Thinking of Christmas

 Here is a sampling of what I have made for Christmas gifts.  The scarves turned out great this year thanks to some new yarn colors!  Still have way to much to make before Christmas gets here though.

 Old but new to me book from my mother and some super cute fabric.  I think I'll make a few things for the boys on my Christmas list.

Linen skirt from a local thrift store soon to be converted into more napkins.  I have found you can never have enough cloth napkins!  I think I can get 8 good sized napkins out of this $2 skirt.  You can't beat that!

Fall/Winter clothes

We have had 3 weeks of beautiful fall weather!  The kids have played outside every afternoon which has left me quit a bit of time to make some fall/winter clothes.  I love the peasant tops you see everywhere but I have made a few over the last year and they all had alittle something I didn't like about them.  So I made my own pattern this year.  I love how it turn out!  Most of the fabric I've been using was given to me.  You can't get a better deal than that.  Thanks Aunt Denise.  I've been putting it to good use. 

I just love this little vest.  I purchased the pattern on Ravelry.  I've made these two so far and have started on a third.  My Daughter loves them.  Not pictured yet are my son's PJ's.  He requested some flannel bottoms now that the weather is cooler.  They turned out pretty good.  I used a siplicity pattern and modified it a little.  More to come soon!

Sunday,Sunday,Sunday

Went to church and heard an awesome sermon! Went to walmart and waited in a not so awesome line. Listened to kids whine about being sooo sooo hungry on the ride home. Lucky for me my husband is a problem solver! He pulled along side the road, picked some tiger lilies, and fed them to the kids as soon as we got home. Sounds odd I know but they held there flowers quietly the rest of the way home! I think they were in shock about eating flowers. I tried one too. They are surprisingly good. You can cook with them too. The petals, roots, and bulbs are edible.

Sausage, Potatoes, and Squash

1lb sausage(I used beef kielbasa but anything you like will do)

2 med.-lg. red potatoes quartered and sliced thinly

1 med. yellow onion halved and sliced thinly

1 red bell pepper cut into 1/4 in. chunks

1 zucchini quartered and sliced thinly

1 yellow squash quartered and sliced thinly

2T olive oil

salt and pepper

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add sliced potatoes and onions and cook for 15min or until potatoes are somewhat crisp.

2. Add red bell pepper and cook for 3-4min. Add zucchini and yellow squash and cook until tender. Takes 5-10min. depending on pan size. Make sure to stir every minute or so and season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Place veggie mixture in a serving bowl and keep warm. Add the sausage to skillet and cook until heated through. If there is grease from the sausage drain it off. Add to veggie mixture and serve.

Notes:

I created this dish last night to use up left over farmers market veggies. You could use many different combination with this.

I cooked the sausage separate from the veggies due to it being a greasy sausage. If you were using a precooked turkey sausage or something you would not have to drain grease off of you could cook the sausage right along with the squash. This would also require a pretty large skillet but could be done.

Enjoy!

Playing in the rain

Last week a box turtle passed through our yard during a rain storm. My kids spotted it and wanted to go out side to look at it. The mothering side of me immediately kicked in and I said no way! It's raining outside. But after a couple seconds of the kids, with there sad face, staring longingly out the window I said well at least put on your rain boots! With giggles and glee they jumped into there boots and headed out the door. They stayed out longer than I thought they would but it was a warm day and they had lots of fun. Plus I got some good pictures for the scrapbook. It's one of those times I'm glad I gave in.

Portobello and Bean burritos

4-8 burrito or flour tortillas

2 c. cooked beans

2 large tomatoes chopped or 4-5 roma tomatoes chopped

2-3 garlic cloves minced or sliced thinly

8 oz. portobello mushrooms( baby bello's or button would do fine) sliced

3-4 scallions(or any kind of onion you have)

3 T. olive oil

1/4-1/2 t. cumin

sea salt

Toppings optional:

Salsa

Sour cream

Pepper jack or cheddar cheese

1. Saute sliced mushrooms and scallions in 1 T. olive oil until mushrooms are soft. About 5 min. on medium heat. Place in a bowl and set aside.

2. In same skillet heat 2 T. olive oil on medium heat then saute garlic for a few seconds. Add beans to skillet with a pinch of salt. Stir and mash them until they are the consistency you like. I mash mine with the back of my cooking spoon until they look like re-fried beans. You could also use a potato masher.

3. Stir together mashed beans, sauteed mushrooms, and the chopped tomatoes. Divide evenly between 4 large burritos or 8 flour tortillas and make a burrito.

4. Heat oven to 350 degrees and bake burritos in a casserole dish for 20min.(I line my casserole with unbleached parchment for easy clean up but you could just spray pan w/olive oil instead.) Optional: top with some salsa and cheese and bake 5 min. more or until cheese is melted.

Variations:

I have made these with half the beans and added a cup of rice. I have used several kinds of rice but I like a red bean and long grain brown rice combo the best. It's also very good with black beans.

Also, you can use many different spice. This works will with chili powder instead of the cumin or even in conjunction with the cumin. Play around with it and find what you like!

Don't forget different vegetables. You can add almost anything. I have sauteed bell peppers with the mushroom and it tastes great.

Creative Chicks: The Best Refried Beans EVER (according to me!)

Creative Chicks: The Best Refried Beans EVER (according to me!) I love beans and so does the rest of my family but I never thought of canning my own! I think I'll get a pressure cooker and try it!