Over the Kitchen Counter: Angie's Place for Cooking and Crafts

Scalloped Potatoes

Scalloped potatoes are one of my all-time favourite things to eat so I was surprised to realize I haven't shared my recipe with you these past 4 years!  I love the way I prepare them and they have so much more flavour than the store-bought, frozen variety.

It's actually quite straight-forward to make scalloped potatoes at home - just a simple white sauce poured over thinly sliced potatoes sprinkled with minced onion.  I suppose it's the peeling and slicing of the spuds that puts people off, especially these days when many don't have the time to prepare things from scratch.  If you find yourself too time crunched on a work-day, give the recipe a try when you're home and have an opening in your schedule - if you like scalloped potatoes you won't be disappointed!  Worth the effort...

Scalloped Potatoes

6 medium potatoes, peeled & sliced thinly

1/2 cup finely chopped onions

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk

1 tsp. salt

pinch of pepper

1/3 cup grated Cheddar or Swiss cheese

paprika

In buttered casserole, spread 1/2 of potatoes, 1/2 onions. Cover with
another layer of each and set aside. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat.
Add flour and cook 1 minute. Add milk and cook, stirring until sauce is thick
and smooth.  Add salt and pepper. Pour sauce over potatoes. Sprinkle with grated
cheese and paprika. Bake in a hot over until potatoes are tender and top is
golden brown. 375 degrees F, About 1 hour. 9”x13” buttered casserole.

Bolognese Meat Sauce

I assembled all the ingredients to make the 2nd dish from the Classic Italian Pasta Sauces: Meat & Tomato with Giuliano Hazan Craftsy class, Bolognese Meat Sauce...and then realized it needs to simmer for more than 3-1/2 hours!  It was already 4:30 pm so that wasn't going to work.  I put everything away but made sure to start early enough the next day!

All I can say is, Holy cow!  The wait time is torture (the aroma is amazing!) but the end result is so worth it.  The recipe is very simple and once again there are not many ingredients, but somehow the combination is magical.  Dinner was a hit with everyone and we couldn't believe how rich, complex, and satisfying the pasta was.

I will most certainly be making this Bolognese Meat Sauce again and again.  If you enjoy making pasta dishes at home you will appreciate this class.  I can't wait to move on to the next recipe!

Awesome Brayer!

Now that I started cutting with my Cricut again I discovered that using my ink brayer works like a charm to really adhere the die-cut layers together.

Once I cut out my decorative embellishments using the Cricut, I used my Zig 2-way glue to adhere them together.  Some of the cuts were quite delicate and it was tricky to smooth down the layers without tearing them.  I pulled out my brayer, which I use for inking up large stamps, and rolled it over my die-cuts.  It applies smooth, even pressure over the cardstock and really binds the layers together!  It also helps keep everything flat and forces out any air bubbles or wrinkles!  Very useful!

Teal Quilt

I'm sharing a video of my Teal Quilt so my YT subscribers can see it (and I can show it off one more time!).  I'm super proud of the quilting on this one...but I promise I won't post about it again - I'll put this one to bed after this!  You'll also see the cool tool I used to decide on my quilting design...

Scrapbooking Pages

I finished my California/Vegas trip scrapbook album.  I worked pretty steadily on it and was quite proud I eked out enough pages from the Vintage Chic Power Palette - (one of the last ones I got from Creative Memories before it became Ahni & Zoe) and Rugged.

When I was all done, I didn't have a single sheet of designer paper left and only a few scraps from each collection.  I really liked some of the pages I completed but some were a little more challenging using what I had to embellish.  I also used up some Disney 'Cars' stickers I had left over from years ago because there is no Cars-themed ride in Disneyworld.  They worked great to decorate my Radiator Springs Racers ride photos!

I ended up using quite a few Cricut cartridges, including Life's a Beach, Traveller, a Halloween cart, and a Pool Time one.  Here are a few of my layouts.  I think I've had my fill of scrapbooking for a little while!

FLASH SALE at Craftsy!

I just found out there's a Craftsy 24 Hour Halloween Flash Sale!  If you want to take one or more of the amazing classes they offer, now is the time!  Ends at midnight tonight.  Just thought I'd let you know!  You can use the safe link above or to the right of this post to get the deal...have fun!

Butter-Based Tomato Sauce

I made my first recipe from the new Craftsy class I joined, Classic Italian Pasta Sauces: Meat & Tomato with Giuliano Hazan.  The Butter-Based Tomato sauce is a 3-ingredient recipe and very easy to make.  I splurged on egg noodles from Italy as well as Italian canned, whole tomatoes.  With such a simple recipe it's really important to use the best ingredients and buying the authentic, imported versions made a difference in the end result.

This is Chef Hazan's family recipe and it was a hit in mine.  Using butter in a tomato sauce was a new concept to me as I usually use olive oil.  As I learned in the class introduction, the use of butter in the sauce and eggs in the noodles is typical in Northern Italy where they have more plentiful farmland.  For such a simple sauce the flavour was excellent and we all loved it.  It was kind of nice to have a pasta dish without galic in it!

The next tomato sauce in the lesson is similar to one I already make using fresh tomatoes and basil in olive oil.  I think I will skip ahead to lesson 3, the meat sauces, and come back to lesson 2 - the spicy and savoury tomato sauces.  Yum!  I loved the Italian noodles so I'm definitely going to buy those again.  I'm pretty sure there are going to be a few more Italian pasta dinners at our house over the next week or two!  Just click on the link if you'd like to check out the class.

Scrapbooking with an old friend...

It's been a while since I scrapbooked and even longer since I used my Cricut to make some die-cut embellishments.  With my wonderful trip to California and Vegas fresh on my mind, I was excited to get the photos into an album and actually looking forward to scrapbooking with my old friend, Cricut!

I must admit I was a little rusty.  I sparked up the Gypsy but it seems since I last did an update that the 'layers' feature is not working - for example, the shadow background is not cutting at an appropriate size to layer with the icon.  I abandoned the Gypsy and decided to work straight from the Cricut using the cartridges.  It all came back after a few minutes of playing...and a lot of wasted paper!  Since Creative Memories is in the process of restructuring I am very low on paper so every piece is precious!  I decided to always do a test cut on copy paper just to make certain I was getting the size I want before sacrificing any more designer paper!

I'm having a lot of fun embellishing my pages.  I forgot how much the die-cuts add to the layout (for example, the wave in the above photo), and it's nice to customize the look however I want (I added another wave on the next page of the layout pointing the other direction using the 'flip' feature!).  I think it helped that I had already got the majority of my pages done and then just worked on adding the Cricut decorations all at once (versus one page at a time).  I moved my machine right onto my large table next to me so everything was right at hand.

The album is coming together nicely and it feels good to scrapbook again - despite the incredible mess I have made and my aching shoulders (I'd forgotten about that).  One happy discovery, despite my extremely low inventory of stickers, was the perfect title sticker for my page about meeting up with my blog-pal Stephanie: a single, small sticker with the word GRIN on it!  Not only is this a nice reference to our happy smiles but Steph's blog happens to be named "With a Grin"!!!!  Perfect!

 

Crayola Bathtub Markers

I am not an impulsive shopper but on a recent trip to buy pillows I ended up with a set of Crayola Bathtub Markers in my cart!

The set of 4 happened to catch my eye and after a debate in my mind, I decided the novelty was worth the $6 and I tossed them in the basket.

I love to surprise my family with little notes and presents and I knew these markers would be a fun way to add an unexpected message to their day.  They are non-toxic and wash off easily with soap and water.  It was fun to write all over the shower walls and make DH's morning start with a surprise and a laugh.  My DD loved her 'sink notes' and seeing a greeting where it's not expected it is all part of the fun!  (I'm thinking maybe on the inside of the toilet lid...or is that too far????)  I also started writing jokes on the shower wall...with the punch line on the ceiling!!!

Sure enough, it was easy to clean off the messages but the packaging does warn that the markers can stain older tubs and showers in poor condition or unsealed tile grout and should be tested in a small area first.  I think these would be awesome for little kids (recommended for ages 3+) - as well as 47 year old moms with a silly personality!

** And how DO you make Holy water?  You boil the hell out of it!

What is Craftsy and Why Do I Love It So Much?

If you've visited my blog on a few occasions you more than likely have hit upon one of my posts about Craftsy.  I've been a student since almost the very beginning and as I've said before, it changed my life!

So what is Craftsy?  If you don't already know, it's a wonderful crafting community offering on-line classes.  The company is made of real people who totally believe in providing the best on-line craft education with world-class instructors.  I've never felt so dedicated to a organization and I am a firm supporter of their goal to bring together millions of crafters in an amazing virtual classroom.

I have taken so many fantastic courses and have learned so much more than I ever thought possible in my small town - in the ultimate classroom possible, my home!  There is no schedule I have to follow, no deadlines I have to meet, and I don't have to drive in the snow!  I still have personal contact with the teacher (and some are really famous - I'd never have the access I do if I had to go to them!) and I can interact with other students by commenting, sharing projects, and joining in 'conversations' for each class.  (And I have met some really nice people this way!  {cough, Jose!})

My personal interests range from quilting to cooking and there are so many interesting classes to choose from.  I can't resist the quilting courses because each one offers something different I want to learn!  The cooking classes are so fun because we get to EAT my homework but I also love all the sewing and embroidery classes because that is where I lack skill and really depend on the excellent tutorials to help.  I know if I get stuck I can ask for help or re-watch the segment a zillion times (can't do that in a lecture hall!)

So I think you get the idea: I love to learn and Craftsy is the perfect fit with my life right now.  I have been thirsty for all this crafting knowledge and now it's right at my keyboard.  There's no pressure - I own the classes forever - and I don't have to account to anyone but myself.  I'm having a blast and I feel so excited and motivated when I sign up for a new class!

I started with the FREE Block of the Month class from last year and fell in love.  There are now so many other Free Craftsy Classes to choose from.  They are a great way to test the water and see how you like it.  No commitment and you still own the class forever!  If you want try out a free class, use the safe link above or to the right of this post and give Craftsy a try.  I am so passionate about this company and this format for learning that I want to tell everyone - if you aren't taking a FREE class yet, do it!!!  It just might change your life too!