FOOD & CRAFTS... SO IS THE LIFE...

Good morning guys and dolls! Its a brisk 46 degrees here and we are anticipating SNOW at 29 degrees tomorrow... man that's gonna be COLD! But knowing me and the hubby we will be out playing in it in the middle of the night again- JUST like last year LOL! Hades doesn't freeze over too often, so when it does, we take full advantage of it LMBO! Shoot, I still have a ziploc of frozen snow from last year in one of my freezers LOL!

Ok, so its gonna be a fairly quiet weekend seems like. My 18yo has a basketball tournament, so he and the guys won't be here as much this weekend. And the girls (DD and her BFF) and the other band kids will be getting ready for the Christmas parade and concert too next week, so THEY won't be here alot either. Then of course I have planned my craft sale for this weekend too! Man I'm not gonna know what to do without a house full or even an expected house full! But next weekend will be very VERY full! We have the Christmas parade through the center of town, the band Christmas concert & tea party, the football banquet, and my family and extends as well are participating in a toy run with my brother's car club. Each year, they all get together and drive their sports cars down the highway about a 10-15 mile drive from their starting point to a local orphanage. Everyone takes at least 1 new toy wrapped to the kids. There the kids get to receive there gifts from Santa (who is always in the last car), check out the "cool cars", eat lots of food (donated of course), and just forget about their worries for a while. Its a very heartwarming experience that definitely tugs the heart strings and makes ya teary-eyed. I am proud to say we are carting a large gang this year! My DH and I, our 3 kids, my 2 brothers, and 12 of the kids that hang out at my house! I was so proud when they said they would like to go... it makes me feel like I am doing something right by letting them be in a loving environment and maybe teaching them a good path in life to take. Makes me want to cry... crud... brb! OK I'm back... sorry had a bit of a moment I just had to step away and regroup. Ya know, I've got a good family and even though I didn't give birth to these kids... I would gladly call them ALL mine! So lets change the topic before I start balling again! Today's agenda... Cooking (as normal) and crafts. Why include the crafts today? I'll tell ya...

I had a lady order a memory quilt from me a while back and she just picked it up not long ago. She had saved all her son's sports jersey's, etc since he was little and she wanted me to make a quilt for him cuz he's graduating this year (this kid just happens to be on the football team, so I know him as well lol). Well, she's been going around town telling everyone she knows about my work and showing them the quilt and bragging about my gift baskets, etc. She called me with a BIG order for herself and one from a co-worker, so I am gonna be very busy the next few days. But for some reason I am in (what my family calls) "Susie-overload" LOL! Some people call it "nesting" mood... I just call it the Ohcrap mood... LOL cuz you will say that when you see what all I end up doing.

Seeing as this is a "Jane-of-all-trades" type of blog, you'll get craft ideas as well as food, shopping tips, etc. A little bit of everything you will get here! Let's talk crafts first... I know that alot of people are very tight on funds this year and are stressed about Christmas. DON'T BE! I'm gonna vow that from now until the 24th of December I will give you at least one homemade Christmas gift idea and one recipe a day! I know, crazy huh? I used to be one of those frantic "black friday shoppers" and always worried how in the heck I was gonna pull off Christmas for my brood. Well tip number one (an obvious one really...) shop all year long! I normally buy 1 present per month minimum! I shop after Christmas clearance and stash it away for the next year. For example, 2 people in my family are getting seat massagers- ya know those $30+ ones that you plug in and put in whatever chair you are sitting in? Well I got 3 of them last year clearanced for $5 each!! And these are super snazzy cuz you can plug them into the car charger too!

But let's talk homemade... Ok, last year for my bachelor brother, he kept asking for pot holders cuz he only had 1. So I made a kitchen set in John Deere. I made pot holders, oven mitts, a utensil rack (the kind with hooks you hang on the wall), and a grocery bag holder (for all those annoying plastic store bags running around without a home lol!). Here's a pic...

SOOO this year I am gonna make some embellished hand towels to go with the set and a couple more things to go in the kitchen. This will be paired with a "gift of Renee in a jar" (THANK YOU Jean LOL!) and the crepes cooked for him that he loves so much!

CRAFT IDEA FOR THE DAY:
For that someone you need a gift for, see if they have a theme for their kitchen and make a kitchen set. Include pot holders, oven mitts, grocery bag holders, embellished kitchen towels (towels can be bought at many dollar stores and my local Wal-mart has them for $1 each as well). The set for my brother cost me MAYBE $5 to make. If you need material, look at local thrift stores, freecycle, or remnants at hobby stores. Need patterns? Pull them up online. There are TONS of great sites with free printable patterns.

Now I bet all this reading has made you hungry huh? Well how about some nice fall apart OMG so yummy crock pot roast & gravy? Trust me, its to DIE for and my kid who hates mushrooms eats it up! Its nice to have something -cooking, making your house smell yummy, and you don't even have to worry about all day while you are crafting- for supper on a cold night. That's what we're having tonight. I am lucky to have more than one crockpot, so I do lots of them lol!



Awesome Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Ingredients

2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup diced white onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced carrots
1 cup of peeled and diced potato
1 1/4 cups water
5 1/2 pounds pot roast
1 tbsp. worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp. cornstarch

Directions

1. Dredge roast in seasoned flour and coat entirely. Sear roast on all sides in a skillet over med. high heat.

2. Place pot roast in bottom of slow cooker. In a bowl, mix cream of mushroom soup, onion, celery, carrots, potatoes, worcestershire sauce, and water. Pour over roast.

3. Cook on High setting for 3 to 4 hours, or on Low setting for 8 to 9 hours. One hour before the roast is done, whisk 1 tbsp. of cornstarch into the pot. Gravy will thicken over last hour.

Well there you have it. Your roast should be just falling apart by the end of the cooking process and melting in your mouth! I'm off to work on MY bbf's quilt Christmas gift and some other crafts while the roast simmers all day. Until tomorrow... HUGS!