Cheery Christmas Table Toppers

They're done! These pictures might all look the same to you, but there are actually 3 different toppers that I completed. (I can tell by the different bindings - smile). I LOVE these, and I'm so happy that the tutorial I used was so SIMPLE. I'll definitely be making dresden plates again... maybe next time in a quilt. HA! Not like I need another iron in the fire...

Mom's:

Pretty snowflake material for the background...

Grandma A's: I used a different white background for these... can't decide which I like better!

And the hand quilting shown on the back... (Grandma N's - different binding)

Red and Green are such cheery colors!

Love the candy-cane centers...

Garlic Chicken Kiev (light)

I am always on the look out for new "light" recipes that still taste good and are healthy. This one fits all requirements. Yum! The only thing I changed, was instead of make little "bricks" of herb/butter, I just spread the butter mixture over the flattened chicken before rolling it up. Also, I used plain yogurt instead of milk to dip the chicken in before coating it in cereal crumbs. Worked well and we loved it!

Ingredients:

3 T reduced calorie spread, softened
1 T chopped fresh chives or parsley
1/8 tsp garlic powder
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 1/2 lbs)
2 cups cornflakes, crushed
2 tsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp paprika (left this out and added a little lemon pepper seasoning instead)
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk or fat-free milk (OR plain yogurt)

Directions:

1) Mix spread, chives and garlic powder; shape into 3x2 inch rectangle. Cover and freeze about 30 minutes or until firm.
2) Heat over to 425 F. Spray square pan, 9x9x2 inches, with cooking spray. Flatten each chicken breast to 1/4 inche thickness between two sheets of plastic wrap or waxed paper.
3) Cut chives mixture crosswise into 6 pieces. Place 1 piece on center of each chicken breast half. Fold long sides of chicken over chives mixture; fold up ends and secure with toothpick.
4) Mix cereal, parsley, and paprika. Dip chicken into buttermilk, then coat lightly and evenly with cereal mixture. Place chicken, seam sides down, in pan.
5) Bake uncovered about 35 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center.

Courtesy of Betty Crocker!

A Saturday Sew Nice

What to do on a snowy Saturday when you have the day off and no homework or chores calling...? SEW! I haven't had a free "whole" day to do this in a long time, so it was such a treat!

Our first real snow of the season!

A must have ~ toe socks! They're just as warm and toasty as slippers.

My sewing station (aka the kitchen table), equipped with cell phone, ipod with audio books, and diet coke. All the necessities, hehe!

I pulled out a bunch of christmas scraps I'd gotten from Grandma, and also that fun candy cane print I found at JoAnn's...

The previous week I had been "surfing" youtube and I found the tutorials by the Missouri Star Quilt Co. They are FANTASTIC! Ever since then I'd been itching to try making a Dresden Plate -something I can honestly say I wouldn't have tried a year ago when I was just starting out. They make it look so simple!

I made the blades with the red and green scraps, and used the candy cane material for the centers. The background is some leftover white on white prints I had. So cute!

Now all that's left is to try my hand at aplique. I don't think it will be too hard as I've sewn a couple bindings and done embroidery before. The hard part will be the quilting. I'm still so nervous about "ruining" projects by trying to machine quilt on them. I may just have to buck up and give it a try with these though... They are going to be so cute as table centerpieces or wallhangings. Can't wait to see them finished!

Food for thought

"The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don't define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winner can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them."

This was a quote on the myfitnesspal website that I'm using to help me stay motivated in my weight loss. Thought I would share it. It's not about will power, it's about having a clear idea of what you want to accomplish and truly, honestly believing that you can do it.

*Success*

I reached my 10 lb weight loss goal, and I wanted to celebrate. In our family, celebrations normally involve going out to eat or deserts or treats... so I decided (in following with my endeavor to be healthier) my treat would be none of the above. Instead... FABRIC! Hehe - I think I'm starting to really love this new world of sewing and quilting...

I have wanted to make (not that I have time with all my classes, exams, and work schedule) a christmas table runner or small project, and I chose "12 days of Christmas". I LOVE LOVE LOVE the little ice skaters on the pond. Hopefully I will be able to make something to sort of showcase them... they're so cute.

And the second material I chose was this cute strawberry print from the "Meadowsweet" line of fabric. I loved all the floral patterns in the line, but fabric is sorta *expensive*, so I chose just the strawberries. Another project... another day... but I would love to make a red and baby blue quilt. Not quite colors you would expect to go together, but this strawberry print works well, doesn't it? I love it! It reminds me of the strawberry collection my mom had when I was growing up.

I'll keep you posted on any progress... may have to wait until Thanksgiving and/or Christmas break to get any real work done, but we'll see!

My new best friend...

Meet my new friend "Gogo"! Haha, yes I have named my exercise bike... after all we've become very well acquainted. This Fall I am *determined* to get in better shape. Because I go to school and work more than part time, I find it hard to make it into the campus gym for a workout. Add in very cold Montana temperatures and lots of winter snow, and it makes it hard to want to go out either in the morning before class or in the evening after work.

Enter my brilliant plan.

I went searching for a recumbant exercise bike. Recumbant because they are a little easier on the joints and I knew I would be more likely to use it. We still happen to have an old KMart here and just by chance went in to see if they had bikes. Not only did they have this bike... but it was marked down 75% off! A $250 bike for $60 something. Woo!! It was meant to be!!

The seat is the only complaint... it's a little hard on the backside, so I added a nice pink pillow. Haha - does the job! And my pink exercise ball in the background is good for warmup - you just bounce up and down on it for 5 minutes to get the blood pumping.

The results: 3 weeks and 5 lbs lost! Woo Woo!! My total weight loss is tracked at the bottom of this blog. Now that y'all know and I've drawn your attention to it, I have to stick with it! :-)

The Best Ever Banana Blueberry Muffins!

The inspiration for this recipe came from http://simplyrecipes.com/. They have a recipe called banana nut muffins which I used and added to. My husband doesn't like nuts in baked goods, so I knew those were out... and I've always loved blueberry muffins, so inspiration struck. Mix blueberries with the banana bread.... and it was DELICIOUS!! Try it! (I also made another version with chocolate chips added instead of blueberries)

Banana Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:

3 or 4 ripe bananas, mashed

1/3 cup melted butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1 tps baking soda

pinch of salt

1 1/2 cup of flour

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions:

No need for a mixer with this recipe.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl.

Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla.

Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in.

Add the flour, mix until it is just incorporated. Fold in the nuts and/or blueberries.

Pour mixture into a prepared muffin tin . Bake for 25-30 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin.

Makes 12 muffins.

Peach Topped Shortbread

Following the theme as of late - Peaches - here's another good recipe I found over at Smitten Kitchen. It's not a sweet as regular crips, cobbler, or even cookies, and that's part of what makes it so appealing.

Peach Topped Shortbread

Ingredients:

1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg (or powdered in the spice isle)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold unsalted butter
1 large egg
2 peaches, pitted and thinly sliced

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter or grease a 9x13 inch pan. In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, baking powder, flour, salt and spices with a whisk. Use a pastry blender (or fork) to blend the butter and egg into the flour mixture. It will be crumbly. Pat 3/4 of the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan, pressing firmly. Tile peach slices over the crumb base in a single layer. Scatter remaining crumbs evenly over peaches and bake in preheated over for 30 minutes, until top is slightly brown and you see a little color around the edges. Cool completely in pan before cutting into squares.

Before:

After:

Peach Crisp

This lady (aka the Pioneer Woman) has WONDERFUL recipes to share, and they are all photographed step-by-step in beautiful color. The recipe used raspberries, but mentioned that any summer fruit would work. I had peaches that were getting rather soft... so this is the product. YUM!!!

Peach Crisp

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups fresh chopped peaches
1 Tablespoon (heaping) cornstarch
2/3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup pecans, chopped (optional)
dash of salt
3/4 stick butter, cut into small pieces
whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for serving

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl combine peaches, cornstarch, 2/3 cups sugar, and vanilla. Stir and set aside.

In a seperate bowl combine flour, 1/4 cup sugar, brown sugar, oats, pecans, salt, and butter pieces. Cut together with fork or pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Add peach mixture to a small baking dish or pie pan. Sprinkle topping mixture all over the top. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until topping is golden brown.

Allow to sit for ten minutes before serving.

Doesn't this look so peachy, gooey good!?!? (And it was!) *smile*

Potholders for Mom

"From the Fabric Scraps Grow the Roses of Success" (See "Grow the Roses" from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) Hee hee. :-)

Aren't they pretty! And just little strips of scraps...

This one is actually two 9 patches from my bigger project...

And this one is a mix from the past two projects. It's so nice to finally have little scraps to do cute things with! These are *almost* too cute to use...

This is my favorite with the straight line quilting...

Three Potholders in a Pod...

My First "Quilt Show"

We went to the Montana State Fair in Great Falls, MT for the day... there was so much to see, including the Quilt competition!

So much for inspiration! And the details... whew!

New Fabric, New Project

Oh the pretty colors! This is more what I had wanted to start learning with (rather than the blue and yellow), but I don't know if I would have had the guts to cut into such pretty fabrics!

Fat Quarters to 2 1/2 inch strips...

To 2 1/2 inch squares...

To 9 patches...

I'm not sure if I'll set them on point or just sash them in the white... the "on point" thing sounds intimidating at this point, but I KNOW it would be oh so beautiful.

We'll see what this quilt makes of itself...

And of course... my ipod and my sewing machine. I listen to quilt podcasts while I sew. It's quite motivating and inspirational to hear what other people are creating!

Quilt top complete

My first one is actually finished, borders and all. It's really exciting to see it nearing completion. I very much enjoy embroidery and have helped my grandma do some hand quilting before, so I look forward to the process!I wasn't sure about the outside diamond border, but I find I really like it now that it's finished.

It's sort of wrinkled at the moment - we don't have a big enough space to be able to fully lay it out. I'm going to have to take it home to Oregon at the end of this next month and borrow a big nice living room to pin the backing and batting on. Can't wait! It's going to be so nice when it's finished.

And I have to confess that I've already gotten material for a 2nd and 3rd project. But I'll keep that a suprise for now! Yay for new adventures!

It's coming together, and it's getting exciting!

These are the patterns that are making the audition for the quilting... I'm going to hand-quilt this... my first quilt... because I don't want to ruin it by "practicing" machine quilting. I've done hand stitching before, and this is what my grandmother does, so I know it will look nice. It will take longer for sure, but I won't have to worry about putting a hole in my quilt and wasting all the effort up to this point! I expecially like the daisy... will likely use that somehow. *smile*

All sewed together... with blue borders...

The corners on the triangles were such a challenge. They are by no means perfect, but it was my first try, so I'm not too down about it. I DO love the overall effect of the diamond patterns.

So excited to get this finished and be able to snuggle under it!!

Enjoying Summer!

Strawberry Rhubarb Dessert Bars:

Filling ingredients:

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened rhubarb, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Crust ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups uncooked quick-cooking oats
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Drizzle ingredients:

3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Directions:

Combine rhubarb, strawberries, and lemon juice in 2-quart saucepan. Cover; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fruit is tender (8-12 minutes).

Combine 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch in small bowl. Stir into fruit mixture. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil (about 1 minute). Continue boiling until thickened (1 minute). Remove from heat. Set aside.

Heat oven to 350*F. Combine all crust ingredients in large bowl. Beat at low spead, scraping bowl often, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Reserve 1 1/2 cup of crumb mixture. Press remaining crumb mixture onto bottom of greased 13x9-inch baking pan. Spread filling over crust. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely.

Combine all drizzle ingredients in small bowl. Drizzle over cooled bars. Cut into bars.

YUM!!

The flowers on the deck are enjoying the heat that is finally here!!

Even though I haven't gotten much done with crafting lately, it's still fun to experiment with cooking and gardening. (I wish I had a real garden!!)

I LOVE this geranium!

Another little project

Last night we went on a drive in the country. It was so wonderful to get out in the fresh air! We saw a few deer, the lupine and wild rose are blooming right now, several famers have fresh grass cut and drying, and I just can't live a single summer without getting out somewhere where I can hear the crickets sing in the evening. LOVE IT! I brought some of the lupine home...

So pretty!

The little project that I worked on a couple days ago was this calendar holder. It was a gift but still needed some work. I stained it with a natural color stain, and then put a clear glossy finish on it. First time staining wood for me! Not hard, but something new.

I've wanted one for awhile, and I like how it turned out. The wood is a bit crooked on one side, so it doesn't hang exactly perfect against the wall, but that gives it some charm. *smile*