Just Lookin' » Beth

The Princess and the Artist

Beth — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 20:49:55 +0000

I think Ella (the princess) will give her Papa fits when she is 15 or 16… and Lily (the artist) will have led the way!

We travelled for holidays this year. Thanksgiving was spent in Florida with David and family. The girls shared their many interests with us: everything from Princesses and dancing to art work. It’s trite, but they are growing up far faster than I would wish.

Ella practices her best Princess pose

Lily displaying the dog she made out of clay

Cajun-Style Chicken Gumbo

Beth — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:32:28 +0000

Great for a cool weather meal, but light enough for summer! I use dark meat chicken to keep my spouse happy, but if I wasn’t feeding him I would use white meat chicken.

Enjoy!

Cajun-Style Chicken Gumbo

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 4-6 generous servings

Ingredients

2 lb boneless, skinless chicken cut into 1 inch pieces
1 Tbsp Cajun/Creole seasoning
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 c. thinly sliced or julienned carrots
1/4 thinly sliced celery
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp flour
1 can (14 oz) chicken broth
1 can (14 oz) stewed tomatoes, undrained
Cooked rice (about 2 cups should work)

Instructions

Place chicken in a medium bowl, sprinkle with thyme and seasoning, toss well. Set aside
Heat oil in a LARGE saucepan over medium high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, carrots, celery and garlic. Cover; cook 10 minutes or until veggies are crisp-tender, stirring once.
Add chicken and cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Sprinkle with flour and cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.
Add chicken broth and tomatoes (you can add a dash of hot pepper sauce if you like at this point). Bring to a boil over high heat.
Reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered at least 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center and sauce is slightly thickened.
To serve: ladle into bowls and top with 1/2 cup of rice.

Notes

The original recipe used only 1 lb. of chicken and 1 tsp of seasoning... I like this version better, myself!

You could also add shrimp to it. And/or add okra in with vegetables.

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Christmas Wishes 2011

Beth — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 18:40:35 +0000

We wish you a joyful holiday season!

May the New Year bring many reminders of the continuing birth of Jesus in our lives.

Merry Christmas!

Cornbread Dressing

Beth — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:46:05 +0000

This is required at all of our family holiday meals. I learned how to do it by watching my Nanaw make it. Well seasoned iron skillet required.

Since I will be celebrating Christmas with my children this year, my mom and I are fighting over custody of the iron skillet (she’ll be making it for the rest of the family.)

Serve it with dinner and good gravy. Note: Your cardiologist might delight in the potential new business after you consume this treat!

Cornbread Dressing

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

Cornbread (I used Martha White cornbread mix)
1 egg
⅔ c. buttermilk
¼ - ⅓ c. bacon fat
3 or 4 sticks of celery, sliced thin
1 medium to large onion, chopped coarsely
1 stick of butter (BUTTER, not margarine!)
chicken or turkey stock

Instructions

For the cornbread: preheat oven to 450°F. Instead of the oil in the recipe on the bag of mix, put about ¼ to ⅓ c. of bacon grease in an iron skillet. Put the skillet in the oven to melt the bacon grease. Combine other ingredients (egg, buttermilk, cornbread mix) in a bowl and mix lightly. When the fat is melted and hot, remove the skillet from the oven and pour the melted fat into the cornbread mix. Stir lightly to combine and immediately pour into the hot skillet. Bake. Remove cornbread from the iron skillet, because you need it for the next step.
Dressing: Using the same iron skillet, melt the butter and add the celery and onion. Cook until the onion is clear. Turn off the heat and add the cornbread (crumbled). Mix so that the onions and celery are evenly distributed. Add stock/broth to moisten. It should be fairly wet, since the dressing will be baked afterward.
Move the dressing into a baking dish. At this point, you can put it in the fridge until you are ready to bake it. Bake at 350°F until hot all the way through.

Notes

My cornbread mix uses egg and buttermilk. It is "Southern cornbread" -- not sweet. If my son, Daniel is around and helping me, we might need 2 batches of cornbread since we seem to be unable to resist eating some of it right out of the oven -- and we need a entire recipe for the dressing.

Enjoy.

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http://justlookin.bethnicol.com/articles/recipes/cornbread-dressing/

Persimmon Puree | Weelicious ™

Beth — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:02:38 +0000

Persimmon Puree | Weelicious ™ – Fast, Easy & Fresh Homemade Home Made Baby Food Babyfood Recipes, Toddler Food and recipes for the entire family!.

Interesting little recipe — I’m posting because I’m trying to make Sharethis WordPress work on http://ohbabyconsultants.com/

Carrot Cake and Cream Cheese Icing

Beth — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 02:58:10 +0000

Carrot cake is one of my family’s favorite desserts. My brother and I had a competition going for a while, but I’ve deferred to him for the annual Thanksgiving carrot cake. But, that doesn’t keep me from making it for family celebrations at other times. My recipe is a combination of 2 recipes from Lovin’ Spoonful which is a cookbook from the Catholic Women’s Association, St. Michaels’s Catholic Church. Auburn, AL that was published in 1975.

Carrot Cake

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 1 three layer cake

Ingredients

4 eggs
1 1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 c. sugar
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
3 c. raw carrots, grated
4 Tbsp. hot water

Instructions

Blend sugar and oil. Add eggs. Beat well. Add hot water.
Sift dry ingredients. Add to sugar-egg mixture. Beat well.
Stir in grated carrots.
Pour into 3 (9-inch) greased and floured cake pans. Bake at 350˚F for 25 to 35 minutes.
Cool cakes and stack with frosting.

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http://justlookin.bethnicol.com/articles/recipes/carrot-cake/

Cream Cheese Icing

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Yield: enough for a 2 layer cake

Ingredients

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1/4 c. margarine
1 (1 lb.) box confectioners sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. chopped nuts (pecans)

Instructions

Work cheese until soft. Add softened margarine. Beat in sugar gradually. Add flavoring ana nuts. Mix and spread.

Notes

If I make a 3 layer carrot cake, I double this recipe. But then I have extras! What to do? Make a second carrot cake recipe and make it into cupcakes or a sheet cake and use the rest of the icing on that.

Or, just be decadent and eat it like fudge.

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http://justlookin.bethnicol.com/articles/recipes/carrot-cake/

Wedding

Beth — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:00:12 +0000

Ellie feeds Chuck a chunk of wedding cake

Over the weekend of September 17, my brother-in-law, Chuck tied the knot with Ellie on Block Island (RI). Of course, feeding the new spouse wedding cake continues to be quite the event! Quick, but fun weekend seeing a place, visiting with family and of course, celebrating with the new bride and groom.

I’m finding my little point and shoot Nikon to be a bit frustrating — a bit slow to respond, never sure where my focus is most clear. I am spoiled with my Canon 50D, but it is a bit large to carry on a plane, especially for a short weekend trip. Oh well.

Summer in Maine

Beth — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 01:23:42 +0000

Marie, Genevieve and Lily at Old Orchard Beach, Maine. Lily had a grand time using the iPad2 as her personal camera and photo editing device. I have no idea where Ella was when this picture was taken… or Michelle or Shawn.

I didn’t take nearly as many photos as I would have liked, but I got a couple nice shots, so I’ll post a couple of the others.

Pet Diaries

Beth — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 16:18:30 +0000

This goes around the internet periodically, but never fails to make me giggle a bit (having owned not only dogs, but also having been responsible for cats). You do know that dogs have owners, but cats have staff, right?

Excerpts from a Dog’s Diary……

8:00 am – Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am – A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am – A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am – Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 pm – Lunch! My favorite thing!
1:00 pm – Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
3:00 pm – Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
5:00 pm – Milk Bones! My favorite thing!
7:00 pm – Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
8:00 pm – Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 pm – Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

Excerpts from a Cat’s Daily Diary..

Day 983 of my captivity…

My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets.

Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.

The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet.

Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a ‘good little hunter’ I am. Jerks.

There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of ‘allergies.’ I must learn what this means and how to use it to my advantage.

Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow — but at the top of the stairs.

I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released – and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously not very smart.

The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicating with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe. For now…………….

First Foray in to Ecommerce: Puritee Designs

Beth — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 17:55:29 +0000

I recently developed a website for Puritee Designs. Among the items for sale on the site is this burnout tank, sporting a runner design. I think she’s really cute!