Recipe Card Holder

I got this idea from Recycled Lovelies.  I put my own little twist on it, I guess.

My plan is to make one for each would-be section of a cookbook.

Of course, I started with desserts because they are what I cook the most.

What you'll need:

• Index cards- whatever size you want, I used 4x6 blank cards, so I could print the recipes from the computer


• Metal ring- you can find these at a craft store in different sizes, I think they're in the cross-stitch section


• Laminate stickers or contact paper- again at the craft store, probably in the section with sticker-makers


• Hole punch


• Scissors or a paper cutter


• Various stickers and pens to decorate

1. Pick the recipes you want to use.


2. Print the cards.  Either use the computer or write them out yourself.


3. Place the card on the roll of laminate to measure the right size.


4. Cut 2 pieces of laminate and place one on either side of the card.


5. Punch a hole in the corner and place on the metal ring.  Repeat with all the cards.


6. The front card: glue 2 of the index cards on top of one another.  Decorate to your liking then laminate like the other cards.  And punch a hole in the corner and add to the rest on the ring.

Happy Crafting!

Cheese Tortellini with Meat Sauce

Another recipe from my new kitchen.  Well, old kitchen now new again.

It's a long story.  The simple version is that I moved back in with my parents.  Into the same two-bedroom apartment I moved from to the house with my sister and her husband.

I do like cooking in this kitchen, though.

This is my simple dinner, which is not impressive at all but I liked it.

Marinara and pre-made tortellini.  Easy peasy!

Cook up the ground beef in a deep skillet.

Start some water to boil and add olive oil and salt to season the pasta and keep it from sticking together.

Add the whole jar of marinara sauce to the meat.  Make sure you drain any excess fat from the beef.

Boil the pasta while the sauce cooks.

Pour some sauce over the pasta and sprinkle a little cheese on top.

And scarf it down.

I did.

Cheese Tortellini with Meat Sauce

1 lb lean ground beef

1 jar of marinara sauce

1 bag of frozen tortellini, or just store-bought

mozzarella cheese

Brown the ground beef in a large, deep skillet then drain the excess fat.  Boil 3 cups of water.  Drizzle a little olive oil and sprinkle a little salt in the water.  Add the jar of marinara to the meat.  Once the water is boiling, add the pasta.  Boil the pasta as long as directed.  Drain the pasta.  Serve the pasta with sauce on top then sprinkle with some cheese.  And enjoy!

Rice Pudding

My mom and I were grocery shopping the other day and for some reason she said she wanted to make rice pudding.

This is something we eat quite a bit.

And no, no raisins.  I hate raisins.

My step-dad, however, likes raisins, but my mom and I are the majority so there are no raisins in my rice pudding.  I did leave them in the recipe, though.

(My photos are going to look different and not -so-good because I no longer have the camera that I was using.)

Mm-mm.

First, boil some water.

Boil the rice with a little salt and lemon zest.

Transfer the rice to a bowl.

Boil milk, cinnamon, sugar, and butter.

Cook the rice in the milk mixture till the rice is nice and saturated with the yummy-goodness.

Once the mix is pretty thick, pour into a bowl to help it cool down.

Alright, alright, some raisins.

Except, I ate this cup and had to pick the raisins out first :)

A word of caution when boiling the milk mixture:

Yeah, it boiled over and I made a big mess.

There was some in the burner and it smelled a little like burnt sugar.

Be careful.

Rice Pudding

2 cups water

1 cup long grain rice

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoon butter

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

4 cups whole milk

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup golden or dark raisins

Bring water to a boil.  Stir in lemon zest, salt and long grain rice and return to boil.  Turn the heat to low and simmer the rice, covered, until all of the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

Once rice is cooked, place it in a bowl and rinse out pan.  Add 4 cups of milk, sugar, and cinnamon to the pan.  Bring to a low boil, stirring often so the milk doesn't burn.  Add the cooked rice and raisins to the hot milk.  Stir often, until the milk cooks down and the rice is creamy, about 20 minutes.  Place in a large bowl or serving dishes to cool.  Serve cold or at room temperature.

Buckeyes II

A couple years ago, Jessica and I made some buckeyes and we made a video.

With the other post about buckeyes it made me think of this.

G-Pa's Buckeyes

Like I said in a different post, I grew up in Ohio.  We have buckeyes trees.  Buckeye trees are the state tree.  The state is called the Buckeye State.  But what exactly is a buckeye?

It's a worthless nut.

Yeah, worthless.

You can't eat it- it's poisonous.  You can make necklaces with it and wear them to the OSU Buckeyes' games.

However, in my family we make them as candy.

Not the nuts themselves.  It's a ball of peanut butter dipped in chocolate.

The man who makes these in my family is my grandpa.  Wayland Reid.  He's the cutest little old man ever.  He calls me "Shorty" despite the fact that I am a good 6 inches taller than him.

There he is in the midst of his five favorite girls- well, at least we say we're the favorites.

Despite the happiness of the picture, this was taken at my grandma's funeral this past February.  She and my grandpa were married for 62 years.

Love her.

Miss her.

I miss him too.  It's been since August and I already miss him.

Anyway, this is about candy Buckeyes.

The Peter Pan peanut butter is the most important part.  It's the peanut butter my grandpa uses and we have to use it.  I tried to use Jif one time and it didn't turn out the same.

Mix the peanut butter (remember it's Peter Pan), butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar.

It should be about the consistency of clay.

Grab about 2 tbsp of the peanut butter mix and roll into a ball.  You can either put them onto a non-stick pan or on a cookie sheet on wax paper.

Put a toothpick into each ball.  That way they will freeze with the toothpick and make it easier to dip in chocolate.

While the peanut butter balls are in the freezer melt the chocolate.

I used semi-sweet, but usually my grandpa uses the milk chocolate medallions and uses a double-boiler.  I couldn't find the chocolate and I don't have a double-boiler.  Did I fail?  No.  I don't think so.  However, my sister does not agree that the semi-sweet chocolate is as good.

I set up an assembly line- the peanut butter balls, chocolate, then a piece of parchment paper or wax paper to put them on to cool and dry.

Dip the peanut butter ball in the chocolate to coat with a small amount of the peanut butter showing at the top.

You can take the toothpicks out as you go.

Looking tasty.

It's taking me back to making these in the kitchen of my grandparents' small apartment in North Canton, Ohio.  Sweating because the heat is cranked up and the heat coming from the stove is immense.  But it being about 20 degrees outside.  My grandma in the next room, yelling at us about something (I'm not being mean, that's just what she did, how she was and we all loved her for it).

Put the Buckeyes in the freezer and let them cool enough to enjoy them.

And keep enjoying them for days.

Or just a couple of hours.

I dedicate this post to my grandpa (oh by the way, we call him G-Pa):

 

Buckeyes

1 1/2 cups Peter Pan peanut butter

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

4 cups confectioner's sugar

12 oz semi-sweet or milk chocolate

Mix the peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar in a large bowl.  Take about 2 tbsp worth of the peanut butter mix in your hand and roll into a ball.  Place the peanut butter balls on a piece of wax paper on a cookie sheet or on a non-stick pan.  Push a toothpick halfway down into the peanut butter balls.  Place them in the freezer.  While the peanut butter balls are freezing, melt the chocolate in a double-boiler or in the microwave.  If you melt it in the microwave, be sure to cook it only 30 seconds or 1 minute at a time, so the chocolate doesn't burn.  If in a double-boiler, be sure to mix it constantly so it doesn't burn.  When the chocolate it melted, get the peanut butter balls from the freezer-dip into the chocolate so a small amount of the peanut butter is showing at the top.  Place them on a piece of wax paper on a cookie sheet.  Remove the toothpicks.  Place them back in the freezer.  Then enjoy!

 

 

Apple Pecan Cheesecake

Another dessert that I took to a friend's house.  Our whole family was asked over for dinner and I got asked to make dessert.

Apparently, my friends think I like to make dessert.

They are right.

Let's talk cheesecake.

Who doesn't like cheesecake?  I mean really.  If you're human you like cheesecake.

Yum!

Break up some graham crackers and crush them up in a food processor.  Yes, ours is a mini one.

Put the graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar in a bowl and mix.

Press the crumbs into a pan to make the crust.

The tin foil is so it's easy to pull the whole cheesecake out for nice presentation- this doesn't work haha

Lots of cream cheese.

I like to use light cream cheese or reduced fat.

It gives me the illusion that it's better for me.

Add sugar and vanilla.

And some sour cream...I know kind of weird

Throw in the eggs.

Pour the cheesecake batter over the crust.

Peel and chop up three apples.

I used Granny Smith that we picked at a local orchard.

I like the tart apples for baking.

Add sugar, cinnamon, and pecans to the apples and give a good mix.

This makes the cheesecake that much better.

Sprinkle the apple pecan mixture over the top of the cheesecake.

Then put it in the oven and die while you have to smell the delicious cinnamon and apple.

It was a hit at the dinner.

We're all still eating it because it made a lot.

I bought some tea cups at an estate sale and had to use the plate for my staged picture.

You can find the original recipe here.

S'more Brownies from Joy the Baker

A friend of mine was having a Chili Party and asked me to make a dessert.  I decided on these delish brownies.

Again, I fail and forgot to take a picture of the finished product.

Mix the dry ingredients.

The best part- butter and chocolate.

I don't have a double-boiler so I have to put a bowl over a pan with a little bit of water boiling.

Smooth melted chocolaty buttery goodness.

Mix together eggs, brown sugar, white sugar, and vanilla.

Slowly add in the chocolate so the warm chocolate doesn't cook the eggs.

Then add in the dry ingredients.

Mmmm...brownie batter.

Fold in the crushed up graham crackers.

Pour the batter into the greased baking pan.

Add the marshmallows (first you take the mallow...name that movie).  You can either use mini marshmallows or cut large ones in half like I should have done.

Pop them in the oven.

When they're done the marshmallows get nice and brown and it looks kind of like s'mores...hence the name.

You can find Joy's recipe here.