A Winner!

bjaustin22 won my Breast Cancer Awareness Giveaway!!!!

Please send me your full name and address and I will mail your package out.

Thank you all for participating!

Sewing Project- Drawstring Bags

Our Nephew LOVES Animals.

He must have hundreds of animal figurines. 

I made these drawstring bags for him to help keep track

of all of those animals!

Don't you love the Fabric?!?!?
It is called Dino Camo!



Peanut Butter Puppy Poppers Dog Treats

We ran out of Dog Treats. That is not a good thing around here!! Instead of running to the store I decided to make some Dog Treats at home.  I searched the web and picked a recipe I thought the dogs would love. And this is the one I picked. I was right......they love them! And they were easy to make.

Peanut Butter Puppy Poppers


2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 cup peanut butter (chunky or smooth)
1 cup milk



Preheat oven to 375F. In a bowl, combine flour and baking powder. In another bowl, mix peanut butter and milk, then add to dry ingredients and mix well. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness and use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes. Bake for 20 minutes on a greased baking sheet until lightly brown. Cool on a rack, then store in an airtight container. 

Sewing Project- Market Bags and Drawstring Bags

Market Bag and 2 Drawstring Bags

 The Market Bag

The drawstring bags---these can be used for 

Lunch Bags, Jewelry, Lingerie and more!

This is how I packaged it for gift giving.

My Ugly Patchwork Throw

I bought a bunch of fabric squares to try and make a quilt. It turned out most of them were 'ugly'......not what I wanted at all. But I hated not to use them.



So I threw together this patchwork top. I plan on backing it with some fleece and making a "Ugly Patchwork Throw".


It may be ugly but I think it will be warm!!

What I am Reading

What's for Dinner- Cheaters Scalloped Potatoes

Cheaters Scalloped Potatoes

•4-6 medium potatoes.. peeled and cut small but not diced.


•1 can cream of mushroom soup

•1/2 cup milk or water
•1 cup shredded cheese .. ( cheddar Colby jack, etc.. )


place cut potatoes in deep casserole dish.

mix remaining ingredients together and pour over top of potatoes. stir a time or two to coat.

bake in 350 degree over 45 minutes to an hour or until potatoes are fork tender and done..

Grandma's Cookbook

Matt's Grandma gave me her favorite cookbook.

She said she has had it forever and wanted me to have it.

The copyright on the book is 1959.

There are some great old recipes in it!

I can't wait to try some.

This Week's Sewing Projects

Quilted Coasters

and

Drawstring Bags



Don't you just love this  fabric!

Sewing Project

I recently started sewing.  My Mom sewed, my Grandma sewed and I had some sewing in Home EC in high school. So I have limited sewing exposure.

 I made a trip to the fabric store and picked out some fabric and a couple patterns. Let me tell ya......Sewing with a pattern and instructions is a little bit overwhelming when you have never done it before. But I took my time, read the directions (several times) and went for it!

So here is what I made....... A Market Bag!!

Won't this be great to take grocery shopping?!?!?!

This bag is a great size and is lined.

It is a double thickness of the fabric.

So I think it will be strong too

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Before I started sewing, I read this book.

Very informative and easy to read and understand.

If you are thinking of starting to sew..... I recommend this book

Opportunity Buy and New Favorite Kitchen Tool

One of our local Kroger is closing to open a new Kroger Marketplace! This last Sunday they were having a 50% off sale of all perishables. Fresh fruit and veggies ON SALE!! I loaded up on fresh fruits and veggies! Needless to say,  The dehydrator will be working overtime for a while!

I was also able to get some pantry items, frozen foods and canned goods at some great prices too. I didn't need all the items but what a great way to stock up on fresh and food storage items. Always be on the look out for great opportunities like that.

Now on to my new favorite Kitchen Tool. It  is a Apple Peeler, Corer, Slicer!

I thought it would be difficult to use but it was not! 

Just stick the apple on the prongs and turn the handle.

It peels the apple, cores the apple and slices the apple. Amazing! So easy!

I forgot to get a picture of the slices apple. But it looks like a apple Slinky when done!

Here are the slices ready to go into the Dehydrator!

What's for Dinner- Apple Brownies

Apple Brownies

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

•1/2 cup butter, softened

•1 cup sugar

•1 egg, beaten

•2 apples, peeled,cored,chopped

•1/2 cup chopped pecans

•1 cup flour

•1/2 teaspoon baking soda

•1/2 teaspoon baking powder

•1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preparation:

Cream butter and sugar, beat in egg, then mix in apples and pecans.

Sift dry ingredients and work into the first mixture.

Pour into a buttered, 8 x 8-inch baking dish and bake at 350 degrees 40 minutes.

Yields 12 to 16

Affordable Generator at Harbor Freight Tools

Look what we got today..........

800 Rated Watts/900 Max Watts Portable Generator on Sale at Harbor Freight Tools for $79.99!

Granted....this won't power the whole house but it is a nice litle generator for the price. We are thinking it would be great for camping trips!

What's for Dinner- Lemon Chicken Farfalle

Lemon Chicken Farfalle


3-4 chicken breasts, sliced

1 pkg. button mushrooms, sliced in quarters

1 lb. farfalle (bowtie) pasta noodles

Brown chicken in lemon juice with lemon pepper and salt for seasoning.

Remove chicken from skillet. Begin boiling farfalle (or bowtie) noodles. Put one package, sliced button mushrooms in the pasta boiling water for 1 minute. Remove mushrooms and set aside.

Lemon Cream Sauce:

3 T. butter

2 t. flour

1 quart half and half or heavy whipping cream (I used Milk)

1 c. Parmesan cheese

1 chicken bouillon cube

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1 T. Lemon Pepper Seasoning

1-2 T. lemon juice (add at very end when cream sauce is thick)

1 10 oz. package spinach (I used fresh)

Melt butter then add flour. Stir together to create a roux. Then add the half and half. Stir together cooking only on low.

Once the cream is heated thoroughly, add the chicken bouillon. Then add Parmesan cheese. If sauce needs to be thicker add more Parmesan cheese. Do not cook on a high heat it will curdle the milk!

When sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, add torn spinach leaves.

Then add mushrooms and chicken to simmer until noodles are done.

Serve immediately.

Add lemon juice at very end.

How to make a Roux

Roux (pronounced /ˈruː/) is a cooked mixture of wheat flour and fat, traditionally clarified butter. It is used as a thickener for gravy, other sauces, soups and stews. It is typically made from equal parts of flour and fat by weight.

Here's How:



1.Melt 1/2 cup (unless a specific amount is called for) of butter, shortening, oil, or other fat in a heavy skillet over very low heat.


2.Gradually sprinkle the hot melted fat with the same proportion of flour and immediately begin stirring.

3.Stir the mixture constantly until it reaches the desired color, which may take from 15 to 30 minutes.

4.Remove from the heat and continue stirring until it has cooled down a bit and there's no risk of burning.


5.Add herbs, vegetables, or whatever your recipe calls for or store roux tightly covered in the refrigerator for later use.


Tips:
1.A dark roux will thicken less than light roux.


2.If black specks appear in the roux, it has burned and you'll have to start over.


3.If roux is made ahead and refrigerated, pour excess oil from the surface before reheating, or let it return to room temperature.