Sunday, May 15, 2011

Reading and being busy

Well....

I don't have much to report on at the moment.

I have been reading the book, Something Borrowed, by Emily Giffin. It is really cute so far. I am interested to see how the movie is going to be, but until then, I shall keep reading the book.

My next book on the list is, Same Kind of Different as Me. I have heard from numerous people that it is a great read.

One thing to share as far as recipes go is this number:


It is really good, and it is super easy to make. I was able to cook it while talking on the phone, which for me is a huge task!

Another favorite place to go for fantastic recipes is either the Real Simple website, or their magazine. They have amazing stuff that you would never think to cook!


Well....that is honestly about it for right now. Hopefully when May is over, I can get my pillows made, and some more baking done!!!!!


Saturday, April 23, 2011

New Fabric for Pillows!


Got some new fabric at Hobby Lobby the other day to make some new pillows for our den!
The picture is a little dark, but you get the idea! I'm pretty pumped.


Monday, April 18, 2011

Swiss Cake Rolls


Just a thought:

I love Swiss Cake Rolls.

I don't like to buy them all of the time. Maybe 1 box every so often. If I had them all the time, they wouldn't have the same special amazingness that they do.

SO anyway, here's to swiss cake rolls! Little Debbie, you are a genius my friend.... (taken from google images)

(isn't she cute?)

Well that is all for now, BUT stay tuned for some fun things. I bought new fabric and have a great new recipe to share!


Thursday, April 7, 2011

Dinner + Breakfast = Brinner or Dinfast :)

So, we have gotten on this breakfast for dinner kick lately, and I must say, I like this new kick.

I love breakfast foods. I feel like anything that is considered a breakfast food, always complements the other breakfast foods. They all like to get along. You can eat them separately or just combine it all together....

Some of my favorite breakfast food places include:

1) Chick-Fil-A...um need I say more about their bisquits, or their chicken mini's or their hashbrowns? my!

2) IHOP.... yes

3) Cracker Barrel

4) Any little cafe type place that can serve me some quiche.....

I also love brunch foods.

Tonight we are having French Toast Casserole and eggs....

Now if you know anything about me, you know that I CAN'T STAND soggy bread. YUCK! Well, i am going out on a limb here. The recipe calls for baking it, so I am going to try it out....

This is the recipe:

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/french-toast-casserole-2/Detail.aspx

We shall see how it turns out!

Also, I have a reading list building up....
Here is what I have so far:

1) the 1st harry potter
2) Same kind of different as me
3) water for elephants....

Also, here is a link to my brother's blog....it is pretty cool.....


Well, i think that is all for now....

I am still working on getting things for the quilt....stay tuned. I have a feeling I will be purchasing something soon for it. :)

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Cosby and Guacamole!

So, The Cosby Show has now become instant on Netflix. All Seasons!

I, of course, was watching it yesterday, and the episode of Claire trying to get into her dress to go to Cliff's hospital benefit came on. She was working out hard, and trying to diet so she could fit in the dress. Well Cliff, comes in and tries to get Claire to eat her favorite food, Mexican. He kept talking about how good the food was, and how good guacamole would be, and that got me. I said to myself, YES! that would be amazing right now. (it is amazing what the power of persuasion can do to a person)

So, I proceed to google guacamole recipes and came across this one:


I then hurry my little self over to Bloom, our local grocery store, and get all excited about making this stuff. I had never made it by hand, and it wasn't really until recently that I started to like guacamole. I always thought it had a weird texture. Man, am I glad my taste buds changed!

The recipe is really simple, and has really healthy ingredients. One thing I learned while shopping at Bloom, is that a ripe avocado is almost black looking. It is "squishy" to the touch as well. When I say squishy, I guess I really mean soft. So, look for an almost black avocado when you are getting them.

I also recommend, if you can, buying pre-diced onions. AMAZING! Now, my hands don't have to stink. All of the work is done for you.


Thank you Cosby, for inspiring the making of the guac.



This post is dedicated to boots. you know who you are. :)

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Pizza and Banana Nut Bread!



I never knew how easy it was to make your own pizza at home, but it is easy.

We have a Trader Joe's near us, which is amazing. They have great and healthy food. So we just pick up a 99 cent ball of dough (literally) and some cheese and veggies and we are set.

Mr. Dill is the chef of this homemade pizza. He just lays out the dough, layers what we want on there and bakes it on 350 for about 20 or so minutes. Delicious! I highly recommend trying to make your own.

I have been in the mood to bake something lately. It is tough though. The seasons are changing and now I am stuck. I feel like certain foods go with certain times of the year. But you know what, who says you can't have pecan pie in the summer and key lime pie in the winter? So needless to say, those two items are on my list of baking "to-do's." Also on that list is banana nut bread. I have made this before, but it is so good.

I got the recipe from a former professor's wife. It is a wonderful recipe. I shall share it with you.....

1 1/2 C flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. salt stirred together. In different bowl, 1 stick margarine, 2 eggs, 1 C sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla. Mix 1 1/2 minutes. Add 1/2 C sour cream, 1/2 C chopped pecans, 2 ripe bananas and flour mixture. Mix 30 seconds. Bake in greased bundt pan on 350 for about 35 minutes or until knife comes out clean.

SOO Good.

Also, I wanted to introduce a friend of mine to you. She really helps me when it comes to baking.

Meet Big Red:
isn't she pretty?

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Good Food and Rulers!


This recipe provides an extremely easy, cheap, and good meal for a night when you have no idea what to cook,


I love the title. Very self explanatory.

Now, I know I have left some of you hanging on my last quilting item, but it came in.

Here is a pic: (from google images. This isn't the exact one that I got, but you get the general idea)




Well that concludes the first step on for my quilting adventure. I need to do some more research to figure out what it is I need next. (I told you it was going to take a while, so don't get your panties in a wad :) )

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Inspiration?

Just a quick thought:

You may be wondering where I am going to learn how to make this quilt.

I wanted to share the link with you all in case you wanted to see what a REAL quilting queen looks like:


This lady rocks! That is where I am going to learn from.

Again, I am taking things slow, but I hope to be able to finish what this lady has made!

Another Arrival!


The next thing that I needed for my quilt making was a Self-Healing Rotary Mat. You can get different sizes, but the one that was recommended was a 24 X 36. It is quite big!

But anyway, it came today!

Here is a pic: (by way of google because my picture did not turn out very well)


Ain't it pretty? Now I can make sure all of my lines are straight.... well maybe.

We are now waiting on the Ruler to come in and my first step will be complete! :)

Monday, January 31, 2011

First thing to come in!

My first quilting tool came in the mail! The Rotary Cutter!!

Here is a pic:




Exciting! This baby can cut things like no body's business.

Notice the ergonomic handle.... the shiny silver blade.... and the cool orange buttons (that i have to figure out what they do :) )

Anywho, just thought I would let you know!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

New Purchases :)

I purchased some things on Amazon for my new venture..... A quilt!

I had briefly mentioned that I wanted to try and make one in an earlier post. I really put it on there as a joke, but the more I got to thinking about it, the more I wanted to learn how to make one!

I am going to take it slow. Very slow. One little thing at a time. I went to Hancock Fabrics to try and get some of the things I need for my sewing machine etc, and that stuff is WAYYYY over priced. I found the exact same things I wanted, on Amazon for half the cost. So, I will be taking it slow and researching things here and there. I want to be able to have this stuff for a long time, and not just buy the stuff on a whim. Even though I am really anxious to get started!!!

When the items start arriving I will update you! I know you will be anxiously awaiting! :)

Monday, January 3, 2011

A New CookBook!


I love cookbooks. They have so many great things in them, and I love seeing everything that gets put together.

For Christmas, I got this one:





It is contains really easy step-by-step instructions and great easy meals!

I am excited about using it more and more.


I just made the grocery list for the week. Two meals so far. One of them being Balsamic Glazed Salmon and the other being Baked Chicken and Cheese Risotto! Both from the above cookbook. We shall see how they turn out.

So, the hubs got an XBOX the other evening. As I am looking up cute quilt patterns, he is sitting in his chair, talking to his friends through the headset (which looks like he is talking to himself), and deciding what the best strategy would be for his next "killshot" :)

I actually like to watch him a little bit. It is intriguing to me what all is involved in these video games now. I remember Nintendo Mario Brothers. The controller had an A and B button and some arrows. If you want to move, you move the arrow. If you want to jump, you press a button. Simple enough. This XBOX controller has buttons on the front, a joystick and four other buttons on it. Oh, and did I mention, that in order to watch anything on Netflix, it has to come through the XBOX? I literally said to myself today, ok let me see if I can work this thing because if Jeff isnt home one day, I need to know how to turn on the TV and XBOX. My how times have changed. :)

But I would also like to brag on my husband. He is just great and I am so thankful for him. Even while he is playing and strategizing, he takes time out to make sure i am doing ok, cover me up on the couch, get me something to drink, and give me a little kiss :) He has his priorities in order and always puts God and family first. I love him.

Until Next time!


Sunday, January 2, 2011

Hot Dog another post!

Oh! Doesn't this look FUN!!!!




MAYBE! This can be a 2011 resolution, because I am sure it will take me all year to do this.... but you never know :)

Well, here we are. January 2011.

I will say, I'm not a big fan of resolutions. I set them, and then by March or April I haven't done them or even remember what they were.

But, this is one resolution I would like to make. To blog more. I have honestly missed doing this. I have been cooking and making pillows etc, and I have missed posting about it and telling folks how it is going sooo..... here is my attempt to make a come back.

Christmas was a little different this year. I had to work on Christmas day. Personally I feel like there should be a law that you don't have to work on Christmas day, but then everyone would panic and a lot of chaotic things would happen. So, I wanted to do something special for Mr. Dill on Christmas Eve since Christmas Day would be different.

I have attempted to make banana pudding in the past. When Mr. Dill tried it, he said he liked it, and when I probed him for more feedback he said it was different than his moms. I took this as motivation. She makes great banana pudding and I wanted to have it made for him for Christmas Eve.

So, I e-mail the real Mrs. Dill and she proceeds to give me the recipe. I am getting so excited at this point. The only problem is that she makes her banana pudding in a double boiler and I did not have one at the time! (foreshadowing of what is to come) So, I make my own make shift double boiler. Well the way the recipe was laid out, it sounded like I needed to stir the ingredients over the stove AND use my makeshift double boiler. Well, really I just needed to do one.....oh the lessons you learn. That banana pudding was good, but very well done :)

Mr. Dill enjoyed it, and really appreciated the thought of it.

We get to family Christmas the day after Christmas, and what do I get? A Real Double Boiler! Hot Dog! I am so excited to use it! Here is a little pic:



Isn't she pretty? I am quite excited to use it and see what all I can make with it.


Well, until next time!!!