Miter Me Baby.....

I'm working on the finishing touches of getting the class kits ready for my upcoming classes in Oklahoma City, at the fabulous Paper Crown store.

I even pulled out our miter saw and cut the wood for the bases of the soldered houses in my "Home Sweet Home" class.

All.

By.

Myself.

No joke.

I measured twice, and cut once.

Hoooray for me!

I am so looking forward to this class, and getting to just be with the friends who "get" me.

I know, that you know what I mean.

That is, if you're crafty/creative too.

The weekend after next, Paper Crown will be holding one of their famous "Glitter Market" events. I was fortunate enough to be invited to participate. I won't physically be there (well, I'm 95% sure I won't be there. Life has a strange way of changing up lately), but my work will be there.

A small selection anyway.

I've been BUSY working on things here at home, and haven't had the time I wish I had to dedicate to creating exclusively for Glitter Market. I'm going to keep working though, and send a few things via my favorite courier, FedEx.

Those are some fast moving people.

P.S. If you're one of my students in my "Home Sweet Home" class, be sure to bring the tools mentioned here. You're going to need them!

P.P.S. I got out a belt sander and sanded each base too. All by myself. I know... I am A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!

P.P.P.S. If you are a female, and you use power tools all the time, please do not burst my bubble. :) Thank you!

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Paper Crown: Home Sweet Home! (Updated!)

(When I originally shared this post, I was having technical difficulties with the photo. I've fixed it and am re-posting so that those of you who missed it, can see it now. XOXO!)

I always look forward to my visits with the fabulous women at the Paper Crown in Oklahoma City. It's such an awesome store, and their patrons are positive, creative, and loaded with wonderful attitudes. I've never left, without a smile.

EVER.

It's almost like coming home.

Almost!

Towards the end of April (April 23rd), I'll be visiting again, and this time teaching a new class - Home Sweet Home!

I think you'll agree, it's not your ordinary home! Isn't it sweet?!

This sweet home is constructed with glass and assembled with solder! A flame-less tealight candle is inside lighting up the internal art and designs from each student. I love how the art inside can be changed out with each season, or special family events. (Doesn't the window look delicate? I love the way the paper lace lights up!)

This project will be completed during our 6 hour class! Yes, SIX hours! It is a lengthy class, but a one hour break has been scheduled in. (It probably will not take you the full class time to complete this project, but I scheduled it in, just in case. I want everyone to leave with a completed project!) So, be sure to dress comfy and feel free to bring a lunch (or pop out to eat!). Light snacks and treats will be provided.

If you're interested in joining us for this fun class, contact the Paper Crown at 405.848.2389 (This class is an advanced class. Attendance in both my beginner and intermediate classes is required in order to attend Home Sweet Home.)

Each student will need to bring the following supplies with them: paper trimmer, scissors, wet & dry adhesives, pencil, ruler, extra fine black sharpie marker, tile work surface, soldering iron & stand, flux & brush, lead-free solder, sal block, burnishing tool, clamps, and bent nosed hemostats.

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What's Cookin'

It's Menu Planning Monday again...

Funny how it always arrives, and on time at that.

Every week.

Last weeks meal plan was fantastic. We stayed right on the path, and didn't eat out. We also managed to eat what I had planned, on the day I had it planned to be eaten.

That's a huge win here at my house.

Something I did, that I thought was clever, was to use the broth that was created in my potato/greenbean/ham dish (really it is tasty! It's something my friends would make in Ohio, and I've grown to love it. Fresh produce at it's finest.).

Anyway, I took the flavorful broth (the ham added a LOT of flavor), tossed in a bag of split peas, and let it cook for a while. Ta-Da! Split pea soup!! Hoooray! That is at least two more dinners I can freeze for later use! (Food Saver to the rescue!)

Here's what I'm planning to serve this week.

• Monday - Turkey quesadillas or Turkey ala King (We had roasted turkey on Sunday, so I'm trying to use up the leftovers)
• Tuesday - Leftovers!
• Wednesday - Satay chicken, steamed rice, some kind of veggie side, and Pioneer Woman's Pig Cake
• Thursday - Grilled pork chops, baked potatoes, corn
• Friday - Grilled salmon burgers and a simple pasta caprese salad
• Saturday - Spaghetti, meatballs (or a simple meat sauce) & garlic bread
• Sunday - Pizza!

I'm trying to focus on using what food I have stashed in the freezer.
I have 10.5 pounds of frozen chicken breasts.
Yes, I did it on purpose. It's in 3 bags.
But, why do I have them in there, if I don't make a plan to use them.
I know that if I don't make a plan for them, they'll end up living in there forever and getting freezer burn.
Which kind of defeats the point.

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Cooking: Healthy Homemade Whole Wheat Bread

Many of my friends think it's crazy that I make as much bread as I do.

My family just loves it.

And honestly, homemade bread is WAY better than store bought (mostly!).

So about half of the time, I bake our bread.

I love to eat it in the morning as toast. I think it's probably the best toasting bread I've ever had.

Fred even eats it as part of his "sammich".

The recipe I use has been passed down from person to person, friend to friend, for what I can tell has been a LONG time.

I gained the recipe when Melody shared it on Facebook almost two years ago. She got the recipe from Maria who got it from Kay.

I love recipes with a history.

Especially if they're yummy recipes.

Even better if they're healthy too!

So without any further adu, here's the recipe!

Healthy Homemade Whole Wheat Bread

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 1/2 cups quite warm water
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup gluten flour (this is important! I get it at Sprouts, a local farmers market store)
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 cup wheat bran
• 4-5 cups ground whole wheat
• 2 Tbsp. yeast
• approx 1/2 cup regular all-purpose flour
• Non-stick cooking spray

DIRECTIONS:

Put the warm water into a large bowl (if you're using a stand mixer, I just put it into my mixer bowl). Add the salt, gluten flour, oil, honey, and wheat bran. Using a whisk attachment, mix it for a minute or so. Change your attachment to the dough hook, and add the whole wheat flour. Mix it together until the flour is mostly incorporated into the dough, then add the yeast.

Mix the ingredients together until everything is evenly incorporated, and then start adding the regular flour, just until the dough pulls away from the edge of the bowl.

Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into the number of desired loaves. Spray your hands with your non-stick cooking spray, and form the divided dough into loaves. Be careful not to handle the dough too much.

Place the dough into pans that have been sprayed with your non-stick cooking spray. Cover the pans with a towel and let the dough raise until the dough reaches the top of the pan.

Put the loaf pans into a cold oven. Turn the oven to 350 degrees and bake for approximately 30-40 minutes. 

Remove bread from pans immediately and cool on cooling rack.

Recipe Notes:

• I like to change up the grains in our bread. Today's bread is a combination of wheat bran, oat bran, ground flax, and spelt. It's yummy! The spelt gives it a bit of a nutty crunch and reminds me of German bread. (I don't change any of the other ingredients... I just add a bit here and there. Generally around 1/4 cup or 1/2 cup - depending on the grain consistency - to the liquid in the beginning
• This recipe makes three small loaves, or 2 larger loaves. I keep them small. I freeze two of them once they are REALLY cool, so that we always (mostly) have homemade bread ready to eat.

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What's Cookin'! (eeeerrr... Tuesday?!?)

I had really great intentions of sharing our menu plan on Monday.

Heck, I even planned it all out on Sunday!

But, Monday was supposed to be a traveling day for us. We were going to fly down and visit with my parents (and this awesome place I like to call The Island).

Alas, as we were parking our vehicle at the airport, I got a call from my mother letting us know that the youngest of my sisters bebe's had strep throat and several other ickies.

And so it was that we didn't go down to The Island.

I'd be flat out lying if I said I wasn't disapointed, but sometimes these things cannot be helped.

And I'm doing my best to keep a happy face about the whole thing.

One good thing is that I won't be a lobster. (The sun and I do not mix... even when I wear the highest level of sunscreen I can get.)


Last week, I did a GREAT job keeping our menu going and actually following it.
I even worked REALLY hard to make sure that we didn't leave any produce in the fridge while we were going to be on vaca.
(That means, I had NOTHING available when we decided to have a staycation.)

So, with a few groceries purchased, here's what we're eating this week!!

• Monday - Chicken & Rice
• Tuesday - Beef Fajita's
• Wednesday - Green Beans, New Potatoes and Diced Ham - All cooked together! (one of my favorite spring time meals!)
• Thursday - Grilled Chicken, Cheesy Potatoes,
• Friday - Leftovers (or Broiled Tilapia served with steamed veggies)
• Saturday - Burgers & Oven Fries
• Sunday - Pizza!! (Or a freezer dinner)

A note from last week's menu...

Both the Shepherds Pie and the Shrimp Macaroni and Cheese recipes I used made enough food to each fill a 9"x13" pan. I don't know about your family, but my little family can't eat that much in one meal (and really... as delicious as it was, I wouldn't want to eat it for 5 days to get it all consumed. YUCK). So, I froze two pans (in 5"x7" disposable aluminum pans), so that we'll have them for another day.

I love doing this for two reasons...

1. I have a quick and homemade dinner to use if I don't feel like cooking. HOORAY!
2. I have a quick and homemade dinner to take to a friend when they may be in need (you know, like when your friend has a family emergency, has the flu, isn't feeling well, or ... just when someone needs it). I love knowing that I have something handy 'just in case'.

That's all!

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