7/19/12

Repurposed Leftovers Potstickers



Potstickers makes: ~ 60-70 pot stickers

I used the leftovers from the week (so you can use any combination)
2 Cups White Rice
2 Cups Mixed Stir Fry Veggies
2 Cups Parmesan Chicken

Mix all together in food processor ( everything is the same size)
1. Combine all the ingredients (except for the pot sticker wrapper). I use my hands to thoroughly combine the ingredients.

2. Lay your pot sticker wrapper on a small plate, fill a small bowl with water. Dip your finger into the water and moisten the edge of half the pot sticker wrapper. Put a spoonful of filling (~½ tbs) into the center of the wrapper. Careful to not over fill otherwise you will not be able to seal the pot sticker and the filling will leak out during cooking.

3. Close the wrapper by folding the wrapper in half and pressing the moisten edge together with the un-moisten edge, fold 4 -5 pleats to prevent the pot sticker from opening.

4. Boil in hot water til they come to float, next Heat a pan on medium heat, coat pan with a small amount of oil. When oil is hot, add pot sticks in a single layer, make sure the pot stickers are not touching. Fry until golden brown on both sides (about 2 minutes)

any extra you can freeze for another night
______________________________

Spicy Orange Sauce

1 cup fresh orange juice
1 tbl spoon soy sauce
1/3 cup teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp garlic, minced
2 red chili peppers chopped red pepper flakes

fry garlic and peppers in oil. next add rest of ingredients and simmer for 45 min til it thickness and reduces

3/25/12

What for Breakfast?



Big Daddy's Breakfast Bread Pudding

If you only new in the twenty years of marriage my husband never has been one to cook.. BBQ yes! Cooking NO!! So lately he has been watching show " The Chew" with me at night in bed. I think he is getting inspired. Yeah.. me..lol He first inspiration has been a hit in our house, so I wanted to shared with you his recipe. I am a proud happy wife!
Ingredients
1 pound bacon, diced 
1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
8-10 pieces of bread cut into 1-inch pieces
6 ounces grated medium yellow cheddar
7 large eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1/4 tsp salt plus a pinch
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper

Cooking Directions
In a medium skillet cook the bacon over medium high heat until crisp and the fat has rendered, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove the bacon using a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Remove all but 1 1/2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings from the pan and reserve the drippings on the side. To the remaining drippings in the pan add the onions, and cook, stirring often, until soft and lightly caramelized, 4 to 6 minutes. Return the bacon to the pan and stir to combine.
Using a 9x11 spray with pam. Add half of the bread pieces to the dish, then spoon half of the onion-bacon mixture over the bread. Sprinkle cheese over bacon. Repeat to form a second layer with the remaining bread, bacon-onions and cheese.
In a mixing bowl combine the eggs, milk, salt, and remaining seasonings and whisk to combine. Pour the egg-milk mixture slowly over the casserole so that it is evenly distributed. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours or up to overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and remove the breakfast casserole from the refrigerator while the oven is preheating.
Remove the plastic wrap from the casserole and then cover with a piece of buttered aluminum foil (buttered side down). Bake for 20 minutes. Remove casserole from the oven and remove the foil, then continue to bake, uncovered, until casserole is puffed, set in the middle, and golden brown on top, 20 to 30 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.


3/8/12

What's For Dinner


Corn Beef Tacos..
I love to cook, along with creating new things. So, I have been on a kick to enhance the dinners I am making and taking to next level.. Don't I sound chef like..lol I wish.
 I love it when others enjoy my cooking it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

My first time sharing a recipe. 
I hope you try this and enjoy it with your family and friends as I did. 
let me know what you think.

Corn Beef
Put corn beef in slow cooker for 6/8 on high
1 can of beer (I use Corona or Tecate)
1/2 cup water
Add a pinch garlic and onion powder

Mayo Sauce
1/4 cup Mayo
  2Tablespoons Sriracha style chili sauce, Tabasco or any chili hot sauce
1 teaspoon lemon/lime juice
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
Add a pinch of salt, garlic and onion powder

Nopales Tomatillo Salsa
1 pound of cactus prepared and diced (boil in water for 5 min rinse and drain)

>>>>>>Now take
1/2 pound tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and quartered
2 serrano peppers or 1 jalapeño pepper, chopped*
1/4 white onion rough chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled
Make a foil dish and place everything in and sprinkle with salt and olive oil and roast in broiler for 15 minutes until it has some charred look.
>>>>> Now place everything in to blender and add the following ingredients
1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves
Heaping 1 teaspoon salt
Squeeze of fresh lime juice to taste**



2/28/12

What is Pinterest?

What can you tell me about Pinterest. How does it work for and with blogs? I love site just new and not up to date on its abilities. Something more fun to learn :)

Blessings full of Sparkles n Sprinkles,



2/13/12

I'm back!

Oh how I missed blogging! I miss it so much. Well, I will be off for 6 weeks do having a hysterectomy surgery, so now I will have time to blog and enjoy myself again :) 

Bloggers, I need you're help tell me, what I have missed.. what's new to blogging, what are some of the trends, craft trends and cooking ideas?

I look forward to blogging with you again...Thanks


6/8/11

A Busy Family life!

Here is what we have been up to lately! 
Very life changing things here... I must say for the kids and us as parents!
We have 3 kiddos..  and 2 out of the three promoted and one graduated from High School!
This Corrie Promoting from 8th grade to a freshman
This is the baby! I cant believe in 4 short years I will be done with kids in school! :(



This is Jesse our High School Graduate .. Class of 2011 :)
So proud of him! He has big plans to go to college and become a Engineer 
(not sure of the field of Engineering he wants to specialize in yet)


Our Middle child Cheyenne with will be a senior next year! Class 2012
 
Any words of wisdom or thought? How long do let kids live at home after graduating? Do give rules and curfew? What will empty nest be like, how do I prepare? HElP....

5/17/11

What not to Clean or not Clean

What not to clean or not clean, as more mistakes are made in this area. A Rule thumb is that if you are not sure, don't do it! No! Halt! Stop! Danger!  What took nature hundreds or thousands of years to create can be destroyed by  in a moment. What you might think of as "dirt" is known to the collector as "patina" and adds to the value and beauty of antique and ancient items. How can you tell the difference between "dirt" and "patina"? This is a bit of a fuzzy area, but I would say in general patina cannot be removed with water, or by soft brushing, but dirt can. DO NOT REMOVE the patina! You can feel free to contact me with questions if in doubt. 
 
So what is this patina? Patinas are chemical compounds formed on the surface of metals. Many patinas form naturally, by weathering. Figuratively, "patina" can refer to any fading, darkening or other signs of age on any material. It is natural and/or unavoidable. The chemical process by which a patina forms is called "patination," and a work of art coated by a patina is said to be "patinated." For instance a statue or object which has been handled a lot can be worn down and acted upon by the oils in the human hand, imparting a smooth (as imposed to encrusted) patina. Patina often adds value, shows authenticity and should not be removed. An exception would be a heavily encrusted object which one planned to keep forever, or exhibit in a museum and which would be enhanced by getting down to original material. In my opinion many, many objects in museums (even world-class ones) are over-cleaned or over-restored or both.. The Bottom Line: Leave it a bit dirty rather than risk damage or over-cleaning!

Let's continue with some basic tips.
  • warm water is the best and most gentle cleanser. Use caution, however on delicate porous materials: cloth, paper, wood, silk, etc, or anything really delicate or fragile. Clean an itsy-bitsy, teeny-tiny, little area first. If it looks like it might damage the item stop!
  • Lemon Juice is also a good and fairly mild cleaning agent for stickers, etc. Don't use lemon juice on porous materials in general.
  •  For truly delicate objects the best you may be able to do is to brush the item with a soft brush and clean whatever dust and dirt you can by gently dusting the object. It is better to have a somewhat dirty object than to destroy it of course!
  • If you are more certain of the objects solidity you may proceed to using warm water with a little bit of dish soap. A 1% solution should be pretty safe. I use this for most pottery, even ancient pottery, for example.
  • The next level would be warm water, soap and scrubbing from gentle to vigorous. 
  • Finally harsher methods such as solvents and scraping can be used. I will only touch on this briefly as the potential for damage is high.
  • Professionals can also use lasers, obviously we won't be talking about that!
On to the specifics in order from easiest to hardest:
  • Porcelain ceramic and modern glass: this is really the easiest. Just hand clean as you would a normal dish, but do so by hand and gently. Use a 1% soap solution. a toothbrush should do the trick for stubborn bits. Try lemon juice if this does not work.  Porcelain is amazingly hard and if it has encrustations on it (old sticker material, etc.) you can remove it with a razor blade. the blade must be  held  perpendicular to the object. push the blade only as hard as you need to do to remove the offending substance. Don't push too hard or you will leave a black mark which you will not be able to remove. You can do the same for glass and mirrors, provided they are not heavily damaged.
  • Hard Stone (granite, marble, etc): more or less the same as above, but DO NOT scrape it with metal as metal is harder than stone in most cases and will scratch it. If you must scrape, use plastic or wood.
  • steel, iron, aluminum modern metal; this is usually pretty easy to clean using the 1% solution and a soft brush (toothbrush should be fine here too). Iron (and non-stainless steel) are susceptible to rust. Light rust and encrustation can be safely removed with mild chemicals. I recommend "Never-Dull" and nothing else. If you use it, read the label first. Heavy rust can be removed with steel wool, but this may leave scratches if the metal is soft. This is a personal decision. I would, for example use steel wool on an old wagon wheel, but never, ever on an item like an antique sword.
  • Wood, leather: I would avoid soap if at all possible, as it may penetrate the item and have unintended consequences. Use a damp cloth and a lot of patience. Use butchers wax in a can and  a fine paintbrush to work the wax into the item after you clean it. Then finish up with a soft cloth. It is amazing what wax can do for wood and leather! Don't use pledge or other spray waxes, they have to many other "ingredients". Keep it simple.
  • Bronze: Dust it, wax it, and forget about it. Don't do anything else or you will probably be sorry. Don't come crying to me if you ignore this sage advice. do not remove the patina!!!
  • Anything ancient or really valuable: Dust it with a fine bristle paint brush and leave it alone. Anything more should be left to professionals. If you must clean it contact me and I will see if I can help.
  • Paper, cloth, silk, etc.: These materials are exceedingly delicate, however a damp (almost dry) automotive quality cloth can be used to very, very, gingerly remove surface dirt. Test a teeny-tiny non-visible area first for fastness.