GOOD FRIDAY

Well Hello there my lovely lads and lasses. How are you doing on this sticky Friday morning? I’m quite exhausted really. Yesterday I did a lot of grocery shopping for my mom in the morning and then bulk shopping for me in the afternoon. Cases of veggies and pastas, gallons of milks, dozens of eggs, pounds of sugars and such… the cashier I guess was new because she was a little shocked I think LOL! 2 carts of just “staples”. Didn’t even cover fresh fruits, veggies, or major meats yet!

Ok everyone give Jean a big round of applause! She got me with the ONLY April Fool’s joke pulled on me yesterday! OMG I read the first part of that comment and almost cried! Then I scrolled down. VERY funny LOL! Everyone around me didn’t dare try to pull one over on me LOL. About gave me a heart attack! LOL!



Oh I so have to tell you about this book my mom got for me from Amazon.com. Its called “The Forager’s Harvest: A guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants” by Samuel Thayer. I had mentioned how I wanted to go on a wild foods scavenger hunt, remember? So after that and the wild onions in my mom’s yard, she got me a surprise! It’s got glossy pictures and from what I have read so far, it’s very easy to follow! I am gonna have the best time with this book. Gimme a couple of days and I will have this book read cover to cover! Its one of those “I can’t put it down” kind of books. But from what I see, you can apparently eat way more things than I could’ve ever imagined!



Ok so I make purse packages and sell them as you know… they all contain a tote bag, photo album, calendar, coupon holder, eyeglass case, makeup bag, scrunchy, cell phone pouch, and lapel pin. I do them in all kinds of prints and I sell them for $25 (plus shipping when necessary. Would you like to see them for sale here on the site? They make great gifts too! Post comments and yes or no’s and if ya’ll do, then I will work on a paypal order link!). This one you see has the Autism material I have been talking about. So today’s craft is the makeup bag out of this package. Of course, you can use any fabric you like. They also make great pencil bags, a small sewing kit, a travel first aid kit, and tons of other uses!



Craft Idea of the Day: Zippered Bag

MATERIALS - for one pouch

fabric - 1/4 yard
7" all purpose zipper
contrasting or coordinating thread
25 mm bias tape maker
straight pin

Instructions:

Wash, dry and press fabric. If you do this before you sew it up, you'll be able to throw your finished zippered purse in the wash without worrying about it.

Cut two 8 1/2 inch x 4 inch pieces of fabric. Press a 1/4 fold along one long edge of each piece of fabric. This is where the zipper will be sewn in.

Pin one side of the zipper (right side up) onto the pressed edge of one of the pieces of fabric.

Attach the zipper- Using your zipper foot, slowly sew along the zipper.

If you don't have a zipper foot, you can use your regular foot, as shown below. After you pin the fabric to the zipper, open the zipper halfway. Sew about 1/8" away from the zipper.

When you reach the zipper pull, put the needle in the "down" position and lift up the foot. Move the zipper pull to the top of the zipper. Continue sewing to the end of the zipper.

Repeat for the other side of the zipper.

When you are done, open out the pouch and cut out 1/2" squares from each corner of the pouch. This will reduce bulk in the corners when the pouch is complete.

Cut two 2 inch by 9 inch strips from the remaining fabric and create bias tape. One of the strips will be cut in half for the sides of the pouch, and the second strip will be used for the bottom of the pouch.

To use a bias tape maker, insert the strip right side down into the tool as shown below. Pull the tool across the strip so that the fabric comes out at the small end with the edges turned in. Press the tape with a hot iron as it comes out. If you need help getting the fabric to come out of the small end of the tool, you can move it along with a pin by inserting the pin into the opening in the plastic part of the tool.

For the sides, cut a piece of bias tape that covers the bottom of the zipper to the cut corner of the pouch, plus 1/2" (this will be about 3 1/2"). Open both ends of the tape and fold under 1/4". This will create a non-fray edge for the bias seam. Press both ends closed.

Fold the pouch in half, right sides together. Pin the bias tape along one edge of the pouch, making sure to enclose both pieces of the pouch.

Sew the bias tape down, taking your time. Make sure to have the top edge of the tape not too far up near the zipper, or else the zipper will hit it. Repeat with the other side.

Before you sew the bottom up, make sure to open the zipper or else you'll end up with a permanently closed bag! Use the second piece of bias tape and sew the bottom up the same way you did the sides. The final touch is to sew along the cut corners of the pouch to reinforce the corners. Sew along the bottom of the side bias tape binding (as close to the edge as possible), put the needle into the "down" position, rotate the fabric, and sew along the side of the bottom bias tape.

Turn your bag right side out. It's complete! When you look inside, your bias taped sides and bottom should overlap each other. Enjoy and Fill your bag up with sewing notions, knitting notions, or whatever you like!

Ok, so we only have 3 more days of casseroles, so I hope you have found one you enjoy… this one I heard a lot about a few years ago, so I decided to try it out for myself. Yet another popular dish around here, so take a look-see and see if it is something you and yours might enjoy!



King Ranch Casserole

Chicken layered with a spicy sauce and cheese--popular in Texas and now made more healthful for Tex-Mex lovers everywhere.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 4-ounce can chopped green chilies, drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 red or green bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups diced skinless cooked chicken
10 corn tortillas, cut in quarters
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Bring chicken broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Whisk together milk and flour in a small bowl to make a smooth paste. Add to the broth and cook over medium, whisking constantly, until thickened and smooth, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in yogurt, tomatoes, chilies, cilantro (or parsley), chili powder, oregano and cumin. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender-crisp, about 3 minutes.

Line the bottom of a shallow 3-qt. baking dish with half the tortillas. Top with half of the chicken and half of the onion mixture. Spoon half of the sauce evenly over the top. Repeat layers with remaining tortillas, chicken, onion mixture and sauce. Sprinkle with cheese and bake until bubbly, 25 to 30 minutes.

Alright kids, I am out of here for the day. Gonna go make another run to the store this morning and then come back and probably sew. Dad’s got kid duty so I can go “consult with the Easter Bunny” LOL! I think some of the kids want to hang out today… at least from the sounds of what MY kids were jabbering. And I want to get lots of sewing done today hopefully… so this is the Frugal Mom signing off! HUGS!