Sarchix Finds

I do like to cook, but only when I have time and not someone either saying “Mom, what’s for dinner?” or “Ewwww, we’re having that for Dinner?”

Over at WiseBread, I have found 3 really easy (and inexpensive) dishes that will be sure to make the family happy or at least not make faces at me when I tell them what we are having.

I plan on trying out each recipe with only minor modifications to suit the family’s various tastes.  Each sounds simple enough and for the most part I either have the herb/spices on hand or need to pick them up anyway.  There is nothing too exotic in any of these recipes but I’m sure if you hate something, it could either be eliminated or substituted.  For those who are vegetarians, I’m sure it would be easy to substitute the protein in the first two with something like tofu or beans and still by WAY yummy!

WiseBread – 3 Easy (and Cheap Dishes)

This is the real stuff!

I found a treasure.  Lehigh Valley Farms – Long an East Coast purveyor of plain old mik  – has a new product called Over the Moon.  This is skim milk – you know that watery bluish-grey-white liquid to avoid.  But this stuff mouths like whole milk!

Creamy, solid tasting and NO Fat. (They have a version that is 1%, but why bother?)  My grandkids drink it like they were fish.  We got it just to give it a try, and were amazed.  How often do you get a product thinking, “Well, maybe it is ok, but its healthy”, then find that it is better then you ever hoped.

Yesterday afternoon we discovered a strange property of this stuff.  We tossed the leftover morning coffee, some ice cubes, and some of this stuff into a blender, and let ‘er rip!  What we got was something that looked like a badly poured Guinness Stout, that took about as long to settle out.  After about 3 or 4 minutes of settling  it started to look like a real Guinness, but boy did it taste different.  We had also put in the end of a bottle of “Thrilla Vanilla”, but you probably would do better with Jamiesons.  Except that it tasted so good, it would be an interesting April fools joke.

So overall, it is really tasty, good for you, and has surprising properties.  Better yet, there is a $1 off coupon here.

My kids love it when I get funky with their food.  They are huge fans when I make “squidapusses” (hot dog cut to look like a octopus) and when I saw this over at Plum Pudding, I’m sure I’ll be making this over the weekend.

Sure it looks funny but that’s half the idea!

Like making “squidapusses” the creativity occurs before the hot dog is cooked.

Head over to Plum Pudding to see how it’s done.

Plum Pudding – Spaghetti Dog

I love basil!  It is my favorite herb but I don’t seem to ever be able to use up the whole clump that they sell at the grocery store.  I really dislike using the dried stuff because I know the fresh stuff is just so much better.  In addition to the traditional uses for basil, i.e. anything Italian, I like to use it in pressed sandwiches that are a hit in the summer with my whole family.

I’ve tried to grow basil, from seed, and failed miserably.  I’ve tried it from plant from Home Depot to similar results.

The thing is, I didn’t follow any directions or guidance.

Now that Chez Larsson has published a SUPER easy way to not kill a basil plant makes me feel confident in trying again.  Even better, I can pick up the plant at the grocery store and not another trip to Home Depot or some garden store.

Nice and easy steps and the cool thing is, I can do this in my kitchen and just snip off what I need and then more will continue to grow in its place.  I can’t wait to have fresh basil on my pasta and home made pizzas!

I know it won’t last forever but if I can not kill it AND get 4-6 months out of it, then I consider this one for the win column.

Chez Larsson – Grow your own basil

I’ve been thinking of starting a garden.  My Mom always had one growing up and I remember being stuck eating way too much zucchini.  There were the fond memories of eating peas right off the vine and always enjoyed watching the morning glories appear in the morning then disappear in the PM.  It wasn’t until I became an adult that I understood why we composted in the garden although I remember helping bury coffee grounds and egg shells.

The Seattle Time have written an article on how to grow potatoes without using vast amounts of land.  They claim that at the end of the growing season, you can end up with about 100 lbs. of potatoes!  I don’t know about you but I love potatoes, all kinds.  This is so tempting to try out and the directions make me itch to seek out my power tools and run to Home Depot for wood and dirt.  Sure this year might mean some bigger costs, but as long as the wood doesn’t rot or get super icky, its reusable for many years to come.  They do say not to re-use the same dirt to grow potatoes in back to back years but that just gives me dirt for a raised bed near by.

I really hope this is as easy as it say it is because having 100 lbs of potatoes sounds like a long winter of potato fun in my house!

The Seattle Times – Grow your own Potatoes

By now, you’re probably sick of all the leftovers from Easter.  One can only have so many ham sandwiches with a side of sweet potato before you got batty.

Candy is something different.  If allowed, the kids would have eaten all the candy by now.  We’re trying our best to limit how much candy they actually eat, so we should still have some come the end of the summer.

My downfall has to be the Peeps.

I can polish off an entire 12 pack of those little marshmallow treats with out even thinking.  Every once in a while, my Dad will place a box of them on my desk at work.

Enough about my little Peep obsession and onto today’s find.

As you can see in the picture, the idea is to use the Peep as the marshmallow in a s’more, thus making what the creation calls a S’meep. How brilliant is that!  I love that the color really seems to stay intact during the heating process.

This is going to be so oohey-gooey and I’m sure my youngest will be a royal mess after eating one of these, but what a great little treat to make up.  If I have my way, we will be “testing” this one out tonight.

Note: This week is also “Peeps Week” over at Serious Eats.

Serious Eats – S’meeps

This was just too funny to not post.

Here’s another use for leftover Easter candy.

The Candy Turducken!

Enjoy

I don’t know what it is but I have a thing for decorated eggs.  I’m not talking about the super fancy ones,  but the hand crafted ones, like my Great Aunt Anna used to make.  My daughter is a bit of a magpie and loves all things shiny.  When I found these two sets of instructions for eggs and I couldn’t resist.

Kristen over at DomesticFluff.com has a nifty way to decorate eggs with polka dots and glitter.

The best thing is, she has come up with a more kid-safe/less sparkly method of doing this too!  I don’t know about you, but I would rather not have glitter in my egg salad.  I’ll keep the secret on how she does this but it is brilliant!

Now, if you are looking for the ultimate “bling” for your eggs, Lumpy Page Designs, has topped the charts.  I’ll just post the pic and let you read how she did this.  Granted , the egg is blown so this is NOT a project for a hard boiled egg.

How fabulous would that look as a centerpiece?  And the hardest part of the whole thing is probably waiting for it to dry!

Hoppy Easter Everyone!

Domestic Fluff – Sparkly Dot Eggs

Lupmp Page Designs – Glitter Eggs

We’ve all been to a holiday event like Christmas or Thanksgiving and there is so much left over pie that the host has to give some away or else they will be eating pie for the next month.

Instead of putting it on a paper plate and putting plastic wrap all over it (and it getting smooshed on the way home or having pie crumbs in your car), Martha Stewart has a template for carrying pie.  Print it out on heavy weight paper, fold and glue (or tape) and voila, instant pie carrier.  Martha suggests lining it with parchment paper before adding the slice of pie.

The edge is really cute with the scallops but this could also be a straight edge if you prefer.

Want a lid?  Make a second one and put in on like you would a shirt box.

This is easy enough that the older kids could help with assembly and any age kids could certainly help with the decorations.

Martha Stewart – A Slice to Go

With the clock ticking for school to let the kids out for the winter break and the crafting time getting shorter and shorter, the need for a quick gift is needed.

I saw this little gift over at Speckled Egg that is just so cute and easy (and quick) to make for when you realized the night before that you forgot something for the teacher’s assistant or the school nurse. (Always give gifts to the school nurse).

These marshmallow snowmen are made of marshmallows, a long lollipop stick and white chocolate and just too cute.  If I had seen this two weeks ago, the kids and I would have been making a whole fleet of these guys.