FALLing in love - French Onion Soup

Finally- the days are cooler and I feel good about telling you that you should eat soup.  I have some favorites, and this is one of them.  There's more to it than just the soup, this one is nostalgic.  There was only a handful of times that I cooked dinner for my grandparents. It was typically the other way around- their table was always ready for me. No matter what- announced or unannounced- because they were awesome and amazing and wonderful and there is no one else in the world like them.
Anyway- one night  I wanted to make dinner for them. I think I was about 22 or 23 years old, and pretty newly married and living in a teeny tiny little house (that I loved) with a teeny tiny kitchen where we sat cozily and ate our soup.  Grandpa wanted to bring roast beef sandwiches from Arby's and it was a perfect pairing. Now, every time I make French Onion Soup, I serve it alongside a roast beef sandwich.  As I mentioned, I was much younger when I started making this soup and not the accomplished chef (ha) that I am today. Its a simple recipe and now I can make it with my eyes closed. -which is good because onions make me cry and I cant see anyway.

(yes. my bowl is absurdly huge. don't judge)

French Onion Soup

what you need: big soup pot with a lid, sharp knife, cutting board, oven-safe soup bowls, cookie sheet

1 stick unsalted butter
6 onions, sliced into rings (or half moons, if you choose)
8 Cups Beef broth
2 cubes beef bullion
sliced French bread (one piece per bowl)
2-3 Cups shredded mozzarella

Melt the butter in the soup pot over medium high heat.  while the butter is melting, slice up your onions.  Drop the onions right on the melted butter and give them a little bit of a stir. Cover with a lid and let them sweat it out. When the onions are softened, about 8-10 minutes.  Pour in the beef broth and add bullion.  Cover and lower heat to medium and let the onions and broth get friendly for half an hour.  Slice your French bread (as many pieces as you have bowls) and toast them on a cookie sheet at about 400 degrees for 10 minutes or so - they need to be crunchy.  Place the toasted bread in the oven-safe soup bowls.  Pour, ladle, spoon or otherwise transfer the soup in to the bowls and top with mozzarella.  Place the cheese-topped soups on the cookie sheet and return to the oven just long enough to melt the cheese and make it impossible to scrub off of the sides of your bowls. Obviously, serve with a  roast beef sandwich. It doesn't have to be from Arby's, but I highly recommend it.

FALLing in love-- halloween costumes!

There is no way I would continue on without showing you my costumed kiddos.  I was happy that the costumes this year did not require extensive hair and makeup. Actually, my girly girl wanted to do her own hair and makeup.  I only helped a little.  Its nice when they can do things for themselves.

Both of my kids had home-made costumes this year, and I have to say, they are some of the best out there.  We will start with the 50's waitress....

 

so this is a super easy circle skirt. I added a waist band and a rectangle that makes the apron, and tacked on some bling. the shirt is just a black t-shirt that I cut the collar out of and added a loooonnnngggg rectangle collar that stuck right on with some hem tape, and ironed on a name tag. easy peasy. (also nearly cost me my sanity and I melted the first collar with an iron, so watch your heat settings.)  OH the hat. that's just a 1.5 inch wide strip of paper with white fabric taped to it and bobby-pinned to her head. you should go make this costume. you should wear it to the movies. -but not to dinner because someone might ask you to refill their soda. 

 

 

and theres this guy...

 

ok. wow. he was a hit a the festival we attended last night. there are several pictures of him floating around out there. I used my trench coat and buttoned it around his neck about waist-high. he was wearing a backpack that was full of plastic bags and we filled the top and arms and gloves with bags as well (it was a lot of bags, I promise.)  I found a huge jar of cheddar cheese balls -- tried to wrangle up help to eat all of the cheddar cheese balls before we had to use the jar, but we still had a ton left that are now living in a bowl on my counter, so if you need any, I have plenty. I cut out the back and the bottom and fit it around his cute little head, stuffed a shirt in the top of the coat to hide the bags and there you have it. star of the show.  added benefit: I forgot to bring bags for candy, so I just reached in to the coat and pulled a few out.  this is costume saved Halloween for my kids. without it, there would have been no candy collected. 

 

so much fun, y'all. --and we get to do it all again tomorrow!!! yay for candy! yay for dress up.



FALLing in love with Pecan Pie Bars!

These lovely little bits of glory are the nemesis to many a faithful dieter.  Its ok, though. they are pretty much worth every lump and bump they create.  I make them if and only if I can deliver them to someone, so that I am not personally responsible for their consumption--or because I am just that generous.  Recently,  I was in charge of cookies and cookie bars for a work event and was asked by one of the aforementioned dieters, "are you making those pecan pie bars?" when I said yes, she shook her head and said, "I was hoping you would say no." --I am sort of jumping to conclusions here, but I am fairly sure that she meant that they would ruin her diet and that she would be unable to say no to their pecan-y goodness. -not that she didn't want me to make them because they're gross.  They're not gross. In fact, you should make them  and see for yourself. They're really easy and they make you happy.

Pecan Pie Bars

what you need: mixer of choice, foil, 9x13 baking dish, 350 oven, medium sized sauce pan

for the crust:
2 sticks softened unsalted butter
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt

mix together with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. It will be very dry and soft.  Line the baking dish with foil, leave enough foil for you grasp to be able to lift the finished bars out of the pan later. Press the crust mixture completely covering the bottom of the pan. Bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch....

for the filling
In a medium sized sauce pan, over medium heat, melt the following:
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup light karo syrup
2 tablespoons whole milk
2 cups chopped pecans

allow the mixture to bubble a bit, just long enough to wait on your crust to come out of the oven. Pour the filing atop the crust and return to the oven another 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. (this takes a while) Grasping the foil, lift the bars from the pan and peel back the foil from the edges. Use a sharp knife to cut into squares and serve to the people you love the most.  --or your co-workers. --or both. --or neither. just eat them.

FALLing in love with Monster Cookies!

Monster cookies became one of my favorites after the very first bite.  I bit them. They are not actual monsters.  So, understanding the season and such, I thought this would be as good a time as any to share with you the Marvelous Monster Cookie. 
But I forgot to take a picture of them.  I did take a picture of the recipe, as if you want to see that (don't worry. you get to anyway) and I have a picture of a cookie tray that I did once upon a time that included monster cookies (they're the ones with m&ms) so you get to see that as well. 

On another note, just to remind you of my Suzie Home Maker-ness, I want to let you know that I sewed a lovely costume for my mini-me last night.  She will be a 50s Waitress -- her choice-- and she chose the perfect Vintage Kitchen colors, so of course, you will be seeing that soon. I know you can hardly wait. She's cute, y'all, so prepare thy self.

MONSTER COOKIES!!
what you need: mixing bowl of choice, tablespoon, cookie sheet, 350 oven

 

got that? no? ok, so the instructions say to cream together peanut butter, sugars, eggs, vanilla.  Next, fold in the dry ingredients.  The candies will have to be pressed in to the dough pretty well, they sort of like to escape. Use a tablespoon and make some heaping scoops with that fella.  Round out the dough and press it down a bit, about 1/4 inch thick.  Bake 12 minutes, makes 2 dozen 2 inch cookies.  That look a little something like this

(remember, the ones with the m&ms. not the blue ones. don't expect the blue ones from this recipe. won't happen.)

Oy. Its gonna be a long week. 

FALLing in love - with Cookies!!

Its another day at my real job, where I hang out with Staff and Board Members and enjoy conversations about passive overlay and assets under management and donor profiles.  It is exhilarating and all I'm thinking is COOOOKIEEEE!!!! --because I know there is a tray of cookies for all to enjoy as a reward for surviving one more Meeting of the Board.  I generally try to provide season-appropriate snacks, if there really is such a thing.  This time I made Knock You Naked Brownies, Pecan Pie Bars, Blondies, Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, Pumpkin Cookies, Molasses Cookies, Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies, Sugar Cookies.   Those recipes will show up in the next few weeks, because they are lovely to take to parties and also to eat all by yourself in the quiet of your bedroom (as I know some of you do). 

 

 

Every day is a good day for a cookie.

HOT DISH Kameryn L'Ecuyer

 

Its been a few years since I first met Kameryn L’Ecuyer, but I had heard about her for a while before I saw her in real life.  My grandmother told me about this wonderful girl who was “close friends” (ahem) with my cousin, Preston.  Grandma was very sure that they would be married some day and then move away and be missionaries in some far off place and we would never see them again. -Well, they did get married, but they live in the neighboring state of Texas, which is almost like another country, but within reasonable driving distance. 

When she has free time, Kameryn enjoys things like refinishing furniture and cooking (and so I like her).  Her favorite hobby is traveling, which allows her to experience different cultures and go on adventures with her husband.  Together, they are also involved in the First Baptist Church of Arlington, TX.  

Getting to know Kameryn just a little bit, I learned about an organization in the Hurst – Euless – Bedford area that totally impressed me.  I think you should know about Kameryn and about the organization she works with.  As the Director of External Compassion Ministries at 6 Stones Mission Network, Kameryn works with the school district, HEB ISD, and the local churches to coordinate events for students and the community, particularly with families who qualify as economically disadvantaged.

I asked Kameryn, “What do you want the world to know?”  She responded with this: “There are many different social service agencies that do so much good. I would encourage anyone and everyone to find something that aligns with what they are passionate about and get involved, in any capacity. Every nonprofit needs resources, financial support, volunteers and so on.”

You can learn all about 6 Stones here.  The stated Mission of 6 Stones is …”to be a catalyst of hope that transforms lives, homes and our community.”  I don’t know of any person who could not use some life-transforming hope.  For that reason alone, I encourage you to learn about this organization.  Pray for them. Pray for the people they encounter. Pray for hope.

FALLing in love - Beef Stew

Some days are just perfect for a bowl of stew.  I keep hoping that the temperature outside will stay below 70 degrees so that I feel justified in my festival of fall food, but so far, its still a bit warmish.  I don't really care what anybody thinks - its October and I'm eating stew.  This particular recipe also fits well with my 'cook once, serve twice' section of life and I do appreciate that.  When I prepared this, I doubled everything and kept the doubled portion (nod to Elisha here) for Shepherd's Pie, which you should feel free to do as well, because its a great idea -if I do say so myself. 

This is the stew, and here's what you do....

What you need:
Big stock pot, can opener

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb beef stew meat
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 can green beans, drained
1 can sweet corn, drained
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can ranch style beans
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup red wine
3 cups beef broth

Heat the olive oil in the stock pot over medium high heat.  Mix flour and salt and pepper with a fork and dredge the stew meat, just coating it in flour.  Transfer to the stock pot and cook until browned on all sides, stirring every couple of minutes. Add all vegetables and liquids, reduce heat to medium and cook covered for at least 45 minutes, up to a few hours if you want to.

a few days pass... you are hungry for Shepherd's Pie and you have thought ahead and doubled your stew recipe for just such an occasion... you realize you have been wearing your pants backwards all day long and you want to off-set that ridiculousness with a touch of fancy, so you pipe your potatoes through a pastry bag making lovely swirls of potatoes atop the bubbling hot Shepherd's Pie, like this.

what you need:

400 oven, preheated

large pot, wooden spoon (optional), mixing bowl,  hand mixer, 9x13 baking dish, pastry bag fitted with a star tip (optional)

 

left over stew, drained of liquid to your liking (I don't like much liquid remaining, you may not be like me)

6 potatoes

1 stick of butter

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 Cup milk

 

Fill a large pot 3/4 full with water and heat it up over high heat.. Peel 6 medium potatoes, I love Yukon Gold, so that's what I used here. Dice them up to about 1/2 inch cubes, and drop them in to the water ( you don't have to wait for it to boil to put the potatoes in).  Reduce heat to medium once the water starts boiling, and lay a wooden spoon across the top of the pot while the potatoes continue to cook (this keeps the water from boiling over. I don't know why.)  After the potatoes cook for 15-20 minutes they should be fork tender. You want them to be tender or they won't mash. Believe me. I've tried mashing not quite tender potatoes and I hated myself for it. There was cussing.

Drain ALL of the water out and transfer the potatoes to a mixing bowl with the butter, milk and seasoning.  Using the lowest setting, begin mixing the potatoes with a hand mixer, turning up the speed as you see fit.  If you are going to pipe the potatoes, get all of the lumps out so they don't clog your pastry tip.  If you are going to dollop the potatoes on top of the stew, you don't have to be so concerned about their texture. heat the stew up either on the stove top or in the microwave - I chose the microwave just so I didn't have another bowl to wash, but that's just me. I wear my pants backwards. Transfer the stew from where ever you had been storing it, sans liquid, please, into a 9x13 baking dish. Fill a pastry bag with potatoes and pipe away. Pipe the potatoes right on top of the stew in 3-inch circles as if you were icing a cupcake. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes start to turn a lovely golden color.   Its a beautiful thing.

FALLing in love

There are lots of things I love about fall. Knowing me the way you do, you are expecting me to say "the food."  Good. You're right. Partly. There's also the hoodies and the football and the parties and the leaves and the mums and the pumpkins and the crisp chill in the air-- all of those things make me love fall.  I can't make you enjoy fall, but I can help you eat well and make fun food for parties. That's my job, as I see it, and I take it very seriously.
My husband's aunt is one of the most creative and talented people I know.  She makes these INSANE caramel dipped apples with all sorts of things on them - nuts, chocolate, candy, beautiful wrapping--- and they are stunning.  One year, she made apples and pears.  So I did it- I tried a pear. Ok. I like a caramel apple as much as the next girl, but these pears are heaven. Its ridiculous how fancy they seem when compared to a silly little granny smith. The process is the same - you can be ornate like Aunt Penny, or you can me super simple. Either way, these are going to change your life and the lives of those you serve them to.

 

Caramel Dipped Pears

What you need: Medium sized sauce pan, cooling rack, cookie sheet, spoon

 

1 bag (14 oz) caramels



4 pears
2 teaspoons water
sea salt for dusting

Unwrap all of your little caramel squares and put them in a sauce pan over medium heat along with 2 teaspoons of water.  Be patient, the melting takes a little while. Make sure to stir often so the caramel doesn't burn to the pan. That's not delicious. Wash your pears and make sure they are dry and room temperature before you start the dipping. Holding the pear by the stem, set it in the sauce pan, but don't let go. With your other hand, spoon caramel from the top and let it run down the sides until the pear is covered nicely.  Place the pear on a cooling rack with a cookie sheet under it to catch drippy caramel. Repeat with the remaining pears, dust with sea salt-- because salted caramel makes the world go 'round.  If you want to add toffee (YES!) or chocolate (Hallelujah!) or nuts (swoon!)
do that now. Melt your chocolate over a double boiler, though, don't burn it. That is not delicious, either.  Serve these to you friends, neighbors, teachers - serve them at parties, at work, at bar mitzvahs. They make people happy.

Glam Squad: Pop Art

All of these costumes remind me of my niece, and I wish she was closer so I could dress her up for you guys. She's super talented and creative and beautiful- she inspires me to think outside the box. Thank you, Bailey for your inspiration.
ok. so...This is the look that kicked off the whole idea of costume makeup series.  One afternoon I asked my lovely daughter to let me try some makeup ideas on her little facey wacey.  She complied (I think because she didn't know how much time I would actually want from her in this series) and I was fairly pleased with the results. This is our first shot at pop art, and there are certainly things to be improved upon, but I think its pretty fun.  Disclaimer: my daughter is not sad. the makeup makes her look sad. I promise. She's a very happy child.  Really.

Pop Art Face!
what you need:
white face paint or white eye liner, black eye liner, blue eye liner, red lipstick, q tip or concealer brush

Start with the black lines. I always start from the top, so in this case, eyebrows. draw them in to your selected expression.  Line around the eyes - top lash line and bottom lash line, also create an outline for tears if you are a sad pop art character. Draw a line just off center down the nose, and on the crease of the nostril. Draw a small line in the middle of the upper lip just above the cupid's bow and line the lips (yes, still in black).  Outline the entire jaw line. Now just fill in - tears in blue, lips in red. I used a q-tip to make the white dots, and I think they're too big, so if you agree that they should be smaller, use a concealer brush or a white eye liner.
This comes together pretty fast and is a good last-minute costume idea, should you need one.- Or you can totally run with the pop art theme and make it a much more intricate costume with hair and clothing.  Either way, this is fun and you can create any expression you want.

Glam Squad: Puppet on a String

As promised earlier in the week, I am bringing you a more feminine version of the ventriloquist dummy - actually this one looks more like a marionette to me, but whatever.  Here's a little story for ya: I was working on the hair and makeup for this look and my kids were down the street playing.  I knew where they were, but it was getting dark outside.  I waited a little while (in full makeup, a cutesy top, lovely sweat pants with smudges of paint on them, and fuzzy socks because my husband thinks our house is an igloo) hoping that they would just show up.  It was only getting darker, as nights tend to do, and I had no choice but to go get them.  I'm not so lazy that I would typically drive down to the end of the street to get them, but this time I did. (for obvious wardrobe reasons)
I was so concerned that someone might see me, that I was a very distracted driver and I almost ran in to the car coming down the street as I backed out of my driveway. --as an aside: my car has a back-up alarm, so that's embarrassing, but it also automatically gives me the right of way at all times, so I feel that the other driver was clearly at fault. --
I got the kids. I went home. No major crisis. (whew.)  Ok here's the look...



Marionette face, what you need:

 foundation, foundation brush, darker than usual blush, blush brush, translucent powder, powder brush, pink eye shadow, brown eye liner, red lipstick, very.long.lashes., lash glue, 1/2 inch curling iron (if you want ringlets)

Apply foundation with a foundation brush- I use a brush here because I like it to be fairly heavy and a sponge tends to wipe off a lot. cover your whole face including lips with heavy foundation, then apply heavy blush in circles on the apples of your cheeks.  Dust some powder on to set that part and move to the brown eye liner. Use the eye liner to draw the hinge on your mouth and the lines down your nose.  Also draw eyebrows that have a rounded look as opposed to a more defined arch. Apply pink eye shadow all over your lid to just below your brow bone.  Glue on the biggest eyelashes you can find. Add some liner under your eyes and for more drama glue some lashes to your lower lash line, too. Your lips should be the same color as your face until you draw on your puppet lips. Make them smaller than your actual lips, but make sure that your lines match up from top to bottom or you will look weird.  For the hair, take small (1/4 inch) sections of hair and curl tightly with a 1/2 inch curling iron.  I have a lot of hair, so this is actually only about a third of my hair, the rest of it is pulled back in a bun, which works for photography purposes, but you may want to curl all of your hair if you are going out like this. Also, you will want to wear something other than fuzzy socks and sweat pants. 
Have fun!

Glam Squad; Sugar Skull

There aren't a lot of things that offend me. I don't agree with everybody on everything, and I don't expect everybody to agree with me.  I have told my kids (and myself) "they don't have to like you, and you don't have to care" so many times, I can't keep count.  That being said, I understand that there will be people who do not share my affinity for sugar skull makeup. It doesn't hurt my feelings at all. If you don't like sugar, or skulls, you don't have to tell me. Just don't read any more of this post.

What I don't understand is people who don't like coffee. That does hurt my feelings and boggle my mind. Its just weird.

So the plan for this look was to get all made up and then go shoot pictures in the cemetery. Then I realized that I didn't have my makeup bag, and I had to totally improvise from my original design AND I underestimated my time allotment for the prep work here. We did not actually go to the cemetery after all. -which makes me sad because I know we would have captured some amazing shots!!
That is neither here nor there. 

here's the look:

 

and here's what you need:

white makeup and sponge applicator, translucent powder, powder brush small/fine makeup brush, black eyeliner (cream works best), blue eye shadow, grey eye shadow, eye shadow brush, sticky jewels from the scrap booking section at Hobby Lobby, red lipstick, eyelashes

 

 

apply white make up all over your face and neck - except for your eye sockets. Brush on some translucent powder to set the white. Start your art work by applying eye shadow all around your eyes - from the eye brow to the edge of the eye socket under your eye. -you can use any color for this, just make sure its dark enough to show up. Now take the eye shadow brush and shade the top of your forehead, the hollows of your cheeks, under your jaw line, and down the muscles in your neck to create dimension.  Using the black eyeliner, line your eyes, draw your nose, and start the designs on your face. Add color with lipstick - any color you like.  Lipstick comes in a wide array of colors and it really stays on better than anything else and is easy to manipulate with a fine brush.  The designs are totally up to you. you can be as simple or as ornate as you want to be- flowers, hearts, spider webs, anything you like. Add eyelashes by applying  a small dot of glue to both edges of your top lashes, one on the outside corner and one on inside corner.  Apply a thin layer of glue to the lashes and let it dry for 30 seconds or so for it to become tacky so it will stick better. I added mascara to my lower lashes, you can or don't have to.  Completing your face, you will add jewels around the color portion of your eyes. Just outline your eye socket with these lovelies. If you have trouble getting them to stick, put a little dot of your lash glue on them and they will stay put nicely. I only had to add glue to a few stubborn ones that were on my eye brows.

Pin a few flowers in your hair and you're set. (I would have liked my hair to be taller, but by this point in my day I was done caring.)

 

there ya go- this one takes some time, but I love it. 

Glam Squad: Under the Sea

Its not every day of the week that I purchase fishnet stockings. That has happened exactly one time; last Friday. And they were for my daughter. And they were blue. And she wore them on her head.
All children without a budding makeup artist for a parent should be grateful.  (more accurately stated, 'all children without me for a parent should be grateful) I don't say that in the self-defamation sense, my kids are just exposed to interesting things because of my hobbies.  To illustrate my point, I direct you to the first few sentences above regarding fishnet stockings worn on ones head. 
I am happy to announce that when asked, she did so without complaint.  She did laugh at me, possibly because she may have thought I was kidding, but as the stockings were pulled down across her face and secured below her chin, the laughing increased.  It may have been hysterics. I cant be sure.
Let me show you a picture of the final product before you pass judgment.

 

 

TA-DAAAA!! This is my daughter, the mermaid. As you can see, she has scales of sparkling purple and blue.  She also has diamond gills and glittering eyelashes to set off her lovely blue eyebrows.

Lets talk about those lashes for a minute.  This is important, yall, so pay attention.  When you are planning your makeup routine, make sure you ask the right questions.  When it comes to lashes, do not ask IF you should wear them, ask WHICH eyelashes you should wear. The good news here is that there are tons to choose from during the month of October. (I currently have about 7 different styles ready) Stock up now. Halloween comes but once a year.

 

So, back to business.  How to be a mermaid.

What you need:

white makeup and a sponge applicator, eye shadow in 3 varying colors of your choice, eye shadow brush, eye liner color of choice, eyelashes, sticky jewels, lipstick of choice, and of course fishnet stockings

 

 

Start by applying a light layer of white makeup.  This will just help the colors of scales show up better. If you have a light foundation, that will work, too.  When the white is completely dry, pull stockings over the entire face, using the chin to secure them.  Be careful as you pull them over the white so that the makeup stays put.  Load up your eye shadow brush and start with your lightest color, blending to the darkest, add 'scales' where you like them.   Color is a little tricky here, because it can start to look like bruising and that is a whole other costume. -you may now remove the stockings from your head.-

 Using one of the scale colors, match it up to an eye liner color.  I had blue eyeliner, so it worked out nicely.  Color eyebrows and line the bottom lashes with the colored liner. Apply some shadow to the eyelids while you're in the vicinity. Any of the colors in your palette will do. (I used the lightest one, because my daughter is 9 but looks 13 and I don't want her to look quite so sultry as a smokier eye would look. Apply eyelashes in the following way: put a tiny dot of glue on the outside edge of the top lash line, and a tiny dot of glue on the inside edge of the lash line.  Add a skinny little line of glue along the edge of the fake lashes where it will adhere to your eyelid. Let the glue dry for a few seconds so it gets tacky and will stick better.  Start by sticking the outside corner down and gently press the gluey edge to the base of your eyelashes on your top lid. It might take a little practice, but they are easy to remove and try again.  For this look, I chose lashes with a lot of glitter on them, and we were really happy with the way they turned out.  --but we can always add sparkle, SOOOO we had some sticky jewels from the paper art section at Hobby Lobby. Most people use these for scrap booking. We use them in costuming. There are no rules. Place a strip of the smallest jewels on the top eyelid, just at the edge of the lashes, and a strip of the same size at the lower lash line.  Use some of the bigger jewels to create gills near the temples.  And voila! A mermaid is born. Feel free to add jewelry or use sticky pearls instead of jewels, they look like little bubbles.  Have fun with this one, it involves stockings on your head- how can it not be fun?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glam Squad

You know I'm a cook. You know I am a music enthusiast, but  you may not know this:
There are few things I enjoy doing more than hair and makeup. It brings joy to my heart to have lovely ladies come over to let me be the Glam Squad for their special event, photo shoot or night out.
Due to my obsession  passion for hair and makeup, October kicks off a very special time of year. 
You guessed it: the Makeup Season!  Whether you are looking for that perfect Halloween costume, Thanksgiving day makeup to go with your fat pants or Christmas party sparkle, I can fix you right up.   (and by "you" here, I mean me. or my kids. or you, if you want. I don't see a reason to limit myself)
This week I am taking the liberty of switching over from food to makeup.  If you are on the fence about your costume for impending parties, maybe I can help.

Today, I would like to go ahead and thank my children, who have been enthusiastic models and have been surprisingly still as I applied multiple layers of goo to their little faces.

You may think that Halloween makeup is an investment you don't want to make. Au Contraire. For me, and I do have sort of an extensive collection, I understand, --but for me, I just use the makeup I already have.  There is one exception, and that is the white clown makeup, but you can pick that up at the drugstore or any WalMart or Target for a dollar or so. (mine was 97 cents)

We will start with my son. (he actually begged me to do his makeup, lest you think I forced him)
this is his Ventriloquist Dummy face. A little creepy, if you ask me, but those things are creepy no matter what. This is totally something you can do at the last minute if you decide, "yes, I do want to Trick or Treat." Or perhaps you are just going to bite the bullet and go ahead and go to that costume party blind date - best to go in full makeup just in case...

What you need:
white clown makeup, sponge applicator, black eyeliner, light brown eye shadow, brush applicator, fine toothed comb, water, gel

apply a think layer of white clown makeup all over the face. Outline eyebrows with the black liner and fill in. -you can make them bigger than normal, or change the shape in any way you like, really. Eyebrows are fancy that way. (especially when they're blonde like this fella's) Outline eyes with black liner as well.  This will need to be pretty heavy, err on the side of over doing it. Draw lines straight down from the corners of the smile to make a hinged mouth.  Add a few little dimpley lines around that smile for dimension.  Use the brown eye shadow to create some contour on the nose by shading both sides of the bridge of the nose just bit so that its not just glaring white.  Also shade the chin to show a little change in color so that he doesn't look as if he's all one piece.  Last, slick that hair down so it looks plastic. We just used gel and water and combed it. Nothing crazy.
You can do this on a girl and go a little more drastic - I'll show you that another day. Sit tight.

Bringing up the Rear...

And now, for the third and final round of "what to do with 7 lbs of crock pot pork", I bring you tamales. 

I was once afraid of tamales. This may have been the result of watching some of my friends prepare tamales dulces.  The process was so intimidating to me at the time that I was resigned to always buy my tamales rather than sacrifice hours and hours of my time to prepare them myself.   (an unfair time estimate on my part)
I don't remember what happened, exactly, but I decided to try my hand in this tamale making business. It wasn't nearly as awful as I had psyched myself up to believing it would be.  In fact, it was fairly simple and the most time consuming part is the steaming part, which I didn't have to be all that involved in. 
This doesn't take a huge amount of pork, so that's good, since this is the end of the prepared portion in this little series.  You might, possibly, want to hire an assistant as this is much quicker with two people.  I have done it alone and its totally do-able, but more fun with two people.

Pork Tamales
what you need: stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or hand mixer), medium sized sauce pan, large stock pot fitted with a steaming basket and lid, two spoons per person, large mixing bowl

Corn Husks-- to prepare your corn husks (which you can get a pretty much any grocery store in the fresh produce section), place about 30 corn husks in a large mixing bowl with very hot water and allow to soak to soften. (you will want a few extra because some of them will be wonky in size or shape and those just will not do).

Pork Filling-- Lucky for you, this is mostly already prepared. Warm the pork up in a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat (or even in the microwave if you must)  Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground red pepper, 1 teaspoon of cumin, 1 teaspoon salt and stir occasionally for 10-15 minutes on the stove top or 2 minutes in the microwave, just until warmed through and easy to deal with.

Masa-- This is where you will want a mixer. In a large bowl, place 4 Cups of Masa Harina(available at your grocery store near the flour), 1 1/3 Cup lard, 1 teaspoon salt, splash of beef broth and mix 2 minutes until the mixture is well incorporated and a little fluffy

 

You are now ready to prepare the tamales!  Pour enough water to make about 2 inches of water in the bottom of your stock pot that is fitted with a steamer basket.  Start heating the water over medium high heat. Drain the corn husks and pat dry.  Use spoons to transfer about two tablespoons of masa to the corn husk smoothing over the entire corn husk.  Add a bit of the pork to the bed of masa (totally up to you how much meat you like in your tamales, just make sure you have enough to make as many tamales as you want!) Now fold one side of the corn husk over and press down to make the masa stick to only one side - you won't be able to see the pork anymore at this point. It should be tucked away inside.  Wrap the side of the corn husk around the masa -like a blanket - and tuck the ends under.  Lay the husk-encompassed tamale in the steamer basket with the folded ends on the bottom so it doesn't come loose.  Repeat this with all of the mixture and husks at your fingertips.  Cover the pot once the tamales are all in and let them steam for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. 

Removing these tamales should be done with care as they will be piping hot.  Let them cool a few minutes outside of the steamer and unwrap to enjoy. 

butt...butt...

As we continue our discussion about the loveliness of pork butt, I would like to introduce you to a spicy sandwich that will totally make your skirt fly up. (unless you're a man. then, probably the skirt part doesn't apply. usually. ahem.)
Anyway, I use the pork left over from the street taco meat for this - you can really prepare these dishes in any order, just divide the big 7 pound portion of pork into three smaller portions when its finished cooking to make it easier to manage.
I'm not a big sandwich eater. I don't know why.  Maybe because bread seems cumbersome to me.  For that reason, sandwiches from my kitchen are few and far between. 
I whipped these babies up one night and they were a big hit, and super easy since my pork was already cooked.  My son likes spice. He would eat spicy food every day of his life if it were available to him.  In his honor, I have added some roasted jalapenos to these sandwiches, but you can leave them off if peppers offend you in some way.

Spicy BBQ Pork Sammies
what you need: medium sauce pan, medium sized skillet, cookie sheet lined with foil, plastic bag (Ziploc or grocery-either one works), oven on broil or open flame, whichever you feel more comfortable with

2 cups prepared pork butt, click here for the recipe
4-6 hamburger buns (or hoagies, if you want)
6 jalapenos
1 medium white onion, sliced
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 jar of your favorite bbq sauce (about 6 oz)
1 cup shredded cheddar (or more if you love cheese)

Over medium heat, warm up the pork and bbq sauce in a sauce pan stirring occasionally. 
Place the jalapenos on the lined cookie sheet and roast them under the broiler (or over the open flame, if you like that sort of thing). You will have to turn them over every few minutes so that all of the skin gets black and they sort of start to puff up. You want them to be almost totally black before you pull them out of there. While they are still piping hot, toss them in a plastic bag and seal it shut so they can sweat their skin off. (delightful imagery here)
While the peppers are sweating, slice up your onion. After a few minutes,  grab the peppers and run them under cold water. Their skin should peel off pretty easily now. **if you want to use gloves, that may not be a bad idea. if you choose to not wear gloves, wash your hands really well when you are done with the peppers and never ever rub your eyes again**  remove the stems and seeds (or leave the seeds if you're brave) from the peppers and slice them into pretty big pieces to add to the onions with a  tablespoon or so of butter.  Toss them in a skillet over medium high heat.   Let the onions get translucent, at least - brown is even better. 
Remove the foil lining from your cookie sheet.  Separate bun tops from bun bottoms and place them on the cookie sheet  so they can get a little toasty.   Assuming your oven is still on broil, this should only take a few minutes.-I like the buns just toasted, barely browned, just so they don't get soggy when I add all the toppings.    Assemble in this way, if you want to be like me: bun, pork, onions, peppers, cheese, bun.  I won't be mad if you want to add a little sauce on top if that's what you need to do. Y.U.M. 

What? A Crock?

For various and sundry reasons which change from day to day, I will rely heavily on my slow cooker from now until February.  I use that ceramic culinary colleague consistently, come cooler climate.
 (be impressed)
Especially when I'm busy with important things like decorating for holidays, shopping for gifts, carving pumpkins, throwing a football, (thinking about) raking leaves, wrapping up in a blanket by the fire, and other such important things, I like to start the slow cooker and go on about my day.

Pork shoulder/pork butt has become a frequent flyer around here.  Why, you ask? Well, for me, one pork shoulder can provide multiple meals for my family of four.  In fact, I get three totally different dishes from this lovely piggy.  -And because its so stinking delicious, of course. Today we will discuss pork street tacos.  I can't really tell you how much I love these.  Street tacos are a staple in my life and I might starve without them.

 

Pork Tacos
what you need: slow cooker, sharp knife, food chopper/processer, two forks for shredding meat, medium sized skillet

7-ish Pounds Pork Shoulder (sometimes called Pork Butt. same same.)
1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1 teaspoon Chili Powder
1 Tablespoons Salt
4 Cloves Garlic
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Splash of White Wine Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
2 Onions, (1 for the chopper, 1 finely diced for topping)
soft corn tortillas
1 bunch cilantro, chopped

With your sharp knife, trim the fat from the pork.  Toss spices, olive oil, garlic, one onion, sugar and vinegar in to the food processer/chopper.  Whirl them around for 10 seconds or so to make a paste for rubbing on the meat.  -then rub it on the meat. Make sure you get in the folds, on top, underneath, on all sides.  This is something you will probably want to do while the meat is resting in the bowl of the slow cooker because its pretty messy. Add 1 1/2 cups of water to the bowl with the pork and turn the slow cooker on high for about 4 hours.  When the meat is fork tender and shreds easily, pull it apart with two forks and let it set in the juices (turning heat to low) until you are ready to serve.   Enjoy these tacos on corn tortillas dressed with chopped cilantro and diced onions.  *You will want to warm your tortillas in a skillet over medium heat -or even in the microwave if you see fit, but if you choose the microwave method, make sure to add a damp paper towel in with the tortillas while they heat so they don't just crumble in pieces.
You will have  A LOT of pork left. Separate the pork into two containers to be transferred to the fridge or freezer for later when you will prepare barbeque pork sandwiches and tamales at a later date.

October!

Welcome to October! 
Welcome to cozy evenings
Welcome to costumes
Welcome to cider
Welcome to falling leaves
Welcome to pumpkin everything
Welcome to apple pie
Welcome to sweaters and boots
Welcome to beautiful October.

watch for autumn inspired goodies and spooky treats as well as some great HOT DISH features and maybe a little venture into hair and makeup for all you Halloween Hotties.  I'm excited - and that says a lot since its Monday!

HOT DISH Steven Charles

There’s this guy I know.  I’ve known him my whole life.  I haven’t always liked him very much.  When we were younger, we exchanged a lot of “I hate yous” as brothers and sisters are wont to do. (a glowing intro, yes?) 

My baby brother, Steven Charles is now one of my most trusted friends, mentors, advisors.  I had the privilege of living across the street from him for a few years, and I have never had a better neighbor.  He was a work-from-home-dad when I was a stay-at-home-mom and I am positive that he was exactly what I needed to survive those crazy years as mom of two toddlers.  He is strong and level headed and smart and simply amazing.   (Its clear that I’m not alone in feeling this way, as he was named one of Oklahoma City’s “Top 40 Under 40” last year.)  

On the homefront, Steven has been married to Kinsey Charles for ALMOST 10 years! -also a very proud daddy of a 6 year old creative and brilliant girl named Davie.

When we discussed his hobbies, he happily included “sock dodgeball in the living room with my daughter Davie,” among the other more expected hobbies of rock climbing, cycling, golf and guitar strumming.  (notice dancing was not included. )

In the professional world, Steven’s capacity to be creative and focused as well as direct and sensitive make him an amazing leader as Executive Director of Rocktown Youth Mentoring.  Regarding his job, Steven says, “I have a great job serving youth. The company I work for provides youth with mentoring and adventure. I am lucky enough to have a job I love that I hope makes the world a better place.”

Someone asked me recently, “How do you get a kid to understand their actions and think through the consequences?”  My quick and easy (honest) answer, “Call Steven.”  He is so patient with kids and has a way of teaching them their full potential without them even knowing that they are being taught.  

Lots of kids out there need positive people in their lives.  The program at Rocktown is a great place for them.  I encourage you to learn more. Do more.  And then, go take a hike.  Go climb a rock.

Eggggg-xactly

When I woke up too late to make it to church on Sunday, I wasn't sad at all.  I've face multiple nights of insufficient rest, and I was glad to see 9:46 on my clock.   The problem (for some) was that I also slept too late to make breakfast.  Luckily, my children found a few donuts left over from the day before to snack on.  (which may have been part of the reason I got to sleep longer, come to think of it.)  I was ready for a hardy meal, and knew exactly what I wanted.  Breakfast Casserole. I ran through the recipe in my head, and I knew that I had all of the ingredients.  I be-bopped my bleary eyed self in to the kitchen to mix it up, and was disappointed to find that the sausage was frozen.  "No problem," I thought, "I will de-frost it in the microwave." OR NOT. There are little metal clippies on the ends of breakfast sausage to hold the meat in securely.  Metal bits should not be microwaved.  (Enter Husband) 
"Stink." I say.  "What?" he says. "Frozen," I say. "I'll be back," he says.  "Thanks," I say.  It is handy to have a grocery store less than a mile from my house in times like these.  I am thankful.  Husband returned quickly (because he was hungry) and I started frying sausage. 
Then my stomach turned. "UGH. Gross," I say.  "What?" he says.  "Smell," I say. "Ew." he says. "That's bad." we agree.  --back to the store he goes.
Now that its 11am, I decide this should be Brunch Casserole.  The second third pound of sausage fried up beautifully and I created this happy dish of deliciousness for my family.   My daughter even said it was one of the best things I have ever made.   Go make it. -and don't worry about whether you will know if the sausage is good or not, you will know.  If the smell makes you feel pukey, don't eat it.  -that's a good rule to live by, in my estimation.

 

Breakfast Casserole

What you'll need: medium skillet, mixing bowl, fork (or whisk), 9x13 casserole dish, 375 oven

6 large eggs
1 pound mild breakfast sausage
1 Cup milk
10 slices of bread
2 Cups shredded cheddar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3/4 teaspoon dry ground mustard

In a mixing bowl, beat the 6 eggs. Add milk and cheddar and stir around to distribute evenly.  Cut the bread slices into small pieces ( I cut like this #) drop them in the egg mixture and stir to coat.  Let them rest in there while you fry up the sausage.  In a medium sized skillet, over medium high heat, fry the sausage breaking it up pretty fine and stirring every few minutes. When it is all brown (8-10 minutes) rinse it in cold water and drain all of the grease off. You may have to do this twice. -and it will cool the sausage down so that it doesn't cook your eggs when you add it to the mixture that's soaking over in the mixing bowl.  I like to add my seasoning to the sausage at this point, I don't know that it matters, as long as you get salt, pepper and mustard all in the mix.  Spray your casserole dish with non-stick spray and transfer the contents of the mixing bowl to the casserole dish and bake it 45 minutes in your 375 oven.

**variation: if you do not like sausage, you can replace the sausage portion with 2 Cups of spinach and 2 tablespoons of basil.  I like this option, but the carnivores in my house are not so moved by it.

** yes, you can make this the night before. However, if you keep it in your fridge over night, it will take a lot longer to bake.  I suggest frying the sausage the night before, and mixing up the rest when you are ready to bake it. The mixing up part only takes a few minutes anyway