Countdown

Here is a cute simple craft. Find the instructions HERE.

I posted a Christmas countdown a few months ago. Go HERE, to see that.

We were like beans and carrots

I have got a lot of carrots- three Ziploc bags full in fact. I also have two bags of beans.


What am I going to do with all of them? I can't eat them all, and if I can't eat them, they go bad. I learned this lesson last year... I thought to myself, "why don't I just freeze them?" So I Googled "how to freeze carrots/beans" I thought I could just put them in a bag and BAM I was done. Nope, wrong. Apparently you have to blanch the vegetable first.

After reading the directions, I decided there was no way I was going to stand at the counter for a day chopping carrots and beans. So I went to good ol' Wal-Mart and bought a slicer.


Tomorrow, I will get this done. Yes, tomorrow...


***Note- prepare the carrots and beans separately***

Directions for Freezing carrots/beans

Ingredients and Equipment

* fresh carrots/beans - any quantity. One handful per serving.
* ziploc type freezer bags
* 1 Large pot of boiling water
* 2 large bowls, one filled with cold water and ice.
* 1 sharp knife

Instructions

Step 1 - Get yer carrots/Beans!- Start with fresh carrots/beans - as fresh as you can get.

Step 2 - Wash the carrots/beans!

Step 3 - Peel the carrots and cut the beans, trim the ends and cut into smaller pieces.

Step 4 - Get the pots ready- Get the pot of boiling water ready (about 2/3 filled) and a LARGE bowl with ice and cold water.

Step 5 - Blanch the carrots and beans.

All fruits and vegetables contain enzymes and bacteria that, over time, break down the destroy nutrients and change the color, flavor, and texture of food during frozen storage. Carrots requires a brief heat treatment, called blanching, in boiling water or steam, to destroy the enzymes before freezing.

Blanch for the following amount of time:
*small whole carrots 5 minutes
*diced or sliced 2 minutes
*lengthwise strips 2 minutes
*Beans- 3 minutes

The duration is intended to be just long enough to stop the action of the enzymes and kill the bacteria.

Begin counting the blanching time as soon as you place the carrots in the boiling water. Cover the kettle and boil at a high temperature for the required length of time. You may use the same blanching water several times (up to 5). Be sure to add more hot water from the tap from time to time to keep the water level at the required height.

Step 6 - Cool the carrots/beans- Cool carrots immediately in ice water. Drain thoroughly.

After vegetables are blanched, cool them quickly to prevent overcooking. Plunge the carrots into a large quantity of ice-cold water (keep adding more ice to it). A good rule of thumb: Cool for the same amount of time as the blanch step.

Step 7 - Bag the carrots/beans- Place food in a Ziploc bags, zip the top shut but leave enough space to insert the tip of a soda straw. When straw is in place, remove air by sucking the air out. To remove straw, press straw closed where inserted and finish pressing the bag closed as you remove straw.

Step 8 - Done!- Pop them into the freezer!

Round Table

I have searched high and low for a black round dining table. RC Willey is out of stock, www.directsourcefurniture.com is somewhat expensive, but good ol' reliable Wal-mart has the perfect table for me!

Paint, moulding, light, Oh My!

We finally picked a color. What one do you think it is?
Rocky Mountain Sky (left) or Contemplation (right)?
***Click on color to be directed to Behr's website.


We chose Rocky Mountain Sky! I got the hallway painted. The paint color really makes the white trim stand out.

The hallway
The closet

Matt also put in the light that will eventually swag over our table.


The crown moulding is in!!!!

Pumpkins... again

I thought this was really cute! Find more about it HERE.

I swear the more we do, the more we uncover...

We are finally getting back to our original project... the bathroom. We encountered a problem though, the ceiling around the swamp cooler is water damaged and growing mold. We have to now replace the area around the cooler and figure out new lighting. We can do more can lights or some wall sconces. I vote can lights. I swear the more we do, the more we uncover...


The damage we uncovered tonight around the swamp cooler.


The wall color. It is Behr's Chocolate Froth. (click on link to see color)

The tile around the tub. We still need to lay the tile on the floor.We have a bedroom door!!!!

Bead Board

I have lots of bead board left from my old kitchen that I need to find something to do with. I came across this idea here. I would not necessarily do the word laundry, but you get the idea...

I call her kitty

We got a new family member. Matt's brother and his wife needed to find a home for their cat since their landlord said they could only have one cat. We decided to adopt "Daisy" (I call her kitty). She is part Siamese. She is loving and playful. Last week Matt made her a cat post so she could have something to scratch and play on.

Here she is in all of her glory.

YEA or NAY - I need your help

We want to do a back splash. Today, we found a 12x12 sheet of glass tiles for $5 on one of our trips to The Home Depot. I am not sure if adding it will be too much for the space. This is where I need everyone's help who looks at my blog.

What do you think?



Here is the tile in question
A different view of the said tile
The area without the tile sample
The area with the tile sample

YEA or NAY?????

ShElVeS

I want to make these shelves.

Another pumpkin post

I thought this idea was cute too!

Mini Pumpkins Galore

I grew some mini pumpkins and thought I would get a small quantity of them, but turns out I have about twenty with more growing. Here are a couple of cute ideas of how to use all those mini pumpkins.

Fabric Pumkins

I saw these and immediately loved them! See the tutorial here.