Vegetarian Cottage Pie

This  is a vegetarian version of The English Kitchen's Cottage Pie with Potato Cobbles. If you have never visited the site then I highly recommend it. She offers yummy recipes and I can promise you that her pictures alone will be enough to make you hungry.

One evening I gave the original recipe a try and as with many dishes you can modify them a bit to fit the needs of a vegetarian. It worked and I was able to feed my family of meat-eaters with the original as well as have a dish that my dad (vegetarian) would also eat.

 Using my new Pampered Chef Crinkle Cutter

Vegetarian Cottage Pie

12 oz. pkg. MorningStar Farms Grillers Recipe Crumbles
1/2 c. baby pearl onions*
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup water
1/4 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. Mrs. Dash table blend seasoning
1 tbsp. ketchup
1 tbsp. worcestershire sauce (there are vegetarian varieties)
1 tbps. flour
2 cups veggie broth
1 cup carrot slices*
12 oz. brussel sprouts* 
1 cup of peas*
5 potatoes
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
*I used frozen vegetables but you could use fresh if you have them available*

Wash, peel and slice potatoes into 1/4" slices.
Place potatoes in a pan and cover with water.
Bring to a boil and let cook for 3-4 minutes.
Remove from heat, drain and set aside.
While potatoes are cooking you can also begin cooking your vegetables (all but the onions)in another pan. Cook them until they are tender and then drain & set aside.
Pour olive oil into a hot skillet.
Add Morningstar Farms Crumbles and pearl onions and let brown a few minutes.
Next,add the garlic, Mrs. Dash, ketchup & worcestershire. Simmer to heat through.
Sprinkle flour over the top of mixture and stir. Let cook 2 minutes and then add vegetable broth.
Continue cooking until it has thickened.
To assemble:
Spray a 13X9 pan with cooking spray.
Place crumble & onion mixture in the bottom.
Layer the veggies on top. (not the potatoes)
Neatly arrange the potato slices over the veggies.
Sprinkle with cheese and bake at 350° for 40 minutes.
Enjoy!

Craft Show Finds and Some Chit Chat

Hello all,
Wow, time is really flying by. I've hardly been on the computer at all this weekend and my last post was clear back on Thursday.
Don't know what my problem is, just can't seem to get my butt in gear.

Mom & I went to a craft show this weekend that was held at the high school. She found a few things and so did I.
I picked up the cute bunny pictured above & below. She looks like she is made from an old fence post that has been split in two.

I also picked up this little bunny in a carrot to hang somewhere.

Mom saw this sign and grabbed it for me

She knows how I DREAD doing dishes. Dishes are the worst household chore in my book. Always has been and always will be my least favorite thing to do.

The rest of the weekend was spent at home with the family. The kids were still getting over colds so we were pretty much stuck indoors.
My intentions were to work on THESE fabric eggs for Easter decorations. However, mine turned out nothing like the ones in her picture. Mine kinda looked more like a hacky sak than an egg.
I gave up on that idea and just played around with some scraps until I stitched together a little flower.(in quilt block pic below) My first thought was that maybe I could make a few more of them, place them on a stem and add them to a pretty vase of some sorts for a springtime bouquet. But that thought faded quickly and I ended up stitching a bit more on my heart blocks.

Got to get them finished so that I can begin on March's boot block! (See, I'm behind on that too!)

Yesterday was just a typical Monday.
Lots to do but no drive to get started. Sound familiar?
At the end of the day I did get everything done that I needed to get done. It just took me all day to do it.
After dinner Logan and I had a meeting to go to. His Science class is planning a 3 day trip down state to go exploring.
Some of the sights are:
Coopers Rock
Cathedral State Park
Fairfax Stone
Blackwater Falls
Dolly Sods
Red Creek
Sinks of Gandy
Spruce Knob
Smoke Hole Caverns
Seneca Rocks and more

It sounds like it's going to be an awesome trip and the best part is that I get to go with him as a chaperone. I can't wait!
I've been to a good many of those places before but I'm certain that this trip will be like no other...lots of interesting info to learn.
The kids will be required to document the trip in pictures and in a field guide.
I think it's going to be an awesome learning experience for the kids as well as the parents.

Speaking of learning, I had better get off here. My younger two children are finishing up some schoolwork right now and are about ready to start the next lesson so I better go teach.

I'll be back later to visit all of you're blogs.

Philadelphia Candies

Philadelphia Candies, located in Hermitage, Pennsylvania has been making sweet treats since 1919.
It all began with four brothers who immigrated from Greece and began a small chocolate company in the Shenango Valley of Western Pennsylvania.
As with all new businesses, a name was needed. The Macris brothers decided on "Philadelphia Candies" which in their native Greek language meant "candies made with brotherly love".
Ninety-two years later the company is still operated by the Macris family and making the same delicate and delicious chocolates.

I was recently contacted by John Macris and given the opportunity to sample some of their fine chocolates.

My sampling included:
   Chocolate Covered Pretzel Twists
   Assorted Milk Chocolates
   Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles
   Coconut Easter Egg
   A variety of all 6 Candy Bars
   Philadelphia Candies T-shirt

The milk chocolate was oh so creamy and the rich centers were buttery delicious. My very favorite was the Original Butter Cream Croquettes. They were so good that I had a hard time sharing them with the rest of the family. (Shame on me!)

John also sent me some fundraising materials that I had asked him about.

Each brochure has 40-60 pictured items to choose from and they all range in price from $1.00 to $47.00.
During the Easter and Christmas seasons they also offer special holiday brochures.

If brochure sales aren't what you are looking for then you might like the candy bar fundraiser. A case of 180 bars to buy and resell for a great profit.

Philadelphia Candies has two locations.
Factory and Retail Store
1546 E. State St.
Hermitage, PA 16148

Philadelphia Candies Shop
14449 Boardman-Canfield Road
Boardman, OH 44512

If you are ever in the area be sure to stop by one of their locations and taste their sweet creations. You won't be disappointed!

*Saturday April 9, 2011 there will be an Easter Factory Tour at the Hermitage, PA location from 9-4. Bring the kids and receive a treat from the Easter Bunny!*

To learn more: PHILADELPHIA CANDIES
To shop online : SHOP PHILADELPHIA CANDIES
For Fundraising Info: PHILADELPHIA FUNDRAISING

Grow Your Own Salt Crystals ~ Science Project

We've been studying rocks, minerals and gems for Science class the past few weeks. (Gage's 5th grade studies)
Our Abeka textbook included the directions on how to grow your own crystrals so we thought that we would give it a try.
First we gathered all the needed supplies.

-An old glass dish * I used an old pie pan*
-liquid bluing (found in the laundry detergent section at the grocery store
-clear ammonia
-water
-table salt
-a small brick
-a 1 c. measuring cup
-a tablespoon
-an old cup or paper cup
-hammer
-food coloring (optional)

Take hammer and brick outside and pound into smaller pieces.
Thoroughly wet each piece of brick by running under cold water.
Shake the excess water off of them and then place them in glass dish.

In paper cup, mix 6 tbsp. water, 6 tbsp. bluing and 1 tbsp. ammonia.
Pour mixture over the bricks so that all pieces are coated.

Sprinkle 6 tbsp. salt over the brick pieces.

You can now add a few drops of food coloring if you choose.

                    (Can you see the drop of food coloring?)
Place dish in a well ventilated location where it will not be disturbed. ( I left ours on the kitchen counter. However, if you have little ones around you will need to keep this up and out of their reach for safety purposes.)
We were amazed each day to see the new growth.

You can read more about these and get an explanation of how they grow by visiting MRS. STEWART'S BLUING.


On the homefront:
It's been a warm but windy day. The winds began picking up late this afternoon and at one point Katie came running inside. Stuff was blowing everywhere, the electric lines were swaying up and down and I could hear things being scooted across the back porch. I went to check on things and when I returned I looked out the front window to see a piece of my Dad's roofing all curled up and the plywood exposed. Needless to say we all got soaked as we hurried to fix it before the wind tore anymore of it loose. It's a temporary fix but it will do until tomorrow.
Lots of downed power lines and trees in the area. Mom & Dad have no power, yet we do. (They live right across the street from us.) We must be on two separate lines but it's kind of nice that way. If one of us loses power- the other usually still has it. Mom just brought their dinner over to warm it up in our oven and the power company is working on the problem so hopefully they will have electric soon. The temps. are going to take a nosedive later tonight & go back down into the 30's so everyone will need the electric to turn their furnaces back on. 
Well, that's all I've got for today.
Hope you all had a great day!
And to Misty - Hope you had a great Birthday!

February's Boot Block ~Just a little behind!

Here's my latest Boot Bash Block ~ I'm a little behind but better late than not at all!

If you remember I'm also working on three separate sets of blocks for the Flowers of Love BOM. I alternate between the two BOM's. Since I just finished Feb's boot block I will now work on a Flowers Block.
I've got several blocks already pieced together I just need to sit down and hand stitch them. With the nicer weather approaching I find myself outdoors more and working less on little projects like these. However, I am determined to get both of these done THIS year.
Not a whole lot going on today other than usual ~ schooling, cooking, laundry and such.
I've spent a big portion of my morning on the phone getting interest rates from our local banks.
WOW!
I can't believe how high some of these banks rates are.
Do people actually take loans out with these banks?
I think I'll pass!
Gonna keep shopping around for a truck and a better interest rate.

Have a great Monday!

I'm Still Kickin' and SPRING is almost here!

I'm still alive!
I just haven't spent much time on the computer this week.
I've had headaches (sinus) most of the week which have pretty much kept me off the computer.
You know, the kind of headaches that make you want to do nothing but sleep!
I've been miserable and everytime I've tried to get on the computer the headaches seem to get worse.
I even tried to sew a bit and couldn't do it. 
So needless to say it's been a pretty boring week.

Yesterday the headaches seemed to ease up a bit and none at all today so here I sit at the computer screen....YAY!
Now I've just got lots of stuff to catch up on.

The weather has been so nice here. We've still had some cloudy and cool days but the sun has been out in between and it is so nice. The grass is even beginning to turn green again and I found the first daffodil poking through the ground the other day.
Sure signs that SPRING is almost here.

I got a call from the pool place today to make arrangements for the delivery of our new pool. With all the rain that we've had I was beginning to think that the pool would never get put in the ground but maybe all this sun will dry up the mud.
We also spent much of the afternoon today out looking for a new vehicle. Well, not a new vehicle (used) but one that is new to us. I don't enjoy the process of searching for a new vehicle. It's down-right depressing!
I don't want something all decked out and high priced but I also don't want something that's too old or with high mileage.
I'm not being too picky am I?
No answer needed for that question!
My husband has already answered it.
We have found a few trucks that would have been perfect ( price, mileage, looks etc.) but they were sold before we got to them. It seems everyone is looking for the same thing we are. We'll find something sooner or later...just got to keep looking.

Well I could use some extra ZZZ's so I think I'm off to bed now. I've got lots that I want to get accomplished tomorrow.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Mexican Chicken

Are you in need of a quick fix for dinner and don't have much time to prepare something?
Then here's a casserole that's quick to whip up.

Did you just say not another casserole....ughhh?

Trust me, my husband hates casseroles of any kind and that is the same reaction that he had when he walked in that night from work to find me serving a casserole.
However, he was pleasantly surprised when he took a bite.
It's loaded with flavor.

Mexican Chicken

2 whole rotisserie chickens, deboned and cut in bite size pieces
1 tbsp. taco seasoning
1 tbsp. dried onion flakes
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
12 oz. bag of taco flavored Doritos, crushed in med. size pieces
10 3/4 oz. can cream of onion soup
26 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
14.5 oz. diced tomatoes

Grease a  13 x 9 pan.
Place chicken pieces in bottom of pan.
Sprinkle taco seasoning and onion flakes over top of chicken.
In a small bowl, mix soups and tomatoes and then pour over chicken.
Top with shredded cheese and Doritos.
Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 35-45 minutes.

Notes:
The above recipe will feed 6-8 people. You can cut recipe in half & bake in an 8x8 if you are only feeding a few people.

I used store bought rotisserie chickens but you can also use canned or cooked chicken that has been cut into bite size pieces.
Also, if you prefer more of a kick, then you could substitute a can of Rotel tomoatoes for the diced tomoatoes.
Enjoy!

Birthday Goodies

How are you all liking this extra hour of daylight in the evening?
I love it but I'll enjoy it even more when it's warm enough to actually be outside in the evening and not be so chilly.
Won't be long....just a little longer here in our neck of the woods.


Well, I have to tell you that this weekend was my 38th birthday and
I don't think I have ever had as many happy birthday wishes as I did on Sunday.
I can thank Facebook for that!
My email was filled with wishes from my Facebook friends and family.
That's not a bad thing. It just surprised me because I'm hardly ever on Facebook.
I just can't seem to squeeze enough time in my day to get on there. I'm doing good to be able to keep up with my family life, homeschooling and blogging in a days worth of time. (and look my blogging has slacked off in the past few months too!) Yikes!

Anyways, to all who wished me happy birthday whether via blog, phone, in person or FB....THANK YOU!

Now do you want to see some of my birthday goodies?

First of all the Easter Bunny wreath pictured above is from my "bestest" :) friend in the whole wide world. Misty and I met in grade school and have continued our friendship all these years throughout all the ups and downs life has thrown to us. I can't imagine life without her or the phone cord that keeps us connected daily. *GRIN*

These goodies are from my hubby and kids. There is a punched tin candle tart warmer, a punched tin nightlight, John Marshall High School t-shirt (high school that I graduated from and my oldest son now attends), plus 3 music CD's. (Journey, Miranda Lambert and Poison)

Boy do those 2 titles make me feel old. Isn't is funny how the music we like really dates us?

This is a close-up of the tart warmer. I love the little church with the word HOPE underneath it.

My daughter Katie felt that she needed to give me something all on her own so she decided since she had two stuffed kitties she would give me one of them along with a dollar bill. Awww....so sweet of her!

I also got a mini blender to use with my new diet program (that one of these days I'll tell you about) and a gift card to Target and check out the little wooden block.

Mom and I went shopping at a few craft stores here in town and we found a bunch of these little blocks. They all had different and unusual sayings on them. She picked this one up for me.

Now my one wish for each and every birthday is that I don't have to cook or do dishes on that day.

So hubby went out and got breakfast and brought it home to us and since it was Sunday, the day that we all gather at my parents for dinner, I didn't have to cook that either.

Mom & Dad ordered my favorite pizza (taco) for everyone and hubby and son made my favorite Oatmeal Cake for dessert.

An enjoyable birthday it was!

Well it's getting late and I'm sleepy so I think I'll hit the sack.

Be sure to stop back as I've got several recipes to share this week as well as a science project that we are working on.

The Ohio Spills Over Again

This is the second time this month that the Ohio River has threatened to overflow it's banks.
The first of the month brought rain and snow melt which caused the river to rise but luckily it fell just short of the flood stage sparing many that live nearby it's banks.

Now, a week and a half later it's happening all over again.
Several days of rainfall that ended with snowfall last night and flurries today have brought the mighty Ohio up again. The river is expected to crest tomorrow at 41.8 feet which is more than 4 1/2 feet above flood stage.

We were out and about this morning so we thought we'd ride by the river to see the sights.
The water was near the road and spilling over in a few places. The street crews were placing barriers up and those living close by were packing items and moving them to higher ground.

We checked out a few other spots near the river while we were out or shall I say we tried.

We've gone fishing before on the other side of those bridges ~ but not today!

I'd love to be able to get some more pictures tomorrow as the water rises even more but I doubt that will happen. Most of the streets near the river have been blocked off as of this evening for safety.

Well, I'm off to bed now.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Mine is going to be relaxing. My birthday is on Sunday and I'm planning on spending my weekend doing absolutely nothing.

Nothing that is that I don't want to do! (cooking, cleaning, dishes, etc.)

Making Window Stars

The kids and I spent the afternoon yesterday making these window stars. They were really fun to work on and they have definitely brightened our windows up a bit.

I let Gage use my rotary cutter, self healing mat and quilt block template to cut out the squares for these. Typically, the kids aren't allowed anywhere near my cutting scissors for fear that they will use them on paper and dull the blade. However, this blade is already good and dull so I figured I'd let him use it and save some time cutting all those squares.

Next we folded each square several different ways until we ended up with a star point.

Then we applied a small amount of glue.

And finally, we glued each point to the next one creating a brightly colored window star.

After the glue dried we used some double sided tape and taped them to the windows.

These can be made in all different sizes. If you want a smaller star then cut your squares smaller. I believe the ones we made were about 10" squares.

If you'd like to try your hand at these then you can go HERE to view complete and easy instructions as well as step-by-step pictures.

Cheese Steak Subs

Don't these look good?

I prepared the ingredients early Saturday morning and then let them marinade in the fridge all day while I got busy on some more applique blocks.

About an hour before dinner I pulled the meat and veggies out to begin cooking,

toasted the buns and wahlah...a quick and tasty meal.

Cheese Steak Subs

2 and 1/2 lbs. round steak

1 bell pepper

1 large onion

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tbsp. dry onion soup mix

2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

mayonnaise

6 slices Provolone cheese

6 sub or hoagie buns

First you will need to slice the steaks into thin strips and place them into a large Ziploc bag.

Next, slice onion and pepper into thin slices and place those together into another Ziploc bag.

In a small bowl, whisk together oil, garlic powder, onion soup mix and Worcestershire sauce and then pour half of mixture into each Ziploc bag. Seal bags and place in fridge to marinade.

About and hour before dinner time, remove marinade bags from fridge.

Heat skillet and saute the onion and peppers for about 10 minutes.

Add the beef strips and let cook until meat is fully cooked.

While the meat is cooking, slice hoagie buns open and butter the insides. Place on a griddle to toast and then remove them to a baking sheet.

Spread mayonnaise inside buns.

Once the meat is cooked, place a decent amount of meat, peppers and onions on each bun.

Top with a slice of Provolone and then place baking sheet in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until cheese begins to brown.

ENJOY!

Oh, and get this!

You know the new stove that I bought back in November because my old one was overheating? Well, now it's not heating right. The temperature fluctuates big time. I'll set it to 350 and it only heats to 250. The next time I look at it the temp. will read 550. It's a little hard to bake things the right way when this is happening. I called Sears about it yesterday and they are sending someone on Wednesday to look at it. I'm sure they will fix it since it's obviously still under warranty but that warranty is only good for one year. Yes, I could extend that warranty but I shouldn't have to. When a product like that is made it should be good for longer than a year. Now a days pretty much everything is made cheap and nothing stands the test of time.