Quiet Pouches

I'd like to take a moment to introduce myself. I'm Anna, I'm the one in Minnesota. A little history about me. I used to craft and create A LOT and then I had a baby, I lost all desire and time to do any creating well I just got that itch back! Oh did I mention my baby is 16 months old. Wow! Kinda like loosing the baby weight right? Oh wait am I the only one that works their toosh off and the weight just starts to come off 14 months post pardom? Sorry I just got side tracked, back to the creating. I'm doing it again but starting slow.

Since said 16 month old is now a toddler and a bit of a handful at times, especially in situations like church I decided I needed to do something new for our church bag. The cars I had in the bag for him were not cutting it and so NOT quiet. I found this via Pinterest, and knew that would be the perfect idea.


So I gathered things we already had at home and bought 6 pouches for 97 cents a piece at walmart.

                          Lacing dress up Dolls (did I mention I have 4 yr old Daughter too?)

                              Dry erase board and Crayons. I stuck in a microfiber wipe to wipe off the crayon.

                                More gender nuetral lacing cards

                            Lottle notebooks, fun pens, rubber stamps, and stickers

                                                                       Finger puppets

Velcro fabric dress up dolls.

I also have little puzzles, lacing beads, little plastic animals, matching games, tiny books that I switch out week to week. There are endless ideas of things to fill these bags with. So far it has worked great and my kids are occupied and quiet ;)

Soup's On!

I've been anxious to make soup. I found this recipe online. It is Yummy!

 

Vegetable, White Bean, and Orzo Soup

 

1-2 t evoo

1/2 sweet onion, diced

3 carrots, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

1/2 t basil

1/4 t oregano

heat oil on medium heat and add the above ingredients and cook 5-6 min then add:

2 cloves minced garlic

cook for a minute and add:

6 c chicken broth

1 15 oz can diced tomatoes, drained

1 15 oz can cannellini beans, drained

salt and pepper to taste

cover and cook for 30 min til veggies are tender and add:

1/2 c orzo

cook 8 min and add:

1 c zuchinni, diced

1 c yellow squash, diced

2 c fresh spinach

cook for 2 more min or so

ladle it into bowls and put feta cheese on top

 

I used only 4 c broth, tomatoes from the garden, and two cans of beans

It has 19g protein in each serving.  Better than meat, if you ask me!

Back to Creating - and recipe

Ok so it's been far too longs since I've actually made something to share!  I have a long list of projects to finish this fall/winter and hopefully will be posting many soon.  I've added a list of my projects to be done on the side bar - to hold me accountable to finish them. Also new to the sidebar are our Pinterest boards for you to look at.  For now here is a yummy recipe for Olive Garden's Zupa Tuscana soup, a family favorite around here:

*Update: you can cook this in the slow cooker! pre-cook the sausage then place everything but cream and kale in the cooker on high for 3-4 hours. Turn it off add cream and kale, replace lid until warmed through.

i've been sewing....

i got the quilt for my guest bed done so i decided to embroider and sew up

a pitllow for the bed and i even made a little baby ensamble for one of the babies

coming up... one better be a girl!

Newspaper Article

Here's a link to the newspaper article on mom's new office:
http://www.standard.net/stories/2011/08/30/rise-inc-facility-relocates-ogden

Pretty cool!

Sewing Machine Cover Tutorial

We've shown a lot of sewing machine covers on this blog and we recieved a request for the tutorial. We used Nap Time Journal's tutorial .  Very easy and super cute...

Pizza from Scratch

 

OK so I've never made any kind of dough on my own - ever. I've only helped my husband with his sourdough in minor ways. I really wanted to make my own pizza dough but I don't have it in me to make things ahead of time, or to let them rise etc. Well last night we were craving pizza and it was too late to order any so we didn't give in to the impulse. That only made me want it more for lunch today. So, I found this No Rise Pizza Crust  recipe (thanks to The Finer Things in Life) and went to work.

 It was super easy and took  no time at all - perfect!  I threw on toppings that we had in the fridge - pesto for the sauce, left over italian sausage mixed with spinach, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, olives, mozzarella and parmesan cheese.  Delish and a hit!