Birthday cooking

My husband's birthday was the weekend before last and all our children and their families were here over the weekend.  Sometimes they overlapped and sometimes just one group was here.
It was fun weekend and of course,  there was food.

Daughter Nina made the birthday cake.  It was a 2 layer white cake with homemade lemon curd filling.
The G on top is for Grandpa.

I made 3 pinterest inspired recipes over the weekend. One was  Onion Cheese Rolls.  They were wonderful and would be good with other fillings like garlic and mozzarella 

or bacon as the son below suggested.  

I also made jalapeno cornbread poppers 

and a batch of the bacon pancake dippers.  They were a big hit but I prefer my bacon and pancakes separate.  If I do make them again,  I will use my from scratch recipe for the pancakes again and put the batter on the griddle first, then top with the cooked bacon slice.  These would be a big hit with teenagers who like to eat breakfast on the run.  

Bacon loving son Bobby provided and cooked the entrees for the Sunday lunch.  He grilled little tiny lamb chops and his specialty "chicken balls" 

he has a ladle to mold each chicken ball and he puts in 4 slices of raw bacon, criss-crossed on the bottom.

then he puts in a boneless skinless chicken thigh and 3 cubes of Monterrey jack cheese.

then he wraps the bacon all around so it seals in the ball.  I did not watch him cook them but I think he started them in the electric smoker and then finished them on the grill.

Sorry I don't have a cooked picture of them but they were prettier cooked and delicious!

One bacon wrapped cheese stuffed chicken ball is more than enough for a hearty size entree.  Certainly not for everyday eating- but great for a special birthday meal.  

Green eating and green trash

I know I post a lot about baked treats and we do eat desserts.  But we also eat lots of fresh produce.
This is what we bought Saturday and it should last us about a week and half or so,  some maybe longer.

3 kinds of onions, 2 kinds of lettuce, 2 kinds of mushrooms, 2 kinds of squash, 3 kinds of tomatoes, 3 kinds of berries, red grapes, 4 kinds of peppers, celery, peaches, plums, bananas, 2 cantaloupe, radishes, okra, broccoli, carrots

and a watermelon

Most all of it got washed and air dried, then packed in Tupperware Fridgesmart or zipper bags and put in the fridge until we need it.

I kept all the produce trimmings in a bowl that will go in the composter- not all of this is from Saturday's shopping, the bowl was already half full.  I keep saran wrap on top to keep away fruit flies, icky little things!

One more new step to deal with the shopping trash.  I collected all the paper, plastic and foam and put it in our brand new city-issued recycle bin!   See that pile on the top left?  that is one of the grape bags full of all the other produce bags just from today!  that amount really surprised me.

We have the big one that gets picked up and dumped by the automatic truck for a few years and just last week, the yellow lid one was delivered for recyclables.  

Both are the large size but I am going to see how it goes,  I know we can trade the 2 large ones and get 2 small ones that I think will be more than sufficient.  The small ones have a smaller monthly bill than the large ones too.  

Does your trash service do recycles?  This is new here and I am wondering how it is going to go......

down the baby bib memory lane.....

We have been blessed with 5 grandchildren in 4 years.  

I have sewn lots of bibs for them.  I found where I had blogged about some of them and had fun reminiscing about them.

bigger bibs

bibs

Bibs from funny retro fabric


more bibs


first batch of bibs

This week, I sewed 20 little bibs for sweet JJ, the youngest grand that is in a bit of a spit up phase.

I used flannel scraps from the last burp cloth project for most of them. The yellow and white ones are made from a never used Carter's reversible blanket that was just too small to wrap JJ.

I've used Velcro and ties and buttons to fasten bibs over the years. All have good and bad points. 

For most of these, I used sew on snaps.  I'll let you all know how we like that method. 

Pinterest caterpillars

Monday afternoon, grandson Gavin was in the craft-computer room with Grandpa and saw a bag of pompoms. He asked to make a craft with them and that was fine with me but I could not think of anything.

So before Gavin and cousin Elizabeth got here Tuesday, I looked on Pinterest for preschool pompom crafts.  I found lots of them and picked this simple one for them to do. 

Pompom caterpillars

I cut long shapes with a circle-ish end for the head from brown card stock. I drew a simple smile-y face with a black marker. 

The grands dipped the pompoms in Elmer's glue and lined up pompoms on the caterpillar shapes.

For dipping, putting a little glue in a cupcake paper liner works great for these preschoolers. 

Do you do Pinterest? It does have some flaws but it has become my go-to site whenever I need a quick answer or a tip or a recipe or ideas to entertain the grands. 

We still have lots of pompoms even after they both made an army of caterpillars. So I will be looking for more ideas there soon.

Candy cake will travel

Have you seen the candy cakes on Pinterest?
I never did until my daughter showed me the one she just made.

She made it for her teenage sister in law at the request of  her mother in law.
Both sister in law Hannah  and mother in law Patti are going with their church on a mission trip to Central America.
Hannah will have a birthday while they are out of country so Patti thought a candy cake- made with non-meltable candy- would be a good birthday treat that she could carry in her suitcase and surprise Hannah.

I really like this idea for teens but I don't have a clue how to make them.
If you want to make one,  look on Pinterest or maybe my daughter will add some instructions in the comments.


this is my daughter with Hannah 3 years ago and the mannatee cake.
I think this year's candy cake will travel much better than a big cake-cake.

Reuse a coffee can for a waste basket

My laundry room has lots of storage but no floor space
It has doors at both ends but is really just a pass-through  from the garage to another hallway.

I seem to have a good bit of  trash in there when I am working- dryer lint, dryer sheets, paper towels that some how end up in the laundry- but with no floor space so I never had a trash can in there even though I needed one.    

then I had an idea to reuse this big plastic coffee canister for a dryer-top waste basket.  

I even had some of the Debbie Mumm fabric left from the clothespin bag that I sewed years ago.  

I cut out a strip of the fabric, pressed under the edges and adhered it to the old coffee cannister with one coat of ModPodge on the can and then one over the fabric

.  The fabric has several retro-homemakers on the squares and I used 3 of them on this can.  It was amazing how nice they just fit too.  

So if I get bored,  one day I can look at the homemaker doing the laundry-

then another day I can watch her iron

or do her mending.  

I may turn it around,  but I never really get bored.  

There is always something I need to do and just want to do in my home.  

"Dirty laundry reminds me that someone has worked, someone has played, someone has eaten, someone has slept, someone has enjoyed their day just as they will tomorrow, if someone like me takes care of what they have to wear " 

from some artwork by Sally Huss

 ---- I cannot take credit for the quote but it sums up how I feel about the importance of homekeeping

Linking to 

Tweak it Tuesday at Brenda's Cozy Little House

Redneck cake storage

I have this really pretty glass cake dome but it is not quite big enough for the angel food cake I baked yesterday.  

so to cover it up so it won't get stale
I used my biggest Farberware stock pot.
It is big enough to fit over that 10 inch cake that rose even taller than its pan
but it sure leaves a bit to be desired in the pretty department.  

We like fresh tasting cake so until I find something bigger,  I'll be using this stock pot as a cake dome.


The cake is made from an Aldis angel food cake mix and is really a great cake.  I add just a little almond and vanilla extracts to the batter.
The cake mix is  a summer seasonal item according to the Aldis flyer.
Are you wondering how much we like them?  When we went to Aldis last week and saw they still have them in stock,
we bought a flat of 16.  They sell for $1.99.

Looking for organic coupons?

Organic Deals 

Saving Naturally

This is mostly for my friend Megan.  She eats a plant based  organic diet and lives in the expensive Washington DC area right now.  Groceries there are especially high she says.  I looked for coupon sites that specialize in organic products and found quite a few sites but it seems many of them only posted in the past and don't have current deals or promotions.

The above 2 links were the best and most current ones I found.
Any one know of any other sites that post about organic food deals?  

This weeks eat some freeze some cooking

we like cookies and this week I baked an old favorite, a lower fat chocolate chip cookie recipe.  In the freezer, I found a partial bag of butterscotch chips so I made about 1/3 of them with butterscotch and the rest with chocolate chips.  I posted the recipe in a past at the link below.

My version of an old Weight Watchers chocolate chip cookie recipe

and just like that time,  I quadrupled the recipe this time too.  

I kept some cookies out for snacking and put the rest in small containers in the freezer. Cookies - either baked or cookie dough- are just about the easiest thing to freeze and then serve when needed.  

One night we had company for supper and I served homemade pizza and pasta with a big salad.  

So I made a large batch of family favorite roma sauce that day.  I used some on the pizzas, some on the pasta and the rest of it went in the freezer for future meals.

I don't have an exact recipe for roma sauce - but I did post my method on my first blog- Roma Sauce 

Having homemade prepared and semi-prepared foods in the freezer is so nice on busy days and days when I just neglect to meal plan.  

Cut a rug

My Uncle Rex would think I had been dancing if I told him I had cut a rug.

Nope, no dancing, I really cut a rug. 

For the last few weeks, maybe months, I have been cleaning and decluttering our entire house.  Most of it is finished.  Yea!

After switching things around, I ended up with a runner size rug that matched in color to our breakfast room/turned kitchen addition, but it was the wrong length for the pace it needed to be.  

It is too hot to go rug shopping and this rug matched so, I did a redneck alteration to it.  

First, I marked the cutting line on the back and started cutting.  I used an old pair o heavy scissors and this was the hardest part. 

Once it was cut, it was going to ravel, so I sealed that cut end with duct tape.  I just turned a narrow strip on the front and widest part is on the back of the rug.

Then, I found some bias binding that blended with the rug.

I used E6000 glue to attach the binding, over the duct tape, to the cut end of the rug.  

Clothes pins work great to hold the binding in place until the rug dries.

Sorry, these pictures are too dark, but they show the rug in front of the door.  

The design is not perfectly semetrical I think it is fine. 

This rug is at the back door and the cut end is close to the armoire so it won't get much traffic. 

I am really happy with it.  I made something work with very little effort and no cost. 

But looking at this photo, I think touch up painting to the trim needs to be added to the to-do list.  

There is always something to keep me busy!  You too?

Frugal breakfasts- eat some and freeze some

When I looked in the fridge one morning,  I realized there were 3 older eggs and some milk that was not going to be fresh enough to drink much longer.

To avoid the chance those eggs and milk might spoil, I used them up right then in a triple batch of oatmeal pancakes.

I made some regular size pancakes and many silver dollar size pancakes.  Our grandchildren love pancakes and they really like the little ones that they can just eat like finger food and dip in a little serving of syrup.

My husband and I both had a short stack for breakfast. The rest of the pancakes went in a storage container in the freezer. It is very quick to heat up a handful of those tiny pancakes when the grands are hungry. 

I use Betty Crockers pancake recipe with just a few changes- to make one recipe, just stir up these ingredients until almost smooth.  It is easy to multiply if you want to make a bigger batch. 

Oatmeal Pancakes

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

2 T oil of your choice or melted butter

1 T brown sugar

1 t vanilla - this was my Uncle Jarvis's favorite flavoring for pancakes

2 t baking powder

1/2 cup flour- all purpose or whole wheat

1/2 cup oatmeal and I really pack this down when I measure it.  

1/4 t salt

This batter will look too thin when first mixed up but if you wait a few minute, the oats will soak up the milk and the batter will thicken just right.

Blue House Journal 

My friend Terri a.k.a PennyAnnPoundwise has been adding some Year of Savings posts to her blog at Blue House Journal.  I am planning on adding some too.

also linking to the blog hop party
at
The Charm of Home

CVS deals week of July 7

We stopped at CVS on the way to church this morning.  It might of been my best shopping trip there ever.

           

Bought- 2 jugs of Tide, I've tried the homemade detergent 3 different times and just never got the spot removal that I like and get with Tide 

1 Dawn, 12 pack of Charmin, 1 Softsoap shower soap and 2 bags KitKat Minis. 

Coupons used

25 cents on both Charmin and Dawn. 

2 $2.50 on KitKats

$1.50 on Tide

$5 off $30 purchase scanner coupon

$1.50 quarterly rewards coupon

$17 in ECBs from 2 weeks ago

To pay the balance of $10.27, I used a $25 CVS gift card that I just got from Mypoints.com.  

And I got back a $10 ECB to use on future deals.  

  

Precious at Frugal makes cents just posted about her CVS deals

She got great deals too and hers are different from mine. 

My must do's at CVS

find their weekly ad early so you can plan your trip.  I can usally see the ad preview in the forums at  SlickDeals.net at least a week early.

Get a CVS card and always scan it twice when you first get to CVS- it will print off a string of assorted CVS coupons and is where I got the $2 off soap, the $5 off $30 and the $1.50 off today.

Match up the sales with coupons and try to do the ones with ECBs on products that are useful to your home.   

Keep up with the ECBs you earn and roll them into another sale the next week or 2. 

linking to the blog hop at Sunny Simple Life

Front yard surprise and garden update

Surprise!  I found a squash or cucumber vine growing up a rose bush in the front yard, planted by a bird I am guessing. I will leave it growing and see what happens.

Our 2013 use what you have garden in the backyard is growing. It got a late start and I have only harvested a handful of radishes so far. The tomato and cucumber plants and the dill look hopeful. The herbs pretty much fizzled.

The morning glory seed that were so old, one packet was dated 2004, sprouted and are growing.  I've got a couple things in mind to rig up a trellis for them.

Psalm 118:24

New King James Version (NKJV)

²⁴ This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Pretty Funny Happy Real- July 4th edition

Pretty

P

Tomatoes and bell peppers from my dad's backyard garden
Onions from my brother

Funny


51 week old grandson with a mouth full of teeth.
he is the happiest little guy and smiles like this most all the time.  

Happy

Front door wreath
the blue silk hydrangeas are from the pew decorations at our daughter and son in law's wedding- almost 6 years ago

Real 

we are kind of feeling like a chair was kicked out from under us.

We found out Friday that husband's knee replacement will be having another revision done to it.  This makes  for the 9th knee surgery total and the 4th in 4 years.  He needs it done and we are thankful and hopeful his knee will be as right as can be after this surgery,  but it was not news were expecting and it is taking awhile to get used to it. 

t

Fun with babies made by their great grandmother

crocheted-baby-pattern

I posted about these sweet crocheted baby dolls more than a year ago.
The 2 oldest grands both have baby siblings and they had so much playing with these yarn babies last week- each crocheted baby has an attached blanket and a bottle in one hand- The grands sat in that chair for a long time taking care of the little babies.

if you want to make one,  my mom's pattern is at the above link.  I've seen other patterns online too.