O' Christmas Tree

Here is a jewelry tree that I am just finishing up. Imagine that! I have had this stashed away because I ended up not liking it when I was done with it. It holds at least one piece of jewelry from each of my grandmothers and my mother. My sister made one of these to hang at Christmas time and I adored it so I tried to duplicate it. It is funny how different they turned out. My sister's tree is pastels and is so pretty! My sister-in-law made one as well out of really old jewelry pieces from her great aunt and has a lot of rhinestones. It is gorgeous. I am still not super fond of how mine turned out but I am happy to have it almost done. All I have to add is the small shaped pieces for my kids to play 'I Spy' with. My mother made the drawing of the tree on poster board so each of us could use it. She is a good artist. Most of my jewelry came from the local thrift store but there are a few cherished pieces in there. I do hope it will be passed down and cherished for a few generations. The back board is a piece of foam board that I used spray adhesive on to attach the black velvet to. I reinforced this by tacking the velvet to the back. I purchased the frame at a thrift store. The outline of the tree is simply a string of gold beads glued on the velvet. I used "liquid nails" for gluing the jewelry pieces on. It was a fun project to work on and my favorite part is trying to find the hidden objects.

New Years Bunnies?

I started this, like so many other projects a few years back and then it just sat in my craft room because I cannot stand sewing by hand. I have been sitting by the fire the past few days and decided to pull it out and finish the hand stitching on it so it would be ready for Easter. It is just some old wool cut into the shape of bunnies and eggs and then everything is blanket stitched around with a few embroidery stitches on the eggs. I have a long kitchen table and I like to have themed things on it for different holidays. I will most likely place a wooden bowl in the center of this runner.

Traditions!

I love the holidays and the traditions we make to go along with them. Gingerbread houses are one of my favorite such traditions. This year, I was planning on making this a mother/daughter tradition because last year, my boys only decorated theirs halfheartedly. I decided to make one for the broken foot boy and he participated! He was in such pain trying to sit at the table for any amount of time so he lay on the floor and elevated his foot while decorating his house between bouts of pain. I had fun helping him and my daughter was gracious enough to be all on her own this year. She even made Santa's sleigh and reindeer! I enjoy spending time with my kids.

Not for the squeamish at heart.

My 14 year old boy broke his foot in P.E. last Friday. He said the coach asked them to remove their shoes to play an indoor baseball game so as not to get the mats dirty! My boy was jumping on base and his foot bent in half. Here is a picture of it the first day...keep in mind, this is my super skinny boy without an ounce of fat on his entire body. He has gym class last hour and when he hopped in, there was only one HUGE lump on the top of his foot but by the time he sat down and took the shoe off his good foot, the entire thing was swollen and white.

He told me not to take him to the emergency room that his coach had said to wait. I took him anyway. It is a misplaced fracture of the second metatarsal and a slightly damaged growth plate. We had to see an orthopedic surgeon who said where Holden is young and healthy, he would like to wait four weeks and then see how it is healing before performing surgery if needed.
I took more pictures of the foot today as he has a removable cast and we were icing it. It has been a week and the swelling has noticeably gone down. The bruising is even starting to look better. Notice how his whole entire foot is a bruise. His toes are bruised on top and underneath, his ankles are bruised along with both sides and the bottom of his foot.
I do hope it heals on its own and doesn't require surgery.
Looking at the bright side, he has a while before he has to go back to school with the holiday upon us. He only missed four days last week.

Cuteness!

Penguins on Parade!

I saw these on the web. They were too adorable not to make! This is way easy. You just cut a wedge in the carrot and push it through a small olive to make the beak. Then slit the jumbo olive and fill it with cream cheese to make the tummy. The ones I saw on the internet had green onion scarves tied around their necks as well. Enjoy!

Chocolate factory

My kitchen transforms into a chocolate factory during the months of November and December. I am crazy for chocolate. I really don't have to eat a ton of it...but I am so crazy about making it. I don't know why this happens to appeal to me....maybe because it is a challenge and I like to take it on. I have been making these chocolates for four weeks. At least for 4 hours a day excluding the weekends. The Grand Opera Cream that is Maple Nut flavored took me six and a half hours to just make the center. I think the lady where I buy my chocolate from thought I was nuts! This is true...but wait until you sink your teeth into one of the rum balls! They are my favorite! I have been making candy...or rather learning to make candy for about 5 years now. This is the very first year that I finally achieved the SNAP! I was so excited! This has to do with how you temper your chocolate and "seed" it. Thanks to Youtube videos on chocolate tempering, I was finally successful in making my chocolate snap when you bite into it. Yay. I love to share and these will go to neighbors, the kids school teachers, family, my son's co-workers and they will be served for the Christmas home tour at my house this year. Here are the pictures of why I have not put on make-up or done much else besides live, breathe and eat chocolate!

A few of my favorite things

I absolutely love the Holiday season! I love all the things that go along with it. I love the smells of pine and cinnamon. I love the Christmas music. I love the yummy treats and warm drinks. I love doing things anonymously for others. I love the sharing and giving and the cheer. I love to decorate and adorn the house with garlands, wreaths and trees. One of my favorite decorations is the tree-toppers I have glued into candlestick holders. I picked most of these up at the local thrift store and they adorn my mantle or piano every year. They add a nice splash of color and a point of interest. Children seem to be fascinated by them.

The warmth and coziness of a wood fire is another of my loves this time of year. It is four degrees this morning and the fire feels the best on days like this. I much prefer a wood stove to heat my home...but this is what came in the home I am renting right now. It doesn't heat as well as a stove but is still very nice. I have seasoned lodge pole pine that burns nice and hot. I really enjoy hauling wood in the fall with the guys. My dad and brother went this year on the weekend I was having a sale and I didn't get to cut any wood for next year. I hope to make the few cords I have last! The sound of dry crackling wood is comforting.

Best Breadsticks!

These are super easy and fast. My sister gave this recipe to me. I am not sure where she got it. In fact, she had to give it to me several times.....I kept misplacing it. :) I tend to write recipes on whatever is handy and then they never get filed in my drawer where they go. This one is written on a paper shoe print. :)

Breadsticks

1 and 1/2 c. warm water

1 Tblsp. yeast

3 Tblsp. sugar

3 c. flour

1 and 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. butter

Parmesan cheese

Italian seasoning

Combine yeast, sugar and water. Mix flour and salt in large bowl. Add the yeast mixture to this. Mix well. Melt butter in a 9x13 pan. Roll out dough and cut into 1 and 1/2 inch strips. Place these in the pan turning to coat each side with butter. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning. Let raise. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.

A scrumptious way to use leftover turkey

This is a recipe from tasty kitchen that I tried tonight with leftover turkey. I only made a few changes to the recipe. I left out the mushrooms, added two more celery stalks and two extra carrots. I used about a 1/4 cup more flour and I added the spices in while it was coming to a boil so that the flavor would be more infused. This was perfectly creamy and very delicious.

Wild Rice Chicken Soup

1 cup Uncooked Wild Rice (I Prefer The Whole Grain Style, Not The Cracked)

½ cups Unsalted Butter

1 whole Medium Onion, Chopped

2 stalks Celery, Chopped

2 whole Carrots, Sliced Into 1/4" Thick Coins

8 ounces, weight Button Mushrooms (sliced)

2 cloves Garlic, Minced

½ cups All-purpose Flour

8 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth

2 cups Half-and-half

2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce

½ teaspoons Salt

¼ teaspoons Black Pepper

1 whole Bay Leaf

1 teaspoon Finely Chopped Fresh Thyme (or 1/2 Teaspoon Dried)

¼ cups Finely Chopped Fresh Parsley (or 2 Teaspoon Dried)

4 cups Cooked And Coarsely Shredded Turkey Or Chicken (smoked Meat Is Especially Nice In This Soup)

2 teaspoons Fresh Lemon Juice

First off, you’ll want to get your wild rice cooking, so it’s ready to add to the finished soup. Prepare according to the package instructions. (It takes a while; the instructions on my bag says to cook it for 55 minutes.)

The remainder of the recipe can be made in one stock pot. Start by melting the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots, mushrooms, and garlic. Stir well and saute until the onion is transparent and softened. Blend in flour, cooking until it bubbles a bit. Gradually add the broth, stirring constantly.

Turn up the heat a bit and bring the soup to a low boil. Boil for 1 minute. Reduce heat slightly and add the cooked wild rice, half-and-half, soy sauce, salt, pepper, bay leaf, thyme, parsley, and turkey or chicken. Simmer for 20 minutes or until thoroughly warmed. Stir in the fresh lemon juice and taste test to see if it needs more salt and pepper.

Serve with crackers or warm bread.

Pretzel Cookie Bars

I found this recipe on tastykitchen.com. I was a bit skeptical, but something piqued my interest and I decided to try them anyhow. After these are cooled, they are divine. I know the photo is blurry. This was my eighth attempt and I finally gave up so you will have to look past the blurriness. I am definitely not a photographer.

FOR THE COOKIE DOUGH:

¾ cups Unsalted Butter, At Room Temperature

¾ cups Granulated Sugar

¾ cups Dark Brown Sugar

2 whole Large Eggs

1-½ teaspoon Real Vanilla Extract

2-¼ cups All-purpose Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

¾ teaspoons Kosher Salt

1 bag (11 Oz. Size) Milk Chocolate Chips (I Like Ghirardelli)

FOR THE CRUST:

3-½ cups Pretzel Sticks, Crushed Into Tiny Pieces

¾ cups Unsalted Butter, melted

Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Line a 9x13x2 baking pan with parchment paper (for easy removal).

Beat butter and sugars at medium speed until creamy. Add eggs and the vanilla, beating until just blended.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Whisk until airy and gradually add the flour mixture to the sugar/egg mixture, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides and add in the chocolate chips. Mix one last time for a second then set aside.

For the crust, combine the crushed pretzel pieces with the melted butter, stir to combine. Spread pretzel mixture over the bottom of your prepared pan and bake for 8 minutes.

Drop large spoonfuls of the cookie dough and scatter it over the pretzel crust. Carefully and evenly spread the batter over the warm pretzels. With your (clean) fingers, press the dough into the pretzels. Place the pan in your preheated oven and bake for 20-24 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the cooking time. Remove when the bars are golden and a tester comes out clean.

When bars have cooled, remove (using the parchment paper) and cut into 15 bars. Enjoy!

Improvisation of the day

Okay, so I had two chicken breasts today that I needed to use. I thought about haystacks and other items with chicken but wanted to try something I have never tried before. I finally decided to try a white chili with chicken. I looked up some recipes for white chicken chili and realized that I didn't have any white beans. So I improvised and made up my own recipe. I think it turned out rather tasty. Here it is and let me know how you liked it or what you did to make it your own. My mother taught me that necessity is the mother of invention. :)

NOT White Chicken Chili

Cook two diced chicken breasts with 1/2 C. chopped onion and about 1 tsp. garlic powder in 1 Tblsp. olive oil.

Add 1 can caribbean style black beans, 1 small can diced green chilies, 1 can rinsed black beans, 1 can cream style corn, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1 tsp. oregano, 1 tsp. cumin, and 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes. Heat through and serve with grated cheese and chopped parsley or cilantro.

Happy Thanksgiving Month

One more post for today and then I will be done. Good thing too. Six posts in one day is okay...but seven would just be excessive! ;) This is something I made last year or the year before. You know the years start to run together as you seem to get older. This is just another hooked pillow. I do like hooking and it is something I can do in one day if I work hard at it. I took this drawing from a coloring book and traced it onto some burlap. I then chose colors from my wool yarn stash and hooked it. I think it is so hard to find Thanksgiving decorations. I don't shop much for them...but it does seem that the stores skip from Halloween straight to Christmas. I do love Thanksgiving and have a few things I like to put out during November. This is one of them. I think I decided to make him due to the lack of decorations I own for this holiday. I was pleased with how he turned out and the bottom of him is even sewn up!

Stone Ground Whole Wheat Bread

Yes, I have been in the blogging mood today. I made some bread that didn't rise as well as usual but sometimes it is a tad cold in my kitchen for it to properly raise.

I grew up on this stuff. I remember having to take my lunch box to school everyday with a sandwich made from whole wheat bread and how I longed to be able to be like the other children who had school lunches. Now that I am older and have actually tasted a few school lunches, I no longer feel deprived. In fact, I feel very blessed. I remember one time when the school janitor came up to me in the lunchroom and told me that I must have a very special mom and that I was so lucky! At that time I didn't see any luck in having to bring lunch from home....but now, I see what he was talking about.

Mom's Bread

Dissolve 1 Tbsp. sugar

2 Tbsp. yeast

in 1/2 c. warm water

I am very fortunate to have a Bosch mixer. My grandmother bought it for me 23 years ago and it is still going strong. What this means is, that if you wish to make it any other way, you are on your own. I only use my Bosch for this and have no idea how it would be any other way. Life should be full of experiments though so be brave.

Put 5 c. hot tap water in Bosch

Add 7 c. freshly ground whole wheat flour

Blend well.

Add 2 Tbsp. salt

2/3 c. oil

2/3 c. honey

Mix.

Add 1 c. WW flour

Then add yeast mixture

Mix.

Add 3 c. WW flour and mix well

Knead in Bosch for ten minutes

Oil the counter and your hands with Canola oil

Dump the dough out on the oiled counter

Divide into four equal pieces and place in greased loaf tins

Let raise for 30 minutes or so

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes or until done

Slice warm and smother with butter and honey

Devour!

Nostalgia and Thanksgiving

This post is not so much about the apples that my son and I dried. We cut them up and I did make a mixture of water and Fruit Fresh to soak them in....but....somehow, they ended up turning slightly brown anyway. I do love to dry apples in the fall. I know some people put them in something sugary or sprinkle them with cinnamon, but I just love them all natural! When my kids come home from school and dip in to these to grab a handful for a healthy snack, it makes me smile.
On to why this post is not about the apples even though you may be wondering about that now that I wrote a paragraph about drying apples. Oh, one more thing I do have to mention here before getting to what this post is really about. When I was in my early twenties, I lived close to an old man. I cannot, for the life of me remember his name. He was kind enough to give me an old Excalibur Mills dehydrator. It is so nice and so large and still works perfectly! I am forever indebted to him for his kindness.
Now....on to what this post is really about....My roots are in Bear Lake Valley. I have a million relatives there. My Aunt (probably great, great Aunt) Ida lived there in the 19th century. She had these very jars in her home. When I was younger, my grandmother let me go into her home and choose something to keep. I chose two porcelain cats. I loved cats as a kid. My sister now has these cats in her home. Then another time as an adult, Grandma, once again allowed me to go inside Ida's home and take these jars home with me. I LOVE these nostalgic jars and how old they are. I am impressed with times past and how things were made with such care and so well. I have run these jars through the dishwasher and they have held up so well. In fact, they do a pretty nice job now of making reproductions that almost look like the real deal. Someone who did not know the history behind these jars may just take them for one such reproduction. But every time I look at them in my kitchen or I fill them with something, I am taken back to days long ago. I have a passion for things that have that kind of influence on me. Some may question me in why I even use something this old. I do believe in using things and now and then, yes the unthinkable does happen and something old gets broken. Whenever that happens (even though I feel as though part of me has been shattered), I try to smile and tell the guilty child that they are far more valuable than the ruined item. I guess if I just put them up high or in some hidden place to preserve them forever that I feel I would miss out on the memories that are induced by using them daily. I feel it makes me so much more grateful for what I have.  

Best Ever Granola

Compliments of my mother!

8 c. oats

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

1 1/2 c. wheat germ

1 c. almonds

1 c. cashews

1 c. coconut

1/2 c. sunflower seeds

Mix together in a large bowl...and I mean a big bowl...like huge!

1/2 c. water

1/2 c. oil

1/2 c. honey

1/2 c. peanut butter

Heat in a pan until thick and bubbly then add 2 tsp. vanilla and pour over oat mixture. Mix well. Spread on 2 large cookie sheets. Bake at 200 degrees for one hour-stirring every 15 minutes. When cool add 1 c. of raisins or mixed dried fruit if desired.