Sunday 12/26

 

MeRrY CHRiStMaS!

 

Wishing you…

a Wonderful Christmas

and a Blessed New Year

Arise,
     shine,
              for your light has come,
   and the glory of the LORD rises upon 
                            you.            
                                                            Isaiah 60:1

A modern Christmas

You may have already seen this little video…  I hear it’s been making the rounds.  We watched it in church last Sunday and I just wanted to share.  In case you haven’t seen it :)

Indian Tacos

This is more of a construction method than a recipe :)  It will feed just a few or a crowd. 

(You’ll just need more chili and bread dough for the crowd).

INDIAN TACOS:  You will need: Bread dough – frozen or homemade
Chili (canned or homemade – I grab a bag of BIG BATCH chili from the freezer).  Prepare and keep warm while making the bread.

Toppings of choice: sour cream, shredded cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, onion, avocado, olives, and/or whatever else sounds yummy.

Prepare and/or thaw bread dough.  Allow to rise once.  Divide each dough “loaf” into 7-8 portions.  Use your hands to gently pull and shape into a flat round.  Poke 2-3 small holes in the center.  This allows the bread to stay flat. 

Make only a few at a time and don’t let them rise again.  Deep fry at approximately 390 degrees. 

See the holes?

Turn when golden brown, to cook the other side -

Drain on paper towels. 

Slap one on a plate and layer it up with chili and your accoutrements of choice. 

 eNjOy!

Linking to:

Delicious Dishes

Rag Snowman Garland

  
A friend of mine decorates her house with a different monthly theme.  Yes, MONTHLY!

And not just a few little knick knacks. 

She all out decorates. 

Every month. 

All.Year. 

While I don’t have the time/energy/storage space to have a monthly theme, I do big puffy heart dedicating January to sNoW and sNoWmEn.  Knowing I have lots of fun snowmen in the wings takes some of the sting out of packing up the Christmas decor for next year. 

Here's a sneak peak of a rag and wood garland I just finished.  The mittens are cut from wood and hand painted  with a plaid and snowman design.  They’re strung on jute twine -- loving the rag strips!!

Just hanging out, waiting for January :)

Sunday 12/19

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 

                            An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 

But the angel said to them,

             “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 

This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 
                                                            Luke 2:8-12

Recycled Wreath

Brace yourself. 
This is not an easy picture to view:

 
Poor, sad little thing has seen better days.  So after removing the berries and pine cones, I rolled up some fabric flowers and used one of my painted spindle angels to spiff it up a bit:

What do you think?

Big batch chili

I like to make enough chili to have several meals worth in the freezer.  I’ll put our recipe at the end of this post, but go ahead and use your family’s favorite recipe and times it by 2 or more.  (I make X5 batches). 

To freeze your chili, cool completely and then ladle into zipper bags.  Freeze flat on cookie trays.  When they are solid, remove and stack in freezer. Voila!  

We pull it from the freezer to use for chili bowls, train wreck (pictured above), Indian tacos – and even just regular, plain ol’ chili. 

You can find train wreck instructions HERE and I’ll post Indian tacos later this week…

CHILI

1 pound ground beef
1 medium green pepper, chopped
2 cups chopped onion 
2-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1.5 cups soaked and cooked dry beans (or 2 – 16 oz cans)
28 ounces diced tomatoes
16 oz tomato sauce
1 tablespoon each ground cumin and chili powder
2 tablespoons oregano
1 teaspoon basil
Salt, to taste.  You will need more if using dried beans

Cook beef, peppers, onions and garlic until meat is browned.  Drain and rinse.  Return to pot and stir in remaining ingredients.  Adjust spices, if you prefer a hotter chili. Cover and simmer 2 or more hours (longer is better).  Can also simmer on low in a crock pot. 

Okay, now go forth and make chili :)

Linking to:

Snowmen

I crocheted this stocking cap and cuffed baby shoes by modifying 2 Ravelry patterns and adding eyes and a “carrot” nose. 

I put a smaller snow face on this version, so that I could make the shoes in a brighter color. 

And this set has a matching beanie:

Don’t be afraid to try changing a pattern and adding a touch of your own creativity… no harm in trying and you can always rip it out :)

Linked to:

2010 Crochet Stockings

I’ve been crocheting Christmas stockings since my kids were born.  Each new baby or family member gets a unique stocking just for them. 

I always use the same stocking pattern (from an old craft book I bought at a garage sale) and then design a different appliqué for the front of each one. 

These are the three new stocking designs for 2010…

Whimsical reindeer stocking for Nolan: 

Red and white candy cane flowers for Skyleigh:

And a simple modern snowman for Cody:

Can’t wait to fill them! :)

 

Linking to:

Happy Thanksgiving!

  Give 
           Thanks 

             Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

                          For His mercy endures forever.  
                                                                        1 Chronicles 16:34

The gate

                           Enter through the narrow gate

For w i d e is the gate and b r o a d is the road that leads to DeStRucTioN,

                           and many enter through it.

But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life,

  and only a few find it.
                                                                                                    Matthew 7:13-14

Autumn Luminary Tutorial

Okay, here’s the thing.

I may be the LAST person in the whole entire world to be crafting without a fan-cee vinyl cutting device. 

Oh, ok.  Not REALLY, but it seems like it sometimes. 

So if you’re like me, here’s how we made our upcycled luminaries sans vinyl cutter: 

Supplies:
Glass jars – canning, pickle and whathaveyou
Blue painters tape
Self healing rotary mat
Utility knife
Spray paint
Candles

Overlap blue painters tape on a self healing mat:   

 

If you don’t have a cutting mat, then use your kitchen cutting board. 

Draw your fabulous designs on the painters tape and carefully cut out with a utility knife: 

 

Place on clean glass jars, being careful to seal the edges VERY well.  In a well ventilated, preferably outdoor location, lightly, but completely cover the jar with spray paint.  

Be careful not to spray INSIDE the jar.  It will wreck your magnificent design. 

Allow the paint to dry enough that you can touch the jars without sticking and then carefully remove the tape. 

Ta-Da!! 

Allow to dry completely before use.  Since they are glass, it would be safe to use a real candle. 

Which would never work here because of the EVERPRESENTWIND. 

So we used battery operated tea lights. 

 
(Purchased for frugal dollars, thrifty cents at the Dollar Tree). 

 

Make ahead gravy

Gravy making is NOT my favorite past time. 

Mostly because it’s kinda fussy.  And it has to be done while simultaneously getting approximately 72 other dishes to the table. 

So you can imagine my delight when I discovered you can make it in advance and FREEZE it! 

AND it tastes better than the stuff you make last minute :)

Here’s how: 

Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy

• 6 turkey wings (or use chicken, if it’s easier to find)
• 2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
• 1 cup water
• 2 quarts water, divided
• 3/4 cup chopped carrot
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Roast wings and onions at a 400 degree oven for 1-1/4 hours or until wings are browned.

Place browned wings and onions in a 5 quart stockpot. Add water to roasting pan and stir, to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Pour the the water from the pan into the stockpot. Stir in 6 cups water, carrot, and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 1-1/2 hours.

Remove wings from the pot. When they are cool, pull off the meat and save for another use. Strain contents of stockpot through a large strainer into a 3 quart saucepan. Press on the vegetables to extract any remaining liquid. Discard the vegetables and skim the fat off the liquid. Bring the contents of the pot to a gentle boil.

In a medium bowl, whisk flour into the remaining 2 cups chicken broth until smooth. Gradually whisk the flour mixture into the simmering turkey broth; simmer 3-4 minutes or until the gravy has thickened. Stir in the butter and pepper. Serve immediately or pour into containers and refrigerate or freeze.

I freeze mine flat in Ziploc bags because they a) take up less room in the freezer and b) thaw out much faster than containers do. 

So, what are your gravy making tips?