It has been a busy month for me. That, in fact, is the way I like it. Busy, with just the right amount of relax time at home. How about you? What’s your favorite mix for life?
Projects
I may have gone just a little heavy on the crafting this past month. Then again, who’s going to judge me? I did several Valentine crafts that I would like to share.
I think my most favorite was a wreath that reminds me of a cardigan sweater. I had some puffy white yarn that I anchored with hot glue on a foam wreath form and then wound around until it was completely covered. Then I cut out felt heart shapes and glued them on the wreath. For the final touch I crisscrossed silver string around the whole wreath making sure the cross happened over the hearts. I fashioned a hanger out of the silver string also.
Of course I did a lot of craft shopping at Dollar Tree and this next project was entirely Dollar Tree.
I had the wooden heart and painted it with a black and white theme. (Before painting I removed the jute hanger and saved it to put back on when all paint was dry). I glued a wooden heart cut out to the center which I painted red. U added a bit of a messy bow to finish it off.
Using a wooden crate, craft sticks, wooden pallet, paint and little Valentine what nots I created a kissing booth. This little booth holds the chocolate kind. I painted everything white and used hot glue to assemble. The writing was done with a Sharpie paint pen.
I had picked up an old, unusual frame at a sale and saved it for a future project. I remembered it when doing Valentine’s crafts and put it to use. First, I removed the glass and painted the entire frame with ivory chalk paint. Then I gave it a coating of spread on, wipe off, antique wax to give it that patina. I have a lot of burlap coffee bags (thank you, Karen D.) and I cut a rectangle to fit in the frame and cut a felt red heart for the center. I added a red raffia bow but am not sure I will leave it. Let’s vote. Yes? or No?
Finally, I bought the large foam dice out of the toy section at Dollar Tree and used chalk paint to cover them. It took 2 coats. Then I glued wooden letters, that I painted red, and a heart shape on and viola!
My friends, Sue and Shelly, got together to make a St. Patrick’s Day craft. The example we took the inspiration from was made using ribbon but we used yarn which was much easier to work with. For this project you need a half of a foam wreath form, yarn of rainbow colors, craft foam or something like it to make a cloud and a pot for the gold coins. We used hot glue to secure the beginning and ending of each yarn color, fashioned the shapes we needed from craft foam and used hot glue to assemble. Yarn was used to fashion a hanger. The gold coins can be found almost anywhere at this time of year.
Hacks
- If you are into books, as I am, there is a great site that you can find almost anything on. There are used and new books and prices vary accordingly but everything is reasonable. You can also earn points toward free books. My daughter, Melanie, turned me onto this site and I love it! There is an app so I order right from my phone. www.thriftbooks.com
- I bought a nice wooden stove cover form Etsy and the other day I dropped a heavy jar on it from the cupboard above the stove. Most people would never have seen it but I did. I have always used a damp cloth and a steam iron to fix such things but I had put a decal on the stove cover and was afraid how I could manage that so I searched for another way. I found one! You use a wooden match, dip it in water and use the match to put the water in the divot. I had to do this 3 times but the water soaked in through the break in the finish and puffed the wood back up. No more dent!
- A friend and I were discussing frozen locks during this time of year in WNY and it made me remember that there was a simple fix. After thinking about it for a bit I remembered………….hand sanitizer. Squirt some in the lock if you can get it in and put some on the key. It should solve the problem and leave no residue!
- After having seen many ads about a product I finally did some research on where to get the cheapest price and ended up going to Walmart for it. They are Cindy Joseph’s Boom Sticks. I love them! I use at least 2 of them every day. There is one for moisture, one for color and one for glimmer. They seem to last a long time so they really aren’t that expensive.
Pet Stuff
For those of you who have dogs in your life I thought I would share a couple items with you.
I make my own dog food most of the time. I have found it easier to make in the Crockpot and it stays nice an moist. My dogs prefer chicken or turkey over beef so I either purchase ground turkey or chicken. Turkey is most often more economical. I break that up and add to the Crockpot. I always add some rice and some oatmeal. Then, In proceed to add veggies. I usually use 2 kinds. Some examples are green beans, peas, sweet potatoes, zucchini, yams, pumpkin puree, etc. Always consult AKC on line t make sure something is good for dogs! I then cook it all together on low until everything is nicely cooked. A batch with 3 pounds of ground turkey lasts me for a week at two feedings a day with my small dogs.
To make a treat for my dog, Isobel, on her third birthday I tried my hand at pupcakes and shared the results with her friends too!
FOR THE CUPCAKE: (crazyforcrust.com)
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 medium banana mashed
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
FOR THE FROSTING:
- 2 ounces cream cheese (OR BANANA)
- 1/2 medium banana mashed, (OR CREAM CHEESE)
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray. You can also use liners, if you want.
- Stir peanut butter, oil, banana, and honey. Stir in flour, baking soda, and baking powder until combined. Evenly distribute between the cavities of your muffin pan. Bake 10-20 minutes, until browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
- Banana frosting: stir mashed banana and peanut butter together. Frost. Serve immediately (the frosting will brown as the cupcakes sit).
- PB Cream Cheese frosting: stir peanut butter and cream cheese. Frost. Store in refrigerator.
Recipes
I have been trying new things in the kitchen lately. I want to share some of what I have been up to.
Baked Rigatoni (mamalovesfood.com)
This a simple, quick and delicious dish. You can make it with ground meat or without as I did. Love the option for the Crockpot!
- 1 pound rigatoni cooked and drained
- 2 jars spaghetti sauce 24 ounces each
- 1 pound ground beef or sausage browned/drained
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese divided into 1 cup and 2 cups
- ½ tablespoon Italian seasoning
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- optional fresh basil,
- 1 – 2- cups ricotta cheese, salt, and black pepper
- In a large bowl, mix together cooked rigatoni, spaghetti sauce, browned ground meat, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, Italian seasoning, and parmesan cheese.
- Pour mixture into a 9×13” casserole dish and top with remaining 2 cups of mozzarella.
- Bake at 350F for 25 – 30 minutes, until warmed through and cheese is melted and bubbly. If you are using a broiler safe dish, you can turn on the broiler in the last couple minutes to brown the cheese, but watch closely!
Notes
.Slow CookerTo make this in a crockpot, add cooked rigatoni, pasta sauce, ground meat, mozzarella cheese, Italian seasoning, and parmesan cheese to the crock. Mix well, then top with remaining mozzarella.Cover and cook on high for about 2 hours, or low for 3 hours, until cheese is melted and dish is heated through.
Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner (fabeveryday.com)
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 1/2 pounds red potatoes, halved or quartered if large
- 1 pound green beans
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup basil pesto
- freshly cracked salt and pepper, to taste
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees
C). Spray a large sheet pan or jelly roll pan with nonstick cooking spray. - Toss chicken, potatoes, green beans, and cherry
tomatoes in a large bowl with olive oil and pesto. Spread onto the prepared
sheet pan or jelly roll pan in an even layer. Season with salt and pepper. - Bake in the preheated oven until potatoes are
fork-tender and chicken breasts are no longer pink in the center and juices run
clear, 20-25 minutes.
Crockpot Mac and Cheese (pipandebby.com)
- 16 oz elbow macaroni
- 3 cups milk
- 8 oz velveeta cut into chunks
- 1/4 cup salted butter cut into chunks
- 3 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- Cook pasta in boiling water 3 minutes short of being al dente.
- Place the cooked macaroni, milk, Velveeta, butter and cheddar cheese into a crockpot. Stir and top with Parmesan cheese. Set heat to Low and cook for 2 to 3 hours. Stir occasionally and check for doneness starting at the 2-hour mark.
Pound Cake from a Cake Mix (eathomecooks.com)
- 1 box white or yellow cake mix
- 4 oz. box vanilla pudding mix
- 1 1/4 cup milk
- 4 eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- Mix all the ingredients together with an electric mixer until well blended.
- Pour into well greased bundt pan. I like to spray mine with Baker’s Joy cooking spray that also has flour in it.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool on the counter still in the pan for 10 minutes.
- Remove from pan and cool completely.
*I actually used a butter pecan cake mix and it was great! I would think you could use any flavor of cake mix and adjust pudding flavor if desired. Wouldn’t banana with banana pudding be grand?!
Have a wonderful next month and remember Spring is officially 28 days away!!!! Please comment and share with your friends!
