Lemon Bars

I had a can of lemon pie filling from Aldi that needed to be used soon and so I made lemon bars.  

 

To make mix a yellow cake mix with one stick of softened butter. Set aside half a cup and press the remaining into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. 

 

Spread one can of lemon pie filling over the top. 

 

And sprinkle with the reserved cake mix. 

 

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Makes for a quick dessert when you need something fast!

January Wipocalypse Update

I feel like I should have more progress to share, but actually this progress isn't all that bad for me.  I had two January finishes. The first is Prairie Schooler Winter Wind stitched on PTP 32 Ct Wren with the called for DMC.  This is WIP # my 30 on year of WIPs list.

 

This is only part of the pattern.  I didn't like this piece.  I wanted a winter piece for a specific finish and thought this might be it, but the pattern annoys me!  The birds are far from gone!  I know this because I feed them!  I have many winter only birds feeding in my yard and while its very cold out, there is never a bad birding season in Kansas.  I decided to finish what I'd started, but not the entire pattern.  I'm not sure how or when I'll get around to fully finishing it.

I continue to make progress on WIP # 31 Baby Is Cold Outside by Heartstring Samplery.  I've run out of Picnic Basket, so all the windows aren't in on the house and the words are missing at the bottom of the piece.  I am hoping to find a good substitute in my stash and not have to order one thread. 

 

I began on January 5 my 2018 Baptism sampler Barbara Ana's All Creatures Great and Small on PTP 18ct Wren.  I got this far before deciding to start it on another fabric.

 

Emily from Eclectic Possessions (Flosstube and Instagram) is stitching this pattern on PTP Haunted and I love it!  Love it so much that I knew I wouldn't be happy with stitching it on Wren.  I had PTP Haunted in my stash, but found a piece of PTP Lupine and decided to try it.  I might have to change some of the browns, but surely I can figure that out.  

 

It took forever to frog the Wren start, but I decided I had to do that before starting on Lupine.  Upon frogging my Wren start this is as far as I got on Lupine.  I'm only stitching this on the weekends, so it won't get finished anytime soon.

I started a small piece on Monday January 22nd for Kansas Day and finished it Thursday January 25. It was my friend Dede's idea to stitch something every January for Kansas Day.  Two years ago I stitched a Prairie Schooler Santa with sunflowers;

 

And last year I stitched a Prairie Schooler egg freebie that had a sunflower;

 

This years Kansas Day piece is from a library borrowed book by Donna Kooler called 555 Cross-Stitch Sampler Motifs.  I love this book and there are several things in it I'd stitch.  Here is the front of my 2018 Kansas Day themed piece;

 


And the back;

 

Oops, forgot his antennae! I had hoped to finish this into a small pinkeep, but its really small and I think it might make a better fob. First I am going to go through my fabric stash to see if I have any matching fabrics that might work as a fabric frame to increase its size for a pinkeep. If not, then fob it is! 

Well, that's it for January. My next Wipocalypse update will be at the end of February. Happy Crafting! 

Three Cheese Chicken Alfredo Bake

To help me achieve my $100 a month grocery budget I went though all my cupboards, pantry and freezers writing out what I had and what needed to be used soon. Two jars of Alfredo made the use soon list so I made Three Cheese Alfredo Bake adapted from Life-in-the-Lofthouse's recipe.  

 

I had everything but the ricotta cheese and sour cream. Noodles not shown. 

 

Three Cheese Alfredo Bake

16 oz of pasta, I used large elbow as I had that on hand, the recipe called for penne 

2 10oz jars Alfredo sauce 

1 c sour cream 

15 oz container ricotta cheese

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups cooked and diced chicken, I shredded chicken I'd made in the crockpot the day before 

1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese, I used shredded

2 tsp dried parsley 

1 tsp Italian seasoning 

2 c mozzarella cheese

 

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Return hot pasta to pot and stir in all the other ingredients except for the mozzarella cheese. Pour into a greased 9x13 Casserole. Top with mozzarella cheese and bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly in a 350 degree oven. 

 

While I was making this, I decided to use up a Carnation fudge kit and make banana muffins from a box (quick bread). Already shortening that long list of pantry items and staying within budget! 

 

Pantry Challenge 2018

My word for 2018 is Frugal. I've never had a word for the year before and am not a word for the year type, but someone asked what my 2018 focus Word was and Frugal came to mind. For the first time ever, I am honestly (rather than halfheartedly) budgeting using the Every Dollar app. One of the budget items is groceries. I haven't a clue what I spend on groceries in a month. First identified what all the grocery budget would be spent for. This will include toilet paper, Kleenex, make up, shampoo, toothpaste and laundry detergent. It will not include meals out (restaurants) or pet food/supplies.

I decided to budget $100 a month and then began to wonder what the suggested budget amount was for groceries. Per a Life Hacker article Americans spend 9-12% of our income on food, which is less than any other country. Life Hacker suggests one budgets 14% of their income for food. One hundred dollars is below the 14% suggestion and I began doubting the amount I had decided. Per the article, a thrifty food budget for a family of two under 50 years of age is $373.30, a liberal food budget for the same would be $743.10!  Seven hundred dollars for groceries?!? I can't begin to imagine! 

Anyhow, I'm sticking with $100 month on groceries for now. It can always be changed at a later date. I have a well stocked pantry and freezer which will help keep the amount spent low for at least a few months. 

Apple Pie Filling

Last October, Hyvee ran a month long special on two types of apples for $0.59 a lb.  I bought several pounds.  Sadly, I brought them home and left them a little too long, forgotten in their grocery bags in the basement.  Several weeks too long. A few were lost from having been stored that way.  Others have been eaten in the last couple of months and some where used to make two apple cakes in early December.  I still had a lot of apples left, but some were beginning to look worse for wear. 

I decided to make them into apple pie filling.  Twenty-seven apples were cored, peeled, sliced and seasoned.  

They smelled so good! 

All that work resulted in three quart size bags full that were frozen and someday will be used to make apple pies!  

Apple Pie Filling for the Freezer

8 medium apples
2 Tbsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp flour
3/4 c brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
dash of allspice
dash of cardamom (I omitted as I didn't have any)

Peel, core and thinly slice all the apples. 
In a large mixing bowl, toss the apple slices with the lemon juice, brown sugar and spices.
Place in a freezer safe baggie, remove as much air as possible and seal.
Freeze up to 3 months.
The recipe I used suggested thawing before baking. 

Lil Cheddar Meat Loaves

I love visiting my country friends!  Its one of the things I look forward to the most! 

Pretty cows and just enough moisture to make my vehicle a mess! A dirty car is a badge of honor!  Dare to do dirt or at least gravel!  There is so much to be seen and enjoyed, if you leave pavement behind!

The great thing about country friends is that they'll often cook for you! My friend Michelle has shared two wonderful dishes with me and today I'm going to share one with you!  

Lil Cheddar Meat Loaves

1 egg
3/4 c milk
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c quick cooking oats
1/2 c chopped onion
1 tsp salt
1 lb lean ground beef
2/3 c ketchup
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp prepared mustard

In a bowl, beat the egg and milk.  Stir in cheese, oats, onion and salt.  Add beef and mix well.  Shape into eight loaves, place in a greased 13x9 baking dish. 
Combine ketchup, brown sugar and mustard, spoon over loaves. 
Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minute or until the meat is no longer pink and a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees. 

Look at those beauties!  We paired them with a spinach salad and fresh fruit salad!  

While Michelle and I caught up, she baked me a loaf of banana oatmeal bread!  It is Huge and oh so good! 

Michelle doubled the meatloaf recipe and she sent me home with this tray full!  Bread and extra meat loaves!  Thank you, Michelle!  

 

Baptism Samplers

I was baptized January 5, 2010 and since then I've stitched a religious themed piece annually starting on/about the anniversary of my baptism.  I call these my baptism samplers.  The  first one I stitched was a Plum Street Sampler piece; Stories to Live By - Jonah.  I added my name, the date and the initials of my church.

Sorry for the poor picture quality, these pictures are from my Facebook page.

In 2011 I stitched La D Da's Lord's Prayer on a wild fabric from PTP with eggplant thread.  I believe that's a Weeks thread.  

In 2012 I stitched this piece.  I can't recall the designer or pattern name.  Odd that I can remember the thread color I used in 2011, but nothing about the 2012 piece!

In 2013 I stitched the Little House Needleworks pattern Love Your Neighbor. 

In 2014 I stitched My Big Toe's Apostles Creed.  

In 2015 I stitched Silver Creek Samplers Do Not Worry.

In 2016 I stitched La D Da's A Right Spirit.

And last year, 2017, I stitched La D Da's Praise God pattern.  

All these beautiful pieces and only two have been framed.  This year's pattern has been started, but little progress has been made.  Its a large piece.  I'll share my progress in my Wipocalypse January update. 

Sweet Potato Biscuits

I love sweet potatoes baked with butter melted over the top and salted.  Yum!  I'm not that crazy about sweet potato casserole or candied sweet potatoes, but I'll eat both.  I had a couple crock pot sweet potatoes leftover and decided to try sweet potato biscuits.

I only needed one sweet potato or this recipe.  You can used leftover baked sweet potatoes, candied sweet potatoes or sweet potato casserole.  I might reduce or omit the sugar if I were using candied sweet potatoes or sweet potato casserole. 

Sweet Potato Biscuits

1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
2 heaping Tbsp sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c mashed cooked sweet potatoes
1/4 c (1/2 stick) softened butter
2 to 4 Tbsp milk (depending on moisture of the potatoes, I used water as I didn't have any milk on hand)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  In a separate large bowl, mix the sweet potatoes and butter.  Add the flour mixture to the potato mixture an mix to make a soft dough.  Add milk a tablespoon at a time to mixture as needed, adding as little as possible.  

Turn dough out onto a floured surface, flour the top and roll out to 1/2" thickness.  Cut with a biscuit cutter (or glass as I didn't want to dig out the cutter).  Place the biscuits on a greased pan (I used a splat) and coat tops with melte butter (I omitted the butter).  Bake for 15 minutes.  If they're browning too fast, lower the oven temperature.

These were really good!  I ate them with a little butter, but I think they'd be good with some apple butter or jam. 

Leftover Roast Casserole

Remember the applesauce roast?  It was good, but I only care to eat a meal a few times before I grow tired of it, which was the case with the roast and sweet potatoes.  My coworker makes a dish with pasta and leftover roast that I was hoping to duplicate without her recipe.  This isn't it, but it wasn't bad either.

It was very easy to mix up.  Boil 2 cups dry pasta according to package directions to al dente.  Chop up some leftover roast, stir in 8 oz of shredded cheese and 1 can of cream of chicken soup.  Add to the drained pasta and transfer to a casserole dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serves 4.  

It wasn't bad, but it wasn't exactly healthy either!  In a pinch, I'd make it again, but I'll probably use leftover roast to make   

Beef Salad in the future. 

 

A little help for our friends!

With low temperatures below zero and wind chills -15 to -30 range, I decided to built a shelter for the local tom cat. 

 

I used a tote that I wasn't using, an empty 20 lb cat litter container (also already had) and straw. Josey assisted. 

 

I cut a whole on the side of the tote (the most difficult part of this project) and added a layer of straw on the bottom. I removed the lid from the empty cat litter container, turned it on its side and stuffed straw all around it and on top of it. 

 

Josey consumed several pieces of straw!

I taped around the opening as the cuts weren't perfect and added straw to the litter box. 

 

I taped the lid on top and sat it out end of December.  I think someone has been in it, but I don't believe anyone is sleeping there overnight. I still see the tom daily, so I guess he's got another place to keep warm. 

 

Of note, I suggest doing this outside before winter arrives! I had straw everywhere!