Whooo Loves Valentine's Day?

Not too long ago, I thought it was ridiculous that owls were making a comeback.  They remind me of really tacky macrame owls from the 70's (yuck!). 

But I see them everywhere now.   It's like geese were in the 80's, and insects (bees, dragonflies, butterflies) were in the 90's.  I have to admit, now owls are cute.  Not just cute, but really fun to make.  I decided to make owl themed valentines for William's class.  Here's how I did it.

I used the following punches:

large circle

medium circle

small hole

large flower

small flower

 First I cut out an oval shape for the body.

Then I used my large circle punch to shape the ear tufts.

 I used my medium circle punch for the eyes and a small hole punch for the eyeballs.

 

 Cut out a small triangle for the beak.

 Then I used my same large circle punch to make the wings.  I glue them to the sides and trim the edges.

A large flower punch (matching the wings) glued from the back to make the tail feathers.

 I used a small flower punch cut in half for the claws.

I put this little guy on a card and added a little message "Whooo thinks you're cool?"  and inside the card it said, "I do!  Happy Valentine's Day!  From William"

I have made a ton of these little guys and I love them!  Too bad Valentine's day is done and I don't have an excuse to make more.  Maybe we'll have "Easter Owls" . . . maybe not!

Recipe of the Month

Jambalaya

Mmmm!  This is good eats!  I tried this one in December and couldn't wait to make it again!  It makes a lot so either I had to wait until we had guests or just have a ton of leftovers.  I couldn't wait anymore.  Now my fridge is packed with delicious, delicious Jambalaya.  The best part about making this is that it's practically fool-proof!  You basically just throw everything into a pot.  The prep work is what takes the longest.  Here's what you'll need:

2 Tbl butter

1 medium onion, chopped

2 ribs of celery, chopped

1/2 large green bell pepper, chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

Heat a large pot, or Dutch oven on medium and melt the butter.  Saute the veggies until they're tender.  About 5-7 minutes.  Add the following:

1 Andouille sausage (12 oz.), diced

2 cans (14.5 oz. each) diced tomatoes, undrained.  I like the kind with jalepenos in it.

1 1/4 cup beef broth

1 cup uncooked rice (I used regular white rice but you can use brown or long grain)

1 cup water

Stir it up and then add the spices*.

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. thyme

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. black pepper

Stir it up and bring to a boil.  Then reduce the heat, cover and let it simmer until the rice is cooked, about 20 - 25 minutes.  Now add:

1/2 lb of fully cooked shrimp.  

I used a little more than a half a 16 oz bag of medium sized frozen shrimp.  Also, I get the kind that has been peeled.  You can get the uncooked kind and peel and devein and cook it a little longer in the pot until pink, but who needs the hassle when you're so close to having this in your belly!

Finally, top it with:

1 Tb parsley, fresh is best, but I use dried because I'm lazy and sick of chopping by this time.

Cook, uncovered, until the shrimp are heated through, about 5 minutes.  Eat it with sliced french bread to soak up the juice.  So good, it'll make you wanna slap yo' mama!

*If you really want to bring the heat add some cayenne pepper as well.  I think the andouille sausage has enough bite to it, but to each his own.

February

 

Likes

I love the beginning of this month.  It's full of hearts, pink, red, love, and flowers.  Very girlie, and a huge opportunity for crafters to go crazy.  

Homemade Valentines.  I love to make valentines.  I'm a big fan of homemade cards.  I also love to see heart shaped doilies in the stores.  Oh, the possibilities!

  

CHOCOLATE!!  Enough said.

Presidents' Day.  I know it's practically a phony holiday and an excuse for government workers to take the day off and for businesses to use the images of Washington and Lincoln to sell cars and mattresses, but I love that for a brief moment, we remember two of my favorite historical figures.

Dislikes

I'm so tired of getting static shocked!  I can't seem to avoid it.  It also seems to get worse.  I got shocked today and almost teared up it hurt so bad.  Bring on the humidity!

Snow days.  I used to think they were the greatest but now, I'm running out of things for William to do while he's stuck at home.  He watches way too much TV on snow days and I feel like a bad mom for letting him just to get him out of my hair.  It will be great when Charlotte is old enough to play with him.

Crappy movie season.  This is the time when the movie theaters are packed with really bad movies. Producers knew these movies couldn't compete with the holiday blockbusters so they trot them out after the first of the year.  This makes for some bad movie dates.

Recipe of the Month

I want to start posting recipes that I've tried and love.  I'm going to make it a monthly thing.  This way, I won't have to always blog about my boring life.  I can shake things up a bit.  I'll try to post pictures next time.  I just decided to do this while heating up some leftovers.  Leftover meatloaf doesn't make a pretty picture.

Robyn's Meatloaf (aka The Meatloaf Hater's Meatloaf)

This dish is some serious comfort food!  I have always hated meatloaf until my sister, Robyn, made this for me one night.  It is so good and easy to make!  It's perfect when the weather is cold and you need some warm deliciousness in your belly.  Here is how I make it:

1 lb ground beef
1 lb spicy pork sausage (I like it hot)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine the meats until they're good and mixed.  Now get out your food processor and throw the following in it:

3 slices of bread
2 carrots
1 yellow onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 Tb parsley

Pulse until you have a crumbly mixture.  Add this to the meat.  Then add the following:

1/2 Tb pepper
1 Tb salt
2 Tb Dijon mustard
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs

Mix it up really good.  You may need to use your hands.  Then form a loaf in a large baking dish.  I used to use a large loaf pan, but the center never seemed to get cooked through.  Also, it's easier when you have some room around the edges of the loaf for this next step.  Here comes the BEST part:

8 slices of BACON!!

That's right!  Wrap that sucker up in bacon.  It may take more or less than eight slices, depending on the brand you buy.  But wrap it horizontally as if the bacon were measuring each slice.  Now for the glaze:

1 cup brown sugar
2 Tb dry mustard
2 Tb tomato paste

Combine the glaze ingredients in a small bowl and really mix it up.  It will take a while and you'll wonder why it still looks like powder instead of glaze.  That is because you are not done mixing.  Eventually it will soften up and be the consistency of very thick paste.  Now spread this all over your loaf.

Pop it in the oven (uncovered) for 1 hour and you have yourself a tasty meal!

January

My sister did this cool thing with her blog where she lists everything she loves (and hates) about each month.  I wanted to do this (after all these years I'm STILL copying my sister!!) but needed to start in January.  Now that it's almost over I figure I better get on the ball and post so I don't have to wait another year.  So here goes:

January

Likes

Clearance sales!  This is the BEST time to use those gift cards from Christmas.  I love going children's clothes shopping because you can buy the winter clothes for next year at $1.99 a top (Crazy 8 & Children's Place Outlet).

Network TV comes back.  The DVR gets a little thin during the Christmas season.  I like having new shows to look forward to.  Shows I watch:  Law & Order (LA & SVU), NCIS, Modern Family, House, The Office, and 30 Rock.

My anniversary

We celebrated 7 great years on the 16th.  The last few years, we've either have been separated by deployments, hired a crazy sitter that told us to come home early, or had been too poor/lazy to go out.  This year we actually went on a fabulous date to Roundtop Ski Resort. 

Dislikes

I get really sick of snow by the end of this month.  At Christmastime it's charming, by the end of January, it's a pain in the rear!

Dry, dry, dry, skin!  My fingernails chip and I have to put lotion on my hands at least 5 times a day to keep from turning into a reptile.