Red Peppers and Sausage Pasta

I found this recipe in an old magazine and still have the partial torn-out page glued on a recipe index card! 

I have since made a Scrapbook Cookbook and added this recipe.

The recipe is relatively easy to make, is pretty much foolproof, looks great, and tastes wonderful. I can almost guarantee that if you try it once you'll want to make it again.

The official name is really Penne D'Alessandria.  Penne is cylinder-shaped pasta and Alessandria is a city in Piedmont, Italy which was founded in 1168. 

Easy Homemade Rice Heat or Cold Packs

This is probably one of the easiest sewing projects I have done, right up there with pillowcases. 

These packs can be heated in the microwave for a heat pack or placed in the freezer for a cold pack.

And they can be made in any size you want. 
I made them large enough for placing on a shoulder, knee, or another similar area with aches and pains. You can sew long thin ones to place around your neck or wrap around an ankle. 

Olive Cheesy Bread

Some people are olive lovers and some are not. 

When my daughter Alexis was about 5 or 6, she had an obsession with black olives.  She liked to put one black olive on each finger and then eat them.  

Concerned about the ingredients, contacted the Heinz Company who replied back with a letter with the ingredients list and a coupon for a free jar of olives. 

I recently re-looked up the nutritional value of olives and it turns out olives are pretty healthy!

Easy Baby Burp Cloths

We had a new little granddaughter born in December!

She is so precious and her name is Lilly.  She's the daughter of my youngest child, Daniel. 

Late last summer we came up with our own design for their Pregnancy Announcements which we think turned out great and quite unique.  

 

With the new baby, I'm getting my sewing machine back to work!

Grandma Elder's Carrot Cake

This is a moist delicious carrot cake that's not too sweet and gets rave reviews when I make it. 

I usually make it as a sheet cake but it is so much prettier as a layer cake!

My mother-in-law Coy Lynch handed down her mother's Carrot Cake recipe to me many years ago. Her mother was Annabelle (Sharer) Elder from Alexis, Illinois. 

I never got to meet Annabelle but the cousins all talk fondly of visits to her house. Annabelle and her husband John H. had 5 children, one of which is the famous and highly successful high school coach John K. Elder. 

Holland, Michigan and the Tulip Festival

  

Looking for a great weekend trip this spring? I have just the place: Holland Michigan. And if you time it just right you could be there for The Holland Tulip Festival held in May.

Holland is a beautiful little town loaded with wooden shoes, statues, quaint shops, lots of Dutch heritage, and countless tulips and other spring flowers.

Holland was settled in 1847 by Dutch Calvinist separatists, under the leadership of Dr. Albertus van Raalte. Their desire for religious freedom, along with dire economic conditions in the Netherlands compelled them to emigrate to the U.S.

Make Your Own Hamburger Buns

There is something very comforting about the smell of freshly baked bread.

This past Christmas, I received a few new cookbooks and one of them has a recipe for Hawaiian Grilled Cheeseburgers. We have been grilling pineapple and putting them on cheeseburgers occasionally, but that recipe took the sandwich to new heights.

To keep on the level of awesomeness of the cheeseburger recipe, I decided to try my hand at making homemade buns.

Caprese Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Who doesn't love a good grilled cheese sandwich? 

On cold winter days, grilled cheese sandwiches and hot soup is a staple at our house.

But in the middle of winter, I am constantly craving (and dreaming about) the fresh garden vegetables that was a huge part of our meals in the summer months.  

I came up with this sandwich to add a little more nutrients and vitamins to a traditional grilled cheese sandwich but it's also just darn delicious!

Caprese is typically a salad of fresh mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and basil.

State Flag Christmas Ornament

Besides our large Christmas tree full of homemade and travel ornaments, every year I put up a smaller tree in my dining room. This tree has evolved and changed themes and decorations somewhat over the years. It started out as a nature tree. Then I started mixing in cardinals (our state bird), which then led me to make the tree a Nature Ohio tree.

I have added buckeyes, cardinals, morel mushrooms, pine cones, bird nests, and various other things that can be found in and around our state.

We started a Crafting Circle and have an ornament exchange with family and friends every year, so I decided to make an Ohio flag as a Christmas ornament. 

 

Felt Snowman Ornament

This is a cute little felt Christmas ornament I made for our ornament exchange one year.

We have a really large family so instead of having a gift exchange, we started an ornament exchange. It's not mandatory so not everyone participates. 

It's so wonderful to receive the little gift boxes in the mail containing each homemade ornament. And many of us add other small gifts like specialty coffee or tea, candy, fudge, cookies, jams, bookmarks, or other goodies.

Many family members live out of state but for the ones close to me and who want to make crafts for Christmas we started a Crafting Group. It's a great way to stay in contact with friends and family while enjoying time set aside just for a hobby we love.

Grand Champion Pumpkin Cake

It's November already (yikes! how did that happen!?) and I just finished packing away all my Halloween decorations.
I've been busy making a list for our Thanksgiving dinner and corresponding grocery list. I usually try out a new dish or dessert every year at Thanksgiving so have been scanning through a few cookbooks for ideas.

I found this recipe in a Pumpkin Cookbook I purchased way back in 1992. The cookbook was put together by The Crusader Sunday School Class at Calvary United Methodist Church for a fundraiser. 

 

Thanksgiving Paper Craft

I got my idea for a Fall Decorated Christmas Tree a few years ago after seeing my sister Kathy's tree while visiting her in New Jersey.  
My fall tree is just 4 foot tall and in my kitchen bay window. 

I decorate this little tree for fall with autumn leaves, acorns, pumpkins, etc., and then add Halloween ornaments towards the end of October.  In November I use a Fall/Thanksgiving theme.

Since my Christmas Vintage Paper Ornaments turned out so well last year, IMO, I decided to make Thanksgiving ornaments too!

 

Start a Crafting Group

I usually make Christmas ornaments every year and give them out as gifts to a select few friends and family. 

And now some of my sisters and I and other family and friends also have an ornament exchange.

To me, it's wonderful to see all the talent and hard work put into each home-crafted ornament and I cherish them as keepsakes throughout the years.

My daughter Alexis and I, my son's girlfriend Jennica and a couple of our friends decided to start a Crafting Group meet-up.

Halloween Apothecary Bottles

It's October and Halloween is almost here! 

Every year we host a Fall Party, put up lots of decorations, bake everything pumpkin and even dress up in costumes. 

The first week of September we had an Under the Sea Baby Shower and I used small glass bottles to make favors for that party and had about a dozen little bottles left over.

I decided to use the extra bottles to make these apothecary bottles for a Halloween display. 

 

Freezing Green or Sweet Bell Peppers

This year I had an overabundance of many different types of peppers, so decided to freeze a few of the Bell Peppers.

Not only are bell peppers packed with lots of flavor, they also add important nutrients to any dish. 
One red sweet bell pepper provides an entire day’s worth of vitamins A and C, (more than twice the amount found in an orange) and are a good source of the antioxidant vitamin E!