Simmer Pot Jars

Merry Christmas Eve!  

I come to you with a last minute gift idea.  Not an original one at all, but one that I'd never thought of until I saw it gifted to a friend!  

Simmer pot ingredients!!!!  The perfect neighbor or hostess gift!!!  

These can be put together quickly and are relatively inexpensive.  And I can't believe I'd never thought of making these before now!

SIMMER POT JARS

Ingredients:  bag of oranges, cinnamon sticks, fresh rosemary, whole cloves, cranberries             

Other:  ribbon, jar (mine are from Dollar Tree), instruction tag (I used this one.)

Directions:  Fill bottom of jar with cranberries.  Take one orange and push cloves into it forming rings around the orange.  Place orange in the jar.  Add rosemary sprigs and cinnamon sticks on the side.  Sprinkle a few more whole cloves in, along with a few more cranberries.  Put the lid on and tie a ribbon around the edge.  Add the instruction tag on top. 

 

 

Then sneak over to your neighbor's porch and drop one off!  They'll have it for Christmas Day simmering!  Quick, simple, and cute!  Also, fun to put together!  

And hopefully you'll have leftover ingredients to simmer yourself!

Cranberry Pork Loin (crock pot style)

Missouri seasons are fickle.  If you don't like the weather, just wait a day or two.  We go from beautiful summer skies to days of rain.  Temps in the 90's to 75 degrees.  Swimsuits to cardigans.

Right now, we are in the middle of quite a few days of rain.  Cardigan weather.  Because 75 degrees is chilly!

And all of that has me dragging out the crock pot.

I love a good crock pot recipe, and boy did I find one!  (Thank you Pinterest!)  This recipe combines some unexpected ingredients that I never would have paired together........

Pork loin doused in cranberries?  YES!  ALL THE YESES!  I've made it twice in the last few weeks.  And you should too.......

Cranberry Pork Loin

(original source:  Julie's Eats and Treats)

3 lb pork loin

14 oz can of jellied cranberry sauce

1/2 cup of cranberry juice

1/2 cup of sugar

1 teas. mustard

1/2 teas. ground cloves

2 tbsp. cornstarch

2 tbsp. water

In a medium bowl, combine the jellied cranberry sauce, cranberry juice, sugar, mustard, and cloves.  Put the pork loin in a large crock pot, and pour the cranberry mixture over the loin.  Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.  

Remove loin from crock pot.  It should shred easily, if it's done.  Set aside.....

Pour all the liquid from the crock pot in a saucepan.  Bring liquid to a boil over medium heat.  While you are waiting for it to boil, combine the water and cornstarch in a separate bowl.  Add to the liquid once it's boiling.  Stir until the liquid thickens.  It will serve as the gravy!

Whip up some mashed potatoes as a side, and cover everything with the gravy......

Unexpected taste explosion.  The leftovers are great too.

So, if you are also experiencing fall-in-the-summer, drag out the crock pot for this easy, tasty dinner!  Then come back and tell me how much you loved it!

Linking up with:  

Butterfinger Brownies

I am all about quick and easy desserts!  I mean, I love baking cookies or muffins, but sometimes that just seems like too much work.  On occasion, I want little effort and minimal clean up.  Like on a school night.

I sound so lame.

On a school night.

But seriously.

Anyway.

Pinterest to the rescue again!  Who knew chopping up a Butterfinger candy bar and adding it to a brownie mix could result in a perfect quick go-to dessert?

So brilliant!  So simple!  

Butterfinger Brownies
(original source)

1 box of brownie mix (16 to 22 oz.)*
2 Butterfinger candy bars (2.1 oz.)

*You will also need the ingredients the brownie mix calls for.

Follow directions on brownie packaging for preheating the oven, greasing the pan, and mixing the brownie batter.  Chop the Butterfinger bars and stir into batter.  Pour batter into pan, and bake as directed on packaging!  Cool completely before cutting!

*    *    *    *

Quick to make.  Easy to clean up.  So tasty.  I bet other candy bars would work too! 

Snickers will be my next experiment......

Linking up with:   The Chicken Chick, Inspire Me Please and....

What I Wore (Pinterest Inspired)

What's that rule about when to wear white?

WHO CARES!?!?

Once I saw this pin, all those rules flew out the window........

pin  //  source

Annnnd I already had everything I needed to recreate it.  No shopping necessary.  I love when Pinterest helps me shop my own closet.........

chambray shirt  //  white skinny jeans  // similar flats

Since I don't have a yellow necklace, I opted for a vintage turquoise piece.  I love turquoise and chambray together.  And vintage is always good.

Anyway.

About the whole white before Memorial Day business......I say rules schmules.

The only thing daring about wearing white right now is that I wore it to work.  In an elementary school.

And that usually ends badly.

 

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy, Two Thirty-Five Designs and

Instagram Roundup

Recently: 

The mister did a great job surprising me on Valentine's Day.....

Some of my favorites:  SanPellegrino, the new spring Escada scent and flowers.  

*   *   *   *

Speaking of the mister, we've been together ten whole years!  This was our very first photo ever.......

This deserved to be revived for #tbt.  I mean, he used to wear earrings. 

*   *   *   *

The car got a good washing on a warm day!  The mister cleaned all the winter grime off as the pups basked in the sun and watched.....

(While I probably should have been cleaning the grime off the front door.  WHOA!)

*   *   *   *

But I was too busy baking.........

I made my favorite red velvet cookies for work.  Work ate them all.

Which is good, because I still have a sleeve of thin mints laying around here.

*   *   *   *

Finally, some thrifting went down.......

This all went to the booth.  Even though I wanted to keep every last item.

I may be making small strides in my "no hoarding" resolution.

Baby steps.

Although parting with that end table was more like one giant leap for mankind.

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Follow me on Instagram @thisvintagegrove!!

Linking up with......High Five for Friday, Friday Favorites, and Insta-Friday.

Life (via Instagram)

This winter.

Normally I have to beg winter for a snow day or two.

We're up to eleven.

I have never taught in June.  I will be teaching in June.

Despite that sad fact, I still love my snow days.  I got to make the mister a real breakfast......

There were snuggles with Gizmo the mouth-breather........

I braved the elements for a lunch out with the sis.......

And before the weather rolled in this week, I ran to the grocery for some new-to-me ingredients (chorizo).  Because no Super Bowl gathering is complete without some sort of cheese dip.

Except our gathering had to be.........

It so did not look like the picture.

Pinterest fail.

I don't even want to talk about it.

*   *   *   *

Follow me on Instagram @thisvintagegrove!!

Linking up with......High Five for Friday, Friday Favorites, and Insta-Friday.

What I Wore (Pinterest Inspired)

While thrifting over Christmas break, I came across a Burberry-esque scarf!  I've always wanted one, but the price tag of a legit Burberry?!  Not in the cards.

Anyway, I immediately went to Pinterest to look for ways to style it.  This pin caught my eye.......

Pinterest link

I would not have thought to pair it with gray!  I wouldn't have to shop for anything.  All the elements of this pin were in my closet......

riding boots  ///  Gap elbow patch sweater

But wait!  It gets better.

The elbow patches of the sweater match the scarf perfectly.........

I had wanted an elbow patch sweater forever.  I found this one online (on sale) awhile back.  Now I wish I'd purchased every single color.

But there's that New Year's Resolution to simplify.  Not be a hoarder.  Save money.

Blah, blah, blah.... 

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy, 
 Rolled up Pretty, Two Thirty-Five Designs and

Weekly Recap (in Instagram)

The first week of summer was a good one.

I have to go back to work next week for curriculum training, so I thought I'd really do this week up!  (Even though the training is just for a day and a half.)

I even started checking things off my to-do list. 

First up, succulent planting......

Once I found the right piece of vintage pottery and the correct soil, I went for it.

Please live little plants.

Please.

*   *   *   *

I went to a concert down in Arkansas.......

My college roommate had free tickets. 

Elton John puts on quite a show.  Amazing performer.  Should I admit this was my second time seeing him?

You haven't lived til you've heard B-B-B-Bennie and the Jets live.

*   *   *   * 

Lunch dates are my favorite.  (We checked one tea room off our list.)

Dessert trips afterward are a close second.......

Peanut butter ice cream from Elle's.  With Nancy and Schlag.  Good times.

*   *   *   *

Last night I tried out two more Pinterest recipes.......

Baked Dijon Salmon and Mexican Street Corn...........both keepers.

Since I worked so hard on this dinner, shouldn't I get the weekend off from cooking?

I think yes.

*   *   *   *

I sort of bought a vintage postcard rack at Relics......

I really try not to shop when I'm in there checking my booth.  

But when something goes from "not for sale ~ display only" to "$17.95" you buy it immediately.

Even when you have no plans for it.

But think of all the possibilities!  Cards at Christmas?  A photo holder?

What would you do with it?

*   *   *   *

Follow me on Instagram @thisvintagegrove!!

Linking up with......High Five for Friday and Insta-Friday. 

What I Wore (Pinspiration)

A few weeks ago, I purchased a dress from Old Navy....

I loved it, but I really wasn't sure how to style it.  I'm too tall for it to work as a dress.  So I knew I'd need tights. 

My mustard tights just didn't look right.  White tights felt wrong.

But then I found a pin that completely fixed my problem....

source

And it wouldn't require a trip to the mall!  I had everything I needed to recreate this look!

I just couldn't decide where the belt should go..........over or under?

And how about that cardigan!?!  Not only is it mint, it's short-sleeved. 

Do you know what that means?  It's getting warm around here!!!

Two words:  spring fever.

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy, Transatlantic Blonde,  

Two Thirty-Five Designs, Rolled up Pretty, My Style Monday and

What I Wore (on class picture day)

I know I wore a mustard and gray outfit recently.

I really love the color combo.

So I wanted to wear it again......on class picture day.

This time, however, I switched it up by wearing mustard on bottom and gray on top.........

This was my attempt at recreating a pin I loved.

Mustard, gray, white, and brown.  It's a good thing.

But let's talk about my hair..........

Last Friday, I did something I'd been dying to do forever.

Pun intended.

I made an appointment with my hairdresser.  For an ombre color.......in red violet. 

And I love it.

The mister does too.

The fourth graders in my life aren't so sure though.

Can't please everyone!

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy, Transatlantic Blonde,  

Two Thirty-Five Designs, Rolled up Pretty, and

Fudge Brownie Cookies

The mister loves brownies.  I love cookies.

So when I saw a recipe on Pinterest for Fudge Brownie Cookies, I figured I couldn't go wrong!

Fudge Brownie Cookies

(original recipe)

1 package of fudge brownie mix (18 to 21 oz.)

1 1/4 cups of flour

1/4 cup of packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup melted and cooled butter

2 Tbsp water (or more as needed)

1 cup of large milk chocolate chips

Stir the brownie mix, flour, and sugar together.  Stir in eggs one at a time using a heavy duty spoon as the dough will be very thick.  Add the butter and water.  If it appears that it needs more water, add one more tablespoon.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Cover and refrigerate dough for two hours.  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a cookie sheet.  Drop heaping tablespoons onto the cookie sheet.  Press down slightly on each cookie with a spatula, barely flattening them.  Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.  Allow cookies to cool for two minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

*   *   *   *

We ended up eating every last cookie.

That's what happens when you make them on a snow day.

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Linking up with:

Mrs. Happy Homemaker, Six Sisters' Stuff, This Gal Cooks, The Chicken Chick, DC in Style,
Addicted to Recipes, A Pinteresting Party, Show and Tell Saturday, Saturday Spotlight

Hot Chocolate Cookies

Getting a KitchenAid for Christmas has turned me into a cookie recipe experimenter.  It takes my most unfavorite part of cookie baking and makes it effortless........ 

It creams the butter to perfection.

No wearing out your stirring arm.  You flip a switch and just stand there.  Or walk away and do something else.

It.  Is.  Amazing. 

So now I want to make cookies all the time.  And one specific recipe on Pinterest caught my eye.

Hot Chocolate Cookies?

Yes, please...........

 Hot Chocolate Cookies

(via Six Sisters' Stuff)

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons hot chocolate mix (just the powder)
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl, cream together shortening, softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, combine baking powder, baking soda, salt, flour and hot chocolate powder.  Add to the butter/sugar mixture and combine.  Fold in chocolate chips.  Chill dough in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes to avoid cookies from flattening.  After your dough has chilled, drop by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for 8 minutes or until set up but the centers are still soft.

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I made these for a Super Bowl shindig last weekend.  

At one point people were shoving them in their pockets.

Kidding.

But they were all gone by halftime.

Linking up with:

Mrs. Happy Homemaker, Countrified Hicks, This Gal Cooks, Saw It Pinned It Did It, Foodie Friday,

The Chicken Chick, Addicted to Recipes, Tutus and Tea Parties, Try a New Recipe Tuesday