Monday 30 November 2015

Oven BBQ Chicken Recipe

What I like best about this recipe is that it doesn't take long to put together and it's all in one pan!
Not a lot of clean up to do later :)



SAUCY BARBECUE CHICKEN

4 potatoes
baby carrots
4 chicken legs or breasts
1 cup ketchup
1 tbsp. each Worcestershire sauce & prepared mustard
2 tbsp.l vinegar
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Peel potatoes. Arrange chicken, carrots and potatoes in a dish large enough to hold them in a single layer. Blend remaining ingredients and pour over top. Cover and bake about 2 hours at 375F basting occasionally.

I usually just throw the carrots over everything. They will still get done.

Thursday 26 November 2015

FREE Pattern Friday - Cotton & Winding Yarn

My poor cotton stash was a mess!




Hauled out my electric winder on Wednesday morning and got to work.  It looks much better now :)
LOVE my winder.  Works amazing, though you have to help it by unraveling the yarn as it goes.  It's not strong enough to pull it all by it's self.





 Found some Christmas cotton in my stash and found a fun hot pad pattern to use it up.





Here are some other free patterns to use up some of your cotton stash!
















If you are looking for more free patterns, I have a group on FB where I try to post a pattern or two every day.  Please join!


Happy Crocheting!


Friday 20 November 2015

FREE Pattern Friday - Scrap Yarn Projects

Do you have lots of small balls of yarn you don't know what to do with?
I do!! Many!!  

Working on a striped blanket.  Will probably donate it to charity when I am done.  Every other color is 2 rows of pattern, with a row of single crochet in between each pattern.  Just picking patterns as I finish rows.




Here are some other ideas I have found that will use up a lot of your scrap yarn stash :)






















Do you have a favorite pattern to use up your yarn stash?  Would love a link!  Please post it in a comment.

If you have a minute, and are on FB, please stop by my new page:

Happy Crocheting!







Friday 13 November 2015

FREE Pattern Friday - Ornaments

There is a craft show in town tomorrow.  I booked a table in hopes of selling some items that I have left from my Etsy days.  Thought it might be nice to give each person who makes a purchase a crocheted ornament as a gift.  It's amazing how many patterns there are for ornaments!  Many use cotton thread, which I don't have nor really want to use (to thin), but there are many for worsted weight yarn.  Here are the ones that I've done and the links to the patterns under the photo.




Hope you have fun crocheting these ornaments!

Have a wonderful Weekend!








Friday 6 November 2015

FREE Pattern Friday - "BE THE CHANGE" Fun Striped Infinity Scarf & Slouch Hat

I will be doing a series of patterns for donating to Charity and posting them as I create or crochet them.  The series will be called "BE THE CHANGE".  I have been blessed with a good life, never wanted for anything, always have had a roof over my head and food on the table.  Unfortunately that isn't true for everyone and quite often it wasn't their choice to be homeless, jobless, and not able to support themselves or their family.  Because I have the ability to help in this small way I will.  Have been crocheting for Charity for years and love it.  It's a great "excuse" to try new patterns and new yarn :)

Love stripes!  Found some black, red and white yarn and thought I would design something with stripes.  Did look on the internet and found some similar but they were knit patterns.  Couldn't find just the right crochet pattern so came up with my own.  Will do this in different colors once life has slowed down a bit (moving this week to a different house).

If you love FREE patterns and are on FB, please join my new group:  FREE Crochet Patterns to Try



3 colors of worsted weight, about 100g each
5.5mm hook

For my scarf
Color1: black
Color2: red
Color3: white

Stitches used:
ALTDC (alternate double crochet): Instead of the regular ch3 at the beginning of a row.
Here are 2 videos with different ways to do it.
Back to Basics: Alternate Double Crochet turning Chain
Alternate Double Crochet Turning Chain
DC: double crochet
SC: single crochet

SCARF:
Color #1
ch 20,
Row 1: sc across (19 sts), turn
Rows 2 - 17: ALTDC in first st, DC across, turn
Row 18: switch to color #2, ALTDC in first stitch, DC across, turn
Row 19: switch to color #1, ALTDC in first stitch, DC across, turn
Alternate colors 2 & 1 for a total of 16 rows, ending in color 1,
Switch to color #2 and DC crochet for 16 rows
Switch to color #3, ALTDC in the first stitch, DC across, turn
Alternate colors 3 & 2 for a total of 16 rows, ending in color 3,
Switch to color #3 and DC crochet for 16 rows

Now you can decide if you want to leave it as a scarf, or sew the ends together and have an infinity scarf.  I have decided to leave this one as is.  Will do another one in girly colors and make it an infinity scarf.

NOTE:  I really love stripes, but don't care for weaving in all the ends.  Because this scarf wasn't very wide, when doing the stripes I just carried the previous color along while crocheting, like crochet in the ends as you go.  Hope that makes sense....

HAT:
I had quite a bit of yarn left, so decided to do a slouchy hat.  Used this pattern from Calleigh's Clips & Crochet Creations.  I had crocheted a few hats using this pattern before and really like it.  Easy to follow and you can change it to stripes easily.


Have a wonderful weekend Crocheting!








Sunday 1 November 2015

Muffin Pan Meatloaf

We love meatloaf :)  These are great now that it's just the two of us.  I can make a pan full, then freeze some for when I don't feel like cooking!


Muffin Pan Meatloaf
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 egg
1 - 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup Stove Top Stuffing (straight out of box)

Sauce Ingredients:
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. vinegar
Preheat oven to 350F. 
In a large bowl combine the ground beef, egg, tomato sauce, and stove top. Roll into even balls and place into muffin pans. In a small bowl combine ketchup, brown sugar, and vinegar. Spoon the sauce over the meatloaf. Place in oven and cook for 25 min. 
Feeds a family of 4.

Have an Awesome Day!





Thursday 29 October 2015

FREE Pattern Friday - Aunt Sue's Mossy Shawl

I have 2 favorite aunts.  Decided that this year I would crochet them each a shawl.  Wanted the shawls to be rectangles, but was having some trouble finding free patterns I liked.  So I made up my own :)  
This is Shawl #1:


I used Lionbrand Woolspun in Moss Mix for this shawl.  It's a bulky (5) yarn.  Soft!  I really like this yarn.  It's 80% acrylic 20% wool. - 7 skeins
Use a 6mm (J) hook.

Special Stitches:
V-Stitch:  DC, ch1, DC in same stitch
Cluster: 3DC in the same space

ALTDC (alternate DC):  Love this!  It's an awesome way to start a new row without the CH3 gap.  Here are 2 great videos that explain different ways to do it, either one works great.

Pattern:
Ch 135
ROW 1: Sc in the 2nd chain from hook and across (134 sts), turn
ROW 2: ALTDC in the first stitch, DC across (134 sts), turn
ROW 3: ALTDC in the first stitch, (skip 1 st, V stitch in the next st), repeat across to last 2 sts, skip 1 st, DC in last st., turn
ROW 4: ALTDC in the first stitch, Cluster in each ch1 space across, DC in last st, turn
Rows 5 - 25: repeat rows 3 & 4 ending with row 3, turn
Row 26: ALTDC in the first stitch, DC each stitch across, turn
row 27: Ch 1, Sc each stitch across
Fasten off

For the ends:
 Fasten on in the corner
Row 1: Sc 54 along each side, turn
Row 2: ALTDC in the first stitch, Dc across, turn
Row 3: ALTDC in the first stitch, (skip 1 st, V stitch in the next st), repeat across to last 2 sts, skip 1 st, DC in last st., turn
Row 4: ALTDC in the first stitch, Cluster in each ch1 space across, DC in last st, turn
Rows 5 - 7: Repeat rows 3 & 4 ending with row 3, turn
Row 8: ALTDC in the first stitch, DC each stitch across, turn
row 9: Ch 1, Sc each stitch across

Weave in the Ends.



If you have any questions or don't understand something please feel free to comment or email me.
thechristmascorner1@gmail.com

Have an awesome day Crocheting!





Monday 26 October 2015

Strawberry/Rhubarb Crepes with Cream Cheese Filling

This is one of our favorites for breakfast, but I only make it a few times a year with the cream cheese filling.



CREPES:

1 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs

FILLING:

1 package (8oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 carton whipped topping, thawed
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

In a large bowl, combine above ingredients. Cover and refridgerate for 1 hour.

In a 8" nonstick skillet, melt 1 tsp. butter. Stir batter; pour about 2 tablespoons into the center of skillet. Lift and tilt pan to evenly coat bottom. Cook until top appears dry; turn and cook 15-20 seconds longer. Remove to a wire rack.

Repeat with remaining batter, add butter to skillet as needed. When cool, stack crepes with waxed paper on paper towels in between.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the filling ingredients until smooth.
Spread 2 rounded tablespoons full on each crepe; roll up. Top with Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce.

STRAWBERRY/RHUBARB SAUCE

2 1/2 cups chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb (1" pieces)
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp. grated lemon peel
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup sliced fresh or frozen unsweetened strawberries
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
3-4 drops red food coloring, optional

In a saucepan, combine rhubarb, water, sugar, lemon peel and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cook uncovered, over medium heat until rhubarb is soft, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in strawberries, lemon juice and cinnamon. Add food coloring if desired.

I used strawberry/rhubarb pie filling this morning, but I do make the sauce from scratch in the summer when I have access to fresh fruit. We've also used apple, cherry, or blueberry pie filling. I have a crepe pan, so I use quite a bit more batter than the 2 tbsp. the recipe calls for.



HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!




Thursday 22 October 2015

FREE Pattern Friday - Slouch Hats Galore

Slouchy hats seem to be in.  Personally I don't wear hats, find them too warm.  But I see them everywhere in the winter.  It is cold in most part of Canada from November - March.

Here are 6 free patterns I have found.  I have crocheted a couple of them, and they were easy to follow and quick to do.  Would love to see any hats that you have crocheted.  Just post in a comment :)




Hope everyone has an awesome weekend with lots of time to crochet!

Have a favorite Hat Pattern?  Please post the link in a comment.


Have a Wonderful Day!





Sunday 18 October 2015

Double Decker Grilled Cheese Sandwich

YUMMY!!

 These are the boys ultimate favorite grilled cheese sandwiches. They take a bit more time to put together - but they are worth it. I assemble the sandwiches on plates before putting in the frying pan.



You will need:

3 slices of bread (per sandwich)
1 slice of cooked ham
1 slice of cooked chicken or turkey
2 slices of cheese
mayo
butter

Assemble on plate in order given below:

1 slice bread
1 slice cheese
1 slice ham
1 slice bread, spread with mayo
1 slice chicken/turkey
1 slice cheese
1 slice bread buttered on the top

Flip onto preheated frying pan (med. heat) butter side down. Butter top piece of bread. Flip over when browned and bottom cheese has started to melt. Brown, remove from pan and place on plate. Cut in half and serve.


Have a Wonderful Day!




Friday 16 October 2015

FREE Pattern Friday: Heart Hat & Scarf

The local Food Bank is taking donations for their Christmas Hampers.  A few of us are crochet & knitting hats and scarves to donate for this cause.  I found these really cute matching hat and scarf patterns that I thought would be awesome to add to a hamper.  Made the purple set so far, but will try to get a couple of other sets done in different colors yet, just have to decide on colors (look in my craft room and see what color I have!)

In the hat pattern the bottom row of single crochets is done in the same color as the hearts, but after the hat is done.  This works fine, easy to do.  In the scarf pattern, the instructions are the same.  You start with the white and add the accent color after.  Next time I will start with a row of single crochet in the accent color and then just switch to the white instead of doing it later.

My set:


You can find the patterns here:

If you don't crochet and would like a set, I can custom crochet them for you in any size and color you would like :)
You can see more of my custom crochet items on my FACEBOOK page.

Saturday 10 October 2015

Oven Apple Pancake

We love this recipe. I make it when I have time - takes about 1 hour start to finish, but is well worth the time and effort.


Oven Apple Pancake
1/4 cup butter or hard margarine
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
ground cinnamon, light sprinkle
2 apples, peeled, cored and sliced in wedges
3 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup flour
Melt butter in 9 inch pie plate in 425F oven. Stir brown sugar into melted butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Overlap apples in single layer. Cook in oven for 10 minutes.

Beat eggs with spoon in bowl. Add milk, salt and flour. Stir to moisten. Don't try to smooth out small lumps. Pour over apples. Return to oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cut into wedges.


Have a Wonderful Day my Friends!