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.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Embroidered Baby Gift
Posted by itsmejami at 5:03 PM 0 comments
Monday, October 26, 2009
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.
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.
Posted by itsmejami at 2:02 PM 0 comments
Saturday, October 10, 2009
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.
Labels: Cricut
Posted by itsmejami at 9:23 PM 0 comments
Saturday, October 3, 2009
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 ....
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.
Posted by itsmejami at 2:08 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Unit Cake
I made a cake the other day for my husband's unit.
Labels: cakes
Posted by itsmejami at 3:24 AM 2 comments
Monday, August 17, 2009
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.
Posted by itsmejami at 7:35 PM 0 comments
Sunday, August 9, 2009
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.
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.
Labels: recipes
Posted by itsmejami at 2:38 PM 1 comments