Capri-Sun's and Polka-Dots

My girl has been saving her Capri-Suns from her school lunches and I finally got around to making something super cute with them.  In all it took 28 pouches.  Now that school is starting again, start saving them and you'll have enough in no time.

Wash and dry pouches and set your sewing machine to zig-zag.  When sewing the pouches together, I just layed one on top of another slightly and stitched them in place.

 Sew 6 top-to-bottom pieces.

 Sew 4 of the 3-in-a-line side to side pieces.

 To construct the front and back, add two of the 3-in-a-row pieces on either side of a top-to-bottom piece.

 Now make the top and bottom pieces.  Take one of the top-to-bottom pieces and add about half a pouch.  I measured it against the sides to make sure they were even.  You will need two of them, one for the bottom of the bag, and the top flap.

 Stitch the sides and bottom together creating the sides.  I turned mine over to get the silver showing for the sides.

 Stitch the sides to one side of the back.  It's kind of tricky to do the corners.  I sewed down one side, then moved the needle to sew the next side down.

NOTE:  Attach the ribbon closures now before fully assembling the bag.  I didn't and it was very difficult to sew them in place.

 Get some D-Rings and cut one pouch to make the side rings for the strap.  I folded them over and stitched both sides.

 Prepare your ribbon by cutting equal pieces the length you want for the front straps.  I finished the ends by sewing the ribbon together at the end, then turning it right side out.

 Once it's turned sew a straight seam across the bottom to secure the point.

 Add the D-rings to either side of the bag and sew the ribbon in place around the ring.
Sew the ribbon to the top flap and attach to bag.
And you're done!

 So Cute!

She's done with the photo shoot and can't wait to put her treasures in it.  She already informed me that this is the bag she's going to use for school.  I don't mind one bit!

Birdcages & 150!

I can't believe I reached 150 posts.  This is from my very first one.  It's from a Digi Scrapbook class I took from Jessica Sprague.  While my posts have changed a little since June 4, 2009, along with everything else in my life, I think I love blogging more than ever.

  Plus as a bonus, I get to share one of my all time favorite projects, and it only cost me about $5.

 My mom teaches school and I was lucky enough to get to borrow her opaque projector.  After this project, I think I need one of my own.  She said their school is giving the teachers new projectors that work with their smart boards, so I'm crossing my fingers I get to keep this one.

These are the images I got from The Graphics Fairy.  Just love her site.  I merged the regular birdcage and the lantern together in Photoshop to get the image I wanted.  Then printed it out and took it to Staples.  They made this transparency for $0.99.

I will be doing the candlestick soon and I will definitely share how. 

I just set up the projector, got some paint pens for $2 from Wal-mart and went to town.  It took about 2 pens to do the whole image.  It's in a space that's kind-of dead space behind the door.  Origionally I was going to put a mirror there, but I was afraid it would be broken when someone opened the door.  

This is perfect.  

I see it every morning when I wake up.  

Just gorgeous!

Here are some close-ups of the lantern/birdcage.
I love how it turned out!

 Here's a teaser of what we did in the boys room with the projector.  I'm waiting for the vinyl from my sweet sis-in-law and I'll post final pics.  It's amazing how the projector has opened up so many possibilities for projects.  Maybe thats why it's called a PROJECT-OR!

Super Yummm Chicken!

Remember the post about the Veggie Blend?  You can re-read it here.

I'm always on the hunt to find new ways to sneak it into our meals.  

I found a super easy and super yummy way.  

I call it Taco Ranch Chicken.  

We served it over a mix of brown and wild rice, but really you could serve it over pasta, or in a Tortilla for a taco or burrito.  It's super good, even my picky eaters love it!

Here's the how:

Get a bag and put 2 Tbsp Taco Seasoning in it.  Cut up 6-7 chicken thighs... my cut of choice, but breast would be fabulous too.

Put the Chicken pieces in the bag and shake to coat. 

Put 1 Tbsp Olive oil in large skillet and heat to medium High. 

Pour chicken into skillet and brown chicken.

Add 1 cup of the veggie blend.

Squirt a good amount of Ranch Dressing over the top, more or less according to your taste.  

Stir well.  

Cover and Simmer for 5 minutes.  

Done.  Seriously.  

It's that easy.

I cooked my Brown rice like this but you can also follow manufacturers instructions.

In a large saucepan, put 2 cups brown/wild rice mix in pan.  Cover with 5 cups water.  Add 1 Tbsp Chicken Boullion.  Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to Medium Low and simmer for 40 minutes.  Fluff with fork and serve.

My boy saw me making this post and said, "Oh that stuff is so good.  You need to make it again."

Sigh.

Jeans - Repurposed

 I love repurposing things.  This time it's a jean skirt that I didn't like the bottom edge and some old jeans that were too big.

Pretty easy and I love it.  

Here's how.

 Cut apart the jeans completely so you have large panels. I cut all the seams off too.

 Decide on the size of the ruffle you want and cut up the panels into strips.  I used the first one as a template to cut the rest.

 Finish cutting strips, and remove the ends that are angled.

 To seam the strips together I just layed one end on top of the other and stitched down as shown.

Here's the skirt.  I measured the length I wanted and trimmed the end off.

 It has a front split so I need to fix that.

 I cut a piece of the jeans to cover the split like shown.

Then I surged the edges to prevent fraying.

Using matching thread, sew down the back piece.  Really I could have stopped here if I wanted, but I wanted some ruffles.

Sorry I didn't take any pics of the ruffling, but I just did a straight seam attaching the strips, making a small pin tuck every so often.

Wash the skirt a few times to fray the edges and trim any excess.

And done! Easy, Cute, and I didn't spend a dime!

Whole Wheat Waffles

 Waffles anyone?

I re-discovered this recipe that is Whole Wheat.  It's great because you can make waffles, pancakes, or bake it in the oven like a breakfast cake.  It's light and yummy and an easy way to sneak some whole grain into your family.

Here's the how to:

I put all the ingredients into my blender to mix but it's up to you.

Also, I ground the grain first, but you can also put the milk in and the wheat and oats and blend until smooth.

2 cups milk, or 1/3 cup powdered milk and 2 cups water
1 cup whole wheat
1/2 cup rolled oats (used my 6 grain rolled cereal for the rolled oats)

Blend well then add:
2 eggs
2 Tbsp Oil or Applesauce
2 Tbsp honey or sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp Baking Powder

Blend until well mixed and pour onto waffle maker, or griddle to make pancakes. Makes 9 - 6 inch waffles.

If you want to bake it like a breakfast cake you can top with diced canned peaches, or chocolate chips.

Grease 9x13 pan. Optional - melt 1/4 cup butter and spread across bottom of pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes.

We eat ours with peanut butter and syrup, but sometimes we have it with fruit syrup with whipped cream.

Either way, it's healthy and yummy!

WOW your cooking with Garden Breadsticks!

 I recently went to a class where I learned how to better follow what us Mormons call the Word of Wisdom.  If you are unfamiliar with it you can read the scripture here.  
It's where we get the commandments not to drink or smoke.  For me that's the easy part.  Really no temptation there.  For most of us we just aren't that good at eating fruits and vegetables in season and lots of whole grains with only a little meat.

The lady who taught the class had a serious disease which led her to learn more of how to eat better and more closely follow the commandment.  Her solution was to create a veggie blend and then add that to whatever she was cooking.  I am seriously trying to incorporate more veggies into our diet and this is a relatively simple way to do it.  Usually it gets added to pasta sauce.  If your family is squeamish about new veggies, that is a great place to start.  Plus the breadstick recipe I'm going to share has 2 full cups of veggies!  I will be sharing more veggie blend recipes as the weeks go by.  I've definitely found some yummy ones.  But before we get to all that, here's what goes into the blend.

Buy one, or a small bunch of each of the following:
Asparagus
Beet (try to get a white beet, otherwise it will turn your meal a pinkish color)
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Butternut Squash
Celery
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Carrot
Eggplant
Green Beans
Kale
Mushroom
Parsnip
Radish
Rutabaga
Rhubarb
Spinach
Swiss Chard
Turnip
Yellow Squash
Zucchini

A ton right?  I was amazed at how many of those I'd never bought before and now I eat them on a regular basis. Plus think of all the veggies you aren't adding.  She doesn't add onions, or peppers because they have a strong and overwhelming flavor.  I usually add the others in depending on the meal.
Like:
Corn
Peas
Potatoes
Onions
Bell Peppers

 Wash and cut off any stems or peels.  Next chop them fairly fine.  If you have a food processor, use that, a few veggies at a time.(this is important so you don't overwhelm your machine)  Don't worry about which ones because you will be mixing it all together.  I have a Vita-Mix so I put some water in the blender and a few veggies then chopped the veggies until I got the size I wanted, small but not pureed.  Drain and put them in a large bowl.

 It will look like something like this.  Since one batch will make a ton, put some in freezer bags to save for later.  One batch lasted me about 1 month using the blend 2-3 times a week.  It freezes well, just thaw and drain the veggies and they are ready to use.  Next time I will put the blend in my muffin tin to freeze 1 cup portions for easier use.

 Now that's done, lets get to the Garden Breadsticks.  I was so excited when I got my King Arthur Flour Baking Sheet in the mail with this recipe!  It's super yummy and has a ton of veggies in it!

Garden Breadsticks

You have some options with the veggies.  You will need a total of 2 cups of shredded vegetables.

The recipe says:
1/4 cup shredded zucchini
1/4 cup shredded yellow squash
1/4 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup chopped scallions

I used 1 zucchini and 2 carrots shredded finely to make 1 cup shredded veggies.

 Add the shredded veggies and 1 cup of the veggie blend to a sauce pot and cook slightly to soften.  About 5 minutes on Medium high stirring regularly to prevent over browning.

Grind some grains to get 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour.  I usually do a blend of wheat, quinoa, and kamut.

When the veggies are done, measure 1 cup and add them to your mixing bowl.

Then add: 
1 large egg
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp Pizza seasoning or chopped fresh herbs of your choice.  I added some Herbs de Provence.
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp instant yeast. 

The warm veggies take the place of the water in this recipe.

Mix for about 2-3 minutes until the dough comes together then add:
1 more cup of the warm veggies.

Knead for another 4-5 minutes.  The dough should relax more and become tender.  Add a little flour as needed to clean the sides of the bowl.

 Cover and let rise until double in bulk.

 Get out a sheet of parchment paper and drizzle with olive oil.  Put olive oil on your hands and rolling pin.  This makes the rolling easier and the dough doesn't stick.

Roll dough out to a large rectangle filling the parchment.

 Using a pizza cutter, cut up the dough into breadsticks.

 Brush tops with olive oil or egg wash and sprinkle with 1/2 cup parmesan cheese or other grated cheese.  Let rest for another 20-25 minutes while the oven heats to 375 degrees.

Bake on pizza stone for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve warm.

Yummy and healthy! 

 It's a win-win!