We Are Kicking Off Summer!

With the Memorial weekend we are all setting our sights on all things Summer! I am little by little bringing up all my Summer decor from the basement. Hotdogs, macaroni salad and baked beans are sounding really good right now! My plants that wintered in the house are now happily thriving on my deck. I just can’t help but have my spirits lifted. The only thing I really haven’t enjoyed was the putting away of cold weather clothes and getting the warm weather clothes out. I wish I could have waved a magic wand and had it all done for me. How about you? What gets you in a good mood? What do you dread?

Recipes

Hellmann’s Original Macaroni Salad (itsakeeper.com)

• 1 pound Macaroni, uncooked elbow
• ▢1 cup Hellman’s mayonnaise
• ▢¼ cup White vinegar
• ▢⅔ cup White sugar
• ▢2 ½ tablespoons Yellow mustard
• ▢2 teaspoons All Purpose Seasoning
• ▢1 Onion, finely diced
• ▢2 Stalks celery, finely diced
• ▢1 Green bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
• ▢¼ cup Carrot, grated
• ▢1 teaspoon Celery seed
• ▢4 Hard boiled eggs, chopped

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
• Add the macaroni, and cook until tender, about 8 minutes.
• Rinse under cold water and drain.
• In a large bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, mustard and House Seasoning Blend. Stir in the onion, celery, green pepper, carrot, celery seed and macaroni.
• Gently fold in chopped eggs.
• Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving, but preferably overnight

*I made this and it was soooooo good!

French Salad Dressing (from my Mom’s recipe box)

1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/4 cup ketchup (or catsup, lol) 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup white vinegar salt and pepper to taste

*French dressing and Catalina are my favorites. If I am ever out of the store bought, I can whip up a quick little substitute.

Cheese and Pepperoni Balls (bisquick.com)

2 cups of Bisquick 1/2 cup of water 1 cup diced pepperoni 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Mix together and shape into balls the size of walnuts. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. This makes a nice little appetizer.

Cousin Linda’s Veggie Salad (obvioulsy, cousin Linda)

Marinade

1 cup sugar 3/4 cup white vinegar 1/2 cup oil 1 t. seasoned salt

Bring to a boil. Let is sit for 5 minutes. Then pour over veggies and let it sit overnight.

Veggies

1 c. small peas 1 c. corn 1 c. french style green beans 1 c. chopped onion 1 c. chopped green pepper 1 c. chopped cucumber 1 c. chopped celery

Crafts

I have been doing a little crafting. I bet that doesn’t shock you!

I have a couple of old wooden ironing boards that I picked up and thought I would use for something one day. I found a use for the one pictured above. I tore off the padding and there was a picture someone had painted on it. I sanded that off and stained the board with antique wax. The sunflower decal was from Amazon and I made the “Hello” with my Cricut. I fashioned a burlap bow for the top and now I have a cute porch sign.

Both of the above “flowers” were made using canning lids and rings. The first image has a hanger to put it on a wall or window. The second one I made a stem and leaves for. It works well in a bud vase. To start with I used pinking shearers to cut strips of fabric about 8 to 9 inches long. Once that was done I folded the strip in half, put the folded end under the ring and brought the cut ends over the ring and looped it through the closed end. I did this over and over until the ring was completely covered. The next step was to cut a circle of burlap a little bigger than the canning jar lid. I placed the burlap on top of the lid and worked it into the ring. It took a little effort but it worked. For the hanging flower I used a piece of jute tied to form a loop and hot glued it to the back of the canning lid. For the stemmed flower I used wired jute from the Dollar Tree to form the stem. I bent it twice at the top to conform to the canning ring and hot glued it at both bends to secure it. The “ribbon” was from the Dollar Tree as well and I just tied it to the wired jute.

Hacking This Life

• The next time you are bothered by nagging worries write them down on a piece of paper, rip it up and toss in the trash. The brain handles thoughts as though they are objects, so ripping up your troubles encourages your brain to discard them and move on. One study indicated this could help with anxiety in 15 minutes.
• Here are some used for those wine corks other than crafts. You can put them on the tip of your knitting needles so your already knitted fabric doesn’t slip off of the needle. You can safely store knives in your drawer by cutting a slit in the end of a cork and inserting the tip of the knife into the slit. If you wish to cover the whole blade just cut a slit lengthwise in more than one cork and place the blade into the slits. Cut some corks in half and then grind them in a food processor and mix the little bits into your potting soil, The little bits of cork will absorb excess water when you are watering your plants. Then as the plant dries out the cork will slowly release the water. Have any cupboard doors that shut with a bang? You can slice a cord in 1/8 inch or so slices and glue a slice to the inside of the cupboFard door. Silence!
• For the fluffiest scrambled eggs cook your whisked eggs over medium high heat but instead of keeping the pan on the burner the entire time, shift your pan on and off the heat in 5 second intervals. This keeps the eggs from drying out and over cooking.
• Sheet pan dinners are all the rage lately. To make your life easy, match your protein cooking time with the cooking time of your veggies. For instance, chicken works well with carrots, turnips and potatoes. Beef and pork work best with beets, brussel sprouts and cauliflower. Fish cooking time pairs well with asparagus and broccolini. Remember to drizzle with olive oil and line your pan with parchment paper!

I hope there was something useful for each of my readers! Please leave a comment. I love reading them. See you next month and enjoy the sunshine!