American Apparel Style Tank

So I know I can't eat it, but today I spent a couple hours devoting my creative energy to creating a cheap DIY American Apparel tank. I started with a child's Large Hanes tee, cut it down to a racer back, and dyed it the color "Rose Pink" by Rit Dye. I dumped the dye before I untied the ties, so now it has big white splotches all over it. But hey, it cost me around five bucks, and NOT 35! I want to try cutting a couple graphic tees I have, because summer in Tallahassee/Fort Myers means highs of 95 degrees.

Idea courtesy AmericanApparel.net!

Vegetarian Morrocan Tagine

I altered this a bunch, but it still turned out really great. I added a bit too much cayenne pepper, which made it really spicy, and forgot to buy tomatoes and sugar. Patrick would have really liked this one! I'll probably make it for him one day, because it was super simple. I'm excited about discovering how amazing Butternut Squash is, because at first I was a little nervous that I wouldn't like it.


Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into chunks (leave out for vegetarian)
  
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled and chopped
• 1 (15.5 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 (14 ounce) can vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 dash cayenne pepper

Method:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and cook the chicken, onion, and garlic about 15 minutes, until browned.
2. Mix the squash, garbanzo beans, carrot, tomatoes with juice, broth, sugar, and lemon juice into the skillet. Season with salt, coriander, and cayenne pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, and continue cooking 30 minutes, until vegetables are tender.

recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.com.

Origami Maniac!

On the left, you can see a string of "stellated octahedron" and on the right is a string of "hexahedrons". As I was packing up my room, I came across a book of Origami that I received for Christmas one year. Now I have a couple of cute decorations that cost nothing, because I used magazine paper instead of origami paper, and old yarn!




Origami Patterns courtesy of Origami: Easy-to-Make Paper Creations by Gay Merrill Gross.

Swirled Strawberry Cheesecake

I'm very proud of myself with this one because apparently cheesecakes are hard to get right. I did experience some cracking, and the center wasn't completely cooked through, but it was so, so delicious. I added fresh strawberries on top as a garnish! Can you tell it's a heart?

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen sweetened strawberries, thawed
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 eggs
1 tablespoon water

Method:
1. Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter.
2. Press onto the bottom of an ungreased 9-in. springform pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. In a blender or food processor, combine strawberries and cornstarch; cover and process until smooth.
4. Pour into a saucepan; bring to a boil. Boil and stir for 2 minutes. Set aside 1/3 cup strawberry sauce; cool. Cover and refrigerate remaining sauce for serving.
5. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in milk. Add lemon juice; mix well. Add eggs, beat on low just until combined.
6. Pour half of the cream cheese mixture over crust. Drop half of the reserved strawberry mixture by 1/2 teaspoonfuls onto cream cheese layer. Carefully spoon remaining cream cheese mixture over sauce. Drop remaining strawberry sauce by 1/2 teaspoonfuls on top. With a knife, cut through top layer only to swirl strawberry sauce.
7. Bake at 300 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight. Remove side of pan. Thin chilled strawberry sauce with water if desired; serve with cheesecake. Store in the refrigerator.

recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com

Vegetarian Stuffed Green Peppers

I made these for the boy, since he was visiting Tallahassee for a day while passing through on his way to Kentucky to visit his brother. I was pleasantly surprised by how delicious they were! The picture above is without feta.. I completely forgot about adding it until we were sitting down to eat! It was a key ingredient. NOM

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/2 cup uncooked rice
2 green bell peppers, halved and seeded
1 tbs olive oil
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt
1 pinch black pepper
1 tomato, diced,
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
   
2. In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Stir in the rice. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside.
3. Place the peppers cut-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Roast 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until tender and skin starts to brown.
4. While the peppers are roasting, heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onions, basil, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper in oil for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato, and cook for 5 minutes. Spoon in the cooked rice, and stir until heated through. Remove from heat, mix in the feta cheese, and spoon the mixture into the pepper halves.
5. Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com


*I edited this recipe by adding about half a tablespoon of cumin, and garlic powder. I also added the feta cheese last, by piling it on top of everything instead of cooking it into the stuffing.

Pecan Pie

Ingredients:
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp molasses
2 Tbsp melted butter
2 Tbsp flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups pecans, coarsely chopped

1 9-inch pie shell, chilled for an hour if freshly made, defrosted for 10 minutes if frozen.

Method:

1 Preheat oven to 375°F. Spread pecans along the bottom of the pie shell. Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over pecans. The pecans will rise to the surface of the pie.

2 Bake at 375°F for 45-50 minutes until the filling has set. About 20 minutes into the cooking you may want to use a pie crust protector, or tent the edges of the pie crust with aluminum foil to prevent the pie crust edges from burning.

3 Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Serves 8.

recipe courtesy Simply Recipes @ www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001595pecan_pie.php