STOCKPILES

Well a bright and early Hello to all my readers! How are you doing this morning? I am well thanks. Got a bit of the allergy attack going on, so aside from the super sneezes I’m doing ok LOL! I hope you all had a fantastic Easter with your friends, family, etc.

Ok so as you see, I am up super early taking DD to band sectionals at 6am YUCK! I’ve got a good hour to kill before having to take the DS14 to school right? So, I’m reading this article on “How to Save on Big Ticket items” and something I noticed in the article made me chuckle.

Keep a grocery stash. By stockpiling groceries, you'll not only be able to purchase more items when they're on sale and save them for later (just stick meat and bread in the freezer), but you'll also be able to make use of Leamy's other big idea: Skip shopping trips. She says that many people can get by on the food they already have for a week, so why not skip shopping once a month or once a quarter? If you're used to shopping very week and spending $7,500 a year, then skipping the trip once a month could save you $1,800, or 24 percent of your annual grocery bill.

I have always believed in keeping a large amount of groceries in my house and now it seems the world is catching up to me! LOL! I just find it incredibly hilarious and wonder what those people who once told me things like “You have more food than Kroger” or “You have too much food” are thinking now! LMAO! But my 2 cents here… just make sure whatever you stockpile, you can use by the expiration date! Trust me, from experience, its painful to have to throw out food you can’t use… very sad… and its wasted money! So be careful and always inventory/know what you have!

And then I run across this in the odd news! LEAD STORY: Texas' nondiscriminatory justice system: similar penalties for murder, rape and possession of small amounts of drugs; More Texas Justice: In March, juries in Smith County and Matagorda County sentenced Henry Wooten and Melvin Johnson III to 35 years and 60 years in prison, respectively, for possessing small amounts of drugs (but enough under Texas law to allow jurors to infer an intent to distribute). Wooten, 54, had 4.6 ounces of marijuana (same penalty as for 5 pounds), and Johnson had 1.3 grams of crack cocaine (about half the weight of a U.S. dime). (Wooten's prosecutor actually had asked the jury for a sentence of 99 years.) [Tyler Morning News, 3-5-10] [Houston Press, 3-11-10]

I just think its crazy. We Texans are not ogres, but we are tough on crime LOL! I guess the old litter motto rings true for crime as well… Crime has a new slogan LMAO! Don’t Mess With Texas! LMAO……. I love the odd news!



Ok, so I have been searching the internet for a fabric to make a shopping bag that I had which was destroyed. I found it online late last night for almost $9 a yard! OUCH! And the sad part is, they are the only ones who have it that I can find! UGH! So do you think I should get it? Just one yard so I can remake this bag that I loved so much? See, I have a thing for fabric and if you saw my house, you would agree. I have this disorder where I can see a fabric and see all the cute things I could make with it LMAO! People tell me all the time that I will not be able to use the stockpiles of all my fabric before I pass… but I beg to differ! And so I set out to prove them wrong! As of today I am making another goal. I have 6 stray bolts of fabric that cannot fit in my cabinet or the numerous totes FULL of fabric that I have. SO by the first day of the kids new school year (in August), I want to have sewn enough things to have used all 6 bolts PLUS both the green crate and the “cause” crate under my table! That’s a LOT of fabric! I hope you are ready to watch me do some serious crafting LOL! Stay tuned… I accomplished the storage goal a month early… let’s see what we can do with this fabric shall we?

Ok so you are thinking… what’s today’s craft right? Well… This has been a very popular item I have ever made! Young children, teens, and even adults enjoy these pillowcases! This is an easy sewing project for a beginning sewer. Parental supervision is recommended. And you don’t have to just use holiday fabrics, you can use any fabric you would like… that’s why this craft is so awesome! Because it’s so versatile!



Holiday Pillow Cases

What you'll need:

1 yard of Holiday fabric (42" to 45" wide)
Sewing machine
Matching thread (match to background color)
Measuring tape
Straight pins
Iron

How to make it:

Match selvages together, right sides together. Pin sides and one end.

Sew, using 5/8" seam allowance, one end of the pillowcase closed.

Sew up the selvage end. Be sure to backtack all beginning and ending seams.

Fold over the open end 1/4" from the top (wrong sides together). Sew along this edge.

Fold over 3" from the top (again to the wrong sides). Sew along this edge.

Turn pillowcase right side out.

Press with iron.

Tip:
Watch the sales at your local fabric store. The sales on holiday fabrics seem to appear about 3 weeks before the holiday. If you wait until after the holiday, you can get even better prices! Those after-holiday sales is when I like to rack up the large quantities of fabrics! YAY! LOL!

Ok, now let me see a show of hands on how many of you did the traditional “ham” Easter dinner? Yep, I’m one of them and I was thinking of you all when I chose to share this recipe. Perhaps you have more ham left over than you thought you would… but you don’t want to eat the same boring meal over again. SOOO…. Here is something you can make with that delicious ham



Bean & Ham Soup

Ingredients

1 (20 ounce) package 15 bean mixture, soaked overnight
1 ham bone
2 1/2 cups cubed ham
1 large onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
5 large carrots, chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with liquid
1 (12 fluid ounce) can low-sodium vegetable juice
3 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried parsley
3 tablespoons lemon juice
7 cups low fat, low sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

Place the soaked beans into a large pot and fill with enough water to cover by about 1 inch. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low for 30 minutes. Drain. Add the ham bone, ham, onion, celery, carrots, tomatoes, vegetable juice, and vegetable broth. Season with Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, chili powder, bay leaves, pepper, parsley and lemon juice. Pour in enough of the chicken broth to cover the ingredients.

Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 8 hours. Add more chicken broth as needed throughout the day. Remove the ham bone and season with salt if needed. Continue to simmer for a couple more hours. Remove bay leaves before serving.

Ok ladies and gents, I am gonna get off here, maybe start another rack of seeds, and then do some super sewing marathon I think. Unless of course, something more exciting comes along LOL! The sky is looking pretty nasty over my house, so it might be a “stay-inside-and-entertain-myself” kinda day… yuck LOL! Anyway, be safe in whatever you find yourself doing today and I will see you again tomorrow! HUGS!

I BREAK FOR BREAKFAST

Good morning everyone! How are you doing this bright and surprisingly sunny Tuesday morning?? I’m doing pretty well considering we had more MAJOR breaks yesterday! We have, yet ANOTHER bathroom out of order so we are down to 1 now. The flapper broke, but I fixed that. Then when I was outside talking to my mom and Dad when they stopped by, I noticed a HUGE gush of water from the bathroom and I was like OMG NO! Yep… soooo waiting on the landlord to fix that now! BUT on the good side, the hubs and DS18 helped me gut the kitchen… took everything out, cleaned-scrubed-bleached everything top to bottom… walls, cabinets, dishes, you name it! THEN I put 2 coats of fresh paint on everything- walls, cabinets, etc LOL! I threw out 2- 39 gal. Bags of junk that was just cluttering the room. I’m talking these were things I don’t have the other parts to, that were chipped or broken, just JUNK!… DECLUTTERING! It gave my kitchen a whole new, very clean look and feel and I was so proud! It took us 5 hours and my legs swole up very badly… but its done and it looks great!!!!!! Today is total domination of my LIVING room! LOL!

OK, so while I was in the kitchen, I was appropriately thinking of all of you LOL! I was thinking about all the different foods I share with you. I thought to myself that I know I have shared a few breakfast items like waffles and stuff… but I have never devoted a day to BREAKFAST! YUM! I know a lot of people, yours truly included, who eat breakfast for dinner sometimes. The fact of the matter is that breakfast is one of the easiest (NORMALLY LOL) and cheapest meals to prepare and you get a full belly and full wallet all in one! SOO guess what kids… today I BREAK FOR BREAKFAST! LOL!

OK well I have already shared some things like Gingerbread waffles, almond French Toast, and my Egg Cups, as well as some others. SO, I’m gonna show you some more today that are absolutely scrum-diddly-umptious! I found this first one on Taste of Home and I just thought it was too cute and I wanted to share with you all. This would be a cute idea for a breakfast buffet or if you just want to make it for your family. You name it… its adorable!



How to make a Donut Tree

Use a 12- to 14-inch platter for the base. For the first level, assemble nine doughnuts in a ring with three doughnuts in the center of the ring. Stack another doughnut on each of the 12 donuts.

For the second level, assemble seven doughnuts in a ring with two in the middle, then top with another layer of 9 doughnuts.

For the third level, make a ring of 5 doughnuts with one in the middle; repeat the layer. For the fourth level, make a ring of 3 doughnuts; repeat the layer. Top with a single doughnut.

Add food coloring to your favorite glaze recipe and dip doughnut holes into the glaze. Position the doughnut holes in openings to add color. The top doughnut on the tree can also be dipped in colored glaze. You can also add sprinkles, nuts or drizzle the "tree" with icing.

Alright, now moving on to eggs and such… You have probably heard about making kolaches (or pigs in a blanket- depending on where you are from). Well how about wrapping up your whole breakfast in a biscuit or crescent roll? Oh yes… portable and yummy and a certain “neat” factor as well!



Breakfast in a Blanket

Ingredients:

2 cans of refrigerated Grands Jr. biscuits or Crescent rolls
20 fully cooked breakfast sausage links
1 dozen eggs
2 cups shredded cheese
1/2 cup diced jalapeno (optional)

Directions:

Scramble eggs in a skillet. When just about complete, add cheese and jalapeno to pan. Remove from heat.

Stretch individual biscuits about 3-4 inches in diameter. Place a spoonful of the egg mixture onto center of raw biscuit. Place a sausage link in the center of the eggs.

Roll biscuit around the eggs and sausage and pinch seam closed. Wrap or pinch ends closed. Place seam down on a baking sheet coated in non-stick spray.

Cook according to biscuit directions. Serve immediately..
Make these up and the kids can grab and go as they are on their way to school and you don’t have to worry about them getting a healthy breakfast! You can add all kinds of diced goodies to it to… tomatoes, bell peppers, you name it! Its versatile and fun! Now the next thing is a variation of my egg cups, except there is no meat holding it together! The meat is on the INSIDE this time. Again, you can use whatever kind of meat you want… bacon, diced ham, pan sausage, etc! And my kids even gave them a cute name too!



Egg McMommins

Ingredients:

1 dozen eggs
10 oz. Refrigerated shredded hashbrowns
1 pound of rolled breakfast pan sausage
2 cups of shredded cheese

Directions:

Brown sausage in skillet. Make sure there are no large clumps of the ground meat. Drain if necessary.

Add hash browns into skillet. Toss until slighty golden. Add eggs. Cook until eggs are about halfway cooked, but still have a “wet” consistency. Quickly add cheese. Spoon into a greased muffin pan. Fill to rim.

Cook muffins for about 10 minutes or until firm and golden brown.

Again, feel free to add anything you want to these as well… diced veggies, hot sauces, etc. Recipes, to me anyway, are nothing more than guidelines. They give you a basic structure but you can add or delete according to your health and tastes. Don’t like onions? LEAVE them out (unless they are the main ingredient of course LOL). Experimentation is what leads to the greatest flavor combos you can imagine! And some not so great ones too LMAO! OK… now this one I saw on Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive Ins and Dives and I HAD to find it… simply because I LOVE Captain Crunch!! I mean I will buy a box and HIDE it from my kids just so I can eat it LMAO! So I found it and went to heaven and if you like the Cap’n… then you might want to try it!



Cap’n Crunch French Toast

Ingredients

3 large eggs
2 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup 2% low-fat milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 (14 ounce) package brown sugar and butter flavored crispy corn and oat breakfast cereal (such as Cap’n Crunch®), crushed
6 thick slices egg bread (Challah)
2 tablespoons butter

Directions

Beat the eggs and sugar in a bowl until smooth. Pour in the cream, milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg; whisk until smooth. Pour the crushed cereal into a shallow dish; set aside. Dip the egg bread into the egg mixture two pieces at a time until the egg has been soaked into the center of the slices, about 30 seconds per side. Press the soaked bread into the crushed cereal until coated on both sides. Set the finished slices aside on a piece of waxed paper.

Melt the butter in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the French toast in the hot pan until golden on both sides, about 3 minutes per side.

And finally… how about some pie for breakfast? Would you like sweet or meat? Here… have one of each LOL!



Ham Pie (aka a quiche)

Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped fresh broccoli
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
3 tablespoons chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 cups chopped fully cooked ham, divided
1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese, divided
1 (9 inch) unbaked pastry shell
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup light cream

Directions

In a saucepan, saute the broccoli, green pepper, mushrooms, onion and garlic in oil until tender. Sprinkle half of the ham and cheese into pie crust. Cover with the vegetables and the remaining ham and cheese. Combine eggs and cream; pour over ham and cheese. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until knife inserted near the center comes out clean. If needed, cover edge of crust with foil to prevent excess browning.



Pumpkin Pie French Toast

Ingredients
3 large eggs
1/2 cup half-and-half cream
1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
8 slices day-old bread
Directions
Heat a lightly oiled skillet over medium heat.

Whisk eggs, half and half, pumpkin, cinnamon, vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice, and walnuts together in a bowl. Soak one slice of bread at a time in the pumpkin mixture, then place in the prepared skilled. Repeat with the remaining slices of bread. Stir the pumpkin mixture between dips to keep the walnuts from settling. Cook the bread until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side.

Ok so there ya go… that’s a ton of munchies in all kinds of flavors to start your day out with! As for me… well I am off to conquer more clutter, maybe get this place fixed up, get some personal business done, and of course COOK!!!!!! So Happy Eating and until tomorrow… HUGS!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Good morning!!! Does my screaming give you a headache? LMAO! Hope your parties went great and let me wish all my readers a very Happy New Year! Its gonna be a great 2010! I’ve set my yearly list of 20 goals and set up my planner already. Dinner is brewing in the slow cookers, the table is full of munchies, and I’m already planning my crafts and gifts for the upcoming year. One thing I have to do is make another fleece tied blanket for my cats as they have taken over my blue camo one!! Darn cats LOL! I saw some cute black fleece with white paw prints that I think I am gonna go get for them and make them a kitty blankey LOL! Maybe just half the normal size though… after all they aren’t as big as I am LMAO! Gotta keep the furry kids warm too!

Ok, so yesterday we talked about New Years food “traditions… If you have come here looking to dress up the “same old boring foods”… well you came to the right spot LOL! I got a great recipe for each food you should be partaking in today! First off, I’m not sure what type/cut of pork you are making, but lets assume it is traditional ham… all kinds of fruit goes real well with baked ham, especially apricots, apples, and pineapple. You could also beer glaze ham… so try this on for size:



Beer-Glazed Ham

Ingredients

1 boneless fully cooked ham (3 pounds)
1 can (12 ounces) beer or nonalcoholic beer
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons ground mustard

Directions

Place ham on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Score the surface of the ham, making diamond shapes 1/2 in. deep. Set aside 2 tablespoons beer. Pour remaining beer over the ham. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 1 hour.
In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, vinegar, mustard and reserved beer; spread over ham. Bake 40-45 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 140°, basting occasionally.

Ok, so there’s your ham… now what to do with your cabbage? Here is a yummy recipe that even people who don’t care for cabbage should try because it just might surprise you!



Cheddar Cabbage Casserole

Ingredients

1 large head cabbage, shredded (about 12 cups)
1 onion, chopped
6 tablespoons butter, divided
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
8 ounces process cheese (Velveeta), cubed
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs

Directions

1. Cook cabbage in boiling water until tender; drain thoroughly. In a large skillet, saute onion in 5 tablespoons butter until tender. Stir in soup. Add cheese; stir until melted. Remove from the heat. Stir in the cabbage, salt and pepper.

2. Transfer to an ungreased 2-qt. baking dish. In a small skillet, melt remaining butter. Cook and stir crumbs in butter until lightly browned; sprinkle over casserole.

3. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20 to 30 minutes or until heated through.

Now for your last component… the peas. Many people don’t care for black eyed peas, but here is something to put the bang in your New Years meal!



Black Eyed Pea Chowder

Ingredients

1 pound bacon
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
2 cans (16 ounces each) black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1 can (10-1/2 ounces) beef consomme
2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) stewed tomatoes
1/4 cup diced jalapeno pepper

Directions

In a saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon; crumble and set aside. Discard all but 2 tablespoons of drippings; saute celery, onion and green pepper until tender. Add bacon and all remaining ingredients; heat through.

Then of course you need a dessert… try some:



Better Than Sex Cake (hey I didn’t name it! LOL)

Ingredients

1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix
1/2 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
6 ounces caramel ice cream topping
3 (1.4 ounce) bars chocolate covered toffee, chopped
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions

Bake cake according to package directions for a 9x13 inch pan; cool on wire rack for 5 minutes. Make slits across the top of the cake, making sure not to go through to the bottom.

In a saucepan over low heat, combine sweetened condensed milk and caramel topping, stirring until smooth and blended. Slowly pour the warm topping mixture over the top of the warm cake, letting it sink into the slits; then sprinkle the crushed chocolate toffee bars liberally across the entire cake while still warm. (Hint: I crush my candy bars into small chunks as opposed to crumbs - I like to have pieces I can chew on!)

Let cake cool completely, then top with whipped topping. Decorate the top of the cake with some more chocolate toffee bar chunks and swirls of caramel topping. Refrigerate and serve right from the pan!

Well I hope you enjoyed our New Years dinner. Tomorrow will be taking down the last of the decorations, and shooting them to storage, more cleaning, cooking of course, and getting everything ready for them to go back to school Monday YAY!!!! If you venture out today, be safe… and see you tomorrow! HUGS!