bacon wrapped asparagus

Easy Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Posted on
Follow Me on PinterestPin It

bacon wrapped asparagusBacon makes vegetables taste better. It’s just a fact. For dinner I decided to make bacon wrapped asparagus. I use my toaster oven when I make it. It’s the perfect size.

Need:

  •  2 slices of bacon
  • ~ 12 stalks of asparagus
  • olive oil
  • pepper

How to:

  1. Preheat oven to 375°
  2. snap the ends off of the stalks of asparagus
  3. coat the asparagus in olive oil, I use my Misto so I don’t put too much on them
  4. take the bacon and wrap the asparagus with it in two different spots
  5. place on broiler pan, you want something with holes because the bacon fat will be dripping down as it cooks
  6. sprinkle pepper on it to taste
  7. place it in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until bacon is cooked
  8. Enjoy!

make a bird costume dog

How to Make a Bird Costume for a Dog

Posted on
Follow Me on PinterestPin It

make a bird costume dog

I wanted to make a fun bird costume for Rusty for a while now. I just had no clue how. I decided to make it up as I went a long.

First I scribbled all over a few pieces of paper trying to work out in my head how to do this. I went with a red dyed body, which turned out pink, made of muslin with paint, and fabric pastels to color the face and glued the feathers to the muslin.

Here’s the Pattern for the body. It’s my very first time creating a pattern!  Well all I did was draw  half of the pattern on the fold of the muslin. I didn’t think I could make it exact on both sides. Then I went over it in a dark marker and traced it onto paper. Hopefully it can be easily followed.

Rusty’s measurements for this were:

  • top of the head to base of the tail: 29 inches
  • middle top of head down to mid neck (for head of parrot): 7 inches
  • middle of back down to top of front paw: 17½ inches
  • length I wanted tail feathers that would start as base of tail: 7 inches

I made the head of the bird to sit more on Rusty’s neck instead of on top of his head because he hates wearing clothes but hates it even more to have things on his head, so I decided to be nice.

Materials:

  • 1 1/3 yards of dyed muslin, 45″ wide or red cotton fabric
  • matching thread
  • fabric dye sticks
  • fabric paint
  • feathers
  • fabric glue, such as Scotch Maximum Strength Adhesive or E-6000
  • 1/4″ elastic
  • velcro
  • sewing machine
  • iron and board

Directions:

1. Wash and press fabric

2.  Cut out pattern, Pin to fabric and cut

3. Cut out 4 ~ 14″L x 2″W strips, length may very depending on size of your dog, these are for the velcro straps to go on their belly.

4.  On 2 of the 4 pieces, plan out and attach velcro according the package directions, I used Fabric Fusion velcro, I ended up using 4 pieces of velcro because my first measurements were a bit off. Guess the saying is true, “measure twice, cut once” or something like that

5. Pin right sides together and sew three sides of the pieces together, (2 long sides and 1 short side). Turn inside out, so velcro is on the outside.

6. Sew the velcro pieces onto the body piece and then try it on your puppy to make sure it fits.

7. Next do a zig zag stitch around the edge of the body piece.

make a bird costume dog

Velcro and Elastic

8. Cut 2, 1 3/4 inch long pieces of elastic. With a tight zig zag stitch, attach to wing/arms parts of the body piece. You want to place them so they are above where the legs bend so it doesn’t affect how they walk.

make a bird costume

trying it on

9. With Dye Sticks, draw on eyes and follow package directions to set it. Sewing on felt eyes would also be a cute idea, giving the costume more texture.

10.Lay the bird on some cardboard or newspaper and carefully paint on beak.

make a bird costume dog

eyes and beak

11. While the paint is drying, lay out the feathers on the pattern piece before you attach them to make sure you have enough and to allow you to figure out how you’d like your feathers to be arranged. Take a picture so you remember your pattern.

make a bird costume dogmake a bird costume dog

 

 

12. Next thing I did was put a tiny piece of cardboard between the elastic straps and the fabric just in case my glue bled through the fabric. I then started gluing my feathers onto the fabric starting with the bottom and working my way up. I started a new row by lining up the end of the feathers to the end of the quills so the quills wouldn’t show. I also let the feathers hang over the edge of the fabric. At the top row, I cut off the quill and applied the glue to the base of the feather. Then I let the glue sit over night before trying it on Rusty to make sure adhesion to the fabric.

make a bird costume dog

starting to glue

– Alternatively, you can sew the feathers on by pinning the rows, starting with the bottom row first like if you were gluing, to the fabric with a piece of tissue paper between the fabric and feathers and tearing away the tissue after they have been sewed on. This is probably the best choice to make sure the feathers don’t fall off but I decided to re-watch Glee season 1 and my sewing machine is not in my living room. 🙂

13. After the glue has dried, try it on and enjoy your adorable bird dog!

make a bird costumemake a bird costumemake a bird costume dog

 

make a bird costume dogmake a bird costume dog

make a bird costume dogmake a bird costume dog]make a bird costume dog

 


breadcrumbs

How to Make Breadcrumbs

Posted on
Follow Me on PinterestPin It

One thing I like to make is breadcrumbs. We have a bread machine, and I don’t always make bread I enjoy because I try out new recipes. One recipe I tried, the bread came out too dense for me. I like my bread light and fluffy. So I decided to make breadcrumbs out of it so it wasn’t a waste.

Need:

  • bread
  • cookie sheet
  • food processor
  • seasonings

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 275°

  2. cut the bread into 1-2 inch cubes

  3. place on a cookie sheet, I like to use one with a lip all the way around it to prevent cubes accidentally sliding off of the sheetbreadcrumbs

  4. place in the oven for about 20 minutes, the goal is to dry out the bread

  5. after the bread is dried out, place the cubes into the food processor in small batches. This will be very loud!makecrumbs

  6. Season and use immediately or freeze. They’ll go bad quickly if you don’t freeze them. I try to use my breadcrumbs within a month.breadcrumbs

I sometimes add seasoning and sometimes don’t. I add italian seasonings to the breadcrumbs if I want to make chicken parm or something similar. If I want to make chicken bites or fried pickles I season the breadcrumbs with red and black pepper, cumin, salt and garlic.

 


knit mug cozy

Slip Stitch Pattern for a Knit Mug Cozy

Posted on
Follow Me on PinterestPin It

knit mug cozy

I decided to dress up my morning coffee a bit with a knit mug cozy. I was still excited about learning the slip stitch from the belt I made and wanted to create a pattern that used the slip stitch in it. I still had to do a bit of research to figure out exactly how to do it but after compiling everything and then some trial and error,  this is what I came up with:

US 2 needles (2.75mm)

2 ply lace weight yarn from Hettinger Corriedales. It’s a farm, in Illinois near my hometown that raises the sheep, and dyes the wool and spins them at their farm! You should check it out.

I’m not sure how much yarn I’m using. The skein I’m using had 214 yards but I’m using it for multiple projects. This fits a 10.5 inch circumference mug best. The yarn is a little too dark to get a great picture of the pattern but it looks great in person. Maybe I’ll make another in a different yarn to better display the pattern.

Pattern:

  • Cast on 70 stitches
  • Row 1: P3 K2 repeat until row is finished
  • Row 2: K1 S1 (P) K1 P2 repeat until row is finished
  • Repeat pattern until desired length. Mine ended up being 31 rows
  • Cast off on an odd-numbered row in the P3 K2 pattern
  • Sew loop like in the felted bag on one side and sew the button on the other
  • Attach to the mug by putting the button next to the handle and loop through the mug handle
  • Enjoy a nice cup of whatever with your cozy.

*Please note that for this pattern, unlike the belt, when you slip stitch purl style you do NOT bring the yarn forward, you simply just put the needle through the stitch like you would for a purl stitch and then push the stitch onto the needle.

knit mug cozy

What I actually did to figure that pattern out:

  • Cast on 75 stitches
  • Row 1: K2 P3 repeat
  • Row 2: P2 K1 S1 (P) K1 repeat

After 8 rows, it was looking like a hot jumbled mess, that’s the point of trial and error I guess. It’s a little difficult to see because the thread because it was hand spun isn’t the same thickness throughout. I decided to flip the pattern and test it out. To be honest, I don’t completely understand why it worked but it did so that’s awesome.

  • Row 9: P3 K2
  • Row 10: K1 S1(P) K1 P2
  • Rows 30 and 31 in a garter stitch to somewhat match the bottom of the cozy.
  • Add loop like I did with the felted bag to one end
  • Sew on button to the other end

*I marked on a piece of paper every time I did 5 stitches, and would only stop after doing five to keep my place. I also, marked them by row just incase I forgot which row I was on.

Didn’t turn out how I had envisioned in my head. But I was able to figure it out and I think it still looks cute and definitely serves its purpose. I can now create a mug cozy with the exact pattern I was hoping for. Like I said before, it’s best for a mug with a 10.5 inch circumference. I found it slipped a little on a 9.5inch and a 10 inch that decreases towards the bottom of the mug. Decrease the amount of stitches, by 5, to fit the mug you would like to use it on.

knit mug cozy

10inch and decreasing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

knit mug cozy

9.5in circumference

knit mug cozy

10.5inch circumference

 

 

 

 

 


cream cheese frosting

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Posted on
Follow Me on PinterestPin It

cream cheese frosting recipe

Who doesn’t love cream cheese frosting? The rich bold flavor tastes great on almost any dessert! This recipe lightly frosted 24 cupcakes with a bit leftover.

Here is the cream cheese frosting recipe that I use.

Ingredients:

  • 1, 8 oz, block of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • ½ cup, 1 stick, unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 tsp of vanilla extract
  • ~ 2 cups of powered sugar, more or less to suit your tastes

How to:

  1. In a small bowl, add the cream cheese, butter and the vanilla.
  2. With a hand mixer, beat on low-to-medium speed until well combined and creamy
  3. Gradually add the powered sugar to the cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth and delicious. Adding all the powered sugar at once makes it more difficult to control the taste because you can only go sweeter and it creates a powered sugar snowfall in your kitchen from the mixer.
  4. Enjoy!

cream cheese frosting recipe

 

cream cheese frosting

cream cheese frosting recipe


caprese salad grilled cheese

Caprese Salad Grilled Cheese Recipe

Posted on
Follow Me on PinterestPin It

caprese salad grilled cheese

 

I LOVE grilled cheese! I decided to try a caprese salad grilled cheese because it sounded delicious. It’s pretty much the caprese salad on grilled bread but I did add a slice of Muenster cheese to it as well.

What I used:

  • 2 slices of bread
  • Butter
  • 1 slice of Muenster
  • Fresh Mozzarella Ball cut into slices
  • Tomato slices
  • Fresh Basil leaves
  • Balsamic Dressing I use Cindy’s Kitchen Balsamic Vinaigrette, I buy it at Whole Foods but it should be able to find it elsewhere    

What I did:

1. Fried the tomato slices a little bit in a skillet over medium heat because sometimes when I add tomatoes to my grilled cheese they get a little mushy and I’m not a fan of that.

2. Butter one side of each piece of bread

3. On the hot pan place one piece of bread butter side down

4.On the bread, place the Muenster, tomato slices, basil leaves and drizzle with a small amount of balsamic dressing, top with mozzarella and the other piece of bread butter side up

5. Grill each side until a dark golden brown and cheese is melted

6. Enjoy!

 

 


dye fabric

How to Dye Fabric in the Sink using Dylon’s Dye

Posted on
Follow Me on PinterestPin It

dye fabric

I am going to make another costume for Rusty, well at least attempt to make one. I really didn’t want to spend the money on expensive fabric because I’m going to make it up as I go, so I decided to buy muslin and dye it. I also decided to dye some of the embroidered fabric that I used for my tree skirt. I have a lot of that leftover and I was curious to see how it would take to dye.

I used Dylon Dye in Tulip Red because it is a permanent fabric dye and I wanted to try something new. The dying process took a little over an hour.

Here’s basically what the package says with my advice thrown in there:

Have a plastic bag open and ready for you to toss in the dye packet and gloves for when you’re finished to avoid the risk of staining other things around your kitchen like the floor or garbage can. 

dye fabric

supplies

1, 1.75oz, packet can be used for up to ½ lbs of fabric or one large t-shirt

Cover your counter around the sink with newspaper or rags if there is a spill or splash or you’re a klutz like me.

1. Weigh and wash fabric and leave it damp.

2. With gloved hands dissolve entire packet, use scissors to open to prevent the dye from flying everywhere, into 4 cups of warm water in a bowl or something you don’t mind getting stained

3. Fill a stainless steel sink, or bowl, with enough warm water to allow the fabric to flow freely give it space to dance

4.  Add 4 Tbsp of salt to the water and add the dye Yes that IS a lot of salt

5. Put that fabric in the sink

6. Stir constantly for 15 minutes. I made the mistake of not having any music on making the 15 minutes seem like an eternity. 

dye fabric

muslin after 15 minutes

dye fabric

embroidered fabric after 15 minutes

Then stir regularly for 45 minutes. Looking for a way to make your significant other or roommate nervous? Stir the dye bath with your dominant hand while texting with your non-dominant over  the sink. 🙂 Just don’t accidentally drop it in. 

7. Rinse fabric with cold water. Then wash it in warm water. To dry, line dry inside away from direct heat and sunlight. I laid mine flat on a towel that was darker than the dye and didn’t care about if the dye happened to stain it. Let it dry over night.

dye fabric

right after washing, still soaked

dye fabric

fabric after it dried

I’m kind of pleased how it turned out. I had no idea if the embroidered fabric would take dye, because I couldn’t remember the fiber content. As for the pattern piece, it’s a little more pink than I was hoping but part of that is my fault. I did have slightly more than ½ lb of fabric which was the greatest weight recommendation. My hopes were for a richer red. But I can make it work and I would use Dylon’s Dye again. I just need to buy 2 packets instead of one to be on the safe side.

dye fabric

color I got vs color I was hoping to get


white chocolate cheesecake

White Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe

Posted on
Follow Me on PinterestPin It

white chocolate cheesecake

 

I love cheesecake! Basically I love anything that’s not healthy. But it’s ok if it’s in moderation right? Here is a recipe for white chocolate cheesecake. The white chocolate taste is very light in this recipe, add more if you prefer a bolder white chocolate taste or omit the chocolate all together if you prefer a regular cheesecake. This has a graham cracker crust, the type of graham is up to you, cinnamon and honey are good choices with honey being my favorite. Prep time is only about 15 minutes and oven time is 2 hours.

White Chocolate Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Crust:

  • 1.5 cups graham crackers crumbs (about one sleeve) can be done by hand or in a food processor
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup melted butter

Filling:

  • 3 (8oz) packages cream cheese at room temperature
  • 1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 (4oz/113g) baking white chocolate bar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees and VERY LIGHTLY grease your 9″ spring form pan.

           – I just mist some Pam because the cheesecake sometimes sticks to the sides and breaks my cake and that makes me sad.

2. Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, butter.

I find it best to use my hands to mix to make sure everything is coated in the butter

white chocolate cheesecake

crust pressed into pan

 

 

 

3. Press crust mix into bottom of pan, and up sides of 9inch spring form pan, set aside on a cookie sheet with a lip

 

 

3. Beat cream cheese on medium until smooth

4. In a saucepan melt white chocolate, add to cream cheese and beat until well combined

5. Gradually add the condensed milk, beat well, add vanilla. Then add the eggs, one at a time, and beat on medium until smooth

6. Pour into prepared crust

7. Bake for 1 hour, turn off oven and leave in oven for another hour, remove and cool completely, refrigerate

Enjoy plain, with more chocolate, or with fruit!

white chocolate cheesecakewhite chocolate cheesecake


knitted belt

Knit Belt, How to Slip Stitch

Posted on
Follow Me on PinterestPin It

knit belt

I decided to make the Artisan Belt in the Chick with Sticks knitting book. I’ve never had a knit belt before. It was my first time slipping stitches. I was a little nervous about it because although there was a picture of it I wasn’t sure how it would work. But it gave it a nice almost braided looking border, using Crystal Palace Yarn. I used attach 1” D rings as my belt closure.

– To slip stitch all you do it put the needle through the loop, in either knit or purl stitch fashion whatever the directions say, without wrapping yarn around the needle first. So you’re literally slipping the stitch onto the needle.

knit belt

Start by pulling the thread to the front of the project

knit belt

Then take the needle through the front of the stitch like you’re going to do a purl stitch.

knit belt

Push stitch on to needle WITHOUT actually doing the purl stitch

– To attach the D rings, simply fold fabric over the straight part of the D ring and stitch closed. The package the rings come in should also have instructions on it.

knitted beltOverall I’m really happy with my knit belt. It’s really just an accessory, not for actually holding up pants. But that is just fine with me. I think it’s a nice addition to my wardrobe and it was a fun, easy and quick project to complete.