Bright and Happy Felted Bag

Angela’s had a tough year. So, when I realized that I was going to make her a felted bag for her belated birthday gift, I picked the brightest and most obnoxiously yarns and add-ins I could combine so that, no matter how dark her mood, the bag’s colors would perk up the most cloudy day. I really hope she likes it!

Pattern:
I can’t remember how many I cast on, I think 38. Then I knit about 30 rows, give or take. With these bags, I just keep knitting until I feel the urge to change things up a bit!

Bottom stripe: Cascade sapphire heather (9456) with Cascade Alma Cajun Spice (330) add in yarn which I knit until the novelty yarn ran out and switched.

Middle stripe: Cascade goldenrod (7827) with Trendsetter Joyspring (1194) which I, again, knit until the add in yarn ran out.

Top stripe: Cascade violet (7809) with Trendsetter Shadow Metal purple passion (70 .

I did the violet yarn in an I-cord for the handle. The finished bag (before felting) was 17 inches wide and 15 inches tall.

Chicken and Dumplings

Made this last week and had my FIL over. We were scraping him off the ceiling he was loving it so much. The recipe is from Semi-Homemade and I kicked in a few of my own modifications but I’ll record the recipe here as it’s written.

Chicken and Dumplings

2 roasted chickens from the grocer’s deli

2 T. vegetable oil

1/2 onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery sticks, chopped

6 cans (14-oz. each) Swanson chicken broth (I used two big boxes of Swanson broth instead and added a cup or so of water)

2 tsp. poultry seasoning

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

Flour, for dusting

1 container Pillsbury Grands biscuits

1 jar (10 oz.) chicken gravy

Remove chicken meat from chicken and shred in large pieces. Set aside. In a large heavy pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add chopped onions, carrots and celery. Cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Add broth, poultry seasoning, salt, pepper, and chicken. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. While stew simmers, prepare dumplings. On a flour-dusted surface, roll each biscuit 1/4 inch thick. With a pizza cutter, cut biscuits into 1-inch wide strips. Set aside. Skim off any scum that has risen to surface of soup. Stir in chicken gravy. Stir in dumplings, a few at a time. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer for 10 minutes more. Ladle into bowls and serve piping hot.

School Spirit Scarf

Since we were having so many weeks of “yummy” temperatures hovering around zero, it seemed, more than ever, a great time to churn out more scarves!

And, when there’s a special occasion or major or even minor holiday…well, I’m just a “giver” people, so I thought, hey, nothing says Valentines more than, um, orange and black????

Our school colors are orange or black, so I made four scarves for some of the teachers (not all, just picked a few to get some “extra” loot aside from the small heart full of chocolates I sent) between the four kids, they have sixteen teachers, people they take lessons from, etc…not including the 2-3 Sunday School teachers apiece either. Phew!

Therefore, I made two scarves for the two teachers at preschool where Em just started attending since we missed Christmas. I also made one for Zach’s 2nd grade teacher and Sammie’s swim lesson teacher because I knew they’d love the scarves and they really go above and beyond with my kids and what they do.

School Spirit Scarf - turned out big, chunky, squishy and soft…loved it!

Size 19 needles

Yarn used: Plymouth Encore Chunky color 217 (black) and Gedifra Serano color 4422 (dark orange)

Em's Birthday

Remember way back when at the first of the year when I had resolutions about my hobbies? I have really been working on those. One of them was to make elaborate birthday cakes for the kids. And while I didn’t make an “elaborate” birthday cake for Emersyn’s birthday, I did try using some “professional” techniques and do some things I hadn’t tried before…by the last one’s birthday, perhaps I’ll be getting pretty good! But, she enjoyed it nonetheless, read over here from a post at my other blog about a tribute to my littlest tot. She’s such a good girl! Happy 3rd birthday Emersyn!

Bring On the Noodles, Barefoot Style

I love me some Food Network. Comprehensively, it is my favorite channel. I’ve got my favs, Paula Deen being numero uno, but right up there too is Barefoot Contessa. Her stuff always turns out and, like Paula, she makes real food that tastes good. The flavors are VERY intense, if you want a lighter, lesser flavor cut down on the soy sauce (you could add more to taste after you put the salad together), sesame oil, and peanut butter. Hubby went crazy for it exactly how it was, but if I just made it for myself I would tone down the intensity.

Barefoot Contessa Crunchy Noodle Salad

Kosher salt

1/2 pound thin spaghetti (I just grabbed a box of Barilla)

1 pound sugar snap peas

1 C. vegetable oil

1/4 C. rice vinegar

1/3 C. soy sauce

1 T. dark sesame oil

1 T. honey

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp grated ginger

2 T. toasted sesame seeds

1/2 C. smooth peanut butter

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground pepper

2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded and thinly sliced (I used one big one and diced it when I made it)

4 scallions sliced diagonally

3 T. fresh chopped parsley leaves

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, bring another large pot of salted water to a boil, add the sugar snap peas, return to a boil and cook for 3 minutes until crisp tender. Lift the sugar snap peas from the water with a slotted spoon and immerse them in a bowl of ice water. Drain. For the dressing, whisk together the vegetable oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, garlic, ginger, sesame seeds, peanut butter, salt to taste, and the pepper, in a medium bowl. Combine the spaghetti, sugar snap peas, scallions and peppers in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the spaghetti mixture. Add the parsley and mix again.

Scarf for Joe

I’ve written about my brother Joseph on my other blog here and here. He’s autistic. He’ll be 20 years old March 1st. And when he was here for a visit at Christmas, I told him (and my ex-stepdad and my other brother Sam) that I’d make everybody a very “manly” looking scarf if they gave me some idea of a color they’d like. I did actually finish those up a couple weeks ago and sent them off, but didn’t get around to posting it until now. I think Joe will really like his, quite wide, warm and snuggly with a very “masculine” yarn. And the color is lovely.

Mrs. Wilkes Lemon Squares

I went on my dream foodie trip last summer to Savannah, Georgia and among our many stops was Mrs. Wilkes Boarding house for lunch, where you just might stand in line forever to have a ton of traditional Southern fare, for cheap! This place is featured in the book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, and with good reason. And, being a total cookbook whore, I picked up Mrs. Wilkes Boardinghouse Cookbook as I paid my bill. Enjoy this recipe, a very intense flavor, cut the pieces small! Enjoy!

Lemon Squares

1 C. butter, softened

1/4 C. powdered sugar, plus extra for dusting

2 C. plus 2 T. flour

3 eggs, beaten

1/4 tsp. salt

1 C. sugar

4 T. lemon juice

1 T. grated lemon rind

1/2 tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to 350°. To make the crust, cream the butter and powdered sugar; add 2 C. of the flour to make a dough. Pat out in a 9 x 9 inch pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Mix the eggs, salt, sugar, lemon juice and rind, remaining 2 T. of flour, and baking powder. Pour over the crust and bake for 20-25 minutes. When cool, dust with powdered sugar. Cut into small squares.