Can It Be Done, Chicken

Ok it's Sunday, and like most Americans it's time for rest, a little TV, and a wholesome amount of food. But how can you have wholesome food for dinner while resting? Hmmm how about something cooked in a crackpot? 10 minutes prep, 8 hrs of slow cooking, another few minutes dishing up.... But what to cook, chicken, pork, Beef, or maybe vegetables.... Or better yet what recipe to use. But it bring Sunday and I haven't made it to the store in a few days i better check my refrigerator. I've got a whole 3 lb chicken, some apples, and a little coke. If I ignore the coke, combine the chicken and apples I can pull something together I think. So here goes!

My Apple Stuffed Fall Chicken:
3 lb chicken
2 small apples
Salt
Pepper
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
2 tbs Butter

Rub salt and pepper into the skin. Set in crackpot, legs up. Peel, core and chop apples into cubes. Stuff into cavity and secure legs. Position into crock best side up. Sprinkle brown sugar over, put butter on side, cover and cook for 8 hours. Don't open lid at all during cooking, or pot will lose it's temperature and cause chicken to not cook evenly.


- FKB Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Simple Circles

For the last couple of days I've been creating this simple circle necklace made of beads and silver findings.


The pattern for my circles was pretty basic. Start by selecting two contrasting bead colors, I chose champagne pink and teal silver. Loop 6 beads in a circle, any pattern you want. From above you can see I did a random color and a alternate pie design. Secure the end tightly and pass through the first bead in the loop. Pick up two beads and double back through the base bead and the two beads you picked up. repeat this for all 5 remaining beads. Loop the thread back through the first two beads and your second row of the circle is complete. From here repeat rows only use a pattern of 2, 1, 2 for bead pickup. On your final row add silver crimp beads in place of beads for two base beads. I like to flatten my crimps just a little bit to make the finish look more flat. Once all your bead circles are done start connecting using silver jump rings. I added oval rings to contrast my circles. Add a chain and clasp to your desired length and your done. Pretty simple but elegant I think.

- FKB Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A Bead Of A Different Color

Ok for the last week I've been working on a nice piece of beads comprised of opaque black and opaque yellow lime clear beads. First I beaded a chain 20 inches long.

As you can see from the photo I used a spiral pattern plus alternated base colors ever 5 inches. Created a nice contrast on the chain.

Next I beaded a pendent. The pendent consisted of two pieces. A nice triangle held on the chain by a ruffled loop initiating the chain bead stitch pattern.

- FKB Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Stewed But What About Doughed?

After much probing I've been asked via email to release my Honey Wheat Bread Bowl Recipe. After all what is home cooked stew with out good homemade bread.

Base Recipe:
1 cup very hot milk
1 egg
2 tbs butter
3/4 cup stone ground wheat
1tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp wheat gluten
2 cups bread flour
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast or fast rise yeast

Add eggs & butter to bread machine pan, slowly pour hot milk into pan. Add salt and wheat. Gently stir till wheat is mixed in. Let rest 15 minutes. Add flour, wheat gluten, and brown sugar. Make a well in center and add yeast. Pour honey over top. Select dough cycle. Watch the mixing to insure the dough forms a nice ball shape that's not too liquid or dry. Think sticky but soft play-dough.






Let rise in bread pan. Check it to insure it isn't escaping the pan. Punch down after at least 45 minutes. Take out of pan shape into bowl size balls on tinfoil lined baking pan.






I like to butter the top and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at least one hour or until double. My rise cycle has gone as long as 90 minutes.

Bake 17 minutes at 350, brush with butter as soon as you pull them from oven. Let cool at least 30 minutes before curing tops off and coring inside for stew.

Diabetic Version:
1 cup skin milk
1 egg
2 tbs butter
1 1/2 cup wheat
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup bread flour
1/2 cup honey
2 1/2 tsp yeast

This has a slightly different taste, but still good. You can use water instead of milk but that makes a harder bread with a less sweet taste. Im a soft bread fan so most of my recipes have a milk base.

Why don't you try my recipes and let me know what you think!




- FKB Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I'm Stewing Over Dinner

Woke up this morning think man I'm sick of my old stew recipe. It's just so boring with carrots, potato, meat, and a touch on onion. There has to be a way to jazz it up some. But I still want to slow cook it in my crock-pot. Hmmm of I go to the web and my iFood app to find a interesting recipe.

Well after a couple of hours I've decided my tried and true sounds best for today. I've read recipes with barbecue sauce, Italian dressing, whiskey, and bourbon additives. There was one were you cook all the meat in Meade or Red Wine for 2 hrs in a process cooker on slow. Sound so time consuming. Then I found recipes with squash, corn, and even leaks. Then there were egg-noodles and dumplings. It got to a point were I wad questioning my sanity. My family has a simple palliate. So back to my simple recipe.

My Recipe:
One 1lb bag baby carrots
Six-eight med red or golden potatoes (11/2 cup cube cut potato)
1/4 cup diced onions
2lbs stew meat
Salt
Pepper
Flour

My madness in crock-pot:
I'm a layer in the big pot. First my baby carrots. Then a layer of diced potatoes. Then 1/3 of the meat browned in skillet with salt and pepper. I like to shake the meat in a bag of flour and seasoning. Then dump in pan with oil. Lightly brown and dump straight in Crock, juice and all. Then another layer of potatoes. Another of browned meat. Finale I layer the onions. If my onions come from my freezer I lightly sauté them. Next add water to cover the meat and then some. Set on low and cook 4-6 hrs.




- FKB Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A Ladybug Tote

For the last few days I've been designing and sewing a tote for my Mother-In-Law. It's theme was focused around ladybugs. First the measuring and drafting if a plan that fits a 10 x10 book.



From the picture you can see I'm planing to have a see through pocket. Sewing decorative vinyl is extremely time consuming because you have to be patent and slow. It took me two pieces and lots of failures before I managed it. Next was sewing the inner pockets that are designed to hold pens and note cards.



After that I assembled all the pieces and sewed in a nice brite red lining.



My final step was to stitch around the top to insure durability as books are pulled in and out.

It's A Cookie Monster Day!

Ok I've been asked about my healthy cookie recipes for a while now. I've created two recipes that use whole grain white wheat flour and natural sugar when I can find the ingredients. My family loves the taste and loves helping me make them. That's so worth the energy.

First off is my modified sniker-doodle. Or as I like to call them smacker-doodle. I make these for my husband specifically. He's a sugar cookie fiend. These always help fix his craving.

Recipe:
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2 cup whole wheat white flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda

Cream butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add flour, salt, soda and cinnamon then mix well. Scope and flatten spoonfuls on cookie sheet . Bake at 350• for 15 minutes. I like to roll my cookies in cinnamon sugar before flattening them in baking pan. It makes them taste more sinker- doodlie.



My peanut-butter oatmeal cookie are my kids favorite. Greate after school snake.

Recipe:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
Dark Chocolate Kiss for decoration

Cream sugars, egg, butter, and peanutbutter. Add in dry ingredients. Spoon on cookie sheet. Thes expand so give room between. Bake for 350• for 13-15 minutes. Pull from oven and garnish with chocolate kiss by gently pressing into center of cookie. Cool before serving.




Give these a try and see what you think! I'd love comments on how they taste.

Beads & A Little Scrap Fabric....

Today's project.... A hand made small tote bag. Totes are such handy things to have around. You never know when you might need one. From small to large sizes the pattern can be quite easy to make. But to jazz up this small tote I added a little beadwork. Take a look!



- FKB Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The Bear That Ate My Daughter

Today's massive project make a boutique bear. This is a trial run of the pattern I plan to sell at the Nov holiday bizarre. Only each bear will be slightly different. So my first part of the project is the cutting out and modifying of an old pattern I picked up. This process is so time consuming and always a big wager on wheather or not it works. But it allows me the chance to personalize the bears.


Here you see my brown accent material. The main section of this bear is pink with brown dots. I'll have another that will be brown with pink accents. In the end I had way more pieces then I knew what to do with.


After finaly locating all the body pieces and losing 5 hours of my day I had the body done.


Then after over another hour I finally got the head attached. I must admit that the first try saw the head on backwards. My husband dubbed it the exorcist bear. But I managed to get it on right only for it to be clamed by the prima of my house. Too bad she's going to have to give it back for stuffing and facial surgery tomorrow.



- FKB Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Bangle Thing

I've been beading a new necklace for the last few weeks. It started out with me discovering these gorges black & orange miyukie beads. So I began a modified pattern of black and orange stopes.


This formed my base chain. After about a week of beading I completed a 20 inch chain. Why so long, well honestly it because I only do about 3 inches a night while watching tv. This keeps me from being bored.


My next issue was finding a nice focal point for the chain. I lucked out at JoAnnes one Sunday by finding this gorges tiger striped heart.


After beading an attachment loop the heart connected to my chain. I'm very happy with the completed piece.


-FKB Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Crazy Computer Will Not Defeat Me!

Well my computer has been down for almost two months! It's not that it doesn't work, but more that it won't connect to the web. Since then I've perfected my bread recipe, started experimenting with whole wheat cookies, and sewed all sorts of crazy things. As my blogs finally update you will be able to see the fun I've had. Enjoy!


- FKB Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
O