Do You Have Time to Cook a Corned Beef?!

A show of hands please...

Do you have time to cook a corned beef on Saint Patty's day?   

Do not feel bad! 

Here's what you do: 

Call a few friends & ask if they would like to meet you at a pub for a Guinness & some corned beef sandwiches

When they ever so kindly oblige, tell them to save room for dessert because you have prepared a nice little Irish spread at your home.  

On your way home from work pick up the following items & ingredients (that of which you don't already have in your pantry):

Bailey's Irish Cream 

Coffee

Whipped Cream

Green Food Coloring

Chocolate Syrup

Dessert (I chose a pecan pie)

Seasonal Flowers

Nothing screams Spring is on it's way like a beautiful bunch of white tulips this time of year!

   

I placed my flowers in a kelly green pail that I found at Target for $2.50...

After you enjoy your meal & head back home:

Brew a fresh pot of coffee

Once finished, add a shot of baileys to each cup & top with whipped cream

OR

Don't feel like drinking? Just use a festive flavored coffee, such as Irish Chocolate Mint!

Add some green food coloring to look like a leprechauns foot prints & some chocolate syrup 

Take out your delicious dessert & prepare your spread!

Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!!! 

*****

THANK YOU faithful fans & friendly readers for staying by my side through my hiatus. I have missed blogging so much & promise you that many fun posts are in store! 

I guess even a Jane of All Trades can burn out sometimes... Trying to juggle 3 jobs, school & life in general has not been easy, but throughout it all, I have somehow remembered to not lose sight of what truly makes me happy... Cooking! Art! Design! Living!

Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?

 Let's face it- my financial status is at an all time low. So with my 2010 #1 goal in tact: turning adversity into prosperity, I will be making homemade gifts well into 2011.

Cookie Jar with Paisley Cookies
 
My cookie jar concept arrived when I found an adorable jar for $2.49. I knew I needed the perfect birthday present for a friend with a sweet tooth & a fantastic eye, so I snagged it!  P.S. she loves paisley...


So paisley cookies it is!

Next, I ran to Joann Fabrics for some decorating ideas & hopefully some cheap finds! This is what I found:

Small polka-dot ribbon - 25 cents
Larger blueish/cyan colored ribbon - 2.99 (she loves this color)
Set of 10 Gift Tags - 1.00 (yes, I found that adorable pink tag in a set for a buck)

If you have the ingredients in your home to make sugar cookies and royal icing, this adorable gift will cost you about 7 dollars!!!

If you do not have the ingredients purchase the following:

Food coloring - 2.99
A roll of  Pillsbury sugar cookies - 3.99
Wilton brand cookie icing (in white) - 4.99

This project will now cost you about 19 dollars!!!


JOAT Advice:

1.  Sometimes, time is money. Choosing to purchase cookie dough rather than bake cookies from scratch is absolutely acceptable. Pillsbury sugar cookies are delicious!
2. Making royal icing from scratch is s-i-m-p-l-e & comes out much better than store bought icing. It requires confectioners sugar & egg whites. 
3. Food coloring is cheap & a little goes a long way.
4. Always hand write your message.
5. Cookie cutters not required. Print a stencil off the internet, place it on top of the flattened cookie dough and cut around it.
   

A Penne For Your Thoughts

Cooking (especially baking) can be extremely intimidating when starting out. From the minute you enter the grocery store... "Oh gosh! What's the difference between a flank steak & a round eye roast?! How am I supposed to know that feta cheese & goat cheese are different?! Arrrrgh!

Jane of all Trades Advice: Practice makes perfect and if you don't use it, ya lose it. So get cookin'! Here is a delicious recipe (created by yours truly) to get you started.  

Penne Romano

  Recipe serves 4 - 6 

 

You Will Need:

1 box penne

1 can diced tomatoes

2 cups sliced mushrooms

2 cups spinach

6 cloves garlic

1 lb. seasoned turkey sausage 

1 cup grated fresh Romano cheese

1/2 cup olive oil

dash of cayenne pepper

Directions:

Cut sausage in 4 parts & cook on medium heat

In separate pan, pour 1/2 cup of olive oil on high heat

Once oil starts to smoke, reduce heat and add mushrooms, spinach & garlic

...Cook through

Then add:

cooked sausage (cut up into 1 inch pieces)

diced tomatoes

1/2 cup Romano cheese

 ...and cook until hot & bubbling

Serve with a dusting of Romano cheese & basil

Christmas Florals My Style

Remember those holiday tips for the home?

Watch me put one of them into effect...

 

First I went to the store to look for a nice white flowers that I don't normally see around Christmas time.

I chose orchids

Now! What could I do to add some red... hmm...

Carnations? Bleh.

Roses? Yuck.

Then I found these really pretty Winter Berries!

Christmas colors! Think, think, think...

White...

Red...

Green!

Then I stumbled upon the most beautiful cluster of Baby Hydrangea!

Now let's see...

I'm liking it, I'm liking it.

What am I missing?!

Much better

 Much better indeed!

These are a few of my favorite things

If you are like me, and wait til the last minute to go shopping for the holidays...

Here are a few of my favorite things that you can still order & receive before Christmas. Hanukkah! Oy! I'm a little late, but these are great gift ideas if you are still browsing.

1

This has got to be one of the coolest gifts I have ever seen!  It is the Cocktail Mixology set from Tea Forte. Using tea to make exotic cocktails?

  

 I'm obsessed...

 2 

This is such a great gift for your friend with a shoe fetish. 

 

3

This mesh chain necklace from gap.com would look adorable with any New Years Outfit!

4

I found this Taste Test recipe Book at Anthropologie.

It's colorful pages will spark the little chef inside any girl! She could use it to jot down her own creations, or fill the empty slots with  passed down recipes.

5

A Polka Dot Mani Pedi Gift from Burt's Bees!

It has polka dots... need I say more?

I'm too Chilly to Go Outside!

brrr definition

brrr or brr (bʉr)

interjection

used to signify that one feels cold

*************

Ugh! Those nights where you feel like cooking, but you don't want to run to the store because it's starting to get so cold out!

Hmm, let's see... what's in the fridge? (aka you will need):

1 lb Lean Ground Beef or Turkey

1 large Onion, chopped

3 cloves Garlic, chopped

How about the pantry?

Salt, a dash or two

Pepper, a dash or two

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

1 tablespoon Dark-Brown Sugar

1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
1 teaspoon Mustard Powder

1 Can Tomato Puree, 14 oz. can

Worcestershire Sauce, a splash or two
 Rolls 
(I like potato rolls, but any rolls will do)!

Looks like we're having...

Sloppy Jane's!

Add olive oil to pan and fry up the onions & garlic over medium heat, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes. Feel free to add salt & pepper and/or cayenne pepper- depending on whether or not you are in the mood for Spicy Sloppy Jane's.

Add meat to pan. Once cooked all the way through, add the remaining ingredients and stir occasionally for about 10 minutes or until the mixture becomes a little thick.

When mixture is ready, fill up a potato roll with the delicious mess & serve with a handful of onion rings! 

A Little Help Please!

For a few years now, I have had this ongoing joke with my friends that I am going to write a self-help book. When you open it up, it would consist of one page. That page would read:

 

Go Help Yourself!

Truth be known, I am not a hater of the self-help book. It is just a matter of finding the right one for you through the mounds of rubbish that people or shall I dare say, experts publish daily.

Some of these books offer advice from a religious standpoint, while others from a medical one. Some have been around since Before Common Era, while others are written by a “life coach”. The truth of the matter is that you need to find an author that you really connect with. Personally, I like reading quotes for a little pick me up. Short & Sweet Saves the Day!

There are however, two books I hold to high regard when looking for “help” (or what I like to call guidance)… and aren’t we all! Oddly enough, neither of them were written by experts, just people who loved to write and decided to pursue a literary career.

 

 

The Joy of Doing Things Badly: A Girl’s Guide to Life, Love and Foolish Bravery by Veronica Chambers  

 

The Prophet, by Khalil Gibran - a series of philosophical essays written in English prose. 

 I'm all for a little written advice here & there...

Hope I could be of help!