Freezer Jam

If you have never made freezer jam... you should try it. It is the best tasting jam, and it is so easy to do. Seriously... I love making strawberry, but lots of flavors work. These are just normal canning jars, that have the freezer jam plastic lids on top. They screw on quick and are easy to clean.
Strawberry Freezer Jam

 1-1/2 cups sugar
 1 1.59-oz pkg Ball® Simple Creations® Freezer Jam Fruit Pectin
 4 cups crushed strawberries
 1 Tbsp lemon juice
� 5 Freezer Jars, 8 ounce

Directions: 1.) STIR sugar and contents of pectin package in a bowl until well blended. 2.) ADD strawberries and lemon juice. Stir 3 minutes. 3.) LADLE jam into clean jars to fill line. Twist on lids. Let stand until thickened, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate up to 3 weeks or freeze up to 1 year.

Rainbows of Colors....

Check out this website... It is on wikipedia... and it gives you every color that you could almost dream of and how to create it in Word or Photoshop. Plus it gives great ideas for the names of the colors instead of just boring old green... you could say... Jade or Emerald or Islamic Green or Asparagus. don't they all just sound a bit more exotic!

Dilled Potato Salad

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(printer friendly version)

3 lbs small red potatoes, cooked and quartered
1/2 cup green onions, sliced
1 cup Best Foods Real Mayonnaise
2 tablespoon prepared mustard
2 tablespoons fresh dill, minced
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Combine mayonnaise, mustard, dill, salt, pepper and sugar. Stir in potatoes and green onions. Cover and chill before serving.

Whole Wheat Pancakes

"We're under attack! We're under attack! Intruder! Intruder! Make her stop!"



Calm down folks, I have been given a special ticket. A special ticket good for as many posts as I want. Sonya may change her mind on this one after all. (Please don't take my ticket away.)



For my first post I present WHOLE WHEAT PANCAKES. These are a family favorite. One of my favorite things about this recipe is that it is a no mess, no fuss kind of meal as it is all made in the blender. Another great thing about it, it is made from whole wheat kernels. Can we say food storage in use?!



Without further ado...the pancakes.



2 cups milk (I use dry milk and water...more food storage)
1 1/2 cups whole wheat kernels
2 T. sugar or honey
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup oil
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla (optional)



Start with the kernels and milk in the blender. I happen to have a Cuisinart, so I put it on the "food processing" setting. If you have a different kind, make sure it is on a fast and strong and high setting. Blend for 4 minutes. It is loud and long, but at the end of 4 minutes all the kernels will be blended and the mixture will be smooth and somewhat thick.



Keep the blender going and add the rest of the ingredients. I don't add them in any particular order. I rotate the wet and dry trying to keep the mixture going. With too much dry in a row, the mixture will stop mixing well. If it is too thick and not moving and all is added, you can add a bit of milk or water. If the mixture seems too thin in the end, then add a bit of flour.



Now for the fun part. Here are a few extras I add to spice it up.
*one half up to one and a half bananas (this recipe is very lenient)
*cinnamon (ummm..1/4-1/2 tsp.)
*pumpkin puree (1/2 cup...I am guessing)
*1/4 c. applesauce or pear sauce (pear sauce is again a food storage, found at the wet cannery)
*get creative with anything else like blueberries, raspberries, etc.



This recipe makes lots of pancakes. I have never counted. I would say about....umm....25 pancakes. We always have leftovers. We store them in the fridge and either have pancakes the next several days, or make PBJ sandwiches with the pancakes. These also freeze really well.



Oh. In the picture below you see my set up for making. It can be pretty messy if you just pour out the batter from the blender. I use a 1/3 c. measuring cup to pour out each pancake. Much better!



I may be breaking policy here by posting children pictures. Aren't they cute though? This is the end result. Happy kiddos enjoying breakfast.

Cooking comedy...

Tissue Box...

Also known as the "Mom, I'm Bored!" box....

This box is going to come in handy when Summer comes, but is also helpful on the weekends. Basically how this works... a plain old tissue box is wrapped in paper and then inside, strips of paper are added with ideas of fun things for the kids to do. The activities can include family things or simple ideas just to get them excited about something. And somehow when they pull the idea of coloring a picture out of a box it is more exciting than just Mom telling them to go color a picture.

I used the Walk in the Park designer series paper set from the Stampin' Up Occasions Mini Catalog that will be available from April 1 until June 30, 2009. I used a full 12x12 sheet of paper, plus a little bit extra. The first sheet I wrapped around the tissue box and then pressed and cut the corners so it would lay flat. I had to use a little bit extra for the second sheet just to cover the small parts that weren't covered. Then I used sticky strip to make it stay put. Around the hole on top, I taped the paper down and then ripped the paper away (or you can cut it away for a different look). Finally to cover up some of seams I took a pink piece of paper and made a belt around it. I embellished the back with a button and the front I used the stamp set "Wagon Full Of Fun" from the mini catalog. It was a fun project and it will be put to good use with the kids.

Plate of Cookies.....

Ready to make your own designer plates that you can change depending on the occasion?

I purchased these glass salad plates for $1 at Wal-mart.


A handy little tip....The easiest way to remove those pesky bar code labels is to use a product called DeSolvit. I put the item in the sink, spray the chemical on the label and in one or two applications it comes right off with no sticky residue left behined. It is FABULOUS!

Here is a piece of designer scrapbook paper in Brown and cream... you can use whatever that will suit the party or occasion.


The next secret to this fabulous plate is spray on adhesive. You spray the plate with the adhesive and then smooth the paper on to it... (or you can wrinkle the paper onto it if you want that different effect. Or you can do multiple pieces of paper for a mosaic look.)

Here is the plate with the paper on it. After the paper is on the plate you can rip it or cut off the excess paper.
Then I took some fortune cookies from Panda Express and I wanted to turn them into a more gourmet cookie. In California there is a restaurant called Panda Inn (a formal sit down version of Panda Express... very good) and they bring out fortune cookies dipped in white chocolate and wrapped in colorful foil. So good! So I melted some white chocolate, dipped half of the cookie in the chocolate and then.... Mmmmmm... Delish!

Here is the final product.... Cute plate and yummy cookies.

Thank you Jars

These cute Thank you jars were made for some lady friends of mine.

I started with these "Summer Love" Rub Ons available from the Stampin' Up Occasions Mini Catalog available from April 1 until June 30, 2009.

I got these spice jars from IKEA. They come in a pack of four. Great deal!
I cut out the rub on that I wanted to use and then placed it on the jar. The rub ons come with a popsicle stick to rub the image onto whatever surface you want to transfer it to. SO CUTE! A little bit of Chocolate Chip 1/4 inch grosgrain ribbon around the lid of the jar. You can see the top in the last picture.

Here is a stamp set that coordinates with the rub ons called "Great Friend" also available from the mini catalog. I used the frame and the 'for you' stamp to make a small tag to add to the outside. Tag was stamped on Kiwi Kiss Cardstock.

To embellish the top of the jar I punched out a Scallop Circle using the designer punches from Stampin' Up in Whisper White paper. Punched a 1' circle from the Kiwi Kiss cardstock and then put a large filigree flower brad in the middle of it. Glued it onto the top of the jar and it was ready to give away.

Wow!

I found this cool website.... I think these melons are beautiful... but couldn't even dream how to start one of these, but thought I would share.

Plate with Vinyl Saying... Fairy Tale

Bought the plate from Tai Pan Trading.

The vinyl is from my brother Wayne's business.
(He does metal and vinyl projects. Standard or custom.)

Added the vinyl to the plate and Voila... done.

Cookies for Breakfast

Breakfast Cookies

Non stick cooking spray
½ cup butter, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar packed
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 ¾ cups white whole wheat flour
3 cups multi-grain cereal flakes with blueberries or raisins, etc.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat the cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Put the butter in the mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar and baking soda. Beat until mixed. Add the eggs; beat until mixed. Add flour and beat until the mixture no longer looks dry. Use the wooden spoon to stir in the cereal.
For each cookie, pack the mixture into a ¼ cup measuring cup. Use the rubber scraper to scrape it out of the cup on to the prepared cookie sheet. Press mound of dough with your fingers to flatten it slightly. Repeat with remaining dough, placing cookies about 3 inches apart.
Put the cookie sheet in the oven. Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Turn off oven. Use hot pads to take the cookie sheet out of the oven. Let baked cookies stand on the cookie sheet for 1 minute. Use the wide spatula to transfer the cookies to the wire rack. Let cookies cool. Makes 12 cookies.

Shamrocks

I made these shamrocks for St. Patty's Day. Sometimes this fun holiday gets overlooked since it is squeezed between Valentines day and Easter. But it is still fun. I found these wooden shamrocks at The Wood Connection Craft store in Murray. They have lots of fun wood projects.

First I had to sand the wood and I gave the edges a roundish edge, but still a little bit square.


The large shamrock is painted the lightest color... I took the Fresh Foliage and added white to it to create a lighter color. Then let the first coat dry. After applying the second coat, while the paint was still wet I sprinkled a green glitter on the paint and let it dry. Then I floated the edge with a darker color paint. Finally the glitter seemed too thick so I sanded it down a bit and a little on the edge too to soften the floated edge. Same process for each shamrock, with different paint colors.

The medium shamrock is painted the darkest color. I took the Old Ivy paint color and added the darkest woodland green to it to give it a darker tint. On the second coat I added the glitter, just as before, and floated the edge with the lightest color that was put on the large shamrock.

For the smallest shamrock, I painted it with the Fresh Foliage, but darkened it a bit with the Old Ivy. Added the glitter, the floated edge... and they were done!

These small shamrocks I just painted with two coats of Fresh Foliage, applied the glitter while wet and then didn't sand them. So they ended up with a thicker coat of glitter, plus I painted and put glitter on both sides.

Here are the paints that I used. Apple Barrel White and Apple Barrel Woodland Green, FolkArt Old Ivy and Fresh Foliage. I used these four colors and created colors that all matched.