"Feed the Birds..."

"...Tuppence a bag..." Tuppence means free right? And don't tell me you didn't start to sing the Marry Poppins song. I was singing it the whole time I was making this project. Just that line over and over again though. Kid probably thought I was broke.
My wonderful brother-in-law gave us a bag of birdseed to feed to the ducks at the river. The ducks were already well feed- apparently everyone else had had the same idea that beautiful day. So not wanting to waste the bird food and hoping to give our small family some cheap entertainment, I googled "diy birdfeeder" some great options. But the one that stood out to me the most was this one from "Tree Hugger" (link below.)
A quick Help Wanted Ad on my friendly neighborhood facebook page I Had a Pringles can. But I have yet to find a person who will admit to liking sardines. Thankfully my father is an avid Altoids eater. I stole a tin from them, actually they were all to happy to give me that and others. (Must research projects for Altoids tins.) 
I started with prying off the lid to the Altoids, not to hard. Harder, but barely, I cut a slit for the Altoids tin in the Pringles can. Make sure you measure it well, and I would recommend cutting the hole smaller then the tin. You can always go bigger to go smaller would require another can. 

Next I poked 3 holes in the top, just below the rim for the string.

Finding some pretty paper, I was originally planning on using Mod-Podge, be deciding that wouldn't be as weather friendly as I would like, I opted for packing tape. I measured the paper, cut to size, held it in place with scotch tape. After I wrapped the can with the paper, I simply taped the entire can one strip at a time.
You will have to re-poke the holes and cut the space for the Altoids tin.  

 I had bought two scarves awhile back and kept the little rings they had come on.  Thinking I was going to make some cute mod earrings from them. That was months ago, this is now, I tied the string to the ring. If you don't have something like this or similar, you can use some pony beads to keep the string from coming back through the hole.

So close I can almost hear the birds chirping! Shove the Altoids tin in to it's space, pull the string up and tie a nice solid knot  and loop to hang it from out side. The last step is filling it with birdseed. 

Here is the finished project hanging outside. Hope to see some birds at it in the not so distant future. The cats should be fun to watch. But I honestly doubt it. We live on a second story. Not much reason for coming up here. Oh well, still looks pretty and at least I made an honest attempt to " Feed the Birds."

http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/its-for-the-birds-1.html

Easy Peasy Creamy Chicken

Summer in Idaho can get hot. Hot as in "I refuse to turn on the oven, you will have to make due with the microwave or starve" hot. And it's especially bad now. Top apartment with vaulted ceilings. Impossible to cool with the AC. Thankfully the saving grace of Idaho is that we are on the edge of a desert. Temps will  yo-yo between "too hot to function" and "too much of a shock cool." So just invest in some good fans and you can suck the cool air in at night to bring the temperature down, just to go right back up the next day. Down side? Be prepared to dust and vacuum ALOT more.
Back to the topic at hand. With the temperature steadily (as steady as the weather will allow) on the rises. I depend on my crock pot more and more. The bonus here is you can fix it and forget about it, thwarting the six o'clock freak out.  I found this easy recipe on Pinterest courtesy of The Larson Lingo. 

Above is all that is needed, along with some chicken of course. I used drumsticks. Because I love the built in holder on them. But I would recommend (and will use in the future) breast or thigh, more meat and easier to shred. 

Place you chicken on the bottom then simply dump the black beans, corn and the Italian tomatoes and their contents over the chicken. Last plop the cream cheese over the mixture. Turn on the crock pot and walk away. 4 hours on high, 6ish hours on low. When it's finished cooking shred the chicken and mix in the cream cheese- it will end up just sitting there doing nothing, it you don't make it. 

My little family and I went to church, when we got back at lunch time we were greeted with an amazing smelling dish. And the smell matched the taste. We had to smell it for a bit longer while we waited for the rice to cook. I couldn't get this recipe recorded quick enough. 

really wish I could put a scratch and sniff function here. 

It might not look tasty but it was so amazing! My husband and I ate way too much, I would have gone for more but there was just no more room in my belly! Thank you very much to "The Larson Lingo" amazing amazing dish! Love the ease of it, now if I can just get a rice cooker. Out meals will be ready when we step in the door! 

http://thelarsonlingo.blogspot.com/2011/05/easiest-dinner-ever.html

German Pancakes...Again?

Seven years ago before my marriage to my wonderful husband, I sat down and told him. I will clean, do laundry, grocery shopping, mending and dishes. I hate cooking. I would not cook. So starting our new life together, he did most the cooking. I cooked one day a week, and more often then not I would cook a recipe from my childhood. German Pancakes.
That became a staple, as you have read in my previous post I adore breakfast food. So having it almost once a week didn't bother me. Not so much my husband. Fast forward almost 6 years and my loving and patient husband said "I'm not really a fan of german pancakes." I was shocked! He had apparently liked me cooking, anything, that he had held his tongue and had endured countless dishes of german pancakes.
After that startling revelation, the greman pancake parade came to a stop.
It would reappear when my husband was unable to be there, and one of the best things about making it with out my husband's presences you might ask? Fruit. Baked fruit is so amazing. But we have yet to find a baked fruit my other half likes.
I heard my mother mention a pinterest find of blueberries and brown sugar with german pancakes. Um, amazing must try!
I didn't find the recipe on Pinterest, figuring that I have the german pancakes recipe how hard could it be to just toss in some blueberries and brown sugar?
You will need a cast iron skillet for this recipe. So rush out and buy a brand new one, or stock your local thrift stores. You can always clean and re-season them.
Take a 1/3 of a stick of butter (sliced) putting the butter (or margarine) in the skillet. I like to place the skillet in the oven while it's warming up to 400*
In a bowl mix 4 eggs, 1 cup flour, 1 cup milk, 1 tsp of vanilla flavoring. Mix well.
Once the oven is warmed up, and the butter is melted. Pull it out dump a cup (or more to your taste) of blueberries and sprinkle 1/2 cup of brown sugar over the top.

Doesn't that just look tasty!  

Taking your pancake batter pour it over the butter, blueberries and brown sugar. Doesn't look so tasty this way. But just waaaiiiitttt!
Place back in oven and bake for 20 min at the 400* You can then pull out a delicious and amazing breakfast or dinner. Which is my favorite time of day for breakfast food.  

Now you could just eat it this way, or if you would like to prove your true sugar-holic side, top with a sprinkling of powder sugar. Dig in and enjoy!
German Pancake Recipe
*4 eggs
*1 cup four
*1 cup milk
* 1 tsp vanilla flaovring
-mix well, till blended

-pour over 1/3 cup of melted butter in your skillet
-bake at 400* for 30 min

Spaghetti Casserole

I am a lover of pasta. SO tasty, so easy to make and so quickly. I like to keep a can of spaghetti sauce around along with some extra pasta. If we ever have "Surprise" visitor's there will always be something to give them. And it's one of those things that can go well as a side or a main dish to add to a meal that is lacking in the food content. Unless you do breakfast, I've yet to find a breakfast dish out of pasta. If you have one please do share, It would be my two favorite things united.
At the beginning of every month I will sit down and do a chore that I really don't enjoy. It takes alot of time, thought and searching. But spend an hour or two at the beginning of the month then you never have the "Dinner is in an hour! What do have make? And what do I have to make that?" You inevitably end up with bizarre dinner items you try to pass off for food.
My mother has a stash of cook books to make Rachel Ray jealous. She passed on her love of all things kitchen gadgety to me (although it took years for me to start using the gadgets- I still love to look) but the love of cook books she did not. I find them over whelming. So many books so little time. I have ten (maybe) and of those ten I use regularly Betty Crocker's cookbook (picked up at a yardsale and quite old) and my recent find (thank you very much Scholastic) is Taste Of home Dinner on a Dime. It's a great book. BIG recommend.
So todays dish is provided in part by Dinner on a Dime, and my kitchen.
Spaghetti Casserole- simplified.
You will need...

16 oz of pasta

1 lb of hamburger meat browned, drained
26 oz of spaghetti sauce

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
2 cups of cheese (shredded)
*brown meat mix in spaghetti sauce and seasoning to taste
* cook pasta, drain pasta, mix in the can of mushroom soup, and sour cream
pour pasta into (2) 8in square pans (one is for later) or a casserole dish, spoon the meat mixture over the top.
*sprinkle cheese over the top of dish
*cook for 55-65 min at 350 (if you are pulling out of the freezer, I cooked for 30 min until the cheese was nice and bubbly)

As you can see I used Penne pasta, I love penne. Something very fun about the tubey-ness of it!
Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think of the dish!

Don't eat the Cookie Dough!

Okay I'll say it. Sometimes I will bake cookies only for the purpose of eating some cookie dough. I said it but you know you do it. Now all you're thinking about is "I must tell her that raw eggs is SOOO bad for her!" I know, I know. I've heard the lecture from countless people over the years. My home ec teacher, various relatives, even a few friends. And still my secret pleasure will persist, I will still swipe a finger full of batter. It's just so good!

Now the one thing that has taught me more self control than anything, kids. And having my own kids is like a constant self-control check. So with temps upwards of the 70's today the craving for cookies...okay cookie dough came. That stove in NOT coming on. I'll swipe some dough from a batch that will be made into cookies. My self control drew the line at eating a whole batch of raw cookie dough.
Over to Google we go! I simply typed in "edible cookie dough" looked at a few sites until I got to "Willow Bird Baking." She had two recipes, I chose the Sugar Cookie one, honestly because brown sugar is running low in this house.

Here is the Recipe...

Safe-to-Eat Cake Batter Cookie Dough

Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking

Yields: about 1 1/2-2 cups cookie dough

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup yellow cake mix
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons sprinkles
4-8 tablespoons water

Directions:
In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes until light, fluffy, and pale yellow. Mix in salt, flour, cake mix, sprinkles, and vanilla. Add water one tablespoon at a time, mixing after each, until you reach cookie dough consistency.

See those directions up there? Yah, I just dumped and mix. Seemed to turn out well.

Here is the finished product. Won't be gone in one sitting, so it can sit in the fridge till the next craving strikes... Most likely tomorrow. 

Mmmmmmm.....

http://willowbirdbaking.com/2011/03/20/three-safe-to-eat-cookie-doughs-chocolate-chip-sugar-and-cake-batter/

IScream for Ice cream

Every winter I'm always flabbergasted that Ice Cream shops are still open. I avoid ice cream like the plague in colder months. Naturally cold most of the time the idea of adding coldness to coldness, not so appealing.  But once the seasons slip into the warmth bring on the ice cream. Here in Idaho summer decided to pop it's head into spring for a bit. It went from cool to HOT in a matter of moments.
I went for a walk with my husband and two sons and the thought of ice cream sounded amazing. Needless to say we didn't stop for it. Instead we went home to get something nutritious for our boys. Another day more heat and the craving was stronger.
So here is my recipe for homemade ice cream. Inspired from snow ice cream. 

I used 1/2 c. Half and Half for a creamer icecream
1/2 cup of milk (or you can use 1 cup of milk in place of half and half)
1/2 cup of sugar
1 tsp vanilla
I mixed the above ingredients together in a bowl
Then pour into a Donvier Ice Cream maker 

Then mix, mix, mix oh and mix. I had to let it sit along for a bit to thicken up but pretty soon....

This is what it ended up looking like. Mmm!

I poured out my homemade ice cream and sprinkled some brown sugar across the top. I love ice cream with brown sugar. You can never have to much sugar right? Oh hush dentist.
The Donvier I have is for two people, small and I ate the whole serving. It was a little soupy but very tasty. Really hit the spot after being out in the heat of 85+ degrees.

Top 10 FREE aps for iPad

Since I acquired my iPad I began the quest of finding some good aps for it. But I also wanted free. We're on a budget here and gotta stick to it. Cant blow it for a few apps. So here is a Top 10, even if it's just My top 10 the first five are focused on kids(you know who will be stealing it anyways) and the last five are for the big kids (ie You!- who bought it) enjoy!
1) Free till May 1st Curious George goes to the Zoo (my son loves it!)
2)  Toy Phone, pretty nifty- Phone says Hello and the number buttons can be changed to animals, cars, fruit.
3) Play 123, once my son is older this will be much more fun. But you can learn shapes together!
4)Baby Geek to help keep tack of that new baby's crazy schedule, also good to keep track of weather you get sleep or not.
5)Webmd, to encourage the Hypochondria in you, or to make you panic about your kids!  
6)Accuweather, I find this helpful when I am in the back getting ready. So I don't end up walking out thinking beautiful day! And then find snow on everything.
7) Epicurious, those day's your stuck on what to make? Epicurious to the rescue!
8) Organized, for keeping track of all things chaotic!
9) Draw a stick man, you need some fun in your life!
10) And of course my Favorite Kindle for iPad. It's free to download- and if you like classic books you can get most for free!

My Rib Endeavor

The first time I trekked out to the store, I had asked my new husband what he would like to eat. He requested some steak and chicken. Okay! I can do that. I went to the store picking up the basic food needs. When I got to the meat aisle, I grab a package of steak and stood frozen... that number there is the price?!?! Oh my word, no I can not do that.
I was raised on a farm, I was heartily feed meat and potatoes. how could something that I had every night be that much?!? Needless to say we didn't eat alot of meat the first few years of our marriage, and the meat that I did get was usually mooched off my grandmother.
Fast forward a few years and my wonderful grandmother gave my husband and I a gift of a fourth of a cow. Great gift I think. I know that there are people who are horrified by this comment and thought. I use to be one of them. As a child I swore I would be a vegetarian. Which my parents would lovingly say when you are out of our house you may do as you choose.
Once in an attempt to get meat off the menu I had named the butcher cows. Rosebud, Rosepetal, Rosestem...Real creative right? I was ten. So, I had over heard that our butcher hated when the cows got named. Sadly this info did not save the cows. The cows came back to us with "RoseBud" stamped  across the boxes. My childhood made me tough!
So when I was cruising Pinterest I came across a recipe courtesy of Sweet and Savory Foods. It's for Barbecue Pulled Pork Sandwiches calls for pork butt, 1/2 bottle of sweet baby ray, and some Lawry's salt.
I had Short ribs, bottle of honey bbq, black cherry soda and some seasoning salt. We are set!

I like to do crock pot meals on Sunday's. Prepared the night before, left in the fridge, you can pull it out and let it cook while your away. In my case while we are at church. The above picture is the dish precook. Typically the meat I use comes straight from the freezer into the mixture in the fridge. I have never had a problem with the meat not cooking all the way through. 

And here is the finished product. No where near the Pulled Pork Sandwiches but tasty never the less. 

http://www.sweetandsavoryfood.com/2010/01/best-ever-pulled-pork-sandwiches.html

Mad string cutting Skills

Certain people have certain skills. And hopefully if you are married you have a good even balance between the two of you. Take my husband and I for example. I am good at the crafty, sewing, cooking, kid raising and house keeping arena. My husband has the market cornered on all things geeky. And I love that. I love that from just living with him I've absorbed some of that geeky side and can preform basic tech-y things. I love that even though I could do simple tech-y things, I will often pass them on to my husband. Let's be honest he does them quicker and better then I can.  I also love that a few months ago he beat the string prize machine at a local eatery and was the proud owner of the Ipad 2  for a mere five bucks. Then just this week he went back to the same eatery and now I am the proud owner of his Ipad 2 and he has an Ipad 3. This one cost more but only twenty.

I'm very excited about our matching Ipad's. My husband works so hard at two jobs to take care of us that it was nice for him to be blessed this way. And I once again got to benefit from his blessings. We always joke that I will be the only thing that last his whole life. Insisting that he protects his investment, he went and purchase a pretty heavy duty case. His case cost more then his Ipad. My things last longer and because of that I don't have to "insure" the objects safety as he does. I bought a flim for the front and for the back and Then made my own case. You can use the same process to make your own Ipad cover, or adapt it to work for you.
What you will need, so nice pretty fabric that is 2x as long as your tablet or 2x as wide, be sure to leave add an inch to accommodate seam allowances and for the batting you will place inside. I picked a nice quilter type fabric. You will want the same length or width in another fabric to be the inside. I went with a flannel. And some batting (quilting batting will work, there was some left from a re-upholstery project.)

Here are the two fabrics. Place the fabric right sides together and sew around three sides. It really doesn't matter which sides. But a longer one will work the best for stuffing the batting inside. 

Turn your project right sides out. lay your fabric over the batting. Don't make it perfectly even- you will want to pull the fabric off so that it overhangs off the batting. This will help account for the fabric being sewn already. The batting needs to be smaller then the fabric piece so that it will fit inside and not get bunched up. Once it's cut, gently tuck it between the two pieces of fabric.
Adjust as needed.

It's a little hard to see but you will need to sew the three pieces together, this will  ensure that the batting will stay put and not move around. I did straight lines, but you may do as your heart chooses. 

 Keeping the side you wish to be on the inside; out. Sew the one long side closed along with the bottom short side.

Sewing the bottom closed

Sewing the long side closed. 

This Ipad case will be a open top case. But you can do side ones if you like by sewing the two short sides and leaving the long side open. Or if you did your fabric lengthwise (as apposed to what I did- width wise) you will sew one long and one short closed.

Here is the Pouched turned the right way. 

I then chose to sew around the open part to give it a nice "finish"
I also sewed down the sides and the bottom.  To give it some added strength, and
I love an exposed thread in a contrasting color. 

Ipad met your new home!
so snug and cozy! 

 The finish project took all of an hour and a half, and that was only with help (or lack there of)  from my son. Calling my attention away every few mins or so. Thankfully it was such a beautiful day that he seemed more interested in annoying our neighbors- with all sorts of sounds- than being interested in what I was doing. That worked for me. Should be pretty easy as long as you have a basic understanding of sewing.  I then packed up all the sewing equipment. Sewing machine, Ironing board, Iron, and my sewing box. Lugging them all back down the hall to our "safe room." The safe room is simply an extra bed room with all our project stuff and the door locked.
I sat down to admire and critique my project. It was pretty good as far as pouches go. I didn't want to deal with a closure but the more I looked at it the more I wanted a little more security from it just slipping out. Sigh, out comes the sewing machine again...
Some day I will have a house that will have a craft room (even if it is just a closet) then I can leave the sewing machine all set up!

The finished project complete with elastic

Anyways, so I turned to pouch inside out once more and sewed some elastic just inside the opening. Now the Ipad will have a safe and cozy home. Just enough protection to keep is secure. And alot of color so you know it's mine.
When I showed my loving husband the finished project his response was "that should work, although it's not my style." No kidding? Well as if the pink protective backing wasn't enough to tell them apart.

Minty Meringue

I had a friend come over and make a delicious dish. It calls for egg yokes, you end up with the three egg whites left over.  It feels like such a shame to just dump them down the drain. I had her saved them. Now I would have loved to make divinity- but being successful only once and that was with my mom, I opted for Meringue. Which calls for three three egg whites instead of only two. I found Peppermint Meringue on Simply Recipe I also found it super tasty.
The recipe calls for peppermint candy's "pulverized" say's to use two ziploc baggies with the candy inside then you bash it with a hammer. The last time I did this recipe It was late, like crazy-neighbor-shut-up-late. I sat out on the balcony and bashed away on these poor candies with my hammer. Totally spacing the food processor I had stashed in the closet. This time I remembered it. It works much better for alot less work and  a heck of a lot less noise. Thank you Grandma for the gift, it's finally getting some use 7 years later.

The recipe is quite simple and as long as you remember a few things and have a few things handy life will be good in meringue land.
First off, you need a stand alone mixer, not a hand mixer and for the love of all things sane, do not try to do this recipe by hand. You will not be able to beat fast enough. And your patience runs out very very quickly when your arm is tired, sore and d.o.n.e.
Second, let your egg whites warm to room temp. I neglected to do this, hence the reason you have a picture of the finish product on a cookie sheet and not on a pretty plate. The plate might be pretty- the meringue's noooot so much. 
The link for the website is below along with the recipe. They are Mint-tastic! 

Peppermint Meringue Cookies

It's easiest to separate the eggs when they are cold. Since you'll want the egg whites to be at room temperature before whipping them (they will get more lift that way), for best results, separate your eggs at least a half hour before starting this recipe, and leave egg whites out to come to room temp.

Make sure that all bowls, hands, and utensils that might touch the eggs are clean and free from oils.

For best results, avoid making on a humid or rainy day.

INGREDIENTS

• 2-3 Tbsp thoroughly crushed peppermint candies*
• 3 egg whites
• Pinch salt
• 1 cup sugar (use superfine if you have it)
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

* Pulverize candies by placing them in sealed, doubled-up freezer bags. Use a meat mallet (smooth side) or hammer to gently pound them into a fine powder.

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 300°F.

2 Put egg whites into a standup mixer, add a pinch of salt. Start the mixer on low, gradually increasing the speed to medium until quite foamy and soft peaks can just begin to form, about 2-3 minutes. Egg white bubbles should be small and uniform.

3 Increase the speed to medium high and slowly add the sugar, a little (1-2 teaspoons) at a time. Continue to whip egg whites and sugar for a few minutes, then add the vinegar. Increase the speed to the highest setting and whip the egg whites until they are glossy and stiff peaks form when the whisk is lifted, about 4 to 5 minutes.

4 Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in the crushed peppermints (and the mini chocolate chips, if you are using).

5 Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpat. If you are using parchment paper, you can put a dollop of the meringue mixture in the corners of the pans before placing the parchment paper on them, to help secure the parchment paper in place (pastry chef's trick, thank you, Shuna). Either use a spoon to drop teaspoonfuls of the meringue mixture onto the cookie sheets (spaced an inch apart) or use a pastry piping bag (can make one with a plastic freezer bag with the corner cut off) to pipe mounds (1 1/2 inches wide) onto the lined cookie sheet.

6 Put the cookie sheets in the 300°F oven, close the door. Wait for one minute only, then turn the oven OFF. Do not open the door for another 3 hours. You can leave them in the oven overnight. The meringues will gently cook in the residual heat of the oven. When done, the meringues will be lightly crisp on the outside and light and airy on the inside. If they are still a little chewy after 3 hours, just let them dry out for a few more hours.

Makes 24 meringue cookies. Store in an airtight container.

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/peppermint_meringue_cookies/

Top 10 Ways to get the most from your Straightener

I am convinced out of all the different tools they make for your hair you can get by with just a Flat Iron. And here are the top ten ways to use it!
1) Get some lovely beach waves. With a combination of braiding and twisting.
http://www.ohsoprettythediaries.com/2012/04/does-pinterest-know-everything.html 
2) Create a mane of Frizz: wind sections of hair around U pins
http://thebeautydepartment.com/2011/10/halloween-hair-tutorial-2/ 
3) Make soft lovely curls
http://www.ukhairdressers.com/handbagTV3.asp
4) Traveling and wrinkles go together, set your Straightener on low and instant iron
http://www.livingfrugaltips.com/healthy-living/another-use-for-your-flat-iron/
5) And on that note, Crinkle in your Ribbon? Use your straightener to run your ribbons through
http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/use-a-hair-iron-to-smooth-ribbon-10000001193286/index.html
6)Make some chunky, messy curls
http://www.thewonderforest.com/2011/10/messy-chunky-beach-waves-easy-tutorial.html
7) Use it to seal Mylar bags
8) Color your hair with Pastels and then set with a Flat iron
http://www.seventeen.com/fashion/blog/hair-chalking
9) Diy "sunning" of your hair with out sun
http://pinterest.com/pin/88875792616430441/
10) Get the same look as using your Crimper
http://babesinhairland.com/hairstyles/how-to-get-waves-from-braids-a-flat-iron/

Huh, well know I am thinking about getting rid of the other hair equipment in my drawer and giving my Hair Straightener a place of honor possibly making one of these...?

http://yourcreativejuices.blogspot.com/2010/09/flat-iron-holder.html

Bake Pasta Bake!

Simple, I love simple. Especially when it comes to food. The simpler the better. And if it's tasty, bonus! I found this recipe on "A Great Many Things" via Pinterest. It's got creamy pasta with lotsa cheese. the recipe called for a cup of cheese. But my husband has been known to put cheese on cheese. So I did almost a whole block. Then only thing I regret is not mixing more of the cheese in, as you can see I mixed the cup in then dumped the rest on top. Tasty, but would have been tastier with more in and less on. And don't worry about the block of cheese it was on it's last leg anyways, so at least this way it went to good use. 

Hit with the husband, miss with the kid- this time. Who knows what he will do the next time I make the dish. He will one day turn his nose up at mac and cheese and the next gobble up multiple helpings. Kids be crazy. 

 It was the perfect concoction of cheesy creamy goodness. Pasta bake met recipe card, and they lived happily ever after in my recipe box. To go on to have lots of little pasta bakes.

I have to say I'm enjoying expanding my recipe box. Here is the recipe but make sure you go check out "A Great Many Things" below is her website link.
Ingredients
7 oz of your favorite pasta (I used penne and fusilli)
8 oz cream cheese
1 can chicken broth or substitute with better than bouillon
1 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 packet Italian seasoning
Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Cook pasta according to directions on package
• While pasta is cooking heat cream cheese, italian seasoning and chicken broth on stove until cream cheese melts.
• Place cooked pasta in an 8x8 baking dish and pour cream cheese mixture over top. 
• Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is thoroughly melted 

http://bnoelwilliams.blogspot.com/2012/03/pasta-bake.html

Nasty Nanna's...

Well, another one hits the dust. The bananas never last as long as I wish. And sometimes I even forget that I have them till I look up in my fruit basket and have to hit my head. Gah! more nasty nannas. Time to whip out my mother's Banana Bread recipe. 

Isn't her hand writing pretty? I have had this recipe card for a long time. And it has gotten alot of use. You can see my bananas that I have- I've got two in the freezer and then five still waiting in my basket. The blacker they are, the better the bread. But I can't let them get that bad or else I over think the idea of the bread. Let us be honest, when you are peeling and smooshing the slime into your batter you wonder why you make this bread. Nothing tasty can come from that nasty of an object- but some how when you pull it out of the oven, you have to hold yourself off from inhaling it all in one siting.

Everything is better with chocolate chips. 

Here is the finished project, tasty tasty! You just wanna grab it off the screen and gobble it up. The recipe is really rather simple.

Banana Bread     1 loaf

Preheat oven to 350*

combine 1/2 cup of margarine and 3/4cup of sugar till smooth

Add: 1 egg 2 banana's mix till the banana's are no longer lumpy

Mix in 1 1/2 c Flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring

and of course the tasty chocolate chips
Mix well.
Bake for 35-40 min in a grease loaf pan.
Bake until a toothpick comes out clean. 

I always have to problem of it caving in if I don't get the middle cook all the way though. So this time I had to bake it a while longer- and then turned to oven off while the loaf was still in. Now the bread has a really amazing thick kinda crunchy crust. Quite tasty if I may say so.

Divine French Toast

I'm a sucker for all things breakfast. My husband works long hours so I can usually get away with doing breakfast for dinner, most nights. If you think I'm fibbing or stretching the truth go with me to a restaurant and if breakfast is an option, it will be on a plate in front of me.
This recipe jumped out at me, the picture looks so amazingly delicious that I had to make it! It was pinned by Danielle and I am very thankful that she found it so that I could find it.
Head over to Chef In Training for this amazing recipe. See bottom of post for the site link.
The recipe is super easy. I loved that I could make it the night before and cook it the next morning-or in my case the next night. There's alot to say about breakfast for dinner.

There were two distinct parts. You make a type of sugary glaze that you put into a cookie sheet. The recipe called for a jelly roll pan... To be honest I googled that- yah can we use normal english, Jelly Roll Pan is a cookie sheet with a good lip around the edge. But now I know and so do you. You spread the sugary mixture all over the cookie sheet then place your bread over the top. I used a loaf of french bread that I cut.

This picture is of the egg mixture that you spoon over the bread, I just poured-no sense in dirtying yet another dish. Just do it slowly, try to be fair. Don't want your bread slices to get jealous of each other. 

Here is the tasty dish after it baked for 30 min's at 350. Yes it doesn't look so divine but looky looky what's hiding underneath,

Now that is what I would like to call Ddddivine French Toast. So tasty, ate more then I probably should have. And this is great if you're out of syrup, no syrup needed in this dish. Of course if you have water, sugar and mapline flavoring- you'll have to come up with your own reason to make this dish. But a reason you need, you will be missing out if you don't give this dish a try! 

http://www.chef-in-training.com/2012/01/overnight-creme-brulee-french-toast.html

How do we measure up?

I can not wait to get a house! To have a yard for my kids to play in, not to mention to be able to get a dog- that I can send to the back yard when it's stepped on my last nerve-and to paint what ever crazy colors I want. But one thing that I really look forward to is to have a  piece door trim to mark the every changing growth of my precious children. So that the day they go to kindergarten, graduate from highschool, get married, have children- will be forever recorded. But the list of debts we have (although shrinking surprisingly fast) still stands between myself and that dream of having a house. What to do what to do, and like always Pinterest to the rescue!

I found via pinterest; Six Sisters' Stuff have a diy lovely large ruler. They have made their's very classic and clean looking. New wood and using paint for the numbers and marks. I choose to use some old barn wood- from the farm I grew up on, along with my fantastic wood burner that I bought a few months ago and am always trying to use for things.
The first thing to do when you want to make one of these (other then getting wood and figuring out how you would like to do the marks paint vs. wood burning it's your choice) is to get your hands on a normal size ruler. I used my ruler to make 1in marks that were about 1in in length. With the foot marks about 2in length wise. Use pencil first you know what they say "mesure twice, burn once."

 Then using my tool I started to bun the wood. The straight marks are pretty easy, once you add curves to the mix it becomes a little harder to keep smooth lines, tricky but not impossible.

 Below is the finished product, I was so supper excited that I wanted to go wake up my first born and have him stand to measure him... But I decided that it would be better to let sleeping children lie. Must learn patience. I do have a great family night activity now, so that's good, bad thing is we will have to wait a few more days.

To finish the project I'll simply attach a picture hanger to the back so that I can hang it on the wall, and then take it off to do the marking.
I would still love to have the house of my dreams in bright crayon box colors, but at least I now have a wonderful piece of art to track the growth of my children, no matter where we go. Bonus, I won't have to pry off door jams to take the records with me!

http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2011/02/giant-kids-growth-chart-ruler.html

Mmmm Tasty homemade Bread

Is there anything that can rival the smell of fresh bread baking in your oven? I beg to state that there is not!
While checking pinterest out one day I came across a interesting recipe for refrigerated bread. It has only essentially three ingredients. Flour(6 1/2 cups of it) Salt ( 1 1/2 tablespoons of this one) and Yeast (1 1/2 tablespoons) Plus your water and there you go! Super easy recipe I thought and the best part is that you can make this bread right in a container. Picked ours up at a dollar store so it was cheap, but there is a "handle" of sorts on the side, which makes it easy for holding- not so easy for getting your hand inside to mix the bread.
So keeping it short and sweet; get some warm water, 3 cups worth. And dump it right into your large container (think one you would use for storing sugar) stir in the 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt till it's dissolved. Once the salt is dissolved sprinkle the yeast over (that's 1 1/2 tablespoons.) Once your concoction starts to bubble you can pour in your 6 1/2 cups of flour. There is no "clean" way to do this next part. So just accept that dive in. Or if your lucky enough to have a child old enough to understand what you want- have them do it. You will remain fairly clean, they will get to be un-clean along with the rewarding feeling of know that they helped you. Win for everyone.
The lady who wrote about this diy said that she doesn't wash the container out she simply leaves it in the fridge so you get that old sour dough taste with your brand stinking new bread. I'll try this out but I've never been a big fan of sour dough.
Here you have your bread all mixed- this took alot of work for me, the jar I used was narrow. Leave your bread on the counter to raise for a few hours, mine didn't rise quite as long as it should have. Then simply move to your fridge for storage. When the need arises for that delectable smell of fresh bread (you know that you Need it)  simple yank a wad out place in your bread pan and bake!
I thought the bread was so amazingly good and with only a few ingredients  I was quite impressed. I got three loaves out of this but it will vary on how big your loaves are, and again I didn't let my bread rises as long as it initially should have.  Hope you enjoy the finished product!

3 cups water
1.5 tablespoon yeast
1.5 tablespoon salt
6.5 cups flour
450* for 30-35 min

Thank you to the author of Jezebel for this wonderful pin! Go check out her website!
http://jezebel.com/5881847/how-to-make-easy-fast-foolproof-bread-from-scratch

Rice and Beans, not even my beans

So my husband I recently found out about Dave Ramsey, and have jumped on the "be debt free" wagon. He's always saying to live on less then you make and to eat rice and beans. We have actually eaten alot of sandwiches and mac n cheese. There is only so much you can do with rice and beans. But I guess, less still with Mac and Cheese.
In our other town I bought beans, a bag of beans... do you realize the work that is required  to cook beans from a bag? It's a mess. So needless to say we did not eat said beans. And I have since decided that when I need beans, my beans will come from a can. But, back to the story,  when we moved I didn't keep that bag of beans. I didn't keep much of anything, I got rid of $800 worth of things at a yard sale. Things that I now wish I had kept. Like that bag of beans.
I also had a box of scrap fabric. And there was a need to get rid of some of the fabric in that box- it was beginning to leak out forming a mind of it's own. Would it stay closed this time? Or burst all it's fabric entrails all over?
What requires scraps of fabric and beans? Bean bags, my sudden desire for bean bags could not be quieted.
Expressing my desire for beans to my mom she say's "oh I have some" she then proceeds to produce four jars of beans. Not all full, my mom's not crazy. Well, thank you very much mother. Once again your lack of willingness to throw anything away has come to my rescue!
My project could now commence. Bean bags for my son to play with. All you need for this project is ...

Beans
Fabric Scraps
scissors
a template of some sort

Of course if you get easily frustrated w/ cutting then might I recommend
a cutting mat and rotary cutter?

 You will also find a sewing machine helpful, you can do it by hand but I find that method tediously slow and there for use a sewing machine.

Here's  the scrap fabric all cut out and ready to go. I made enough for 10 bean bags- my mom has enough beans to spare for my 10 little bags. My bags are 5x5 but really you can make any size you would like. I hijacked my sister's quilt square but if you get your hands on a ruler and some scrap cardboard. You can have any size you would like. The bigger the bag the more beans you will need, just keep that in mind.

Here is my adorable helper. He was handing me two different pieces of fabric. But he quickly became less adorable and more on the side of annoying. So I put the project on hold till his nap time. While the child's away the mother's can play.

***To do this project is really easy the hardest part for me was trying to fill the bags. But if you have a funnel with a big enough hole it's a breeze. I kept my funnel with the biggest hole, but it still failed to be big enough. If you have that problem, simply roll a piece of paper into a funnel shape. Be sure to tape it or you will quickly become frustrated and you feel that you need multiple hands to do such a simple project.
Placing wrong sides out and the pretty fabric towards each other, sew around the perimeter of the project, being sure to leave a big enough hole to shove the project back through and to also fill with beans. Or else you have a "bag" instead of a "bean bag" far easier to make but much less fun to play with.
Turn your project right sides out through the hole, and using something with a point push the corners out, so they resemble corners instead of round edges. Fill your bag with the beans. Then turning the edge of the hole inside. You can either sew this area shut by hand, or you can sew around the bean bag edge; you can see that's what I went with. It makes it stronger- this toy needs to last through all the children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren I plan on having.

Here is one bean bag finished

And the whole set. You can make them match on both sides
But I have much more fun with different colors! 

You then can show your child what to do with bean bags (and you know you will have to, they won't know what to do with such primitive toys); stack them on your head for a race, toss them back and forth, throw them into a bucket...But you know they will just end up having the "Ultimate Bean Bag War" with their siblings. And you know you will join in on it.