New Laptop and iPod case

I made a case for my iPod. Love this fabric! Saw this awesome orange bead and had to make a zipper pull with it.

 

 I also needed a case for my laptop. The outside fabric is from the French General line. The cases you can buy are so generic, so I decided to make my own. I added double padding and made a well padded bottom to protect the laptop . It's roomy enough to bring along a note pad or book.

 There is a pocket for the power cord and ear phones.

 Also made a beaded zipper pull.

Buttermilk Pie

I've been craving a piece of buttermilk pie like Magleby's in Utah serves. I found a recipe and finally experienced Nirvana. So Good!!

Recipe: Magleby's Buttermilk Pie Recipe

Mix in Medium bowl:
2 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

In a separate bowl:
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups buttermilk
2 T. lemon juice
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. melted butter(added at the very end)
Two Pie crusts

Beat buttermilk and eggs, then add lemon juice and vanilla and whisk well. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and whisk. Add melted butter and whisk again until thick and no lumps remain.

Pour into two pie crusts and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Rotate pies and bake an additional 40 minutes. Rotate back to original position and bake an additional 30 minutes.

**Note: This seemed like an awfully long time to bake a pie. I covered them in foil about 20 minutes into the second cycle and probably only let them bake another 20 minutes.

Serve with raspberries, boysenberries or blueberries and fresh whipped cream. You will not be disappointed.

Exact recipe found on… http://justusjohnsons.blogspot.com/2009_08_01_archive.html

Cards

A friend and I made 'Spring" cards the other day. Needed a little sunshine in our lives. 

This is a spinach, BBQ chicken pizza that we enjoyed on the craft day.
Sauted onions, garlic and peppers were added to the joy.

Calzone and Lemon Meringue Pie

Made a Calzone for dinner the other night. Just used Pillsbury pizza dough to hurry the process. Layered pizza sauce, pepperoni, cheese and veggies.

 Here are the lemon meringue pies I made for Thanksgiving dinner. Sorry I didn't take a photo of it when I cut it. I used the Wilton decorator I found at Ross to make the great design.

Found this somewhere on the Internet.

~Lemon Meringue Pie~

Filling:
2 cups water
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
5 egg yolks, beaten
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract

Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan. Remove from the heat and let rest 5 minutes. Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together. Add the mixture gradually to the hot water, whisking until completely incorporated. Return to the heat and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. The mixture will be very thick. Add about 1 cup of the hot mixture to the beaten egg yolks, whisking until smooth. Whisking vigorously, add the warmed yolks to the pot and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in butter until incorporated. Add the lemon juice, zest and vanilla, stirring until combined. Pour into the prepared crust. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on the surface, and cool to room temperature.

Meringue:
5 egg whites, room temperature
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 375ºF Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar, salt and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually, beating until it forms stiff, glossy peaks. Pile onto the cooled pie, bringing the meringue all the way over to the edge of the crust to seal it completely. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden.

Sugar Cookie Bars

These are yummy!

Sugar Cookie Bars

1 cup butter at room temp.
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
5 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp soda

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg. Add vanilla & mix well. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt & soda & stir with a whisk to combine. Add to wet mixture and mix just until combined. Spread on a greased baking sheet (use a 13 x 18 pan). Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 min, until light golden tan or until a toothpick comes out clean. Don't over bake. Cool completely and frost.

Frosting
1 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla or almond flavor
pinch of salt
4 cups powdered sugar
5 Tbl. milk or heavy cream
Food coloring, if desired
Sprinkles

Combine butter, vanilla, and salt in mixer bowl.  Using whisk attachment beat until creamy and combined.  Add about one cup powdered sugar, then mix to combine.  Add milk or heavy cream (start with 3 Tablespoons; you can add more later) and beat to incorporate.  With mixer running at low speed, slowly add remaining powdered sugar.  Add more liquid at this point, if needed.  Once sugar has been added and mixed in, beat frosting on medium-high speed for 1-2 minutes or until light and fluffy.  Blend in food coloring, if desired.  Frost cookies, then top with sprinkles before cutting and serving.

September/October...Wait...where did they go??!

Oh how quickly time slips by! A lot has happened. A luncheon craft day with friends. Here is the treat table. Notice how we are trying to be healthy. And the craft, we painted 2"x12" boards then applied a cute vinyl pumpkin that our friend created. Sooo cute! Look how cute the one with the bright orange pumpkin is!

I came home and added a little dark stain to mine.

A few weeks earlier we made a fall display. We first painted the wood different fall colors, then applied the vinyl letters. We painted the wood right over the letters. Let it dry and peeled off the vinyl. This is what happened. For the leaf, I put down a vinyl leaf 'stencil' and painted the opening green.

Halloween! Our darling 4 year old granddaughter and 4 month old grandson.

Our so cute 2 year old grandson.

The cute little bunch!

In October we took my parents and went to Missouri and Nauvoo for a vacation. Saw a lot of sky.

Looking toward the Nauvoo temple.

Course I took pictures of the vintage quilts! Love the rug also.

A peek of the Mississippi river at sunset.

My aunt and uncle are serving a church mission there. A pic of them and the parents.

Some lovely things we saw...

Saw LOTS of Canadian geese.

Love this corner kitchen.

Beautiful sampler!

Lovely tiny log cabin quilt. I think the center sqare was 1/2".

So...September and October happened with a wonderful trip, surgery on my knee, (torn meniscus), crafts, trees changing their colors and of course, friends 'n' family fun. I so love the fall. My very favorite time of the year!

What is your favorite season?