Keep plucking

So the deal fell apart days before we were supposed to close. Stupid shady bank. So we are on the hunt again. Looking for something cheaper so we can get out of debt. I've been offline more lately. I will update with pictures of our new bantam chicks later this week. 

Yum smores from the oven

So I've been totally wanting smores but we don't have a fire pit. Every time I do a burn in the burn barrel I wish I had a stick to roast some marshmallows LOL.  So tonight thanks to Pinterest I took a small cast iron pan, a little over a cup of chocolate chips, and marshmallows and baked them in the oven at 450 for 7 mins.  OMG it was yummy.  I'm not a fan of semi-sweet chocolate chips so next time I will remember to get milk chocolate but it was yummy.  We used graham crackers as dippers like chips and it was fun.  The kids and hubby really enjoyed the treat.  Over all took about 10 mins and I was the best mom ever :).

Dishcloths

So after finishing two more afghans I decided to whip up a couple dishcloths. I altered the pattern to a different border. The original border was giving me problems. Anyway it turned out very nice. I made two as a set and gave them to a friend. Probably not the best picture but you get the idea. I will try to post blanket pictures tomorrow.

Glitter

Who doesn't love glitter?!  I mean really is there any other way to decorate?  So I've had some pink and white glitter for months with the intention of making a light switch cover for my oldest. I finally finished it. Super easy. Modge podge the cover, cover in glitter, let dry and spray with sealant.  My oldest daughter just loves it.  Thinking about doing the one in her closet as well.  I should modge podge all the light switches with scrapbook paper.  Pinterest is awesome!

Great Grandmother's dough recipe

I made my great grandma's rolls tonight. Considering all the cooking and bread making I'm doing lately this might not seem like a big deal. But it is. I usually only make them at Christmas time since they are so time consuming to make. Although I'm finding as I make them more they aren't so tedious. My great grandma made them all the time. For any get together and probably everyday eating too. She always seemed to have them. They remind me of her. She passed away in December of 2010 at the age of 99. She was a wonderful woman. Whom I loved very much. Everyone loved her rolls. But I'm the only one who knows how to make them.

So some back story. At the young age of 15 I learned lots. I learned to crochet and knit and I took 3 weeks in a little town called Onalaska, WA to learn how to make my grandmother's rolls. It's actually a dough recipe but everyone associate the recipe with her rolls. That was mostly what she made with the dough. But she told me how to do cinnamon rolls, maple bats and the like. Well as I learn more about breads I'm trying new things. So I did some trials with the rolls tonight. I'm making cloverleaf rolls, bread and cinnamon rolls. The cinnamon rolls I have made before.  Usually I make the rolls by putting butter on the rolled out dough and cutting and folding.  Very simple yet yummy way to have some sweet butter rolls.  Anyway, when I attended her funeral in Dec 2010 I was asked if I wanted anything of hers.  I said if possible I would love her recipes.  A month or so later I got a Recipe box full of her recipes that she had collected thru the years.  I don't know if they went thru them before I got them but I'm assuming not.  Since I found notes and all sorts of treasures in there.  I was also asked for my grandmother's recipe.  And it may sound mean but I won't give it up.  I took 3 weeks out of my summer as a teenager to learn that recipe.  None of those people took the time to learn when she was alive.  They didn't see the treasure that they had until she was gone.  And it's sad.  It's probably rather mean of me to keep the secrets to myself but I'm going to teach my children to make them and pass the recipe along through the generations.

Homemade refried beans perfected

I finally did it!  I made the perfect batch of refried beans today from scratch. I'm so proud of myself. Thanks to a co worker who is a paid chef I found a method that worked great.

Things I did different: soaked for 1 hour then drained and put into the crockpot.  Then I put garlic, dried onions and salt into the water. As they cooked I stirred the pot to ensure flavors where mixing. Tested bean softness until I got to the perfect consistency. Then hubby ladled the beans into a pan, added lard and mashed them up. The flavor was great. Not bland like before and texture was awesome too. 

Banana bread

Who doesn't love fresh banana bread?  Well not everyone loves bananas but most people love fresh bread. I'm loving making fresh bread.  Sadly this might be the last of it for a bit.  I think we need to make some diet/nutrition changes for my son so he can focus better in school.  I believe he is getting to much sugar for starters.  Perhaps I will start with just cutting anything with processed sugar.  We cut a lot of that already with home meals but lunch can be difficult.  I will just have to find a solution.