Homemade Holidays Hiatus

Hi everyone! Sorry we've been slacking on new posts, we've just been so so busy!!

We're doing homemade holidays around here, with gifts all made by hand. Melanie's doing lots of baking and Amanda's making felt toys for her nieces and nephews.

We'll be back soon! Merry happy Chrismahannukwanzica! ;)

Try This Drink I Just Made!

I'm fighting the Mom Cold this week... the one that never fully goes away because I never get to be fully rested. Because of that, I'm swapping my coffee for tea and juice, and whenever I have tea, the kids want tea.

So, I turned on the kettle, let it come to a boil, pulled out a pack of decaf chocolate hazelnut tea and let it steep for 4 minutes. I poured about 1/2 cup of vanilla rice milk into the kids cups, then poured the tea into the milk. Both cups were too full for the kids, so I poured the extras into the mug and enjoyed it too! Hope you like it, the kids and I sure did!

-Melanie

Homemade Harlots take on Embroidery

Melanie and I try to do a fun craft together every week. This week Mel had the brilliant idea to start embroidery. I have done embroidery before but not a lot and when I did do it I really loved it, so I was ready to take on the challenge too.

I am making a folksy looking fish for my kitchen. I love the old folk art look.

and Melanie is embroidering her prayer flags, it looks amazing!

We have learned many different stitching techniques and are having a blast! This has by far been one of my favorite projects that we have taken on. I cant wait to share them when they are done!

What kind of new crafts have you been learning?

-Amanda

Keeping the House Tidy

Among the several positions the domestic artist holds, housekeeper is certainly a big one. Having things neat, dinner cooking, with dessert in the oven- and don't forget about kids being happy- helps every evening to go well.

One of my tidying tricks is to always grab something as I'm walking through a room. Going from the kitchen to our bedroom, I'll check on the laundry and see if anything needs to be transferred or put away. If I'm going upstairs, I'll grab anything kid related, since that's where their bedroom and playroom are.

Picking up little things all day makes the great pick up at the end of the day much more bearable. Some chores are considerably less daunting if you can do them bit by bit throughout the day.

Every day (sometimes twice) when the Roomba's charged, I run around the house (downstairs one day, upstairs the next), and get everything off the floor so Ruthie (that's our Roomba) can vacuum while I'm making lunch and getting the kids settled for naps and quiet time. I have the kids get the toys (we have a no [more like very few] toys outside of the playroom rule, so there's mostly just baby toys strewn about) and I do mostly everything else.

If there's kids clothes or shoes, I set them on the stairs to take up once I have a nice pile.

Before: Super messy kids area!!

After: Here's the stairs (with my 2 year old) and the playroom, after every container in the playroom had been emptied! It took us about thirty minutes to get everything completely picked up.

Right now, the only thing on the floor is the pile of laundry in my bedroom that I'm about to tackle... Which Ruthie just tried to eat. :)

Once you're able to find your cleaning groove, you'll be super pleased with the results!

-Melanie

Divine Chocolate Mint Black Bean Cake *Now with Hot Fudge Frosting*

This cake is amazing. Believe me, but still make it for yourself. I love cutting flour when I can, it makes my joints feel happier, and this has so much protein, fiber, and potassium in it because it has a whole pound of beans!

Preheat oven to 325*

Add the following ingredients to your food processor, as well as 1/4 cup mint and 1/4 cup dark chocolate pieces:

*1 1/2 cup of cooked beans, any kind/color
*5 large eggs
*2 tsp mint extract
*1/2 tsp salt
*6 tbsp unsalted butter OR coconut oil
*3/4 cup erythritol plus 1/2 tsp pure stevia extract OR 1/2 cup honey plus 1 tsp pure stevia extract
*1 tsp baking powder
*1/2 tsp baking soda
*1 tbsp water (leave out if you use honey)
*1/4 cup mint chips
*1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Blend till everything is very well mixed and the beans and chips are totally pulverized, pour into a cake pan lightly dusted with cocoa powder. There is no rising, so keep that in mind when you choose your pan.

 Mix in an additional 1/2 cup mint chips and 1/2 dark chocolate chips, then bake for 45 minutes, or until the center is solid and slightly beginning to crack, and a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan, then transfer to a cooling rack.

I'm making the frosting tomorrow, to be used right before serving. Stay tuned!


**********************************************************************************

My super healthy and sugar free frosting recipe never comes out quite right, so I decided to give a hot fudge kind of frosting a try. It's NOT healthy, but mah gawd is it delicious!

Simply:
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 stick of butter
1/2 bag of dark chocolate chips
1/2 bag mint chips

Melt over medium low heat, whisk till well mixed and thick
Let cool for twenty minutes off the heat, whisking occasionally
Cut cake and pour hot fudge over each piece.

Devour! :)
-Melanie

Mmmmmmuffins

Every first Saturday of the month, I host a little playgroup at my house for moms with nursing toddlers. I always try to have healthy and yummy snacks, and with the holidays, I'm having trouble keeping it healthy. ;) Yummy is no problem though!

This is a "low fat" recipe... if you follow it as it says. ;) This time, I added pumpkin egg nog in place of buttermilk, flax seed instead of eggs (1tbsp flax meal with 3tbsp water per egg to be replaced), a cup of chopped cranberries, and half a bag of white chocolate chips.

Both texture and taste were divine, and they were gone so quickly! I only got to taste one because my 2 year old shared a bite.

Because they disappeared before I could find my camera, I didn't get a final picture! If you bake these, please share your pictures! :)

-Melanie

DIY Picture Frames

Moving into our new house has catapulted me into decorating mode. I'm finally able to do the crafts that I started forever ago, but never finished because I couldn't actually use them in our rentals.

I found these cheap wooden frames at IKEA (3 pack for $2.99!) four years ago, and even though I had plans for them, it never seemed to get finished.

Now that I have somewhere to hang them, and I'm allowed to do it (because it's MY house, bitch!), those frames are getting crafted!

I painted them all with acrylic paints (2 coats) in colors pulled from my couch pillows, and printed up 30 of my favorite pictures in all black and white.

I eyeballed the placement using two existing screws, which I took down. Using string taped to the wall gave me rough measurements for placing the frames in between. They're not all perfect, but I think it's adorable!

I got that little saying from an online store that gives out codes making their items free, you just pay shipping. Stay tuned for my review of the decals, plus a giveaway of one of their other phrases!

I think the frames fit perfectly in the dining room, and I can't wait to get my chairs recovered so it all comes together!

-Melanie

Tuesday Tip: Taste Everything

That's it. Just taste everything as you're adding anything, after it's been simmering for a while, or before you bake it.

If it doesn't taste right, think of what would make it better. Sugar? Salt? Maybe some cumin in a Mexican dish?

Use common sense and get to know your kitchen and pantry. You'll be tossing things in like a pro in no time.

Good luck!
-Amanda and Melanie

Soft Pretzel Recipe

• 4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
•  
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 4 cups hot water
• Coarse Salt. Or cinnamon and sugar

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let sit until frothy, I usually wait about 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center of flour and add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add one or two tablespoons of water. Knead the dough until smooth, and elastic,  about 7 to 8 minutes. Oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water.
When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into equal pieces. 

Roll each piece into a rope 

and twist into a pretzel shape. Once all of the dough is all shaped, 

dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place on a baking sheet.

Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until browned.

Rub Butter onto pretzels and sprinkle salt on top, if you would rather have cinnamon and sugar pretzels add that after the butter instead.

We decided to enjoy our pretzels both ways! We had the salted ones with some cheddar cheese soup that I had in the pantry, it was perfect! These are so simple and way cheaper to make than to buy from the mall!

Side Dish : Fried Green Tomatoes

I was looking for something to do with the rest of the tomatoes left in my garden that aren't turning red because of the weather now. I came up with the perfect idea, Fried Green tomatoes! This is a traditional southern dish that is so easy to make and yet so delicious. 

Ingredients:
Green tomatoes
Fish seasoning
Eggs
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
Corn Meal

Chop tomatoes into 1/2 in thick slices

Beat eggs
Mix corn meal and fish seasoning in bowl











coat tomatoes in eggs and then coat in corn meal batter

 submerge in hot oil and cook on each side for about 5 min each










This is so quick and easy it doesn't need much preparation and the cook time is very minimal. Bon Appétit!

Perfect Pork Roast

Pork pot roast:

Brown the roast on all sides in a pan with olive oil or butter.

Ingredients: lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, s&p, red wine vinegar, olive oil
rosemary, garlic, onions, potatoes (I used Yukon golds), carrots, Brussels sprouts

Layer ingredients in Crock Pot- I like to put potatoes on the bottom and onions and garlic cloves on top... With a healthy sprinkling of salt and pepper over every layer. Make the sauce to taste using red wine vinegar, Worcestershire, olive oil, chopped rosemary, crushed garlic, and s& p. You don't want the sauce to be too acidic, with just the right amount of sweetness. Have the juices come up to just barely above the meat.

My uncooked roast, ready to go.

Cook on high for 6-8 hours (check temp!), keep warm till plating.

Optional- make a gravy from the juices to put on the meat and veggies by taking some juice and flour, and shaking them together vigorously (in something similar to a martini shaker) and then adding back to the rest of the juice. Keep the heat on until the gravy is nice and thick, repeating the above step until yo reach desired consistency.

Serve with a slice of freshly baked bread and a glass of Pinot Noir.

Cheers!
-Melanie

Tuesday tip: Making and Storing Pumpkin Puree

I absolutely could not think of a better post to do the day after Halloween than this one! Everyone has left over pumpkins right? Instead of throwing them away you could turn them into pumpkin puree and save it to make pies (or whatever your little heart desires) for the holidays!
Making Pumpkin Puree is so simple and not very time consuming at all. You only need a few materials even the most simple of kitchens comes equipped with.

Materials:
Left over jack o' lantern (or new pumpkin)
Aluminum foil
Pan
Knife
Potato Masher (or spoon or food processor or mixer)
Ziploc Bag

Preheat oven to 350
First, rinse out your pumpkin, make sure it's clean inside, then chop it into several chunks about the size in the below picture.

Cover a cookie pan with aluminum foil and place the pumpkins on it and put into the oven for about 45min-1 hour

They will be soft and mash-able like potatoes.

Next you can peel the skin off the flesh of the pumpkin and then mash or mix them until they are smooth. Now you are all finished with your puree! You can use it now or store it for later.

To store pumpkin puree measure 1 to 2 cups of the puree into a Ziploc bag and place them flat (for better storage). Write the date and the contents on your package and you are all set! Your frozen puree will stay good for up to a year! It's perfect to save it up for those Thanksgiving pies!

I'm really excited to hear how many of you did this and what you plan to do with your pumpkin puree.


-Amanda