Horse Photoshoot

My friend Michelle owns a HORSE!! A real live horse who lives at a beautiful farm. Perfect opportunity for a photoshoot!

Tip #1: Moving objects are not the easiest things to learn how to photograph, but you can still have fun anyways.

(crop out my shadow and this picture's not too bad).

I didn't play around with as many settings as I would have liked too because let's be honest, when a horse is running straight towards you, your priorities shift a little bit. I did figure out, however, that because it was so bright outside (with the snow and sun) I was able to have a fairly quick shutter speed.

We started out in a barn and the lighting was super frustrating so while I was trying to find a good shutter speed (aka, button pushing until I figured out what some settings actually affected) I made an awesome "whoops-photo" that turned out super cool.

Now, if I could only do this on purpose. Also, I am wanting his eye to be a little more glossy looking so I might play around with the limited photoshop I have to create the glistening look I want. I'm going to have to look at a my camera to see the specs on this picture. I would love it if I could recreate this, on purpose.


 I gave up trying to set my camera to be able to shoot the indoor/outdoor lighting that the barn was offering so I went outside to see what other farm animals I could find.

Cuties!

I still have sooo much to learn about apertures, and which lens to use and lighting and movement stuff. So, I will just show some of my favorite pictures of the day!

Beautiful

Things are getting a little artsy...If you look reallly closely you can see me in the reflection of his eye!

I love Michelle's expression in this one. Gorgeous!

Starting to figure out how to focus on what I want to focus on, not what the camera wants to focus on.

This ones cool! I love how the white on his face looks against the white snow. I also like how you can see his feet in this one. Pretty good angle, I think.

Focused on the Barbs!

Two fluffy cats and a horse!

...still working out how to get the full silhouette effect.

This picture is awesome. However, I don't like how I feel like I'm going to fall off the earth when I look at it... So I straightened things out a bit...

Ah... That's much better.

I love how you can see the snow splashing up around his hooves. And his tail looks pretty neat too!

Custom fence = custom photo

Pretty good for one of my first photo shoots.... and one last one for the bloopers....

You just can't plan for a shot like this! Makes me laugh out loud every time I look at it!

Thanks for the great day at the farm, Michelle! It's day's like this that get me so excited for the day when I will own my own farm and can spend sunny days outside appreciating the little things like goofy horse faces and beautiful friends. Can't wait for the next photoshoot.

Roasted Tomatoes with Shallots and Herbs

I made these tasty little treats to go along with the delicious Roasted Salmon with Citrus and Herbs. These tomatoes were super easy!

Roasted Tomatoes with Shallots and Herbs
4 medium tomatoes, cut in half horizontally
1/2 tsp salt, divided
cooking spray
1/4 cup minced shallots
1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp chopped fresh or 1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp chopped fresh or 1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp chopped fresh or 1/8 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Core and seed tomato halves. Sprinkle cut sides of tomato halves with 1/4 tsp salt. Place tomato halves, cut sides down, on paper towels. Let stand 20 minutes.
3. Place tomato halves, cut sides up, in a 13x9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 tsp salt, shallots, and next 5 ingredients. Drizzle with oil. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hr, 15 mins or until tomatoes soften.

Notes:
-Compare and contrast Shallots and Onions?
  Shallots and Onions both make your eyes water, badly.
  Shallots and Onions both look the same when 'finely chopped'.
  Shallots are found beside the garlic in the grocery stores, Onions are found beside the potatoes.
  If you really want to know the difference check out this website. Little F.F. for ya (fun fact). Now you know...thank you Wiki Answers.
-These tomatoes are BURSTING with flavor! They could be very versatile if you want to create your own special blend of herbs to put on these bad boys. Another fun addition may be adding some version of nuts to the tops.
-1 hr and 15mins is a long time to wait for tomatoes to bake. Next time I might try a combo of baking and broiling to make the process go quicker.
-Delicious and Nutritious!
 

Roasted Salmon with Citrus and Herbs

It's SUNDAY! Time for a new recipe. From the best of Cooking Light: everyday favorites this Salmon recipe is one I will definitely be making again. I love Salmon (it's my go to meal at any restaurant - that's how much I love it), and this Salmon recipe is definitely in the top 3 Salmons I've ever had. (#1 being a $42 fillet at a Vegas restaurant which better make the #1 spot if I'm going to pay that much for a dinner on a students budget). Considering my love for Salmon, choosing this recipe was still somewhat of a risk... there was no picture in the cookbook for reference (huge risk, I know). But turns out, it was a great Salmon. Even without seeing a picture of it first.

Roasted Salmon with Citrus and Herbs
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp grated lemon rind
2 tsp grated lime rind
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 salmon fillet
cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Combine first 7 ingredients in a small bowl. Place salmon on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Rub parsley mixture over salmon. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness.

Notes:
-This salmon was soooo good. The lemon, lime, parsley, and thyme smelled absolutely amazing when combined together! If summer could be put into a bowl and spread on a salmon, this would be the recipe. Very light and super tasty.
-Fresh thyme is interesting to 'chop'. I found that more of a 'picking-the-leaves-off' technique worked best.
-Actually measure the salt. Don't guess a teaspoon.
-I didn't know 'doneness' is a word.

Also shown in the pictures is the side dish: Roasted Tomatoes with Shallots and Herbs. See other post for this recipe. (I highly recommend you check this recipe out.)

Project: Baby Quilt

Who doesn't like baby quilts? No one, that's who. However, none of my friends are having babies yet, so it would seem strange to just start marking baby quilts and not giving them to anyone.

But, life goes on, people get pregnant and soon enough I'm bound to know one of these 'pregnant people'. My friends' sister is due near the end of January, so my friend and I have been working on a quilt to give to the 'baby momma' as a gift.(By the way, today she had the BABY BOY!!! So today is the perfect day to post the post!)

If you've ever shopped for baby fabrics you probably said "awwwwww!" or "That's so cute" at least 1,000 times more than the general public. I'm pretty sure I said "awwwwwwww! Look at how cute this one is!" at every bolt of fabric with pastelly colour tones in it.

This quilt it gender neutral, (my money is on Girl, though....Obviously I was wrong), so I got to pick out lots of yellows, and greens, and browns. I also decided to pick out different textured materials, like the bumpy green one, flannel, and shaggy yellow. I should mention now that I did all my shopping at Joanne's Fabric store in the USA. As if the US prices weren't good enough, it was also midnight madness and the entire store was on sale.

 Pretty simple square design. I tried to make the corners fancy....I probably won't be doing this again. The edge was pretty bunged up. Next time I will be using a 3" binding. At least until I get better at doing bindings.

See, "AWWWWWWWW, super cute!"
Hopefully I can make many more baby quilts in the future!

Project: N.R.S. (new recipe sunday)

I have a lot of Recipe Books.  I can't resist looking through all the pictures of tasty treats, and succulent desserts. The thing is, I never actually use the cook books. When it comes time to cook something, I just "google" it. So my next project is a little bit old school. I am going to start using my cook books every Sunday. One new recipe, once a week.

Just click on the "Recipes" link at the top of the page. 

Lasagna Rolls with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

From Best of Cooking Light:
 
Lasagna:
8 uncooked lasagna noodles
4 tsps olive oil
1/2 c finely chopped onion
1 (8-oz) package presliced mushrooms
1 (6-oz) package baby spinach
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c ricotta cheese
1/4 c minced fresh basil, divided
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

Sauce:
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (7-oz) bottle roasted red bell peppers, undrained
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper

 To prepare Lasagne: cook noodles, drain and rinse noodles under cold water. Drain.

 Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, mushrooms, spinach, and 3 garlic cloves, saute 5 minutes or until onion and mushrooms are tender. Remove from heat, stir in cheeses, 2 tablespoons basil, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp crushed peppers.

 To prepare sauce, place vinegar and next 6 ingredients in a blender. (I used my handheld bamix. Great addition to any kitchen). Process until smooth.

Place cooked noodles on a flat surface, spread 1/4 c cheese mixture over each noodle. Roll up noodles. Place rolls, seam sides down, in a shallow 8x8 microwave safe dish.

Pour sauce over the rolls and cover with plastic wrap.  Microwave at HIGH for 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tbsp of basil.

Very yummy dish! The crushed red pepper adds a little bit of a kick. I will definitely be making this one again. Great flavor!

Note: Roasted red peppers were very hard to find, FYI-planet organic has roasted red peppers in really cute little jars.

Project: Christmas Cards

Confession: I feel guilty throwing away Greeting Cards. No matter what the card says, or why it was given to me there is always a lengthy process that goes into throwing away cards. The first step in this process is, of course, just storing the cards away in a drawer for a while. Then, when it comes time to clean that drawer I have to re-read every single card and relive the occasion it was intended for. After wasting all that time and still not having cleaned the drawer, I must decide which ones will stay and which ones will go...for now. I call this the 'first cut'. For the cards that don't make 'the cut' they will either end up in the 'could probably scrapbook with this pile', the 'I'm only throwing it out because they didn't write enough in it pile', or the 'I guess I'll just throw it back in the drawer again... pile'. And there ya have it, the lengthy process starts all over again.

However, instead of throwing away all my Christmas cards this year (and lets be honest, this is the first year I've actually gotten enough Christmas cards to craft with), I decided to make a "Card Book". Easiest Wednesday night craft, ever!

All you need is all your cards, some thick thread, and a needle.

 ...Yup, that's a Santa taking a poop down a chimney... Funniest card we got all season.

This is what it said inside ---->

Start by weaving the thread through the spine of the cards, there isn't really a wrong way to do it.

  There ya have it, Card Book.

Project: Lefse

Merry Christmas!

Everyone has their own Christmas Traditions. I come from a Norwegian family and the most followed, must-have-this-at-Christmas-and-only-at-Christmas, tradition is Lefse. Lefse is basically a thin potato pancake made with lots of flour. For years I've been enjoying this Holiday staple and helping Grandma and Mom make it, however this was the first year I've tackled this recipe.

I couldn't just use the regular family recipe, though. I had to mix it up (FYI, no successful story seems to ever start by "mixing it up"...). 

 Dough looked similar to moms...

 Because I didn't have a kitchen helper I rolled up the dough into 'lefse sized' balls and stuck them in the fridge until I was ready to use them...

 Rolled out balls of dough...three at a time....

 Because I only have three frying pans... lefse usually works best with a large counter top grill. But for those of us who haven't got married and had the 'gift-showers' that go alone with marriage and babies, frying pans will have to do, until then.

 

Finished!! Looked like lefse... but didn't quite taste the same. Not like momma makes it. It was a fairly good start for my first attempt. Next year I'll be using the family recipe...

 Look at all that Flour!! My kitchen floor was sooo slippery I was 'skating' across the tile from the stove to the rolling station to the stove again. 

Merry Christmas Everyone! Enjoy the time with your family, and carry on traditions (even if they're not quite the same as momma makes 'em). 

Project: Freezer Meals

Pinterest got the best of me, yet again. After seeing several pins about "meals for a month", "$100 Crock pot dinners" and "Inexpensive Freezer meals" I decided to see what all the hype is about. Is it really possible to make a month of relatively inexpensive freezer meals?

At 4pm on Sunday I decided to head off to the grocery store and take on this challenge. For the record: Do not got to Superstore at 4pm on a Sunday. It was absolutely crazy! Everyone and their entire family was shopping. From now on, unless I'm going to die of starvation, I will not step foot in a grocery store on the weekends.

Aside from a few items I already had in the kitchen, the total cost of my Superstore trip was $101.84. 5 Hours later, I had 18 crock pot dinners bagged and in the freezer. That's a pretty small price to pay for not having to plan dinners for the next 18 nights.  That works out to $5.66 per dinner.


Here's the grocery list: (depending on the size of your crock pot you will need different amounts of meat, so I have just included how many recipes call for each ingredient.)

Meat

Chicken Breasts (2 recipes)
Beef Stew Meat (1 recipe)
Pork Shoulder (1 recipe)
Cooked Italian Sausage (1 recipe)
Pepperoni (1 recipe)
Pork Chops (1 recipe)
Ground Turkey (1 recipe)

Veggies
Bell Peppers(2 recipe)
Carrots(1 recipe)
Onions (3 recipes)
Garlic (2 recipe)
Celery (1 recipe)
Parsley (1 recipe)
Spinach (1 recipe)
Potatoes (1 recipe)
Fresh basil leaves (1 recipe)

Canned Food
Chicken Broth(2 recipe)
Mushrooms (2 recipe)
Diced Pineapples (1 recipe)
Pasta sauce (2 recipes)
Lima Beans(1 recipe)
Kidney Beans (1 recipe)
Chick Peas (1 recipe)
Corn (1 recipe)
Jar Pizza Sauce (1 recipe)
BBQ Sauce (1 recipe)
Diced tomatos (2 recipes)

Other
Oregano (2 recipe)
All purpose Seasoning (1 recipe)
Red pepper flakes (1 recipe)
Taco Seasoning (1 recipe)
Cajun seasoning (1 recipe)
Corn starch (1 recipe)
Salt & Pepper (3 recipes)
Lemon Juice (1 recipe)
Brown Sugar (2 recipe)
Butter (1 recipe)
Cheddar Cheese (2 recipes)
Cream Cheese (1 recipe)
Freezer Ziplock Bags (about 18)
Pasta (1 recipe)
Soy Sauce (1 recipe)
Tortilla Chips (1 recipe)

Recipe #1    BBQ Pineapple Pulled Pork 
- One 4-6 pound pork shoulder
-all purpose seasoning
-one bottle of barbecue sauce
-one 15 oz can of diced pineapples, undrained

Because I have a baby slow cooker, and the meals are only for 2 people, I divided the ingredients into two bags (two separate meals). Combine the ingredients and freeze. Cook on high for 6 hours, or low for 10 hours.

When placing the bag into the freeze you may want to position it in more of a 'slow cooker' shape to prevent a necessary, 'melt-to-fit' phase of cooking. (oops...see photo)

When you're ready to cook it, add some water to almost cover the pork and let'er cook! Very tasty, very tender. I will definitely be making this one again.


Recipe #2    Lemon Garlic Chicken
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup water
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chicken broth

1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
1 pkg cream cheese 

I divided the ingredients, except for the parsley and cream cheese, between two bags and chucked 'em in the freezer. Cook on high for 3 hours, or low for 6 hours.

20 minutes before taking the chicken out, add the parsley. When it's time to take the chicken out, set it aside and keep it warm. Add the cream cheese to the crock pot juice15 minutes before serving. steam some vegetables or make some minute rice while you wait for the cream cheese sauce to blend. When it's ready to serve, put the chicken on rice, add the veggies as a side, and pour the sauce over the chicken.

Personally, I won't be making this one again. The sauce was a little runny, and when I added corn starch to try and thicken it up, it just didn't go well. Open to some modifications in the future. I can't just give up on chicken, garlic, and lemon...


Recipe #3   Chicken & Spinach
 4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 Jar Pasta Sauce 
1 Onion
1 Bellpepper
Cajun seasoning to taste
Mushrooms sliced (fresh or can)
Bag or container of fresh spinach (i break off the larger stems)

Divide the ingredients into two bags. Freeze. Cook on low for 6 hours. This one was really easy and low maintenance. I didn't add the spinach, because I forgot to pick some up. But even without the spinach this one was really good. I used a three cheese pasta sauce which I'm pretty sure was what made this soooo good. After all, cheese makes everything better. 

Oh ya... and wine. Wine also makes everything better. Definitely making this one again, I'll try the spinach next time.


Recipe #4  Lazy Day Stew
4 lbs cubed stewing beef
4 cups of baby potatoes (cut in half)
10 oz package of dried lima beans
1 15oz can of pasta sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
4 cups baby carrots
2 onions chopped
2 cups chopped celery
Salt and Pepper to taste

Divide ingredients between two bags and freeze. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
 

Oops! Forgot to get a photo of this one.

This one is really good. Very filling, a little bland, but overall very good. I would recommend adding some other spices, or perhaps some spicy salsa instead of the pasta sauce. This one really is "Lazy Day Stew".  I ate it just as is, without any rice, or pasta or veggies... what can I say, I'm having a lazy day. Enjoy.

Recipe #5 Crock Pot Pizza Soup
1 jar (14 oz) of pizza sauce
3 empty jars full of water
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
2 cooked Italian sausage
1 cup sliced pepperoni, sliced in quarters 
8 fresh basil leaves, chopped (or 1/2 T dried)
1 T dried oregano

1/2 to 1/3 cup of dried pasta
shredded mozzarella cheese (to add later)

Cook on low for 7-9 hours or high for 5 hours. Combine all the ingredients (except the pasta and cheese) between two bags. With 30 minutes left add the pasta, and while serving top with the cheese. 

This one was pretty tasty, but make sure you add the pasta! Pasta makes everything better!  

Recipe #6 San Francisco Pork Chops 
4 pork chops
Salt and pepper for seasoning
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold water

Mix 'em up, split 'em up,  & freeze 'em.  Cook on low for 7-8 hours.

Serve with potatoes or rice. The flavor of this was GREAT!!!  The soy sauce gives it a really interesting flavor. I'm not a huge pork chop eater and I had some questions. There were little bone like pieces in my pork chops! I'm talking really small, like if you were to cut a slice out of a popcorn kernel and put it in your pork chop... that's how small it would be. Next time I will be buying the more expensive pork chops.   

Recipe #7 Turkey Taco Soup
1 can kidney beans
1 can chick peas
1 can corn

1 large can diced tomatoes
1 packet taco seasoning
1 lb browned ground turkey

shredded cheese and sour cream for embellishment
1 package of tortilla chips or bake corn tortillas

Brown the ground turkey. Combine all the ingredients and divide into two bags. Freeze. This one wasn't the greatest. However, if you were ever in a bind and needed something 'stew like' this one would be great. Perhaps serve this on garlic bread with lots of butter... mmmm, butter.




Challenge completed.

Project: Bedroom Reno

I have great closets. More closets than I know what to do with. However, when I came across a bedroom set of furniture (2 night stands, a dresser, and an armoire) at a silent auction for $75, of course, I made it into another project. Looks like I'll be freeing up some of that great closet space and doing a bedroom renovation.

The original photos...

Check out the dated handles!

 Luckily, I was able to use a garage to do all the sanding and painting (I can't imagine that would have been any fun sanding in a condo). FYI sanding is always a bigger job than you think it is. Thank goodness for power sanders.

After two coats of primer. 3 coats of furniture paint (aka - the thickest paint I have ever used), and I'm still not finished. But I'm taking a break from it for a bit, I'll work on some finishing touches this spring.

Here's the final product!

New furniture, new drapes and a couple of candle sticks set me back $250, and before you know it, I've got a brand new bedroom!

Since this picture I've added a dark gray and a white blanket to the bed. I'm looking for some throw pillows, but those might just be another project...