Power Blueberry Muffins

Another Pinterest find!  Blueberry muffins made with Greek yogurt and oatmeal.

I did make one change and have one recommendation....
Instead of 4tbls butter, I used 2tbls butter and 2tbls olive oil.  I really like the taste olive oil adds to baked goods.
The recipe recommends Chobani Greek yogurt.... I did a Greek yogurt taste test and Chobani is by far the worst Greek yogurt on the market.  To me it is very grainy, resulting is a awful texture.  In my opinion, Fage is the BEST Greek yogurt on the market.  I like the plain yogurt and also the added fruit cups for breakfast after bootcamp.  So, in conclusion (rambling...) just pick your favorite Greek yogurt to use.  And it if you haven't tried Fage, get to your grocery store!!

Enjoy!
ELH

Spring Pinterest Challege - Curtains!

The stars aligned again for me to participate again in the YHL and Bower Power Spring Pinterest Challenge!  No sew Ikea - grosgrain Pottery Barn inspired curtains!

Our office was in need of some curtains and I wanted to get it done before my parents visit this past weekend.

Before

Before

I did try a few premade options from the new Threshold collection at Target (in blue and in navy), but they were too busy with the rug.

I had pinned these curtains from Pottery Barn and Etsy, but they were too pricy and not the right colors.  I do love me some grosgrain ribbon!  And this pin came up in my feed - View Along the Way blog and was sold on DIYing my own curtains!

I started out with Ritva curtains from Ikea ($25 for 2 panels in creamy/off white) and curtain rods from Home Depot ($25 each in brushed copper - matches the new door knobs) and jade grosgrain ribbon from The Hair Bow center ($14/50yds).  I hadn't picked a ribbon pattern yet, so I thought more was better.  And I would need to repeat the pattern 4 times = lots of ribbon!

The windows are close to the wall and having 2 full panels, was too much curtain, so I cut each panel in half and hemmed the bottoms.

1st - pin the curtains in half

2nd - Iron the curtains in half - helps with cutting a straight line!

3rd - I used the lines on my ironing board cover to get a straight, matching hem with iron hem tape!

4th - Finish the bottom hem!

I decided that since I wouldn't be able to get horizontal ribbon even between each panel and it would continually annoy me every time I saw it, I would stick with just vertical lines. 

I used one width of ribbon as a guide for the actual ribbon and more of hem tape later (I had some hem tape already, but had to buy more, so I would guess that I used ~$10 of hem tape), and I was done!

I love how they came out and how the room is coming together!  

Enjoy some more after shots - 

For ~$100 I was able to DIY my own curtains and I love the look.
Hope you enjoy it too!
-ELH

Pinterest Challenge!

Challenge!!

I love reading Young House Love and Bower Power.  I love pinning ideas to Pinterest and have made/bought a few things.  I am not a very crafty person or craft on a regular basis, so having the stars align with needing to make a new appetizer for an Oscar party and the Pinterest Challenge - Winter Version was amazing!

Not sure making a recipe necessarily counts, but it counts for me!

At Christmas, I decide to try my hand at Green Chile Pepper Jelly.  Sadly, I didn't take any pictures of the jelly, but it seemed to be a hit with my in-laws!  We ate most of it with homemade bagels and cream cheese on "H-family Christmas Morning" (Christmas is celebrated the Saturday before, so we can all visit our other in-laws - brilliant idea!)

This is the recipe I used - the hardest part was the canning, since some cans needed to be redone.  I just followed the canning directions included with the pectin.

Makes 6 half-pints of jelly
6 fresh green chilies
6 cups of sugar
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
cheesecloth
6 oz. liquid pectin
6 drops of green food coloring
1.  Wash and mince chilies. Combine chilies, sugar, and vinegar in a large saucepan or kettle and boil mixture at high heat for 5 minutes.
2.  Pour boiled mixture through cheesecloth to remove seeds.  Return the mixture to saucepan or kettle.
3.  Add pectin and food coloring to mixture and boil for 1 minute.  Skim off any foam that may have formed.
4.  Pour mixture into hot, sterilized, half-pint canning jars. Seal according to manufacturer's directions.
5.  Process jars in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.  Test seal when cooled.

I had some jelly leftover that needs to be eaten soon, so I decided to make crackers.  Specifically, Cheese Wafers with Pepper Jelly, thanks to Pinterest and Better Homes and Gardens.
The recipe was pretty simple.  

Dough after sitting in the fridge for ~4hrs.

I used a mixture of extra sharp cheddar and sharp cheddar (of course purchased in a block and shredded in my KitchenAid food processor.) and did everything with a food processor.

The brown ones in the corner were too thin and got crispy!

The crackers and jelly were a hit at the Oscar party and I took the leftovers to work on Monday.  
My only comment is to cut the recipe in half.  80 wafers is too much!

Maybe for the next Pinterest Challenge I'll do something more crafty!
Enjoy!
ELH    
 

New Years Eve dinner

One of my besties and her family were in town for a wedding, so they stayed a few extra days to hang out with us!!
It was a wonderful time.
We decided to stay in the for the evening, since one of our visitors was a 5month old cutie!

I've had Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol 1 & 2 for a few years, but haven't made anything.  New Years Eve seemed like the perfect time!

Everyone napping while I cook!

I made boeuf bourguignon with mushrooms and onions.  I also made garlic mashed potatoes and G made tomato, cucumber, red onion salad with a pomegranate vinaigrette dressing.

 As an appetizer, I also made these baked cheese bites (found on pinterest) but with goat cheese and homemade green chile jelly! (without the sticks)

Dinner was a hit! and everything was tasty (or so I was told.  I don't eat red meat or pork, so no bourguignon for me!)

Pottery Barn Reindeer table setting.

It only took a few years to get the whole collection!  Love it!

Dessert was pretty difficult :)  A variety of single size ice creams with a few rousing games of rummikub!

We rung in the New Year with Gruet champagne and flipping between Ryan Seacrest and Carson Daly.  Fun times!
It was a wonderful way to ring in 2013!
Hope you had a great New Years and are having a great 2013.
ELH

Detox - Update

Pinterest Fail!!

I might have to submit this to The Pintester.

I was very excited to try the detox bath I saw on pinterest last night to help with the swelling in my foot and in general my overall health.
I drew the bath added some bubble bath, the H2O2, and ground ginger.  I think the H2O2 prevented the bubbles from forming and the ginger turned the water yellow/brown.  Pretty ugly!
It was a nice to soak in the hot water and read magazines. 

I am going to stick with epsom salt and bubble bath in the future.
Enjoy!
ELH

Detox

All over pinterest are great ideas for different detox regimes.
I don't think I need a major detox, but drinking more water infused with lemon and mint and taking a bath seem right up my alley!

I think I am going to try this Natural Cure for a Common Cold bath on Thursday.  I don't have a cold, but my left ankle is swollen!  I am not sure if it has been swollen since the surgery.  I just noticed it last night and it is pretty bad.  Thursday is the day my Dr. gave me the okay to take a bath and start putting lotion on my foot!  I have been putting arnica cream and peppermint cooling leg gel from The Body Shop on my left leg.  It feels good.  Hopefully, I can get this swelling thing under control.

On another note, this weekend was pretty crafty!  I finished my baby blanket for G's cousin's boy and started on my storage solution for all my ribbons.

Hope you had a great weekend!
-ELH