Three by Three Swap - June Blocks

Completed, packaged and mailed off Wednesday!!!

Sorry, my photo taking skills need improvement as well as my phot editing skills.

Friday Baking with NotQuiteJuneCleaver

I was reading about NotQuiteJuneCleaver's Friday Baking and decided on Monday I was going to make the recipes. Shannon was going to a White Sox game and well, it was just me and the boys. We headed to the store to grab a few missing ingredients (3 to be exact) and came home to get started.

You can find the recipes here. First up, Quiche Susan. I have made Quiche once, did not bake it long enough and the middle was not quite done and well, it was gross. This one however, was AWESOME! The boys helped themselves to seconds.

I used 1 cup orange cauliflower, 1 cup broccoli and 1 cup mushrooms (these were all in the refrigerator). Sauteed them in olive oil and butter, until they were crisp tender.

I used a store bought deep dish pie crust (I didn't have time to make one as when I decided to start it was already 4:30 and we had to run to the store for those missing ingredients).

I used a mix of mozzarella, monterey, colby and parmesan for my cheeses. How yummy does this look right out of the oven????

And let me just say (and the boys agreed) this tastes even better than it looks. We'll be making this recipe again with different veggies, whatever we have on hand.

Next up was the Mixed Berry Cobbler. In the freezer, I had a bag of Mixed berries that included blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. The bag contained 3 cups. Hmm, what to do since strawberries were not recommended and I have lots of those in the freezer, I had some rhubarb. Well, that should work. I followed the rest of the directions and well, it was pretty good.

I forgot to snap a photo of it with the ice cream on top. It was really good and the kids have enjoyed it warmed with ice cream the last few days. I did get my strawberries into the cobbler through my ice cream, I used Strawberry Supreme Frozen Yogurt by Schwan's. It was oh so very good!!!

Tea Towel and Potholder Swap

As I talked about here, I participated in a Swap over at down---to---earth. The items were to be postmarked by April 26, 2009. My swap partner was on holiday and not able to get a package ready to send to me, so I was waiting to hear back from her. I posted my package to her today. We are already getting busy with summer activities and I didn't want to sit on it any longer, better she has it and is able to use it.

Here is what I sent to her:

2 potholders

A dishtowel that I added the same fabrics from the potholders to:

She has chickens and I thought it only appropriate to send her an embroidered tea towel.

Okay, two tea towels, you can't have a rooster without a hen:

I found the embroidery patterns at Vintage Transfer Finds. She has a lot of great embroidery patterns.

We were also supposed to include a sweet or savory recipe. She chose savory, so I sent her our recipe for Sausage & Pepper Pasta.

Cookie Carnival - June - Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

As soon as I saw this recipe I knew I had to make them soon. And soon I did, I made them the day I received the email with the recipe in it. This month's Cookie Carnival Recipe is for Strawberry Shortcake Cookies. I LOVE strawberries! But more importantly I LOVE strawberry shortcake. A recipe that turns my favorite dessert into a cookie, what's not to love.

I made my dough in the food processor, the recipe said to use a fork or your hands to cut the butter into the flour, I make my pie crust in the food processor, why not the shortcake dough.

I pulled my berries out of the freezer (preportioned into 2 cup size bags) and defrosted added the sugar and lemon juice.

Then I dumped my shortcake dough into a mixing bowl and added the strawberries. Mmmmm, this looked so good.

I had the oven set at 375 and tried to bake the first batch for the time suggested. This is what happened.

Oh wait, you can't really see what happened. Let's try again.

That was after only 20 minutes, I think if I had left them for the 24 to 25 minutes they would have been completely blackened.

Oh well, the next 2 sheets came out just fine. I was able to get 38 cookies using my small Pampered Chef scoop. The kids loved them. I liked them, didn't love them as I hoped that I would. They seemed to be missing something, I'm not sure what though. Will I make them again? Most definitely, with some adjustments.

Here's the recipe should you decide to make them yourself.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE COOKIES

INGREDIENTS:
Makes about 3 dozen.
* 12 ounces strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (2 cups)
* 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
* 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
* 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
* 2/3 cup heavy cream
* Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining7 tablespoons granulated sugar in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, or rub in with your fingers, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cream until dough starts to come together, then stir in strawberry mixture.

2. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing evenly apart. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, and bake until golden brown, 24 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool. Cookies are best served immediately, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.

ENJOY!!

Interested in joining the Cookie Carnival, visit Kate at The Clean Plate Club.

Last day of school

First day of school,



Last day of school,



He went to school with a gift for his teacher. A basket I made using a tutorial by Pink Penguin (I of course messed up the directions, but it still turned out cute).

Flower Pops

Gotta love cake on a stick or Cake Pops as Bakerella likes to call them. My brother is getting married and all of his sisters had a bridal shower for him in May. Nancy and I decided that we were going to make Cake Pops as favors for our guests. The theme of the wedding is baseball realated and the bride to be loves gerbera daisies (orange ones to be exact). We were both going to make baseballs. I happened across a small daisy cookie cutter in my cookie cutter box and called Nancy and said I would make flowers. Nancy used a white cake mix and I used a chocolate cake mix. I used a M&M for the middle of the flower.

Let me just say, these are addicting.

And the closeup is not very good, I was in a hurry, but you get the idea.

Three by Three Swap

I am participating in a 9-patch block swap over at twiddletails. I sent off my first 16 blocks at the end of May. I am just no getting around to sharing the pictures. I love to use my camera, I just don't take the time to upload the pictures to the computer, edit them, add them to flickr and then post about them. Anyway, here they are....

I love how they turned out, the pictures do not show their true colors bad lighting due to a windy day outside forced me to take the pictures inside. I can't wait to see what I get in return. I am working on my second set of 16 today. Hmm, will it take me as long to post pics. Probably.

Oh and as a side note, if you go over to twiddletails she is having a giveaway today, Just Because!

Sewing Machine Meme

Sew, Mama, Sew! is hosting a Sewing Machine Month over on their blog. I thought what a great way to start off June. The month of May, escaped me. We became extremely busy towards the middle and did not stop until the end. June is shaping up to be somewhat fast paced, with what I hope to be a lot of down time. The boys and I need it. Michael is finishing up his last few days of Kindergarten, with the last day being Wednesday. Trevor finished up with his Preschool Graduation on May 8th. We have swim lessons and Vacation Bible School planned during the first 3 weeks June, all of a morning. That will give us our afternoons off, something we haven't had since August!! I have lots of sewing to catch up on and lots swirling in my mind. A list is needed, but I'm afraid to get it all out in the open, I may become overwhelmed and not start anything.

Here's a bit about my Sewing Machine...

What brand and model do you have? Singer, I don't know the model. I just know it has decorative stitching.
How long have you had it? Since December 2004
How much does that machine cost (approximately)? $150
What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)? quilting, handbags, home dec projects, some clothing, dolls, a little bit of everything
How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get? I don't sew often enough, it is therapy for me that does not get taken advantage of near enough.
Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name? No, it does not have a name, am I passionate about my machine, no. I like my machine in love iwth it no.
What features does your machine have that work well for you? I like the drop in bobbin, sounds strange I know, but on my grandmas machine (which is what I was using when I received this one) I had to get under the desk to put the bobbin in, crazy and complicated.
Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine? No, the things that I could complain about are operator errors.
Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree? Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it! I was using my grandma's machine that is in a desk and not removable from the desk. You used your knee to make it work. Anyway, it would work fine one day and then the next day it would not work at all, not turn on nothing. Try again a day later and it would work. It was giving me fits. Anyway, my husband asked my mom what kind to get me, she sent him out shopping. I received my current one as a Christmas gift in December 2004.
Would you recommend the machine to others? Why? I would recommend it for beginners. I have really taken a liking to quilting and it does give me some fits but again that could be operator issues.
What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine? Ease of use and what you are going to be using the machine for.
Do you have a dream machine? Juki TL-98Q , however, I have to save my pennies in order to work towards this beautiful machine.

Okay, that's it for the fun little.