EEEEK! There's a MOUSE in the KITCHEN!

I'm SUPER excited to share this project with you!

Today is House Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge #103...and it's all about Recipe Cards. Get all the challenge & prize details HERE.

I have a BUNCH of NEW A Muse Studio goodies that are PERFECT for this!
GIT-R-DONE!!!

AND...I used several of my favorite little House Mouse single images.
They are soooo CUTE!



The NEW Mitten Die from A Muse is PERFECT for an Oven Mitt!
WAY COOL!!!

NEW Mini Clothespins! LOVE!!




NEW Maple Tags!
NEW Bakers Twine!



I KNOW!!!! SO MUCH FUN STUFF!!!



You can use ANY images and make these any size :)



I love the look on Mudpie's face. ADORABLE!





That was FUN!
Did you get any good ideas?
Don't forget to check out the HM & Friends Monday Challenge Blog for all the challenge details. We always have prizes over there ;)

Click HERE to see the NEW 2011 A Muse Holiday Catalog.
Click HERE to see the Regular A Muse Catalog & Inspiration Guide.
Click HERE to shop A Muse Studio on-line.

Recipe:
Stamps - House Mouse Designs Attentive Friend, Amanda Points, Jumpin' for Joy, Please, Mudpie Wonders; A Muse Studio Oven Joy, Mad for Plaids
Paper - A Muse Studio Vintage Onyx, Slate Solid, Cherry Solid, Sugar
Ink - A Muse Studio Cherry & Slate; Memento Tuxedo Black; Versafine Onyx Black
Misc. - A Muse Studio Onyx & White Bakers Twine, 1.5" Maple Tags; Mini Clothespins, Mittens Die, Cherry Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Copic Markers; Prismacolor Pencils & Gamsol; A Muse Studio Red Dots Twinkle Stickers; Wooden Gift Bag (from stash); Big Shot Diecut machine; EK Success Circle Punches

Stampin' Food

Cold Days & Warm Soup. Life is good :)

Hungry? Well...if you were at my house smellin' this yummy soup....you would be for sure!
Super easy to prepare - and not much time spent in the kitchen! PERFECT Stampin' food!

Minestrone
Country Ground Beef Cookbook
1-1/2 pounds ground beef
2 cups coarsely chopped onion
1 cup sliced celery
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup cooking oil
5 cups beef broth or bouillon
2 cups fresh chopped tomatoes or 1 can (16 oz) tomatoes with liquid, cut up
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
2 cups coarsely chopped cabbage
1 cup sliced carrots
2 teaspoons dried basil or Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1-1/2 cups sliced zucchini
1 cup cut green beans
1 can (15-1/2 oz) kidney beans, undrained
1 can (16 oz) garbanzo beans, undrained
4 ounces uncooked spaghetti (2- to 3-inch pieces) or 1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a skillet, brown ground beef. Drain and set aside. In an 8-qt. kettle, saute onion, celery, parsley and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in next 8 ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour. Stir in cooked beef, zucchini, all three beans and pasta. Simmer, covered, for 15 - 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender and pasta is cooked. Spoon into individual bowls and top with Parmesan cheese. Yield: 20 servings (about 5 quarts)

Russian Leek Soup for the Soul

A Taste of the Country

Tonight I made something new for dinner. Russian Leek Soup. My first thought of Leek is "EWWWW!" Just the word sounds gross. Like a bug of some sort! I would have skipped over this recipe if my hubby hadn't been sittin' in the kitchen with me while I was looking through the cookbook. Mike LOVES leeks and was all fired up about the recipe. So like a good little wife I decided to give it a go.

<---HA! That there's funny...I don't care WHO ya are!

It was gooooooooood! Not only good...but fast and easy. That's what I like. Quick in the kitchen so I can get back to my stampin'! hee hee hee

A Taste of the Country Cookbook
Russian Leek Soup
by Joyce Molzen, Lovington, Illinois

5 tablespoons butter
2 cups leeks, chopped
1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1-1/2 cups carrots, thinly sliced
6 cups chicken broth OR 1 can (49-1/2 ounces)
2 teaspoons dill weed
1-2 teaspoons salt OR to taste
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf
5 cups potatoes, diced
1 cup half-and-half

Melt butter in large skillet; saute leeks, mushrooms and carrots for 5 minutes. Stir in broth, dill weed, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Add potatoes; cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Add half-and-half; cook until thickened.
Yield: 8-10 servings.



Enjoy :)

Fall Cooking

A Family Tradition

When Fall comes around that means it's time to make the Caramel Corn. I made my first batch Wednesday...and it was gone by Thursday afternoon!! Soooo...I gotta make another batch today :) I KNOW what you are thinkin'....you're thinkin' MAN THOSE PEOPLE CAN EAT! LOL!!! Well...ACTUALLY we shared it. Michaela took a bag to her teacher and I shared some with my class yesterday. So we really didn't eat ALL of it -- only half!!

I'm picky about a couple of the ingredients....

Don't look!!! Naked Popcorn!!

The magic begins...

About an hour later it's time to dig in!

Now THAT'S a BIG bowl of happiness :)


Would you like to make some?

Caramel Corn

6 Quarts of Popped Popcorn

1 Stick Butter

1/2 C Corn Syrup

2 C Brown Sugar

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Vanilla

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

Melt butter in pan. Add Corn Syrup, Brown Sugar & Salt. Stir constantly over medium heat until boils. Boil 5 minutes longer without stirring. Remove from heat. Stir in Vanilla & Baking Soda. Pour over popcorn and toss. Pour into 2 shallow pans cook at 200 deg. for 1 hour. While cooking stir about every 15 minutes. Cool and store in airtight containers.

===========================
Lori's tips:

Make sure you don't get ANY unpopped kernels mixed in!! That's a big no no! I pop my popcorn with an air popper. To measure my popped popcorn...I use a 2 quart drink pitcher -- fill it 3 times and you have 6 quarts :) I put the popped popcorn in one of those big throw away aluminum turkey roasting pans. Then I just wash it out and save it for next time. I use light corn syrup and light brown sugar. I cook the caramel in a non-stick pot and stir with a wooden spoon. If it seems like it's taking a long time for the sauce to start boiling...turn up the heat just a little more. Then when it's boiling...make sure it's not a hard boil because it might scorch the sauce. Always keep stirring until it's boiling! I usually turn down the heat to medium for the 5 minute boil time. I use 2 cookie sheets to pour the caramel corn on to cook in the oven. After it's cooked for 1 hour I take a chunk out and let it cool - then eat it to make sure it's crisp enough. It only takes a few minutes for it to cool...so I leave the caramel corn in the oven till I decide. If it's not crispy enough...I just give it another stir and another 15 minutes.

Blessings

Happy Thanksgiving
*********************************

I've been making this Cranberry Bread for about 20 years now. It's a family favorite. Not too sweet...a nice tart flavor with the cranberries & orange peel. My daughter brought this recipe home from school - they made it in her classroom. I think she was in 2nd grade at the time.

Grandma's Famous Cranberry Bread

(preheat oven 350)

2 C Sifted All-Purpose Flour

1 C Sugar

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 C Butter (softened)

1 Egg, beaten1 tsp grated Orange peel

3/4 C Orange Juice

3 C Fresh Whole Cranberries - leave whole or chopped (I leave my whole)

Sift first 5 ingredients. (I just put in mixing bowl and stir with my wire wisk - works for me) Cut in butter. Mix together Egg, Peel & Juice (again...I stir this up with my wire wisk in a separate bowl) Add all at once to dry ingredients. Stir until moist. Fold in Cranberries. (You can substitute 1/2 the cranberries for raisins.)

Grease 9x5x3 Loaf Pan. Spoon into pan. Bake for 1 hr 10 min or until toothpick comes out clean.

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Lori's Notes: I don't make it in a large loaf pan. If you do...just check your loaf after about 45-50 minutes. I have a Pampered Chef Stoneware mini loaf pan that makes 4 mini's at once. I just spray the pan with PAM and divide the batter. Then I set the timer for like 20 minutes and check. It's usually about 30 minutes till done...but do the toothpick test. I like my quick breads to come out moist. This bread also freezes great. If you happen to over cook a little...just freeze it and then it seems to be better after you thaw it out. Warm up a piece up with butter on it.

Harvest Fruit Desserts

Autumn Fruit and Sweet Spices

Every year starting in August, I buy boxes of fruit that come right off the truck direct from Utah. This fruit comes once a week till around the 1st of October. We have a 2nd refrigerator out in the garage...and I store most of it in there. Take a look in 2 of the drawers. And that's not all of it! Keeping most of it in cold storage makes it last for weeks. I just take out enough for several days to ripen at room temp. And as you can see...there's plenty more to come back for! Check out those peaches!!



Today I decided to make something with pears for dessert. I tried a new recipe called Pear Gingerbread Cobbler. OH MAN!!! This was goooooooooood! I will be making it again. The recipe is from Betty Crocker Gold Metal. My thighs say thank you very much! ha ha ha I'll work it off with a couple hours of stamping :)



mmmm......my house was smelling so good! And I was burning a pumpkin pie candle from Gold Canyon Candles - awesome smells going on in my house! I wonder if the neighbors got a whiff?! hee hee hee.



I'm droolin' just looking at the pics!



Pear Gingerbread Cobbler
(Makes 8 Servings)

1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
6 cups 1/2-inch slices peeled pears (5 medium)
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Gingerbread Topping (below)

1. Heat oven to 375 deg. Mix sugar and cornstarch in large bowl. Add pears; toss to coat. Gently stir in water and lemon juice. Spread in ungreased rectangular baking dish, 11x7x1 1/2 inches.

2. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until mixture is bubbly around edges.

3. Meanwhile, make Gingerbread Topping. Drop tablespoonfuls of topping batter onto hot pear mixture.

4. Bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until toothpick inserted in topping comes out clean and pear mixture is bubbly in center. Cool 20 minutes. Serve Warm.

Gingerbread Topping
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg, slightly beaten

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and brown sugar in medium bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients just until mixed.
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High Altitude (3500-6500 FT)
Increase bake time in step 2 to 17 to 22 minutes. Increase bake time in step 4 to 18 to 23 minutes.

Nutrition
1 Serving: Calories 285 (Calories from Fat 65); Fat 7g (Saturated 4g); Cholesterol 40mg; Sodium 120mg; Carbohydrate 52g (Dietary Fiber 3g); Protein 3g
% Daily Value: Vitamin A 6%; Vitamin C 4%; Calcium 6%; Iron 10%
Exchanges: 1 Starch, 1 1/2 Fruit, 1 Other Carbohydrate, 1 Fat
Carbohydrate Choices: 3 1/2
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Sprinkle coarse decorating sugar on top of biscuits before baking to add sparkle and a bakery-style crunch.
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Did I stamp today? Yep...of course :) I'll be posting my project tomorrow. Want a hint? It's something to do with pizza. Here's a sneak peek:

Somebody Feed Me!

Stamping Food

I told my DH (darling husband) the other day I needed to focus on getting some baby shower stuff finished. I was determined that "this time" I was not going to stay up all night the day before the event to get them done. So...for the past few days Mike cooked so I could focus on crafting. I didn't even ask him to do that...he just did! :) Now THAT'S LIFE right there....sitting in my craft room slaving (ha!) over paper and stamps while smelling something wonderful cooking in the kitchen. It don't get better than that I tell ya!

Mike likes to check out recipes from Dr. Weil. He had his eye on the Spaghetti Squash Casserole so decided to give it a try.



Yummy!!! It was goooooooood!! And it made 2 casserole dishes full so we have another dinner ready to go.

Here's a sneak peek at the baby shower goodies I'm "slaving" over. heeheehee Total FUN! I will take pics at the shower this weekend and post what they look like all finished. The shower is for my daughter Rhianna -- she is due January 22nd. It's a girl -- could ya guess??



I also have 40 more cradles and 6 more diaper bags to make for the following Saturday. Another baby shower for my niece. She is also due in January and having a girl.

I wonder if my sweet wonderful darling caring kind husband will keep cooking for about another week?! LOL