Meatball Stroganoff

I saw this recipe while catching up on my Google reader recently on Centsational Girls blog and knew I was going to make it while I was off work and had the time. So I made it today along with the Potato & Ham Soup and now we have dinner for several days ahead, that's the best part no more cooking this week! It was yummy. I already have some in a container to take for my lunch tomorrow.

Leftover's

We got a spiral ham for Christmas dinner. Not the one from that overpriced chain but I did go online and find a great copy of the basting sauce used. It turned out really good. The basting sauce consisted of 1/2 Cup each of Pear Juice, Orange Juice, Brown Sugar and Honey. So what do you do with a lot of leftover ham? Well I froze some and with the rest I make this delicious Potato and Ham Soup. It turned out really good. We didn't eat it tonight, instead we had another great recipe that I also made today. We're having this tomorrow for dinner, I'm sure it will taste even better after a night in the frig. I will post the other recipe I made right after this post....so stay tuned.

Chocolate Souffle Cake

I read this great book recently by Elizabeth Bard called Lunch in Paris. In the book she gives the recipes of some of the things she or her husband make.

 They all look and sound great. I decided on this one......

It turned out perfect, and was delicious!

Cranberry Plum Butter

I just made this wonderful Cranberry Plum Butter using a recipe I saw on William Sonoma's blog.  Just had to try some on a biscuit. It tastes delish and it takes just a little over an hour. What a great accompaniment to Thanksgiving dinner. And ooooh won't it be yummy on a turkey sandwich with some cream cheese.

Cranberry Plum Butter

I just made this wonderful Cranberry Plum Butter using a recipe I saw on William Sonoma's blog.  Just had to try some on a biscuit. It tastes delish and it takes just a little over an hour. What a great accompaniment to Thanksgiving dinner. And ooooh won't it be yummy on a turkey sandwich with some cream cheese.

Tomato soup

I got this great recipe for homemade tomato soup from The kitchen. Today is a great day to make it, the day after it rained and still pretty chilly out. We'll be having it with grilled cheese sandwiches tonight. Doesn't it look yummy!

Blogs I enjoy reading

In my daily surfing of great blogs out there to read about sewing, crochet, cooking, etc. I found this site, Chinese Grandma. I made this Balsamic Vinaigrette this morning and we had it on our salad this evening. It was very yummy.

I also learned of this cool blog The small things where Kate shows us great hair styles we can do ourselves at home. She goes so far to make You tube videos so we can follow along. I just cut a lot off hair off over the summer, to the tune of about 8 to 10 inches. So some of her cute ideas I may have to wait a few months until my hair is long enough. Here is one adorable style, the messy ponytail.  

Baby pants

A few months back I posted pictures of the cute baby pants I made for my new grandbaby that was on the way. Well this evening I got a picture from my daughter of him wearing them. He's now 3 months old and they fit. Isn't he just the cutest! I wish he was closer so I could just scoop him up and kiss him all over those chubby cheeks.

Crochet project update

I'm still slowly working on my project. I haven't made as much progress as I would hope by now. But I intend to pick up the pace this week. This will be a very delicate wrap when it is completed.

Halloween

Found this great tutorial to make a pumpkin at Ginger cake. So thought I'd give a try with some of my scraps. It probably took me all of 30 minutes to make and it will last year after year. Cute, huh?

Furoshiki

Have you ever seen or heard of this technique of using scarves or fabric? I just watched this video about Furoshiki and found it really cool. I have fabric that I would love to use to wrap a gift or use as a bag. How fun could this be for the holidays.

Homemade Pop Tarts

So, all this unprocessed food talk has got me looking deeper into how to cook healthier. Not sure if these Pop Tarts from Deliciously Organic qualify but they sure sounds yummy. I think how fun these would be to make with my granddaughter. The nutella  filling sounds down right yummy, but I'm a fan of berry filling too. Guess I'll have to try both. This will be on the list to make very soon.

October unprocessed month

A lot of people are participating in 'October unprocessed' this month. Not sure if I can be that diligent, however I should be. One great thing I just ran across was how to make your own homemade coffee creamer. What a great idea! Since starting on my weight loss journey I stopped buying those flavored creamers, have you read the ingredients? Not to mention the sugar content, there isn't much in them that is good for you, including no milk! Check out the recipes at Deliciously Organic to make your own flavored creamers. They look and sound pretty darn good. I'll let you know how they taste. Think I'll start out with french vanilla and cinnamon strudel.

Biscoff

Have you tried any Biscoff products? Story goes that they started out as being served on airplanes. I have seen some recipes using the cookies. So I picked up a package at the store. Then I saw that my local store also carries the spread. I was curious, so I bought a jar of that too. Oh my....very yummy. Now I just have to figure out how I am not going to eat either of these. They're really good, check em out.

Crocheting again

Now that we're back home it's time to start on a new project. I got my delivery of yarn from Turkey right before we left on vacation. This is one of the yarns I ordered and I just had to start with it. Not sure if it will be a winter yarn, but it is just so pretty and colorful. I started a wrap with a pattern I have used before, it's called the Milan lace wrap. I wish I'd taken a picture of the first one I made, I usually do. But I had worn it to a friends house and she admired it so that I gave it to her. I figured I could always make another one, right!?

Aloha

Well now that we've been home for a day and have caught up on some sleep and the time we lost I am feeling more myself. I'm even cooking dinner tonight, something I haven't done in over a week. I'll have to post what I made, it is a wonderful recipe from one of my great cookbooks. So...I can't possibly post all the 300+ pictures I took on our trip. But I will post a few for your viewing pleasure. First our view....
These are both views of the lawn from our condo which was right on the ocean. The second was right before sunset.

We did the Haleakala Volcano bike ride which consisted of getting up to the top at 10,000 feet before sunrise. VERY early, but so worth it. Got some great pictures then went down to 7000 feet where we rode down on Mountain bikes the rest of the 23 miles. Worth getting up at 1:30 AM!

The next day we did the Road to Hana...I mean the whole road. These are some of the spectacular views you see on the way. It is amazing. We took the road all the way around, unlike most that turn around and go back the way they came.

We did more.................drove on VERY tiny roads that only one car can drive on at a time

Saw more beautiful shoreline

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Ate at a ridiculously expensive but delicious restaurant called Mama's Fish House. Great food and Mai Tai's.

Went to a Luau

And finally, enjoyed a sunset on our last evening there.

 A wonderful time was had by all. Mahalo!

Luke.....

It's been weeks, well actually months since my last post. I've been busy, just got back from vacation in Maui. I will post some pictures soon of our trip. But first I must update you on that adorable little grandson of mine that was born back in July. We live states apart so I haven't seen him since I went to visit in August, but I get photo's regularly. Here is a picture I got this morning, he is so darn cute I just want to pinch those cheeks.

 Everyone says he resembles my son when he was a baby. I am going to dig out an old picture soon and we'll see if that is true. Until then, lets just enjoy this sweet little guy.

 And...did I mention Luke's big brother? This is Jacob, isn't he just as adorable? He is sitting inside the Card Table Playhouse I made for him. I hope he is enjoying it still. While I'm showing off my grandkids I should also introduce my other three.

 That is Madisyn, Dominik and Caleb with me at the airport on my trip home.

Madisyn went with me to Iowa. We had a great time, it was so nice to spend time with her! Proud grandma, I AM!