My Creative Urges...

For some reason this summer I have not been very crafty.  Now that summer is winding down for me (I go back to school on Aug. 15) I'm feeling the itch to get crafty but I am also feeling like I frittered some of my summer away.  I probably shouldn't be so hard on myself, but my closets are a mess and I just don't want to get started working on them right now.  I at least tackled Baby Bee's closet and we went through ALL of her clothes to see what fit and what didn't.  (She's grown a few inches since last year!)

So, where has my creativity taken me?

To the kitchen!

('Cause you know that creative buzzy bee has to get out somehow.)

Can you tell I have a thing for red and blue dishes?

I've made homemade syrups for drinks.  I've made interesting sandwiches - turkey, cream cheese, and balsamic onion jam on toast was a delicious combination.  Last week I made a salad for us for dinner that we all loved - spring mix, chunked up Granny Smith apples, gorgonzola cheese, pistachios and homemade champagne vinaigrette dressing.  Worker Bee went on and on about how delicious it was.

Baby Bee thought we needed an action shot.

Tonight we're having maple brined pork chops, sweet potato fries, green salad and - get this - homemade chocolate peanut butter ice cream.  Of course we mixed up some Skip & Go Nakeds and for a little appetizer I took a bit of cream cheese, a large dollop of Raspberry Chipotle Sauce (from Costco) and we spread this on some crackers.  (Of course I took pictures!)

She also thought we needed a "finished product" shot.

I can't begin to tell you how delicious this was.  It's from the latest issue of Cooking Light.  You brine the pork chops for 8 hours in a maple syrup, salt, spice mixture and then grill the pork chops.

To top it you halve some peaches and plums, put maple butter on them, salt and pepper and grill them too.  Sewing Bee was over for dinner and we all talked about how we had never had grilled fruit and how absolutely delicious it was.  I also sprinkled green onions over the top for some crunchy contrast.

And I slightly burned the sweet potato fries.  We love these fried and they just don't crisp up in the oven like we enjoy.  But we're trying to be healthier so I've started putting a little bit of oil (1-2 tsp) over the top of the frozen fries, tossing them gently and then cooking them slightly longer than the package recommends.  They get that crispy texture (or overly crispy if you forget to take them out in a timely manner) without as much oil.  Yumptious!

I've become way hooked on Pinterest in the past couple weeks and I found this recipe for chocolate peanut butter ice cream there.  I am telling you it is so wicked (and I do mean kind of wicked because you might give up everything else in your life to have this ice cream again) good and it's not even completely frozen yet.  (We sampled the paddle, spatula, measuring cup, and ice cream maker container to ensure quality control.  We wouldn't want anyone to not feel their bowl of ice cream was not top notch ;)

Now this is what it's supposed to look like...

I found the recipe at Bake at 350.

Hmmmm......mine looks soft serve, not give yourself tendonitis trying to scoop it out and into the bowl.

I wonder what went wrong?  Could it be I didn't let it freeze in the freezer long enough?  Do I have a bad ice cream freezer?  

Any thoughts out there?  Please?  

I really want mine to look like this!

I've only used this ice cream maker once a very long time ago.  I have since put it in the deep freeze and maybe then it will get nice and temporarily solid.  

But don't think soft ice cream stopped us from devouring every little morsel!

*****updated to let you know after a night and day in the deep freeze my ice cream looked just like it was supposed to - sadly it was consumed before any pictures could be taken although the thought of taking a picture did cross my mind but then the spoon crossed my lips and all was lost****

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I set the table for you again!

Used my trusty burlap tablecloth that the More Creative Bee made for one of our county fair tables several years ago.

The dishes are called Memory Lane and I picked those up on ebay about 4 years ago.

The flatware was from Home Goods and I wish I bought more now.

I love these glasses!  They are TAG and the Sewing Bee found them for me.

I knew it would be evening when we ate so I brought out this candle holder I picked up at Pottery Barn for a simple center piece.  I used a red quilted runner for some contrast.  I think it was from Home Goods too.

So, am I turning into a foodie blog?  I don't think so.  This is just where my creativity is leading me right now, but I hear a low buzzing sound coming from my craft studio.  That buzz can't be ignored for too long or horrible things might happen......

Thanks for your visit today!  

I always enjoy spending some time with you.

And I promise to make you a delicious dinner when you come over.

You will come, won't you?

Oh!  And only a few more days until my giveaway ends.   

Click here to leave a comment on my giveaway post!

Falling Leaves and Hot Chocolate!

After the warm temperatures we've been having today started to feel like autumn again.  The sky was gray and we were sprinkled on several times today.

Baby Bee had Jazz Bee (her BeeFF) over today and for a sleep over.  It was windy last night and the leaves really came down so of course the girls had to play in the leaves.

They also made necklaces and bracelets in the studio.

Jazz Bee (Baby Bee's BeeFF) made a bee necklace.

Baby Bee made a planet bracelet.

After dinner tonight we decided to watch and oldie but goodie - Monster, Inc.  I think that's my favorite Pixar movie and that's saying a lot 'cause I LURVE them all!  

I think we all wanted a sweet little treat and what's one of the best things to look forward to when the weather gets chillier?  Why hot chocolate of course.

Wanna' know how I make hot chocolate?

4 simple ingredients

1.  powdered chocolate (I buy Ghiradelli in a big can from Smart and Final)

2.  milk (we always have 1% so that's generally what I use)

3.  shaved chocolate (I love the bittersweet bar that you can buy at Trader Joe's)

4.  whipped cream (fresh is best, but I'm happy to use a can so I don't make too big a mess)

Shaved chocolate makes the best garnish and it's so easy to do.  I just read on Pioneer Woman's blog that she loves chopping chocolate - well I love shaving chocolate!

I use my vegetable peeler to make shaved chocolate.  

Yum!  Yum!  Yum!  Here's a nice freshly shaved bowl of bittersweet chocolate.

After shaving a good amount I store it in a little spice bottle for future mochas and hot chocolates.

I microwave, steam, or heat the milk on the stove.  Put in about 1/8 of a cup of the powdered chocolate in each cup.  Add the hot milk and stir to blend the chocolate that has now melted into the hot milk.  Squirt the whipped cream and then garnish with the chocolate shavings.

Here's the finished hot chocolate.....

Doesn't that look scrumptious?

We enjoyed our warm for our tummies drinks while we watched Sully save Boo from the evil machinations of Mr. Waternoose.

What are some things that signal the change from summer to fall for you?

Oh I hope you can come enjoy one of these with us soon!  I'd be happy to make you one any time you can come by for a visit.

Comfort Food for a Cold Day

What are some of your comfort foods?

When I was little I would go over to Grandma Missouri's for dinner and she would always make fried chicken, green beans with bacon in them, and chocolate pudding.

I don't know how she made the chicken and the green beans aren't that healthy for you (although she lived to be 93), but for some of our comfort food I treat my family and myself to some cooked chocolate pudding.  Yummm, yummm, yummmm!

You have to stand there and keep stirring it...

It doesn't take very long....

to become smooth and creamy.

Before you know it the pudding is cooling in the bowl.

To make it great winter comfort food you have to eat it while it is still warm and extraordinarily rich and chocolatey.

I hope you enjoy some soon.

We sure did!

Thanks for stopping by!

I'd love to know what you treat yourself to on a cold, cold cold night.

I should let you know we kept ours relatively healthy by using 1% milk for the pudding.  It was still rich and delicious.