Project: Overhaul {Guest Bedroom/Art Studio}

When we moved in to our house in September of 2009, I had the best intentions of keeping this room organized and usable as an Office/Art Studio, designing ideas for an office with the desk in the closet. I was inspired! And then life happened.

This room didn't get used, except for when my step-daughter Megan used it as her bedroom, or when guests stayed over. The Queen sized inflatable mattress served it's purpose for a time, but for over a year, I've been scheming and dreaming of creating an actual Guest Bedroom that serves as an Art Studio with a workspace that's accessible.

At first, this was a great idea. But we got a new computer, and set up a desk in the living room.

After the wedding, I used this room as storage, and just to get things out of sight.

I hung all of my reptile paintings from college in this room, with no rhyme or reason.

The only thing that was used on a regular basis was the bookshelf and filing cabinet.

- A F T E R -

We purchased a new bed for the Master Bedroom (it was over 10 years old!) So our bed got moved to the guest room.


I moved the makeshift desk from the closet to the room, to make it accessible to use. (I purchased a piece of wood at Lowe's, sanded and coated 3-4 coats of polyurethane for the desk top, and used shelves I already had for the base.) I moved the filing cabinet into the corner.

Using frames and postcards I already had - I hung some new art. My mom gave me the clock, and I up-cycled it from antiqued silver to Turquoise to go with some of the decor I had in the room.

A lot of the decor I had for our wedding, the birds and owls and cages decorate the top of the filing cabinet (which I painted over a year ago) I gathered up some art tools and put them all in one location here on the desk.

Frames and postcards, again, and the wood carved crown in the middle was in the room before (look above the filing cabinet in Before Pictures) but I painted.

More spray paint work (see next blog post for "How to Spray Paint the EASY Way") - Mirrors all rescued from my mom's collection of Yard sale junk.

Side by side, here are the before + after photos:
(Click to Enlarge)

Ham and Swiss Croissants (so easy)

I was looking through a photography blog and came across some photos of a baker at work, and was inspired to try this for dinner - so simple, and so yummy.


Ingredients:
- Ham Lunchmeat
- Swiss Cheese Block
- Croissant Ready-to-Bake Dough

Heat oven to 350.

Directions:
1. Slice the cheese as thin as you can, it doesn't have to be perfect or uniform.


2. Cut the ham into smaller strips - triangular, if possible.


3. Roll out the Croissant Dough Triangles, and arrange the meat and cheese over it.


4. Roll up each croissant and place on an ungreased baking sheet.


5. Sprinkle a pinch of salt all over the rolled up croissants.



6. Bake for 12 minutes uncovered, and cover with foil. Bake for additional 5-8 minutes (a little longer than the package suggests).




Enjoy!

Quick and Dirty Cinnamon Bun Minis

(Aside: I use the term "quick and dirty" in the classroom a lot. I'm usually referring to doing something in a hurry, and not neccesarily the correct or acceptable way. I do a lot of things quick and dirty.)

Sometimes you just really need a gooey sweet treat. I wanted some monkey bread, but didn't have all the supplies to make it, so I modified it. There are a few things I would do a little differently... Maybe a different baking dish/pan. Anyway, Here's what I did.





Ingredients:
- 1 can of poppable biscuits
- 1/3 cup of brown sugar
- 1/4 cup of white sugar
- 1/2 stick of butter
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- Pam

Directions:
Heat oven to 350, as directed by can of biscuits. Spray pam (I like butter flavor) all over the lining of the pan, dust with a little bit of white sugar. Mix the white sugar and cinnamon in a plastic zip bag.

Open can of biscuits and using your hand, press out long and flat, into as much of a rectangle as you can get.
Once you mush the biscuits flat, put them in the zip bag and cover with cinnamon sugar mix.
(This is Jason's work of art. He added coconut and an chocolate almond to his. He doesn't like to follow instructions.)

Take it out, roll it up and cut it into 1/2 with a sharp knife, and place in the pan.
My suggestion - leave a bit of distance between them. The 2 on the left were cut in 1/2, and the rest were cut into thirds. Repeat until your pan is full, or you run out of biscuits. Let them rise a little while - 10 min will do.


In a saucepan over low to medium heat, melt butter and brown sugar until it starts to bubble.
Pour hot mixture all over biscuits, which we will now call cinnamon buns.They already look yummy, but wait till you bake and taste! Bake about 13-15 min.

-Something to think about: I might try dunking the minis in the butter/brn sugar mixture, so the tops all get evenly coated, OR brush it on. either way, you can't mess up the yumminess!

I'm basically making a bomb in my kitchen, it's just made of meat.

I'll admit: I was more than reluctant. I was afraid.

I'm not afraid of much when it comes to the kitchen, but there are a few things I've never done out of fear. Using a pressure cooker was one of those things.

My friend Brooke and I were going through dinner options when I said "I have a roast, but it's frozen." The conversation stopped for a moment. A 3 lb. roast is nothing to scoff at. I took it out of the freezer and we just looked at it, hoping somewhere on it there was an easy button.

How long was it going to take? Let's calculate.... if we defrost in the microwave we can shave off some time... We'll still be here til 11pm before we even get to taste it... and it could be dry...

And then it hit me. "I have a pressure cooker..."



I knew EXACTLY where my pressure cooker was, but I'd never used it. So, as with all things I've never done before, I turned to the internet. It offered little insight into the particular 1953 model that I was wielding. On the handle was printed pressure, and different dishes with their respective cook times. No other information.

So I just went for it. I was excited as much as I was nervous about using it. The roast was already defrosting. I started chopping the onions, carrots and potatoes, thinking: at least we'll have SOMETHING to eat if this goes badly. I'm basically making a bomb in my kitchen, it's just made of meat.

Approximately one hour later, we were successfully eating one of the best beef pot roasts I've ever had (or made).



One Hour Pot Roast

- 3-4 lb Beef Roast at Room temperature
- 2-3 medium potatoes, chopped into large chunks
- 1 medium onion, chopped into large chunks
- 1-2 handfuls of mini carrots, chopped as you like
- 1/2 jar of marinara sauce, or any tomato sauce
- 1 can or dry packet mushroom gravy
- 1 packet McCormick Pot Roast in a bag (ditch the bag)
- 3 cloves of garlic
- Fistful of Flour
- Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Heat a deep skillet with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat.
Salt, Pepper, and lightly flour the roast on all sides.
Sear the roast all over til it's crispy and brown.
Place the Roast in the Pressure Cooker, fat side up.
Sprinkle about 1/2 of the Pot Roast Seasoning over the meat, followed by a cup of water, and 1/2 jar of marinara sauce. Crush or chop half the garlic, and add to the liquid.
Secure the lid tightly, and depending on your pressure cooker, set it to 10lbs of pressure. Put it on medium heat on the stove, and set your kitchen timer to 50 minutes.

In the same skillet, add 2 cups of water, the remaining pot roast seasoning and 1/2 the mushroom gravy over medium heat, until it bubbles.
Add Chopped potatoes first, then carrots, then onion, then crushed or chopped garlic with 4-5 min between each.
Allow it to boil, and turn the heat to medium low and cover.



All of this can sit unattended for a little while, stir the skillet once in a while.
Your pressure cooker is going to make some noise, don't be too alarmed, it's releasing some of the steam.

Once the timer has gone off, carefully release the steam valve, but don't open the pot until it stops shooting steam.

Feeds 4-5

Florida Style Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb. ground beef
- 1/2 lb. ground pork
- 1 can french cut green beans
- 1 small can carrots
- 1 small can corn
- 1 small can sweet peas
- 2 cans Campbell's golden mushroom soup
- Instant mashed potatoes (8 servings, prepared)
- 1/4 cup Bisquick
- Garlic powder, Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Kitchen:
- Large Skillet
- Large Saucepan
- Large Casserole

Directions:
Heat oven to 400.

In saucepan over medium heat, empty cans of soup and 2 cans of water, add all of the veggies, garlic, salt and pepper. Let simmer.

Over medium high heat, brown the ground beef and pork in the skillet. Drain well.

Once the veggies and soup have been boiling for at least 6 minutes, add the Bisquick, one tablespoon at a time. It will start to thicken. Add the meat mixture and transfer to the casserole dish. Top the mixture with mashed potatoes, making sure to spread out all across the top, sealing off the dish. Sprinkle cheese evenly over the potatoes.

Bake for 20 min.

Peach Cobbler

Ingredients:
- 1 stick butter
- 1 c. flour
- 1 c. sugar
- 1 3/4 tsp. baking powder
- 3/4 c. milk
- 1 lg. can sliced peaches, drained

Kitchen:
- Glass casserole
- Large mixing bowl

Directions:
Heat oven to 350.

Melt butter in glass loaf pan in the oven. Mix together in mixing bowl flour, sugar, baking powder, and milk. When smooth, add drained peaches. Pour on top of melted butter in loaf pan.

Bake for 40-50 minutes. Top should be golden brown when finished.

Grilled BBQ Boneless Ribs

The key to these ribs is the rub/sauce combo. Rub goes on first, Sauce goes on 4-5 minutes before removing from the grill.

Kerri's Meat Train Rub
Get an empty shaker and keep what's left for next time!
Ingredients:
5 tablespoons of
- Paprika
- Brown Sugar
- Red pepper flakes
- Black peppercorns

3 tablespoons of
- Salt
- Cayenne Pepper
- Italian seasoning
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder

Kitchen:
Food processor
Large kitchen knife

Directions:
Using the side of the large kitchen knife, blade facing away from you, press down to crack peppercorns coarsely.
All ingredients go in, process until completely combined.
Pour into shaker.


Ribs
Ingredients:
- 1 lb boneless country style pork ribs
- Kerri's Meat train rub
- BBQ sauce, Your favorite mopping sauce

Kitchen:
- 1 Large plate
- Grill tongs
- Grill mop or brush
- Leave the kitchen, go directly to the grill.

Directions:
Sprinkle the rub generously over all sides of ribs, and rub in. Allow to sit for at least 20 min.

Light the charcoal and let burn down to embers.

Put the ribs on the middle of the grill. Put the lid on and let it cook for 4 minutes. Turn each rib 1/4 turn. Lid and cook another 4 minutes. Repeat. Once all sides are browned, mop sauce all over the ribs and return to the heat for 2 minutes. Turn 1/2 turn for another 2 minutes.

Mop a little more as you return the ribs to the plate, and serve!