Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

WOW. I can't believe I have let it go this long, since I have updated! I am so sorry about that. I know you have missed me greatly!

I am trying to think what all I have been up to as far as cooking and baking since the last post.

Well, for starters, I made these lovely breaded and baked chicken drumsticks. The recipe came from http://simplyrecipes.com/


They were so easy to make and were very tasty. All you really had to do was to mix up some stuff and roll the drumsticks around in this stuff:



If I can remember, I believe we had these the night that our friends Mr. and Mrs. Hubbard came over. Yes. That is what it was.

The menu for that evening was:

!) Breaded and Baked Drumsticks
2) Pasta Salad ( the one that I have referenced about before)
3) Oreo NO BAKE pie.

One thing about the Oreo NO BAKE pie. After you have let it refrigerate in order to harden, make sure you follow the directions on the box about how to serve it. I didn't realize it would harden as quickly as it did, and it was a pain trying to serve it. I guess that is why they put things like directions on boxes, huh?

So, moving on. Oh yes, there has been a FAIL in my cooking and baking experience.

This is the culprit:




I am not going to say much, but it was not good.

Now, let's continue moving on. We were invited to hang out with some friends from church the other weekend and I wanted to make a desert. (of course, right?) So I searched and searched and brainstormed of what to make. I really wanted it to be good and tasty, but yet easy and cheap all at the same time.... So I found a recipe for Chocolate Chip and Walnut cookie brownie things, at this website : http://everybodylikessandwiches.blogspot.com/

Here is the batter before it got baked:




They were quite tasty!

Ok, two things:

1) I am not good at taking "after" pictures of my cooking and baking
2) The pan I used to bake the cookie brownie things, is apart of the Martha Stewart collection.

So, that is it for now. I have other things that will be posted soon!!!

Spider Cupcakes!

So, I was going some research on a favorite website of mine, www.bakerella.com, and found some cupcakes that I wanted to try and make for Halloween.

I took the easier way out and just made them from the box, with store bought icing. The website calls to actually make them from scratch, but I just didn't do it. I found my way a little bit easier and it saved some more time.

So this is what I used.

1) A box of cake mix
2) A tub of icing
3) chocolate sprinkles (i love sprinkles)
4) Mini M&M's
5) Twizzler pull and peels. (The recipe called for Licorice wheels and I believe you have to special order these)

So, that is what I used to make these lovely creatures:



They are all in a pack...



That's the big daddy in the front!



He tried to get away, but I got him :)

Well, that is really it for my spider cupcakes. They were quite tasty.

Until next time.....

a quick side!

So this....

will change your life! Mr. Dill wanted to grill some chicken and vegetables on the grill last night, so I decided I would do one more side, but didn't know what it would be. Until, Boom Bam, this box called out my name and said, "Little Mrs. Dill, please make me, I am so easy to make and will fill your belly with goodness. I am also quite cheap as well." It really spoke to me. The people in Wal-Mart probably thought I was crazy for talking to the pasta box, but it really spoke to me.

Anyway, it is really easy to make. It only took me about 12 minutes to make, and you can serve it cold. So after I was done making it, I popped it in the refrigerator to chill it until Mr. Dill was done grilling. A great side to any dish!

Fall at the Dill's

So, it is now fall, and we have been doing just a little decorating at our home....

I found the "vase fillers" at Target! They are little cinnamon sticks.

That is about the extent of our decoration at the moment...

Not much has been going on. We took our last out of town trip, at least for now, last weekend.

Every October a group of college friends goes up to Beech Mountain to just get away for the weekend and hang out. I am quite thankful and fond of this group. We always have a great time and enjoy being in each other's company.

2 exciting things that happened while up there....

1) I made snickerdoodles...

I got the recipe from this website... www.bakerella.com, and that person actually got it from your favorite queen of crafts and mine, Martha! They turned out really well, and were quite tasty!

2) The next thing that happened while we were up there is that is snowed!

It snowed a good inch and a half! Of course being from the south and not seeing snow all that often we all flipped out! Heck yea for an inch and a half. Let's close down every single store that we can, shovel the driveways, and stock up on bread and milk!

Happy Fall!

starbucks and greenbean casserole

So, I have always loved green bean casserole. Every time there is some sort of family get together or church fellowship hall potluck meal, it is there. It's heavenly goodness simmering with amazingness.

Mr. Dill and I had a small group get together the other evening and we all decided to bring something. I immediately thought to myself, "man I really hope someone signs up to bring green bean casserole." I then thought to myself, "hey, why don't I make it?" So, I did!

I looked up the recipe online and it is quite easy.

Here is the online recipe:

http://www.campbellkitchen.com/RecipeDetail.aspx?ab=A&recipeID=24099

So I went to the store and proceeded to find all of the ingredients of this delicious side dish. I pick up the French Fried Onions and notice that they also have this recipe on the back of their container. I ended up using that recipe because it didn't require as much and looked even easier.

So, this was the recipe I ended up using:

http://www.frenchs.com/recipe/frenchs-green-bean-casserole-RE1511.html

If you forget to bring the recipe with you, just remember French's French Fried Onions and the recipe is on the back!

Now, moving on. Because I get up at the butt crack of dawn to go to school on Mondays and Tuesdays, I have started to stop by Starbucks on the way up the road to school. While, I am loving my tall mocha in the mornings, I have an issue....

Different Starbucks charge different prices. The Starbucks near my house charges $3.40 for a tall mocha and the one off the interstate in Gaffney charges $3.47 for the same exact tall mocha. Do you know what this means? I have to dig around in my change purse for a whole nickel and 2 pennies more to give them. As if they aren't getting enough of my money anyway.

Why is this? Does it have to do with demographics? Or is it just because they can? I feel like it is just because they can. They know how addicting their coffee is, so hey, why not? Especially the one in Gaffney. It is right off the interstate. A person is driving by, sees that infamous sign, and all of a sudden becomes desperate, and will do anything for that lovely coffee, even give a whole nickel and 2 pennies more.

If you are a Starbucks lover, I want to know what you think.

An onion answer!

http://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Onion-Smell-From-Hands



Should have looked at this before!

onions and burns

So, I got some great feed back about my suicidal meat problem!

I will look into using a strainer or collander next time.

So now that, that is resolved... I have another question/situation I would like help with.

I made the Shepherd's pie on Sunday night. Throughout the rest of the evening, I kept smelling something. I just thought it was something in the house from the cooking, so I didn't worry about it.

Monday morning, I was sitting in class and started to smell the same thing, so I went through a list in my head.

1) Did I shower? Yes
2) Did I scrub my arm pits? Yes
3) Did I put deodorant on? Yes
4) Do I have clean clothes on? Yes
5) Clean undies? Yes

So, Ok wasn't me right?
Then I proceed to look around the room at those around me, were they clean? Did they put deodorant on?
I tried to let it go, but I just kept smelling in waves.
And then I come to the realization, that yes it WAS me. I had to scratch my nose and I realized that this smell was coming from my fingers. (the one place I didn't think to check off)

I kept trying to think of what it could be causing this horrible smell, and then it hit me! The Shepherd's Pie called for chopped onions. Mmm boy nothing like the warming aroma of chopped onion on your fingers.

Now it is Wednesday, and it is still lingering just a tad.... How does one get rid of this awful smell?
I tried using this thing called the Rub-Away Bar, which supposedly "rubs away" the odor, but alas I am still left with this odor.

So, if you all could help me figure out how to rid myself of chopped onion odor, that would be great.

Oh, and then I got a little burn on my arm from the Pie as well :)

shepherd's pie

So, the pie was pretty good.

It provided a lot of leftovers and the vegetables were very tasty. (Just got the Ingles brand)

I will say it needed some pop. Maybe some salt and pepper? Maybe something else. But this is a meal that I felt like I could play around with and try new things with, so hopefully next time it is made it will provide the pop I am looking for. I am sure Martha knows what to make it pop.

I will say this though. I have trouble when a recipe calls to "drain meat." I struggle with this severely. When the meat is browned, I start to get nervous, because I know what is coming next. "Draining the meat." So I pick up the scorching pan, take it over to the sink, tilt it ever so gently, and then BAM. It is like the meat wants to kill itself, completely making a suicide attempt into the garbage disposal, falling and screaming to its death. It goes everywhere, leaving me with a mess, a smaller amount of meat to deal with, and a guilty conscience that I just witnessed meat killing itself.

So if there is someone out there, who knows how to drain meet in a less suicidal and neater fashion, PLEASE let me know!

So overall, if I were on facebook, I would press the "I like" button for the shepherd's pie.

Something new I want to make. Homemade Brownies.

Like the cookies, I always buy the pre-made, mix and pour Duncan Hines box of brownie mix.

I would like to learn how to make homemade brownies.

That will be happening soon I hope.

wow, that was a long break

So, since my last post, I haven't done a lot of cooking. Other than the usual Pasta for dinner, leftovers, or frozen pizza, not much has been made.

There has been a lot to go on since my last post, and I am sorry that I haven't kept you all more updated, even though I am not even sure how much you all care! :)

1) Well, Mr. Dill went skydiving. I gave him a gift certificate for his wedding present. He LOVED it. He had such a great time.

2) I went to Philadelphia with my friend, Boots. (Not her name, but just keeping everyone safe) We had a wonderful time! We went to a Philly game, saw downtown Philly, and had Philly cheesesteaks! (Maybe I could learn to make these) We also had great hosts, Sexy and Lucious. (again, not their names)

3) Mr. Dill and I went up to the mountains for a weekend by ourselves, and it was fabulous. Of course, I had to do some HW and study for my Greek test, but it was amazing just to be able to relax and be with each other with little distraction.

So that brings us a little bit more up-to-date. We have been home this weekend, and that has been great. It has just been a nice weekend to relax and get a few things done around the house. This has also given me a chance to think of something to cook!

Which leads me to this wonderful recipe for tonight....

http://busycooks.about.com/od/groundbeefrecipes/r/shepherdspie.htm

We shall see how it goes.

Now, I know some of you are wondering, or not, about my knitting adventure. Well, it is getting there. I had a really hard time getting it going, but now I am gaining a little, I repeat, little, progress. I will try and take a picture of it soon.

I am also making some brownies for our small group tonight. These are just out of the box! (a non-expired box at that!)

Ok folks, just needed to update!

Talk to you soon

knitting, sandwiches, fruit salad, and taylor swift

So, I went by my parents house to check on my dog Tayla, and these items were awaiting me....

Now, I know I am not a kid, but I am really excited! The book is really easy to follow and is step-by-step. This is exactly what I needed. (It is complete with colorful pictures as well. )

I can't wait to get started! I, of course, will keep you updated as to how it goes.

Today has been a day of productivity. Did some cleaning, grocery shopping, Greek homework, and even made a fruit salad.... (well sort of)

At the grocery store, I got some grapes and raspberries. I had the bright idea to combine these two lovely fruits to have a nice mixture going on. Well it looks like the grapes and raspberries had a fight and the grapes won. So basically I have a grape salad with raspberry juice.

Note: Don't just pile the grapes on top of the raspberries, and then shake the two fruits around violently in a tupperware container. Grapes are bullies.

So anyway, tonight I am going to the Taylor Swift Concert! Holla! I am pumped.

I am also going to be making this delicious meal tonight...

So we will see how it goes.

aight, we holla

so maybe i didn't make anything..

Well, I know I said I was going to make granola for Mr. Dill and his camping buddies, but I didn't. Alas.

I don't have a reason, I just didn't. But that doesn't mean I won't.

I had very good intentions, but just didn't.

I also had great intentions of making these....





but I didn't... for this reason...

1) I need help with this. So the brownies may have, oh I don't know, expired about say, um, a year ago.... don't judge. Now, here is my question.... Can you still make them and they be ok to eat? The text did read, "Better if used by...." not, "Best if used by..." So, what do we think?


I am sorry, I know I am toying with your emotions. I know you are on the edge of your seats just like you are on the edge waiting for the next twilight movie to come out, but then you click on my blog for some great blogging and then nothing!

I have let you down... but fear not! I will return with some amazing-ness that your little hearts can ponder and dwell on, this weekend. (maybe even sooner)

so maybe i am making something!

So I thought I wouldn't be making much this weekend, except warming up leftovers. But fear not folks, I am going to try my hand at making some granola!

Mr. Dill is going camping this weekend, and what better treat to make than the good ol, tree-hugging, granola?

Speaking of granola, did you know that a person can be referred to as a granola?

Example:

Hey you remember Sue?

Yea, she was such a granola.


Someone help me with this. What does it mean to be called a granola? I am not as up-to-date on my slang terms as one would think.

Anyway, I will let you know how it goes.

Catching Up

Man. I know I need to do a better job at blogging more. I have been quite busy with getting back on my school and work routine.

Let's just give a re-cap of everything that has been going on.

First, and I know you have been anxious to see these, here are some pics from the cookies!



(I am a bit of a messy cook!)



mmmm this is what i call heaven.... man that cookie dough was soo good!



the recipe made about two dozen.



finished and ready to be eaten! and they were :)

So those were the cookies.

Let's see, my classes have started, which you all know by now. I think it will be a great semester. Tough but great.

Moving along to the Chicken Parmesan. This was great. It was quite easy and very tasty. The only thing I would change is that instead of breading just one side of the chicken, I would bread all of it :) Martha thought that it would be a healthier option to only bread one side of the chicken, but the Dill's have decided that it would be a better thing if the whole thing was in breaded goodness. I mean we are from the south and we can't handle these healthier options that Martha speaks of. Even though we are trying to be healthier, you just can't bread one side. It is against our southern upbringing.

Needless to say, the meal was very good and will be made again. Here are some pics:




Finished product!










Yummy Sauce!


Now it is time for a little rant. After the chicken parm, we decided to get some dessert downtown. (I never made up my mind about what to fix for dessert) So we are downtown on a Saturday night. We are just walking and enjoying our time together, taking in all the goodness that Greenville has to offer. As we get closer to walking towards Falls Park we all of a sudden notice a lot of teenagers just standing in the middle of the sidewalks. Not walking with the other people, just standing. Not moving at all. Just standing. And yelling. Standing and yelling.
So we, like everyone else, have to manuever around these teenagers. And as we get closer to our destination of ice cream (which don't stand in my way when I want ice cream) there are more and more of them. Just standing.

Now just a note to these teenagers:

1) Where are your parents? It is 10 o clock on a Saturday night. Where are they?
2) Why must you continue to yell? Girls, don't "holla" at a cute boy that walks down the street saying "Hey boy Hey, in the white jacket, this girl like you." That guy doesn't even know you, and you don't know him.
3) MOVE out of the way when people are walking on the sidewalks.
4) Don't eye me up and down either. I don't like it.

Ok. Sorry, back to the story. It is 10 o clock and the cops have now arrived. (Greenville has a curfew for these youngsters to get out of the park at 10. They can't be in the park, but they can just stand other places) As Mr. Dill and I finally reach our ice cream destination, we find a seat next to the window (mainly so I can watch these kids get busted by the cops, I am quite nosey.) The cops tell the kids repeatedly to not sit on the ledge next to fountain and to move along. Well they do this the first time, but the minute that little cop turns around, they sit right back down.

Another note to the teenagers:

1) I know you are trying to keep your attitude in check because you think it is cool, but it isn't.
2) Stop yelling.
3) don't act like you are all that. (haha remember that show on nickelodeon?)

Ok. back. So anyway to wrap up the evening of dodging teenagers on the streets, we had some very yummy ice cream.

My next project is to at some point make some homemade ice cream!

Moving on. I was in Barnes and Noble the other night, and saw the most amazing thing......




Yep, you are reading this correctly..... An Encyclopedia of Crafts, by the Queen herself. I will own this one day.....

Well, it may be a little bit before I cook a great meal again. Mr. Dill is going camping this weekend and it looks like we are either having leftovers or just simple spagehetti the other nights. Who knows though, I may cook all weekend just for myself. (I doubt this highly)

I will be back with more soonnnn!!!

plans....

So, my classes started this week... That has been nice to get back into a routine. I am a creature of routine...but yet I am also a creature of spontaneity. How does that work? I don't know, but I know it does.

This week, I plan to prepare this meal....I decided to take a recipe from the queen herself. Mr. Dill is a very healthy man. (I am too, but I have a slightly bigger sweet tooth than he does.)
I try to make things that will both satisfy our healthy hungers, but sometimes I would just love to have McDonald's french fries every night. I mean they are just soo good. Who's with me? (Speaking of McDonald's, they just built a new one where I go to school. This now brings the count of restaurants in that little city to a big number 3).

Anyway, we shall see how cooking this goes. I haven't ever made chicken parmesan before, so it should be interesting!

As far as dessert, I can't decide yet on what to make. I need to try my hand at making a cake again. The first one was a disaster, but the frosting was good :) I will have to get back to you on the dessert!

Oh! That reminds me about the cookies from Friday. They turned out really well. The recipe actually makes about 2 dozen, so there was plenty of extra cookie dough for me to indulge in. Man, I really love cookie dough.

Now, as for the crafting side of my new life, it has yet to begin for a few reasons:

1) Money. Crafting and cooking costs money. I never knew it cost so much. I had to go over to my mom's house the other day to raid her pantry for ingredients of the cookies. That is always my first stop. I think, "Does my mom have that?" Is this cheap? Naw, just smart shopping. Anyway, I want to get a sewing machine. It costs about $170. I think I may have to hold off until Christmas, and just ask the parents for that one, because Mr. and Mrs. Dill just got married and it is called Mr. Dill is the only one with the income at the moment, because Mrs. Dill decided to get her Masters, so things like sewing machines get put off just a little bit. (That may have been a run on sentence) But fear not! I will have a sewing machine and the sewing can commence.

2) Well now that I have made my list, there is really one reason for the lack of craftiness at the moment.

But anyway, I am looking forward to making a new dish this week. Hopefully I will be able to make Queen Martha happy.

Salmon and Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Mr. Dill has been such an amazing husband lately, I thought I would cook for him tonight.

( Since my surgery I haven't been cooking a whole lot. BUT I finally feel like cooking again!)

Menu for Tonight:

Low Carb Crockpot Poached Salmon (found at crockpotrecipes101.com)

Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies (found at bakerella.blogspot.com)

I want you all to notice my most favorite word in cooking.... see the word above that says "crockpot"? This is KEY. I love crockpots. They are great. You just dump in a bunch of ingredients, turn the dial, and then GO! They are wonderful. (That is how I have time to write this blog right now! Let's just be honest with ourselves, the crockpot is the real cook of the Dill household.)

Here were the ingredients to the salmon meal.... (excuse the melon to the right. he was just hanging out)

The recipe was quite easy to follow. As I was getting ready to place the last ingredient into the magic crockpot, Mr. Dill says, "Did you take the skin off of the salmon?" Yeaaaa, about that.

WHOOPS! So luckily, we took the salmon out of the crockpot and Mr. Dill helped me to filet the salmon.. I have never dealt with salmon before, so this was a definite learning experience! Reminder.... take skin OFF before placing in crockpot.

After it was all in and ready to be cooked, it looked quite lovely....

Sooo... I am just waiting for my lovely creation to be ready...

Next thing on the list! Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies!!! YUMMM.... I decided that I wanted to actually put some effort into these cookies. Usually I am the one who gets the break off pack at the grocery store and eats about two or three uncooked cookies before I slap them into the oven. Tonight, I shall try making these cookies from scratch. (And that means there will be even MORE uncooked cookie dough to be had!)

I will let you know how those turn out..

I will leave you with this image. This is where Mr. Dill and I will be dining this evening. I also wanted to show off the pretty rose that Mr. Dill gave me for our 3 month marriage anniversary!

A Fresh Start

So, for those of you who followed my other blog, which might be few and far between, I am starting over.
I wanted a completely new look and new approach to my blogging, so that is why I switched blogs.

I have named this one "Searching for My Inner Martha" for a few reasons.
A list if you will: (I really like lists)

1) Martha Stewart, at least to me, is like a queen when it comes to all things crafty and bakey (not a word I know, but it rhymes. If you can't figure out what "bakey" means, just think baking.) She can just do it all, and I, Little Mrs. Dill, would love to learn her ways.

2) I have wanted a new hobby, or new hobbies, for a while now. I have thought about many things such as kickboxing, all the way to archery. (Kidding about the archery, this was added purely for kicks and giggles.) I used to be really into running and biking, which I still am, but I wanted to expand my horizons a little bit. So this blog will be dedicated to my new hobbies of being crafty and being "bakey."

3) I know I have an inner Martha buried deep down in my heart. I mean I WAS the best Popsicle house builder in kindergarten. Heck, I could even color inside the lines in my Polly Pocket coloring book. So, I have some Martha in me, but I just need to resurrect her.

So here it is, my new beginning

I have new ideas about how I would like to go about my blogging.
Another list of what my blog will entail:

1) Ramblings about my life.
2) As with my other blog, I am still going to feature a friend every so often that I am proud of and want to brag about.
3) My experiences from the world of being crafty and "bakey." (This term will be used often, so get used to it.)


I am pretty excited about this new outlook and venture on my life.

I will let you know how it goes.

So heres to sewing machines, thimbles, spatulas and flour.
Move over Martha, Little Mrs. Dill is coming through.