Comfort Food

I considered calling this post "White Trash Dinner", since that's what I often call it....but I thought some people might be offended by that! 

This is one of those recipes/meals that when someone mentions it you revert back to living at home, family dinners and your mouth starts to water....well at least mine does.  I hope you'll enjoy one of my favourite comfort foods!

Daddy Lou's Monday Macaroni

aka White Trash Dinner

aka Home Made Chef Boyardi

You'll Need

1 onion

1 1/2 cups cubed cheddar or marble cheese

2 cups raw macaroni

1 cup cubed ham

1 can diced tomatoes

1 1/2 c water

salt & pepper

Chop onion and saute in margarine

Transfer onion to a casserole dish

 Add cubed cheese and ham

Pour in raw elbow macaroni

Add whole can of diced tomatoes.  Stir until mixed.

Pour in water and stir to ensure all ingredients are well mixed.  Salt and pepper can be added at this stage too!

Bake uncovered at 375 F for 65 minutes.  You can add buttered, crushed saltines if you like that kind of topping on a casserole.  I have never done that because I like the crispy top of the macaroni and cheese!

Serve hot with a side salad!

Linking up to

Sew Easy Pillow

Yes, I finally did it.   I set up my sewing machine and got to work.  Luckily it was incredibly easy since I had left the bobbin in from the last time I used it, and thankfully I was going to use white thread for this project!  There was very little cursing involved!

So as I mentioned I got these great tea towels for Christmas from friends of mine who live in Romford UK -except they are purple and red....NOT the colours of my kitchen!  I knew I wanted to do something with them-but what? The top floor of our townhouse has a great reading nook with a bookshelf, chaise and lamp and I thought that a purple and red Union Jack flag pillow would be the perfect addition, and potentially the start of a great decorating scheme....

Here's what I started with:

Isn't that tin adorbs....The tea towels were packed in there!

I took out the seams along the edges

so I had some extra space to make mistakes

After that long and ardous process I got sewing.  I bought a simple white mini bolt of fabric from walmart and used that for my backing.  I cut a piece larger than the flag, just incase.

Then I carefully pinned two sides together.

Then I got sewing! 

I used a simple straight stitch since my fabric didn't have a stretch and really I didn't need anything more fancy than that!

Once I had 3 sides sewn up I stuffed that sucker!

I used 2 of these bags to fill my pillow!  It's not over stuffed, because I kinda like squishy pillows.....I also underestimated how big the pillow really was, volume wise!

I probably should have used 3 bags?

Then I carefully sewed the edge of the pillow closed. 

I debated putting in a zipper (eek!) or buttons, but I figured if I ever grow tired of my flag pillow, I'll just recover it!

And here's how it looks in my reading nook!

I've got a whole UK theme idea for this 'room' now.  Union Jack Pillow, "Keep Calm" framed picutre, round side table with heirloom tea cup candles (I will be doing a tutorial on this soon-you're gonna love it!)

It was fun making this pillow-I feel very accomplished since I've been yakkin' about making it since January!

This definitely WON'T be my last sewing project!

LINKY LINKY

Cheating Cookery

In discussion with my sis the other day, she told me that one of my blog followers, and incidently a pretty good friend of both me & Jill, said something to the effect of "Leslie cooks all the time-but she doesn't post recipes on her blog".  I had to laugh!  It's true-and I feel like I need to explain!

First off-I don't think that the

things I cook on a day to day basis

are very exciting, so I feel that

they're not really blog worthy. 

Does that make sense?....

I mean unless you want

a tutorial on how to make

KD (Kraft Dinner)....which BTW

you should try substituting

sour cream for milk when you make it! 

Secondly, I'm a big fat cheater!  Yeah sure, I cook a lot but I also cheat a lot! For example yesterday I made spaghetti and meat sauce.....I chopped up half an onion, 4 stalks of celery and sauted that in a sauce pan in oil.  Then I added ground beef and browned it with the veggies.  While this was all going down I put some water on to boil and threw in some white and whole wheat spaghetti....once the beef was browned I added some oregano and dumped in a jar of pre-made tomato/pasta sauce and simmered until the spaghetti was done.....I don't feel like that's blog worthy....I dunno?  I guess it is now, since I just posted my Cheater Spaghetti.  But I do cheat a lot.  I try to do enough mincing, dicing and stirring to make it feel like I actually made something.

Do you think this way of cooking is cheating?  Is it worth sharing?

Fabulous Feature

If you don't follow Spunky Junky-you definitely should!  Her site is oh so cute and right up my simplicity alley!

This post is from last October, but I just found it today by accident, and since I love all things owl I just had to share it!

Aren't these owlies just adorbs!  I really like them and want to try my hand at making some.....once I set up that dang sewing machine!  I think I might turn this design into a 3D owl and then stuff him with sand and use them as book ends!

For the super easy tutorial, check out her site!

Got other owl crafts?  I'd SO love to see them! 

Hola!

Yes, please forgive my sporadic existence lately!  I feel awful (literaly and figuratively).  I have been a bad blogger this year already (geez),but I promise it will get better.  Let me explain.....

I have been fighting a cold since almost the begining of the month (very rare for me), and finally went to the doctor after a horrible ear ache, sinus pressure and a 3 day headache....turns out I had/have an ear infection!  So I've been sleeping and taking antibiotics instead of making food and crafts!  Thankfully I'm feeling a lot better, and will be back into the swing of things in no time!  I've got some great projects I want to share-once I set up my sewing machine!  Trust me, I am not a sew-er, so if you're interested in seeeing me totally humilate myself and potentially sew my fingers to a pillowcase, stay tuned.

This is also a pre-emptive apology!  I will do my best to be busy and keep my throng of adoring fans :P apeased with some great projects, but as a dance teacher I am getting into my busy season=competition.  I've already started, with 2 of my dances winning medals and a trophy! Woo Hoo!  I will post their pic soon becuase they are just too cute!  So, I will be in and out, coaching and crafting.

Anywho, I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentines Day.  I was teaching dance last night so I am celebrating tonight instead.  We are going for Mexican food (our annual tradition) and then I will probably come home and watch Glee!  Sounds like a perfect night to me!

Happy Super Bowl Birthday To Me

Super bowl and my birthday almost always coincide! Which is kinda great because I could host a super bowl/birthday. Tonight I'm serving my mum-in-law's Surprise Spread, veggies and dip, nachos and the piece de resistance my favorite, Pineapple Cheesecake! I promise to post recipes for the spread and cake this week- but right now I gotta go get ready for the partay!

What are you serving? Do you have any super bowl traditions? Here's wishing you a happy super bowl!

$50 Lush Card Winner

Thanks to everyone who stopped by for our Spa Series!  We had a lot of fun and hope you did too!

We had 8 entries total for our Lush gift card draw. There were 5 entries at Envirocraftiness (1-5), and 3 over here (6-8).

And our winner is.....

Chris who said:

Great choice! It's raining men is one of the newest shower gels!

Jill and I will get in touch with you through email shortly to get you your gift card!

Thanks to everyone who joined in the Sisterly Spa Series fun!  

Quick and Easy Mussels

I love seafood!  Living on the West Coast has allowed me to expand my cooking horizons and experiment.  I had the most delicious mussels at a restaurant in Vancouver called Cardero's and they were to die for!  Since then I've been toying with the idea of cooking mussels at home...they're on my cooking bucket list!  So lucky me when I saw fresh P.E.I (Prince Edward Island) mussels at Costco.  I hummed and hawed, asked Ty if he wanted to try them and we thought to give it a go!  Plus the price was right-$11.99 for a honkin' package!  So don't be scared to cook mussels, like I was, because this is a foolproof recipe that you will love!

White Wine Steamed Mussels

You'll Need

mussels

3 cloves garlic

3-4 stalks of celery

3-4 carrots

Olive Oil

White Wine, Sauv Blanc or Pino Grig

Crushed Coriander Seed

Fresh Parsley

Lemon juice

Butter

Salt and Pepper

Thankfully the mussels I picked up from Costco were very clean-I didn't have to wash or debeard any of them.  I did give them a rinse in a colander under cold water just in case!  PS I only used have this package and it was more than enough for two people! 

Heat oil in deep frying pan or dutch oven.  I used a  a deep frying pan and it worked great.  Having a larger surface allows the mussels to cook more evenly!

Add celery, carrots and garlic and coriander seed. 

Saute for about 2 minutes or until softened.

Increase the heat and add the mussels and wine.  I used probably 2-3 cups of wine.  You would also use 1/2 water and 1/2 wine if you wanted.  Cover the mussels and allow to steam for about 5 minutes or until all the shells are opened.

Scoop out the mussels with a slotted spoon and transfer to serving dish.  Discard any mussels that haven't opened!  The only way to tell if a mussel is 'bad' or 'good' is after they've cooked. 

Don't eat mussels that haven't opened!

Bring the broth to a simmer and add 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, a dollop of butter, a tablespoon of lemon juice and salt and pepper.  You could also add some fresh tarragon!  Cook for a few minutes to blend all flavours and pour over cooked mussels. 

Serve straight away!

Serve with crusty bread to soak up the broth.....

possibly the best part of the dish!

This is, as Anthony Bourdain would say, food porn!

LINKIN' UP TO:

24 Hours Left

Just wanted to remind y'all that you have one more day to enter me and Jill's fabulous giveaway! We're giving away a $50 LUSH giftcard to one lucky reader!

To enter, leave a comment on my blog: sisterly spa series day 6, letting me know what you'd buy from Lush when you winthe giftcard!
For another entry leave a comment on Jilly's blog: sisterly spa series!

We had a blast during the Sisterly Spa Series and hope you enjoyed it too!
Don't forget to enter our giveaway!