Good-bye

Good-Bye

I am not done with blogging, I have just moved somewhere else.  This site just didn't work for me.  It was fun while it lasted Blogger, but I am moving on. 

Please still read my new blog.  I am still Nannyquette, and I am still posting the same things, with a couple of extra things.  I look forward to seeing you all there! 

nannyquette.weebly.com

See you soon!! 

-Nannyquette 

Mini Apple Pies

Mini Apple Pies

For Thanksgiving 2013, I made these. I hate when you have to try to take home a pie that's had slices taken out of and it turns into a huge mess. That, and what's better than having your own personal pie?? 

INGREDIENTS:

Apple Filling:

• 6-7 Apples (I love Granny Smith Apples)
• 1 tsp Cornstarch
• 2/3 Cups Brown Sugar
• 1/2- 1 tsp Cinnamon

Pie Crust:

• 3/4 Cup Cold Unsalted Butter
• 2 Cups All Purpose Flour
• A Dash Of Salt
• 3 Tbsp of Buttermilk

Streusel:

• 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
• 3/4 Cup Flour
• A few spoons of oil
• A dash of Cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

Apples:
Peel, Core, and Cut into bite sized pieces.  Mix with Cornstarch, Brown Sugar, and Cinnamon

Pie Crust:
Combine Butter and Flour and break up in hands until crumbly. Then add Salt and Buttermilk to form the dough.

Streusel: 
Combine Brown Sugar, Flour, and Cinnamon. Drizzle Oil until it becomes a streusel like texture.



Pie:
Divide dough in 6 balls, roll pie crust out on a floured board, add to the muffin pan, trim edges and fill with apple filling. 
Cover with pie dough. (I added streusel to each pie, then covered it in pie crust, but you can just put streusel on top of pies and bake them just like that if you want)
Bake at 350 till crust is golden brown. 
Makes 6 pies

This was a pretty simple pie and it was DELICIOUS! I will definitely be making these again!  Especially when paired with apple pie's best friend, vanilla ice cream.

Have Fun.
Enjoy.
Thanks for reading.

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RumChata Cupcakes

RumChata Cupcakes

For your RumChata and cupcake lovers out there, there is a perfect little dessert for you.  I made these one day and they were DELICIOUS!! And you can drink while you make them, so it's fun too.

Ingredients

Cupcakes Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup of Butter (Room Temp)
• 1 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 2 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 Cup RumChata (And a drink for yourself)
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 4 Egg Whites

Frosting Ingredients:

• 12 oz Cream Cheese (1 1/2 Packages at Room Temp)
• 1/2 Cup Butter (Room Temp)
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 5 Tbsp RumChata (And a drink for yourself)
• 1 Packet Confectioners Sugar (2lb bag)

Directions

Cupcake Steps:

Preheat Oven to 350

Combine Sugar and Butter and beat until fluffy

Mix together Flour, Baking Powder, Salt, and Cinnamon; set aside.

Mix RumChata and Vanilla together; set aside.

Alternating, add in flour mixture and RumChata mixture into the Butter and Sugar.

*Start and End with Flour mixture*

In a clean mixing bowl, beat Egg Whites until soft peaks form.

Fold Egg Whites into the batter using a spatula.

Fill Cupcake Liners

Bake for 20 minutes (Or until cake "bounces back" when touched.

Frosting Steps:
 

Combine Butter and Cream Cheese until smooth

Add Vanilla

Slowly add Confectioners Sugar

Mix in RumChata

Frost Cupcakes.  

I sprinkled a little cinnamon to make them look a little nicer. Sorry I don't have a nicer picture. But I can promise these taste delicious.

Enjoy.
Don't forget to enjoy some RumChata a little while you're baking. 
Thanks for reading. :)  

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Baby Print Canvas

Love Canvas

I did this as a Christmas present for the family I work for.  But this canvas project is something that is appropriate for any occasion.

What you will need:

• 1 Canvas
• Acrylic Paints (Any colors you want. 4 for the background, 1 for letters and prints)
• Paint Brushes
• Painter's Tape

Make sure you divide the canvas in 4 equal parts.  Place painter's tape on the inner edges of the canvas so you can paint the different sections.  It took me a couple days to get this part done because you can only work one section at a time.  Make sure the paint is completely dry before you move the tape to paint the next section.  You may need to do multiple coats of certain colors.  Once all 4 sections are completely dry, you can move on to lettering and the prints.

I did the feet and hand prints before I added the lettering, just in case it ended up being a complete fail and I needed to repaint the sections.  I added the selected color to a paper plate and put Sam's hand in and pressed on the second (Red) section.  Then moved to his feet and put those on the third (Orange) section. Once he was all cleaned up, I moved to the letters.  I should have practiced the letters in pencil to make sure that they were EXACTLY how I wanted them to be, but I didn't, I just rushed them.  And in my opinion, this looks a little awkward.  But, hey, it's not absolutely horrible.

And there you have it.  A complete canvas with baby feet prints and a hand print.  I did enjoy doing this, and I want to try to do something like this every year.  It'll be a great way to see how much he grows.

I hope you enjoy doing this as much as I did.  Sam definitely did NOT enjoy his feet being put in cold paint, but he did a great job, nonetheless.

Thanks for reading :)

Mug Sleeve

Mug Sleeve

Honestly, I don't quite understand the point of these.  I just think they're ridiculous, unnecessary, and make your mug look cute. 

So, I thought I would try to knit myself one to see if I would like it or not.

This is for a standard size mug.

What you will need:

• 10.5 / 11 gauge knitting needles
• Thicker Gauge Yarn
• Place  Marker
• Sewing Needle / Crochet Hook

Cast On 30.
Stockinette Stitch 3.25"
With a needle or crochet hook, sew sides.  And be sure to leave a hole for the handle.  I took my favorite mug and used that.  Placed a marker where the handle started and ended and sewed the sides together, weaved yarn to the next marker and then sewed the rest.  Voila!!  You have a sleeve for your mug, now your fingers won't burn, or whatever their purpose is.  I have a thing for buttons, so I added a couple to this to pretty-it-up a little bit.


When putting mug into sleeve, place handle in first, then the rest should slip on without trouble.

Enjoy.
Thanks for reading. :)

Fingerless Gloves

Fingerless Gloves

With this winter being relentless, I figured some of you might want to know how to make some fingerless gloves.  They're a simple quick knitting project you can knock out in record time.

What you will need:

• Size 10.5 / 11 gauge knitting needle
• Yarn ( I used a larger gauged yarn)
• Sewing Needle / Crochet Hook
• Markers (Not markers to write, but a marker to hold your place

I like my gloves to be a little larger, so I made them that way. If you want them smaller, cast 20 instead.

Cast On 25 stitches
Knit.
Alternate Knit Purl for 9 rows.
Knit.
Add stitch. Purl
Add stitch. Knit.
Stockinette Stitch for about 3.5 - 4 inches, I would hold my swatch up to my hand to make sure it was long or short enough.
Cast Off.

Leave about 6-8 inches of yarn on the tail.
Put your hand in the unsewn glove and place a marker where the top of your thumb would go.
With a crotchet hook or needle, sew to your marker.
Place your hand back into the glove and place the marker to bottom of your thumb.
Weave yarn to marker, and start to sew to the bottom.
Once sewn, be sure to knot the yarn nice and tight.

I added a button to add a little color to the glove and personalize it a bit.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.
Stay warm.

Thanks for reading.

BACON bouquet

Bacon Bouquet

You read that right, a bacon bouquet.  Bacon, the little slice of heaven.  The high five in your mouth.  The thing that makes the world go 'round.  This is the best way to show someone you love them.  At least, it would work for me.

Here is what you will need:

• 1 pack of Bacon (any flavor you would like, I used maple)
• Vase
• Ribbon
• Plastic Roses
• Cookie Sheet
• Toothpicks
• Aluminum Foil

Preheat oven to 375.

Put aluminum foil on cookie sheet and open up your bacon.  You don't need the vase and plastic roses yet, so set those aside. 

Taking one strip at a time, roll bacon. Place toothpicks cross cross each other on the farthest you can go on your rolled bacon. The toothpicks stand the bacon upright so they don't fall over while baking.  Roll all the bacon and place evenly on the cookie sheet. 

*If you want to make a "super rose" roll 2 pieces together.  You will make a giant delicious bacon rose.*

Put bacon in oven and on the middle rack and bake 30-40 minutes.

While your bacon is being baked, pop the fake roses off of the stem.  And replace the rounded "leaves" with the plastic stub.  You want the cup looking leaf part to be about a half an inch to an inch below the stub of the rose so the bacon doesn't bend the stem.  I have seen people use electrical tape to tape the stems together, but I didn't have an issue with them falling over.

Once bacon is baked, remove toothpicks, and place bacon crispy side up on the rose stubs.  Add ribbon to the vase to pretty-it-up and voila!!  You have your bacon bouquet.

This works for mainly anything, but I made it for father's day.  Let's just say, my dad LOVED it!!!

I hope you enjoy making this and they enjoy eating it.
Thanks for reading.

Lemon Garlic Chicken with Goat Cheese

Lemon Garlic Chicken with Goat Cheese

I remember telling my man child how I wanted to cook for him.  And with this being the first meal he would be eating made by yours truly, I knew I couldn't just do something easy.  So, I went on the wonderful world of Pinterest and found this absolutely amazing recipe. And I am so excited to share it with you for you to try it out for yourself.

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 Chicken thighs, skin-on, bone-in
• 1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 9 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 Cup White Wine
• Lemon zest from 2 lemons
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 1 Tablespoon fresh herbs (I used thyme, oregano, and a little rosemary)
• Salt and ground pepper to taste
• 1 small log of goat cheese (If you don't like cheese any kind of "creamed" cheese should work)
• 1 lemon, but into 8 wedges, lengthwise

Divide cheese into 8 equal parts using fingers, loosen, the skin from one side of thigh to form a pocket for cheese.  Try to keep the skin connected to the thigh as much as possible, don't panic if it becomes a little detached.  Place portion of goat cheese (or cheese of choice) under the skin of each thigh, then press down gently on top of the skin to distribute the goat cheese in the thigh pocket.  Season with salt and pepper.  And set aside.

Over medium heat on stove top, heat olive oil in the tangine (or dutch oven). Add garlic and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. Do not allow garlic to brown.  Add wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, herbs, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  Place chicken thighs skin-side-up over the sauce in tangine.  Brush thighs with the sauce.  Tuck lemon wedges in the tangine among chicken pieces.  Simmer 30-40 minutes until chicken thighs are tender and cooked thoroughly.  Occasionally,  brush thighs with more sauce.  Spoon off excess fat and oil from tangine and reserve for cooking veggies.

If making zucchini noodles, just toss a couple tablespoons of fat with zucchini and sauté until tender, but not falling apart. 

You can broil chicken thighs after cooking if you want more of a crispy top. 

Serve with hot pan juice.

To make zucchini noodles, take a vegetable peeler and peel thin slices of zucchini until you get to the seeds.  You don't want to use the seeded area because they'll fall apart.  Place zucchini slices on a paper towel and pat dry them the best you can without breaking them.  Let them
sit in a new dry paper towel for about 15 minutes.  You can either serve them cold, with some seasoning,  or sauté them.  I like them sautéd.

Bon apetit.

The Fault in our Stars

The Fault In Our Stars

Hey all, I have finished my 12th book this year last night (2/25/2014) and all I have to say is, "Wow" with a capital-W.

So, let's get to the gist of it.  It's written in the point of view of a 16-year-old girl who has thyroid cancer and mets in her lungs, so she has to walk with an oxygen tank.  She is in love with a fictitious book, An Imperial Affliction (AIA), written by a fictitious author who goes by the name, Peter Van Houton.  This book revolves around AIA.  She meets a boy at support group, and AIA brings the two of them together.  This book doesn't have an ending and they don't like that.  So, she wants to go to Amsterdam and find out what happened to all these, characters in this book.  Boy makes it happen.  They fall in love.  And then the unimaginable happens.  When I say "unimaginable" I really mean, I knew this was going to happen, but for some reason was still taken aback by it.

As I'm reading and this lovey dovey teen couple is happy, I texted my friend and said, "I am going to be snot crying by the end of this book.  I just know it.".  "Snot, crying" is when you cry so much that you have snot running down your nose, it's not attractive, but we have all cried like that at one point or another.  I happen to do that a lot.  I'm kind of a crybaby.

Okay, so back to this book.  I knew, something bad was going to happen, so I tried to not get completely attached to these characters.  I didn't succeed. I was crying the whole last hour reading this.  Silently sobbing in my bed and wiping my snot on my sleeve.  It was gross.

The book is an easier read, definitely more appropriate for a teen rather than a twenty-something-year-old woman.  However, I did have to look up a few words as I read, which I get so excited when that happens.  But I would still recommend this to anyone.  Since it was coming from the mind of a 16-year-old, her point of view of being sick isn't what you would expect.  At least, I didn't expect it.  She has such an intellectual view on her cancer.  And it makes you kind of look at it differently as, well.  I don't have the big C or anything, but I know people who have, and it makes you wonder how they actually looked at it. I thoroughly enjoyed my adventure with Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters, and I do wish I could have had more time with them.  I think after a good day of recovery, I will be able to "move on" and start my next book.

I'm rated this book 4 stars on my goodreads account. I feel more people would have given it 5, but hey, I'm picky when it comes to "perfect".

Have any of you read this?  How did you like it?  Also, being a book worm, if you have read something that you liked, I am always open for suggestions.

Chocolate, strawberry, pudding cupcakes

Chocolate, Strawberry, Pudding Frosting Cupcakes

Absolutely delicious and EXTREMELY easy to do!!

Make chocolate pudding and let sit in the fridge. Use your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe.  Bake those bad boys up.  Wait for them to cool a little.  Then you want to core some of the middle out.  I thought using a spoon was pretty simple.  Now, make sure you keep the top part of the cored piece from the cupcake.  Add a fresh strawberry, replace the top of the removed cupcake, and put the pudding on top as frosting.

The only warnings I have are that they're messy and addicting.

Enjoy!!!

Toddler Fun

Toddler Fun

A little something that I like to do with Sam indoors, since it's ridiculous outside, is to play with some play-doh.  I bought a bag of, I think 20 small play-dohs for $5, thank you Five Below!  I place some wax paper on the table and let him have fun.

He does surprisingly well.  I was expecting it to be more of a disaster.  You know, him constantly eating it and the infamous baby mess.  But he does extremely well with it.

I also like to use that moment to teach him shapes, colors, letters, and to count.  He already likes to learn, you can see it in his face while he listens.  And that makes my job a lot easier!!

Homemade Paint

Toddler Friendly Homemade Paint

Springtime is just around the corner and I'm sure anyone dealing with the cold weather and the snow like I am couldn't agree more when I say "Thank freaking god!!!!"
This weather is relentless!!
So, for those of you with kiddies and on a budget, like almost the whole American population, I made homemade paint for my little nugget last summer and it was a SUCCESS!!!

Here's what you need.
1 cup flour
1 cup water
food coloring

That. Is. It!!

Mix water and flour until smooth, if you want, you can boil it to make it thinner, that is completely up to you. Separate into 4 different containers,  and add food coloring to get the color you want. If it starts to set, just stir it up again or add a little bit more water.  Depending on your child, determine where you would like this activity to take place.

I chose to use the little plastic tub and put it in the backyard.  And that worked out perfectly for me.  And he LOVED it!!

Enjoy fellow bloggers and readers. As always, feedback is completely welcome. Thanks! :) 

New Year

January 4, 2014

Now, I know this us a bit late, but I just started up this page.  Now, just a little insight on me, I have the WORST luck, and I am notorious for locking my keys in my car.  I was coming home the evening of January 4 from my boyfriend's house since we were looking at a polar vortex for the next couple days.  Good thinking, right?  I get home, and I see that the snow is a little high in my driveway, I drive a Dodge Stratus... 2 wheel drive, so what do I do?  Go for it, of course!!  Aaaannd, I'm unsuccessful, no surprise there.  I get stuck.  So, I walk into the garage, swearing under my breath, and get the shovel to start digging.  Things are looking good, so I put the shovel back, put my car in drive, aaaannnnd nothing.   Still stuck.  Go back to get the shovel, the swears have become a little louder, and I start to shovel more, really getting under the tires and under the car, to make sure I'm gonna get out.  I decided it was a great idea to put the shovel in my car just in case I needed it again.  Another genius idea of mine, I'm full of those.  I didn't budge.  So, I get out of my car, shovel in hand, and it's a bit difficult to get out of your car with a shovel.  I start working on the snow again and decide it HAS to be okay to drive now.  Put the shovel, handle up, in the deep snow, go to open my door and the door is locked.  Door is locked.  Car is running.  Spare is in my purse that is on the floor of my car.  Other spare is in my friend's car that is frozen shut.  And I see my phone on the dashboard.  I've done this before, had my keys locked in my running car, only that happened outside of a liquor store and I had my phone. Thank goodness I live with the family I work for, I go in crying (I'm a crybaby) and they are now out in the cold trying to break into my stupid car, his name is Jerome.  Jerome is being a jerk and not budging.  Finally, my one employer drives to the local FD, which I can see from my driveway, and they come to get my unlocked and helped push me free.  

Not even a week into 2014, and my luck has already showed its true colors.