What's Cookin'?

I love making a meal that turns into several meals. My husband is so easy to cook for...he likes most anything...will eat leftovers...and can tolerate what he doesn't like as long as there is ketchup or salsa. With that in mind, I will make a big batch of something...we will eat it for a couple of days and I'll freeze the rest. Two of our favorites are chili or chicken and noodles. 

While in New York, with cookbooks and recipes in storage, this chicken and noodles recipe just seemed to evolve...

I started with a roasted chicken dinner. Selecting a nice, large, roasting hen, I put chunks of onion, along with minced garlic in the bottom of the crockpot, then laid the roasting hen right on top. Then I added 1-15 ounce can of chicken broth (low sodium) and seasoned the chicken with Mrs. Dash Onion and Herb seasoning...cooked until tender...removed chicken to a serving plate, making sure any bones were out of the broth, and added a cornstarch/water mixture to thicken the broth into gravy. The chicken was absolutely tender and delicious. I figured I would get two meals out of that, easy! The next day was gray, damp and cold and I had errands to run. A perfect soup day. So I stopped and picked up noodles...the frozen brand called Reames...thinking I would try my hand at chicken noodle soup, which turned into a thicker chicken and noodle dinner!

Years ago, I used to make my own egg noodles, but found the frozen Reames egg noodles to be closest to homemade. Well, recently, my sister in law told me about the noodles she uses and I cannot remember the brand...shoot! I used them all up in this latest batch of chicken and noodles. I bought them at Kroger. Anyway, they are the best noodles ever! So, these are the stops for my now, famous ;o)...chicken and noodles..

I start with olive oil and minced onion in the pot...let is saute for just a few minutes...

Then...I add some chopped onion...chopped carrots...saute that for a couple of minutes...

While that is cooking, I cut all the rest of the meat off the chicken carcass into small pieces...and add that to the pot...along with the chicken stock saved from roasting the chicken. Since there is not a lot of the original stock left over, and since I always buy low fat/low sodium chicken stock to add to the soup, I think the fat content would not be too much of a worry....unless a person was  on a restricted diet.

After adding a couple large cans of additional chicken stock, I add the noodles. The noodles will make or break your soup! Those flat egg noodles are not too tasty...the frozen ones, again, are closest to homemade. But those ones I found...it's an Amish brand...the taste and consistency is perfect! And voila`...a hearty pot of chicken and noodles! It is delicious! You know, you can follow most any recipe...but I have found that some of the best ones come from parts of what you remember...parts of what is written down...and parts of how you like to tweak things to your own tastes...and boy oh boy, this sure tastes good!

I also found a recipe on Pinterest using avocado and chick peas smashed together...some lime juice...and mayo, to make a sandwich spread. Well, I did that and added fresh minced onion and we love to add creamy horseradish sauce to lots of dishes. Well, that gave it a little bit of a zip! We spread it on those healthy wheat rounds...added some bean spouts...some fresh spinach...and you have a healthy sandwich! And the lime juice helped the avocado keep it's color and not turn dark too quickly.

Along with the cooking, we had our granddaughter's over for two nights. They are both in a play coming up in June and we were helping to take them to practices while their parents were busy. During our down times, we did some cross stitching. I don't do that very often because the holes are too hard to see. I found some special glasses to wear so that I could do this with the girls. We had fun picking out a pattern, getting our supplies together, winding the floss around the floss holders and organizing it all into floss containers...and then we started. Their other grandmother had started them on cross stitch a few years ago, but their opportunity to keep doing it has been about nil. So, I just refreshed them a bit and we spent a morning cross stitching before they had play practice.

Some times, I don't think there are enough hours in a day to do all the different kinds of crafts and things that can be done. I still love knitting the best, but this sure was a fun time with the girls! I look forward to the next time they come...maybe trying out a new recipe, too...

Yummo!!

Aromas and foods can bring such waves of nostalgia, sometimes. I had been hungry for homemade potato salad for a few weeks. It is so easy to just pick up a quart at the grocery store...but I love homemade potato salad. With Easter approaching, I told my daughter that I'd bring potato salad to add to her Easter dinner...salad and a dessert. The Saturday before Easter, I was busy boiling russet potatoes...waiting for the hard boiled eggs to cool...just regular prepping.

As I began to peel the potatoes, that nostalgia wave hit me! It took me back to years ago when Mom would make her potato salad, fried chicken and other assorted picnic foods. We would all load up the car, drive to Huffman Dam and have a picnic with our Aunt, Uncle and cousins! And ohhhh, that potato salad was so good...that and Aunt Connie's sweet iced tea! That was another special treat, because we only drank unsweetened tea at our house.

Memories rose that day as the aroma of potato salad filled my little kitchen! I peeled the potatoes and diced them...the eggs, onions and celery...added mustard, pickle relish, mayonnaise and creamy horseradish sauce (we like a little kick)...and pepper! It was delicious!!

Another memory rose up recently. I love rhubarb! And so does my Dad. Years ago, Dad and I had a little apartment in Colorado, and behind the building were two large rhubarb plants. I would cut several ripe stalks, chop them into pieces, add sugar, and make rhubarb sauce. Dad and I would eat it in a bowl...no ice cream...nothing but hot sweet rhubarb sauce!

A couple of weeks ago, Paul and I drove down to Fairfield, Ohio, to a place called Jungle Jim's International Market. If they don't have it, you probably don't need it. They have foods from all around the world. As we walked through the produce area, we found some rhubarb, and strawberries on sale. When we got home, I made a strawberry, rhubarb sauce with walnuts...oh my, it was so good! I would have been satisfied to eat it in a bowl, like Dad and I used to do...but Jungle Jim's also had angel food cakes on sale...

...the following pictures are out of sequence...

...but soooooo good!

We had the grandchildren this weekend...the girls for just a few hours on Friday, and the boys overnight. When they come, I always try to make something special. When the kids arrived early Friday morning, I had a special coffee cake ready. Because of copyright issues, I cannot write the recipe as written, but I can tell you how I made it ;o). I didn't get a picture...we ate it too fast...haha...

You use frozen dinner rolls. The bag has about 36 rolls, I believe. Take 16 or 18 frozen rolls and place them in a bundt pan that has been sprayed with a nonstick cooking spray. Then, sprinkle the frozen rolls with a box of butterscotch pudding - regular cooking pudding, not the instant kind. Over the pudding, sprinkle 1/2 cup of brown sugar, a small package of pecans, or your favorite nuts, then melt 1 stick of butter and pour that over all.

I have a cotton towel (not terrycloth) that I use to roll out my pie crusts on. I dampened that towel and laid it over the bundt pan. You can cover with plastic, as well...the point being to not let the bread dry out as it rises. Then, just set it in your oven overnight. Don't turn the oven on...just let the bread rise there overnight. When I got up Friday morning, you could smell the aroma of bread yeast through the house! I did notice that as the rolls rose, it pushed the pecans out and they fell on the bottom of the oven, so make sure you put a pan under it.

I took the towel off and all those frozen dough rolls had risen beautifully! Set your oven to 350 degrees, and pop that bundt pan back into the oven and bake for about 30 minutes. I let it cool for about 5 minutes, laid a platter on top of the bundt pan, turned it over and out came the "coffee cake" with all of the butterscotch and nuts laying on top. And it was absolutely yummo!! Instead of cutting slices, you just pull apart the piece you want. Needless to say, that was a big hit!

Because the boys stayed overnight, I had dinner planned. I soaked some navy beans for an hour, drained them and put them in a crock pot...adding onion, bacon bits, molasses, dry mustard, brown sugar and water and set them on low. Then we went garage-"saleing" for a few hours. I had made these beans before and they had dried out during the cooking process....so during the afternoon, I'd add a bit more water...and some barbecue sauce. I also made a barbecue meatloaf and served coleslaw on the side. Oh my, what a good dinner! The beans, because I would check them about once an hour, were absolutely delicious and better than any canned beans you can eat...a bit more labor involved, but well worth it. You are getting fresh, healthy beans and very low sodium!

Now, this morning, to top off our weekend with the boys, I made breakfast pizza. Using the pizza dough from the grocery, I topped the dough with beaten eggs, garlic powder, fresh cooked sausage, bacon bits, minced onion and mozzarella cheese. With the left over sausage, I made sausage gravy!

Today, the boys are going home. It has cooled down about 20 degrees and will be cooler this weekend, so I'm putting on a pot of chili...we LOVE chili! After the chili is done, I am not cooking again until well into next week...I think I've outdone myself for awhile...

Every Tuesday, Paul and I go over to his brother's house. I have been teaching my sister-in-law to knit. So, after her grandsons go down for a nap, she and I close ourselves in her craft room and we knit. We have been working on knitting a sweater, but we put our sweaters on hold for a few weeks...I wanted to learn how to quill.

Quilling is pretty cool. You take paper strips and wrap them tightly around a quilling tool. You add a little glue when you take your rolled up paper off the end of the tool and pin it to a cork board to dry. The pattern is on the board with a piece of wax paper over the top, and you make as many quilled rolls as needed...gluing them all together. I thought this would look cute on a picture frame.

Again, my pictures are out of sequence...but I thought my first project came out pretty well. My frame still has the stock pic that was inside...but it will be even more special when my own picture is inside.

I don't know that I would do this again...I walked away with only 2 paper cuts on my fingers...but I'm glad I tried it. Truth be told...I'd rather knit...

....on to the next project...

The Traveler Retires

The CraftyTraveler has officially retired! We have unpacked...our luggage is stored...we've settled in! And while I absolutely loved the years of traveling around with hubby from state to state...and place to place...it feels sooooooooo good to be still! It took several months for us to decide where we should be...job-wise...retirement-wise...but our daughter, family, and grandchildren are here in Ohio...and this is where we settled in.

I felt the need to retire the craftytraveler blog, as stories of traveling to the grocery each week does not hold much excitement. However, knitting and needlework always holds excitement...a finished project...new yarn...new patterns...hence, a new blog, The Crafty Needle! We may have occasional travels coming up, but there's no place like home!!

And speaking of home, one of the things I missed while traveling about, was the beautiful Spring season in Ohio. I know that every state has it's particular beauty, but I missed the riot of Spring colors that Ohio offers...in the Miami Valley area...and this Spring has been outstanding. Because of the warm weather, the tree buds were able to absolutely burst open in beauty!!

These are just a few examples right around our apartment complex...the whole valley is full of color!! As we drive around doing errands and such, I am trying to drink in as much as I can before the blossoms fade. And, I decided that this year, I would do some "patio gardening" to keep some colors and blooms going throughout the summer.

Since we are home now, my sister-in-law and I meet every Tuesday. I have been teaching her to knit and of course, we got excited about making Christmas gifts. We both decided to make the Felted Posy Bag by Patons. The felted roses were so easy to make...and to felt...and to assemble.

Because of trying to finish so many projects, I put off finishing this until after Christmas...because I wanted to line the bag and I did not know how. Did you know that you can learn how to do most anything by going to Youtube.com and typing in what you want to see...and there is probably a video that someone has made so that you can learn? I just typed in "lining a purse" and several hits came up. I watched the video...took a couple of notes...and voila`...a lined felted posy purse!!

After we got settled in and rested for awhile, we began looking for churches. We found the place where we knew the Lord wanted us to be. I had it on my mind for a couple of months that if anyone wanted to learn to knit, or just get together to knit, I would love it. As I pondered on this for a number of weeks, wondering if I should say anything, a woman at church approached me and asked if I would be interested in doing a knitting group...helping those who needed help with knitting...woohooo, I said yes!!

And so, we began to meet last month. A number of them expressed a desire to knit scarves and hats for the homeless...to have a prayer shawl ministry...and to just encourage each other to finish projects that had been started, but set aside.

We looked at several patterns for prayer shawls and hats and such...and I found this pattern from LionBrand.com, the Splendid Triangle Shawl, using their Homespun yarn...the color is called Tudor.

The pattern called for a size 13 needle, but when I did several rows, I did not like how loose it looked, so I frogged it and started over using a size 11 needle...perfect! It worked up quickly and I had it done within 4 days. The pattern also called for a crocheted bind off...very easy! We will do a number of other styles, but this particular pattern is a nice, quick knit.

I found this beanie hat pattern on Ravelry... and I modified it a bit by adding more ribbing to make a "cuff". So far, I've got two done and one more halfway done.

I'll say it again, it feels so good to be back home. At the beginning, it felt almost surreal...being back to the area where we were from, yet we were certainly changed from the years of being gone...how did we now fit in now...experiences over the years that challenged us and expanded who we were. Yet after a time of rest and slowly easing back into things, it's all good!

The best part is being on 30 minutes from our daughter and grandchildren. The kids get to spend the night...we get to see them regularly...watch them grow up...attend sporting activities...sewing fashion shows...walk through the woods with my grandsons...oh yes...it's good to be back home!