project so far in pictures!

alright, i have been a huge slacker with this whole blogging thing and i will be the first to admit to that. and so, here i am, back again apologizing for my slacker self and promising to do better yet always knowing that it's probably not going to change me...damn downside of this project is turning out to be the blog and i was all afraid that i would slack off in the crafty or cooking/baking arenas! anyhow, here's photo recaps of what i've been up to the last few weeks...there's lots of pics so i will be breaking up the blog into 2: food tonight, sewing stuff tomorrow...don't want to overwhelm you with so many pictures at once! i'll try to keep my descriptions short and non-rambling, no promises though!

my first attempt at beef stew, turned out a bit too thick, but good none the less

cornbread muffins to go with the stew; these were yummy!

2nd attempt at brownies from scratch; these were much better than the first ones and made with cocoa powder.

slice of keeper recipe for new orleans bread pudding...i forgot to take a pic when it was whole!

 dried hamburger buns before, destined to become homemade bread crumbs!

dried buns after, pulsed through the mini chopper...all in my effort to stop wasting hamburger buns!

 sour cream muffins, topped with cinnamon sugar. these were yummy!

half of the macaroni and cheese that the recipe i use makes; i freeze the half that we don't eat so we can have it another time!

the after effects of the macaroni and cheese on my dutch oven!

beer bread, because i just had the urge to make it one morning! this recipe was much better than the first one i tried, definitely a keeper!

peanut butter cookies...not as chewy as i would have liked. i'm still searching for a better recipe!

my first 9" round cake pans filled with my first attempt at crumb cake.

finished crumb cakes...made for the teachers at stephen's school, hope they were good!

allergen free (no eggs, nuts, or dairy) chocolate cupcakes. they are very good, super moist and jordan actually ate one plain, no frosting or sugar on top like the picture! these are a definite keeper!

wow! that was a lot of pictures and truth being told, i made a ton of other things that i just forgot to take pictures of so i've been keeping up the cooking/baking end of my project. it's actually kind of nice to get a craving and bake it up...that's why i made the beer bread and the peanut butter cookies!

i'm trying to limit my sampling as i bake and cook since i found that i had gained 5 pounds since starting the project and i really don't want weight gain to be the lasting effect of this project! 

up next are the pics of all my sewing projects...coming tomorrow or the next couple days! 

come back soon and thanks for stopping by!

just a little venting

it's been a long few days, life has caught up to my desire to blog and since we have to have clean clothes i let life win out over blogging! the kids were on break last week and although jordan doesn't go to school she chose to wake up every morning by 7:30 so it wasn't much of a sleeping break for me! naturally she is sleeping until 8:30 now, when i already have to be up by 7 for stephen. oh, well, summer will be here soon enough & then maybe i'll sleep in more!

this is just a quick update, so no pics...i haven't gotten them from off my camera yet, anyway! i have been sewing, baking and cooking though...at least keeping up that end of my self imposed project. i made up a couple more pillow case tops for myself and finally finished up the 2 peasant dresses for jordan to go along with the sewing side. as for the cooking and baking i've made chocolate chip cookies, corn bread muffins, beef stew, new orleans bread pudding, bruschetta, sangria (yes, i know you don't cook or bake that), sour cream muffins, and brownies from scratch. i'm sure i'm forgetting something!

so i'm keeping busy with that end, just not this end! i'll try to be better, but we all know that it's probably gonna be another week before i post something new again!

thanks much and come back soon...i promise to have pics next time!

brief recap and restart for the project!

i cannot believe that it's been (gasp!) a week since my last update...man, i'm such a slacker! so, instead of boring the pants off any of my wonderful readers, i am simply posting a couple pics of the last things i've been able to cook or bake and then starting over. i figure it's just easier that way and a whole lot less explaining on my part of my further laziness; although in this case it wasn't complete laziness since i was working on yardwork (which as a side note, i can't stand doing and so rather than pulling weeds every few weeks, i waited and had to completely rip apart our front flowerbeds just to get rid of all the overgrowth). hindsight being what it is, i know realize that i make things much harder for myself than i really should in the long run!

and with all that said, here's the few things i've made over the last week that i know you're just dying to see!  

bar-b-que meatballs, so super yummy!

i altered a recipe for comfort meatballs from the pioneer woman's cookbook. since i didn't have enough ketchup for the topping that was originally called for, i used sticky fingers bbq sauce instead. i loved them, but i am a complete bbq fiend so anything covered in that sauce is wonderful to me! i'll make them again sometime, but i'll try making the ketchup sauce next time...i think that'll make them more like meatloaf meatballs, which is what they are intended to be anyway!

blondies...like chocolate chip cookies without the chocolate chips!

i've always wanted to try blondies and after finding a recipe that made nuts optional, i decided to give them a try and break in my new metal 9x9 baker at the same time! (multitasking at it's finest, if i do say so myself!) so, anyway the recipe is from my joy of cooking book (which, by the way, i looove!). the cookies came together quickly and easily and the best way i can describe them is chocolate chip cookies with out the chocolate! no one in my family tried them (typical), which left more for me so i was fine with that in the long run. ok, another side note: it's amazing that i'm not as big as a house with all the things i continue to bake and eat! so, blondies are a keeper recipe...just in case you're keeping track!

mmmm...chocolate chip cookies!

i make some of the best chocolate chip cookies...yes, i'm rather proud of myself for that! i've been baking these cookies for the last 20 years so i better have them down by now! ok, figuring out that i've been baking cookies for 20 years makes me feel so very old! 

 chocolate chip muffins, in honor of chocolate day!

and finally, jordan declared monday to be chocolate day, and really i saw no reason to tell her that it wasn't! so in honor of chocolate day we had chocolate frosted cinnamon rolls, thanks to pillsbury (some things are better made from a can), more chocolate chip cookies and i made up some chocolate chip muffins just to use up the last of the chips that i had in the cabinet. all in all, a very tasty day!

alright, so it wasn't as short as i originally intended, but they never are since i tend to ramble on once i get started! 

i'm working on a couple tops for myself, dresses for jordan, and whatever else i decide to make up this week! 

it's spring break for stephen so we're going on a little field trip up to columbia tomorrow to check out the state museum, so there may be no baking or cooking done again until thursday when i plan on making a beef stew that isn't made using a pouch mix (that'll be a first for me). 

come on back soon! and a quick congrats, before i go, to the duke blue devils! the 2010 ncaa basketball champs!! it was a great game and i've been a duke fan for many, many years! just wanted to throw that in there!