Latest Sewing Project

I made this quilt and pillow for my friend Mary. It was a Christmas gift for her little granddaughter.

Winter Storm Pics

Yes, we did get our fair share of snow but not a much as others did. The power was off for thousands, but we were blessed. Our power stayed on. Here's a few pics.






Nothing beats the cold like a homemade turkey pot pie.

Snow Is On The Way!

It's all over the news. A big snowstorm is headed this way! I'll post some pics once it gets here. Looks like we may have a White Christmas here in Hitchins! Yay!

Comfort Food for Winter Evenings

The weather man is predicting several days of snow for Christmas week. We can't wait!


Chicken soup isn't just good for the soul, but also good for keeping warm. Here's a recipe that will do just that.




Savory Chicken Soup

2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 to 3 potatoes, peeled and quartered
Optional: 2 onions, sliced
14-1/2 oz. can chicken broth
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cube
2 c. water
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper

Place all vegetables in a slow cooker; add chicken. Pour in broth and water; sprinkle seasonings over top. Cover and cook on low setting for 8 hours, or on high setting for 4 hours. Serves 4 to 6.

My Folk Art Painting

This is a folk art painting I did about 2 years ago. I hang it in the living room every Christmas.

Bon Bons

I made these bon bons for the first time yesterday. They turned out great! They're so good, I just had to share the recipe with you. So here it is:

Bon Bons

1 ½ pkgs of Nestles Semi-sweet Morsels
3 blocks of chocolate flavored almond bark
14 oz pkg of coconut
1 can Eagle Brand Condensed Milk
2 lb bag of Confectioners Sugar

Line a large cookie sheet with waxed paper.

In a large bowl combine the confectioners sugar, coconut and Eagle Brand Condensed Milk. It’s quicker if you use your hands to mix it all together. Keep a butter knife handy to scrape it off your hands when it’s finished. Once it’s all mixed, wash your hands and dip them into a plate you’ve added some confectioners sugar to, and roll them into one inch balls. You may have to keep dipping your hands into the Confectioners sugar after each ball. It simply makes the process go faster. Fill your lined cookie sheet with the balls and place them into the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before coating them with chocolate.

In a double boiler or a sauce pan on low heat, melt the 1 ½ pkgs of Nestles Semi-sweet Morsels and the three blocks of chocolate flavored almond bark together. Using toothpicks, dip the coconut balls into the chocolate and place back on the waxed paper.
Chill them in the refrigerator until they’re set.

Note: Some recipes call for paraffin wax to be added to the chocolate morsels. Almond bark looks just as pretty and you don’t have that wax taste. I think it’s just better.

Hard Christmas Candy

This is the first batch of my homemade hard Christmas candy. This flavor is orange but I plan to make some raspberry candy closer to Christmas. Here's the recipe.

HARD CHRISTMAS CANDY

2 c. sugar
1/2 c. white corn syrup
1/2 c. water
1 tbsp. vinegar
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. food coloring
1 tsp. flavoring

In a heavy saucepan, stir the sugar, syrup, water, vinegar, and salt together until the sugar is dissolved. Cook over high heat until it reaches the hard crack stage (300 degrees F. on candy thermometer). Remove from fire and add coloring and flavoring. The candy can be divided and made into different flavors, green peppermint, red strawberry, or cinnamon, yellow butterscotch, etc. When the flavorings are stirred in the candy may steam.

Note: Line a cookie sheet with foil and then fill with powdered sugar. Using your finger, dig trenches into the powdered sugar. Pour the hot candy syrup into the trenches and cover with more powdered sugar. It will start to cool quickly. Once it's cool enough to handle, snip with scissors. Once it's completely cooled, roll in the powdered sugar and put it in your candy dishes. You can also use powdered sugar on your store bought hard candy. Simply add the powdered suger to the bag, close and shake until all sides are covered. No more sticky clumps of hard candy!