Pretzel Jello

Plan ahead, this one takes some time, but is worth it!  Apparently this is not something that is popular all over the country.  My family from out West had never heard of this.  I'd like to think this is something special that comes from our neck of the woods!

2 cups crushed pretzels
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
6 oz. pkg. strawberry jello
10 oz. pkg. frozen strawberries, thawed
1 large Cool Whip
3/4 cup melted margarine
3 T. sugar
1 cup powdered sugar

1st Layer:  Mix crushed pretzels, 3/4 cup melted margarine and 3 T. sugar.  Put into 13x9 baking dish.  Bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes.  Cool completely.

2nd Layer:  Soften cream cheese, add 1 cup powdered sugar.  Mix well.  Add Cool Whip.  Spread over pretzel mixture and refrigerate until firm.

3rd Layer:  Mix strawberry jello thoroughly with 2 cups boiling water;  add thawed strawberries.  Put into refrigerator until jello just starts to gel.  Pour over top of the cream cheese mixture.  (If you pour over the back of a spoon, it will help the jello not to dig a hole in the cream cheese and mess up your pretty layers).  Refrigerate until firm.

Sweet Potato Pie

Great side dish for company.  It can be made ahead and baked just before dinner.

3 lbs. sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed

1 egg

½ cup sugar

½ t. cinnamon

2 ½ T. butter, melted

dash of salt

Topping:

½ cup ritz crackers, crushed

2 ½ T. butter, melted
¼ cup chopped pecans
½ cup brown sugar

Mix Pie ingredients together and spoon into a lightly greased 9" or 10" pie plate, or equivalent sized baking dish.  Spread topping over potatoes.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Stingin' Cute!  This is a new shirt I made recently.  I have a fondness of bees since they are our school mascot, so I'm always looking out for a cute one.  The bees are also very interesting to me because my husband is a beekeeper.  It's been fascinating to learn more about how God created those little guys to do what they do to produce such fantastic honey!

Laundry Tip:  You know how you shouldn't put a new red shirt into a load of laundry and wash it for the first time with white clothes?  Especially not the brand new white shirt that you designed and spent time embroidering...Well, if you do such a thing here's a good fix.  Soak the shirt in warm water and vinegar for a few hours.  Then add laundry soap and scrub it in.  Then wash as normal.  I didn't realize the red had bled onto the shirt until it had already gone through the dryer (bummer!).  BUT, I am happy to report that all of the blothes of pink came out!!! Yeah!!  And we repeated this vinegar cleaning when she got strawberry juice all over her shoulder.  Vinegar is my new best friend!

Cranberry Chicken

easy. different. good.  Originally from my friend Lisa.

6 chicken breasts
1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
1 pkg. onion soup mix
1 cup california french salad dressing

Place the chicken breasts in a 13x9 glass pan.  Stir the soup mix, cranberry sauce and dressing in a bowl until well combined.  Pour over chicken.  Bake uncovered at 350 for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Top should be bubbly and slightly browned.  I've also thrown this mixture in the crock pot.  It comes out good, the sauce just doesn't thicken.  If you are making it for a crowd you could easily add more chicken and use the same aount of sauce since it does make a lot.

Quilted iPad Case

I got an iPad for Christmas and wanted to make sure I had a way to protect it when I take it along with me.  Can I just mention that I searched many, many stores to find that the cases they sell are not very pretty or fun looking?  Since I love a useful sewing project, I thought I'd make my own.  I used this tutorial and learned a new techinique on how to insert a zipper with a lining involved.  It's a technique I'd like to remember for future projects.

I love a pretty, lined, zippered pouch.  I used a recycled zipper from one of my former favorite bags.

Owl Applique shirt with matching hair bow for my little Valentine.
Thanks to Digistitches for this embroidery design.  I think this little owl is just the cutest little thing.  So sweet!

These are the leftovers, next time I'll take the picture before we eat it :)

Farmhouse Chicken

Creamy and flavorful chicken breast chunks topped with stuffing and baked.  My pickiest eater really likes this recipe.  I would just dice the onion and celery really tiny so they are not noticed by any children that don't like them.  As you can see I added half a bag of frozen peas just before I put the stuffing on top. 

4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 cup milk
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
4 celery ribs, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
12 ounce package of stuffing mix

Instructions: 

1. Saute onion, and prepare stuffing mix according to package directions and set aside.

2. In a medium sauce pan, melt butter and then add flour. Stir until bubbly, then cook one minute. Slowly add in milk, stirring continually to avoid lumps.

3. Add chicken, celery, onion, salt and pepper. Cook and stir for 5-10 minutes, until chicken is done and celery is starting to get tender. 

4. Pour mixture into an 8x8-inch casserole dish. Top with stuffing. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

I used more chicken and a larger bag of stuffing for my family and kept the rest of the ingredients the same and baked it in a 13x9 pan instead of the 8x8. 

I think the sauce could be used instead of "Cream of ... Soups" in other recipes.

Hope you enjoy!