Hello Beautiful Strangers.....

Wow! it has been busy at the homestead.........

I haven't been doing too much worth writing about.Unless you want to here about volleyball games, boy crushes or homework assignments. Boring!!!!!!

I did manage to finally finish a Pincushion set for a swap I joined on ...

If you haven't checked out Threadbias yet. Please do. It is so fun to see all the projects going together.

Here is my finished little Tweet in a nest, with a pin sharpening leaf.

I whipped up the little leaf from some wool felt. Then stuffed it tight with 00 steel wool.
I hope my Swap Partner likes it.
She really went all out on mine!!!!!!!!!

This is the pincushion Kathie sent me.........

 Isn't this just the cutest thing!!! What a doll. She even sent a lovely note and some sweet sewing  extras. Sewing ladies are the sweetest ladies!!!!!! Pin It

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes.....

I love fall !! One of my favorite things about fall is the  Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks.

My girls LOVE them too. I have to hide my cup. I don't think they need to be coffee drinkers just yet.......

I came up with a couple fun Pumpkin Spice recipes. Then they can get the pumpkin spice love too........

 I'll share my Favorite today. 

These are my all time... most favorite.. pancakes EVER!!!!!

To make them even better..... Try my Family Favorite syrup!

Pancake recipe modified from Allrecipes.com

 INGREDIENTS:

 Wet…..
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Dry……
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon salt
 

I had a little helper in the kitchen for these, Bridgitt.

Mix eggs and pumpkin together well. Add the rest of the wet ingredients. Mix very well.

Measure dry ingredients into a separate bowl .

Mix dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix until blended but do not over mix. They will lose their fluff.

Cook on the griddle. They come out darker than regular pancakes. That is okay. They taste AMAZING!!

Enjoy with butter and Family's Favorite syrup.

I have found a lot of shortcuts through the years of cooking for this big family. When you are trying to get everyone fed in a hurry, every minute counts!

On pancake days, I find it easier to melt the butter into the syrup, rather than spread butter on each pancake. 

Which comes to this recipe. I have added some little extras over the years to make this syrup the.....

 Family's Favorite Syrup

1 cup pancake syrup

1/4 cup butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Heat ingredients in microwave for 1 1/2 minutes on high.

Stir well to blend. Pour on pancakes.

YUMMY!!!!

I hope you enjoy these pancakes. 

If you don't feel the "Fall Spirit" yet. 

You will after these babies!

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It Was A Ugly Weekend.............

Well, I thought I was going to get a lot of 

sewing done this weekend. 

Turns out.....not sew much! 

Well, not the sewing I thought I was going to get to anyway. 

I did make a cute softie for a little girl's birthday. 

Bridgitt the 7 year old informed me that shopping was not an option. She wanted to give her friend something sewn. 

An Ugly Softie......... (shhhhhh... ugly doll knock off...). 

It was so ugly I thought I had better cute it up a bit. A tutu and a heart on the booty did the trick.........

We have been making these for the

 kids friends for a while now. 

I love how fabric and stuffing becomes cherished friends.

Bridgitt was excited to give this little creature away! 

Yes....she is always this smiley!!!

Here are some other friends created over the years.........

If you have never sewn a friend..... Do it!! 

It is fun!

 A Bunch of ugly........

 Humpty........

 Kitty Fish...........

 Owls by Bronte........

 Monster.........

 Max by Brooke.........

Love Ninja by Brooke..........

Ugly for Ben's Girlfriend..........

I love them all !!!!!

I have to say I have so many UFO's around here.......... I really need to get'er done!!!

If I could keep myself from Pinterest and Instagram for a day or two it might help!! LOL

I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend!!!!

May the following week be productive for all.....

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Easy Enchiladas........

Hello Folks!! 
I hope you all had a wonderful week. 

We have been busy here. Parent teacher conferences, 

Brooke's volleyball and a whole host of other 
time sucking events.  Enjoyable but, time intense.

On Wednesday night Brooke had a home game. 
It was my night to feed the team. These girls can eat!!

When I asked Brooke what she wanted me to bring.....She chose my chicken enchiladas. 

Since I deliver food for the team at 5:30 and the family is hungry at the same time. 
I knew a huge batch or two was called for.  
I usually make these when I need a super quick dinner. 
They are fast to make but, taste like you slaved for days. Most of the time when I make these ...
I just grab rotisserie chickens from the grocer's deli. 
I have to use 2 for my big family. 

And for the team and the family it was looking like I would need double plus....... 

When I got to the Grocers and saw the price 
and size of the chickens... I was shocked. 
Is it just me or are the rotisserie chickens getting smaller and the price is getting higher ???? 
For a wimpy 2 lb. chicken from the deli, the price was $5.99. They looked more like cornish hens for goodness sakes!!!!!
 I literally could fit one in the palm of my hand. 
Luckily ...... Whole chickens were on sale for 99 cents a pound. So, roasting my own chickens it was. 
 I bought a 5lb and a 6lb whole chicken for $11 dollars. the same amount of meat from the deli would have been 3 times as much. Which is no big deal if you only need one chicken. Because your cooking for a regular size family... lol
But the Kids are many...and the appetites are LARGE!!

If you have never roasted your own chicken.... I'll give you some tips. Then I will share the recipe for the enchiladas. If you need a quick dinner this weekend. It is sure to please. And if you give roasting you own chickens a try.... roast double. It only takes a few minutes more. and then you can stick the meat in the freezer for a very fast chicken dinner later in the week. 

So here goes.........

There are a lot of fancy ways to roast a chicken. 
This is not one of them. This is a method purely to achieve great tasting cooked meat. They are not tied up and pretty.... but they taste good and it is fast!!!

Set your oven to 400 degrees.
Get your chicken out of the bag, clean out the cavity and disgard contents. Give the chicken a quick rinse then pat dry. Cover a shallow baking pan (or cookie sheet) with foil.  Toss your chicken on the pan. Using either butter or olive oil about 2 tablespoons. Rub down the chicken. Then sprinkle the chicken liberally with salt. I use grey sea salt.
 It is wonderful !!!

 This is what my two birds looked like.

You can see the nice crust of sea salt. The skin will be crispy and the chicken flavorful.
Toss in oven and roast for about an hour. 
The birds should look very golden brown.

You can tell if the chicken is done by sticking a fork in the thigh. If the juices run out clear, done. (You can also insert a meat thermometer it should read 180 degrees). 

It is ready to pull out of the oven. 

Yummy!!

When the chickens are out. Crack the top the chickens and slightly open the meat from the bone with a fork. This will let the steam escape and start the cooling process.

When the chicken has cooled just enough for you to
 handle it, without you screaming your head off ....
Use a fork and your fingers. ( It really is the only way)
Pull of all the meat. Then shred. These two birds gave me enough meat for 30 good sized enchiladas!!!!!

Now for the Enchiladas.......

Here is what I used.......... I love Macayo's Green Enchiladas sauce. But any kind will do.

If your making this for a family of 4 to 6. 
You will need.......


A whole chicken 3 to 4 lbs. (Deli or home roasted)
1 - 32 oz. can of green enchilada sauce
1 small can of diced green chilis
1 package of flour tortillas
1 16 oz. sour cream  (more if you want for topping)
4 cups shredded Colby / Jack cheese. (More if you want them really cheesy)

For my friend Jill........ 
You can use low fat cheese, sour cream and tortillas to make this a lil' healthier.
Still tastes great!!

( I sorta spaced taking pics here.......ooops)

For the filling.
Mix the chicken, sour cream, 3 cups of the cheese and the diced green chilis together in a bowl.
Taste. Add a little salt if needed.
In your baking dish, pour about a quarter of the can of sauce in the bottom of the dish.
To assemble.
Lay out a flour tortilla in the middle add a dollop of the filing. Roll the tortillas around the filling.
Like in this Link

Lay each enchilada side by side in your pan.
When finished pour remaining sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Here is all 30....

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes until bubbly and golden brown.

Serve with sour cream on top if you like.

A green salad with chips and salsa makes 
this dish a whole meal.

I hope everyone has an amazing weekend.

I will ...I am sewing!!!!!!!!

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