This & That Junk Drawer Wednesday!!

Here is my front yard today after the snowfall last Thursday....We got a lot of snow!!!!

and here is an example of why you should LISTEN to your mother no matter how old you are!

My 50 year old son had to go out last Thursday in that snow storm, even though I told him he was stupid to do it....He got caught in a rut and it threw him...He took out a mail box, telecommunications box and slammed into a telephone pole...The guy that came and looked at it said he was lucky he wasn't hurt...It is totaled!!!!

MAKE A MAIL SORTER OUT WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE!!

You can make it yourself today out of things you already have around your house! use your junk mail, magazines, or newspaper!
What you'll need: Cereal boxes, & an assortment of small boxes, a marker, a ruler, a utility knife or scissors, masking tape, junk mail, magazines or newspapers, flour, and water. Told you you already have what you need!
Measure, mark, and cut your boxes to the shape and sizes you need. Cut the cereal & smaller boxes at a slant (refer to picture below) This is such a great project because you can do it with your exact needs in mind! How big should it be? How many separate places for papers do you need?
Next, use masking tape to arrange the boxes into your desired mail sorter. (Do not substitute a different tape because otherwise the paper mache will not stick.) Also attached some smaller boxes to the side.

Paper mache time! You can get special paste for paper mache, but just mix flour and water. The ratio is about 1 part flour to 4 parts water. Tear your newspaper into strips (avoiding the shiny sale fliers) and dip them into your bowl. Then run the strip between your fingers, removing all the excess. (You only need it to be wet- not globby.)Let it dry overnight...
Then paint or decorate as desired! Use some leftover wall paint,or some acrylic craft paint, or even spray paint! I love the little apple barrel paints you can get at Wal-Mart.

Paper mache is totally underestimated as a medium. The possibilities are endless! Be creative...

Potato, Spinach and Red Bell Pepper Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette:
Serves 4

Not to worry: There's just enough bacon in the snappy dressing to add flavor but not much fat to this colorful salad.

Ingredients:
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 red bell pepper
1 bacon slice, chopped
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil (preferably extra-virgin)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup thinly sliced celery
2 cups (packed) baby spinach leaves (about 2 1/2 ounces)
Preparation:
Steam potatoes just until tender, about 7 minutes. Transfer potatoes to large bowl. Char bell pepper over flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Enclose in paper bag; let stand 10 minutes. Peel, seed and chop pepper. Transfer to bowl with potatoes.
Sauté bacon in small skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel and drain. Whisk vinegar, oil and garlic in small saucepan. Stir over low heat just until warm, about 1 minute. Stir in bacon. Add warm vinaigrette to potato mixture. Mix in celery and spinach. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.
Per serving: calories, 164; total fat, 8 g; saturated fat, 1 g; cholesterol, 1 mg.

This & That Kitchen Junk Drawer Wednesday!

PAPER MACHE:
The things you can make with paper mache are only limited by your imagination. As paper mache dries, it hardens over the mold you have made. You can make doll heads, Christmas ornaments,snowmen, pinatas, dolls, dollhouses, boxes, sculptures or bowls. The final dried product can be painted, decoupaged or decorated however you please.
Make a form from wire, wadded newspaper, stuffed paper bags, or balloons. For a flat piece, such as a dollhouse or box, you can use a piece of cardboard. Tear newspaper into strips. Narrower strips work best for a rounded mold and larger strips are good for flat or rectangular shapes. Choose one of the following recipes to make the paste. Dip strips into paste, coating completely, squeezing out excess paste with your fingers. Use the strips to cover your pre-made form. If you overlap the strips, your finished product will look smoother. Allow each layer to dry before adding another layer. Cover your form with 4 layers.


PAPER MACHE PASTE:
Rather than make my own paste for paper mache, I use liquid starch that is relatively inexpensive. I bought a large jug at the supermarket that I have been using for years. It gives the same result as the cooked method. It dries smooth and clear - fantastic for use with gift wrap scraps. I use it with brown grocery bags when I want to create pottery or leather looking crafts...add a little cinnamon to the mix - it makes it smell good...

Here is another if you want to do the cooked method.
Try this easy paper mache paste recipe:
Take 1 heaped soup ladle of powdered cornstarch
Place in a heat proof bowl
Add enough COLD water to form a paste and to dissolve powder to consistency of thick cream.
Pour in one kettleful (1.7 litres) of RAPIDLY BOILING (MUST be bubbling away...) and stir like crazy...!
It is very very HOT like porridge and it can form lumps so I usually give it a whisk or beating with my electric mixer to smooth it.
Paste should change from opaque white to translucent once the boiling water is added.
It will keep a few days and can be microwaved to be heated so it's less "jelly-like". Kids love to use it while it's warm, but it works equally well cold
A couple tablespoons of salt can be added to prolong shelf life...

Do you have dryer lint and want to use it?

Dryer Lint Papier Mache Paste:
Ingredients:
3 cups lint from your dryer
2 cups water
2/3 cup wheat flour
3 drops oil of wintergreen
newspaper

Method:
Put lint and water in a large saucepan. Get all of the lint wet. Add flour and stir constantly so lumps won't form. Add oil of wintergreen. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly,until mixture holds together and forms peaks. Pour out onto several thicknesses of newspaper to cool. Adding Elmer's glue to a any recipe will give it more strength!

HOMEMADE EGG SUBSTITUTE:

6 egg whites
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 Tablespoon corn oil
6 drops yellow food coloring

In a medium bowl combine egg whites, dry milk powder and oil. stir with a fork or wire whisk till thoroughly combined, then add food coloring and mix it in well. You will get 4-1/4 cup servings...store in fridge for 1 week or freeze in 1/4 cup servings........Weight Watchers Points is 1 for two 1/4 cup servings!

ZUCCHINI OMELET:

8" zucchini grated
1 Tablespoon chopped onion
Spray a non stick skillet with cooking spray. Over medium high heat,saute the zucchini & onion till tender. Lower heat to medium and pour 1/2 cup of egg substitute over and cook till set...Serve with 2 Tablespoons salsa...Now this really good..
Weight Watchers Points is 1

For lunch today I had 1 La Tortilla Factory tortilla(green onion one),1 ounce of boiled chicken breast chopped and 1/4 cup of my Jicama Slaw (see Mondays post for recipe)...I warmed the tortilla for 20 seconds, put some hot mustard (wal-mart) on it, then the chopped chicken and the jicama slaw, salt substitute and pepper...It was so good and filling, and all of that for 2 weight watchers points...The tortilla has 50 calories, but it has 6 grams of fiber which makes 1 of them = 0 weight watchers points...

My final this & that...

SWAN CANDLE COMPANY

Click here 12 oz Kitchen Pantry Jar to go to their site:
If you want the best smelling candle you have ever used then get a Gingerbread Candle from The Swan Candle company...a few years ago, Becky from "Tennessee Ridge Primitives" sent me one and I have been buying them ever since...Tried the other scents, but none of them compared with the gingerbread....I got a candle warmer at Wal-Mart for about $6, and I put that candle on it (I never burn it)and you can smell it even in my basement...and best of all it lasts and lasts...You won't be sorry and they send you another small candle for free....