Merry Christmas

Baking Christmas Cookies

Nothing says Christmas more than spending a cold winter afternoon inside our kitchen baking cookies with my girls.  The aroma of freshly baked cookies is pretty hard to beat.  Not to mention, it’s a lot of fun too.

Sunday afternoon we gathered our ingredients together and got to work.  We played classic Christmas music on the Victrola - Burl Ives, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis, Rosemary Clooney, you name it.  We had it going on.

Sugar Cookie dough

It was a whopping 19° outside, but we were warm and toasty indoors as we pulled out my old recipe cards and mixed up three of our favorites.  First was our Traditional Sugar Cookies recipe because that dough needs to chill in the refrigerator at least an hour before you roll it.

While that dough chilled (notice the pretty fabric bowl cover it is wearing) we made up a batch of Chocolate chip cookies with M&Ms  and mini chocolate chips.  The youngest and I made these the first two batches of cookies while the oldest made her favorite Chewy Gingersnaps and worked on homework, simultaneously.

When we finished with the Chocolate Chip Cookies we rolled out the Sugar Cookie dough and used a combination of new and my grandmother's vintage cutters.  My youngest asked me if she could have my grandma's cookie cutters when she moves out on her own.  I am thrilled that she wants them so of course I told her yes.  Of my two girls she is the most sentimental when it comes to family heirlooms.

We had a blast decorating cookies.  We were out of red sugar sprinkles so I mixed up some homemade ones using granulated sugar and a few drops of red food coloring.  We also had a bit of leftover vanilla frosting to use up so we frosted about a dozen of the cookies and put sprinkles on the rest.

Of course there was some serious taste testing to be done to ensure they were up to snuff.  And I am happy to report all is well on that front.  We then got busy putting together and decorating treat bags and goodie plates for teachers, friends and neighbors.  We still have plenty left for ourselves, but there may be another cookie baking session needed on Christmas Eve. 

We can't forget about Santa! 

Chicken & Biscuits

Awwww, comfort food.  Nothing seems better on a blustery winter day than to have something warm, tasty and filling.  Chicken and biscuits totally fit the bill.

Chicken & Biscuits

1 lb. chicken breast, diced

1 small onion, diced

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup milk

1 cup frozen peas and carrots or mixed veggies

1 cup frozen chopped broccoli

1 Tbs. oil

1 recipe biscuit dough (or two packages Grands biscuits)

Heat oil in a skillet and cook chicken and onions.  Add soup and milk stirring to combine.  If mixture is too thick add more milk.  Bring to a bubble and stir in the peas and carrots.  Remove from heat and pour chicken mixture into a well oiled 9" X 13" baking pan.

Top the chicken mixture with biscuits cut from the dough.  Place into a preheated 400° oven and bake about 20 minutes until biscuits are golden brown and mixture is bubbly.

Serves 6

This is a thrifty and very simple recipe and can be doubled easily if you are feeding a crowd.  Leftovers reheat nicely too.  I like to add a fresh green salad as a side dish.

My New Day Planner For 2017

This time of year I like to print out a new set of calendar pages for my day planner.  Then I like to get started planning.  This year I decided to spruce up the old day planner with a new cover. 

I've never made one before so I had to put a little bit of thought into what I wanted and how the heck I was going to make it.  I sketched it out on paper and after running it over in my mind for a couple of days I was ready to get busy.

The fabric I selected from my stash and I love it!

To begin I cut two pieces that were 9" X 12" and two pieces that were 6" X 9".  I also cut some interfacing in the same dimensions.  I cut the 6" X 9" piece of interfacing in half so I would have two pieces measuring 3" X 9".

I folded and pressed the 6" X 9" pieces in half lengthwise and inserted the smaller pieces of interfacing inside the folded pieces.  I pressed them again and then topstitched the folded edge.  These pieces will make the side pockets to hold notes, lists, coupons, etc.

Next I layered the pieces so the larger pieces faced each other with the smaller pieces sandwiched in between at the edges.  I layered the interfacing on top and pinned it all into place.

After stitching the edges with a 1/4" seam allowance, leaving a 2 inch opening for turning, I clipped each corner.  I then turned it all right side out and pressed it. 

At this point I decided to add a pieced of elastic to hold the calendar pages in place.  Next time I'll add this before sewing but this time I just turned in inside out again and used my seam ripper to open the top edge a little bit and tucked in the elastic.  I stitched it in place, turned it right side out and tucked the end in place at the opening.  Once it was pinned in place I topped stitched it between the side pockets to close the opening and hold the elastic.  

I also decided after the fact to add an elastic loop so I could make a closure.  Next time I'll add it before I sew it all together too.  I picked a button out of my button jar and stitched it into place. 

After trimming I folded them in half to fit inside better

Who has hot pink elastic?!  Apparently I do.

Lastly, I took my printed pages and trimmed off the tops of each page a little to fit inside the cover.  I also added a piece of cardstock trimmed to size to add a little more stiffness to the cover, although it was pretty nice all on its own.

Love the side pockets for tucking in notes, lists and coupons.

Fits inside my purse perfectly.

For my first one, and a prototype, I think it turned out fairly well.  I'm sure it will last quite awhile and I'll get a lot of use out of it.

Last Week's Thrifty Moves

It has been cooooooooold and snowy here in beautiful Boise, Idaho.  Despite the fact that the heat has been going to combat some single digit temperature it was still a pretty thrifty week around our home.

I started out the week by baking four loaves of fresh bread.

Tuesday was my youngest's Christmas concert and it was delightful.  Not to mention how pretty she looked with her hair all curled and her new dress and tights.  Afterward the girl's grandparents treated us to dessert out to celebrate and we had a really nice time visiting.

Wednesday I picked the girls up from school a little bit early for their 6 month visit to the dentist.  It was supposed to be last month, but our dentist bumped it a few weeks so I could combine it my oldest's appointment to have her braces tightened and save me an extra trip.  He is pretty awesome that way.

I received a Christmas bonus at work.  Yippeee!!

I booked our summer vacation.  Already!!  And we are so excited about it.  I got a fabulous deal on the hotel using my AARP membership.  It has officially paid for itself three times over now.

Cat in a sack

I have been shopping around for a new laptop as mine is dying and has been acting up pretty much all year.  It can be a real pain in the butt to get started, freezes up and does some wacky stuff.  Now it is to the point that I fear it may not start up again one day.  Ugh.  I really don't want to spend money on one right now.  However, if it dies I'll be in a world of hurt.  I took it to work this week and had one of our techs take a look at it and we pretty much decided it’s a lost cause.  I've had it awhile and used it a lot, so it's time.

I downloaded coupons on the Fred Meyer website to my rewards card for three free items!  Have you signed up yet to do that?  Any Kroger will do, I believe.  You can download coupons including manufacturer and store brand coupons too.  Then you can print off a list so you know what coupons you have available.  Pretty slick, I think.  Anyway, the youngest and I stopped on Friday after dropping the oldest off for pep band and picked up a few things and got our freebies too!

I didn't do much in the way of grocery shopping.  We really only needed milk and produce.  Friday evening I went to Fred Meyer, but before I did I checked the website and downloaded the Friday freebie.  This time it was a package of cookies.  I picked up the milk and produce I needed as well as three free items - 2 liter bottle of 7-Up, a package of caramels and the package of cookies.  I also downloaded a coupon for 30¢ OFF on a 5lb bag of flour and $1 OFF on two packages of pasta which were on sale for 10/$10 making them only 50¢ each.

We entertained guests on Saturday and had a fabulous time!

I baked a small pan of lemon bars.  Yum!

I washed out several Ziploc bags to reuse.

Saturday morning I used fabric from my box of scraps to make a set of quilted Christmas potholders.  I added these and a hanging dish towel to the table and candle mattes I had made as well as the bag of freebie caramels to finish up the gift for my Secret Santa gift exchange.  Now I just have to get it ready for the mail.

That was pretty much the extent of our week.  How was your thrifty week?

A Christmas Table Matte

When we set up our Christmas tree last week I sorted through our ornaments and decorations to see if there was anything to get rid of.  Things are looking pretty darn good in that department, but at the bottom of one of our two bins was a tree skirt I had made a good twenty years ago.

The tree skirt was made two sided so it would be reversible and I didn't use a pattern.  I winged it and, quite frankly, it looked like I did.  I remember the blue fabric and ruffled trim I purchased at Rite Aid back when it was Payless and they had a fabric department.  The red was a huge piece of fabric my mother had given me.

We used the tree skirt for several years, but I didn't really like it much because I knew I hadn't done a very good job on it.  That was made even clearer to me when I sat down and began to take it apart.  When the mother of a friend made me a knew tree skirt several years ago this one ended up at the bottom of the bin.

Despite the fact that it was poorly made I really liked the fabric and the trim, which is probably why I've saved it all this time.  This year I decided it was time to either do something with it or let it go.  Then an idea popped into my head.

I washed the skirt and once it was out of the dryer I sat down with my seam ripper and carefully removed the gold ruffled trim.  Then I used the largest pattern from my fabric bowl covers project and cut out a nice round from the skirt.  I also cut out a circle of cotton batting leftover from my Americana Quilt project.

I trimmed the blue circle with the gold ruffle, layered on the batting and the red circle, stitched around it and then turned it right side out.  Once it was pressed I top stitched the edge closing the opening I had left for turning in the process.

Now I have a sweet little reversible table matte to set the mini Christmas tree on and protect my furniture.  It will be perfect in the new retirement house I am planning to buy in the not too distant future.

I was so pleased with how it turned out I decided to make another one with some other fabric and trim I happened to have.  I have a gift exchange that I signed up for coming up and thought it would be the perfect gift.  This time I did a decorative stitch along the edge and I like that even more.

I was further inspired to make a couple candle mattes after that.  I traced my bread plate onto a pieced of scrap paper and cut it out to make a pattern.  It is the perfect size.  I put it together the same way as the table matte and now I have a set to give that will be perfect to set a centerpiece on, or whatever.  And the candle matte is the right size for a jar candle.

I tied some red bows from some grosgrain ribbon I had in my stash and stitched those onto the green mattes.  I really like how that looks.

With that set completed I went ahead and cut out another candle matte from the tree skirt to match my table matte.  Now I have a nice set as well.  I'll probably make more to give away next year for Christmas.  They are a lot of fun and I think they turned out really cute.

I like the idea of these decorative mattes to protect our furniture.  I'll probably make some for everyday use too.  I want to make a rectangular one to put underneath our TV in the living room.  Right now I'm using a placemat.

Wouldn't a candle matte and a nice jar candle make a great gift?  I think so.

A Day Spent Not Christmas Shopping

It just so happened I had a couple of seriously good store coupons begging to be used.  I decided the girls and I should have a fun day out and use those coupons.  So this past Saturday we headed off to the mall, which this time of year can be pretty crazy.  But when you aren't in a hurry and you aren't Christmas shopping it really isn't that bad at all.

After a hearty breakfast of gingerbread pancakes and fried eggs we were ready to go!  First stop Nordstroms Rack to find my youngest a pair of black tights to wear with her new orchestra dress and to use my $10 coupon.  We found her tights but they were only $6.97 so I added a couple pair of dress socks to wear to work.  I ended up adding $4 to the purchase, but I think it was well worth it.

We left the car at Nordstroms and walked to the mall which is right next door.  First stop at the mall was Bath & Body works to use a coupon I had for a free item with purchase.  I picked up a bottle of body lotion and a bottle of shower gel to add to my stash.  Probably won't need any lotion or shower gel for a year now.

A thing we do is when you turn 13 you get to have your ears pierced.  My youngest turned 13 while we were on vacation so we headed over to Claire's and she was able to get the job done.  I also let the girls pick out a few pair of earrings too and she found some really cute ones.

At JC Penney we found the cutest and softest slippers.  Regularly priced at $12 a pair they were on sale for $4.99 a pair.  I decided to use the $10 coupon and get us each a pair of Christmas slippers.  Three pair of slippers for $5!  I can totally handle that.

With our slippers in hand we went to See's Candies to pick out a couple pieces of candy for a treat.  It has become a tradition for us.  They gave us a complimentary candy as well so we had plenty of delicious chocolates to enjoy.

We left the mall and were amazed at the fog that had rolled in while we were shopping.  I took the girls to lunch at Outback Steakhouse to complete our mommy/daughter date.  The food was good and we took our time and visited for quite awhile.

When we got home I helped the girls put together their gifts for their friends and teachers.  We then popped some popcorn and watched Miracle on 34th Street.

I'd say it was a pretty nice day and not a lot of money spent either.  That made it extra nice!