Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Cinnamon Ornaments and A Month Of Thankfulness - Day 7

Last week our daughter visited for a few days. We decided to do a bit of crafting, in anticipation of the holidays, while she was here. One of the first projects we worked on was the tried and true Cinnamon Ornaments. Oh, they made my house so divine. We made them to use on our gifts in place of bows.

First we had to gather our supplies. This is such a simple recipe, not much was needed. 

Ingredients:
1 cup applesauce
1 to 1 & 1/2 cups ground cinnamon (Walmart has a brand, 5th Season, for only .50 cents for 2.37 oz., I used almost 3 for the recipe)
cookie cutters
wax paper
cookie sheet with parchment paper

Mix in a large bowl 1 cup each applesauce and cinnamon. Mix. You will need to use your hands and mix well. If too soft and sticky add the extra cinnamon, if too stiff add just a bit of applesauce until you get a good consistency to roll with a rolling pin. This make take you a little bit of time but it is worth it to get it right.


Place wax paper on counter and sprinkle with cinnamon. Sprinkle cinnamon and rub it on your rolling pin. Place dough on to wax paper and roll to 1/4" thick. Using cookie cutters, cut out ornaments and place on the parchment paper lined cookie sheet. I used a wooden skewer to make a hole at the top of each ornament.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees and bake 2 hours. Turn off and leave until oven is cool. We did these in the evening and just left them overnight. They turned out perfectly and my house smells oh, so delicious. 

Beware! Probably goes without saying, these are so not edible! My son came in while we were working on these, picked one up and almost had it to his mouth before Hanna realized it and stopped him. I cannot imagine the burn that much cinnamon would cause. Ugh! So not for eating, just smelling. :)

We have stored our cinnamon ornaments wrapped in tissue paper and in a plastic storage bin. This will help the ornaments keep their wonderful scent until we are ready to use them for gift-wrapping. 

A Month Of Thankfulness - Day 7 - I am so thankful for the insurance representative I spoke to this morning. He went out of his way to be helpful and kind. I have severe asthma. I take three medicines. The one that helps me the very most, our insurance has stopped covering it. So, that one medicine cost me $225.00 a month! Yikes. We already pay almost a thousand a month just for our health premium. When I called to see if I could appeal the decision, etc. he was able to get me signed up for a three month mail order supply for $155.00!!! Wow, what a difference. I am so thankful for the $520.00 savings! Yay! 

sharing:
http://www.littlebeckyhomecky.com/2012/11/fantabulous-friday-38/
http://navywifeypeters.blogspot.com/2012/11/submarine-sunday-6.html

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

A Month Of Thankfulness - Day 6


Day 6 - I am thankful to live in the USA and the freedom to vote! Stan and I went this morning, waited in line about 45 minutes. It is worth the time! 

Monday, November 5, 2012

My First Mug Rug & A Month Of Thankfulness - Day 5


I have been admiring and pinning mug rugs for months. I decided to give it a try for a gift. Here are the steps I took to end up with this cute, first mug rug. 





A Month Of Thankfulness - Day 5 - I am thankful for the desire to create. I am not an artist but in my own way, I have an artistic bend that comes out in sewing and embroidery. 


sharing:
http://www.uncommondesignsonline.com/uncommonly-yours-link-party-53/
http://www.gingersnapcrafts.com/2012/11/wow-me-wednesday-76.html
http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/2012/11/wow-us-wednesdays-91.html
http://navywifeypeters.blogspot.com/2012/11/submarine-sunday-5.html
http://www.doodlesandstitches.com/2012/11/fabulous-friday-link-party-20.html
http://www.littlebeckyhomecky.com/2012/11/fantabulous-friday-38/

Sunday, November 4, 2012

A Month of Thankfulness - Day 4

Day 4 - I am thankful for the gift of salvation and the opportunity to worship freely and honestly. We have been going to Seacoast Church since April. Each week we are blessed to worship, hear God's word and leave knowing God is intimately at work in our lives.

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever."
1 Chronicles 16:34


Saturday, November 3, 2012

A Month of Thankfulness

Each day leading up to Thanksgiving I will be sharing my thankful post. Some will be serious and some not so much. But all will be sincere. Will you share what you are thankful for today?

Day 1 - I am so thankful for my sweet husband, Stan. He is the best husband and father. 30 years and counting!



Day 2 - I am thankful for the first scent of coffee brewing when I wake each morning and then for that first sip...and three cups I consume.



Day 3 - I am so thankful for my two kids, Cody and Hanna. They have grown in to wonderful people and I am so proud of them. Every day they have blessed me beyond measure.
They are also blessed with good youth genes. Cody is almost 26 and Hanna almost 24 but they both get told how much younger they look. They will love it in 20 years!



Friday, November 2, 2012

iPad Quilted Cover


Look at this lovely iPad cover! I love it. It was a Pay It Forward gift that I received from Melinda at Tilda's Twisted Life. How fortunate am I to receive such a great gift? Here are a couple of other photos to show it off!

Even the back is amazing!

It's a perfect fit!

Thank you so much, Melinda! 



Thursday, November 1, 2012

Weight Watcher Wednesday - Cheesy Veggie Chowder


Our daughter was here this week for a visit and to spend Halloween with our 6 year old niece. They had a wonderful time Trick or Treating and having a sleep over. Yes, our daughter is 23 and our niece is 6 but they have a wonderful relationship. Jordan is thrilled to have her "big-up" cousin all to herself.

While our daughter is in town, I try to make recipes the entire family will eat and will also meet Hanna's vegetarian needs. I made a Mac and Cheese that was to die for. I had planned to take a photo but it was eaten so quickly by the family that there was none left! I will take that as a compliment. The next night I made this wonderful chowder. I had found a similar recipe that called for chicken broth and I changed it to vegetable broth and lowered the fat with 2% milk and low-fat cheese. It was so yummy. I will say that the night before my son asked where was the meat. I didn't think I could get away with having two entirely meat-free dinners in a row. I made bacon and let Stan and Cody crumble it on top. They loved it and it satisfied their need to be carnivores!

Now on to the recipe:

Cheesy Veggie Chowder

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrots
1 finely chopped celery stick
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cups cubed style hashbrowns or peel and cube 2 large baking potatoes
1 Tablespoon flour
1/2 cup warm water
2/3 cup 2% milk
2 cups chopped broccoli, I used frozen
2 cups low-fat shredded cheddar cheese

Melt the butter in a large soup pot. Add onions, carrots and celery. Saute over medium heat until tender. Add garlic and cook 2 more minutes. Add broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Mix flour and water and add to the soup. Simmer until slightly thickened. Add milk and broccoli. Cook until broccoli is just tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in cheese and heat until melted. 

Serves 6, Weight Watcher points 5

I served with a side of Sweet Potato Muffins and crackers.

Enjoy!

sharing: