Enchiladas, my style

OK, we were having lunch together on Sunday afternoon.

I needed to make a main dish and my husband suggested enchiladas.

I have several "recipes" that live in my head,

one from his mother,

one from a dear friend who actually made her own tortillas for them,

and then there is the one that uses chicken and green sauce,

not to forget the one that uses different red sauce...

anyway, you get the idea.

Just chose one and go for it.

I decided that canned enchilada sauce was in order for this time.

I have made my own and it is fairly simple

browning flour in oil, adding chili powder (making a rue)

and then water to the consistency you want.

Or the green one with tomitillos, etc.

I was lazy that day and used Las Palmas red sauce.

(I actually pulled this from the trash to take the picture)
plan ahead, that's me...

I browned about 1 1/2 pounds ground beef, drained it

added in some chopped onion

(notice how laid-back I am with amounts?)

some granulated garlic (because I couldn't remember where I put the real stuff)

and then a small can of chopped green chilies.

I put this all into a bowl and washed out my favorite skillet to heat up the sauce in.

Grated Monterey Jack cheese in a bowl,

olives in another...

In another smaller skillet I put oil on to heat.

This whole procedure makes a huge mess every time and this was no exception.

First, I fry the corn tortilla until it gets a little firmer, flip it over and repeat.

I transfer it into the warm sauce and put another corn tortilla in the oil to start its cooking.

After dowsing the corn tortilla in the sauce, it goes onto a plate to get the rest of the stuff.

A small spoonful of meat, a couple of olives, a pinch of cheese...

fold it over and put it in a greased casserole.

I usually stack them double.

Cheese on top and they only need to be heated.

To add a little color, I will put some chopped green onion on the top when I heat them up.

Well, all of this makes a mess with sauce flying around, landing on the counter,

on me, the floor sometimes. So afterwards, a good cleaning of the stove is in order.

Two people (if they work together well) will make short work of this,

but you won't find me making a measly six or so when I do these,

no, I made up 36, put some in the freezer, some in the refrigerator

and ate a few for lunch.

To make this more interesting...

I got a call that a spaghetti dinner was all planned,

so just bring salad, drink and dessert!
P.S. thank you for those who provided the main dish, it was delicious.

Well, the start of a meal is ready for another time.

Apple Pie in Grandma's Skillet

I have to tell you that when I first saw this picture

I was intrigued.

Iron skillets are one of those necessary items that live in your cupboard 

and don't come out unless invited.

They do cook wonderfully,

but I guess they lack the shiny, sparkles of stainless steel

and the warmth of pottery.

Anyway, on to the pie.

I saw this pictured at a gathering/retreat not long ago.

So, I "googled" it

and came up with this.

I tried to make it actually according to the recipe,

but my old nature came out and I had to 'tweak' it some.

When we (me) make apple pie,

a cup of sugar is not enough

(probably because I overfill the pan with more apples than it calls for)

but, this recipe calls for 3/4 cup...

I did not take into account the 1 cup of brown sugar that goes into the bottom...

and... I did not use refrigerated pie crust (mainly because I didn't have it)

To make a long story shorter, it turned out fabulously (is that even a word?)

Apples, peeled with my trusty peeler.

Seasoned with sugar and cinnamon and ready for the pie

The bottom crust is put over the brown sugar/butter mixture at the bottom of the pan,

Then you add the apples...

Then the top crust. To be frank, at this point, it looked so ugly...

But, I persevered, and added the egg white wash to the top and sprinkled with sugar.

Ready to bake at 350' for an hour, then shield it with foil

and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Mr has mentioned several times that it is the best pie he ever had...
that makes me wonder how he "suffered" through all those other pies.

Felted Wool Hat

A few years ago, a friend shared a pattern for making a knitted wool hat.

I have made hats through the years, but this one was felted.

It is a curious thing about wool fibers.

When they are wet and agitated, they cling together and make a tight weave of their own.

Well, I started this hat well over a year ago.

Because it uses two strands through the knitting, I measured out what I thought I needed

and rolled it up into a ball and started knitting away.

Just about the time I needed to decrease for the crown,

I ran out of yarn.

I had more, but,

I had put it somewhere,

somewhere safe.

And, I couldn't remember where that somewhere was...

I found the yarn, measured out more to roll doubled into a new ball.

I finally finished knitting it at a retreat/gathering we attended

over the holiday weekend.

There were others working on crochet, some knitting various projects.

And, there was me.

When I was asked what I was working on and replied that it was a hat,

there would be a startled look and then they would look quickly down, 

sometimes glancing to the side at their neighbor to see if they, too, felt like I was working on a

doomed project.

I asked my granddaughter to hold the hat after I finished knitting it

and she pulled it down over her head...

Here she is holding it up.

And, to be fair, it did look somewhat like a doomed project,

except

I have done these before.

In fact, I sold one just the other day.

When we got home and I had caught up on most of the other laundry,

I put the washer on hot wash, cold rinse and agitated it for about 20 minutes.

It then ran through the rest of the cycle and came out looking like this.

Much, much smaller than when it went into the washer.

I needed to stretch it out over something and used this tupperware container.

It was also very, very fuzzy.

I gave it a "haircut" with some scissors

This is the finished hat

With the same granddaughter obligingly modeling it.

This is another one that was done a year or so ago.

If you do try out some patterns you can find on the internet,

be sure to use 100% wool (no extra fibers)

if you want it to felt.

A fun project, and it will keep your friends wondering if you have lost your mind.

Long Time No See

Yep, that's me.

Much has happened, but I haven't written one word.

I did say that we went to Texas to visit family.

But, after that, I sorta slipped off the map of life.

I have been around, but with the busyness of life

(including travel, shows and general arthritis)

I haven't posted anything for a while.

So, til I get more to say,

I guess I will just haunt follow your adventures.

Til, then.

A Break in the Land of the Alamo

Mr and I have been visiting some of our children that live in the state of Texas. So far we have spent more time with our girls. Saturday evening we will get together with my son and the girls and all the families for dinner. Can't wait to see the other grandchildren.

Wow. It has been far too long to see the grandchildren and catch up with their growth.

I spent a day with a dear friend that used to live near us. We hit some fantastic fabric and quilt stores and drooled over many bolts of fabric and surreptitiously took pictures of quilts that we admired for future reference. I bought a pattern book because I didn't want to fill up my suitcase with fabric when I needed it for "finds".


My Grandson, "The Silver Craftsman", participated in a show called "Funky Finds" in the Fort Worth Convention Center (yeah, a big 2 day event). We just heard that he won the "Best Booth" Award! I know a lot of hard work went into his displays, his products and just loosing sleep wondering if you had it all together. You can read more about the show and see photos here.

Here is his Facebook page


I wish I could figure out how to post a picture of him at the show with his parents... It is in the second set of pictures on the Funky Finds facebook page (starts with a lovely large dog)  ninth row, on the right side... isn't this crazy! ? I should just learn how to do this... duh, if you go to Sheldon's page, it is right there!

I am currently learning about Instagram, I have a total of 2 pictures! wow! don't want to overwhelm you all. I am always trying to figure out ways to keep in touch with my kids.

We have a few more days of lazing around here before we head back home and get back to work. I think we want to hit a few collectible/antique stores today. I always get a few ideas on display and sometimes I get some really good deals.

Hey You Texans

Just wanted to share a little of my pride and joy

My grandson has an etsy shop

The Silver Craftsman

He's 15 -- years old!

and will be a vendor at the Funky Finds show

at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth

on November 10th

Booth 418

Free admission

and raffle prizes.

You can see more of him here

and... there is a discount if you mention his face book account...

These are his creations,

his work,

his little business.

How's that for a grandson?

no flies landing on this one.

So, if you are in the area, be sure to visit

this two day event in Fort Worth.

Everywhere I Go

"Everywhere I go, everywhere I go" (Jesus will go with me)... this song has been running through my head as I am going around disinfecting doorknobs, refrigerator handles, stove knobs, phones, etc. Wow! we sure do use a lot of things. The computers were long overdo on cleaning of the keyboards, too. Another song is "Through it all" the phrase, "I've been lot's of places"... Hopefully, this will catch any germs that are lingering.

We are recuperating from the flu. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I guess when I handle cash I need to wash/sanitize my hands more frequently. Any ideas on how to clean money? beside 'laundering' :-)

To add insult to injury, my mouth has been swelling, fat lips look strange on me... it could be a food allergy that is starting, who knows... ice has helped and I am staying in so that I don't make babies cry and grown men run for cover.

***************

On another note, I am gathering up various items for our next sale. The knotted rug that I just completed will go and I rolled up the orange fabric into a ball and it looks pretty. An old non-working alarm clock, but it looks so vintage, a little ironstone creamer with delicate orange and brown flowers along the top, etc. Most of what we brought home from our previous sale will do. It seems that we sell only about 1/4th of what we take, but if it is not there at the sale, it will not sell... We always take a trailer full, we just can't help it.

The Trials and Tribulations of Choosing Colors

I have a weak spot in my make-up

I have a challenge at choosing correct colors for projects.

Just when I think I have a winner, I stand back and say, 

Uh, Oh, Hmm

I have been working on a rug

from scrap fabrics in my stash.

I simply loved the fabric in the center and then I loved the light blue

One of my daughters (AKA design team to help out mom)

suggested that it needed some yellow,

so, some yellow and then some light green.

Okay, now a dark row... with some orange,

...wrong...

Take off the dark row and put on the orange...

At one point, there were four rows of orange...

wrong... again!

So, I took off two rows and added this multicolored fabric

ENNNTT!

wrong again.

All the orange came off...

Another part of my design team (a different daughter to help mom out)

suggested that I get some  more dark pink in there to pull out the center.

OK,

Then I added the darker row for the end,

at this point I am ready to be done with this!

View from if you were laying on the floor

not that you would need to know this, but just saying...

And one more shot of my favorite area

This is the back, if you want to put off washing the whole thing

for a day or two, turn it over.

Linking up to:

Made by me at JAQS Studio  

Transformation Thursday at Shabby Creek Cottage

A Beautiful Day to Visit Alameda

I just wanted to share a few photos from our day yesterday.

It was lovely weather and we love this show.

Of course it was hard work, but it is worth it to see it all set up.

A cool dial telephone from long time ago.

The veiw from looking straight in. We have neighbors whose panel truck gives us not only a wind break, 

but also a backdrop.

Table and benches - sold.

And, the island with a metal top and the file drawers are gong to a shop in Fairfax 

called "Beach House Style"

If you are not familiar with it (I wasn't) this is a camel saddle !

It would make an awesome footstool, coffee table and quite

a conversation piece.

The "wedding area". Still waiting for that one bride who needs a jewelry bouquet.

Now, the 'far east' area.  Everyone loved the horse.

He had such lovely pitting

The little tea canisters on the top shelf came with tea inside of them.

And every one of the pyrex refrigerator dishes sold.

This is a very old beer ice chest. Falstaff was a brand

from a long time ago. Pretty good shape for the age.

Cute little animals and tiny people.

The chair, of yes, someone wanted it really bad, but then she wanted us to hold it

while she shopped all over. We couldn't hold it, she walked away, but...

she hurried back in about 10 minutes with cash in hand.

More of the animals

I crocheted these pumpkins and gourds

They are really easy and great for the fall season.

A little ironstone for display. Someone did buy one of the coffee pots without the lids.

Now this is an old fashioned bin table. 

You can't duplicate paint like this.

Two large curved drawers on the bottom,

two more drawers next up (one divided for utensils)

and two cutting boards. It had seen lots of use through the years

and it will go on working for the couple that bought it.

Unique handle/pulls

Le Creuset pots

Isn't this a cute island? It is narrow (everyone from the bay area wants narrow)

It has a cutting board and a door to the cupboard, on casters, too.

Well, just a little peek into what was what yesterday.

See you soon.