Jake is such a goof!
He was trying to push the tree straight.
Gorgeous!
I love the sun in this one!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Parco Naturale Dolomiti Friulane - Take 2
You might remember last weekend when I posted about the Dolomite Natural Park. Our hike was cut short due to rain. So this weekend Jake and I went back up. It was a beautiful day! And the mountains were gorgeous! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day.
Jake is such a goof!He was trying to push the tree straight.
Jake is such a goof!He was trying to push the tree straight.
Blackberry Cobbler
Mmmmmm! I love blackberries! I remember picking TONS of blackberries with Grandma Holmes when I was a little girl. We would end up with buckets full (even though I ate half of them right off the bush!) I don't have access to free, fresh blackberries here, but I have been majorly craving some, so I resorted to buying them for $7.00 for about 2 cups at the Commissary. Here is the recipe I used.
2 cups berries
1/2 cup bisquick
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix bisquick, brown sugar, and oats.
Cut in butter until crumbly. (this was when I wished I had a pastry blender, but I just used knives)
Place berries in dish and top with crumbles.
Cook for 30-35 minutes.
2 cups berries
1/2 cup bisquick
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix bisquick, brown sugar, and oats.
Cut in butter until crumbly. (this was when I wished I had a pastry blender, but I just used knives)
Place berries in dish and top with crumbles.
Cook for 30-35 minutes.
LRS Olympics Day
On Friday, Jake's squadron had an Olympics Day. Here are some action shots from the football game.
Good catch Jake!
They lost.
I love this picture because you can barely see the mountains in the mist.
Good catch Jake!
They lost.
I love this picture because you can barely see the mountains in the mist.
Sonic Ocean Water
I found a wonderful blog, Meemo's Kitchen, that has lots of copycat recipes that are supposed to be just like recipes of famous food or drinks from restaurants. Jake loves the drink called Ocean Water from Sonic, so I decided to try the Ocean Water recipe from that blog.
3 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp coconut extract
3-4 drops blue food coloring
2 12 oz cans of Sprite
Mix the sugar and water and zap in the microwave for 30 seconds to dissolve all the sugar.
Cool the syrup before using.
Add extract and food coloring.
Combine syrup and soda and serve over ice.
We really liked the recipe and it does actually taste like the real thing!
3 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp coconut extract
3-4 drops blue food coloring
2 12 oz cans of Sprite
Mix the sugar and water and zap in the microwave for 30 seconds to dissolve all the sugar.
Cool the syrup before using.
Add extract and food coloring.
Combine syrup and soda and serve over ice.
We really liked the recipe and it does actually taste like the real thing!
Friday, September 4, 2009
Homemade Mac & Cheese
I got this recipe from my friend Meagan. See her blog here.
Ingredients:
- 16 oz pasta
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3 Tbs. flour
- dash of salt & pepper
- 2 cups milk
- 2 cups Cracker Barrel Extra Sharp White Cheese, shredded
- pack of Hormel cubed ham
- about 1/2 cup of bread crumbs
I threw in the rest of the Italian mix shredded cheese that was left over from my calzone(mozzarella, provalone, and parm) so I also added an extra 1/2 cup of milk
Directions:
- cook pasta & drain
- melt butter in large skillet
- add flour, salt & pepper
- cook until smooth
- add milk and continue stirring until boiling
- still stirring, cook 1-2 more minutes until it thickens
- mix in cheeses and stir until melted
- add pasta
- pour into casserole & top with bread crumbs
-bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes, or until crumbs start to brown
Ingredients:
- 16 oz pasta
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3 Tbs. flour
- dash of salt & pepper
- 2 cups milk
- 2 cups Cracker Barrel Extra Sharp White Cheese, shredded
- pack of Hormel cubed ham
- about 1/2 cup of bread crumbs
I threw in the rest of the Italian mix shredded cheese that was left over from my calzone(mozzarella, provalone, and parm) so I also added an extra 1/2 cup of milk
Directions:
- cook pasta & drain
- melt butter in large skillet
- add flour, salt & pepper
- cook until smooth
- add milk and continue stirring until boiling
- still stirring, cook 1-2 more minutes until it thickens
- mix in cheeses and stir until melted
- add pasta
- pour into casserole & top with bread crumbs
-bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes, or until crumbs start to brown
Calzone
So, I found a recipe on another woman's blog that looked like an easy way to make a calzone. I really tried to make it work! Sadly, mine is not nearly as pretty as the other woman's but it was sure good! Because I am a bit of a perfectionist, you will not see a photo of my calzone, but you can look at the *F* *O* *O* *D* blog to see how it is supposed to look. You will notice I made a more simplified version.
Ingredients
- 2 loaves frozen bread dough, thawed (I think this is where I went wrong with mine, there was absolutly no frozen bread dough at the commissary, so I had to make do with refridgerated french bread dough, which did not want to stretch, so you lucky folks in America who have Walmart and other BIG grocery stores, go for the frozen dough!)
- 1 small can spagetti sauce (I got one with Italian flavoring)
- shredded mozzarella cheese
- pepperoni
- sliced mushrooms
Directions
- flatten both loaves on a cookie sheet to form a rectangle of dough
- spread sauce down the middle, leaving at least an inch of dough on each side
- cover sauce with cheese
- cover cheese with pepperoni
- cover pepperoni with mushrooms
- cut strips along each side of the dough
- take a piece from each side and cross together (the refridgerated french bread will break at this point, and the sauce will ooze out, so hopefully there will be better luck with different dough)
- once all of the strips are coving the toppings cook at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes
- allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing
I promise even if it oozes out and doesn't look pretty, it still tastes great! Like a pizza on bread!
Ingredients
- 2 loaves frozen bread dough, thawed (I think this is where I went wrong with mine, there was absolutly no frozen bread dough at the commissary, so I had to make do with refridgerated french bread dough, which did not want to stretch, so you lucky folks in America who have Walmart and other BIG grocery stores, go for the frozen dough!)
- 1 small can spagetti sauce (I got one with Italian flavoring)
- shredded mozzarella cheese
- pepperoni
- sliced mushrooms
Directions
- flatten both loaves on a cookie sheet to form a rectangle of dough
- spread sauce down the middle, leaving at least an inch of dough on each side
- cover sauce with cheese
- cover cheese with pepperoni
- cover pepperoni with mushrooms
- cut strips along each side of the dough
- take a piece from each side and cross together (the refridgerated french bread will break at this point, and the sauce will ooze out, so hopefully there will be better luck with different dough)
- once all of the strips are coving the toppings cook at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes
- allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing
I promise even if it oozes out and doesn't look pretty, it still tastes great! Like a pizza on bread!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
I can sew!
When I got to Italy, we found one sewing machine in the BX. I was surprised to see it there, so I bought it before anyone else noticed it! I thought I would be stuck at home everyday and get bored, so I wanted to have something to keep me busy. Well, I've been so busy with working out and volunteering for ACES that I've actually barely touched the sewing machine.
Multiple times during my childhood, Mom tried to teach me how to sew. I would last maybe 30 minutes and then lose all interest. I don't think my problem was that I couldn't sew, but that I would get frustrated anytime the machine was working properly. So, each time we had a lesson, I would learn the basics: how to put the bobbin in the bottom, thread the needle, pull up the bobbin thread, and sew some article of fabric in a straight line. Then the machine would jam, the bobbin thread would get lost, or I would get bored, and I would quit.
Today, with my sewing machine manual by my side, I decided to give it a go. I used the instructions in the manual to fill the bobbin, insert the bobbin (Mom, I remembered what you told me to make it look like a 6!) thread the needle, pull up the bobbin thread and I was ready to go! I did practice on some scraps, no problem!
Then I cut out some fabric to make a clothesline bag. It probably wasn't smart of me to make my first project with no pattern, but I saw the idea in a book and wanted to make it now. I got the cut out circle on the front piece sewn with a facing (I had to look that up when I couldn't figure out how to hem the cut out!) then ran into my first problem. No matter how much I ironed, the facing just wouldn't stay flat. Then I remembered the Stitchery Witchery stuff my mom mailed me a few weeks ago. I ironed a strip of that under the facing and it now lays flat. (Thanks Mom!)
Then I started stiching the perimeter of the bag. About 4 stiches in, the machine jammed! AAAHHH! I tried turned the wheel both ways and it wouldn't budge! I didn't have mom here to unjam it for me, so I tried everything I could think of to fix it myself. Finally, I started turning the wheel to change the type of stich. I don't know why, but it worked! I continued on and completed my bag.
As I was ironing the bag, I remembered that with the pattern I created in my head, I would have to be able to put a hanger through the top, but I had not left a hole to put the hanger through. Simple solution, I made a button hole at the point where I should have left a hole So, I got to practice using my button hole maker!
Haha, I'm sure you are incredibly bored by this very in depth story, but I was sure Mom would want to here all of the details! Right? Anyway, here is my finished project! It will work perfectly to hang on our clothesline and hold the clothespins for me! (Mom, I know you will probably say that you would have taken the time to line up the stripes of the back with the stripes of the front, but I didn't think of that until just now, oh well!)
As an added bonus, I thought I'd show you a picture of my sewing room.
Yes...it is the living room. Mom has always complained about her sewing rooms being to small, cramped, cluttered, etc. Well Mom, I would love to have your sewing room right now! Jake and I look everywhere but can't find a cheap table to serve as my sewing table, so I'm using the coffee table for now. I can't wait to get to Montana, to have an actually sewing table, and hopefully a full sewing/craft room!
Multiple times during my childhood, Mom tried to teach me how to sew. I would last maybe 30 minutes and then lose all interest. I don't think my problem was that I couldn't sew, but that I would get frustrated anytime the machine was working properly. So, each time we had a lesson, I would learn the basics: how to put the bobbin in the bottom, thread the needle, pull up the bobbin thread, and sew some article of fabric in a straight line. Then the machine would jam, the bobbin thread would get lost, or I would get bored, and I would quit.
Today, with my sewing machine manual by my side, I decided to give it a go. I used the instructions in the manual to fill the bobbin, insert the bobbin (Mom, I remembered what you told me to make it look like a 6!) thread the needle, pull up the bobbin thread and I was ready to go! I did practice on some scraps, no problem!
Then I cut out some fabric to make a clothesline bag. It probably wasn't smart of me to make my first project with no pattern, but I saw the idea in a book and wanted to make it now. I got the cut out circle on the front piece sewn with a facing (I had to look that up when I couldn't figure out how to hem the cut out!) then ran into my first problem. No matter how much I ironed, the facing just wouldn't stay flat. Then I remembered the Stitchery Witchery stuff my mom mailed me a few weeks ago. I ironed a strip of that under the facing and it now lays flat. (Thanks Mom!)
Then I started stiching the perimeter of the bag. About 4 stiches in, the machine jammed! AAAHHH! I tried turned the wheel both ways and it wouldn't budge! I didn't have mom here to unjam it for me, so I tried everything I could think of to fix it myself. Finally, I started turning the wheel to change the type of stich. I don't know why, but it worked! I continued on and completed my bag.
As I was ironing the bag, I remembered that with the pattern I created in my head, I would have to be able to put a hanger through the top, but I had not left a hole to put the hanger through. Simple solution, I made a button hole at the point where I should have left a hole So, I got to practice using my button hole maker!
Haha, I'm sure you are incredibly bored by this very in depth story, but I was sure Mom would want to here all of the details! Right? Anyway, here is my finished project! It will work perfectly to hang on our clothesline and hold the clothespins for me! (Mom, I know you will probably say that you would have taken the time to line up the stripes of the back with the stripes of the front, but I didn't think of that until just now, oh well!)
As an added bonus, I thought I'd show you a picture of my sewing room.
Yes...it is the living room. Mom has always complained about her sewing rooms being to small, cramped, cluttered, etc. Well Mom, I would love to have your sewing room right now! Jake and I look everywhere but can't find a cheap table to serve as my sewing table, so I'm using the coffee table for now. I can't wait to get to Montana, to have an actually sewing table, and hopefully a full sewing/craft room!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)