Witch's Dress Hat

I love to dercorate my house for the holidays. My mother made every holiday special for us. This year I found this adorable pattern for a witch hat decoration. It is embroidered on wool felt. The brim of the hat called for rickrack but I didn't want the additional expense so I just used my curved rotary cutter to make the cute edge. This pattern can be found at www.bloomingstitches.com

L's quilt

When I started having grandchildren I turned into my mother. They needed to have most of everything handmade. They needed it not me needing to make it. My favorite thing to make them is a quilt. I started out very simple for the first grandchild. Here is his quilt. 

Some quilts are so simple. You just need the right fabrics. This quilt is just one piece of fabric. My favorite "Precious Moments". The backing is flannel. I quilted it with large stitches using crochene thread. The edging is picot. Fun and fast.

 This little quilt is the same thing, just 2 cute fabrics quilted together but with a ruffle edging.

Too bad when I took this picture years ago all I wanted to see were my littles. :) 

Cupcake Chicken Pot Pies

One of the church groups in our town used to make individual chicken pot pies every Fall as a fund raiser. I remember waiting, with mouth watering, by the front window until I could see my Dad driving up our driveway. They were so amazing and the gravy to smother them in made them fantastic. I keep trying to duplicate them but to no avail. I never seem to have enough mini pie tins so I just tried it in my large cupcake tins. So close the what I am looking for but until then . . .Cute and fun. 

 Make a recipe of pastry for a double crust pie. If you have not made Pastry crust before go here for a link on how to do it. It is very easy the only equipment you really need is a pastry cutter. Divide dough into to pieces, one almost twice as big as the other. Divide each half into 6 balls starting with the larger half. Pat or roll out each of the 6 larger balls into a 7 inch circle.

 Tip: I use 2 pieces of waxed paper. Put one piece on your counter, place a ball of dough in the center. Pat out into a 3 inch circle. 

Cover circle with the other piece of waxed paper and roll into a 7 inch circle using a rolling pin.

The dough will slightly stick to the waxed paper so just carefully peel off the top layer. Pick up dough by the bottom waxed paper, place over one of the cups on a large muffin tin and gently peel off waxed paper. Gently help dough down into the cup making sure not to poke a hole in the crust. Allow the crust to fall over onto the cupcake tin.

Repeat process for each of the remaining cupcake sections. Fill each crust with filling (see below for a chicken filling). Repeat rolling out process with each of the smaller dough balls, rolling out to only 4 inches. Moisten surface of bottom crust before laying top crust over it. This will help to seal the edges.

Edges can be sealed together by pressing the tips of a fork around the edge of the crusts of by folding the outer crust up and cover the top crust and crimping in place. Make several slits in the top crust. Bake @ 400 ºF for 20-25 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Filling:

1 3/4 cups chicken broth

• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1/2 cup potatoes, cubed or veggie of your choice, cubbed
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups chicken, cooked and cubed
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

In a small pan add chicken broth and 3 veggies. Simmer until tender. While simmering combine butter and flour to make a roux, no need to cook but you can if you want. Do not remove veggies from heat but add peas, chicken, seasonings and milk.  Keep heat on and slowly stir in roux and stir constantly until mixture is thickened.

Halloween Banners

I love the Holidays. My mother decorated for all the holidays and I can still feel the magic in our home. I used to decorate for my children, now I decorate for my grandchildren and to remind myself of the little kid still in me. It's always a good idea to make things special especially when children are involved. And since banners are all the rage right now I made a reversable one for my all tree. It's Halloween on one side and Harvest on the other.

Lasagna

I grew up in a little mining/railroad town. I think every nationality lived there. It was so fun to grow up with so many different cultures. We learned to enjoy so many different things and so I love all kinds of food just as long as there isn't too much heat in the spices. This is just a regular lasagna but add a few bread stix,  a beautiful salad and family and you have a feast.

Recipe:

Sauce:


6 8-oz. cans tomato sauce
1/2 tbsp. basil
1 tbsp. parsley
2 tbsp. onion flakes
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. garlic
1 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. sugar
1 pound hamburger, lean
1/4 pound sausage
9 lasagna noodles
Cottage cheese
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese, shredded

In a large saucepan simmer first 8 ingredients . Boil noodles according to package directions.

Fry the meats together and drain well. Do not add to the sauce yet.

Reserve one cup of sauce to dip bread stix in. Pour 1/2 cup of sauce in a dripper pan (9x13) and spread it around. Now add the meat to the sauce.

Place 3 noodles over the sauce and pour meat sauce on top of noodles.

Spoon cottage cheese down the middle of each noodle.

Add another layer of noodles and sauce. This time sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Add a third and final layer of noodles and sauce. On this layer make sure the sauce covers all of the noodles. Cover with as much mozzarella cheese as you like. I usually use about 8 ounces.

Cover with foil and bake on 325ºF for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes to brown the cheese. If you are making bread stix make them while lasagna bakes.

Bread Stix like Pizza Factory

These are as addicting to make as they are to eat. Not even the grandbaby could resist eating them. He kept reaching for the pan. I only made half of a batch which made 14 twists. I guess I'll be making these again tonight because they are all gone. Thanks to my wonderful friend, Marilyn who gave me the Italian seasonings. She grew all the ingredients in her own little herb garden. A double treat having a good friend and a talented one as well. (I did make these again the next night only a whole batch. Some I turned into cinnamon stix by brushing with butter and sprinkling cinnamon sugar on top while still hot out of the oven.)

Recipe:

Bread:


4 1/2 cups warm water

3 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons SAF instant yeast

11 cups flour

Seasoned butter spread

3/4 cube butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

To make bread, combine all ingredients except only 5 cups of flour. Start kneading and gradually add more flour to achieve a soft dough. Knead for a total of 13 minutes. 

Spray, or grease a countertop, pinch off dough into golf ball sized balls and roll into thin ropes.

Make 2 or 3 ropes at a time before twisting together. This allows them to relax (shrink) before twisting together.

Begin placing one rope of dough across another.

Twist the 2 ropes around each other pinching the ends together to keep it from unrolling.

Repeat with the other side.

Place on a greased cookie sheet. Repeat the twisting process with all remaining dough balls. Let dough rise for 30 minutes or until double in size. Bake stix @ 375ºF for 14 minutes. While the stix are baking make the butter spread by combining all ingredients. As soon as stix come out of oven brush generously with spread and then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. For a dessert stix, try brushing with plain butter and sprinkling with cinnamon/sugar. Serve with cream cheese frosting/dip.

Dipped Strawberry Cupcakes

I don't remember strawberries this big when I was a child. Usually when you're little things are huge and they seem so small when you are older. Now to cover one of these monsters in chocolate is a treat all by itself. But put it on top of a cupcake. . .WOW what a party.

 Recipe:

Cake Recipe:

1 box Betty Crocker Golden Vanilla cake mix

3 eggs

1 1/2 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 Teaspoon butter flavoring

1 sm. pkg. vanilla instant pudding

Mix according to package directions adding dry pudding with all other ingredients. Be sure to mix for a full 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after 30 seconds.

Fill cake tins 2/3 full. Bake according to package directions. If you choose to bake without using paper cup liners the cupcakes will be done in 13 minutes for regular cupcakes or 18 minutes for large cupcakes instead of 22-25 minutes. Be sure to generously grease your tin if using this method.

Frosting Recipe:

6 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon strawberry extract
1/3 cup strawberry jam
4 cups powdered sugar

1-2 Tablespoons milk (opt.)

Beat all ingredients until smooth. Frost cool cupcakes.

Dipped Strawberries:

Wash and dry strawberries. Remove leaves and core. Place a piece of parchment over a plate. Melt 2 oz. chocolate chips in microwave. Be sure not to cook the chips and burn them. Simply put them in the microwave for 10-15 seconds,  stir thoroughly, put in microwave for another 10 seconds, stir and repeat if not melted. Dip bottom half only of strawberry. Set dipped strawberry on prepared plate. After all strawberries are dipped put plate in refrigerator to help the chocolate set up quickly.  Place a dipped strawberry in the center of each frosted cupcake just before serving. If you have leftover melted chocolate drizzle it over the entire cupcake top.

How to prepare and crocket around a baby blanket (boy version)

To make a crocheted receiving blanket for a baby you will need:

1 wing needle

1 1/4 yards each of 2 coordinating flannels, washed, dried and ironed.

1 crochet hook size 6/1.80MM
1 spool matching crochet thread

Lay flannels with wrong sides together. Cut off selvages and square up fabrics. Round the corners as pictured below.

Set your machine to zig zag on the widest setting. On a Bernina, choose a stitch length of about 3.5. Stitch around the entire edge of the blanket making sure the stitching goes just barely over the edge on one side.

Begin by tying the crocheen onto the fabric through one of the stitching holes and tie a square knot.

Put hook through this same hole. Pull up a loop and bring it through the fabric. With loop still on hook yarn over the crocket thread as pictured above. Pull this part of the thread through loop. This consistutes your first single crochet (SC). SC 2 more times.

Chain 3 times as pictured below.

With chain still on hook insert the hook back through the last SC, pull up a loop and pull through all.

This is form a picot.

SC 5 more times then do another picot. Repeat this around the edge of the blanket. If possible end with 2 SC. On last stitch cut thread 2 inches from end and pull through loop. Finish by feeding ends of thread underneath stitches with crochet hook.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

I saw these pancakes on Pinterest that linked me to recipegirl.com for the recipe. I didn't read the recipe because I thought that I could just do it. I just used my own recipe for pancakes, made a brown sugar filling and a thin cream cheese frosting/glaze. So good and so fun. Be sure to wait until the pancakes are ready to flip before swirling on the filling. This helps the filling to stay on the bottom and it cooks crunchy and wonderful. 

Sorry no pictures of the finished product, they ate them too quick.

Filling:

1/4 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix all together while butter is still warm. Put in a plastic baggie. Snip a small hole in one of the corners. Just before turning pancakes squeeze a swirl of filling around the pancake. Flip and cook as usual. Be sure to spray the griddle generously so that the sugar won't stick.

Frosting:

4 Tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

milk to thin

Gradually stir the powdered sugar into the cream cheese. Add extract and enough milk to make it the consistancy of a thick syrup.

Smashers

I grew up on mashed potatoes from a box! I can't believe it. I guess it was convenient on the Sabbath. But instant potatoes? What were we thinking. The real thing is so delicious that it doesn't need anything on top of it to dress it up. However cheese or gravy on top never hurts. Russet potatoes are the best mashers but red and Gold Yukon work just fine. Try a combination for different textures.

Recipe:

6 potatoes
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup salted butter
1/4 teaspoon garlic granules
salt and pepper
milk
Cheddar cheese, grated

Scrub potatoes, do not peel. Remove eyes but do not peel. I usually just throw my potatoes in the pan whole if they are pretty much the same size. If I am in a hurry then I will cut them up into equally sized chunks. Cover with water, bring to a boil, put the lid on and simmer until soft but not mushy.

Remove from heat and drain completely. Mash with a potato masher, do not add anything yet. (Using an electric beater can make the potatoes gluey.) After initial mashing add cream cheese, butter and garlic. Mash to desired consistency adding milk for creamy potatoes. Leaving a few chunks of potatoes is just fine. Potatoes are ready to serve or can be transferred to a dripper pan and covered with cheese. Cover and wait until the cheese melts. The potatoes can then be served or cooled, covered,  refrigerated and warmed up another day.

Corn Bread

When I was a kid my mother served corn bread for breakfast with maple syrup. My husband converted me to butter and warm honey. Now I serve it with honey butter but really I love cornbread as the main attraction or as a side show. It can be breakfast, lunch and dinner. It can be plain or fancy. Here is my plain version. You can add whatever you want to make it fancy, i.e. creamed corn, dry vanilla pudding, green chilies, etc.

Recipe:

2 cups flour
1 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon basking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1/4 cup oil
3 eggs

Combine first 5 ingredients, set aside. (Mix the dry stuff first so that your wisk is dry.)

In a separate bowl combine next 3 ingredients. Beat well. 

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. (It's easier to combine wet to dry than dry to wet. Sometimes you can get a dry pocket if you pour the wet into the dry.)

Mix lightly with fork. Batter must still be lumpy.

Pour into a greased 9" x 13" dripper pan. Bake @ 400 ºF for 20 minutes. For muffins bake for 12 minutes. Serve with honey butter, smothered with chili, along side any dinner item.