Okay I think I can give you the pictures of the chicken meal we made 2 days ago....also have a little tip for those of you that live alone and/or just a couple in the home....When baking a cake split batter in half (freeze 1/2) bake in a small loaf pan then use only half a container of frosting...no waste and you get cake twice ;)

 I have some great pictures from Linda Hicks of Oh La La Photography...they are of hats I made for her and she was so kind as to take pictures of them and send them back...we are so fortunate to "work" with so many great people...

I have some great pictures from Linda Hicks of Oh La La Photography...they are of hats I made for her and she was so kind as to take pictures of them and send them back...we are so fortunate to "work" with so many great people...

.also, finished the mermaid out of oceana, blue mint & grape....Michelle Greer Peppers asked me if I could make a tie dye mermaid....we crafters call that variegated lol...but here it is for your approval..

.That's all for today Thank you for following us and God bless,

Well, I guess it's not meant for me to show the pictures of night before lasts great dinner....I have tried several times to upload pics for you to no avail....I will tell you that it was scrumptious ;)....I did change it a little because the flour that I had in the cabinet had a colony of those little tiny "flour" bugs....I threw it outside if they can survive the 20 degree weather God Bless them.....soooo their was no gravy per se but, the juice from the chicken, onion and mushroom mix was great over rice....

I wasn't feeling to great yesterday I had a migraine so you didn't get a recipe cuz David didn't get dinner lol....


I do have some great pictures to share it's our little sponge dudes....I originally got a picture from Brandi of a hat that had the pants as the rim and ear flap with the ties being white with red/blue stripes to resemble the socks and black pom poms on the end....I don't particularly care to copy someone's creation exactly so I gave it a little thought made the sponge dude head with the face and earflaps all yellow then I made a red neck tie and brown square shorts/diaper cover....then the shoes might be a challenge I thought....I made a little black shoe then on the inner loops I used white to make the socks.....it turned out great so I sent a picture to Brandi and she loved it....better yet her four year old loved it....she said his response was WHOA....so I made the other hat along the lines of the original picture because I knew he wasn't gonna want a diaper cover or booties....I told Brandi to let him pick a face....he picked one with the tongue sticking out ;) of course lol so here they are brought to life by Brandi Michelle Coleman of Sweet Smiles Photography and Jayson & Jaxen......

 

Monkeys, Tigers, and Bears -- Oh My!

Good morning, as you know by now, I love to create new things....I made the pink pig and the pattern for Melissa Cornell Banks, a fellow crafter and friend of my daughters...I had already created the periwinkle donkey and the honey bear likeness' that go with the group so....David (my fiance') suggested to make the tiger that hangs out with the gang ;)...I am not really sure where I was going with this....I didn't look at images of this cartoon character before I started and like to make it my own creation anyway....my imagination sometimes takes over....when I finished the beanie part of the ear flap hat I could tell by the look on his face it wasn't right. Well, me being who I am I went with my mind ;) I finished the set and although it's not one of the gang it will fit with our jungle props i.e. monkey and elephant ;)


So on to tonight's dinner....


I buy family packs of meat then separate and freeze this saves $ so I took some chicken out for tonight's entrée ;)

I have some fresh mushrooms so here's what I came up with

thaw chicken in water at room temp

Ingredients:

2- boneless/skinless chicken breasts
1/2 pint of fresh mushrooms
1/2 onion
2 tsp butter
corn starch or flour whichever you prefer for gravy

1 1/2 cups of instant rice

1/2 bag of frozen broccoli


******** do not worry if not completely thawed by about 2 hours before dinner place in the casserole dish that you planned to prepare your meal in
place it in the oven on 200 for about an hour and it will be thawed ;)

to prepare the dish
place chicken breast in a casserole dis water h (with a lid for covering after prep) add 2 tsp butter  (this adds flavor and keeps from sticking) & onions place in oven on 350 cook for 30 minutes then add raw mushrooms....cook for another 30 minutes.

prepare instant rice by boiling 1 1/2 c water with a dash (maybe tsp) butter and some garlic salt) when rolling boil add rice put lid on let sit for 5 minutes

broccoli ....please note I do not add water as directed....it makes for mushy broccoli just place frozen broccoli, garlic & seasoning salts a dash (tsp) butter cover and cook over low/med heat

After the chicken has cooked remopve the chicken and vegs from the butter sauce/drippings in the pan....place casserole dish on medium heat on burner ********** if you are not using pyrex or corning ware I would drain this into a frying pan....stir in corn starch or flour so that most of the liquid becomes like a paste lightly brown add water simmer to desired thickness....I will post pics of this tomorrow from start to finish

That's all for now
Have a Great day and God bless

Pattern writing & getting started

Hello, not a lot to let you know about today... Well, I typed up my first pattern....the one I made for my daughter's friend....I do not have Microsoft office so it will be a joint venture for Tammy and I....I have a lot of issues with poor internet so I sent her several emails with pieces to the pattern...she's gonna love it lol....I am just teasing, Tammy has always been very helpful. She actually started with the Etsy shop with a friend of hers...she told me about it and said you should make some things...she started sending me materials with great pics and ideas, she had to teach me how to navigate, copy, paste, upload pics....hey that could be a new business venture she could teach other people how to start up a business.....then, they too can "crochet in their sleep" lol. I seriously wake up in the middle of the night thinking of new creations and how I can make ears, tails etc. Sooo the plan is to make a pattern a week until Two Needles and a Hook has a book full of photo prop pattern/photos....I am thinking of making up fliers with some of our props in them, so many people I run into don't have/use the internet at all. It's almost unbelievable because I would be lost without it. Funny a little over a year ago I did not know anything except how to get on Myspace, Facebook and play Zynga poker....lol...All of the credit goes to Tammy, my beautiful sister....thanks Tammy now I don't sleep at all ;)... Again I joke but literally have been rewarded in so many ways by joining my sister in this venture...met great people, created some really cute things, kept myself busy, the money isn't bad either & most of all I have probably not gone more than one day of not being in constant contact with my sister ;) my friend ;)

No recipe today however, I do have a very helpful hint....

When cooking frozen potatoes i.e. french fries, hash browns, or tater tots in the oven preheat oven as directed for the suggested temperature but, only cook half the time...then, turn the broiler on low and cook for the remainder. This makes them crunchy as if they were fried without the grease ;)


Have a great night and God bless

Occasional blogging?

Good morning, I have decide that I just have to accept the fact that I may not be able to blog every day...the internet, new pc and possibly the operator as well just don't work sometimes....so, I will try to at least write up a little blog....email it to Tammy and she can copy/paste ;).....BTW today is Tammy's birthday.....I posted in my status but for those of you that don't go on facebook....just call her up and sing Happy Birthday....;)

We got some GREAT pics from Brandi Michelle Coleman of Sweet Smiles Photography and 10 day ld Rosalee....we are fortunate that we work with great photographers they bring out creations to life and help to sell our creations...... I finished a little set for St. Patrick's Day (sold within the first 5 minutes on fb) and sold the bear sets I mentioned Friday....

Yesterdays Dinner was great

Pork Steaks, Mashed Potatoes & Corn

2- Pork Steaks
Mashed Potatoes (instant)
1- can of whole kernel corn
about 1 cup of flour
oil (1/2 inch to cover bottom of pan)
1 envelope of onion soup mix

I like to marinate the meat I use whatever I have in the fridge, which wasn't much yesterday lol
I used 2 eggs (beat) 1/4 cup milk, a cpl tsps. of mustard, soy sauce & barbeque sauce....mix all of this together add seasoning....soak your pork steaks in this just place them in the mixture and leave til it's time to cook...Now to prepare the meal

crush the envelope of onion soup mix....add to 3/4's of the flour.....take pork steaks out of marinade and cover them with this mixture...let sit on a baking pan for about 30 minutes...this helps keep the breading from coming off...
heat oil over medium heat place pork steaks in oil mixture about 8-10 minutes on each side...their will already be gravy forming....drain off most of the "clean" oil then add the remainder of your flour....use wooden/plastic spoon to stir it around...when it has browned add water to desired consistency. Make your instant potatoes and corn and voila....

That's all for today....thank you for following us, have a Great day and God bless

Rain, Internet, Recipes

Hello ;) I know I haven't been on....I have mentioned that I have the worst internet.....coupled w/ 6 inches of rain in two days....total frustration trying to do anything on the internet....Facebook was even kicking me off ;)

I have a great easy recipe for you today....

Chicken and Yellow Rice

Ingredients:
2-3 chicken breasts
1 pkg of yellow rice (I prefer Mahatma).5 oz pkg
1/2 onion
1/4 bell pepper
2 tbsp. olive oil or butter

Wash and place chicken breast in pot with water...boil for 15-20 minutes....they don't have to be completely cooked..... drain then cool in cold water.... cut into approximately 1" pieces, chop vegetables fine, place vegetables, oil or butter and chicken pieces in frying pan and saute until vegetables are soft...now, follow directions on rice packet starting water to boil add saute  mixture & rice....20 minutes is cook time I always add another 5 minutes with burner turned off (the mixture is covered and will continue to cook and be nice and fluffy).
*********************************************************************************
I made a rooster earflap hat out of a black variegate, with crown, crocheted eyes and beak...Got an order for 2 of the bear sets we make one brown and one ivory & started on a mailbox project for my sister Tammy's granddaughters.  I will post photos of that later.


Bye for now,

Have a Great night and God bless

Creations from My Imagination

Good morning, I don't know if I ever mentioned that most of our creations are not from a pattern...it's not that I don't know how to read patterns, I just like to challenge myself. Besides, who wants to buy a pattern? We like to make a little $ ;)....I make notes for myself (calling it writing a pattern) in case I make the same thing again. But, sometimes I don't even understand my notes. I say this because a friend asked me if I could make a pattern for a little pig hat and diaper cover from a picture she sent. I knew I probably could make it the challenge is writing a pattern for her (or anyone) to understand....I decided that the easiest way I could make a pattern would be to make the product. So.....what might've taken an hour or two took me most of the day (working on and off between household chores, etc). This morning I read my pattern....it makes perfect sense to me....so, I will send it to Melissa and make sure to update you on the outcome ;)

No recipe today but a little helpful hint that'll save $

We love to make bean soup.... so ez and delicious the problem is that their is always a lot of leftovers that were going in the garbage as their are just the two of us. I even tried making only a half bag still a lot of beans ....I decided to "test" freeze my last batch...using the small plastic coffee "cans" .they turn out perfect...I couldn't believe it....so the next time you make bean soup....let soup cool all the way portion it into containers and voila....talk about a simple scrumptious meal ;)

That's all for today....Have a great day and God bless

I had a very productive weekend, I created several new hats, some for orders and some inspired by the upcoming holidays....Valentine's Day, Easter & coming soon....St. Patrick's Day...We also received a picture from Brandi Michelle Coleman of Sweet Smiles Photography and her model Jayson wearing our sponge dude hat we created for him.....she says he doesn't want to take it off....that is a sure sign that the creation is a success ;)

But, first we will create a fast/easy all American favorite....

Club Sandwich

Ingredients:

Bread (3 slices for each)
Lettuce
Tomato
Onion
Mayonnaise
Bacon
Turkey
Ham
American Cheese

Toast bread lightly spread mayonnaise liberally add a few lettuce leaves, tomato slices, onion slices, cooked bacon, sliced ham & turkey.....simple but scrumptious

Toast bread lightly spread mayonnaise liberally add a few lettuce leaves, tomato slices, onion slices, cooked bacon, sliced ham & turkey.....simple but scrumptious

 

Good morning, I have been trying to give you simple recipe's however, we go out to eat on Fridays and I won't be preparing anything....so I will give you helpful hints on cooking on the days that I don't cook.....

Here is a little secret I learned some 20 years ago, I worked at a restaurant where I was the youngest lady there and I was 30-ish.....I learned a lot from these ladies....

How to boil the perfect egg and fool proof peeling....

place eggs in lukewarm water, add a dash of salt....bring to a roaring boil....place a lid on and turn the burner off....set timer for 10 minutes....drain excess water and cover with ice for 5 minutes....voila perfect boiled eggs.

I finished the king size granny ripple, dolly and me set, the yoda look alike, a chef hat, a fedora and a mini top hat....I am also uploading the pictures of the slouch hats that I couldn't get to upload a couple days ago....

That's all for today ladies.....Have a great day and God bless,

Good morning,
Want to let you know that for the past couple of days I have in fact blogged and it has not posted.....so, somewhere out there are my recipes, suggestions and photos lol.....we will try this again....I might also add that I live in the woods and have the worst internet....I keep having flashes of the Flintstones little monkey that drew all their pics and wrote things for them ;)

Let's start with a quick/easy recipe...I can't claim this one my fiance' David has made this for years. Also a quick note....I cook for 2 people so, if you have more people to cook for revise accordingly.

Hamburger-Potato Soup

Ingredients:

1 # Hamburger
5-6 potatoes
1 onion
1 can of cream
2 tbsp. butter

brown hamburger w/ chopped onion
peel potatoes cut in 1" squares cover with water and boil til done (do not over cook)
drain hamburger/onions add to cooked potatoes add cream and butter let simmer for 30 minutes and voila it's ready to serve

Now, on to business, I am working on the poncho set, and have just made 3 slouch hats ....just got an order for a yoda hat for a one year old.....Tammy has an order for a royal blue knit beanie/cap/hat...still having problems with the internet hopefully this will post...

Have a great day and God bless