Who does your spending support?

unique-hand crafted-artisan offerings

This has been a focus and topic matter between my husband and I for a few years now, where we spend our money. At first he didn’t really see my point, but once he started working from home I think he began to see what I was saying. As someone who is self-employed I am faced with the daily struggles of working from home and ultimately I realize what it takes to “make it work” to the point where it can support a family, like a full-time job. So for years now I’ve been trying to seek out and support small start-up business, mom-and-pop shops, and business that I know are run out of a house, just like ours. It’s not that I have anything against the “big boys”, I just feel my dollars have a bigger impact on those who are running their business off of sweat, tears, and their own personal savings. Business where there are no big corporations or investors to back them up, just lots of personal hours and lots of hard work!

Since I’ve been on Etsy.com, only about a week or so now, I’ve realized just how much TALENT there is out there and how many are trying to make a little extra money by using their God-given crafting skills! I am just in awe at the beauty that so many can create with their hands and trade tools, it makes me envious! The appeal of these home crafted items goes beyond just the “personal touch” and love you can sense in the work, as I also know the vast majority of these items are unique! Many crafters will customize your order according to your request, but even if they don’t, you know that whatever you are getting is not mass produced and being purchased by 10,000 other people!

So I encourage all of you to give Etsy a try, especially if you order a lot of things online. The process of ordering off the site is simple and clear, and all of the sellers have feedback that you can view or an email for you to contact them at if you have any questions. As a crafter of sorts myself, I know I take a lot of pride in my work and often will go the extra mile to make sure the client is happy, and I would confidently say that many other sellers follow the same code of conduct.

Beef Enchilada Lasagna & Homemade Enchilada Sauce recipe

Beef Enchilada Lasagna

It seems that I have been making a lot of Mexican dishes lately and I’m not really sure what that’s all about! All I know is, if I don’t start cooking Asian food again my husband is going to be leading an uprising! But it’s ok, as I’m getting a little burnt out on the Mexican inspired dishes and would actually welcome a hot plate of rice topped with some Asian deliciousness. But before I get to that, I had some corn tortillas left over from the Fish Tacos last weekend and decided to use them instead of wasting them. We still have quite a few left, but I’ll be turning the rest into baked tortilla chips tomorrow.

So for tonight I was going to make beef enchiladas…the only problem was, no enchilada sauce. Now, to my thinking, and lack of cooking Mexican beyond tacos, I figured that the sauce always has to come out of a jar. You’re cringing right now, I just know it. However, I ran across a beef enchilada recipe where the sauce is made from scratch, and it didn’t look too hard. I just decided to go for it and out of laziness I ended up layering everything (instead of filling each tortilla and then rolling it up), thus I now have a Mexican Lasagna of sorts. In my defense though, I did make the sauce from scratch instead of pouring out of a can or jar, so in my mind that redeems me a little.

The spices listed below are approx. measurements as I just sort of tasted as I went along and would add a little more of whatever was needed. It comes together quickly and is fairly cheap to make and like most Mexican inspired meals, this would be great with shredded lettuce, sour cream, lime wedges and Spanish rice on the side.

Beef Enchilada Lasagna recipe (serves 6-8):

• Enchilada Sauce

• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 Tbls cayenne pepper or 1-2 Tbls chili powder
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups water
• 1 6oz. can of tomato paste
• 3 beef bouillon cubes
• 2 small cans of diced green chili’s

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped

• 12 corn tortillas
• 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

• In a large stockpot (I used a wok) melt the shortening over medium heat. Add in the flour and stir, allow it to cook for a minute or so until it starts to turn a little brown. You can then add in everything else down to the green chili’s (green chili’s included). Stir well to get the water incorporated and allow that to cook for a few minutes so the flavors can blend together.
• In the meantime, brown the ground beef and onions in a different pan until the beef is fully cooked and onions are soft. Add all of this right into the enchilada sauce and give it a good stir.
• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan. Take a little bit of the sauce and spread it over the bottom of the pan so the tortillas don’t stick. Take 2 tortillas and lay then into the pan side by side, then rip a 3rd tortilla in half so they fit to the side of the whole ones. Ladle on some sauce and spread it all around and repeat this process once more. I added half the cheese after the 2nd layer and the rest over the top layer, so 4 layers of tortillas and sauce total.
• Cover the pan with foil and bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until hot and cheese is melted.

Come see Me on Etsy!

My signature candy, personally created & definitely my favorite!

For the last couple of weeks I’ve been pretty busy (and pre-occupied) with launching a new division in our business, Bliss Candies. For a few years now family, friends, and business acquaintances have been encouraging me to sell my baked goods and candy for profit. I never took it very seriously, as it’s just baked goods and everyone bakes, or so I assumed. In any case, I just didn’t feel as if I really had much to offer that was unique, as there are so many bakers out there and tons of sites already selling cookies and candies. Well a couple weeks ago I sent out a small box of candy as a “thank you” to a small business we had been working with, and they asking if I sold my candies, as they would like to get them for clients. for whatever reason, this time just seemed a bit different, as if something clicked inside my head and I finally decided it was time to take everyone’s advice…so now I am selling them for profit.

It’s been a great project to work on and it’s exciting for me, as it is something new and fun. Beyond that though it’s been a small dream of mine to do something like this for a long time, but back in that day it was to open up my own bakery. Of course, that was before the internet was huge and before I found out bakers get up at 3am for work, yikes! The development process in the beginning is always a bit intense, as there are so many aspects of the project to think of and deal with. From pricing and description writing, to testing out products and getting photos taken. Since it’s just me really doing all of this, I’ve been a busy little bee!

So finally last night I was able to get my Bliss Candies Etsy shop up and running! If you’ve never heard of or been on Etsy, you should give it a try! It’s basically a homemade/crafters marketplace, where everything listed has to be homemade or altered by the seller to add a personal touch in some way. One of the main categories there is edibles, so that’s where I fit in! So far what I have up are caramels, turtles, boozy pecan pie bon bons (my signature candy), classic cake truffles, cupcake-shaped cake truffles, and chocolate dipped oreos, gingersnaps, nutter butters and pretzel rods. I’ll be adding cookies as well, as soon as I get to bake them up and take pictures, though I do have the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip & Toffee Cookies (my signature cookie) up, as I already had a photo of those.

So over the next few weeks I’ll be testing out and perfecting a lot of my recipes, and really mu biggest challenge will be working on this while keep up with my “day job” too!

Great Summer Dessert-Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle

So, where’s the picture, right?  Well, I made this for our Easter get together and honestly I forgot to snap a photo before I put it out, big mistake.  As it was immediately tackled and devoured within minutes, no joke.  Too bad for the ones who decided to stay out on the trampoline for a few extra minutes,  they missed out!  So once I make it again, and I will be as everyone loved it, especially my hubby, I’ll get a picture up.  But for now, I just couldn’t keep holding out on you guys, this is a must try and so simple to put together.  No baking required!  Taste-wise it’s like a cheesecake-y version of a strawberry shortcake, so good and just tastes like Summer.

I originally got this recipe off of recipezaar.com, it’s called Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle.  For those of you who don’t know what a trifle is, it’s basically a fancy word for a layered dessert.  They even have special “trifle” bowls which really makes the dessert look extra fancy, no matter what’s really in it, but it’s certainly not necessary!  I just used a pretty glass bowl that we had, kind of like a fruit bowl.  And of course I altered the recipe a bit to suit our tastes and the supplies we had on hand, so my version is below.   My only suggestion is that you eat this within 4-6 hours of making it, so the cake doesn’t get a chance to get too soggy or mealy.

Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle recipe for a crowd (feeds at least 12):

• 2 (8 oz.) packages of light cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 (8 ounce) container of light sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 tub of lite Cool Whip, thawed
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 angel food cakes, sliced into 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick pieces
• 2 quarts (4 pints) of fresh strawberries, thinly sliced

Directions:

• Place the sliced strawberries and sugar in a large bowl and gently fold a few times to get the sugar distributed.  Set aside and allow the juices to come out a little.
• In a large mixing bowl combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar and blend using a mixer.  Once it is well combine add in the sour cream and the extracts, mix well and then set aside.
• In a large fruit bowl or trifle bowl, begin the layering starting with the cake.  You’ll want to lay down enough cake slices to cover the entire bottom, then add a generous layer of the cream cheese mix, then finally top it off with a layer of strawberries.  Continue this layering process until you are out of ingredients.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours before enjoying.

The simple pleasures in life-I love Spring!

I’ve always said it, I’m not much of a winter person.  Which then leads people to say, “then why live in MN?”  Well, sometimes you just can’t help where you were born and where your roots are, you know?  If anything, living here and enduring the l-o-n-g winters has taught me to appreciate Spring just that much more, and it’s always been my favorite season.  Well, that and my birthday is in the Spring, though these days it doesn’t seem to matter as much as when I was younger.  Plus it’s a great state in so many other ways, it really does have a lot to offer and if I ever do leave MN I know I miss it a lot.

So why exactly do I love Spring so much?  Well, I begin my day around 7am, and in the Spring time the sun is already up and shining through the windows.  Then there are the birds chirping and it is just warm enough to head out to the deck (with my sweatshirt and slippers) to enjoy my coffee and the view.  It’s just so peaceful in the mornings, I love it!!  In fact, sometimes I have 2 cups of coffee and bring a book out just to prolong the visit out to the deck, heh.  Then I start dreaming about a garden, and at the rate I am going I probably won’t tackle that project for another 10 years or so, but it’s still nice to dream. Then there is the light breeze that flows through the  windows, which feels great and makes the house smell and feel so fresh.  By the time lunch rolls around it is nice and warm out, so I can head out the deck with a t-shirt on to enjoy my meal and a cool drink…and sometimes a quick nap on the bench we have out there.  In the afternoons my hubby will take a quick break and go jump on the trampoline with the kids while I snap pictures of them or visit with our kitties, who are always outside when it’s warm out.

One of the biggest advantages though are the longer days of sunshine, where I still have at least 2-3 hours of time for myself once dinner is over.  In the winter it just saddens me that as soon as dinner is done, if not before, the sun has already gone down…makes it feel like it’s bedtime already!  In the evenings we sometimes eat out on the deck, but if we don’t I head out there anyways to read or comb the puppies or just for a few minutes of quiet time.  Or if we really need to get out of the house we go grab a quick ice cream cone from one of the local fast food places or run errands, just to be out and about before the sun goes down.

And in the late evenings I really look forward to the cool breeze, as I sleep best when it’s a bit cool.  I love the feeling of the night air and the quietness that surrounds it, even if my hubby doesn’t!  Now I just need to figure out a state that is like this year round, doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to live in, is near water (after all I live in MN, land of 10,000 lakes) and has a low crime rate…any ideas??

I wish I had a mans metabolism!

My teenage daughter and I were on our own for dinner tonight, as hubby was out of town for the evening….and you what that means, we went out to eat! Hey, I cook 2 meals a day, sometimes 3, so a break now and then doesn’t hurt, right? Anyways, we found ourselves at Taco Bell, I had some crunchwrap thingy and she had a gordita and a soft shell, so we weren’t pigging out or anything. Next thing you know, a guy asks us if we want his last taco, as he was full and didn’t want it to go to waste. We both politely declined, but as he was walking away my teens says “did you see how many tacos he ate?? He must have had like 7 or 8, and look at how skinny he is!”. She then goes on to mention how a male teacher of hers can easily lose 10 pounds in a week and then we start talking about Dad (hubby) and how HE eats whatever he wants and doesn’t seem to gain a pound….the injustice of it all! She then starts telling me that we could eat celery and such as it’s a “negative” calorie food, as if that’s suppose to make me feel better.

If genies really existed, I’d use one of my wishes to request a high metabolism, truly. Imagine, never dieting again or thinking about calories etc…think of all the Fish Tacos I could have without guilt!

Curing my Rubio’s Fish Tacos craving!

Now before you react like my daughter first did with the thoughts and sounds of “eeewww!” hear me out! If you’ve never had a fish taco from Rubios, or anywhere else that makes them decent, then you are MISSING OUT. And for all of the Minnesotan out there, no, we do not have a Rubio’s chain here…yet. Though I stay forever hopeful that “one day” it will come our way.

Ok, so how did I even find out about these in MN you ask? Well, for a couple years in my life I lived in CO, such a beautiful state. But to be honest I only miss 3 things about Colorado-the views, the sunshine, and the fish tacos from the Rubio’s down the street from where I used to live. It was “Pesky combo #5″ I think that I used to always get, it came with 2 fish tacos and a side of refried beans with tortilla chips, I would crave them like a pregnant woman craves ice cream and pickles every 30 minutes. Really, I’m drooling right now thinking about them and looking at the picture. Well anyways, I moved back to MN quite a while ago, and actually went 5 long years without these, and it was tough, let me tell you. But it’s not like the local Taco Bell has them, and the Mexican restaurants I went to never seemed to have them on the menu, or if they did it just looked and sounded different then what I was accustomed to. So I wouldn’t order them as I didn’t want to be disappointed by the thought of “these are just not the same!!!”.

My Free Stuff & 10 minute Homemade Pizza Crust!

A few weeks ago I did a blog entry on free stuff that doesn’t require a credit card, so I wanted to give everyone a quick update. I think I ordered 8-10 items to try out, and so far we’ve gotten about 5 of them, they started trickling in about 2 weeks ago, so some come quite quickly! We’ve gotten a coupon for a free Diet Dr. Pepper, Kashi frozen meal, a granola bar (I forget the name, my teen had it and said it was just “ok”), sample of Total cereal w/cranberries, Warm Delights microwave dessert & Dunkin Donuts coffee. No spam email or mail of any sort that I can tell, so we’re pretty pleased over here! So if you see some new products out in the store and unsure if they are worth the money, try looking on the sites I named in the first article and see if there is a free sample you can try. Also, if it is something for your kids, address it to them, they love getting mail!

Now, onto the homemade pizza! I’ve noticed not many have clicked on the link, which means not many are trying it out! I was reminded to mention this again as I was sitting on my front porch on Saturday and during the course of an hour or so we saw 3-4 pizza delivery cars drive past, and we live in a pretty private neighborhood without thru traffic. It continues to be a bit hit for dinner, and I served it during our Easter get-together to the teens, as they stuck around later to watch a movie and were getting hungry. So I made a sausage and mushroom pizza and it got some good comments. So here is the pizza dough recipe once again; top it off with pizza sauce, your favorite toppings, and cheese.

10 Minute Homemade Pizza Crust recipe (makes one 14″ pizza):

• 1 (.25 oz) packet of active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 cup very warm water
• 2 cups white flour
• 1/2 cup wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tsp italian seasoning (optional)
• 2 tsp garlic powder (optional)

1. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees, have a pizza stone ready.
2. Combine first 3 ingredients into a mixing bowl, swirl a few times to help the yeast distribute and dissolve, then set aside.
3. In another bowl combine the remaining ingredients and mix well. Wait 5 minutes then add it to the water and yeast bowl.
4. Stir the flour and water together with a wooden spoon as best as you can then pour it onto a lightly floured surface. Don’t worry if it looks extremely dry, it will all come together in the next step.
5. Knead the dough for about 2 minutes, or until it feels smooth and slightly elastic. Set aside to rest for 5 minutes and then roll it out, I actually do this right on the stone itself and go to the edges.
6. Bake the crust PLAIN for 7 minutes, then remove the stone from the oven. The crust is now ready to be “dressed” with your favorite toppings. Put pizza back in the oven and cook until cheese is melted.
7. TIP: If you are using a pizza stone and prefer a crisper bottom crust, slide the pizza off the stone for the last 5 minutes of baking.

Garlic Cheese Bialy’s (Bagels)

Shredded Cheddar & Swiss Cheese; Finished Garlic Cheese Bialy's

I have to say, these turned out EXCEPTIONAL. Even my husband, who doesn’t eat bagels, couldn’t resist them! Once again I used the recipe from Smitten Kitchen, but with a few adjustments. We had these for lunch with some deli turkey and cream cheese, one of my favorites! So let get right into it, as these are far too easy for you to pass up trying. My notes will all make sense if you do your homework by reading her recipe first.

My changes: only 2/3 tsp salt in flour mix and added a generous 1/2 tsp of garlic powder, 1st rise of an hour, 2nd rise about 20-30 minutes, pre-heat oven for 15 minutes, I toss my cubes onto a broiler pan that is on the bottom rack, top Bialy’ s off with 1 Tbls of cheese before sliding them in the oven, bake time of roughly 13-15 minutes.

Recipe in a nutshell: Mix in standing mixer for 7 minutes, rise for an hour, cut into 6 pieces, shape into circle and pinch together as pictured in recipe, flatten a well in middle and let rise for 30 minutes, bake, and EAT.

Quick Bialy’s and other random notes

Onion Bialy with cream cheese-YUMMY!

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you know you were constantly busy, yet thinking back you’re not really sure what you did? Well, it’s been one of those weeks for me! I seemed to have done a little bit of everything, which is probably why I feel like I accomplished nothing! All I remember from this week is an excess of teenage presence in the house (spring break), making lots of cupcake shape cake truffles (eating them too, love the chocolate cake ones!), working on the Bliss Candies catalog sheet and making Bialy’s…oh, and I did work some, but not much. I console myself on that point by reminding myself all of the candy making IS considered work, as I am now trying to take a go at selling some of it.

But on to these Bialy’s! Now, I’ve never had an authentic one, so really have nothing to compare them too, but rumor has it they are suppose to taste like a bagel…and I do love bagels! I’ve looked into making bagels at home, but am a bit intimidated by the process. Earlier this week though I was reading through Smitten Kitchen’s blog (oh yeah, did a lot of that too this week) and found her recipe for Bialy’s, so I decided to give it a try!

I pretty much followed her recipe, but once they were shaped and laying on the baking sheet for the 2nd rise, I only let them sit for 20 minutes or so. However, she said that if you poke at it and the indent stays, then it has risen long enough, and my indent stayed after just 20 minutes. If your house is on the cool side, try pre-heating the oven for just 1-2 minutes, shutting it off and then letting the dough rise in the oven.  Oh, and on the first rise I only waited an hour. Hence my name of “quick” Bialy’s. I admit it, I can be very impatient and usually don’t do well with recipes that need to “rise”. Heck, my teenager was pestering me on when they’d be done and trying to hurry me up, as soon as she smelled the onions cooking she was sold! So with 2 females dying to try one out, smeared with extra cream cheese…an hour and 20 minutes rise time was pushing it.

Un-cooked Bialy ready for the oven!

The dough will be VERY soft and sticky, so make sure to flour your hands a bit before shaping them. Don’t poke a hole through it, as it’s not a bagel! Rather, make a slight indent in the middle with your fingers and gently expand the indent to make at shallow well, to put all of the yummy onions in! Baking time took a little longer for me, closer to 13-15 minutes, but it could be because I didn’t allow the oven to pre-heat for 30 minutes. I’m not sure how much my rush affected the texture, but we were very happy with it. They had a nice crust and were just a little less chewy then a bagel and just as sturdy. I personally would NOT add more salt to the Bialy mix, and actually I think next time I’ll put just a little less.

All in all these turned out awesome and are CHEAP to make, both my teen and I finished off the Bialy’s in less then 24 hours. So if you are trying to cut down on carbs (like me), this may not be the recipe to try.