Happy Friday people!

Good morning (and a poor quality selfie) from the sleep walking champion of the world!

Closet Decorating...

I decorated our bedroom a few weeks ago and now I'm feeling like it's time to move onto another room.    The next room I'm going to decorate is our closet room (aka the second bedroom).  We live in an old house with very small, and a limited number of closets. So we turned our second unused bedroom into a giant closet. So here are a few of the things I want to do in this giant closet...

I'm going to paint our dresser this colour.

I would love to get one of these!

     

Add a little couch.

Get Chris to build shelves across the wall similar to this.

Use a frame to hang necklaces.

And get a huge mirror.

Happy Friday!

Dunzo

The outside of our house is done! The husband worked his butt off whenever he had time and finished the siding, doors and windows. He's pretty handy!

Front of the house before

Front of the house After

Back of the house before

Back of the house after

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Thanks to Pinterest I have lost countless hours of my life (mind you I did pin how to escape from zip ties, but I didn't watch the demo video so I still have no idea how to do it, but I know its possible; heres the link http://www.itstactical.com/skillcom/lock-picking/how-to-escape-from-zip-ties/), but it has redeemed itself time and again. It has inspired decorating, I've made some delish meals from it, planned outfits around it, and last night it produced the most perfect chocolate chip cookies ever. I'm talking big, thick, round chocolate chip cookies. Wow. They are amazing. Here is the link to the recipe http://allrecipes.com/recipe/best-big-fat-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookie/detail.aspx?src=VD_Summary

They are the best. So in love with this recipe.

50% Off Night. Enough Said.

Last night I did some second hand shopping with my mum. It was 50% off night at Value Village which is the best night. I found so many amazing things, some of which made it home with me. Things like...

Owl bookends...

and this flower pictures...

and its twin...

and this dress...

and this sweater...

and this flat sheet...

and this cake plate with the lid...

and this amazing pin!

Anniversary Celebrations

Happy Anniversary Mum and Dad Beerman! Its been 24 years, 9 (soon to be 10) houses, 6 kids, 4 cities, 1 (soon to be 2) son in law,  14 (not including fish) pets, etc. You guys are wonderful and such a good example for us. We love you guys. Here's to another 24 (at least)!

Happy Friday!

This and That (but mostly cats)

1/2 pound Reese Cup. What!?!?

Shorts and a winter coat.

Hunting Trail.

Cat under a coat.

Cat on a chest.

Cat mad about the snow. 

Cat being pet.

That face...

Not aloud.

Lois took her collar off. Bad.

Post workout.

Workin it.

Studying. Sad.

Skinny(ish) Tuna Noodle Casserole

Fresh out of the oven.

Mmmmmmmmmmm!

  

Tuesday while perusing Pinterest I came across a recipe for a Skinny Tuna Noodle Casserole. I don't know about you but Tuna Noodle Casserole was one of my faves growing up so I jumped at the opportunity to make it, especially when there are isn't a can of cream of anything soup added. Mind you I did make it 2 cups of old cheddar instead of 4 oz, mostly because I don't have anything to measure out 4 oz and partly because I love cheese so those rare times I get to have it I may or may not go a little overboard. Anyways, the 2 cups of cheese are the reason I call it Skinny(ish). But the husband loves it so who cares? So here is the recipe, which I modified to match my tastes and ingredient list. I hope you enjoy!

Skinny Tuna Noodle Casserole

5 handfuls of pens

4 heads of broccoli chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion finely chopped

3 tbsp flour

1 3/4 cup chicken broth

1 cup almond milk

2 cans of flaked tuna, drained

2 cups old cheddar, grated

salt and pepper to taste

bread crumbs

parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350.

Boil and big pot of water and then add the pasta. When you're pasta is 2 minutes from being done add the broccoli. Once the pasta and broccoli are cooked, drain and set aside.

While you're pasta and broccoli are cooking you can sauté your onion in olive oil. Whisk the flour into the chicken broth and then one your onion is cooked add it to the pan and stir for 3ish minutes. Add the almond milk and flaked tuna. Cook your sauce on a low boil of a minute or two to let it thicken up. Remove your sauce from heat and add the cheese slowly, stirring continuously. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Pour sauce over the pasta and broccoli and lightly stir it in to coat the pasta. Pour your casserole into a big casserole dish and sprinkle with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. Bake for 18 minutes at 350 and then broil for the last two minutes. And there you go, Skinny(ish) Tuna Noodle Casserole. 

Here is the link to the original recipe:

 http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/01/skinny-tuna-noodle-casserole.html

Thin Pancakes

Growing up my mom did most of the cooking but my dad would make things here and there. There were a few very special family recipes that my dad would make every one in a while. One of those recipes was Thin Pancakes. Many people call them crepes, but they're not, they are Thin Pancakes.  They are light and tasty. A little bit crispy and soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good.  You can eat them with just syrup, or with yogurt (or sour cream) and berries, with fruit sauce. Or my personal favourite, coating them in peanut butter, rolling them around a breakfast sausage and drizzling the roll with maple syrup. Yum! Anyways these are the best and here is the recipe....

Thin Pancakes

4 eggs

2 cups milk

3/4 cup sugar

flour to thicken (about 1 cup)

Heat a skillet just above medium heat. Mix ingredients until just combined. Pour the batter onto the skillet using approximately 2/3 of a cup scoop (bigger or smaller depending on how big you want your pancakes). Slightly brown the pancakes on both sides and then serve. 

Tomorrow is Caterday but today is Friday. Happy Friday People!

That Time I Set the Stove on Fire

Poor Whirly Pop.

Last night I made some Creamy Cheesy Broccoli Soup. Unfortunately that soup boiled over onto the stove at one point. I mopped up what I could and continued on with the evening with every intention of thoroughly cleaning the stove at a later time. Well 20 minutes later I had a hankering for popcorn. We have a Whirly Pop which means to make popcorn we have to set the Whirly Pop on the stove and crank it until the kernels spring into popped goodness. Well 3 minutes in just as the kernels were starting to pop the element starts smoking like a couch is on fire. 30 seconds later the soup that ran over and down underneath the element is on fire. I needed to finish popping my popcorn but I also needed to put out the fire. So I popped my pop corn over and open fire and then did what everyone on TV does to put out a fire I through a tea towel over it. That didn't work. So I blew on it. That kind of worked. So I wrecked a tea towel and had a bowl of popcorn. Morel of the story is: clean up soup when it runs over into the element and research new ways to put out stove top fires.

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake

Swirly Cheesecakey goodness.

Last Friday after scrambling around town trying to get a queen size bed from one ladies house to mine with the wrong size vehicles I went over to a friends house and had a wonderful meal and even better company (holy run on sentence batman!). Anyways, for said dinner I was charged with bringing the desert. So I perused the catalogues on marthastewart.com and came across Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake. Pure perfection on a plate. Then to top it off I made Martha's Raspberry Sauce. A dream. Here are the recipes for my new favourite dessert.

Swirly Cheesecakey goodness with sauce. 

Martha Stewart's Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake 

• 
  
• 1 cup finely ground graham crackers
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 6 ounces raspberries
• 32 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• Boiling water, for roasting pan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap exterior of a 9-inch springform pan (including base) in a double layer of foil; set aside.
2. Stir together cracker crumbs, melted butter, and 2 tablespoons sugar in a medium bowl. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom of pan. Bake until set, about 10 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
3. Process raspberries in a food processor until smooth, about 30 seconds. Pass puree through a fine sieve into a small bowl; discard solids. Whisk in 2 tablespoons sugar, and set aside.
4. Put cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. With mixer on low speed, add remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar in a slow, steady stream. Add salt and vanilla; mix until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing each until just combined (do not overmix). Pour cream cheese filling over crust.
5. Drop raspberry sauce by the teaspoon on top. With a wooden skewer or toothpick, swirl sauce into filling.
6. Set cake pan inside a large, shallow roasting pan. Transfer to oven. Carefully ladle boiling water into roasting pan to reach halfway up sides of cake pan. Bake until cake is set but still slightly wobbly in center, 60 to 65 minutes.
7. Transfer cake pan to rack; let cake cool completely. Refrigerate, uncovered, 6 hours or overnight. Before unmolding, run a knife around edge of cake.
   
   
   Raspberry Sauce Recipe
   • 1/2 cup sugar
   • 1/4 cup water
   • 12 ounces raspberries

   Directions

   1. Place sugar and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan over high heat; stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, and allow syrup to cool completely. Place raspberries and syrup in the jar of a blender; puree until smooth. Pour through a fine sieve or colander into a bowl; discard solids. Serve or store in an airtight container, refrigerated, for up to 5 days.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! November 1st it started snowing in Timmins and it hasn't really stopped. Snow automatically makes it feel like Christmas and I'm so excited for Christmas this year (Pinterest may or may not have something to do with that). Hopefully I can get things done early this year so I'm not scrambling around at the last minute. Fingers crossed. Lets see if it gets done...

I'm feeling like that cat this morning. Happy Friday People!