STUFFED TURKEY BREAST

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  With only four of us for dinner this year, and a portion of those four not too fond of turkey; the kind of turkey you eat for weeks and put in the freezer only to find the plastic bag and its contents all freezer burned and nasty about April of the following year?  I know, you know that kind of turkey!

I tried something new this year and found it pretty tasty so I thought I would share with you.   Now, I apologize for the pictures since they are not in sharp focus, okay they're blurry.   I'll blame it on the tryptophan, no maybe it was the wine, or maybe it was the fact that I took the pictures without my glasses?  Well, anyway, the recipe was yummy!

Start with a turkey breast.  I found a Hormel package already seasoned (not exactly what I was looking for, but it turned out okay).  In the package it had two breasts.  I butterflied the pieces and pounded them flat with a kitchen mallet.

The next thing I did was blend some low fat cream cheese and honey mustard sauce together.  I painted that all over the breast.  Then I layered on the following ingredients:

• fresh spinach leaves
• stuffing (I made a stovetop version)
• dried cranberries

We devoured the first one

Firmly pat down the mixture and be sure to leave about 1/2 inch all around the perimeter so it doesn't squeeze out when you roll it (lengthwise).  You absolutely need a second pair of hands to help; while you hold the breast, they can tie up the breast in several places with twine.  

I baked it at 325 degrees for just about an hour, or until the internal temp was 170 degrees.  It makes for a lovely presentation (Martha would be proud) on a platter of lettuce and pecans and sliced it looks beautiful.  Good enough to eat.

We also had sweet potato casserole, turkey gravy, asparagus, freshly baked bread, applesauce and grilled venison.    Can't wait for leftovers! 

RUSTIC ELEGANCE WEDDING CAKE

I've been so excited to share this with you, but I wanted to wait until we received some of the professional pictures back.  This is the last of the DIY projects from the wedding.  My daughter and I knew we wanted the wedding cake to reflect the autumn in Colorado theme, so she started collecting some pictures on her phone and on Pinterest of the cakes that she liked.  We met with Jeanette from King Soopers with our ideas sharing the pictures of frosting with mountains, trees and clouds sculpted into the frosting.  As we continued talking, Jeanette showed more and more interest, jumping right into the conversation, getting a feel for the vision we had right from the get go!  Did I tell you this was right after the scrumptious taste testing of four of their flavor combinations.  Yuuummmmmyy!!

When I described the idea of the birch tree pillars she started smiling from ear-to-ear and became more and more interested in the cake; she talked about gum paste.  What the heck is gum paste?

Anyway, if you've been following my blog, you know about the birch tree base for the cake to sit on that my husband and I made earlier in the year.  The frosting, greenery and pine cones, would pull the entire theme together and the pillars would be the Pièce de résistance.  Jeanette is a store manager, so she said that she doesn't do the baking/decorating any longer, but she would definitely oversee the process.

After our visit, I promptly went home and started watching some You Tube videos of gum paste cake creations (flowers, leaves, etc.) that you could make.  Hot Damn!  They made it look so easy.  So, I high tailed it up to my local Hobby Lobby and purchased a package of Wilton cake pillars, a tub of gum paste, a little rolling pin, some lollipop sticks (they would make some awesome branches right?) and brown cake dye.

That began my fearless afternoon adventure.  It was fun.  I have a number of Aspen trees (birch family) in my backyard that I could turn to for live inspiration.  Heck, I was good to go!  The first step was to sweet talk my husband into drilling two-three holes into each pillar.

Once that was done, I began whittling the lollipop sticks (you heard me, whittling).  I wanted them to be different circumferences and have layers peeled back to simulate the bark peeling on a tree limb.  I used an exacto knife to get the proper effect. 

As I trimmed it, the stick obviously became more pliable, so I was also able to bend it a bit better.  After the whittling, I hot glued them into the drilled holes.

From there, I rolled out the gum paste.  It has the consistency of cookie dough, but is a bit more pliable.  I then sculpted it around the pillars and sticks, working it like you would clay.   

For the smaller branches, I used some white floral wire.  Then came the brown cake dye, I actually painted it and smudged it to get the look of the dark patches you see on birch trees.

I dropped by King Soopers to show Jeanette the following weekend, and she was impressed.  My daughter and I knew she had to be the one to help us with our cake creation; she knew exactly what we wanted.  Ssssooo, I shamelessly begged her to be our baker and she agreed.  She was actually really excited, being a creative soul herself.  

So, our funny wedding story (everyone has one right?), well, it's funny now...not at the time.  When we arrived the venue was without power and had been for about two hours.  What??!!!!!  So, there was poor Jeanette hand carrying the cake down the pitch black staircase (no elevator, no light) layer by layer and putting the cake together by candlelight.  Bless her heart! 

Fortunately, about 30 minutes before the guests started arriving, the power came back on.  Whew! Thank you Jeanette, for bringing our vision to life.  It was exactly how we hoped it would look......and the cake itself?  Delicious.  Chocolate cake, butter cream frosting (the kind that makes your teeth hurt) and raspberry mousse filling.  So moist and fresh, it was delectable!

The beautiful cake topper is handcrafted by artist, Gina Freehill and has a verse running down the length of the bride's gown which reads: This day I will marry my friend, the one I laugh with, live for, dream with, love.

BULLETIN BOARD STRIPS

I am so excited to have my own office again!  I haven't had a door at work since 2006; since that time I've had the standard workspace cubicle with partial walls and absolutely no privacy.   That made it particularly tough dealing with sensitive issues as I have been.     So, I've been working on making this space my very own little-by-little.

There are several spreadsheets/reports that I reference over and over again that I wanted close at hand, but I've never been a fan of bulletin boards.  I think they end up looking really sloppy in no time and they take up so much wall space.   So I had this idea about a magnet strip or a cork strip to do the trick.  Here I thought I was being totally inventive, but after looking on the internet it turns out someone beat me to the idea.....there are all sorts of bulletin board and magnetic strips out there.   I'll be dipped though if I'm going to pay over $50 (that doesn't include the shipping and handling), for a 48" strip.  Really?

So, here's my very own DIY Bulletin Board strips; a total of 54".......for just under $8.  Ya baby!

So, I took a run over to Lowe's and found myself a 6 ft. faux wood molding strip and a package of 4 squares of cork.  I had my husband cut me two 27" strips of the moulding and I went to town completing the rest of the project.   The whole thing took me less than an hour. I cut the cork into strips with an exacto knife, hot glued them to the moulding and then I decided to add a couple of clothespins at each end, just for fun.  Then, since I had a couple of scraps of cork leftover from the single square that I used.  I cut them into squares and used them as decoration between the two strips.  So there you have it!

 Now I have those items that I reference on a regular basis nearby, but I will still have plenty of room for pictures or shelves or both.

CANDLES

Adding some personal touches to create a one-of-a-kind gift can be really fun.  Start by being frugal and stop in to your local Dollar Tree to pick up some basic glass candle holders.   Then, let your imagination and creativity be your guide as you decorate the holder and add just the right complimentary touches with the "filler", candle and trim to complete the package.   If you've been following my blog you'll know that I have many of these glass candle holders from my daughter's wedding.  So, I plan to capitalize on the supply I have and make some gifts.  I also plan to use a couple as a "thank you" to the florist and baker who did such an awesome job at the wedding!

I'm always watching for sales or using coupons to Hobby Lobby, Michael's or JoAnn Fabrics  to keep the cost reasonable for the candles and other trim work.  At one point I was making my own candles, but I got tired of the clean up.  But.....I may have to pull my supplies back out. 

 I have fun deciding which fillers to use; here are some that I've played around with so far:

• Rice and Beans                
• Sand
• Miniature shells
• Silk Flowers
• Stones
• Split Peas
•  Marbles

In addition to making gifts that compliment someone's home decor, you can have a blast with different themes.  I started playing around with Fall and Christmas candle holders.  I just couldn't muster the energy to dig through my holiday decoration bins for the fake snow to use as a filler, but as soon as I pull it out, I'm going swap out the sand.  Have Fun....I sure did!

MR. AND MRS. SIGNS

This one I kept as a surprise from my daughter.    I wanted a little something special at their "sweetheart table" at the reception.   So I made these signs for them. 

I found these whimsical wooden letters at Hobby Lobby and stained them an oak color.   You'll also need scrapbook paper you like, whatever trim you want to use and two 5x7 acrylic frames with the built in easel stands.

I used  two different papers; gluing the larger one to the acrylic frame using spray adhesive; then I cut a second piece (which had some flocking and sequins on it) slightly smaller.  I trimmed the smaller piece with a satin ribbon trim to form it's own matted frame look.  Then, I glued the letters on with the hot glue gun.  I added adhesive rhinestones to the top of the letters, and a velvet ribbon and some silk flower to the upper left corner.  

I toned down the embellishment on the "Mr" sign slightly.  I propped them at the front of their table, facing the guests. 

GIFT BASKETS

To minimize the suspense any further, here's what became of the chocolate bars.....

As a small gesture of our appreciation, I put together welcome baskets for the "out-of-town" guests and delivered them to their hotels the day before the wedding.  Many of our family came from quite a distance to be here, so I wanted there to be something waiting for them after a day on the road or a long flight.   Along with the chocolate bar, I included a variety of crackers, cookies, nuts, fruit and drinks. 

I bought the plastic tubs at the dollar store since I expected many of the guests wouldn't be able to take the container home with them because they were flying.  This way it served its purpose, but it wasn't costly for me and they wouldn't feel bad leaving it behind.

A plastic bag, tulle bow and a thank you card attached at the top gave it the final touch it needed. 

BRIDAL GOWN

One of my passions is designing and sewing bridal gowns, and I have been looking forward to making my daughter's wedding gown since the day she was born!     The adventure began many months ago when she became engaged.  A trip to David's Bridal to try on several styles was the first step.  Then, she chose some of the design elements from those styles she liked and allowed me plenty of creative license along the way, and away I went. 

People have asked how long it took and frankly, I really don't know.  I would work on the dress an hour here and an hour there, but never took the time to add it all up.  I will tell you it was the most ambitious of all the gowns that I have made.  There was no pattern, the dress was draped using my dress form (although she has had many names, I seem to have landed on Beulah).   She did the trick for the majority of the project, although my daughter is very petite and smaller than Beulah in the torso.  The dress was completed months before the wedding and I tucked it away so that it would be fresh and exciting as we got closer to the actual date.  We bought the fabric, trim and appliques at this fabulous fabric store that I love in Houston.  My sister-in-law and niece told me about the store when I was making my niece's wedding gown six years ago and I just had to go back.  I have never seen so many beautiful fabrics in one place in my entire life.  I can spend hours there ..... and have!

 

These beautiful bridal photos were taken in Georgetown, Colorado by my talented niece Kelly over the Labor Day weekend.  She and my daughter, Katie shot a wedding together in Beaver Creek.  These are just a few of the stunning photographs I have to choose from...and can you imagine, these are just the bridals, I still have the wedding photos to look forward to!   My house may look like an art museum between these and the wedding photos.  

 For more of my designs, you can go to my website at sheamariedesigns.com