Tammy Mitchell Photography » Eat This

Hostess with the Mostess: Baby Shower Idea Bb is for Boy

Tammy — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:10:58 +0000

One of my cute friends is having a baby NEXT week!!! We had to get together to celebrate the arrival of this sweet little boy into house full of all things girly!

You know me, when somebody says party my brain goes into overdrive!! When planning a party I always think about a theme first. Whether that theme is a color palette or a style doesn’t matter….just something that makes bringing everything else together easier. I immediately thought of a vintage baby boy theme since I have some cool vintage glass plates and cups that I have been DYING to have an excuse to use, so this was perfect! You can find them pretty easily at most antique stores.

I found this cute little shop online, Pretty Little Studio, that makes the most adorable vintage baby flashcards and all kinds of fun stuff. I had her custom make some invitations for me and I think they turned out SO cute!!

We served simple breakfast foods that were yummy…a parfait bar with yogurt, fresh berries and granola, bite sized cinnamon rolls and other pastries, and a yummy drink. To go along with the theme I made a little label for each food item

I just made them in photoshop and printed them out on cute scrapbook paper. I also made one for the gift table:

Now my favorite part…the favors!! John thinks I’m crazy because I spend hours making things like this, but this is honestly the most fun part for me. These are very easy and inexpensive to make, but they are time consuming. If you have the time and love to be crafty then these are perfect for you!

to make the giant cookies find the recipe here

for the bags you will need:

a roll of parchment paper

thread

a sewing machine

ribbon

a hole punch

pinking shears

any deocrations you want for the bags

Cut parchment paper into 6.5×14″ strips. fold in half and stitch the sides up using a colorful thread and a zig-zag stitch. trim off the excess on the sides with the pinking shears. slip a cookie into the pouch. fold the top of the bag over and punch two holes at the top about an inch apart. feed the ribbon through the holes and tie into a bow on the front sideof your bag. decorate as you like.

like I said, pretty easy, just time consuming but I think the result is WELL worth it!

It’s easy to do this for any shower boy or girl, or even if you don’t know what it is just make a mix of boy and girl vintage tags! It would also be cute for a little girl’s birthday party if you played some vintage games and added a few more decorations and changed the food a bit!

Hopefully that gets your creative juices flowing for your next party!

Have a great day!
-t

eat this: blueberry buckle recipe

Tammy — Wed, 12 May 2010 16:05:32 +0000

I made this yesterday for a class party at Andy’s school and it was a hit. SO yummy. I think it’s even better today than it was warm yesterday! It’s easy and tastes as good as it looks!

Ingredients

3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, softened

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease one 8×8 inch pan.
Cream together 3/4 cup sugar, butter, and egg.
In a separate bowl mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir into sugar mixture, alternating with milk and sour cream. Stir in blueberries. Pour into greased 8×8 inch pan.
To make topping: Combine white and brown sugars, 2/3 cup flour, cinnamon, and butter. Sprinkle over cake batter.
Bake at 375 degree F (190 degrees C) for 25-30 minutes.

The batter is REALLY thick so don’t be surprised when you can’t pour it into the pan. You will have to scoop it in and spread it around.

Have a great day!

-t

{Picture Perfect} Online Digital Photography Classes and a family favorite recipe

Tammy — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:59:05 +0000

If you’ve been trying to decide whether or not to join us this session, you only have 3 days left to decide!!! You CAN learn how to use yor camera and take better pictures in this 6 week, low stress, flexible and fun class. Class starts Saturday. Only 2 spots left!! You can register and find more information here:

{Picture Perfect} Class Info and Registration

And, just because I have a hard time posting without a picture, I thought I’d share one of our favorite recipes. If you don’t have Tyler’s Ultimate Cookbook, I HIGHLY recommend it. I make more stuff out of that book than probably any other and my kids scarf it down!! Here’s one of our favorites that I made last night…bon apetite!

Tyler’s Ultimate Rustic Rigatoni, Sausage and Eggplant (we don’t like eggplant so I omit it!)

Ingredients

Kosher Salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
6 links fennel pork sausage (about 3/4 pound)
1 large eggplant (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 large can (28 ounces) peeled whole tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
Leaves from 1 small bunch basil
1 pound rigatoni
1 pound fresh mozzarella
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat for the pasta. Get yourself a 9 by 13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish.

Heat a 2 count of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausages and toss in the hot oil for 3 to 4 minutes, you want them nicely browned on the outside but still rare on the inside. Put the sausages in the baking dish.

Turn the heat down to medium. Add a generous 1/3 cup of oil to the skillet and get it hot. Add as many eggplant pieces as you can comfortably fit in a single layer and sprinkle well with salt. Cook, turning, for 7 to 8 minutes, until the eggplant is nice and browned, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Use a spatula to put the eggplant into the baking dish with the sausage. Cook the rest of the eggplant pieces, adding more oil to the pan, as needed, and putting the finished eggplant into the baking dish.

Add another 2 count of oil to the skillet, then your onion and garlic, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until translucent. Dump the whole can of tomatoes and their juices into a bowl and crush the tomatoes with your hands to break them up; add that to the pan with the basil and cook it down until pulpy and relatively thick. This will take about 15 minutes.

By this time your pasta water will be boiling. Add the rigatoni, give it a stir, and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, it should be slightly firm as it will cook further in the oven. Ladle out 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water and reserve; the drain the rigatoni.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Chop the sausages into nice big, bite-size chunky pieces and return the pieces to the baking dish. Add the tomato sauce, rigatoni, and the reserved pasta water. Break up half the mozzarella over the mixture, season with salt and pepper, and gently mix with your hands or a spatula. Dust with the Parmigiano and drizzle with more olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes. Spread the remaining mozzarella in an even layer over the top and continue to bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

Yum!! Have a great day!
-t

Hostess with the Mostess: Political Parties

Tammy — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:04:04 +0000

No, not the kind of political party you’re thinking. We’re talking a good old fashioned red, white and blue bash. Last week I hosted a meet the candidate night. There’s a local guy here running for senate and I wanted a chance to listen to him speak and see who he was and what he was about. It was an interesting and informative evening. Even my kids sat completely engrossed for the 90 minutes that he spoke. Andy came home that night telling me how interesting he thought it was and that it was like a great history lesson…pretty good for a 7 year old!
My mom has attended MANY of these types of events lately trying to educate herself and informed me when I decided to host one that usually you find a room, put up some folding chairs, pass out fliers in your neighborhood and invite the candidate to come and speak…well, if you know me, you know I can’t just do that…this was an excuse to party! There at least had to be nice invitations, a few decorations and some food.

I contacted a SUPER talented baker in our neighborhood to see if I could talk her into designing something fun and patriotic for the evening. She came up with a total show stopper…SO cute!

Not only did it look good, but it tasted AMAZING!!! Cake made from scratch with the best chocolate buttercream filling I’ve tasted. YUM!!!

Lucky for you, Jodie has decided to go into the cake making business and would love to design something for your next event. If you’re in the Orange County area you can contact her here:

jodie.williams@gmail.com

and you can check out more of her amazing deisngs too…

Jodie’s Cake Gallery

Have a great day!
-t

Eat This: Recipe for the BEST Chicken Tortilla Soup

Tammy — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:58:57 +0000

I have long professed my love for the site allrecipes.com. If you love to cook like I do then this will quickly become one of your favorites too. Everything under the sun is found there and with TONS of ratings…so you can really get feel for whether or not you are going to like something before you make it. I found this recipe a while back and we LOVE it. With all this cold weather and rain I LOVE to make some homemade soup.

Recipe:

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (I use a costco rotissere chicken..cheap, ymmu and WAY faster!!)

1/2 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth

1 cup frozen corn kernels

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 cup chunky salsa (i use pace medium)

8 ounces corn tortilla chips

1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

My additions: sliced avocado and sour cream on top

Directions

In a large pot over medium heat, saute the chicken in the oil for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin and mix well. Then add the broth, corn, onion, chili powder, lemon juice and salsa. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes.
Break up some tortilla chips into individual bowls and pour soup over chips. Top with the Monterey Jack cheese.

I serve mine with quesadillas too. A little twist on the tomato soup and grilled cheese. The kids gobble this stuff up!

You can have this at you house tonight in about 30 minutes…so easy and SO good!!

Enjoy!!
-t

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night

Tammy — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 08:01:19 +0000

I can’t believe it’s here! Where has the time gone??? I have a few presents to announce….

and extra Merry Christmas to:

Winner of Pink Peppermint Design Giveaway: Melissa

Winner of the Red Possum Capelet Giveaway: Sandi

Winner of the Flora Bond Giveaway: Cindy Barriga

and….

the winner of the big kahuna $200 worth of free tuition to {Picture Perfect}……………………………

The Monkey’s Mama!!!!!

Congrats to all!!! Contact me with your info so I can get these things out to you!

With the illness that hit me hard for the first two weeks of the year, I ended up throwing cards out the window this year. So, if you didn’t get one from me, don’t feel bad…no one did!

I wanted to share what I had designed here…sort of an e-card for all of you, my online family. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you for your love and support. Your comments and emails truly bring a smile to my face. Thank you for spending a little piece of your day with me each day. I’m signing off for a little bit to spend some time with my family, but I’ll pop in every now and then just cause I’ll miss you all! I’ll be back soon with lots of great things in store for the new year.

until then….

Merry Christmas

-t

Eekleberries…and the winner is…and a super cute Christmas Idea

Tammy — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:54:23 +0000

Katie B!!! Congrats! Mr. Random number generator made this your lucky day!! Send me your mailing info and what size you would like your darling jemma dress in and I will have it sent your way!

saw this a few months ago and locked it away to share at a time like this. if you’re thinking about making homemade goodies for friends and family this year check out this cute idea..everything just looks cuter as a brown paper package tied up with string!

you can pick up cute white, pink and SOMETIMES kraft bakery boxes at your local wal-mart in the wedding section…have fun!

I’m on antibiotics finally, so hopefully I’ll be back in full swing by Monday!!

Have a great weekend…the Christmas countdown is ON!

-t

Let’s Party: Fun Thanksgiving Craft and Food Ideas and a winner

Tammy — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:38:53 +0000

It’s getting closer! I found these fun ideas for the kids. I don’t know about yours, but mine have a WEEK off at Thanksgiving, so I need some activities to keep them busy!

I LOVE the tee pees. How cute would that be at each place setting on the kids table?? Ice Cream cones turned upside down and frosted with royal icing and other decor –SO cute!!

A simple styrofoam ball cut in half, painted brown and stuck with colorful pens turns into a super cute and crafty turkey.

Let your kids imaginations run wild with a new spin on a “turkey sandwich”. Adding more veggies is NEVER a bad idea, right?

LOVE LOVE LOVE the Indian Corn napkin rings. Cut a piece of felt to wrap around a napkin, line popsicle sticks up and stick them to the felt and line them with the buttons.

Take Rice Crispy treats to the next level. Make them with a mix of cereals and dried fruits instead. Shape them around a popsicle stick and cut pieces of fruit roll ups to stick around the outside like the wrapping for an ear of corn.

Fudge Stripe cookies and chocolate covered marshmellows are transformed into pilgrim hat cookies in a matter of minutes.

Hope these cute and easy ideas inspire you to have a little fun this month!!!

And now a drumroll please…Mr. Random Number Gererator has picked comment #18 Karen Kirshon as the winner of the Bobbity Boo skirt. Email me and let me know which skirt you would like and I’ll let Bobbi know! Congrats!!

Stay tuned for another great giveaway on Friday!

Have a great day!

-t

Eat This: Awesome Mac and Cheese and a winner

Tammy — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:07:06 +0000

I’ve decided that even though it’s STILL 90 degrees around here, I have to break out the comfort food. I mean, it is November, right???

A friend made this for me a few years back after I had Ash and it has been a favorite in our house ever since. The kids like to call it “fancy mac and cheese” since it isn’t orange and doesn’t come out of a box. Even better, it’s super easy and FAST!

12 oz Wide Egg Noodles

3 C Whipping Cream

1 1/2 C Whole Milk

2T Flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper (i use white pepper so it doesn’t ruin the look of the white mac)

2 C grated, packed Fontina Cheese

3/4 C grated paremsan

3/4 C grated mozarella

**optional add green peas**

**My tweaks..I TRY to make this a little healthier by making these adjustments:

instead of 3 C of heavy cream I use 3C of fat free milk

instead of 1 1/2 C of whole milk I use 1 1/2 cups half and half

i haven’t noticed that switching the ingredients and amounts really makes much of a difference except that it cuts the calories and fat WAY down.

Cook noodles in Salted water until tender but firm..abou 5-6 minutes. Drain. Do not rinse. Whisk cream, milk, flour, salt, pepper in a bowl. Add 1C of Fontina, 1/2 C parmesan, 1/2 C mozarella. Add noodles and stir. Transfer all to a baking dish. Toss remaining noodles and spread oer top of noodles. Bake until bubbles and cheese browns (about 20-25 minutes) at 450 degrees.

Let stand 10 minutes and enjoy!!

Also, I’m a little late on this…but Congrats to Kristin…winner of the Shabby La Rose giveaway. Email me your address and info by Friday morning to claim your prize…otherwise another winner will be chosen!!

Have a great day!
-t

Eat This: Best Ever Nordstrom Tomato Basil Soup Recipe

Tammy — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:00:07 +0000

I LOVE going to Nordstrom Cafe. Their tomato basil soup is out of this world good…and I don’t even like tomato soup!! I found a recipe a few years ago on the internet and have spent the last little while trying to work it down to something manageable…the original recipe made128 servings!! Needless to say I would only make it for special events. lol! I’ve also made it a little easier and a little healthier.

I thought I’d share it now since it was finally a little cool and overcast today…a good soup making day! It also makes a fun halloween dinner. Simply add some fresh mozarella balls (and if you want to get REALLY creative, hollow out the mozarella balls and add a slice of green olive with pimento) then call it eyeball soup. Serve it with a side of grilled cheese SAND WITCHES and you’re all set! A big loaf of crusty italian bread cut in thick slices makes for the best sandwiches!!

I’ve had several requests for the recipe so without any further ado…

4 TBS Olive Oil

3 Lbs Mini Carrots

2 Large Onions, chopped

2 28oz Cans of Whole Peeled Tomatoes

32oz of Chicken Stock

2 TBS dried Basil

1 Cup Heavy Cream

In a large stockpot sautee the olive oil, carrots and onions at medium heat.

Add the basil, salt, pepper and tomatoes and bring to a simmer.

Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil and then simmer for 45 minutes.

Puree the soup with a hand blender while adding the cream.

Easy enough, eh?

Enjoy! Have a great day!

-t