Blue Cornbread and Breaking Bad

So, I'm only on season 4 of Breaking Bad. It was not a show I had ever planned on watching. That changed last month. Yes, last month. That's when I started watching Breaking Bad. I'm on season four (more than halfway through actually). So when my friend Vince suggested we make Blue Cornbread and a Breaking Bad parody film, I was so very down.

The recipe we used was literally the first search result for 'Blue Cornbread' and it can be found at All Recipes. So just go view it there if you want to make it yourself. However if you'd like a more fun way to learn, we made a 'How To' video cut together with the outtakes from the film.


It was a lot of fun and even though I'll be a bit scared to read the comments due to potential jerks posting spoilers, I really hope people favorite, like, and comment. It means so much to video makers and helps out quite a bit. Anyways, if you ever wondered what I do on weekends...it's more often than not making weird fun videos like these.

In other exciting blogger news, I have been interviewed by Mary Belle at Secret Obsession and...well...myself over at CalNerdCon. Check out the posts and get to know me more. As always thanks for reading and commenting. Each day I grow to love the blogging world more and a lot of that is due to my readers.
J.

(Stay updated with MagicCatJenny on Bloglovin)

Family, Domains, and Zucchinis

Lately I've been seeing quite a bit of Jim's family and it's been so nice to get to be a part of their lives. However it has reminded me that I don't spend the time with my own family that I'd like to. Recently my sister and some of my cousins and I got to hang out together, a rare occasion these days. My sister Amy was just about to start her stay in Japan for her work, so we all went to a country western bar/concert with her and her friends.  Amy, my cousin Dianna, my cousin Kavita, and I actually hung out and it wasn't a holiday!

Dianna and I.

Dianna is very busy and lives just far enough that it make it difficult to hang out all of the time.  Amy is always in different countries it seems, for her work. Kavita, as you know, lives in Sweden. Her sister, Sabina, is coming to town this week and I really want to see them both before they leave for home.

Kavita, me, and Amy.

Big blog related news! I purchased a domain! Yes, you can now go to www.magiccatjenny.com to get to this blog. It's a small change but it means quite a lot to me. I will probably be making new business cards eventually that include my Storenvy store as well. If you want one of the old ones before they are gone, perhaps you can take part in the 100 Letters project (that I am way behind on, eep!) and let me know you want an old card.

Last night I made some awesome zucchini boats with cheddar broccoli rice and onions.  I found a few recipes online and modified them to my liking. I'm not often the one cooking, so when I try to make it count. 

I hope you enjoyed my random life updates. I might do more posts like this in the future. If I don't post about things right away they tend to get pushed further and further back on my blog schedule. (I still haven't posted about my trip to the Ren Faire!) I hope you are all having a great Tuesday!

J.

How To Make Soup in a Bread Bowl

I live in Southern California and so I grew up going to Disneyland all the time.  One of my favorite foods I remember always getting was at Disney's California Adventure. They had an amazing broccoli cheddar soup served in a bread bowl.  The other day I was at the store and a large bread roll inspired me to re-create this favorite of mine.  I oped for the quickest method of making this dish (caned soup) but you can make your own soup from scratch or any kind you like.

What you'll need:
1 large bread roll
1 can of cheddar soup
1 cup of broccoli

Make sure the roll is big enough for your soup.  You can usually find them in the bakery section of your local grocery store.

Start to heat up the soup on the stove with one can's worth of milk.  Be sure to stir it every so often so the soup mixes with the milk.

As that heats up steam the broccoli in the microwave for about 1 and 1/2 minutes.  Be sure to add some water and cover it with a plate.

Cut the top off of the large roll.

Then start to hollow it out, with your hands or a spoon.

Check your soup, if it's blended and hot enough it's done.

Pour the soup into the bread bowl till it almost reaches the top and then pour in the broccoli.  Enjoy!

I'll be honest, it's not as good as Disney's but it's a fun at-home version. Let me know if you try it and what variations you do!

J,

Bento Box 2

 

Here is the second ever bento box I've made.  I recently found this photo on my phone, I'm guessing its months old.  I have not made a bento box in forever!  I really should try it again soon.

The larger half (bottom) contains leftover rice and a quick vegetable stir-fry I made that morning.  It's just beansprouts, spnich, and mushrooms cooked with a tiny bit of oil.  The smaller half (top) has an egg tamagoyaki (a bento box recipe found on JustBento), leftover chicken (from what I can tell, I honestly don't remember), and a small piece of cake.



It's only slightly different than the first bento box I made.  I think the addition of rice was what made it a bit more filling.  I think next time I might need to dedicate one entire half to rice.

Do you have a bento box? What is your favorite bento box recipe?

J.

Tuber Tuesdays: Green Glow Drink

Hey everyone, it's the Tuesday before Halloween!

That mean's it's the perfect time for me you share with you a video I made about a Halloween themed drink.  It is called a Dark Eyed Beauty and is inspired by the musical Wicked.  Check out the video that my friend Vince helped me out with (thanks Vince!)  There are two versions of the drink and if you are under the legal drinking age where you live, make the virgin recipe please!

Subscribe for more!

J.

5 Day Green Smoothie Challenge

I have been a smoothie kick since I bought myself a blender last month.  After searching all over for recipes to try I decied to try the Green Smmothie Challenge from A Beautiful Mess.  Last week I made all 5 of their smoothies for breakfast and here are my reviews!

 The first day I tried what turned out to be my favorite smoothie of the five. The blueberry and banana one!  (2 cups blueberries, 1/2 a banana, 2 handfuls of spinach, 1 cup of water)  I found out that blueberries and bananas together can mask any other flavor completely!

Day two I tried the pineapple and banana smoothie.  (1/2 a banana, 2 handfuls of spinach, 2 cups water) The taste was a tad off so I added some of the pinapple juice from the can.  Also I felt as if here was too much water. Next time I'm only using one cup.

Wednesday I opted to try the apple smoothie.  (2 apples (I used 2 granny smiths), 2 handfuls of spinach, 1 cup of water, 1/2 cup crushed ice) I was a bit apprehensive since it was just apples and spinach, but it was actually not bad.  The constancy was a bit odd but it really just tasted like apples.

 The next day I attempted the Peach, Honey, and Oats smoothie.  I could not find oats so I used granola instead.  The smoothie pretty much tasted like liquid granola. Blah.  This smoothie was pretty much a fail due to incorrect ingredients. (1 1/2 cups sliced peaches, 2 handfuls of spinach, 1 tablespoon honey, 1/4 cup raw oats, 1 cup water)

 Finally, on Friday I made the Raspberry and Coconut smoothie.  (1 cup raspberries, 1/3 cup coconut flakes, 2 handfuls of spinach, 1 cup water)  Ok, so this was almost another fail.  The only coconut flakes I could find were the sugary kind you use in baking. That combined with the raspberries were way too sweet.  Next time I'm using half the amount of coconut flakes. Yup.

Left over smoothie? Make smoothie freezer pops!


J.

Film: Harry Potter Inspired Drinks

As you learned from Monday's post, I'm a bit of a Harry Potter nut.  I adore the books and though the films are not perfect, they are fun.  Recently my friend John decided to read all of the books for the first time now that he can get them digitally.  So every time he finishes a book, he come's over to our apartment and John, Jim, and myself watch the corresponding movie and we take turnes bringing the beer. ;) This past Sunday, John he finished the very last book (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) and we had a mini Harry Potter party!

Our friend Whitney and Vince came over as well and the five of us marathon-ed the last two films (Deathly Hallows Part 1&2) and made Harry Potter themed drinks! Disclaimer - Please drink responsibility! Also, please do not try these drinks if you are under the drinking age where you live. We are all well over 21 and did not over do it.

The first we chose drink is Pumpkin Ale.  It's a great beer that has hints of Pumpkin and perfect for the fall season (that we have yet to feel yet here in way-too-hot California) The characters in Harry Potter never  are said to drink a pumpkin ale, specifically, but they do partake in pumpkin pastries.  Also, pumpkins make you think of Halloween which makes you think of witches, so it just felt right.

Second is my own version of Butter Beer.  You can purchase 'Butterscotch Beer' a non-acholocic version of the drink from Whismic Alley (my go-to spot for Harry Potter merch and other fantasy related products).  I decided to make my own by simply mixing Butterscotch Schnapps and Cream Soda.  (Whitney added some Vodka to hers for an extra kick, I left mine tame.) Warning, it's a very surgery drink, too sweet for some.

The third drink we had was Fireball Whisky.  In the Harry Potter books they have Fire Whisky, and I'm assuming it's very similar to the cinnamon taste of Fireball.

Me with my super week, super surgery butterbeer in a super appropriate goblet.

Whitney enjoying her more adult mixed butterbeer.  Yes, we are both Gryffindors.  Lion pride! (heh, get it?)

A blurry pic of us about to try the Fireball Whiskey.

 And the aftermath. Not our favorite.

Here's our final opinions:
Pumpkin Ale:  good beer, not pumpkin-y enough.
Butterbeer: good but a bit too sweet, vodka is optional
Fire Whiskey: tastes like fire

Perhaps for our next party we'll try the non-acholeic versions and maybe even some Harry Potter themed food.  Any recipes for us to try? Overall the party was a success, even if the drinks were not.

J.

Bento Box

I thought I dedicate today's post to lunch.  That mid-day meal that helps you through your busy work day.  I've always had trouble coming up with ways to make my lunch I take to work interesting and it's not always easy.  Where I work we have a overflowing fridge, two microwaves and a toaster.  Not bad but still easy to get into a sandwich-every-day rut. (And yes, I do enjoy eating out sometimes. It's great for social reasons but not so great on my wallet so I try and bring lunch far more often.)

One interesting idea I've tried recently are bento box lunches.  I bought myself a bento lunch box and started researching recipes and such.  I found a great website, JustBento, that answered pretty much all of my questions.

So here's a bento box I made.  The larger half contains two halves of a turkey sandwich and some cut up banana and kiwi.  The smaller half has some vegetable stir-fry and egg tamagoyaki (a bento box recipe found on JustBento)

What's interesting for bento lunches is that they are supposed to be made fresh in the morning and then cool down by lunch.  I did in fact make the stir-fry and egg that morning and it was cold but not unappetizing by the time I ate it.  If I am awake enough to do a little extra work in the morning then bento boxes are a great way to mix up my lunch some days of the week. The only real complaint I have is that bento boxes are so small I was ready for a second lunch before the work day was up.  I know that larger bento boxes exist (usually advertised for American men) but I really do love the cute little one I have.

Have you tried bento box lunches?  Any ideas, tricks, tips for me? I'd love to make this a trend on this blog...new food ideas! (I'm not the best cook...so maybe if I write about cooking I can get motivated to be more awesome at it.)

J.

Infused Water

Infused water is not new to me, but I have been only trying it out on my own ever since visiting a tea and sweets place in Santa Monica called Jin Patisserie.  The two times I've been there they've had different type of infused water that they serve as soon as you sit down.  I loved the concept last summer and decided to try it out myself this summer.

First I tried frozen raspberries and fresh mint leaves.  I muddled them with a wooden spoon after filling the pitcher with cold water.  I added ice last and poured myself a glass.

The second idea I had was cucumber and lemon.  I added a whole lemon which was perhaps too much, it was so tart!

Let me know what combinations you decide to try this summer!

<3 Jenny

Katniss' Lamb and Plum Stew

I'm not much of a cook but from time to time I'll try something new.  If you're a fan of 'The Hunger Games' then you might enjoy this dish!

The video explaining how to make the dish is here.

What you'll need:

A stove top and a crock pot
1 large onion (you'll use 3/4 of it)
1 Tb olive oil
1 lb lamb (neck or stew meat) 2 tsp red wine vinegar 2 C of water 1 1/2 tsp brown sugar 10ish prunes (dried plums w/out pits) 3 or 4 large carrots 3 or 4 potatoes 1 stalk celery 1/2 large red bell pepper salt and pepper 1 Tb rosemary 1/4 tsp Cinnamon 1/4 C Flour 1/4 to 1/2 C prune juice




How to make it:


> Cut the lamb into pieces 
> Then cut half of the onion up 
> Pour the olive oil and the onions into the sauce pan, turn on the heat to medium low and stir till the onions are caramelized.
> Turn the heat to med-high. Add the meat and red wine vinegar.  
> Brown the sides of the meat quickly. Do not allow it to cook all the way through. 
> Once you're done, put it all into the crock pot. 
> Add the water, dried plums, brown sugar, rosemary, salt and pepper.  Keep it on low for 4-5 hours.  


Then read a book as you wait!

> Three hours before you are ready to eat, cut up the carrots, the potatoes, the bell pepper, 1/4th of the onion and the celery (optional)
> Add the cinnamon now as well (also optional) and the veggies. 


> When you are ready to eat, it is time to make the gravy. Measure out your prune juice.
> Then start to heat it in a small pot.
> In a second pot, suck up all of the juices from the stew and add flour in small amounts, then whisk it together. 
> Then add the now-boiling prune juice and some salt and pepper.
> Pour back in with the meat. Stir and serve. 


Recipe adapted from here.


Books Read: 6