Nutella Cheesecake

Who doesn't LOVE Nutella? It's the best!  We love cheesecake at my house so this recipe really appealed to our sweet sides! We haven't made it yet, plan to tomorrow evening. I couldn't wait to share the recipe though.   So here is the recipe link:    http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/no-bake-nutella-cheesecake-recipe/   
I'm glad it's quick & easy. We've been remodeling the upstairs bathroom and I haven't had a lot of extra time for cooking, projects or pictures.  When the bath is finished I'll post pics of it!

GRACE 

"Grace" fixing her feet on a backpacking trip

GRACE, as in Graceful.  Which I am not!  I have been called many things in my 46 years but I am positive that graceful is not one of them and today was a perfect example of why.   On most Sundays, David & I go to lunch together, ALONE @ Don Chico's.  We usually use the code word "Lowe's" as in "We are going to Lowe's" then we go eat. We use Lowe's b/c the boys won't want to go if we are both going, it takes tooooo long.    Sometimes we really go to Lowe's too but not before eating @ Don Chico. 

ANYWAY,  today we drove David's big cargo van b/c we had to get some baseboards for the upstairs bathroom (which is almost completely renovated!)   and we really were going to end up @ Lowe's.  Well, as we turned into Don Chico's parking lot, I removed my seat belt and thought that David is going to pull into a space on the right.  I guess I leaned left a little b/c when he actually turned into a space on the left I fell straight into the floor! I'm laughing as I am writing this b/c it was so  funny!  I just fell, boom! into the floor onto tools and God only knows what else is in the floor of that work van!  I grabbed for something, anything and got the gear shift.   David, who is completely dumbfounded by my behavior is trying to knock my hand off of the shifter so he can park and says calmly, "What the Heck are you doing?"   I just sat there laughing, I laughed so hard that I was crying! My shoulder was hurting, I'm still not sure what I hit.  He thought I had lost my mind but the look on his face when he was trying to knock my hand off the shifter was priceless.   I still laugh just thinking about it.

Today's clumsy moment made me think of several other crazy mishaps I've had just since Oliver(6) was born.  I've fallen down our stairs several times, only once really bad.  I fell in a hole while carrying Oliver and I still have the scars from that one.  I've slid down in the Chicken Coop only to be covered in rain soaked  chicken poop, gross!  I've slammed my own hand in the Rover's back door (which weighs a ton!) and almost chopped my forefinger off. That one was painful!
 I have come to grips w/ my clumsiness  or "distracted" behavior as David calls it.  To me, that translates that I don't pay attention and he's probably right.  I am going to try to stay upright and keep both feet on the ground or at least start wearing a bike helmet!

Map Dresser

David purchased this dresser for the boy's room.  It was simple, which was good b/c we already had one small dresser in their room and wanted it to mesh.  We are decorating their "big boy" room in a sort of Indiana Jones/Travel look.  Maps, postcards and globes for starters.  We saw a map dresser on Pinterest and decided to try it on the new dresser. So here is before:

drawer

dresser - before

We started by priming the previously painted white dresser.  Then we added a base color to be glazed later.  David had a HUGE military map of South America that would cover all of the drawers!!

So here is the finished project in the boy's bedroom!! We decided that it would be Cooper's b/c the drawers are a little hard to maneuver and he loves it.

finished project

knobs





David had the idea to print off compass pics and affix them to the knobs and it looks great! The glazed sides match the knobs.   Only problem.....Oliver wants the other dresser made to match! We have to start looking for another HUGE map!!

Breakfast Omelet Muffins

Yesterday, Cooper & I saw a recipe for Omelet Muffins on a Blog- Six in the Suburbs.   So since I knew that getting everyone up was going to be a "treat" after a long weekend, I decided to give it a try this morning.  I cooked the sausage last night and placed it in the refridgerator for this morning. After spilling coffee grounds all over the kitchen and making a mess, I got them mixed up and in the oven before everyone got up.    They turned out great! One thing I should have done differently was to use cupcake papers (this pan is still soaking!)   Cooper liked them so much he ate the leftovers after school and ordered more for his lunch tomorrow!

We will definitely be experimenting w/ more ingredients to make our own versions.  But this was a HIT! I did minimuffins b/c I didn't know how much time I would have to bake before school. Tomorrow I will make the larger ones in muffin wrappers and see how that turns out. 

This is my finished product. Definitely not as pretty as Sizza's! (http://sixinthesuburbsblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/breakfast-omelet-muffins.html

But we'll try again.

Breakfast Omelet Muffins

CREDIT: In the Kitchen

Ingredients
1 pound Italian Sausage (sweet, mild, hot variety depending on your preference)
1 cup broccoli florets (or other veggie)
8 large eggs
1/4 cup milk (or half and half depending on how you're feeling that day)
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp baking powder
salt & pepper to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese as needed

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. In a large saute pan, over medium high heat, brown Italian Sausage for about 5 minutes, or until the sausage is no longer pink. Remove from heat and stir in broccoli.
3. Whisk together eggs, milk, oil and baking powder. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Lightly spray a 12-cupcake pan with oil.Spoon out the sausage and broccoli mixture evenly into each cupcake.
5. Ladle the egg mixture over sausage and broccoli.
6. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

You'll want more than one!

As Promised.....The Booth!!

So here it is, Karmen and my Booth @ Myrtle Jane's.  Karmen joined me this month as an equal partner in the booth and I am sooo glad to have her! She can really stage all of  our different

                                                           stuff.  I love when I go in the day after she has been , things  are all  moved and straightened and I don't want to touch anything b/c it's perfect!

We have a visually interesting booth right now. Lots of color. WE have a lot of smaller items, dishes, Crystal vases. Windows are popular we have 4 right now some painted w/ empty panes, others w/ chalkboard painted panes.  I hope to have some large reclaimed vintage windows finished soon w/ colored glass panels.
Today I worked on Coasters for sale. Sets of 4 tiled and sealed w/ different patterns on them. I'll add those pics tomorrow. Right now I have 7 sets that just have to be sealed.

I have a Cedar Linen Chest in this booth that I wish someone would buy it and love it.  I almost didn't part with it but we didn't have anywhere to place it.   I may have it priced a little high but I don't think so.

I love hunting and reworking furniture for sell. But I do have to admit....I like to keep it too.  We now have a rule @ our home about bringing in furniture-you have to take something else back out so it better be worth it :)  or be able to hide it til they won't remember it

Lego Festival

www.brickfair.com
 


Today we took a day trip to Birmingham for the LEGO Festival! The 6 and 7 year olds were so pumped about it.  They dressed themselves in Lego Star Wars shirts and Lego Indiana Jones shirts and they fit in well.  I guess this was the Lego version of a  small  Jr equivalent of Comicon.  LOTS OF LEGOS!! The parents were as bad as the kids.  Cutting line and pushing...I really didn't realize there was a line and they started the pushing first :).  A LINE has a beginning and an end, THAT was a circle! 

Anyway, we came away with a bag full of tiny little weapons that I may as well go throw them into the vacuum cleaner canister right now b/c they will end up there anyway. They also bought some more minifigures ( a dozen) , oh yeah we needed some more! I saw a man buy the DEATH STAR! Yes, the $500 one! His kid was in a stroller, so I'm assuming he bought it for himself. Wish I could see what happens when his little angel gets ahold of that thing!

The models were really something to see.  There were the Twin Towers on fire, The Honda building, Museum of Modern Art and many others. They were impressive! 

After learning a lot about Autism and Asperger's in order to raise Cooper, I can say that my opinion is that this would have been a really good case study for socializing Asperger kids in an overstimulating environment-as long as it's about Legos!

I rate this up there w/ Thomas the Tank Engine.  It was really great to go see Thomas and ride the train but it was expensive and crowded but were glad we went. The boys loved it during that phase of their lives much like the Lego Festival and this phase.  Oh well, making memories. Isn't that what it's really all about anyway?

Pasta Pie

Earlier this week I saw a great recipe for Pasta Pie on Pinterest, I decided to make it for dinner last night.  The picture was a little intimidating but I decided to try it anyway.  We were not disappointed.  It was delicious and looked much like the picture. So here is the recipe and picture of our actual dish. I did find that the 1# box of rigatoni didn't fill the entire 9 inch spring form pan, I had to place a piece of oven-ready lasagna (already had in the pantry) in the center, crisis averted. 

Pasta PieAdapted from Martha Stewart
1 pound rigatoni
2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound ground beef (I used ground sirloin)2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 can (28 ounces) good quality crushed tomatoes
Butter, for pan
Salt
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
8 ounces coarsely grated mozzarella

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until slightly underdone (I cooked mine for 12 minutes when the box indicated 14 minutes). One pound of pasta should be cooked in 6 quarts of water, make sure you are using a big enough pot so the pasta doesn't stick together. When done, rinse in cold water and drain again. Toss pasta with 1 Tablespoon olive oil to coat. Set aside.

Heat remaining 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef. Cook, stirring occasionally until browned. Add garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper. Cook 2 minutes more.

Add crushed tomatoes; simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes.

Toss pasta with Parmesan cheese. Butter a 9-inch spring form pan. Tightly pack pasta into pan, standing each piece on end. Spread meat sauce on top of pasta.

Push the meat sauce into the pasta holes filling each one up. Stuffing the meat into the holes is a weirdly satisfying task. Enough said.

Place in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and bake another 10-15 minutes until cheese is golden. Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge to loosen and then unmold.

Cut into wedges and serve with any remaining meat sauce you might have.