Things I Make & Think

Simple Bags

2012-01-16T20:36:00.001-07:00

Two bags - the first (yellow) I made for my little Sunbeam as a scripture tote. I love the fabric and ribbon she picked out but I made it a little too snug. Ideally I'll re-do it but we'll see. The second bag I made because I made the first. Confusing, I know. My 2-year-old wanted a bad becuase my 3-year-old got a bag. So I whipped the pink one up on about an hour. I used another pleated ruffle and I had a blast making it. It's WAY girly and super cute.

Storage

2012-01-16T20:33:00.002-07:00

I'm a saver. I'm not compulsive about it but I really like to reuse containers. Recently I reused an oatmeal container and a bread crumb container to make some cute containers for my kitchen. One is covered in scrapbook paper, the other in burlap with a ribbon. For the burlap I used spray glue (which I have a love-hate relationship with) and the scrapbook paper is just taped in.

Also, along the same lines, I wanted to shove into this post a little picture of my kids' activity storage. I store everything in sterilite-type plastic containers. Here we have random craft supplies, puzzles, paint, beads, play-doh (the huge one), water color books, crayons, and a few other activities. I like to store everything in tubs so I can see what is there but it's all organized. I also like to store this out of sight so we can GO get an activity but then put it away. We do one thing at a time and it helps me stay sane.

Flowery Skirt

2012-01-16T20:28:00.002-07:00

I'm not much of a seamstress (um, I spelled that wrong the first time, ha!) but I do like to try to sew things I think up. This skirt was floating around in my head and even though it didn't turn out just how I wanted it to, I like it. I had NO IDEA how much fabric a pleat can take up - like multiply the waist measurement of FOUR and you'll have enough. ... If you want to do it like I did. Insane. I had to let some out in the back for it to fit Gwenna. ... The first time I did it, it was sized for a baby. Well, that's not true, I thought it was going to be large enough for Gwenna and it didn't even fit Meredith.

Gwenna was being cranky so no really great shots of her. Oh well, it's the skirt that matters. I sort of used this tutorial although it's obviously not the same skirt at all. It just got me thinking about the pleated ruffle. At any rate, for my first real skirt I think it turned out well. Some day when we're not flat broke I hope to make more skirts and dresses, buying less. I like that I can make what I want and give my girls unique, modest clothing to wear.

White Chicken Chili

2011-12-31T18:09:00.001-07:00

I have a picture I'll upload later but for now I didn't want to forget the recipe I concocted tonight.

White Chili
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 yellow onion, chopped
chicken stock
salt, pepper
cayenne pepper
montreal chicken seasoning
white pepper
dried parsley
1 can canelini beans

1 can pinto beans

light sour cream
Lime

Cook turkey & onions. Add stock until turkey is swimming. Add appropriate mix of spices, salt and pepper well, add small amounts of montreal chicken seasoning and white pepper, a dash of cayenne. Add a small palmful of parsley. Drain and rinse beans and add. Simmer until beginning to reduce. Add 2 heaping spoonfuls of sour cream, mix, and return to a simmer until thickened. Add lime. Serve over cornmeal waffles.

Mer's Christmas PJ pants

2011-12-08T15:45:00.001-07:00

We had the tradition in my house growing up of getting to open 1 gift on Christmas Eve. It was always pajamas. I don't remember how far back this goes but the first year I really remember doing it was 1998. It was the first Christmas my family was in Arizona and my sister and I flew back to Chicago to spend the break (10 days) with my dad. I wore my Christmas Eve pajamas (which we opened before Christmas) on the plane. I still have a picture taken at my dad's after we had landed and arrived, in front of the Christmas tree, wearing the pants.

Last year my parents got my girls Christmas pajamas including robes - SO cute. This year I made the spur of the moment decision, as I stood in front of the flannel at WalMart, to make them Christmas pajama pants to open up Christmas Eve. I let my girls pick out their own flannel.

I used this method, more or less. I just used folded flannel and hemmed them myself. After all, if I can do it, it's NOT hard at all. I only had to rip one seam, which, sadly, is good for me.

Gwenna's PJ pants will be next. Here is the flannel she picked out:

Holiday Table Cloth

2011-12-08T15:38:00.001-07:00

Wow, I hate when this happens. Sometimes Blogger has issues and no matter how I alter my picures of save them, they turn out sideways. Oh well.

Today during nap time I made a table cloth. I picture fabric that I thought was kind of Christmasy but wouldn't look terrible if I don't replace it January 1. I think I found one that fits the bill. However, since I have kids and this is our eating/crafting/baking-together area, no table cloth would make it a day- nay! - an hour without getting pretty messy and stained. So I also purchased clear vinyl, 2 yards, to go over the top.

I did a close up of the fabric and this is the accused - the wacky sideways picture that frustrates me.

Just a simple hem around the edge of the fabric. I got 2 yards of fabric but since I pulled it in an inch each way it's smaller than the vinyl. Perfect!

Charting Progress

2011-09-13T14:24:00.005-07:00

I'm not sure I believe in rewards for doing things that kids should do anyway. I guess it's incentive. I'm not sure. I believe the incentive should be internal, that they know they are supposed to obey and do what is asked as well as do what needs to be done.

That being said, I have no idea if I'll use this. I may use it but remove the reward part? I'm torn.

Here are blank charts you can you if you'd like. First, a girly chart and then a more boy-ish version.

I got this idea directly from here. Elements for these charts were taken from Summer Driggs. I also made a boy chart with a sweet robot, only to look at the terms of use which prohibited me from sharing it with you. Bummer, right??

We live here!

2011-09-03T09:20:00.002-07:00

I saw this phrase on Pinterest and I liked it. I made these two printables showcasing this true saying. The first is 8x10, the second is 6x18. Yes, you can print 6x18. I thought it would be fun over the top of a door perhaps.

Printables by Kelly

2011-08-27T11:42:00.004-07:00

I've been getting into printables. I made a few for my daughters' wall (temple and Child of God) and then the other two for myself. It's simple to make them. I have used persnickety prints freebies for all but the Mom Anthem.

Corn Cakes and Amazing Salsa

2011-06-29T11:33:00.003-07:00

Image and recipe from here.

This is what we had for dinner last night. I found the recipe in Pinterest, of course. We enjoy eating meatless meals a couple times a week and this was the best meatless choice we've bade in a long time. It was like an infusion of fresh fun for the taste buds. Now, that's not my picture above but I'm not kidding when I say mine looked just like that. I even plated them nicely but ours were served with a side of fresh blueberries.

Do note that if my kids were eating the salsa, I'd have doubled it. We had a few left over, plus the ones my kids ate that didn't have salsa, and the salsa was totally gone. You've been warned.

Summer Corn Cakes with Chopped Tomato and Avocado Salsa

Adapted from “Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen”

Makes about 12 large cakes; serves 6 to 8 as a side and 4-6 as a main dish

3 ears corn, shucked
1 C. all-purpose flour
1/2 C. cornmeal
1/4 C. diced red onion (this was good, but next time I’ll try green onion)
1/4 C. thinly sliced fresh basil
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 T. well-shaken buttermilk or 2 T. of any milk
2 T. unsalted butter, melted
Canola oil, for frying
Chopped Tomato and Avocado Salsa (recipe follows)

Cut the corn from the cobs into a large bowl, and scrape the stripped cobs with the back of the knife (or a spoon) to release the juices into the bowl.
Place 2 cups of the corn kernels (for me that was nearly all the corn) into a food processor, and pulse several times, until the corn is slightly pureed but still chunky. Scrape into the bowl with the remaining corn kernels.
Add flour, cornmeal, onion, basil, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper to the corn. Stir to mix.
Add the eggs, buttermilk and butter, and stir just to combine. (Do not overmix.)
Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add just enough canola oil to barely cover the bottom, and heat until sizzling hot.
One heaping tablespoon at a time, scoop the batter into the skillet. Cooking in batches of 4 to 5 to avoid overcrowding, fry the cakes 1 to 2 minutes per side, until golden brown.
Drain on the lined baking sheet. Serve warm topped with a heap of Chopped Tomato and Avocado Salsa.

Chopped Tomato and Avocado Salsa

Makes about 2 cups

1 large tomato, cored and chopped
1 scallion, trimmed and minced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, cored, seeded and diced (I was happy with 1/4 of the pepper)
1 T. chopped fresh basil
1 T. chopped fresh cilantro
1 garlic clove, minced
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 1/2 t. extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 t. white wine vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced

Place all of the ingredients (except the avocado) in a bowl, and stir to mix. Refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to serve, for up to 2 days.
Just before serving, add the avocado, and mix gently.

Fabric Flag Banner

2011-06-29T11:22:00.000-07:00

I posted previously about making birthday banners with paper and pretty embellishments. Well, I've taken that to the next level recently. I made these fabric banners for Father's Day and then used them again a week later for a surprise party.

I LOVE how they turned out. And look how much this made!

They are very gender and occasion neutral and I think that's important to have on hand. We would whip these out for a missionary homecoming, birthday party, summer BBQ, or any other occasion that needs a little celebrating and decoration.

I used 1/2 a yard each of striped and polka dot fabrics. Then I printed off a template from the computer. I just used auto-shapes in publisher to make the right size triangle. Mine took up most of the page. I printed and cut that out.

After that, I folded the fabric in half (lengthwise, or as we said in elementary school, hot dog). I placed the triangle template down and used a rotary cutter to make quick work of the cutting. Of course, I don't have the rotary cutter, board, and other such tools so I used my friend's tools.

A 1/2 yard of fabric made so many triangles! I made 3 banners - 2 longer and 1 short. I actually sew them together, first my hand assistant (my sister) mad e apile of flags, alternating between stripes and dots. I placed them next to the sewing machine and just fed them through one at a time, overlapping just slightly. It was just a straight stitch and it wasn't even that neat. But it looked great.

I'm so happy with how they turned out. I can't wait to do another for my daughter's THIRD birthday. It's coming up in a month.

Beading

2011-06-29T11:10:00.004-07:00

Some crafts are costly. A lot you can do with minimal supplies and a little know-how. But some... some are an investment. Then, ideally, each thing you make is less expensive than the last, in theory. When it comes to beading, you make an investment.

I was curious how much I'd like real jewelery making. I did seed beads on fishing line when I was in college, making numerous small strand bracelets. I made some pretty things that I wore for a long time but they ended up breaking over time. The fishing line wasn't strong enough and my kids grabby fingers were very strong.

Recently a friend of mine let me play around with her large supply of beads and make a few things. I have to say, it's a little addicting. It was SO fun to try different styles and color combinations. Here are my creations from that day.

I made three pairs of ear rings and 1 bracelet. I really like how they all turned out, especially the hoop ear rings. I made those with wire and then looped it around the ear ring post and help it with a crimp bead. It was a new experience for sure. Also, I'd never twisted wire for jewelery making with needle nose pliers since I have mostly made simple bracelets and rings that are made of, you guessed it, elastic. :)

I'd love to make the investment to get into beading and I hope to... some day.

Button Projects

2011-06-29T10:34:00.004-07:00

I love simple and cute. I even love them independent of one another but I especailly love them together. That's why I love these two projects.

The first is cute hair ties for my girlies. They're super simple. I just tired elastic string through buttons to make little rubber bands with flowers on them. Simple, right? AND cute.

This second project was one I made before the hair ties. I made matching rings for my daughter and me. I saw the idea on Pinterest here. Again, just the same thing as the hair tie - a button and elastic thread. You just make it tighter and make sure you snip the ends really close. Simple and fun for mom and daughter.

Naughty Chair

2011-05-31T11:23:00.002-07:00

Months back - I think last November? - Ted made a time out chair for Gwenna. Meredith uses it now too, at 18 months. Back when she was a year there was very little hope that her stubby legs could get her in it or get her down - nor did she understand the concept of time out.

For the longest time, it looked like this:

Do you see it there in the background? I don't know that I ever took a picture of just the chair. It was made out of scraps and just as he went along. No plans really, just thrown together. But it works great and I wanted it to last longer and be more ... visually appealing. Not that pencil on bare wood doesn't have it own "appeal".

Ted and Gwenna painted it the colors of the girls' room. Then Gwenna and I went back and selected letters to mod podge on. I love the color combo.

If I was into vinyl, I'd have done that I imagine but I love how it looks, just the way it is. And luckily, it's back where it belongs and there's a bottom on it about a dozen times a day. We're in serious need of our naughty chair these days.

Bird House

2011-05-31T11:19:00.003-07:00

My husband Ted is really into woodworking. Maybe, too much, I sometimes think.

Recently he made bird houses with my neighbor boy (who is 9) and our daughter (who is almost 3). Ted did all the cutting and let the kids assemble, glue, and nail it all together.

Then my daughter and I painted her house. She wanted it to be yellow. All we had was a very pale yellow. I wanted it to look rustic so we lightly dry brushed it.

Front:

Back:

I think I want to do some cute design on the roof still. We'll see. At any rate, it's time to fill it with bird seed and invite our birdy friends over for a house warming party.

Let Freedom Ring

2011-05-31T11:17:00.003-07:00

I love doing crafts with my kids but I needed to do something on my own this time.

Remember this post about holiday art? Well, I made a new print for the summer - this will last us basically from May until August.

Hand Art

2011-03-09T09:29:00.002-07:00

Since we moved, 9 months ago, I have had a bare wall above my bed. It has plagued me and I came up with several idea but nothing seemed right. Until I thought of this.

This is our framed hand art. Each hand is the traced hand of a member of our family. They overlap and my wedding band (which I don't think you get a great shot of) is actually made of paper from my husband's hand. Cute, eh?

All we did was find a nice frame we liked. This frame had a mat for 4 4x6 pictures and the dimensions of the frame were 8x20 in. If our family grows to be larger than 5 people someday, we'll need a larger frame. I think it's becuase my husband's hand is HUGE.

We took 2 pieces of double sided 12x12 patterned scrapbook paper. Then we traced 1 hand on each side and cut. Pretty simple. I used butcher block style paper for the background, cut to size, and glued the hands on, slightly overlapping. It would be smart to keep the mat to be able to trace the background the first time and any time you may want to re-make it. Just sandwich it all in the frame.

The whole time I was arranging the hands my 2 year old kept saying, "Too-ged-uh for-eber, wite Mommy?" (Together forever, right Mommy) And I said yes, of course!

You could also do this with a super cute wrapping paper as the background and then use either a coordinating pattern for the hands or - probably better - solid colors for the hands. Each member of the family could even decorate their own hand. Some sort of writing might be cute, like the family name and year or maybe "Together Forever" - inspired by a 2 year old.

Then you just have to hang it somewhere it will stand out, because it's super cute!

And don't forget to let your kiddos jump on your bed while you hang it because, probably, if your bed is like mine, they don't get to play in it often. It'll be extra special for Toogeduh foreber.

Birthday Banners

2011-03-03T10:20:00.003-07:00

Back in July 2010 I started a post on birthday banners. My little girly turned 2 and I wanted to share the banner I made for her. Since then I have made two more but only have pictures of 1 more. My husband's birthday if Christmas Eve so while he got a banner, I didn't take pictures, sadly.

I'm going to give an in depth tutorial but here are the supplies you need:

And here is how Gwenna's turned out.

Her center banner:

For Meredith's banner, 4 months later, I used the same pom-pom string and just changed everything else out. Simple enough.

Her flags and center piece:

Here is the digital copy of the center piece I created for Mer's banner with elements from Summer Driggs.
It's so super simple and really makes the birthday boy or girl feel so special. Give it a try the next time a loved one's birthday rolls around!

Paper Crafts for every Holiday

2011-03-03T10:17:00.002-07:00

This post is frustrating me.

Every once in a while I have a picture issue with blogger.

When I upload a picture, it's oriented correctly. Then, it uploads sideways, rotated some amount - either 90 or 180 degrees. SO annoying. Even if I delete it, it won't upload right. Some files and blogger are NOT friends.

But I'm going to move on.

I wanted to share a small decoration we do for each holiday.

Gwenna LOVES "projects" and for her that's anything from coloring to stamps to paper craft and beyond. She just loves hands on crafty projects. I don't know WHERE she gets it! So I figured out a way to let Gwenna help decorate for every holiday. This is good because I only really decorate for Christmas and birthdays so now our house has something up year round.

All I do if pick a shape for Gwenna to decorate. She LOVES glitter glue/paint so I let her do that becuase I also love sparkles. So Gwenna decorates a shape and we mount it on pretty paper with some holiday saying. Then we trim and frame. See? SO simple and really cute. You can, of course, tell Gwenna did it. I love that! She's always so proud of the finished product when she makes projects.

I have two example to share. The first TERRIBLE picture you will just have to cock your hear to the right to take in properly.

Of course there are little hands involved.

Here is our Valentines Decoration I took out of the frame as we rotated a new one in
.
And here is our St. Patrick's Day Decoration. It was a lot of fun to make. I did the bottom right leaf of the clover and most of the stem. Gwenna did the rest.

Pop it in a frame and you're good to go, glare and all! :)

Make sure the previous holiday's Decoration gets put behind the current so you can rotate properly.

Easter is coming next and I'm really looking forward to that one. I figure, some Christmas or even Thanksgiving, Meredith will get a turn!

Coat Tag

2009-12-30T14:02:00.006-07:00

About 2 years ago I made a mall mounted, antique/distressed looking coat wrack for our home. After our dog ATE our 5 and 1/2 foot solid wood coat stand (I'm not kidding) we needed a better place to store our coats. Living in a cold climate, have have lots of them, come winter time!

Here is what I made:

Maybe a tutorial on that one sometime. But for now, let me address a problem this coat wrack presents.

It has knobs.

Seems ok. They're cute enough, after all. But none of our coats like to stay on the knobs unless they have hoods or those little hook on the tag that allow you to hang your coat on a knob.

Our coats don't have those things, for the most part. So a lot of the time the coat wrack is home to purses and aprons. How silly is that? I made this useful piece of furniture so that our winter coats could hang, since we don't have a coat closet or even a linen closet to speak of. (One of the few things that makes me ask, "Why did we buy this house?!")

My solution was to alter our coats. I've been meaning to do this for, oh, two years, and I finally got around to it.

Here is my first born's pink pea coat, purchased on winter clearance for her last year.

No tag, no hood.

Here are the needed supplies:

Oh, before I give you the supply list, let me just mention that I am obsessed with hot glue. It's my solution for almost anything. Hot glue if for me what duct tape is for 99% of men.

Now onto the supplies.

Hot glue gun & glue
Ribbon (that matches the coat, if you care that much... and I do.)
Scissors - good fabric scissors

That's all.

Simply take a small length of ribbon (3 inches?), long enough to go around the peg, knob, or hook of your choice, and glue it on.

Take a second length of ribbon (if you want a finished look) and fold the ends in, gluing it along the bottom so it looks like this:

Really ridiculously easy.

Here is my wool pea coat:

And my daughters lighter weight jacket. I went a little more crafty on this one and added not only the finished looking bottom but a little bow. Because I really like my daughter and like to make cute things for her.

So if you have the same problem I was having, I hope this works out for you.

Zucchini Pie

2009-08-27T10:14:00.002-07:00

Zucchini is one of those things I can't get enough of in the summer. When I found this recipe I knew I had to try it and so I did... and we eat it regularly. It's easy, fast, has a great flavor, and it makes all the mouths in my house (and some other houses) happy. It is easily doubled and makes for easy sharing if you have to bring a meal to someone for whatever reason.

Compliments of Dinners for a Year.

1 pie crust, unbaked
Dijon mustard
1/4 cup butter
4 cups sliced zucchini
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon oregano, dried
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
2 cups shredded cheese, I used a combination sharp cheddar and mozzarella
2 extra large eggs, beaten

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Line a pie plate with the pie crust and brush with Dijon mustard. Set aside.

Melt butter in a large saute pan and add zucchini and onion. Saute for about 8 minutes. Add the parsley, salt, pepper, oregano and garlic salt. Toss to coat. Should look something like this:

Cool slightly and then add cheese and eggs and mix. Pour into the prepared pie crust and bake for about 25 - 30 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

Now for Kelly's notes:

If you want to keep it a little simpler, just add a couple shakes of season salt, a pinch of dried oregano, and some dried parsley. It's a different taste, for sure, but it's still very yummy.

Also, you can use a frozen pie crust but there are two issues with that. The first is that sometimes a frozen crust isn't going to cook evenly on the bottom. In this way, you kind of chance it if you use frozen. Second, the come in packages of two and I don't think they keep very long so you'll want to either double the recipe or make another pie. Both good solutions!

Utensil Holder

2009-08-27T10:08:00.003-07:00

I recently was given a little gadget that I have fallen in love with. My husband found it at World Market. For all I know the rest of the world may have three of these per person but it was new to me so I thought I'd share it.

I have no idea what it's called because I opened it too quickly to care. I call it the spoon holder but really it holds all manner of cooking utensil.

You see, it clips onto the side of you pan like so:

It keeps your utensil from touching the stove top thereby eliminating messes on your stove top and, in my case, getting other stove top messes on the spatula. Pretty ingenious, eh?

Also, there's never a reason not to wash it because it can go essentially anywhere in your dishwasher with no trouble.

I love it. Just a little something else to make life easier and who couldn't use that?

Wodden Letters

2009-08-22T15:48:00.000-07:00

I made these wooden letters for my little girls, each when they were in my belly and one still is. It's a lot of fun to decorate with letters and words and it's even more fun if you decorate the actual letters before you put them up.

It's a very simple process to make these letters and doesn't take very much time or talent. Here's a list of things you need:

A wooden letter, any size but preferably larger than 6 in.
Patterned craft paper
Mod Podge
A medium sized craft paint brush
A pencil
Scissors
Embellishments that may include:

Tag board cut outs
Ribbon
Buttons
Stickers
Craft pens
Glitter
Sequins

Hot glue gun with glue OR heavy duty craft glue

The first step, which isn't hard, just difficult to explain, is the hardest part. Begin by laying the wooden letter face down on the back of the paper. Let me clarify: lay your paper down on the table so the side you want glued to the letter is face up. Now put your wooden letter down so that you see the back part that will be touching the wall. (I may have overdone it but it's important to have this right.) With your pencil, trace, as close as possible, the outline of your letter onto the paper.

Remove your letter. Cut out the backwards letter from your piece of paper.

At this point, if you want two papers on the letter trace the letter again in like fashion and cut it out. The second picture (above, the G) was done like this. I actually even did a cute little torn edge on the left hand side but ended up covering it up because it also happened to be right where I wanted the nametag to go. Go figure!

Turn your letter over so that the front is now facing your. Place your paper on, right side up so that you see the pattern on the letter as you want to in the finished product. Make any cutting adjustments needed. Once you have it just the way you want it, brush a good layer of Mod Podge over the wooden letter. Carefully place the paper on top of the Mod Podge, making sure not to wrinkle it or trap very much air. You have some flexibility once it's on there but not much.

At this point, if you are doing two papers (or more, it's your letter!) paint a full coat of Mod Podge over the letter and get your second layer in place. Once the second layer of Mod Podge is dry, do another coat over the entire front of the letter so that any exposed paper is sealed. If you were doing only one paper, after you have put that in place, seal it in with Mod Podge as well.

Once that last coat of Mod Podge has dried, you're ready to decorate. This is the fun part! Do a dry run with all your embellishments. Try moving things about and putting things where you might not imagine. Clumps of things such as stickers and ribbon can compliment each other very well and even if you'd imagine a crowded look, it might end up looking cute.

Now, I haven't done one of these for a boy yet but I would really like to. I have so many cute idea dealing with little sports memorbelia, littler wooden cutouts, and the like. I would love to see one of these done for a little boy.

I hope you have fun making a wooden letter. I've done this a couple times now so I may have left something out. If you have any questions on the process, please let me know!

Sour Cream Banana Bread

2009-08-22T13:14:00.001-07:00

Recently my husband committed to some very early morning meetings at church and I immediately started thinking how sad I was for him that he'd be missing out on our Sunday morning breakfasts. But wait, doesn't that mean I will too? How do you cook a big yummy breakfast on Sunday before 8.30 for 1 person while taking care of a 13 month old baby? So, sadness all around, I suppose.

But I did make the immediate connection that he'd need some nourishment on the go in the morning. That's when I found this recipe for banana bread made with sour cream. It is quite possibly the best banana bread I have ever eaten. I think part of that is due to the tangy sour cream but I am certain another reason is how you prepare the pans. Intrigued? Wish to learn more? Ok, I give. Here's the recipe.

This makes 4 loaves so the measurements in the parentheses are to cut it down to two.

1/4 cup (2 T.) white sugar
1 teaspoon (1/2 t.) ground cinnamon
3/4 cup (6 T.) butter
3 cups (1 1/2 c.) white sugar
3 (1 1/2) eggs
6 (3) very ripe bananas, mashed
1 - 16 ounce container (1 cup) sour cream
2 teaspoons (1 t.) vanilla extract
2 teaspoons (1 t.) ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (1/4 t.) salt
3 teaspoons (1 1/2 t.) baking soda
4 1/2 cups (2 1/4 c.) all-purpose flour
1 cup (1/2 c.) chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Grease four 7x3 inch loaf pans. I use Crisco for this but I imagine butter would work well. I wouldn't recommend Pam or another spray because of the next step.

In a small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup white sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Dust pans liberally with this cinnamon and sugar mixture. In a large bowl (seriously, even if you're doing the 2 loaf version, make it a pretty big bowl. I wish my bowl had been larger), cream butter and 3 cups sugar. Mix in eggs, mashed bananas, sour cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix in salt, baking soda and flour. Stir in nuts. Divide into prepared pans. Bake for about 1 hour, until you are able to press lightly on the top of the loaf with no gushy feeling below and when you shake the pan, there's no wiggle.

Allow your loaves to cool on a cooling wrack for a bit and then turn them out onto the wrack to continue to cool.

Notes: You may have noticed that the halved version calls for 1 and 1 half eggs. This can be done by beating the eggs beforehand and then adding about 75% of the mixture. You'll be wasting half an egg but it's better than adding two whole eggs. At least, I think it is.

Also, I have made this with and without nuts. I think people expect nuts in banana bread but even if you don't like nuts, it's still awesome. I'm actually getting a little rumbly in my stomach just thinking about this exquisite moist bread. If you don't like walnuts, substitute pecans. I LOVE pecans but I still went with walnuts and it turned out great.

Freezer Salsa

2009-08-22T10:25:00.001-07:00

picture taken once 2 containers were already opened.
one was given away, one was already thawed and in our refrigerator.

This recipe comes from my friend and former roommate Katie. She taught me to make freezer salsa when I was still afraid to touch jalapenos. I've gotten better but I still don't like to do it when I'm alone with the baby.

A freezer recipe by definition needs to be frozen. I'm not sure just why or how but the flavors change and they deepen. Also, these recipes are designed to increase the life of your chosen food. Also, there are containers designed specifically for this purpose. I like the ones by Ball because they stack well and have great lids.

This tomato salsa recipe has just the right amount of spice for me. I'd compare it to a Pace salsa, medium. If you like it spicier than that, you'll have to play around with the jalapenos and cayenne a bit.

8 c. diced, seeded tomatoes (this is about 8-9 on the vine size tomatoes)
2 med. green bell peppers, chopped
2 lg. yellow onions, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
3/4 c. tomato paste (1, 6 oz. can)
2/3 c. condensed tomato soup, undiluted
1/2 c. white vinegar
2 T. sugar
2 T. salt
1 T. cayenne pepper
4 1/2 t. garlic powder OR 3-4 cloves garlic, minced

To seed your tomatoes, cut each in 8ths and then take out the juicy, seedy part so just the moist meat part of the tomato is left. Discard.

Now, either cut all the veggies to the size you want with a knife or hand chopper OR be awesome and put it in your food processor ( - in batches, it's a lot. I think I did 4 batches.) and pulse it 6-8 times or until it's to your desired chunkiness.

In a large saucepan (at least 5 qts.) combine all ingredients and give it a good stir. Bring to a boil, slowly, making sure nothing on the bottom it burned. Reduce heat (I boil at 6-7 heat and simmer at a 3) and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring often. When done cooking, pour into small freezer containers. Cool at room temp for about an hour. Cover and freeze up to 3 months. Defrost in refrigerator.

Notes: There are a few ingredients you can play with in this, but just the amounts. You can add more or less jalapenos, cayenne, or garlic. It's a nice balance as it is but I add a little more cayenne and a little less garlic, about 3 heaping teaspoons of garlic powder.

If you don't freeze this, it won't be as good. We seriously freeze all our containers and then take 1 out after two days and defrost it on the counter because it has to defrost fast enough for our taste buds not to start a mutiny. We made this salsa last Christmas and gave it to a lot of our family. Two of Ted's brother's polished off a whole container (as in one container each brother) in one sitting. It's very tasty.

This recipe will make 10 cups of salsa (approx. 5 containers) and with a food processor takes about 30 minutes of prep time, without it takes closer to an hour. Cooking time is approximately 1 hour - 15 minutes to bring to a boil, 45 minutes to simmer.

Mango Salsa

2009-08-22T10:17:00.000-07:00

This Mango Salsa recipe is from the Salsa Brava cookbook, a yummy place to eat in Flagstaff, Arizona. Some friends of ours made this salsa recipe for us a couple weeks ago and we fell in love. We quickly made it for some other friends and from there it has just exploded. If you like fruit salsa I would highly recommend this sweet favorite. If you are making this for more than 2 people, you should double it. I repeat, you SHOULD double this recipce!

2 mangoes, peeled and diced
1/4 c. diced RED bell pepper
1/4 c. diced red onion
1/4 c. chopped cilantro
Juice of 3 limes
2 jalapenos, cleaned (seeded) and diced
salt or pepper to taste

Combine all. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

Notes: If (when!) you double this, I would recommend using no more than 3 jalapenos (even for the bold) because the spice will out do the sweetness of the mangoes. Also, only up the limes to 4. More than that and the lime taste will overpower. Also, we prefer this chilled but it is also god at room tempterature. If you would prefer your salsa chilled, allow the flavors to blend that last 20 minutes in the refrigerator rather than on the counter. Either way, cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap.

This recipe makes approximately 2 cups of salsa, around 4 cups if doubled. It will take you about 20 minutes of prep and 30 horrid minutes of waiting for the flavors to meld.