too many tomotoes

Before the first frost set in I picked a bunch of super really green tomatoes from my garden.  I know that you can finish ripening a tomato on your window sill, but I wasn't super if that would work with these because they were just so very green.  But there was like 10 of them, and I wasn't going to just let the frost get them.

Well, good news, really green tomatoes will, in fact, ripen on your window sill.  It just takes FOREVER.  At least mine did.  But eventually I had juicy red tomatoes, and I had TEN of them at one time.

Some people might be able to use 10 tomatoes quickly enough without them going bad, but no matter how much I try my family just aren't big tomato lovers.  (Sometimes my boys claim to love them, but that's when Venus is in retrograde and the north star points west, or in other words, it's RARE.)

So I had to do a little tomato saving trick that I learned from a friend a few years ago and I wanted to pass it on to anyone else who ever finds themselves with too many ripe tomatoes at one time:

And there you have it.  You can easily save your extra tomatoes before they go bad. 

Plus it makes cooking super duper easy later because you don't even have to remember to thaw the tomatoes out before using them - just open a frozen baggy toss them in the pan while you're cooking sauce or whatever.  They thaw and cook quickly.

Things of Pinterest: Yumtastic Cupcakes

I'm in a cupcake mood.  Because cupcakes are amazingly fun to look at and also delectably delicious.  And luckily Pinterest has lots of pictures of cupcakes to drool over.  Plus, they come with recipes and instructions, so, you know, YAY!

http://madewithloveby.me/2011/03/how-to-bake-a-heart-into-your-cupcakes/

How the how?!  I'm too intimidated to try this, so one of you needs to do it and then you need to tell me how hard it was.  Then I can really decide if I'm up to the heart in cupcake challenge.

http://www.ohcupcakes.net/recipes-hi-hat-cupcakes.php

How cool are hi hat cupcakes?  Neeeeat-o.  And also it makes me think of Dairy Queen, which is all nostalgically happy.

http://www.bakedperfection.com/2011/04/key-lime-cupcakes-with-blackberry.html

I'm making these for my hubby.  He loves keylime flavored stuff, and with the blackberry filling and frosting I can only imagine that these are drool worthy.

http://catesworldkitchen.com/2010/01/oreo-cheesecake-cupcakes/

Three words that live in harmony on my tongue: oreo, cheesecake, cupcake.  NOM.  nom nom nom.

http://www.glorioustreats.com/2010/07/hydrangea-cupcakes.html

These hydrangea cupcakes are all summery and pretty and there are pictures and tips to frost these on the site where this pin came from.

To see more of our pinnably favorite things check out our Pinterest pinboards!

Gum Drop Turkey Snacks

Every Thanksgiving, as I was growing up, we made gumdrop turkeys.  And then we ate them.  So now I have the same tradition with my kids. 

Want to make your own gumdrop turkey with your own kids?

Sure you do!  And here's how:

First gather supplies (and children):

You will need: big gumdrops, little gumdrops, toothpicks and those orange slice gummy thingies (the orange slices are actually optional, but they do make the best "feet").

Now take a couple of toothpicks and stab one side into the orange slice thingy and the other side into the bottom of a big gumdrop.

Then take the little gumdrops and stick a toothpick in each one, and then stick them into the back of the big gumdrop to make a tail.  

Note: you can have as big of turkey tail as you want, but I must warn you that the bigger your tail is, the more likely your gumdrop turkey is to fall over once you're done - it's just a sad fact in gumdrop turkeydom).

Now, break a toothpick off so it's a little bit shorter than normal, but make sure you get all the wooden shards off of it so that you don't have to eat them later.  And then stick a small gumdrop on one end and stick the other end in your big gumdrop to be a head.

And then take a little orange gumdrop and pinch off a little chunk and stick it to the head for a beak.  Then take a little red gumdrop and pinch off an even smaller sliver and stick that to the beak for that red hangy thingy that turkeys have that I have no idea what it's really called.

That's it!  And hopefully it doesn't fall over too much (you can reposition the legs if your turkey doesn't stand very well).  

And your turkey will taste super yum when you eat it.  Unless you use white spice gumdrops, because whatever that flavor is, it's NASTY.

   

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Family Feature Friday: Taylor

Taylor’s favorite show is Paula…. as in Paula Deen.

She also likes Bobby, and that Rachael lady, and dat ‘nother one that makes dinner in silly spaces. (Chef Robert Irvine: Dinner Impossible)

Basically, Taylor is a chef in training.

So what is she cooking up there? Spaghetti Sauce. Because you couldn’t screw it up if you tried.  (onions, celery, carrot, garlic, mushrooms, peppers, and a couple of cans of diced tomatoes… salt and pepper to taste. a teaspoon or so of dried oregano and basil, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and our secret ingredient.)

Spaghetti sauce is really great for teaching short people to cook because there is a lot of chopping involved, and it cooks over low heat. People always eat more dinner when they made it themselves. ALSO: We are practicing not burning ourselves. It’s going well for THEM and not as much for ME. (I have been “taking one for the team”… you are welcome children-without-burned-forearms)

And THAT is what our cutie caboose Taylor is up to these days.

In the Pink

I have to tell you, that a big part of me is debating painting a wall in my kitchen pink.

In the Pink

I have to tell you, that a big part of me is debating painting a wall in my kitchen pink.

Kitchen: The Plan of Attack

I’ve been agonizing over my kitchen for more than a year, and I finally think I have an official plan of attack. I WAS going to paint the cabinets black, but I have decided that it’s not really “me”. (of course, I will probably change my mind 8 more times so WHO KNOWS!)



1. Crown Moulding: I am going to add some HEIGHT to the upper cabinets with some 1x6’s and some crown moulding ala The Lettered Cottage.

 


2. Paint! The upper cabinets will be painted a soft white.


3. MORE PAINT! And the lower cabinets will be going gray.


4. MORE PAINT AGAIN! AND TRIM! I am thinking that the kitchen island should be an aqua/robins egg soft blue. Or a light apple-y green. Or if I paint the accent wall, then it will just the same gray as the other lower cabinets. (aack! Do you see what I mean? Too many options people.)


5. New Countertops: Nothing too fancy here, because the budget won’t allow. But I’m thinking a new laminate that isn’t stark white is in order… Possibly with a butcher block top for the island.


6. More Paint! And possibly a tiled backsplash, but for now, I just have to get rid of the yellow. {shudder}

Kitchen: The Plan of Attack

I’ve been agonizing over my kitchen for more than a year, and I finally think I have an official plan of attack. I WAS going to paint the cabinets black, but I have decided that it’s not really “me”. (of course, I will probably change my mind 8 more times so WHO KNOWS!)



1. Crown Moulding: I am going to add some HEIGHT to the upper cabinets with some 1x6’s and some crown moulding ala The Lettered Cottage.

 


2. Paint! The upper cabinets will be painted a soft white.


3. MORE PAINT! And the lower cabinets will be going gray.


4. MORE PAINT AGAIN! AND TRIM! I am thinking that the kitchen island should be an aqua/robins egg soft blue. Or a light apple-y green. Or if I paint the accent wall, then it will just the same gray as the other lower cabinets. (aack! Do you see what I mean? Too many options people.)


5. New Countertops: Nothing too fancy here, because the budget won’t allow. But I’m thinking a new laminate that isn’t stark white is in order… Possibly with a butcher block top for the island.


6. More Paint! And possibly a tiled backsplash, but for now, I just have to get rid of the yellow. {shudder}