Gift Idea Wednesdays: Hair Stuffs

I've never been big on hair accessories. I think I am trying to repress memories of growing up in the 80s with the big hair and big bows.

Exhibit A


*yes, I'm on a little zip-line thing. I am such a wuss that that was probably the only time I was ever on it.

I'm not sure why I am calling this exhibit A, when I really only have the one picture. I looked through some childhood pics last night thinking I'd find a ton of pictures documenting my big 80s hair or at least some giant bows. I guess we did not take many pictures of that sort of thing.

The bows were probably too big to fit in the frame of the camera lens.

Sad, but true.

Anyways, these hair thing-ys are way more understated and cute than my giant pink bow with trailing ribbons.

How many more days 'til Christmas? Oh, only 45!

Even if you were down to the wire on December 24th, you could make these three hair things and have an instant homemade gift. They are that quick and simple.

1st up: Lace Headband

All you need is some lace and like 2" of elastic of some sort.

Measure the lace around your head for an adult head (if you are making this for a kid you might want to measure a kid head or use one of their existing headbands as a guide), then sew the elastic to the two ends.

That's it.



Super quick gift idea #2: Jersey Braided Headband

Cut 3 strips of jersey fabric or an old t-shirt (that's what I used), braid, then tie to fit your head (or kid's head).

These are great for working out!



Last project: Button Bobby Pins

Hot glue some buttons to bobby pins.

So cute for little girl or a grown lady ;)



So, if you have 5 minutes, make one of these for yourself or for a gift.

In other news, Kelley over at The Grant Life is featuring lil' ole me and my chalkboard mug in her 10 gifts for under $10 gift series! Head over there and check it out :)

Veggie Chili with Rosemary Walnut Bread

These recipes totally scream Fall. But I could not wait until Friday (for Fabulous Fall Fridays) to share this with you. It's that good.

This is mostly about the bread. The bread is everything. At the moment I cannot think of anything better than fresh homemade bread.

At first I thought walnuts in bread would be weird, but it turned out that they are pretty dang awesome.

Here's the recipe:

Rosemary Walnut Boule Bread
adapted from Classic Walnut Boule, Cooking Light, Sept 2008

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1 cup warm water
1 packet of yeast
1 tbsp oil (I used olive oil)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1 1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
2 tbsp yellow cornmeal
1 egg white

Combine flours and salt in a large bowl. In a smallish bowl (or a glass measuring cup) combine yeast, sugar and warm water and let it sit for about 5 minutes to activate the yeast. Pour yeast mixture and oil in with the flour and stir to combine. Knead for about 5 minutes, adding flour as you go to keep the dough from sticking. Spray the bowl with non-stick spray, place the dough ball in there and loosely cover for about an hour to rise.

Once it has risen, knead in the rosemary and walnuts and form the dough in a ball. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray and sprinkle cornmeal on it. Place the dough on the cornmeal and cut one or two Xs in the top of the dough. Use the egg white with a little water to make an egg wash and brush it all over the top of the dough.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Seriously. Look at how awesome it looks.



The chili that I made with the bread was lovely also, though overshadowed by the bread. It happens.

It's super healthy, too.

Pumpkin Black Bean Chili
adapted from Sweet Tooth Sweet Life

1/2 bag of baby carrots, chopped
4 ribs of celery, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
tbsp oil
can diced tomatoes
can black beans
can pumpkin
box chicken broth (or veg broth if you are into vegetarian stuffs)
packet of chili seasoning mix
salt to taste

Heat your oil in the stockpot and toss in the chopped veggies and some salt. Cook for 10-15 minutes. Dump in tomatoes and chili seasoning and cook for 5 more minutes. Pour in the whole box of broth and heat to boiling. Cover and reduce heat. Cook for 10 minutes. Then add the beans and pumpkin. Season to taste.

Serve with yummy bread!

By the way, I have been slicing my bread lately with my electric carving knife. It makes lovely, even cuts.



Oh wanted to share, I signed up for the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap and I'm super excited! New cookie recipes coming soon ;)

Fabulous Fall Fridays: Cheddar Peppers

When some people think of Fall, they think football. I’m not one of those people. I could care less about organized sports. Or unorganized sports for that matter.

Well, these cheddar peppers are great football food or just snack food despite my terrible pictures of them!

My husband loves cheddar peppers and has been begging me to make them for a while now.

As a general rule, I don’t like to fry stuff. The popping hot oil scares me. I’m kind of a weenie. Plus, I’ve heard fried food is bad for you or something.

Regardless, you should make these yummy morsels of cheesy fried goodness for the football fans in your life.

Ok, so I’m going to go ahead and apologize for the utter lack of measurements on my part. This was kind of a fly by the seat of my pants recipe.

*Jalapenos (I used 12, but definitely increase the number if you have a crowd)
*Hunk of Velveeta (about the size of a Rubix cube-maybe a little smaller)
*Handful of shredded cheddar
*Squirt of hot sauce (I used sriacha)
*Egg (I used egg substitute-equivalent to 2 eggs)
*Seasoned bread crumbs
*Vegetable oil (or some other kind of oil-whatevs)

Split the jalapenos lengthwise and use your gloved (or Ziploc-ed) hand to scrape out the seeds and ribs and discard.



Melt your Velveeta a bit in the microwave and stir in shredded cheese and hot sauce. Stuff this mixture in each jalapeno, pinching the seam closed.

Dip the peppers in the egg, then bread crumbs and lay them all out for their fry bath.

Get your oil in a large skillet hot. Stick the handle of a wooden spoon in the oil to test and see if it is ready. If bubbles form around the spoon, you are good to go.

Fry the jalapenos in batches until golden brown & place on a paper towel to soak up extra grease.

Serve with ranch dipping sauce (ok, dressing squeezed from the bottle).



My husband’s verdict was that these were better than Sonic’s cheddar peppers which are his favorite. So, I guess it was all worth it :)

Gift Ideas Wednesday: Hot/Cold Pack

Have you ever started working out hardcore after not working out for a while? Man, everything hurts.

That's why everyone should have a rice bag in their house.

It's also great for when your neck gets tense from a long day of work.

Or for a kid who has a boo-boo.

You can use it hot or cold for lots of different stuff.

So this would make a great gift for anyone you know. Better start making gifts! Only 52 days until Christmas.

I made this rice bag following this tutorial from V and Co.

You need:
*muslin
*pretty fabric
*rice
*sewing machine
*scissors

Cut the muslin into 2 14"x7" rectangles. Sew up the sides and bottom and leave the top open.



Fill with rice (I used the whole bag) and sew it up.

Cut your pretty fabric into the following pieces:
14" x 7"
10" x 7"
8" x 7"

Sew the 8"x7" and the 10"x7" pieces together to make a long rectangle. Then sew the long rectangle and the 14"x7" to it inside out except for the top.
It should look like this:



Hem the top and sides so you don't have fraying.

Slide the rice bag in and you are done!



When I make this for someone, I usually include instructions to heat the bag for 30-45 seconds for a hot pack or throw it in the freezer for 2 hours for a cold pack.

Chunky Monkey Banana Bread

This bread started off really healthy. I mean whole wheat flour, applesauce, bananas. A diet friendly sort of thing.

Then these guys crashed the party.



I couldn't turn them away. Look at those faces. I had to make them feel included and wanted. It was the right thing to do.

From then on, things got even crazier when I remembered the peanut butter chips in the pantry.

Oh well, maybe the healthy ingredients will cancel out all the naughty calories from the party crashers.

Regardless, this is an awesome bread. It will make banana bread haters change their way of thinking. It is wholesomely rich without being too sweet. And not too banana-y.

Here's the recipe:

Chunky Monkey Banana Bread
adapted from Cookies and Cups

3 ripe bananas
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup egg substitute
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz. bag of mini Reeses PB cups
1/2 cup peanut butter chips

Whisk together all dry ingredients. Throw in the mashed banana, applesauce and egg and stir to combine.
Stir in the peanut butter, Reeses and PB chips.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.



Make this bread. If anyone at the office asks what you had for breakfast all you need to say is whole wheat banana bread. It's not a lie. You are just omitting a few details.

No biggie.

By the way, you probably want to let your bread cool before slicing, or this could happen to you:



Oh, yeah.
Happy Halloween, ya'll!

me and my pumpkin

Fabulous Fall Fridays: Potato Soup

I love soup. I basically live on soup in the colder months. Well, that's not true. I don't eat soup for breakfast. Or dessert. But lunch and dinner are all about soups.

This potato soup is super vegified making it healthy and filling. I was going to say that this was a vegan dish, but I used chicken broth, so it's not. If you want to make it vegan, use vegetable broth.

Here's how easy this was:

Renee's Potato Soup

4 medium sized yellow potatoes
1/2 smallish bag of baby carrots
1 head of broccoli
1 box of chicken broth
garlic
salt + pepper
olive oil
*celery would be good in this, but I did not have any

Reserve one potato and cut up your other veggies. I cut up the carrots first. I cooked the extra potato in plastic in the microwave until done (about 4 minutes), then pureed it with a little broth in my food processor to add a thickness to the soup without using flour.

Get your pot hot and throw in some oil to coat the bottom. Then toss in your chopped carrots and let them cook while you chop your other vegetables. Put the potatoes in as you cut them. Once the potatoes and carrots are in, season them with garlic, salt and pepper and put a lid on the pot and let them cook for about 10 minutes (that seemed like a run on sentence-oh well). Add the broth and the chopped broccoli and bring to a boil. Simmer until the veggies are tender, and stir in your pureed potato to thicken.

This soup is great with some cheese and bacon on top and a side of crusty bread.

So colorful!

Gift Idea Wednesdays: Chalkboard Mug

I really love chalkboard paint. Now that I have it in spray paint form I kind of want to spray everything in the house and make it a chalkboard. This can't be normal.

So to focus my chalkboard spray paint trigger happy self, I am presenting a new gift idea with only 59 days until Christmas!

This is a really easy gift to throw together, and you could totally make several at once. Remember to tell the person that you gift it to that it is hand wash only!

I used a mug that I already had, chalkboard spray paint and painter's tape.



I got out my trusty spray paint box.



So, basically tape off the mug, spray it, let it dry before peeling off the tape and you are done!

I made a quick mug rug to include in the gift, but did not do a tutorial for it. It is basically a hot pad for your mug. It is just rectangles of fabric with a piece of fleece in the middle. If you want to make one, here is a good tutorial: The Split Stitch

Anyways, the chalkboard mug could be for anyone of any age.

You can write notes to a special someone:



Reminders for yourself:



Or bring out your artistic side:



Make it for someone awesome and spread the joy of chalk.

**As you can see, my paint line is not perfect where I peeled off the tape. Remember that nail polish remover and a q-tip will alleviate this. So pretend I did that and it looks flawless, okay?