Showing posts with label Block-a-palooza. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Block-a-palooza. Show all posts

06 February 2011

Sunday Brunch

When I think about Sunday brunch I don't just think about omelettes and cantaloupe. I also think about catching up with friends, reviewing the past week, and planning for the upcoming week. So I've decided that on Sundays I will share a favorite recipe and anything special that might have happened during the previous week.

Last week Jake got a job offer from a ranch back in Wyoming. As much as we like living in Montana it's just not right for us and this job is just what he's been looking for. He'll get to be horseback a lot more and we'll be a bit closer to town. The job starts March 1st so the majority of this week has been spent gathering boxes, sorting out junk for the garbage, beginning packing, and working on my February swaps.

Today and yesterday were spent cutting. Cutting for my Modern Stash Quilting Bees blocks, my Block-a-palooza blocks that I'm catching up on, and the applique pieces for my Birdie Big Block quilt. This week there will be more cutting, sewing, and packing. Jake will spend his days feeding the cows and supposedly the snow will let up for a few days and things will begin to melt and mud up. I guess that means that spring is on her way.

As for my recipe* this week...My favorite food lately has been pizza. Actually, I've always loved pizza, but I received the Pioneer Woman's cookbook for my birthday and I can't get enough of her pizza dough. It's fabulous! Usually I make pizza one night with half the dough and a couple days later make calzones with the rest. Tonight I made a pesto chicken calzone and it was delicious! I split the dough into 4 pieces (remember this is half the recipe) and flattened them onto cookie sheets. I made a creamy pesto by reducing part of a jar (1/3 - 1/2) of pesto into about 1/2 cup of milk. I spread the sauce onto the dough then added mushroom, olives, cooked chicken, cheese, and onion onto half of each piece of dough. Then I folded the dough over and pressed the ends together. I baked them in the oven until the dough had a beautiful crispy brown color. I served these with a hearty ground elk and veggie soup that had been simmering for a couple hours on the stove. Dessert was some Tollhouse cookies that I had made this morning. I wish I had taken pictures because the meal was definitely a success.

Since I decided to begin these Sunday Brunches at about 9.00 this evening I didn't get pictures this week, but I hope to have plenty for future weeks. If you would also like to participate in future Sunday Brunches just let me know. I would love to turn these into a linky party. If you're not a cook your "recipes" can be a favorite tutorial instead.

Have a wonderful week and thanks for stopping by. :)


*When I cook (unless I'm baking) I do not measure things out. I eyeball everything. I use a little bit of this and a lot of that and taste test often.

02 January 2011

Another New Year

First, let me say Happy New Year to you.

Thank you for reading my gibberish. :)

I began this blog to journal about my creations (jewelry, sewing, horse gear, etc.) and to help me keep track of my commitments. This year I have big plans for growing my sewing skills. In October I did an awesome bag swap through Sew, Mama, Sew and made a new friend, Bree, whom they paired me up with. We still keep in touch through email quite often and I'm participating in her Amy Butler Sew Along beginning this month. I also joined SwapBot in September and have done a few sewing related swaps. I am in 2 virtual quilting bees through Flickr, which start this month. And yesterday, I decided to participate in the 2011 Bloggers' Block-a-palooza. I'm also opening a shop on Etsy on the 5th. Yes, two days from now. So much to do for that still. Plus, I will be having another giveaway to kick off our grand opening.

I don't really do resolutions for the New Year because they're usually broken so quickly, but this year I want to succeed so I do have a couple achievable goals for 2011.
* Finish unfinished projects- I started this resolution in 2010 and did quite well, but I've started more projects in the past year, so I can continue this goal.
* Try new things- Whether it's a new sewing technique or reading a different genre of book, I resolve to try new things and get out of my comfort zone more often this year.
* Stay connected- I'm not very good at keeping in contact with old friends. It's not an intentional thing, I just forget, especially now that we live in a cell phone-free zone. I can't just shoot off a text to someone. So this year I plan to "just say hi" a little more often.

If you're interested, share a couple of your resolutions and we can help motivate each other to keep them going the whole year!