Mod-podge fabric "vase"

I saw this very cute idea in Bloggyland and decided to make one for my mom's birthday - a fabric wrapped and mod-podged vase made out of a pickle jar!

Over the years she has given me a lot of scrap fabric in the hopes I will one day make a quilt.  I just don't think I have the patience for that, but I love the sweet little prints.

 I tore off some strips and left the edges frayed.

 Then I painted mod-podge on a clean jar

 and wrapped the fabric all around it.  

I have an old cookie sheet I use to keep my table from getting mp'd!

 Cute!

I covered the jar thread at the top, too.  She might use it for more flowers, or even as a pencil jar later on, so she probably doesn't need the lid.   Then I gave it a couple coats of mod-podge and let it dry.

We had a fun visit in Brenham and went to the quilt show in La Grange.

How appropriate, right?  And she loved the flowers (:

Gina

Taco Soup

Tidy Mom is hosting Soup-a-Palooza today and though I wasn't going to post until Wednesday, I just had to put in my two cent's worth and show my family's favorite: Taco Soup!  I know there are about a thousand versions of this out on the internet, and truthfully, I can't remember where this one originated from, but I think the ranch dip mix has got to be the secret ingredient that makes it the best!

Taco Soup for the crock pot

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 pkg. mild taco seasoning mix

1 pkg ranch dip seasoning mix

1 can Rotel

1 can water ( use the Rotel can)

1 can chopped green chilies (I use the mild ones)

1 can corn, undrained

1 can pintos, undrained

Brown the meat and onion, then mix into the crock pot with all else.  Cook on low 6 hours.  Serve with Fritos and grated cheddar.Yuuum......no leftovers!

So that was our dinner last night, and here was our dessert:

I had fun making strawberry cupcakes and chocolate covered strawberries - once I saw how much they were charging for them at HEB I thought (once again) "I can do that!"  Yes - they were delicious!

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day - bring on Spring!

Gina

Snow Day 2011

I can't say I blame the people up north for thinking we Austin folk are a bunch of weenies when it comes to snow.  But, really, the roads here are downright treacherous when covered with ice.  And no one here knows how to drive in it.  Schools panic and close.  Employers offer paid lodging at nearby hotels. You would think it's Snowmaggedon.

 Look at that - barely a dusting - but first the rain fell, then the snow.

  

 

 

We've got "wintry mix" in the forecast today - no more ice, please? 

Gina

Sugar's talent

If it's one thing Sugar is good at, it's laying around.  

And she seems to sense when you need her furry, fat girth upon you.

She's like a 20 pound heating pad that purrs.  "Keep away from Dad.  His knee hurts and I and making sure he stays put!"  If there isn't a person to lay on top of she has other options:

 A couch, or one of 5 beds.

 My newly re-covered chair or a sunny window.

Or even the random laundry basket.

Gina

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Hubby turned the big 5-0 on Monday.  And, as per tradition at Camp Rustown, I let him decide what kind of cake he wanted - he picked pie.  Said he thought a chocolate pecan pie sounded good.  He had never actually had one, and I didn't have a recipe, so I turned to Cooks.com and adapted one that was the best pie I have had in a long time...

Chocolate Pecan Pie

1 ready made pie crust

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1 c. light corn syrup

1/2 c. sugar

1 4oz. bar of Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate, melted

2 T. butter, melted

1 t. vanilla

1 1/2 cup pecan halves

Preheat the oven to 350.  Lay the crust out in a 9 inch pie plate, crimp the edges.  Mix all but pecans until well blended.  Stir in pecan s.  Pour into crust.  Set the pie on a cookie sheet and bake for 55 minutes, or until set.  (You can insert a knife halfway and see that it comes out cleanly).  Cool.

 

This pie tasted like a gooey, fudgey version of a pecan pie and was delicious.  The quality of the chocolate makes a big difference - you could melt chocolate chips (1/2 c.) but try to buy the really good ones.  

And Hubby gets a slice of it in his lunch today - his first day back after knee surgery. Hopefully, it will sweeten his day. 

Gina

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21 years

Firstborn turned 21...

For some reason it was really hard for me to get a decent picture!  He was squirming, cause the spotlight and all eyes were on him - the introverted, shy type who doesn't go in for a lot of fanfare.  Still, I had to tell the story of the day he was born, because I never want him to think we'll just forget how special his birth  is to this family...how it was rainy and cold, and his dad drove me to the hospital in the very early morning in our little red pick up truck.  How dad ate a breakfast taco and watched the Three Stooges in my labor room after he was sure I was comfortable from the epidural.  How our college friends came to admire our sweet baby boy, then decorated our front yard and brought us food to last the week.  After that we had to talk about his first birthday;  it had a train theme because he loved Thomas the Tank Engine, I forgot the balloons until after the party started, so dad ran to HEB to pick them up and it turned out, Firstborn was afraid of balloons!....

21 years, 21 birthdays, and so many  memories...

I'll remind him every year because I never want him to think I don't treasure every one.

Slow Cooker Bacon Jam

Just the sound of those words together make my mouth water and so, when I came upon this recipe from Everyday Food magazine, I thought I would give it a try!  Everything is better with bacon, right?

You will need 1-1/2 lbs, bacon (I used two 12 oz. pkgs.), 2 medium onions, garlic, cider vinegar, brown sugar, maple syrup, and brewed coffee.

Cut the bacon into 1 inch pieces and fry it up - since my pan is smallish, I did one package at a time, then I switched to a larger pot so it would all fit together.  I cooked it down 'til the fat was rendered, then saved 1T. bacon fat* and scooped the bacon out with a slotted spoon to drain on paper towels. 

  Cook both of those onions, diced fine, and about 1T of that minced garlic.  If you've ever wondered, "who on earth is buying those gigantic jars of minced garlic?"  That would be me.  I used it in 99% of my cooking.  Tonight I am fixing pancakes; I will leave it out.

 

 Add the  bacon to the onions in the skillet with 1/2 cup cider vinegar, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark, your call), 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, and 3/4 cup brewed coffee.  Bring it to a boil and cook about 2 minutes.

Dump it with the bacon  into a crock pot.  The recipe says to cook on high, uncovered for 3 1/2 to 4 hours.  I did 2 hours on high, uncovered; then 2 hours on low, covered.  It seemed like it was getting dry and I needed to go run a couple errands.   I didn't take another photo after 4 hours but it was a much darker color and the house smelled amazing.

 I let it cool a little, then pulsed it in my blender a bit.  The  recipe says "pulse 'til coarsely chopped" in a food processor - a blender can do that just as well.  There should still be some texture to it.  I ladled it into a jar and popped it in the fridge.  Supposedly it will last 4 weeks.  I can tell you right now, it will not.  It has a smoky sweet bacon-y flavor that is soooo good.

Can't wait to spring it on my bacon-loving peeps!

Gina

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