Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Recipe – Confetti Hash Peppers


I tried a new recipe for supper last night, it’s a keeper. If you like stuffed peppers and if you like canned corn beef hash, you might give this one a try. It’s very simple & quick to fix. Got the recipe from the label on a can of Hormel reduced fat corned beef hash.
http://hormel.com/recipes/details.aspx?Id=2640

But, I did change Hormel’s recipe a little. I added twice as much onion, chili sauce & cheese. I don’t cut the tops off the peppers. I cut them in half lengthwise to stuff them. I always wondered what to do with the cut-off tops. By cutting them lengthwise, can utilize the whole pepper. I don’t par-boil the peppers. The peppers always get so mushy when you par-boil. We like them a little crisp. Here’s my changed recipe.

Confetti Hash Peppers

3 green bell peppers (I used 2 green, 1 red)
1 (15-ounce) can HORMEL® Reduced Fat Corned Beef Hash
1/2 cup frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 tablespoons chili sauce
2/3 cup shredded Sharp Cheddar cheese (or enuf to give each a good sprinkle)

Heat oven to 375°F.
Wash peppers. Cut peppers in half, lengthwise; remove seeds.
I do not boil peppers. Peppers will be a little crisp if not boiled.
In bowl, combine hash, corn, onion and chili sauce; spoon into bell peppers. Place bell peppers in a baking dish. Bake 20 minutes.
Sprinkle tops with cheese. Bake 10 minutes longer.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Weather & thanx

I decided to put the Temp up on the sidebar. This is the time of year that I look forward to in South Florida. Originally, I am from Wisconsin and am very familiar with cold winters. So, I really appreciate the Florida winters. Hope that by seeing the warm temps, it warms your heart. Just remember, I've got to endure the hot, humid Florida summer before I get the wonderful winter.

I want to thank the Quilting Gallery for featuring my Christmas Shopping Bag. And a big Hello! to all those stopping by on a link from the Quilting Gallery. For those who don't know, the Quilting Gallery lists Quilting Bloggers by state, province or country.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Jason Quilts – Day Three


Today we went shopping at Joann’s for fabric. His first choice of fabric for the blocks in the center of the quilt changed the colors of the layout he had designed. And he was okay with that. Only bought 2 fabrics today, cuz Joann has another sale next week.

Came home, put the fabric in the washer & dryer while we had a lunch of Gpa’s homemade chili. After lunch, Jason ironed the preshrunk fabric and then it was time to cut. He cut strips for a strip set. Sewing a strip set for Block 1 was the first time Jason sewed a long strip. It was also the first time that Jason learned how to “un-sew”. VBG There are certain things that we can fudge, but there are certain things that get “un-sewed” and we all learn these things the hard way. VBG

The photo shows 3 blocks of Block 1 that he completed today. Blocks are 12-1/2” x 12-1/2”.

Jason gave permission for me to share his quilt design with the blogging world. So, as the quilt progresses, I will be putting up a PDF file of the construction, so if you like his quilt, you will be able to make one like it.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Bags - sack, square bottom, book

I’ve been making gift bags for ages. I just hate to pay crazy amounts of money for pretty paper that gets all ripped & crumpled in 2 seconds flat. Plus. I can use up some stash. But, usually, I will buy real cheap fabric at Walmart or Joann’s which turns out to be much cheaper than pretty paper and I get a much bigger piece. Very nice when I have a large gift.

People are still using these bags from years ago! I usually just make a sack for the size of the object. Gather the whole thing in your hand at the top and tie a ribbon or fabric tube into a bow. The denim one above is suitable for a someone in college and is handy for a laundry bag.

Angie Padilla has some easy gift bags.
Square bottom bag – like the paper ones with handles
Book bag – when giving a book as a gift

If “Angie Padilla” sounds familiar to you, she wrote the book “ EQ6 Applique Drawing” from the folks at Electric Quilt. I have learned so much about drawing from her book. Never have been able to draw. Now, I draw with a mouse! Go figure …

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Shopping Bag Gallery

It is always so nice to see other’s versions of one’s design. When another sew-er makes that item from the design, then it is assumed that the directions were accurate! ;-) Denise from Canada sent me a pic of the Christmas Shopping Bag that she completed.

Thank you, Denise! I see you used a different fabric for each tree. You must have started the bag shortly after I put up the tute. And I have put your bag in the #1 spot on the Gallery page for Fabric Bags. It shall remain at the top forever. Other pics will go in the next spots below.

Christmas Shopping Bag instructions

I hope to get lots of pics! It will be so neat to see other’s interpretations of the design – or what they can do with a plain bag.

I like blogging. It reminds me so much of the days in the old AOL Quilting Community. We got such nice feedback from the quilters for just about anything we did. And then there would be the quilting chat rooms where we could discuss all what was going on. Yah, I think AOL had a good idea and I think they made a big mistake when they got rid of all the Communities.

Wild Roses - I won!


My luck is such that I usually am the one clapping while others are the ones accepting the prizes. Not this time. This time I won! Patchwork Pie just celebrated a one-year anniversary (Congrats Sunnie!) and Sunnie had a drawing with names entered of all who commented on her blog within a time frame.

The little quilt is just gorgeous. That background fabric is perfect for the batik flowers and leaves. The thread painting made it all pop. The centers of the flowers were done with clusters of tied embroidery thread. Nice effect. Binding was handsewn to back. Be sure & click on the image to see an enlarged version.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Printing pages

While talking with a friend, I realized that she didn’t know that her printer could print more than 1 page to a sheet. So I thought I’d blog about it, in case others didn’t know about this. You’ll really save on paper.

There might be different options on your printer or your printer may not even offer the options that mine does, but here’s what I can do on my HP OfficeJet 6210.

FILE > PRINT > PROPERTIES (or PAGE SETUP > PRINTER > PROPERTIES)
I am shown 7 different tabs that offer different options.

On the FINISHING tab, I can choose the number of pages to print PER SHEET of PAPER! If I print webpages, I usually use the 2 pages per sheet option and I can read the print just fine.

After I click 2 pages per sheet, I get an option in the right column where I can print PORTRAIT or LANDSCAPE.

Go through your printer “preferences” or “options” and see what’s available to you.

I really like the ability to print more than one page per sheet. If I print directions off of a webpage (or from a PDF file), I can get away with using far less paper.

And if you use PRINT PREVIEW in your Browser, you can see which pages you want (or don’t want) to print. And that saves on paper, too.