Friendship bracelets for end of summer

It's the end of summer. 

Do you have a houseful of bored nocturnals milling around looking for something to do? 

Perhaps you also have some barefoot neighbor kids thrown in the mix, too?

Celebrate their summer alliance with friendship bracelets. All you need is some yarn. And maybe a few beads.

Tape three stands of yarn to the table and space the strands.

Then begin braiding.

Add a bead or two if you want to be fancy.

Then, just tie the two ends together to make a bracelet! 

If the strands are really long, you can drape it on the arm, then twist and double over. (you know, like when a necklace is too long). This makes a thicker bracelet. 

The end of summer is such a bittersweet season.

Have a lovely day!




This post shared on:
Artsy-Fartsy Mama

The party is when?

You know how it is.

Maybe you forgot a get-together. Or one of the kids neglected to tell you about the school BBQ and you're supposed to bring a dish to share.

Keep this recipe in your back pocket and the ingredients on hand. You never know when a party will sneak up on you!

AMBROSIA - QUICK AS A WINK!

Ingredients:

3 cans of chunk pineapple
3 cans of Mandarin oranges
1 jar of Maraschino cherries
Couple handfuls of mini marshmallows
16 oz (two normal tubs) whipped cream
Optional: shredded coconut, pecans, walnuts

Instructions:

Drain the fruit
Mix all ingredients, except whipped cream, in a pretty bowl
Gently stir in the whipped cream

Then, cover the bowl and hop in the car!

Have a lovely day!

Blue jean organizers

I had quite a collection of blue jeans with holey knees. It was time to re-purpose a few of them!

I grabbed a curtain rod and glued some red ribbon to it.

Then I cut the jeans at approximately the same lengths. 

The curtain rod was threaded through the belt loops of the jeans. 

Finally, I tied the curtain rod to shelf brackets.

The pockets come in handy for storing odds and ends.

Here is how the whole thing looks:

The parts of the jeans I cut off are still being stored. 

Isn't denim great? You never know when even the smallest bit of it will come in handy.

Have a lovely day!
 








Shared on these sites:
Handy Man, Crafty Woman
Life with the Crust Cut Off

Nachos with chicken aka tornado chicken

My kids kept reminding me about the time I was making chicken nachos the night the tornado sirens blared. We all headed to the basement and had to delay dinner. 

I guess the kids now associate chicken nachos with tornadoes. 

They keep saying, "Make that tornado chicken again."

All you need is some cooked chicken, spices and nacho stuff, of course.

After we had the baked chicken the other night, I put a few leftover cooked chicken breasts in the freezer.

Tornado Chicken Nachos

Shred two cooked chicken breasts.
Put them in a microwave-safe dish.

Add:
A splash of water
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder

Put a lid on it and microwave it for about a minute and a half.

Melt some cheese on top of tortilla chips, add the meat, salsa and black olives. 

Don't you love having leftover cooked meat on hand? 

I know. Me, too!
 






This post was shared on:
The Prairie Homestead
Mad in Crafts
Adventures of a DIY Mom
Growing Home Blog 

Caramel crackers

When I was a new bride, my grandma taught me this recipe.
She and I were just hanging out and we wanted something sweet. 

It's easy, fast and cheap! 

Caramel Crackers

Ingredients:
One sleeve plus a little more Saltine crackers
1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 bag chocolate chips
Chopped nuts, if desired

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line crackers in a buttered jelly roll pan.
In a saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar.
Heat to boiling.
Turn heat down and continue boiling for 1 to 2 minutes. 
Pour mixture over crackers.
Bake for 3 to 4 minutes.
Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate chips on top.

Spread the chocolate chips so the heat melts them.
Sprinkle with chopped nuts, if desired.
Score and refrigerate until firm.

You could even omit the chocolate for a true caramel taste.

Have a lovely day!







This was shared on:
Mad in Crafts
The Prairie Homestead
Flour Me with Love
Adventures of a DIY Mom
Growing Home Blog
Handy Man, Crafty Woman
Life with the Crust Cut Off 

Cake mix cookies

Have you ever made cake mix cookies? 

So very easy.

Cake Mix Cookies

Ingredients:
One box of cake mix
One stick of butter
One egg

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix ingredients.
Drop by rounded spoonfuls on an ungreased cookie sheet. 
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until cookies are a little golden.

Options:
Before baking, add chocolate chips or roll dough in flax seeds, nuts or sprinkles.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Have a lovely day!

Chicken wrap buffet

There really should be more last-minute supper options. What's a procrastinator to do?

This little number is a favorite in our house (for now). I better be careful, though. Serve it too many times and it will become a dreaded meal.

My list of dreaded meals continues to grow. I find an easy recipe everyone loves and I can't help myself: it's all we eat for three weeks straight. Then no one will touch it for a few years.

It's my own fault.

This recipe is still a go at our house. See what your family thinks.

Just be careful! You could be walking a fine line here.

Chicken Wrap Buffet
(I didn't list quantities. It depends on how many to serve and their preferences.)

Ingredients:
Soft shell tortillas
Chicken, cooked and sliced/chopped (I cook frozen spicy patties--to get things done)
Bacon, cooked and crumbled
Cheddar cheese, shredded
Tomato, washed and chopped
Celery, washed and chopped
Onion, washed and chopped
Lettuce leaves, washed
Ranch dressing

Directions:
Place chicken and bacon on the edge of a tortilla.
Add a sprinkling of cheese.
Top with tomatoes, celery, onions and a bit of ranch dressing.
Put a lettuce leaf on top.
Roll tortilla tightly.

My guys can each eat three of these.

Here is how I like mine:

Some crushed tortilla chips would be good on top, I bet!

Have a lovely day!

Italian salad dressing

Homemade Italian salad dressing is one of those empowering recipes. Make it yourself and save all the money!

It's one the first things I learned how to make as a new bride, which means it's super simple. I've had the decanter in the photo for a long, long time. 

It has dummy-proof markings on it:
"V" for vinegar. "W" for water. And "O" for oil.

Next you are supposed to dump in a little packet of spices. An OVERPRICED little packet of spices. 

I still follow the handy markings on the container, but now I use my own spices. 

Here's the recipe:

Italian Salad Dressing

Ingredients:
1/4 cup vinegar
1/8 cup water
1/2 cup plus 1/8 cup vegetable oil
1/4 Tablespoon garlic powder
1/4 Tablespoon onion powder
1/2 Tablespoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon basil
1/2 Tablespoon parsley
1/2 Tablespoon sugar (to taste)
Salt and pepper (to taste)

Directions:
Put ingredients in a container with an air-tight lid and shake vigorously.

Have a lovely day!

Baked apples in caramel sauce

The other night, the family was clamoring for something sweet.

I tried this on a whim and it went over well.

You should try it!

Baked apples in caramel sauce

Prepare the apples:
Peel and slice 2 apples. I used green ones.
Put apple slices in a microwave-safe bowl.
Stir in 1 Tablespoon sugar.
Shake the cinnamon jar once over the top. Not too much.
Microwave about 1 1/2 minutes on high. 
Test with a fork. Microwave longer if desired.

Prepare the caramel sauce:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
4 Tablespoons butter
Pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon maple flavoring (or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract)

Mix together the brown sugar, milk, butter and salt.
Heat the mixture over medium-low heat for about 6 minutes. 
Add maple flavoring.
Heat another few minutes until desired thickness or until your patience runs out.
Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Drizzle some caramel sauce over the apples. 

Top with whipped cream if you have some and if you are in the mood.

There will probably be some extra caramel sauce. And that's juuuuust fine.  :)

Have a lovely day.
 

This post was shared on:
Robyn's View -- Foodie Friends Friday 

Cream cheese fruit dip for real life

 

I made this fruit dip the other day. It was healthier than my normal recipe with all the powdered sugar.

Cream Cheese Fruit Dip for Real Life

Ingredients:

8 oz. cream cheese

1/3 cup honey

2 Tablespoons milk

Directions:

Mix ingredients well until fluffy.

Serve with chopped fruit.

Here's the real life part:

Apparently, there is something sticky on the table along with a laptop, cooling rack and some drumsticks. Yeah, I live with drummers.

What's that you say? I can't hear you! It's too loud in here!

Have a lovely day!

 
Shared on these sites:
Mad in Crafts
Flour Me with Love
Pursuit of  a Functional Home
Adventures of a DIY Mom
Growing Home Blog

Lemon bars--pucker up!

These lemon bars were so easy to make and the ingredients are usually on hand.

Everyone really liked them so I'll serve them again and again!

Lemon Bars

Ingredients:

Crust:
2 sticks of butter, softened
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour

Topping:
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup flour
6 Tablespoons lemon juice (I used the kind in the big green bottle)

Later:
A sprinkling of powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour a 9" x 13" pan.
Mix the ingredients for the crust and press into the pan.
Bake for 15 minutes (it won't look all-the-way done yet).
Allow crust to cool slightly.
Mix the ingredients for the filling and pour on top of the crust.
Bake for 25 minutes. 
Sprinkle powdered sugar over the top.

Everybody pucker!

This post was shared on:
Growing Home Blog
Handy Man, Crafty Woman
Life with the Crust Cut Off

Taboo repurposed

Years ago, this tool would have been inappropriate to display in mixed company; yet there I was, "winning" it at a white elephant, rob your neighbor gift exchange party.

Do you know what it is? Here is another view:

It's a toilet paper holder! 

As if that isn't enough to make all my dreams come true, this particular version boasts that elegant fishing reel style so popular in home fashion magazines these days.

You might think this is a gag gift but the joke's on them!

Because...

I turned it into a unique dispenser for my curling ribbon!! 

It's made for hanging on a wall, obviously, and I considered bolting it somewhere. But I have been enjoying the portability. 

It is like an extra set of hands. No more juggling a spool while wrapping a gift! I wish I had one for every color of ribbon.

Aren't you glad times have changed enough that ribbon dispensers are no longer considered unmentionable in polite conversation?

Birthday wrap. It's elementary.

Went to a birthday party last weekend. This was the gift we took. 

Did you guess the wrapping was a deflated helium balloon?

It's so sad when party decorations lose their passion.

I tried tossing them in the air, but they always drifted down again. 

Fortunately, these balloons got a second chance at life.

Sherlock knew what I had in mind. 

I cut open one side of the balloon. It could be used as a gift bag at this point.

I kept snipping, though, to use it as traditional wrapping paper. I like the way the material gave me a natural angle. I was able to fashion an envelope-look on the back.

Comfy in there, Sherlock?

Jelly jar jamboree

Jubilation! It's a jelly jar jamboree.

The only thing I love more than red and white gingham? Jelly jars, of course.

You got me on a technicality. These aren't all jelly jars. Some used to contain pickles, hot peppers, marshmallow fluff--all kinds of things. 

Enjoy the parade!!