07:002020-05-23T12:31:51.446-07:00LUSH Flight bath bomb review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I love, love, love LUSH's bath bombs the smells are enveloping and the after effects in the water are great but my favorite part is the show when the colors are swirling into the bath and developing. I've been ordering online during the pandemic and its taking about 3 weeks to get an order. They go through phases where lots of things are out of stock and then they will come back in. You can submit your email to be notified when your product is back. I had to do that with the Twilight body spray I bought and when they notified me they had a bunch of bath bombs back as well. Since the bath is my happy place I've been indulging a little more to get me through this time.<br />
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I tried Flight for the first time. I don't remember seeing it in store and I usually don't buy things I haven't smelled but unique times are making me try new things. This bomb is beautiful in color with swirls of purple, blue and green and some salt flakes on top. I love multicolored bombs cause they usually give a great show. Its highly textured and of moderate size. The smell is described as citrusy-sweet its made up of Sicilian red mandarin and bergamot oils. I tend to really like bergamot so I figured this would be a safe bet. There is a hint of geranium oil as well but it is in no way overpoweringly floral. I don't really like the floral scents and try to avoid them. There is also coarse sea salt to help soften skin. The smell was gorgeous and lingered in the bathroom after my bath.<br />
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The show was very pretty with blue, purple and green swirls. The foamy color didn't cover the entirety of the tub but it was decent sized and it left the water a beautiful bright blue with sparkles.<br />
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I always video the bomb when I put it in the water I find watching the videos so relaxing and I can go back and remember which ones I really like. Of course now that LUSH released so many new bath bombs I can keep trying new ones without having to repeat. I still get a few old favorites some times like Intergalactic or Dragon's Egg. Which were some of the first ones I got and totally fell in love with. </div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">When I get the heavily glittered bombs I love playing with the water after and watching the glitter swirl and move in the water. The absolute best bath bomb I ever had for glitter in the water was one they released for Mother's day this year Blazin' Bad Zula it was yellow and purple spotted and it left the water this amazing deep, dark purple with gold glitter swirls. I loved it so much I bought two more afterwards. I might write a review about it but its currently unavailable and might not be coming back since it was seasonal. So hopefully it returns and I can share the magic with all of you. But this pretty blue and silver glitter was pretty fun as well. My favorite part is even though there is clearly so much glitter I just have a quick rinse in the shower after and I'm never noticeably sparkly like if I were to use a glitter lotion or anything.</span></div>
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Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14267667017335010358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8992013858933895704.post-22097672312792467672020-05-22T22:18:00.002-07:002020-05-22T22:21:06.237-07:00Corn Chowder<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KxOe-SuLlq4/XsiDsKMvefI/AAAAAAAAtF0/x-RkbFznYaAGbnf6bk12cTxAWdJ89mSAwCPcBGAsYHg/s1600/IMG_20181227_144340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KxOe-SuLlq4/XsiDsKMvefI/AAAAAAAAtF0/x-RkbFznYaAGbnf6bk12cTxAWdJ89mSAwCPcBGAsYHg/s1600/IMG_20181227_144340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KxOe-SuLlq4/XsiDsKMvefI/AAAAAAAAtF0/x-RkbFznYaAGbnf6bk12cTxAWdJ89mSAwCPcBGAsYHg/s1600/IMG_20181227_144340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KxOe-SuLlq4/XsiDsKMvefI/AAAAAAAAtF0/x-RkbFznYaAGbnf6bk12cTxAWdJ89mSAwCPcBGAsYHg/s1600/IMG_20181227_144340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KxOe-SuLlq4/XsiDsKMvefI/AAAAAAAAtF0/x-RkbFznYaAGbnf6bk12cTxAWdJ89mSAwCPcBGAsYHg/s1600/IMG_20181227_144340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KxOe-SuLlq4/XsiDsKMvefI/AAAAAAAAtF0/x-RkbFznYaAGbnf6bk12cTxAWdJ89mSAwCPcBGAsYHg/s1600/IMG_20181227_144340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KxOe-SuLlq4/XsiDsKMvefI/AAAAAAAAtF0/x-RkbFznYaAGbnf6bk12cTxAWdJ89mSAwCPcBGAsYHg/s1600/IMG_20181227_144340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><br />
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Last year right after Christmas we went to Santa's Village in Sky Forest Ca. We hadn't been since we were children and it had recently reopened. The day was absolutely magical and so very, very cold. After walking around for hours we looked at what they had for lunch and my sister decided to get the Corn Chowder. I tried a bite and it was absolutely amazing. After we ate it even began to snow it was such a great experience.<br />
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After getting home I kept thinking about that corn chowder. I had to eat this food again. So I decided to figure out how to make it at home.<br />
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I made this the first time in mid January and it was awesome. I thought I wrote the recipe down but for the life of me I can't find it. My boyfriend was talking about how he likes soup and I suddenly had to make this again so I've remembered what I can of the recipe and made it my own. I also had two ears of corn I needed to use.<br />
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I like to use a mix of frozen and fresh corn because to be honest I'm lazy and I don't want to take that much corn off the cob. I'm working to make smarter food choices and hopefully lose a few pounds so instead of heavy cream this soup is thickened with a white sauce , and cornstarch and lots of simmering.<br />
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<u><b>Ingredients </b></u><br />
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1 bag frozen corn<br />
2 ears fresh corn<br />
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth<br />
1 1/2 cup water<br />
1-2 carrots diced<br />
1-2 celery stalks diced<br />
1/2 large onion diced<br />
2 cloves garlic<br />
3 small russet potatoes<br />
salt<br />
pepper<br />
garlic powder<br />
onion powder<br />
Italian seasoning<br />
turmeric<br />
1 large chicken breast<br />
2 heaping tablespoons flour<br />
2 tablespoons cornstarch<br />
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1 tablespoon butter<br />
1 1/2 cups milk<br />
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<b><u>Tools</u></b><br />
large pot<br />
frying pan<br />
blender<br />
whisk<br />
wooden spoon<br />
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Take a small amount of oil or butter and grease the pot then add the vegetables and a half teaspoon of salt cook over medium low heat until onions are translucent and they have softened. Add 1/4 teaspoon each of pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and Italian seasoning. (Adjust to taste I usually do do a light sprinkle across the top of the entire pan and call it a day. The salt I keep in a jar and pinch two fingers worth out)<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RKCSRd2rL5k/Xsinjp97KJI/AAAAAAAAtGI/km6XQmjKCjIDjS2lC-H0xxnsvmYPFfZhgCPcBGAsYHg/s1600/IMG_20200522_163724.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RKCSRd2rL5k/Xsinjp97KJI/AAAAAAAAtGI/km6XQmjKCjIDjS2lC-H0xxnsvmYPFfZhgCPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_20200522_163724.jpg" width="320" /></a>While vegetables are cooking take the frozen corn, garlic cloves and water and place in blender puree until smooth. Add the corn slurry to the vegetable mixture. Reserve 1/2 cup of the chicken broth in a separate container. Add remaining chicken broth to vegetable mixture in pot. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.<br />
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Add cornstarch to reserved chicken broth and beat smooth with a whisk add to soup. Stir in completely.<br />
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Take the corn off the cob by slicing lengthwise down the cob to remove the kernels, add kernels to soup. Let this simmer you can get away with as little as 30 minutes but if you have a few hours just let it kick it on the stove its only going to get better the longer you let it cook.<br />
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About an hour before you're ready to eat peel and dice the potatoes and add to soup. Cut raw chicken breast into bite sized pieces. Heat frying pan and add small amount of oil. Add chicken to pan. Add 1/4 teaspoon each of salt pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and Italian seasoning. Add chicken to soup.<br />
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Place small saucepan over medium heat add butter and let melt. When melted add flour and stir quickly to combine. Add 1/4 of the milk and whisk quickly when it begins to thicken add 1/4 more of the milk at this point I like to switch to the wooden spoon to allow me to slowly drag it across the bottom and keep clumps from forming on the bottom of the pan continue adding milk each time it thickens. This saves you way too much time just stirring and stirring and hoping to god this thing ever thickens. But you have to pay a lot more attention if your comfortable making a white sauce the traditional way go for it. Once your sauce is nice and thick stir it into the soup and let simmer. Once again you get get away with about 30 minutes if you crank the heat to medium but it can hang out as long as you need it to on low.<br />
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I got my soup started, ran errands, came home made the additions to the soup, taught a workout class and then dinner was ready for me. I whipped up some biscuits to finish it off.<br />
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<br />Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14267667017335010358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8992013858933895704.post-5407272416038632212020-05-22T16:21:00.002-07:002020-05-22T16:22:50.492-07:00Been Stuck in Quarantine For Too Long <blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s9v_48Zy6uk/XshbqS-uaiI/AAAAAAAAtEs/ZXm3lclDWcs8pj4gd2uXx6UBc9ZBiFqvACK4BGAsYHg/its-been-84-years-71659218.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="677" data-original-width="500" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s9v_48Zy6uk/XshbqS-uaiI/AAAAAAAAtEs/ZXm3lclDWcs8pj4gd2uXx6UBc9ZBiFqvACK4BGAsYHg/w148-h200/its-been-84-years-71659218.png" width="148" /></a>Seriously though, its been too long. I'm nearly finished with school and I've cooking like crazy so I decided to start this up again. Going to have a section to go on about all my LUSH stuff and just see if I can keep up with again. I certainly have the time to start getting into the habit of things.</div>
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I was making some corn chowder this afternoon and missed having the opportunity to share. I'll make it again so that I can give the recipe to all of you. Its super tasty. I'm also getting a webcam so I might do videos as well.<br />
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How are you filling your quarantine time? Between building a whole bunch of new materials for work school and finishing my bachelors, I've had my time filled. Other than cooking more I can't really say that I've been doing a whole lot of anything interesting. I do feel like we're kind of in the introvert Olympics right now. It's like I've been training my whole life for this moment. Which has made me realize how much I need to get out and do things more and engage with people. While I work entirely too much I totally hoard my alone time and hate doling out free time to others. So something new for me to work on. I'll keep you updated when we can go outside and see people again.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14267667017335010358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8992013858933895704.post-66908751537322048452016-11-12T10:33:00.000-08:002016-11-12T10:33:50.285-08:00Biscuits and Gravy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of the few Southern foods I love is biscuits and gravy. While I spent a few years in the South I'm a California girl through and through so it was a totally novel food the first time I tried it. </div>
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I love Alton Browns biscuit recipe. They always come up fluffy and are absolutely delicious. </div>
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Because I hardly ever have buttermilk on hand I cheat and add about a tablespoon of lemon juice to the cup of milk. <br />
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You just stir it in and let it sit while you prep the rest of the ingredients. Because biscuits work best when the milk is super cold let it sit in the fridge. <br />
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The other thing I don't have is a biscuit cutter. I just use a drinking glass. Even with these accommodations the recipe works great and is delicious! <br />
I usually don't end up with a full dozen probably because my glass isn't exactly the right size to play a biscuit cutter. But 11 biscuits are more than enough for the two of us.<br />
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While these are delicious with butter, honey or just by themselves let's be real in this post the biscuits are a gravy delivery device. So because there are just two of us on the house and I do not need to eat biscuits and gravy for a week here's where the recipe goes a little off the rails with tradition.<br />
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I started with 3 Farmer John sausage links in a medium skillet. I broke them up into small pieces like you would when browning ground beef. Since there was not much grease in the pan I did not drain. <br />
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I added about a half tablespoon of butter and let it melt. Then I added 2 tablespoons of flour and stirred it in well. I then added a cup of milk. <br />
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Because we use low-fat milk I pour about 3/4 cup of milk and then add 1/4 cup of half and half when making white sauces to bring up the fat content a little bit for better thickening and flavor but keep it reasonable so that I don't feel sick later.<br />
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I stirred the mixture constantly over medium heat until it began to thicken and then added a dash of onion powder (apx 1/8 tsp), a pinch of salt (apx 1/16 tsp) and about a tablespoon of ground pepper. <br />
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Then I sliced a biscuit in half warmed it up in the toaster oven for a few min and spooned that marvelous gravy over the top. So good.</div>
Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14267667017335010358noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8992013858933895704.post-33779407161884211032016-11-04T15:15:00.003-07:002016-11-04T15:15:34.919-07:00Tower of Terror Inspired Mouse Ears - Disneyland!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So I was at the Tower of Terror the other day and on my way home I just had to stop at JoAnn's and begin making these Tower Ears! I'm so excited I'm posting before they are even totally finished. As my more Disney obsessed readers may know the Tower is closing at the beginning of the year to become Guardians of the Galaxy and that is so very sad. There's a huge final send off and I just had to add my little token of tribute to one of my favorite attractions. :sniff:<br />
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We have the black felt at home, but I needed some burgundy fabric, some gold ribbon, gold puffy paint and some (affiliate link) <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000Y0083K/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=fourgirlswaki-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B000Y0083K&linkId=6c25bbd5ee7a4d9280a52a17aa332f6c">Heat and Bond.</a><br />
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I began with my ear base and then marked out and cut the burgundy fabric for the bellhop hat portion of the ears. I just started with a corner of the fabric and pinned and cut around the ears so that they were perfectly sized. I wanted each segment to be roughly 1/3 of the height of the ear.<br />
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Once I had the pieces sized and cut out I unpinned them and laid them out on the edge of the fabric to create a matching set the same size. With the ear folded in half I pinned them back on one side of the fabric only. I folded the bottom edge of the material under to create a straight line across the edge of the bottom side of the bellhop hat, while the top portion of the ear went all the way up and rounded. I wanted it to sit at a jaunty angle so the pieces are cut on a diagonal. I then pinned pieces matching to the other side again on just one side of the fabric so that when I pinned them together and turned them it would look like one piece.<br />
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I then sewed each piece in place on the ear with a straight stitch along the edge the top of the hat is only sewn along the bottom edge but the bottom of the hat is sewn along top and bottom keeping that turned under edge in place. I then cut and pinned pieces of ribbon in place. I pinned the ribbon so that the black portion of the hat is slightly smaller than the burgundy portions.</div>
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I then sewed the ribbons in place being very careful to stay just inside the wire edged portion of the ribbon. If you catch the wire with your machine it can rip it out of the ribbon and pull it in to the bobbin making a horrible noise and a royal pain to remove. (Can you tell it happened to me and I've totally been there?) Then being very careful to match ribbons and edges I pinned right sides together and prepared to sew the ears closed. You want to leave both a hole to turn the ear and mark a portion along the bottom edge that is wide enough for your headband to be inserted. I sewed these with a 4/8 seam allowance. It ended up making the ears a bit smaller than I'd like I'll definitely cut them a bit larger and use a 3/8 allowance the next time. (Yes that is a rubber band around the seam allowance marking that I intend to use it is an amazing tip that I learned recently and am so excited about.)<br />
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Once you're done sewing trim seam allowance and clip curves, I like to use pinking shears so that I trim and clip at the same time. Then using that access hole you left in the side turn your ear inside out. Use a pencil or tiny scissors to help push out the curves and turn the ear perfectly. TaDa! One ear mostly done!<br />
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For the second ear I wanted the Hollywood Tower Hotel logo. I found a nice clear image of the logo and then pinned it to a piece of scrap old-fashioned looking fabric I had laying around and cut it out. I took a small piece of the burgundy fabric and followed the directions on the (affiliate link) <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000Y0083K/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=fourgirlswaki-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B000Y0083K&linkId=6c25bbd5ee7a4d9280a52a17aa332f6c">Heat and Bond</a> to adhere it to the fabric. If you aren't familiar with Heat and Bond it is essentially iron-on fabric adhesive. What you do is cut a piece of fabric and then match a similar sized piece of this material to the fabric iron on the sticky side and then draw, trace or cut your image, shape, whatever on the paper side. When you peel off the paper and then iron it to the fabric you want it to stick to it seals it in place lickety split. There's a red and a purple the purple can be sewn after sticking the red can not. I just kind of hand cut some pieces to make the letters for the Hollywood Tower Hotel logo. (If you don't know Tower lore, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror building is actually called the Hollywood Tower Hotel hence the HTH which throws some newer guests off) I then sewed the patch onto the ear single sided I wasn't sure if I had to do any sewing after or what all I was doing but in the future I think I'll just use the Heat and Bond to seal that on too and save myself the trouble. as you can tell I missed a few places while sewing and kinda slipped a little piece of the adhesive in there anyway. I then lined the logo with some gold puffy paint and went to bed. The next day I sewed and turned that ear the same way as the other.<br />
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I fed the ear onto my headband and then marked where the line would need to be to sew it closed with a pin. I sewed that line on both ears and then stuffed them with fluff (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000YZ7G44/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=fourgirlswaki-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B000YZ7G44&linkId=efc67f1ece5aacc8a78324fb490c2200">poly-fill</a>). After they were filled I sewed my turning hole closed by stitching in the seam by hand. I then attached the ears to the headband. If you want Mickey style ears then you are done. WHOO!<br />
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But alas I wanted Minnie style ears so I had to make a bow. :(<br />
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To make the bow I cut out a piece of burgundy fabric about 3 inches by 5 inches. (I ended up needing two pieces this size cause I totally messed things up and ended up making them differently than originally planned.) If you want the front and back of your bow to look the same one piece about 3 by 10 inches if you want to have the black and gold on the front and just plain burgundy on the back two separate pieces each 3x5 inches. Then I cut out a piece of black fabric that was about 2x5 inches. I turned the edges of the black fabric under and stitched them to make a clean edge. I cut pieces of ribbon 5 inches long and then sewed the ribbon and the black fabric to the burgundy fabric. with right sides together sew the two pieces together leaving a small hole at the bottom to turn. Press. Then using an accordion fold in the center hand stitch the bow. Finish with a small piece of gold ribbon. Hot glue everything in place.<br />
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Minnie Ears!Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14267667017335010358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8992013858933895704.post-35870825895544941492016-11-02T10:46:00.000-07:002016-11-02T19:31:53.501-07:00Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I love enchiladas! I prefer either green sauce or ranchera sauce to red sauce on mine. Today I decided to make a pan of enchiladas for dinner. Because I am working hard to clear out and clean up my over stocked, hot mess of a pantry I used canned chicken for these so they really can't be easier. I like my enchiladas made with flour tortillas but really any part of this can be adapted to your tastes. Like corn tortillas? Use that. prefer red sauce? Go for it. Want cheese or beef or carnitas instead? Knock it out. Enchiladas are simple, easy and </span>infinitely<span style="font-family: inherit;"> adaptable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">You'll need your filling, canned chicken and cheese in this case, your tortillas I used 8 soft taco sized flour tortillas, sauce I used a can of Las Palmas Green Chile Enchilada sauce (I wanted a big can but the small size was all they had so I added some green chiles and water to stretch it, a skillet big enough for the tortilla to lay flat in, 2 8x8in pans or a 9x11 if you are making a single batch of 8, and a small sauce pan. </span><br />
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First I worked on stretching the can of enchilada sauce this step is totally unnecessary if you can just buy a larger can but Target was totally over shopped so I took a can of green chiles that I had in the cabinet tossed it in the Ninja and filled that same can with water and pureed it then mixed it in the saucepan with the enchilada sauce. I am now thinking that I'm going to be making my enchilada sauce from scratch cause its literally just chiles and water.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jqqPahXwrnM/WBl5lxZckqI/AAAAAAAAJfc/2XL4cpXS3AQeUoLbUr_hlQUC_a5QpXnBACLcB/s1600/enchilada2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jqqPahXwrnM/WBl5lxZckqI/AAAAAAAAJfc/2XL4cpXS3AQeUoLbUr_hlQUC_a5QpXnBACLcB/s200/enchilada2.jpg" width="200" /></a>Next I opened the chicken and mushed it up with my hands so that it was shredded I added a tablespoon or two of enchilada sauce and some Mexican seasoning mix (garlic, onion, salt, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper and black pepper) to get rid of that fresh out of the can flavor. We always have grated cheese in the fridge so I just used what I needed and didn't really measure. Its about a cup, cup and a half worth of cheese. <br />
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Now that your sauce and fillings are prepped, turn the oven to 350 and get ready to make the enchiladas. Coat the bottom of your baking pan with a thin layer of enchilada sauce and place next to your stove. Wherever you have enough room line up the cheese and chicken fillings with a fork in them. Make sure only the tortillas you are using are out of the bag and ready to use. Pour a small portion of enchilada sauce into the large skillet and turn it on very low heat.<br />
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Lay a single tortilla in the skillet, let sit for a few seconds and flip, if you can see tortilla through the sauce you need to let it sit a little longer until it is totally coated in a film of sauce. <br />
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Move your sauced tortilla to your baking pan. Add 1 to 2 fork fulls of chicken and one fork full of both cheeses. Since your hands are totally coated in sauce you'll get a total chicken and cheese claw hand if you don't use the forks. Its up to you but if you are using the cheese again later I recommend the forks. Roll the enchilada up and place it so that the opening faces down in the pan. Repeat. <br />
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You should be able to fit about 4 enchiladas in the 8x8 pan. Repeat with the second pan. Why two pans? So you can freeze one for later. Top with cheese. I also had some cotija cheese that I was looking to use up so I added it to my topping and some cilantro and black olives cause olives are delicious and that's how my dad does it. Pour a thin layer of sauce over the top of the enchiladas. How saucy you like them is up to you, if you are running low on sauce add a little water and stir, I don't like them super wet cause they just start to dissolve.<br />
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Bake in 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes until brown along the edges and cheese is melted and they are hot through. <br />
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So what about that second pan? Wrap it up in saran wrap and foil and then label and date. Later you just take that out of the freezer one afternoon let it defrost and pop in the oven for a super duper easy dinner. If you have many folks doing dinner prep or are sharing food or are just forgetful write the temp and cook time on the foil as well.<br />
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Since there are just two of us in the house this will give us two dinners and two lunches. Not too bad. I always do better actually taking the leftovers for lunch if I immediately put it away in lunch box sized containers.<br />
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<b><u>Ingredients</u></b><br />
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cooked chicken (I used canned today)<br />
1 cup cheese cheddar/jack blend<br />
8 soft taco sized tortillas<br />
1 large can green enchilada sauce (there was only a small can at the store so I stretched mine)<br />
cotija cheese, olives, cilantro for topping (optional)<br />
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<a href="http://www.bunsinmyoven.com/"><img src="http://www.bunsinmyoven.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/small-link-party.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a> <a href="http://naptimeismytime.com/whipitupwednesday-16-42/"><img alt="Whip It Up Wednesday Handmade Linky Party" src="http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff405/naptimeismytime/Whip-It-Up-Wednesday_zps6dc71f5b.png" /></a>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14267667017335010358noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8992013858933895704.post-81356981415298065212016-11-01T18:05:00.003-07:002016-11-01T18:05:56.640-07:00Quick Mexican Style Rice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is a great way to use up leftover rice! I tend to never eat the rice that is leftover in the fridge cause rice doesn't always warm up that well for the next day so I tend to try to turn it into a new dish. We eat a lot of Mexican, Spanish, Red, whatever you want to call it rice. I love it in bean burritos or as a side with quesadillas or any other Mexican style dishes which tend to be our go to for many meals. <br />
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<b><u>Ingredients</u></b><br />
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Cooked white rice (apx 1.5 cups)<br />
sm can V8 or tomato sauce or salsa (in a pinch)<br />
onion<br />
2 cloves garlic<br />
olive oil<br />
lime<br />
tapito (or hot sauce of choice)<br />
Mexican seasoning (I love premixes!)<br />
Caldo de Pollo (Chicken Bouillon) optional<br />
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First I mince the garlic and chop the onion. I love my (affiliate link) <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HL3TBDQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=fourgirlswaki-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00HL3TBDQ&linkId=1bf53363beb846d71bf8a4829b434bdc">Ninja Express Chopper </a>for this as I always cry when chopping onion and hate how it makes my hands smell but a knife and a little time will work just as well. To remove the garlic from its skin I whack it with the flat of a large chef knife and it just pops out easily. To easily remove the onion skin I cut the top and bottom off, then half the onion. If using a chopper just cut the onion in to smallish pieces then toss the onion and the garlic in and give it a few pulses. Otherwise dice finely. <br />
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Add a little oil to the pan and then add in the chopped onion and garlic mix, saute over medium low heat for 5-10 minutes until the onions start to become a little translucent. Add about a 1/2 tsp of salt.<br />
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Take the left over rice and break it up into small pieces with your hands then add to the pan and stir to combine. Sprinkle a thin layer of caldo de pollo (chicken bouillon) over the rice, and a layer of Mexican seasoning. Since we eat a lot of Mexican food I mix up a pre-mix of seasoning that has salt, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, cumin, black pepper and cayenne pepper in it. I do almost equal portions of everything except the cayenne. Shake a layer of Tapatio (or hot sauce of choice over) we like things spicy so I tend to go heavy but flavor to your preference. Then stir in your can of tomato. I usually use tomato sauce but didn't have any so I used V8 today. The V8 is a little thinner.<br />
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Cook covered over very low heat for 5-10 minutes stirring once to check that it isn't sticking in between. (I wasn't able to find a large skillet with a lid that I liked so I always just toss a pizza pan on the top when I need to cook in a covered skillet) Squeeze some lime over when it is finished cooking. Since this rice is re-cooked its not as nice and fluffy as it would be if you made it fresh, but you don't really notice the texture in a burrito.<br />
<br />Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14267667017335010358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8992013858933895704.post-38626068425646383872016-10-26T05:34:00.002-07:002016-10-26T15:06:25.013-07:00Water Faerie Halloween Costume<div dir="ltr">
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This year for Halloween I decided to be a water faerie. I really liked all the <a href="http://pin.it/6DEt57c" target="_blank">mermaid</a> make-up I was seeing on Pinterest but totally am not in the shape I'd like for all the midriff revealing required in a Mermaid outfit plus ....wings! Since we prefer to coordinate or theme if we are costuming together my sister decided to be a woods faerie. </div>
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For this year we are doing <a href="https://disneyland.disney.go.com/events-tours/mickeys-halloween-party/" target="_blank">Mickey's Halloween party</a> at Disneyland with my sister and nephew on Oct 3rd and then regular Halloween so I needed an <a href="http://pin.it/996EMVw" target="_blank">unobtrusive wing</a> and I really want to try these amazing <a href="http://pin.it/1E8EFE2" target="_blank">cellophane</a> wings I'd been seeing on Pinterest as well. </div>
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First I made the headdress we hadn't started the blog yet so no pictures of the process. I also made an <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/196381577/elf-ears-ear-cuffs?ga_search_query=elf+ear+cuff&ga_search_type=all&ref=sr_gallery_37&ga_view_type=gallery" target="_blank">elf ear</a> out of wire. I wasn't satisfied with the process and ended up buying this really <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0032CBNFE/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0032CBNFE&linkCode=as2&tag=fourgirlswaki-20&linkId=d08b021976e42cf5b72aac9f33ae8e55" target="_blank">cool tool </a>that I want to use to remake it. (Turns out I am so not ready for wire working. Elf ear idea scrapped.)</div>
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We ran to the Goodwill and found some amazing dresses. Mine was $12. After reading an article on <a href="http://www.thebudgetfashionista.com/archive/how-clean-thrift-store-clothing/" target="_blank">washing</a> things from the thrift store at The Budget Fashionista I decided to invest in dry-cleaning the dresses because ewww. The chemicals used on the dry cleaning are supposed to kill anything that is on the dress. Dry-cleaning was also $12, but ya live and learn. </div>
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So a minor problem with my dress is I was a bit to round and incredibly too busty for the size of the dress. I decided to just take the zipper out and put a corset back in instead. I found an amazing <a href="https://www.google.com/amp/s/sewfordough.wordpress.com/2010/02/02/adding-a-corset-back-to-your-wedding-dress/amp/" target="_blank">tutorial</a> at Sew for Dough that I didn't really have the skill to make happen so I just took the inspiration for how and went from there as usual.</div>
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Step 1 was to remove the zipper from the dress with a seam ripper. I also removed the silly tie on the front.</div>
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Step 2 was to attempt to turn the tie into loops following the directions of the competent seamstress.</div>
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Step 3 was to acknowledge that I totally messed that up and just use ribbon instead</div>
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Step 4 was to attach the loops to the dress. Working in the zipper seam I pinned a piece of ribbon and looped it back in about a fingers width across from the first piece I pinned it in place on a slight diagonal and then added the next piece ensuring that the ends of the loops overlapped. Continue down the length of the opening. Begin making loops on the other side of the seem making sure that they match up as evenly as possible with the loops on the other side. </div>
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Step 5 I cut the bottom most layer of the skirt with the tulle edge out as close to the bodice as possible. Then cut a piece of material out of it to use for the modesty panel.</div>
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Step 6 Hem the top edge of the panel that will be visible. Then pin the panel to one side of the dress. If the top line of loops doesn't quite match with the top of the panel just hide it with a piece of ribbon sewed over the top. Sew in using a line of tiny straight stitches. At this point you need an assistant.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-klNZAEv8o0Y/WA_fWmxDMaI/AAAAAAAAI6U/zv5ioEUgdYsET1D1746g58ZOr_6OjODvwCLcB/s1600/fairy2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-klNZAEv8o0Y/WA_fWmxDMaI/AAAAAAAAI6U/zv5ioEUgdYsET1D1746g58ZOr_6OjODvwCLcB/s320/fairy2.jpg" width="320" /></a>Step 7 Put the dress on and have the assistant tuck the panel in and the pin a few pins in a line where the panel and the dress are going to match up. You want to attach it a tiny bit smaller than where it lays so that it doesn't bunch up too much in between the stays but also leave enough space to get in and out of the dress.</div>
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Step 8 Pin the other side of the modesty panel in and sew closed as you get towards the waist you should have the pins going in a triangle shape to taper the size. </div>
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Step 9 lace it up. I wanted to use the corset style lace where you have one string starting at the top and one at the bottom that meet in the middle and tie. To measure loosely lace a piece of ribbon up leaving plenty of room to leave the stays unlaced while putting the dress on then add like a foot and a half and cut. </div>
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Now you can fit in your dress!<br />
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Now that my dress fit I had to faerie it up a bit and downgrade the princess level by cutting up the bottom edge. I cut each layer of the dress separately using randomly grabbed sections and cutting inverse v shapes out of the bottom edge. Creating a random rough edge for the whole dress. <br />
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That's it for the dress. Now on to the wings and the makeup.<br />
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Faerie Wings</h3>
I needed a simple, soft, unobtrusive pair of wings for the Disneyland Halloween party. I found this amazing fabric at Hobby Lobby. It was so shimmery and iridescent it just called out to be made into faerie wings. I bought a yard of fabric.<br />
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I laid the yard of fabric out flat on the ground then brought one corner up to the side so that I could make it into a square. I cut the left over edge off to use to attach the wings. I turned the now square piece of fabric into a diamond shape and then cut most of the way into the center of the wing down along from the top and bottom points.<br />
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You'll need to sew around the entire edge of the wing, to keep it from fraying and give the wing some structure. I used a zig-zag stitch. I also felt a need to hand sew "veins" into the wings by had with a large gather stitch. I don't think that they were really necessary, were a huge pain and a waste of time. I think that if I wanted the definition it'd be fine to machine sew them but trying to cinch them later just didn't work as planned.<br />
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Take the remaining strip of fabric and fold it in half lengthwise (hot dog style for those of us who still remember elementary school) and cut the strip in half. Then fold the strip in half again. Pin and stitch creating a casing. <br />
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Hold the strip up to your shoulder going under the arm as if it was a tiny sleeve to measure for size. You want it to be snug so the wings don't fall off, but not so tight that it is uncomfortable. Cut the casing to the appropriate size.<br />
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Take a piece of 3/4 inch elastic and measure the same way, but hold it stretched to measure. Your elastic should be an inch or so shorter than your casing.<br />
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Trim seam allowance and turn your casing inside out. To easily turn your casing pin a safety pin to a piece of ribbon slide the ribbon through the casing then pin it to the end, pull the ribbon through, bringing the end of the casing with it and then unpin the safety pin when you finish. Then thread the elastic through. (Yes my fabric changed color, I forgot to take pics of this part of my wings since I was on the phone with my mom, I took pics when making my sisters wings she was an autumn faerie so hers are brown.)<br />
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Pull back the sides of the casing and sew the ends of the elastic together. Sew the ends of the casing closed. After a variety of attempts to make it a neat and tidy inside I finally decided I was comfortable just folding the ends into each other and sewing it taught with a little square of stitching. Make sure you close your ends in the same place you stitched the elastic closed and then sew that same spot to the wings and it keeps all the ugly stitching in the same place against your body when the wings are on. <br />
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This next step is going to be much easier with an assistant. Hold the wings up to your body with the uncut corners out in your hands and figure what point you want the wings to attach to your shoulders. The uncut middle of the wing should reach somewhere mid-body. Take the seamed portion of the sleeve and attach it to the wing at the point you want it to lay on your body the sleeve should face out away from the wing.<br />
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The wings will go on your body via the sleeves and then when your fingers are in the loops they will open, close and move with you. If you need greater ease of movement simply slip the loop off your finger and let the wings hang closed. These are the most practical wings, or ridiculous costume accessory I have ever chosen to wear. <br />
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Faerie Make-Up</h3>
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A huge part of any costume for me is hair and make-up to complete the look. I couldn't imagine trying to take pictures of this process so I thought I'd give a video a go. <br />
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Wheeww that was the longest post ever!! Thanks for staying with me this far!<br />
Amanda<br />
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Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14267667017335010358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8992013858933895704.post-46751806457879277442016-10-26T02:48:00.000-07:002016-10-26T02:48:26.853-07:00Faerie WingsSince the faerie costume post is becoming ridiculously massive I keep cutting parts out of it for easier finding.<br />
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I needed a simple, soft, unobtrusive pair of wings for the Disneyland Halloween party. I found this amazing fabric at Hobby Lobby. It was so shimmery and iridescent it just called out to be made into faerie wings. I bought a yard of fabric.<br />
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I laid the yard of fabric out flat on the ground then brought one corner up to the side so that I could make it into a square. I cut the left over edge off to use to attach the wings. I turned the now square piece of fabric into a diamond shape and then cut most of the way into the center of the wing down along from the top and bottom points.<br />
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You'll need to sew around the entire edge of the wing, to keep it from fraying and give the wing some structure. I used a zig-zag stitch. I also felt a need to hand sew "veins" into the wings by had with a large gather stitch. I don't think that they were really necessary, were a huge pain and a waste of time. I think that if I wanted the definition it'd be fine to machine sew them but trying to cinch them later just didn't work as planned.<br />
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Take the remaining strip of fabric and fold it in half lengthwise (hot dog style for those of us who still remember elementary school) and cut the strip in half. Then fold the strip in half again. Pin and stitch creating a casing.<br />
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Hold the strip up to your shoulder going under the arm as if it was a tiny sleeve to measure for size. You want it to be snug so the wings don't fall off, but not so tight that it is uncomfortable. Cut the casing to the appropriate size.<br />
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Take a piece of 3/4 inch elastic and measure the same way, but hold it stretched to measure. Your elastic should be an inch or so shorter than your casing.<br />
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Trim seam allowance and turn your casing inside out. To easily turn your casing pin a safety pin to a piece of ribbon slide the ribbon through the casing then pin it to the end, pull the ribbon through, bringing the end of the casing with it and then unpin the safety pin when you finish. Then thread the elastic through. (Yes my fabric changed color, I forgot to take pics of this part of my wings since I was on the phone with my mom, I took pics when making my sisters wings she was an autumn faerie so hers are brown.)<br />
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Pull back the sides of the casing and sew the ends of the elastic together. Sew the ends of the casing closed. After a variety of attempts to make it a neat and tidy inside I finally decided I was comfortable just folding the ends into each other and sewing it taught with a little square of stitching. Make sure you close your ends in the same place you stitched the elastic closed and then sew that same spot to the wings and it keeps all the ugly stitching in the same place against your body when the wings are on.<br />
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This next step is going to be much easier with an assistant. Hold the wings up to your body with the uncut corners out in your hands and figure what point you want the wings to attach to your shoulders. The uncut middle of the wing should reach somewhere mid-body. Take the seamed portion of the sleeve and attach it to the wing at the point you want it to lay on your body the sleeve should face out away from the wing.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eQtEavnyruw/WBBz0dgOctI/AAAAAAAAJCA/lW6_XuXjeU8LxGEvJFT2szvXSixjBRzywCKgB/s1600/IMG_20161002_233526759.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eQtEavnyruw/WBBz0dgOctI/AAAAAAAAJCA/lW6_XuXjeU8LxGEvJFT2szvXSixjBRzywCKgB/s200/IMG_20161002_233526759.jpg" width="150" /></a>Cut a piece of beading elastic to make a loop around your middle finger. Sew one end to the the uncut corners of your wings. I used a zig-zag stitch and just sewed the heck outta it. Cross the elastic when you sew it to the other corner.<br />
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The wings will go on your body via the sleeves and then when your fingers are in the loops they will open, close and move with you. If you need greater ease of movement simply slip the loop off your finger and let the wings hang closed. These are the most practical wings, or ridiculous costume accessory I have ever chosen to wear. <br />
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Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14267667017335010358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8992013858933895704.post-76699728563581665962016-10-25T18:00:00.002-07:002016-10-25T18:01:19.917-07:00Dress Resize - Add a Corset Back<div dir="ltr">
When I was making my Faerie Halloween costume I found a great dress at the Goodwill but had a minor problem in that I was a bit to round and incredibly too busty for the size of the dress. I pulled the dress resizing portion of the post out to make it easier to find. <br />
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I decided to just take the zipper out and put a corset back in instead. I found an amazing <a href="https://www.google.com/amp/s/sewfordough.wordpress.com/2010/02/02/adding-a-corset-back-to-your-wedding-dress/amp/" target="_blank">tutorial</a> at "Sew for Dough" that I didn't really have the skill to make happen so I just took the inspiration for how and went from there as usual.</div>
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Step 1 was to remove the zipper from the dress with a seam ripper. I also removed the silly tie on the front.</div>
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Step 2 was to attempt to turn the tie into loops following the directions of the competent seamstress.</div>
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Step 3 was to acknowledge that I totally messed that up and just use ribbon instead</div>
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Step 4 was to attach the loops to the dress. Working in the zipper seam I pinned a piece of ribbon and looped it back in about a fingers width across from the first piece I pinned it in place on a slight diagonal and then added the next piece ensuring that the ends of the loops overlapped. Continue down the length of the opening. Begin making loops on the other side of the seem making sure that they match up as evenly as possible with the loops on the other side. </div>
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Step 5 I cut the bottom most layer of the skirt with the tulle edge out as close to the bodice as possible. Then cut a piece of material out of it to use for the modesty panel.</div>
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Step 6 Hem the top edge of the panel that will be visible. Then pin the panel to one side of the dress. If the top line of loops doesn't quite match with the top of the panel just hide it with a piece of ribbon sewed over the top. Sew in using a line of tiny straight stitches. At this point you need an assistant.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-klNZAEv8o0Y/WA_fWmxDMaI/AAAAAAAAI6U/zv5ioEUgdYsET1D1746g58ZOr_6OjODvwCLcB/s1600/fairy2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-klNZAEv8o0Y/WA_fWmxDMaI/AAAAAAAAI6U/zv5ioEUgdYsET1D1746g58ZOr_6OjODvwCLcB/s320/fairy2.jpg" width="320" /></a>Step 7 Put the dress on and have the assistant tuck the panel in and the pin a few pins in a line where the panel and the dress are going to match up. You want to attach it a tiny bit smaller than where it lays so that it doesn't bunch up too much in between the stays but also leave enough space to get in and out of the dress.</div>
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Step 8 Pin the other side of the modesty panel in and sew closed as you get towards the waist you should have the pins going in a triangle shape to taper the size. </div>
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Step 9 lace it up. I wanted to use the corset style lace where you have one string starting at the top and one at the bottom that meet in the middle and tie. To measure loosely lace a piece of ribbon up leaving plenty of room to leave the stays unlaced while putting the dress on then add like a foot and a half and cut. </div>
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Now you can fit in your dress!<br />
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Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14267667017335010358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8992013858933895704.post-77509168367076735912016-10-22T01:47:00.000-07:002016-10-27T22:23:48.564-07:00Fascinator Witch Hat<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Halloween is coming up and a friend asked me to make her a mini witch hat. This is probably one of the easiest projects I've ever done, and the cheapest. I spent only a 1.50 making this, but if you don't have poster board, ribbon, felt, and a spider ring lying around it'll still only cost you about 5 dollars. </div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">What you'll need: </span></h4>
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<li>1 sheet of stiff black felt</li>
<li>2 sheets of regular black felt</li>
<li>Poster board</li>
<li>Hot glue</li>
<li>10 inches of black ribbon (optional)</li>
<li>1 black, plastic, spider (optional)</li>
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First, you'll need to cut out a poster board circle. I like working with tangible measurements so I traced a Disneyland Hatter hat but feel free to free hand it. </div>
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Then cut a smaller circle out of the circle you cut so that you have a brim about an inch wide. Stab a hole into the center to cut around from the inside rather than cutting through the brim. Cut out a piece of black felt just slightly (about a centimeter) bigger than the poster board and cut the center out of that as well.</div>
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Then roll a piece of black felt (make sure it's the stiff kind- it costs more at about 1.50 but your hat will be floppy if you use regular) into a cone and fit it into the brim of your hat. Trim the edge of the felt hanging past the brim to no more than one inch and cut slits all along the felt to fold up onto to bottom of the brim. Use hot glue to secure the edge of your stiff felt closed along the cone of the hat and then hot glue the cut strips to the brim securing the cone in place. </div>
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Then attach the felt circle you cut out to the top of your brim and apply hot glue all along the bottom brim. Place the hat down onto a piece of black felt making sure to glue the bottom side of the top felt down around the poster board. Then cut around the edge of your hat making sure that the edge of the poster board does not show through.<br>
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You could put this on a headband, a ribbon, or attach clips, but what I did was attached small hair ties to make loops to bobby pin the hat in place. I knotted the hair ties, glued one side down, and for extra security glued a small scrap of felt onto of the hot glue. </div>
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Finally, add a piece of ribbon around the brim and accent your mini witch hat with a spider for a subtle, creepy touch. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8992013858933895704.post-49384452364493428472016-10-20T21:14:00.000-07:002016-10-20T21:14:19.793-07:00Tamago Kake Gohan (Egg with rice- Japanese Breakfast)<div dir="ltr">
Whenever I make sushi one of my favorite parts is being able to stop when the sushi rice is done and have a quick bowl of tamago kake gohan. I saw a <u>Facebook</u> post that said something about the breakfast you're probably to afraid to eat and it was the final push I needed to make sushi myself. It just looked so delicious and I didn't know how else to try it. </div>
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When you have finished making your <a href="http://www.fourgirlswalkintoablog.com/2016/10/sushi-rice.html" target="_blank">sushi rice</a> scoop a small bowls worth. I like to make a small divot in the rice so the egg cooks a bit from the heat of the rice. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds, soy sauce and green onions on top. Take a fancy picture.</div>
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Then stir it all up and enjoy. When you stir it well the hot rice cooks the egg a little bit so it's not all slimy textured. It is such a simple and amazing combination of flavors. </div>
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<b>Ingredients</b></div>
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Hot sushi rice<br />
Egg</div>
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Optional: soy sauce<br />
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Green onions</div>
Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14267667017335010358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8992013858933895704.post-62643571783092305772016-10-20T21:10:00.001-07:002016-10-20T21:10:08.629-07:00Sushi Rice<div dir="ltr">
I pulled out just the rice portion of my sushi post to make it easier to find. Cause sushi rice is delicious for other things like Tamango Gohron or poke</div>
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Sushi Rice</h4>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CXqhaUOGIH0/WAmNrIgp2zI/AAAAAAAAIwU/3O3XW9JGuug5WDjotgEYiKclGMDM1kJ2QCLcB/s1600/collage-2016-10-20%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CXqhaUOGIH0/WAmNrIgp2zI/AAAAAAAAIwU/3O3XW9JGuug5WDjotgEYiKclGMDM1kJ2QCLcB/s320/collage-2016-10-20%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a>Begin your sushi by making Sushi Rice. I was ambitious today and started with two cups of rice. </div>
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Measure your rice and place into a bowl (I use a large sour cream tub) fill with water swirl rice to rinse and then dump out. Repeat 4-6 times. When you are finished the water should be clear enough that you can see the rice instead of milky. Drain rice in strainer leave for 5-10 minutes. Place rice in pan (or rice cooker). Place your index finger on the rice as you fill with water stop when the tip of your finger is covered.<br />
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Place pan on stove and bring to a boil stirring once or twice. After it boils turn down to low heat cover and cook 8-10 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to sit for 10 minutes. </div>
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In small saucepan prepare the seasoning. Add 1/4 cup Rice vinegar, 2 tbsp Mirin, 1 tsp sugar and 1/2 tsp salt. Heat and stir till dissolved. (If you don't have Mirin or don't like using alcohol for cooking just use all rice vinegar and and an extra 1/2 tsp sugar)</div>
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Turn out the rice into a non metallic container. (Ideally a flat wooden Japanese rice Hangiri I usually use my trusty sour cream tub but ended up in a flat bowl as it was too small for 2 cups rice) with a rice paddle or wooden spoon (nonmetallic) cut the seasoning into the rice until thoroughly combined. Let sit.</div>
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Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14267667017335010358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8992013858933895704.post-20984263642468482142016-10-20T21:08:00.000-07:002016-10-20T21:08:29.569-07:00Sushi!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I love sushi, but I don't always love going to get sushi. Growing up in the valley there's a lot of cheap sushi places that have very small portions 2-4 pieces. I always want to to try a ton of different things but I never want to eat the whole roll. Moving to the OC I struggle to find the sushi place that I am looking for and I'd like sushi for lunch, debating these issue for several months I searched Pinterest and after learning how to make sushi rice and that as long as the fish is frozen before hand you should be safe I worked up the courage to make sushi myself. </div>
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My fist time I started with a variety of California rolls because it seemed the easiest way to begin. Today I got brave enough to try tuna (it's our favorite type of sushi). I wanted to do the tuna on top of the rolls but chickened out last minute.</div>
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Sushi Rice</h4>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CXqhaUOGIH0/WAmNrIgp2zI/AAAAAAAAIwU/3O3XW9JGuug5WDjotgEYiKclGMDM1kJ2QCLcB/s1600/collage-2016-10-20%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CXqhaUOGIH0/WAmNrIgp2zI/AAAAAAAAIwU/3O3XW9JGuug5WDjotgEYiKclGMDM1kJ2QCLcB/s320/collage-2016-10-20%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a>Begin your sushi by making Sushi Rice. I was ambitious today and started with two cups of rice. </div>
Measure your rice and place into a bowl (I use a large sour cream tub) fill with water swirl rice to rinse and then dump out. Repeat 4-6 times. When you are finished the water should be clear enough that you can see the rice instead of milky. Drain rice in strainer leave for 5-10 minutes. Place rice in pan (or rice cooker). Place your index finger on the rice as you fill with water stop when the tip of your finger is covered.<br />
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Place pan on stove and bring to a boil stirring once or twice. After it boils turn down to low heat cover and cook 8-10 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to sit for 10 minutes. </div>
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In small saucepan prepare the seasoning. Add 1/4 cup Rice vinegar, 2 tbsp Mirin, 1 tsp sugar and 1/2 tsp salt. Heat and stir till dissolved. (If you don't have Mirin or don't like using alcohol for cooking just use all rice vinegar and and an extra 1/2 tsp sugar)</div>
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Turn out the rice into a non metallic container. (Ideally a flat wooden Japanese rice Hangiri I usually use my trusty sour cream tub but ended up in a flat bowl as it was too small for 2 cups rice) with a rice paddle or wooden spoon (nonmetallic) cut the seasoning into the rice until thoroughly combined. Let sit.</div>
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<b>Cucumber:</b> I like cucumber in rolls. You should use Japanese cucumber which have smaller seeds and nicer texture than American cucumber but American cucumber is what I had. To make it work I cut the cucumber in half. Then I cut that half in half lengthwise. I peel the skin off and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Then I cut it into small strips. </div>
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<b>Avocado</b>: I love avocado in anything and especially sushi. I just cut the avocado in half and then slice the half without the pit into thin slices. I let the skin stay on and just peel it back as I use the slices in the rolls.</div>
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<b>Tuna</b>: I used a 4 ounce frozen tuna steak I bought at Aldi. Slice the tuna thinly. To top your sushi slice the fish very thinly with your knife at an angle. (I chickened out at the last minute and decided I wasn't ready for the challenge. Didn't like my cuts or have faith in my rolling slicing capabilities to top my sushi. Maybe next time.). The long thin slices go in your tuna rolls and any miscellaneous shapes get chopped up for spicy tuna. (Yum!! spicy tuna) Toss the cut pieces of in a bowl for spicy tuna.</div>
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<b>Spicy tuna</b>: Add a 1/2 tbsp of mayonnaise and 1/2-1 tbsp (to taste) of Sriracha sauce if using American mayonnaise add 1/4tsp of rice vinegar and a pinch of sugar. Stir.</div>
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Bowl of water </div>
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Make the Rolls</h4>
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OK it's go time. Lay out your sushi mat. Place a piece of Saran wrap on top. Take a piece of nori out of the package fold it in half lengthwise for bite sized rolls. Place your half sheet of Nori on your mat shiny side up. Wet your hands and grab a small handful or rice. Spread the rice out on the nori wet your hands if it's getting too sticky. Sprinkle sesame seeds on the rice if you like then flip. </div>
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Make a very thin row of ingredients. Mix it up how ever you like. I started with tuna, cucumber, avocado. If any of your slices seem too large cut in half.</div>
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Bring the edge of the nori over and wrap. ( First time I rolled my plastic wrap into my roll. The wrap is one with the mat you may need to pull it up and away.) Be careful that your edges meet so your roll closes. </div>
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Slowly begin to squeeze evenly and tighten the roll with your sushi mat. Open the mat and see how it went. (Occasionally mine end up with a silly triangle bump on one side. Just replace and roll again with even pressure to smooth it out.) </div>
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If you over fill your roll like this one where I tried some rice on the inside for the first time the roll won't close it will squish out and make a mess. </div>
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Sometimes the nori squishes in to the roll and does close. Try to bring the nori back out and over more neatly and re-roll as best you can. There's an art to sushi making and practice makes perfect. So keep making sushi.</div>
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Place finished rolls on a plate in the fridge to make slicing easier. When you're done making rolls and ready to eat slice the rolls into one inch pieces with a very sharp knife. Have a wet towel handy to wipe the knife with whenever it feels sticky. A little bit of a sawing motion works better than just pressing down anytime the knife doesn't go straight through. </div>
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Top with eel sauce, spicy mayo, Sriracha or serve as is. Have soy sauce and wasabi handy for dipping. Some pickled ginger is also nice to have on hand.</div>
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<b>Eel sauce</b><br />
4 tbsp soy sauce<br />
2 tbsp Mirin<br />
1 tbsp brown sugar</div>
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Combine in small saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for one minute then simmer till thickens slightly. Will thicken upon sitting.</div>
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<b>Spicy mayo</b><br />
1/4 c mayonnaise<br />
1-2 tbsp Sriracha<br />
1/2 tsp rice vinegar<br />
1/4 tsp sugar</div>
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Combine in bowl mix.</div>
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<b>Tools</b><br />
Sushi mat (I found one at Daiso for $1.50)<br />
Sharp chefs knife<br />
Saran wrap (stretch tite from Costco FTW)</div>
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<b>Ingredients</b><br />
Nori/seaweed (make sure your sheets are wide enough to wrap around a roll I first got ones too narrow. Sprouts had full sheets and I've seen them at some Ralph's)<br />
Sushi rice (how it's made more than type I use regular white rice that I buy in bulk)<br />
Fish (tuna steaks I found mine frozen at Aldi for $4.99 for a 3 pack, Imitation crab sticks)<br />
Avocado<br />
Rice vinegar<br />
Cucumber<br />
Sriracha<br />
Mayonnaise<br />
Sesame seeds<br />
Cream cheese<br />
Wasabi (found at Daiso also saw at Sprouts)</div>
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<b>Ingredients for Sushi Rice</b><br />
2 cup White rice (actual sushi rice is best but any short grain will work fine I haven't seen sushi rice in the supermarket and haven't gone to an Asian market)<br />
1/4 cup Rice vinegar<br />
2 TBS Mirin<br />
1 tsp sugar<br />
1/2 tsp salt</div>
Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14267667017335010358noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8992013858933895704.post-61486333266934170162016-10-19T00:11:00.002-07:002016-10-19T00:15:10.933-07:00Halloween Ghost Lights<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I had a giant string of ping-pong ball lights from IKEA that I wasn't using and I thought they'd make a great base for some ghost Halloween lights. Napkins, floral wire and a black sharpie marker are the total supplies needed. </div>
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If you don't have a spare string of ball lights around you can poke a hole in actual ping pong balls and attach them to a spare string of white Christmas lights.</div>
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My napkins happened to have little flowers along one side which are definitely not suitable for ghosts so I cut that off then refolded them into squares at their smaller size. If you want to make your life easier just get some plain napkins. </div>
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Fold the napkins over into a triangle a few at a time and then cut in a random pattern to create a ruffled edge so your ghosts are fluttery.</div>
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Unfold your napkin one at a time and in the middle draw a cute little ghost face. </div>
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Position your napkin around the light and cut a length of wire to wrap around under the light and twist to secure. </div>
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Repeat until you have a full string of lights. </div>
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We hung ours up around the outside of the window with a series of tacks in the window frame.</div>
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Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14267667017335010358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8992013858933895704.post-36749490167350524642016-10-18T21:50:00.002-07:002016-10-18T21:50:55.721-07:00Southwestern Rice CasseroleFor dinner tonight I made a rice casserole that we have had as a family recipe for quite a while now. We never really bothered with names or a whole lot of measurements so its interesting to type this up. I love this dish because it is super easy, doesn't require a lot of work, or perfection and is ready in about a half hour. And it packs well for lunch the next day. Scroll down for the ingredients list.<br />
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Prepare Rice-a-Roni according to package directions. Then stir in a can of diced green chilies (note one time we discovered we had bought diced jalapenos by mistake and were like well ok it'll just be spicier. No. It doesn't work the taste is totally off and we enjoy spicy, double check that you are buying green chilies.)<br />
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Spread the rice mixture evenly into a round casserole dish. I use a rubber spatula for this step. You want to make sure the top is flattened out evenly as a base layer.<br />
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Top with a layer of sour cream. (We buy our sour cream in a Costco sized tub so I just plop two big spatulas worth on top.) You want about a cup of sour cream, but vary according to taste the layer should be thick enough that you can spread it on top of the rice without the rice showing through.<br />
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Break your broccoli into smallish pieces, I went a little bigger than normal overcompensating for the fact that I usually go too small. (If you like your veggies softer steam the broccoli briefly and drain before adding) Spread in a single layer over the top of the sour cream. (Frozen broccoli will totally work for this as well)</div>
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Cover with a layer of shredded jack cheese. (Queso quesadilla, mozzarella or any other white melting cheese can be substituted if Jack isn't easily available in your area we just always have a Costco sized brick of Jack in the fridge it gives it a nice flavor.</div>
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Bake in oven between 350 and 400 for 20 to 30 minutes. I tend to make a side of chicken breasts (I tried something new and wasn't sure if it would be tasty so forgot to take pics) and or a bread like this <a href="http://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/2010/09/the-best-chili-and-cornbread.html" target="_blank">delicious cornbread</a> with it. Since really we are just looking to melt the cheese, cook the broccoli and meld it all together its not too picky about time or temp, if your side is go with what really matters. Either take it out when the cheese is melted or browned depending on how hungry you are. ;)</div>
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Works great as a main or a side dish. I always waver between I want something else with this when I eat it as a main and oh why did I make all the food when I eat it as a side. Enjoy.<br />
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-Amanda<br />
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Ingredients</h3>
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1 box Chicken flavored Rice a Roni<br />
1 can diced green chilies<br />
apx 1 cup jack cheese<br />
apx 1 cup sour cream<br />
apx 1/3 head broccoliAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14267667017335010358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8992013858933895704.post-81662643151726489712016-10-11T17:03:00.000-07:002016-10-11T17:06:46.564-07:00Snickerdoodles<div style="text-align: center;">
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It's finally fall! ....technically. Southern California fall is interesting. In the morning, you need a sweater. By the afternoon you're sweating and turning the air up to full blast, and by evening you're wishing you brought that sweater you couldn't fathom needing in the afternoon. Oh and don't forget to check the weather before you get dressed because the high last weekend was 95, but today the high is 70. This leaves us Southern California natives longing to break out our box of beloved sweaters, dig out our stock of cozy tights, and dust off our boots, but afraid to tuck away our shorts and tank-tops. With summer holding tight onto October, I try to find ways to make it feel like fall -- without overheating! So I get the Halloween decorations out, impulsively buy new thanksgiving towels and pot holders, spend too much on a Autumn scented candle, and as always bake cookies!</div>
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Snickerdoodles, with their hint of cinnamon, are the perfect fall cookie. They're spicier than Chocolate-Chip, but not as distinctly Christmasy as Ginger-snaps. And finally, they're just fun to say!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Will be typed out later. *1 and 1/2 butter is 1 and 1/2 sticks of butter or 3/4 of a cup.<br />
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Now if you're like me you decide to make cookies RIGHT NOW and never want to wait for the butter to soften. However, it is very, very, very important that you DO NOT melt the butter in the microwave. The best way to soften butter in a hurry is to cut the butter into very small chunks and place it in a bowl on top of the stove. (Note: This only works on gas stoves that have pilots as there is residual heat from the pilot light. If you have an electric stove you can place the bowl in the warmest spot in your house or in you absolutely have to soften it in the microwave in increments of 5 or less seconds on low power. Do not melt the butter!)</div>
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It took about 15 minutes for my butter to soften enough. During this time I emptied the dish washer and gathered the ingredients and measuring cups and spoons I would need. </div>
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After softening the butter, you'll add the sugar and mix until light and fluffy. I used a mixer for these, but I mixed by hand for years. If using a mixer, be sure not to over mix. Next you want to add your eggs and vanilla. (Note; Always crack your eggs into a small bowl and not directly into your dough. It's much easier to remove any flecks of shell that might sneak into your egg in a small bowl than out of your dough, and you just never know whats going on inside the shell. I have had one egg in a dozen be bad despite the others being good! Also, don't pour your vanilla over your dough, just in case this time you spill.)</div>
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Next, measure your dry ingredients - flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt - into a separate bowl and add into your wet ingredients. </div>
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The dry ingredients should be just incorporated into the dough and it should pull away from the sides easily. Be careful not to over mix. Cover the dough and lest rest in the fridge for a couple hours or more.</div>
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Next mix your cinnamon and sugar in a shallow dish. Spoon dough out and gently roll into a small ball between your palms. </div>
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Dip just the top of the dough balls in the mixture. (It is very important not to roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar and cover them completely as this will cause the sugar on the bottom of the cookie to burn as it cooks against the cookie sheet.) </div>
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Space the cookies at least an inch apart from each other and bake for 8 to 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Enjoy!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8992013858933895704.post-15539528981560306762016-10-05T12:09:00.001-07:002016-10-05T13:41:13.507-07:00Caramel Iced Coffee<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I love iced coffees but I never want to take the time, or spend the money to go to Starbucks or other fancy coffee places so I just do it at home. <br />
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I make cold brew coffee and keep it in the fridge it lasts for about a week or 6 coffees which ever comes first. I got these awesome large filter bags at Daiso and they make it super easy. I add 3 scoops of coffee to the bag and fill the container with water. This container holds about 8 cups. Then just stick it in the fridge for 12-24 hours. <br />
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To make the coffee you're going to need: Cold brew coffee, milk, ice, sugar syrup and caramel topping (sauce).<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OnrZUWSBu7w/V_VONLT0a8I/AAAAAAAAIOQ/QKWfFrv9qa4HrqXYoaqr63TBkdVQbnYVwCKgB/s1600/IMG_20161003_115226910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OnrZUWSBu7w/V_VONLT0a8I/AAAAAAAAIOQ/QKWfFrv9qa4HrqXYoaqr63TBkdVQbnYVwCKgB/s200/IMG_20161003_115226910.jpg" width="150" /></a><span style="text-align: center;">Step one: Add ice to the cup about halfway full. Then add milk to about halfway up the ice that is in the glass. ( I use these measurements so that the proportions are always right no matter how big of a coffee you are making.)</span><br />
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Step two: Add sugar syrup. To make a simple syrup I add 2/3 of a cup of sugar to a small saucepan and stir in 1 cup of water. While stirring bring to a simmer over medium low heat until the mixture is clear. Cool and store in sealed container in fridge. I use an old jelly jar. You want to add just enough syrup so that the liquid in the cup is about the same level as the top of the ice.<br />
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Step 3: Add caramel sauce. I always use a table spoon and just drizzle the topping in. I usually will swirl some around the side of the glass as well so that it looks pretty. One spoon full will do you. (If you want a more Starbucks level they would do at least 2 but this makes the jar of topping last at least a month) I have a jar of caramel topping that I got at Aldi that I've been using but any kind of caramel sauce or topping will work. I used to use the Market Pantry one from Target a lot that is in a squeeze bottle. <br />
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Step four: Top off with cold brew coffee. Fill up the glass the rest of the way with your cold brew coffee. Add a straw and stir to blend. (I'll be retaking that blurry pic later. )<br />
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-Amanda<br />
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Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14267667017335010358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8992013858933895704.post-70976709885603806802016-10-05T11:46:00.002-07:002016-10-05T13:42:52.726-07:00Banana bread (muffins)<div dir="ltr">
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Had some bananas going bad on the counter today so I decided to make banana bread. I wanted then to be easily portable for breakfast so I made muffins </div>
instead of the regular loaf. <br />
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<b>Ingredients</b><br />
3 ripe bananas<br />
1 cup white sugar<br />
1 egg<br />
1/4 cup melted butter<br />
2 cups flour<br />
1/2 tsp salt<br />
1 tsp baking powder</div>
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Possibly the best thing that came out of my relationship with my ex was my Kitchen Aid mixer. I use it for everything and it's amazing. But we mixed this for my entire childhood with a masher and a wooden spoon so you don't need to be fancy. </div>
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Peel the bananas and put them in a bowl (mixer with whisk attachment) mash them up or whisk on low speed until they are smooth. ( Sorry I forgot to take pics of this step I'll add them in next time)</div>
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<a aria-label="Photo - Landscape - Oct 3, 2016, 11:41:53 AM" class="p137Zd" href="https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMw3Yt4g-v5k3RieVxDrIBlfOYqHwFFRfqmwUEo" jsaction=" click:eQuaEb;focus:AHmuwe; blur:O22p3e;" tabindex="0"></a><br />
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<a aria-label="Photo - Landscape - Oct 3, 2016, 11:41:53 AM" class="p137Zd" href="https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMw3Yt4g-v5k3RieVxDrIBlfOYqHwFFRfqmwUEo" jsaction=" click:eQuaEb;focus:AHmuwe; blur:O22p3e;" tabindex="0">
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Add the sugar and mix until integrated. Add the egg (whisk first if doing by hand) and then the melted butter. Then add the dry ingredients. Don't over mix. </div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l7d6amSdhDA/V_VJj9wd3NI/AAAAAAAAINo/qfEELZJ49DkWvsyS6bC1xm3Xj3ysT5hyQCKgB/s1600/IMG_20161003_114953825.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l7d6amSdhDA/V_VJj9wd3NI/AAAAAAAAINo/qfEELZJ49DkWvsyS6bC1xm3Xj3ysT5hyQCKgB/s200/IMG_20161003_114953825.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y2in24y5QoE/V_VJwdvogOI/AAAAAAAAINs/bNJv2FsUyfIzw8ITdEKiHnRUcMyh5_5IACKgB/s1600/IMG_20161003_121623667.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y2in24y5QoE/V_VJwdvogOI/AAAAAAAAINs/bNJv2FsUyfIzw8ITdEKiHnRUcMyh5_5IACKgB/s200/IMG_20161003_121623667.jpg" width="150" /></a>Line a muffin tin with papers (or grease and flour, if using a loaf pan or don't have papers). Fill pan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes (loaf bakes for 50 min) poke with a toothpick when it comes out<br />
mostly clean your good. This bread is super light in color and extremely dense.<br />
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Cool on counter with rack under, I just use the burner from the gas stove to give them a little lift. Pop them out of the muffin tin and enjoy. I usually will just put them in a gallon size Ziploc bag. You can also freeze them if you don't think you'll get through a dozen muffins right away. </div>
Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14267667017335010358noreply@blogger.com0