Spaghetti alla Carbonara

This is a super simple meal to put together in a pinch and it is amazingly tasty. And it does not have any cream in it but it is so so creamy.

1/2 cup pancetta, diced
1 T garlic
1 t red pepper flakes
1/2 lb Spaghetti
 4 eggs
1/2 cup parmesan
1/2 cup  frozen peas, heated
salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil pasta according to manufacturers instructions.
2. Meanwhile, sauté over medium heat pancetta until the fat is rendered out, about 10 min. Add the garlic and the red pepper flakes, sauté for 2 min. Make sure the garlic doesn't burn
3. Mix the eggs and parmesan throughly until it is a homogenous mixture.
4. Add the pasta to the pancetta, garlic and pepper mixture.
5. Remove from heat and add the egg mixture. Stir constantly until until the egg mixture forms a sauce that resembles a cream sauce. Add the peas, salt and pepper.

Enjoy

Turkey and White Bean Chili

We have finally reached fall weather here in North Carolina and I decided to welcome chilly tempuratures with cozy sweaters and a big warm bowl of chili. This is coming from the girl who has consistantly walked her dog at 7 am and thought "oh my goodness what a nice day for fall clothes" and by the time I go back outside at noon my hopes are dashed and it is another beautiful 80 degree day. I know I know I should not complain about beautiful weather but I have gotten extremely bored with both my warm weather wardrobe and my hot weather recipes.

This chili recipe has some mole inspired ingredients (chocolate, almonds, chiles and raisins) which give it a great depth of flavor while not having to spend all day working on a mole.

Turkey and White Bean Chili
adapted from Turkey Chili with White beans
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey
1/4 cup chili powder
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup ground almonds *
1/4 cup raisins, minced
1 teaspoon dried ancho chile
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes
3 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
1 can of tomato paste
3 15-ounce cans small white beans, rinsed, drained

Chopped onion
Chopped fresh cilantro
Grated cheddar cheese or pepper jack
Crushed tortilla chips
Light sour cream

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onions; sauté until light brown and tender, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, oregano and cumin; stir 1 minute. Increase heat to medium-high. Add turkey; stir until no longer pink, breaking up with back of spoon. Stir in chili powder, bay leaves, cocoa powder, almonds, raisins, ancho chili, salt and cinnamon. Add tomatoes with their juices, breaking up with back of spoon. Mix in stock and tomato paste. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Add beans to chili and simmer until flavors blend, about 10 minutes longer. Discard bay leaves. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium-low heat before continuing.) 

Garnish with the onion, cilantro, cheese, chips and sour cream.

*You could just add whole almonds to a food processor with the raisins, chile and a little bit of cooking liquid if you do not have ground almonds on hand.

 Enjoy

Homemade Twix Bars

Apparently I have been doing a theme each week because last week was jewelry and this week is full of baked goods. Today I made some homemade Twix Bars for a Halloween party that turned out fabulously addictive. Later this week I will be making cakes for a bunch of birthdays. I will make a carrot cake , a chocolate cake and a super secret surprise cake for my friends birthday (She might read this or else I would give more details).  Happy Halloween!

 
Homemade Twix Bars

Shortbread

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup chilled butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cut parchment paper to fit the 9 x 13 inch pan so that the edges hang over the sides. Mix flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl to blend. Add the butter and rub in with fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Pour into the prepared pan and flatten. The dough will look dry but i promise it is right! Bake until the shortbread is cooked through and pale golden, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the ….

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 1 pound light brown sugar
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 
  
• In a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Heat to between 234 and 240 degrees F (112 to 116 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from the water and placed on a flat surface. Cook for 2 minutes at that temperature. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla.

Pour over the shortbread.

Allow to set. This will take about 2 hours. Or if you impatient like me you could put it in the freezer for 1/2 an hour.

Once the caramel layer has cooled prepare your …

Chocolate Glaze

6 oz half milk and half semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped (Bittersweet chocolate chips also work)

2 tablespoons butter

Melt the chocolate and butter over a water bath or in the microwave. If using the microwave melt it slowly – in 30 second intervals. Stir well after each interval.

Once completely melted pour over the caramel.  Using an offset spatula, smooth the chocolate in a nice even layer. Sprinkle a little sea salt over the chocolate. (Kosher works too).

Place in the refrigerator to set. They cut best when chilled.

Cut into desired shape and size. Serve.


 Happy Halloween!

Glitter Nails!!!

I am obsessed with DIY manicures... A friend of mine got this very expensive but super cool glitter manicure which inspired this tutorial. But be prepared glitter might get everywhere if you are not careful.

Supplies Needed:
Glitter
Fast Dry Clear nail polish
Small bowl

1. Clip, file and shape nails according to your preferences.
2. Paint one nail with the fast dry clear nail polish and dip into the glitter.
3. Repeat for the rest of your nails
4. You have two options...
-Skip the top coat to keep the super sparkly finish (this is not as durable but it would last for an event) or
-Wait for about an hour before applying a top coat. This is important if you want to avoid getting glitter in your top coat because there is enough time for the excess glitter to fall off. Repeat applying top coats until it is semi smooth. It will loss a little sparkle after the first top coat but it will come back after 3 coats.
5. Enjoy!


Pictures to follow shortly!

DIY Polymer Clay Costume Jewelry

Tools & Supplies:

Polymer Clay in a color, Silver, Black, White and Translucent

Swarovski Crystal Chain (I found mine here)

Ring Base (found here)

Clear Nail Polish

Card stock

Glue (hot or crazy glue)

1. Take a small piece of each color of polymer clay 

2. Stack them together and knee lightly

3. Roll into a ball and then flatten.

4. Bake according to manufacturers instructions

5. Smooth down edges using a nail file (I used my Revlon Shape 'N Buff). This is necessary because the clay molds to your finger print and leaves tiny ridges in the clay.

6. Paint with nail polish to give the "stone" shine. Let dry.

7. Cut the card stock to about a 1/8 inch larger then the stone.

8. Glue the "stone" onto the card stock and then glue the chain around the "stone"

9. Attach the card stock to the ring base and  reapply nail polish if needed.

Hoop Earrings made from leftover beads!

Don't you hate it when you end up with a couple beads left after making a necklace or bracelet? I always end up with at least one or two left which isn't enough for another piece of jewelry. This is a great way to use up those extra beads and make a very easy convertible pair of earrings that could match what ever outfit you are wearing!

Tools & Supplies needed:

Leftover beads assorted sizes and colors

Gold or silver 2 inch earring hoops (I found mine at my Local Bead Store)

Round Nose Pliers 

Just put the beads on in an appealing order.

 I generally go from smallest to largest back to smallest. 

Just bend the ends of the hoop to a 45 degree angle so they can be hooked together.

 Here are some variations that I have made...

ENJOY!

Leather and Swarvoski Bracelet DIY

This is a very interesting bracelet that takes a very limited amount of time to make.
You start out with:
*1 yd 2mm leather cord (there will be extra left over ~ 1 ft)
*1 yd 0.5mm leather cord
*5-6 inches of swarvoski crystal beaded chain

In

Instructions to follow...

Camera

I have tons of things that I want to post to the blog but unfortunately I do not have a camera. I have been using my phone as a camera for a while now and it takes somewhat decent pictures but no where near the quality needed for my blog.

 I am planning on purchasing a new camera but I have no idea what I would like to spend or get...

In a dream world, I would like to get a camera that I wouldn't have to replace for years like the Nikon D3100 but spending $650 on a camera is out of my price range despite looking around and finding some deals that brought it down to $500.


I have borrowed my parents camera to take a bunch of pictures of my dog, Emmie, when he was a puppy and gots some great action shots like this:

Emmett playing fetch.

Cutie pie...

He sleeps in the oddest positions... this is actually pretty normal for him..

He sat this way for most of the 14 hr drive from NC to Cape Cod. If he wasn't here he was sitting on the center console which he seems to think is still an option despite gaining nearly 50 lbs since this photo was taken.

I just love how I caught him in the air.

I am leaning towards a camera in the $100-$200 range but I do not know which one would be the best option to take great photos for the blog.  I had heard the Nikon Coolpix cameras were pretty good for point and shot cameras. Any Ideas anyone?

Blog Titles and Store Signs

I spent the majority of my day creating a blog title for my mom and me. As you can see we both have a common theme (labrador retrievers) because we both have very loyal companions that wouldn't let us out of their sight unless something very important comes along (tennis ball, squirrel, etc.). I did this all using pages and screen shots. I am sure that is not the most effective/the most professional way to do it but i thought it worked out pretty well.

Here are the options that I have come up with for my mom but I think it is still not quite right yet.

This is for a project that I have in a marketing class that I am taking where we need to create a business and go through all the steps involved in getting it up and running. We are doing a coffee/internet cafe idea for NC State University 

 These are the options that I had come up with for my blog but it is still not quite what I was looking for.

I hope you enjoyed this  as much as I enjoyed making them!

Emmie & Abi

Dog Silhouette

Here is a super cute new take on the traditional silhouette that you always see at your grandparents house. This one features my dog emmie and my Martha Stewart Glitter.

1. Take a side view picture of the subject. This may take a couple photos or some treats to get your dogs attention.

2. Print out the picture and cut out the dog.

3. Center the photo on the canvas.

4. Trace around the picture.

5. Apply a thick coat of Modge Podge to the inside of your outline. If you do not work quickly the Modge Podge will dry and the glitter won't stick properly.

6. Sprinkle the glitter liberally over the canvas and then shake off the excess after 10 minutes.

7. Wait for it to dry and then hang on the wall!

Enjoy

♥ Emmie & Abi

Glitter Bow Rings

I was inspired by a Kate Spade ring that I saw online a while ago but it was $75 and I couldn't justify spending that much on something that I would not wear every day. Therefore I came up with this imitation that cost under $2 per ring.

What you need:
   *Polymer clay
   *Glitter
   *Metal ring ( I found some at the craft store for 75 cents)
   * Glue

1. Roll the clay into a thin sheet and cut it to 1/2 inch by 2 inch piece and a 1/4 inch by 1 inch piece that is slightly thicker than the larger piece.

2. Cut notches into the larger piece of clay

3. Fold the edges into the center

4. Add a 1/4 inch piece down the center. Make sure that the piece is thick so that you can see it once the glitter is added.

5. Bake the bows according the the manufacturers instructions.
6. Paint the entire thing in mod podge and sprinkle glitter over the entire bow.
7. Once the bow dries,  glue it to the ring. Wait 24 hrs before wearing.

8. Enjoy!

♥ Emmie & Abi