Crock Pot o' Gold Month (Finale)

All good things must come to an end and unfortunately this is the end of slow-cooker month. Sad I know, but I'm the kind of person who likes to mourn alone. It's nice to have company but it's even nicer not to have company. The best kinds of things to eat alone are unhealthy and dip-able. And what shut-in would be complete without a cat? Tonight I decided to slip into my snuggie, turn on my single serving Crockette and craft gifts for my fur baby. This only sounds sad because it is. 

Fon-don't For One

Love fondue? Lacking a fondue set? Not to worry, use your Crock Pot! I got this tiny one at an estate sale, which means its previous owner is dead. The Crock-ette is purrfect for dips and sauces, but inadequately feeds one person. This retro recipe cost me less than eight dollars and I didn't have to do anything illegal! Double the recipe and have a game night, hopefully people show up. 

You Will Need the Following: 

5 oz shredded Gruyére cheese

5 oz shredded Swiss cheese 

1 c white wine

2 tbsp corn starch

2 cloves roasted garlic

1/2 t-spoon mustard

a pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

salt & pepper

A baguette in pieces and apples etc (for dipping)

Step 1: Pour wine, mustard and garlic into a heating crock pot. 

Step 2: In a plastic bag, combine cheeses and corn starch. Shake together until starch is sticking to cheese. 

Step 3: When wine is piping hot, begin adding cheese one cup at a time until completely melted. Season and allow cheese to melt for two hours or until sufficiently thickened. Keep warm and serve immediately. (Use skewers to dip, if alone simply use hands). 

Trick-on-a-Stick Cat Toy

My cat Toulouse has adopted this new, annoying habit of standing at the front door and howling at nothing. Much like a cartoon cat singing on a fence, I've been throwing bottles and boots at him to no avail. The only way to get him to stop is by playing with him, clever (spoiled) kitty. If your cat is like mine, he has about a million toys, half of which are just amusing rubbish from around the house. I hardly buy cat toys because no matter how much you spend on them they always choose the wadded up receipt from your purse. Toulouse is over new toys so quickly that I've decided to save my money and make toys. He wouldn't leave me alone while I made this which was a good sign. Always lock your cat up when working with sharp and irresistible supplies. 

You Will Need the Following: 

A dowel rod cut to 2 feet

cat nip

scrap fabric

ribbon

needle & thread

a jingle bell 

scissors

Step 1: Begin with your "trick" portion. I designed a mouse, use my pattern or go to hell. 

Sew panel A to panel B leaving enough room to attach the ears and fill pocket with nip. Add ribbon tail and jingle bell. 

Step 2: Using your needle, splinter the wood slightly to make room for your string. Wrap around several times and tie off. 

Step 3: Attach string to mouse and viola, cat toy. 

Look at him go! 

Woo, another rockin' Friday night of network TV and playing with Toulouse. Who gets more joy out of this, me or the cat? Who's to say. Meow. 

Crock Pot o' Gold Month (Part 3)

Welcome to the third installment of my slow cooker extravaganza month! With St. Fratboy's Day behind us, it's time to refocus and get away from soups and stews. You can use your Crock Pot for so much more! For those of you who remember the book porn from the first edition, you will be pleasantly surprised by this issue's cheap and simple book craft. Stay tuned, I've got one more slow cooker recipe up my sleeve before this month is over. 

Red Wine Pork Tenderloin

Obviously this is nothing new, my mom used to make pork tenderloin in the crock pot all the time, most recently on Christmas Eve. For some reason people have the idea that this is an expensive cut of meat. I find it to be very affordable by comparison. I've added a few bells and whistles to my mom's method. After you've eaten this, you'll never cook it any other way. And as always, it's heavy on the rosemary.

1-1.5 lb pork loin roast

1 packet dry vegetable soup mix

1/2 red onion (quartered)

3 cloves minced garlic 

2 tbsp chopped rosemary

3/4 c red wine

1 c water

salt & pepper

Step 1: Fill crock with water, soup mix, and onion. 

Step 2: Coat both sides of roast with rosemary and garlic. Slowly pour wine over roast and cover. 

Step 3: Set crock to LO and simmer 4 hours. Do not open lid! After 4 hours, toss in more fresh rosemary. 

Step 4: Take a picture of it before you eat and upload it to Facebook, people love that. 

Teacher's Pet Bookplate

There are only two things I won't do and one of those is loan out books. I have a very carefully selected library and it seems that whenever people come over and pluck books from my shelves, I never see them or my book again. It's always an awkward conversation when bringing up book negligence so I made these customized bookplates for the very rare occasion that I do loan one out. This way they never forget that my book is not theirs! There are about a million different ways to make these, but since I'm cheap I used the resources I had (fancy Silhouette cutter at work). You can also use stamps or follow my pattern with your own paper cutting tools. The point is, brand all your loanable possessions.

Get this stuff. 

Adhere with either double-sided tape or glue. The less glue the better so your pages don't crinkle. 

*On a less hostile note: These are a great idea for when giving books as gifts.

Crock Pot O' Gold Month (St. Patrick's Day Edition!)

Happy St. Patrick's Day loyal readers. You'll be happy to know that this issue of the blog has nothing to do with drinking, though it's certainly not discouraged. To me, St. Patrick's Day is one of those overrated faux holidays primarily observed by frat boys and their corresponding bimbos. (In Chicago, we call them Wrigleyvillians). Instead, we are celebrating our Irish heritage by eating potato soup and wearing green because it brings out my green eyes. In keeping with this month's theme of slow-cooker cooking, we'll be using that beautiful pot o' gold up there. Again, this theme was thought up before it got oddly warm. 

Potato Famine Soup

Okay fine, I'll admit it, I'm obsessed with rosemary. This soup was amazing, but the flour sort of got away from me so mine ended up more of a mush. I suggest when I say 1/4 c that you stick to it! Also I added a bump of celery salt, but that's just me.

3 Potatoes

4 carrots

1 white onion

2 cloves crushed garlic

1/2 stick butter

3 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

1 c cream or whole milk

1/4 c flour

salt & pepper

1 c water

Step 1: Peel and dice carrots and potatoes and place in crock with water. 

Step 2: In a skillet, saute onion with rosemary, add garlic in last 3 minutes. 

Step 3: Add onions and garlic to crock with more fresh rosemary. Pour cream over and toss in butter. Salt and pepper to taste. Set to HI and simmer all day. 

Girl Scout Cookie Mini Mousse Pies

In addition to being St. Patty's Day, it's also Girl Scout cookie season! I make a bitchin' pie crust out of Thin Mints that is often better than the filling, except for this recipe. If you're like me you go through handmixers like Kleenex and endless whisking gives you tennis elbow, rendering mousse-making a pain in the ass. Great news! You can use your blender!

For Crust

1 sleeve Thin Mints (crushed to powder)

1/8th stick melted butter

1 tsp flour

For Mousse

1 c chocolate chips

1 c whipping cream

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350. Mix cookie crumbs with flour. Pour melted butter into center of mixture and work into a paste with hands. Press into mini pies and bake for 7 minutes. 

Step 3: Begin making mousse by heating cream in a saucepan without boiling. While cream heats, use your blender to chop your chocolate with egg and vanilla. Once cream is piping hot, pour into blender and blend for 1 minute. Pour mixture over pie crusts. Chill 4-5 hours. 

Pot 'o Gold Recipe Box!

A recipe box is almost as important as writing down recipes. It's the perfect kitchen accessory other than a dishwasher. I had such a boring little index card holder until I found this little baby at a craft store. I decorated to my liking and now it's practically perfect! All I did was paint it and line it with left over shelf-paper. Voila! In an effort to be more green, I made dividers out of old food boxes. 

I'll leave you with my dad's favorite St. Patrick's Day joke: What's Irish and sits on your back porch? Patio Furniture...

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

Crock Pot o' Gold Month (Part 1)

In like a lion and out like a..well, I'm not sure how to finish that and frankly this unpredictable March weather worries me. March is still supposed to be cold in Chicago and yet nature is enabling people to wear seasonably inappropriate footwear. In any case, this month is all about the comforts of warm food and the convenience of an electric slow cooker. What's better than cooking? Not cooking. I got my crock-pot for Christmas and I can't stop finding uses for it. I apologize for my long absence from the blog, Little Dinner Party moved at the beginning of the month and we're still trying to put our life back together. You'll notice that our craft this issue is essentially a housewarming/home improvement gift to myself. 

This is my own recipe and quite basic. Beef stew is a staple for any recipe box as far as I'm concerned. Who doesn't like slow cooked beef and veggies? Vegetarians I guess. I'm obsessed with that little chalkboard I just got too, couldn't resist incorporating it. We all know what stew looks like. Word to the wise: if you get your produce at a wholesale produce place it vastly improves the taste and lowers the cost. (Chicagoans: try Stanley's)

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

1 lb cube steak

2 large carrots

1 parsnip

3 stalks celery

1 white onion (quartered)

4 red potatoes (diced) 

2 c chicken stock

1 small can tomato paste 

1 tbsp fresh rosemary

2 tbsp butter

flour 

salt & pepper

Flour your beef and then brown in a skillet with butter. Add stock, veggies and paste to crock and turn on HI. Add beef and rosemary. Simmer for three hours. Serve with crusty bread. 

Bookshelf Facelift

We'll call this the "before" photo. This is my own furniture version of The Swan. I've had this bookshelf literally my entire life. My grandpa made it for my brother and I's bedroom. Through the cute years it held picture books, the awkward years held an embarrassing amount of pulp horror novels and now in our new Lake Shore Drive condo its shabbiness sticks out, and hardly does my meticulous literary collection justice. For less than $20 I gave my books an attractive new home. 

You Will Need the Following: bookshelf, glossy paint, brushes etc. and self-adhesive shelf liner

Step 1: Paint shelf inside and out making sure to cover the dozen or so places where "poop" is scribbled on it in crayon. Allow to dry completely. 

Step 2: Measure cubbies and cut accordingly sized panels out of the shelf liner. Adhere liner to shelves and smooth out with a credit card. 

Step 3: Admire your work. 

This is the "After" photo.