Baby Blanket for Abigail

My latest knitting project was a baby shower gift to one of the new mommies in church. She's having a girl! All the babies being born this year in church are actually girls. Anyway, I found the pattern for the Simple Lines Baby Blanket from Mama's Stitchery Project. Thanks so much! You can't see the pattern as well because of the kind of yarn I used, but it's all good!

From Pinterest: Meatball Stuffed Biscuits

I hate neglecting this blog, but I haven't really been doing any DIY aside from cooking dinner on Mondays and Thursdays. And even then, I haven't really been in full cooking mode. More like semi-homemade cooking. But perhaps, I can just post those pictures...it's a possibility!

Anyway, I've been on Pinterest a lot, especially pinning a lot of food and drinks. Here's the latest. Very easy and very good. Meatball Stuffed Biscuits. I did it a little different, as you'll see. I did not sprinkle cheese and herbs on top. From the pin,the biscuits were divided into two to yield more and smaller servings. I didn't do that so I had less and bigger servings. Dividing the biscuits into two creates more stuffed biscuits because the dough really surrounds the meatballs. But truthfully, I didn't expand the pin. I saw the first few steps, made my own conclusions, got excited, and here's what I got! I would probably recreate the original recipe for a potluck party.

These were in for 10 min at 400°F. No toppings.

See what I mean? Bigger biscuits, but not as stuffed.

But it was still yummy!

MorningStar Farms California Turk'y Burger

As a BzzAgent, I received coupons for MorningStar Farms products, and they were impressive. They are veggie products that are full of flavor. It's hard to image they're meatless. I usually eat them straightforward, but thought I'd share this easy way to jazz up a turk'y burger. One word: preserves. Yep. I usually go with strawberry preserves, but any kind will do.

Heat up the patty according to directions, then put it in a sandwich of your choosing. My pick: turk'y burger, whole wheat buns, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, and strawberry preserves. Yum!

Cupcake Beanie

I call this the "Cupcake Beanie" because it looks like a cupcake: small bottom, big top! It fits big on me, but I'm oddly okay with that. I found 3 ways to wear this beanie! Check it out. Pattern at the bottom. I apologize right now because I didn't work off a pattern on this one, and I'm bad at keeping track of what I do. And I'm not about to sit here and count the rows because I'm off to watch "Pitch Perfect." Hahaha! Anyway, I'm a go-with-it DIYer so please forgive me.

First way to wear this beanie (above): My intention was to make a beanie that will flop behind or be big enough behind that I can tuck in my waist-long hair. Intention accomplished!

2nd way to wear (above): Folding the...brim...gave me a thickness to warm my ears. Another reason why I'm oddly okay with the size of this beanie is because I can pull it lower to cover my ears and nape. This is how I wear this beanie during morning carpool.

3rd way to wear (above): Almost like a beret!

Now for the pattern:

US Size 7 (4.5 mm) dpn, knitting in the round

Cast on [your size head x3] in multiples of 4

Rows 1-[how long you want it]: K2, P2

K2, Increase/Add stitch, P1, repeat until end of row

Next 2 rows: K

Next 2 rows: P

Next 5 rows: K

Next 2 rows: P

Repeat (K 5 rows, P 2 rows) until desired length, end with P 2 rows

Decrease Section. Decrease only on Knit rows:

K2tog, K3, repeat until end of row (Knit any odd stitch left at the end)

K entire row

K2tog, K2, repeat until end of row (Knit any odd stitch left at the end)

K entire row

K2tog, K1, repeat until end of row (Knit any odd stitch left at the end)

Purl 2 rows

Repeat Decrease Section until you are left with 8 stitches.

Cut 2-3 inches of yarn, and thread through the 8 stitches. Pull taut. 

Thread any excess yarn through the stitches.

Drew Barrymore's "Will's Favorite Pasta" with changes

I love when Drew Barrymore cooked on Ellen's show. "What'd I tell you?" she exclaimed. "Not sexy!" She reminded me of my sister: a little neurotic in the kitchen. Haha! Watching them cook is kinda entertaining. But I took Drew's recipe and cooked it with changes. It was GOOD! Unbelievably good. I thought it might be a little bland, but no. It was YUMMY, DELICIOUS, and HERBACIOUSLY ADDICTING. So here goes.

Here's the clip of Drew Barrymore cooking on Ellen.

Here's the actual recipe from ellentv.com: Drew Barrymore's "Will's Favorite Pasta" Recipe

And here's how I changed it.

1. I took out the Harissa sauce because I don't like spicy foods and I didn't want to buy it.

2. I added basil chicken. Pan fry cubed chicken breast with 1/2 cup basil (chiffonade cut), salt & pepper to taste and set it aside until sauce is almost done. Add chicken and al dente pasta into the sauce and heat through everything.

3. I added 1/2 small onion, cubed because I didn't have onion salt

4. I didn't use tomato paste

5. I used spaghetti rigatti because that's what I had

6. I added grated Parmesan cheese when serving

It wasn't very saucy and I was afraid it might come out bland, but it was delicious.

Quick and Easy Soup Recipes

It's been cold lately, so I've been cooking soups to warm up. Why didn't I think about putting up these recipes here before??? I don't know. But here they are. They're so simple.

Basic Ingredients:

• soup base: water and bouillon cubes or powder OR broth/stock
• your choice of: frozen veggies, pasta or noodles
• optional: eggs, cooked chicken strips cubed

I'm partial to chicken soup base. I use Knorr granulated chicken bouillon or Swanson chicken broth. If I use Knorr, I don't add salt and pepper. If I use a canned broth, I will add a little salt and pepper.

Misua Soup
Around 3-4 Servings
Ingredients:

• 4 cups soup base
• 1 1/2 cup frozen peas & carrots
• 1/2 to 1 cup misua noodles (depends on how much noodle you want)
• optional 1-2 eggs
• salt and pepper to taste, if needed

Instructions:

• Bring soup base to a boil.
• Add frozen vegetables.
• Lower heat to medium high.
• Add misua noodles. Stir, stir, stir.
• Boil until noodles are cooked and vegetables heated through.
• Optional: Add eggs and poach in soup until center is slightly firm.

Misua (or miswa, mee sua) is a very thin variety of salted Chinese noodles made from wheat flour. Find it in Asian grocery stores. It will say "misua" or "miswa" on the package. Sometimes it might say "Chinese Vermicelli" but it's different from rice vermicelli. I use the brands Tropics or UFC. It is powdery and breaks easily. It's very starchy. So a little bit goes a very long way.

The reason you add the misua in medium high heat is to make sure the noodles are fully cooked. If they're not, you will taste that powdery starch. You need to stir a lot because they can clump together, giving you clumped up starchy noodles. Confession: I actually love those clumps!

Filipinos have a dish simply called "Misua" or "Misua Bola Bola." It's a soup dish with meatballs, misua, and green onions. Some add more vegetables, and most will add eggs. I based this soup on that dish. I just didn't want to make the meatballs. I just wanted the misua! In times of intense cravings, I skip the veggies. Haha!

Bean Thread Soup
A bit of a cheat. It's the same as the "Misua Soup" but instead of using misua, use bean thread noodles or vermicelli noodles.

Egg Drop Soup
Around 3-4 servings
Ingredients:

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 3 eggs
• 1 tbsp chives (I use dried ones because that's what I have)
• optional: 1 tbsp corn starch mixed in 1 tbsp cold water

Instructions:

• Bring chicken broth to a boil.
• Get a fork ready nearby.
• Break eggs into the broth...unless you're not good at breaking eggs and tend to get shells in your cooking, then break the eggs into a bowl, fish out the shells, and drop the eggs into the broth.
• With a fork, pierce the yolks and stir, stir, stir. The fork will help you make ribbons out of the eggs.
• Add chives.
• Add corn starch mixture.

A note on corn starch: It should say in the box, but don't add corn starch directly into hot water because it will clump. Gross. I made adding corn starch optional because it's an extra step. It's makes the soup have a great consistency, but if you're feeling too cold or lazy (like me) then skip it. Hehehe!

Oh, and I don't always add the chives either. Or if I'm out of chives, I would use green onions.

Macaroni Soup
Around 4 servings
Ingredients:

• 5 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup elbow macaroni
• 1 cup frozen carrots
• 1 cup chicken strips cubed and/or shredded lunch meat
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Boil chicken broth.
• Add macaroni and boil until cooked.
• Add milk, carrots, and chicken and/or meat.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Boil until carrots and chicken and/or meat are heated through.

This is my simple take on the Filipino macaroni soup, which is a bit more complicated. Google it for recipes. You can buy cooked chicken strips. Or take lunch meat (which was the only thing I had one day) and shred it or cut it up. Ham works great. Turkey and chicken will work too. I don't recommend using roast beef or bologna.

If you have leftovers of this soup, refrigerate! It has milk, so if you leave it out, it will spoil.

Flower Arrangement

I love fresh flowers. I was just in a wedding and took home my MOH bouquet & 2 bridesmaid bouquets that was forgotten and left behind. My sister had her bridesmaid bouquet too. So 4 flower bouquets to work with! Yay!

When I was younger, my grandma said that when arranging flowers in a bouquet, remember to arrange them in 3 levels: sea, land, and air. This time, I ended up using 2 vases. I didn't follow the 3 levels though, because space was tight, but I like how it ended up. 

                                                   SIDE 1                                       SIDE 2

Easy "BBQ"

When it comes to BBQ I can only wish to be like Chef Bobby Flay, or anyone else who knows how to do it properly. When it comes to BBQ, my family tells my brother what to do. But I can fake it, without the grill. Here's how.

Ingredients

• 1-2 lbs of beef chuck cut in fajita-like strips
• 1 pkg your choice of McCormick marinade or Grill Mates dry rub
• about 2 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

• In large bowl, combine meat & seasoning pkg.
• Optional: follow the marinade recipe on the back.
• Cover the bowl and let the meat marinate at least 1 hr in refrigerator.
• Optional: As you cut the beef in strips, put them in the bowl to marinate as you cut. Then prepare your side dishes. When you're done with the side dishes, the meat will be ready to cook. Remember to keep your side dishes either warming or cooling.
• In large skillet, heat oil on medium high heat.
• Saute meat in sections. Put just enough to cover the bottom of the skillet, without the meat overlapping each other. Leave the meat alone. Don't touch. Let one side cook for about 4 minutes, then toss around sporadically until cooked (about another 4-5 minutes).
• Serve and enjoy!

This is good for sandwich wraps too!