Earlyrisers's Blog

Social Butterflies

earlyrisers — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 01:50:43 +0000

I started another blog with my partner in crime, and now in business; Melanie W. You can find us at RIGHT HERE. Yes, click there and you shall see! We’re completely excited about two upcoming events that we have the privilege of coordinating. More to come on those events, just keep coming back!

When It Rains, It Pours…

earlyrisers — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 23:48:28 +0000

I guess I should have written, when pipes freeze, burst, and thaw out… then it pours… Here’s my story.

It all began with a small water leak. Our entire water system is stationed in the garage. Hot water heater, water softener, pump, drains, etc. During the coldest part of our winter, the hot water tank decided to spring a very small, yet noticeable leak. Since Matthew has been working eight days a week, I called on his dad, Tommy; and my dad too. My dad has made it be known since I was teeny tiny that he doesn’t do plumbing, and after all the troubles I’ve had lately… I totally get it.

Tommy came over to help me (and by help me, I mean do 99% himself) take out the corroded tank and drive in the icy-snow to buy me a new shiny one. Long story short, the new tank didn’t work, had to uninstall it, take it back and exchange it for a different one. Problem solved. And believe me, there is way more to that story. It wears me out just thinking about it.

Then… the weather starts warming slightly. I go into the garage to do some laundry, and I hear water gushing. The outside water spout which is right outside the garage, in between the garage and the formal living room had burst. Water was literally gushing out of the sheetrock. Immediately I flipped the breaker to the well, and called my dad and Tommy. As I waited for them to arrive, I went into the living room and noticed one of Maxwell’s sippy-cups turned on its side. Went to pick it up, and thought, “dang.. that’s a lot of water for a tiny cup”. Took another step and water splashed up on my ankle. My mother walked in at this point and the two of us cleared that room of all the furniture and toys faster than we’ve ever moved before. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves..

Thank the sweet Lord above for such great family and friends! Kyle and Tonie helped rip this nasty wet carpet out of my house!

Look at that shiny kitchen knife!

The look on Maxwell’s face is exactly how I was feeling. :(

More help came! John and Liz are two more amazing friends who knew I needed help! And of course, Isaac was a help to John.

Maxwell was happy again. And so was I. :)

I thanked John and Liz with a box of Banana-Cinnamon Cupcakes topped with a Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting. I mean, what says thank you like a ton of sugar, butter, cream cheese, and more sugar?

Did I mention that I topped them with some pecans that I toasted in more butter, sugar, and cinnamon? Yummy…..

So it goes without saying that I am so lucky to have such amazing family and friends.

Gumbo…. finally

earlyrisers — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 03:15:09 +0000

For anyone who is a friend on facebook, I promised a Gumbo recipe weeks ago. I have no excuse for my laziness. At least no excuse I care to write about, or that you would even care to read. Trust me.

I’ve never made gumbo before. I’ve eaten it too many times to count though. My first restaurant employment was at Pearl’s Oyster Bar (southside). So you can believe that I’ve eaten my lion share of cajun dishes. I think the thing I loved about the gumbo at Pearl’s was the dark roux that helped blend all the other flavors together. The recipe I’m about to share is a much,much lighter roux… more like a creamy broth? Although I prefer the Pearl’s version, this one really was fantastic, especially for how easy it is!

What you’ll need:

1 pound Andouille Sausage (unless that’s too spicy for you… then I suggest an Italian Sausage in it’s casing.)
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cubed (season with salt, pepper, garlic powder)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped (I prefer the white onion in this gumbo, bolder flavor)
3 celery ribs, chopped
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I use a full teaspoon… but I like the heat it gives.)
1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning (You could substitute any of these spices for something else. I think Tony’s Creole would be awesome!)
3 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
2/3 cup uncooked brown rice
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups frozen sliced okra (It’s hard to find pre-sliced frozen okra that isn’t battered. So I bought the frozen whole okra, let them thaw slightly and chopped it myself.)

Directions

In a Dutch oven, brown sausage and chicken in oil. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm.
In the drippings, saute red pepper, onion and celery until tender.
While these are cooking slice the sausage into bite size slices. Stir in the seasonings; cook for 5 minutes.
Stir in the broth, rice and sausage mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until rice is tender.
Stir in tomatoes, shrimp and okra; cook for 10 minutes or until shrimp turn pink, stirring occasionally.
SIDE NOTE!!!!!! I didn’t like cooking the rice in the gumbo. I would recommend cooking it in a different pot and adding it as you serve it. ALSO…. make garlic bread to go with it. YUM-YUM!

Looks like you could reach out and take that shrimp! Go ahead… make some!

New Shoes…

earlyrisers — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 03:05:15 +0000

by Paolo Nutini… I’ve never heard of this guy, or the song. But luckily for me, the lyrics are posted. So I used the few lyrics to go with the photo I was thinking about… Here it is:

I’m kind of digging the song. Maybe you should check it out. Try itunes, or even Scrapping The Music. If you’re into this kind of thing, submit an entry. You may win some s.b. supplies.

And to my recipe fans (if in fact, there are any out there), I promise to post something yummy and amazing soon!

I’ll let you know if I win!

Scrapping The Music

earlyrisers — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 04:16:06 +0000

I am a fan. Go here: Scrapping The Music. I mean, if you like to “scrapbook”. My pal, Melanie, the one who really turned me on to the fine art of scrapbooking told me about this site (among others). They have weekly contests with selected songs as the muse. I love the concept. In fact, the scrapbook I created for my sister-in-law, Amber, was driven by songs and/or lyrics.

Here’s my first entry to “Scrapping The Music“. The song choice was “Stand By Me”.

I’ll post my future pages, just in case anyone is interested.

Oh! And I must give a ‘shout out’ to Misti. She’s the genius behind the camera. These photo’s were taken in September, 2009.

Asian (Caucasian) Beef-Pot-Pies

earlyrisers — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 04:05:30 +0000

I’ve been researching ground beef recipes lately. We have a cow processed every year to stock our freezer. It’s better quality, less expensive in the long run, and organic. The deal is, there is SOOOO much ground beef (very lean), and there are so many burgers, taco’s, spaghetti, etc. that a girl can prepare. So I stumbled upon an Asian Lettuce Wrap recipe that looked great. I revamped it a bit, twisted it to a little more American style (so people like my Dad, kids, etc. may try it). Here’s what I came up with:

Ingredients

Puff Pastry Shells
1 pound lean ground beef
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce (depending on how much you love that salty goodness)
1/4 cup hoisin sauce (Matthew asked… “Poison Sauce??? WTH?”, “no dear, it’s HOISIN”)
3 teaspoons minced pickled ginger
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
Asian chile pepper sauce (optional… yet I totally recommend it. I used about 2 tablespoons.. I could have added more)
1 (5 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped all the way up to the greens
2 teaspoons Asian (dark) sesame oil

Directions

Slice and dice your onions, ginger, and garlic ahead of time. Also, measure out all the sauces into little ramekins. This makes it easy to start throwing these ingredients in once it’s time.
In a medium skillet over high heat, brown the ground beef, stirring often and reducing the heat to medium, if necessary. Drain, and set aside to cool. Cook the onion in the same pan, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar, and chile pepper sauce to the onions, and stir. Stir in chopped water chestnuts, green onions, sesame oil, and cooked beef; continue cooking until the onions just begin to wilt, about 2 minutes.
Cook the pastry shells as instructed. Make sure you brush the tops with an egg wash before cooking, it gives them a nice crisp.
Once the shells have cooled slightly, use a butter knife to get the tops off, fill each shell with the delicious filling, and enjoy! They’re even better the next day.

These are the puff pastry’s (in case there is any confusion).

Yum. These are so good. I can’t lie, while I was uploading this photo I got up, warmed up an A.C.B.P.P., burned my tongue… and now I’m sad because my taste buds are scorched. (((sigh)))

I will also suggest sprinkling some cayenne pepper in the mixture. I love heat in my food. So if you do too, go for it.

Let me know what you think when you try this recipe!

Spicy Dill Pickles

earlyrisers — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 12:46:37 +0000

Disclaimer: If you recreate my recipe, you will never buy store-bought pickles again. Seriously.

Here’s what you need:

6 or 7 cucumbers (slice them into “sandwich slices”)
4 cups water
3 & 1/2 cups white vinegar
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh dill weed (it MUST be fresh. Don’t buy the freeze dried)
1/3 cup white sugar
12-14 cloves garlic, (I use my garlic press to crush each clove evenly. Mince or chop it if you like.)
4 tablespoons coarse salt
3 tablespoon pickling spice
2 teaspoons dill seed
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 Jar sliced jalepeno’s
1 red onion (long thin slices)

Directions

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Actually, you may need more than one bowl… (depends on how big the bowl is). OH.. but I don’t think you should use any kind of metal bowl. Something about the metal and vinegar not being friends. I don’t know. Stir, and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours, until the sugar and salt dissolve (in case you didn’t know, this is called a “brine”).
Remove the cucumbers to canning jars. If you stack the cucumber slices in the jar you can fit more . Make sure you add some of the onions and peppers. Ladle in the liquid from the bowl to cover. Put the lids on and refrigerate for 10 days before eating. Use within 1 month.

Go… make pickles!

Oh Christmas Break…

earlyrisers — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 21:34:23 +0000

How I love thee… Actually, I’m so glad that the overly ambitious projects I set myself up to do are completed and out of my house!

The first project I started was my first quilt. About three (maybe four) months ago I bought some quilting squares on ebay. Then I thought to myself, “oh crap… now I need a sewing machine!”. So I convinced my sweet husband that a sewing machine could be my early Christmas present, and in turn I would create beautiful trinkets for all whom are near and dear to me. And that’s where it began. I will say that the quilt I made for my sister-in-law, Betty, is gorgeous. I didn’t take near enough photo’s of it, but here is one as she opened it:

Betty has an awesome camera too, maybe I can get her to take some photo’s of it, along with the freehand stitching I did of her name. (Right Betty?)

The next project I started a couple months ago was the scrapbook I made for my other favorite sis-in-law, Amber.

She had given me lots of her scrapbooking supplies a while back so I could use it for making cards. What she didn’t know, is I had the master plan to create her a leather-bound treasure of her boys’ and other loved ones. Most of the inspiration for each page came from a song, so I also burned her a cd of all the songs that influenced the pages.

Then came the pot holders that I mentioned in the previous post. Here’s another picture of a set:

These are the ones I gave my mother-in-law, Chris. I live for the expression on the faces of those who receive these…

…and….. there it is:

Accompanying the pot holders was an entire basket of “goodies” that Tonie and I endlessly worked on. We were baking, and mixing, and wrapping, etc. etc. etc…. It was a lot of work, but the response to all the treats was overwhelming.

But once all was said and done, I enjoyed all my nephews, parents, and grandparents. My sons’ had a beautiful Christmas, and I was able to totally surprise Matthew with a very nice Husky ToolBox.

One of my favorite gifts to give was a huge box filled with helium balloons for Maxwell. It was the first time I ever heard him say, “AWESOME”. That was awesome.

Isaac received many fun toys and gadgets… I think he loves his new “Harrah” bag the most. (Thanks Aunt Amber!)

We got soft-air-pellet guns for Ryan and Zachary. Along with guns were plastic jars of 6,000 tiny orange pellets. The kicker was when Zachary accidently dropped an entire bucket on Memere’s kitchen floor…

Boy, that was fun to clean up! I bet Chris and Ed find little orange bullets in their house for the rest of their lives!

I was so excited to see my brother and his family. It’s always a treat when they visit! Alton is quite possibly the most intelligent child I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. So witty and thoughtful he is. And little Dylan took to his Tio Murray like a duck to water. I would walk in my parents door and he wouldn’t even have a “hello” for his Tia Angee, just a, “where’s Tio Murray?” Oh I love those boys…

It was the most awesome Christmas, ever!

Creativity Comes From Freedom…

earlyrisers — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 04:55:20 +0000

So the title of this blog was stolen from a scrapbook sticker. I would know because I’ve been sifting through the biggest collection of scrapbook supplies known to the free world. That’s right. My good friend, Melanie W., has more paper, stickers, embellishments, buttons, ribbons, letters, stamps…. okay, i could go on and on.. but I won’t. You get the point. When I say she puts Hobby Lobby to shame, trust me. She may need an intervention. Ha! But honestly, I learned more about letting go of my analytical viewpoints in the last few days then I ever thought possible.

I’ve also been very busy sewing together these very cute (yet naughty) pot-holders. Let me give a little history. My grandma passed away almost two years ago. When we were going through her personal items, there were only a few things I wanted to keep. There was a very old copy of “David Copperfield”, foreign money (both paper and coins) from all over the world (I assume her brothers and my Grand-dad brought them to her), a turquoise cross necklace, and last but certainly not least… the pot-holders. You see, it’s a pair of shorts. One belonging to a male, and one to a female. The female has an apron on, and the male is a pair of boxer shorts. If one lifted the apron, a naughty little colored cotton ball would be found.. aka muff (as Grandma would put it… if she were speaking in a church) Let me interrupt myself here and let you know that I learned my first cuss words from my Grandma. If you were crying, “Titty-baby”. If you were acting stupid, “Dumb-ass” or “Delbert” (don’t ask). She was very colorful in that aspect, and of course many others. Oh, I miss that woman. Anyway, back to the pot-holders.. now then, if one was to look inside the opening of the boxer shorts, they may find an anatomically correct fallic hidden within. Now, I wish I could tell you the origin of this great find, but alas… I can not. I don’t know who made the original set. All I can tell you is I’ve been recreating it for a while now. I never would have thought to do this until my friends Jonathan and Sara came to visit. As soon as I showed Sara this remarkable find, she insisted I make some. And there you have it. Check them out:

Heather was second to last to grab a gift at our Dirty Santa Party. I was last. So insisted she take my gift. And when she did, I got the response I was looking for. Just look at her and Camille’s faces…

Pretty neat, right? I’ll be selling them soon on Etsy. I’ll let you know.

Another thing that has been consuming my time is baking. I didn’t mean to get into it, but it happened. And I love it. I’ve gotten to spend a lot of time with my girl Tonie, and also with my other longtime friend Lisa. Just last week we made a six layered, three tiered anniversary cake for Tonie’s grandparents. SIXTY YEARS TOGETHER.

I mean, really? I will be 90 when Matthew and I hit our 30th! Oh wait… no, I’ll be 92. He’ll be 90. Hell, sometimes I forget I’m the older one. Hehehehe… Sixty years. That’s incredible. And let me just say they are the coolest senior citizens I’ve met in a long time. For instance, while at the Anniversary Party, her grandmother took me by the arm and just chatted away. I loved it! We were supposed to be going over to take pictures of her and the love of her life, but he was side tracked so she made the most of our time. But, I finally captured them.

That’s what it’s all about… Making the most of your time. Can you look at the past week of your life and say to yourself (honestly) that you made the most of your time? I think we should all ponder that for a moment.

Anyway… my point was… (geez, I don’t blog for a while and look at the rambling you’re exposed to!) we made a big cake and close to 200 cupcakes.

Don’t get me wrong, there was plenty of wine involved. And for that, my friends’ husbands may not let them hang out with me anytime soon. Oops! But come on, you get three old (and by old, I mean we’ve known each other for many years) friends together, baking… and baking means there will be down time… you’re gonna have some tipsy lassies. That’s all there is to it. Heh heh…

We made:

Carrot cake cupcakes with a cream cheese frosting.

Chocolate cupcakes with a chocolate buttercream frosting.

Australian Red cupcakes with a special recipe for the frosting.

Strawberry cupcakes with a strawberry buttercream frosting.

The night after the party, Matthew and I taste-tested all four to decide which was our favorite. The problem was that each cupcake was so different from the last, that it was like comparing apples to oranges…

Back to the list of creativity I’ve been up to….

I made chocolate dipped spoons and accompanied them with hot cocoa packets for Isaac’s classroom party. Actually, Isaac made the spoons while I was in spicy pickle hell. But still…. I bagged them. That counts for something, right?

I’ve also made wine glass charms for my “Bitches Brunch” Christmas Party.

A beautiful quilt.

Cake balls (that just sounds dirty… it’s really not though. See…)

Needless to say…. I’m tired. Think it’s time for a long winters nap…

((lights fading))

((curtain drops))

((applause and roses thrown))

he heheheh heheh hehehe

Lots on my Plate

earlyrisers — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 19:29:40 +0000

I have had a lot going on lately, which is really no excuse not to blog… but that’s what I’m going with. I really don’t even know where to begin. We had to re-roof part of our house. Then Thanksgiving snuck up on us.. so I had a ba-jillion things to cook. Unfortunately , I was so pressed for time that photo’s didn’t really happen. Oh, except this one: This is how destroyed my kitchen can become when I’m on a schedule.

Those are some Stuffed Mushrooms. And they were FABULOUS!!

Here’s another:

Coffee on one side, Irish Whiskey on the other, and cake balls in the middle. Giddy-up!

Oh… and I also took photo’s of three siblings and their spouses and children. But, I think those are a surprise for a parent for Christmas, so I won’t post any of those or mention names until after the Holiday.

This week I’ve been working diligently with my friend Lisa. We are making a six layered, three-tiered 60th Anniversary Cake, and 150 cupcakes in three different flavors. (Pictures to come.)

I’m also finishing my last month of volunteer work for the Cub Scouts.

AND… the kicker of this (very) full week/month is that our septic system is on the fritz. Awesome! (No pictures to come. You’re welcome)

By the end of the weekend, I hope to get back on here with some glorious photos of all the hard work that has taken place this week.

And after Christmas, I will post photos of the gifts I made for certain individuals. You won’t want to miss that!