Recipe Round-up: .Disaster Recovery Plans...

We've all had nights when our grand or even not so grand plans wind up in the trash...literally. A couple weeks ago, I had planned to make one of our family's favorite meals; Salsa Chicken. Super easy, relatively quick and very delicious. The trifecta of meal perfection, right? Wrong---my chicken had gone bad. Oh, the humanity!!! I was in a real pinch, we couldn't go out, it wasn't in the budget. What to do, what to do?? I started scouring our pantry and fridge for ingredients for some hodgepodge dish that would be edible, at the very least. JP suggested sandwiches, D suggested french toast. I nixed both ideas initially, I didn't really want either one. Then, while I was looking at what I did have--EUREKA!!!!!! I'd combine the two ideas and make one of my favorite things ever---Monte Cristos! Oh, dear reader, if you've never had one of these marvels, please, toss out tonight's dinner plans and make them. Forget dinner, make them NOW. I promise that you won't regret it. Seriously, who doesn't love ham/turkey and cheese, sweet french toast with powdered sugar and a bit of raspberry jam on the side? See, I told you!

Monte Cristo Sandwiches

Ingredients:

18 slices bread (I used a loaf of brioche I keep in the freezer for french toast)

6 slices cooked turkey

6 slices cooked ham

6 slices American cheese

6 slices Swiss cheese

Batter

1 Egg
1 – 1 1/4 C. Water
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Sugar
1 1/2 C. Flour
1 Tbs. Baking Powder
Vegetable Oil (for deep frying)

Directions

Place turkey and Swiss cheese on one slice of bread and ham and American cheese on another slice of bread. Place third slice in-between and secure the triple decker sandwich in the corners with tooth picks.
Place egg in mixing bowl, add water and beat together. Add salt, sugar, flour, and baking powder. Beat batter until smooth.

Dip sandwich in batter and carefully cover all the sides and surface. Carefully place in hot oil and fry until golden. When sandwich has turned a warm gold color remove from hot oil and place on paper towel. Let cool for a few minutes before removing the tooth picks. Before serving slice into fourths and sprinkle with powder sugar.

Serve with raspberry preserves.

Enjoy!!

Monday Spotlight

Hi Scrappers! Lori here with your Monday Spotlight!I was looking through the layouts in Christy's gallery today, and I have to say I found some

really great layouts! Here are some of my favorites!!

This layout is called Play with Abandon using the kit: All American

This layout is called The Number 4 by LizzyFizzy using Christy's A Brand New Day:

This one is called My Sister by Tanyia using the kit: Summer

Brunch

This one is called Surprise Gift by Holly0817 using the Everything Spring Mini

Finally we have this super cute hybrid project by Joana1n using the kit Sugar Pie

Thanks for taking a stroll through the beautiful gallery created using some of Christy's awesome Kits!!

Hybrid Mini Bag!!!

Happy Wednesday everyone! Jen (redutedaisy) here to bring you another fun hybrid project! I really love hybrid and have become pretty good at creating cards, favors, etc. But there is one thing I hadn't yet tackled-iron on transfers! I guess I was intimidated. Last week, while walking around Michaels trying to find something to make for Mother's Day, I happened on some tote bags and the fabric transfers. I decided it was time to try my hand at it, and I loved that I could go home and create something myself that could be worn/displayed. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures (I was in too big of a rush), but I decided to do another project that I'm going to show you today.

Michaels has these canvas totes that I thought it would make the perfect bag for taking to church with me. The first thing I did was create my image. I wanted a cluster with some pictures and a quote, so I found my favorite cluster on a template and used that. It was much faster, otherwise it would have taken hours (I'm a perfectionist). Templates make great starting off points, and many have some great clustering! I used Christy's "Summer Brunch" kit-I love the colors and textures.

The tools: an iron, pillowcase, and iron-on transfer sheets
(I used the light fabric transfer sheets because my tote is white)

Be sure to follow the directions on the transfer sheets well. They actually change from one product (the light fabric) to the other (dark fabric). I used the dark fabric on my mother's day totes and the process was different from this one. The image actually came out better on the dark fabric image for some reason. Anyway, here's the final result after printing the image onto the transfer sheet and ironing:

The finished product. For my first time, I was pretty happy with how it turned out. The image didn't come off completely, but it ended up giving it a rustic look. I think I got a little impatient and didn't wait long enough or apply enough pressure! Next time, it will be even better! The sky is limit with these things, and with a good digital stash, you can create a ton of great images!

Fabulous Baileys Irish Cheescake

So this is a favourite recipe in our house!
Its a traditional Irish recipe that we makde at home since I was small but I found this version online and its perfect. We have it for dessert all the time....

(picture from cheekycooks.com)

3.5oz unsalted butter

8.75oz Graham Crackers crushed.

1lb Philadelphia or another cream cheese.

1 Shot of Baileys Irish cream

3.5oz icing sugar

10.5oz double cream

2oz chocolate (milk, plain, dark whichever you like)

Melt the butter in a pan.
Add the crushed graham crackers and mix until the butter isabsorbed.
Remove from the heat and, while it is still warm, press the mixture (using the back of a spoon) into the bottom of a lined 23cm/9inch springform or flan tin.
Leave to set for one hour in the fridge.
While it is chilling, grate all the the chocolate and set aside in the fridge.
In a bowl, whip the cream until it forms peaks.
In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese until it is soft.
Beat in the icing sugar and a shot of Baileys.
Fold in the whipped cream and three-quarters of the chocolate.
When the mixture is smooth, smooth it evenly onto the biscuit base.
Refridgerate and allow to set for at least two hours.
If you leave it overnight, so much the better.
To serve, remove from the tin and decorate.
You can either sprinkle the remaining grated chocolate over the top or add full chocolates to decorate.
You can also serve with a side of cream ot ice cream.

Hope you enjoy!

Star x

Hybrid Notebook

Hey Everybody!

My names Star and I recently joined Christy's team.

So I've recently become interested in hybrid and when my notebook for college ran out I decided to try my hand at making a hybrid notebook. I printed it out as a flattened image as its going to be used a lot and didn't want to risk extra elements falling off! and here it is...

I love how it turned out and have gotten some lovely comments on it and a few people asking could I make them one lol

The products I used for this are...

Summer Brunch

You can grab it at 9th & Bloom HERE

Sticker Doodle Words Everyday

You can grab this at 9th & Bloom HERE

Hope you like it!

Recipe Round-Up: The search has ended?

I've mentioned before that I love cooking, right? Especially if it's easy and I can delegate tasks to the family. There's one thing that I make that is mine and mine alone though. I like to experiment with this dish, I'm on a mission to perfect this dish, to find the pinnacle of the dish...

What dish is this? Oh, I'm so glad you asked. You'll probably be disappointed by my answer though, but since you asked...it's a simple roasted chicken. I know! I told you you'd be disappointed. What's that thing that famous and kind of annoying chef always says?? Oh yeah, "This ain't rocket science, folks!" While I might be intrigued by dishes that are much more difficult to master, they don't fit into my easy cooking way of life.

OK, so on to the chicken. This time around, I wanted to move away from the traditional thyme/rosemary/tarragon with salt and pepper, etc...For some reason, I had this idea that brown sugar would be good, and garlic...and a new compound butter was born. And it was good. So good that even my picky eater proclaimed the chicken to be "awesomesauce."  So, here it is...

Leila's Awesomesauce Chicken

Ingredients:

1 Roasting Chicken or bone in chicken pieces of choice

1/4c butter, softened

5-6 cloves garlic, minced or made into a paste

1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped

1 tsp lemon juice

3 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp smoked paprika

kosher or sea salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F

Rinse and pat chicken dry, inside and out. 

Truss the chicken.

Mix butter and next five ingredients in a bowl. 

Coat the chicken with the butter, under the skin too!!

Finish with a liberal sprinkling of salt and pepper.

Place in your favorite roasting pan (I used my electric roaster.) and bake for 50 minutes or until meat is 170°F in the legs. Carve. Enjoy!

And there you have it! I do believe this is the best roast chicken I've ever made. My husband did the 'eyeroll of ecstasy' when he tasted it and my kids are asking for leftovers today. Too bad there's nothing left for them to eat!! Until next time...

New Release Friday

Hi Everyone! Happy Friday! This week Christy is re-releasing her FAB kit Summer Brunch!! It is YUMMY!!! It's got great colors, lots of fun elements...you can't go wrong with this kit!!!



Here is a layout I created with it:


Layouts created by the CT:

By Tania

By Sasha

By Lori

Hybrid Home Decor

Hi everyone, it's Tanyia again! I wanted to share with you a cute little project I just did. It is actually sitting in my kitchen on the counter in the back. We are always running out of pens and pencils when we need them, so I decided to customize a little cute pen holder.

That is one of the greatest things about making hybrid products... you can buy a generic, cheaper, plain type of item and customize it any way that you want with all of the digital scrapbooking supplies in your stash! Not too mention when you receive a compliment on something it feels great to say, "Oh, that? I made that."

This one is basically a black cardboard pen caddy I purchased at Target and then designed the front  and sides for. I printed it out flat this time as I did not want anything get torn off, since this is something that will be handled often.

I am using Sunday Brunch from Christy Lyle. It is being released at 9th&Bloom on Friday... so you get a little sneak peek here! Keep an eye out in her store on Friday to see the whole kit.

Tada... my pen caddy!

Hopefully, I will get to bring you more fun goodies next month! Until then, Happy Scrappin'!
-Tanyia

Recipe Roundup: Spaghetti with Asparagus, Smoked Mozzarella and Prosciutto

HI Everyone! I hope you enjoy my first recipe here on Christy's Blog. This recipe was featured on the Today Show a few days ago and it is YUM!!! It's such a quick and easy recipe to prepare and uses just a few ingredients!! Enjoy!

Spaghetti with asparagus, smoked mozzarella and prosciutto

Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

• 2 pounds asparagus, trimmed
• 3/4 pound spaghetti
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut crosswise into strips
• 6 ounces smoked mozzarella cheese, diced (about 1 cup)
• 6 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

Preparation

Cook the asparagus in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 2 to 3 minutes. With a spider or slotted spoon, remove asparagus from boiling water to a bowl of ice water to cool and stop the cooking. When cool, cut asparagus into 1-inch pieces, and set aside.
Return the water in the pot to a boil, adding additional water if necessary. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add asparagus to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the pasta, and if needed, some of the reserved cooking liquid. Toss to coat. Add the prosciutto, mozzarella and basil, and toss to combine. Turn off the heat. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve.

Serving Size

Monday Spotlight

Hi Scrappers! This is Lori and I am one of the newer members of Christy's CT Team and I am super excited to share my first blog post with you all! Today I am spotlighting one of Christy's older kits that she will be re-releasing this Friday over at 9th & Bloom called Summer Brunch. This lovely kit, is full of lots of great embellishments and beautiful papers... I just LOVE Christy's papers, the patterns are always fresh and look great on the finished page! Check out the layout I did below using this wonderfully feminine kit!



Look for this kit coming this Friday! It will be 20% off for Friday and Saturday only so grab it while it's on sale!!!

I hope you all have a great week!

Hybrid Basket

Hi everybody! Tanyia here again with another fun hybrid product for you! This one I did for Easter ... however, keep in mind you can make little baskets like this for any occasion to hold any sort of seasonal decor!

In this instance I made this to go on my kitchen island and match the color scheme of my Easter Egg tree. I think the eggs looked really adorable!

Here is what I used, Christy's Bloom Fest grab bag! Take a look!

Any of Christy's kits would work great for a project like this, so keep your eye out for one that strikes your creative fancy and maybe matches the colors or a holiday you are decorating for! Here is my sweet little basket. Image linked for complete credit info.

Thanks for looking! I am so excited to come back next month and share some more awesome ideas with you! So, until next time...happy scrappin'!

-Tanyia

Hybrid Fun!

Hi everyone, my name is Tanyia! I am new to Christy's team, and so excited to be here and to be able to share with you one of my projects!

If you are interested in hybrid, Christy's products are so perfect for your projects! The print out beautifully, crystal clear, vibrant and are so fun!

My 9 yr old is a very very girlie girl! She still loves to dress up and make believe, so of course every little princess needs a crown! I made this super cute and fun crown using "A Brand New Day" which is so fantastic and had just the perfect soft pattern and flowers! I used the alpha that comes with the kit for the word, "princess" and then I added some of Christy's "Sticker Doodle Alpha" for the bottom tag line, "of quite a lot"

Here is the kit I used (image linked):

and the extra alpha I added in (also linked):

And here is my precious little Becca Bear ... ummm, I mean Rebecca, sheesh don't tell her I said that! I did print this one out completely flattened, I just upped the shadows for realism, and I did print out 3 extra flowers, cut them and popped them on with a glue dot to give a little bit of dimension to it.

*image linked for full credit*

So super cute right?! I love how it turned out, and a week later and she is still playing with it! hehe.


That is all for today, but I will be back next week with another hybrid goodie to share with you!
Until then ... Happy Scrappin'!       -Tanyia

Recipe Round-up: But, Mommy!! You know I don't like...

Anything? Yes, I've got a picky eater in my house and it's not me. Well, mostly not me. My eight year old is the most vexing child when it comes to making dinner. A meal he liked last week has become the most vile thing this week. Case in point: when D was younger, once of his favorite foods was a crock pot meal called Cream Cheese Chicken. He'd eat it with gusto, it's ranchy, ricey goodness being shoveled into his mouth with abandon. Then, out of nowhere, "I HATE THAT!!!" And he does. With a passion rarely seen in children his age. A dish he ate for years now relegated to the ever growing list of things my child won't eat. 

What's a mother to do when her child just refuses to eat, well, anything? I don't cater to his food whims. I'd never leave the kitchen if I did. I am more inclined to make a few things I know he will eat more often than I'd be wont to do otherwise. One of D's favorite dishes is the old stand-by--spaghetti and meatballs. It just so happens that the rest of us love it too. Now, I'm sure you all know how to cook pasta and have your own favorite sauce whether it be jarred or scratch made. (Jarred please--Mid's brand. OMG, yum! If you can find it--buy it, use it. Thank me later. Seriously.) But meatballs. Meatballs!! They're a dish that left me stymied for years. No matter what I did, they turned out hard and nasty. Until I borrowed a Taste of Home ground beef cookbook from the library. (Angelic music plays...) EUREKA!! Here's the holy-grail of meatballs for our family. I confess, I'm not the one that makes them, the husband does that. He's just got this magic touch with them that keeps them light and delicious. 

Meatballs!

Ingredients

• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
• 2-3 Tablespoons steak seasoning (that's a guesstimate, I eyeball it.)
• 1 envelope spaghetti sauce mix
• 1-1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 
  

Directions

• In a bowl, combine the eggs, bread crumbs, cheese, parsley, 3 tablespoons spaghetti sauce mix and salt. Crumble beef and pork over mixture and mix well. Shape into 20-24 meatballs.
• In a large skillet, cook meatballs until no longer pink; drain. Stir in your spaghetti sauce of choice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook your pasta according to package directions. 

Notes:

On occasion, we'll grate some zucchini into the meatball mixture. When we do this, we usually reduce the number of eggs to one since the zucchini adds enough moisture on its own. It's just one way to get a little bit of veg into my oh so finicky child. 

I hope you all try this meatball recipe! And if you think you've got one that's better, please share!! Until next time...

Tips and Tricks

Happy Monday everyone! Jen (redutedaisy) here to bring you my very first blog post! Wahoo! I don't know about you, but I love learning new things and getting tips that make scrapping even better. Today, I'm going to share a little tip I learned a few months ago. Sometimes when I scrap, I know the exact direction that I want to go. But other times, I have a complete mental block. I'll sit and stare at my page, full of papers, elements, pictures, and journaling and have no idea how I want it to all flow together. Which is why templates are so fantastic. But, there are times that I want to feel like I "did it myself" (much like a toddler, I know!).

So what to do when you don't want to use a template but don't know where to begin? Many people like browsing through galleries to try and find their mojo again. It's a great way to get inspiration, and you may find a layout you love so much, you want to do something with it yourself. There are so many great pages out there, and my problem was trying to remember how they looked. Sometimes, I'd sketch layouts in my sketchbook. Other times, if I was able, I'd copy and paste it into a word document, print it, cut the layouts out, and then glue them in my sketchbook. It was time consuming sometimes, but I absolutely did not want to forget some of the amazing layouts I'd find.

A few months ago, I found a great website that saves all that trouble! Have you heard of it? It's called Vi.sualize.Us. It's a social bookmarking website that allows you to actually save pictures you find onto your account so you never forget them! This is how it works-you go the their site, create an account, and then download their toolbar and install it. The next time you come along a layout that you love, you right click your mouse, as if you were going to "save as", but there will an extra option called "remember on vi.sualize.us". You choose that option, a box will come up allowing you to change the name and add any other details, and then click "post"! It saves it to your account. It's brilliant!

I just did a layout over the weekend using Christy's beautiful kit, "Everything Spring", a part of her grab bag at 9th and Bloom, and put Vi.sualize.Us to good use. I kind of new the direction I wanted to go (I wanted to do a layout for the Vintage Corner challenge at 9th and Bloom), but it was taking me too much time trying to figure out how to fit all the pieces of my layout together. So, I logged into my account, and found this layout by Armi Custodio:



Honestly, this layout spoke to me! Sometimes when I scraplift, I only do a part of it, but I loved this one so much I pretty much used it all. Here's my layout:

I really love this site and hope it will help some of you! Have a fabulous Monday!

New Release 4/15

Happy Friday! This is one of my most favorite days of the week and Christy's got some brand spankin' new goodies for me to show you. And to make your Friday even better, they're all 20% off today! Check out these beauties...{images linked}









And some Creative Team inspiration using Dated 1.0...

By Sherly


My page...



Hope you all have a great day and enjoy your weekend!

Pinterest addiction

Hey, everyone! Sherly here with some random ramblings LOL...
Unfortunately, Christy has been having some issues with her computer and, hence, does not have any new goodies this week. :( Let us all hope that her computer will behave and be fixed real soon so that next week we can have some awesome goodies coming our way again!

So, today, I'd like to share a bit about my Pinterest addiction. Don't know what Pinterest is? You can check it out at pinterest.com! To me, it's like a virtual pinboard, where, when you see something that you like on someone's website or blog, you can pin it on your pinterest board for you to look at later. Be it some crafts, some fashion styles, some places you'd like to go to, some home inspirations, anything!

So here is a few of what I've been looking at lately... I am thinking of starting to do some crafty stuffs when I move to Beijing later this year, so I started to look for some easy tutorials of pretty handmade flowers, here is what I've found:

Source: befickle.blogspot.com via Sherly on Pinterest

Source: keyka.typepad.com via Sherly on Pinterest

Source: thecraftingchicks.com via Sherly on Pinterest

Pretty, aren't they? I can't wait to get my hands on trying to make those lovely flowers.
So, are any of you addicted to Pinterest like me? If yes, what kind of things that are mostly on your Pinterest board?

Recipe Round-up: Nostalgia on a roll...

I've been feeling a little homesick lately. Okay, a lot homesick. I miss my friends in Madison, I miss all my favorite stores and haunts, too. I know it sounds silly, but I really miss having a Super Target less than a mile from my house. So, I'm feeling homesick for Madison, which, in turn, makes me homesick for New Jersey. Yeah, I said it. Don't judge. I lived there for 24 years. It's my home, my foundation for pretty much everything I know in life--especially food. My ideas on what makes a good pizza, a good bagel, Taylor ham! It all comes from New Jersey and the surrounding area. I managed to find great pizza in Madison, a decent bagel---and no Taylor ham. Here in Cinci, I've found decent pizza, chain bagel shops and Taylor ham (thanks, Jungle Jim's for having a selection so varied!). The one thing that I have yet to find in any of the places I've lived outside of New Jersey (they also include Texas and Florida--neither of which had good pizza or bagels...or the ham) is a Philly Cheesesteak. The soft bread with the crusty outer shell, the warm, greasy, salty meat, the sweet grilled onions...and the cheese, or should I say Cheez? Oh man, my mouth is watering as I type. Like most people who've been to Philly for a true Philly cheesesteak, I have a favorite. I've tried Geno's, Jim's and Tony Luke's as well as a few other smaller places that aren't nearly as well-known or popular. For me though, the undisputed champion of cheesesteaks is Pat's King of Steaks. So delicious, so messy, so bad for you...but oh so good. So what does any of that have to do with today's recipe? Well...years ago, Pat's posted their recipe on their website. It's no longer there that I see, but being the crafty person that I am, I saved and laminated that recipe as soon as I found it. And today, dear readers, I plan to share its deliciously greasy joy with you. Now, let me just say that it won't ever be exactly like Pat's---you'd need their rolls to achieve their version of cheesesteak Nirvana...but it comes dang close.

drooooooool.....

Pat's King of Steaks Cheesesteak

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons oil (Soybean oil is recommended)
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 24 ounces sliced rib eye or eye roll steak
• Cheez Whiz; American or Provolone
• 4 crusty Italian Rolls
• Sweet green and red peppers, sauteed in oil (optional)
• Mushrooms sauteed in oil (optional)
• Ketchup

Directions:

Heat an iron skillet or a non-stick pan over medium heat and add 3 tablespoons of oil to the pan and saute the onions to desired doneness. Remove the onions and add the remaining oil and saute the slices of meat quickly on both sides. Melt the cheez whiz in adouble boiler or in the microwave. Place 8 ounces of the meat into the rolls, add onions, and pour the store-processed cheese over top. Garnish with sweet peppers, mushrooms, ketchup.

Put on the theme song to the first Rocky movie and enjoy.

Do yourself a huge favor--try the Cheez Whiz. It's the standard at Pat's, for a reason. If you're ever in Philly--give cheesesteaks a chance, try a few of the places listed here.

Monday Spotlight 4/4

Happy Monday! Gosh those weekends just fly by, don't they? Personally, I think 3 days weekends should be made mandatory. We just finished our spring break here, so technically our weekend was already extended. But it's back to the real world today - the kids are back to school (*sigh of relief*) and I am here to bring you a pretty sweet spotlight on one of my favorite kits - A Brand New Day by Christy Lyle. You can find this kit, along with more of Christy's gorgeousness over at 9th & Bloom.



And here's some pages I found while perusing through the gallery... {images are linked}











Well I hope you all have a great week and that the sun is shining (and it's not snowing) wherever you are!

Today's Re-Release

Did any of you get fooled today? Or, did you fool someone? So far, I've been safe but who knows what my 8 year old will conjure up while he's at school. We shall see!
Today, Christy has a re-release of a couple of paper packs. I find the kraft color very useful for your scrap stash. Remember, you can get these paper packs for 20% today!

krafty dotty

krafty damasky
CT inspiration by: Sherly, Leah and Star