Hope you all had a great Easter!
We are on Spring Break this week and since I have lots going on I have decided to take the week off from blogging. I'll be back next week hopefully all rested and recharged.
Until then, I have some Pampered Chef Goodies to give away.
I can't decide whether to give this all to one person or to split it up and share it between two of you. Let me know what you all think about that!
Included are:
~Mix N Chop - this is fabulous for breaking up hamburger when making sloppy joes and such.
~Julienne Peeler
~Season's Best mini cookbook
~I-Slice
~Nylon Pan Scrapers (very helpful when washing dishes)
~jar of Pampered Chef Chili Lime Rub
To enter:
1. You must be a follower of mine and if you aren't already and want to be then simply sign up.
2. Leave me a comment on this post.
3. If you want an extra chance at winning then you may blog about my giveaway or add a picture of it to your sidebar. If you do this then be sure to let me know so that I can add your name twice.
Good luck to all and I'll be back next week with a winner or two! ( Hope to announce winner on Sunday or Monday.)
Happy Easter to all of you!
Hope you all have a wonderful day full of family, friends and food.
I finished several more quilt blocks over the last couple of days. It's amazing how much I can get done when I actually get a little extra spare time to work on little things like these.
First up is my March Boot Bash Block
This block gave me fits for some reason. I had a really hard time stitching as you can see...it's not the neatest job I've ever done.
Next are the pink and red #4 blocks for the Flowers of Love Quilt.
Yesterday I cut out the boot block for April. I'm still deciding on whether I like the fabric combinations that I chose. Once I decide then I'll begin stitching it as well as the burgundy #4 block for the flower quilt.
Lots to do this week.
Stitching, a bit of spring cleaning, grass cutting (if the rain ever stops) and a few other things that I'd like to get tackled. So much that I want to get done on Spring Break...we'll see what I can accomplish.
Oh, and before I forget again~I keep forgetting to show you this.
Look at this cute little lamb that I picked up at a craft show a few weeks ago. Isn't he cute?
Have a great one!
Howdy all!
I'm still here, I've just been busy and haven't spent much time on the computer lately.
Today begins Spring Break for my kids and I am so glad.
My oldest son was supposed to have all of this week off but due to snow days from this winter they were forced to use their days off as makeup days.
So all they get is today and Monday off but hey that's better than nothing. He will return to school on Tuesday but then he is off on a Geology field trip for the rest of the week. So it's counted as a school day but it sure won't be like a regular school day.
I'm hoping that this rain will let up by then so that he will have a nice trip.
Speaking of the rain, I wish we could bottle all this extra rain up and send it to some of you that are in drought stricken areas.
Now to the recipe!
This would make a great summer drink to have by the poolside or to serve at a picnic. You can add as little or as much sugar as you wish to get the desired sweetness.
Watermelon Cooler
1 baby seedless watermelon (about 4 cups worth)
3 cups water
4 tbsp. sugar
1 lemon
Chop watermelon in small chunks and place in blender.
No need to worry about any small seeds. Blend it all!
Add water and blend for 1 minute.
Pour into a pitcher and add sugar and the juice of 1 lemon.
Stir, chill and ENJOY!
Be sure to check back later as I will be hosting a giveaway!!! (Pampered Chef)
Have a great Easter Weekend!
Good Monday all!
Hope it was a good one for you!
Monday's are usually a bummer of a day for me but not today.
I must of really caught up on sleep this weekend because when the alarm went off at 5:30 this morning I was more than ready to get up and get started.
I managed to get the house cleaned, laundry started and floors scrubbed all before it was time to get the kids up for school. We got our school lessons done for the day and then headed outdoors to enjoy the sunshine before the rain clouds appeared. Luckily, the rain has held off so far. We've had so much rain in the past month that it's going to take forever for the ground to dry up.
This afternoon the kids took their bikes to the walking trail to ride while I walked it. Once we finished that we headed back home and I prepared this chicken dish.
It's something new that I thought I'd try and it turned out quite tasty. I've made lemon pepper chicken before with the dry powder spice but it doesn't even compare to this. By cooking it in the garlic oil with onions and lemons you get a zesty flavor all the way through the chicken.
Lemon and Garlic Chicken Bake
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp. minced garlic
1/3 cup Sherry cooking wine
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 bag chicken tenderloins
1 lemon
6 oz. frozen pearl onions
Warm oil in pan and add garlic.
Cook for a minute but don't let the garlic brown.
Remove from heat and then add wine, lemon juice, oregano, salt & pepper.
Pour mixture into a 13X9 pan.
Place chicken on top and turn to coat both sides.
Cut lemon in 8 wedges longwise.
Place lemons and onions on top of chicken.
Sprinkle with a bit more salt and pepper.
Bake in a 350 degree oven until done.
I cooked mine for about 1 hour and 35 minutes.
Enjoy!
I made this salad tonight for dinner and it was so good.
I wasn't so sure that I would like the homemade dressing on it but I did.
Lots of different flavors all mixed into one.
Greek Salad
1/4 cup olive oil
6 cups cubed french bread
1 head of lettuce, chopped
1 cucumber, sliced
6 mini red, yellow and orange sweet peppers
8 mini tomatoes cut into small wedges (the ones that are just a bit bigger than the grape tomatoes)
1 jar green olives, drained
6 oz. crumbled Feta cheese
Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a skillet. Add bread crumbs and toss around until lightly browned. Remove from heat and cool.
Wash, seed and dice peppers into small pieces.
Place peppers in a skillet with a small drizzle of olive oil and heat just until peppers begin to brown.
Remove from heat and allow them to cool. ( I placed mine in the freezer for a few minutes.)
While those are cooling begin cutting the lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes.
In large bowl, toss together lettuce, peppers, cucumber, tomatoes & peppers.
Add Feta cheese and bread cubes and set aside while you make the dressing.
For Dressing:
Whisk together the 1/2 cup olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper.
Pour over salad and toss to coat everything.
*You be the judge of how much dressing to use. I used all but about 2 tbsp. of it on mine.*
Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes so that flavors mingle.
Enjoy!
Now to the GOOD movie.
We watched Country Strong last night, starring Tim McGraw and Gwyneth Paltrow and it was sooo good. Not the end that I expected but still a great movie. I loved each and every song that they played throughout the movie so I had to go today and grab the soundtrack. I also added two of the songs to my Playlist here on my blog.
Which reminds me, I love, love, love to listen to music thus the reason for the Playlist on my sidebar. However, I know some people would rather not listen to the music ~ sometimes it's distracting if you are trying to read. So if you'd rather visit without the noise then just scroll down to my Playlist and shut the music off. That way you can read in peace and quiet.
Well, it's a cold and windy evening here so we're all indoors for the night. I think I'll get ready for bed early and maybe watch Country Strong again....it's going on my wish list because it's definitely one of those movies that I could watch over and over again.
I'll be back later to catch up with all of you!
It's that time of the year again!
The time when the spring rains seem to push the ants indoors. YUCK!
I don't mind ants being outdoors - after all God did put everything on Earth for one purpose or another.
However, they have NO purpose in my home.
S P L A T !
For the past 3 weeks I've noticed an ant here or there in my laundry room ~ no big deal!
I purchased a few store bought ant traps but so far they haven't worked their magic.
So I went to search the internet for a solution and this is what I came up with. *These are the measurements that I mixed together for a small batch.*
Homemade Ant Bait
1 1/2 tbsp. Borax powder
1 1/2 tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup warm water
cotton balls
an old glass or plastic container to mix everything in
Mix first three in container.
Place a few cotton balls in the mixture and let them soak for a minute.
Remove cotton from mixture and squeeze out the excess liquid.
Place cotton balls in places where the ants are being a nuisance however keep them out of reach of children and animals. When the cotton dries out you can submerge them back in the solution, squeeze and reuse.
I have brick on my outer kitchen walls and that is where the ants seemed to be coming from. These cotton balls worked well in those hard to get to areas. I was able to scrunch them up and shove them in between the bricks.
Within one day the ants were gone from my kitchen.
I can't say the same for my laundry room though.
So far I have only used the store bought traps in the laundry area and I still have ants.
So tomorrow I will mix up another small batch and see if that gets rids of them there too!
Hi everyone!
Did you all have the awesome weather that we did this weekend?
It didn't just feel like spring...it was more like summer and I LOVED it!
Saturday was a bit cool and cloudy but Sunday was super.
Once I got the house all cleaned and in order we headed outdoors to enjoy the sunshine and warm weather.
We cut the grass for the first time this year and I'm guessing that job will need done again soon with all the wet and rainy weather we keep getting.
I'm not complaining though because that means that summer is just around the corner.....YEAH!
After dinner I parked myself in the backyard and stitched some more on my quilt blocks. When I get a few more done I'll show them to you.
Today was another nice day temperature wise but the rains have settled back in so it's cooled down a bit - but hey at least it's not snowing!
Here's a quick to fix dessert that can be thrown together at the last minute. Nothing fancy but it sure hits the spot for an after dinner sweet.
Milk Chocolate Almond Pie
1 prepared graham cracker pie crust
6 (1.5 oz.) milk chocolate bars (*see note at bottom*)
8 oz. Cool Whip
1 envelope Dream Whip
1/2 cup cold milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
slivered almonds and mini chocolate chips for garnish
In double boiler, melt chocolate candy bars.
Place Cool Whip in a mixing bowl and add melted chocolate.
Fold in gently.
Pour mixture into pie crust and set aside.
In another bowl, combine Dream Whip, milk and vanilla.
Beat until soft peaks form.
Spread on top of pie.
Garnish with almonds and chocolate chips.
Refrigerate and ENJOY!
* Walmart has been selling their Great Value brand of 6 Chocolate candy bars in a pack for $1.00. That's less than 20 cents per bar.
Needless to say I stocked up on them at that price.
I use them in baking, making Smores by the campfire or just to eat as a candy bar.*
That little recipe box holds all my tried and true family favorite recipes. It's my go-to box when all else fails.
The recipes that my kids will ask for when they are grown, married and raising their own kids.
So how do I preserve them so that they will be intact when that time comes?
Now, you may be wondering why I am even thinking that far into the future.
My answer... there are many recipes that I wish that I would have asked for before loved ones passed on. To me those recipes are just as important as the family geneology that one researches.
So in my attempt to save and record our favorites over the years I have tried several methods.
~ index cards
~clear plastic sleeves that fit into a 3 ring binder, etc. etc.
No matter what I try I always end up going back to my handy little Longaberger Recipe Basket.
It's just simple and easy to grab a recipe out of the box.
To keep them neat, clean and free of messy fingers I've begun laminating each recipe card with a clear laminate.
No laminate machine necessary!
Just grab a roll of clear laminate ($6 in the Contact Paper section) located in the kitchen appliance section at Walmart.
This isn't quite a fix-it-and-forget-it meal but pretty close.
You'll have to cook some noodles right before serving to make it complete.
Crockpot Beef and Noodles
2 lbs. stew beef meat
2 cans cream of celery soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 packet dry Onion Soup Mix (like Lipton's)
1/2 cup water
noodles
Spray crockpot with cooking spray.
Cut stew beef cubes in half so that you have small bite size pieces.
Place cubes in crockpot.
Add cream soups, dry soup mix and water.
Give it a good stir and place lid on crockpot.
Cook on high for 6-7 hours.
Serve over cooked noodles and add a side of veggies.
Enjoy!
Brrr...it's back to being down right chilly again.
Yesterday we woke up to warm weather (70's) but as the day went on the winds picked up and the rains began.
Now we're back in the low 40's and it's still pretty windy out.
I'll be so glad when the warmer weather is here to stay!
Is it too cold and snowy in your area for the daffodils to bloom?
Why not create your own daffodils from felt.
I found this cute tutorial over at HARTFELT FABRIC ART and since I had a stash of felt laying around I thought I'd give them a try.
Now I know that daffodils are yellow but I couldn't resist adding a a few more colors. I wanted to make the white daffodils with the orange centers but I didn't have any white felt so the pink and blue took it's place.
These were so easy to make.
Just a few cuts, a tiny bit of stitching and wahlah!
I placed my finished flowers on straws and then wrapped them in the green floral tape. I didn't have any small empty pots so I just used a canning jar that I wrapped in some spring colored fabric. I used a rubberband around the rim to secure the fabric and covered it with a pretty ribbon.
If you make those and want to try your hand at another flower then you may want to visit WEEFOLKART. They have a tutorial for brightly colored Poppieswhich I'll be trying next!
Have a great Monday and stay safe!
Lots of stormy weather all around.
We went today and picked up our new *used* truck.
I am so glad that the search is over.
It's been several years since we were in the market for a vehicle and I hope it's quite a few more before we need to look for another.
Car shopping sure has changed over the years.
It used to mean going in person to all the local dealerships in hopes of finding the *right* one.
Not anymore!
Now you just hop on the old puter and search away.
Which by the way is a whole lot cheaper than filling the gas tank up to drive all around especially when gas is over $3.60 a gallon now a days.
You can browse the internet until the cows come home each and every day until you find something that fits your budget as well as your needs. Then when you find something you'd better jump on it before someone else grabs it up.
Or at least that has been our experience.
We've found a few over the course of a couple months and each time we've gone to check on it we were told it had just sold a few hours ago...yesterday...etc.
FRUSTRATING!!!
Anyways the good thing is that we found one, hubby is happy with it (it's for him) and we got it with a super low interest rate from the bank (which makes me happy).
Other than that, nothing much new going on here in our neck of the woods.
Just more cold, dreary, rainy and snowy days.
I know it's spring but boy it doesn't feel like it.
This morning while on our way to get the truck we were passed by several ambulances. A short time later we found out why. The rain/snow mixture had turned to ice on an overpass and caused many vehicles to wreck. I counted 8 cars in total. What a shame!
This evening I started on a little spring craft. That picture above is my bag of felt squares and my scissors, needle and thread. I've almost got them done so I should have a picture to show you in the next few days.
I'm off to read a few blogs and then off to sleep.
Nighty Night!
