Farmgirl Vintage Mug Rug

The youngest grandgirl went to a Halloween party this week hosted by her piano teacher.  So we made a little goody bag for her teacher to thank her for hosting the party.

We put a fall mug, two packages of tea, a bag of Lindt pumpkin spice chocolates, and this mug rug:

I used the farmhouse quilt block pattern from Lori Holt's Farmgirl Vintage book.  We loved how it turned out, and it was a lot of fun piecing it together!

Just thought I'd share a little sewing project!

Weekly Menu Plan for Week of Oct. 28 to Nov. 3, 2018

This weekend may just be the peak time for our gorgeous autumn leaf colors.  The wind is blowing so hard today, though, the leaves are really falling fast.  Pretty soon those bare branches will be covered with snow!  I don't think I'm ready for that yet!

This week went by so fast, along with this weekend!  I'm late getting my menus finished, and now am off to run to the grocery store to stock up for the coming week.  It's a busy week ahead!

Here is this week's menu plan:
For a printable copy, please click HERE.
Recipe links are below.

Sunday:
Ham and Potato Chowder is from Recipe Tin Eats
Cheese Bread is from Mel's Kitchen Café
Apple Crisp is from Welcome Home

Monday:
Meatloaf is from Yummy Healthy Easy
Easy Black Forest Cake is from Six Sisters Stuff

Tuesday:
Amish Peanut Butter Pie is from Noshing With the Nolands

Wednesday:
Baked Pumpkin Donuts are from King Arthur Flour
Maple Pecan Oatmeal is from Eating Bird Food
Mummy Hot Dogs are from Frugal Coupon Living

Thursday:
Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya is from Evolving Table
7 Up Pound Cake is from Taste of Home

Friday:
Ground Beef Stroganoff is from Reasons To Skip The Housework

Saturday:
Cinnamon Chip Snickerdoodles are from Let's Dish

That's it for this week!  Hope you have some great meals with your family this week!

Grammy's Apple Pie

A couple days ago we went to the apple orchard, and I bought a large bag of Melrose apples.  I never heard of Melrose apples before, but I asked the sales lady to recommend a good baking apple, and she gave me a slice of that apple to taste.  Heaven!  It was so yummy!  I was only going to get a small bag, but changed my mind and got a large bag.

The way they do it, they have all kinds of apples in bushel baskets, and you just walk up and ask for whatever you want, they give you a taste, and if you want it they bag it.  When I asked for a large bag, she packed so many apples in there I could barely carry it.  I'm guessing it weighed at least 15 pounds.

Although I had made a Dutch apple pie last week, I couldn't wait to try another apple pie.  My son used a bunch of them to make crockpot apple butter, but I haven't tried that yet.  And of course I can't eat this pie, because of the crust, but all my apple pie eaters declared this pie a winner!  It looks and smells delicious.

I used packaged Pillsbury pie crusts, because I was afraid to mess up the crust with these good apples!  I figure Pillsbury probably has it figured out pretty well by now!  And everyone liked it, so there you go!

I am definitely going to try one of these with a gluten free pie crust, but for now, here is the recipe I used to make this one:

For a printable copy, please click HERE. 

I think you'll like this pie if you make one!  Serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and you'll be in Apple Heaven!

Here are some of the places I am linking up to:
Mix It Up Monday at Flour Me With Love
Meal Plan Monday at Southern Bite

To see the other places I share recipes and crafts, please click HERE.

And don't forget to check out my Pinterest boards!  Click on the link at the top of the sidebar to see my boards.  I am a huge Pinterest fan!

Weekly Menu Plan for October 21 to 27, 2018

Hi there!  My backyard is starting to look more and more like the picture above.  Some of the trees are almost bare, but others are still green and leafy.  The leaves will need to be raked soon, though, and gutters cleaned for the winter!  Snow flurries were even in the forecast for the coming week!

We went to a Bands of America Regional competition last night and watched some amazing marching bands!  It makes me so happy and grateful to watch such talented high school kids perform!  They work so hard, and it shows in their performances.

We also took a couple of the grandkids to an apple orchard this week while they were on fall break, and had a great time!  They have a petting zoo there, and we all enjoyed feeding the goats and llamas! I got some of the most delicious Melrose apples to use this week in some apple dumplings!  They used to sell a package of 4 apple dumplings with some vanilla sauce, but they didn't have any this time and we were all so disappointed. So I have to try making them myself to see if I can come close to theirs!

This week's menu has some tried and true favorites.  Paula Deen's Banana Pudding was requested by one of my grandkids, and the Swedish Meatballs were from another grandchild.  The Oatmeal Cream Pie Cupcakes are new to me, but sound really good, so I'm giving it a go and we shall see what the family thinks!

Here is this week's menu plan:
For a printable copy, please click HERE.
Recipe links are below.

Sunday:
Slow Cooker Pumpkin French Toast is from The Kitchn

Monday:
Crockpot Chicken and Gravy is from The Country Cook (this is a family favorite and I make it with gluten free cream of chicken soup from Wal Mart and gluten free chicken gravy mix from McCormick)
Oatmeal Cream Pie Cupcakes are from Beyond Frosting

Tuesday:
Crockpot Swedish Meatballs are from The Country Cook - (I LOVE her site!)
Apple Dumplings are from All Recipes

Wednesday:
Tuna Pasta Salad is from 5 Dollar Dinners
Chocolate Layer Cake with Pumpkin Cream Filling is from Sweet Little Bluebird

Thursday:
Crockpot Beef Stroganoff is from Chef In Training

Friday:
Almond Joy Cookies are from Mom On Timeout - I made these last Christmas and they were a HUGE hit with everyone that likes coconut!

Saturday:
Paula Deen's Banana Pudding is from Now You Can Pin It

And that's a wrap for this week!  I hope you find something yummy to make, and have a blessed week ahead!

Sunday's Ham and Sweet Potatoes

How are y'all doing?  I hope your week is off to a good start!

I just wanted to share a quick photo of yesterday's dinner (at least part of it).  We had ham and sweet potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower, rolls, and apple pie for dessert.

I decided to try baking the sweet potatoes in my Instant Pot, and they turned out really great!  And so easy!  I just let the ham (which, by the way, was a spiral cut ham from Aldis and they are SO GOOD!  If you haven't tried one, you should!) stay warm in the oven while the sweet potatoes were cooking in the Instant Pot.  It took about 35 minutes to make 4 of them, and they turned out soft, creamy, and oh so good topped with butter and pumpkin pie spice!  If you have an Instant Pot, definitely try making your sweet potatoes this way.  I am definitely making these again!

When I put the sweet potatoes on the plate, I just snapped a quick picture so you could see all their yummy goodness!  The skin peeled right back (see it at the top of the sweet potato?  It kind of looks like a bay leaf!) and the insides were creamy and yum!

So easy to do!  Here is how I made them:
1.  Pour 1-1/2 cups of water in your instant pot.
2.  Use the trivet.  Scrub the sweet potatoes.  Put 4 medium sweet potatoes on the trivet in the Instant Pot.
3.  Put the lid on, make sure it's sealed, and cook them on Manual for 18 minutes.
4.  Do a natural release, about 15 minutes.
5.  Take them out, butter them, and enjoy!  I sprinkled pumpkin pie spice on the melted butter, which was really good!

All in all it took about 35 minutes to make the 4 sweet potatoes.  If you try it, let me know how yours turn out!  We all thought this was the way to make them from now on!

Geezer Chili

Yes, it's true.  Geezer in the house.  And that makes me a Geezer-ette, I guess.

Truth is, we still like to eat the same things we've always eaten.  Except at night.  Or after 4:00 in the afternoon.  Or in large amounts.  Or as spicy.  Or as salty.  The list goes on. And on.

Enter Geezer Chili.  We still like to eat chili, but we DON'T like not being able to sleep at night because the heartburn is so bad we want to call the fire department.

This recipe is just a good, basic chili that warms you up without so much heat.  I use mild chili beans, and leave the hot sauce out to make it even more Geezer-friendly.

But this is family friendly too!  My grandkids love to eat this chili, and they each put their own little spins on it.  The youngest one eats it on top of spaghetti, topped with grated cheddar.  The oldest ones top big bowls of it with grated cheddar cheese, more chopped onions, and crackers.  I like to put it in a dish, top it with cheddar cheese, and scoop it with Frito scoops or Tostito scoops.  Grown up kids like it just as much as the younger kids and the geezers!  You can add whatever toppings you like to make it your own.  However you like it, a big bowl of chili on a chilly day can't be beat!

Here is the recipe card:

For a printable version, please click HERE.  

Hope you like it!

Click HERE to see where I share recipes.

Don't forget to check out my Pinterest boards by clicking the link in the sidebar up at the top!

Weekly Menu Plan for October 14 - 20, 2018

Well, it finally got here.  And when it got here, it REALLY got here.  We went from 80's one day to 30's the next!  No transition this year!

All my capris, sleeveless, and short sleeve tops are now packed away at the back of my closet, and the sweatshirts and sweaters are here to stay until next summer.  Last night we went to a marching band competition and I had on a sweatshirt over a long sleeve t-shirt, my winter coat, hat, gloves, and a scarf.  And I was still freezing!  A week ago we were eating ice cream to cool off!

Time for me to cocoon!  I love fall, but I am not a big fan of cold weather.  Or ice.  It seems we get a lot of icy roads here in central Indiana - more ice than snow, quite often.  I prefer snow!  Hoping this winter is a mild one!

Enough weather talk.  I have this week's menu all ready, grocery shopping is done, and the ham is going in the oven for today's dinner in a couple hours.  I hope you all have a great week!

Here is this week's men:
For a printable copy, please click HERE.
Recipe links are below.

Sunday:
Dutch Apple Pie is from Genius Kitchen

Monday:
Apple Pie Cake is from Jo Cooks
The country fried steak is from Sams Club, very good and EASY!

Wednesday:
Leftover Ham and Rice Casserole is from I Wash You Dry
Apple Butterscotch Fluff Salad is from Mostly Homemade Mom

Thursday:
Chicken Alfredo is from Six Sisters Stuff
Chocolate Mousse is from Wonky Wonderful

Friday:
Slow Cooker Ribs are from Southern Bite
Chocolate Éclair Cake is from The Girl Who Ate Everything

That's it for this week!  I hope you find something here that you can use!
Click on the Pinterest button on the sidebar if you would like to follow my boards!
Click HERE to see where I share at Linky Parties!

Sausage and Sauerkraut

And it's a good thing....because here it comes!  One more warm day and then fall will swoop in with a flourish!  I am looking at a forecast calling for early morning temps in the 30's!

It will be a perfect time for a Sausage and Sauerkraut supper!  It just tastes like fall to me.  But then, I like sauerkraut.  If you do, you will love this dinner.  For me, it HAS to be served over mashed potatoes.  Because then it's gluten free - WOOHOO!  But it tastes best that way, too.  ❤

I made this dish a few weeks ago, at the end of September.  You can find it  HERE on this menu plan.  The recipe is from Taste of Home, but I tweak it just a little bit.  Nothing major, just a few little ways to cook it.  And I use smoked sausage instead of Polish sausage.  But I'm quite sure it would be good with the Polish sausage! No matter how you make it, it will be yummy!

Here is the recipe card:

For a printable version, please click HERE. 

If you try it, I hope you all like it!  Get those sweaters out!
Click HERE to see the places I share!

Weekly Menu Plan for Week of Oct. 7 to 13, 2018

So far, except for a few chilly days, fall has been more like summer here.  Mid to upper 80's all week this week, and the same for next week.  I'm ready for some sweater weather!  Not too cold, just enough to make you want to snuggle under a blanket on the couch and sip some hot tea.  The weatherman says it is coming at the end of next week.  I'll believe it when I see it.

But somehow the leaves didn't get the memo that summer hasn't left yet, and they are beginning to turn into hints of red and gold.  I think this might be one of those gorgeous, colorful falls!  Time will tell!

I have a super busy weekend planned, so I am posting next week's menu tonight....just in case I run out of time this weekend!  I needed some easy meals this week, as we have a couple granddaughters in band and orchestra and they have concerts this week.  So the meals this week give me time to prep or bake in the morning, and then take care of last-minute prep right before dinner.

Here is this week's menu plan:
For a printable copy, please click HERE.
Recipe notes are below.

Sunday:

Easy K-D Taco Supper is from Genius Kitchen - quick, easy, and good!  I use gluten free macaroni and cheese so I can eat it too!  Kids really like this!

Five Flavor Pound Cake is from Divas Can Cook

Monday:

Imitation Crabmeat Salad is from Genius Kitchen 

Lemon Meringue Pie is from Taste of Home - The only thing I do differently is I don't put the meringue on top because no one in my family likes meringue!  So I just put whipped cream on it, and they think that's the best!

Tuesday:

Roast Chicken is from Everyday Mom's Meals - haven't tried this yet but it sounds really yummy!

Wednesday:

Chicken Fried Rice is from Rachel Schultz on Homemaking - I'm hoping to have enough leftover roast chicken to use for this dish!

Mandarin Orange Cake is from The Teacher Cooks - it's either the same or almost the same as Paula Deen's Pig Pickin' Cake, both are scrumptious!

Friday:

Baked Lemon Cod is from What's Gaby Cooking - forcing myself  trying to eat fish at least once a week!

Easy Rice Pilaf is from Soulfully Made 

Caramel Apple Pie Magic Bars are from Crazy for Crust - never made these before, but oh my goodness they sound like heaven!  These aren't the same kind of magic bars I think of that use sweetened condensed milk, and that's good because I don't care for those.  I cannot wait to make these and see what my family thinks!  Not gluten free, so I won't have any, but I may have to try tweaking this recipe to see if I can make it gluten free in the future!

Saturday:

Baked Beans are from The Chunky Chef 

And that's a wrap for next week!  I hope you have a great week and weekend!
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