Easter Ham Leftovers...

Hey there sweet friends!  For those who celebrate Easter, I do hope yours was a day filled with family, love and reflection.  Over the weekend I fussed with my blog background a bit.  I hope it looks ok on your end, well not on your end ~LOL~ you know what I mean:)

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Critters ~ this plump possum paid us an Easter Sunday visit, came up the driveway, he/she must have mugged the Easter bunny along the way:)

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Stitching ~  one of my WIP's will remain as such forever as I've lost interest in the design after a less than cordial reply from a very well established designer.  I politely asked if it would be possible to gleen the stitch count on one of her new charts, her reply was look at the chart when it was released.  I was left without an answer, unsure if the design size would work for me, and a clear message that my inquiry was nothing more than a bother.  Needles to say, the stitch count is no longer a concern to me and a bother I'll no longer be.  I share this tidbit for the simple reason I was a bit surprised, it's the only time I've ever had a less than cordial stitching experience.  I truly believe it was a rare occurrence, everybody has a bad day, I've no reason to think it'll happen again.  Still, I won't be finishing my WIP as it would only remind me of unpleasantness.

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Cooking ~ did your mom ever bring home that tangy ham salad from the local grocery deli?  Well, I'm here to assure that you can make easy-peasy ham salad with your leftover Easter ham, you might even have everything on hand in your pantry!

 ingredients

In case you're interested:

Chunk your leftover ham and grind with plenty of Bread & Butter pickles without juice (reserve the juice).

If desired, add a few onion chunks/celery/onion powder, grind again.

Transfer ground mixture into a mixing bowl.

Add reserved pickle juice a little at a time, very little ~ you want it on the dry side, mix well.  Remember, those pickle have a lot of juice in them!

Add mayo a small spoonful at a time, again think more dry than runny, mix well til you get a nice thick spreadable consistency.  You're done, enjoy!

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St. Patty's Day Update ~ here's our corned beef, (about 3 lbs flat cut), cooked in crockpot covered 3/4 with beef broth (nothing else) on low for 15 hours, yes ~ 15!  It never burned or got tough, flaked apart so nicely, no slicing needed, like buttah.  Hmmmm, seems the tater salad opted-out on having its' picture taken, you know how tempermental those taters can be!

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Thanks to each of you for visiting, I always enjoy our time together ~ wishing you all a lovely week to come!

Tootles, Sue

Bathing, Stitching, Punching and Cooking On A Birthday...

Hi there Sweet Friends!  How's everybody doing?  Staying warm?  Stitchin?  Thanks for stopping by, I've quite a few sweet things to share with you.  This is a longish post, so if you've no time now, you're welcome to stop back when you can.

STITCHY BATH...  There's this older EMS SAL flower chart that's been nagging me, but I hesitated on kitting it up because the colors were really quite bright, not really to my prim liking.  Rather than do a conversion, I used the DMC colors as charted and bathed them in a very strong tea bath and rinsed, several times actually.  Well... truth be known, OCD rinsing happened ~ it's ok, go ahead, laugh:)  There might be a naysayer or two who'll say I've broken some rule and advise against this, but it's just DMC floss, and I'm accustomed to breaking rules.  The end result was quite acceptable, drabber and muted, a simple and fun experiment.  Heck, I might even trickle some drops of ~ Distress It ~ on these to stain them even more.

 One cup hot water w/six or seven tea bags...

 

before ~ yes, these colors are true, yikes...

 after ~ there now, that's better...

STITCHY TIP...  This WIP has been in my basket prob 4 or 5 years, I've just now picked it up again and am making good progress.  But, I decided I needed a few extra inches on each edge to fit more comfortably in my hoop.  I like to hoop, it fits my comfort level.  If you don't use a hoop, this tip's probably not for you.  So... I machine stitched a 4 inch wide strip of muslin along each edge to add some hoop comfort!  Of course any scrap fabric on hand will do.  This is also a very thrifty way to stitch a wee motif on those smaller linen/aida scraps that you think are a bit too small to use for anything.

See the seam?

Just sew a scrap piece along one edge or all four!

OH NOOOO ~ NOT AGAIN...  Like many of you, try as I might, I just can't seem to avoid those really annoying and pesky birthdays, you know... the ones ~ shhhhhh ~ after 50.  Mine is due to arrive unwelcome and uninvited a.g.a.i.n. on the 26th, yep me and Paul Newman.  I really and truly DO NOT KNOW how and when and why all these birthdays happened!  Not that I mind them that much, just wish they'd not come so often, every other year would be divine.

As a little present to myself, I signed up for a punch needle class this coming weekend at Liberty Cottage in Canandaigua, one of my most favorite shops.  I guess there's only myself and one other student.  I'm really looking forward to learning punch needle as an alternative to stitching, as I'm told it's much quicker from start to finish!  Wish you could join me!

Liberty Cottage, Canandaigua, NY

Sweet Patti (no blog) sent along this birthday gift that she knows I'll put to good use.  Patti's birthday is the 27th, which makes us birthday buddies, so we exchange a 'lil something and enjoy wallowing together, what are friends for anyway!

Thanks Patti, you're very thoughtful:)

COOKING...  Here's a ~Sweet Potato Pie Casserole~ I've been wanting to try, this was pantry-friendly and easy peasy to prepare.  The result was a sweet-salty-creamy-crunchy bite of heavenly yum!  Recipe courtesy of sweet Marly over at Santas and Samplers ~RECIPE.  This recipe now holds its' place of honor in my special recipe box.

  Thanks ever so much Marly,

this dish is simply too good to serve only on holidays!

MY BLOG...  Spent some time Spring cleaning, tidying up and rearranging things here, threw some tabs up top to store stuff.  I'm not yet done, and still haven't figured out how to make my top tabs look nicer.  Does anyone know if this is an easy fix?

   

Before you go, please have yourself a peek at my ~ Sweet Giveaways ~ tab!

Thanks for sharing a few moments of your day, see you again:) 

Tootles, Sue

October Sweets and Snake Hash...

Hi there stitchy and prim luvin friends!  It's been a drizzly and grey weekend here, yet it's my fave time of year, I love Fall!  The foliage is not yet at peak in our area, hoping the glorious turning of colors doesn't pass us by this year.  My sweet thanks for your good wishes on my last post, my burn is healing nicely with no problems at all.  How's everybody doing?  Here's a bit of this and that from our part of NYS...

STITCHIN...  I keep eying a kitted project on the table but sorry, nothing new to report, so skip on by if you like:) 

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CRITTERS...  Hubs left the mudroom door open, this little guy snuck in and was makin a squirmy beeline for me in the kitchen.  Luckily my hero came to the rescue, here's where it landed, under the truck tire.  He's ok, not hurt, wiggled away, and DON'T COME BACK, YOU'RE NOT WELCOME IN MY KITCHEN YOU REPTILE INTRUDER ~ NEXT TIME I'LL MAKE SNAKE HASH OUT OF YOU AND FEED YOU TO THE SNAKE EATING VARMINTS! 

 

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ROOTIN IN THE BARN...   We rescued this advertising sign from the barn, a monster at 4 feet wide and very heavy, no room inside so we hung it in the garage.  Condition isn't good, dates from 50's-60's when this variety of poultry was being developed.  She's a keeper, grunge and all.

 

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COLLECTIN AND THRIFTIN...  I confess, I'm a plopper!  Found this sturdy older pine bench with square nails and nice patina for $10., score!  The Lion Brand cream cheese vintage box was a buck, I plopped in a pothos cutting and a few fall things for the kitchen window, probably too much, but I'm not enough of a fusser to re-do it.  The newer miniature fraktur print was also a buck, I always keep a watchful eye out for anything frakturish.  The chenille ear of corn is huge and was only 2 bucks, it got plopped too.  Lots of us have seen the twine storage in a sugar jar, very handy and works great.  I finally added a homespun bow and Sweet Annie to my hand turned tigermaple clothespin to dress it up a bit, it'll get plopped somewhere too.

 

    

 

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BAKIN...  We all have those projects, we say ~I'll get to it, one of these days~.  Well, yay for me ~ I got one accomplished!  Please won't you meet my very plain apron, she's all of 30 yrs old, bleached a bazillion times and worked as hard as a mule.  Mind you, I was a young lady when I started wearing it, and of course, the years grew on me... as they always do.  Can you guess where this is going?  Yep, the apron strings became difficult to reach from behind.  I snipped off her old strings and sewed on a long length of grosgrain to each side~VOILA!  I haven't decided whether to retire the old girl, maybe she's good for another 30 years, I just kinda feel good knowing she's still workin for me:)

There's something about almond paste that promises an impressive and elegant delight on the tongue, yet some think it's really too fussy to bother with, I can testify that it's not.  Almond Paste {not marzipan} comes in a small can, has the consistency of sugary Play Dough and is very easy to work with.  There was a bakery in Buffalo, NY called the Ken-Paul Bakery {closed years ago}, they  made the most divine Almond Rings.  A girl can only crave one for so long 'til she decides to do something about replicating it, the easy way if possible!  This is what I tried, it was f.a.b.u.l.o.u.s.  The recipe is HERE .  I followed the directions exactly and would not change a thing.  These bars are on par with a better quality bakery, and I dare say they'd be at least $3.00 each anywhere, if you were lucky enough to find them.  Our leftovers were wrapped well and sent to the freezer, I'm a bit curious to see whether they freeze well.  Please let me know if you try these, and what you think? 

 

I wish each of you have a few sweet moments of peace this coming week, needle or apron in hand, if the mood suits you:)  Thanks for stopping by...


Tootles, Sue

~ BLUEBERRY... ~

... cheesecake, a splendid summer day, stitchin and sweet friends, what more could a girl want:)

Wishing you a lovely summer Sunday...

Tootles, Sue

~ EVER *HOOP* YOUR COOKIES? ~

Hi there!  Yeppers, I've gone and *hooped* my cookies, and sadly, it would seem this prim stitcher has gone way way way over the edge this time!  Freud might say this seemingly innocent folly is far more revealing than just dreaming of floss and linen:)  Many of you have already tried the Neiman Marcus Choc Chip cookies, today was my turn.  These are by far the best choc chip recipe I've ever tasted, they have a wonderful crumb, dense, gooey and tender on the inside with just the right crispiness on the delicate bottom.  I know, I know ~ every baker has their own special and perfect choc chip cookie recipe, now this one is mine:) 

 Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies

So dear friends, I ask you.... any armchair shrinks out there who care to share a comment on my folly for the day?  Hope this silly post gave at least a couple of you a stitchy giggle ~ pass the milk please...

Tootles and Sweet Stitchin, Sue

~ GIFTS AND FOOD AND ROSES - OH MY! ~

Hi there!  Hope everyone is surviving the bitter cold and snow.  Have you seen the pictures of snow in the South, there's just something so wrong about snow on palm trees, bleeeeech!

The Twisted Stitcher ~ and I participated in a private loaning of charts.  Vonna's stitch is done and she's sent her finish *Flowers of Lebanon* for framing.  And, I am drifting... out there... way out there... somewhere... my stitch is going very slowly despite my daily stitches.  While pouting about my lack of progress I was stitchy surprised yesterday!  This darling floss tag/ring arrived from Vonna in appreciation, along with a note that she was sending us a slice of Spring.  The back is finished with sparkly Easter egg fabby.  Isn't it pretty and folky and Springy, and just perfect for my sewing basket!  Thank You for your kindness Vonna:) 

Stitchy Surprise from Vonna

Caution ~ Green Veggie Alert!  Permission granted to back out now if you're not a fan.  Ahem... Carol aka StitchingDreams:)  Made this dish last night, one of my *Go To* recipes on a cold night, serve either as a meal or side dish.  Italian sausage or chicky is pretty darn good on the side for the meat eaters.  This recipe is very thrifty and makes great use of those oh~so~lonely and abandoned stewed tomatoes in the pantry.  You can easily use canned tomatoes instead.

Katie's Bow Tie Pasta:  Cook 2 cups bow tie pasta, drain, set aside.  In same deep pot saute a large thick sliced sweet onion and a clove minced garlic in butter/margarine/olive oil, add 4 med zucchini sliced 1/2 inch thick (more or less), 2 cans stewed tomatoes (about 14 oz. each), 1/2 teaspoon white or brown sugar, few shakes of onion powder and/or garlic powder, simmer about 20 minutes.  Lastly, grab your cooked pasta and toss it in, simmer a few minutes to reheat, enjoy!  Red pepper flakes/grated cheese on top optional, makes excellent leftovers!

Katie's Bow Tie Pasta

Can I share ~ beauties from Lover Boy for V~Day... 

awwwww, ain't he sweet...

 Tootles and Sweet Stitchin,  Sue

~ SANTA FE CHICKY IN CROCKPOT ~

Hi there!  I spiced things up a bit in my kitchen yesterday and discovered this recipe *ain't no Taco Bell*.  This super easy and deeply flavored chicky was a welcome treat for the bored tastebuds on a harsh and frigid night.  The sauce had fire, but the good earthy kind, not the heat kind and I guarantee you couldn't get a better meal at an authentic Mexican casa.  I followed the recipe, but used 3 breasts (was plenty), added 1 cup jar salsa, a few generous shakes of sweet chili pepper, a can of chipotle peppers in sauce (roughly chopped) and let it cook all day ~ while I stitched:)

When done I roughly shredded the chicky in the crock.  I wanted to thicken the sauce, so I used a little drizzle of cornstarch/water slurry in the crockpot, pouring a little in at a time and stirring til it thickened nicely and served over a bed of white rice. The sauce soaked into the rice and well, you can just imagine...  I could barely force myself to share even a morsel and kept telling DH if he didn't care for it that I'd make him something else and send the chicky to the freezer.   He gobbled it down.  I would not hesitate for a moment to serve this to company or take it anywhere in my trusty crock.  This was such a welcome addition to my crockpot specialties, I couldn't help but mention it here, in case any of you are looking to spice things up a bit in your own kitchen:)  

Thank you IowaGirl, you rock!  For recipe, go  HERE.

Thanks for popping in dear friends, wishing you a sweet stitchin weekend:)


Tootles, Sue

~ OH... YOU'RE JUST A BIG HAM! ~

Gentle warning ~ longish post.

Hi again, WOW, 2 posts in the same day, do I win a prize or something~LOL!  Every Christmas DF graces us with a ham, always a big 'un, this ham was 16 pounds~YIKES~there's only 2 of us! So, after probing around to find the bone, I bravely cut this oinker in half, which made for an 8 pounder, scored it, slipped it into a bag and baked it for 2 1/2 hours.  Yeah, I know I should have glazed it, but was lazy...  The other 8 pound half went into the freezer, although I could have easily just put it in the garage, certainly frigid enough here:)

I always use Reynolds baking bags cause they do good things: they always keep the meat very juicy, they keep the meat hot (with a kitchen towel over the whole thing, bag and all) while the rest of the meal is pulled together, they make it very easy to drain the drippings for gravy, cleanup is a snap and they simply never fail me.


Musing Alert ~ my first attempt at ham gravy, instead of adding water to the drippings, I used Pomegranate/Plum juice cause that's what was in fridge, turned out pretty darn gooood!  Can I share?  It's taken many years to overcome my *making gravy* phobia.  Oh my~a flashback~ages and ages ago a beau was coming for turkey dinner, wanting to impress and all, I asked DM to come over and make the gravy, so..... as my date was knockin at the door, DM was slipping out the back-LOL!  Go figure, a Mom going to all the trouble for a date that wasn't even hers!

The Big 'Un or as almost everyone whispers and gently smiles when a ham is served after a funeral *Isn't it a beautiful ham*.  Did you ever notice that too?:

Monday night dinner for DH~ham, ham gravy, boiled taters, biscuits, beanies:

DH is in hog heaven, there'll be ham steaks for breakfast and tangy ham salad for munching.  We gotta keep our men happy.  After all, they do put up with our stitchy stuff, even if they don't get it:)

If you're still with me, thanks kindly for indulging... What's on the menu at your house tonight?


Tootles and Sweet Stitchin, Sue