Craft of the Week - Pretty Pincushion Tutorial

http://www.craftstylish.com/item/42860/how-to-make-a-pretty-pincushion-with-a-button-center

This Pretty Pincushion tutorial is easy to follow and is a quick project for the weekend. This project would be good to use up those small scraps of fabric. Even children could do this easy pincushion.

Thanks to www.craftstylish.com for bringing such cute projects with tutorials!!!

If you like pincushions, check out the Aunt Edna Pincushion on our Blujay store

Craft of the Week - Chicken Little Pincushion

This cute little chicken pin cushion was created using some leftover felted wool sweater pieces. She sits on a vintage look lace nest and is secured atop a solid wood pedestal. It's a great way to use up all those scraps of wool, although fabric scraps would work well also.

This design is the creation of Janet Metzger of Warrenton, Va. She has the privledge of working in her home studio every day. Her dear husband created the studio for her. She has two sons that she adores. She gets to watch the sunset over the Blue Ridge Mountains every evening.

Janet maintains a loveley blog in which she takes us through many of her projects and shares the creative process. Her blog can be reached by going to the following link:

http://theemptynest-janet.blogspot.com/

She also has an etsy shop. You can purchase the Chicken Pincushion for $19.95. She also offers some great aprons, re-conditioned wool fingerless gloves (great for icefishing), cell phone cozies, wool pouches, scarves, bags, purses, clothing, notecards, prints and original works.

Please visit her Etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5507556

Please remember that this design belongs to Janet and should not be re-produced for commercial means without her permission.

Teenage Food Recipe - Pizza Buns

Although my son is not a big pizza fan, I think I will try this recipe. I will modify it by reducing the cheese (He's not a cheese fan) and will definitely do a whole wheat bun.


PIZZA BUNS
Almost any kind of bun can be used for this - hamburger, whole wheat, onion, kaiser or fergasa.

Because we have a large Muslim population in the school I always make one batch with chicken and beef. For this I adjust the seasoning, omitting the oregano and basil and adding some poultry seasoning and a little taco seasoning. Everything else remains the same. The vegetable content can also be varied to include broccoli, cauliflower etc. I also prepare a vegetarian version omitting all meat products and adding as many fresh vegetables as are available.

1 lb bacon, chopped finely
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 cup chopped ham
1 cup diced garlic sausage
1 cup diced pepperoni
1/2 cup pasta sauce
1 tbsp tomato paste
11/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp garlic granules
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 large tomatoes, diced
1/2 lb grated cheddar cheese
1/2 lb grated mozzarella cheese

Fry the bacon and onion in a frying pan over medium heat until fat runs from bacon and the onion becomes soft (about 5 minutes). Stir in mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes more. Set pan aside to cool slightly. Mix all remaining ingredients, except the cheese. Mix in the cooked bacon and mushrooms, all the cheddar cheese and half the mozzarella cheese. Mix well. This is now ready for spreading on buns or can be portioned and frozen. Place one ice-cream scoop of mix on bun, spread with a knife, making sure the filling is spread to the very edge of the bun. Sprinkle a little of the remaining mozzarella on top. Place buns under grill for about 10 minutes, until the cheese begins to bubble and colour. Almost any combination of meats can be used depending on what is available.

http://www.readersdigest.ca/mag/2004/09/diet_recipes.html#CHOWDER

Migraines

I suffer from Migraine Headaches. In fact, today I am suffering from one. I've been to all the doctors and tried all the drugs. Triptans seem to take the edge off for awhile. This enables me to work.

Below is an excerpt from Medicinenet.com:

What should migraine sufferers do?

Individuals with mild and infrequent migraine headaches that do not cause disability may require only OTC analgesics. Individuals who experience several moderate or severe migraine headaches per month or whose headaches do not respond readily to medications should avoid triggers and consider modifications of their life-style. Life-style modifications for migraine sufferers include:

Go to sleep and waking up at the same time each day.
Exercise regularly (daily if possible). Make a commitment to exercise even when traveling or during busy periods at work. Exercise can improve the quality of sleep and reduce the frequency and severity of migraine headaches. Build up your exercise level gradually. Over-exertion, especially for someone who is out of shape, can lead to migraine headaches.
Do not skip meals, and avoiding prolonged fasting.
Limit stress through regular exercise and relaxation techniques.
Limit caffeine consumption to less than two caffeine-containing beverages a day.
Avoid bright or flashing lights and wearing sunglasses if sunlight is a trigger.
Identify and avoid foods that trigger headaches by keeping a headache and food diary. Review the diary with your doctor. It is impractical to adopt a diet that avoids all known migraine triggers, however, it is reasonable to avoid foods that consistently trigger migraine headaches.

Teenage Food Review

The recipe turned out quite well. I would add a little bit of flour, as the batter was a little runny. I couldn't taste the whole wheat flour. The cornmeal takes over the taste, cleverly disguising the healthy wheat.

I was, however, unable to wrangle the teenager test subject for the taste test. His schedule seems to get in the way of dinner quite often. I may have to host a corn dog party for the neighborhood teenager to get test subjects. :o}

Book Review of the Week

I recently read "On the Wings of Eagles" by Ken Follett. The book held a special focus for me in that one of the characters is the CEO of the company I work for.

This book is an action packed story of the efforts of Ross Perot and some of his top executives to gain the release of two EDS executives being held hostage in an Iranian prision in the 1970's.

Although the plot was often bogged down in political discussion, it was necessary to read through it to understand the Iranian government and the scope of the political problems of the times. There are photos of the adventure in sections of the book.

I really enjoyed the book, though I usually don't read this sort of book.

This book can be purchased from Amazon at the following link:

http://www.amazon.com/Wings-Eagles-Ken-Follett/dp/0451163532

There are some great reviews at this link.

Craft of the Week - Shamrock Pin

The Tiny Taylor Ranch Craft of the Week comes from a cute blog called Stitcher Scribbler.

The Stitcher Scribbler has created the cutest Shamrock Pin. She includes a tutorial to make her creation. She also has an etsy site where you could purchase these little darlings. That says alot about the generous kind of person she is.

Stitcher Scribbler Blog:

http://missniff.blogspot.com/2009/03/shamrock-freebie.html

Stitcher Scribbler Etsy Store:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5893646

Teenager Food on a Budget

The idea behind this column comes from the seventeen year old male living in my home. All he wants to eat is junkfood. He only wants hamburgers right now. Last month it was hot dogs.

His strange eating habits have inspired me to imbark on a search for wholesome recipes, made at home, that he will enjoy. My plan is to provide the recipes here and then have my son review them. I will post the reviews here.

Since I will be searching the world wide internet for the recipes, I will always provide a link to the site the recipes are chosen from.

This Week's Recipe:

Corndogs http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/corndogs.htm

1 cup milk
2 medium eggs
1/4 cup oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/3 cups corn meal
1/3 cup white flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour (I modied this from the original recipe. It was originally 2/3 cup flour. I thought I might be able to sneak in some fiber he doesn't know about. :o} )
1 to 1-1/2 pounds turkey hot dogs (I added the turkey. He never know, teehee)
flour for dusting (about 1/2 cup)
Hot Canola Fat for Deep Frying
Popscicle sticks

In a large bowl combine the milk, eggs, oil, sugar and salt. Mix it very well. Sprinkle in the baking powder, corn meal and flour. Stir it all up to make a slightly thick batter.

Take your hot dogs and dry them off on paper towels. Dust the hot dogs with flour, coating them completely. The cornmeal batter won't stick to the hot dogs unless they are coated in flour. The batter just slides right off of the wieners naturally slick outsides. Shove popscicle sticks into the flour coated hot dogs. Set the hot dogs aside.

While all of this is going on, it's a good idea to get your hot fat to heating up. You want the temperature to be about 375. Allow the fat to preheat so it is almost smoking by the time you are ready to add the corn dogs.

Now, to coat the floured hot dogs with batter you have two choices. You can swirl the hot dogs in the bowl of batter until they are coated, and then drop them into the hot fat. If this is a little difficult I know of an easier way. Scoop some of your corn meal batter into a narrow jar or cup which is as tall as your hot dogs are long. Fill the jar or cup about 3/4 of the way full. Dip your hot dog into the batter while you hold onto the stick. Swirl the hot dog to coat it evenly. Be careful or the batter will overflow. Raise the wiener above the cup and let any excess batter drip off. Quickly place the battered dog into the hot fat. The fat will bubble up and cook the outside of the batter, making the corndogs the exact same shape as the ones you buy at the store.

Only fry a few corn dogs at a time. If the corn dogs crowd each other they don't fry very well. I only fry 2 or 3 at a time. Turn the corn dogs when the bottom side is well browned. Use tongs to remove the cooked corn dogs from the fat. Allow them to drain on paper towels. Repeat the process, coating and frying a few at a time, until all of the corn dogs are cooked. Refill the narrow jar or cup with batter from your bowl as necessary. Continue until all the hot dogs are coated or until you no longer have enough batter to coat the hot dogs efficiently.

If you don't want to waste any unused batter, it can be dropped by small spoonfuls into the hot fat, and fried until brown. Serve these along side the corn dogs.

If desired, you can make small corn dogs by cutting hot dogs into thirds, or quarters. Poke a toothpick up into the end of the hot dogs. Coat and fry them as described above. These are nice for fancy days, and for kids parties. Provide plenty of ketchup and mustard for dipping.

This recipe makes about 12 to 14 corn dogs.

Rant about Pants!

Does anyone else get annoyed at the youth of today with their britches down so far you can see their BVD's. Now, I may be just getting old. I have been tolerate over the years of the occasional plumber's or oldman crack. I didn't like it, but simply chose to accept that sometimes crack happens!

To knowingly go out of the house with your pants down is just wrong. Wearing your jeans so low that others can see your tramp stamp announcing the arrival of your crack show is just wrong.

You are all probaly wondering what brought on this rant about crack. I recently attended a basketball game. One of the young men playing would display his BVD's everytime he would go for a shot or a rebound. There was a plump middle aged lady sitting on the bleachers in front of me that was wearing a pair of low rise jeans. Not only did she have a poorly executed tramp stamp, but also the string of her severely over-stretched thong was pronouncing to the world the arrival of her butt crack to the scene.

I resisted all urges to aim and execute a skittle at the rather ample target. I also did not yell at boy to pull up his D@%# pants. Why must I have to tolerate this social injustice? Please tell me WHY?

*photo courtesy of the "Pull Your Pants Up" cause on Facebook.

This Little Piggy Went to Market............

This little pig hangs on the wall of my craft room and reminds me to be cute and creative!!

My Craft Room

Here's a couple of shots of my craft room. As you can see it has many projects going on at once. I made the curtains and painted the paneling white. I used a few of my vintage aprons on a clothesline to dress up one wall.

"Pics Of My Little Anna Pearl"

She needs some work. I am willing and able to make her beautiful again. She is named after my maternal Grandma.

Simplicity in Hoosier Form

This beauty was in my paternal grandmother's house. It was built into the wall and was painted that lovely green color of the 30's. We are still working on restoring her. She is in my livingroom and holds all my treasures. After my grandma passed away, we went to her house to say goodbye to it. (They were tearing it down) This little cabinet was hidden under a bunch of stuff, but it just seems to call my name when I walked by it.

It takes me back to the simplier times when my Grandma must have prepared meeals using the porcelain top to mix bread perhaps. She used it in later years to store treasures as I do. I visit it every once in a while, to take me back to where I come from and where I need to be going.

Frugal Freezer Meal Ideas

Here's some ideas from http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/frugalfreezermeals.htm

She also sells a book called "Freezer Cooking Made Simple."


Frugal Freezer Meal Ideas

When it comes to freezer cooking, it is easy to prepare frugal meals. Many frugal recipes can be placed in your freezer for cooking at a later date. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Chicken: Buy a large amount of chicken, divide it into freezer bags with the marinade of your choice, and freeze. The chicken will marinade as it thaws and you will have a tasty dish ready. Just add a side salad and some rice.


Beans and Rice: Healthy, full of fiber, and filling, beans and rice is yummy frugal meal. No need to make any other side dishes because beans and rice is truly a meal in itself.


Chili: Prepare a simple chili with cans of beans, onions, garlic, tomato paste and chili seasoning. You can add meat if you like but when it is made right, chili with no meat is very good. You can also add fresh tomatoes and other vegetables like bell peppers. Cook the chili, let it cool, and then just freeze.


Casseroles: Some casseroles like tuna or broccoli and cheese don’t cost much make and can be frozen with ease. When you make a casserole for dinner one night, make two. Instead of cooking the second one, once it is prepared, put it in the freezer.


Meatballs: Meatballs are another item is not expensive to make, can be doubled and frozen. You can find ground beef on sale often and can buy it in bulk in wholesale stores. With meatballs you can make different types to freeze like simple ones for spaghetti, honey barbecued, or teriyaki.


Taco or sloppy joe meat: Who doesn’t love tacos or sloppy joes? Again you can get hamburger meat in bulk. The good thing about these frugal meals is that you can cook them or just prepare them and freeze. It really makes creating fun, great, quick meals simple and very feasible.


Soups: Some soups like chicken noodle or split pea can be frozen successfully. You want to be careful freezing soups with potatoes or cream in them. These types of soups do not always freeze well and will make for a gummy, mushy meal for the family.
Freezer cooking can not only be frugal but time saving, convenient, and really easy to do.