Cloth Lunch Bags

We've been on a 'fiscal prudency' kick around my house this year.  Tightening of belts (both literally and figuratively) has occurred. In the spirit of saving money AND getting ready to spend 10 days in Florida, I made lunch bags for all of us...using fabric (and velcro) I already had on hand.

These are not fancy at all. In fact they are the antithesis of fancy.  I call them: "Quick and Dirty Lunch Bags".  Kidding.  I don't call them anything that fancy. They are simply cloth lunch bags designed to keep everybody's lunches separate, while residing in the same backpack. No handles, no pockets, nothing extraneous. Yes, some do have simple appliques, but those are so they don't get mixed up.

Ready. Set. Go.

Materials Needed:
2 pieces of fabric measuring approximately 81/2 inches by 26 inches (there is nothing magic about the size I picked - you can easily make these larger or smaller. The fabric can either be the same of contrasting.
3 - 31/2 inches of sew on Velcro.
Optional fabric for appliques.

The first step would be to apply the appliques, but since I didn't take any pictures, let's just move on to the next step, which is to sew up the side seams.  I used a serger, but you totally don't need to.

Other Sheep I Have

I pinned these really cute cookies months ago.

source

I thought they might come in handy while teaching the New Testament this year.  Well, this is the week I decided to make them (we're in John 10).

I had to dig around in my cookie cutters a bit, but I found my old Tupperware flower cookie cutter.  I used the lid from a little jar of sprinkles to cut out the centers of the flowers and the circles of  chocolate cookie dough that went in the middles.  

The two colors of dough were achieved by saving out some of the original dough and adding a couple of teaspoons of cocoa powder and a smidgen of black gel coloring.  

I rolled the chocolate dough out between two pieces of plastic wrap, so as not to get any extra white flour on them.

Mine are slightly different from the inspiration cookies.  Most notably in the feet area. I think the originals are probably a little sturdier, but I like the look of mine better.

Notice how even my little dough dots are for the eyes and nose? I used two different sizes of drinking straws to punch out the circles, then gently flattened them with my finger. The larger eye dots were made using regular drinking straws and the smaller eye dots and the nose were made using an IKEA drinking straw.

A Little Joy

After a busy Thanksgiving, I decided to enlist the help of my faithful servants, erm, children. The tree and all the trimmings got delegated to them. I was quite pleased and relieved to share the load with them. In fact, I was motivated enough to work on my front porch.

Thanks to Pinterest I had more than enough inspiration. The Joy sign was first, the tomato cage/ garland was next, the wreath was a natural fit, and the sled was an awesome Goodwill find. I loved driving up to my house and seeing the cheerful welcome.

Gingerbread cupcakes with Gingerbread Molasses Frosting

Holiday baking is one of my favorite things to do.  I found a really good gingerbread cupcake recipe at www.shugarysweets.com .  I searched the Internet and couldn't find what I wanted so I made up my own frosting recipe.

Gingerbread Cupcakes

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp molasses
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup buttermilk (I used the old standby of 1 tbl white vinegar in the 1/2 cup of regular milk)
10 Pepperidge Farm Gingerbread cookies, pulverized
       (The ShugarySweet recipe called for 6 Gingerbread Oreos which we don't have here.)

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2  Tbsp milk (You may need a touch more if you like runnier frosting.)
2 tsp molasses
5 Pepperidge Farm Gingerbread cookies, pulverized

Preheat oven to 350'.  Line cupcakes tins with liners and set aside.

Cupcakes: In large bowl combine butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add eggs and molasses until smooth.  Add flour and all seasonings (including baking soda and powder), stir until combined well.  Stir in buttermilk.  Fold in gingerbread cookies.  Scoop into liner until half full.  Bake for 15 -18 minutes.  Makes 24 cupcakes or about 80 mini cupcakes

Frosting: Fluff butter for 3 minutes on high.  Add powdered sugar, milk and molasses.  Add more milk or powdered sugar until it is about the consistency you want.  Add the gingerbread cookies.

I added some frosting stiffener so I could travel with mini cupcakes which we really well received!

Shrimp Pasta

Beautiful, I know.

Hey. So I know I'm not a Hanna, but Sherri said it was okay to post on here because I married into the family. As some of you may know, I am the worst at blogging so this may be my only appearance. SAVOR IT. Just like you will savor this awesome recipe that my sister and I made up this summer that Nathan and I improved LAST WEEK!

1/4 cup Butter
1/2 lbs Deveined shrimp
5 cloves Garlic, chopped

1. Saute the butter, shrimp, and garlic.
2. Set aside the shrimp when it’s cooked.

4 slices Bacon, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
Zest and juice of one lemon
   8 oz sliced mushrooms
   6 oz Spinach
      3 tomatoes, diced

3. Cook the bacon until crispy.
4. Stir in the vegetables.

1/4 cup butter
        Red pepper flakes, to taste
        Salt & pepper, to taste
        Serve over pasta

5. Add the rest of the butter and seasonings
6. Serve over pasta
7. Garnish with parmesan-romano cheese

The first time we made this, I splurged on white shrimp and it was the bomb. The second time, we bought those tiny salad shrimps. Also awesome, but since it's already cooked, you don't add it until after the vegetables have cooked down a bit and just let them heat through.

Jammie Dodgers

Sherri posted the main course...here's dessert!

I made these cookies (...or, if you prefer, biscuits) in honor of Doctor Who week for seminary last week.  Pretty easy recipe, the only tough part was rolling out the dough - which was about as hard as a brick when it just comes out of the fridge.  My advice? Let it sit out on the counter for about 10 minutes to soften up slightly.  Also, I used the plastic wrap on top of the dough so that the rolling pin didn't stick to the dough. I also combined the vanilla extract with the milk so as to skip a step.

The recipe is from Diana's Desserts (here is the site).

Jammie Dodgers

Ingredients: Basic Cookie Dough Recipe Ingredients: 2 cups unsalted butter, softened 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1 cup granulated or superfine sugar 2 large eggs 7 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 4 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup milk 1 tablespoon vanilla extract For Filling: 1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam, or seedless strawberry jam (I used seedless blackberry. Word.)

Instructions: Cookie Dough: Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy. Gradually add sugars, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt: add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed after each addition until blended. Stir in vanilla extract. Divide dough into 4 equal portions; wrap each portion in plastic wrap to prevent drying out. Chill. Proceed with cookie instructions. Yield: 4 1/2 pounds cookie dough. To Assemble and Bake: Roll cookie dough to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut with a 2-inch round cutter, and place on greased baking sheets. Cut center from half of cookies with a 1-inch round or heart shaped cutter. Bake at 350 degrees F (180 C) for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Spread 1/2 teaspoon seedless raspberry jam on solid cookies; top with cutout cookies. Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Memphis-Style Barbecued Spareribs

Deb and I have a pact.  A pact to post recipes.  I'm holding up my end with the protein.  Now she needs to hold up her end with the good part.

I  made this from the Cook's Best All Time Best recipes and I have to say it delivers. I changed just a few minor things and the recipe forgave and forgot.

Spice Rub (see below)
2 (2 1/2 - 3 lb) racks St Louis-style spareribs, trimmed (get that fat off)
1/2 cup apple juice
3 tablespoons cider vinegar

Combine apple juice and cider vinegar in small bowl.

Spice Rub

2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons chili powder*
1 1/2 teaspoon black pepper*
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper*
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

*Adjust these to taste.  As is this is a spicy rub.  I cut down on the cayenne and chili powder and my kids liked it better.  I like spicy.

Combine all in bowl.

Rub about 2 tablespoons per side per rib rack.  Let the ribs sit at room temperature for 1 hour covered in plastic wrap.  At about 45 minutes start grill on a low temperature about 300-325'.  Grill meat slowly for about 1 1/2 hours.  During the last 20 minutes baste with apple juice mixture.  Rotate at least twice for basting.  Turn on oven when you start basting to 325'.  Set a wire rack (we have one we use in our smoker) over a cookie sheet covered in foil.  Transfer the ribs to the rack.  Baste with the last of the apple cider mixture and cover tightly with foil.  Poke about 4 holes to vent.  Cook until tender, about 1 to 2 hours.

Jim liked dipping his in regular barbecue sauce but I liked it plain.  It went well with a little cucumber and purple onion salad (slice both thin and add 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar and 1 tablespoon sugar and let it sit for 15 minutes in the fridge).