lemon bars

The absolute easiest lemon bars EVER!

1 lemon cake mix
1 egg
1 stick of soft butter
1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lemon juice

Heat oven to 350'. Mix butter, egg and cake mix together until crumbly. Press mixture evenly in the bottom of a 13x9 baking pan or lg. springform pan. Set aside.
Mix condensed milk and lemon then pour over cake mixture. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
Cool completely before cutting.
Delicious and so easy. I can see using grapefruit juice or some other citrus juice and them being even more yummy.

Chicken.

A lovely little chicken massaged with olive oil and herbs then slow baked in a clay dish. So juicy and tender...we thank you humble chicken for your ultimate sacrifice to our dinner table.
You will also be made into a delicious soup, become a tasty addition to a nice crisp salad and truly enjoyed in lunchtime wraps where you will be nestled in among fresh spinach and tomatoes.
I could easily become a vegetarian if only I could still eat meat.

Pillow

Vintage fabric landscape panel used for a simple square pillow. Goes well with the old chair that we lovingly refer to as 'big green'.

There goes the neighborhood!

I found out today that our neighbors are looking for a new house.
Is it wrong for me to hope they don't find it?

Studio Friday.....Something old, new, borrowed and blue

My favorite blanket!
Old....jeans, favorite embroidered shirt, hippie pants, blue fleecy, and hubby's flannel. Stained ripped clothes put to good use.
New....full-size sheet, full size poly-cotton blanket. I like to use blankets, they are cheaper and wash/dry better than cotton batting.
Borrowed....I made this blanket with somebody in mind to give it to...I haven't been able to part with it so I guess that makes it ...uh borrowed yeah....borrowed.
Blue....I love how all the different shades of blue go together so nicely.
I want add another one.
Cheap....this blanket only cost me about $15 in supplies to make!
I'm starting to get together another one using reds....velvety, silky, veloury reds. I need to make one more trip to the goodwill and then I'll be set to start sewing it together. I can't wait.

WooHoo....we're halfway done. Three weeks down, three weeks (hopefully) to go.
What a little stud. He is doing so awesome! Well....as awesome as kid in a body cast could do. He can roll himself over, crawl around on his belly and get himself into a standing position. The standing makes me a little nervous because he is till having trouble getting himself OUT of a standing position.

Studio Friday.....FEAR!!!

I'm sure like all mothers I fear not being able to protect my children when they aren't with me. Therefore I have created this magical force field to surround them. I like to imagine it protects them from getting seriously or even slightly injured when they go to school or to the neighbors. I know it's silly but it makes me feel better and keeps me from being completely overprotective. You can only tell them to be careful so many times before they don't hear you any more.
Well...last week we experienced a major malfunction in the force field resulting in a broken femur. It happened at school while playing football with the big boys. Poor J-Bot...he got the full treatment...included was a ride in an ambulance, getting his clothes cut off, an IV, 2 days in the hospital and a partial body cast. He was sooo brave considering how much pain he was in.
Now he's doing pretty good...no pain and he has a wheelchair that reclines so he can be on the computer....phaheeeww. I can tell that he's starting to miss school.
Thanks to all our family and friends and all the prayers from the folks at St. Joseph's School. A special thanks goes out to Uncle Chris for the Nintendo DS ....GiGi loves it too!
I still fear them getting hurt but I don't think I'll be any more or less protective than I was before...I still believe in the force field!! I do know I'm gonna get pretty buff from carrying him around..heh.

Meat.

We had some good friends over for a little poker and beer a few weeks ago and they brought over some excellent rib steaks that my friend...we'll just call him the 'Doctor' from now on... cooked to perfection using a 2 cast iron skillets and a hot oven.
He slowly carmelized a 1 or 2 pounds of purple onions, yellow and red bell peppers and a ton of garlic in a couple tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. When the veggies were done he turned up the heat, moved the veggies aside and added the steaks....two per skillet....seared them about 3 minutes per side. This was no easy feat considering the size of the meat (we had almost 2 entire steaks leftover) compared to the size of the skillets and the amount of veggies. But then again he is the 'Doctor' and he does know how to operate. After a quick searing he popped them into a hot oven and let them cook for another 15 minutes, smothered them with feta and mozzarella then baked them til the cheese was melted. The best steak I have ever had in my life!
As if the steaks weren't done perfect enough, the onions and peppers were awesome and the cheese was over the top. Not something I would eat on a regular basis...simply to decadent....but ultimately unforgetable.

Joe.

Check out Joey Schmoes sweet new collar. Black leather with brass suns, moons and stars. She is such a stylin' dog. I can't believe it was only $4 at our local junk.....I mean... liquidation store.
Oh and I got my computer back on track......yay for me!

Computers are your friends....

...yeah right. My computer is so messed up I can't access anything, who knows where all my pictures are. I am now writing from my daughters computer with no printer or camera hookup and all parental controls firmly in place. Surfing is resticted to Disney.com and Nick Jr.
Sigh.

Resolutions.

Usually I'm not much into New years Resolutions....to much pressure....but this year I resolve to get stuff done! Not just started but finished. I have painting, improvements and general all around' clearing out the clutter' to do around the house. I also have a couple of quilting and furniture projects that I need to finish before I lose my creative vision. It's hard for me to start something new when I have things to do hanging over my head, no matter how far I put them on the 'back burner' they are always there.... keeping me from giving whatever I AM working on my 100%. Another reason why I need need need to get this stuff done is I have a big fat garden planned for this spring and I don't want to be stuck inside.
Having a big nasty virus on my computer is really helping me to stick with this resolution (I'm writing this on my husband's) really cuts down on the food, craft and gossip blog surfing. All the cool stuff is on my computer...... his is all full of icky politics and games...eww.
So it ain't all bad. Life is good.

Studio Friday...Ta-dah!!!

Ta-dah! People throw away good stuff. I found this window in the alley behind my house, it was bright yellow and had two broken panes. I cleaned, painted then sanded it. The pictures are 8o year old black and white shots of the town I grew up in. Getting the photos matted was the tricky part because they are odd sizes. I used some electrical wire that my husband had left over from a project to hang it. So....ta-dah. Our house was built in 1926 so it fits nicely over the fireplace in the living room. Last year we replaced all the original windows in our house and saved them in our basement for later projects...I can't wait. Now if I can only find some spare time...I know I put it right here next to my extra money but now I can't find that either.

Cheetos....again!

HammmmBurger.
uhhhh......yum, I guess.

Chicken soup.

mmm....homemade chicken soup. I'm not much of a chicken eater but I really like chicken soup. Not the canned kind...homemade. I think mine is the best and this batch was extra delicious. I simmered a couple of chicken breasts in 2 cups of broth until they were shreddable then I raided my fridge for veggies. I found carrots, celery, yellow onions, green onions, zucchini, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme and cabbage. I also found about a cup and a half of wild rice left over from dinner. The shredded chicken,veggies and rice all went into a pot along with the left over broth and about 5 cups of water. 2 hours of gentle simmering and this was the best chicken soup I've ever made. There was a lot of it so I was able to freeze some for later. The frigid weather has put me in a soupy mood...I think I'll make some clam chowder this weekend. Maybe I can get Mr. Janedoh to make his famous biscuits to go with it.
mmmm.....chowder.

Tree hunter!

Observe the mighty hunter tracking the rare and elusive tannenbaum. Could danger be around the bend? We tremble with fear...oh no wait, that's just the sub-freezing temperature.
Man it was cold that day. We did find a nice tree and eventually thawed after treating ourselves to hot chocolate and hot-buttered rum. Our dog Joe came home with feet so frigid they were red and raw so she spent the rest of the day curled up on the couch...poor puppy.

Christmas time!

Nothing gets me in the Christmasy mood more than baking massive amounts of sugary treats. This year I also made kahlua and mocha mix....both went together quite nicely during testing...hic. I need to get my hands on more bottles for the kahlua, the easy close bottles are a lot harder to come by than they used to be so I may have to find an alternative...or else keep all the kahlua for myself. Hmm...that may not be that bad after all.

Studio Friday...What was I thinking!

About 6 months ago I decided to make the grand sacrifice of giving up my craft room so the kiddos could have a playroom. So I went through everything....organized and purged...packed and then moved most of my craft stuff to the basement....and now after some time has passed I realize that I...I....'sniff sniff'...I miss my stuff and my room. I miss all my crap being spread all over and being the only one that knows where the good stuff is, I miss being able to walk into the room and being able to work on a project at will. Now if I start something I pretty much have to finish it because it usually is spread all over the living room. I hate having to go down into the cold icky basement to get what I need....waaaahhhh.
Those darn kids hardly even play in that room. I should reclaim it.
Yeaahh...that's what I'll do. I'll slowly ever so slowly start moving my stuff back upstairs 'till it's all back in it's proper place, scattered from corner to corner that is. The room will be mine again muahahaha...haaa.
I'll start tonight.

It's the simple things.

When it's only 11 degrees outside and you need to keep warm all you really need is your favorite blanket and your best girl.....I mean dog.

Studio Friday...Where the Wild Things Are!

The 'wild things' were home all day today cuz it was a.........Snow Day!!
Tons of wintery fun was had by all and then we made peanut butter cookies and hot chocolate. Yummy! We also learned that the red sled goes faster than the blue sled.
We love the red sled.

The dark side....

...of the park.
Thanks to sorryigotdrunk.com