Thursday, September 20, 2012

McDougle's Noodles

Image result for egg noodles with cheese and bacon

6 oz egg noodles, narrow
6 oz grated Swiss cheese
4-6 slices bacon
1 cup milk
2/3 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
cherry tomato and parsley for garnish, optional

Cook noodles according to package directions until just tender. Drain.  Combine noodles with Swiss cheese.  Spoon into a 1" pie plate or casserole.

Cook bacon.  Drain.  Crumble.  Blend together the milk, sour cream, eggs, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and bacon.  Pour over noodles.

Bake at 375F for 40-45 minutes until set.  Garnish with cherry tomato and parsley, if desired.

Serves 5-6.

Variation:  Sharp cheddar cheese in place of Swiss cheese.

Good served with a roast or grilled meat or as a main dish with a tossed salad and crusty French bread.

I have no idea where I got this recipe from because I've had it forever . . . LOL . . . very yummy and definitely not good for you . . . as the best things usually are . . .

Breast Cancer Dishcloth


Yes, this is just 2 sides of the same cloth . . . cool, huh??

Will my Dreaded To Do List ever be done?

For new readers, a brief explanation of my Dreaded To Do List . . .

If I didn't follow a list and set goals I would wake up every morning, eat my peanut butter toast, drink my tea, pick up the first project that piques my interest and do nothing else for days until I finally become bored or run out of necessary materials.

My solution . . . to set goals and make up a calendar.  Family emergencies, babysitting, taking a trip, feeling under the weather myself were just some of the facts of life that prevented me from accomplishing everything on my list some days.  Instead of carrying undone items forward to the next day I determined to leave them on the day of the calendar they were originally meant to be accomplished, a reminder to do them first before moving on.  A series of misadventures during the past year or so have left my List way behind.  In fact right now I know you are reading this blog post on September 19th, 2012 but In My World it is June 5th, 2012.  I have not given up though.  Just adjusted my strategy until I catch back up.  Every day I do a chore from the first day on the calendar and then a chore from the real day on the calendar, etc.  I manage to knock off quite a few days and still keep up with my everyday chores each week.  Before long I hope my In My World time will catch up with real time . . .

Would you like to follow along with me today?

June 5

scrapbook one layout
write in journal
1/2 hour on family tree
blog post

June 6

1/2 hour on cross stitch project
scrapbook one layout
write in journal
1/2 hour on family tree
blog post

June 7

scrapbook one layout

1/2 hour on cross stitch
write in journal
1/2 hour on family tree
blog post - working on it right now

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July 22

mystery knit-along day 7

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September 16

mystery knit-along day 1

September 17

laundry
mystery knit-along day 2

September 18

clean bathroom
tidy living room
tidy bathroom
tidy bedroom
1/2 hour on oddball afghan
1/2 hour on scarf
tidy kitchen
dishes
tidy office
mystery knit-along day 3

September 19

mystery knit-along day 4
1/2 hour on scarf
1/2 hour on oddball afghan


Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Oddball Afghan: Magic Stripes



I'm Baaaaaaaack!!!!!

After teaching scrapbooking for nearly 5 years I took a long break.  But I'm back now.  I'll be teaching my first class at Memories on Main Street in Lambeth, ON on Sunday September 23 at 2 pm for $20.

I am teaching a one page class using so many of the textures and techniques that I love so much.  We will be playing with inks, sprays, paints, chalk, embossing paste . . . and knives . . . LOL . . . don't forget the knives.  I recommend you wear an old shirt!

Have a peek at the original layout here but keep in mind the layout has been improved upon since the photo was taken . . . yes, it will be even more fun!!!!!  There are only 10 spaces available and I'd love it if you would come out, have some messy fun and help me celebrate my return to teaching.


Monday, September 17, 2012

Beef Chili

With the cooler weather finally upon us, I thought you might enjoy a delicious chili recipe.

3 cups cooked beef, chopped fine
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green papper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
14 oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
19 oz can tomatoes
5-1/2 oz can tomato paste
2 tbsp brown sugar
1-2 tsp chili powder
2 tbsp vinegar
2 tsp parsley flakes
1 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in a 3 quart casserole, cover and simmer.  A longer cooking time will only improve upon the flavour, but it is ready to eat as soon as it is hot.  Makes 6 servings.

Mixed up crafting -- crocheting on your scrapbooking layout


For this project you will need patterned paper, pen, punch, crochet hook and yarn.


Cut a circle the size you need from patterned paper.  Using the punch, punch out holes evenly spaced around the outside edge of the circle.


Crocket around the outside edge:  single crochet in starting position, chain 3 or more depending on the size of loop you wish to make, single crochet in next hole . . . continue until you are back to the starting position.  Slip stitch into first single crochet and finish.


I left the tails fairly long so I could tie a bow in them.



Sunday, September 16, 2012

Family Trees can be so confusing . . .

When I started working on my family tree I wasn't really sure what I was doing.  I spent a lot of time collecting information online and through local sources and when I felt I was ready I paid for a subscription to Ancestry.ca.  It is an amazing resource BUT you have to read things so carefully and you have to use your common sense.

I originally had my family tree set to public not thinking anything of it BUT what I found was that people were BORROWING my information and treating it as facts even though I had no sources of proof listed.  I reset my family tree to private.

I'm getting into the detail work on some very interesting relatives right now and double and triple checking all my facts before setting them free into the world.  It is now that I am really noticing the errors out there that so many people treat as fact.

A female relative is posted across the board as having passed away in 1862.  And yet on the same page these would-be genealogists  had the 1971 census showing that she was still alive.  You would think someone would take pause at that . . .

They also gave her children who were born in many various locations around the world even though there is nothing to suggest she ever left Ontario.  They even claimed her second husband's children as her own even though they were born while she was married to her first husband.

This family tree business is a very tricky business!!  Well I should get back at it . . .

Friday, September 14, 2012

Smoke on the Water, Port Stanley ON 12 Sep 2012

Nanna and I took the boys to Port Stanley right after school on Wednesday to see the show put on by the Canadian Snowbirds.














Okay so I just THOUGHT I was caught up on mystery knit-along dishcloths

I found a half finished project on a shelf in my office and finished the last 2 days of clues.   The pattern was from July . . . ooooops . . . LOL

Check it out.


A Customer Service Rant . . .

I have to say a lot of businesses must be improving because I haven't been able to rant so much about poor service lately.  That's a good thing for my nerves but not-so-much when I'm trying to think of something to write here.


The grandsons took us to Palasad in London for Grandparents' Day.  They had a Groupon for 2 games for 4 people including shoe rental and a large pizza at a very nice price.  We arrived at the Palasad closest to us which turned out to be closed for renovations so we had to head to the one furthest from home.  We found the second location with no problem.

We checked in and headed to Lane 8.  I was there as cheerleader and photographer.  After a bit the boys started grumbling because we still hadn't seen a server to place our lunch order so I headed to the bar to get some service.

Now at that bar stood 3 servers in a huddle with fancy phones out discussing how pissed off they were about something.  I finally got their attention and asked if one of them would take our order.  I was assured our server would be with us shortly.  Now keep in mind that the place was not very busy . . . which is probably why they were all huddled chatting instead of working.  Almost half an hour after our arrival our server finally appeared and we ordered drinks and gave her the coupon for our pizza.  Our drinks arrived fairly quickly and the server brought a menu so we could select our pizza and then she left.  Finally she came back and took our order.  I'm not sure why she just didn't stay in the first place since there were only a few choices to decide from.

Anyway, we ordered and the boys went on playing.  At some further point the server was back and gave us refills on our drinks.  Still no food.  Finally I went back up to the bar and requested the manager.  I asked if the reason we were receiving such lousy service was because we came in on a coupon or did they treat everyone this badly.  She went to the kitchen and came back with our order and pointed out that our pizza was ordered at 2:05.  I agreed with her and asked where it was considering how it wasn't busy and I knew for a fact it did not take nearly 30 minutes to cook a simple pizza.  And did she understand that it took 40 minutes before our order was even taken.  My biggest gripe was with the gaggle of servers that wouldn't provide service.  I informed her that the purpose of a coupon was to encourage new customers to try out a business or service.  I was less than impressed and their service and attitude was totally inappropriate and I would never be back.  I made sure she understood that I did not want any discounts or freebies or coupons since I would never be back to use them.  She did apologize.

A short time later (we were nearly finished the second game) our pizza finally arrived.  It was awful . . . when you picked up a slice everything slid off including the cheese . . .

Now before you start to think that our day was ruined, keep in mind we had our grandsons and we love spending time with them and the bowling part of our day was really fun.  We had the rails put up and every time someone bounced a ball off the rails and hit some pins we made horrible pun-ny jokes about how rail-y well they were playing.

Two-thumbs down to the staff at Palasad in north London, ON.

Two thumbs up for our goofy grandchildren.


Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Quick Melba



from soscuisine.com

2 servings
Prep 10 minutes
cooking 5 minutes
150 calories per serving

2 peaches, ripe, freestone type
1-1/4 cup raspberries
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp apple juice
2 tsp cornstarch
2 scoops vanilla ice cream

Peel the peaches, split them in half, then pull apart and remove their pits.  Set aside.

In a saucepan, heat the raspberries and sugar over low heat.  Cook 2-3 minutes, then mash the raspberries with a fork.

In a small bowl, dilute the cornstarch with the apple juice.  Add this slurry to the warm raspberries and cook over low heat, with stirring, about 2 minutes until the mixture thickens.  Pass the thickened raspberries through a fine sieve and, using a rubber spatula, press on the raspberries to extract as much juice as possible.  Discard the seeds.

Drizzle the peaches with the strained raspberry sauce and serve.  Garnish with vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Baked Ratatouille

from soscuisine.com

2 servings
Prep time 10 minutes
cooking time 1-1/2 hours
150 calories per serving

1/2 Spanish onion, cut into 2 cm pieces
1 carrot, cut into 2 cm pieces
1 zucchini, cut into 2 cm pieces
1/2 aubergines/eggplant, small, cut into 2 cm pieces
1/2 yellow or red sweet pepper, cut into 2 cm pieces
1-1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
3/4 cup canned tomatoes (diced)
salt and pepper to taste

Choose a baking dish in which the vegetables will fit tightly.  Preheat the oven to 350F.

Prepare the vegetables.  Generously oil an oven safe dish.  Add the garlic.  Layer the vegetables in the dish with the following sequence:  onion, carrot, zucchini, aubergine, pepper, and tomatoes on top.  Drizzle with oil, then add salt and pepper to taste.

Bake in the middle of the oven 1-1/2 hours, until the vegetables are soft.

Serve with steamed quinoa.