MENU MONDAY

MORNING EVERYONE
How about them Packers... Way to go boys...Nice sunny day up her today might get a chance to get out in the backyard to loosen up the soil a bit... Have to do some work downstairs first though and wait for it to warm up a bit more.. It was nice to talk to my girlfriend Marilyn , she is back from Jamacia and had a great holiday to celebrate her daughter Rhonda's birthday..Here are some recipes for this week:

MONDAY Chicken & Brocolli Casserole

TUESDAY Curried Chicken Salad

WEDNESDAY Creamy Chicken and Potatoes

THURSDAY Beef Enchilada

FRIDAY Homemade Pizza





CHICKEN &
BROCOLLI
CASSEROLE



What You Need
1 pkg. (120 g) Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1 pkg. (750 g) frozen broccoli florets, thawed, drained
1 can (10 fl oz/ 284 mL) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup Cheez Whiz Process Cheese Product9you can use grated cheese instead)

Make It
HEAT oven to 350°F.
PREPARE stuffing as directed on package.
COMBINE remaining ingredients in 2-L casserole; cover with stuffing.
BAKE 30 min. or until heated through.

Hope you enjoyed reading my craft idea for the pillows.. I have found that everytime I go to the linen department of a store . I never look at runners and placemats the same anymore... I look at them with the idea of how good of a pillow will that make on one of my bed ensembles.. Those who know me well enough know that if I won a million dollars I would change my bedding everyday with a different duvet and pillows ... Got me thinking I might go change my bedding this afternoon if it does not warm up to go outside....
Enjoy
Cheers
Granny

SIT DOWN SUNDAY

AFTERNOON EVERYONE

Well Super Bowl day is here...We are Green Bay Packer fans so Grumpy is really hoping his team wins.. We are heading off to Kevin and Krystas in a bit and can hardly wait too see the boys dressed up in their green and yellow... Will take pictures for sure and we are taking down the two Cheese Heads that Grumpy has so hope we can get a picture of them on the boys... We will need luck ..

Krysta is making us a Jumbalya so will get the recipe from her and post it next week... I am so excited we went to Pots and Paraphanlia up here and Duncan and ordered our new dishes.. They did not have enough in stock so it will be a few weeks before they come in but I do not care I just want new dishes...

The 3C's Tutorial today is about how to make accent pillows out of placemats and napkins and even a table runner if you want a bolster type of pillow

PLACEMAT

PILLOWS

Placemats can easily be made into terrific throw pillows. Choose a two-ply placemat and simply remove the stitching from one seam. with a stitch picker or carefully with sharp scissors. The side you plan to use as the bottom is the best choice, so that when you re-stitch it to close it, the seam won't be as noticeable. Next, stuff the placemat with fiberfill or foam and whipstitch the seam closed. In a few moments, you have a perfect pillow.
Part of the charm is that placemat pillows don't look like every other throw pillow. They have a rectangular shape, which gives them even more interest. If you prefer square pillows, simply cut off a few inches from one side of the placemat and follow the directions above. Add beads, trim, or other embellishments if desired.

Now the one that has the flower on it is a napkin and I will post the tutorial next week on how to make that .. If you find a table runner that is two -ply it will make a great bolster for the bed or you can cut in half and make two pillows.

Well have to say bye bye as we are off to a trip to the big city..

GO PACKERS GO

Cheers

Granny

SHOPPING SATURDAY

EVENING EVERYONE

Well had a busy day today so just now getting to my laptop...Had to finish an order , then go deliver and then go a check out the fabric store to see if there is anything there that I had not bought the other day.. and for sure there was... Lots of sewing coming up in the next few months. Well tomorrow is Super Bowl day and Grumpy is looking forward to seeing his favorite team the Packers win the super bowl.. We have been invited to Krysta and Kevins to watch the game and stay for dinner as it is her favorite team as well... This is also the first Saturday of a dessert recipe and I have had to putting my thinking hat on as to which one I was going to make but I have decided, but first the grocery list:

SAFEWAY

New York Strip Loin $5.99 lb

Tomatoes on the Vine $1.99

Kraft Singles 1kg $7.99

Alymer Tomatoes buy 1 get 1 free

Catelli Pasta 3 for $8.00

Heinz Tomato Sauce 3 for $6.00

Hunts Thick and Rich 3 for $6.00

Bakery Carmel Apple Torte $5.99

Picizza's Fire Baked Pizza buy 1 get 1 free

WALMART

Oranges $.57 lb

Royal Tissue 12 rolls $5.00

Fleecy 48 loads $4.00

Majestic Paper Towels 8 roll $4.00

Cracker Barrel Cheese 750 g $7.97

Ragu Sauce $1.25

Avocado`s $.5o

Blueberries 60z $1.97

Chicken Thighs or Drumsticks $5.00

Tomatoes 1 lb $2.00

English Cumcumbers $1.47

Quaker Muffin Mix $2.97

Mini Wheats $3.47

Chef Boyardee $1.00

Clover Leaf Tuna $.87

Colgate Toothpaste $1.97

THRIFTYS

Chunky Campbell Soup and Chilli 3 for $5.00

Roma Tomatoes $.99 per lb

Salad Kits 2 for $7.00

Whole Barbacued Chicken $7.49

Del Monte Fruit Bowls 2 for $4.00

Craisens 2 for $5.00 (I like for salads rather then croutons)

Sidekicks $.99

Thrifty Chicken and Beef Broth 2 for $4.00

Sour Dough Bowl $.99(Great for Chili or homemade cream soup)

Mini Slidder Buns 12 for $2.99(Great for kids lunchs as a sandwich or two)

Here is your 1st dessert hope you enjoy.

Chocolate Covered

Oreo Cookie

Cake

1 pkg. (2-layer size) devil's food chocolate cake mix
4 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
12 OREO Cookies, coarsely crushed
HEAT oven to 350ºF.
PREPARE cake batter and bake in 2 (9-inch) round pans as directed on package.

Cool cakes in pans for 10 mins

Invert cakes onto wire racks; gently remove pans.

Cool cakes completely.
MICROWAVE chocolate and butter in small microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted then cool for 5 min.
MEANWHILE, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with mixer until blended. Gently stir in COOL WHIP and crushed cookies. Stack cake layers on plate, spreading cream cheese mixture between layers. Spread top with chocolate glaze; let stand until firm. Keep refrigerated.

To crush the cookies put them in a freezer ziploc bag and then squeeze the bag or use your rolling pin... I like to use the Cream Cheese that is a bar not the soft stuff in the container ..It just seems to stay firmer .

Well time to have a cup of tea with some nice home made chocolate cookies to go along with the tea.. Grumpy is making tea as I am finishing off the blog for today.

Enjoy

Cheers

Granny

FAST FOOD FRIDAY

MORNING EVERYONE

Well it sure rained up here last night but I can see the clouds moving fast and there is blue sky under there so hopefully we will see some sun today...Grumpy is going to pick up some mussels on the way home tonight . Our friends Terry and Norm always cook us mussels for an appetizer whenever we go down to the lake for a visit.. There is a Fish store near Bellingham called Taylor Beach where they get them nice and fresh... Soooo Good... I am going to cook fish and chips for dinner so it will be a seafood night...YUM YUM YUM..

I remember as a kid having Sloppy Joes on the weekends... so easy to make and taste so good.

SLOPPY JOES

Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup minced carrots (can sub with chopped bell pepper)
1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium onion)
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt
1 1/4 lb ground beef
1/2 cup ketchup
2 cups tomato sauce (or 1 15-ounce can whole tomatoes, puréed)
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp brown sugar
Pinch ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Pinch cayenne pepper
2 turns of freshly ground black pepper
4 hamburger buns

Method
1 Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium high heat. Add the carrots and sauté for 5 minutes. (If you are using bell pepper instead of carrots, add those at the same time as the onions.) Add the chopped onion and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally until onions are translucent, about 5 more minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 more seconds. Remove from heat. Remove vegetables from the pan to a medium sized bowl, set aside.

2 Using the same pan (or you can cook the meat at the same time as the vegetables in a separate pan to save time), generously salt the bottom of the pan (about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon). Heat the pan on high. Crumble the ground beef into the pan. You will likely need to do this in two batches, otherwise you will crowd the pan and the beef won't easily brown. Do not stir the ground beef, just let it cook until it is well browned on one side. Then flip the pieces over and brown the second side. Use a slotted spoon to remove the ground beef from the pan (can add to the set-aside vegetables), salt the pan again and repeat with the rest of the ground beef.
If you are using extra lean beef, you will likely not have any excess fat in the pan ,if not strain off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat.

3 Return the cooked ground beef and vegetables to the pan. Add the ketchup, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar and brown sugar to the pan. Stir to mix well. Add ground cloves, thyme, and cayenne pepper. Lower the heat to medium low and let simmer for 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.
Serve with toasted hamburger buns. Serves 4.

Now to make this a true Fast Food Friday you can buy one of those premade packages of spices for Sloppy Joes the same as the ones you use for Crock Pots..

Want to thank my niece Stephanie for making comments about the Cashew Chicken I had not tried the recipe yet buy her and her husband Robin did and they said that it was real good... So you will have to give it a try.. Please if anyone is trying these recipes let me know and especially if you are putting your own twist onto it.. Stephanie added some celery and green pepper and she said it was very tastey...

Tomorrow is going to be your first Dessert Recipe ... Not quite sure what I am going to post yet but it will be good for sure... Sometimes a Saturday recipe might even just be cookies or squares. I would like to thank Pat for sending me some cookie recipes the other day...

Enjoy

Cheers

Granny

THRIFTY THURSDAY

MORNING EVERYONE...

Looks like we are in for another nice day up her. There are clouds in the air but I can also see some blue sky under there...Not much happening today , going to finish up an order this morning then I will probably have the afternoon off , from dungeon work anyway... If it does stay nice outside I think I will tackle working outside a bit... will sweep off my decks at the back and maybe do a bit raking some leaves between the shrubs at front... Will just have to see what the weather brings..

TIN FOIL CHICKEN

chicken legs/breasts

green beans

potatoes, peas, corn,butter

herbs and spices of your choice

tin foil

Place a piece of aluminum foil on your workspace. Arrange the chicken in the center and season it with herbs and spices of your choice.
Cut potatoes into fourths and place them on the foil

Place green beans, peas and corn on the foil. I sometimes use peppers..
Spread softened butter over all the ingredients.

Wrap the foil around the ingredients and wrap another piece around that.

Place on the grill over high heat, turning it only once before taking it off.

Extra virgin olive oil may be used instead of butter, if desired.

When baking foil packets using butter, a few teaspoons of bread crumbs may be sprinkled over the chicken for extra flavor.
A squeeze of fresh lemon juice or a dash of soy sauce can add to the flavor. They may be baked in the oven as well.. say at 400 for about 45 minutes.. Make sure you put it on a baking sheet and turn over 1/2 way through the cooking.

When using the bread crumbs I like to use flavoured croutons as well...all you have to do is put them in a ziploc bag and use your rolling pin to crush them or in a food processor or chopper if you have one.

THRIFTY THURSDAY

Dusting:
Dryer sheets that have been used may then be removed from the dryer and used as "microfiber dusting cloths", they work great at picking up dust and it stays on the sheet. Just put the used dryer sheets in a ziploc bag and store with all of your cleaning stuff...

Here is how the points are going to work for this months GIVEAWAY... It will be by total points and if there is a tie at the end of the month then we will draw a name from those who tied..

1 point for each COMMENT on facebook

2 points for COMMENTS on my blog

5 points for becoming a FOLLOWER on the blog (if you are already a follower you will also get 5 points)

1 point for each LIKE on Facebook

10 points for TELLING YOUR FRIENDS about this blog (attaching the link to your Facebook page)

Enjoy

Cheers

Granny

CROCKPOT WEDNESDAY

MORNING EVERYONE

Hope this is going to be another great sunny day... Not going outside so it does not matter how cold it is as long as it is sunny.. Today I have posted two recipes.. Andrea had a girl at her work want to know if I had a Chicken Lasagan Recipe and I had already weekly menued that I was going to do this Autumn Crockpot Chicken so I decided to post both recipes as she wanted to cook the lasagana this weekend...

AUTUMN CROCKPOT

CHICKEN

Ingredients:

2 large or 4 small chicken breasts

2 parsnips (peeled and cut in cubes)

2 carrots

1 butternut squash (peeled and cut in cubes)

1 14.5 oz. can of chicken broth

garlic

salt

Pepper

nutmeg

honey

Directions: Peel and chop carrots and parsnips and place them in the bottom of the crockpot. Sprinkle with garlic (I use a teaspoon of pre-chopped garlic. ) Place chicken on top. Pour in broth. Cut squash into chunks and slice off the skin. Place on top of chicken. Sprinkle desired amounts of salt, pepper and nutmeg on top of squash and drizzle enough honey on top to lightly cover the squash. Cook on low 8-10 hours.

Here is the Lasagna Recipe.. I am not a fan of spiniach in my Lasagna so what I sometimes do is use Spinach Lasagna noodles... Whole Wheat is also a good choice..

CHICKEN LASAGNA

DINNER

6tbs butter, divided
1-1/2 pounds of chicken breast cut into 1-inch cubes
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 tps. dried tyme
1/3 cup cup all purpose flour

1/2 tps. salt
1-1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup heavy whipping cream
8 ounces lasgna noodles, cooked and drained

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded swiss cheese
Minced fresh parsley

How to make it:

1st thing to do is cook the lasagna so that you will be able to handle it when it is time to put in the baking dish..While the lasagna is cooking start to make the sauce...
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 2 Tbs. butter. Add chicken, garlic and thyme. Cook for about 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Add the remaining butter to the skillet. Stir in flour and salt until smooth; cook and stir until golden brown.

Gradually add broth and cream. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

In a greased 13-in. x9-in. x2-in. baking dish, layer half of the cooked noodles, chicken, white sauce and cheese. Repeat layers.

Cover and bake at 350F. for 20 minutes.

Uncover; bake 20 minutes longer or until bubbly.

Let stand 15 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with parsley.

It is important to let it set for 15 minutes it makes it easier to cut and put on your plate...

Serve with a nice Caesar Salad..

Enjoy

Cheers

Granny

TIPSY TUESDAY

AFTERNOON EVERYONE

As they say it is better late then never.. Busy day trying to get an order out for pick up this afternoon , but order all done and gone so now it is time to post on the blog... Going to cook salmon bake tonight with a salad... yum yum..The sun up here is great... Has been a beautiful day , cold but still a beautiful day... Might go and get some Poly's tomorrow and plant my front porch... Have to keep reading to see who WON!!!!

CASHEW

CHICKEN

Ingredients
Serves 4
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, such as safflower
6 cloves garlic, minced
8 scallions, white and green parts separated, each cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
3/4 cup raw cashews (4 ounces), toasted
White rice, for serving (optional)
Directions
In a medium bowl, toss chicken with cornstarch until chicken is coated; season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Cook half the chicken, tossing often, until browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Add remaining oil and chicken to skillet along with the garlic and white parts of scallions. Cook, tossing often, until chicken is browned, about 3 minutes. Return first batch of chicken to pan. Add vinegar; cook until evaporated, about 30 seconds.
Add hoisin sauce and 1/4 cup water; cook, tossing, until chicken is cooked through, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in scallion greens and cashews. Serve immediately over rice...

TIPSY TUESDAY

How to roast cashews
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Arrange cashews in an even layer on a baking sheet.
2 Place baking sheet into oven for approximately five minutes. Remove cashews from oven and stir gently to prevent burning.
3 Continue roasting cashews for another five minutes, remove and stir again. Return cashews to oven for another five to 10 minutes.
4 Remove cashews from oven once they are slightly golden brown, approximately 15 to 20 minutes total roasting time. Let cool slightly until cashews are warm but can still be handled.
5 Use a pastry brush to coat cashews lightly with oil while the nuts are still warm. Sprinkle with preferred amount of salt and allow to cool..

Make sure you keep watching them bake as they burn real easy..

GIVEAWAY.

Well I have drawn the name for the winner of this months giveaway.. Since January was an organize and clean month I thought it only be fitting that the gift have something to do with cleaning.. After I had made this I wanted to keep them for myself , so I might be making more of these..I love the way these Rubber Gloves they turned out..
I had said that it only takes one comment to win but in this case that was not the case. The one who posted the most was Olivia Wade... Congrats and please send me you address and I will pop them in the mail to you...New month so keep the likes and comments coming .. There will be a bit of a twist to this month but I will let you know in a couple of days what it is.

Enjoy

Cheers

Granny