Fettucini (Easy Peasy)

 

Ingredients
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/2 cup half and half
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 Tablespoon parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Cooking Instructions:
Add butter and half and half to sauce pan and slowly heat. Add parsley, salt, and pepper. Slowly add parmesan as sauce heats to thicken. As soon as it is thick...takes seconds really...pour over pasta.
I toss this with 4 cups of pasta (this is 4 cups uncooked, anywhere from 3 1/2 to 4 cups is good)
Tips: I add chicken (you can buy the stuff already cooked to make it even quicker to throw together). My girls tell me that they double the sauce but not the pasta. I doubled the sauce last time & cooked 6 cups of pasta & that worked out really well. If you want lots of sauce, double it. I use butter and I often add basil pesto (tsp full) if I have any in the fridge.

One of our family faves

Pinterest Request

This is a sign hanging in my kitchen. I didn't make it, I bought it @ Wheaton's. A friend requested that I post it so she could pin it on Pinterest - request granted!!

Food Porn

I absolutely love taking pictures of food. This one was taken a few years ago with a little point and shoot camera but I love it. It was a very hot summer day in Lunenburg, sitting on a patio, listening to the Barra MacNeils play on the wharf. I did not adjust anything on the table. I just stood up, pointed and clicked. It remains one of my all time faves. Mussels & beer on a hot summer day, gotta love it.

Pie Making With The Gramster - What's The Secret?

So...I know how to make pie but my Mom makes the best pies. I asked her if she would come over & we could make pie together (I thought I would pay very close attention & learn her secret). I wanted to make coconut cream because that is my husband's favorite.

This is what I learned. Mom uses Crisco or Fluffo (no exceptions) & not the butter flavor Crisco, the regular one. The recipe for the pastry is right on the Crisco box. She adds the water a little at a time (she used cold water from the fridge & added some ice to the glass & just dipped the measuring spoon into the water to add gradually until the pastry was the consistency she wanted). The recipe on the box makes enough pastry for two one shelled or 1 double crust pie. We made one larger pie & one small single crust.

After rolling it out and fitting it to the pie plate and crimping the edges with her fingers, she poked holes with a fork on the bottom of the plate and all around the inside edges. We baked the shell for 15 minutes or so at 350. You just have to keep looking and if Mom sees any bubbles forming on the bottom of the shell, she pokes the bubble with a fork..just so the pastry will lay flat on the bottom of the pan. She buys the coconut cream filling (this one was Oetker) & you can cook it stove top or in the microwave (just follow directions on the box).

When it comes to the meringue, Mom uses 3 egg whites and puts them in a narrow, deep bowl. Also, the eggs were at room temperature. She beat them with a mixer until the peaks start to form and then gradually adds the sugar and just a pinch of cream of tartar. Keep beating the egg whites until they look like clouds, then put on top of pie, sprinkle coconut on the top & bake @ 350 until toasty. You can tell by looking at it if the meringue is set. That is it. Take it out, enjoy the smell...it is wonderful. Leave the pie on a wire rack for 3 hours before putting in the fridge. Just place a piece of wax paper lightly over the top until you serve it. Ta Da!!!!

So there you have it. I think she adds love and that is what makes it taste so good. Thanks for the lesson Mom & all the tips <3

The Craft From Hell...but I love it

First I should say that normally this would be a pretty simple project (the kind I like). The first step was to spray paint the canvas (that my sister donated to me). I used a bronze metallic Krylong brand hobby craft enamel as the paint to do the canvas. I did 2 coats and it dried very quickly. My sister (whom I have been after to paint me a canvas) gave me a picture that she painted. It is an odd size so I looked around for frames and I just couldn't find one that fit. Anyway, I sprayed the picture with a Modge Podge acrylic sealer (I bought Matte finish) & waited for that to dry (also quick). I made a homemade modge podge by mixing equal parts of white glue & water. I brushed the canvas with the modge pode, centered my picture (I measured this out) and stuck it on. I went over the picture and canvas 3 times (completely drying between coats).

Here is the issue: the painting is on a thick cardstock type paper and all of the edges would not stay down. If I had it to do over again, I would have purchased a spray adhesive & that may have done the trick.  I fussed with it, hot glued some of the edges down but it still isn't like I want and a couple of edges are not stuck down. I was thinking that maybe I could put some type of border or frame around the picture part to hide the fact that a few edges are unglued. Anyway, I had glue everywhere and I was so worried about ruining the painting. Now I need to leave it be and come up with an idea to hide the flaws. If anyone has a suggestion, I would love to hear it.

On a happy note - I hung this in my bedroom and I will see it every day when I wake up. I love that my sister painted this. She is such an important part of my life. We are best buds for sure. Thank you Susie!!!<3

"Flowers are happy things" - P. G. Wodehouse

My sister got me on to this - just buy yourself flowers for no reason. I bought a bunch of carnations because they last the longest - you can get 2 weeks out of them. Anyway, I cut them way down & added some extras from mother nature. I found an old style beer bottle - nostalgic, I think. Oh well, it holds a couple of flowers just fine. The flowers cost me $9.99 @ Costco. The flowers on my night stand have since opened up & they look really pretty. Go ahead, buy yourself some flowers.

Chuck Norris

Well...I did take the photo of the bench. The Chuck thing I can't be sure of.

DIY Laundry Room Sign

I saw a sign similar to this online & decided it would be good for a frame I already had in my laundry room. I just used picnik to do the lettering & the butterfly and then printed it the size I wanted to frame. This one is a 5 x 7 in an 8 x 10 matt. The original sign said : Wash, Dry, Press, Fold, Repeat. I am not into pressing AT ALL. I may have failed my 5 children in some way by not teaching them their way around an ironing board.I can remember when I was a kid, my Mom used to iron as we watched tv as a family. I think I just thought it was way too much work & she should just be able to sit and watch tv without having to work. That is what I am telling myself anyway. And besides, I don't think ironing is as big as it was "back in the day".

Teddy Bears

I bought some newborn sneakers yesterday for our grandson (due in April). I didn't have anyone to try them on so teddy agreed to stand in.

*special thanks to teddy. This photo shoot was gruelling for both of us, but I think it was worth it.

Remember Granny Squares?

My neighbor used to have a blanket almost exactly like this one. It brings back memories of babysitting as a young girl. I can remember watching tv and curling up, getting cosy. I love all the bright colors. It brightens up the room, I think.

Free Wall Art (make your own)

I have four frames in the diningroom to display some of my photos. These are the ones I chose for winter (or for now). I took some items out in the snow to photograph. I actually dropped the sea shell ball by mistake and it rolled in the snow - worked out. Anyway, I am still practicing with my new macro lens.

The Bike & Bean

A visit to the Bike & Bean on New Years Eve morning. My husband & son played crib, the three of us had coffee & relaxed after a walk on the trail. This is one of my favorite places to kick back.