5 thing Friday - lunches, potted plants, stitch plans, to do list, snack mix

I am trying to get to a place where I take better care of myself. And lately I pack food for my weekend shift on Friday afternoon.

It pretty much always includes a sammie, some chips, fruit, yogurt, protein drink, and other healthy snacks like almonds or peanut butter. Pictured above are two complete sets of breakfast/lunch.  I reload the lunch tote on Saturday night.

 I moved my asparagus fern from the kitchen window seat to the deck and it went ape!  The owl gets moved around a lot, lately as the squirrels love to love on my potted plants.

 I also moved the little rose bush out there, but I think it may get too much water from all of the rain we have been getting.  I don't know diddly about roses but I love plants in terracotta!

 New design to stitch - two sweet birdies.  I don't think it will say anything snarky.  But I'm not making promises. 

 

 I ordered a To Do pad free from Shutterfly.  It feels good on Friday to rip off that page and toss it with everything crossed off!

When my kids were kids I made this snack mix - peanuts, raisins, and M&M's.  Nowadays I use craisins and sometimes I use almonds, but the basic "recipe" is the same.  By Monday it was gone. 

p.s.  Where did May go?!

Gina

Baked Ravioli, Lydia style

One of my favorite TV cooks to watch is Lydia Bastianich.  I love watching her cook homemade Italian meals.  And often she gives tips  about how to devise your own meals, no recipe needed.  So I took a tip from her on building my own marinara and it came out GREAT.

It was soooo good!
I started with frozen whole wheat ravioli, crushed Italian tomatoes, approximately 1 1/2 c. of mire poix,  some fresh Italian sausage, garlic, mozzarella, and my secret ingredient:  anchovies!  Please don't tell Bubbie - he is a dedicated anti-fish person...

If you have never made anything with anchovies in it, let me just tell you right now:  you use a very small amount and it won't overpower what you cook.  Years ago I made a Caesar Salad recipe from Neiman Marcus to serve at my bridesmaid's luncheon.  Anchovies made the dressing the star of the salad!  The trick is to just use a couple of them.

I sauteed the anchovies (2 of them) in some olive oil along with the chopped garlic.  The fish melts into the oil.

I added in my mire poix.  If you don't have mire poix already made, chop some carrot, onion, and celery up finely, about a cup and a half.  Then saute that with your garlic mixture for about 5 minutes.

Next I added a can of crushed tomatoes, 

and some cooked and drained Italian sausage. {you could also add some Italian seasoning or such}  I simmered it all for about 30 minutes.

I made one dish of ravioli to freeze, one for that night's supper.  Butter or oil the dish, add a little sauce, then start layering ravioli, sauce, cheese until you end up with cheese.  You could skip the top layer of cheese on the one you are freezing, then just top it when it's thawed and ready to cook. {Tip:  toss your freshly grated mozzarella with some parmesan to make it easier to sprinkle on top without it landing in giant globs.  Plus, parmesan adds great taste!}

I'm not sure it matters if you top it with cheese before you freeze it.  I guess it depends on whether you like the cheese to get a little browned.  Fully thawed I cooked it for about an hour, some of that time uncovered.  I let it sit in the hot oven while I tossed a salad - I wanted to make sure it was nice and bubbly.

This 9 inch pie plate holds enough ravioli and sauce for 5 people!

YUM.

And since it was so well-received, my peeps will be happy to know another pan of it is in their future!

Shared with:

Miz Helen's Country Cottage

What the week holds: the final push of the school year!

 The school year is winding down...it all seems to happen at once!

The only one I have in  public school anymore is Bubbie.  He will be a high school senior next year and will letter in band.  About a week ago we heard a preview of the new music for Fall.  Called "Tango" and FULL of sassy brass.  It's going to be a fabulous show!

The end of that week was the band banquet.  Bubbie and his date both wore blue, and I put together a very last minute bouquet of dyed-blue alstromeria and yellow rose with greenery.  It was very pretty and I think they enjoyed their time out - I took them over to Amy's for an after banquet treat.

He's in there somewhere!

Last week was the last band concert and this week is the last week for private lessons.  Hopefully he can get on to studying for finals this week...  It's always hard for me to believe how fast the school year goes.  I've had a child in AISD since 1994!  This time next year will seem surreal with graduation and the transition to college.  There is so much to do and deadlines loom.  Days after the school year ends, he will be taking his SAT.  I'm not sure I'm ready for all that the Fall will bring, but I'm sure going to try!  One week at a time, deep breaths.

What does your week look like?

Gina

Patchwork Hotpads

I wanted to do a small sussie for the two ladies I worked with on Mother's Day, as we were there for the whole day, and planning a brunch.  I really wanted to think of something more heartfelt and crafty, so I took stock of what I had in my stash and got busy on these hotpads:

Perfect for our Mother's Day Brunch!

Months ago, my mother had me help her clean out her quilting stash.  The drawers in the antique dresser she uses for storage were way too full.  She also gave me a worn out ironing board cover and told me to use the stuffing inside as the stuffing for pot holders.  Makes sense as both need some insulation.  What a great way to recycle, right?

I found some denim in my stash to use as a sturdy backing.

I laid the quilt blocks onto the ironing pad to trace out the size I needed.  There's a layer of floral fabric, as well as interior foam that I just tossed - I only needed the insulation.

To stiffen the quilt block I ironed on some fusible interfacing.  Then I pinned right sides together and stitched 3/4 of the way around.

I clipped off the excess insulation close to the stitching and clipped the corners.  That will make them less bulky around the edges when I turn them right side out.

Denin and quilt block on the outside, insulation on the inside.  Ready to pin together and topstitch.  No need for binding on these, but you could do that and make a loop for hanging, too.

I stitched all around the hot pad with a zig zag.

 I glued a pretty photo from Scout onto some purchased note cards I already had, and included the recipe on a 3x5 index card for the biscuit casserole I took to share.  I think my "tacky homemades" came out quite nicely! It was a great Mother's Day.

Gina

Shared with:

Tutorial Tuesday at Hope Studios

China dish pin holder

Years ago, I saw a Good Things idea in a MS magazine about gluing a strong magnet on the bottom of a pretty dish to make a place to put pins while you are sewing.  I have this china saucer that belonged to my grandmother.  

I'm not too sure about whether it matters, but it is a real piece of china.  Pretty thin, but if your magnet is strong enough, it should work with regular old glass or porcelain.

I bought two magnets for about $2 and some E6000 glue to keep with my crafting supplies.  

The E6000 glue says to let it cure for at least 72 hours so I glued it on Friday and set it by my machine.  I need a new sewing project for this week, so I'm sure it will be put to good use!  What does your week look like?

Gina

5 thing Friday - the backyard, Hubby's office, new stitchin', lunch at home, pillow talk

Our backyard is a dead zone. I know I should stop bemoaning the state its in and just get going on it, but I find it paralyzing to think about the amount of time and money it will take to revitalize it.  We need to repair the fence, add dirt, get the sprinklers in working order, do some landscaping.

 About all I have done is be lame and toss some grass seed out.

 

 That's like spitting on a wildfire, I know.  Meanwhile, in my neighbor's yard there is this:

 

Carolina Jasmine.  It hangs over the fence into my yard, so I snip a bit here and there.  It grows such that they barely get to enjoy it!  So although our yard looks sad, it smells great.

 Hubby's new office needs serious decorating help.  He's got a mish mash of rectangles and a jumble of scout stuff.  I'm on the thrift hunt for a brass planter I can clean up and arrange silk plants in.

 He's seriously silly.  But I am happy that he has this new job and opportunity to grow in a better situation.  A cookie for you if you spy a lava lamp.  Another cookie for the flag of Norway.

He asked me to stitch a saying for him - Just roll with it.  
Something his new boss likes to say.

Scout and I are eating leftovers for lunch on most days.  I am curbing the impulse to split Chinese with him once a week.  This was a delightful lunch - lettuce wraps with chicken mole, coleslaw, and avocado.

Last month I used up the last of Kohl's cash by buying this $40 pillow on sale for half prince, less the $10 Kohl's cash.  $10 for a nice new pillow for the sofa was a deal!  I couldn't even sew one at that price.  And with that, I am staying out of there until I have to buy school clothes for someone.

Gina

Mother's Day 2016 re-cap

Another Mother's Day has come and gone...

This would be my 26th Mother's Day, and a very nice one, if I do say so!  The Girl sent me a nifty Columbia shirt.  I love it - super comfy and it will get worn often!

 At work we noshed on fruit with cream cheese dip, sausage and biscuit bake, fudge-dipped oreos,

 and cinnamon rolls.  I feel not one bit guilty. It was fairly busy and we went without lunches, so it was a good thing we were prepared! We even exchanged sussies:

One of the ladies brought us miniature rose bushes and chocolate covered strawberries. 

I brought patchwork hot pads and a photo card from my favorite photographer, plus the recipe for the sausage biscuit casserole.  It was actually a very nice day at work - I will miss our trio when one of the ladies goes to a different shift.  Change is hard.

That evening, Hubby had a nice dinner ready - Salisbury Steaks with sauteed mushrooms and onions, broccoli, and kale chopped salad, with a nice bottle of wine.  Dessert was Peanut Butter Cup frozen yogurt.  All of my "boys" and I ate together and there was lots of table entertainment.

I believe they are practicing their fancy table manners here,

 but I could be wrong.

 They are very silly, but it was nice to have a sit down dinner together.

What about you?  

Did you have a good Mother's Day? 

Gina