Cheeseburger Macaroni -- a wonderful freezer meal

 

 I mentioned this back in April, and even included it in a post.  But I'm going to schedule it for the end of October, as Lucie commented that November is the time to be sure we have meals stashed in the freezer.  This is a good one to share with others so they too will have something hearty and good ready for those busy days approaching the holidays.  I often give a pan of this to families with a new baby, or those with a houseful of holiday guests.

CHEESY BEEF MACARONI BAKE

1 onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 lb. ground beef
15-ounce can tomato sauce (the Contadina kind that includes herbs is wonderful!)
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 cups elbow macaroni, boiled and drained
1 cup whipping cream OR half & half
2 1/2 to 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Cook the crumbled ground beef and onion and garlic in a large skilled until beef is no longer pink.  Stir in the tomato sauce and seasoning, salt and pepper.  Spread this mixture in the bottom of a greased 13x9-inch baking pan.

Heat the cream in a medium saucepan; when it bubbles a bit around the edges, stir in the shredded cheese and whisk until smooth.  Mix the cooked macaroni into the cheese sauce and spread this mixture over the meat sauce in the pan.

If you like you can sprinkle with chopped parsley or a bit more shredded cheese.

Bake uncovered at 350º for 25-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

This freezes well and reheats nicely.  If you freeze it, thaw it out (take out of freezer and place in fridge the night before) before baking it.

Will serve about 6.

Just a quick check-in

 

 Just checking in for a few minutes on a cool dreary October Thursday.

I thought I would pop in and report my progress toward Christmas. 

 I have purchased a few gifts for specific people, labeled them and placed in my gift stash.  

I bought my Christmas stamps some time ago, so even if the price goes up we are all set.

Just ordered two boxes of these Christmas cards and they have now arrived.  I love them!

 Also one box of these: 

There are some beautiful cards on Christianbook.com this year!  Here's another:

I'm also saving ideas on Instagram and my Pinterest boards for kitchen gifts and special Christmas food, plus trying a recipe now and then.

I'm continuing to work on the Poinsettias and Pines sampler.  Thankfully it's a winter design and not necessarily a Christmas one, so hope springs eternal I'll finish it in the next few months.

 

I'm also trying to decide about my Sunday Scripture posts for December -- whether to do anything special or stick with Fix Your Focus.  Trying to get that figured out today, but we will see.  Hubby keeps throwing computer tasks my way ... 

I guess that's about it for me right now.  How are you readers coming with your Christmas plans?

Ending Christmas in July with a festive flourish!

 

Wow, we did it!  Managed to post every day in July for the annual Christmas in July as I so enjoy doing.  This time I scheduled very few posts ahead of time.  It was mostly day by day, though I did schedule the last few since we'll be on a short getaway during that time.

For today, a really fun dessert idea which unfortunately is composed mostly of processed foods, but which I'm sure is also absolutely delicious.  Since this is a refreshing chilled dessert, it will be perfect to try in summer.

I imagine everyone has heard of the strawberry pretzel salad.  (It's much more of a dessert in my opinion.). Well, this recipe from Taste of Home takes the strawberry pretzel salad concept and gives it a festive red and green twist: Strawberry Lime Pretzel Salad.

It's actually even nicer than one might think from the title, because the green layer, rather than just being a lime green, is actually more of a pastel green owing to the addition of cream cheese and whipped topping.  As you can see, it's really pretty.

So use your own judgment in trying this recipe,  I'm thinking it might be something I'd make for a once-a-year splurge.  It really would be perfect for a Christmas in July party!

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A sweet calendar page from 1962

 

Actually, I guess I should say two calendar pages, for I am also including the cover page, above.  Does anyone else remember these delightful little calendars that came bound in January issues of Woman's Day magazine?  These included Scripture, and the illustrations were by Erik Blegvad.

I recently came upon the calendar for 1962 and thought the timing was perfect for me to share for Christmas in July.  The cover page here is just so beautiful!  I know several grandchildren who could slip right into those chairs at the round table in the lovely scene above and feel right at home.

Here is the December page, including Luke 2:10:

 Isn't it fun?  By moonlight, two people are maneuvering a fresh Christmas tree into a white house with turquoise door and shutters.  Light spills from the house door, window, and attached greenhouse or conservatory.  The snow outside is deep and a snow shovel is at the ready.

Erik Blegvad's drawings are always detailed and make you want to step right into them.  This one was no exception, snow and all!

A fun little crochet project -- granny square trees!

 

I've had this project saved on my Crafting for Christmas board for some time.  I like simple granny square style projects and these little trees look easy and fun to make.  

Here is the link: Granny Square Trees.   (The designer has named them "Grandma Trees", which is sort of fun.)  This tutorial uses the Australian crochet terms, but the author includes US terms in parentheses and it really didn't look too confusing, so I gave it a try.  

I decided to try making one with some pretty Christmasy green yarn from my stash.  You can see it has a bit of sparkle to it.  I used an F hook and it seemed just about perfect.

 

The tutorial, done with clear photos of the various rounds and stitches, is super easy to follow.  I just took it step by step and I was very pleased with how quick it was to make a tree.

 

I think that a number of these, strung together to make a garland, would look really nice.  I initially thought of stringing them together on matching green yarn, but I've also had the thought of red and white bakers' twine.  We will see!  These trees are so quick to make that I probably will make a bunch of them and make a garland.  Maybe two!

A couple of Christmasy thrift store finds

 

 Last week I took a very quick browse through parts of our local thrift store.  This store is actually two stores, in buildings across the street from one another.  The stores are named Ladders and Step Ladders.  Step Ladders has a very large Christmas section, all sorts of lights and decor, ornaments, tins, and other goodies.  I didn't go there this visit, but instead visited the very small Christmas area in Ladders, which mostly contains Christmas dishes.  

That's where I found the item at top.  I think maybe it's supposed to be a hot mat.  It's hard to tell.  It's made of vinyl, I think.  It's plain brown on the back and the whole thing is nicely saddle-stitched around the edges.  I paid 80¢ for it and plan to use it as a piece of art to display at our cottage in the woods.  I love this vintage-looking scene of deer in snow!

I also bought this cookie cutter, for 40¢.  

It's a sort of stylized Christmas tree complete with trimmings -- it looks as if the design will impress into the cookie dough if the dough is rolled thick enough -- maybe 1/4 inch or so.  It doesn't show up well in the photo, which I took in haste, but this is a nice sturdy cookie cutter and has a handle.   I'm looking forward to using this cutter for Christmas baking this holiday season!

And there you have it -- just a couple of fun thrifty finds.

One more lovely Christmas fabric collection -- Berry & Pine!

 

Yes, here is one last Christmas fabric collection to share with you -- Berry & Pine by Lella Boutique for Moda Fabrics.  Here are some of my favorites from this collection:

The Fir Tree Lane quilt pattern looks like fun!

The Magic Dot Forest yardage is pretty.  It also comes in 108" width to use in backing a quilt.

This little tin is a fun part of the collection!  It's under $5!

O Christmas Tree yardage in the Snow color

Poinsettia Party in Snow

Cranberry Bell Song yardage

Cranberry Pine Needles

Such inspiring fabrics, don't you think?  They come in a large variety of precuts as well as the yardage.  I can definitely see myself making a table runner with some of these gorgeous prints!

Tidings of baking and joy -- a sweet vintage clipping

 

In an envelope of old recipe clippings, I came across the above: Tidings of Baking and Joy!  What a fun title!

The front of the clipping features a scrumptious-sounding recipe for Peanut Butter Cream-Topped Brownies.

 Above is the recipe for the brownie part.  Double clicking should help in seeing it.

And above is the recipe for the peanut butter cream topping and the chocolate glaze.

The back of the clipping features another recipe -- Easy Mocha Brownie Torte -- and a 25¢ coupon on Hershey's Baking Chocolate.

 

The date on the coupon (it expired in February 1998) tells me these recipes are from 1997.  

I appreciate that these treats are made from scratch!  They are also meant to be refrigerated, so they would make nice summer desserts as well.  Why not bake up some comfort and joy today?

Rudolph Day for July

 

I've had a list for quite a long time as to how Rudolph Day -- the 25th -- might look each month.  A sort of schedule if you will.  I could barely remember where I originally found it, but I thought it was shared by Mary at Rudy Day News, so I went looking.

And yes!  Mary shared this schedule back in 2012.  So here is the listing for July:

We will purchase all stocking stuffers this month. If you plan to make your Christmas cards, now is the time to get all the papers, ribbons, envelopes, stamps and inks, etc. together and make those cards. Have a festive card making day with Christmas music playing in the background! Sign those cards and write short notes. Update your Christmas card address list and print the labels or envelopes out. Get your family photo taken to include in your card and have them printed. Go over that master gift list--have you purchased at least half of your gifts or more?

I thought it would be fun to see where we are at with this goal.  

About the only thing I personally can claim to have done on this list is that I have purchased my Christmas cards.  I have also purchased my Christmas stamps.

My hubby and I no longer do stockings -- we used to do them for one another, but long ago decided we would take the money we would have spent and put it toward getaways throughout the year.  Much more memorable!

And I certainly have not bought at least half of my gifts or more!  I do have some ideas for maybe a third of the people on my list, though.

Happy Rudolph Day, friends!

A Christmas Prayer, by Robert Louis Stevenson

 

Who knew Robert Louis Stevenson had written a poem titled A Christmas Prayer?

Certainly not me, until I was scanning a few listings for my Etsy shop and came upon this vintage card which I estimated to be not all that old (although it has an older look to it) -- probably from the 1980s.  The card is by Marian Heath.

The card front has a lovely design, sort of an illuminated style but without any gold, and simply the title and author of the poem.

Inside, though, is the poem itself, all in red calligraphy and the same lovely sort of design as the card front.

In case it's hard to read, here is the poem:

"Help us rightly to remember the birth of Jesus,

that we may share in the song of the Angels,

the gladness of the shepherds, 

and the worship of the Wise Men.

Close the door of  hate and open the door of love

all over the world.

Let kindness come with every gift

and good desires with every greeting.

Deliver us from evil by the blessing that Christ brings,

and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.

May the Christmas morning 

make us happy to be Thy children, 

and the Christmas evening

bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts,

forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus' sake.  Amen."

What a treasure!  I have five of these, so I'm planning to list four on Etsy and keep one for myself!

Faux clip-on candles for the Christmas tree

 

This is such a neat idea from Ashley at Lil Blue Boo Blog: How to make clothespin clip-on candles. These are made from the peg type of wooden clothespins, spray-painted white and then artfully dribbled with hot glue to resemble wax drippings.  Another coat of white paint is added when the glue is dry and cooled.

Flames are made with teardrop shaped wood pieces, painted with yellow and orange acrylic paint.  Then these are glued to the top of each clothespin "candle".  Ashley has a fabulous tutorial.that looks simple and easy to follow.  The finished candles can easily be clipped right on to a Christmas tree branch.

Photo by Ashley at Lil Blue Boo blog

This is one of those ideas that I would never in this world thought of on my own.  I've had it pinned to my Crafting for Christmas board on Pinterest for quite some time.  So thankful I finally got around to checking it out!

A nifty kitchen gift -- Pecan Pie Bark!

 

I recently came upon this Pecan Pie Bark recipe, shared by Chahinez at Lifestyle of a Foodie.

It sounds so scrumptious!

Made with a base of graham crackers, topped with homemade butterscotch and toasted pecans, one can just imagine how it will taste.  The butterscotch topping is made with unsalted butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt.  It bakes for 10 minutes.  Sounds like a lot of delicious flavor for a minimum of time and ingredients!

Photo by Chahinez at Lifestyle of a Foodie

I can think of quite a few people on my Christmas list who might enjoy having a tin of this pecan pie bark.   I'll bet there are people on your list who need this bark in their lives!

Fabric coasters in three styles to make for little gifts

Front (at top) and back (below) of "patchwork" Coca-Cola coasters

I love coasters, and this time of year I especially love fabric ones that absorb condensation so much better than wood or other materials.  I have made a number of fabric coasters, most from this pattern that is so easy.  The Coca-Cola ones above are only a few of the ones I've made.

The pattern I'm sharing today, by Amy at Positively Splendid, is so versatile as it can be made in three different shapes: circle, square, and geometric.  

This looks so simple, yet by varying the fabrics and shapes one can make a lovely variety of coasters.  It's a free download from Positively Splendid, which is even nicer.  

Have fun with this idea!  Coasters can be paired with a gift of coffee, tea, hot cocoa or any other beverage to make a wonderful hostess gift or neighbor gift.

A fun Christmas fabric collection -- Cozy Cabin!

 Here is this week's Christmas fabric collection!  It is Cozy Cabin by Mia Charro for FreeSpirit Fabrics.  The description at Fat Quarter Shop reads: "Christmas Cabin features beautiful Christmas-inspired designs of lovely deer, curious hedgehogs, and studious owls, along with blooming poinsettias and cozy plaids."

Here are some of the items in this collection that caught my eye:

The Cozy Christmas quilt panel

Blue Owl Magic yardage

Linen Joy Pines yardage

Green Winter Floral yardage

Aqua Tartan Tradition yardage

What would you make with these fabrics?

Some Christmasy projects I'm working on this July

 

 I'm working on a few projects with a Christmasy vibe, this July, in whatever snippets of spare time I find.

At top is a crocheted scalloped hot mat, a pattern I turn to again and again.  Here's the link: Crocheted Scalloped Hot Mat.  I can't even guess how many of these I have made over the years, but I love the vintage look and the ease of the pattern.  You can't really see it in the photo unless you look really close, but this ombre Christmas yarn has gold threads glinting in it too.  I'm just at the stage of crocheting the two layers together.

I had planned on making a few dishcloths from this pattern -- Dori's Dishcloth -- which has become my favorite, in Christmasy colors.  I've made a red one and recently finished this green one.

And lastly, I'm working sporadically on the Poinsettias and Pines winter sampler from Blue Ribbon Designs, which I would love to finish before December.  But we will see.

 
And that's the current state of my Christmasy crafting!

A sweet little Christmas card

 

This sweet card, with its nostalgic farmyard scene, just sold in my Etsy shop, so I thought I would share it with you readers today as well.

This small unused Christmas card by Marian Heath is likely from the 1980s. It features a beautiful scene of a New England farm in winter. The illustration is in shades of white, gray, red, blue, and brown. The central element in the design is a large red barn with cupola and weather vane, along with white trim and a gray shingled roof. A man dressed in green is shoveling snow in front of the barn and waves a red-mittened hand to the man passing by in a horse-drawn sleigh with a wagon full of Christmas trees. Mountains and evergreens may be seen behind the barn. In the distance is another driveway leading to a red barn and house. There are a couple of leafless hardwood trees, including a large tree at the left of the scene. 

Inside the card is a truly meaningful message in a vintage red italic font:

"Christmas again! And may you have the real joys that make the season mean so much; -- warm remembrance, friendly greetings, and hearty good cheer."

Isn't it lovely?  And there are still a few more in the shop.

Santa's Whiskers -- another recipe from Visions of Sugarplums

 

 Lucie commented that she was very intrigued by the recipe for Santa's Whiskers cookies I mentioned in the list from the little Visions of Sugarplums booklet.  So, just for you, Lucie, here it is.  They are the cookies at right, next to the mug, in the photo above.  It seems that the name Santa's Whiskers likely comes from the coconut topping.  

SANTA'S WHISKERS
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon each vanilla and coconut extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
3 cups shredded coconut
1 cup red and/or green candied cherries, coarsely chopped

Heat oven to 350º.  

Beat butter, sugar, egg, milk, extracts and salt in a large bowl with mixer on medium speed until blended.  (Mixture may appear curdled; don't worry.) On low speed, beat in flour until combined.  Stir in 1 cup coconut and the cherries.  

Place remaining coconut in a bowl.  Drop rounded teaspoons of dough into coconut 1 teaspoon at a time; turn each gently to coat.  Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet.

Bake 15 minutes or until coconut is toasted and cookies are set.  Cool slightly on the baking sheet on a wire rack before removing the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.  Makes 5 dozen.

Store these in an airtight container with wax paper between the layers.  May be stored at room temperature up to 1 week, in the fridge up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

A unique project: transferring a picture to a candle

 

 I've had this idea saved for awhile, and it occurs to me that summer might be a nice time to try it.  This is not the same as what I have pictured at top; that one was made very simply with card stock cutouts and ribbon.  As you will see, the project I'm linking to today does not involve an actual candle, but the flameless type which makes the procedure much safer.

This tutorial is from Diana at Dreams Factory: How to Put a Picture on a Candle.  

The tutorial includes some beautiful printables to create candles for either Christmas 

or Autumn.

Other than the printables, supplies needed include a printer (laser for best results); tissue paper (plus paper tape and card stock to use in the tissue paper printing process); scissors; wax paper; flameless battery-operated WAX candles (not plastic); and a hair dryer or heat gun.

After printing your design of choice on tissue paper following Diana's directions, you then proceed to apply it to the candle using wax paper and a heat gun or hair dryer.  I won't go into detail here; you can read Diana's post for yourself and see just how it's done.

What do you think?  Is this a technique you would attempt?  The result is certainly beautiful!