The Dish: Salted Toffee-Chocolate Squares

These are really good. I was a very good girl and only had a bit of these. Super easy to make. Martha made them recently on her show.

Salted Toffee-Chocolate Squares

• 12 graham crackers
• 1 bag (8 ounces) toffee bits
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped toasted natural almonds
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup (4 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, chopped, or chocolate chips
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place graham crackers in a single layer on sheet, edges touching. Sprinkle toffee bits and almonds over graham crackers.
2. In a small saucepan, bring sugar and butter to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat and cook at a rapid simmer, swirling pan occasionally, until mixture is syrupy, 2 minutes. Immediately pour over graham crackers. Bake until sugar topping is bubbling, 12 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate and salt over graham crackers. With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut into 2-inch squares. Let cool completely on sheet on a wire rack. (Store in an airtight container, up to 1 week.)

I think I'd change this up next time and make it much lighter/healthier by using less butter and less toffee.

The Dish: Cranberry Walnut Meringues

When I got married, one of my showers was hosted by my mom's best friend AH. She has been like an aunt to me my whole life and she throw a beautiful tea for me. At the shower, she served homemade meringues. I've always wanted to make them. So finally after 13 years, I've finally made some. They turned out great and will diffinently make these again and again. BTW, I substituted the walnut and cranberries for the the cherries and pecans in the recipe. I used a recipe out of Everyday Food. I love this magazine.

Craft Lab: Glitter Painted Christmas Tree

This crafter loves to glitter. So, when my crafting guru Martha Stewart featured a segment called Glitter Painting a couple weeks back, I had to try this out. I pondered on what to create for a few days, then inspiration hit. I traced a triangle in pencil on a 12 by 12 inch canvas, then I painted the background. Because our Holiday decor is not traditional, I went with a dove gray acrylic paint. I did two coats for great coverage. Then, I proceeded to brush the white triangle in the center with Mod Podge. Quickly, I sprinkled the triangle with Martha Stewart Crafts Tinsel Glitter. Next, I brushed more glue onto the background and sprinkled on some Crystal Fine Glitter. For the base of the tree, I used some Bronze Tinsel Glitter. I didn't get great coverage on the back ground so I reapplied the glue over all the back ground and reglittered. The ornaments on the tree are just some random dots created with the end of an unsharpened pencil. I did one color at a time using blues, pinks, and lavender. I'm really happy with the outcome and can't wait for my next glitter painting endeavor: a peace sign.

The Dish: Chicken Potpie

This is from Everyday Foods October 2009

4 TBSP unsalted butter
1 medium onion, cut into medium dice
1 large carrot, cut into medium dice
1/2 all purpose flour, plus more for work surface
course salt and ground pepper
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
3 cups cooked chicken, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup frozen peas ( used fresh green beans)
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thymes leaves
1 sheet frozen puff pastry thawed
1 large egg yolk

1. In medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and carrot and cook until onion softens, about 6 minutes. Add flour and 1/2 teaspoon of salt; cook stirring frequently, until mixture is pale golden, has a slightly nutty aroma, and is the texture of cooked oatmeal, about 5 minutes.
2. Whisking constantly, add broth. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens, about 8 minutes. Reduce to a simmer and cook 10 minutes. Sir in chicken, peas (or green beans) and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Pour into 2 quart casserole dish. Refrigerate until room temperature, about 20 minutes.
3. Preheat over to 375. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out pastry into 1/8 inch thickness. Place pastry on pie. Cut vent holes. Lightly beat one egg yolk and brush on top of pastry. Bake for an hour. Pastry should be golden brown and juices should be bubbling.


I've always wanted to make a pot pie. This was delish! It did take some time, but was totally worth it.

Halloween Decor ala Martha

My dear friend and neighbor is also a crafter. She made these last year and I just love them. You can find the directions over at Martha's web site. I'm going to put these on my to do list. They may be on there till next year! Thanks for sharing J.

The DISH:Turkey Meatloaf with Fontina and Mushrooms

Turkey Meatloaf with Fontina and Mushrooms

Serves 6

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 small leeks, white and light-green parts only, thinly sliced, washed, and dried thoroughly
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup cup shredded fontina cheese (4 ounces)
• 1 slice day-old bread, cubed
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage leaves
• 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey (93 percent lean)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Working in batches, cook mushrooms, stirring once or twice, until deep golden brown, about 5 minutes per batch. Season with salt and pepper; transfer to a large mixing bowl.
2. Return skillet to medium and add 1 tablespoon oil. Add leeks and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 4 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Add to bowl with mushrooms and let cool.
3. Add fontina, bread, egg, and sage to bowl and mix until thoroughly combined. Mix in turkey, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. On a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet, use your hands to form turkey mixture into a 10-inch loaf. Bake until cooked through, about 45 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

This is from EveryDay Foods mag Sept 2009

This recipe was delish! Super easy. I had never put cheese in a meatloaf, WOW!

Craft Lab: Mask Time

Our school is holding a mask contest for the students. Martha, just happened to teach us how to make a cool bird mask last week. Here's her tutorial. We adapted it a bit, we used the mask provided by the school. The most difficult part for my 5 year old was cutting the crepe paper with the pinking shears on one edge of the folded crepe paper. After that, it was smooth sailing. Our little chicken mask is adorable and my son was pretty excited he had made something so cool. Thanks, Martha!

Craft Lab: Glittered Spiders

I started this project a couple years back. Back, before Martha introduced her awesome line of glitter. So, I had to use some inferior plastic glitter I found at the craft store. I have also since learned the correct way to glitter objects ala Martha Stewart. I have had these spiders on my to do list for over two years, that's a long time for a crafter. I thought it would be best to tackle this project close to Halloween, procrastinate ensued. My fake plastic spiders are done!!!! I did this over a week ago and I still have black glitter all over my work station. The clean up is going to happen today, so I can move on to other spooky things.

Craft Lab- Molly's Lamp redo

My niece gave me this lamp to redo for her forever ago. I painted and decoupaged it with some Amy Butler paper, and thought I was done. The lamp sat on my craft counter for months. She asked me if I was done with it yet a couple weeks back. At the same time, I started to follow a fellow crafter's blog and she inspired me to add a little sparkle. Out came the Martha Stewart glitter and wow, what a difference. Of course, I love how it turned out.

Housekeeping

Periodically, I like to go through the whole house and organizes the spaces. I aim for one space a day, like cleaning out the junk drawer or linen closet. After watching the show Hoarders on A&E, I'm really inspired to get more order. I tackled the t-shirt section of my honey's closet. We're starting a new system, we used to hang them, now we fold them. Martha taught me how to fold them) I'm not sure how he's going to keep these new piles folded, but I'm hopeful.

Martha Stewart Crafts for Kids

On our recent camping trip, I pulled out this wonderful craft for the kiddies to make. I picked it up at Wal Mart in the Martha Crafts section, on sale awhile back. Super easy to make for my 4 and 6 year old. I can't wait to hear the fun shows they will come up with to accompany these cats and dogs.