Embroidered Baby Gift

So, my darling husband let me get a new sewing machine, since the one I had was on it's last legs. The one I chose has embroidering capabilities, so I have been trying to learn the fine art of embroidering. It looks so easy .. yet it's so hard!

So, I made a baby gift for a military wife friend that is about to have her first baby any day now.

It's a little t-shirt and a burp cloth. I had a lot of fun making the burp cloth. The t-shirt ... well, I'm hoping it'll be easier next time if I use a bigger shirt.

Crock Pot Scalloped Horseradish Potatos

This recipe comes from Stephanie @ crockpot365.com. Oh so yummy and delicious! We'll be having this as a side dish to some grilled steaks this evening. I also made this to go w/ our Easter dinner earlier this year.

3 pound red potatoes, washed and sliced (no need to peel)
2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons prepared horseradish (not the cream kind, the regular; I went with extra hot)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, optional

The Directions.

I used a 4 quart crock pot. Scrub your potatoes well and cut into 1/4-inch slices. Layer into a crock pot you've sprayed with cooking spray. In a mixing bowl, combine the heavy cream, horseradish, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Pour over the top of the potatoes. Stir.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, high for 4 hours, or until potatoes are fork tender. I cooked ours on high for 2 hours, then low for another 4. Garnish with shredded Parmesan.

Halloween T-Shirt

So, I went out and did some shopping today ... I mostly looked for Halloween items and couldn't find any short sleeved shirts Halloween themed shirts for my 6 year old son. So, I bought a plain white t shirt from Walmart, and spent $0.70 on fabric and made my own.

Iadded some rustic looking stitches around the image to hold it in place and here is my goofball wearing the finished product:

This was so easy to make! I cut the images using my Cricut! I used the "Life is a Beach" cartridge for the skull & crossbones image. All you do is apply fusible webbing to your fabric by lightly pressing the entire thing with a warm iron, cut with your Cricut, peel off the paper backing and iron on the image. I'm pleased with how it turned out, although I think that my sewing machine is about on it's last legs. Oh well .... Christmas is right around the corner! Maybe Santa will be good to me this year .... ;)

All American Chili

Okay Okay ... so, I have seriously neglected my blog. Shame, shame. I haven't had a lot of time lately between working my two part time jobs, taking my two college classes, and taking care of my two kids and hubby. There seems to be a theme of two's here ....

Anyway, just to appease I thought I would share my favorite chili recipe since it's fall somewhere (certainly not in hot Hawaii!) and chili is a perfect fall food ...

Yield

8 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups chili and 1 tablespoon cheese)

Ingredients

• 6 ounces hot turkey Italian sausage
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound ground sirloin
• 1 jalapeño pepper, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/4 cups Merlot or other fruity red wine (can sub w/ beef or chicken stock if you aren't a wino like me!)
• 2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes, undrained and coarsely chopped (Note: I dont like tomato chunks, so I use tomato sauce instead)
• 2 (15-ounce) cans kidney beans, drained
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese

Preparation

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage, onion, and the next 4 ingredients (onion through jalapeño) to pan; cook 8 minutes or until sausage and beef are browned, stirring to crumble.

Add chili powder and the next 7 ingredients (chili powder through bay leaves), and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in wine, tomatoes, and kidney beans; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Uncover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard the bay leaves. Sprinkle each serving with cheddar cheese.

Note: Like most chilis, this version tastes even better the next day.

Unit Cake

I made a cake the other day for my husband's unit.

Here is the unit patch:

Here is the cake:

Sorry the picture is so huge! It is a white cake w/ strawberry cream filling and vanilla buttercream icing. Yum!

Cricut Creations

This weekend I did a big of crafting. I made a large sign and a shelf sitter. I'm pretty happy with the way the large sign turned out. In hindsight I wish I woud have painted the shelf sitters a different color but these will do since they're just for me.

Kielbasa, Take 2

So, after the Kielbasa in the crockpot disaster, I tried another recipe that called for Polish Sausage the other night. I have to tell you, this is one of the top ten best foods I have ever eaten. Absolutely delicious and will definitely become a regular in our dinner rotation.

The recipe came from my online friend, L. I believe she adapated it from a similar recipe on Food network.

Roast Chicken & Sausage

ingredients:
1 whole chicken, cut up
1 smoked sausage
1 large sweet onion
1 lemon
1/4 cup flavored oil (i like garlic oil or hot chili oil. you can use regular light olive oil and just add garlic powder or chili powder)
2 tsp dijon mustard
2 Tbsp worcesteshire sauce
pepper to taste
salt to taste
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp sage
garlic powder to taste

1. in a gallon baggie, squeeze juice of one lemon, add oil, mustard, worcesteshire sauce, pepper, salt, thyme, sage, and garlic powder.

2. cut chicken breasts in half so that they cook evenly with other chicken pieces. add all chicken pieces to baggie. *leave out the chicken bits you don't want like the organs and neck

3. cut onion in big chunks and add to baggie. mix baggie well and put in fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.

4. preheat oven to 425, arrange chicken and onion in a roasting pan. cook for 30 minutes. cut sausage into 2-3 inch pieces. take out roasting pan and add sausage pieces to pan. bake for additional 30-45 minutes until chicken is crispy and sausages are weeping clear juices. let rest 5-10 minutes. serve and enjoy.

I will say that I used garlic cloves rather than garlic powder, and that I felt like the "bake for additional 30-45 minutes" reference at the end was a bit vague. For my oven, I think 30-35 minutes was plenty. I also quarted red potatos and added them to the roasting pan before baking. The onions were to die for. Something magical happens to them while they are baking. This recipe is just pure food genius.

Finally lost his first tooth...

After many months of patiently waiting for a loose tooth to appear, about a week ago my 6 year old son mentioned his tooth was loose. He'd shown me several "loose" teeth before that really weren't loose at all. I think he was just trying to keep up with the Kingergarten Joneses, since all of his friends were losing teeth and he didn't have so much as a wiggle. So, I felt the tooth and sure enough, it was loose!

Today we went to a birthday party and halfway through the party he showed me the tooth again and I could tell it was about ready to come out. The mother of the birthday girl served the cake, my son took a bite and then walked back over to me. A push with his tongue and out came the tooth!

Finally!

He's very excited :)

Birthday cake

So, no progress has been made on my craft project. I haven't had any spare time between working my 2 part time jobs, getting the kids back in school and starting my next 2 college classes myself.

Meanwhile my husband turned 33 last week! He asked me for a 'golf themed cake'. This is what he got ...

I wish I'd had more time to spend on it, but it was a crazy busy day and I was running out of time to get it frosted and meet him for dinner in time. He was thrilled with it so that's what counts I suppose. If I'd had more time I would have added a layer of raspberry filling in the middle and spent more time on the frosting. There's always next year :)

College Graduate!

My husband graduated from college with an AA in General Studies. I am very proud of him as he did all of this in is "spare" time while playing Army full time including 2 deployments!

Pancakes!

After my kid's exclamation that these are the "bestest pancakes ever!" I thought I would share the deliciousness with the world. Or whoever is reading my blog ... whichever! The best thing is that you can add fresh fruit or change the flour to wheat flour and still get great results. My personal favorite are blueberry-banana.

So here they are ... Pancakes from scratch.

Yield: Nine 6 inch pancakes

Ingredients

· 2 2 cups flour

· 1 3/4 cups milk

· 2 2 tablespoons baking powder

· 2 2 eggs, beat them separately before adding to mixture

· 1 1/4 cup butter, melted (1/8 of a pound)

· 3 3 tablespoons sugar

· 1 1 teaspoon salt

Directions1. 1

Mix the dry items first.2. 2

Combine the eggs and melted butter to the milk and slowly stir in the flour.3. 3

Let sit at least 10 minutes while heating the pan.4. 4

These will be high, but light and fluffy -- .

Feedback

So, the recipe for the Sweet and Sour Kielbasa was not one I will be keeping or making again. I scrapped the whole bit in the trash, and my husband brought home take out. I don't know what I did wrong, but I do think that Kielbasa is probably not the best item to be in the crockpot since it's already cooked.

Anyway, I got a new Cricut cartridge in the mail! Simply Sweet. I haven't had time to try it out yet. My new project is a "Home is where the Army sends us" plaque with all of our duty stations on it. I got the base part done today (no pictures, yet) and I'm hoping to work on the rest of it sometime this week.

For now I've got to go ......... busy day tomorrow. After almost 7 months without our beloved dog Josie, we are finally picking her up from the airport tomorrow and she'll be joining us in Hawaii! We're very excited.

Crock Pot Sweet and Sour Kielbasa

Crock Pot Sweet and Sour Kielbasa

This crock pot recipe comes from my friend Laura. This is our first time trying it, so I'll let you know how it goes! Today is a busy day for me, so the crock pot will definitely make my life a bit easier.
6 tablespoons butter
2 diced onions
1 cup packed brown sugar
1-¼ cup ketchup
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1½ teaspoons spicy brown mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce
1 pound kielbasa sausage, cut into 1 inch piecesMelt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions until tender. Stir in brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper sauce. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Place sausage in a slow cooker with the sauce and onions. Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours. The longer it simmers the better!

What's for Dinner?

I spent most of my day in the kitchen. I really just love cooking! Tonight we had chicken chimichangas, refried beans made in the crock pot, and Salsa Verde. The meal was good, although if I were making the chimichangas again I would leave out the green onion, or maybe use a sweet white onion instead. I just didn't care for the flavor. Anyway - I thought I would share the recipe for Salsa Verde. This is one of our favorite kinds of salsa ... my husband always asks for it at mexican restuarants. The grocery store I shop at in Hawaii carrys tomatillos so I made my own today. Consider yourself forewarned, this is HOT!!! Too hot for me, my husband said it was the perfect heat for him.

Salsa Verde -

• 1 lb tomatillo
• 3-4 jalepeno
• 1/2 onion
• 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon chicken bouillion granule
• Directions:

1. To make the salsa, boil the tomatillos (without the papery husk), and jalapenos, until the jalapenos change color (About 10 -15 minutes). Put all the tomatillos, and jalapenos in a blender, add some of the water that was used to boil them. Add the onion coarsely chopped, along with the cilantro, garlic, and bouillon.
2. To prevent minor burns, either use a clean washcloth instead of the top of the blender to cover, or if your blender top has the little attachment you can remove, remove it before you blend the hot ingredients. Blend everything.
3. 
   

Some of my Cricut creations...

So, my very sweet husband got me a Cricut for my birthday (which isn't until next month, but who's counting?) I've been experimenting with it and I am still really in the learning phases. I haven't scrapbooked in years, so I'm getting reacquianted with my scrapbook supplies as well as getting to know my Cricut.

Anyway, here are my latest creations.

Some thank you cards for my in-laws (these are being sent to thank them for the birthday gifts she got last month. Better late than never, right?)

These are basically the same cards, I was just trying to save paper so I alternated the burgundy and blue papers on these.

This one is probably my favorite. The printed paper I've had for years, I got it from a scrap bag of papers at a scrapbook supply store.

All of these cards were made using the "Beyond Birthdays" cartridge.

These are signs I made for my kids' rooms. This was my first attempt at cutting Vinyl. I'll just say this - this is the first and last time I'll be cutting welded letters without transfer tape to apply it! Taylor's sign was made using the "Life's a Beach" cart and Braden's was made using the "Sans Serif" cart w/ the "Beyond Birthdays" cart for the stars.

Fettuccine Alfredo

Hello! And welcome to my blog. I started this blog mainly as a way to organize & share my recipes, keep track of crafting blogs I like, and share my handmade goodies.....

So, having said that I'll start my adventures in blogging with a recipe. We're having this for dinner later.

I finally found a low calorie Fettuccine Alfredo recipe that doesn't suck. Really good, kid tested and approved!

399 calories including the pasta! This comes from Cooking Light magazine, Jan 2007. As a side note, I didn't add the salt b/c I felt like the (fresh grated parmesan) cheese was salty enough.

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups 1% low-fat milk
1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
2 tablespoons 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups hot cooked fettuccine (8 ounces uncooked pasta)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Cracked black pepper

Preparation
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in flour. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk. Cook 6 minutes or until mixture thickens, stirring constantly. Add 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, cream cheese, and salt, stirring with a whisk until cheeses melt. Toss sauce with hot pasta. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and chopped parsley. Garnish with black pepper, if desired. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information
Calories:
399 (30% from fat)
Fat:
13.5g (sat 8g,mono 3.4g,poly 1.1g)
Protein:
21.3g
Carbohydrate:
48.9g
Fiber:
2g
Cholesterol:
34mg
Iron:
2.1mg
Sodium:
822mg
Calcium:
451mg