Heart-shaped paper clips A piece-of-cake Valentine project: bend regular paper clips into little heart shapes. These are jumbo clips I got in a multi-color pack at Target for about $1.50, I think. I fished out the pink ones for this. You could use them to leave love notes around. Or mark pages you like in magazines. Or hold tiny treat bags of candy shut.
Top Ten Recipes of 2010 I started this food blog a bit over a year ago with the notion of challenging myself to a new activity quite different from my 30-year career as a consultant to urban poverty alleviation programs in the developing world. Cooking and the creativity associated with recipe development have always been a joy to me. And so I settled on the idea of blogging about my own original spin on comfort food classics. I’ve loved every minute of this blog’s first year, the fun I’ve had experimenting in the kitchen, the new friends I’ve made, and the many things I’ve learned along the way. This post provides a recap of the ten most popular recipes at Modern Comfort Food during 2010 as a “thank you” to readers who’ve been kind enough to join me here. Carrot Cake with Pecan Coconut Frosting With a bit of help from my dear mom, a rich carrot cake with a German chocolate cake style frosting of toasted pecans and flaked coconut. Tex-Mex Stuffed Peppers, 7-Layer Dip Style Key Lime Cheesecake Bars print recipe
Chocolate French Toast with Panera Bread - StumbleUpon I'm back (already?!) with another post for Panera Bread! I know, two posts in one day - try not to faint. Whenever I'm out and about I like to stop by Panera Bread for a couple of artisan loaves; usually the Asiago Cheese and Three Seed Sour Dough. What could be better than Chocolate French Toast? Before I close, I'd like to take a moment to point you in the direction of some great resources. Me? Find more about Panera Bread on Facebook and Twitter. Chocolate French Toast Serves 4-6 [click to print] 10 slices Panera Bread Country Miche 1/4 cup cocoa powder 1/4 cup hot water 5 large eggs 3/4 cup heavy cream 1 cup milk 1/4 cup sugar 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 tsp salt 12 oz. semisweet chocolate chopped, or semisweet chocolate chips Prepared butter flavored pancake syrup In a small bowl, dissolve cocoa powder in hot water. In shallow pan (such as a 1 1/4 quart baking dish) whisk together eggs, cream, milk, sugar, vanilla and salt.
30 Challenges for 30 Days Did you know that it takes 30 days to form a new habit? The first few days are similar as to how you would imagine the birth of a new river. Full of enthusiasm it gushes forth, only to be met by strong obstacles. The path is not clear yet, and your surroundings don’t agree. Old habits urge you to stay the same. So, take a moment to reflect on the question ‘Who do I want to be in 5 years?’ Check out this short TED talk first to get inspired: Now pick one or more challenges and stick with them! However, be cautioned, picking too many challenges at the same time can easily result in a failure of all of them. #1 Write a I-Like-This-About-You note/text/email each day for someone (Easy) This is the perfect way to let someone else know you care. #2 Talk to one stranger each day (Hard) This is a great one to cure approaching anxiety. #3 Take one picture each day (Hard) This one gets harder nearing the end of the challenge because at one point you will run out of the easy shots. We recommend:
Recipes from Kevin & Amanda This post is in partnership with French’s Sweet Yellow Mustard and Spicy Yellow Mustard. I received compensation to write this post through the Sweet and Spicy Influencer Program. All content, photos, and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting sponsors that allow me to create new content for Kevin & Amanda! Today I’m partnering with French’s Mustard to bring you this fabulous Honey Garlic Shrimp. This quick and easy dinner is SO fresh and light for summer! How fabulous do these veggie noodles look?? Here’s all you need: Shrimp, garlic, honey, red bell pepper, zucchini, squash, parsley, red pepper flakes, chicken broth, and French’s Sweet or Spicy Yellow Mustard. You can use either one of these new mustard flavors from French’s today! First we’ll make a decadent sauce for this Honey Garlic Shrimp. Next, cut the zucchini and yellow squash into noodles (long, thin strips). Delicious yellow squash noodles! Next, dice up a couple red bell peppers and saute over medium high heat.
Pumpkin Pie Dessert Squares Let's start with the recipe. 1 package yellow cake mix 1/2 cup margarine melted 1 egg 3 cup (1 lb 15oz can) pumpkin pie mix (not just pumpkin pie filling) 2 eggs 2/3 cup milk 1/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 cup margarine Grease the bottom only of a 13x9x2 inch pan. Don't worry, I'll walk you through it. DIY Framed Hanging Succulent Garden If you have some vintage picture frames and you want to reuse them then you can make a hanging succulent garden. Of course you can also use some other plants and even grow herbs in such hanging garden but succulents and cactuses looks so good and are so easy to keep them alive that they are the best choice for such project. If you want your succulent garden to pop out you can sand your frame and paint it in some bright color. For the project you’ll need a large picture frame with an interior opening, a large piece of 1″ Chicken Wire, wood strips, a sheet of oak plywood, a bunch of nails, a can of varnish spray, cactus soil and a lot of small succulents.
Get Off Your Butt and BAKE! » Impressive recipes made simple. Repurposed Glass Jars with Decorative Paper & Happy Clippings 3K+ Don’t these repurposed jars look lovely with fresh tulips?! I am willing spring time to be here soon! There are so many ways you can repurpose glass jars. I decided to decorate them with scrap book paper, ribbon, string and buttons. Here’s how I made my decorative jars: I first picked out my scrap book paper. I then went searching for some embellishments to make the overall design more fun and interesting. I cut each paper into the height I wanted and also made the width sized to fit around the jars. I first applied Mod Podge on the back of the paper and also on the area of the glass jar the paper was going to be placed. (Side Note: If you want to learn more about Mod Podge, I highly recommend watching the Mod Podge Rocks tutorial videos. Lastly, I added the finishing touches with my “embellishments” – string, ribbon and buttons. I am currently using these newly decorated jars as vases in my living room. Have you repurposed any glass jars?!
Picky Palate Paint A Rug I recently painted our Master Bathroom a really fun Gray color {Benjamin Moore’s Rockport Gray} and was looking for a rug that I could put in there to add some color and match some towels I had purchased. I did a lot of shopping around online and found a lot of great rugs that I would have loved to have…but the price tags were a bit too much for me to justify. So I decided to make my own and paint a rug. I am REALLY happy with how it turned out. When I first finished the rug, my bathroom cabinets were an old outdated oak color that we never loved. The rug I used was simply a Memory Foam Runner that I found at COSTCO for $22 and some change. I used the same stencil that I used for this Antique Acid Mirror that I shared with you back in the spring. I simply placed the stencil on the rug after planning out how I wanted the pattern to be on the rug, so that it would be even, and then used a sponge paint tool to sponge the paint onto the rug. What do you think? Linking up here: 29Kstumbleupon