Homemade Focaccia Bread BLT

Mmm... a few nights ago, I was planning to make BLT's but only had cheapy store-bought bread on hand. So I decided to try making homemade focaccia bread. Wowsers!!! It transformed the humble BLT to something even more scrumptious.

3 1/4 - 3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups warm water
2 tsp sugar
1 rounded TBSP malted milk powder (I used regular dry milk)
1 tsp rosemary, optional
1/8 tsp black pepper, optional

2 tsp olive oil
1 TBSP yellow cornmeal

If you have a bread machine, just toss all the ingredients in on the dough setting.

If not, here are instructions for making it by hand:
In large bowl of electric mixer, stir together 3 cups flour, yeast, salt, milk powder, and sugar. Add warm water to flour and mix together. Stir in remaining flour gradually to make a soft dough that holds together instead of sticking to the sides of the bowl. Turn dough onto a f loured surface and knead until dough is smooth and satiny (about 10 minutes), adding just enough flour to prevent dough from being sticky. Place dough in bowl sprayed with cooking spray. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled (30-45 minutes).

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove dough from bread machine and place on a greased baking sheet. Roll dough into a 13x15 inch rectangle. Brush top with olive oil and sprinkle with cornmeal. Bake until golden (about 15 minutes). Remove from oven and brush with remaining oil. Let cool for a few minutes, then cut into squares.

To make BLT's, slice focaccia open. Stuff with mayo, chopped tomatoes, bacon, and lettuce. YUM!!!

Pedestal Thingy

Just wanted to share my latest thrift store find. I got the pedestal thingy for $1. Yeah! I think it's supposed to be a candle holder, but when I saw it, I knew exactly what I was going to use it for. I just painted it black and put my big hurricane vase on top, set a candle inside and filled it with split peas. Love it!

10 Minute Mistreatment

I am a big fan of The Nester. I have been "mistreating" things for years. When I read her blog for the first time, I felt like I had found a kindred spirit! She has totally validated my lazy, hair-brained ways of making things work! If you've never checked out her site, you should. Anyway, she's been posting lately about how you can make a room better in just 10 minutes. So I decided to give it a whirl in my little boy's room.

Because we live in a small apartment, I keep bins of toys under the crib.

Ugly clutter. Ack! It drives me nuts! I knew a crib skirt would make a huge difference.

I used a sheet as the backing for the quilt I made him, so I dug out the leftovers to use for the skirt. Here's the finished product:

No toys in sight! Hurray!!!

And here's how I did it:Yep, I literally laid the sheet under the mattress, evenly scrunched the edge, then put the mattress back down on top! It took all of five seconds. Since I used a sheet, it already had a finished edge. AND it's adjustable! When it's time to lower the mattress, the skirt will still fit perfectly! Hee Hee. If I get really ambitious some day, I think a little bit of red rick rack would be cute a few inches up from the bottom. But for now I'm just enjoying the big pay off for less than 10 minutes of work. Thanks, Nester!

Honey Bun Cake

Several months ago, my friend Leslie made this cake for a baby shower brunch. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It's a cake that tastes like an old fashioned doughnut! And this girl loves doughnuts, so you can understand my delight. I had some extra sour cream in the fridge, so I made this cake last night. It is now gone. All of it. And I won't admit how many pieces I single-handedly polished off. It was gone so fast, I didn't even get a picture. So I borrowed one from this fun little food blog: http://dinnersonme.blogspot.com/ . Apparently you can make it in a bundt pan. Cool!

1 package yellow cake mix (18.25-oz)

3/4 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1 (8-oz) container sour cream

1 cup brown sugar

1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

Glaze:2 cups powdered sugar

4 Tablespoons milk

1 Tablespoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 325In a large bowl, combine cake mix, oil, eggs and sour cream. Stir by hand approx 50 strokes, or until most large lumps are gone. Spray 9x13 pan with nonstick cooking spray. Pour half of the batter into the baking dish. Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the batter in the cake pan. Spoon the other half of the batter into the cake pan, covering the brown sugar mixture. Twirl the cake with a butter knife to marble it. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. To make frosting: In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth. Pour glaze over cake while it is still hot. Serve warm. It also makes a FABULOUS breakfast the next day!

Happy Valentines Day

Since today is Valentines Day, here are some random things I love:

Wooden stairs and this gorgeous candlestick grouping.

http://emmafree.blogspot.com

Ballerina picture frame.
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=245374.0

ANYTHING in aqua, red and white.
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5122177

Rustic stars. http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=289062.0

The old Fisher Price Little People

Apothecary Jars.

http://www.englishcreekgardens.com/Apothecary.htm

Transformations.
This before and after is amazing. Check out her blog for more. http://www.granvillehouse.blogspot.com/

Craigslist.
I check it religiously every day. Bargain central!
http://www.craigslist.org/

What do you love???

Pigs In A Blanket

Okay, so I'm almost embarrassed to post this because it's such an unhealthy, kiddish recipe. It contains two ingredients (hot dogs and shortening) that a lot of people avoid like the plague. However, I like them and I just don't care. It's one of my favorite quick and cheap dinners.

2 1/4 cup flour
1 TBSP baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shortening
2 TBSP cornmeal
7+ TBSP water
8 hot dogs

Mix dry ingredients together. Add shortening and cut in until crumbly. Add 7 TBSP water, then just enough more to make the dough stick together. Do not overwork dough. Divide into 8 parts. Wrap around each hot dog and pinch to seal. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes (I'm not sure how long they took). Serve with ketchup or BBQ sauce for dipping.

Easy Valentines Day Decorations

Since Valentines Day is only two days away, I figured I'd better finish up these projects and post pictures!
I found the big letter L for 50 cents at Goodwill. Covered it in paper, added some ribbon and a chipboard heart tag that says, "Love." So easy.

The garland was easy too--I just tied a bunch of ribbon and fabric to a red cord I had lying around.

The little love birds are made from paper and have paper clip legs. I saw the idea on the internet somewhere, but I can't for the life of me remember where. If you know, please leave the info in a comment for me so I can give proper credit.

What are you doing for Valentines Day?

Muffin Mania

Right after our baby was born, my friend Keri brought over muffins, a fresh fruit tray and juice. It was the best thing anyone has brought me after having a baby. It was so convenient and nutritious and all around thoughtful and wonderful. Seriously, if you have a friend having a baby soon, store this idea away.

Anyway, those muffins were the start of a big phase for me. It has been muffin central around here ever since. I just LOVE muffins! So I thought I would share the best muffin recipe. It is the best because you can use whatever schtuff you have on had that needs to be used up. I've tried brown bananas, smashed sweet potato, chopped up apples with applesauce, grated carrots, overripe peaches...I've even tossed in some leftover oatmeal...and every single time I get a yummy moist muffin!

So go dig around in your fridge. Find something mushy. Make muffins!

Oh, and when you make them, leave me a comment telling me what you put in them...I'm always up for new ideas!

MUFFIN:

about 2 cups schtuff (see list above)

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup butter

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon (optional)

STREUSEL: (optional, but really, really good)

1/4 cup sugar

3 TBSP flour

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

2 TBSP cold butter

Preheat ove to 375 degrees. Mash your schtuff. Add wet ingredients and blend. Gently add dry and mix until just moistened. (Overmixing will make rubbery muffins). Scoop into a greased 12 hole muffin pan.

To make the streusel, measure the sugar, flour and cinnamon into a small bowl. Cut the butter in with a fork until incorporated and crumbly. Sprinkle evenly atop muffin batter.

Bake at 375 degrees for 19 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Baby Bibs

I have a drool machine for a son. So I decided to make a bib today. I had a little scrap of pre-quilted fabric (not the cutest pattern, but I'm really trying to use things in my stash, so it works). I used a store-bought bib as a pattern to cut out the shape. Then I just sewed some bias fold tape around the edges, added velcro and PRESTO!



I also made another bib (no pics, sorry!) by cutting out two pieces of cotton, sewing them together and flipping them right side out. However, if you have a very soggy baby like mine, this bib will only keep his clothes dry for 20 minutes. So I'll have to take it apart and add a layer of batting or flannel inside.

If you want to make a bib or two (or ten) for your little slobberer, here are a few other tutorials I've come across:

Vinyl Tie Bib
http://cicadadaydream.blogspot.com/2008/11/diy-bib-tutorial-download.html
Quilted Bib
http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2007/05/bib-tutorial.html
Asymmetrical Button Bib
http://nested.typepad.com/blog/2007/07/something-to-ma.html
Basic Velcro Bib
http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/2008/02/bib-tutorial.html
Bias Tape Bib
http://www.purlbee.com/quick-bias-tape-bib/
Towel Bib
http://www.marthastewart.com/good-things/towel-bib?lnc=bf89cf380e1dd010VgnVCM1000005b09a00aRCRD&rsc=cf_link