Girly Flannel Nightgown

Made this baby rag quilt a few years back and I had quite a bit of flannel fabric left over.

So of course Gracie says, Nana can you make me something with this fabric, I just love these foxes. We’ll there wasn’t much of this cute little fox fabric left.  

We had to get real crafty here and we decide to make a flannel night gown.  She chose where she wanted each fabric to go, I think she did pretty good choosing placement.

 

Viola !

Roasted Brussels Sprouts wiith Garlic

Oh my goodness... I have to share this recipe.  One of my good friends... share this picture with me, it look so good I asked her for the recipe.

She mention she didn’t have the recipe, she got it from the internet and couldn’t remember what site it was actually.  I was saddened to say the least.... but I started combing the internet.  I really never thought I would find it and have to settle for anyone of the other recipes I found out there on the internet.  I was very shocked to say the least when I just happened to stumbled on the same picture while browsing for a Brussels Sprout recipe to try.  I was on cooking.nytimes.com looking through their recipient.

                https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1890-roasted-brussels-sprouts-with-garlic 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pint brussels sprouts (about a pound)
• 4 to 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, to coat bottom of pan
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled
•  Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

PREPARATION

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Trim bottom of Brussels sprouts, and slice each in half top to bottom. Heat oil in cast-iron pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers; put sprouts cut side down in one layer in pan. Put in garlic, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Cook, undisturbed, until sprouts begin to brown on bottom, and transfer to oven. Roast, shaking pan every 5 minutes, until sprouts are quite brown and tender, about 10 to 20 minutes.
3. Taste, and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Stir in balsamic vinegar, and serve hot or warm.

My there are so many variations of Brussels sprout recipes out there.... to name some by adding Bacon, Pancetta, Parmesan, Honey, Pecans, Balsamic, Pomagranite, Sun Died Tomato Pesto, these are just a few.

Amazing Banana Bread

Truly an amazing recipe that I stumbled on while looking for a recipe to use up a over ripe bananas.  Thank you Erin @ Delightful E Made.com for your wonderful Purple Ribbon Banana Bread Recipe...  Of course I tweaked the recipe just a little.

Let me just say that the banana bread was gone so fast that, this will be the recipe that I use from now on when making banana bread.

This classic quickbread is easy to make, and tastes amazing! Perfect for a light breakfast, or a snack with coffee or tea. A family classic!

Ingredients

• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 c. vegetable oil
• 1 c. granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 4 1/2 tsp. lemon juice (juice of 1/2 lemon)
• 2 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. allspice
• 1/4 tsp. cloves

• 1/2 c. chopped pecans or walnuts
• Crumb Topping:
• 1/3 c. softened butter, (NOT melted, just softened)
• 1/3 c. light brown sugar
• 2/3 c. flour
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottoms of (2 regular loaf pans) 3 1/2" x 7 1/2" loaf pans with waxed paper. Additionally, spray pans with paper bottoms with nonstick baking spray. Set pans aside.
2. In mixing bowl combine mashed bananas, oil, sugar, eggs and lemon juice. Set aside.
3. In another mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Stir until batter is combined. Lastly, stir in the chopped nuts. Evenly pour the batter into the prepared pans.
4. For the crumb topping: In a bowl, combined the softened butter, brown sugar and flour. Mix with a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle over the batter of each loaf.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean and free of crumbs. Let cook on rack for 10 minutes before removing from pans. Remember to remove the waxed paper from the bottoms. Slice warm or let cool.

Note: If using mini loaf pans they require about 20 minutes bake time.

Hummingbird Cookies

Makes about 30

Drizzled with Pineapple Glaze

1/2 cup unsalted, butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 large egg

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

2/3 cups crushed pineapple, drained,

  and 2 Tablespoons juice reserved

1/2 cup mashed ripe banana

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups sweetened flaked coconut

1 cup confectioners sugar

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl.  Add egg; beat well.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger, nutmeg, allspice.  Add flour mixture, pineapple, banana, add vanilla to butter mixture, beating just until combined. Cover and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls.  Roll each ball in coconut.  Place two inches apart on prepared pan.

Bake until lightly browned around edges, about 16-18 minutes.  Let cool on pans foe 3-4 minutes.  Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks.

In a small bowl, whisk together confectioner’s sugar and 2 Tablespoons reserved pineapple juice.  Drizzle over cookies.

Honey Fried Chicken

Yields 8-10 servings
Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

Two 4 - pound chickens, each cut into 10 pieces (2 legs, 2 thighs, 4 breast halves, and 2 wings)

4 cups buttermilk

1 3/4 Tablespoon kosher salt

1 1/2 Tablespoon ground black pepper

1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon paprika

8 cups vegetable or canola oil

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoon garlic powder

2 Tablespoons onion powder

1 cup honey

Directions

Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl, then add the buttermilk, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon pepper and 1 teaspoon paprika. Mix to combine. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.

In a large, deep pot or Dutch oven pour enough of the oil to fill the pot 3 to 4 inches.  Heat over medium- high heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 350 degrees F.  Set a cooling rack over a baking sheet.

In a rage bowl, whisk to combine the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, the remaining 3/4 tablespoon salt, 1/2 Tablespoon pepper, and 1 Tablespoon paprika. Whisk to combine the dredge. 

Lift the chicken from the buttermilk, then coat the pieces completely in the flour.  Transfer the chicken to a baking sheet or large plate. 

Working in batches and being careful to not overcrowd the pot, add the legs and thighs to the hot oil and cook, turning and monitoring the oil temperature, until crisp and golden brown,  5 to 6 minutes per side.  Transfer the chicken to the prepared rack.  Add the wings and breast pieces to the oil and cook until deep golden brown, 3-5 minutes per side.  Transfer to the rack, then drizzle with honey and serve. 

Smothered Green Beans

INGREDIENTS:

• 5 (15-oz) cans green beans, drained

• 1 lb bacon

• 2/3 cup brown sugar

• 1/4 cup butter, melted

• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

• 1-1/2 tsp garlic powder

INSTRUCTIONS:

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2 Pour drained green beans in an ungreased 9x13-inch pan.

3 In a large skillet, cook bacon until almost done but not too crispy. Remove from skillet, drain on paper towel and chop. Sprinkle cooked bacon on top of green beans.

4 Whisk together brown sugar, melted butter, soy sauce and garlic powder. Pour over green beans.

5 Bake uncovered for 40 minutes.

Hummingbird Fudge

Makes about 1-1/4 pounds

1- 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened

3 cups confectioners sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

12 ounces white baking chocolate* 

3/4 cup chopped dried pineapples

1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted

1/2 cup chopped banana chips

2/3 cup toasted pecans, chopped

*Bakers Brand White Baking Chocolate

1. Line an 8 inch loaf pan with foil, letting excess extend over the sides of pan; spray with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed until creamy.  Beat in confectioners sugar, vanilla extract and salt.  Melt chocolate according to package directions.  Gently fold in chocolate, pineapple, coconut and banana chips into cream cheese mixture.  Spread mixture in an even layer in prepared pan.  Sprinkle with pecans, press gently into top.  Cover and refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours.  Using foil as handles, remove from pan; cut into 1 inch square pieces.

Cajun Cake

For the cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple, with juice
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
For the icing:
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups sweetened, flaked coconut*
1 1/4 cups chopped pecans

Make the cake:

Spray a 13x9 baking pan with cooking spray; set aside. Mix together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

Cream together eggs, vegetable oil, pineapple (with juice from can), sugar and brown sugar. Mix in flour mixture until all ingredients are well combined.  

Pour batter into baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. While cake is baking, prepare the icing.

Prepare the icing:

Heat evaporated milk, butter, sugar and salt in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat until boiling; stirring frequently.

Reduce heat to medium-low and boil mixture for 12-15 minutes or until a light caramel color; stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, coconut and pecans.  Let icing cool 5 minutes then spread over warm cake.  Rest cake, uncovered, 2 hours before serving.

To store, cover and set at room temperature – cake does not need to be refrigerated.

*I used a 7-ounce bag of coconut which physically measured 2 cups for me though the manufacturer states on the package the bag contains 2 2/3 cups.

Scottie Dogs and Calico Kittens - Part 2

In Part 1... We started looking at some differences between patchwork, english paper pieced or appliqué styles for quilting.  But we only made it through patchwork piecing, so let move on to english paper piecing and appliqué.  I guess some patchwork designs could be used in paper piecing.

Now my favorite look out of all these, well it's a toss up between english paper piece and appliqué.  

English paper piecing will usually have more sharp crisper lines, where appliqué will usually have more round smoother lines.  Both styles can show a lot of detail with color and presentation.

Here are a few english paper pieced designs.

There are some really talented people out there that express their artistic abilities through fabric piecing like these that I am sharing with you today.

These just warm my heart, scottie dogs have always been one of my favorites.  

Here are a few applique designs.

Quilts can be pieces of art, like these amazing quilts.

Scottie Dogs and Calico Kittens - Part 1

Here are two adorable critters in which you could make a quilt(s).  You can choose whether you would like them assembled in patchwork style, paper pieced or appliqué style.

I found these little critters in several places and a few variations.  If you want directions/tutorial on how make, I think that TheSpuce.com is a good source one to use.  Both are finished 12 inch block patterns.

Patchwork is probably the most simplistic of all three of these styles, it has a more primative look, and is a good style for beginners.  It just has simple sharp crisp lines and the image will pop with the color combinations.

TheSpruce.com

TheSpruce.com
   

     

The Best Tutorial.... Make this easy Pins and Paws with Jenny!  

Here are a couple that I really like below, a more artistic side was use to make these quilts.

I'm not sure where I found a lot of these photos, but right now I would like to take some time and thanks those whom have shared their photos with us to enjoy via the internet.  

Now I haven't even touched on english paper piecing and appliqué yet, so look for Part 2 ... it's coming soon.