Jigsy's Old Forge Pizza

Jigsy's Old Forge Pizza is in Enola, PA.  It is an amazing and unique pizza.  They say the pizza style is from up in Scranton, PA.  I can't vouch for that, but I don't really care either way.  I LOVE this pizza.  It is something I've really missed since moving to Michigan.  My parents came up to visit this past week and were kind enough to bring me some.  Needless to say, it was everything I had hoped it would be.  I can't wait to visit PA and eat some more!

Tutorial: Cutting Craft Foam with the Cricut

I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a Cricut for a few days this past week.  There were two projects put on hold by the unfortunate demise of mine.  The first was shadow puppets for Peanut's puppet theater and the second was foam easter egg magnets for her to decorate.  So, after doing the projects I can now share how I managed to cut craft foam with my cricut using a deep cut housing and blade.

Set the speed to 2

Set the pressure to 4

Set the blade number to 5 (more than 5 cuts into the mat)

After its done cutting you'll need to pull apart the shape from the leftover foam.  With the blade set at 5 it wasn't very hard.  Its not perfectly smooth on the edges, but plenty smooth for my needs.

Sorry I don't have any pictures of the process.  One of these days I'll be able to replace my broken camera.

Pasta Roni with Chicken and Peas

It looks and tastes pretty good considering what it is.  It's a box of angel hair and herb Pasta Roni mixed in with some Blue Ribbon Naked Nuggets and frozen peas.  We got the naked nuggets at Costco and they're tasty.  They're little nugget shaped pieces of breast meat that have been pre-grilled.  All I have to do is saute them in a pan for a few minutes to heat them up.  Anyway, as far as a meal while on my own is concerned, this is pretty fancy.  I'll probably do it again some time.

Pasta Roni with Chicken and Peas

1 box Angel Hair Pasta with Herbs Pasta Roni
10 Blue Ribbon Naked Chicken Nuggets
1 cup frozen peas
2 tbsp margarine
1 1/3 cup water
2/3 cup milk

Heat up margarine in a medium skillet. Saute the chicken nuggets in the butter for 4 minutes on each side, until warmed.  Add in water and milk; bring to a boil.  Stir in pasta, seasoning packet and peas; return to a boil.  Simmer for 5-6 minutes, until pasta is cooked.  Remove from heat and let sit 3-5 minutes so sauce will thicken.

Sneak Peak

This is the start of a project I'm entering into a crafting contest.  The paint is taking a while to dry so this won't be done for another day or two.

In other news, I broke my Cricut. Unfortunately, there won't be any new cricut posts for a while.

Honey Glazed Pork Chops with Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Broccoli

I found this recipe a couple weeks ago in the Sunday paper.  I really like pork tenderloin and I have yet to be disappointed in a recipe I've tried.  I did my standard "that's not enough garlic. I'm going to double it" adjustments.  I also don't have an oven proof pan so I cooked the pork in a skillet and transfered it to an 9x13 pan for cooking.  I over cooked the broccoli and undercooked the potatoes, but it was still amazing.

So, Here's the recipe.

Honey-glazed Pork with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Broccoli
Serves: 4 / prep time: 25 minutes Total time 50 minutes

1/2 cup apple juice
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced, divided
1 1/2 lbs pork tenderloin
1/4 tsp cayenne
4 cups broccoli florets
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1 1/2 lb yukon gold potatoes
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped broccoli

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine apple juice, honey, soy sauce and half of the garlic in a small bowl.  Sprinkle pork with cayenne.

Place the broccoli on a baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tbsp of the oil, toss to  coat and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt.

In a medium ovenproof skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add the pork and cook, turning once, until browned, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Pour juice mixture over pork and transfer to oven along with the baking sheet of broccoli. Bake until pork and broccoli are done, 25 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the potatoes into slices and put them in a medium pot. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove the broccoli, but leave on the baking sheet. Remove the pork and transfer to a cutting board. Return the skillet to high heat and cook juice mixture until a thick glaze forms, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat.

Drain the potatoes and return to pot. Add sour cream, parsley, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining garlic. Mash until smooth.

Slice pork on a diagonal and put on plate. Drizzle with glaze and serve with mashed potatoes and broccoli.

Adapted f rom Prevention magazine, March 2011 issue.

A Little Piece of Blue

My first dress is listed on Etsy!

I'm still here!

I haven't forgotten about this.  I haven't even been side tracked by other things.  I've been working diligently.  Unfortuntely, I just don't have anything to show for it yet.  I've been attempting to make a bunny pattern similar to the owl.  After 2 attempts, it's still a failure.  I'll keep trying, but for now I've started making dresses to sell on Etsy.  I almost have the first one done.   So, keep a lookout for it!

- J

Introducing Oliver and Olivia

These little owls are now for sale on Etsy!  Well, the pattern is.  You too can make your very own owl plushie!  Took me a few days longer than I hoped, but I finally got the pattern made, and boy, aren't they adorable?  So, go quick and buy yours today!

Dresses!

I am in love with these dresses!  I used a pattern I found online and I think they turned out beautiful!  Some people prefer the bigger one, others prefer the smaller.  I love them both, but I think the bigger one is just amazing.  I've already emailed the person who's pattern I used and she gave me permission to make and sell them on Etsy!  I cannot wait to get started and I hope that they sell!  Since these are a gift for my friend's children I need to make a pair for my girls.

Some Bunny to Love

This is my submission to the Makia Contest.  It would be very cool if I won.  If not, you'll probably see this little guy on Etsy.

Pizzaiola Style Steak

On Saturday when there was nothing else to watch, we turned on Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals.  She made Pizzaiola-Style Flank Steak Pinwheels.  They looked so good that I wanted to try to make them.  As an FYI, my first rule when making one of her 30 minute meals is, it takes me way longer than 30 minutes to make.  Also, butterflying a steak isn't as easy at it looks.  So, here are my modifications to the recipe:


I used pizza cheese and grated parmesan in place of the shredded provolone and Pecorino.  I also couldn't find canned plum tomatoes and so I used a can of italian seasoned tomatoes.  I had to use curly parsley instead of flat leaf because I couldn't find flat leaf in my grocery store and I didn't think it warranted searching for it.  I didn't do the garnishes because Papa B and Peanut couldn't care less about that stuff and why spend money on things like that?


The Verdict:


This meal was DELICIOUS!  That is a picture of what I had on my plate and it filled me up along with some frozen snap peas I cooked(microwaved).  It was a little spicy, but not too much and full of flavor.  The only issue I had while cooking it was that the meat took an extra 5 minutes.  When I first took it out and cut into it some of the middle was still raw.  I'm all about pink inside, but not raw.  We will definitely be keeping this recipe but saving it for special occasions because of the cost involved.


-J

Secret project

I'm still catching up on Christmas gifts. Fortunately my friend is very forgiving. As soon as I give it to her I'll be sure to post pics. I think it's the prettiest thing I've ever made to date.

Konbit Sante finished product

Here is a completed birthing kit for Konbit Sante. The blankets are 2 sided. The side you see is flannel and the other side is solid cotton. I bought 1 yard of each, squared them, and then just sewn around the edges leaving a hole to flip them. Then after I flipped it right side out I did a top stitch around the edges to close up the hole. Easy Peasy.