Baked Potato Soup

Title: Baked Potato Soup (My hubbie LOVES this)

Description:All the flavors of a baked potato in a rich creamy soup.

Ingredients:2 1/2 lb baking potatoes (BAKED!)
2/3 cu flour
6 Cups milk (I use skim)
1 Cu (4 oz.) shredded cheddar
1 tsp salt
1 cu sour cream
3/4 cu chopped green onions
6 slices of bacon cooked and chopped up

Directions:Bake potatoes, cool, peel and coarsely mash up. Place flour in large dutch oven and gradually whisk in milk and then cook over medium heat stirring frequently as it gets hotter until it just begins to boil. Add mashed up potatoes, 3/4 cu cheese, salt, and pepper stirring until cheese melts. Turn to low and add sour cream and 1/2 cu onions...cook until heated through, but do not boil, Sprinkle each bowl with the remaining onions, cheese, and the bacon crumbles.

Number Of Servings:6

Preparation Time:45 Min

Cinnamon Rolls

My sister's recipe, I'm totally stealing...they are GOOD!

Cinnamon Rolls

Dough:
3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp warm water
2 Tbsp butter or oil
2 1/2 c bread flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp yeast

Filling:
1 Tbsp softened butter
1/6 cup sugar + 1 tsp cinnamon

Add dough ingredients (per instructions for your bread machine) and set on dough cycle. When cycle is complete, remove dough, roll into 9x9 square and spread with butter and sprinkle with cimmamon sugar. Roll into log and cut into nine rolls. Place in square pan. Let it rise for 30 minutes, cover with foil, put in fridge overnight

Get it out in the morning and bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes for fresh rolls.

Melt some canned cream cheese icing a little in the microwave and drizzle over the top.

Broccoli Salad

Broccoli Salad

8 slices bacon, fried & crumbled
1 head fresh broccoli
1/4 cu red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup craisins (or raisins)
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cu sunflower seeds (optional)

In medium bowl combine broccoli, onions, half of the bacon & craisins.

In small bowl, whisk together vinegar, sugar & Mayo.

Pour over broccoli mixture & toss. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Before serving toss salad with remaining bacon & sunflower seeds.

Crinkle Tops

Thanks Jodi, these are YUMMY!

Spicy & Sweet chewy Molasses cookies -- winner of the Good Morning America Christmas Cookie Contest...you've got to try this winter treat!

http://www.wchstv.com/gmarecipes/crinkletopscookie.shtml

Recycled towel bath mat

http://thenewnew.blogspot.com/2008/09/recycled-bath-mat.html

Neat idea to make a bath mat!

Uncle Henry's Bib

My Aunt requested that I make a bib for my Uncle Henry because every time they eat at the fox pen he drops food on his shirt. I thought this looked like "fox hunting" fabric -- it is machine embroidered with the name of his kennel in red because I know they like those yucky Gamecocks. I think he is going to roll over laughing, but I also bet he will actually wear it too!

Toile Apron

My grandmother (in the nursing home) wanted me to make several aprons that she could give to some of her caretakers for Christmas. I wanted them to be classy so black & white tiole is perfect! I made the tie long (like 90 inches tip to tip) so it can have a pretty bow in the back. I didn't know the size of the ladies so I made the apron part 28 inches across so for a "normal" (and I use this word at my own risk!) sized person like me, it goes to the back and your sides are covered...but if any of the ladies are "plus" sized it will be substantial to cover their front -- I hope that none of them is more than 28 inches across the front
I did it with no pattern in less than an hour...I still have a couple more to make so off I go, so much to do before Dec 25th!!!

2 ready to smock bishops

Both of these are size 2 -- one is a shirt and one is a dress -- I still haven't made my girls one of these smocked shirts, but I definitely need to -- they are adorable!

Murphy's Laws of Sewing (Thanks Tracy!)

Law of Sewing
by Alida Macor

1. If you drop something out of your sewing basket, it will be your box of pins
- cover off.
2. The fabric you forget to pre-shrink will always shrink the most.
3. Facings tend to be sewn to the "wrong" side - opposite sides
attract.
4. This mistake will not be discovered until all seams are trimmed, graded and
clipped.
5. Fusible interfacings usually fuse to the iron.
6. Pinking shears get dull just by looking at them.
7. If you need "n" buttons, you will find "n-l" in your
button box.
8. Gathering threads generally break in the middle.
9. The sewing machine light only burns out after the stores are closed.
10. The scissor cuts easiest past the buttonholes.
11. Your lost needle will be found by your brother-in-law - while walking
around barefoot.
12. The iron never scorches a garment until its final pressing.

Santa & Candy Canes hand smocked bishop

Finally finished this up today -- this is a size 7 bishop for my daughter to wear this month...thank goodness I got it done in time.

The smocking plate is called "Down Candy Cane Lane" by Junebug designs. I think the bullion stitched mustache is too cute!

Took a while to make, but I LOVE the results!!!

Kid's Painted Ornaments

They had these kits at the Dollar Store when we went on a "reward" trip the other day - 8 of these shapes with the gold string and completely dried up paint...we had paint, added the red ribbon as the string, and added our own beads...the girls really enjoyed the painting.

S Aline Ornament Top

Same pattern, different fabric...I like these aline tops, easy to fit, easy to sew...and adorable too

This one is for my daughter's best friend...she loves when I make her stuff.