Meal's In Minutes Memorial Day Style

This is Heather, and its my very first blog post here. I know today most people will be grilling but not me, I haven't the slightest idea how to grill. So I found this recipe and think I am going to make it for our family.

Smoky Joes

By Catherine Newman

Active time: 10 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients 1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder (or 1/2 teaspoon canned chipotles)
1 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar
Salt to taste

4 hamburger buns

Calling all napkins! These are tangy, sweet, and sloppy -- just the way you like them -- but with a delectable hint of smokiness. If you don't have smoked paprika (also called pimenton) or chipotles (which are smoked jalapenos), try substituting half a teaspoon of liquid smoke.

Directions

1. In a large skillet over high heat, sauté the beef, onions, and garlic until the beef is cooked and browning, and all the liquid has boiled off (around 10 minutes).
2. Turn the heat down to low, then add the spices and cook, stirring, for a few seconds.
3. Stir in the remaining ingredients, then partially cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.
4. Divide the mixture among the buns and serve.

*special thanks to Catherine Newman and her blog for this recipe

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Customer Spotlight: Sasha

Hi everyone! Kendall here to bring you the latest edition of "Customer Spotlight." Jen has some amazing customers out there in digi-land, and we love seeing all your fabulous creations. Every month, we stalk the gallery in order to find a special customer to highlight on the blog. This month, we're featuring Sasha.

Sasha, who has also been a guest on Jen's CT during May, was kind enough to answer some questions so that we could all get to know her a little better.

1. Tell us your "real" name and a little bit about yourself.
My real name is Sasha. Some ask if that's my "stage name" lol. NO. its not.

2. How long have you been scrapping? What got you into it?
I have been digitally scrapping for about a year. I started making signatures about 2.5 yrs ago when I discovered Photoshop. Then I ventured off into store forums and now I am totally addicted. I NEED scrappers anonymous lol.

3. Do you look for certain things in a kit when purchasing (color, elements, alphas)?
I tend to go for girly kits. I have 3 girls and they are definitely girly girls. They need to have lots of elements, I love LOTS of elements.

4. Tell us about your "scrapping environment." Drinks, snacks, music, etc?
I mostly scrap in the early morning before my day really starts. So coffee, milk or orange juice are always a must. I will be listening to the news unless my lil one is up and watching cartoons. My planner and cell have to be on my desk.

5. What do you like most about Jennifer's products?
I love that she has a variety. I can scrap anything with her kits. And she always has lots of elements.

6. Share with us some of your favorite layouts using Jennifer's products.
My newest favorite is this one:



And some others:

Take Me Away:


Silly:


Sassy:


7. What is your favorite Jennifer Fox Designs kit or product?
At this very moment my absolute favorite is her OH So! collection.



Thanks so much, Sasha, for letting us feature you! Be sure to check out the rest of her awesome gallery and leave her some lovin'!

And while you're at it, don't forget to take a peek at Jennifer's store for some fab goodies. I hope everyone has a wonderful, safe holiday weekend. Happy Scrapping!

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a freebie with a little bit of homework.

Hi everyone, Heather here. I hope you all are having a great Saturday. Summer is really letting itself be known here in Texas so I was super inspired by Jennifer's adorable new kit! She Sells Seashells seemed like the perfect fit for my desktop to remind me of all the fun summer can be and not just how hot it gets. So without further adieu, here are three desktop sizes (1440x900, 1280x800, and 1024x780) and as a special treat, Blackberry and iPhone wallpapers!

You can download it here.

So now here is your little bit of homework. After placing the .png into your scrapping program, and dropping your photo behind the frame, how do you get it onto your Blackberry or iPhone?

Simple.

Blackberry users: After downloading picture to phone, load the picture to view it, click blackberry button and then click set as wallpaper.

iPhone users: Sync the photo to your phone however you normally sync photos (either through iPhoto or a folder, just drop this photo in there too). Go into settings. Wallpaper. Choose the Album that holds the photo (if you are unsure which album, you can tap Photo Library). Find the photo in the list of thumbnails. Move and Scale it if you wish, then click set.

Hope you enjoy the wallpapers!

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Freebie Friday!

Hi all, Sam here on what is a beautiful Friday afternoon in the UK! Here to give you your weekly freebie, I've made you a cluster frame with the gorgeous new kit 'She Sells Seashells' by Jennifer Fox available to buy now at The Digichick (be quick! It's on sale at the moment with a great 30% off!). I hope you like it! Download it here

Have a great weekend!

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New Release Thursday!

Happy Thursday everyone! Jennifer has an adorable new kit out this week for all those beach princesses. It's got lots of soft beachy colors with just enough pink mixed in to make any girly girl happy! Click the image to go to Jen's store at The DigiChick, and don't forget, She Sells Seashells is on sale 20% off today ONLY!

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Ready for a Sneak Peek?

Jennifer has a gorgeous new kit coming out this week. Would you like to see it? Well........you're going to have to come back tomorrow to get a full glimpse of it, but here's a sneak peek for ya!


Want to win this adorable kit??? Simply post a comment here about something you like to do in the summer and I'll come back before midnight EST to choose one winner to get this kit for free!!! Happy posting! :)

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Easy Hybrid Mini Book

Hey everyone, Sarah here. This is my first blog post for Jennifer and I'm so excited about this project. I got the idea for this when my daughter was reading a book that had the instructions for making a book like this. After I helped her make one I got to thinking that it would make an excellent (and easy) hybrid project.For this first project I used Jennifer's This Woman's Work. Here's the completed book.

This is done on a 8.5" x 11" canvas. Here's a sketch that will hopefully help you figure out where everything goes.

After I finished putting it all together I printed it with a .30" margin on all sides.


I then trimmed the white areas off and scored and folded each section.


The easiest way to cut out the middle is to fold the paper in half width wise...


And then use a paper trimmer or scissors to cut where the line is in the sketch.


Then refold length wise and fold paper so you get a diamond shape like this where you made your cut at.


Scrunch (yes I use technical terms like this...lol) and fold book until you end up with your mini book. This is such an easy project to do so if you've been afraid to try hybrid all it takes is one piece of paper (I used HP presentation paper for this) and either a paper trimmer or a pair of scissors. No glue, no mess, no fuss...how perfect is that. One little word of advice...if you want to see how easy it is to make the book practice first on a plain piece of copy paper just to make sure you get the folds and cut right.


Here's another book I made..this time using Oh So Silly by Jennifer Fox and Meghan Mullens. Wouldn't this be cute to make something like this and carry in your purse (or make something like this for your mother to carry in her purse)?


This one was super easy to put together...just different papers for each background, a photo, and a little bit of journaling on each page.


I hope you give this a shot. I totally love how super simple these were to put together. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.

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Meals In Minutes Monday-Italian Pineapple Chicken

Hi everyone! Today I want to share one of my family's favorite quick and easy meals--Italian Pineapple Chicken.

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 (8 ounce) can sliced pineapple, drained
1/3 cup swiss cheese, shredded (optional)

Directions:
*Flatten chicken to 1/2-inch thickness. Pour salad dressing into a shallow bowl; dip chicken in dressing.
*In a large skillet, heat oil. Add chicken; cook over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes on each side or until juices run clear. Remove and keep warm.
*Add pineapple slices to the skillet; cook for 30 seconds on each side or until lightly browned. Place a slice on each chicken breast half. Sprinkle with cheese if desired.

There you have it! SUPER quick, super easy, and super tasty! We pair ours with brown rice and something green--usually asparagus. It's a fave of everyone--including my super picky 4 year old.

Hope you enjoy!

*thanks to www.tasteofhome.com for the recipe and photo*

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Meals in Minutes 5/24/2010!

Jenna here, quickly doing a drive-by sharing a huge FAVE of mine....

Frito Pie

This was a real favorite when I was a kid (yes, they had Fritos back then), and it still is. With the Frito-Lay Company being based in Dallas, this dish is about as Texan as you can get.

• 3 cups Fritos corn chips
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 2-1/2 cups chili (your favorite -- homemade, canned, whatever)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Spread 2 cups of Fritos in a baking dish. Sprinkle half the onion and half the cheese over the Fritos. Pour the chili over the onion and cheese. Sprinkle the remaining Fritos, onion and cheese over the chili.

Bake for 15 or 20 minutes and cheese is bubbly. Serve hot.

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Saturday School-Scrapbooking Style!

Hi everyone! Welcome to Saturday School...hee hee. I had a really cool hybrid mini-tut planned for you, but as the way things seem to go, my printer decided not to work so I'm going to put that one on hold and instead show you a really cool thing you can do with hybrid. I love to make invitations and announcements personal. When I go to the store and look at what they have to offer in the form of invitations, I'm just really not all that impressed. I think it's much more fun to make them myself and personalize them, and it's super easy to do, just like scrapping a regular layout page. What you will need to do is open a new document sized either 6x4 inches or 4x6 inches, depending on whether you want your card to be horizontal or vertical. Then choose a kit, and decorate your card however you'd like. If you're doing an invitation, don't forget to include the when, where, why, etc. Here's an example of an invitation I did. My cousin is graduating from high school, and this is the invitation to her open house. I used Oh So Sassy from Jennifer and Meg Mullens. It's the digital image, since I couldn't print, but it should give you an idea of what I did.


Once you have your card the way you want it, save it at full size (6x4 or 4x6) at 300ppi. Then you can print them yourself, or upload them via web to Wal Mart or Walgreen's and have them printed in an hour. You can also save to a disc or a thumb drive and take them to any photo printing kiosk at any store where they are available. Then all you have to do is put them in envelopes and mail them, and you have personalized invitations or announcements. You can also do Thank You notes or even just personalized note cards. The possibilities are endless!

Have a wonderful weekend!
Sally :)

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Friday Freebie!!

Hello dear scrappers!!! Rae's World here bringing you the Friday Freebie. This week Jennifer re-released her wonderful kit Take Me Away. I decided to make a cute little frame to go with it. Enjoy! Remember to come back and link us up when you us it. Thank you!

Image is linked


or click here!!

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I LOVE The Daily Digi!!!

Today is my spotlight day over at The Daily Digi. I'm so excited that I got to be a part of the amazing Digi Files #17!!! If you haven't already grabbed this amazing grab bag, do so now for only $5. This is seriously the BEST DEAL in all of digiland!!!

Have you seen my contribution? I think it's my favortie kit to date. I was just thrilled with how it turned out and I hope you are, too. Check it out:

For the rest of the month, you can grab this kit when you purchase Digi Files #17. Don't wait!

Also, be sure to check out my spotlight today at The DailyDigi. You'll learn all my deep, dark secerts and there may even be a little something in it for you, too! Don't miss out! Also, be sure to leave a comment over there for a chance to win $10 for my store! :) As an extra little thank you to my faithful blog readers, I wanted to share a template freebie with you:

You can grab it HERE. I hope you enjoy learning more about me at The Daily Digi and I hope you have fun with the template freebie. As always, I love when you share your work with me, so if you use this template, don't hesitate to link me up in the comments section so I can leave you some love. ♥

Finally, if this is your first visit to my blog, take a look around. My CT girlies are AMAZING and so generously share their time and talent here with tips, tutorials, recipes, freebies, and more. There's really something for everyone. While you're here, be sure to become a follower and sign up for my newsletter. I'd love to keep you informed of sales, specials, freebies, announcements, and whatever else is going on at the moment.

Have a wonderful week!

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Re-Release Day!

Check out what Jennifer is releasing at The DigiChick this week!



Also releasing this week at The DigiChick is Jennifer's Take Me Away edition of her Pretty Bloggie Set, so make sure you check that out too!

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Turn It Up Tuesday!

Hi everyone! Erin here with another edition of Turn It Up Tuesday! Today I thought I would share a fun site with everyone - Baby Love Letters. The purpose of this blog is to help parents create a meaningful letter to their child, even if it's only one paragraph long and takes 15 minutes to write. Each Friday a new question is posted on the blog. As scrappers - this is a great starting point for creating a page with meaningful journaling directed towards our love ones. So the next time you are at a loss of what to scrap about - check out this site!

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$2 Tuesday!

It's $2 Tuesday! Check out what Jennifer has on sale for you today only!

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A Monday Meal Challenge Reminder!

Good Monday morning to you all!! I hope everyone has had a fabulous weekend and is ready for a new, wonderful and easy recipe to share with their loved ones!! I know I am!


With the weather finally warming to spring temperatures here in Wisconsin, my family and I are on the look out for some lighter fare. A few weeks ago, I had some zucchini that I needed to use. Sure, I could have just steamed it, perhaps even breaded and fried it (which is truly my favorite way to have zucchini), but I wanted to do something different. I spent some time searching the internet but nothing was really appealing...until I found a recipe from Jamie Oliver. So without further ado, I give you Beautiful Zucchini (Courgette) Carbonara!!

Servings:4 Cook time: 20 minutes or so

Ingredients

• 
  

  Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 
  

  6 medium green and yellow zucchini

• 
  

  1 pound penne or other pasta if you don't have penne

• 
  

  4 large free-range or organic egg yolks

• 
  

  1/2 cup heavy cream

• 
  

  2 good handfuls freshly grated Parmesan

• 
  

  Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 
  

  Olive oil

• 
  

  12 thick slices pancetta or lean bacon, cut into chunky pieces

• 
  

  A small bunch fresh thyme, leaves picked and chopped, flowers reserved (if you can get hold of flowering thyme)

• 
  

  Optional: a few zucchini flowers

Directions

Before you start cooking, it's important to get yourself a very large pan, or use a high-sided roasting pan so you can give the pasta a good toss.

Put a large pan of salted water on to boil. Halve and then quarter any larger zucchini lengthwise. Cut out and discard any fluffy middle bits, and slice the zucchini at an angle into pieces roughly the same size and shape as the penne. Smaller zucchini can simply be sliced finely. Your water will now be boiling, so add the penne to the pan and cook according to the package instructions.

To make your creamy carbonara sauce, put the egg yolks into a bowl, add the cream and half the Parmesan, and mix together with a fork. Season lightly with salt and pepper and set aside.

Heat a very large frying pan (a 14-inch is a good start - every house should have one!), add a good splash of olive oil and fry the pancetta or bacon until dark brown and crisp. Add the zucchini slices and 2 big pinches of black pepper, not just to season but to give it a bit of a kick. Sprinkle in the thyme leaves, give everything a stir, so the zucchini is coated with all the lovely bacon-flavored oil, and fry until they start to turn lightly golden and have softened slightly.

It's very important to get this next bit right or your carbonara could end up ruined. You need to work quickly. When the pasta is cooked, drain it, reserving a little of the cooking water. Immediately, toss the pasta in the pan with the zucchini, bacon and lovely flavors, then remove from the heat and add a ladleful of the reserved cooking water and your creamy sauce. Stir together quickly. (No more cooking now, otherwise you'll scramble the eggs.)

Get everyone around the table, ready to eat straightaway. While you're tossing the pasta and sauce, sprinkle in the rest of the Parmesan and a little more of the cooking water if needed, to give you a silky and shiny sauce. Taste quickly for seasoning. If you've managed to get any zucchini flowers, tear them over the top, then serve and eat immediately, as the sauce can become thick and stodgy if left too long.

Three out of four household members recommend this as is, we also like to add some grilled chicken to it, yum! Devin says that you MUST remove the zucchini from his because it's green and he just won't eat anything green as it's 'seriously unnatural, Mommy!' ;)


The recipe claims to be four servings. We've made this twice now and have enough leftovers for several more meals. Trust me, you'll be glad for them. This dish is amazing!!


Before I go, I just wanted to remind everyone about our Recipe Challenge for May. Scrap a page with my recipe and link to it in this blog post for a chance to win a gift certificate to Jennifer's shop!!


The recipe again:


Ingredients:
Two papers
Three SQUARE framed photos (a simple stroke will count as a frame--it's my go to frame on most pages!)
Two ribbons/ric rac/strings
Four staples (or other metal fasteners)
One bead/sequin/glitter spill
Stitched or doodled border
One alpha
Two flowers (or stars for the flower-phobic)
One button

Optional seasonings:
Journaling
Word strips
Paint spill/brush strokes

Stir together--bake and show me what you've made by the end of the month for that chance to win!!!


Until next time!!


--Leila

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Product Spotlight: Oh So Studious

Hey blog world... it's Kristin. If you haven't seen the Oh So Studious kit by Jennifer Fox and Meghan Mullens, you must click the link and look. Like now. It's perfect for those end-of-the-school-year photos, but it's also neutral enough that you could pass it off as just a general-everyday kit. It's one of my favorites and I'm so glad that she and Meg decided to re-release it! Take a look at the layouts these lovelies have done using Oh So Studious.


by Leila


by Priscilla


by Erin (eranslow)


by Jackie (tettletop)


by MamaBee

And while you're checking out Oh So Studious, check out the other two kits in the Oh So Series- Oh So Silly and Oh So Sassy.

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Saturday School - Text on a Path!

Hi everyone!! I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! It's Erin here with today's Saturday School Scrappin' Tutorial! Today I am going to share how to make text on a path. I hope you are excited :)

Alright - off we go!!

Open a new document in your desired size. Create a new layer (Shift+Ctrl+N). Click on the Circle Shape tool in your tools palette. Click and drag on your canvas to draw a circle (hold your shift key so it's a perfect circle).

Hold down the Control key and click on the circle icon in your layers palette. You should see marching ants around your heart shape.

Create a new, empty layer over your custom shape (Shift+Ctrl+N). You may want to turn off the visibility of your custom shape by clicking on the eye to the left of the heart icon in the layers palette. You should still have the marching ants in a circle shape and your new empty layer should be the active layer.

If your paths palette is not already visible, open it; Windows -> Paths.

Click on the small arrow on the upper right side of the paths palette and select "Make Work Path" from the drop down menu. Click okay to accept the default 2.0 from the pop-up dialogue box.

Click on your text tool and with your empty layer active, click on your canvas on the place along your work path where you want to your text to begin. You can now continue to type in your text as it should follow your path.

And here is the finished text path!! It's it awesome?!

I hope this helps ya'll with creating text paths for your pages! Try one with your next layout with Jennifer's goodies and share with us! Have a fabulous Saturday :)

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Lucky You! Friday Freebie with extra CT inspiration!

Welcome back Chickies!

Katharyn here with another Friday Freebie template to keep you scrapping happily and easily throughout your weekend!

I've made a pretty simple looking template, but wait until you see what some of the other Creative Team members did with it! Amazing! It's always a buzz to see how differently layouts turn out when they all began with the same thing. 

Grab it here.

And here's my take on it, using the Oh So Sassy kit, released this week at The Digi Chick.

 

Here's Kristin's, using the Oh So Studious kit.

 

Leila's, also with Oh So Studious.

 

And Trina's, using my own personnal favourite Jennifer Fox Design kit, Lil Dude.

 

Well, I hope this has perked up your scrappy mojo for the weekend. Enjoy!

If you want to return the love, leave us a comment at the end of this post - we'll send good creative vibes your way.  

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The useful, the cheap, and the funky!

Happy Tidbit Thursday everyone! Heather here to give you a little bit of insight to flash drives, thumb drives, or whatever else you may call them.

Since we all live in different parts of the world, we can find them in many different places. Here are a few of my favorite useful flash drives:

The SanDisk Ctuzer. These come in many different sizes and with their slider opening there is no cap to loose!

The Lacie instaKey and imaKey. This is a fabulous flash drive that also comes in many sizes and two other styles. Check out the Lacie website for complete pricing and info. My favorite thing about this one? It's gold plated which makes it scratch resistant and water resistant so there is no need for a cap and you can keep it on your keys!

Another super handy one. Gold plated again so it can get stuck somewhere safe and you don't have to worry about scratching.

For those of you living near a Microcenter they make a flash drive that can be purchased at the counter. They are normally a little bit cheaper than the brand names ones and work just as well. Drawback? It has a cap.

Kensington makes a pretty sweet drive too! It also has a cap, but it's not to expensive!

Now for some funky ones!!!

I'm no nascar fan, but this flash drive makes me giggle. It's just so silly!!

umm, yes please! how could you not want to sport a lego flash drive?

a biodegradable flash drive.

kissing octopuses flash drives!

I'm no Canon user, but I would even sport one of these!

So there you have it! Leave us some comments with your favorite flash drives so we can all find some new favorites!

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