Springtime Mother's Day gift blanket

A very wonderful friend asked me to make a blanket for her so that she could give it to her mother for a Mother's Day gift. She said that her mother liked pastels. The following is what I came up with. I LOVE it and the "Spring" feeling to it. There is a close up and an overview picture of it.

The finished size would be considered a "throw size" blanket and I, obviously, finished it with the rag look.  Like the previous "Cowboys" blanket, I used batting as a center to each square.  I thoroughly enjoyed making this gorgeous blanket!

PS...The pictures do not even begin to do the awesome colors justice. :)

"Cowboys" themed blanket

A really good friend of mine from high school requested a "blue king sized blanket" and then later added to his request "can you make a Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Red Wings block?" I was all maybe. Well due to finding supplies, we decided to scrap the Red Wings and just go with the Cowboys, SO...the blanket was born. I LOVE it!

As stated, the finished size is a king and I ended up with 5 Dallas Cowboys blocks (1 in each corner and 1 in the center).  In the top left corner Cowboys block, I stitched in a date that is very significant to my friend and his girlfriend.  Each block has batting sewn into it to make it a "heavier" lightweight blanket.

Sierra Bagley's blanket

So, this blanket was supposed to be a queen size and ended up being a king. I used the "cascading" reversible style for the pattern but we chose to do only one color on the back.

I finished this blanket about a month ago but Sierra's birthday wasn't until today, so I can finally post pictures of it!

This has been my absolute favorite blanket to sew partly because I LOVE her and her family to pieces but mostly because I LOVE the colors!

So here are some photos of the overview, a close up, and one with Sierra receiving it-which I don't get recipient photos often :-)

Chore Chart

I have been wanting to make a chore chart for RJ forever. So I spent a little bit of time on Pinterest looking at different ideas. I knew I wanted something with pictures. Even though some are not age appropriate yet for him, I LOVE the way it turned out and the simplicity of it!

South of the Border Sandwiches

These were SOOO yummy and different for a sandwich. They had a little more "prep work" than a normal sandwich would take which I was not thrilled about, but the end result was worth it!

Here's what you need.
1 loaf French Bread, sliced in about 1' slices (I used about 1/2 a loaf for 2 of us)
1/2 cup chopped olives
1/2 tsp Chili Powder
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Mayo
1/3 cup Sour Cream
1/3 cup green onions, chopped
Sliced turkey (deli, leftover, or lunch meat)
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
2 ripe avocados, sliced
shredded or sliced cheese

1) Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl, combine olives, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Mix well and set aside about 2 Tbsp of this mixture. To the remaining olive mixture in the bowl, add the mayo, sour cream, and green onions. Mix well.
2) Place sliced bread onto a cookie sheet. Spread each slice with the mayo mixture. Top with sliced turkey, tomato, and avocado. Sprinkle the top with shredded cheese or place sliced cheese on top. Finally, top each slice with some of the reserved 2 Tbsp olive mixture.
3) Bake for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

No Bake Energy Bites

Basically, these are a "granola" ball. I was leery of them when I came across the recipe, but I really liked them. I usually ate one either right after a run when I would be hungry or mid-afternoon when the "snackies" started to bother me. I am not sure if they gave me more "energy" but they were definitely more filling than most snacks I would normally reach for, so that is a bonus for me...and of course the other "approval" test is whether RJ likes them, which he did!

Super easy and fast:
1 Cup oats
1 Cup coconut
1/2 Cup chocolate chips
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
1/2 Cup ground flax seed
1/3 Cup honey
1 tsp vanilla

1) Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Let chill in refrigerator about 30 minutes.
2) Roll into whatever size ball you want (mine were about golf ball size). Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a bout a week.

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

So YUMMY!!! Thank you Pinterest for giving me a Chinese Food dish that I like! Oh and the 3 year-old at my house LOVED it too!

For the Chicken:
3 to 4 chicken breasts, cubed
salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch (I used maybe 1/2-3/4 cup)
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 Cup oil

For the Sauce:
3/4 Cup Sugar
4 Tbsp ketchup
1/2 Cup Vinegar
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp garlic salt/powder

1) Preheat oven to 325. Season the chicken with salt and pepper (I just mixed my salt and pepper in with the cornstarch). Place cornstarch in a shallow container and eggs in another. Dip chicken into the cornstarch and coat well. Then dip into the eggs and coat well.
2) Preheat oil in a skillet. Place the egg coated chicken into the heated oil and cook until browned, but not cooked through. Once browned, transfer the chicken to a greased 9x13 pan.
3) Mix all the sweet and sour sauce ingredients together. Pour evenly over the chicken in the 9x13 pan.
4) Bake for one hour, turning the chicken every 15-20 minutes to ensure it gets evenly coated with sauce.Serve with Fried Rice. Delish!!