Lazy Sunday...

 Good Evening Internet Friends.

Had a good Ole Lazy Sunday today.

Took doggie out for his walk at 0500 and then just puttered around for a bit.  Doggie went to sleep in front of the fireplace.  

Breakfast was toasted Blueberry bagels from Costco with homemade jelly, a poached egg, and a tall glass of milk; comfort food:

After breakfast I mixed up a batch of sour cream, and green onion bread.  While the bread rose I took doggie out for a stroll in the daylight and through some of the bush trails that are not yet developed here.  Found out that the lakes are starting to freeze over.  The ducks looked cold: 🦆

Back home I put the bread in to bake and made a batch of "Dishwater Soup" as we call it.  Basically it is all the veggies one has in the fridge along with the left over turkey and broth from Thanksgiving:

 

Nutritious and Delicious!!!

After lunch I spent a bit of time in my craft room and assembled this table runner kit that I bought for my brother about 8 years ago and just stare at.  Today I actually put it together.  Will stop at Sew Divine next weekend and see if I can get some kind of fusible batting so that I don't have to do too much quilting on this:

Hope this inspires your own creativity and wishing you all the BEST Day EVER Monday tomorrow.  Stay Safe out there 😷

Kathy

Marshmallows!!!

Good Evening Internet Friends!

Late last evening while out on doggie walk we stumbled across a marshmallow spill!  Seriously.  Not the first time we have come across this type of disaster.  So as my dog ate them I decided that I should make some.

Used the Butter Baked Goods recipe.  It's my favourite.  The marshmallows always turn out and the recipe is not finicky.

Kept some batter and made a batch of Rice Krispie squares:

For lunch I made Dill Pickle Soup using a jar of home made dill pickles:

Super yum.  Left overs for lunch for kiddo and I this week.

For dinner I grilled Lentil Burgers and we ate on the deck.  Felt like spring out there.

After dinner I made another 6 Flock of Geese Blocks.  Only 3 or maybe 4 more of these little cuties to go before I can start assembly of the quilt!!

Hope this inspired your own creativity and wishing you all the BEST Victoria Day Monday EVER.  Stay safe out there.

Kathy

BEST Day EVER Sunday!

Good Evening Internet Friends!

Doggie woke me up at regular time to go for a walk....apparently he did not receive the memo that it was THE weekend.

After returning home I decided that I would make French Toast for breakfast and use the fresh raspberries I had in the fridge from earlier this week:

Delicious of course, but this innocent breakfast is responsible for almost everything that happened after.

I used the last pieces of bread to make the French Toast and that meant I needed to make bread:

Dough rising in the sun beam looked so awesome.

Additionally, while I had been getting the raspberries out of the fridge I also remembered the 5 lb bag of beets that I had purchased at the same time as the raspberries because the beets were TOO good a deal.  So.....out came the food processor portion of the Kitchenaid and 5 lbs of beets and 2 lbs of carrots became:

Added some freezer peas,onions, some of the dill I dried last summer and Borscht soup for lunch was a GO!

Bread was baked and turned out FABULOUS.  Doggie was sitting in front of the oven door as usual waiting for it to be done so he could get the heels.  He did of course and was super happy:

Nothing tastes better than fresh bread in my opinion.

The Resident Cookie Monster had also mentioned as I was getting underway with all my baking/cooking projects today that the cookie jar was nearing empty!!!   Horror.  Well.....crisis was averted as I made Sea Salt Caramel Chip Cookies from a package of chips I had in the pantry:

These are pretty tasty!!!  You can try to eat just one......But......

Back to the refrigerator where I took out a zucchini, a red, yellow, and green pepper along with some spinach that was all going to need to be used up this week.  I decided that lasagna for dinner would take care of all of these vegetables and so that is what I made:

This should get us through dinners at least part of the week as it is a five day work week for me and a five day school week for kiddo.  On top of that all extracurricular activities will be resumed this week.  

While all of this baking and cooking was going on I also did an amazing amount of house cleaning!  Everything is washed, vacuumed, polished, scrubbed, and cleaned in some form.  The house looks and smells like HOME which is great because it was three months ago today that we spent our first night in our new home.  🏡

So.........a GREAT day thanks to doggie not getting the weekend notice memo.  

Hope this inspires your own creativity and wishing you all the

BEST Day EVER Monday tomorrow.

Kathy

Ho Hum...

Good Evening Internet Friends!

Somehow I am not really accomplishing anything on this Spring Break.  Today was another Ho Hum kind of day.  

I did make homemade tomato soup for lunch and now I have 2 quarts in the freezer for lunches another day:

Served with grilled cheese sandwiches it was FABULOUS!  The snow was falling outside again.....so I had an afternoon nap.

After dinner I decided that I actually should be somewhat of an adult and so I made muffins as I might have a friend stopping by tomorrow about morning tea time.  I made banana, coconut, oatmeal, flax seed, ground flax, whole wheat and chocolate chip muffins (I sampled one - they are delicious):

Now to retire with my knitting for a bit and see if I can make some progress on my KAL I started last spring....

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Sew Busy Saturday

Good Evening Internet Friends!

Today was probably the kind of day a Saturday should be 😺🛌.

I slept late, had a leisurely breakfast and did not really accomplish a whole lot of anything.  

I spent some time in my craft room and made another 4 of my Flowers for my Wedding Ring Quilt blocks:

I LOVE how awesome these blocks are and how perfectly they fit together.  

For Dinner I made Dill Pickle Soup from a jar of  our home made pickles and kiddo and i just may have finished the jar as well:

So YUMMY.  🍜

After dinner we went to the Ice Castle.  We went in the evening so that it would be lit up and pretty and were even there for fireworks at 2100 hours.  It was FABULOUS!!!  🎆

It was really pretty and we will go again next year.

Now, it is time to warm up with some more hot tea and think about getting a good night sleep.

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Ready????? Set??????

Good Evening Internet Friends!

Well it's Ready.....Set....Get Ready for the week day.

Kiddo and I slept in late this morning.  Too much excitement after being out to the movie last night I guess.

Had to get all the usual house cleaning, laundry and long dog walk in today.

Lunch was Cream of Tomato Soup from the frozen tomatoes in the freezer along with mozzarella sticks.  YUMMY:

While the laundry was going I decided to make Christmas cards.  These are to replace the 17 that were experimented on by "Lab" Dog and his trusty assistant The Madeline Kitten.

I used up an old kit that I had and love how they turned out:

If you look closely you will notice that these cards are only kind of the same.  That is because when I found a French Greeting I decided that these would be my son's teacher cards, and of course there is one specially made for his French Teacher.  

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

I'm Still Here......

Good Evening Internet Friends!

 I have had a very busy week despite only working three days....... but I am still here.  😼

I did spend some time on a couple of my projects but not enough to really show any progress.

Here in Edmonton it feels like the middle of winter.  In reality the snow has only been here about 18 days, but the cold and the snow are already starting to get annoying.

As a result of the cold that won't go away I decided that I needed to make Corn Chowder in the slow cooker for dinner tonight:

It was warm, delicious and filling.  Made taking the dog out for his walk a little easier.

After walking the dog I spent a bit of time in my craft room and made Block 12 for me of the 4 Patch Star Block:

I LOVE my scrap basket.  I have the most amazing fabrics in there 😉

Here are all twelve of my blocks:

TAH DAH!!!!

Now, off to see what else I can get into this evening as tomorrow is get ready for the work week day.  

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Comfort Day

Good Evening Internet Friends.

Awoke today to an overcast and smoky sky.  There are forest fires burning in British Columbia at present.  I went out briefly this morning but my asthma did not like the air quality so I returned to my house/bubble with all it's air quality instruments etc.

This afternoon I did some knitting on my June box of Super Amazing Awesome Fingering Yarn Club 😊😁

I started these socks while in Quebec on Summer Vacation and of course since getting home and going back to work have not done a lot of work on them.  Today I was able to get the heel flap and heel done.  😺

For dinner I made fresh Tomato Dill Soup and we had the Green Onion cakes along with.  Super awesome:

This was of course comfort food to add to the perfect comfort day.

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Sew Tired....

Good Late Evening Friends...

Today was my turn around day after my weekend of night shift.  Three in a row is getting a little long for this gal ☺

Today I did a whole lot of nothing.  Got kiddo ready for school and the bus stop only to find out that the bus was going to be 45 minutes late.  

Took a quick nap after getting back home.  Rummaged through the fridge for some lunch and eventually showered by 1600 hours.  WOW.  Nothing really accomplished.

Late this afternoon my May subscription of Yarn Crush arrived.  I was super excited.  Then I opened it:

The yarns are pretty, but are mini skeins to use to make a choker necklace.  WHAT!!!!  Seriously.  I am not sure what to think of this......I'm actually speechless...

Most of today has been cloudy and rainy so I made tomato soup and cheese biscuits for dinner:

After dinner I sat down and finished knitting my March Yarn Crush project.  I used the Tink Yarn supplied to make socks using the Cherry Lane Socks pattern:

Pretty!

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Oh Where Oh Where has my Week Gone???

Good Evening Internet Friends!!!

So, seriously, I have NO idea where my week went.

Sunday...spent 2 hours cleaning the house again.  Have decided that if I clean one room entirely every Sunday eventually I will be caught up and just have to do maintenance house keeping.

Then kiddo and I made:

Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I used the entire bag of Callebaut Milk Chocolate Chips that I had purchased at Duchess on Friday.  These cookies were DELICIOUS!

We took dog for a walk in the River Valley:

Since it was a little on the cold side down by the river and kiddo had been complaining of not feeling well I made Chicken, Lentil, Sauerkraut soup for dinner:

What's that you may ask????  Well, its almost everything I could find in the refrigerator; water in the Dutch Oven, frozen turkey broth from the freezer (the Christmas turkey broth that I saved - when frozen the fat rises to the top and is really easy to separate off when ready to use), onion, celery, and carrot that were the last of their kind in the crisper (should go get groceries), 2 handfuls of dried lentils, 1/2 quart jar of sauerkraut, 2 frozen tomatoes defrosted and pureed, and chicken sausage.  When cooked through I topped the soup with the last of the multi grain taco chips I had a bag on the cupboard and some grated sharp cheddar!  Yummy and warm and hopefully will keep the cold virus away.

Monday was you may have guessed it - Stay Home with Sick Kid Day.  Woke up twice at night to kiddo vomiting.  By noon he was no longer vomiting but he wanted to sleep on my lap so that is how I spent the afternoon.  I love that he still wants to sleep on mommy when he is sick!

Tuesday was back to school and work.  Maverick the puppy chewed through his pillow for the absolute last time.  There was nothing left to sew together to try and hold it together anymore, "sew" I sewed him a new one and filled it with left over fabric remnants:

It's a HUGE pillow.  Here's hoping he leaves this one alone for a while

Wednesday evening, was a bit of knitting, I did 2 rows on my Oroya Shawl so not enough progress to show yet.  I am currently 41 rows from being done but the pattern in so intricate that to keep from making mistakes I only do the pattern row and then the purl row and give up for the day ☺

This evening after work I headed out and ran a few errands including groceries at Costco so that I do not have to shop this weekend and am ready for Easter Dinner with the family!

Planning to head down to my craft room now for a bit before sleep creeps in and see what I can get into!

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

What's For Lunch???

Good Day Internet Friends!

It is super cold outside today and I am working night shift tonight.  Since it is the weekend, everyone is home, so I still have the important question of "What's For Lunch"?

I looked in the refrigerator and what I found was a great big bag (Costco) sized of broccoli.  So, I made Broccoli Cheddar Soup for lunch:

It was delicious!

Now off for a nap....

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

What's For Dinner?

I am starting to feel better.  Thank goodness for antibiotics!  But still feel tired and somewhat weak.  Have not really been eating much as no appetite, and it's really hard to chew and breathe at the same time since I cannot breathe through my nose.  Bummer.....

As for dinner tonight husband and son were running out of left overs in the fridge to heat up, and so the pestering questions as to dinner started early today.  I think they might have been getting hungry ; )

I decided that some kind of soup in the crock pot was the way to go.  After comparing what I had in the freezer and the pantry against a few recipes I came up with a Kathy version of Corn Chowder:

It was not quite as comforting a chicken soup, but almost, and I feel a little better after having eaten.  Go figure!

Corn Chowder

2 12oz cans of canned corn (drained)

1 can creamed corn

3 medium potatoes

1 package lean ground turkey cooked with onion

24 ozs of water

3 cups milk

Salt/Pepper/Poultry Seasoning/Garlic Powder/Chili Powder - all sprinkled in to taste

Cook on low for several hours.  Just prior to serving I fried up some turkey bacon, grated some marble cheese and chopped some green onions to garnish the top.

Served with garlic toast on home made bread I found in the freezer it was quite filling.  A little heavy on the carbs tonight, but hopefully it helps me feel better soon!

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

What's For Dinner?

Dill Pickle soup with garlic cheese bread!

Okay, you read that correctly, it is Dill Pickle soup.  My friend recently had this soup at a bistro downtown and commented on how delicious it was.  Since then I have been looking for a recipe for this.

After several searches, and a cook book from the St. Albert Public Library, I made my version of Dill Pickle soup, and it was delicious!

Here's how I made it:

Dill Pickle Soup:

8 cups water

2 cups chopped pickles (I used Claussen brand)

1 cup chopped carrots

1 chicken bouillon cube

- boil with lid on for about 45 minutes, then add

3 cups mashed potatoes

1 cup left over vegetables (I used beans)

-cook until potatoes blend in with the other ingredients

- serve with small amount chopped fresh dill

Enjoy!

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

What's For Dinner???

By noon of yesterday, I was being asked this question.  Seriously people - ON SUNDAY!!!!

Alright, well, what is for dinner?

A colleague of mine always brings this slow cooker soup to every potluck gathering that I have ever seen her at.  It is a "classic" I guess, but tasty, and so I made it for dinner last night!

The recipe can be found here.

Hope this inspires your own use of the slow cooker, and creativity...

Kathy

Slow Cooker Split Pea Sausage Soup

"What's for dinner" is a question that is often asked around my house.  Well, yesterday I decided to be proactive in regards to this question.  While rummaging (yes, I do that) in my cupboard I found a good Saskatchewan staple - yellow split peas and red lentils!  Not quite enough for any particular recipe, but if I combined them (oh what a pun! - okay outsiders will not get it, but it is funny), I could make soup.  

A quick look in the other cupboard for my Pulses Cooking with beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas booklet and dinner is served.  I of course substituted the smoked sausage with some turkey sausage that I found at Safeway, and topped it off with cheese just before presentation on the dinner table.

My son loved it and ate it all, and even my husband had a second serving!

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

And Sunday is Soup Day...

It's starting to get cold outside, so today seemed like a perfect day for Minestrone soup in the crock pot.

This is definitely one of my "crafting" with food projects because this is what I do:

- add jar of pasta sauce to crock pot

- add 4 - 6 cups of water 

- add 2 chicken bouillon cubes

- add vegetables (mystery ones and left overs from bottom of fridge work well like onion, carrots, beans, corn)

- one can of kidney beans

- one can of garbanzo beans

- one can of tomato soup

- spices that you like to taste in soup

- cook on high for 6 - 8 hours

- I then add 1 cup of small pasta

- cook until pasta is done

- I then add cooked  Veggie Ground Round

- heat through and Enjoy!

This recipe makes lots so you will have left overs for the week.

Here is a picture from the river valley near my house today:

Yes, that is snow in the picture!

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

 

Kathy

Canning Soup

Today I began to use up the left over turkey.

What better way to use it and the broth up?  Turkey soup!

The broth and left over turkey meat were combined with tomatoes, carrots, onion, and celery, and a wee bit of sea salt.

I boiled it up, added to jars, and then processed for 10 minutes in boiling water.

Easy Peasy.  When it's time to use I will bring this mixture to a boil and add either pasta, rice, or potatoes and boil for 10 minutes and have a hearty soup for dinner quickly.

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy