Independence Day

We attended a party on the 4th of July, I had not been feeling well for a few days and needed something quick to take with us. Not that these were quick, but they were fun and I made them festive. My original plans were to make all white sugar cookies and use blue and red sprinkles on them. I didn't have any blue sprinkles and neither did the grocery store (and I wasn't about to run all over town looking for some). I ended up having a lightbulb moment and thought, why couldn't I tint the cookies. So that's what I did, rolled them in sugar and baked!

Stacked Coins Quilt

My neighbor had a baby boy in May. A few of our other neighbors threw an impromptu baby shower for her, I had 2 days notice. I went, without a gift, BUT told her that I would like to make her a quilt. And here it is.

A glimpse of the back, with it's tag.

All folded up....

ready to be delivered....

I used 2 charm packs of Moda Neptune and unbleached muslin. For the back, I had a leftover piece of pre-quilted fabric from a bedspread another neighbor wanted me to make and I followed the quilted lines for my quilt.

The pattern used can be found at Moda Bake Shop. The pattern is Stacked Coins Baby Quilt.

Three by Three Swap - June Blocks

Completed, packaged and mailed off Wednesday!!!

Sorry, my photo taking skills need improvement as well as my phot editing skills.

Friday Baking with NotQuiteJuneCleaver

I was reading about NotQuiteJuneCleaver's Friday Baking and decided on Monday I was going to make the recipes. Shannon was going to a White Sox game and well, it was just me and the boys. We headed to the store to grab a few missing ingredients (3 to be exact) and came home to get started.

You can find the recipes here. First up, Quiche Susan. I have made Quiche once, did not bake it long enough and the middle was not quite done and well, it was gross. This one however, was AWESOME! The boys helped themselves to seconds.

I used 1 cup orange cauliflower, 1 cup broccoli and 1 cup mushrooms (these were all in the refrigerator). Sauteed them in olive oil and butter, until they were crisp tender.

I used a store bought deep dish pie crust (I didn't have time to make one as when I decided to start it was already 4:30 and we had to run to the store for those missing ingredients).

I used a mix of mozzarella, monterey, colby and parmesan for my cheeses. How yummy does this look right out of the oven????

And let me just say (and the boys agreed) this tastes even better than it looks. We'll be making this recipe again with different veggies, whatever we have on hand.

Next up was the Mixed Berry Cobbler. In the freezer, I had a bag of Mixed berries that included blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. The bag contained 3 cups. Hmm, what to do since strawberries were not recommended and I have lots of those in the freezer, I had some rhubarb. Well, that should work. I followed the rest of the directions and well, it was pretty good.

I forgot to snap a photo of it with the ice cream on top. It was really good and the kids have enjoyed it warmed with ice cream the last few days. I did get my strawberries into the cobbler through my ice cream, I used Strawberry Supreme Frozen Yogurt by Schwan's. It was oh so very good!!!

Tea Towel and Potholder Swap

As I talked about here, I participated in a Swap over at down---to---earth. The items were to be postmarked by April 26, 2009. My swap partner was on holiday and not able to get a package ready to send to me, so I was waiting to hear back from her. I posted my package to her today. We are already getting busy with summer activities and I didn't want to sit on it any longer, better she has it and is able to use it.

Here is what I sent to her:

2 potholders

A dishtowel that I added the same fabrics from the potholders to:

She has chickens and I thought it only appropriate to send her an embroidered tea towel.

Okay, two tea towels, you can't have a rooster without a hen:

I found the embroidery patterns at Vintage Transfer Finds. She has a lot of great embroidery patterns.

We were also supposed to include a sweet or savory recipe. She chose savory, so I sent her our recipe for Sausage & Pepper Pasta.

Cookie Carnival - June - Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

As soon as I saw this recipe I knew I had to make them soon. And soon I did, I made them the day I received the email with the recipe in it. This month's Cookie Carnival Recipe is for Strawberry Shortcake Cookies. I LOVE strawberries! But more importantly I LOVE strawberry shortcake. A recipe that turns my favorite dessert into a cookie, what's not to love.

I made my dough in the food processor, the recipe said to use a fork or your hands to cut the butter into the flour, I make my pie crust in the food processor, why not the shortcake dough.

I pulled my berries out of the freezer (preportioned into 2 cup size bags) and defrosted added the sugar and lemon juice.

Then I dumped my shortcake dough into a mixing bowl and added the strawberries. Mmmmm, this looked so good.

I had the oven set at 375 and tried to bake the first batch for the time suggested. This is what happened.

Oh wait, you can't really see what happened. Let's try again.

That was after only 20 minutes, I think if I had left them for the 24 to 25 minutes they would have been completely blackened.

Oh well, the next 2 sheets came out just fine. I was able to get 38 cookies using my small Pampered Chef scoop. The kids loved them. I liked them, didn't love them as I hoped that I would. They seemed to be missing something, I'm not sure what though. Will I make them again? Most definitely, with some adjustments.

Here's the recipe should you decide to make them yourself.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE COOKIES

INGREDIENTS:
Makes about 3 dozen.
* 12 ounces strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (2 cups)
* 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
* 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
* 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
* 2/3 cup heavy cream
* Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining7 tablespoons granulated sugar in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, or rub in with your fingers, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cream until dough starts to come together, then stir in strawberry mixture.

2. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing evenly apart. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, and bake until golden brown, 24 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool. Cookies are best served immediately, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.

ENJOY!!

Interested in joining the Cookie Carnival, visit Kate at The Clean Plate Club.

Last day of school

First day of school,



Last day of school,



He went to school with a gift for his teacher. A basket I made using a tutorial by Pink Penguin (I of course messed up the directions, but it still turned out cute).