Birthday Card

Here's the card I made for my hubby this year:

Two of my favorite things: baker's twine and buttons!  I have yet to find an easy way to adhere twine to cards.  Anyone out there have any suggestions? 

Also, I was trying to find a tree stamp but realized I didn't have one so I ended up just freehanding this one.  I don't think it turned out too bad, but I will definately be looking for a tree stamp now.

I also consider this a temporary farewell post as far as crafting and cardmaking/scrapbooking go.  My husband just finished an AWESOME new room for me in our basement to turn into my craft room.  I will post more about it (along with pictures!) later, but lets just say that I am taking this opportunity to completely overhaul my inventory of crafting goodies.  So for the next few months, that will be my free time project.

Baked Fudge

If you follow my personal blog then you know that I made it a goal in January to make a decent batch of brownies this year.  This recipe actually wasn't part of that quest, but these turned out somewhere between brownies and fudge so I guess they could be considered a candidate.

They taste more like brownies but have the consistency of fudge.  They are...oddly delicious.  But they are also chocolate and that's all that matters.  Recipe follows.

Baked Fudge

Makes 30 square
Made in 40 minutes

Melt 1/2 c butter and 3 oz. chopped unsweetened chocolate together; gradually beat in 2 c sugar.

Add 3 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.  Add 1 t vanilla extract.

Sift 1 1/2 c flour with 1/8 t salt; add to chocolate mixture along with 1 c chopped walnuts.  Stir well.

Grease a 9 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan; spread batter evenly in pan.  (I think in hindsight I would try to bake them in a foil lined pan.  I've found it is so much easier to remove bar desserts this way.)

Bake at 350 for 30 min or until done.  Cool and cut into about 30 squares.  Can be frozen.


The consensus was that they were really tasty.  But I just don't think they meet my standards of the ideal brownie (i.e., the ones my mom made while I was growing up) so I will continue baking brownies.

Turkey Breakfast Tacos

Two back stories:

(1) I LOVE breakfast for dinner; especially on Sundays.  My mom made many homemade biscuits, sausage and eggs for dinner after church growing up through when my husband I and lived with them for a year.

(2)  Awhile ago my husband suggested we cut back on the amount of red meat that we eat.  I have to admit, most of my best recipes call for ground beef so I thought this would be near impossible.  It has been a fun challenge to substitute different things for beef.  Turkey is an obvious choice and it is so easy to find now.  Our favorite local store has even begun stocking their own turkey which is a moneysaver over national brands.  I could not tell a difference in this recipe between the turkey sausage and regular sausage.  Delicious all around!  (As far as cutting back on red meat: I don't know how much of a difference it's made health-wise, but I don't miss it at all.  In fact eating red meat now tastes a little strange!)

Ingredients:

Turkey Breakfast Sausage

12 large eggs

1/2 t salt

1/2 t black pepper

1 c cheddar cheese, shredded

6 large tortillas

In a large non-stick pan, crumble and cook turkey until no longer pink.  Remove from pan.  Wipe pan clean and reserve for cooking eggs.  Break eggs into a large bowl and whisk until yolks and whites are well blended.  Season with salt and pepper. Pour eggs into reserved pan and scramble until desired doneness.  In order, top each tortiall with turkey, cheese, eggs and salsa. Fold and serve.

"BLT" Salad

This recipe is fantastic!  Even my husband (who, shall I say, is less enthused about salads than I am) thought it was delicious.

Serves 4

Made in 10 minutes

10 slices turkey bacon

1/4 c each buttermilk ranch salad dressing and plain greek yogurt

2 T water

5 oz bag salad mix (I used the Spring Mix)

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

1/4 c thinly sliced red onion

4 slices whole-grain bread, toasted, cut into bite-sized pieces

1.  Cut bacon into small pieces.  Cook in a large skillet as package directs.

2.  In a large bowl, whisk dressing, yogurt and water until smooth.  Add salad mix, tomatoes, onion and half of the bacon; toss to mix and coat.

3.  Transfer to salad plates; top with remaining bacon and croutons.