Homemade Dog Treats

Look at these cuties. 

I love my doggies.  If you've read more than one post on this blog, then I'm sure you already knew this - shoot, I named it after them!  I love to give them treats, but they are expensive and probably not the healthiest for them.  I mean, most of the time there are ingredients that I can't even pronounce and if they are organic/natural ingredients then I sure as hell cannot afford them!  So, solution: make my own!  If you haven't noticed, that is my answer to many things.

Here you have a recipe for basic beef & cheddar dog biscuits.  I've made several varieties (peanut butter, pumpkin, etc.), but these seem to be my pups' favorite.  You could do a mixed batch with a little of everything to see their preferences, but usually they'll eat about anything!  These turn out with a consistency about like pizza crust, so if you have a dog with eating/teeth difficulties this may be a problem, use your best judgement.  As a side-note, I have also thrown in bacon bits (real bacon crumbled, not packaged stuff) and that goes over pretty well (DUH), but it is a rare occasion that I have an abundance of bacon, so do that as you please.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour (whole wheat flour or rice flour is best, but I just had all-purpose) + more for rolling
1 cup beef broth
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I use marble)
1 egg
2 tablespoons parlsey, dried or fresh chopped

Doesn't require much. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix together all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, adding more flour as needed to prevent sticking.  Lay it on a floured surface and roll out to about 1/2 inch or so.  Cut out and lay on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

Make sure your surface & your hands are well-floured. 

I used two cookie sheets.

Bake for 15 minutes.  If you want them to look shiny like store-bought treats you can brush a whipped egg white or a tiny bit of vegetable oil over them before you bake them - I didn't.

Gooey cheese!

Feed them to your pup and watch them go crazy!  Keep them in a sealed container or ziploc bag in the refrigerator.  If you make more than you will use in a few weeks, you can freeze them, too.

Waiting patiently for their treats on the floor. Good puppies! 

How to Mend Holes in Jeans

A hole, halfway stitched up

I have big thighs and unfortunately they frequently wear out my jeans quicker than I'd like.  Most pairs I own have at least one worn hole in them, sometimes two.  I used to be able to blame my legs on being a gymnast...yea, not so much since I haven't set foot in a gym for five years, haha.  Anyway, I'm here to tell you how to mend those holes! While most of mine are high on the inner leg of the jean, this method would work for holes anywhere.  I found it here, so if for some reason you cannot follow my directions or have questions, check out her link, it is quite good.

So here's what you need:
Offending jeans (haha, I make it sound so terrible)
Iron-on interfacing
Iron
Denim thread
Sewing machine & basic notions

Pretty basic supplies

First, turn your jeans inside out and cut a piece of interfacing to completely cover the hole.

Iron it on - this took me a bit, I'd never worked with interfacing before and for some reason had trouble.  I wish you better luck, haha.

Now, turn your jeans back right-side out.  The basic idea is to sew back and forth across the hole.  Just keep stitching and backstitching until you've got thread completely covering the hole.  The interfacing underneath will stabilize it while the thread pull it together.

Trim off excess thread and the interfacing around the edge and you're finished!

Fettuccine Bolognese

Nice, hearty meat sauce 

This is probably the first recipe that I perfected, it is definitely the first that I memorized and could make without looking at a single note.  It is a hearty bolognese (meat to those non-Italian folk - me, included!) sauce that is best served with a thick noodle so it has something to stick to.  It makes a lot, at least two meals with a little leftover for a couple of people.  While you don't have to have a lot of skill in the kitchen to make this recipe, you definitely need time.  It requires simmering and constant(ish) watching, but I promise it is worth it!  Serve with a loaf of french bread and some Parmesan cheese and you have a wonderful Italian dinner!

Ingredients:
2 lbs ground meat (here I used beef & turkey, but you could use pork, too)
1 medium yellow onion, diced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup carrots, shredded
15 oz can crushed tomatoes (all Italians are currently grimacing) - you could use about 3 fresh tomatoes if you want, I just didn't have any
1 cup dry red wine
3-4 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons oregano
1 tablespoon basil
Salt & pepper to taste
1 lb pasta

Doesn't take many ingredients.

First, brown your meat in a large, heavy skillet.  Drain, but don't wipe the grease out.  Set the meat aside.

In the same skillet, heat up a little bit of olive oil.  Add onions and carrots.  Cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, or until carrots start to soften.

Smells so delicious. 

Add garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Garlic is such a fragrant smell!

Return the meat to the pan and turn heat up closer to medium.  Add the wine and let that cook off.

It doesn't take long to cook this off, just a few minutes.

Add 3 cups of beef broth, tomatoes, and spices.  Turn the heat down and let simmer uncovered for a few hours.  If it gets too dry, add some more broth.

I let mine simmer for about 3 1/2 hours.  

You should also probably drink a
glass of wine or two while it simmers. 

When you're ready to eat, make your pasta according to the directions, reserving 1/3 cup of the water.  Add the water into the sauce and stir.  That will help it stick to the pasta.

I love my new pasta plates from Aunt Betsy, too! 

Serve!

Comfort Food Chicken Noodle Bake

I love casseroles.  Have I mentioned this before?  Well I do.  Anything that can be baked or finished in one pan is worth a try for me.  Even if there is other preparation, the final bake time or cook time gives me plenty of chances to wash all the utensils and stuff I used getting there, which makes me feel MUCH better when dinner is finished AND I'm pretty much done with the dishes.  Jess also likes meals that he can just scoop out and I agree, there is something satisfying about getting bites of meat & veggies all mixed together.

Yummy, crunchy, goodness!

So a few weeks ago I found this recipe on Pinterest and knew I had to try it.  And I was right - it was delicious! I doubled it (ish) and made it in a 13x9 pan so that we could eat on it all weekend (ish), so that is what this recipes makes.  If you want a smaller portion, head on over to the original post for a 1 1/2 quart finished product.  Or you could do maths, your choice.

In the future, I think I will add another can of soup and use shredded chicken instead of cubed.  It was kind of dry (not like REALLY dry, just not as creamy as I'd like). And generally, I just like shredded chicken better, preference really. However, here is the original recipe of how I made it.  If I make it again soon, I'll update with the outcome.

Ingredients:
2 cans cream of chicken soup (we don't eat mushrooms here, feel free to substitute that or cream of celery)
1 cup milk
2 cups peas & carrots, I used frozen
1 lb of chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 package of medium egg noodles (ps: this is a lot of egg noodles...)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (estimation)
1 1/2 cup french fried onions (estimation)

Cheddar cheese not included - it was a whim!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and oil 9x13 baking pan.  Set large pot of water to boil. Add noodles to water and cook al dente (approximately 6 minutes), drain and set aside. 

Season chicken with salt & pepper and cook in a little bit of oil or butter, however you like to do it.  Drain off excess liquid. 

Cooking chicken..,

Mix together soup, milk, vegetables, and parmesan cheese.

It's more than it looks like, this is a BIG bowl! 

Stir in chicken and then noodles.  Mix well.  Spread into baking pan.  Bake for about 25 minutes.

Almost forgot to take a picture before baking it.

Take pan out and spread top with shredded cheese (this was an afterthought, hence why it wasn't in the ingredients photo...).  Sprinkle the onions on top of the cheese and put back in the oven.

There's cheese under there...

Bake for another 5 minutes or until the onions are browned and crunchy.  I actually baked it for about 6 minutes more and then turned the broiler on low for about a minute - just watch it, broilers are scary!  Haha.

Jess loved! 

Remove and enjoy the comfort foody goodness!

Look, I Made This: Waistband Knit Maxi Skirt

Abby's finished skirt! 

I made a rollover-waistband maxi skirt in January, which can be found in this post, and I like it, I really do, but I kept thinking that there could be another way to do this.  And, duh, there is.  The foldover maxi skirt is much more fitted and tight (not like sexy, just...well, whatever. ha), where this waistband skirt is looser, more flowy, and generally probably more flattering for most body types.  I made one for myself shortly after I made the foldover one, but I casually forgot to photograph it which makes blogging about it difficult.  So when my bestie, Abby, asked if I could make her a few skirts for her growing baby bump (D'AWWWW) I thought it would be the perfect time to show you guys what's up!

Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of this skirt on a person (since even pregnant Abby is smaller than me), but I think you can see the way it gathers at the top and approximately what it will look like on.  There are plenty of pictures of the process, and as always, if you have any questions, feel free to comment!

Materials:
2 yards of knit material (you may need more, depending on your size and particularly your height...read through to see if you need more fabric to make it longer!...I'm short, ha)
Ruler/tape measure (I use both)
Scissors
Pins
Chalk or marking pen
Matching/coordinating thread
Elastic thread
Basic sewing notions - including ball point needle for knit fabrics

Here it only shows the elastic thread, but know
you need regular thread, too! 

First, lay your fabric out flat to measure and cut the waistband.  Cut it so the stretchier part of the fabric will go the length of the waistband, particularly if you are using a knit that is not as stretchy (this one was like that).  This makes a 3 inch waistband.  So, measure around your body where you want your skirt to sit (waist, hips, high-waist, etc.).  Now mark a rectangle that is that measurement PLUS 2 inches by 8 inches.  For me that was 32"x8".  Cut it out.  I just cut a straight 8"strip off the top of the skirt and then cut that down to 32", that way the remaining fabric is even.

You probably can't see, but there is a purple
line at the 8" mark. 

And cut down to make a rectangle. 

Fold the waistband piece over, wrong-sides together, and flatten out.  Pin it about the middle of the fabric, just to hold it together.  Now measure 3" from the folded edge all the way across, marking as you go. Set aside.

Here I used chalk since it was on the right side
of the fabric and the pen wouldn't show. 

Now, take your remaining fabric and on the edge that you cut the waistband off, sew all the way along it with your elastic thread.  If you've never used elastic thread, don't be intimidated! It's easy.  So all you do is wind a bobbin with the elastic thread (by hand! don't pull it tight, pull it just enought to wrap, not stretching it out at all) and then just use regular thread normally.  Use a zig-zag stitch, I usually adjust mine to make it shorter and wider stitches because I know my machine likes that better.  As you stitch (approximately 3/4" from the edge of the fabric), the elastic thread will pull and bunch up the fabric - this is good. You will end up with 2 yards of fabric scrunched up on one end to only be about 1 yard, or so.

When using elastic thread on the bobbin, always make
sure the fabric is right side up or your elastic will show.

Ta-da, instant gathers! 

Now, lay that out straight and pull everything flat.  Lay your waistband piece over the ruffled edge of the fabric, right-sides together (your waistband piece doesn't have a "right-side," but you understand), lining up the elastic stitch line with the chalk mark on your waistband.  If you're making it this size you probably won't have to stretch the skirt piece much (if at all), just make sure that the ends meet up.  If you're making it smaller than this then you will have extra fabric on the end, no big deal. If you're making it bigger, just stretch it out to match the waistband length, being careful not to stretch the waistband itself.  This may require extra hands or heavy items to hold it down.

It's hard to see because of the busy pattern, but the waistband is laying
on top of the ruffled edge of the skirt piece. 

Maybe a little clearer...

Carefully, pin the waistband to the skirt piece, making sure to keep the chalk mark & elastic line together - I used a lot of pins. 

Now, sew! Be sure to replace your elastic thread bobbin with one wound with coordinating thread.  Carefully, without stretching anything (you want to keep the ruffled edge under the waistband), sew along the elastic line using a stretch or zig-zag stitch.

I sewed directly over the elastic.

Cut off excess fabric and fold waistband up.

Now, fold your skirt right-sides together and measure & mark your waistband to your specific size, pin together.  Sew on that line using a heavy-duty stitch or multiple stitches, remembering to backstitch at the beginning and end of the stitch.  Sew together the entire waistband.

Now, your skirt fabric may have some excess sticking out below the waistband.  Sew together from right on the seam (backstitch!) diagonally to the edge of the two fabrics, then continue sewing all the way down until the two sides are completely sewn together.  You can pin the ends together if it will help you keep them straight, I just went slow and held the ends together as I went.

See the line at the top that continues diagonally out
to meet the edge of the fabric? 

Put it on! (Or don't, if you're me) Measure how long you need it/want it and cut it off!  As always, knit doesn't fray, so no need to finish the edges or hem unless you're into stuff like that, hehe.  I left these long so Abby can adjust as she sees fit.  And there you have it, a flowy, maxi-skirt!

Maybe Abby can send me some photos of it on so I can update my post :)

PS: Isn't this fabric, gorgeous? Joann's!

Look, I Made This: Burlap Wreath, Round II

So some of you may know that a few months ago I made myself a small burlap wreath to hang on our front door.  Since then, I've made a few others for gifts and they turned out quite a bit fancier than my first one, so I thought I'd lend a little direction on how to upscale your wreath!

The one featured in this post was a wedding shower gift for my dear friend, Katie, who is getting married in May.  A wreath is a great wedding shower gift because they are easily customizable and personalized.  This particular one includes tulle and colored ribbon accents, a painted single-letter monogram, and coordinating flowers.

Here's what you need:
Wreath frame
Roughly 40 feet of burlap
20-30 feet of 4 inch tulle, in cream or coordinating color to your preferences
15-20 feet of ribbon
Wooden letter of your choice
Paint for letter (or you can buy the pre-painted white ones)
Flowers matching your color scheme
Wreath wire (not pictured)
Hot glue gun & glue (not pictured)

Most of the supplies, including a painted letter - sorry I skipped that step
in the photos. 

First, paint your letter if you want to.  I usually do about 3 coats of color, depending on the shade.  If you want, you can seal it with Mod Podge or Acrylic sealant spray...I didn't...
This will take about a day to completely dry, so plan accordingly.

Hey, I'm already done! 

Now that you're ready to start the wreath, why don't you head on over to this post and read where to purchase your frame and how to weave your burlap in and out of the sections.

Weaving

All finished! 

Once you have filled in all spaces and gaps with burlap it is time to add the tulle & ribbon.  I do tulle first, cutting it in sections a few feet long and then just gently pulling it in and around the burlap.  You use much less this way than if you wind it WITH the burlap from the beginning.  This way you can just fluff up enough to accent however you want.  After that, do the same thing with the colored ribbon.  You can do it more arbitrary than pictured, I just chose to roughly follow the same pattern as the tulle.

Tulle, a bit close.

FInished with the tulling. 

Adding some color...

Ribbon & tulle completed! Including my feet....awkward. 

Once you're finished with the wreath-wrapping, decide where you want your letter and your flowers.  There a several options; I chose T in top right corner and hydrangeas in bottom left, but I've done it opposite before and you could even put your letter in the center or on the same side as the flowers. Just lay your wreath down and move the accents around until you get them how you want.   When you're sure, carefully look at where your letter overlaps with the metal frame of the wreath and use a marker to put a dot on those places on the back.  Be careful when choosing, these are where your wires will hold the letter so if they aren't in the correct position, then it will be crooked and look awkward.  Fixable, but annoying.

Now, cut two pieces of wreath wire about 10 inches long and hot glue the middle of them onto the dots you marked.  Let dry.

Attach your letter, making sure to wrap wire around the metal frame and not just the burlap, otherwise it won't be secure.

Attach your flowers, using wire if you need to; I didn't.  Usually floral bouquet stems are wired so you can bend them as needed to secure them.  You can add a hanger piece of burlap to the top if you want (I didn't to this one...) by cutting a strip, putting it through, and stitching and backstitching it several times across.

Finished wreath - hanging on my front door for scale...a bit crooked, might I add. 

Voila!  Fancy, personalized decor for the front door or somewhere else in your home.  Or make one as a gift!  If you have any questions, feel free to comment below.