Berry, Berry Good

A few days I pinned something that needed to be made immediately.  As in, right away.

This is the item in question:

Now do you understand the sense of urgency?  

I thought so.

It was originally pinned from the website of a fancy-pants French chocolatier.  And the pinner implied that it could be made easily.  Insert strawberries in ice cube tray, cover with melted chocolate, freeze. 

That's it.  The instructions were so easy I couldn't afford not to try it.  Plus I had company coming, the perfect excuse to make something so decadent. 

In typical `A Casarella fashion I decided to document the process so the good viewers at home could play along.

Probably the hardest thing about this little project was finding an ice cube tray.  My fridge makes ice and I didn't own a tray.  I picked one up at Bed, Bath & Beyond and I love it because it has a cover (to prevent icky freezer burn).  If you need one (but don't want to change out of your pajamas to get it) I've attached an Amazon link in the footer of the blog.

Because my ice cube tray has narrow slots, I had to slice the berries (instead of inserting them whole as seen above) so I got out my knife and cutting board.

I bought some beautiful organic strawberries but to be honest, they weren't the most flavorful.   

Luckily that wasn't too noticeable once I covered them with roughly a pound of dark chocolate from Trader Joe's.

I'm not kidding either; I used almost this entire bar.  When I bought it I was sure there might be a bit left over.  

(You know... in case mama needed a little something to get her mind right.)

But we'll get back to the chocolate in a sec.

 So I went ahead and cut up the strawberries and put a few pieces in each slot.

 Then I broke up a bunch of the chocolate and melted it in the microwave.  As mentioned above, I ended up using most of the chocolate so I repeated the melting step a few times before I finished.

(Gratuitous molten chocolate shot.)

Then I covered each slot with chocolate.  If I were to do this again, I would probably put a little chocolate under each berry--a chocolate cushion if you will--I think if I'd done that mine probably would have looked a bit more like the original.

 When I was done covering the berries, I gently dropped the container on the counter a few times to even out the chocolate.  

Then I slid on the cover...

And popped them in my (desperate-for-a-cleaning) freezer.

They emerged a few hours later nicely hardened.  

I thought I'd be able to twist and pop them out like ice cubes.

But they wouldn't budge.

Here you can see where I tried (without luck) to chisel one out.

Finally I decided to put the whole tray in a shallow dish of hot water.  (Thankfully, they popped right out afterwards.)

 

And here's the finished product.

 

They're not nearly as perfect as the inspiration picture.  (They came out individually as opposed to one big bar, for starters.)

 

But they sure were tasty!

I'm going to link up over at this party; stop by and checkout all the easy-peasy projects!

Tag!

...I'm it!  

Megan over at "Our Pinteresting Family" tagged me today in a little game of Q&A.  Before I answer her questions I recommend you pop over to her site.  If you're a Pinterest Junkie like I am you won't be disappointed.  

So here's how it works.  Megan asked eleven questions which I'm going to answer.  I then need come up with eleven new questions and tag someone else.  Let's begin: 

1. What was your first pet?  

• I actually had two first pets: a pair of goldfish whom I named Trixie and Red.  In hindsight those names made them sound a little bit like working girls...

2. Which season do you prefer and why?

• Summer, without a doubt.  I love sunshine, long days, and summer fruits.  I also like the freedom of summer vacation.  

3. Where is your favorite place to shop?

• Dude, I do not know if I can name just one place.  Here are just a few by category.  
• For groceries: Trader Joe's and Fresh & Easy.  
• For the house: HomeGoods, Pottery Barn and West Elm.  
• For one-stop shopping: Target.  
• For the thrill of the hunt: thrift stores (especially Amvets, Goodwill and The Salvation Army).

4. What do you like to do in your free time?

• Lately?  I blog.  Or think about blogging.  Beyond that I love to work out, read, go to the movies and get together with friends. 

5. What is your all time favorite TV show?

• Hmmm...  I really loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  That might surprise people but it was an excellent show.  I also loved The Sopranos; that was some quality television (albeit somewhat violent).  If you want to know my favorite network it's HGTV all the way.  

6. Do you like to garden? If no, why?

• No, because I hate killing innocent plants.   My thumbs are as brown as they come.  

7. What is the biggest splurge purchase you have ever made?

• Does my house count??  If not I would have to say either our vacation to Maui three years ago or our vacation to Atlantis last summer.  

8. What was your favorite grade in school and why?

• Probably junior or senior year of high school.   I liked my school and my classes.  I had good teachers and good friends.  I hope my kids are that happy when they're 16.

9. Who do you admire most?

• Beyond the obvious people like Ghandi and Martin Luther King I would have to say my husband.  He is the hardest working person I know and I do not say that lightly.  He is also just... good.  He has a good heart.  He's an amazing father.  Plus he's really cute.  

10. What can someone tell about you as soon as they visit your blog?

• Hmmm...  I'd love to hear how other people would answer that.  If I had to guess I'd say that they could figure out my interests (crafting, cooking, etc.).  They'd know I like the color green.  They'd know that I'm...wordy...  

11. If you could name a lipstick color...what would it be called?

• I have NO idea.  If I come up with something good, I'll revisit this question.

Now the next thing I am supposed to do is tag some other people and come up with eleven new questions.  First the bloggers:  I'm choosing two people I know in real life, my friend Marie over at Cafe Pangaea and my sister-in-law Linda at Stitch Sister.  

Marie's blog is all about her journey into wheat/gluten-free living.  In addition to posting amazing recipes she also shows readers how to embrace the wheat-free lifestyle without giving up the rest of your life ;) 

Besides being a rockstar sister-in-law, Linda is also a mother, wife, accountant and quilter.  Stitch Sister focuses mostly on the quilts but it touches on other topics as well.  (Like my cute nephews.)

Ladies, here are your questions:

1. How did you come up with your blog name?
2. Name one thing about yourself that most people would be surprised to learn.
3. What blogs do you read religiously?
4. If money were no object, where would you live and why?
5. What fashion choice do you look back on with regret?  (Bonus points if you post a picture; I wish I could find one of my mall hair circa 1988.)
6. Post a link to your favorite blog post to date.
7. What was the first job you ever had?
8. What song in your music collection would you consider your guiltiest pleasure?
9. Fill in the blank:  I would die a happy woman if I discovered that ____________ read my blog.  
10. What is your favorite "tip" to share with other people?  It can be a product you love, a great place to get a bargain, and easy kitchen tip, your favorite book (anything, really).
11. What don't you know how to do with your blog that you'd love to learn?

Ladies, it is up to you if you'd like to tag other people.  No pressure at all.  (You can use these questions or make up your own.)  And if any of my other readers want to answer these questions on their blogs (and tag others), please feel free to do so.  I'd love to hear what you have to say.  

  

  

Pinspired: Flower Petal Lantern

Early on in my relationship with Pinterest, I spied a craft that I just knew I had to try.

Yes, I did refer to it as a relationship.  Anything this passionate has to be a relationship.  

(Otherwise I'm just a hussy.)

So as I was saying, there was this craft--tissue paper lanterns, seen here and here--and I just knew I had to make one.  Lucky for me I already had a bunch of paper lanterns left over from my mother's wedding.

That would be the wedding I hosted here in my house.  

Remember all those sitcoms in the seventies where someone would get engaged and the next week there would be a wedding in the main character's living room?  

Well, just call me Maude.  Or Alice.  Or Rhoda.   

(I shudder to think how many of you will not get those references.)

So as I was saying, I already had the lantern:

And old faithful (a.k.a. my trusty glue gun):

The one item lacking was a package of tissue paper circles.  I found them on Amazon (I've attached a link under the "products" tab) but before I could order them something else caught my eye:  fabric flower petals.  They're really intended for flower girls but I immediately envisioned them attached to a lantern.

(There's also a link to these in "products.")  

So I got to work:

 First I put a dollop of glue on the top of a petal.

 Then I attached it to the top of the lantern.  (You know it's the top because it has that little metal hook.  If the metal part is flat, like in the image below, turn the lantern over.)

 Then I continued the gluing petals...

...each one slightly overlapping the one before it.

I continued in that fashion...

...until eventually the lantern was covered.

 (To borrow a quote from one of my favorite bloggers, it was easy-peasy!)

Mine now hangs from my daughter's ceiling right next to some store-bought tissue paper pom-poms.  

(And I have a feeling more will be joining them ;)

Meatloaf-Stuffed Peppers

Last week's tutorial was kind of fun so I thought I'd take another go at it, this time in the form of a recipe.

Today I'm going to show you how to make stuffed peppers in the crock pot.  I stuff them with a mixture that is essentially the same as my mother's meatloaf.  (The meatloaf uses bread instead of rice but other than that they're identical.)  My mother's meatloaf is the only kind I'll eat.  It is essentially an Italian meatloaf and you can also use the same mixture to make meatballs.  (I have and they're delicious.)

This recipe will make three or four stuffed bell peppers.  More on the numbers later...

The first thing I do is make some rice.

I make a half a cup.  

(Do you own one of these adjustable measuring cups?  They're great for keeping in a canister of flour, sugar, or rice.  I have attached an Amazon link at the bottom of the page if you're interested.)

I use a rice cooker but you can certainly go old school if that's how you roll.

While the rice is cooking I gather the rest of the ingredients for my stuffing:

 First is a package (1.25 lbs) of ground turkey.  You could also use beef.  If you use turkey I recommend using lean but not extra lean; that comes out too dry.  This package had Italian seasoning--which is fine--but you could also use plain.    

You'll also need two eggs...

...salt, pepper, garlic powder & parsley...

... Parmesan cheese...

...and an eight ounce can of tomato sauce.

(This is a gratuitous shot of one of my spice drawers.  I've attached a link to some jars at the bottom of the page if you'd like to recreate it.)

 Once you've gathered up all the ingredients, add the eggs to the turkey.

Now, here's where I get into trouble.  

You see, this is my mom's recipe.

This recipe holder is the bomb-diggity.  I. love. it.  See link below if you're interested.  

My mom is Italian.  She's an amazing cook.  And unless she's baking, she tends not to be too big on the measuring.  She'll say things like, "salt it until it tastes like something."  Um. Okay mom.  

(This is probably why I didn't cook until I was 35.)

 I've gotten a little more comfortable about the lack of measuring.  Here I am adding the salt.  It's maybe half a teaspoon??

There goes the garlic powder.  I put in quite a bit.  Maybe a tablespoon?

And just go nuts with the parsley.  Maybe a tablespoon+ for that...

Then add a big ole scoop of Parmesan, maybe 1/8-1/4 of a cup. 

  Now put in maybe 2/3 of the tomato sauce. 

At this point your rice should be ready.

 Go ahead and scoop it out...

...and add it to the turkey mixture.

Then you'll want to mix it all together.  I have always done this with my hands.  

Next you'll hollow out your green bell peppers.  Remember above when I said that the recipe makes three or four?  Well, it really comes down to the size of your peppers versus the size of your crock pot.  My strategy is usually to buy four peppers despite the fact that my pot typically holds only three.  

Well this time around I must have bought some tall skinny peppers because four would have fit just fine.

Except I didn't have four.  

I mean, I thought I had four.  

I could have sworn I bought four.

But when I went to the crisper to get them there were only three.  

I looked everywhere for that fourth pepper.  

I have a bad feeling it's somewhere in my trunk.

(Oh don't judge.  I know I'm not the only one with escaped produce rolling around in my car.)

Ahem.  So as I was saying...

The next step is to stuff the peppers and place them in the crock pot which has been generously coated with cooking spray.

Then you add a little more tomato sauce and some Parmesan cheese on top.

 

I cook mine on high for four hours.

After about an hour your house will begin smelling like my mother's kitchen.  

(You can thank me later.)  

When they're done remove and enjoy.

(And let me know how they turned out!)

Linking:

http://iamaddictedtorecipes.blogspot.com/2012/11/french-canadian-split-pea-soup-slow.html