Chicken Noodle Soup

Great tasting chicken noodle soup is only 30 minutes away! This is my very own recipe that I created about 10 years ago. Ryan doesn't like the texture of carrots and celery in this so I leave them out. I think it tastes good either way!
7- 14.5 cans chicken broth
2 chicken breasts
2 tsp celery salt
8 oz. egg noodles
2 carrots, chopped (optional)
2 celery stalks, chopped (optional)

Cook chicken in microwave for 4-6 minutes. It's okay if not completely done because it will finish cooking in broth. Pour broth in large pot and add shredded chicken and celery salt (carrots and celery if desired) . Cook on high for 5 minutes or until boiling. Add noodles and cook on medium high for 20 minutes or until noodles are tender. Instead of crackers we like to eat this soup with garlic bread. Ryan is a soaker while I am a dipper.

Souped Up Soup Beans

A lot of people sometime refers to this as white chicken chili. I think of them more as soup beans kicked up a notch, the whole chili name makes me think of tomatoes. I really, really love this recipe! Goes great with cornbread and fried potatoes!

1 large jar white northern beans
2 chicken breasts
2 slices onion, chopped
1- 4.5 oz can green chillies, diced
1 T or 3 cloves of minced garlic
1 can cream of chicken soup

In a skillet with oil, cook onion, garlic and chillies until tender. Drain onto paper towel. In same skillet, cook chicken until no longer pink. Shred chicken. In a large pot, combine beans and soup, stirring well. Add remaining ingredients. Cook on medium low heat for about 30 minutes. Be sure to stir often to prevent beans from scorching. Can top bowls of beans with mozzarella cheese or sour cream if desired.

I Challenge You!

Each school day, 46 children in the US are diagnosed with cancer.
One in 330 children will develop cancer by age 20.
Cancer remains the number one disease killer of America's children - more than Cystic Fibrosis, Muscular Dystrophy, Asthma and AIDS combined.
(Candlelighters.org)

I challenge everyone to make 15 head bandannas in 15 days to donate to a children's oncology department. This is something I feel compelled to do and I thought why just stop with me? This is something so small that would mean a lot to little girls everywhere. Here are the rules of my challenge:
1. Challenge starts August 15th and ends August 30th.
2. Make a total of 15 (or more) bandannas
3. Donate them to your local children's hospital.
4. This pattern is not to be used for profit. PLEASE respect that.
5. Leave me a comment letting me know you accepted this challenge.

If you do not have a children's hospital in your area or just do not feel comfortable sending them to a general person in the department, please email me and I will give you my address. My MIL works at the Children's Hospital here and will make sure they get to the right person in the oncology dept.


These are very simple to make. It takes less than a half of a hour to make one. I used left over fabric that I had from other projects; so they do not have to cost anything! I made 3 sizes: doll, toddler, and girl. I plan on making a doll size to go along with each of my others because what little girl wouldn't want a matching one for her baby doll?

You'll need:
Doll: 7 1/2" sq piece of fabric & 2" strip matching fabric
Toddler: 10 1/2" sq piece of fabric & 2" x 44" strip matching fabric
Girl: 15 1/2" sq piece of fabric & 2" x 44" strip matching fabric

1. Cut square into two triangles.



2. With wrong sides together sew triangles, leaving long edge open. Turn right side out and iron flat. Top stitch edge on both short sides for a more finished look.


3. To make ties, fold edges of fabric together to meet in the middle and iron. Fold in half and iron. (You could skip this step and buy bias tape instead)


4. Sandwich long end of bandanna in between bias tape and leave room on each side for ties. Doll: 9 1/2" Toddler: 14 1/2" Girl: 12" Sew end to end.

How Do You Keep a 3 yr Old Occupied?

Jaiden saw a show this morning about washing baby dolls. I filled up the baby pool with a little bit of water, gave her some cheap shampoo, and put her bathing suit on. She grabbed her babies and played beauty shop for over 2 hours. I never thought I would find anything that could keep a 3 year old occupied for this long!

In the Summer of '79

This is a picture of me and my great grandparents, Charlie & Ida, on their farm in 1979. My great grandmother is the inspiration in much that I do. There are two things that I always remember about her, she was either sewing or cooking. When someone visited her house she had to run to the kitchen and fix a meal, not a snack, but a full meal. You were not allowed to leave her house without eating. She never fixed a meal just enough for the people that were there, no, she fixed 3 times that. She cooked for an army! I don't think anyone can say they ever tasted something of hers that was not good. My favorite meal she cooked was chicken and dumplings. I think I could eat my weight in those. I was lucky enough to find her recipe a few years back shoved in a drawer inside an old cookbook at my grandmother's house. No one else can cook dumplings like her!
She always had a pie or cake in the oven also. No matter what time of day or night; there was something in the oven. She was always prepared for company. All of my birthday cakes growing up were made by her. I think my favorite was a checkerboard cake. For my 30th birthday, my mother gathered up all (that she could find) of her recipes and made a scrapbook for me. Unfortunately, the checkerboard cake wasn't to be found.
The other thing I remember about her was her sewing. She had her dining room corner transformed into a sewing corner. As far back as I can remember I always sat on her lap at the sewing machine. Or, we would sit with a needle and thread and sew fabric together. This woman could turn out quilts like no one's business! I still have several of her quilts; some are used while others are put up to preserve them. Many are hand sewn but all are hand quilted.
I get my love for sewing and cooking from her. I am so thankful for the little time I did get to know her. She died right before my 9th birthday on December 25, 1985.

Putting Markers to the Test

Jaiden is starting to like color with markers instead of just crayons. I have seen all of these markers out there claiming to be washable so I decided to put them to the test. I bought a pack of Crayola Washable markers ($2.00 for 8), regular Crayola markers ($0.88 for 10), and Rose Art Washable ($0.60 for 11). I took an old shirt and marked it with each color and each brand. I used a Sharpie to identify each different set because I knew it wouldn't wash off. I read the washing instructions on the back of the box: wash in hot water, no bleach, do not pre-soak. I did just that and used Surf laundry detergent. I think the results speak for themselves:

Blueberry Salsa

2 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen)
3-4 jalapeno rings (or 1 T chopped)
1/4 c. red onion
1/3 c. red pepper
1 lime (for juice)
salt
Chop all ingredients, mix together, add lime juice (chunky). Or, put all in food processor and add lime juice (non-chunky). Chill for 1 to 2 hours before serving. Good with chips or on grilled chicken or pork.

Artichoke & Tomato Salsa

1 -6 oz jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
3 roma tomatoes
3 T. onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
3 sprigs fresh basil
salt
If you like chunky salsa simply chop all ingredients and toss together. If you like non chunky salsa (like me) put all ingredients in food processor and process. Chill for 1 to 2 hours before serving.

Purse Tissue Cover

I think these are so cute and they're so easy to make. If you have kids I know you always have tissues in you purse so why not make them prettier than just the plain plastic wrapper. This tissue wrapper will fit the purse size Kleenex tissues.

You'll need:
6 1/2" x 7" piece of fabric
6 1/2" x 7" piece of matching fabric for lining

1. Cut fabric and iron to make sure there is no wrinkles.



2. Sew with right sides together leaving an opening on the 7" side for turning. Turn right side out. Iron flat.




3. Bring the 7" sides together to meet in the middle forming a 3" x 6" rectangle. Sew the sides together, this will close the opening.



4. Your pouch should look like this:



5. Turn right side out and iron flat.



6. Take tissues out of plastic and insert into pouch.

Pacifier Clips

These are my newest pacifier clips. Neither one of my girls ever took a pacifier but I know there are a lot of kids who do. I hope to sell a bunch at my craft shows this fall. They are so easy to make. All you need is a mitten clip, grosgrain ribbon, and a snap. You just sew on the mitten clip and use a set of special pliers to add the snap.

Another Pillowcase Dress

I couldn't let Jaiden be the only one with a new dress! I just wish I would have made it a little longer. Arya was sleeping and I just guessed at the length. Maybe Jaiden can use it as a top??

Jaiden's Turtle

Jaiden made this at Bible School last night and asked if I would put it up on my web site. She has named him Tuck after the turtle on Wonder Pets.

Take Along Juice Mix Pouch

Being a mother of two small children I often get frustrated when we go out to eat. Most restaurants do not offer a selection of drinks for little ones. If they do have something, it's either the red fruit punch, that stains, or it's milk, which neither of mine can drink. There is always the option of bringing juice cups but, I either forget to fill and take them or they get left in the car and are found 2-3 days later when it smells like we are making wine in the car. I have seen several of the tea wallets floating around and thought I could adapt something like that to carry the little juice packets that are so common now. I just put my packets in the pouch and can leave them in the car until they are ready to be used. No more stains or homemade wine.

Here's what you'll need:
7 1/2" x 8 1/2" fabric for front (outside)
7 1/2" x 8 1/2" fabric for inside
4" x 7 1/2" fabric for pocket
14" piece thin ribbon for ties
7 1/2" x 8 1/2" lightweight fusible interfacing


1. Cut and iron all fabric




2. Fold pocket piece in half and iron crease. Place this on inner fabric with the folded crease on top and all 3 sides meeting.



3. Baste all three side of pocket to inner fabric using the smallest seam allowance possible.



4. Fold entire piece in half and iron. This creates a center line.



5. Stitch 1/2" inch away from center on each side. Also stitch 1/2" away from both edges.



6. Sew a 1 1/4" line away from side seam and also away from center line. Do this on both sides of the crease. I start with my pocket fold on top and stitch down to the bottom and back stitch 1 or 2 stitches at the top to "lock" the thread.



7. You should now have 2 pockets on each side of the crease. I put my juice in to make sure they would fit.



8. Iron interfacing to wrong side of your front(outside) fabric and trim any excess.



9. Place right sides of front (outside) fabric and inside fabric together. Cut you ribbon into 2 7" pieces and sandwich them in between the layers. Only leave enough sticking out to be caught in seam. Sew all layers together with a 1/4" seam allowance. Leave a small section at the top for turning.



10. Turn right side out and iron flat. Top stitch all around the pouch on all 4 sides. This will close up the opening used for turning.



11. Place your juice in pocket.



12. Fold down top.



13. Fold in half and tie with ribbon.

Pillowcase Dress

I have been wanting to make a pillowcase dress for sometime now. I have never found instructions that were as clear as I thought they should be until today. I want to give a BIG THANKS to JEN for allowing me to use her instructions to this tutorial!!! Be sure to visit her blog Red Instead Blog There are tons of projects there!

You Need:
1 pillowcase
12" of 1/2" elastic
Extra Wide Double Fold Bias Tape

1. Iron your case flat making sure the seams are where they are supposed to be. The open end of the case will become the bottom of the dress.



2. Measure from your child's shoulder down to where you like the dress to fall. Measure this on the case starting from the open end and add 1 inch for seams. (For mine I used 20".) Cut off the excess.



3. Fold the two top edges 1/4″ to the inside and press. Then fold down edges 3/4" and press to form a neat casing for the elastic.




4. Fold case in half lengthwise (long sides touching)and pin sleeve pattern to case with the pattern matching the top and side edges. Cut away excess. You can find the pattern here: http://www.everythingsewing.net/howtopictures/pillowcase_dress/pillowcase_pattern.pdf




5. Unfold case and take to sewing machine. Stitch the bottom of the casing closed leaving the ends open at the sleeves. Cut elastic into two 6″ pieces. Attach a safety pin to one end and thread it through one of the casings. You’ll need to pin the other end of the elastic when it gets to the casing so that it doesn’t come all the way out. Stitch across the open end of each casing to hold your elastic in place. Repeat with the other elastic and casing. I used a straight stitch and a zig zag for extra strength.



6. You case should now look like this:



7. Cut two pieces of binding 28″ long. Slip one armhole edge into the fold of one of the binding pieces, leaving about 10″ or so overhanging the top on each side - these form the ties. Beginning at one end of the binding, stitch all the way around to the other end of the binding. Repeat for the other side.


You should now have a pretty pillowcase dress. I found by accident that you can tie the ties a different way to totally change the look:



Here is my pretty model in her new dress

Mama's Quilt

Jaiden and I made this quilt for my grandmother this past Christmas. I was really happy the way it turned out. I got the pattern from the book 24-Hour Quilts by Rita Weiss. The name of the quilt is Shades of Blue. All of my fabric came from the $2.00 rack at Walmart along with the batting and the sheet for the back. It cost about $50.00 total to make this queen size quilt. (It probably would have been less but, I only use the 100% cotton batting which is more expensive the the poly blend.)My grandmother loves it and said she wouldn't trade it for anything.

Pillowcase Bag

I have been wanting to try making this bag for a while now. I went to the thrift store last night and bought a 49 cent pillowcase. I like how it turned out but, it is just too big for me. Maybe Jaiden can use it as an over night bag for grandma's. A word of advice for anyone making this, be sure to iron your case before you start and iron it after you sew your side hems. You can find the complete instructions on Martha Stewart's site: http://www.marthastewart.com/sleeper-of-a-bag