Mama D's Nifty Minute

Maxi Dress Mama D Style

noreply@blogger.com (Mama D) — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 03:55:00 +0000

Well now one of the latest trends in women's dresses are Maxi Dresses...by the way just so you know I really don't like this name....makes me think of Maxi Pads...UGH! Back on track...I do however like these dresses and like the fact that I can now wear them without embarrassment! I have been seeing several tutorials on how to make these dresses from scratch! And although I love to sew...I don't like patterns or trying to fit clothing onto a real person from a pattern that doesn't exactly fit! That is not where my talents lie. However I have discovered that remaking clothes is one of my talents....so here is my unique twist on the Maxi Dress!

First I visited my local Goodwill...I was in the mood to sew today and didn't want to have to search garage sales...so Goodwill here I came. I started out in the tank top section looking for something that would fit nicely across my shoulders and chest...but not necessarily my pregnant belly! I found a nice black tank with ribbon and lace embellishments!

My next step was to find the skirt material. Now I went to the dresses first in hunt of the right material..I didn't have any luck so I hit the tee shirt section....you just can't beat $1 each....I started with the largest shirts first. I couldn't find 3 black shirts that weren't all faded out...so I ended up with a light gray, dark gray and black....all about the same size.

I considered putting the skirt together this way....but after the cute black outfit I made Bear earlier this week with the light color in the middle I decided to try that instead!

Now the first thing I did was try on my tank and mark where I wanted it to be cut off....in my case....just above my belly...

I marked where I wanted it to be cut off with a pin and then added an inch seam allowance and cut off with my rotary cutter!

Next step is deciding how long you want your dress. Measure from your armpit down to the length that you want your dress. Mine was 46"...and my tank top measured about 7"....so I had about 39" to play with for the skirt.
Since I got 2XL shirts and had plenty of room to play with ...I cut each off right under the arm pits. You want to measure each layer and subtract 2" for the seam allowances and add them all together to find out how long your finished dress will be. At this point it is easy to take off what you don't need on each layer.

This one had a design on the front and after some careful measuring I was able to cut it off below the design...thought it might look a little funny if I left it on???

My next step was running a double basting stitch around the top edges of all my layers.

I didn't really end up with a whole lot of gathering....just really used it to get the fit right....it would all depend on what sizes of tee shirts that you used and how much extra material you had!

To accomplish this step pin right sides together, matching the sides and center front and center back. Pin and straight stitch all the way around with a 5/8" or 1/2" seam. I normally go back and zig zag to finish my seams...but considering tee shirt knit doesn't ravel...I just skipped this step. Repeat this on all three layers! Now I got smart and left the hem in my bottom tee shirt...eliminating the need to hem the bottom of the dress! Am I smart or just lazy???

Me in my new Maxi dress....and showing off my baby bump! Can you believe that is a 7 month pregnant picture????

If I left anything out or you have questions...just leave me a comment!

God Bless,
Mama D

Reverse Applique

noreply@blogger.com (Mama D) — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 02:45:00 +0000

Well folks I am sure you have heard me talk about a new sewing technique I have found....reverse applique! I just love it! Now I have appliqued many things in the past and have gotten so frustrated when my machine or I mess up...and I refuse to applique on tee shirt or knit material! However when I ran across this technique in one of my Internet searches....I fell in love...and just knew that I could make some cute stuff for my little girl and teenagers!

OK original idea that I located on the Internet said to use two tee shirts. One smaller than the other and layer together to make this work...I have found out that scraps of tee shirt material and cotton work just as well and don't create such a heavy shirt. I am hot natured so this is important!

Now first you need to decide on a design...for the tee shirt that I am showing you I choose a butterfly! I then choose my material...for this shirt I used three different colors.

The tee itself is an eggplant color...so I choose a purple and white print and green for the wings with a kinda medium purple for the body of the butterfly.

Turn your tee shirt inside out and lay out your material. Pin as needed to hold it to the front of your shirt. Just make sure you only pin through one layer of tee shirt material!

Now if you are confident and artistic enough to sew your chosen pattern onto your shirt free hand...then by all means go for it! I have to have a pattern to go by or everything looks whooper-jawed to me!

I started with the body of my bug....then did the outside and inside of my wings. Just use a straight stitch around your pattern...nothing complecated!

Last but not least using a pair of pointy ended sharp scissors carefully cut out the inside of each pattern...showing the layer of fabric that you want to be seen. I then go back and trim the excess material from the inside of the shirt! The only thing I added to this was my butterflies antenna with glitter paint!

Happy Sewing!
God Bless,
Mama D

School Sewing Projects

noreply@blogger.com (Mama D) — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 03:23:00 +0000

Well....let's see...my little girl is not so little anymore! <pout!> And as school is coming up soon (10 days at last count)....I have been trying to get my VERY hard to fit child some clothes put together for the school year.

At the beginning of the summer I expected this problem to arise...so I started hunting for tee shirts and material that could be used or repurposed for my daughter. I also began looking for ideas that I could use or adapt with my gathered materials.

What I have come up with is a combination of Twirly Dresses, Tunics and decorated Tee shirts. All using basically the same methods in different manners.

We call this one our Lady Bug shirt! I was only able to get 1 yard of this material...and really wasn't satisfied with any other fabrics...they just didn't coordinate like I wanted them too! So I ended up just making one gathered layer and cutting the teir of material a little longer. It ended up being a really cute tunic length shirt. I embellished the front with a reverse appliqued lady bug...and yes I know it looks like a watermelon...I just haven't found a good head for it yet!

Now this is a recycled pair of my husbands jeans!!! I have had a HUGE box full of jeans in the back of my husbands closet for the last 6 or 7 years....all too small for him...but he is gonna get back in them...at some point in the future. (Yeah right!) Anyways during a cleaning spree I come across this box and decide to repurpose some of these jeans for crafts! And much to my surprise they just nearly fit my little girl around her tummy! So me in my craftiness, cut off the legs, sewed a piece of elastic along the back waistline and added a nice little gathered strip of material...and you have a super cute skirt!

This is one of my favorites. Just an embellished tee shirt. I used the reverse Applique method with two layers of fabric, turquoise is an scrap of tee shirt material and pink is just cotton. I sewed my desired shape onto the tee shirt and then cut out the layers that I wanted to show the material underneath! Then I embellished with a little sparkle...gems glued all the way around the cross and "Grace" written with glitter paint!

This is called a handkerchief shirt if I am not mistaken! So simple really. You take two large squares of material (the pattern I found recommended 16"....I used 24" so that shirt would be a little longer). Cut you squares in half creating 4 large triangles. Hem the short sides and sew the long side around the base of your cropped tee shirt. Because I made mine bigger than I was supposed to it made a really neat looking layered effect in the back of the shirt. If I make another one like this I will put that layering towards the front of the shirt. I also embellished the front with small pieces of the bottom material with the reverse applique technique.

This is just one of my Twirly Girly dresses....I was gonna embellish the front of this tee shirt...but Tool Man likes things plain and asked me to make this "without all that stuff on her chest!" So I made her another shirt with all the stuff he didn't like!

A little bit of ruffles down the front of this tee with the leftover material from above dress and you have yourself a super cute shirt!

Now this is the last I have a picture of....I have another reverse applique tee shirt and another dress in a different style....but can't seem to find the pictures at this time! The black shirt turned out to be my favorite! I really wanted it to be a dress but didn't have enough material....black print is actually an Women's Plus size border skirt that I found at Goodwill for 99 cents! And I cut it up to make the tiers of this skirt.

I found the pics....and happend to find pics on reverse applique so that I can do a tutorial! Yeah me!

My version of the popular maxi dresses.

Butterfly reverse applique..torturial coming later today!

Just so you know...none of these outfits or tops cost more than a few dollars a piece. So of the material was given to me...the rest I picked up at garage sales and Goodwill over the course of 2 or 3 months. All of the tees were picked up at garage sales for a quarter a piece.

As to the rest of her wardrobe....we have lots of basic colored shorts and leggings. I did get her a new pair of shoes...and had budgeted in the cost of a new pair....however luck found me a pair of brand new Nike's at a garage sale for $3. The only things that I have actually had to go buy are her bras, panties and socks!

Now I am looking for Juniors Size 13/14 Jeans and Capri...because I found out by accident that size fits her in the waist and she will have pants to wear this winter! And the search goes on!

How do you save money on your kids clothes for school???

God Bless
Mama D

Crafty Letters

noreply@blogger.com (Mama D) — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 20:33:00 +0000

Crafty Letters...super easy...can be made any way you want....mmm...oh the possibilities!

Now me...I was looking for letters to spell out my baby's name to hang over his crib. I didn't want to use the paper mache ones that you can paint or decoupage...I don't live close to a craft store and didn't want to order them online. I didn't want the wooden ones...for the same reason...I suppose I could have gotten one of my menfolk to cut the letters out for me...it's not like we don't have the supplies or tools to do so...however since getting one of the to take out the trash for me is a chore...I chose not to fight that battle!

Out of all my options I chose to use fabric as my medium! I have scraps from various projects running out my ears. I also knew that if Little Boy decided to grab one later in life and it went in his mouth...then no harm done! I also wanted to create something that could be used throughout his childhood if need be..I don't like things that I can't use for more than one purpose...it just seems wasteful to me! As our child will be sharing the bedroom with my husband and myself for the first year or so I also wanted his "corner" to at least coordinate with the current decor. Our bedroom is done in navy blues, maroons, and creams. So that is not really a difficult task!

I choose scraps of homespun cotton and denim for accents. When I originally made these letters I use an old pair of Tool Man's jeans...thinking that the faded and worn denim would rag the way I wanted it to....unfortunately I made two mistakes....one the denim was too heavy weighted and I got too happy with the sewing machine making my project overly complicated!

SEE! The one on the right was my first attempt at making these letters...you can't even see the cute fabric underneath the denim! However the letter on the left has just enough texture and contrast to be cute!

Now to start this project I got on my favorite Print Shop program and found a font that I liked and printed out each letter on a piece of card stock. I then cut each letter out...and made sure they looked "right". I didn't care for the J on the font that I used so ended up adjusting it a bit and making it look more J-like.

Next I assembled my supplies....I used scrap material, homespun cotton and denim. (on my first set I put a layer of batting in there two but later decided that it really wasn't needed!)

Next lay out each letter on your fabric and cut out three layers...two of your denim and one of cotton.

Now this is of my first attempt and shows the layer of batting....however you get the idea...just make sure when you cut out the denim you have right sides together....or vice versa...that way everything looks nice on the back to!

OK once everything is cut out...put your layers together and pin!

See you want a denim layer, cotton, unneeded batting and denim. Once everything is pinned you want to sew. I used a straight stitch and sewed a 1/4" seam all around each letter. This will hold your material together and allow you to cut out the inside.

Now for the tedious part....you want to get a very pointy sharp pair of scissors and carefully but out the inside top layer of denim from each letter. Try to leave an equal amount of material on either side of your stitching.

Now for the fun part....you want to go around the outside of each letter, cutting through all layers and clip about every 1/4" to 1/2" and go around the top inside layer of denim only and clip. Just don't clip that seam...get close but not close enough to clip through.

To finish you want to get these wet...if it were a blanket or something big I would tell you to wash it... but considering the size I just ran mine under the tap water in the sink and then threw them in the dryer for about 15 minutes! This will cause all that clipped material to "rag"! Making your letters super dimensional! I went back over all of mine when they were dry and trimmed up anything that looked too messy. Then all I had to do was attach them to the walls...I used thumb tacks temporarily...but will come up with something baby proof later on!

I just love them....and they look so cute over crib! The original idea came from another blogger who made these out of just cotton material....and used them to teach their toddler the ABC's ....unfortunately I have misplaced the original site! But there are many ways to modify this idea for many different applications!

God Bless,
Mama D

Chicken Coop!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama D) — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 01:34:00 +0000

Well my wonderful Tool Man has also been busy this summer! One of the things that we had to do was build a chicken coop for my flock of chickens. We started out with 25 chicks and have 18 hens and one rooster left. Unfortunately a hungry Mama Cat found a way to get in our holding pen and had herself a little feast with 6 of my chickens! So the plans to move the chickens became a priority!

My hubby had already begun cleaning an area on one of the buildings around our house....luckily it already had a good roof and back wall! All he had to do was create side walls and front wall and door of course!

Lucky for us my granddaddy doesn't believe in throwing anything away...and he was able to use the sides of and old cotton trailer to build the remaining sides of the coop. Between the Tool Man and my Daddy I had a chicken coop in a couple of days! It amazed me what they accomplished with scrap tin sheets, wire to repair the chicken wire on the sides of the trailer and some old wood! I think the only thing they bought were the hinges and handle for the door!

My hard working Tool Man!!! And an inside view of the back wall of the coop!

After research and much advice to give my girls a perch up off the ground! So the Tool man put together this perch for me! The top and bottom is reinforce with a piece of sucker rod...and the rest is just 1"X6" boards and 1 1/2" dowel rods. He suspended this from the ceiling with heavy grade wire then secured it the the back wall with screws so that it wouldn't sway as the chickens got up and down!

The Tool Man also rigged this gravity feeder for me! When the chickens were little we had the traditional feeders...little tray with the holes in it...but they were always filling it up with their bedding and covering up their feed...and considering the floor of this coop is sand...I didn't want that! So Tool Man took a 5 gallon bucket (that he got for free!) and cut a hole in the bottom of it...suspend it from the ceiling over a tray...and now I have a feeder that I only have to fill up about every two weeks! The 5 gallon bucket holds about a 25 lb. bag of feed! Tool Man set it up on an old tire to try to keep the sand outta the feed. And this works really well. All I have to do is move the bucket forward to fill the tray everyday! That makes it so much easier on this pregnant woman!

Now there is nothing special about my waterer...other than the fact that I LOVE it and my Daddy got it for me! I tried to use the 1 gallon waterers. I had two of them and my poor chickens kept running out of water...I was going out there twice a day to keep them going! And with over 100 degree heat daily...water is very important for them! Besides all that the waterers that I had were the type that you filled from the bottom...which means I was taking them off the hooks, taking them outside the coop filling them up, carrying them back into the coop and rehanging them...sigh...cumbersome prego, with bad balance, uneven ground and heavy waterers...not a good combo. So with a plea to my Daddy (who helps take care of the chickens...it's a joint venture!) He went an bought me this wonderful 3 gallon waterer! The lid lifts right off and all I have to do is stick a water hose down in there and fill it up! Now I do rinse out the bottom of the tray daily...but it is still super easy! And my Tool Man even ran a hose inside the coop with a cut off valve on it so I didn't have to walk over the uneven ground to get to the faucet!

This is our latest addition! Nesting boxes! My Daddy already had these...all they needed was a little repair work and we were ready to go! I got the pleasure of helping Tool Man hang it on the wall of the coop this afternoon! We had some leftover bedding from when they were little it is ready for the eggs! Just hoping some of my girls decide to start laying soon!

All in all I have a good looking flock of chickens! By the way red buckets were put in so that the chickens didn't have a far to jump to the ground from the perch....was advised that it might crack their eggs...would rather be safe than sorry! And thanks to my Tool Man and my Daddy...taking care of them is easy! I am just ready for some eggs....bring on the fresh eggs please!

God Bless,
Mama D

I'm Still Here!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama D) — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 03:20:00 +0000

Well Folks...it's been a while since I last posted! I am sorry...life simply got in the way! Down here in Texas we have been having record break heat on a daily basis...very few days have we seen without going over the century mark. And we are also suffering with a drought! We actually got just a little rain about 10 days ago...and were very grateful. They cut our hay last night and we got a little over a bale an acre...which was excellent considering the weather conditions.

I am so sorry folks....being Texan and part of a cattle operation...the weather conditions are rather important...and not just an inconvenience in our household! I'll quit rambling now.

As most of you know I am pregnant! We found out the first part of June that it is a little boy and we have named him Elijah! I have been busy at the sewing machine trying to get ready for his arrival!

This is my first set of cloth diapers...tutorial to come soon. I made 24 to get us started! And intend to make that many more in the next size up, for later on. These are supposed to go up to 20 pounds. I had fun collecting my supplies at various garage sales and Goodwill! These were all made out of used receiving blankets, tee shirts and old cloth diapers! And to save money and keep the versatile I left off the speciality Velcro and snaps that are recommended...and will be using old fashioned diaper pins and vinyl covers.

I also convinced my darling Tool Man to set up his crib a little early so that I could have fun nesting and decorating! I was inspired to make some kind of wall decoration for my son....but I didn't want anything that cost money or could be pulled down and hurt him when he gets to that stage in life!

The letters of his name were made from scrap material leftover from projects of days gone by. And the cross stitch piece was made by yours truly several years ago...simply because I loved the pattern....never did give it away like I normally do my projects....now I know why I saved it!

I have also had time to make Bear a new tee shirt dress since Easter. However I did learn a very important lesson! Dresses with very full skirts on little girls inspire twirling....which is really cute...however it can get rather embarrassing when said girl does it during church services...in front of the entire congregation! So when I made the new dress it wasn't quite as twirly!

But still fun to wear!

I also had time to make a little something for me too! I have enjoyed this pregnancy more than I thought I would....being over 100 pounds lighter makes a HUGE difference! And when I started showing I wanted a "Baby Bump" shirt...but me being me didn't want to pay for one...and since Baby is due in October I fell in love with the ones that say "Momma's Lil' Pumkin' Coming Soon!"

I used a technique called reverse applique...and thought my "Lil' Pumpkin" Shirt turned out rather cute! I had so much fun with the reverse applique technique that I have my teen age sister gathering up her plain tees to make cool new shirts for school! Also have several plans for Bear as well. And with school starting a month from today...I need to get busy!

Have you noticed yet the lack of cooking mentioned??? Well refer to my first paragraph as to how hot it is outside! I have been doing as little as possible in the kitchen the last couple of months! I generally hit it in spurts! And do as much as possible during that time! Considering the fact that my feet and legs are now swelling due to my pregnancy ... this will probably become the norm for a while! I am hoping to get my freezer well stock with freezer meals for the month of October and November! That way neither Tool Man or I have much to do kitchen wise!

Oh and we also had several birthdays at the beginning of this month! I had more fun making cakes!! I think I ended up making three in one week and a double batch of fried pies! I will have a post on the homemade fried pies, too!

Well the top picture is my version of an Over The Hill cake! We had three cousins at our family reunion...all born a month apart...all turning 40 this year! With a little help from my Tool Man and the Dollar Store this was an easy cake to decorate! The second is of course my Bear's 7th birthday cake! I realized that I had made all my girls a Barbie Doll cake at some point through out the years...and since Bear is into Barbie....it seemed like a good choice! She sure did love it! By the way the dolls arms are in the air because she held a banner that said Happy Birthday! My teenager also celebrated her Sweet 16 this year...but she is not into the decorated cakes. Why? When she can pick some kind of decadent dessert! So she got Homemade Hot Fudge Cake! Which I failed to get a picture of except with my phone!

Add a weeks worth of crafts at VBS and two 16 hour car trips to all of that and it has been a busy summer! Right now, except for getting ready for school, it has calmed down a bit, so I will have a little more time to get my thoughts together and get all these post written that I have picture for! You will be hearing from me again really soon!
God Bless,
Mama D

Twice Baked Potatoes

noreply@blogger.com (Mama D) — Tue, 24 May 2011 19:41:00 +0000

Twice Baked Potatoes are one of my families "special" treats! However they can be a really cool freezer side dish or meal! I particularly like this recipe because it can be prepared ahead of time for as many or a few as you need. And IF you have extras they can be wrapped, frozen and reheated for a later meal!

Now this is one of those recipe that I watched a cooking show on how to make our favorite comfort foods healthier but still taste the same! And this is actually one of those recipes that can be altered in that manner and they still taste great!!! I have long since altered the recipe to suit my families taste and budget....so it is similar to the original...but has some of the good stuff added back in!

Twice Baked Potatoes

Now I normally use the 'regular' sized potatoes for this dish because we eat them as a side...however if you are using it as a meal use the larger bakers or plan on cutting the larger potatoes in half and counting as two portions!

You will need:
Jelly Roll pan or Cookie Sheet
# of potatoes (1 per person)

Thoroughly wash and scrub all potatoes. Dry with a paper towel. Puncture potatoes with a fork or knife a couple of times and bake uncovered in a 350 or 400 degree oven until soft. You want them uncovered so that the skins get a little on the crispy side! I have also rubbed mine with oil and kosher salt for added flavor.

Remove from oven and allow to cool until you can easily handle without burning yourself.

For smaller potatoes slice the top of the potato off...discard top...for larger potatoes cut in half lengthwise.

Scoop out insides, leaving enough around the edges for the shells to hold their shape. Place insides in a separate bowl.

Place shells back onto baking sheet. I normally line mine with foil and spray with oil to make the clean up process faster. And it's okay if they are a little crowded...won't hurt them a bit!

Now to deal with the insides!
This is where I am gonna tell you what I put in and any variations that I have used in the past.....but you put what YOU and your family like into the pot....this recipe is really about the process not the ingredients.

The first thing I do is add plenty of salt and pepper! This dish can be totally ruined if you don't season properly! Bland is not a good thing here! You want a really good combination of flavors!

Now this recipe was made for about 15 people...so I have some big amounts of the following ingredients....if you are only making for a family of 4...adjust accordingly!

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup buttermilk (and this can actually replace your butter altogether...for a more low fat version...omit the butter)
1 cup sour cream (I was out when I made this so I used plain yogurt and not one person....especially my overly "I don't eat yogurt!" Daddy couldn't tell the difference...snicker snicker!)
1 cup of grated cheese (flavor of your choice here....sharp cheddar makes a really good addition...but all I had was mild cheddar)
3 or 4 slices of crisp bacon, crumbled (adjust this to taste as well! I have also been know to use turkey bacon (again Daddy never knew) or those soft bacon bits when I forgot to make my bacon ahead of time)

Mix all these ingredients with the potato insides. It should be kinda goopey! You don't want it too dry (just add a little extra buttermilk or sour cream) or to soupy.....it need to hold it shape. To avoid it being to goopey/soupy I add the buttermilk a little at a time toward the end of my mixing.

Stuff each shell with your not so goopey potato mixture....now with all the added ingredients you are gonna have plenty of filling....I normally end up with extra...so don't be afraid to heap it up!!!!

Okay....at this point you can do one of several things.

1. You can wrap these in plastic wrap separately, place in Ziploc freezer bag...and freeze. When you get ready to serve them, merely take out the desired number of potatoes, thaw, top with grated cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

2. Cover with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate over night. Set out on counter about 30 minutes before topping with grated cheese and baking at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

3. Immediately top with grated cheese and bake in a 350 degree over for 25 to 30 minutes while snacking on your left over filling and beating the kids off with a wooden spoon!

Regardless of the option you choose....

This is what it should look like when all baked and yummy! And don't forget IF you have leftovers...wrap well...freeze...thaw and reheat in the microwave!
I made these for Mother's Day....and as I was determined to do as little cooking as possible that day I made mine on Saturday and all I had to do Sunday was let them come to room temp. and bake!!!

Praying that you have a blessed week!
Mama D

Baked Bacon

noreply@blogger.com (Mama D) — Tue, 24 May 2011 17:56:00 +0000

Baking Your Bacon

Now I have a short story to tell you....I used to work at a local convenience store that had a small deli counter/burrito counter attached to it! The burrito counter specialized in homemade tortilla, breakfast and lunch burritos! I worked on the other side making sandwiches, slicing deli meat and cheeses and making hamburgers, BUT when the burrito side needed help....I normally got to do the grunge work! Now the burrito side was staff by a very cool group of Hispanic ladies! All but one of them was shorter than I am and every single one of them could run circles around me working!

What they didn't know was that while the were running circles around me and having me do grunt work....I was watching and learning! Now their breakfast burritos are the best that money can buy in this area! The combination includes bacon, sausage, ham, eggs, fried potatoes, homemade pico de gallo and homemade hot sauce! All of which I either prepped for cooking or cooked for serving at one time or another!

One of the things that I remember the most...that I had never seen before was that they BAKED their bacon!?! And I thought that was the coolest thing that I had ever seen! I mean ...yeah it splatters all over your oven...but I would rather have nice evenly cooked bacon that I didn't have to stand over and get burnt by and clean my oven than the alternative!!! And it saves so much time!! You can have your bacon cooking while you make your other items on the menu!

So here is what I learned...

Line one jellyroll pan with parchment paper OR place one cooling rack on a jelly roll pan (I don't like cleaning the cooling rack afterwards, so I normally go with the parchment paper method).

Lay out one pound of bacon. (and it really doesn't matter if the bacon is touching or slightly over lapping...it's gonna shrink as it cooks)

Place in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for appox. 20-25 minutes! The amount of time depends on how you like your bacon!

We like ours full cooked...and a little on the soft side! I suggest you set your timer for about 15 minutes and check every couple of minutes until it reaches your preference!

Now remove from your pan and let drain on paper towels like normal!
I allow the grease to cool for a few minutes before pouring into my storage container for seasoning later! (yes I am an old fashioned cook that still uses bacon drippings as seasoning!)

Hope you have a great rest of the week!
God Bless,
Mama D

Deveiled Eggs

noreply@blogger.com (Mama D) — Wed, 11 May 2011 18:40:00 +0000

Devieled Eggs

Well considering I did my fair share of the cooking for Mother's Day...and I did some family faves. I thought I would share with you my recipe for devieled eggs. This is one of my husbands favorite treats when we have family meals. And I have to tell you this story....

When Tool Man and I were first married and having one of our first family get togethers...I was asked to make Deveiled Eggs. I of course did what I had always done when making deveiled eggs...when I got my yolk mixture made I took a small bite of it to the man of the house (I was used to this being my Daddy) to taste. Now my Daddy would have tasted the mixture and told me if I need to add anything to it before filling the egg white shells...salt, pepper, vinegar...I had made my mixture the way I had been taught. But that is NOT what my new husband did! He wanted me to fill an egg shell with a big ol' heaping spoonful of yolk...so that he could really see what they tasted like....then he proceeded to tell me they didn't taste right! He said and I quote, "They don't taste like Mom's." OK at this point most newly married wives would have broke down in tears...not me! I picked up the phone, called his Mother, told her what he had done and said (which she was appalled at!), once I got her to quit apologizing I asked her how she made her deveiled eggs so that I could adjust my recipe to make my new hubby happy! Come to find out it was really simple...she put a little sweet relish in hers and I had always used vinegar or dill pickle juice in mine.
So here is our version (a combination of mine and my sweet Momma-In-Laws) recipe for deveiled eggs!

Devieled Eggs

I made this recipe to feed 13 people. When I made these I always try to make an egg per person with a couple of extras just in case. I always have that one egg that won't peel pretty or splits down the middle...or that snitch that comes and wolfs down two or three before I even get them finished. I believe I ended up making 18 eggs for this batch.

Begin by boiling your eggs in salted water. The method I use for boiling eggs is pretty simple . I place all my eggs in a pan...size depends on how many eggs you are making...cover completely with water. Add 2 or 3 good pinches of salt. And turn on my on burner on medium to medium high heat. When water begins to boil I set my timer for 10 minutes. When timer goes off I turn the heat off on the stove. Now if I have the time I let them cool in the pan, drain the water and refrigerate over night. (They peel easier cold) But if I don't have time I drain the hot water and run cold water over until the eggs are cool enough to handle.

Then peel all of your eggs...rinse with cool water to remove any excess shells.
Cut each egg in half lengthwise and remove yolk. Place all your yolks in a bowl and place egg whites on your tray, plate....whatever you are using!

I use a fork to mash all of my yolks together, they should be very small crumbles! I then add a good layer of salt and pepper (appox. 1 tsp each). And mix!

I then add a heaping tablespoon of yellow mustard, a heaping tablespoon of Miracle Whip (or mayo...use what you prefer) and a tablespoon of sweet relish. I really don't measure this....you kind have to eyeball it...it all really depends on how much you are making....use less if you are making few eggs and vice versa!

Mix this well with a spoon or fork. It should have a paste like consistency. If it is too dry add a little more mustard or mayo, if you are still having issues add about a teaspoon of vinegar or the juice off of some dill pickles.
At this point I normally have someone taste test my mixture....adjust to your own preferences, just be careful not to let it get too dry or too runny!

Now because this was for Mother's Day and I wanted it to look nice...I used a pastry bag and tip to fill my eggs.

I am trying to show you in this pic to use a tip with a large opening! If not you will spend more time fighting the clumps of egg that didn't get completely mashed...than you will filling your whites! (personal experience and over 100 eggs to fill! I know what I am talking about!) You can use a Ziploc bag and tip or just a spoon to fill the whites...it's your choice and what you are comfortable with!

To finish sprinkle your eggs with Paprika! Or garnish of choice! I have always used paprika...but I have to leave a few eggs plain for my Grandma!

Enjoy! God Bless,
Mama D

Vanilla Update...and Smaller Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Mama D) — Wed, 11 May 2011 18:06:00 +0000

Vanilla Update!

Well three months ago I made my first batch of homemade vanilla! I had been seeing recipes on the various blogs I follow for nearly a year....and I finally had the resources to start my first batch!

See I marked my kitchen calendar every month...so that I wouldn't forget to shake to jar (this was in my original instructions). However I have about decided that I need to put this notation on my desk calendar instead....I tend to look at that one daily...because I was busy outside all day I didn't get to it until today. I also need to put thing like when to water my plants down on that calendar! My Momma has this master list of things that she does on a monthly basis and beyond....I really need to start paying attention to stuff like that!

My jar of vanilla after three months! As you can see I have been marking off the months on my label when I go shake/check on my jar! That was one of my more brilliant ideas!

Now....for the new recipe! One of the rather daunting things for me about making this vanilla was finding vanilla beans that I could afford, that were good quality and would make the amount of vanilla that was required in my recipe....my recipe calls for 3/4 of a pound of beans! And when you go shopping the recommended beans are quite expensive! Another issue that I thought of...the normal person that cooks is not going to be able to use a GALLON of vanilla very quickly! I mean seriously....even me, a person that makes most things from scratch and cooks on a daily basis doesn't use that much vanilla in a year. The only reason I was willing to make this much was because I know I will be using it for Christmas gifts!

BUT I was reading the Ma/June 2011 issue of Cooking with Paula Deen...and looky what I found!

The same recipe cut down to just a cup of vodka and 2 or 3 vanilla beans!!! Woo Hoo...I was excited! It just never occurred to me to cut the recipe down to a more workable size! And that other up side...you can buy 2 or 3 of the REALLY good vanilla beans for a WHOLE lot less than you can buy 50 or so that the big recipe calls for!

The only real difference that I saw in Paula's recipe was that mine recommend the vanilla stay in a cool dark place for 6 months....hers says 2! Basically everyone says something different....and the truth of the matter is...the longer the beans stay in the vodka...the better and stronger your vanilla is gonna be! And even with this recipe you would have enough to share with a friend!!! So if you weren't to keen on the whole gallon of vanilla thing and just want to experiment before you commit yourself... try the following recipe!!!

Homemade Vanilla Extract
1 cup vodka (remember it can be the cheap stuff)
2 to 3 vanilla beans, split lengthwise (leave about 1/2" at top so bean stays together)

In a clean glass bottle or jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine vodka and vanilla beans. Seal and place in a cool dark place for at least 2 months before use.
Credit-May/June 2011 issue Cooking with Paula Deen

MMmmm...I am wondering if there are other extracts you can make homemade...gonna have to do some research! Anyone have any recipes???

God Bless,
Mama D

Mother's Day and A Day Working Cows!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama D) — Tue, 10 May 2011 00:31:00 +0000

Well Happy Mother's Day to all my fellow Mama's out there! I must say I had a great one!!! I spent most of the day Saturday cooking so that I could spend Sunday visiting and enjoying the day! My sweet hubby and baby Bear let me sleep in while they ran to Wal-Mart to pick out gifts and run by my favorite donut shop for breakfast! I then loaded up my van with all the goodies I had made on Saturday and headed to MY Momma's house to visit with her, my Grandma, Aunt Flossie, Uncle Monroe, Uncle David and cousin Billy Jack! We had lots to be thankful for and lots of people to fellowship with! It sure did help that Momma and I learned a long time ago to share the cooking responsibilities when we have lots of family in like that!

I even managed to wake up to an entirely clean kitchen on Mother's Day(I am not real good about keeping up with my dishes....I tend to clean Before I cook instead of After!), so waking up to all my dishes clean and them staying clean all day was really a treat for me! And I have some really cool pics...but I left my camera over at my Momma's house! I also took pics of all the cool things that I cooked on Saturday so that I could share them with you this week....and guess where all the pics are!?! So I will get my camera from my Momma in the morning and hopefully have some cool cooking posts to share with you the remaining of the week!

Today I had a entirely new experience.... I would describe myself as a girly country girl to most folks! I grew up with the mentality that when the menfolk were out working, I was to provide cold drinks and good hot food when they decided to come in the house...and otherwise keep myself in the house and out of earshot and harms way! Well things have changed around here and it is not like that anymore. I personally know one very amazing woman (whom I had the pleasure of working with today) that can work side by side with her husband and is not afraid of hard work. My own husband is slowly but surely encouraging me to be an active part of our family farm operation. Today I got to see first hand what all goes on vaccinating the cows and calves, as well as changing the bulls to steers!

This is one of our calves that got a little confused... I don't think he knew which way was up by this point!

I of course being 4 months pregnant was well protected while my husband, Daddy, and the couple that was kind enough to come and help us did all the hard work! I was given the task of keeping the paperwork from under a shade tree on a chair with a bottle of water! And my hubby and Daddy making sure I was okay ever so often! Everyone else did the hard work, while I sat on my tush! And then since it was supposed to hit over 100 degrees today I got sent in the house after about 4 hours! I also made it my job to make sure everyone stayed well hydrated! My guys tend to forget that little fact while out in the heat and then pay for it later...so whenever we had a break I put a bottle of water or Gatorade in their hands and made sure they drank!

When I got ran in the house I proceeded to set out lunch for everyone....sandwiches on homemade bread with all the fixing's! But I did find the whole process interesting! We (I say that very loosely) vaccinated all the cows, sprayed something in their ears and poured something on their backs! And that was the easy part! Then came the calves! Those had all that done to them, plus ear tags, and for all those little boys....well they got their minds changed for them....in the most humane way we possibly could! I am kinda glad I was pregnant for this round and just had to watch! It was hot, sometimes scary, sometimes frustrating work....and I had the easy job! And to think we have to repeat everything here in a couple of weeks!

And the adventures at our little farm just keep getting more interesting! I sadly lost six of my chickens this weekend due to a very well fed cat! Luckily we figured out what was happening before it got out of hand! And have now "fixed" the problem!

Hoping and praying everyone has a wonderful and blessed week!
God Bless,
Mama D

Mother's Day Gift!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama D) — Fri, 06 May 2011 16:33:00 +0000

Well as Mother's Day is coming in a few days...it's time that most people at least tell their Mother thank you for all that they are and have done in our lives! The older I get the more I appreciate and love my Momma! She is my best friend, my solid rock, my counselor, my greatest support system, my biggest cheerleader, my first love and so many other things that I would bore you to put them all on here! My Momma is very near and dear to my heart! We have had our normal family ups and downs, everyone does when somepeople have growing up to do (namely ME!) but through it all she is always there! So....that being said (wipe the little tear from your eye) I always like to do something special for my Momma for Mother's Day.

I will tell you my Momma is not an easy person to buy for! Run of the mill gifts just don't cut it with her! I mean cards, pretty flowers, balloons...she just looks at you and has this expression on her face like "I know I raise you with a more creative mind than that!" So my creative side tend to show and I always have to take my Momma's interests and hobbies into account when making her gifts!

I will tell you one thing...my Momma LOVES pictures! She was scrapbooking before scrapbooking was cool! She used to keep the wrapping paper from our birthdays and cut out cool things like Papa Smurf and Strawberry Shortcake to decorate our photo albums! And this year Momma requested that my brother, sister and I have group pictures made for her Mother's Day gift! Well due to life events and the fact that my brother lives 2 1/2 hours away....that hasn't happened yet.

She also loves flowers! But not the kind for in the house...she likes rose bushes for her flower beds around the house. And for the last couple of years I have bought her rose bushes for Mother's Day in different colors of course...I even put my brother and sister's name on the card (as Big Sis that's my job!). But this year I have already give her a rose bush for another reason...so I don't want to duplicate.

So what's a girl to do???

Well we wait for inspiration! And on Monday it came! I recieved a Mother's Day Gift Idea from the Pioneer Woman website!

This is a pendant called the Mother's Tree of Life. Each of the little beads represents your children and this is a pendant worn on a 18" chain. I thought this was cool...but not as jewelry...and of course my creative brain goes....I bet I can make that! I have wire, I have beads...all I need is a circle...mmmm....

So Mama D swings through the jewelry department at our local Wal-mart while grocery shopping and finds some really pretty bangle bracelets!

Now these came in a set...there were 2 wider and about 5 of the skinny one's like these...I went ahead and bought a little nicer set, because much to my delight I could actually fit my hand through the remaining braclets! (You discover cool stuff like that when you have lost alot of weight! It's really neat when it happens...I put them on and just jingled the rest of the day!)
I also went to my computer to do a little research! I knew just about everyone's birthstone in my family...but a couple of my guys! For some reason remembering my sister, mother and daughter's birthstone is easy....even my dads (mainly because it's also his favorite color!) But my brother and husband...I had never really thought about it! So...off I went!

Considering my Momma, I knew that just us kids would not be sufficent, #1 she would be insulted if I left off her grand babies, #2 my hubby Tool Man is just as much one of her kids as I am.....so I had to modify the concept of the Tree of Life. I made it more a family thing than a Mother's thing...but since I was making it...I could do that!

So I started out with about 10 pieces of sliver wire, cut about 12" long ( I wanted plenty of leeway) Now in my crafting I have found that you can't go wrong with a spool of silver floral wire. I can't afford to go the "real" sliver route, most of my stuff is what I can find locally, and considering it's not going to be worn, I really don't think it matters. However if you choose to make something similar...use what every you like or have available to you!

Sorry I forgot to turn the flash off on my camera...so the pics are not that great this time!

What is showing in this pic is that I started about 3" from the bottom of my wire and started wrapping one piece of the wire around the rest to form the trunk.

Not that you can see it...but I then separated my wire into twos, spread them out and wrapped them tightly around the bottom of my bangle bracelet. If you refer to the inspiration picture you will see the "roots" of the tree kinda spread out and it has all been wrapped as two pieces. Well I tried that, and thought it looked tacky, I tried doing two or three together and that looked tacky...I finally settled on just one strand at a time, working from the center out! the wrapping over lapped just a little, but not bad and I was able to control where my "roots" layed.

Okay...I now have my "roots" and my "trunk" all I need to add are the "branches"! First I strung beads representing my Momma and Daddy onto the trunk of the tree (because they are the base). Then I branched out with me and my hubby, on one set of branches, and our children on another, with my brother and sister completing the other side of the tree! This is were the creative part comes in...you try to make wire look like tree branches...doesn't really take skill...but it helps if you mess up a couple of times so that the wire is not straight! What you end up with is something that looks like this!

Now I left my wires in a manner that if Momma wants me to as we add members to our family we can add their bead! I already added the bead for our new little munchkin (due oct 17th)...but you know how kids are he/she may come in September or he/she could wait till November! Both kinda scary concepts for this Momma....but you never know???
The orginal inspriation piece was a piece of jewelry...as I used a bangle bracelet as the base...mine is a little big for that...so mine is meant as something to hang on a mirror or in a window! I am gonna let Momma decide what she wants to do with it and I will add the appropiate hanger! I see it with clear fishing wire hanging on her bathroom mirror so that she will see it everyday...or maybe suspended over the kitchen sink!

Now as my Momma is my biggest fan...and always reads my blog posts...I had to tell her she is not allowed to read this one till after Sunday lunch! It never fails that she and I cook together on Mother's Day! You would think our guys would have pity on us one year and cook for us!

Hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day Weekend! Oh this project only took me about 30 minutes to put together...so it would be great for one of those last minute gifts!!! Use your imagination and let what you have inspire you!
Total cost to me...not counting the materials I had on hand...about $8...but...I also got some really cool bangles out of the project!

God Bless!
Mama D

Proud Day For My Home Town

noreply@blogger.com (Mama D) — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 03:32:00 +0000

Today was a red letter day for my hometown! We were proud to host the First Lady of Texas Anita Perry! She was here to welcome us into the Texas Main Street Program. Something for which our town has been striving!

I was honored to play a small role in welcoming out First lady. I was asked to provide a tray of food for the reception held in Mrs. Perry's honor. After much deliberation and advice from family I decided on a tray of mini muffins. A smaller version of what I normally sell. I made Mini Banana Nut Muffins, Strawberry Nut Muffins and Mini Rolls.

After arranging and rearranging my tray and labeling everything I failed to take a photo....but I am sure that my friends here in our little town will let me know how it all worked out! I also intended on attending the ceremony, but this being Texas...the wind decided to blow all day! And my allergies being what they are ...even stepping outside to water my garden and feed and water the chickens gave me a terrible headache! So I decided that it would be best if baby bump and I just stayed home! I am looking forward to reading a full report in our Sunday's newspaper though!

Linky to Story

Above is a link to the story! Hope you enjoy!
God Bless,
Mama D

Updated Garden Pics

noreply@blogger.com (Mama D) — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 02:14:00 +0000

Well I have been super excited this week because my garden is just sprouting away!!! I got out tonight and took some more pics because I am so proud! Also my Daddy bought me some tomato and pepper plants to replace those that I lost last week due to my lack of knowledge and the wind/sand storm we had! We took extra care and placed 5 gallon buckets with the bottom cut out around each little plant! Looks kinda funny but both my Daddy and Daddy In Law say that it will do the trick!

My Corn and Squash!!! Daddy planted the squash with the corn??? Said they could grown in the same row....I just think I am gonna have a lot of squash!

Green Beans ....aren't they sweet?

Corn and green beans....theory is that pole beans will grow up corn stalks??? I am such a novice...I just do what I am told!

Baby Okra! Now my Carrots didn't come up...and this has happened another year...Don't know what it is about carrots....does anyone have any idea???

Tomato Plant in a bucket! All nice and protected!

All my buckets...with a plant in each one. Tomatoes and Bell Peppers and one Sweet Banana plant....I'm so proud!

Now this is Tool Man's experiment tubs...he took the extra seed that we had and put them in these syrup tubs (you have cows like we do....you have lots of syrup tubs). He got dirt....really good cow dirt aka cow poop...from the calf lot and used it pure. Not sure if this is too "hot" but we will see!

Hope you enjoyed the pics!
God Bless,
Mama D

Lemony Deliouciousness!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama D) — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 00:34:00 +0000

Lemon Delight!

As it is Easter weekend and time for family celebrations I have decided to share my super easy Lemon Delight recipe.

In my family everyone has a favorite dessert, Grandma likes cobblers, Daddy likes pies, Momma likes Chocolate cake, cookie bars or just plain ol' My Man Cookies, the teenager likes anything chocolate...and the list just goes on! I was asked to make the bread and dessert for today's lunch. And considering I am pregnant and have weird cravings I decided to indulge myself instead accommodating everyone else! I wanted something light, lemony and delicious!

So out came the recipe for my Grandma Edna's Lemon Delight! Now let me tell you, with just a little forethought this can be turned into an almost sugar free recipe....so dieters don't give up on me...this is one that you can make!!! You can also change the Lemon part to chocolate, butterscotch, pistachio.....whatever flavor of pudding you like!

Now here's what you do!

First start with a package of grahman crackers....I happened to have the kind with cinnamon on the tops of them but you can use plain or the kind that is already crushed in the box. (you'll need between 1 1/2 to 2 cups) I broke all of my crackers up and placed them in my food processor with about 2 tablespoons of sugar. Pulse until merely crumbs then add 1/4 cup of melted butter or margarine. Pulse to blend. Press into the bottom of a 9 X 13 casserole dish and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.
Note*** Now ladies if you don't have a food processor and your a needing to work off a little frustration....just put those crackers in a Ziploc bag a go to beating the crap out of them....and as an added bonus you'll burn some extra calories...if it's your hubby your frustrated with take the roll pin to the bag...it seriously helps! My men folk know not to mess with me when I start banging stuff on the counter tops....I am generally miffed at one of them!

This is what it should look like after being baked and cooled completely!

Now you want to start on your next layer....while the crust is being baked and cooled set out one or two 8 oz. packages of cream cheese to soften. Now as high as cream cheese is right now ($1.99 at the local grocery store) you might want to catch this on sale and have it stocked in the freezer! When crust is cooled....place cream cheese in bowl with 1/2 to 1 cup of powdered sugar (depending on weather you use 1 or 2 pkgs. of cream cheese) and a small container of whipped topping. Now I use two packages of cream cheese, 1 cup of powdered sugar and the whole container of whipped topping...but I like that layer a lot and had all the ingredients....however you can half all that and come out just fine!
Note*** This is one of those variations times...you can use reduced fat cream cheese and fat free sugar free whats the point in eating it whipped topping and you could use splenda instead of powdered sugar....but really folks if you are making dessert....MAKE DESSERT!
Also you can stop here and top it with a can of Cherry Pie filling and call it an Easy Cheesecake....but be sure to double everything like I did or your cheesecake layer will be kinda skimpy!!!

Spread Cream Cheese mixture over your crust...try to get a smooth as possible for the next yummy layer!

Next you need two small packages or one large package of your favorite pudding! Yes you can use sugar free and skim milk! I used what was in my pantry! I personally can't tell the difference in sugar free pudding and regular....so I generally buy the sugar free variety! Mix your pudding according to the PIE directions and pour this over your cream cheese layer!
Note***to save washing another bowl I used the same bowl I mixed the cream cheese up in .....beaters and all...because I don't like doing dishes and don't mind those little bits of cream cheese floating in my pudding....but you do what you want!

At this point I put plastic wrap over it and placed it in the fridge for the pudding to set. I left it in there overnight and didn't put the final topping on till right before serving. This normally the best way to transport this dessert...because the pudding won't stick to the plastic wrap the way whipped topping does!
However if you are serving it at home....or soon after making you merely need to let the pudding set and top with whipped topping (a whole small container) before cutting into squares and serving!

My Momma took this picture of her piece before happily devouring it at lunch today! Then she found the spoon that I spread the whipped topping with and enjoyed that too....but was "too old" to just lick the spoon! Snicker Snicker! Makes me want to go dig into the extras....but I told myself there was enough left that we could have it for dessert tomorrow too! And that would save me from making Buttermilk pies!

My Easter Menu this year is....Ham (cooked in the crock pot with a apple juice and brown sugar glaze), Candied Yams, Green Beans or Broccoli and Cheese?? and Homemade Rolls! With my lovely left over Lemon Delight for dessert! What are you making or eating....whatever the case may be???

God Bless and Happy Easter!
Mama D

$5 Easter Dress for the Bear!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama D) — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 21:48:00 +0000

Hi Folks,
Well let me tell you a little something about my Bear....she is chunky! Yes I am working on this....I do have her on a sort of diet...I watch her portions...try to make sure she eats healthy....I control her intake of sugar...but she is still chunky! And added to that she inherited her Daddy's chest! My 6 1/2 year old has a 38 inch chest! And it's not fat it's just that she is that thick in that area of her body. So pair that with the chunky factor....it is nearly impossible to find clothes that fit this child! I have had the hardest time the last two years find just basic school clothes! Now she is chunky enough I can't buy from the girl's section and the Junior department just scares me!

So......yet again I am grateful that I have a Crafty Momma that passed on her smarts and her genes when it comes to making stuff! My 6 year old loves to dress up on Sunday's! Now we go to a come as you are, dress up if you want to...but Jeans are fine kinda of church. So fancy dresses are not required. I normally get away with letting her wear a cute skirt and tee shirt on Sunday mornings....but this year the Easter Dress bug has hit my little girl! And she wanted a DRESS! I guess Momma did too because I started looking a good two months ago with no success! I finally decided that I would just have to make her one!

Unfortunately we live 50 miles away from the nearest fabric store and gas prices are high. So when I happened to be near a fabric store I was low on cash and when I had the cash I couldn't justify the gas money to get me there and back! Sigh! So what did I do....well I started digging in my material box! See one of my teenagers USED to be my little sister...and my Momma did sew for her occasionally...and when she got to big I got the leftover material that Momma didn't use..... But she only sewed for her when she was 3 or 4 years old and most of the pieces of material that I had were less than 2 yards!!

Yet another issue....mmm...what's a Mama D to do??? Well you start searching for patterns that use multiple pieces of material or ones that use less than what you have.....considering my chunky kid....I really didn't think that I would find one that took less than 3 or 4 yards of fabric.

Then the light bulb went off! I have always liked making my girls those tee shirt dresses! When the Bear was a little toot I made her several! All you need was a tee shirt and a yard of fabric that matched! Easy Peasy!

But I wanted to do something a little fancier for Easter.....so I decided to mix my tee shirt dress idea with a tiered (some people call them broomstick) skirt! And because my kid is chunky and we like to camouflage that as much as possible I wanted it to be high waisted (or empire waisted).

First off you have to do some math for your skirt. I measured my daughter's chest/bust line and used that as a substitute for the waistline measurement.
OK let me back up a bit ....if you make the skirt a separate piece you have to allow for a casing for the elastic and you measure from you person's waistline....I made a empire waisted dress and attached a premade tee shirt to the top as a bodice...so I started at her bust line!

You take your bust line/waistline measurement and double it. Bear's was 38 inches so it came out to be 76 inches. This is how big you want your first tier. For the second tier you double that first tier's measurement and the same for the third.

Now to get how wide to make each tier, you want to measure your person and find out how long you want your skirt. I wanted a 30 inch skirt so my tiers were 10 inches each.

I started with this tee shirt that I found at Walmart for $5! It fits my daughter well across the chest but is a little tight across the belly. So I decided a high waist that deemphized this area would be best!

I laid the tee shirt on my Rotary mat and measured three inches down from the bottom of the sleeve. That gave me plenty of seam allowance for attaching the skirt! Now just set that aside till later and save the bottom of the tee shirt for another project!

I found three pieces of material that I could use for this dress. I had a little less than a yard of this white piece and a little over two yards of a yellow piece and a green. Now the process and steps are the same for each piece of material so I am only going to write out these instructions once instead of repeating my self. If you have any questions please leave a comment and I will be happy to answer!
This first pic is showing that I cut just a little off the bottom of my piece of material to make sure it was even. This is always the first step I take anytime I use my rotary mat and cutter....if things are even in the first place it will save you a headache in the long run!

Then I cut as many 10" strips as I could out of each piece of material.
**Note....Most of you can skip the next step or two...since I was using what I had and didn't buy what I needed I didn't think I would have enough of each color to make my tiers so I was going to mix them to get enough....however when it came down to it I had enough to do each tier in a separate color....so I added some work to myself...but learned a neat trick in the process!

I then cut each strip into as many 10 inch by 11 inch squares that I could. As I said earlier I thought I was gonna mix them all up and the figured out that I didn't have too! I ended up with 16 white squares, 32 Yellow squares and 28 Green Squares.
***Note...OK I did make a mistake here....I should have made all my Green squares a little bigger to allow for the hem...I didn't so I just made do...I knew that if it looked too funny I could always add a little lace to the bottom! Mama D is NOT a perfectionist!!

OK now that I have all my cutting done....we need to start sewing. I have already explained how you figure out big around you need to make each tier. And since each of my squares was 10 inches wide....that made my job pretty simple. I just used 8 squares for my first tier (that's 80 inches and pretty close to the 76 that I needed...this is a gathered skirt so a little extra material just makes it fuller!), 16 squares of the yellow and all of the green!
**Now if you didn't cut all your strips apart like I did...you would just have to measure each strip and use as many as you needed to make your tier. Sew each strip together until you made a circle and follow the rest of the steps.
And yes I realize that 16 plus 16 is 32 and I had 32 yellow squares and only 28 green ones....but it just didn't look right with the green in the middle....and as I pointed out before...it's a gathered skirt...it will just be a little less full on the bottom...and it turned out plenty full!

I then sewed each square together to form my tiers. When all my tiers were formed ....I started assembling them. For this type skirt it is easier to work from the bottom up. And for those of you who have sewn in the past I did something entirely backwards....I started with my hem.

This is my Momma would shake her head, my Grandmother would be horrified and my Home EC. Teacher would have flunked me Hem. I am a lazy sewer....and I don't like handwork...if I can't do it on my machine I would really rather not do it at all....so I have come up with the following method of sewing a hem. First you run a Zig Zag stitch around the bottom of the garment. Heat up your iron and ironing board. then I take said garment and press the zig zaged portion of the hem up all the way around (about 1/4") then I go back and press a second time to get the depth of hem I need for the garment I am makings....this one I did about a 1" hemline. Now you can use your measuring doohickey and get this even all the way around....I just eye balled it...because in all my moving I have misplaced my measuring doohickey and my seam ripper! Then I take my garment to the sewing machine an straight stitch all the way around the top of my hem! Quicker, Easier and much less time consuming than doing it by hand! You however create your hem however you would like!

Now you want to run your basting stitches (two of them) across the top of your tier. I learned the hard way that you want to do these in about 18" stretches....if you try to go half way around like I did on the first one...you will be pulling your hair out before you get them all gathered and pinned!
After basting you want to start by gathering you material just a little and pining it to the next tier. This is where mine being in 10" squares came in handy....it made getting everything onto the next tier easier because it was premeasured. I generally start by pinning the sides together, then I divide that in half and pin it at the half way mark...I continue doing this until I have my material in manageable sections. I then gather and pin each section as evenly as possible and when I get done it generally requires little adjustment!
When everything is pinned to your liking....sew a 5/8" seam all the way around the tier and finish the seam by Zig Zagging right next to it on the inside. Also remove you basting stitches.
You will repeat these instructions for tiers #2 and #1. #1 of course will be attached to the tee shirt! I also finish all my seams with a zig zag and trim each as needed to cut down on a little of the bulk around the tiers!
When I was done this is what my very happy little girl twirled around the kitchen with her proud Daddy looking on!

Please excuse the wet hair ....she had just gotten out of the bathtub!
Did I mention that this dress only cost me $5 for the tee shirt?? Well it did...even if you didn't have the fabric stashed away like I did it would only cost you a couple of yards of material and a little imagination. Of course the bigger the person the more material you will need. But my little one just loves her new Twirly Easter Dress that Mama made her...and Daddy just loved the price!

If you have any questions feel free to contact me....I am sorry for the lack of pictures on some of the steps...I got busy sewing and forgot to take pictures! Now I have to go get busy on some short for this kid! All the shorts I have found this season are too short....if they don't come down to her knees my 6 year old is not wearing them....but I am not gonna make her wear pants all summer! So I guess that BIG piece of denium I found the other day (I think I was gonna make a maternity dress out of it way back when) is gonna make my little girl some much needed shorts!

I hope you all have a very blessed Easter weekend!
God Bless,
Mama D

Garden Time!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama D) — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 19:20:00 +0000

Well Folks I told you a while back that I was gonna put in a garden this year....and I planted (with a lot of help from my Daddy!) most of my garden last week! I am happy to announce that now 7 days later and on wind storm later I still have most of my garden! As I watered today I notice little heads polking up out of the ground! Hopefully the Donkey named Spot's trek through my garden didn't hurt anything!

I had started seeds in the house for my tomatoes, peppers and some onions....unfortunately the wind and my lack of know how took care of those and they died a quick death....But my Daddy being my Daddy has promised to buy me some plants to replace them and we will try the heirloom plants again next year! I think Daddy and the Tool Man are as excited about this whole thing as I am! They want all the heirloom and non hybrid plants....I just want something to put on the dinner table that I don't have to buy!

As You can see our Potatoes are growing good. Tool Man planted these in March....now he is really bad about mixing the varieties together...so I am not quite certain what will come out of the ground at the end of the growing season....but we should have plenty! I want to try growing these in a trash can one year...has anyone tried that method????

Even though the picture is sides ways these are our onions....now I didn't start these...we bought the bunches from the feed store ....but they are doing good as well!

I am pretty sure this is a side ways picture of the garlic that Tool Man planted too! He said that some of it was jumbo! I love cooking with garlic but prefer to get it in a jar already minced so that my hands don't forever smell of garlic! But I am sure I will use this and enjoy it!

My very inventive hubby built this enclosure for me to have as a mulch pile! I just love it! If you couldn't tell by the picture we have a lot of sand...and our garden is mostly sand.....so we have a lot of work to do getting the soil better able to handle a garden! One of these days it will be awesome....however for the time being I am gonna be grateful for what we receive from our labors!

Luckily between the cows and the chickens....natural fertilizer shouldn't be a problem next year!

Do you have a Garden??? What did you plant??
I have Potatoes, Onion, Garlic, Corn, Green Beans, Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Carrots, and Okra. Hoping to have some lettuce, beets, radishes, tomatoes, and peppers planted by tomorrow afternoon!

God Bless,
Mama D

Easy Alfredo Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Mama D) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:29:00 +0000

Ahh...now this is truly an easy recipe!!! My 6 year old LOVES Fetticini Alfredo!!! And when I found this homemade EASY recipe on Heavenly Homemakers I knew that it would become one of hers! Bear just loves to help me in the kichen....Mommy has to take a deep breath and pull in a lot of patience to let her help me...but it is always worth the effort! With just a little help from me she managed to make this recipe on her own!

Easy Alfredo Sauce

1/2 cup butter
2 cups cream (we used a pint of half and half)
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Bring the butter, cream, garlic and cream cheese to a boil. Turn down the heat, simmer and stir for about 2 minutes. Add the grated cheese and stir until melted. Simmer the sauce for 15-20 minutes until it becomes "thick and saucy" stirring occasionally.

This wonderful recipe can be found on the Heavenly Homemakers site! Laura's recipes are always good!

The Bear and I didn't have any fetticine noodles but we did have some fun wavy spagehtti noodles that worked just fine! She gave it a big thumbs up and ate it three different days till it was all gone!!!

God Bless,
Mama D

What We Ate Last Week

noreply@blogger.com (Mama D) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:20:00 +0000

Well as usual...what I planned to cook and what I actually cooked were two different things last week! I did manage to try out some new recipes, several in fact.

Sunday - Frito Pies

Monday - Enchilada Casserole, Pinto Beans and Corn

Tuesday - I honestly cannot remember!!!

Wednesday - Pancakes

Thursday - Fried Chicken Fingers, Baked Beans and Potato Salad

Friday - Fettuccine Alfredo (tried a recipe for Easy Alfredo Sauce, Yummy!)

Saturday - Chicken Tacos...these didn't go over well because I used corn tortillas instead of flour!

I realized on Saturday how much I miss watching cooking shows off the Food Network and such! It's not that I have access or the desire to us some of the ingredients that they do...but they do spark my imagination to use what I do have in new and sometimes interesting ways! For Example ....I received a email from the Pioneer Woman the other day with a recipe for Chicken Tacos....which were really chicken breast wrapped in a corn tortilla then deep fried in oil before being served.....then I watched a cooking show about Mexican Tacos on PBS Saturday morning and saw all the interesting things they consider to be fillings for tacos. The man on the show then proceeded to make a taco filling with chicken, onion, chard and several other things. This inspired me to make my own version of both of these recipes. I cooked my seasoned chicken breast in olive oil in my cast iron skillet. Then used the drippings off the chicken to cook my fresh onion, garlic and a little green chilies. I then combines my onion mixture with my chicken and placed both on a corn tortilla and deep fried it for just a minute before serving with cheese and sour cream. My corn tortillas needed salt and were rather bland...but the chicken and onion mixture was excellent! I gave one to the hubby on a flour tortilla and he loved it! But my family didn't care for the corn tortillas... However I felt inspired like I haven't in a long time! What inspires you???

God Bless,
Mama D

My Man Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Mama D) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 13:57:00 +0000

My Man Cookies are an absolute favorite in this family! If we need some comfort food around here that's what I make! They are (if you bake them right) soft and chewy sweet deliciousness! And when I say family favorite I mean the whole family. Two of my uncles come begging during the holidays and are disappointed if they don't get to take home gallon sized bags full of cookies....which they procede to hide from their grown sons! One uncle even renamed them "Kill A Man" Cookies, because he claimed that you could eat enough to Kill A Man! Enough of my ramblings....here's the recipe!

My Man's Cookies

1 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups oats (quick or old fashioned)
1 cup coconut

Beat shortening and sugars until creamy. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Sift dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Stir in oats, coconut and nuts. Pinch off dough in balls.(I use a small scoop) Place on lightly greased cookie sheet or one lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.

Mama D's Tips
*Undercook these cookies just a little bit to retain that chewy softnes....I bake mine for 8 mintues....the upper portion of the cookie will be starting to brown but the inner portions will look undone...I go ahead and take them out of the oven and let them finish baking on the cookie sheet for 1 to 2 minutes before removing them...they should be a lite golden brown!

*If you like a crisp cookie go ahead and bake these the full 10 minutes or until they are uniformly brown!

What We Ate Last Week

noreply@blogger.com (Mama D) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 20:01:00 +0000

What We Ate Last Week....

Well me being me came up with the great idea to tell you what we actually ate for the week instead of what I planned to cook for the upcoming week....and I have failed to post this the last couple of weeks. Mainly because I haven't really followed any sort of menu plan, lots of things have been happening and I have just generally not felt like menu planning, or cooking, or cleaning...you get the idea. So I am sorry that I failed in my mission. I how ever have learned a very important lesson....the only way I can stick with my budget, make good healthy meals for my family and not fail into the trap of take-out...is to Menu Plan! At least loosely! Having a general idea of the ingredients that I have in the pantry and freezer with a few adaptable meals planned around those ingredients, helps!!! Also considering that I am in that dreaded first trimester of pregnancy...where I literally have days where all I want to do is sleep..having quick and easy stand bys is essential!

Now for those of you that don't know I bake bread about once a week....as I am down to one loaf...my baking day will be tommorrow! I generally make about 4 to 8 loaves a week....depending on what is going on that week. Yes I know that 8 loaves of bread is a lot! But I keep some on hand in the freezer for those friends that want to buy a couple of loaves, for gifts or just to take over to Momma and Daddy's house! So some weeks I make more than others to keep my stock up!

Breakfast is pretty simple around here....The Bear eats Cold cereal, I generally eat hot cereal and the men folk want eggs, bacon or sausage and toast or biscuits. And when I am in the mood I make pancakes, waffles, sausage gravy or omlets.

Breakfast is also one of those fall back meals....I make bacon or sausage on a daily basis anyways, eggs are always in the fridge and I rarely run out of bread! So when I am tired we eat breakfast for dinner!

Last week Teenager #2 was home for Spring Break so I tried to make as many meals that she liked as possible! I only get to spoil her on occassion and I cook differently than her Mom and Step-Dad do....so the week was full of food that Teenager #2 likes.

Sunday -Fried Chicken and Rotisserie Chicken, Fried Okra, Mashed Potatos and Green Beans (we were in a hurry after church so hit the Deli at United)

Monday - Oven Grilled Steaks, Baked Potatos and Broccoli and Cheese

Tuesday - Spaghetti, Corn and Garlic Bread

Wednesday - Stuffed Pasta Shells, Corn and Green Salad

Thursday - Smothered Hamburger Patties, Fried Potatos and Homestyle Green Beans
Friday - Beef With Peppers

Saturday - What Ever We Could Find!

This week...well My Lil' Brother is having his tonsils removed so towards the end of the week we will be doing lots of soups and soft foods....but I will post anything new throughout the week!
Praying that you have a blessed week ahead,
Mama D

Lilla Rose

noreply@blogger.com (Mama D) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 19:08:00 +0000

Isn't this beautiful??? This is a Lila Rose Flexi Clip for those of you who are looking at this going....it sure is pretty but what is it??? This is the neatest hair deal that I have found in a long time. They come in about 6 different sizes and fit ALL hair types....from my super thick hair to someones else's super thin hair.....this happens to be the Majestic Cross that is their April special. I ordered two of these in March ...a Medium size one for me ( just below shoulder length, thick hair) and a Large for Teenager #1 whose hair is super long and super thick....I love mine! It's comfortable, versitile and once you get the hang of it easy to use!!!

http://www.lillarose.biz/BeautifulLife

The above Link will take you to a consultant named Paula Ramm's website where there are videos explaining how these Flexi clips work! I love mine!!!
So go check it out even if you are just curious and don't have hair long enough to fool with...they make wonderful gifts!!!

God Bless, Mama D

Beef With Peppers

noreply@blogger.com (Mama D) — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 02:09:00 +0000

Beef With Peppers
Linky to recipe!
The Pioneer Woman's Beef With Peppers

This is what I fixed for lunch this afternoon. It was so easy!!!
Now me being me...and living a a small town...I couldn't find the rice noodles that she used in her recipe! BUT I subsituted Egg Noodles and they did just fine! I also used some fajita meat that I found on the clearance rack at United instead of the flank steak....and I am pretty sure I left out one or two of the ingredients in the marinade.....but not enough to really call it a new recipe! It was fantastic....The Bear even ate it and didn't notice all those onions in with the noodles!!!

This is definatly a keeper in my book!
God Bless,
Mama D

Stuffed Pasta Shells

noreply@blogger.com (Mama D) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 01:21:00 +0000

Stuffed Pasta Shells

Stuffed Pasta Shells

Now folks this sounds like a really complex recipe that is in reality fairly simple! I discovered this recipe when I first started freezer cooking! It is great to make up in double or triple batches, freeze the shells and then just pull out as needed! I will give more detailed instructions later.

Teenager #1 (AKA Lil' Sis) and Teenager #2 (my step daughter) LOVE this recipe! Since Teenager #2 happens to be visiting for Spring Break, I made this special for her! It's like comfort food for these two!

Also let me warn you...unless you are feeding a big group...this recipe makes enough for more than one meal. I used half this recipe for dinner tonight and made the other half for a friend of mine (she just loves my freezer meals!!)

Let's get started....

First you need a big pot of spaghetti sauce....add meat if you like... We had Spaghetti for supper the night before so I just used what was left over and added an extra jar of sauce.

Then you need to gather up your remaining ingredients. Go ahead and put on a big pot of water to boil for the pasta!

You will need Jumbo Shells, Mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, Cottage or Ricotta Cheese, an egg, pepper and some Italian Seasoning.

Put you pasta shells on to boil...follow the instructions on the side of the box...we will come back to them in a minute.

Mix your carton of cottage cheese (use ricotta sometimes too...it just all depends on what you like or what you have on hand), about 2 cups of mozzarella cheese, 1 cup of Parmesan cheese, the egg, 1 tablespoon of Italian Seasoning and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Stir this all up good and set aside until your pasta is ready.

Drain your pasta and rinse with cold water. This keeps the pasta from sticking together and cools it so that you can handle it easily....our hands are fixing to get messy!

Put a layer of spaghetti sauce in your favorite baking dish.

Fill each shell with your cheese filling. Now this can get kinda tricky...as the ones that are rolled up have to be held open with one hand while you stuff with the other...hence the getting our hands messy part.
Now at this point you can do two things...you can place this shell in the prepared baking dish....or you can put it on a jelly roll pan and flash freeze it for later. When I make a big batch I flash freeze these then package them in meal size portions in Ziploc bags for later use....a little spaghetti sauce and some cheese and you have a nice meal!

All filled and ready for the next step!

Cover with more spaghetti sauce....depending on how your family likes spaghetti sauce depends on how thick you want to cover your pasta....as you can see that's my families favorite part! Sprinkle with cheese and bake at 350 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes!

***Flash Freezing Instructions.
To flash freeze pasta shells, cook pasta according to package directions and fill with cheese filling. Place in a single layer on a jelly roll pan. Place in freezer for 1 to 2 hours...or until frozen hard. Remove from jelly roll pan and place in freezer bags. (3 shells is considered a serving)

To use....Remove from freezer and defrost in the refrigerator. Place in a baking dish on top of a layer of spaghetti sauce. Top with more spaghetti sauce and grated cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!
God Bless, Mama D

Crazy Days!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama D) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:29:00 +0000

As you can see this three headed person looks very happy....well sort of!!! Tool Man, the Teenager and myself were having fun posing for My Momma on the Teenager's recent birthday...doesn't she look happy!!!!!

I must apologize to all my faithful followers...I have been absent from the blogging world for a couple of weeks....days...or has it been a month?? I am not quite sure???

I have been in a fog for the past month or so...you see the Tool Man and I received some wonderful news!!!! I"m pregnant!!! We are so happy and feel so blessed!! We are hoping that our new little one makes it's appearance sometime in October (a very long time from now!) and that he/she is healthy and ready to face this wild and crazy world!!!

Finding out that I was pregnant sent me into a panic of what all needs to be accomplished in the next couple of months. Preparation for the coming baby...it's been seven years folks! And finishing moving....

OK for those of you that don't know....my darling Grandmother passed away this past June....I miss her very much...but she left me an inheritance ....Grandpa, the dog, and the house! Grandpa is diabetic and blind...a whole story in himself...but I do my best to take care of him in his own home where he is comfortable. The dog, Mr. Bo Jangles, and no I am not making up his name! That's what Grandma named him...however he looks like Toto off the Wizard of Oz so we just call him Bo Bo for short. And their house, which has always felt like home to me....my husband and I only lived a short distance away but felt that Grandpa would do better and we would have more room if we moved in with him instead of vice versa.

Well my grandparents got married in 1942 and they NEVER moved! So my task over last several months has been to clean out, rearrange, sort, organize, repurpose, and generally turn my grandmother's house up side down! My husband and I feel very blessed to have this home and to have Grandpa in our lives...but there have been several adjustments on all our parts! I have left Grandpa's room intact and his path to and from the kitchen is the same....but most everything else has been rearranged.

My main tasks that I set up for myself this last month was rearranging my daughter's room and completely cleaning out the "craft" closet so that I could organize it to my liking. My daughter's room is done until we move what remains in our old house...and I have about half of the craft closet cleaned out! Once I have completed the cleaning out process I intend to sort and organize what I have decided to keep and my craft things (and hopefully with my Momma's help) will have a craft/stuff closet that I can locate my things in!

Once everything is done I will post pics...but until then...well it is a mess beyond belief that scares me!!!

However I do have some fun plans, some tutorials, and new recipes planned for the coming weeks. Tool Man, Daddy and I are planting a garden this year and I will be posting progress reports, right now we have onions, garlic, and potatoes in the ground....in a couple of weeks...much much more! I am so excited! All I have managed to grow in the past is squash and zucchini! This year I am looking forward to a variety....next year if everything goes well a expanded garden!!!

We are also getting baby chicks in about another week or so....this is a new adventure for me! We had chickens when I was a kid but I never really dealt with them too much...that was my brother's chore...but I keep seeing fresh eggs and fresh meat! So here we go...luckily my Daddy has raised chickens...and he lives a half a mile down the road...so he will be my mentor for this adventure! I am so excited!!!

I am also breaking out my sewing machine as soon as all my sorting and organizing is finished! I have a little girl that has a 38" chest at the age of 6 1/2 and she needs a Easter Dress by the end of April! And the new baby is going to be cloth diapered and I need to get busy making diapers!!!

If you can't tell the next couple of months are gonna be busy around here and I hope that you enjoy the ride with me! Check out my post later tonight....I made Stuffed Pasta Shells for Teenager #2!!!!

God Bless,
Mama D