Well, once again our ‘dear’ Michigan weather decided to surprise (or not) – yesterday the weather reported snow around 11 a.m. followed by freezing rain/drizzle/snow – crazy. I went to Library Knit 10-12 (nice, clear weather!); babysat 2 p.m. – around 4 (beginning to get a little drizzle). Lois decided to cancel the special needs group so I did all the calling for that (and was HAPPY to go home for the evening!). Dinner was Pierogies & sausages (family favorite) – not sure but I don’t think we really GOT the freezing rain thing! Today is nice & sunny AND CLEAR – roads/sidewalks, etc! YAY!
Today found my running around attempting to pick up birthday items for youngest grandson’s birthday party Sunday; went to Old Navy – now he has lots of t-shirts & shorts for summer (in a bigger size than he’s wearing now). Stopped in at Michael’s & picked up a pair of size 8 bamboo knitting needles for knitting bigger baby booties (I find it’s easier with the wood – yarn doesn’t slip as easily.
Speaking of booties: Tuesday was my knit group’s Yarn Swap and (once again) I scored with lots of baby sport-weight yarns. Ladies brought me more knit baby booties which means tomorrow I’m going to the Post Office to mail off FIFTY pairs of booties! WOW! I’m so happy my ladies are getting into this project – even crocheters are now asking for crochet patterns for booties!
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Easy Coconut Pie
1 (9 inch) graham cracker pie crust
1/4 C. toasted coconut
Filling:
2 (3.4 oz, ea) boxes instant vanilla
pudding mix
1 tsp. coconut extract
12 oz. cold evaporated milk –
straight from can – do not reconstitute
1 1/4 C. cold milk
1/2 C. shredded coconut
1 (8 oz) tub Cool Whip, thawed
–
In large bowl using elec. mixer beat
pudding mixes, extract & milks on
Low speed 2 minutes. Fold in Cool
Whip & 1/2 C. shredded coconut –
pour into pie crust & spread evenly.
Top with toasted coconut & chill
at least 3 hours. (You can freeze it
also- then it’s like ice cream)
Serves 8-12
(recipe: bakemidnite.com)
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Spinach Dip Crescent Bites
(appetizers)
2 T. butter
1 C. chopped green onion
(about 1 bunch white & green parts)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 C. chopped red bell pepper (1 large)
1 (10 oz) pkg. frozen chopped spinach,
thawed/well drained
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 C. mayonnaise
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1/2 C. chopped water chestnuts
1/2 C. shredded Parmesan cheese
2 tubes refrigerated crescent rolls
–
Preheat oven 375 degrees F.
Melt butter in a saute pan over medium
heat; add green onion, bell pepper &
garlic – saute 3-4 minutes. Add spinach
& cream cheese; stir & blend in cream
cheese until cheese is melted. Stir in
salt/pepper, paprika, crushed red pepper,
mayo, lemon juice, water chestnuts &
Parmesan. Remove from heat.
Unroll 1 tube crescent rolls & place on
a baking sheet. Using your fingers, gently
press seams to seal. Spread spinach
mixture evenly on rolls, leaving about
1/2 inch border along edges. Unroll
remaining tube of rolls & place on top
of spinach mixture. Press edges together
to seal – gently press seams together.
Bake 20-25 minutes until dough is golden
brown. Cut into small squares & serve
(NOTE: a pizza cutter works well for this).
(recipe: thekitchenismyplayground.com)
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Crockpot Brown Sugar Meatloaf
3 lb. extra lean ground beef
1 1/4 C. Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 C. milk
4 large eggs
2 pkts. dry onion soup mix
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
–
Topping:
2 C. ketchup
1 C. brown sugar (light or dark)
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
–
Line crockpot with a crockpot liner or
spray insides with nonstick cooking spray.
Using your hands, in large bowl combine
ground beef, breadcrumbs, milk, eggs,
soup mix, salt/pepper & ginger. Place
mixture in bottom of crockpot & shape
into a loaf shape, keep it away from the
sides of the crockpot. Cover & cook on
Low 6-7 hours (until meat thermometer
inserted into center of loaf reads 160
degrees F.) About 1/2 hour before
end of cooking time in small bowl
mix ketchup, brown sugar & Worc.
sauce – evenly spread over top of loaf;
finish cooking. Carefully remove loaf
from crockpot by either pulling the
liner with meatloaf inside or use
2 spatulas to lift loaf up & out of
crockpot. Place on a serving platter.
Serves 10
Freezer Instructions: Mix meatloaf
together & place in a 1 gallon ziplock
freezer bag (or foodsaver bag) – flatten
as much as possible inside bag. In 1 qt.
freezer bag mix topping ingredients. Seal
& freeze with meatloaf – Place smaller
bag inside bag with meatloaf & seal
larger bag closed by hand (or seal using
Foodsaver). Label bag with date prepared,
name of recipe, ingredients & cooking
instructions. Lay bag flat in freezer & allow
to freeze for several hours; then you can
stand the bag upright if needed. Contents
of meal must be allowed to thaw completely.
Remove from freezer, place in fridge until
completely thawed (about 24 hours). Remove
topping bag & set on a plate in fridge until
needed. Follow remaining directions in
recipe.
(recipe: crockpotladies.com)
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Crockpot Chicken Alfredo Tortellini
Soup
1 C. diced onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 C. chicken broth
4 medium carrots, cut into 1/2″
pieces
4 ribs celery, cut into 1/2″ pieces
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2 lb. boneless skinless chicken
breasts (frozen is OK)
1/2 C. flour
2 C. Half & Half
1 (19 oz) pkg. frozen cheese tortellini
1 1/2 C. grated/shredded Parmesan
cheese
5 large kale leaves, washed & coarsely
chopped (discard stems)
salt/pepper, to taste
–
Add onion, garlic, chicken broth, carrots,
celery, salt/pepper & chicken to crockpot.
Cover & cook on Low 6-8 hours (6 hours
for thawed chicken/8 hours for frozen).
Remove lid & use tongs to place chicken
on a cutting board – cut into pieces or
shred – add back to crockpot. Turn
heat to High – warm the Half & Half*.
Whisk flour, 1 T. at a time, into Half &
Half until smooth – pour into crockpot.
Stir & let soup thicken about 10 minutes.
Add in tortellini, Parmesan & kale.
Tortellini will cook in about 5-10 minutes.
Adjust salt/pepper to taste.
Serves 8-10
* Poster warms in a microwaveable
cup or bowl for 1 minute
(recipe: 365daysofcrockpot.com)
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Nacho ‘Taters’ (appetizers)
4 russet potatoes, about 1 lb.
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 C. frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 C. enchilada sauce or taco sauce
1 C. Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained/
rinsed
3 green onions, chopped
3 jalapeno peppers (pickled or fresh),
sliced
Preheat oven 400 degrees F.
Line a baking sheet with foil. Wash
potatoes well; dry. Coat each potato
in vegetable oil then prick skins a few
times with a fork. Place on prepared
baking sheet & bake 45 minutes to 1
hour until soft all the way through.
When potatoes are cooked, remove
from oven (leave OVEN on). Cut each
potato in half lengthwise down center
then once across – open potatoes &
mash insides slightly. Drizzle a few
tablespoons of enchilada sauce over each
potato then top with black beans, corn,
jalapenos & a handful of Cheddar cheese. Place
potatoes back in oven 3-5 minutes until
cheese melts. Remove from oven, drizzle
with more enchilada sauce & sprinkle
tops with sliced onions.
Serves 4
(recipe: budgetbytes.com)
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Blackberry Cobbler
8 C. blackberries
3 T. sugar
3 T. flour
1/8 tsp. nutmeg (or 1/2 tsp. cinnamon)
4 T. butter, cut into small pieces
2 C. flour
3 T. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 C. shortening (like Crisco)
1/4 C. ice water
4 T. brown butter*
2 T. turbinado sugar (large, crystal
crunchy sugar – garnish)
=
Preheat oven 400 degrees F.
Spray or butter a 9 X 13″ baking dish.
In large bowl mix fruit & sugar, flour &
nutmeg. Gently mix to coat the fruit
& pour into prepared dish. Dot top with
butter pieces.
Using a food processor, mix flour, sugar,
salt & shortening. Add ice water & pulse
to crumb texture – sprinkle over fruit.
*Brown Butter:
Melt remaining 1/4 C. butter until it is a
nutty brown color. Drizzle over pastry
chunks (make sure you get all the little
brown ‘crumbs” out of the pan). Sprinkle
top with 2 T. crunchy sugar.
Bake 40 minutes until pastry is golden
brown & crispy & fruit is bubbling.
(recipe: 77kitchen.com)
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Our gas prices have ‘danced around’ a bit lately:
one day they were up to $2.49/9 but happily
they’re back down to $2.39/9.
Not much else new around here; finished the
next issue of the special needs group’s newsletter
& will be mailing that out tomorrow along with
all the baby booties.
Hope you have a GREAT SUNNY Day!
Hugs;
Pammie