Child of God, wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, quilter, basket lover, amateur photographer, flower and vegetable gardener …….. some a little of who I am, some a lot of who I am, and all a part of me. When I started quilting several years ago, it sparked a passion in my creative side that I never knew existed. I fell in love with it from the very start. I love everything about it, from choosing the fabrics and designing the quilt until the time I finish the last stitch of the binding and everything in between.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

New recipe --- homemade Sloppy Joes

My husband had to leave unexpectedly this morning to drive to Arkansas to get his mother and bring her here (another blog story for later) and my daughter now has an apartment with two friends, so my son and I are alone this weekend.  I have several hours of work to do over the course of the weekend plus get a bedroom ready for my mother-in-law, and my son has a paper to write and more homework, so we opted for a simple supper.  We thought about ordering pizza, but I pinned a new recipe on Pinterest a few weeks ago and have been wanting to try it out.  Nothing fancy, just sloppy joes, but homemade.   Here is supper ...

Click HERE for the recipe.  The only ingredient I did not have was dry ground mustard and my son picked that up this morning.  It is very good and I can definitely see it being on the menu for the next football gathering at my house.  It is a little sweet for my taste, so the next time I make it I will leave off the brown sugar and will add a little garlic and probably some diced jalapeno.  I have very specific tastes for sweet and savory, usually not together.  If you love sweet chili or spaghetti sauce, better not plan on supper at my house because you will not find it here.  If I want something sweet, I will go get a Milky Way bar or Hershey bar or something equally sugary.  I started to leave the brown sugar out this first time I made it, but the recipe has over 600 reviews and 5 stars, so I felt like I should give it a chance as written before starting to make changes.  

On a totally different note, here is a view of the beautiful Kentucky sky from my front porch this evening. 

Hope ya'll are having a wonderful weekend! 

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Pumpkin spice muffins --- Pioneer Woman style!

I know it isn't fall yet .... the temperature outside still says summertime, hot and humid.  But, it is September and fall isn't too far away.  Without a doubt, autumn is my very favorite time of the year.  More about autumn later ... but today a quick glimpse of fall food.  I have been looking for a really good pumpkin muffin recipe.  I came across a recipe by Ree, the Pioneer Woman.  I had everything in my pantry to make these except Carnation evaporated milk (we called it Carnation Cream while growing up, not sure why).  I dropped by the grocery after church today and picked up a small can and made these muffins today.  Here are pictures of mine ...

If you want a GREAT homemade muffin, click HERE for Pioneer Woman's recipe.  One thing I LOVE is that this uses butter instead of oil.  I do have to disagree with her on one thing.  She said the recipe would not make a full 12 muffins.  I filled all 12 cups at least two-thirds full, probably closer to three-fourths.  The recipe calls for 25 minutes.  I baked 20 to start with, wanting to make sure they did not overbake, and ended up giving them another 3 minutes.  They are dense and packed with spicy, pumpkin goodness (but not overly sweet).  With the homemade cream cheese frosting, these taste a lot like a pumpin roll.  Break away from the box and packet mix and try these sweet babies ... you will not be disappointed.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Birthday gifts from my friend

I just had my 55th birthday on August 29 and I am the "baby" of a group of four.   My husband was also born in 1957, as are our best friends, a couple named Kathy and Rob.   They live two counties away from us, a 45-minute drive, but we get together as often as we can.  My husband turned 55 in March, Kathy turned 55 in July, Rob on August 15, so that makes me the youngest -- oh yay!   They graciously share their garden with us in the summertime .... tomatoes, peppers, squash, corn, green beans, greens, onions, okra ...... and in return my husband will put something on the smoker for them, pork loin or shoulder roast, ribs, different things.  It is a wonderful trade-off.  Kathy and I exchange gifts for birthdays and Christmas, and it is usually something we have made.  This time, she made me a set of coasters with tile from Lowe's, fabric, and ModPodge.  This is something I have been wanting to try and just have not gotten around to it. I love these! 



Also, she loves, loves, loves to upcycle .... she finds clothing at Goodwill and makes something different out of it... placemats, napkins, whatever.  Sometimes a dress will have unique buttons.  She calls some of the dresses "church dresses."  Trust me, this is a term of endearment and in no way meant to be disrespectful.  She and I both spent our early years in small country churches where the women wore long, full dresses.  Pants were a no-no.  When she finds a dress at Goodwill that is full and long and has lots of usable fabric, she calls it a "church dress."   Here is a picture of one she found this summer ...
I wish you could see the buttons on this dress  .... they would definitely have cost more than the $5 she paid for this dress at Goodwill.  There is enough fabric in the dress for two aprons, and she made me one for my birthday ... look at this!!!!!!
I am not sure, but this looks like Debbie Mumm or Mary Engelbreit.  Best friends are the greatest!