Upcycled

One of my favorite things are goods that have been upcycled.  Upcycling is the process of converting otherwise useless goods/materials into a new product. I am sure you have heard of it since it is a trend now. I went to the Virginia Christmas Market in Doswell, VA.  Many vendors had Christmas decor or gifts that would be great for Christmas.  Most are local to the area.  One vendor really caught my eye.

Company is called  Bottle Hood and she makes beer/wine/liqour bottles into drinking glasses.  She has other non-alcoholic bottles as well. By slicing off the top portion of the bottle and smoothing it out creates a lovely drinking glass. I got a kick out of it and I knew my husband would too. Such a great gift! I was going to wait to put this in his stocking, but I just had to show him. So neat!

She does local craft shows or you can contact her and come to her house. Her name is Tammy Mormando and email is tammy@bottlehood.com.

Apple Cinnamon Ornaments

YOU CANNOT EAT THESE! Also, this is what we started with, but added to the dough so no true measurements for this.  We started with this (approximately):

1 cup cinnamon
1/2 to 3/4 cup applesauce
1 tablespoon craft glue (that dries clear)
Christmas cookie cutters
1 drinking straw

Combine in bowl to make a dough.  Depending on the doughs wetness or dryness you will need to add either more cinnamon or more applesauce. Dust table with cinnamon and roll out dough with rolling pin. Place cookie cutters on dough and press firmly.  Roll out remaining dough and place cookie cutters on top. Repeat until dough is gone. We did this recipe three times to get a higher yield of ornaments. By the second time we did not even measure. Using the straw, make a hole at the top of each ornament so it can be hung with ribbon. Wait 24-48 hrs for them to harden.


Decorating:

Glitter paint in a variety of colors along with paint brushes
Old plate to put the paint on
Googly eyes, black beads, pearl beads, multi color beads
Craft glue
Paper towels
Cup with water to rinse brushes

Place an ornament on a paper towel and go to town! Set aside and wait 24-48 hours to dry.

Spray lacquer to set paint
Red and Green ribbon that is not too wide

Place ornaments on newspaper and take outside.  Use lacquer according to directions on the bottle.  Wait to dry and then thread with ribbon.  To store, use tissue paper.

 Have fun!

Beef Stew with Dinner Rolls

Beef Stew:

1.5 pounds stewing beef cut into pieces
3 cups beef broth
4 cups water
1 can (10.5 ounces) of condensed French Onion soup
1.5 ribs of celery, sliced
1/2 cup of chopped onion
2 medium carrots washed and sliced
3 medium red potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
3/4 cup canned corn or frozen
1/2 tsp ground cloves (or 6 whole cloves)
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 tablespoons flour mixed with 4 tablespoons of cold water

In a stockpot combine beef, broth, onion soup, water, celery, onion and all seasonings. Bring to a rolling boil. Turn heat back so it is at a simmer and then cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Cover and cook over low heat for about 45 to 60 minutes. Add carrots and potatoes and cook for 20 minutes more.  Add corn. Cover and cook for about 10-20 minutes. Combine the flour and water in a separate bowl. Stir into the stew mixture. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally for about 10 to 20 minutes, until thickened and flour is dissolved.

Dinner Rolls:

1 package quick-acting active dry yeast
1 1/3 cup milk, slightly warmed
3 cups flour 
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 tablespoon honey
coarse sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Dissolve yeast in warm milk and sugar in a big enough bowl to use an electric mixer.  Stir in 1 cup of the flour, oil, and salt.  Beat until smooth.  Stir in the remaining flour and beat again.  Cover and let rise in warm place until it double which is about 45 minutes. Punch dough down and fold a few times half way through rising time.

Spray muffin tins with cooking spray. Fill cups a little less than half way full. Melt butter in a microwave safe bowl and add honey.  Brush with butter and honey mixture. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Bake 12-15 minutes or until crust is a light golden brown. Remove from pan and serve!


When the stew was about 15 minutes from finishing up the first 45 minutes, I started the rolls.

The soup freezes well for about 4-6 months so long you put in an air tight container.

Chocolate Chip Pecan Bread

(makes 1 loaf)

My mom and grandmother requested this although I never made it before.  Very yummy and great with a cup of hot mint tea. 


2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil, plus 2 tablespoons
3/4 cup pecans (or almonds, walnuts), toasted
1/2 cup mini chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a loaf pan.  Spread pecans or the nut of your choice on a baking sheet and place in oven for 5-10 minutes.  Keep a close eye so they do not burn.  This will bring out the flavor of the nut. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  In a medium bowl combine the egg, milk, and oil.  Make a well in the flour mixture and add egg mixture all at once to the well.  Stir until moistened.  Fold in nuts and chocolate chips.  Pour into pan and bake for 50-55 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean .  Let cool before storing.

Pumpkin Walnut/Pecan Bread

(makes 2 loafs)

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup water
1/2 tsp vanilla

3 cups white sugar

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
(or 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice if you do not have all the spices. I used Penzy's Pumpkin Pie Spice)
1 cup walnuts or pecans
Handful of mini chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease baking pans. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and vanilla until well blended. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger (or pumpkin pie spice). Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Fold in walnuts/pecans. Pour into the prepared pans.  Sprinkle chocolate chips on top of the loafs if you desire. Lightly press them into the batter. Bake 50-55 minutes or until center comes out clean with a toothpick.

Steamed Shrimp and BBQ Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

Both are very yummy.  Will need two people for this recipe unless you are superwoman.  One manning the grill and one the steamer/kitchen.  

This is the second time doing these recipes.  The first time we did two pounds jumbo shrimp and did one pound for each recipe.  This time I had only bought a pound of jumbo shrimp and split the two recipes.  Divide up the shrimp.

Steamed Shrimp:

Keep the shell on.  You will need one 12 or 16oz beer to put in the bottom of the steamer.  If you are doing a half of a pound a 12 oz will be just fine.  I used Yuengling Lager.  Place shrimp in steamer basket and heavily coat with old bay seasoning.  Stir to turn shrimp and coat some more. Now, I adore old bay seasoning.  My philosophy for this recipe is just when you think you put enough on, add more.  The shrimp will steam for about 6-10 minutes or until pink.

BBQ Bacon Wrapped Shrimp:

Shell and devein shrimp.  Using a paring knife is the easiest way to devein the shrimp in my opinion.  Place on a plate and coat with a bbq rub.  You will want to semi-cook the bacon before wrapping the shrimp so it finishes at the same time as the shrimp.  You only need half of a piece of bacon to wrap one shrimp.  So count your shrimp and divide the number of pieces of bacon you will need.  Place the bacon on a plate and microwave for a minute and thirty seconds.  Cut in half and let cool a bit.  Wrap a half of a piece of bacon around each shrimp and secure with a toothpick.  Coat with more bbq rub.  Walk the plate out to your lovely helper so they can start grilling!  Place shrimp on grill and baste with your favorite bbq sauce.  Turn shrimp and baste.  Keep turning and basting til shrimp are pink.  May take about 6-10 minutes depending on grill.  

Remember: Rubbery shrimp is awful and overcooking is easy.  I would rather take one off prematurely and slightly break it open to check it then to overcook.  

We served this awesome dish with a side salad and home brewed iced tea.  

Saturday Adventure

My friends, Katelyn and Tiffany, embarked on an adventure to places we have never been in our own town.  First stop was the Bizarre Market which is made up of local artists who sells goods that have been re-purposed into something else.  A lot of neat stuff at decent prices. They are having another Bizarre Market November 20th at Quirk Gallery.  We then headed to the Clothes Rack on Cary Street.  It is a small thrift store sponsored by the junior league. I got a 1982 Southern Living Cook Book for $1!  Next stop was to several antique stores in Carytown, but my favorite stop was to Penzeys Spices.  All spices are fresh and quickly shipped to their warehouse where they dry and ground the spices/herbs by hand.  Many obscure/hard to find spices are here as well as new ones such as different seasoning salts or combinations of spices.  One of my favorite to smell was the Ceylon Cinnamon.  They had a fair amount of Central and South American inspired spices, which are by far my most favorite dishes to cook and consume.  I also had a lovely little chat with an employee about the awesomeness of fresh rosemary and how it is one herb we refuse to use in a dried form.  I am glad someone else feels so strongly about that as I do!

Another great thing about Penzeys is that all the recipes are from customers.  The company itself does not publish its own recipes whatsoever. Each recipe in the catalog has a story from a customer who sent it in. Very cool if you ask me. If you do not have a store near you (they have 49) then you can also purchase the spices/herbs online. But, it is fun to go in and smell all the rich herbs and spices and get some free recipes.