Lodge Look Pillow

This weekend was my brother's birthday.  I have a wonderful brother.  He is a great man who is kind to all, family, friends, and strangers.  He is one of a kind.  He takes care of everybody.  So when my sister-in-law said she wanted to throw him a surprise birthday party, I thought it was a wonderful idea.  But what do you get a guy who has very few needs or and even fewer wants?  He loves to hunt, always has, and when he and his wife first married I made them Christmas stockings, one with a buck for him and one with a doe for her.  So when I started searching the Internet for something to give him I knew this would be perfect for him.  His living room is decorated in a lodge theme with some of his prized deer heads mounted and hanging for all to see.  I found my inspiration here.  This lovely lady  from Sew Homegrown was inspired by this pillow from Anthropology.

She had her husband draw a pattern and she made this beautiful pillow:

She has graciously shared the pattern on her blog so all of us to use.   There is also a wonderful step by step tutorial to guide you through the entire process.

It is amazing how changing the fabrics and colors gives you a totally different look.  I went to my local quilt store and chose two complementary fat quarters that went with the colors in my brothers living room.

I used a contrasting color for the back and added one of my labels.  I loved how it turned out.  Needless to say my brother was very happy with it.  His wife has requested the matching doe for her birthday.  I told her the doe would be so much easier because you would just cut the antlers off, the hardest part to sew.  Be sure and tell Jessica I sent you when you visit her blog.  Happy sewing

I am linking here:  The Shady Porch, 3 Mango Seeds

Mix and Match Muffins

This is a recipe I have been wanting to try for a very long time.  I found it in a book called Frozen Assets: How to Cook for a Day and Eat for a Month, by Deborah Taylor-Hough.  I bought this book several years ago, before the big freezer died and I had room to put a months worth of dinners.  This past weekend I decided I wanted to try the Mix and Match Muffins.  We needed something for breakfast and since it was the end of the month I had no money (my husband and I are both teachers and get paid only once a month) to buy anything extra.  I had to use what I had on the shelves. These muffins are like the Burger King of muffins, you can have them "your way."  I will give a list of ideas you can use for mixing and matching at the end of this post.    Now for the ingredients I used.  First you start with the basics.

3 cups of flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda

Sift these ingredients together in a bowl.  I used a metal drainer as a sifter since the only sifter I have is an antique one I keep in my kitchen for decoration.

The next ingredients need to be placed in a separate bowl.

2 eggs

1 cup oil

2 cups sugar

Using a mixer, mix the egg, oil, and sugar until completely mixed.

Time to make these muffins the way you want them.  I used some things I had in the pantry; applesauce I canned this summer, currants leftover after making granola, and pumpkin I have started hoarding ( because it is a seasonal item and not available all year in my area).   Mix and Match add-ins should add up to 2 cups total.  Also add 3 teaspoons of vanilla at this time.

Add the mix and match ingredients to the eggs, oil, and sugar mixture and mix thoroughly

Add the dry ingredients and stir by hand.  Be careful not to over mix or you will get peaks and tunnels in you muffins.  Mix just until flour in incorporated in the liquid ingredients.

At this point if you like nuts or seeds you can stir them in now.  I had some sunflower seeds leftover from some granola I made, so I added those.

Time to put the mix in the muffin pans.  I use a small scoop to place batter in muffin cups.  This assures that your muffins will be uniform in size and that they will all cook evenly.

I lined my pans with cupcake liners.  This will saves clean up and it helps the muffins hold together if you decide to freeze them.  It also keeps them from sticking to each other in the freezer bag.  But if you don't have cup cake liners, you can certainly use cooking spray in the pans to keep the muffins from sticking.

This recipe made 18 regular sized muffins and 24 mini muffins.  The recipe says to bake them for 15 minutes at 375 degrees.  I left mine more like 20 minutes.  I will be making a tropical version this weekend.  I want to use crushed pineapple, mandarin oranges, and coconut.

Here is a list of possible mix-ins:
Apples, grated or chopped
Applesauce
Apricots, chopped
Bananas, mashed or chopped
Berries
Carrots, cooked and mashed, or grated
Cherries, pitted and chopped
Coconut, grated
Cranberries, dry or raw, chopped
Dates or figs, pitted and finely chopped
Lemon, 1/2 cup juice
Marmalade (omit 1 cup sugar)
Mincemeat
Oranges, chopped
Orange juice, 1/2 cup juice
Peaches, fresh or canned, chopped
Pears, fresh or canned, chopped
Pineapple, crushed and well drained
Prunes, chopped
Pumpkin, canned
Raisins
Rhubarb, finely chopped (add an additional cup of sugar)
Strawberries, well drained
Sweet potato or yams, cooked and mashed or grated
Zucchini, grated and well-drained
As you can see, anything goes.  Would love to hear from you if you try this.  Let me know what mix-ins you used and what combinations you find work the best.  You can make it in a loaf pan instead of muffin pans.  You would adjust the temperature to 325 degrees and bake for 1 hour.

Delicious Chicken Enchilada

OK, when your teenage son tells you something you make is the best he has ever had, well you just have to crow about it a little.  Last week I wanted to make chicken enchiladas, but didn't have exactly the ingredients my normal recipe calls for, so.... I improvised and it turned out wonderfully. I am going to give you a step by step tutorial of how I did this.  Sorry for not having pictures in the tutorial. I had no idea I would be posting this one until the last minute.  Next time I make it I will be sure to take pictures to add to the step by step.
Ingredients:  4 boneless, skinless chicken breast, 1 medium onion, 8 oz cream cheese, Ro-tel tomatoes, cooking oil, 8-10 tortillas, 1 jar salsa,  1 cup sour cream, 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese.
1.  Boil 4 boneless skinless chicken breast until cooked through (you can cheat and skip this step by using canned chicken).
2.  Saute one medium onion that has been diced in 2 tablespoons of oil until translucent.
3.  When chicken is cooked, chop it up and add it to your onions.
4.  Add a can of Ro-tel tomatoes and heat through.
5.  Add a 8oz block of cream cheese (yes you can use reduced fat or fat free to reduce the fat and calories).
6.  Once the cheese is melted and all ingredients are combined, fill tortilla shells (I use whole wheat to increase the nutritional value) with mixture and place seam side down in a 9x13 dish.  It should make 8-10 enchiladas.
7.  In same pan you just used for filling, pour one jar of your favorite salsa and add 1cup of sour cream (can be reduced fat or fat free) and stir until completely combined. 
8.  Pour salsa mixture over enchiladas.
9.  Sprinkle with cheddar cheese
10. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
11.  Enjoy!

This is a picture of the final meal.  It would be great if I still had preshoolers in the house I could teach the color yellow.  After teaching preschoolers for 13 years it is hard not to put a lesson into everything.    Also, don't you love the plate, it is from the Dollar Tree, $1. Love it!

Sweet Tea, the Wine of the South

Any woman worth her salt in the South has to know how to make "sweet tea".  I am not sure why sweet tea has never caught on in the North.  There is nothing like an ice cold glass of that delicious sweetness washing all over your mouth.  My family has traveled several times above the Mason Dixon Line and every time I think my children are going to go into DT's from the lack of sweet tea.  Luckily, the last time we traveled to upstate New York, McDonald's had sweet tea.  Don't you know that everyday we were there buying a large sweet tea.  I have relatives who live in California.  When they are visiting they love the sweet tea.  But I will never forget my cousing telling me how silly she felt ordering "sweet tea".  The first time we got her to do it, guess what, it was one of those rare places (a real swanky place probably owned by someone from the other side) that did not serve sweet tea.  She swore she would never order it again.  Some Southerners have been known to slip a little sweet tea in a baby's bottle, they say it calms the stomach.  I have never been guilty of putting it in a bottle, but you better believe I have put it in a sippy cup.  It does contain less sugar than a soda and black tea is known for having lots of antioxidents (ok, I feel better now).  So.... today I am going to share with you how I make my famous Southern Sweet Tea.  Yes, I said famous, it is asked for at all family gatherings, church gatherings, and my kids can easily drink a gallon a day.  Like I said, better than a soft drink.  Ok, lets get started.

First you need to choose your favorite tea.  I use whatever is on sale.  This I got for free with coupons.  Free always taste good.  Make sure it is the family size bags.  Place 2 bags in a four cup glass measuring cup and cover with at least 3 cups of water.

Put water and tea bags in the microwave and heat for 5 minutes.  You want it almost to the boiling point, but never ever let it boil, it makes it bitter.  Once it heats, let it steep for about 20 minutes in the microwave.

Remove tea from the microwave.  By the way, your microwave will be filled with steam and it is a great time to give it a good swipe with a dish rag to remove any food bits that may have splattered your microwave. 

Pour tea concentration into a gallon pictcher.

Fill pitcher to fill line with cool water.

Time to add the sugar.  1 cup of granulated white sugar.

Stir with a long wooden spoon until sugar crystals are visable.

Enjoy a long tall glass of sweet tea over ice and accented with a lemon if you choose.  I will be linking to Tip Tuesday at Tip Junkie here
Renee



Happy New Year!  Good bye to 2011.  Hello 2012.  What a great year 2011 was.  Our family was richly blessed in 2011.  We praise God and give Him the glory for all He has done.  We look forwar to 2012 and what He has in store for us.  I have a few goals for 2012, and maybe by making the public I will strive harder to reach them. 

1.  Pray more.
2.  Study God's word more
3.  Eat healthier
4.  Exercise at least 3 times a week.
5.  Keep my house tidier
6.  Post on my blog at least 3 times a week.
7.  Attend at least one linky party a week and make comments on two other guest.
8.  Plant a small vegetable garden.
9.  Can more this fall.
10. Spend more quality time with my family.

I hope you have set some goals for yourself for the upcoming year.  Keep checking back and I will keep you posted on how I am doing reaching my goals. 

Happy New Year!
Renee

Christmas

Well, now that everything has been taken down, the cookies have been made and eaten, Christmas play preformed, and Santa is resting at the North Pole, I will share with you some of our families holiday.

Pictures used for the Christmas cards.

Baby Girl in the church Christmas play "Hotel Bethleham"

Baby Girl trims the tree.

Chirstmas morning checking out the stockings.  Guess who the first youngan up was?  The 16 year old.  Still excited about the traditions of Christmas and spending time with his family.  It warms my heart.



Baby Girl tries to put Santa into a diabetic coma.  This was the plate of goodies she left for him, sugar cookies, peanutbutter balls, and red velvet cake balls.  I hope he put some of them in his pocket to take back to the elves.

Waiting for the traditonal Christmas breakfast at Mamaw and Papaw's of tenderloin, biscuits, and gravy.

Merry Christmas!!!

Thanksgiving Reflections

 The turkey!  I actually made two turkeys this year.  I had fifteen people at my house for Thanksgiving, and it takes a lot of turkey to feed that many people.  I tried something new this year, I cooked the turkey the day before Thanksgiving.  I was concerned that it would be dry when I reheated to the 165 degrees that is required to keep from making everyone sick.  So...I asked the foods teacher at school what she suggested.  She said she always had to do this with her classes when they prepared their Thanksgiving meal at school.  She suggested I take the meat off the bone and place it in a casserole dish.  After it is in the dish, cover it with some of the drippings and some chicken stock.  So that is exactly what I did.  It was wonderful.  The moistest turkey we ever had.  I cooked the turkeys in Reynolds baking bags and stuffed them with lemons, onions, and bay leaves.  They were delicious!!

 This is the dish I am most proud of, my Gingersnap Pumpkin Cheesecake.  Isn't it beautiful?  I thought it looked pretty enough to have come from a fancy bakery.  You can find the recipe here if you would like to make one for your holiday.

This was one of my brother's favorites, the sweet potato casserole.  I used a recipe that I found on Ree Drummond's Pioneer Woman blog.  I have it pinned on my recipes to try board on Pinterest if you would like the recipe.  I changed one thing.  I didn't have time to bake the sweet potatoes so I used canned ones.  Plus I had a coupon for $1 off of Bruce's Canned Sweet Potatoes.  I used two cans.  I also used evaporated milk instead of regular milk.

This is my favorite part of Thanksgiving, the dressing.  I love it simple, no fruit, no meat, and no nuts.  I simple use one package of Pepperidge Farms Herbed dressing, two cakes of cornbread I make in advance using Jiffy Cornbread Mix (the best!!), celery and onions sauteed in butter, chicken stock, poultry seasoning, and celery seeds.  Here in the South we like our cornbread dressing, and in the mountains where we go for simpler things we don't mess it up with all the things you can add to it.  It is the best!!

We enjoyed the day with our family and give thanks to the Lord Jesus for his blessings this year.

Praise b 2 Him!