Manhattan Recipe and Old-Fashioned Recipe

Manhattan’s and Old-Fashioned’s are masculine and strong cocktails that should be in everyone’s cocktail making repetoire. Don’t get freaked out, these are quite simple to make and can take as delicious, if not MORE delicious, than your favorite bar’s version.

After a long hard week, I love to unwind by making myself a gorgeous cocktail, sitting by the fire, and listening to a book for a few minutes. An old-fashioned is one of my personal favorites because it reminds me of days gone by, black & white films, and old-school actresses.

You can find bitters at your local liquor store. If you don’t know where to look, just ask the clerk!

Tips and Tricks:

Sugar cubes and water can be substituted for simple syrup in these drinks.
Rub your rims with orange peel. This gives a little added flavor and complexity to the cocktail.
Don’t stir these drinks too much, or fill them with ice! You’ll water down the drink and “cloud” it. Just stir a bit and put in enough ice to cool the drink. Better yet, try flavored ice cubes or frozen fruit.

[yumprint-recipe id=’96’] Manhattan Recipe Variations:

Bourbon Manhattan Recipe: Substitute bourbon for the rye whiskey.
Black Manhattan Recipe: Substitute amaro for the sweet vermouth.

[yumprint-recipe id=’97’] Old-fashioned Recipe variations:

Old-fashioned sweet: This variation adds cherry juice to the mix. Use the same amount of cherry juice as bourbon.
Maple old-fashioned: Take out the sugar and water and substitute it for a tablespoon of maple syrup. One of my favorite drinks at a local bar uses a maple-infused bourbon…yum!
Mint Julep: This is a very popular bourbon drink that is similar to an old-fashioned. Skip the bitters, and instead muddle several mint leaves in the bottom of the glass with your sugar and water. This drink is best with TONS of ice. (Muddling is basically just crushing everything together to extract the juices. Keep the leaves in the glass when you serve it.)

Don’t forget to check out our absolutely most popular cocktails… Sex on a Snowbank and the Lemon Drop. I think you’ll love serving these up at your next dinner.

microwave brownies in a mug.

This is a quick and easy dessert that serves just one. Perfect for when you are looking for a sweet midnight snack or your kids want an after-school treat. You can make up a microwave brownie-in-a-mug in about three minutes with ingredients you already have in your pantry…

And you can mix up the whole brownie recipe IN the mug (no extra dishes…score!) with a few quick and easy steps…

Seriously, this brownie was about 3 minutes. Including the cooking! Kinda like a glorified Easy Bake recipe…don’t you think? Please tell me I’m not the only one old enough to remember those guys. With their dangerous exposed light-bulbs, super expensive mixes, and little girls begging their parents for one?

Walah… a tasty, chocolatey, gooey brownie! All made up during the next commercial!

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If you are looking for fast, easy, and simple recipes like this you shouldn’t miss our Lazy Baker ENTIRE CATEGORY full of short-cut recipes. Like pull-apart breads, petit fours, and even Grandma’s fudge. These recipes are meant for those that are a bit gun-shy in the kitchen and still gaining confidence in their cooking skills. We hear ya. No need to fuss and stress…use our cheater recipes to look like a kitchen super star!

no-sew DIY fringe clutch

Plain clutches are quite easy to find at thrift stores and are very inexpensive probably because they are dull and sad clutches, eh. But when we finish them they are original and beautiful pieces that you will be complimented on again and again (believe me, I get complimented all the time!). Why purchase something new when you can give life to something old? Save the planet and maybe revamp something you already have in your closet! So, I want to clarify that we aren’t making the clutch itself but rather revamping it into something new and fresh.

The clutch I used for this is a basic white clutch that I found at the local vintage shop in a bin FULL of clutches and wallets. The suede is from a large craft store, as well as the E6000. Feel free to use leather if you like, but DO NOT skip using the strong adhesive. Any super strong adhesive similar to E6000 will do but is absolutely essential to making this bag something you can use daily. I am not about creating pretty things that can’t be used. This is meant to be pretty AND practical!

Gathering the supplies truly is the hardest part of this whole project. Putting the pieces together is a bit time-consuming but not hard, at all. Simply decide how long and how wide you want your fringe to be and cut your material accordingly. Because the material can often be a bit expensive, take your time figuring out what you want to do. Measure twice, cut once as my Grandma always said.

My grandma would be pleased with this project. She always had bags of leftover fabrics and bits and bobs for us to make things with when we visited her. We never came up with anything as sophisticated as this clutch but we still had fun glueing bits to paper. Our favorite…making doodled people with fabric clothes and hair.

Remember that you will need a wee bit of fabric at the very top of the fringe that is NOT cut and is used to glue your fringe on to your bag. Do NOT cut that part.

After you have measured your fabric and decided if you want your fringe to go all the way across your bag, or across the sides, or hey… you want little bits of fringe all over it is time to cut tiny little strips into the bottom of the fabric. This creates the fringe. And yes, it is a bit time-consuming. Grab Netflix and settle in for a bit. It’s not difficult, just takes a while.

Lately, I’ve been watching Game of Thrones and am admittedly a bit addicted. Remember back to the world without Netflix or DVR or on-demand movies? Sigh. I miss that time. Although, then I wouldn’t be able to watch Game of Thrones whenever I feel like. So, there’s that.

After you have created your strip of fringe you simply use that strong adhesive to carefully glue it in place. And repeat the process as many times as you wish, in as many colors as you wish, for as many bags as you wish.

If you have to piece two pieces of material together to make one pieces be sure to glue the seams well so they don’t catch and pull apart.

I haven’t given you step by step directions for creating my specific bag because I don’t want you to. I want you to make one that YOU have designed. I will, however, tell you that my bag uses Sharpie fabric pens to create that graphic design. And I created a tassel by wrapping a strip of fabric around a giant bundle of strips of fabric. But there is a great tutorial for making tassle’s on Tatertots and Jello that would be great! You can find that HERE.

Some ideas for creating your own design:

covering the entire front of the bag in fringe
running fringe along only the side and hanging suuuper long fringe from the corners
adding a strip of extra long fringe only at the bottom of the bag
using all one color fringe EXCEPT one single strip of a different color-cool!
making shapes into fringe
trying different fabrics (what about denim?)
bedazzling the fringe!
using long fringe and then adding beads to the end of it (simply knot them on)

Have you re-vamped something in your closet and made it new? I’d love to hear about it. Tell me about that skirt you dolled up, or the sweater you made sweet elbow patches for. Or… maybe you took this tutorial and freshened up a bag you had laying around being sad. Whatever it is, I’d love to hear how you gave something old new life!

Gingerbread cookies with eggnog icing

Is there anything that reminds you of the holiday’s more than the spicy flavor of gingerbread or the smooth creaminess of eggnog? Those two flavors make you want to grab a family member and sing carol around the Christmas tree… don’t they?

Well, at least in my house.

Although, off topic…have you ever made or had homemade eggnog? Yeah. I just can’t. Google how it’s made and then come back to me and let me know what you think. I want to talk about all tasty cookies and not get you weirded out.

Umm, yeah. About those cookies :). I make a classic gingerbread cookie that always makes my Christmas cookie making list. Always.

You CANNOT say you are a Christmas cookie maker and not make gingerbread. Sorry, folks…it’s the truth.

My gingerbread cookies are crispy, spicy, warm, and sweet. At the very same time. I use THIS gingerbread cookie recipe.

But then…

But then I go one step better. And put eggnog on top of the gingerbread cookies. Smooth, creamy eggnog. In frosting form. I KNOW!!! Don’t you just die.

It’s easy, really. I can hear you thinking there are too many steps or it’s too complex for you because you aren’t a food blogger and spend all your time in the kitchen like me.

First, I have teenagers, a business, a husband, NINE brothers and sisters, FIVE bro and sisters-in-law, a dog, and live in MN where we shovel 452 days of the year. I don’t have time for silly stuff either.

This eggnog icing is fast and easy. And tastes like heaven. No silly stuff, I promise!

Okay, so the addition of little pearls on the star edges might have been overkill. But, I was watching Games of Thrones and needed a reason to “work while I watch”. Putting little pearls on one by one takes time! I got an entire episode in while I did them :). Sometimes you gotta be clever. And, let’s be serious…the pearls make the cookies prettier. Which makes you click over to see the recipe. Which makes you hear about this yummy frosting. And the frosting makes your life better while still being simple. Which makes me good at my job.

Yay pearls!

So YOU can skip the little pearls. But DON’T skip the frosting. Please. Try it!

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cottonball Christmas wreath

This cottonball Christmas wreath is a project created over a year ago and lost in the drafts, never to be posted. I wanted to post it because of it’s simplicity, low cost, and brightness that many of you will appreciate. Cottonballs turned into a Christmas wreath deserves a bit of love, wouldn’t you agree! (just nod your head :))

Because our housing is much smaller than in years past, I’ve been trying to create decorations with a very small budget and the ability to dispose of them afterwards. We decorated our tree with candy this year, used pinecones as garland, and cardboard and glitter for ornaments. This white Christmas wreath is made with cotton balls and dollar ornaments. Truly. It doesn’t get much cheaper than that!

I also love how bright and colorful this wreath is. Our apartment is bright and light and airy, so traditional Christmas decorations can look out of place. Light, bright, white, and colorful Christmas decor is much more fitting for our cute little place!

White Christmas Wreath Materials

cotton balls (1 bag will do a 12 inch wreath)
mini ornaments (these are from the dollar spot at Target)
wreath form (make your own from cardboard!)
hot glue and gun.

To Make Your White Christmas Wreath:

1- Pull your cotton balls apart just a bit and apply a single layer of cotton balls on your form. Pack this layer in nice and tightly.

2- Now, add depth to your wreath by hot-gluing additional cotton balls on another layer. Fill in holes, cover sides, make that wreath look awesome!

3-Use hot glue to glue the mini ornaments onto the wreath. Be sure to watch where you place them so that they will be nice and sturdy. Tucking them in a bit is usually a good idea.

Wrap a large ribbon around your wreath and hang it on your wall. You did a great job!! Look at your beautiful wreath that didn’t cost you your entire week’s worth of lunch money! You can see ours is hanging on our Advent Wall along with our zip-tie garland.

Cranberry Rosemary Orange Scones

These Cranberry-Rosemary-Orange scones are sweet, tangy, and delicious!! The orange glaze is just the icing on the top (get it — Icing on the top! :))Be sure to get this recipe!

Is there anyone in the world that doesn’t have a love affair with scones? I doubt it. Scones are sweet and buttery and light and flaky all at the same time. Add to that their ability to meld all sorts of flavors into themselves and you have a breakfast pastry that can’t be topped for its versatility, flavor, and simplicity.

My favorite recipe uses a combo of cranberries and rosemary…a classic flavor duo…but with an added touch of orange. The orange keeps the scones light, fresh, and fun. And the orange glaze drizzled on TOP of the scones? Oh. My. Gosh. It’s bright and packed full of flavor. You’ll be licking off the tops of your scones.

Wherever possible, when using orange and rosemary…use fresh. It’s tempting to pull out dried herbs and zest for baking, but the flavor you get from the fresh ingredients really is the best. The extra two minutes of chopping rosemary and zesting a lemon will be worth it.

Note:

Did you know that smelling citrus boosts your feel-good hormone in your brain? True story.

It’s important to use cold butter when making scones so that you can achieve that beautiful buttery and flaky pastry.

Why cold butter?

When the butter melts in your dough while baking in the oven it creates little pockets where steam expands and helps the dough rise. If you have butter that is melty before you get to the dough to the oven, you lose those pockets of gas expanding, leaving you with a denser, less fluffy scone.

Tip:

Freeze your scone dough for an hour or so before baking to get the ultimate in light and flaky scones!

Don’t get crazy with forming and rolling your scone dough. The less you handle it, the better. Simply pat it into a circle about 9 inches in diameter, as evenly thick as you can get it, and slice it into eight pie wedges. Then bake.

Sure, those scones will come out of the oven ready to be shoved into your mouth. Frankly, you might not make it to the glazing step before you find yourself minus scones. I would highly recommend baking these up when your family isn’t home. And if they are home, DON’T turn your back.

Off topic…

Have you played the Super Mario board that has the little ghosts that will attack you if you turn your back to them for too long? As long as you are looking at them they stay where they are but the minute you turn your back… BAM! My family is little ghosts when I’m baking in the kitchen. DON’T TURN YOUR BACK!

Anyways, you can feel free to use purchased orange juice for the glaze but since you already of the fresh orange to grab zest from why not use fresh orange juice? It really will make a huge difference!

You think that I’m crazy with the vodka addition to the glaze, don’t you? Try it sometimes and you’ll be a believer. Vodka adds a wonderful kick to the glaze that cuts a bit of the sweetness from the scones out, in the best possible way.

Plus, everything is better with alcohol. It’s truth.

ingredients.

For scones:
3 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tab grated orange peel
1 tsp rosemary (just used dried, it’s easier)
3/4 cup chilled butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1 cup cold buttermilk (for a quick substitution, see below)

For glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
1 tab vanilla
2 tab vodka (optional)

directions.

For scones:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Put flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, orange peel, and rosemary into large bowl.
Add butter and mix into flour mixture…gotta use your fingers! You want it to look like crumbs.
Mix in cranberries.
Gradually add buttermilk, use fork to stir until it gets mostly mixed together (it will still have clumps!).
Put the dough onto a floured counter and knead a few times so it sticks together. About 4-6 times.
Form the dough into a circle about 9 inches in diameter. Cut into 8 wedges. (if you have time pop the wedges into the freezer for about an hour)
Put the wedges onto the baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool about 10 minutes.

For glaze:

Mix all ingredients together.
If necessary, to achieve needed thickness add more powdered sugar.
Drizzle the glaze on top of the cooled scones.

To make buttermilk :

Put 1 tablespoon lemon juice into 1 cup milk.
Let sit for about 5 minutes.
Wa la! Buttermilk.

How to make a ring dish at home.

This diy ring dish is so quick and easy to make, so adorable to have, and so incredible awesome to give!. All in all…you NEED this in your life in some fashion. And after you see how to make it you will be wondering why on earth you haven’t made one for your grandma or aunt before.

This DIY ring dish is so quick and easy to make, so adorable to have, and so incredibly awesome to give!. All in all…you NEED this in your life in some fashion. And after you see how to make it you will be wondering why on earth you haven’t made one for your grandma or aunt before. This Christmas will be the year of awesome gift giving!

The CUTEST little ring dish you ever did see…right!! And it’s so easy. Here are the materials you need…

Materials:

super glue
paint (spray paint keeps this easy!)
knickknack
dish

Let’s talk about these materials for a bit. There is no right or wrong to what you choose. You want to find a knickknack that fits nicely with the dish and stands up a bit. It can be a cow, a bell, a tree…or a man :). As long as it’s fairly skinny, and not too wide that it covers your dish. If you can find a deer with antlers…how cool would that be (rings could go on the antlers!)! And, if your figurines don’t match that doesn’t matter …because you will be painting it anyways!

Glueing is just that…glueing. Nothing fancy about this. I would recommend that you just watch that you don’t glob so much glue on that it seeps out from under the figurine and creates a yucky edge. Hold it firmly for a minute or so and then let dry.

After your dish is dry…take the paint to it!! More coats with less coverage are better than heavy coverage with fewer coats. Truly! Let dry in between coats!

The gold paint I used is awesome because it dries very quickly in between coats (remember, thinner coats!) allowing me to reapply quickly after!

Tip:

Use a large box to paint your dish. Set a fan nearby to keep the fumes from being crazy bad. Or, if it’s nice outside where you are…take it outside.

That’s truly it! It is so easy to make this sweet dish.

I think this is a wonderful gift idea! You can customize it however you like, exactly the way you know the recipient would like it! DIY ring dish= happy Christmas gift giving!

poor man’s Beef Wellington recipe

I call this recipe the poor man’s Beef Wellington because it’s, well, for poor people :). Like me. Rather than using an expensive steak this wellington recipe uses easy to find, inexpensive ground beef. But don’t be fooled…it is utterly delicious and decadent. This recipe is one of my husband’s favorites and I pull it out for Valentines Day, anniversaries, and the occasional Sunday evening.

Puff pastry is every cook’s favorite secret helper because it’s utterly delicious AND speeds up prep time.

Poor Man’s Beef Wellington

(this recipe makes 8. 1/2 the recipe for 4)

2 beaten eggs

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

4 tablespoons crushed saltine crackers (or bread crumbs)

2 tablespoons dried parsley

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon cream

3 tablespoons butter

1 small onion, chopped fine

4 cloves of garlic, minced

8 ounces baby bella mushrooms

1/2 cup red wine (or grape juice)

1 teaspoon basil

mozzarella cheese (optional)

2 sheets of puff pastry

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix first 6 ingredients together well. Set aside.

In a large saucepan melt butter. Add onion and mushrooms.

Cook on medium high heat until mushrooms sweat and onions are translucent.

Turn down to medium while you add the garlic, red wine, and basil.
Turn the heat back up to high and continue to cook until reduced. Remove from heat. Cool.

Lightly grease a cookie sheet.

On a lightly floured surface lay out pastry sheets. Cut each sheet into 4 squares

Spread mushroom mixture across each square. Top with thin layer of mozzarella cheese

Put 1/2 cup of meat mixture (formed into flattened balls) on top.

Pull corners up over meat and pinch edges together. (don’t worry if this is tricky, it is for everyone…it isn’t just you!)

Put the bundles on a cookie sheet with seam side down. Cut small slits on top and brush the tops with cream or beaten egg.

Bake for 30-40 minutes (at 400 degrees) or until golden brown and meat is cooked through.

Serve with brown gravy

(I like to add 1/2 cup of red wine to the gravy, it adds so much to the flavor of this recipe!)

Capsule Wardrobe: the ultimate guide.

WHAT is a Capsule Wardrobe?

Before you get going on a capsule wardrobe you should know WHAT it’s defined as. It’s certainly not a hard science and these two articles answer the questions well…

What is a Capsule Wardrobe Anyway from un-fancy.

Getting Started from the project 333.

WHY you might like a Capsule Wardrobe…

A Capsule Wardrobe, although a current trend, is certainly not for everyone. Take a look at these articles and see if they resonate with you.

Your Personalised Capsule Wardrobe Dossier from looking stylish.

Capsule Wardrobe. Is it valuable for your life? from nelliebellie.

Wear One from becoming minimalist.

Keep it Realistic…

A Capsule Wardrobe might not be for you. Ever. Read a few of these articles to generate a more realistic approach to your capsule wardrobe. These aren’t meant to scare you…simply give you room to adapt to your own unique needs without guilt.

You’re Doing the Capsule Wardrobe Wrong from fashion magazine.

Capsule Wardrobes from grechen’s closet

Why I Got Rid of My Capsule Wardrobe from dallas city’s mom blog.

The Reality of a Capsule Wardrobe for Mom’s from scary mommy.

Why I’m Giving Up My Capsule Wardrobe from nelliebellie.

Getting Started (after reading the above articles!)…

Now that you have decided a capsule wardrobe is for you take a look at these articles for tips on starting your first.

Capsule Wardrobe: Beginner Guide from Pinch of Yum

Tips for your very first Capsule Wardrobe from nelliebellie.

How to Create a Capsule Wardrobe from every girl.

Capsule Wardrobe 101 from un-fancy.

How to Capsule Wardrobe from who what wear.

A Practical Guide to Owning Fewer Clothes from becoming minimalist.

Capsule Wardrobe from stylist.

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe-the Master Plan from greater than rubies.

Read about the journey of others…

Everyone uses capsule wardrobe’s with various degrees of success. Many need to make adjustments to their approach to allow capsule wardrobes work for them. The following articles are great personal reflections on those using capsule wardrobes. Some of these articles come from sites completely devoted to insight on capsule wardrobes.

The Capsule Wardrobe-an Experiment from vivianna does makeup.

Personal Reflections (the entire category) from un-fancy.

Drew Barrymore Closet Cleaning Tips from refinery 29.

Editing an All Season Capsule Wardrobe-the Process from the lovely laura life

Truncation Blog (the entirety of it)

Printable Guides…

Printables! We all like printables, don’t we? These will help your capsule wardrobe journey go more smoothly.

Your Printable Guide to Creating Wardrobe Capsules from inside out style blog.

Capsule Planner (pdf) from un-fancy.

Children’s Capsule Wardrobe Free Printables from crumbling cookies.

Printable Fall Capsule Wardrobe List from nelliebellie.

Wardrobe Capsule Checklist from the refinery.

How to Build the Perfect Wardrobe-10 Basic Principles from into-mind.

Wardrobe Editing List from modern eve.

4 by 4 Capsule Wardrobe Template from the vivienne files.

Follow NellieBellie ‘s board Capsule Wardrobe on Pinterest.

Pinterest Boards…

Pinterest is fantastic for gathering outfit ideas and even complete wardrobe ideas. These boards are some of my faves…

Project 333 Community Board

Hello Natural Capsule Wardrobe board

StyleBook App Capsule Wardrobe Tips board

NellieBellie Capsule Wardrobe board

Extras…

And, these links are simply for fun. They help me keep my capsule wardrobe fresh and useful.

StitchFix is a fun subscription-based way to add to your wardrobe. It’s one of my primary ways of adding to my capsule wardrobe when I feel it’s needed. You have a personal stylist that takes your style into account, your fashion Pinterest board, your notes, and lots more when they pick out clothing for your box. You can change the times you get your boxes, or even sign up for a one-time box. I am always terribly surprised at how well my stylist nails what I am looking for. AND they often choose companies that are ethically sourced and/or organic. It’s a great way to eliminate shopping and still get great pieces to keep your wardrobe fresh. It’s like Christmas in a box!

StyleBook App is for those of you that might not be quite ready to jump into a capsule wardrobe all the way down to 33 pieces BUT you want to get a bit more organization and order out of your closet. I haven’t ever used this app but hear great things about it!

Rent the Runway is THE place to get specialty outfits for that one-time event. Many of us have no need to keep special outfits for a one-time event in our closet. Rent the Runway is a to get that special outfit and keep your closet clutter-free. Besides, it’s great fun to try something new!

Tips for Shopping at Thrift Stores has tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your thrift store. Thrift stores are a great place to start filling out your capsule wardrobe for those starting out. With your first capsule wardrobe, you often want to try to stay as inexpensive as possible while you are learning what works best. Then your NEXT season you can spend a bit more money on items you have learned will work best. Thrift stores are also wonderful for those on a budget but still wanting to try a capsule wardrobe.

For more capsule wardrobe posts along with easy recipes, crafts, and simply living tips SIGN UP to get NellieBellie posts!

lemon cake recipe |2 ingredient|

Why spend a lot of time and energy putting together a completely homemade cake when you can cook up a two-ingredient lemon cake recipe? We think that is a valid question.

Let’s get something straight; we love homemade cake. We have several recipes for homemade cake, including our favorite chocolate and white cakes. And we encourage everyone who likes baking to try them. Even people who don’t like baking should try them, so they can see how easy baking really can be. But sometimes, and for some people, spending a couple hours baking a cake just isn’t worth it all the time.

We have more important things to do. Or we realized at the last minute we needed to bring something for church. Or any number of reasons we just don’t feel like taking the time to bake a cake completely from scratch.

Enter the two ingredient cake easy lemon cake recipe.

We are not claiming that this cake is as delicious as homemade ones. It isn’t. And it would be very sad if all our work making cake from scratch didn’t matter. It does!

But, if you add a delicious frosting or a bunch of whipped cream…it’s still quite good. And there are some events that don’t require you to spend the time necessary to make the most amazing cake ever. Good is good enough. In those cases, make this cake!

This is also a great starter cake for kids. A box of mix, a can of soda, and a supervisor to make sure they don’t burn themselves on the oven is all you need. Then, as they get older, you can graduate them to 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies.

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