The Sewing Mom

This is not only my favorite meme, but this week, the questions revolve around one of my favorite foods, chocolate. I can’t go wrong with this one! If you’d like to participate in this meme, be sure to visit Fun, Crafts and Recipes and get in on the fun!

Here are this week’s questions:

#1. What’s your favorite beverage containing chocolate or chocolate flavoring? I love the chocolate and strawberry side-by-side milkshake at Steak and Shake. If I’m really treating myself, I’ll take a mudslide any day of the week!

#2. What’s your favorite chocolate bar? OR Share a pic of your favorite candy, chocolate or otherwise. Give me a Cadbury Caramello bar and I’m soooo happy! My husband just brought me a whole back of mini bite size caramellos and it’s all I can do to not eat the entire bag!

#3. What’s the most unusual thing you’ve ever eaten that had chocolate in it? I really can’t think of anything, I don’t tend to order or make foods that are too unusual. I’m sure that if I keep watching Top Chef though, I’ll no doubt see chocolate used in some unusual way.

#4. Share a recipe using chocolate. I’m going to share a crockpot Hot Fudge Sundae Cake recipe.

Spray crock pot with cooking spray.
Mix 1 c. flour, 1/2 c. sugar, 2 T baking cocoa, 2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt in medium bowl. Stir in 1/2 c. milk, 2 T vegetable oil, 1 tsp. vanilla. Spread this batter evenly in the bottom of the crock pot.
Mix 3/4 c. brown sugar and 1/4 c. baking cocoa in a small bowl. Stir in 1 1/2 c. hot water until smooth. Pour evenly over batter in the crock pot.
Cover and cook on high heat for 2 - 2 1/2 hours or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Turn off cooker. Let stand uncovered for 30-40 minutes before serving. Spoon cake into serving dish and spoon sauce over the top. This can definitely be served with ice cream!

I missed this meme last week and I don’t want to miss it again, even if I have to do it on dial-up! I love Val’s Four Foods on Friday meme. This week, being away from home, I’m not eating well and eating too much fast food I’m sure, so it’s nice to remind myself of my regular eating habits and what I’m missing!

Remember, if you’d like to participate, head over to Fun, Crafts and Recipes for instructions!

This weeks questions are:

#1. How do you make chicken salad? I don’t make this myself, but I do order it occassionally at a restaurant or cafe. I like it with mayo and chunky chicken and celery.

#2. Fast food chicken. What fast food restaurant makes the best chicken? KFC and Church’s. Either way, you have to catch it when it’s fresh or else it can be just a pile of grease on a bone.

#3. What’s your favorite way to eat chicken? I love fried chicken, hot and fresh. I particularly like the dark meat.

#4. Share a recipe using chicken or take a picture of a chicken dish. I’d provide a picture, but I’m not at home, so let me think of a recipe. Use cream of chicken soup, Stove Top stuffing mix, 3 chicken breast boiled and cut up and 1/2 stick of butter. Make stuffing according to package directions. Melt butter a large baking dish. Layer stuffing then cubed chicken and pour soup mixed with half a soup can of milk on top. Sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

I was recently tagged by Margie and Edna for this meme. I know you’re all just clambering to know 7 useless facts about me, so here they come.

1. I played the flute in middle school. I probably would’ve continued to play the flute, but my family moved and band was not offered at the school I moved in to.
2. I am the youngest of 3 girls. We are all very close and love hanging out with our Mom, although, we don’t get to do it nearly often enough.
3. My first job was working in a dry cleaners. It was nasty and disgusting and I don’t think I would ever want that job again.
4. I have a short temper and I almost always feel bad after I’ve become angry, usually at either my daughter or husband. This is something I’ve been working on over the years.
5. I got my first cat when I was in 3rd grade. He came walking into my life from the cornfield across from my Grandma’s house where someone had dumped him off. He stayed in my life until I was in college and he was a big yellow tabby cat.
6. I hate cleaning bathrooms. I often wonder (at least once a week) why that job falls to the woman of the house, is there some unwritten law that says women are the toilet cleaners of the family?
7. I love flowers, all types of flowers, but I love them best in my garden, not in a vase.

Now, I’m supposed to tag other bloggers with this meme. As I’ve been blog hopping over the last several days, I’ve noticed that most of those that I would consider tagging have all ready done this meme. So, I think I will make this meme self tagging.

If you would like to participate in this meme, leave me a comment and I will tag you (giving you a linkback).

Val,at I know EVERYTHING, just ask my hubby as volunteered to be tagged! Thanks Val!

I missed this meme last week, but I’m not letting that happen again! Posting Four Foods on Friday means my weekend is just about to officially begin. This week has been rather busy for all of us, so I’m glad it’s Friday. This is a great meme, if you’d like to participate, give Valmg a visit!

This week’s questions:

#1. When going out to dinner what items do your order? Appetizers, soup, salad, dinner, dessert. I usually will have soup or a salad and dinner. There are certain restaurants that I look forward to ordering desert, but that doesn’t happen too frequently.

#2. How predictable are you when eating out? Do you usually order a meal that you’ve had before or do you like to try new things? That too depends on where we go. Some restaurants I tend to order the same thing, particularly Italian or Mexican. Others, I tend to order something different every time I go in.

#3. When eating at a restaurant, what beverage do you like to order with your meal? Most of the time I just get water or ice tea, but, depending on my mood, sometimes I’ll order a glass of wine. I’m cheap and don’t like paying the price of alcoholic beverages that I can have or make at home!

#4. Name a meal that you ate at a restaurant that you liked so much you tried to recreate it, as well as the name of the restaurant and the recipe. I don’t have a meal that I’ve tried to recreate, but I did try to recreate the bread pudding that our local KFC used to have on their buffet. I’ve never been successful at making it though, so really don’t have a recipe to share. However, if anyone knows a good, sweet bread pudding recipe, I’d love it if you’d share it with me. In fact, I’ll post it here if you share it!

I was tagged a couple of weeks ago by Jenny at Up The Hill Gang and it has taken me so long to get around to writing this post that I wound up getting tagged again, this time by Mrs. Mecomber at New York Traveler.net. Needless to say, I thought I best get off my lazy butt and do this meme before I got tagged again! Thanks ladies for thinking of me by the way!

So, here it is, 7 random things about me. This could be more difficult than it sounds!

1. I said it in the beginning, I can be quite lazy. I’d be content to sit in my pajamas on the sofa all day with a good cup of coffee and my laptop!
2. I love my coffee. I’m picky about coffee though, it has to be good quality with French vanilla creamer! I have my coffee delivered monthly from Green Mountain Coffee in Vermont.
3. I didn’t start drinking coffee until I was 30!
4. I’ve lived in two different countries and 7 different U.S. states during my lifetime and have owned homes in 4 of those. I’ve never lived in one place longer than 7 years.
5. If I won the lottery, I would hire my stylist to do my hair, wash & set daily!
6. I enjoy painting walls; I hate cleaning up after painting.
7. I cry at the drop of a hat. Hallmark commercials? I cry. Humane Society? Huge tears. Sappy movies? Gully washers. I cry if I’m happy, sad, and mad. It makes me mad to cry when I’m angry which only causes me to cry more, very pathetic!

Now I must tag 7 random bloggers, who shall it be…

I tag:

Ellen

Nissa

Elizabeth

Charlotte

Lisa

Karen

and YOU!

A few more hours and it will be Friday! It can’t come soon enough. With all of the storms this week I’ve definitely not had enough sleep. I’m looking forward to the weekend. To celebrate, here is the Four Foods on Friday meme for this week. Thanks to Valmg for hosting this fun meme!

#1. What’s your favorite food smell? My favorite food smell has to be the smell of cookies baking. This is not a smell that is in my house too often, but I love it none the less!

#2. What’s your favorite kind of apple? I enjoy granny smiths and red delicious. No matter what kind I’m eating, it has to be crunchy and juicy. If it’s at all soft, I can’t eat it.

#3. What veggies do you like in your salad? I typically only put mushrooms in my salad, but will sometimes toss in a little broccoli.

#4. Share a recipe that uses beef. I would have to go with beef stew.
Brown the stew meat in flour, salt & pepper. Add 2 c. beef broth and 1 or 2 c. water. Add cut up carrots, potatoes and onion. Season to taste. Simmer for about an hour. Serve over cooked rice.

It’s Friday! I’m celebrating by posting my favorite weekly meme, Four Foods on Friday. We didn’t do this meme last week because of the Easter holiday and I have to say, I missed it! Glad it’s back this week.

#1. What’s your favorite form of potatoes? This is difficult, I love a really good fried potato, but I can’t make these, so I don’t get to eat them too often. My second would probably be a tie between a totally loaded baked potato, or mashed potatoes with gravy.

#2. Pie crust. Premade or from scratch? The only person I’ve ever known that could truly make a good home made pie crust was my Grandma. Unfortunately, I didn’t inherit her skill at making pie crusts, so, on the rare occasion I make a pie, I use pre-made.

#3. Vegetables. Fresh, frozen or canned? I probably use mostly frozen, although I try to buy fresh when they’re in season.

#4. What one dish do you wish you could prepare better? Meatloaf. I don’t really care for meatloaf, but I know my husband likes it so every now & then I attempt it. I just can’t get it right.

Have a great weekend!

I know I’m really late with this one, but it’s been a very hectic week and that includes today. It’s after 11 P.M. and I’m just now getting around to posting my favorite meme of the week, Four Foods on Friday from Valmg.

This weeks questions and my answers:

#1. What’s your favorite fruit and how do you like to eat it? This is tough, I don’t really have one favorite. I love pink grapefruit and have recently discovered the “fresh” jarred grapefruit slices in the refrigerated section of the grocery. I love it! I also love apples, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. Pretty much any berry is at the top of my list.

#2. What is the one spice in your kitchen you use more than any other? Besides salt & pepper, I would probably have to say that I use a lot of Italian seasoning.

#3. Pudding. Instant, stovetop or premade? I’m not a big pudding fan but when I do make it, I make instant pudding. The only time I care to eat pudding is when it’s in a banana or coconut cream pie.

#4. Share a recipe using potatoes. I like to slice potatoes and onions and layer them in a large dish. Mix sour cream and a can of mushroom soup together and put half over the potatoes and onions. Place browned pork chops on top and pour remainder of soup mixture over the top. Bake at 375 for about an hour, until potatoes are tender.

I have been so busy over the last couple of weeks that I haven’t sewn a thing. I have a few project in my head and one embroidery project that I’m getting ready to do. That particular project has to be done by next Friday, so I’ll be sure to post pictures as I progress with it, it’s currently in the planning and design stages.

So, for this weeks Sew Crafty Friday meme sponsored by Waiting For Him I have decided to show the bag that is currently under way. It’s actually almost done, I just haven’t had time to get in there and finish it!This is my second jelly roll bag. It’s made from jelly roll strips, fully lined and supported by interfacing to allow it to stand up and not just flop over. I am adding a snap closure to this one. It may be another week or so before I can finish it, but here it is as of today.

Friday, THANK GOODNESS! Today is the first day all week that other than taking my daughter to and from school, I have NO plans outside of the house. Good thing too because I have to clean it in preparation for her “party” tomorrow. She’s having two friends come over and we’ll all spend the day at the mall, go out to dinner and then back here to the house where they’ll be sleeping over. This is in celebration of my daughter’s 12th birthday.

So, I’m up early thinking of all the things I need to get done today (and feeling very glad that I don’t have to leave the house) and I know for sure it’s Friday because it’s time for the Four Foods on Friday meme!

This week’s questions:

#1. Do you ever use scissors to cut any foods? Which? Raw or cooked? I use scissors to cut open packages in the kitchen, but that’s pretty much the only thing my kitchen scissors are used for.

#2. Popcorn. Homemade, microwave, bagged, hot, cold. How do you like it? Microwave. I can’t even remember the last time I saw a popcorn maker. I have tried Jiffy pop over the stove, but my arm gets too tired!

#3. Sushi. Love it or hate it? EWWWWWW! Not a fan, at all. My husband likes it and my daughter likes to nibble on California rolls, but me, I’ll leave it in the ocean where it belongs.

#4. Share a dessert recipe.  This is one I haven’t had a chance to try yet, but it sounded yummy.  I just keep forgetting to buy the hot fudge sauce!

1 3/4 c. flour

2 envelops rapid rise yeast

2 T sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 c. very warm water

2 T butter

1 c. hot fudge sauce

Spray 9 1/2 inch deep dish pie plate with cooking spray.  Mix all ingredients except fudge sauce, in pie plate.

Top batter with evenly spaced spoonfuls of hot fudge sauce.  Using a spoon, swirl fudge sauce into batter.

Bake by placing in a cold oven, set temperature to 350.  Bake 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned and firm in center.  Cool 10 minutes.

Make icing with 1 c. powdered sugar and 1-2 T milk.  Drizzle over warm cake.