First Giveaway!

It is time to celebrate!!!! Here is my first giveaway. We are celebrating the start of something new, a new blog. Hip to be Tied is going to feature fashionable and sassy aprons.

To kick things off I am giving away one of my Hip to be Tied aprons.

This is the giveaway apron, isn't it super cute!

To be entered into the giveaway leave a comment telling me what you think about the aprons.
Blog about it or leave a comment on facebook and get another entry(Leave a separate comment)
Have a friend leave a comment, and if they mention that you sent them over, and you get another entry!

Giveaway ends Sunday November 1, 9:00 PM PST

I am having technical difficulties with Hip to be Tied, hopefully it will be up and running by this afternoon. So take a look at them -Here they are!!!

What's for dinner magnets

I don't know about you guys, but sometimes we have a really hard time deciding what to have for dinner. Not really because we both want different things, but mostly because we forget what we like to make.

We go for a while making a few things pretty often, then we get tire of it, put it on the back burner of our menu's and forget about it.

To help solve that problem I came up with some What's for dinner magnets. I typed up all of the dinners that we like and printed them out on card stock. Them I cut them up into strips and attached small pieces of magnet strips to the back.



Now we can put what we are having for diner on it's respective night on our white board calendar. Now all of the dinners that we love are out in the open and easier to remember. Now I am on the hunt to make something cute to hold all of our dinner magnets.

Are you excited for my first giveaway? I am sooo excited and can hardly wait. Do you want a sneak peak, okay you talked me into it. Are you ready............ here it is!

Okay, I couldn't put just one, here is one more!

I'm all out of wisdom!

I had my wisdom teeth out on Tuesday, and all I can say is YIKES! I honestly think that I would rather have a baby than have my teeth out again, it has been that bad.

I had these grand fantasies that I would be able to sit on the couch blogging and sewing while I recovered, not so much. Until this morning I have had an extreme sensitivity to light and sound. Even the hum of my sewing machine was too much for me. A switch in pain meds is making today much more bearable.

am so lucky that my husband has been able to stay home and help. I am thankful that he has a job that allows him to work from home.

So I will start fresh on Monday, with something very exciting, my first giveaway!!

I'll see you on Monday, I can't wait!

Grippy Socks

Eli is on the move! That means nothing in our house is safe, including him! To help keep him a little safer I made him some grippy socks. Call me crazy, but I love socks from the hospital. When I was 12 I had my appendix out. My first question when they told me I could go home was if I could keep the socks!

To make these super simple socks I whipped out some puff paint, do you remember that. I remember decorating t-shirts with puff paint way back in the day. I got the idea to do it on the socks from my Mom. She put my initial on the bottom of a bunch of new socks that I got when I was younger. That helped keep track of who's were who's and it made matting the socks a breeze.



On Eli's socks I tried to be a little more creative than just his initial. I have to admit I had ton's of fun. Hopefully this help at least a little with the slipping and sliding, but even if it doesn't, it is super cute to see the things on the bottom of his feet while he crawls around.

Philly Cheesesteaks

This is what we are having for dinner tonight, jealous? You should be. These are amazing, and super easy. This picture is from when we had them for dinner last week, and we are having them again this week, they are that good. And so easy to prepare. These days how much work it takes has a lot to do with how good the meal is for me. There was a bit of chopping, but I did it during nap time and I was amazed how quickly it went without 100 interruptions.

I love a good Philly Cheesesteak. There is an amazing restaurant in Michigan where my sister lives. I actually had my first Cheesesteak there at Big Johns, and I was in love. Once my Mom was visiting my sister and she actually got one, got a cooler and brought it home with her all the way to Idaho. For years no other has compared to Big Johns, until this recipe.

Heres a shout out to Our Best Bites, where this recipe came from. Those girls are amazing, check them out.

This recipe calls for a food processor, and I don't have one, but honestly it wasn't bad at all. I froze my steak for about an hour and a half before I sliced it, easy as can be. Just remember to slice thin. That is what will make it tender no matter what cut of meat you do. So with out further ado here is the recipe for the picture you have been drulling over.

Philly Cheesesteaks

1 lb. steak (you really can use any cut; since you're going to cut it up and season it heavily, there's really no need to splurge on a fillet mignon.)
2 Tbsp. butter
1 green bell pepper
1 medium yellow onion
White cheese (mozzarella or Swiss or provolone)
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper
Hot sauce -I didn't have hot sauce, and still super yummy!
4-6 Hoagie rolls

Slice bell peppers and onions . Set aside. Slice frozen meat . Set aside. Heat 2 Tbsp. butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add steak and stir-fry. Season heavily with salt and lots of freshly-ground pepper. When meat is about half-cooked, add peppers and onions. Stir occasionally, cooking until most of the liquid is evaporated and meat is cooked through. Season with hot sauce to taste. It's up to you, I didn't use any and I thought they were great. Slice buns and spoon steak mixture inside. Top with cheese and place under broiler (I used my toaster oven) for 1-2 minutes or until cheese is melted and bread is slightly toasty. Enjoy

Skor Cookies

It is national cookie month! Isn't that a wonderful idea? I am not sure if other desserts have their own months to be celebrated, but if they don't I am going to start.

To celebrate cookie month I am going to share on of my all time favorite cookie recipes. I love Skor Bars, they are just such a yummy candy. Well they use to sell the toffee from the Skor Bar as baking chips, I am not sure what happened, but they stopped. They sell Heath chips, but they just aren't the same.

Well a few months ago I was walking through Cash and Carry and what did I spy? Skor Bar Chips, like manna from Heaven. I have not seen the real Skor Bar Chips in years. So I ended up getting this.....



Yes, that is a 3 POUND bag of Skor Bar Chips. I may never see them again, I had to act.

My first recipe using these wonderful little bites of deliciousness was my good old Skor Cookie recipe. This was one of the very first recipes that I perfected back in my beginning years of baking.

My husband thought that these were going to be a bit strange, but he was quickly converted. Once baked in the cookies the Skor pieces become soft and chewy. Crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, perfect!



Skor Cookies

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
  
• 1 (10 ounce) package Skor English toffee bits (you can use any toffee chips, but if you find Skor Chips,use those)
  

1. Cream together butter, both sugars, eggs and vanilla
2. Mix in pre-mixed dry ingredients
3. Stir in toffee chips
4. Drop rounded teaspoons full on lightly greased cookie sheet
5. Bake 9 to 11 minutes, until lightly browned
6. Cool slightly on cookie sheet, remove from sheet and place on wire rack.
7. Try not to eat them all yourself!

I must have it!!!

Last night we went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, YUM!
As every good dinner at the Cheesecake Factory should end, we got some amazing cheesecake.

It is fall time, so they have wonderful seasonal cheesecake.
I picked the Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake
Very excellent choice


(Don't mind the bite out of it, I couldn't help myself!)


This isn't just Pumpkin Cheesecake with pecans in it, oh no.
This is a Pecan Pie with Pumpkin Cheesecake on top!!!
Oh My Goodness

How have I ever lived with out this?
Is there a recipe out there for this?
I must have it, I must have it!

Sassy Apron

I have a new sewing machine! Actually I have had it since the end of July, and I haven't used it yet, until yesterday. To my defense, my new sewing machine came at a really bad time, right after my kidney stone surgery. I have had every intention of pulling it out, but life got the better of me.

Well yesterday morning my husband sent me an email from work. We had a very busy weekend with family in town, so he told me to take the day off. Just forget about the house today, he said, and do some fun things for yourself. So I did!

In between holding my sick baby and his short naps, I got out my new sewing machine and created something beautiful. I love my new sewing machine, I don't know how I ever sewed without it before.

I had these wonderful Halloween fabrics. So I grabbed them and headed over to Make it and Love it. This wonderful blog is full of amazing tutorials.


I decided to do the super cute apron. It took a little bit of time, because Eli kept trying to help me, but once he was napping it was super fast.



I love it! And I love that I have my new sewing machine out and I am creating beautiful things once again. You can bet that there will be lots more sewing projects coming soon.

Hawaiian Haystacks

Good Monday morning! Where did the weekend go? We had a very busy weekend with family in town. Having extra family around always means lots of cooking. Saturday night I departed from my original plan for dinner and threw together some Hawaiian Haystacks.

I have no idea where the name came from. I really doubt that they are truly Hawaiian, and they don't really look like haystacks.

I love making haystacks for groups of people. Because they are completely customizable. Everyone can add just what they want, so even the pickiest of eater can be satisfied.

My sister in law commented that she really like the sauce, because it wasn't super runny. I love this sauce too, it is a combination of a few recipes that I tweaked. It isn't just a watered down cream of chicken soup, it is a real sauce, and I love that.



Hawaiian Haystacks
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
3 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, chopped

1.Melt butter in sauce pan
2. Add flour, salt and milk
3. Stir well, until smooth
4. Add can of soup and chicken
5. Simmer
6. Serve over rice, top as desired


Possible Toppings

• celery
• Pineapple tidbits
• green onions
• chopped bell peppers
• water chestnuts
• chow mein noodles
• shredded cheese
• coconut
• almond slivers
• diced tomatoes

Stay tuned for more great cooking this week as my in-laws come to town and I throw a fabulous baby shower!

Pear Bread

I love Fall! I love all of the wonderful things that come along with Fall, changing colors, cooler days, harvest, decorating for the holidays, I love it all.

One thing that I only get to bake in the Fall is Pear Bread. We have been making this for as long as I can remember. This recipe came from my Mom, but before that I have no idea. I have never heard of anyone else having Pear Bread, but trust me it is DELISH!

So run grab those wonderful Fall pears and make some yummy yummy bread!



Pear Bread
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup buttermilk or yogurt
2 cups fresh pears, diced
2 Tablespoons vanilla

• Cream butter and sugar, then add eggs.
• Mix dry ingredients, add to creamed mixture alternating with buttermilk
• Fold in pears and vanilla
• Pour into 2 greased and flour bread pans
  

Bake at 350 for 1 hour