First Knitting Project

Normally when people learn to knit they start with giant needles and an easy project, like a scarf. I didn't want or need a scarf so I wanted to do something else. After a trip to the library I brought home two books: Knitting for Dummies and Sock Yarn: One Skein Wonders. I leafed through the pages and found a pair of mittens that I wanted to try.

Scottish Fleet Mittens (photo from google and found in One Skein Wonders)

This pattern required size 1 double pointed knitting needles (which I already had) and is done in the round. I was up for the challenge and started right away.


Since it was my first project I didn't always have the tension right, my stitches were extremely tight. I also messed up on the cuff and took it out at least twice. On the first mitten the cuff is checkerboard because I somehow got the stitches off.


I learned a lot about knitting through my first project; tension, "reading" the stitches, becoming familiar with purling and knitting, and reading and understanding patterns.


I promised my cousin I'd post pictures of the mittens, but they are currently on the furnace vents drying as I attempt to felt them so they are a little smaller. So cousin, you'll have to wait until later to see my mittens.


I am now working on a pair of socks for my husband using fisherman's yarn that my sister gave me for Christmas.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I've been making this soup for over a year. One day my mom decided she wanted a chicken tortilla soup and tossed ingredients into the pot and cooked it. I LOVED the soup and asked for the recipe so my mom had to remember what she'd put in the soup so she could write the recipe down. I still have the index card with the ingredients, but I've made it so often I don't measure or look at the recipe any more. I've tweaked it since the original, but it's mostly the same.


Here is my Chicken Tortilla Soup 

(There are two onions because all I had this day was small onions, and I used more than the one can of chicken broth shown)
Ingredients
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, chopped
cooking oil
1 tps cumin
1 tsp chili powder
sprinkle of dried pepper flakes
salt to taste
pepper to taste
3-4 chicken breasts cooked and shredded (or cubed if you prefer)
1 (15 oz.) can sweet corn, drained
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes (plain or tomatoes with green chilies)
16-20 oz chicken broth or stock
Toppings:
sour cream
tortilla chips
shredded cheddar cheese
Directions
In a large pot cook onions and garlic in oil until unions become transparent. Add in spices and stir. Add corn, black beans, tomatoes, and chicken stock or broth. Simmer together until warm.
Hint: the longer you simmer the more the flavors blend. 


Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream, crumbled tortilla chips, and shredded cheese. 

Enjoy! 

Finished Sock Monkeys!

After working hard over the weekend, the sock monkeys are finished as promised. Before I show you the finished monkeys I want to show you how they got there. 

Remember when there were just two pairs of socks?

Thanks to my sewing machine they became a pair of socks with a little bit of sewing and some stuffing. They look really funny like this. I think they look a little bit like colorful potatoes.

Our cat Captain Jack who is very much still a kitten decided to play with the blue monkey and then later snuggle with the pink monkey. He's pretty adorable if I say so myself.

And here they are.... My finished monkeys!! The longest part was hand stitching the arms, tail, mouth, eyes, and ears on. I opted not to add a mouth because I just couldn't get it right. Oh well, they are still cute.

 Complete with an embroidered "R" on their butts so the girls would always know that I made them.

And one last picture that I took while writing this post because Jack was being such a darling again. 

Ham and Cheese Bread

Many years ago my family used to get a magazine called "Food and Family" that was run by Kraft Foods. In one issue they had a recipe for ham and cheddar baked into a loaf of bread. It was a hit in my family and we have been tweaking the recipe and making it our own since. 


And here is it my famous Ham and Cheese Bread. Enjoy! 

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 package active dry yeast
3 ounces unsalted butter, melted (Approximately 1 stick butter)
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
Vegetable oil
1 pound ham thinly sliced
1 package sliced cheese of your choice (provolone, muenster, pepper jack, etc.)
1 whole egg beaten with one tablespoon cold water
Coarse sea
Parmesan cheese
Directions
Combine the water, sugar, yeast, and butter in the bowl until
combined. Let sit for 5 minutes.


Add the salt and flour and mix  until combined. Continue kneading
until the dough is smooth  about 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough appears
too wet, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Remove the
dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead into a ball
with your hands.


Oil a bowl with vegetable oil, add the dough and turn to coat with the
oil. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot
until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.


Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.


Remove dough from bowl and place on lightly floured surface. Using a
rolling pin, roll into a large rectangle. Add ham on top of dough
covering almost to the edges. Add cheese on top of the ham. Fold dough
over lengthwise so the edges barely overlap. Moisten all edges with
water to seal them. Carefully turn dough over and place edge side down
on a greased cookie sheet. Cut three slits in the top to allow it to
vent. Brush egg on top and sprinkle on Parmesan cheese and salt. Bake
for approximately 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.


Cut into slices and enjoy with your favorite condiments.

It goes fast!!

Special thanks to my brother for taking these nice pictures for me.

Sock Monkeys

I've always thought socks monkeys were pretty cute. It must be their cute red mouth or their timeless look. Until recently I hadn't seen them very often; here and there, in pictures etc. I always thought that sock monkeys were difficult to make. How does one take a sock a make a stuffed animal out of it? 

And then came pinterest. I saw a couple tutorials on how to make them on pinterest and thought, why not? So here I am making sock monkeys for my sister in laws (11 years old, twins) for Christmas. Shhh don't tell them what they are getting!!

Out of the two tutorials that I "pinned" here and here. I like the second one best. It's more straight forward and she has tutorials for sock cows and sock elephants. Future projects?

On a trip to target I stopped to look at the juniors socks. The tutorial had said the more colorful the better, so these are the socks that I picked. They are knee high socks from Target.

I'm now about half way done with the monkeys so hopefully by next week there will be a sock monkey 2 post. 

Apple Sauce

Apple Sauce, my favorite thing about fall (I realize this is December, but I wanted to share anyway). I love it so much that I eat it straight out of the pot, nice and warm. I even warm my homemade applesauce in the microwave when it's been refrigerated.


In October I went to a local orchard and picked up three bags of apples to make into applesauce

My husband helped me pick Mutsu, Jonathon, and Fuji apples for this batch. I always mix apples when i make applesauce because it makes for a tastier applesauce

After cutting them into large slices I stuffed my largest pot full of the apples and little bit of water to keep them from sticking. No need to peel or core the apples, and I'll tell you why later. 


The apples cooked for about an hour until they were mushy and falling apart. Using a food mill that I borrowed from my mom I processed the apples to remove the skin and seeds. (This was probably the most time consuming portion)


I put the hot applesauce in canning jars and popped them into the canner to process (saving the extra for dinner that night), and then....


Edit My canner was a wedding present from friends who had recently moved away. They sent me a gift card with instructions to purchase the canning starter set. I thought it was sweet of them

Four quarts of applesauce!! This is the best applesauce I've ever made. The mix of the three gave it a rosy color and a natural sweetness. No need for sugar here! My husband agrees, this was the best applesauce I've made.

New Start

Until today I had never considered myself a blogger. Who would want to read about the boring life of Rachelle and the things she's been up to. Then I realized that I can't keep all my cooking, baking, sewing, and knitting to myself. Why not share with the world?

Journey with me as I share my on-going and finished projects. You may learn a thing or two.