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Quinoa

Quinoa is my new craze! I love it! One of the main reasons that I like it is because it gives me another option in place of rice or potatoes.

Quinoa is a species of goosefoot!? I don't know what that is either. What I do know is that it is grain-like and a good replacement for rice in any dish!

So, I decided to try replacing the rice in one of our favorite dishes with quinoa.

Uncle Ben published this recipe on the back of its parboiled rice. The recipe is called California Beef Rice Skillet. Here is the recipe:

1 lb ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2-1/2 cups water
1 cup rice
3 beef bouillon cubes, crushed
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

Brown beef with onion in 10″ skillet; drain off fat. Stir in water, rice, crushed bouillon cubes, and dry mustard. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Stir in green pepper and tomato. Sprinkle cheese over top. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand 2-3 minutes to melt cheese. Serves 4-6.

A lot of times we double everything but the meat, cheese and bouillon. We are more rice/potato/veggie-eaters than meat-eaters.

So, instead of the rice, I used quinoa. We all loved it! Even my husband who is a if-it-is-good-don't-mess-with-it kind of guy!

There is one slight problem!  When eating on a budget, there is a reason why they do not say eat quinoa and beans!  I am still shopping around, but it seems like quinoa is about double the price of rice.

Baby Quilt Finished!

Inspired by a post I saw on Pinterest.com, which was pinned from Crazy Mom Quilts, I finished this baby quilt in a flash!  It only took me two evenings to do, and that is after the kids were in bed!  So fun and so easy! 

The finished quilt contains 24 8-inch blocks.

To construct the blocks, you need to do the following:

Cut 24 6.5-inch x 6.5-inch blocks of two or three colors of your choice.(I used scraps of various blue and pink fabrics.  Four of the blue fabrics I used the "Soft N Comfy Bubble Velour Fabric"...perfect for babies!!)

Cut 24 6.5-inch x 2.5-inch strips of background fabric

Cut 24 8.5-inch x 2.4-inch strips of background fabric

Construction of the blocks:

First sew the 6.5-inch x 2.5-inch strips to each of the colored squares.  Iron seam toward the colored block.

Second, hold the sewn block with the background strip on top.  Sew to the right side of the blocks the 8.5-inch x 2.5-inch strips to each of the colored squares.  Again, iron seam toward the colored block.

Lastly, lay out the quilt squares and sew them together making the background zigzag.

EASY and FUN!

Now I am debating if I should put on a border or just leave as is.

My Dad!

In honor of Father's Day, I thought I would post a picture of my dad and a quick couple of stories!  

I now live over 2000 miles away from my parents. I miss them dearly! One time before a trip “home” with my husband and kids, I was talking to my dad on the phone. I was excitedly talking about the trip on which we were about to embark, I exclaimed that I hoped I wasn’t forgetting anything. My dad replied saying, “Sarah, don’t worry. If you forget something you can borrow mine. If I don’t have it, I will buy it. If I can’t buy it, I will steal it!”  Of course, my dad would never steal, what I understood him saying was, "Don't worry, you will be fine!  I love you!"

Dad always made me feel so special and loved.  Last time I went "home", as my mom was pulling in the lane with Grace and I as her two passengers, all of the sudden fireworks shot over our car!  Dad had prepared a big fireworks show to welcome us home!  I felt like a princess. 

I love that guy!

I Spy Quilt

About six years ago I saw an I Spy quilt where they used a magnifying glass to make it look like a big print fabric is hidden in a small print fabric.  A couple of up close pictures are below so that you can see what I mean.

So after so many years of wanting to try this, I did it!  I have a Husqvarna Viking Designer I sewing machine that my dear husband purchased for me!  I love it!  Anyways, I bought a magnifying glass embroidery design from Nobbie Neez Kids.  Then the fun began!!

After completing 20 blocks, I considered how to put the blocks together.  I decided to put some white sashing in between the blocks with a square on-point at the corners.  I have never made a square on-point, so it was a good learning experience! 

For the borders I used a shortcut way to create squares on point explained in The Border Workbook .

I am pleased with the final product. My dear daughter will be sporting this quilt on her bed once I get it quilted!

Heart Shaped Eggs

I tried it!  After seeing this posted on Pinterest and  9GAG, I tried it myself. 

I don't know about you, but we have hard boiled eggs coming out of our ears since we decorated them for Easter!  Last night I made white sauce and rice and served heart eggs with it.  The kids loved it!

To make your own heart eggs, just follow these simple steps:

1.  Hard boil your eggs

2.  Peel the shells off of your eggs

3.  Take a piece of thin cardboard or cardstock and fold it in half to make a boat to hold your egg

4.  Place your egg in the boat and place a pencil or a thick kabob stick on top of the egg 

5.  At each end of the egg, place a rubber band around the cardboard boat and pencil

6.  Let it sit in the refrigerator for an hour or until you are ready to eat the eggs

7.  Unwrap the egg from the boat and cut the egg in half

I hope you give it a try.  This is really fun!!

No Electricity, No Problem...

...well, maybe for one evening!

We did not have electricity for the evening yesterday.  It is AMAZING how much I take the electricity for granted!  Even though I knew the electricity was out, I don't know how many times my husband, kids and I flipped on the light switch when entering a dark room.

A few good things did come from having no electricity yesterday.  First, we enjoyed staying outdoors having nice conversation with a friend, instead of sitting inside with the distractions of the television.

Another plus is that I was able to get lost in a great book, Gates of Zion , from the Zion Covenant series! 

And how fun it was to get the camp lantern, candles and flashlights out?!!

But, most of all, I found out how much I like gas stoves.  Because we have a gas stove, there was no delay in supper!  I jJust turned on the burner, lit a match and dinner was on its way!  I wouldn't mind upgrading to this five burner someday!!