October 31, 2012 By headchef
Happy Halloween! This year Halloween has been super busy. We attended a variety of parties that all required costumes. Our crazy elementary school celebrated Halloween last Friday and are ignoring the holiday today and having a regular day. Good luck with that teachers! Party or not the kids are excited about tonight so they will have a lot more energy in class.
It seems the day after Halloween I am thinking about Christmas. So many things to plan and prepare which I like to have done early in December. I’ve already had a request from Grandparents to update our family photo. I admit it is a couple years old. I have had pictures taken, but never printed any of them. It has been on my long “to do” list. Canvas prints are very popular and the ones I have seen look amazing. I had the opportunity to get an 8×10 wrapped canvas print from Printcopia.
I did find their website easy to navigate. I love that the for each option you are given there is a drop down menu with the available choices and prices. I like to know how much everything will be along the way and this site is great at making that information available and clear.
You are able to upload a picture or pull a picture from Instagram or Facebook. The only problem I had in designing was when I was trying to get the picture exactly how I wanted it on the canvas. I wanted the canvas to be vertical, as my picture was vertical. I could not find an option to flip the picture. After trying for quite a while I decided I was either missing something right in front of my face, or the option to flip the picture is not available. I decided to take my picture into a photo editing program and change the dimensions and orientation, save it and then upload it again. This time it worked very easily. I uploaded the picture and I was able to choose how I wanted the canvas wrapped and other options very easily. If I would have uploaded a horizontal picture the first time it would have taken me 5 minutes to order a the canvas print. Wouldn’t it be great to only spend 5 minutes on every christmas present!
When my canvas print arrived in the mail I was anxious to see how it looked. I opened the carefully wrapped package. First was to open the box, then remove the paper wrapped a few times around and then a plastic bag keeping the canvas print safe. I love opening packages like this! I am very happy with the quality of the product. Shipping takes two to three weeks so make sure you plan ahead and order early if you have a deadline.
Our friends at Princopia has offered to give one of my readers an 8×10 canvas print. You will be able to take one of your favorite photos and turn it into a work of art. All you need to do is use the Rafflecopter easy entry form to enter the giveaway. Printcopia will only ship to the US and Canada.
Printcopia has sister sites that works in a similar manner and produces car magnets, custom banners and cheap signs. I have no personal experience with any of these sister sites.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
October 29, 2012 By headchef
One of our new favorite flavors is sage. We love it on pork chops and we love the sage in Crostini Alla Romana. This Butter and Sage pasta sauce recipe sounded promising so we were excited to try it. Quick sauces are wonderful! The butter was melted in a saucepan.
After the butter changes color to a light brown color the sage leaves were added and the heat was turned off. Next the lemon juice was added and the sauce was set aside until the pasta was ready. Super quick and easy!
After the pasta was finished, it was mostly drained and then combined with the sauce. Dinner was served with Herbed Garlic Bread. While the pasta may look pretty, it was lacking in flavor. The recipe didn’t explain exactly how much pasta to cook with this sauce. Therein lies the problem. Little Chef A said, “I thought this was supposed to have flavor.” Little Chef C said, “I thought this was going to taste good, then I tasted it and wow I couldn’t taste anything.” This recipe was unsuccessful, but we still love the sage flavor and would like another attempt, doubling the sauce of course.
Update: I doubled the sauce and we all enjoyed it SO much better. It actually had flavor!
Butter and Sage Sauce
Mario Batali
IngredientsPasta, of choice4 Tablespoons butter 8 sage leaves1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
DirectionsWhile your pasta cooks, melt butter in a 12 to 14 inch saute pan and continue cooking until golden brown color (“noisette”) appears in the thinnest liquid of the butter. Add sage leaves and remove from heat. Add lemon juice and set aside. Drain the pasta, but leaving some cooking water, and gently pour into saute pan and return to heat. Add the cheese, toss to coat and serve immediately.
Serves 4
October 26, 2012 By headchef
Pigs in a Blanket is not a new recipe but we have never made them. This recipe perfect for my Little Chefs. Store bought crescent rolls were cut into thirds. Little Chef A cut them in all different shapes and sizes trying her hardest to make thirds.
Each third were brushed with dijon mustard then rolled in a cocktail frank. Some were rolled tighter then others but none of them unrolled so we were good. We decided it would be easier to brush the dough right after rolling out before cutting.
Just before putting them in the oven they were brushed with an egg.
They came out golden brown looking great! This was one of those meals my Little Chefs ate quickly without complaints, even my youngest! We had intended on making the dipping sauce but we did not have any sour cream in the house. How is that possible?! That’s ok, ketchup and mustard worked as a great dipping sauce!
Neely’s Pigs in a Blanket
The Neelys
Ingredients1 (8-ounce) can original crescent dough1/4 cup Dijon mustard20 mini hot dogs or cocktail franks1 egg, lightly beatednPoppy seeds or sesame seeds
Tangy Dipping Sauce, recipe follows
DirectionsPreheat the oven to 350 degrees F.Cut each triangle of crescent roll dough into thirds lengthwise, making 3 small strips from each roll.Brush the dough strips lightly with Dijon mustard. Put the mini hot dogs on 1 end of the dough and roll up.
Arrange them, seam side down, on a greased cookie sheet. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with poppy seeds or sesame seeds. Bake until golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Serve warm with the dipping sauce.
Tangy Dipping Sauce:1/2 cup sour cream1/2 cup mayonnaise3 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon whole-grain mustard.
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving. Can be made a day ahead.
October 25, 2012 By headchef
Welcome to Fantastic Thursday!
Thanks to all who linked up last week! Each of you help make this party successful!
Be sure to come back next week to see if you have been featured and to link up your latest creation!
I’d appreciate it if you would link up in some way; button or text link to this party to spread the word.
Let’s get the party started! I’m excited to see what you have to share!
Recipes are wonderful, but crafts and other ideas are also welcome!
Thanks so much for choosing to link up at Five Little Chefs!
‘);
October 24, 2012 By headchef
Sometimes we are looking for a quick and easy recipe. Herbed Garlic Bread from the Food Network Magazine promised to be just that. For once we didn’t need to make the bread! Little Chef D and H went shopping with me today to get a loaf of French Bread. After school Little Chef C melted the butter in a saucepan with olive oil and salt.
After a few minutes the chopped parsley was added.
The recipe says to pour some of the butter mixture in between each slice. We tried that with a couple slices but decided we wanted the entire slice buttered. We quickly decided to change to a brush. This worked so much better. A simple task a Little Chef could do with little or no help.
The bread came out smelling great. It tasted even better. We really enjoyed this recipe. This was easy enough to prepare. We will try this one again!
Herbed Garlic Bread
Food Network Magazine
Ingredients1 loaf Italian bread4 Tablespoons butter, melted1 Tablespoon olive oil 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
Directions
Slice a loaf of Italian bread, stopping short of the bottom so the loaf stays intact. Melt 4 Tablespoons butter with 1 Tablespoon olive oil; add 2 to 3 minced garlic cloves and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Stir in 2 Tablespoons chopped parsley. Spread the garlic mixture between the bread slices; wrap in foil and bake at 375 degrees F, 15 minutes. Unwrap and bake until crisp, 5 more minutes.
October 22, 2012 By headchef
The key to this recipe is in the heavy cream. About 30 minutes before you are ready to start the recipe put a bowl and your beaters in the refrigerator to cool. I have even put them in the freezer. The key to getting the heavy whipping cream to properly form peaks is to keep it as cold as you can. This means start with everything cold and work quickly. We poured the heavy whipping cream into the chilled bowl, used the chilled beaters and began. Its amazing how quickly the peaks will form. Once you have stiff peaks put it back in the refrigerator to keep cold.
You can now use the same beater to combine the cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth. You will want to beat it for a very long time. Keep tasting until you cannot taste any little pieces of cream cheese. Gently fold in the whipping cream and chill until you are ready to use.
I am not a big frosting fan, it is too sweet for me, but I did enjoy this recipe. I loved this with the Perfect Cupcake, from a box. This recipe is a definite keeper!
Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
allrecipes.com
Ingredients1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese1 cup white sugar or 1 3/4 cup powdered sugar1/8 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
Directions1. Use a chilled COLD bowl and beaters. Beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside. Do this step first especially if you are using the same beaters as in step 2. Chill until needed in step 2.
2. In another large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth. This will take a very long time. Keep taste testing until everything is well incorporated and you do not taste small pieces of the cream cheese. Fold in whipped cream. Chill frosting until ready to use.
October 19, 2012 By headchef
A while ago I saw a post on Tidy Mom about the perfect cupcake from a box mix. Our Tea Party was a perfect time to try out the recipe. We chose one of our favorite box mixes and ignored the directions on the box. Instead you will need 1/2 cup butter, 3 eggs and 1 cup water.
In a large bowl we melted the butter in the microwave. Then we added the cake mix, water and eggs. With a hand mixer mix on low for 1 minute then on high for 1 minute. I was very surprised at how thick the batter was.
Each time I make cupcakes I think I need to get one of those ice cream scoops because it is the right size of mix for each cup. However, I don’t make cupcakes very often and forget before making them again! That’s ok a spoon works well. It does make a mess especially when Little Chefs are helping. I am sure to wipe off the excess batter that is all over the pan.
After baking for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F the cupcakes are done! Let them cool completely before frosting. We were very surprised at how differently these cupcakes tasted. We really liked them and are going to make them again. Thanks Tidy Mom!
The Perfect Cupcake Recipe (using a mix)
Tidy Mom
Ingredients
- 1 box mix (any flavor*) – but get the good kind, Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker
- 3 Large Eggs
- 1/2 cup butter, melted (use butter not margarine….trust me on this!)
- 1 cup of water
Instructions
- Melt the butter in the microwave.
- Add cake mix, eggs and water to the butter in large bowl.
- Mix on low for 1 min. Then mix on high for 1 min.
- You will be amazed that your batter is nice and thick and creamy – not thin and runny like it is when you follow the box instructions.
- Fill cupcake papers – tip: use an icecream scooper! – One scoop is just the right amount per cupcake!
- Pop them in the oven on 350 for 20 minutes.
- Let cool.
October 18, 2012 By headchef
Welcome to Fantastic Thursday!
Thanks to all who linked up last week! Each of you help make this party successful!
Be sure to come back next week to see if you have been featured and to link up your latest creation!
I’d appreciate it if you would link up in some way; button or text link to this party to spread the word.
Let’s get the party started! I’m excited to see what you have to share!
Recipes are wonderful, but crafts and other ideas are also welcome!
Thanks so much for choosing to link up at Five Little Chefs!
‘);
October 17, 2012 By headchef
Here at Five Little Chefs we LOVE Flirty Aprons.
For the next three days, Flirty Aprons has 6 aprons available at 40% off.
The sale includes: Marilyn Sugar n’ Spice; Original Pink Chocolate; Original Blue Chocolate; Original Cocoa Lime; Original Sassy Red and Original Frosted Cupcake.
These are some of their best sellers of all time.
Visit the Flirty Aprons to see what is still available. These will sell out FAST!
CODE: flash40
Christmas is right around the corner. Check one person off that list and buy an apron at a discounted price!
Remember: The coupon code is only valid now until Friday at midnight Mountain time.
The coupon will NOT be valid on Saturday.
There is a limited supply for each style. When they are out they are out!
October 17, 2012 By headchef
We love to make cinnamon rolls for Christmas. When we saw Kelsey Nixon make Orange Rolls we knew we had to make them. We are confident in our bread making skills that was going to be the easy part. The Little Chefs are always surprised at how big the dough rises and how fluffy and beautiful it looks.
We did have one problem that turned into a major problem. We mixed twice the amount of zest and I’m certain we counted the right amount of juice. However, the filling was SO runny! It didn’t seem like a problem until we tried rolling it up. The filling did not stay in place it was pushed off.
We decided to put some of the filling on the bottom of the pan, place the rolls in the pan and then put the rest of the filling on the top of the rolls. It wouldn’t be inside very much, but it would be ON the rolls.
We put it in the oven and hoped for the best! When they were finished cooking we added the glaze and were ready to eat! The entire house smelled like homemade bread and sweet oranges. “This smell is making my mouth water” the Little Chefs kept repeating! The dough was great the orange on the top was great. There was not a lot of orange in the middle of the rolls as we suspected would happen. After taking a vote we decided we would love to make these again because we love the taste but also because we want to figure out where we went wrong. We need to learn from our mistakes!
Sweet Orange Rolls
Kelsey Nixon
Ingredients1 recipe Rapid Rolls, recipe followsFilling3/4 cup sugarZest and juice of 1 orange (4 Tablespoons juice)4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softenedOrange Glaze1 cup powdered (confectioners’) sugar
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Rapid Rolls3 (.25 ounce) packets active dry yeast = 1 1/2 Tablespoons1 3/4 cups warm water1/2 cup honey1/2 cup melted butter, plus more for brushing2 teaspoons salt, plus more for sprinkling2 large eggs, beaten
4 to 6 cups flour, plus more if needed
Directions
For the filling: After the dough comes together and has risen, on a well-floured surface, roll the dough out to a 15 by 11-inch rectangle. In a mixing bowl add sugar, 2 tablespoons orange juice, and 1/2 the orange zest.
Spread the softened unsalted butter over the dough leaving a 1/2-inch border. sprinkle orange sugar evenly over the dough. Starting with the long side, roll up dough tightly ending with the seam side down. Cut 18 slices each about 1/2-inch thick. Place in 2 (9 by 13-inch) greased baking dishes and cover with a kitchen towel. Allow the rolls to rise in a warm environment for an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until doubled in size.
Bake at 375 degrees F until the tops are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and brush tops with melted butter and cool on a cooling rack.
For the glaze: In a mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons orange juice, remaining zest, and softened butter. Spread the glaze over the warm rolls.