Mitts

I have been knitting a lot because I want to make handmade gifts for the holidays. I finished some mittens today and I come into the living room and Dave has Noah dressed like this:
I laughed so hard and had to take a picture of all the crazy.
The great part about these mittens are they are thrummed mittens and are fuzzy on the inside from knitting roving into it. I knitted these to try out the pattern I will be making a red pair and a pink pair for my lovely nieces in Idaho where it actually gets cold.
While on the subject, I also knit some endpaper mittens and I love them. They were a lot of fun to knit but they took a little longer than I thought.
As I finish the Christmas presents I will post them.

PIRATES BOOTY

I saw some pants in an online magazine called small. I thought they were cute so I went to the website to see how much they were, or if they sold the pattern. The pants are called Jolly Rogers and were selling here, guess how much they were asking?! 80 dollars! I could not believe my eyes. The funniest/craziest part, they were sold out. I was thinking, ummm... who buys $80 dollar pants for their baby? So I decided I was going to make Noah pants for $6 dollars. Here they are. He is almost grown out of them.

Taste of Fall

Yesterday we had to make a much needed dump run, so my Dad and JJ came to help with the truck. It was feeling very fall-ish outside so I made Potato Soup and Pumpkin Bars.
The pumpkin bars are Dave's all time favorite dessert (it is mostly the frosting)
Here are the recipes.
Potato soup

3 lbs red potatoes
3 cups chicken stock
2 cups of water
1 cup diced onion
3/4 cup diced carrot
3/4 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced bacon
2 Tblsp butter
4 Tblsp flour
2 brats (I like Johnsonville brats), optional
salt and pepper, extra chicken stock

Cut red potatoes with skin on and boil in 2 cups chicken stock and 2 cups water. 5 minutes into boiling add the brats. Take the brats out when they are cooked through. In a skillet cook bacon until almost done then add onion, carrots and celery and saute for 3 - 5 minutes. add butter, when the butter is melted add the flour and mix into the veg. When mixed in then throw the whole mixture into the pot of potatoes (make sure potatoes are cooked) and mix. Take out a 1/2 cup of potatoes and mash and then add back into the soup. This should make the soup rather thick. Cut up the cooked sausage and add to soup. Cook on med-low until all veggies are cooked, add salt and pepper and more chicken stock to your taste and consistency.
Top with cheese and green onions if you like.

Dave's Favorite Pumpkin Bars with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

For pumpkin bars:

3 eggs
1 cup white sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
15 oz (1 can or a scant 2 cups of home cooked) pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Using an electric mixer, mix eggs, sugars, oil, applesauce, and pumpkin until smooth and well-blended. In another bowl, combine remaining ingredients and mix well. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture in several batches, mixing by hand after each batch. Lightly spray with cooking spray an 11″x15″ jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with sides and pour batter into it. Bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool well before frosting.

For frosting:

1/4 cup salted butter
1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook, stirring and checking frequently, until it turns a medium brown color and gives off a caramel odor. Allow to cool for at least half an hour before proceeding.

Using an electric mixer, combine cream cheese and butter until uniform in color and texture. Add powdered sugar, half a cup at a time, until completely combined. Use to frost pumpkin bars, reserving any excess.

YUUUUUUUUUUUM!

I haven't tried these yet, but had to post about them. Potato chips in the microwave.
ummmm... sign me up! I love potato chips!
Click HERE for the link. And let me know if you have made them. I am going to try it tonight!

Holiday Gifts Home Made Edition

My mom is a canning nut. As long as I can remember I have been snapping beans and peeling tomatoes every summer and fall to can. Well, since we won't have a ton of money this year for holiday gifts I decided to make some of my mom's famous Berry Vinegar(it is called vinegar but it tastes like syrup). The recipe is easy and it delicious on pancakes and ice cream!

10 cups of raspberries or Blackberries (these are the only 2 I have tried)
2 cups of vinegar
*sugar

In a glass bowl place berries in and pour vinegar over them. Smash the berries in vinegar. Cover bowl and leave on counter for 4 days. Each day smash the berries. On the 4th day strain the berries into a bowl through a cheesecloth or jelly bag. ( I strained it 3 times to make it a clearer liquid and to get all the juice possible out of the pulp). Throw the pulp away. You will have anywhere from 3-6 cups of juice, depending on the berries. Put juice in a pan on the stove top with 1 cup of sugar for every cup of juice. Stir until it comes to a boil. Let it boil for 20 minutes on low-med heat, stirring occasionally. Skim the foam off the top. Pour your syrup into the jars and put hot lids on them and rings and voila! Easy peasy gifts!
It is also so yummy and cheap if you can find a place to pick the berries for free.

Menu Plan

Here is what I am serving up this week...

MONDAY - Tacos (yum)

TUESDAY - Stroganoff

WEDNESDAY - Chicken, Broccoli and Rice

THURSDAY - Pasta -spaghetti?

FRIDAY - leftovers

SATURDAY - Barbeque steaks

SUNDAY - sandwiches.

Meal plan

Monday
Meatloaf
Hot Crash Potatoes
Spinach

Tuesday
Barbeque Chicken
Pasta Salad
Grilled Zucchini

Wednesday
Pork Chops
Wild Rice
Broccoli

Thursday
Tacos

Friday
Leftovers

Saturday
Brats
potato salad
grilled veggies

Sunday
Sandwiches.