October 2012 ~ Colie's Kitchen

Oct 31, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Hallloween!!

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Butternut Squash with Brown Butter (Martha Stewart)

My parents made yellow squash all the time when I was a child and I hated it. The only type of squash we ever had was yellow squash and to be honest with you I have never tried any other type of squash in my entire life until last week. I doubt I will ever eat yellow squash again, but there are plenty of other choices in the squash world.

Last week when my husband and I were at Trader Joe’s I found a butternut squash that intrigued me. Like I said before I have never had any other squash and for the price of $1.95 for a big squash I thought I would give it a try. My thought was …. What do I have to lose?

As apprehensive as I was about making the butternut squash it actually surprised me! I really liked it. Making it with this Martha Steward recipe it turned out tasting like a mild sweet potatoes. I was shocked at how much I liked it.

My husband was thrilled because he loves sweet potatoes and thought this tasted even better than sweet potatoes. I don’t know if I would go that far, but I must say this is a keeper recipe and so is butternut squash! You just never know what you might like you might like until you try it.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 butternut squash (about 1 3/4 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup low-sodium canned chicken broth
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon dark-brown sugar

Directions:

Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until golden brown.
Add squash; sauté, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and tender when pierced with a fork, about 16 minutes.
Add chicken broth, the water, and brown sugar; cook until liquid has evaporated and squash is nicely caramelized, about 6 minutes.
Remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper.
Serve.

Original Recipe Source

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Silhouette Sunday: Bridal Shower Party Favors

I am co-hosting a bridal shower in a few weeks. The other host and I have been trying to come up with shower favor ideas. We want to give each guest a little something to take home with them just as a thank you for their attendance at the bridal shower.

The wedding will be a destination wedding so for most people (including myself and the other host) this will be our only way of being part of the wedding. The wedding colors are purple and silver so both of those colors were what we wanted to work with.

We went to a local card store in hopes of ordering some really cute favor boxes that we could fill with something like jordon almonds or even chocolates.

It didn’t take long at the card store to realize that ordering 25 small favor boxes would quickly blow our bridal shower budget. After decorations, food and drinks we were on a tight budget. The cost of 25 boxes was going to be around $50 plus the price of the printing ink, and shipping, plus a flat setup fee. WOW-ZERS!! Yep that would have sent us over our budget.

After looking at the favor boxes it hit me! Why not see if I could find favor boxes on the Silhouette online store. BINGO! We agreed on this cute little box. We bought some purple card stock and we are filling the boxes with Hershey kisses to incorporate the silver. How cute is that?

Our original price at the card store was going to be at least $60.00! Yikes! With a little playing around on Silhouette online store we made our own bridal shower favor boxes for under $20.00!

How cute are they?

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Alice Springs Chicken

On one of my many visits to Amy’s finer things I came across this recipe. Oh I couldn’t wait to try it! Chicken, Bacon, Cheese!!! YES Please!! All of my favorite things in one pan... Add a pizza to the pan and I would have had everything I loved in one. HAHAHHA!

When I first realized that this recipe has a honey mustard sauce I was a little leery. I like honey mustard, but I wasn’t sure I liked it THAT much, but I decided to give it a try anyway, and wow am I happy I did!!

This recipe is very easy to make. Dinner was literally done in less than 1 hour. I followed the directions exactly the way they are listed with no problems at all.

Dinner was phenomenal. I can’t tell you how many compliments I received. We had this at a get together of a few friends and it was a HIT!

The honey mustard, chicken, bacon, and cheese combination works incredibly well together. The chicken was tender enough to not need a knife, and the flavor was the die for. If you want to make a really good impression as a cook, and you are someone who likes honey mustard this is a recipe for you!!

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness (each breast was 6oz. for me)
Seasoning salt
6 slices bacon, cut in half
¼ cup regular mustard
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons dried onion flakes
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

Sprinkle and rub the chicken breasts with seasoning salt. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Remove bacon. Do not discard grease. Sauté chicken in the bacon grease for 3 to 5 minutes per side, or until browned. Move chicken to a 9×13 pan.
In a small bowl, mix the mustard, honey, mayo and dried onion flakes. Apply the honey mustard to each breast, then layer with mushrooms, bacon, and shredded cheese.
Bake in a 350° oven for 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and chicken is done.

Original Recipe Source

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Silhouette Thanksgiving Ideas! @silhouetteam

I know I am jumping the gun a bit, but I am already thinking ahead to Thanksgiving and how I want to decorate the house. Taking down the Halloween decorations will be so sad if we don’t have something to go up before all the Christmas decorations go up. I hate the transition time between holidays. The house always looks naked.

I have decided that one of the many things I would like to do it make a Thanksgiving themed garland to hang over my dining room table. Not only will it make a nice decoration leading up to Thanksgiving, but it will also look wonderful while everyone is eating Thanksgiving dinner around the dinner table.

I have been using the Silhouette machine to make small leaves out of card paper check them out. Aren’t they cute? When I get the garland made and hung up I will post pictures of it. This afternoon I will be heading to the hobby store to find some ribbon to attach all the leave to. I have no doubt it will turn out cute!

I also made this cute little Thanksgiving box. I am thinking about placing one at each persons dinner place setting with nuts, or candy, or something else in it as a take home and a thank you for coming. What do you think? Cute huh!

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(Not So) Wordless Wednesday: 6th Anniversary

Our 6^th Anniversary

On October 28, 2006 I married my best friend.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Corinthians 13:4-7

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Silhouette Halloween Luminary @silhouetteam

Since school started up again I haven’t had as much time to use my Silhouette SD Digital Cutter as I would like to. I have finally figured out how to budget time for myself so now my Silhouette is up and running again.

My Silhouette machine is old compared to the wonderful new one’s Silhouette now has to offer, but for now while I am saving my pennies for a new one I am using my SD for all the fun crafts I have planned for the holidays.

I love Halloween as most of you found out yesterday if you saw this week’s Wordless Wednesday. I decided last night that during my free time I would make a Halloween Luminary.

I must admit it turned out precious! I honestly screamed with it was done and all lit up. Even my husband was proud lol. Too bad it wasn’t my idea, but just a template from Silhouette.

So how do you make this precious little luminary? It's simple!

First you have to purchase the luminary from the Silhouette online store for .99 cents,(Psst. right now they are on sale!! .75 cents each wahoo!!) then download it to your Silhouette software, and in just a matter of minutes you are ready to go!

Once your template is ready to go load your paper (orange or black) on to your cutting mat and begin cutting.

I actually made two luminaries one with a black front and one with an orange front. The reason I did this was so that I wasn’t wasting any paper since you need two colors. It actually worked out perfect!

Once your luminaries are cut, simply remove the pieces from the cutting mat and with some basic school glue begin to glue your front piece to your back pieces or vice versa whichever way you want to look at it.

Once your pieces are glued together and dry you have a super cute Halloween luminary that takes less than 30 minutes to make! It would even look cute as a fold out standing decoration.

I used a battery operated candle for my luminary because I didn't think a paper luminary and a burning candle would be my best option :0) I have cats and they love candles! The battery operated candle actually worked out great as you can see at the bottom.

Who needs store bought decorations when you can make your own? I love how this turned out. It's cute, and simple and was fun to make! I hope you all give it a try! I have no doubt you will love it as much as I did! Send us your link to all of your Silhouette Projects we would love to see what you are making!

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(Not So) Wordless Wednesday -Halloween Decor

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays it’s barley second to Christmas. I grew up with a Halloween nut in my Dad so he always made it very special for me. I love carrying on the Halloween tradition of decorating, celebrating and having fun with it.

We are gearing up for Halloween around here slowly but surely! Here are some of our Halloween decorations from around our home. I haven't even taken out everything we have. A lot of the stuff we use to decorate with is the same stuff I had when I was a kid.

I love this new sticky witch decor. I found it at Hobby Lobby this year for $3.00 it's so cute and makes such a good decoration. It's easy to put up and turned out precious. I love it. These are the doors from the living room leading to my husband man cave!

Dining room table decor. The bowl I found at Home Good for $12 it's beautiful. The pic does not do it justice. The witch is a Wiltons Cake decoration.

I love these little ghost I have them hanging above the table on clear string. I have had them for years.

This is the television we have in the living room that never gets used. We watch the flat screen in my husband’s man cave. I don’t think this television has been turned on since the summer time sad huh? I decided since we don’t use it I would use it to hold decorations.

Here are just a bunch of things we have collected over the years. The pumpkin on the far right I made when I was about 8 years old. It’s not a perfect paint job but it’s special. I got the eye balls at Cracker Barrel a month or so ago. They are cute!

The pumpkin man on the left was made by my dad when I was a kid. I normally put a candle in him so that his eyes glow. He is pretty special to me.

This wreath is still in the process of being made. Yes, as always we are running far behind. This has become a family project that is quickly getting out of hand and very expensive. We have all put a little bit of this and that into this wreath. When it’s finally done I will get it posted for you all to see. It’s going to be so cute when it’s done. Maybe (hopefully) I will have it done for the wordless Wednesday on Halloween.

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Chef Boyardee wants to see YOU in the Boyardee kitchen!

Exclusively for its Facebook community, Chef Boyardee has launched a fun, customizable recipe e-card that gets you and your family in the kitchen with Hector Boiardi himself! Check it out the Chef Boyardee ME! Recipe Card and show us what’s cooking in your kitchen!

In addition to the fun e-card, Chef Boyardee is proud to introduce The Little Chef’s Project: A collection of Kid-friendly tips, tricks and recipes for family fun in the kitchen.

Just in time for National Cook Book Month (October), The Little Chefs Project is the first crowd-sourced e-book made by moms, for moms. Thanks to the help of 40 bloggers from TheMotherhood.com, The Little Chefs Project provides fun tips for cooking with kids and making getting in the kitchen a fun, learning experience.

Tune in to TheMotherhood.com for a six-part series of 30-minute online cook-alongs for tips, tricks and recipe ideas for cooking together in the kitchen. Visit TheMotherhood.com for a complete schedule of the cook-along series. Better yet, we hope you can join us for the next class Thursday, Oct. 18

*As required by the Federal Trade Commission: The information have been provided by Chef Boyardee to Colie's Kitchen at no cost to Colie's Kitchen, nor is Colie's Kitchen being paid to endorse this product. All that was asked of Colie's Kitchen was to review the product, and give our honest opinion. Full DisclosurePolicy*

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Get Ready!! Our Holiday Giveaways are on the way!!

This week we will start rolling out our holiday giveaways!! So far we have a few little giveaways like:

Wal-Mart gift card (multiple)
Best buy gift card (multiple)
Teavivre Tea Selection
Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce
And more…. Stay tuned!!

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Pepper Steak

This is honestly one of the best recipes I have made in a long time. Tops on my list that’s for sure. The flavor is fantastic! It’s super simple to make and makes a beautiful presentation, certainly restaurant quality and more than anything you get a lot of bang for your buck!!

I really didn’t know if my family would enjoy this recipe. My aunt makes a killer pepper steak which my husband adores so I wasn’t sure he would be too happy with this recipe. You know it’s one of those things when you love something it’s hard to be excepting of something similar.

He was over the moon for this recipe and actually had seconds because he loved it so much. The worst part of making this recipe was taking the time to cut the meat nice and thin. The original recipe calls for round steak. I actually ended up using roast meat because I got it on sale and planned on using the other half of the roast for something different so it worked out well for us.

Ingredients:

16 oz. round roast
4 tsp. plus 3 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. rice wine
3 tsp. cornstarch
5 tsp. vegetable oil
1 large onion, sliced into thin strips
1 green bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

Slice meat into thin slices with the grain. Cut each strip across the grain about 1" long so you have small thin slices. Place in a bowl and add 4 tsp. of soy sauce, 1 tbsp. of rice wine, 1 tsp. cornstarch and black pepper.
In a small bowl, mix 3 tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tbsp. water and 2 tsp. cornstarch. Set aside.
Heat the skillet on medium high heat. Swirl in 1 tbsp. oil and add the beef spreading evenly. Cook undisturbed for 20 seconds letting the beef brown. Using a spatula, stir meat, cooking another 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Add remaining 2 tsp. of oil to the skillet, add peppers and onions and cook about 2 minutes. Return beef to the skillet, add the sauce and stir fry about 30 seconds until slightly thickened.

Original Recipe Source

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(Not So) Wordless Wednesday - High Tech Cooking

A few weeks ago my husband and I decided to each get a Samsung Galaxy Tablet. I have been wanting one for a while not only for school but for other things too. I thought it would be great to use for recipes while I am cooking. It’s an absolute dream. I love having it in the kitchen. It stays lit the entire time I am cooking, it’s easy to read, and it means I no longer have to print recipes out.

The reason I took this picture was because of a thought I had a few nights ago. I left the kitchen and came back in and saw the tablet there amongst all the ingredients I needed for dinner that night. It made me think of my Nana (My grandmother). I wondered what she would have thought about using a table to get a recipe from to do all of her cooking. I mean it’s not your grandma’s recipe box! I don’t know if she would have like it or if she would have loved the idea. She could be very set in her ways, yet progressive at the same time.

Things change so quickly and everything is getting more high tech by the day what would our relatives from the past think of the high tech society we live in today?

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Olive Garden's Gnocchi With Spicy Tomato and Wine Sauce

I had never had gnocchi before, but I have heard so many great things about it that I wanted to try it. I was at World Market a few weeks ago and came across it so I decided to pick up a bag.

I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I knew gnocchi was potato pasta so to speak, but I wasn’t sure if I would like it. I thought it was really great and I thought this recipe was excellent. The only thing I would do differently next time is I would go low salt everything. Low salt broth and I would not add salt to the gnocchi while it’s cooking. In the end everything was just extremely salty to all of us.

Other than cutting out as much salt as possible this recipe is a true winner and something I look forward to making again in the future. I have no idea if it’s even close to Olive Garden’s Recipe but its great regardless!

Ingredients:

1 lb gnocchi (potato dumplings)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
6 fresh garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans tomatoes
1/4 cup sweet creamy butter, cut into 1 inch cubes, chilled
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (to taste)
salt, to taste
freshly crushed black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Sauce Preparation:.

Place the olive oil, garlic and chili flakes in a cold pan. On medium heat, stir and cook the olive oil, garlic, chili flakes until garlic turns slight golden brown.
To this mixture, add the white wine and chicken broth. Simmer about 10 minutes.
Reduce the wine and broth by half, add the tomatoes and basil, and continue to simmer for 30 minutes.
Puree the sauce in blender with the butter and Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Gnocchi Preparation:

Prepare pasta when sauce is complete. Use a large pot to boil pasta. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until they float (approximately 3 minutes or 160 degrees F internal temperature).
Remove pasta from boiling water and lightly mix with sauce.
Top with Mozzarella cheese if desired.

Original Recipe Source

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Monday was a very busy and stressful day so MPM is late, but the good news I actually cooked Monday night. I am even shocked myself. I was determined we were eating something at home. It was great and easy. I love that!!

Last week we didn’t get too much at all on our menu plan so this week I am bring back some of those recipes for a second try. I am hoping to get to everything on my menu this week. The entire family has confessed that they are sick of eating out. Unfortunate time has been very limited the last few weeks. Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do even if you don’t like what you have to do. You know what I mean? ;-)

This week should prove to be busy but not crazy-busy thank goodness. I pray for calm, peace and health in our home this week. We need it all.

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual up building. Romans 14:17-19

I hope you all came up with your menu for the week. Here is our menu, what’s on your menu this week?

Week Day	Main Course	Vegetable	Side Dish
Monday	Crock Pot Cheesy Ravioli	Asparagus	Garlic Bread
Tuesday	Corn and Cheese Enchiladas		Spanish Rice
Wednesday	Honey Sauced Chicken	Steamed Carrots	Steamed Rice
Thursday	Loaded BBQ Baked Potatoes
Friday	Chicken Sandwiches		Fries
Saturday	Skillet Fajitas		Left Over Spanish Rice
Sunday	Smothered Chicken	Green Beans	Over loaded Mashed Potatoes

For More Menu Planning Ideas Visit www.OrgJunkie.com or Check Out Our Previous Menu Plans.
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Funfetti Cake Batter Rice Krispie Treats

I found this recipe on Six Sister Stuff and I must say they are DEVINE! I was looking for something new to make that would be easy to make and something great to put into school lunches. These are so good! Addicting!

If you have never had the pleasure of having these before I highly recommend diving in!

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. butter
1 (10 oz.) bag of mini-marshmallows
1/3 cup yellow cake mix
6 cups crispy rice cereal
1 (1.75 oz.) container of sprinkles

Directions:

Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat and add marshmallows.
Stir until they begin to melt, adding in (dry) cake mix one spoonful at a time so its combined.
Stir in cereal so it is completely coated with marshmallow mixture.
Sprinkle in half of the sprinkles and mix.
Press into a baking dish (any size will do) and top with remaining sprinkles.
Let sit for about 30 minutes before cutting if you can handle it! It's hard I promise!!

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Mushroom Stroganoff

I found this recipe on Skinny Taste. I was looking for something easy and quick. I was also looking for a recipe that would be hardy, but would be something that everyone would love.

This recipe fit the bill for everything I was looking for. Oh my! It’s so good!! The flavor is incredible and it’s super simple. I love easy recipes that make a great presentation and this is one fits the build.

I did make a lot of adaptions to the recipe and I wouldn’t change a thing because it turned out perfect!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon margarine
1/2 of a medium onion chopped
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 cups beef broth
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. tomato paste
2 cans of mushroom stems and pieces (8 ounce each drained)
1/4 tsp. thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp. white wine
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
10 oz. uncooked noodles
1 tbsp. minced fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish

Directions:

Cook noodles in a pot of salted water about 6 minutes so that they are just undercooked.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Melt margarine over medium heat and add onions to the pan. Cook until onions are golden brown.
Add flour; stir with a wooden spoon for 30 seconds. Gradually add broth, Worcestershire sauce, and tomato paste, stirring constantly. Add mushrooms, thyme, salt and pepper; stir and cook 4-5 minutes or until thickened and bubbly, stirring constantly.
Add wine; bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 4 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand 30 seconds. Stir in sour cream; add noodles, mix well and garnish with parsley if desired and cook until noodles are cooked through and tender.