#FundayMonday Link Party CO-HOST

This week I am thrilled to be Co-Hosting Funday Monday with Molly of Still Being Molly and Carly of Lipgloss and Crayons. These are a couple of my fave blogs, so it's quite an honor to be selected  as a co-host this week. And, thank you, ladies for featuring my post on Exceptional Blogging. An honor and a privilege!

Over the weekend I met up with Heather Thacker Photography for a fun photo shoot through Downtown Boone. We had such a great time! Here's a little sneak preview:

Image © Heather Thacker Photography

 

Welcome to Funday Monday! Here are a few of our favorites posts from last week’s link-up:

Layers & Distressed Denim || Best Beauty DIY of 2013 || Robot Cake || Five Steps to an Exceptional Blog

The Rules for #FundayMonday Link-Ups:

1. Follow your hosts Molly @ still being [molly] & Carly @ Lipgloss & Crayons! And, be sure to follow and check out this week’s guest hosts: Whitney @ Whitney 'Nic' James and Stephanie @ Newly Mynted.
2. Grab a button and / or post a link back here in your BLOG POST (NOT your blog’s main page) so your readers know what all the #fundaymonday-ness is about. We love you guys linking up and we do go through and read all your posts… so if you do not give credit, we will have to remove your link. That’s no fun, right? Right. So be nice and share a link! Pretty please?
3. Link your blog post up using the linky tool below! It can be ANYTHING! An outfit post, a giveaway, a story, a recipe, whatever. Why? Cause it’s #fundaymonday!
4. Visit a blog or four that you’ve never been to before and leave a #fundaymonday comment – you never know, you might “meet” someone new that you will lurve!
5. Have fun! Cause it’s Monday!

Want to cohost #FundayMonday? We are currently accepting weekly cohosts! Please email us at mollystillman@gmail.com for more info!

Cooking tip: DIY disposable grease traps

When it comes to being a mom blogger who cooks, I'm the first to admit I'm no Pioneer Woman. I can make a mean batch of mustard greens, but I'm still an easy-recipe, no mess no fuss kind of cook. I do, however, have a few tricks up my ... apron sleeve? No, I don't own an apron. Oven mit! Yes. I have a few tricks up my oven mitts. One of them is disposable grease traps. I've tried many techniques for draining grease from beef and other meats, but this method is hands down the most practical and clean. Logan caught onto me doing this and now does it himself. 

When you drain your meat, line a cereal bowl with aluminum foil. Drain into the bowl. Let it set on the counter or in the fridge until it solidifies, then wrap it up and toss it out. Easy as that! 

This is something I've been doing for years now and it's full proof. My sink doesn't get greasy and I don't risk clogging my drains.

Happy cooking!

Steph

Facebook        Twitter        Pinterest         Instagram        Email

Easy Southern Style Bacon Mustard Greens

Little by little I am learning the vast differences between city life and southern life. It seems greens are a staple food here in the south. I can't recall ever having had them in my life until recently. They are one of Logan's favorite foods.

I found myself scratching my head for a moment there, because I tried to make collard greens once and they were very tough, hardly chewable. For this, I went to his mother, a woman who grew up in a vegetable garden. She instructed me on the importance of the prep work involved in cooking mustard greens or collard greens just right. I quickly discovered I prefer mustard greens to collards because they have a spice to them, a flavor I enjoy. From there it was a matter of making the recipe my own. I know enough about cooking to know it's a matter of the palette and combining foods and spices that complement each other. And boy did it work! To quote Logan, "Don't ever tell my mother this, but I think yours are better." Even Regina thought so. She has now appointed me the mustard greens maker. What a compliment! Here is the Super Simple Bacon Mustard Greens Recipe (with nutritional info). Because I am a firm believer that everything is better with bacon.

Serves: 2
Prep: About 1 hr
Cook time: 40 min

Ingredients:
1 bundle (6-7 cups leaves) mustard greens (DO NOT buy the chopped pre-packaged bags of mustard or collard greens. Ever.)
10 slices bacon, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 mushrooms, diced

Prep Work:
Prepping your greens is the most important thing to getting them to cook just right. When you don't prep them properly, this is when they become tough and gritty to eat.

Fill your sink with cold water. Place your mustard greens in the sink and begin de-veining them. De-vein each leaf by pulling the leaves off of the center stem. The stem is what causes the toughness when you bite it, so remove it. This is also why I say not to buy the pre-packaged greens. They come chopped, so you have to de-vein each teeny tiny chopped leaf. Discard each stem and store your leaves in a large bowl.

Notice your sink water is most likely now brown and contains a lot of dirt. Drain it and refill it with cold water. Add the leaves back to the sink and agitate consistently for 2-3 minutes. Remove leaves and drain dirty water. Repeat this process until your sink water remains clear. It took me about three washing's. Mustard greens have very curly leaves which cause a lot of dirt to embed in them.

Now on to my award-winning recipe!

Cooking:
Saute bacon, garlic and mushrooms together in a large stock pot; drain any grease from the bacon. Fill pot with 1" of water and bring to a rapid boil. Return bacon to the pot, along with the greens. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 30 minutes. The greens will shrink down considerably.

Serves two as a main dish (Logan loves it all on its own) or four as a side dish with some stuffed pork chops.

I've also included the nutritional info for this recipe. As you can see, it is high in protein and low in calories. A great good-for-you meal!

Let me know in the comments below if you try this recipe. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

XO,
Steph

Facebook        Twitter        Pinterest         Instagram        Email
Sharing with:
Craft-O-Maniac // Homemaker On A Dime // SewCanDo

Fourth of July Guide

1:  HAVE A FUN BREAKFAST

Fourth of July Toast

Have a fun and delicious breakfast to start. 

2:  DRESS FOR THE OCCASION

American Summer Blouse

Get to feeling patriotic by dawning our nations colors.

3:  DECORATE

Pallet wood American Flag

A fun craft is always a great way to express yourself.

4:  PICNIC IN THE PARK

Gingham picnic basket

Family fun time begins with picnic's in the park. Throw together all your favorites, plus some Frisbee's or footballs, whatever you like.

5:  HAVE A COCKTAIL

Bourbon Peach Cocktail

Treat yourself. Have a delicious summer cocktail.

6:  ENJOY THE SHOW

Boy carrying fireworks, 18 October 1949, Daily Herald National Media Museum

Enjoy your local fireworks. My favorite way to watch them when I was a kid was right from the roof of my house.

Facebook        Twitter        Pinterest         Instagram        Email

Caramel Apple Banana Bundt Cake

The other day I needed to come up with a dessert for my kiddos. Now, without sounding boastful, I ought to tell you, I am well known for my banana bread and my coffee cake. And on this day I had a bunch of ripe bananas, as well as a can of caramel apple pie filling. I decided to try an alternative to my banana bread recipe, making a scrumptious cake instead. My kids love it!

Ingredients:

Cake:

1 1/2 C flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3 eggs

1/2 C sugar

1 1/2 C banana, mashed

1/2 C caramel apple pie filling (reserve 1 tsp caramel sauce)

2 Tbsp sour cream

1 lemon, juiced

Icing:

1 C powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 Tbsp milk

1/8 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp caramel sauce (from can)

Instructions:

1: Preheat oven to 350°.

2: Coat your bundt pan in shortening and flour; set aside.

3: In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

4: In a large bowl, whisk together egg and sugar until well blended. Fold in bananas, pie filling, and sour cream gently. Juice lemon into bowl.

5: Add the flour mixture to the banana cake bowl a little at a time, stirring with each addition until everything is thoroughly combined.

6: Poor the cake mix into the bundt pan; bake 50-60 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

7: Let the cake stand for up to five minutes, then remove it from the pan, transfering to a cooling rack. Cool cake completely.

8: In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients for the icing and drizzle lightly over cake.

***Tips & tricks***

Freeze bananas a day or two before using, then pull them out the morning of baking. They will be the ripest and most delicious.

When juicing lemons, use your hand as a sieve  Cut the lemon in half and hold it right-side-up in your palm. This will allow your hand to catch any seeds that may squeeze out. You also get the most juice with this grip.

Love dearly,

Steph

Facebook        Twitter        Pinterest         Instagram        Email

#banana bread #banana bread alternative #uses for pie filling

Chicken Stew Recipe

Sometimes the best meals are the ones you make up with whatever you find in your pantry, and take little to no effort. Yes, those are my favorite recipes, the ones that pretty much cook themselves. This stew became quite a hit in my house on Saturday night. My kids gobbled it up. Since clearly this meal is kid friendly, I asked my daughter, Lana, what we ought to call it for the blog post.

Her reply was, "'Everything Good For You Stew,' because it has everything good for you: beans, vegetables, meats, and lots of sour cream. I love sour cream!"

So there you have it, condensed, it became Chicken EGFU Stew. I figured EGFU sounded better than EGFY.

Chicken EGFU Stew
Ingredients:
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 lb Ground chicken
2 stalks celery, chopped
14.5oz Chicken broth
14.5 oz can Organic diced tomatoes
15.5 oz can Northern beans
15.25 oz can White corn, drained
15.25 oz can Black beans
2 cloves Garlic, minced
Minced Onion
Cumin
Coriander
Basil
2 Bay leaves
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
Warm oil in stockpot over medium heat. Add chicken and celery; cook through. Add remaining ingredients; simmer 20 minutes.
*Serve with a dollop of sour cream and cheese bread.

Variations might include:
Substitute ground chicken for Italian sausage or chorizo
Use red kidney beans

Let me know your variations.

Love dearly,
Steph

Facebook        Twitter        Pinterest         Instagram        Email

Sharing with: