Glove-Required Jalapeno Poppers

These things gave me quite a run for my money. I've made them before, but I don't ever remember wearing gloves when I cleaned the peppers. Anyways, needless to say, this recipe comes with a BIG BIG warning - ALWAYS WEAR GLOVES WHEN WORKING WITH JALAPENO'S!! If you do not heed this warning the best remedy for a jalapeno burns I have found (and trust me, I tried a ton!) is a thick baking soda paste.

INGREDIENTS:

Whole jalapenos (as many as you would like to make)
1 8oz block of cream cheese (per approx 20 jalapenos)
Bacon (approx 1 slice thick cut bacon per jalapeno)
Toothpicks



DIRECTIONS:

While wearing gloves, cut only the very top off of each jalapeno, then cut lengthwise to make two halves. The idea behind cutting off only the top is that when you clean the inside, this part remains to keep the cheese contained during baking. Otherwise it just runs out and creates a gooey mess.




It is best that you do the next step underwater. Still wearing the gloves, fill a large bowl with cold water and proceed to clean each jalapeno half in the bowl. This prevents fumes and juice from spraying in your face. Make sure you completely remove all seeds and veins (or leave a few if you like a little spiciness.) I've found that metal teaspoon works best for this.


Next you'll start the assembly. Place cream cheese in a bowl and mix slightly to soften. Cut bacon slices in half so you have short pieces, leave a few whole pieces in case you have any jumbo jalapenos. Fill each jalapeno boat with cream cheese, wrap one half slice of bacon around and secure with toothpick.



Place on a cookie sheet and broil just until bacon is cooked.

A guaranteed lovable appetizer for your next party, potluck, or just about anytime.

The Boyfriend Hat

Well I started this blog, and then I really didn't blog very much did I? Hoping to fix that.

We went to Pine Mountain Lake last weekend with Doug, Heather and Cody. I sat in the back on the way up there, and started a hat for Cody. I was given some really great orange yarn (Thank you to my other friend Heather!) and I knew Cody looked great in orange.

I wanted a boyish hat of course, and I knew it had to be knit, because crochet always seems to look girly. So I searched Ravelry, which didn't take much time at all, and discovered The Boyfriend Hat. Slight modification to fit a toddler head and I'm casting on.

So I started it on the way up there, had it halfway done Saturday night, and he was wearing the hat by Sunday morning. Quite possibly one of my most gratifying knits ever.

Floating Bookshelves

I finished my bookshelf project a couple weeks ago. I found a tutorial on instructables.com, and thought it would make great functional wall art in my bare living room.

So I painted the walls Yellow Brick Road from Home Depot, and started collecting books from thrift stores. I wanted most of them to be books I actually liked and read, which wasn't hard; I've read a lot of books. This was sorta an expensive project for me. The metal L brackets weren't cheap, nor were all the screws I had to buy before I figured out which lengths worked best for each thickness of book.

Anyways, after several weeks I finally had 16 books with metal L brackets screwed and glued inside. Ready to go!

I had Dave attach them all to the walls for me.

Best part about this project.... I had already waited the required drying time for the glue when preparing the books, so once they were screwed to the wall, they were good to go! I'm not a patient person, so this is a huge plus for me.

Add small potted plants, a cute bird house made by my Poppa, and a picture or two, and instant bookshelves and wall art!

Welcome...

Well... I've really been enjoying Facebook, but there are things about MySpace I definitely miss... most specifically, blogging. So here it is. My new blog. A chronicle of my crafting, trips and just daily thoughts.

A few things you should know though... I have an obsession with ellipses that just cannot be ignored. I don't even realize I am typing them. My fingers just find the period key... and hits it three times. I also tend to add smileys to things that make me, well, smile. And I like to think I smile a lot.

enjoy!