An Appealing Appliance

One thing I miss about living in a big city is Craigslist. I used to find all kinds of deals in San Antonio. My only saving grace has been our AFB classifieds on Facebook, and last week I scored an such an awesome deal I have to brag about it a little.

I bought an old school Oster Stand Up Mixer for $30! 

For the longest time I've been debating whether or not we should purchase a KitchenAid Standing Mixer. I wasn't sure if I would use it enough to justify the cost. I thought buying the Oster Mixer (from 1983!) would be a good test.

The cool thing is all the attachments it came with.

Ice Cream Maker

Blender, Meat Grinder, and Slicer

And that's not all!! (I feel like an infomercial)

I also got several cook books to go with it:

And several ice cream packets!

Score!!

I've already used the mixer to make Cooking Light's Lemon Pound Cake (forgot to take picture) and Paleo Blueberry Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate Chips!

Yum!

So far my favorite feature is the ice cream attachment which could end up being a problem for those last few pounds of baby weight I'm trying to get rid of.

What's your favorite Craigslist or online buy recently?

Boredom Buster: Oobleck

Warning! Don't do this activity unless don't mind a mess and are ready to have a lot of fun!


It's been really cold here in OK lately. We even had some unseasonal snow!

We don't get outside much because of the dreary cold weather. And on top of that the kids area at our local gym has been closed since December for remodeling. Being cooped up inside has led to a stir crazy Con-Man. This got me wondering how Con-Man and I were going to spend an afternoon and my mind wandered back to the 5th grade when our teacher read us the Dr. Suess book Bartholomew and The Oobleck. 

After she read the story we made Oobleck and played with it in the classroom. It's an interesting substance in that is is neither a liquid nor a solid. You can punch it with your palm but if you try to pick it up it acts like a liquid and slips through your hands.

I thought it would be a fun experiment for the Con-Man and I to try out. I found a great recipe on Instructables that even has a video. 

I had all the ingredients on hand- Cornstarch, water, and food coloring.

Mix 1 cup water with 1.5- 2 cups of cornstarch. Start with the water first then add the cornstarch a few tablespoons at a time. When your getting close to using most of your cornstarch add it more slowly, use your hands if necessary to mix it in. You want to get it to a state where it's not a liquid anymore but not so solid that it doesn't run though your fingers when you try to pick it up. Play with it some to get the right consistency.

Once you have the right feeling of weirdness add your food coloring. I used green since that what color it was in the book. Now it's time to play!

Con-Man was a little wary at first but he quickly went into mess making mode.

This was a great afternoon project because I had everything on hand to make it, it was easy to make, and it kept Con-Man occupied for almost an hour. Next time I do this I'll try to get the book from the library first and read it to him.

Though it splattered everywhere clean up wasn't to bad. Once it dries you can just wipe it up or take a damp towel and clean it up.

Has anyone else ever made Oobleck before?

Stuffed Shrimp Weekend!

We've been busy this week over here in Oklahoma. In case you missed it my Slipcovered Chair was featured on Apartment Therapy in Thursday! Woo Hoo!

Also, we are so lucky and excited to have the Hubs Mom come in town! Connor loves his Mee Maw and since we live even further away now (Thank U.S. Military) it's a real treat that she came to visit.


Speaking of treats she brought is some authentic Louisiana food; something we have been deprived of up here in Oklahoma. Boudin, Red Beans, Abita Beer, and fresh Gulf Shrimp!! Heaven on Earth as far as I'm concerned.


To celebrate I tried my hand at making Stuffed Shrimp- one of my favorite dishes.

Using this recipe I found on The Advocate Food Section (the best newspaper food section EVER!) I went to work. Since I got this recipe a long time ago it's no longer on the site so here's the low down if you want to try this yourself:


Baked Stuffed Shrimp


(Makes 25 to 30 Shrimp)
25-30 Shrimp
3/4 stick butter or margarine
6 ribs of celery, chopped
1 large onion chopped
3 bay leaves
1 bunch of green onions chopped
About 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
About 3/4 medium sized French bread loaf
1 lb. crabmeat (lump or claw) 
Salt, Pepper, cayenne pepper to taste (I just used Tony's)
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs


(I further minced my celery, onion, green onion, parsley, and crab meat in a chopper to make it fine so it would stick together easily)

(Crabmeat)

1. Peel raw shrimp, leaving tail section on shrimp. Devein and butterfly shrimp. Refrigerate until dressing is prepared. (I totally forgot to leave the tails on- oops. It still worked out fine though.)

2. In a medium skillet saute celery, onions and bay leaves in butter or margarine until tender. Add green onions and parsley. Saute until tender. Remove bay leaves.


3. Poke holes in French Bread. Wet bread under cold water then squeeze out most of the water. Break bread into small pieces with hands and place in a mixing bowl. Add celery, onions, and parsley mixture to bread. Add crabmeat, salt, and pepper.

4. Take a handful of dressing and wrap around peeled shrimp, leaving tail exposed. Roll or sprinkle seasoned bread crumbs over stuffing. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until shrimp are cooked through.

Yum! These turned out really good- and since they're baked not fried they are pretty good for you. 

Do you have favorite dishes from your childhood that you crave sometimes? I sure do!!!

A French Toast Post!

Recently I've had a lot of time on my hands- I'm getting into the groove of the Stay At Home Mom thing. Being at home has given me more time to a lot of the things I didn't have time for when I was working, like cooking. I've had a lot of time do whip up some stuff in the kitchen lately.


 I've always enjoyed it, as my Dad says: "I don't like to cook I like to eat!" Same goes for me. Back in San Antonio I really only had time to make nice meals on the weekends, now I can do it whenever I want and I'm loving it!

I cooked French Toast this weekend for Con-Man. It's the first time I made it for him (I haven't made it in forever!) It's delicious and easy to make! 


All you need is:


6-8 eggs 
1/3 Cup of Milk
1 Tblsp Sugar
White Bread (bread that's about to go stale or the cheapest loaf you can find works best, it soaks up the egg mixture really well.)

Scramble your eggs then mix all your ingredients together in a bowl.

Carefully soak each side the bread in the mixture. Make sure it is soaked through but don't leave it in to long or it will get to really soggy. 

Then gently lift the bread out of the egg mixture and place into a non-stick pan and cook both sides on medium/ low heat till done.

Continue the process until you run out of the egg mixture, or until your breakfast brood stops asking for more. I meant to get a picture of Con-Man enjoying his but I was to busy pigging out on mine. 

Top with powdered sugar, syrup, and fruit and enjoy!

Finally some Fall

It's finally starting to feel like fall here in Texas (if you call 80 afternoons fallish). Either way I finally got around to doing some fall decorating. I thought it was about time since fall doesn't last to long around here.


I had seen some painted pumpkins on Apartment Therapy and thought it would be something fun and different to try over at our house.

I used some leftover spray paint and tape to get started.

I taped it up and spray painted away.

Peeled back the tape and got this! And while I was at it I thought I'd spray paint some other stuff around the house.

I also cooked up some Shrimp Etouffee to celebrate the cooler weather. (Sorry I didn't get to take a "pretty" picture, we were to busy digging in!) 

How are you celebrating fall at your house?

Linking here