This is a three tier pull down spice rack. It was the first thing I wanted on my list of wants for the new house. Finding one that wasn't a bazillion dollars though, that's another story. And Amazon didn't have any that were not expensive AND in stock at the same time. 

I think I found this on some random website and bought it at 3 in the morning or something because I cannot for the life of me recall where I got it, I only know it showed up one day and I said, oh yea. I forgot about you.  

This was trickier to install than the wine rack. I had to measure, mark, drill, remark and re-drill, remeasure, and again perform body contortions. But finally I got it.  And it's one of the best things I've ever owned with regard to space saving projects.  

ten out of ten recommend.

DIY Re Upholstered Couch and Chair

When I first my new house, I fell in love with the small "formal" living room. I knew this would be the Christmas Tree room in December. That was the only plan I had. The room gets great eastern light and it's become my grow plants, lounge and read while the dogs nap on me, room. My son in law calls it the terrarium room. 

      

Anyway, I knew that I wanted a loungy couch in here. So I found this red gem at a going out of business sale. 

I searched for about a month until I found the material I wanted, a suede-y but easy to clean, soft and welcoming material in a smokey blue/grey. (I really wanted a deep, deep red wine color but I couldn't find material that was under $1,000). 

So, after I found the material, I bought an electric staple gun, some razor wire stuff (flexible metal tack strip), a staple puller, pliers, I watched at least 10 hours of videos on how to reupholster your own furniture, and how to recover buttons and and tuft a couch; then I bought more supplies, thousands of staples, buttons, scissors, twine, and new legs for the couch because the that came on the couch were gross.

It took three weekends to completely disassemble, then reassemble, cover, and finish; and be happy with my efforts. The videos weren't lying when they said THOUSANDS of staples. 

I didn't take photos of the process, though I wish I would have because it would have been helpful for the next project.

It's hard to tell how good she really looks with the shadows and the indentation from my ass, but I'm proud of her. 

I had almost a whole roll of material left so I decided I'd recover my old lady chair. She was a cool ten bucks at the Goodwill.  I got her in 2015 and she is so comfortable.  The dramas gave me endless shit for having an "old lady chair" until the first time they sat there. THE most comfortable chair for reading that I've ever owned. No joke.  

BUT. I don't have room for her in this house.  So I asked Drama #1 if she wanted the chair for her new house.  She did. And I said I'd get right on it. 

Narrator: she did not get right on it.

Instead, I got the seat recovered, and the inside front sections done and then my stapler broke.  By the time I got a new one, it was summer; then I was really busy. And lazy. But mostly really busy.  So the chair sat in the spare bedroom, half done, lonely and sad, waiting for me to finish.  And finally I did. This month.  Literally, two years  after I started. I'm glad it's done and out of my house. Drama #1 is glad it's done. And I'm proud of this one too: 

    

Wine Rack from Amazon

When I bought my house two years ago, I started a list of improvements and I had a relatively small list of wants.  One thing I really wanted was a hanging rack for my wine glasses. I found the Torfican Wine Glass Holder on Amazon* and knew it was exactly what I needed.  

I was able to install the racks with just a screwdriver and some body conditioning. I'm very happy with how the racks turned out. Now I just need to get some cupboard doors with glass in them to complete the look. 

Chewy Crispy Flat Cinnamon Rolls

I know I said I wouldn't bore you some weird post about how this recipe was given to my family centuries ago and we only make it on special occasions or when someone dies. But I lied. Sorta.  

I recall my mom making cinnamon rolls and then rolling them out flat in more sugar and cinnamon and baking them until the edges were crispy but they were also chewy delicious.  They were way better than her carrot cake. Just sayin.

So the other day I decided to make them and let me say this, they did not disappoint. Crispy outer edges that were also chewy and just the right amount of diabetes for my liking.  

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons cinnamon
4 cinnamon rolls

I didn't make my own dough, because time.  So I used the Rhodes frozen cinnamon rolls. I did a quick thaw method (preheat oven to 175°, turn off and place frozen rolls on a baking tray and leave for 15-20 minutes (longer if you're not in a hurry) to thaw.   

You can use homemade dough. I'm lazy and when I want a snack, I want it within 30 minutes. 

DO NOT allow the rolls to raise (frozen or homemade). Once the cinnamon rolls have thawed, remove from oven.

Make your cinnamon sugar mixture and set it aside

Heat your oven to 350° this time,

Spread out about 1/4 cup of the sugar cinnamon mixture and place one cinnamon roll in the center, roll it around and flip it in cinnamon/sugar then using a rolling pin roll it flat, about 1/8 inch thick, think the thickness of two thick tortillas stacked on each other, but flatter than pita bread. Flip and make sure both sides are dusted in the cinnamon sugar. 

Place on a lined baking sheet (I recommend parchment paper, but if you don't have that, use non stick spray). Place the now flat rolls about one inch apart. They're not going to expand much. 

Bake at 350° for 13 to 15 minutes. Until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Candied Yams (or Sweet Potatos)

 Ingredients:

1/2 stick melted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar (okay to use light)
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
3 or 4 medium sized yams (IDK what is medium. To me, medium is long and thick, like two soda cans long and about as wide around)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Melt butter in microwave and set aside to cool, but NOT solidify.

Peel the yams then knife em. You can slice or cube or chunk, just be consistent in width so they cook evenly.  Place in large bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the spices and sugars. Mix well.

Now spray a 9” by 13” pan with non stick spray, OR, line the sides/bottom of your pan with parchment paper.

Pour the butter and vanilla over the yams in the bowl. Dump in the sugar and spices and pecans. Mix until all the yams are coated then pour into the pan and cover with foil.  

You’ll bake these for 35 to 45 minutes, depending on your oven. 

At the 20 minute mark, remove the foil and stir. Recover and put back in oven for 15 minutes. Check your yams at this point. Keep checking every 5 to 7 minutes until they’re done (poked with a fork there is no resistance). 

When the yams are done, remove from the oven, uncover and let sit 5 to 15 minutes (this will thicken the sauce).

PS: when the yams are done, remove foil and cover with mini marshmallows (about ½ bag is what I use). Place under broiler for 5 to 7 minutes. WATCH CAREFULLY so the marshmallows don’t burn.  Remove and let sit 5 to 15 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken.

PPS: you can boil your yams before you coat and bake. I don't know why you'd do this, but if you want to cut down on some of the baking time it makes sense.  My issue with boiling first is the yams get mushy. Baked yams are tender but firm, whereas boiled yams are mushy when you bite into them AND they don't absorb the sugar and spices so you're just eating a boiled yam with syrup.  Don't let me tell you how to like your yams. You do you. It's fine. It's FINE.

PPS: you can make the the day before and reheat but I would not make them any sooner than that. Also, if you freeze them they seem to be mushy upon reheat.  Yams are finicky.

Apology

Okay look. I want to say something. Just before the holiday I was browsing the internets looking for a recipe my mom used to make.  Can I just tell you the amount of minutia I had to wade through just to get an ingredients list? 

I do not want a long, drawn out, boring ass history lesson about the food I'm about to spend hours cooking so my family can snarf it down in less than 10 minutes. 

I just don't.

I apologize to everyone out there for any recipe I posted that contains a college thesis. 

xo 

S

#Humbled #WhyAmILikeThis #GetOffMyLawn

Tater Tot Pie

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 medium onion 

1 Tbs butter

1 bag tater tots

1 large can 

I chopped the only onion I had, sauteed it in a little butter, then added the now defrosted hamburger, seasoned with some garlic salt and pepper, and browned it up like I was making taco meat.

While the burger was browning, I took to the task of spraying a 9x13 cake pan with non stick spray. Then I stood each of those cute little tater tots on end and lined that pan all sorts of orderly.  And pretty.

When the burger was done, I drained the excess grease and added my large can of cream of mushroom soup and a 1/2 cup of milk.  When the soupy burger mixture was hot and steamy, I poured it across the tots and then added a layer of shredded cheese to the top.

I baked it at 400° for about 40 minutes.  When the dinger went off, I proclaimed dinner was served.

The 16 year old wouldn't eat it.  The 18 year old said it was delicious. The Man and I decided it was good enough to fill us up but it wasn't going on the permanent what sounds good for dinner menu.