Happy Monday!

Today is: “Playing with Yarn” Day!

Last Tuesday was my Knit/Crochet/Yarn Swap night and there have been 2 boxes and a large bag/tote in the back of my car since that night. These contained the leftovers which I’d agreed to take to the local senior center to be donated to Childrens Village, where they teach young people to knit & crochet. Today I kind of deemed my ‘Playing with Yarn” day, so I dragged them all in the house. I had seen all the contents last week but decided to go through them again & kind of make some sense of them (if I could). In one huge bag/tote were a good 8 (or more) partially-knit projects and the yarn to finish them. The problem? One of my ladies decided to pull out the ‘projects’ and look at them. That wouldn’t be a bad thing except she managed to get them TOTALLY TANGLED TOGETHER IN ONE HUGE MESS! Where I could, I followed the strings to their connected project – about half-way through I got totally fed up & cut them, wrapping them together. At the end of all this was one HUGE, partially finished (what looked like a sweater bottom) project which was created using some of the ‘new/popular’ yarns – I’m not sure what you call it, it’s a conglomeration of a good 6 or more yarns all tied together at varying points, end to end. When knit using this ‘creation’ it makes a very interesting pattern BUT when all tangled up together, it makes a NIGHTMARE! My thought was just dump it all in a bag and, if some young person had the time & patience, it could be untangled & re-used. My dear, VERY PATIENT husband saw me and said: “No! WAIT! I LIKE untangling things like that!” He proceeded to sit down and begin to unwind/untangle the entire mess! I’ll give him credit: there were quite a few times I bit my tongue, wanting to say: “Just get the scissors & cut that mess!” but he held on. He (of course) engaged me in this fiasco – my job was to hold the ‘end’ and pull connecting threads through when told. I’d guess this ‘project’ took a good hour, but when we were finally done, someone now has all the means to unravel the ‘sweater’? bottom and create something nice! I know some of my ladies in the group and this kind of ‘yarn’ is VERY expensive (they only buy the best) so some patient soul will be getting something very nice to work with. (NOT ME!) When I woke up today and decided it’s the ‘yarn project’ day I also thought it might be a good chance for me to re-arrange all 3 garbage bags full of baby yarns – YEP, I’m nuts! I got through two and, after assisting husband, decided I was really tired of yarn, so here I am, writing to you AND sitting down! Maybe later I’ll take up my baby yarn ‘challenge’ – maybe not; right now I just want to NOT think about it! (I should say – there is now one rather full 30 gallon garbage bag full of yarn for Childrens Village!)

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Strawberry Cream Tart

Shell:
1 1/2 C. flour
1 stick (1/2 C) unsalted butter,
cold/cubed
1/4 C. sugar
1/4 C. ice water
1 egg
1/4 tsp. salt

Filling:
2 pints strawberries, washed/
hulled/halved
3/4 C. apricot jam (optional)

Pastry Cream:
4 extra-large egg yolks
1 1/4 C. milk, divided
1/2 C. sugar
3 T. cornstarch
1 T. heavy cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 pinch salt
–
Crust:
Combine flour, sugar & salt
in food processor; pulse. Add cold
cubed butter & egg; pulse until coarse
& crumbly, then slowly add ice water &
pulse until dough comes together. Turn
dough out onto a lightly floured surface;
form into a 6-7 inch disc. Wrap tightly
in plastic wrap & refrigerate at least
1 hour.
–
Preheat oven 350 degrees F.
Roll dough onto lightly floured surface into
a 12-inch circle; transfer to a tart or spring-
form pan. Gently press dough into pan &
fold over excess. Pierce holes in dough using
a fork & refrigerate 15 minutes. Place dough
in oven & bake 20-25 minutes until golden
brown.
Pastry Cream:
Beat egg yolks, 3 T. milk, sugar & salt in bowl
several minutes, until thick. Mix in cornstarch
& transfer mixture to a saucepan. Heat remaining
milk in a separate saucepan over Low heat. While
whisking continuously, gradually pour warmed
milk into egg yolk mixture, along with vanilla &
cook over medium heat. Bring to a boil; cook 5
minutes until thickened. (Keep stirring, don’t
worry if it looks like it’s curdling). Stir in heavy
cream then pour mixture through a strainer
into a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap,
placing wrap directly onto cream & refrigerate
until thoroughly chilled.
Once cold, whip pastry cream until smooth, then
spread into pastry shell & smooth top. Arrange
strawberries, cut sides down, on top of cream.
Heat apricot jam over medium-low heat in a
saucepan, until liquidy, then pour evenly over
top of tart. Let cool before serving.

NOTE: Tart is best served the day it’s made

(recipe: 12tomatoes.com)
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Meatball Sub Casserole

1 (11.25 oz) pkg. Texas Toast (usually
in the frozen foods)
1 1/2 C. shredded mozzarella cheese,
divided
1 (20 oz) pkg. cooked/frozen meatballs,
thawed
1 (26 oz) jar pasta sauce
Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling
–
Preheat oven 425 degrees F.
Arrange bread slices in single layer
in an ungreased 9 X 13″ baking dish.
Bake 10-12 minutes until toasted;
sprinkle with 1/2 C. mozz. cheese. In
large bowl mix meatballs & sauce;
spoon over toast & sprinkle with
remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered,
25-30 minutes until heated through.
Sprinkle with Parm. cheese & serve.
Serves 6

(recipe: mrfood.com)
—————————————-

Italian Tortellini Soup

1 lb. Italian sausage, casings removed
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
6 C. packed, chopped kale, thick
stems removed
8 C. chicken stock*
8 C. (20 oz) refrigerated cheese tortellini
–
shredded Parmesan cheese, for serving
–
In a large soup pot or Dutch oven brown &
crumble the sausage with onion & garlic
over medium-high heat 6-8 minutes until
meat is no longer pink. Stir in Ital. seasoning,
kale & stock; cover & bring to boil over high
heat. Add tortellini & cook 5-6 minutes.
Serve topped with shredded Parm. cheese,
if desired. Serves 8

* Poster used 2 (cartons) Progresso Chicken
Cooking stock (total 8 cups)

(recipe: lovebakesgoodcakes)
—————————————

Pork Chop Supreme

4 boneless pork chops
1/4 C. oil
4 thinly sliced medium potatoes
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 C. milk
salt/pepper, to taste
–
Preheat oven 350 degrees F.
Brown pork chops in 1/4 C. oil;
drain. Spray medium casserole
dish with nonstick spray & place
potatoes in even layer. Place
chops over potatoes. Combine
soup mix & mush. soup with
milk; pour over chops. Bake
1 hour. Serves 4

(recipe: Facebook – Wendy Wilkes)
——————————————-

Cracker Barrel-style Meatloaf
(recipe for a crowd)

10 lb. ground beef
30 oz. onion, chopped 1/4 in
diced
1 lb. diced green bell peppers
10 eggs
5 T. salt
1 1/2 T. pepper
1 1/2 quart diced canned tomatoes
2 1/4 C. grated biscuit crumbs
–
Topping:
1/2 C. catsup
–
Preheat oven 300 degrees F.
Place all ingredients in LARGE
bowl; mix completely using hands.
Place mixture into 3 greased loaf
pans; press mixture down to smooth
tops. Bake 60  minutes. Remove from
oven & invert each loaf over a wire
rack to drain grease & juice. Invert
loaves to serving plates & spread
catsup over top of each loaf; cut into
portions & keep warm.
Makes 45 (5 oz ea) servings

(recipe: recipelion.com)
——————————————–

Crab Bisque

1 (14 3/4 oz) can cream-style corn
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of potato
soup
1 1/2 C. milk
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. ground pepper, freshly
ground
9 oz. imitation crabmeat, chunks
1 bay leaf (optional)
–
Combine all ingredients except
crabmeat in medium saucepan over
Low heat. Heat until hot, about 10-15
minutes, do not over heat – it will
scorch. Add crab & heat through. Remove
bay leaf before serving. Serves 3

(recipe: food.com)
——————————————-

Crockpot Shredded Beef

3/4 C. cola (like Coke/Pepsi – no
diet)
1/4 C. Worcestershire sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. white vinegar
1 tsp. beef bouillon granules
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 beef rump roast or bottom
round roast (2 lb)
2 tsp. canola oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1/2 C. ketchup
–
8 hoagie buns, split
–
In small bowl combine cola, Worc.
sauce, garlic, vinegar, bouillon &
seasonings; set aside. Cut roast
in half. In nonstick skillet brown
meat in oil on all sides. Place
onions in crockpot; top with meat.
Pour half of cola mixture over
meat; cover & cook on Low 8-10
hours or until meat is tender; cover
& refrigerate remaining cola
mixture. Remove meat from crockpot
& cool. Strain liquid in crockpot,
reserving onions & discard the
liquid. When meat is cooled
enough to handle, shred using
2 forks; return meat & onions to
crockpot. Combine ketchup &
reserved cola mixture; pour over
meat & heat through. Serve on
buns. Makes 8 servings.

(recipe: tasteofhome.com)
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Special Ingredient Cake
(Also called Mexican Chocolate
Cake)
The special ingredient adds a
kick to make a delicious chocolate
cake
–
1 (18 1/4 oz) box chocolate cake mix
& ingredients to prepare cake
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 T. balsamic vinegar
1 C. powdered sugar
1/2 C. unsweetened cocoa
1/4 C. water
–
Preheat oven 350 degrees F.
Spray a 10 inch Bundt pan with
nonstick spray. Prepare choc. cake
mix accordging to pkg. directions.
Stir cinnamon, cayenne & vinegar into
cake mixture then pour into prepared
pan. Bake 35-40 minutes until a
toothpick inserted near center comes
out clean. Let cool 15 minutes then
remove to wire rack to cool completely.
In medium bowl whisk powdered sugar,
cocoa & water until smooth; drizzle over
cake & let set until firm. Serves 12

(recipe: mrfood.com)

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Even thought the weather reports said we were
supposed to get colder & snow it’s a lovely 44
degrees & a bit cloudy, but no snow – YAY!

Driving by our local gas station yesterday going
TO church I noted the price at $1.44/9 – going
BACK to church about 4 hours later it read
$1.43/9 – still going down!

Hope your day goes well for you – remember
to take little breaks when you can – maybe
grab a quick snack or something warm to
drink to give you a little boost!

Hugs;

Pammie