Tag: patriotic decor

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Summer is Nearly Here

Wednesday is June 21 and the Summer solstice and the longest day of the year. Right now I am listening to all the birds singing in my back yard and it certainly is a lovely time of year. I think I am going to create a summer bucket list. What about you? Do you have plans?

I have been trying a bunch of new recipes and crafting as per usual. Oh, and let’s not forget some little life hacks. I mean I have to justify the title of this blog somehow, right?

Recipes

One Minute Chocolate Frosting (recipesbycarina.com)

This is super easy and I highly recommend it.

1 cup powdered sugar 2 T. cocoa powder 1/2 t. salt 2 T. room temperature unsalted butter 1-2 T hot water

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Mix in the room temperature butter. Add the water a little at a time until you have the consistency you want.

*If you use salted butter, just eliminate the salt from the recipe.

Baked Italian Eggs (damndelicious.net)

These were a big hit at a brunch I had at my house. You will love them!

  • 1 cup marinara sauce
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup fat free or lowfat milk
  • 1/4 cup shredded gruyere cheese
  • 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1/4 cup basil leaves, chiffonade
  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil two 10-ounce ramekins or coat with nonstick spray.
  • Divide marinara sauce evenly into the ramekins. Top with eggs, milk, gruyere and Parmesan; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
  • Place into oven and bake until egg whites are cooked through, about 10 minutes.
  • Serve immediately, garnished with basil leaves, if desired.

*I don’t have ramekins so I used mini-loaf pans for mine. I baked mine a little too long because I was leery of having the egg whites not cooked. They were delicious but next time I will back off a 1 or 2 minutes cook time.

Cheesy Asparagus (melissassouthernstylekitchen.com)

It is asparagus season here and I found a great recipe!

  • 2-3 lbs asparagus ends trimmed
  • ½ teaspoon salt adjust to taste
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper adjust to taste
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
  • ¾ cup heavy cream
  • ⅔ cup grated Parmesan cheese divided
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 cups low moisture mozzarella cheese or monterey jack or Gruyere
  • ½ cup french fried onions
  • Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
  • Arrange asparagus in dish. Some may overlap. Season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together cream, ⅓ cup Parmesan, onion powder and garlic. Pour evenly over asparagus.
  • Sprinkle top with remaining ⅓ cup Parmesan and mozzarella cheese. Place into the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
  • After 20 minutes, sprinkle the top with french fried onions. Continue to bake another 5 minutes or until crisp tender and bubbly. Bake longer for softer texture.
  • Let stand for 5 minutes, then serve, drizzled with sauce.

*I don’t like anything spicy so I left out the red pepper flakes when I made this dish.

Cole Slaw Dressing (allthingsmamma.com)

It is the season for all cold salads.

  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • ▢1 tablespoon dijon or spicy mustard
  • ▢1 teaspoon onion powder
  • ▢2 teaspoons sugar
  • ▢½ teaspoon celery seed
  • ▢1 tablespoon cider vinegar
  • ▢1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • ▢Salt and pepper to taste
  • n a medium bowl or wide mouth jar with a lid, add mayo
  • Then add mustard and seasoning, stir to combine
  • Add vinegar and lemon juice
  • Place lid on jar and shake until well combined
  • Add salt and pepper to taste, place on lid and shake again
  • Chill until ready to serve with coleslaw
  • Store in refrigerator

*This was super good and super easy. It is very much how my mom made hers. I just like the addition of the celery seed and spicy mustard.

Rhubarb Cookies (funcookierecipes.com)

It is rhubarb season too. I never thought I like rhubarb but then I tried it in a bread recipe and discovered that it really just takes on the flavor of what it is put in. So I went on to try cookies. I think you would like them.

  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • ½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
  • 1 large egg at room temperature
  • 1¾ cups (200g) all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup finely diced fresh rhubarb
  • Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
  • In a large mixing bowl, using a stand or a hand mixer, beat the butter, sugar, and egg until smooth and creamy.
  • Add flour, ground cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and slowly beat again until just combined.
  • Fold in the diced rhubarb, then using a small 1-inch cookie scoop, scoop out balls of dough and place them onto the prepared cookie sheet.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes, or until set and lightly brown at the bottom.
  • Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  • I added white chocolate chips to mine and it was a nice touch. Again if you use salted butter don’t add the extra salt.

Crafting My Life Away

This month I was working on my diamond paintings that I told you about last time but I did get some other projects done.

I made a little sign for a friend who has a thing for snails. I used my Cricut for this. I bought the metal sign from Dollar Tree and used the Cricut to cut the vinyl for the sign. I added a little touch of ribbon to the jute hanger to just spice it up a little.

I used a star wreath form and tulle from Dollar Tree to creat a patriotic wreath for my porch. I tied strips of the tulle to the wreath. When I was done with that I took a piece of jute and hot glued the little foam stars I had in my craft room leftover from anothe project and suspended that in the center of the star.

Dollar Tree also had a shell wreath form. It was kind of a mustard color so I painted it white. I used a little roll of fabric that I had bought a while ago to make a sort of backdrop for the shelf. I hot glued the fabric to the back of the form a section at a time and then used an exacto knife to trim the fabric as close as I could to the form. I added a bow, some floral pieces and a shell. it was as simple as that.

I had seen an idea on line that used old world globes for different things. I took that idea and elaborated a little. It made for some pretty neat serving pieces that are great conversation starters.

I had two globes of very different colors. I separated the two halves of each globe. To the northern hemispere I added a draw pull as a little handle and to the southern hemisphere I glued a little round tart pan the allows the 1/2 globe to sit without tipping on a table. Then I painted the inside of the bottom half of the globe a coordinating color so that it went with the outside of the globe. I bought a large plastic bowl and a plastic round serving plate from Dollar Tree. I put the bowl inside the bowl I made with the lower half of the globe and the tray underneath the food cloche I had made with the top half of the globe. Great for a picnic and like I mentioned, a real conversation starter.

Hacks for Your Life

*If you would like to get the most bang for your gas dollar experts recommend. Every time you apply the brake you waste the gas you used to accelerate. They recommend accelerating gently and coasting toward red lights and stop signs while trying to use the brake less.

*Out on a short or long road trip and want to find a good spot to eat. Look for a place with a lot of trucks outside. Most truckers have done their routes many times and know the best places to eat.

*Combing your dog’s or cat’s fur? Just leave the hair outside. It is perfect material to help birds make their nests extra fluffy and cozy.

*When going on a trip and tagging all your luggage with name and contact info, make sure to put a tag on the inside too. Tags on the outside can fall off and the airline will open the luggage to see if they can find a clue as to who it belongs to. You will be prepared.

*Try opening your bag of chips from the bottom next time. Most of the flavor sinks to the bottom during shipping and storage. This way you will start with the most delicious chips first, when you are the most hungry.

*When making pie crust or biscuits and the recipe calls fo youto use a dough cutter to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until pea size pieces form you can do this instead. Use a box grated on the larger hole side for your butter and it will slim down the process and keep you from overworking your dough.

*When making scrambled eggs start cooking on medium high heat and then when your spatula leaves a trail through the eggs, reduce the heat and continue cooking for 30 to 60 seconds. This keeps your scrambled eggs from being loose with tiny curds or becoming dried out.

Have a wonderful month, hopefully with sunny, warm weather!

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“Tunes” of June

My tunes for June and the drummer I am marching to are all about cooking, crafting and hacking life! How about you? Share with me what you’re up to in the comments. Let me know how you are playing your particular tunes this month!!

Recipes – the music of food

Pea Salad *saltysidedish

  • 1 large bag, 16 oz, frozen peas, thawed and drained
  • 6 strips bacon, cooked and cut into small pieces
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 cup diced red onion
  • 1 cup real mayonnaise
  • salt and pepper
  1. In a large mixing bowl combine peas, bacon, onions, cheese, and mayonnaise and mix well. 
  2. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
  3. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Mix well before serving.

This is great as a side dish for a picnic in the summer. It was super easy to make and delicious!

White Chocolate Clusters

This is a vintage recipe that fell out of a candy recipe book from the 1920’s which I bought at a household sale years ago. They were delicious and super easy!

I have chosen to post a copy of the original recipe rather than type it out. I like the way it looks and it is clearly written. * I used the microwave in 30 second intervals to melt the chocolate and also used parchment paper rather than waxed paper. Those were the only, insignificant, changes I made.

Lasagna Roll Leftover Hack

Shared by Shannon. Thank you!

She was making homemade lasagna and had leftover ingredients. She cut the leftover noodles in half and spread filling on them and rolled them up. Then they were placed in a casserole dish with sauce and baked. This reminded her of manicotti. Great job Shannon and thanks so much for sharing and even including a picture!

Crafty Tunes

Since my last post I made a doggy dress for my littlest one, Isobel Jemima. It was very easy to do.

First I purchased a baby’s bib for a dollar. I then used some ribbon, Velcro and tulle that I had on hand. I gather bunches of tulle in 3 various pastel colors and stitched them in a straight line across the wrong side bottom of the bib. Then using Isobel’s chest measurement I cut some cute ribbon so that it would overlap on her chest. To the ribbon I attached Velcro. I then sewed the ribbon onto the right side bottom of the bib.The whole thing was finished off with a cute bow. The result is below. Where the bib fastens around the baby’s neck it was fastened around Isobel’s neck too. (Don’t be distracted by the pink harness under the dress.)

You can find directions to make one similar to this but with fabric and not tulle at swoodsonsays.com

Memorial Day morning I decided I needed a little more patriotic stuff going on for my porch. I put together a couple of quick projects with items I had on hand.

First I made a nautical type wreath. For the wreath you need;

a foam wreath form

red ribbon either burlap or cloth

off white ribbon either burlap or cloth

hot glue and gun

I wrapped the off white burlap ribbon around the form and secured it with hot glue.

Then I wrapped the red burlap around but spaced it so that the off white was showing.

Viola!

Doesn’t it look cute and add a pop of pizzazz sitting on my vintage, wooden, folding chair?

The second project was a windsock. For this you would need;

hot glue and gun

strips of fabric in white, red, blue (they can be patterned or solid)

Some sort of toggle so the windsock can twist freely

twine

8 inch embroidery hoop (this project doesn’t ruin the hoop so you still can use it once you no longer want the windsock.)

I began by ripping approximately one inch fabric strips. For the blue I used old denim. I chose real white and not off white for this project. You could use either but personally I would go with one or the other and not mix them. The off white would give more of a vintage well worn feel to the windsock. I was really torn with choosing because, you know me, I like vintage but I happened to have more bright white fabric so I went with that.

Once the strips were ready I started putting them around the embroidery hoop. If the fabric was thin and wouldn’t bunch too much I looped it over the hoop which helped to cover the hoop and meant I didn’t need to glue. With the rest of the fabric I glued. I also was not fussy about the length. It was not my intent to have them all the same length.

When I was satisfied that I had enough fabric on the hoop I tied twine on the hoop in four places on the hoop trying to evenly space them. I then knotted the four pieces together and attached with a strong knot a small length of chain and a toggle that I had from a previous windsock that bit the dust.

The whole project took maybe 45 minutes from start to finish once I had gotten my fabric from the tote in my craft room.

Living and Hacking

I was having problems with my propane gas grill. Before I went further delving into the reason for the trouble I wanted to make sure that the issue wasn’t the gas canister was low. There is no gauge. I knew that I could way it since a tank typically weighs 17 pounds and the propane weighs 20 more when full. However, I had no desire to lug the gas tank upstairs to my scale.

Doing some research online I found another way to test it. I was unsure of it working but it sure did. So, I have decided to share with you.

First unhook you tank from the gas line (making sure your valve is shut). Then take a pitcher of warm water and pore it semi slowly down the side of the tank. Wait 5 seconds ( I counted) and then run your hand down the side of the tank. Since the propane will absorb the heat from the water you poured the tank will feel warm to the touch until you get down to the level of the propane. There it will be noticeably cooler to the touch. I had better than a third of a tank of propane. Cool, right?

I had some wooden palettes in my basement that I had brought home probably 6 years ago to make a bar for my deck. I never did get it done but I found a tip online which showed me how to use one of them. Beyond crafty projects I also like to organize things and this use for the palette immediately attracted my attention.

I put it by my side door where I keep rakes, shovels and the like. They were always just standing up in the corner but I like this a lot better. The best part was that all I had to do was put it in place where I wanted it. I would have had to remove the top board on the palette on one side so that there was more room to grab onto a tool when I wanted it but that piece was already kind of hanging so with a little effort on my part it came right off.

I usually by hanging plants every year to put on Shepard’s hooks at the head of my driveway. I water daily, for the most part, but the water just pours through the bottom as I am watering since there is no tray. I solved that problem by taking the plastic lid off of a to-go cup and placing it over the drain holes at the bottom. I place it so the underside of the lid was next to the bottom of the pot. This way there is a little reservoir for the water. I secured it with strong, wide tape. It is not air tight so the water still does drain but there is that little bit left in the lid and it also passes through a little slower which allows the soil to absorb more water.

I gave myself an A+ for that little diddy!

Please comment and let me know what you think. Have a wonderful June!

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