Ewe Send Me Spinning

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Deborah

Last week my daughter and I went yarn shopping. Just writing that sentence is a big load off my shoulders. You know, like admitting your a crack addict (something Rob Ford can’t bring himself to do), and now my daughter, through my enabling efforts, is also hopelessly addicted to yarn just like her mother. Thank goodness it’s an addiction cheaper than crack.

We planned a day together last week to go fiber shopping and she had been to a yarn shop before in a neighbouring city, but I hadn’t, mainly because I would not be able to control myself if … Read more...

10 Random Tips To Make Your Life Easier

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Deborah

Don’t you wish that there was a book or manual you could buy that would tell you exactly what you needed to do for just about anything? Me too…. but if there was, it would be the size of Lake Erie and not all practical as a coffee table book.

Over the years I have come upon or discovered tips that make my life easier. Most come from happy accidents or the “what happens if I do this…?” scenario or passed down from older relatives who have gone down the wrong path to discover new ideas. There may not be … Read more...

Cornbread Update

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Deborah

After a couple years of trying to find a *from scratch* cornbread recipe that always ended in complete failure (and seriously giving me a complex that I couldn’t make a decent one), I finally hit on one that I can truly call *My Own*.

I took a recipe from The Food Network and after the first run through, tweaked it slightly with the following changes:

Added 2 Tbsp Gluten Flour
Added 1/2 Cup Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
Reduced Sugar to 1/4 Cup

Hubby actually liked it!!! Thank heavens. I can finally move on to another challenge…one that perhaps isn’t as … Read more...

Chicken Enchiladas in Green Chile Sauce

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Deborah

Yup. Still in Mexican mode. How about I am always in Mexican mode. I could eat Mexican cuisine every day for a year and never get sick of it. There is so much variety that I highly doubt I will ever get bored with it.

Today we are making enchiladas verdes con pollo. A super simple and super tasty dish that will impress your significant other, your kids, even your fussy MIL.

Ingredients

2 Cups shredded, cooked chicken *
1 Cup onion, diced
1 Cup diced poblano peppers
3 Cloves garlic, minced
Salt & Pepper to taste
3 Tbsp Flour… Read more...

Cornbread Attempt # 145,986

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Deborah

Or something like that. I may have exaggerated a tich, but it certainly seems like I have tried a million times to make cornbread from a myriad of different recipes.

There is one really, really good one that I like, but it isn’t plain cornbread. I had come across the recipe a few years ago and it is definitely different. Not for everyone (specifically my hubby), but if you want to give it a try, click here for the recipe.

But back to my quest for a plain cornbread recipe. I have tried so many that have promised to be … Read more...

Pickled Onion Salsa

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Deborah

Also known as Cebollas Curtidas or Escabeche Salsa de Cebollas, it is a S-P-I-C-Y pickled onion salsa that will blow the roof of your mouth off. I first tried it several years ago in Mexico and have been hunting for the recipe ever since. Two years ago I tried bribing the waiter in one of the restaurants at the resort….no go. I then asked our beach mesero whom we befriended if he could get the recipe from the Chef…nope, still a no go. Grrr….so I spent several months afterwards looking on-line for a similar recipe and still could not come … Read more...

Yup…I Am Still Here

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Deborah

I haven’t fallen off the planet…close, but not yet.

I am just very, very busy trying to get all the stuff done that is currently piled on my plate…2 sewing projects and one knitting project that are all commission jobs while continuing the de-cluttering of the house (Yay for garbage day today!) and toss in demolishing a basement office area to become a future bathroom ~ which has created clouds of drywall dust that wafted throughout the house leaving a fine, white residue on everything…now I have to clean too.

Oh, and try and fit in that job/work schedule into … Read more...

How To Build A Bathroom

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Deborah

or more aptly…

How To Drive Yourself Crazy Building A Bathroom.

We have decided to build a bathroom in our basement. We only have one bathroom in our current home. Incredulous I know, but our house was built in the early 70’s and there didn’t seem to be a need to build a bathroom for every bedroom like the new construction homes of today. We raised our 2 kids using only one bathroom, we figured it was no big deal. Scheduling was all that was needed on busy weekday mornings.

But soon we will be downsizing and families of today … Read more...

February Is Clutter Busting Time

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Deborah

It is February, and the groundhogs have spoken.
6 more weeks of winter.

I have news for you. We do not need rodent prognosticators to tell us that we are in for more snow, sleet and freezing temps. Mother Nature, not groundhogs, rules the seasons, and when she is ready to grace us with her warm sunny smile, she will, but not a moment sooner.

So what to do when the snowpiles are up to your arse?

De-Clutter the house of course!

This week is the start of de-clutter month at the Homestead. I usually start this in January, but … Read more...