New Look

I've spent the day working on a new look for the blog. I've still got some tweaking to do, but I would love some feedback. I'm still very much a beginner when it comes to blog design, and I don't know how to do many things, but I'm learning.

So, what do you think?

Tattoos

I'm just curious how everyone views tattoos. I've seen a lot of cutesy girly tattoos pinned on Pinterest lately, and it got me thinking about ink.

More ink to be exact.
Right now I have 2, the first is a butterfly just above my left ankle on the outside of my leg.

Apologies for the pic quality, they're older pictures.

My second tattoo is what my friend Jeppe calls "The Bird Carcass" It's a phoenix with a tree of life in the center. While it's not the phoenix you'd typically see, it's one that has very special meaning to me.

I've been itching for a new tattoo for the past year or so, but I'm not sure what I'm wanting, or where I'm wanting it.

So I guess, what I want to know is, do you have a tattoo? Do you want one (or more)? Are you utterly against them? If you have one, or want one, what sort of tattoos do you have, or want to have?

Mini Christmas Wreath

Since Thanksgiving is not celebrated here in Denmark, I decided to go ahead and start on some of my Christmas and winter decorations. It's hard to find much as far as holiday decorating is concerned around here, but Christmas is one decorated holiday here in Denmark! I've already blown most of my tiny decorating budget on as much Christmas stuff as possible.

I started with the biggest (which is actually tiny) Styrofoam wreath form I could find. I used  satin wire ribbon and secured it with pins, then wrapped the whole thing. Then using twine, I repeated, spacing the twine as evenly as possible. The small snowflakes are actually holiday confetti left over from last year. I just secured them to the wreath with pins.

I tied more twine to the back of the wreath and secured it with what Danes call "decorations tape", I call it colored electrical tape. 

The whole thing cost about $4, which makes my husband very happy.

How does it look?

Linking up here:
Funky Polkadot Giraffe
Reasons To Skip the Housework
A Diamond in the Stuff
Sugar Bee Crafts
Confessions of a Stay At Home Mommy
Not Just A Housewife
JAQS Studio
Ginger Snap Crafts
Under The Table and Dreaming
Polka Dots on Parade
Organize & Decorate Everything
Be Different Act Normal
I ♥ Naptime

Ginger Pear Pie

Ingredients:

2 pie crusts (or make your own)

about 6-8 pears, peeled, cored, and chopped

1-2 inchs fresh ginger root, minced

1/4-1/2 cup brown sugar

3-4 tablespoons cornstarch, mixed with enough water to form a thick glue-like consistency

1-2 teaspoons cinnamon

Start by preparing your pears and ginger and placing them in a non-reactive, heavy bottom saucepan. Add brown sugar, and cook on medium-high heat, stirring to coat for about 5-10 minutes.

Add cornstarch mixture as needed until you've reached your desired thickness. I like a thick pie filling and used about 4 tablespoons.

Once mixture is cooked, turn off heat and set aside. Prepare your pie crust as directed, but do not pre-cook. Fill the pie crust until heaping, with the pear filling. Top with a second crust and crimp the edges so that they do not separate. Cut slits into crust allowing steam/air to escape. 

Bake in a preheated 450F/320C oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F/177C and cook for an additional 30-40 minutes. Remove and let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

Linking up here:
Be Different Act Normal

Yeah, I've been gone for an entire week, with no real excuse. I promise to return tomorrow and share a few things with you. In the meantime I will be working on wrapping some Christmas gifts. So far, we have 4 people down, 7 more to shop for! Hope y'all are having a fantastic weekend!

Chicken Tortilla Soup, The Danish Tex-Mex Version

I don't know about you, but growing up in Texas has caused me to fall in love with chicken tortilla soup. It's everywhere, and thanks to canned foods it's super easy and fast to make.

I no longer live in Texas, but I can still have my chicken tortilla soup, right?

Yeah.

I thought so too!

I did a little improvising and made a big pot full. I've tried to make this recipe both Texan (and American) and Danish friendly. Hopefully, if you try making my recipe, you will be able to easily acquire the ingredients.

Chicken Tortilla Soup, the Danish Tex-Mex version.

Wash, chop, mince your veggies for stock. 

I used 4 large carrots, 2 leeks, 6 or so cloves of garlic and 1 onion, plus about 100 grams of chopped kale. 

In your stock pot/soup pot/whatever pot is big enough, saute veggies in olive oil, adding the kale at the end.

Add 8 cups of water, about 2 tsp salt and 2 tsp coarse ground black pepper.

Then add 2 huge frozen (or thawed) chicken breasts, (mine were brined before freezing) and 2-3 bay leaves.

Let simmer for a little while (maybe 20 min?) until the chicken breasts are done. 

Remove chicken breasts and shred, then return to pot.

Add around 1-2 teaspoons of New Mexico chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, poultry seasoning...adjust to your taste, it's not rocket science.

Then add 1 can of diced tomatoes w/ chili and 1 teaspoon of minced green chilies (For those of you that can get Ro-tel, use that instead, 1 to 2 cans should be plenty ), 1 can of drained black or red beans (I definitely prefer the black, but at the time I only had red), and 1 cup of canned or frozen corn. 

Stir and let simmer, meanwhile coarsely chop 4-6 tortillas (corn or flour...the choice if yours) and add them to the pot.

Continue to simmer for another 10 minutes or so. 

Remove bay leaves and serve with a squirt or 2 of lime juice, some shredded cheese, tortilla strips/chips, sour cream, anything you want! I even tried Cool Ranch Doritos the next day for lunch! (Oh yeah! They were good!)

Baked Chili-Lime Tortilla Strips:

Preheat oven to 400-450F/200-232C (I usually just turn the knob to 200-225C.)

Take 2-4 large tortillas cut them into fourths, staking them in one 'pile' and then thin strips.

Then place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, one layer is preferred, but it doesn't have to be perfect. 

Spray the strips with cooking spray. 

Add salt, pepper, chili powder, and lime juice - to taste, and toss to coat.

Bake for about 15 minutes (or until slightly brown). 

Linking up here:
Be Different Act Normal

Fall Decorations

I've finally decorated for fall. I am doubtful I will get any more done, but I'm happy with the simple decor I have at the moment.

What do you think? Does it pass for fall?

Linking up here:
I ♥ Naptime

Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies

**Warning**
These cookies are highly addicting!

3 cups (275 grams) of oats
1 ½ cups (231 grams) of flour
1 cup (200 grams) of brown sugar
¾ cup (143 grams) of granulated sugar
¾ cup (135 grams) of pumpkin
1 cup (2 sticks)/(220 grams) of butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cloves
1 ½ (269 grams) cups of chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350F/177C.

Cream together butter and sugar.

Add pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla and beat until well combined.

Add all remaining ingredients except for the oats and chocolate chips and mix on low until a well-blended batter forms.

Stir in oats and chips.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (it actually helps to use two, so you can prep one while the other is in the oven).

Drop about a tablespoon full of batter onto the sheet. These cookies didn't spread much, so you can put them fairly close together.

Bake 12-15 minutes, until you can see some light browning on the bottom.

Cool on a wire rack.

Try not to eat them all at once, thankfully the oats make them very filling.

Linkung up here:
Whipperberry
I ♥ Naptime
Be Different Act Normal

The Eyebrow

I've got several posts I want to write, but haven't had the time to write them. So, today I will just post the progress of the eyebrow. You remember how it initially looked?

Two days after the accident happened, it looked like this.

Tuesday he had the sutures removed, but it wasn't holding well, so they steri-stripped him. The steri-strips only lasted a day, but thankfully by then it was holding closed. I took a pic yesterday, and here's how it looks now.

Aside from needing his eyebrows waxed, I'd say it looks pretty good!

Hoo Are You? #59

1. Do you like the season, Fall? I love Fall! Read my thoughts on all the seasons on my Hoo Are You #54 post.
2. What is your favorite fall smell?Well, anything warm and spicy. Right now I've got plain ol' clove oil in my oil burner. I love the smell of the leaves in the forest, and I love going outside at night and smelling pine, cedar, or maple wood burning from peoples' fireplaces!
3. What is your favorite activity to do in the fall?Lately it seems like my favorite activity is baking. I've been doing a ton of that. I love being 'old school' and cranking up my oven for heat.
4. Do you dress in fall colors during the season?I think I tend to wear a lot of olive green, black, cream, red, and purple in the fall.
5. Name 4 qualities about yourself that start with each letter in the word FALL! (It's ok to brag yourself up)FeistyAdaptable or AbnormalLeftyLoyal