Archive for October, 2010

Yesterday I did pink for Breast Cancer Awareness, and today I wanted to wear green in honor of Depression Awareness. Claire’s Envy is a blackened green with what almost looks like teal shimmer to it. It’s a gorgeous color, and as per usual, I couldn’t capture its true beauty with my camera. I’ll have to get a hold of a Jansjo from IKEA since they take superb pics, and they’re only $10!

Prep Time: 15 mins.
Cook Time: 1 hr.
Total Time: 1 hr. 15 mins.
Yields: 4-6 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 TSP onion powder
1/2 TSP salt
1/4 TSP nutmeg
1 18 oz. jar store-bought beef gravy
Pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Mix all ingredients for the meatballs together. Shape into balls. Place on cookie sheet.
3. Bake for 30 minutes or until browned.
4. Remove meatballs from oven and place in a casserole dish.
5. Pour gravy over meatballs, and bake covered about 30 minutes.
6. Serve with egg noodles, rice or mashed potatoes.

***SIDE NOTES***
The original recipe called for 2/3 cup of milk, but it was WAY too much (so was the full teaspoon of salt)! If the measurements above are still a tad off, add milk and/or breadcrumbs as needed.

I’ve found that adding the dry ingredients together first, and then adding the milk and egg helps keep a nice consistency for my meatballs. Don’t overwork the meat either, or the meatballs may turn out tough.

You can also brown the meatballs in a skillet, and then simmer them with the gravy for about 30 minutes. Or bake them in the oven, and then simmer them over the stove.

Pinks and I really don’t get along, but I really wanted to wear pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Sadly, this is the only pink I could find in my entire stash that didn’t seem completely crappy on me or wasn’t bright. Not that there’s anything wrong with bright this time of year, I just wasn’t feeling it.

China Glaze Sweet Cream Pink is a dusty rose more than anything to me, and it’s definitely perfect for fall. The polish applied like butter and I only needed two coats, but did a third anyway. Sweet Cream Pink is an older ChG, and I’m not sure how easy it is to find since I snagged mine in a swap a while back. I’m sure there’s a dupe for it out there somewhere, but if you like it, get it!

China Glaze Stella is a gorgeous purple shimmer. I’ve never claimed to be good at descriptions, but this is one of those purples that reminds me of royalty and doesn’t seem to lean too blue.

Revlon Vixen is a color I first heard about on Cupcakes and Cashmere. Emily was saying how it’s her go-to vamp for Fall, and Nailgal made it look utterly gorgeous. Apparently it’s a decent dupe for OPI Lincoln Park After Dark (LPAD), which I recently swapped out. I can definitely see this being a fave color for me!

On a whim one night I decided I wanted to make chicken noodle soup, so I scoured Food.com until I found this one. I figured with 327 reviews giving it five stars, I couldn’t be going wrong. It’s absolutely divine, and it definitely hits the spot when it’s cold out!

Preparation time: 15 min
Cooking time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons butter
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 small potato, diced
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
4 (14 ounce) cans chicken broth
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon
4 ounces egg noodles
2 cups cooked chicken
Parsley, to garnish

Directions:
1. Melt butter in large pot.
2. Sauté the celery, carrot and onion for 2 minutes.
3. Add potato, thyme, poultry seasoning, chicken broth and bouilion.
4. Bring to a boil.
5. Add noodles and chicken and cook on low for 20 minutes.
6. Sprinkle with parsley.

***SIDE NOTE***
The last time I made this, I used a 32 oz. carton of chicken broth and a 28 oz. carton of chicken stock, which made it a lot richer. I definitely recommend trying it that way!

Picture and Recipe Courtesy of Food.com

I picked up Wild Orchid and Snakeskin from Color Club’s Fall 2010 collection, Untamed. I have a fondness for purple and grey polishes, so I was anxiously awaiting the release of this color. I would’ve purchased Ms. Hautie too, but something stopped me and I’m glad since when I got home and read reviews, it was basically the hot mess of the collection. So, if nothing else, get yourself this one! It’s a gorgeous medium grey with flecks of blue, green and pink glitter. Nice subtle micro-flecks, but definitely enough to catch your eye!

Nubar Cherry Cordial is actually from last week, but I never ended up posting it. I was super busy at work, and my life almost took a nasty turn last week. Thankfully, work has slowed down a bit and it looks like my life is going to be a-okay after all. Anywho! Cherry Cordial is from Nubar’s 2009 fall/winter “Chocolate Truffle” collection, and is a gorgeous color that I found describe as bronze… Maybe even a browned-out rust with more red than orange, with a hint of goldish-green duochrome. Scrangie’s description is much better, ” A warm red/brown/gold/pink subtle duochrome shimmer.”

Hard Candy Lava is an insane red that seriously almost looks like lava!  You can see how fiery it is with it’s bright red shimmery base, and definite flakes of gold and orange.  It really does seem to almost make your nails look like they’re on fire… I can’t say too much more other than run to your nearest Wal-Mart and snag this baby for $5!