Popovers & Egg Salad

Last minute dinner idea for a quick meal needed on a Friday night... Popovers and Egg Salad.

I love popovers and I never think to make them...tonight I was planning on making this Egg Salad recipe but forgot I had no bread in the house (hey, it's Friday). So I decided to whip up a batch of these delightful popovers. These are real quick to make and my family thinks they are yummy (not very often they ALL like the same thing). My kids love them with jelly.

Egg Salad
Recipe is adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients:

• 1 ounce cream cheese, softened
• 2 Tbsp Miracle Whip
• 1/4 cup Mayonnaise (you can use more or less)
• 1 celery rib, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish
• 3/4 teaspoon dill weed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
• 6 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
• 6 popovers (or 3 pita breads) halved
• 6 lettuce leaves

Directions:

• In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, Miracle Whip, and mayonaise. Add the celery, relish, dill weed, salt and mustard. Gently stir in eggs. Line popovers (or pita halves) with lettuce; fill each with 1/2 cup egg salad. Yield: 3-6 servings.

Popovers

Ingredients:

• 6 tsp. unsalted butter, for pan
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 scant teaspoons salt
• 3 large eggs

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• In a medium bowl, stir together flour, milk, and salt. Add eggs, one at a time, and stir to combine (some small lumps may remain); do not overmix. Set Aside.
• Place 1/2 teaspoon of butter in each popover tin. Place in the oven until butter begins to bubble (approximately 1-2 minutes).
• Using a 1/2-cup measure, gently pour batter into the center of each prepared popover cup. Transfer tin to oven and bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees. Reduce heat to 325 degrees and continue baking until puffed and golden, about 20 minutes more. Immediately invert pan to remove popovers, and serve.

These are great for egg salad, chicken salad or any other type of sandwich filling.

St. Patrick's Day {Rainbow Jello Trifle}

Making "rainbow food" seems to be quite popular lately...cakes, cupcakes, candies, and jello are just to name a few. I love the idea of the rainbow jello so I made a Rainbow Trifle for our St. Patrick's Day dessert.

I admit there's a mistake here because I didn't follow the directions closely on the white layers. You will notice mine are a bit 'lumpy', the white layers should be smooth. (It still tastes the same, but next time I'll give myself more time and be more precise). So read ALL the directions before making :) ...

You will need:

• 6 - 6oz boxes of Jell-O 
• Cherry
• Orange
• Lemon
• Lime
• Blue Raspberry
• Grape 
• (Use any flavors you like as long as the colors are Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Violet)
• 2 boxes of Unflavored Gelatin (such as Knox)
• 1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk (I used 2 cans)
• 1 large Trifle Bowl or dessert bowl

Step 1:

• Mix 3 envelopes (there's 4 envelopes in each box) of unflavored Knox Gelatin with 1 1/2 cups of boiling water
• Mix until gelatin dissolves
• Add 1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
• Mix until combined well
• Set Aside

Step 2:

• Make your Grape Jell-O Using the quick method on the back of the Jell-O box (You can use which ever flavor you want. I wanted Violet to be my first layer.)
• Pour the Grape Jell-O into your Trifle bowl
• Place in the refrigerator and let set for 20-25 minutes

If you do not use the quick method, you will need more time to let the Jell-O layers set

Step 3:

• Pour 1/3 cup of the Sweetened Condensed Milk mixture on top of the set Jell-O (you may want to use more depending on how thick you want the layer)
• Place in the refrigerator and let set for 10-15 minutes

NOTE: The condensed milk mixture that you have made and set aside will most likely solidify while sitting out. So place the mixture in the microwave for 20-30 seconds to liquefy again (this is where I made my mistake in the first few layers..it was all clumpy - still tastes good..but would look much nicer if I did it correctly)

Repeat Steps 2 and 3 alternating Jell-0 and Sweetened Condensed Milk mixture. If you run out of the sweetened condensed milk mixture (like I did), just make a second batch using Step 1.

Once you've finished all layers, top the Trifle with dollops of Whipped Topping and Garnish with Chocolate Candy Coins (If you want).

Happy St. Patrick's Day !!

Fabric Shamrocks {Tutorial}

Last month, for Valentine's Day, I made Fabric Hearts using this tutorial over at How About Orange. And while making them I thought to myself that it be fun to try making Fabric Shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day and Fabric Easter Eggs for Easter.

Here are the shamrocks I made for St. Patrick's Day. There are so many things you can do with them .. make a garland (or bunting), gift topper, use them to make a wreath, or just hang them around the house.

Here is a small garland I made for the door in my sun room (too bad it's never sunny)...

St. Patrick's Day Wreath ...

Look ..It IS spring! ... little tiny birds nest .. I've been watching mama make it...

This is our "party, holiday, celebration room" ... aka Dining Room .. I place a few on my hutch

Using the tutorial from How About Orange's Fabric Heart Garland, I came with some steps (or if you will, a tutorial) on how to make Fabric Shamrocks.

Step 1: Cut and Stiffen your fabric:

Cut a 14x14 inch piece of fabric (you can cut larger or smaller pieces - what ever works best for you). And then you will stiffen the fabric piece(s) with a fabric stiffener, such has Stiffen Quick, to stiffen the fabric piece(s). I used the microwave method (per directions on back of the bottle) since it's quick and easy:

• Place something on your table or counter to protect from the fabric stiffener spray. I just cut some plastic grocery bags and laid them down on my work space.
• Spray your fabric (according to the directions on your fabric stiffener).
• Microwave or let air dry. For Stiffen Quick and my microwave it took 30-45 seconds to dry and stiffen the fabric. Note: I placed some paper towels in my microwave to protect it from getting all sticky from the fabric stiffener.

Once the fabric has completely dried, press your fabric pieces so that they are flat and are rid of any wrinkles. I used a dry iron. But the steam iron worked ok too (I did not effect the fabric, the iron or ironing board cover) - I actually preferred the steam ironing results.

Step 2: Make a set of four paper shamrock templates (or use my templates):

You will need to make four paper shamrocks that get progressively larger than the previous one.
I found a shamrock printable pattern over at Family Fun that I used to make my shamrock templates. I printed the pattern, cut out the smallest shamrock, scanned it, and then sized it according to my liking. Starting with the first shamrock, I made 3 more shamrocks by increasing the size of each one so that each one was a bit larger than it's orginal (I made each one about 10% larger than the previous one). You can do this yourself with whatever shamrock photo, clipart you have. Or If you'd like to use my Shamrock Template, feel free to do so.

Step 3: Trace and cut out your shamrocks from your stiffened fabric:

• Print and cut out your paper shamrock templates (if you haven't done so already)
• Trace the paper shamrock templates onto the back of your stiffened fabric ...

• Cut out the 4 shamrocks that you traced on the fabric ...

Step 4: Sew your shamrocks:

• Lay the shamrocks on top of each other, starting with the largest shamrock. Centering each shamrock (center and line up the up the best you can)...

• Pin the fabric shamrock pieces ....

• Starting at the stop of the largest shamrock, sew down the middle of all the shamrocks (stop right before you get the the stem of the smallest shamrock) ...

Step 5: Press your sewn shamrock:

• Fold and crease the sewn shamrocks in half at the sewn line (fold back over front)...

• Press, with an iron (set at the cotton setting), down the sewn crease...

• Open the ironed shamrocks ... and Ta Da ... here's your "3D" Fabric Shamrock!
• Make as many as you want! Decorate how you want! Etc.!

My dining room has temporarily became my crafting/sewing room. My 'real creation' room is in our basement but it has been so dark, dreary, snowy, and rainy that I need to be near as much natural light as possible to keep myself from going insane! :)

You can see some of the crafts I've recently made (Fabric Shamrocks, Fabric Flowers (under Fun Stuff post), Valentine's Day Candy Sundaes)

Spring is almost here so I'll be moving back to my basement studio real soon 

so we can have our dining room back.

400 Fan Celebration {Giveaway}

I'm so excited to have reached 400 Facebook Fans
so I am celebrating by giving away this
"Summer Soiree" Mug Rug & Cozy set...

What is a Mug Rug ....

A mug rug is an oversized coaster for your mug or glass or cup and has room for a snack on the side! I love having my coffee (or tea depending on the day and time) next to me while working at my desk. So I made myself a mug rug and cozy and I truly enjoy having this little set on my desk. It's nice to have a designated area on my desk for my coffee or tea and small snack (for even a small breakfast plate or lunch plate fits nice on here).

The mug rug and cozy are both insulated to protect your desktop and to keep your hot drink warm for a longer period of time.

If you'd like a chance to win this set, follow the instructions below the photos ...

Punkie Pie's Boutique would love for you to win
this adorable "Summer Soiree" Mug Rug & Cozy
by entering this 400 Facebook Fan Celebration:

Contest Details:

Mandatory Entry: You must become a Facebook fan by Liking Punkie Pie's Boutique on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you did. (Please don't like and then unlike after the contest)

Additional Entries:

• Leave a friendly comment
• Link to this giveaway via Facebook (leave a link in comments)
• Tweet about the giveaway and comment with the link to your tweet (you may TWEET DAILY for 1 bonus entry each day)
• Post on your blog/website about the giveaway and comment with the link (for 2 bonus entries)
• Leave a friendly comment (you can just say "Hi")

Giveaway Rules: Giveaway will run until March 24th at 11:59 pm EST. Winner will be chosen by Random.org. US only. Commenter must either leave email address with each comment or make sure email address is attached to your profile. Winner will be contacted via email and will have 48 hours to return contact before another winner is chosen.

Good Luck!!