DIY Favorite Hairties

Get ready for one of the easiest DIY projects ever. You know those pretty elastic hairties that come in all kinds of colors and patterns? You can make them yourself!

Anthropologie, $12 for set of 5

It's as easy as ordering some elastic, cutting strips of about 8 inches, tying the ends in a knot, and burning the ends for just a second with a match to keep them from fraying. 

You can find all kinds of cute hairties through Etsy, but you can make your sets completely customizable by just doing it yourself. I also made myself some headbands, which I wear all the time. They would make nice little stocking stuffers for the holidays.

For the life of me, I can't figure out where I ordered my elastic, but here are a couple places to order: 

Abbiesboutique.com (good prices, 80 colors in basic elastic)

Sunshineshoppesupply.com (huge variety of colors, patterns, and textures sold by the yard)

I think I'm going to order some in velvet, chevron, glitter, and houndstooth. Pictures to come!

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3-Step Handmade Vanilla Extract

I haven't heard any Christmas music yet, but the holiday spirit is definitely upon me. I'm really excited about the gifts I'm making this year, but I don't want to give anything away... so I'll share an easy gift from last year: handmade vanilla extract, in 3 easy steps (and one month of prep time)!

Vanilla beans can cost you $10 or more for just a few of them at your regular grocery store. That's why I recommend buying your vanilla beans in bulk from Amazon. About 50 came in my bag, which ends up to be about $0.70 a bean. You will have enough beans to make two vodka bottles full of extract, but unless you have a lot of people to give to, I suggest just making one bottle and using the rest of the beans for vanilla-infused sugar, creme brulee, homemade ice cream, hot chocolate, and other goodies.

Now, store the vodka + beans in a cool, dark place (like a pantry) for at least 1 month. The longer the beans sit the in the vodka, the stronger the vanilla extract becomes and the darker the liquid will look. Every month, gently turn the bottle upside down a couple times. 

I got these bottles for about $1 each at Michaels. The labels were also from Michaels. They're not the perfect labels because they're a bit too big for the jars, so the edges keep peeling up...make sure to compare your labels to your jars and pick the right size :) Add a piece of vanilla bean to each jar for a special touch. And there you have it--one super easy and practical gift for anyone who likes to bake. 

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Copycat Starbucks lemon loaf

I love the lemon bread from Starbucks, but it gives me a stomachache every time I get it (which I continue to do, despite this pattern). I think it's just too sweet for me. So, I decided to make my own, sans frosting. It's still plenty sweet and is great with a cup of morning coffee or tea.

What you need:
1.5 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs at room temperature (let them sit in a glass of lukewarm water for 10 minutes to get them to room temp)
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons of butter, softened
1 teaspoon of vanilla (a great time for handmade vanilla extract!)
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup oil
zest of 1 lemon

For the glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
juice of 1/4 lemon

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9x5 loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flower, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a medium bowl, mix eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, and lemon juice. Use a standing mixer or a hand mixer.
4. Pour the dry ingredients, a little at a time, into the wet ingredients. Blend until smooth.
5. Mix in the oil and lemon zest.
6. Pour into loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and let sit for 3 minutes, then take out of the pan and let cool on a rack.

For the glaze, simply whisk all the ingredients together and pour on top of the bread when the bread is cool.

Recipe adapted from On Sutton Place; photo (c) me.

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Easy Spicy Sausage Pasta

Before I tell you about this recipe, I should note that can't handle much spice at all--so when I say that this recipe was really spicy and I still liked it, it will probably be fine for you.

The beauty of this recipe is that it's easy and you can do it all in one pan. I found it on Pinterest, and it's originally from Amanda at KevinandAmanda.com. She has some great step-by-step pictures to go with her recipe.

What you need:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb (or approx) sausage, cut up. I used smoked turkey.
8 oz pasta
I used small shells
1 can ro-tel (the tomatoes with the green chilies in them---I used mild)
2 cups chicken or beef broth (I didn't have quite enough but it was fine)
1/2 cup cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
some diced green onions

Heat up the olive oil in a skillet, then add the onion and the sausage. Brown the sausage, then add the garlic. Cook for about 30 seconds until the garlic turns white and fragrant.

Add the broth, cream, pasta, salt, pepper. Did you read me say add the pasta? You do not need to precook the pasta! :)

Bring everything to a boil, cover, lower heat, and let simmer for 15 minutes. The liquids should keep the pasta from sticking to your skillet.

Turn off the heat and remove the skillet from the heat. Mix in the cheese and top with the onions. You could also broil the whole thing for few minutes to brown the cheese, but I was too lazy for that step.

Next time I'm going to either switch out the cheese for mozzarella or switch out the ro-tel for regular tomatoes.

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Honey Oat Bread

I never thought I'd be able to bake bread, but it was easy thanks to the pictures and simple instructions from Darla at Bakingdom.  I can't believe how pretty---not to mention tasty---this bread turned out.

Here's what you need:
3 cups flour
3/4 cup oats (instant or old fashioned)
2 and 1/4 teaspoons yeast (dry active or instant)
1 and 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1/4 cup honey
A bowl to hold the dough while it rises
A loaf pan

For the top of the bread:
1 and 1/2 to 2 tablesppons honey, warmed
1 and 1/2 to 2 tablespoons oats

In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer---I used my KitchenAid---combine the flour, oats, yeast, and salt. If you're using instant yeast, you don't need to proof it. If you're using dry active yeast, put the yeast in the 1/4 cup of lukewarm water and let sit for 10 minutes, then mix that into the bowl with the flour, oats, and salt.

Warm the milk so that it’s hot enough to melt the butter, but not boiling. Add the butter, stirring until melted, then stir in the water (if you didn't use it earlier to proof the yeast) and the honey.

Pour that mixture into the flour mixture. Mix it all with your mixer using a dough hook attachment for 10 minutes, or mix by hand, until the dough becomes smooth and stretchy. My dough clumped around the dough hook almost immediately, but that seemed to be just fine.  Add more flour a little at time if the dough is too sticky; add more water if it's too dry.

Place the dough in a lightly oil a bowl, cover with a clean towel, and let the dough rise for 1/2 to 1 hour.

Once the dough has doubled, place it on a clean, dry work surface and flatten it into a 9 x 12-inch rectangle with your hands (no need for a rolling pin). Roll the dough up and tuck in the ends so that the dough forms a loaf. Put the dough into the lightly-oiled loaf pan, cover again, and let it rise again for 1/2 to 1 hour.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place an empty loaf pan or other oven-safe pan on the bottom rack of the oven and bring 2 cups of water to a boil.

When the loaf is doubled again, brush the top with the warmed honey and sprinkle with the oats.

Place the bread in the oven and pour the boiling water into the empty loaf pan on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the bread is deep golden brown. Transfer the bread to a wire cooling rack and allow it to cool completely before serving.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Bakingdom; pictures (c) me. 

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