Craft Class Week 1….

 As promised, here is this weeks project. It was something I found on Pinterest. I added the tail, but I thought it was cute!

I think three of these at varying heights would make an adorable spring display.

 

 

I made the sign just to show how easy it is to make these bunnies any size you like.

 

 

I decided to put everyone's name in a drawing for the sign. The little guy found a new home with Theresa last night after her name was the one drawn.

 

 

She was shocked and very "Hoppy" to have won!

 

Blessings,

Julie

A Couple Projects....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, I'm glad to be back again. I had a bad case of strep throat, but I am much better now. I can't say as I ever remember having strep before. It is definitely not something I would ever want again either!

 

I was up early one morning and watched the sunrise over our old farmhouse, where our eldest son lives now with his family. I was able to catch a snapshot of the beauty that God's handiwork gives us on a daily basis.

 

Have you ever tried re-growing your celery? I have seen pins on pinterest about it, so I figured I might as well try it and see how well it goes. I don't have a green thumb, so anything green inside my house doesn't usually have too much of a chance. I have to say though, it seems to be doing okay.

 

I cut off about 2 inches of the celery stem and put it in a jar of water. I only put just enough water in it to cover the root part. I did notice that as time went by, the outside pieces of the celery started turning brown and getting soft and mushy. I just peeled those pieces away as they rotted, until it stopped rotting. I believe I kept it in a jar of water for about 6 weeks, when the roots really started growing well and long. That's when I planted the whole thing in dirt. I have 2 plants going and each one is doing quite well, as you can see in my picture.

 

Since that little project worked out, I decided to try out another. I placed the root part of my green onions in some water and by golly, I have more green onions! It only took about a week and a half to get some nice looking green onions. I plan on using these up and trying them again. I wonder how many times one plant will re-grow?

 

Our sweet baby granddaughter is growing so fast. She likes to spend time with her Meme and Papa. We just love when she comes to visit. She is at that very curious stage of where she gets into everything. She's crawling and climbing, but not walking yet. Soon though, I think.

 

I finished our pantry curtains. I'm so glad they are done. I was a bit hesitant on the fabric choice, but it was what my husband liked, so we bought it. I'm glad we did, because I really like how it looks.

 

Tonight is my first spring craft class. I haven't taught a spring class in 8 years. There is 12 or more signed up, so I guess I will be busy.

I'll be posting some of the crafts that we do, so you can see them.

I don't tell my students what we are doing week to week. They find out when they come to class. I do give them a supply list at the beginning, so they are prepared, but they have no clue what they are prepared for. I hope they like what they are doing tonight.

 

I better go get ready!

 

Blessings,

Julie

But The Greatest of These is LOVE….

 

1 Corinthians 13

13 If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing. ⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. ¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Blessings,

Julie 

I Think I'm Getting the Hang of This....

 

Okay, so do you remember the chicken stew I made?

 

 

Well, after having it for a couple meals, I turned it into this....

 

A chicken pot pie!

 

 

I love it when a meal stretches into a few more meals, don't you?

After having enough of the stew, I decided to thicken it up and make a chicken pot pie.

After making one pot pie, I still had a great deal of filling left and also some pie crust that needed to be used, so I made a few mini chicken pies to throw into the freezer for a yummy lunch later on.

 

 

Would you believe I still had some filling left over after that? I used all the pie crust up, so instead of making more, I just froze the rest of the filling for another day.

It's amazing how many meals you can get when you plan just right.

 

I love to stretch a dollar!

 

My husband and I have been thinking of ways to cut waste here in our home. If you really stop and think about it, we do waste a lot of food. Well, maybe not you, but I have found some areas of waste here in our home.

 

 Look around your kitchen...

Are you wasting anything?

 

For instance....

When the last 2 or 3 slices of bread become too stale to eat, I simple throw them out or put them out for the birds.

Well, instead of doing that again, my husband and I made homemade croutons.

 

 

Garlic and Parmesan Croutons...YUM!

 

These were very easy to make. We just put about 3 Tblsp. of olive oil and 3 Tblsp. of melted butter in a bowl. Added, (in amounts of your choice), some garlic powder, parmesan cheese and parsley. Whisk it all until well blended. Then add cut up bread pieces to the mix and toss until well coated. I think we added about 8 slices of bread.

Spread coated bread out on a large cookie pan and bake in a 300* oven for about 15 min. Oven temps do vary, so keep an eye on them, as they will burn quickly.

 

You can change up the ingredients to make whatever kind you like. We added the parsley for color, not for taste.

 

We also cleaned out the refrigerator, looking for some fruit that was starting to get a bit soft, or maybe some fresh veges that needed to be used up.

Voila! Found an orange and a couple grapefruit. They were just too soft for eating, so I sliced them up into 1/4" slices and into the dehydrator they went!

 

 

I like to place these into a simmering pot of water with some other nice smelling things...whole cloves, cinnamon sticks, dried apple slices, and a bay leaf, for a really great smelling room freshener.

I also like to use them for crafts.

 

This week has been full of fun in the kitchen! Did I mention that we cooked our pot pie and croutons in the wood cook stove?

Yes! I think I'm getting the hang of this.

 

We've been cooking all of our meals in the cook stove this week. They taste so much better. Maybe it's the wood?

We haven't used our conventional stove/oven all week. This is a huge savings on our gas bill!

 

Yesterday I made a peach pie.

 

 

 

Check out the gorgeous color! I don't think I could have gotten that in our regular oven.

 

With the leftover pie crust, I also made some homemade poptarts. Have you ever made these?

 

 

I just rolled out the leftover crust, cut them into small rectangles, and filled each one with some filling. For fillings I used homemade strawberry/rhubarb jam, raspberry jam, and some Nutella. You can use whatever filling you like.

Just be sure to stay about a half an inch away from the edges with the filling.

Once filled, wet the edges by dipping your finger in a little cold water and then place another rectangular piece of pie crust on top. Press the edges with a fork until sealed.

Bake these in a 375* oven until lightly golden.

Once completely cooled, sprinkle with powdered sugar, or frost them to your liking.

I kept some of them out to have for breakfast this week, and put the rest in the freezer. 

 

Here's what they look like after they're done....

 

 

 

 

DELICIOUS!

 

I hope you try some of these recipes/ideas. In today's world the economy is especially fragile. Stretching your dollar has become more important than ever.

 

What do you do to stretch your dollar?

Maybe you have some tips you can share?

I'd love to hear all about it!

 

I think I need to go make something with the bananas in my pantry....

 

Blessings,

Julie

 

 

 

A Recipe and Our Pantry....

 

I decided to make some muffins this morning. The recipe can be found here.  I did use fresh strawberries though, instead of the cranberries. This recipe is from a blog I read often, called "Mennonite Girls Can Cook".  They have some really wonderful recipes there.

 

Do you remember the chicken broth I was making? Well it ended up turning into this….

 

 

A nice chicken stew. My husbands idea. He loves homemade soups and stews. I have to say…it really was delicious. I used some of our dehydrated vegetables in it, and I think that made it even tastier!

 

 

 

There is still a little bit of stew left, so I think I’ll make a some mini chicken pot pies with it. My favorite thing to do with leftover stew.

 

I’ve been busy working on my pantry lately. There is still more shelving that needs to go up, but that will come with time. My brother is doing the work for us and he does have a fulltime job and a wonderful family to tend to, so I don’t hurry him. He’s been doing a great job for us! Thank you Christopher!

 

 

 

 

He is such a multi-talented man! He actually works at refurbishing vehicles, although I think he can do anything. He did tell me that this is definitely not something he loves doing. I’m so glad he loves his sister.

 

This is what our pantry looks like now. I’m in the process of making some curtains to hang below the counters. I also still have to poly the countertops, but I’m waiting for all the shelving to be completely finished.

 

You can click on any one of these photos to enlarge them, if you like.

 

 

 

I love our 1800’s cast iron sink. We bought it from a lady in Kittery, Me.

 

 

 

This is a close up of the 1920’s gumball machine shown in the previous picture. My husband bought it at an antique sale a couple years ago. I wonder if they still sell gumballs in large packages?

 

 

This old cupboard belonged to my husband’s grandmother. It's the perfect addition to our pantry.

 

 

 

The cupboard folds down into a bread board.

 

 

Did you know that you can use the covers from parmesan cheese containers on your wide mouth mason jars? I use them on my half pint jars for bulk spices and herbs.

 

 

 

 

This is a picture that I have had for many years. It belonged to my husband’s mother. I just love it, so I hung it up in the pantry. Seems like the perfect place, don't you think?!

 

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s post. It’s just a kind of mishmash of stuff, but sometimes that’s how my brain seems to work. (smile)

Have a lovely day!

 

Blessings,

Julie