Wednesday, November 7, 2012

The Perfect Hard Boilded Egg

OK so tonight I decided on some yummy egg and tuna salad for dinner after class; its fast and easy, not to mention I was a bit crabby and didn't feel like really making anything.  I soon discovered that there were only 2 hard boiled eggs left, and my egg maker (aka Caity Kemberling) was not here to boil more.  I have never had to make my own eggs before... dad or mom did them when I lived at home, and I just recently rediscovered how much I love them.  I also felt pressure, because every batch Caity has made while we have lived together these last few month have been perfect!  No gray ring on the yolk, just pure yellow goodness!

So instead of taking the last two eggs and leaving myself with zero, I whipped out my handy dandy phone and searched how to make the perfect hard boiled egg.  Here is what I found:

Method

1 Put the eggs in a single layer in a saucepan, covered by at least an inch or two of cold water. Starting with cold water and gently bringing the eggs to a boil will help keep them from cracking. Adding a tablespoon of vinegar to the water will help keep the egg whites from running out of any eggs that happen to crack while cooking, but some people find that the vinegar affects the taste. I don't have a problem with it and I usually add a little vinegar. Adding a half teaspoon of salt is thought to help both with the preventing of cracking and making the eggs easier to peel. (I added the vinegar and the salt; and it really did work! the eggs peeled beautifully, and there were no cracks!) Put the burner on high and bring the eggs to a boil. As soon as the water starts to boil, remove the pan from the heat for a few seconds.
2 Reduce the heat to low, return the pan to the burner. Let simmer for one minute. (Note I usually skip this step because I don't notice the eggs boiling until they've been boiling for at least a minute! Also, if you are using an electric stove with a coil element, you can just turn off the heat. There is enough residual heat in the coil to keep the eggs simmering for a minute.)
3 After a minute, remove the pan from the heat, cover, and let sit for 12 minutes. If you are doing a large batch of eggs, after 10 minutes you can check for doneness by sacrificing one egg, removing it with a slotted spoon, running it under cold water, and cutting it open. If it isn't done, cook the other eggs a minute or two longer. The eggs should be done perfectly at 10 minutes, but sometimes, depending on the shape of the pan, the size of the eggs, the number of eggs compared to the amount of water, and how cooked you like them, it can take a few minutes more. When you find the right time that works for you given your pan, the size of eggs you usually buy, the type of stove top you have, stick with it.
I also find that it is very hard to overcook eggs using this method. I can let the eggs sit, covered, for up to 15-20 minutes without the eggs getting overcooked.
4 Either remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and place them into a bowl of ice water (this is if you have a lot of eggs) OR strain out the water from the pan, fill the pan with cold water, strain again, fill again, until the eggs cool down a bit. Once cooled, strain the water from the eggs. Store the eggs in a covered container (eggs can release odors) in the refrigerator. They should be eaten within 5 days.

The finished result:
 The perfect egg! It was cooked all the way, no gray ring, and it peeled great!

I would def. try this out if you have not figured out your own trick to making perfect Hard boiled eggs.

I am no longer afraid of screwing up hard boiled eggs, and I feel like I can take on anything :D I know I am silly, but hey these little babies can make a grown man cry if not done right... no one likes an over (or under) cooked hard boiled egg... it just leads to a disaster of dramatic proportions.

Anyways, that is all for tonight, I will post another amazing accomplishment tomorrow: my first cowl experience!  

Hope you all had a good Tuesday... well I guess its now Wednesday... so enjoy today as well :D

Friday, May 11, 2012

Melissa SMASH!

Ok how many out there have heard of SMASH books?  No?  Well they are amazing!  It is a great fast way to scrapbook things in the moment and keep track of fun things you are doing or ideas you find and want to do.  Kind of like a real pinterest ^_^  I have to admit they have become an addiction for me... I have 3 SMASH books: a travel one, a HUGE one (size wise... thought it would be good for big items... plus i LOVED the big pockets), and a pretty pink one for everyday stuff.  I also have TONS of things for the SMASH book such as tapes, flags, extra pockets and pens, you name it. 

But as cool as these sound I bought them months ago and they have been just sitting gathering dust in my room.  So last weekend when mom and I went to Leavenworth/Wenatchee and did so many fun things I decided to just jump into SMASH.
I used the extra pockets you can buy separate in this one to house all my brochures that we got on our tours.



We has so much fun tasting wine and beer as well as just plain exploring. I also had fun with some cool rub-ons that we had at work and went clearance for 14 cents!  got to love the 1.5 dollar bins when they go clearance! They were perfect for these pages seeing as they were all about wine!  Glasses and cork screws plus sayings like CHEERS!

 I also wanted to put my awesome mementos from when dad and I went to see Titanic in theaters:

Needless to say I am no longer afraid to SMASH!  Just jumping in has made me see how cool they are!  I think I need one more though... for keeping recipes in... or maybe not... We shall see what happens ^_^

Monday, April 23, 2012

Whoo two in one week!

OK so I know I'm not the only one that gets the need for chocolate at that certain time of the month, and today I gave into that voice saying "give me chocolate or else!"

I found this recipe a few days ago and knew it was the one to do.  It's called... wait for it...

Deep dish chocolate chip cookie pie.


OK here's what you need:
a tube of chocolate chip cookie dough (you could make your own if you wish)
a bag of chocolate chips
a 9in. dish

Step one:  press half the cookie dough into the bottom of the dish

Step two: sprinkle chocolate chips to evenly cover the cookie dough
*you could also add in walnuts if you want*

Step three: crumble the rest of the cookie dough over the top

Then throw it into a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes or until the top becomes a golden color

Let it sit for about ten minutes to cool and then serve!  Its really good with ice cream (I bought cookie dough for a little extra dough~)

OK so it was amazing!  If I do this again I would use more dough... it was a thin bottom and the crumbles on top should cover most of the chips.  It was a hit, and the roomie loved it as well.

After my massage today, this was a great way to end the day ^_^

Until Next time!

~Melissa

New years resolution four months late

OK so I have decided that I am way too addicted to pinterest, and the only way I feel this addiction is ok is for me to actually do what I have pinned.  I honestly have waaaay too many projects that are pinned and need to be done so here is where I decided to start.

I have a scentsy party coming up, and when I saw flowers 60% off at work I knew exactly what project to start with.
I can't remember if this idea was talked about at spring sprint or on a team call, but I thought is was a great idea when I heard about it and then just forgot about it... until my friend and scentsy sponsor Crystal posted a blog with a step by step tutorial and template for the inside.

Its a pretty easy project and only about $1 per complete magnet when you divide the cost for all the product!  This is great seeing as some of the items i bought such as magnets and modge podge I wont have to buy again!

For a step by step tutorial check out Crystals blog post: http://growinggriffins.blogspot.com/2012/03/scentsy-flower-magnets.html

Until next time!
~Melissa