Voila! Vanilla Extract

So as promised here is the finished product! Complete with adorable label and raffia bow.

Vanilla Extract

Ingredients/Supplies
1.75L Vodka
25 Vanilla Beans
12 - 4oz bottles (Boston Round Bottles work best)

Directions
Cut the vanilla beans in half, then cut each half in half again the long way. I used scissors to do this part because it's way easier. Next put 8 pieces in each bottle (you'll have three pieces left over, just put them in whatever bottle you want), then fill the bottle with vodka. Put the lid on and allow to steep for one month. The vodka will turn from a clear to a dark amber color.

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My Take
It's really an easy project, I was done with the entire process in about a half an hour. I'm making them to sell to raise money for Relay for Life, but these would make a great gift any time of the year, plus the longer they steep the better they are! I found the vanilla beans on eBay for WAY cheaper than what you can purchase them at any grocery store. And I got the Boston Round Bottles from U-Line, but they're also available on Amazon and other sites. I'll post an update with the finished product in a month.

Father's Day BBQ Sauce

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups ketchup
2 cups tomato sauce
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 1/4 cups red wine vinegar
1/2 cup unsulphured molasses
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
4 teaspoons hickory flavored liquid smoke
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper

DIRECTIONS:
In a large saucepan, over medium heat, mix together all the wet ingredients and then add the seasonings. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce will thicken as it simmers (and then as it cools). I try to plan ahead and simmer for at least an hour. Use the sauce to brush onto meats the last ten minutes ofgrilling or for any other recipe where barbecue sauce is used. Once cooled, the sauce can be frozen. Thaw in the refrigerator and use as needed. Yields approximately 7 cups.

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My Take
This one was quite the challenge, I wanted to do something cool and homemade for my dad for Father's Day and found this recipe on Pinterest. I thought it would be easy enough...wrong. Well, for me it was hard, but for the normal person that knows how to cook it would probably be really easy. So lets go down the ingredients that I didn't include in this because I couldn't find them at the store or altered it (it really helps when you know what you're looking for):

• hickory flavored liquid smoke (what is that?)
• onion powder (I thought I had this already and didn't)
• celery seed (I picked up celery flakes instead...oops)
• cayenne pepper (I couldn't find that at all)
• red wine vinegar (I read that wrong and just used red wine)

So that was just the first half of the adventure. I start to make it and I only have one pan and one skillet, so I thought my pan would be big enough. Of course not! So I ended up cooking this in the Crock Pot, which worked beautifully! I put it on high and stirred every 10 minutes for about an hour, the consistency was pretty thin so I figured it was okay. Then I put it in the large Mason jar and screwed the lid on. I still had quite a bit left over and was able to fill up two small salsa jars as well. Because of the heat, the jars sealed! I was probably more excited about this than I should have been, but it was cool regardless. I designed the label and bought the brush and voila! My dad had a super cool, homemade gift for Father's Day.

Pasta Salad

Ingredients
1 Box Rigatoni Noodles
2 Cucumbers
1 Bunch Green onions
1/2 Bottle Salad Supreme
Zesty Italian Dressing
2 Packages Pepperoni
1 Package Cherry Tomatoes
Salt & Pepper

Directions
Cook Rigatoni noodles as directed on the box. Cut up all the vegetables and mix in with cooked noodles. Season to taste.

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My Take
I think this is the first recipe that I've actually followed to a "t" and done everything right! Go me! I absolutely love pasta salad, (I call it spaghetti salad, but I guess that's wrong, so I'll use the right name), so I could eat the entire bowl to myself! This recipe makes a TON of pasta salad. I was babysitting and we ate some, then the next day I had a friend over for dinner, I ate some for lunch the following day, and then I brought it to work and STILL had some left over. So if you're looking for a dish to pass for the summer, this is great! If not, just cut the recipe in half and it should be fine.

Natalie, Meet Meat

In the beginning I vowed that I was never going to cook meat because it grossed me out to touch it raw. This last week my body's been telling me that it is sick of all the processed fast-food that I've been feeding it and it really just needed a good home cooked meal. I broke down and bought some steak, mushrooms, and a variety of fruit. This is what I came up with (of course I had to call my dad and have him walk me through cooking a steak step-by-step). This dinner was amazing and I definitely needed it! I seasoned steak with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Lawry's; then I sauteed the mushrooms in butter with minced garlic; and cut up watermelon, strawberries, kiwis, and a banana to make a fruit salad. Everything came out perfect with no hiccups! And I loved it so much, I made the left overs for dinner the next day :)

The fruit salad made way more than I had anticipated (I only used 4 kiwis, one banana, a quart of strawberries, and a quarter watermelon), so I've been eating that for breakfast the last couple of days. It feels great to have some fresh fruit. 

p.s. Sorry for the crappy photos, I did these with Instagram :)

Peanut Butter Kick

I have been on a peanut butter kick lately. I can not get enough of it!! So most mornings I toast a cinnamon raisin bagel, put a little butter on it, slice banana, then lots of peanut butter and make an amazing breakfast sandwich. There's just something about melty peanut butter that makes my little heart so happy. For snacks I've been doing Ants on a Log, minus the ants because I don't have any in the house. My other favorite thing is to do waffles with butter and peanut butter. I'm pretty sure that I could eat it all the time.

Slacking

Well, I've been really slacking with the whole cooking thing. I've been making stuff that I've already listed here like the vegetarian chili again. Plus, with the holidays I didn't really have to cook since there were so much leftovers. But I, like a bajillion other people, decided that I should loose some weight, so I guess that means I have to start cooking again. I suck at being on a diet, so I'm going to go with what the derby wife is doing and that's counting calories. I'm not great at math either, but since there's an app for everything there's also one for counting calories!!! Back to skinny me! And GO!