Holiday Place Cards

POST OVERLOAD!! Two in one week! LOL -- my mom asked me to make some place cards for our big Christmas dinner... I've been wanting to make these pie-cards but haven't had the chance, so I started making them, then I read the instructions and they need to dry for 3-5 days... so that wouldn't work for Christmas! I had to come up with a plan B, and fast! And there weren't a lot of options since I didn't want to run out at 3pm on Christmas eve. Then I came across these little cuties - number 17! I found some adorable ribbon and some craft paper I had lying around, and whipped them up!

I did the names on the computer, my secret (since I'm on a mac and I don't have Adobe suite) is to use powerpoint, and just resize the slides to 8.5" x 11". It seems to work better than trying to work in Word or even Excel. I decided to do women, men, and children all in different colors (since I'm a little spiteful I had to sit at the children's table WELL into my twenties). I printed the names in big ovals... maybe 4" x 2" and cut them out. Hole-punched the ends, then threaded some cut ribbon through them. I lucked out because my mom had ribbon with wire in the edges, so it made it a LOT easier. I made sure they could stand, then cut the ends of the ribbon to look like candy, and VOILA! Done :)

These were legit SO easy, and could very simply be made for ANY occasion or even a non-occasion dinner party.

HAPPY HAPPY!
xoxo,
janie from scratch

Friday..err Monday Happy Hour: Coquito aka Puerto Rican Eggnog

I've been remiss about keeping up with this blog this year :( and I've made so many delicious things! One of my favorite part of the holidays is hanging out with the bees when they make coquito (the bees are a group of girls in Orlando). I got a recipe from one of the gals at my new job (YES! new job in Tampa!) and decided to make some to share at Christmas this year. It's pretty simple... here goes:

Coquito

• 2 egg yolks, beaten
• 12 ounce can evaporated milk
• 14 ounce can cream of coconut (you can usually find this with the mixers in the supermarket)
• 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup white rum (okay, I used a whole cup)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Start by cooking the egg yolks & evaporated milk over a double boiler until it reaches 160 on a candy thermometer or it's thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

In a blender, combine the rest of the ingredients. 

When the egg mixture is cooked, add it to the blender and blend for 30 seconds. I left the little middle lid off and covered with a towel just in case it tried to explode like that one time at BTW's (cleaning gazpacho off blinds is NOT fun, FYI). 

Then I cleaned out two wine bottles and poured the mixture into both. It made a LOT! Almost two full wine bottles! 

Then, just let cool and sit overnight and you're ready to share with all your alcoholic friends and family! I should've made fancy labels but it's almost Christmas and ain't nobody got time for that! 

Hope you have a great holiday :)
xoxo,
janie from scratch

Hamburger Cupcakes

Happy Summer Yall!! This month has been such a whirl wind. I got home from Europe, and then it was Mother's Day. I made my favorite thing ever for my godmother, mom and friend for dinner that day -- Jerk Chicken with Jalapeno-Mint Glaze & Mango Salsa. THEN came birthday season... Within 1 week, I have the bf's, my friends Juan's & Brett's AND my birthday. And then was Memorial Day Weekend, so I am ready for some R&R this week by the pool! My mom is leaving on Monday for Maine until October, so hopefully we can have some QT this week too :)

I saw these ADORABLE cupcakes a few years ago on Bakerella's website (sidenote: she has the cutest ideas EVER) and made them for a 4th of July Party two years ago and they were a big hit. I got asked to make dessert for a Memorial Day Pool Party...which was SO EPIC, BTW:

Token Janie-face

So I whipped up these cute hamburger cupcakes again. They are adorable and so easy.

First, make a set of yellow boxed cupcake mix. I always use mixes for this recipe. For the cupcakes, I underfill the cupcakes a little - closer to half-full then 2/3 like the box says. Let cool, then take the papers off. I also sprinkle white sesame seeds to the top while they are cooling to make them look more like hamburger buns (if you forget, you can rub the tops with a little water to help them stick).

Then, mix up a brownie mix, and bake in a 13x9-ish sized pan. If you bake them in a smaller pan, they will turn out too fat to look like hamburger patties. While they are still warm, use a cookie cutter or empty can to cut out the patties. I've used an empty Campbell's soup can and also a small mason jar. Then let finish cooling.

Get a can of frosting, and dye half red (for ketchup) and half yellow (for mustard). For the lettuce, I shake sweetened coconut in a ziplock bag with a few drops of green food coloring.

To assemble, cut the cupcakes in half. I cut them close to the top little ledge. Put the cut-out brownie on the "bottom bun" with some "lettuce" and then squeeze some "ketchup & mustard" on the edges and top with the "top bun." This makes about 16 "burgers" so if you need more, make an extra batch!

 I had some leftover frosting and coconut so I put them in ramekins on the side if anyone wanted extra.

How cute are those?!?! And truly so easy and impressive for a summer BBQ or picnic. 

Hope everyone is having a great start to the summer! It's hot as blazes here in Florida, so summer has definitely arrived :)

xoxo,

Janie from Scratch

Painted Wine Glasses

Lately I've been so into crafting! Ever since I decorated those wine glasses for Relay for Life, I wanted to make some more. Plus, my godmother asked me to make her a new glass. So, I did a little online research to find out how to "cure"the glasses to make the paint stay on longer. There's no definitive answers online that I found, so we'll see how the system I used works out. I went to Joanne's and wandered in the paint/marker aisle and just kind of went with what I felt. I got two Sharpie paint markers and bought some stemless wine glasses from Target. I'm having a few people over for Mother's Day, so I wanted to make each of us a glass.

First, I decorated each glass with the Sharpie paint marker:

Then, according to one online instruction I found, I put all 4 glasses on a cookie sheet lined with foil, and put into a cold oven:

I turned on the over to preheat to 350, then once it was at 350, I let it "cook" for 20 minutes. Then I turned the oven off and let the glasses sit in the oven until they were completely cold. Then I took them out and VOILA!

They turned out super cute! I'll let yall know if they stand up to washing after Sunday!

Happy Mother's Day!
xoxo,
Janie from Scratch

**UPDATE: So far, so good. I used my glass last night and hand-washed it and the paint seems to be staying put. I even tried scratching a little with my nail and nothing came off! Also, I made a real cocktail in my glass, so there was a lot of condensation on the outside and still the paint stayed.

Fancy Burger

Hey you guys!!! (Make sure you read that in the Goonies voice) So I just got back Sunday from an 11-day transatlantic cruise, 2 days in Barcelona and 2 days in Berlin with the bf. The last part was a total whirlwind but the cruise was SO relaxing. It was totally different than the other round-trip-type cruises I've been on where I always feel like I'm racing against time to do everything and see everything on the boat. We had 10 days at sea and it was AMAZING!

Look how much fun we're having!!

But, while I LOVE traveling, it is nice to be home. My mom is actually also in Europe, just off a Rhine river cruise and spending a few days in Amsterdam so I've been eating whatever frozen meats she has in the fridge. (She always goes to Sams and gets a bunch and then freezes individual portions--super helpful and easy for us since we're either always one or two for dinner.) Last night I had a pork chop, and today I made a delish burger!

For the burger part, I used ground kobe beef (I know, Jane B is FANCY!) with some seasoned salt and pepper. I bought a ciabatta roll at Publix this morning and toasted it in the oven. I was just going to use regular ketchup, but we didn't have any, so I mixed some balsamic sauce with mayo to make a yummy aioli. I sauteed up some mushrooms and onions, and then topped the burger with swiss. I also baked a corn on the cob (350 for 30 minutes in the oven with the husk on). It turned out SO good! I even impressed myself with this quick dinner :)

Hope yall are ready for summer and more grilling and burgers and fun in the sun!
xoxo,
Janie from Scratch

Race T-shirt Redux!

Tomorrow night I'm doing the Relay for Life in Tampa with my godmother and I am SO psyched to be getting involved in the community finally! It's something I've really been wanting to do, but haven't had the time/opportunity/balls to do it by myself, so I kind of drunkenly agreed a few weeks ago, and I'm so glad I did! Earlier tonight, we spent some time baking and decorating items to sell - painted corks, wine glasses, candle holders. They are super cute, maybe I'll take some pics tomorrow at the event. I'm not SUPER crafty, but some of them turned out really adorable, hopefully someone will pick them up for $1!!

Tonight we also picked up our relay shirts, and I usually am not big on wearing the race shirt TO the race but apparently everyone does it for this one. It's gonna be HOT as blazes tomorrow, so I wanted to turn mine into a tank somehow. Our team captain, Sarah, is really into pinterest (just like me! check out her page!) and showed me this adorable and easy t-shirt redux (it's also a bonus this blogger is from New Zealand, I love it there!). I decided to whip it up tonight when I got home and my mom helped me, of course.

I didn't take pics along the way, the blog tutorial is pretty self-explanatory and easy as it is. I did tweak it a little. I serged the raw edges and then straight stitched them under to make the arm holes non-raggedy. The logos were a bit higher on my tshirt than on the blogger's so mine got a little cramped at the top :/ but it turned out super cute anyways!

Close up :) 

I love to make a crazy face!

This legit only took straight stitches, it was super easy!

I'm off this weekend to a transatlantic cruise then spending a few days in Europe!
xoxo,
Janie from Scratch

UPDATE!! I got so many compliments and "how did you do that"s at the relay! A very successful t-shirt redux :)

Friday Happy Hour: Basil Caipirinha

OMG YALLLL!!!! Why haven't I done a Friday Happy Hour post in like 23434534531123945 years?!??! Because, let's be frank, I've done a LOT of drankin' in the past 2 months since I've been enjoying funemployment. 

So, bear with me as I digress... I left Ft Lauderdale on February 20 for a short 2-week road trip to Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville (this trip was basically based around a few races I'd committed to). Well, this 2 weeks turned into 3... then 4... then a month... While I've been gone I was so lucky to spend amazing quality time with my long lost Tampa/Orlando peeps, run 3 races (10k, 15k and 5k) and met an amazing man :) But I am SO GLAD to be home again home again jiggity jog! I have a LOT of changes going on in my life and once things are settled I'll share, but until then, it's basically time for me to soak it all in and enjoy it!

I've been having a slight caipirinha obsession in the past few months. A caipirinha is similar to a mojito, but made with fancy pants Brazilian "rum". It's refreshing, semi-healthy, and tasty! I made a few regular ones the other night for the bf and again tonight with basil when I got home from Tap42 (side note: this place is AMAZEBALLS!). So... here goes nothing! (And a big apology to you cocktail snobs out there...)

Basil Caipirinha

• 1/2 lime cut into wedges
• basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 1/2 ounces cachaça (you can find this in fancy liquor stores, I got mine in Total Wine; there's several brands, Leblon seems to be the middle of the road)
• ice
• water/soda water

In a pint glass, muddle half a lime cut into smaller wedges, a few basil leaves, and a teaspoon or so of sugar. Before I cut the limes, I always roll them a bit to get the juices flowing. Then add 2 1/2 ounces of Cachaça (now listen here, you know I am HUGE proponent of "use what you have"... but do NOT use just regular rum... I promise you cachaça has a completely different taste, and since you don't put a lot into this cocktail, it will absolutely alter the taste). So, once you have all this, add ice until the top of the glass. The liquid will not fill up to the top. So, top it off with water or soda water. You can stir it to combine, or I like pouring it all into a shaker, then pouring it all back into the glass. You can garnish with a lime or basil leaf or just drink it! HAHA!

Then take your cocktail to your balcony and really enjoy it :)
xoxo,
Janie from Scratch

Homemade Road ID

Ever since I started running on a regular basis, I've always been SUPER concerned that something would happen to me, and since I don't run with a phone or ID or anything, no one would ever know who I was. It's a serious paranoia of mine (amongst many others). They have ones you can buy online but they are super boring and sterile looking. So I enlisted my mom to help make one for my friend Ryan and I. 

Using my mom's embroidery machine I was able to create this super cute design, and then my mom sewed the button holes for the shoe laces. 

Jane B's machine stitching away

Then I laced it on and voila! Now I'll never be lost if something ever happens to me while I'm running :)

I can't wait to try it out at the Gate River Run in Jacksonville this weekend!


Side note: Ryan and I did our first 10k this weekend!! It was a great race. It was FREEZING and rained the first 1-2 miles, but after that, we both settled in and had a great run. It was funny because she was a little ahead of me but when we compared notes, we struggled and found it easy at the same spots. Mile 4 was great for both of us and mile 5 was terrible for both of us. And we even matched:

Twinsies!

So get outside and have fun! It's so nice out lately:)
xoxo,
Janie from Scratch

French Onion Dip from Jane B

So, I haven't actually made this, but my aunt did and my mom tried it and said it was AMAZING. So I will share with yall :) It's supposed to be similar to the onion dip you make from the little packet from the supermarket. Hope you like! 

French Onion Dip

• 3 tablespoons Unsalted Butter

• 2 pounds onions, chopped fine

• Salt & Pepper

• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne Pepper

• 1/4 cup water

• 2-1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

• 1 cup sour cream

• 1/2 cup mayo

Melt butter in 12-in. skillet over medium heat. Add onions, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper & cayenne & cook stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent ~ 10 min. Reduce heat to med-low & cook until onions are golden ~ 10 min.

Add 2 Tbl water to skillet & cook, scraping up any browned bits, until water is evaporated ~ 5 min. Add last 2 Tbl H2o & cook until onions are caramelized ~ 5 min. longer. Remove from heat & add Balsamic vinegar. Put onions in med. bowl & let cool 10 min.
Add sour cream & mayo; stir to mix. Season w/salt & pepper to taste. Refrig. at least 30 min to allow flavors to blend.

Here's Jane B and my dad's sister, Aunt Marion and me!

Breakfast Burritos

Let's get the bad news out of the way first. I got laid off two Fridays ago. I've spent the majority of the past week drinking by the pool. But now it's time to focus, really get serious... and move my afternoons to the beach. HA! Anyways, last week I kept waking up super hungry, and I usually eat breakfast at work, but wanted to make something easy I could grab on my way out the door (TO THE BEACH!). I've been craving a breakfast burrito for awhile and have been wanting to make some so I ran to the store, grabbed some ingredients and whipped a few up! So easy (as always), so fast.

Janie's Breakfast Burritos

• breakfast sausage 
• eggs
• grated cheese
• frozen hashbrowns
• sauce -- you could use salsa, hot sauce, spicy mayo, anything!
• large tortillas

First, brown the sausage. I used half a roll of spicy breakfast sausage, but I think you could probably use the pre-formed sausage links. Then, scramble the eggs (of course I scrambled them in the sausage fat!). I used 5 eggs. Then assemble your burritos!

Put a spoonful of sausage, eggs, cheese and a few hashbrowns in the tortilla. I forgot to put the sauce, but some taco sauce or hot sauce would be super yummy! Save your mayo-based or non-microwave friendly for after you zap these. 

Roll up tight.

Then, roll up in a piece of plastic wrap.

And store in a big plastic zip lock bag in the fridge.

This made SO MANY -- 8 burritos in total! I microwave one for 45 seconds IN the plastic wrap so the tortillas don't dry out. Then, since I forgot sauce, I add a little sauce at every bite. (I actually had some leftover bloomin' onion sauce from a dinner party -- mayo-based -- and put that on as I ate, YUM!) Voila.. easy, quick and tasty breakfast. You could even make these healthier using egg whites, whole wheat tortillas, turkey sausage, and sauteed veggies instead of hashbrowns.