July You Pick Challenge

I'm starting August off right with a Blog Post, a card and a new book.

When I'm in a reading slump, I like to go back to Dystopian Young Adult to get going again. This trilogy got a lot of good reviews so I picked it up. Yes, I actually went inside the doors of my library and did a collect from the Entrance. Couldn't go inside but its at least open now.

Keri and I are continuing the You Pick challenge. For her I picked Sunny Studio Sweet Shoppe from my collection and here's what she made....

I just love the glaze on the donut and I never make Shaker cards so this is a real treat!

Keri picked MFT Birthday Chicks for me to use and I made this card..

I even put a little guy inside...

This is the stamp set that I used...

I'd say August is off to a good start!

Zucchini Pie

As most of you know, I have a small plot up at my local community garden. It isn't always that productive except for growing a big patch of weeds but it does seem to support my love for zucchini.
I'm at 37 and counting. So while I give a lot away, I wanted to try a few new ways of using it up.

Along came a recipe for this DELICIOUS zucchini pie. I made homemade Bisquick(remember all those Bisquick recipes we used to make?) Fun Fact: General Mills introduced Bisquick in 1931. Can you believe it's been around that long?

Try this recipe, you'll thank me. I can vouch for the fact that its just as good reheated for breakfast.

Zucchini Pie

3 cups zucchini (grated and water squeezed out) I used almost all of that bad boy pictured above

1 small chopped onion or bunch of green onions chopped ( I grated mine)

1 cup Bisquick (I used homemade, recipe to follow)

5 large eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp ground mustard

1 tsp parsley

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a large pie plate.

Dump all ingredients into a big bowl and mix.

Bake for 50 min.

Homemade Bisquick

3 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 Tbsp salt

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

You can use a food processor to pulse this until mixture resembles cornmeal or I just used a pastry blender.

Store the remainder in the fridge for up to 3 months. Can be used for lots of other recipes.

July Swap Cards

Well it's been a hot minute since I last posted and its been crazy hot this summer. Not terribly conducive to sitting still (at least for me). Pathetically our guest participant had her card done and exchanged 26 days prior to mine. Whoops!

Anyway, it's always such a fun surprise to see what we are getting each month. I chose a Penny Black stamp that I was going to put in a garage sale because I had never used it. I only worked on it here and there a few minutes a day and it came together not too badly. I never do CAS cards so this was a good change of pace...

Keri used a new set from Stampin Up. Who doesn't love goats?

Nice to have a card that's a little more masculine. Isn't' it clever how she knotted the twine instead of tying a bow?

Nicole used a set from Simon Says Card kits from way back when. I think I gave away this bikini die and stamp set and know I'm regretting it..

I've got a few more blog posts ideas so maybe I'll step up my game. Stay tuned.

Pandemic by the numbers

Wow! I've been MIA for awhile now. Life seems to have amped up again. Not going into stores very much, still only getting groceries once a week and planning for the shortest possible outings if I need to pick anything up. Meeting up with family and friends in the out of doors as much as possible.

At the beginning of the lockdown, I panicked that there might be a shortage of tape runner for my card and Planner making. So I did a curbside pick-up at my LSS of 5 packages of 3 refill tapes. If you're not familiar with tape runners, that's a lot of tape.

So I kept track of how many I used and from mid-March until mid-June, I used 9 refills after using up the 2 partials that I had started. That's a LOT of Tape Runner.

 From mid-March up until the end of May, I made 174 cards and during that time I sent 11. Sadly my production has slowed to a trickle, in fact, I don't have the July Swap card ready and it's practically half way through the month! Oh well, need to enjoy this weather when we have it even if there aren't many places to go.

Next up The 2020 Zucchini stats... the season has just begun!

Peanut Brittle Cookies

I've been avoiding the blog so I don't have to update my May goals and really I have no goals for June. How bad is that? Seem to be busy with all the yard work, trimming, putting in the garden, aftermath of big tree removal (mulch spreading etc). But not too busy to make these cookies. I've made them before but never posted the recipe. I made a few changes also so I wanted to try it one more time. And AM I glad I did. Such a delicious combination.

 

Peanut Brittle Cookies
1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup white sugar

1 egg 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda and salt
1/2 cup Skor bits
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup peanuts ( I used salted and left them whole but you could roughly chop)

Mix first 4 ingredients. Add dry ingredients and then mix in add ins.
Back at 350F for 10 min. You could melt and drizzle peanut butter chips over the baked cookies for extra decadence.

May Card Swap

It's been a hot minute since I posted. Lots of yardwork happening over here.
I added a card to my Covid Collection using this Lawn Fawn Set...

I loved the sentiment for this season of chaos and uncertainty...

Keri used a Stampin Up set and alcohol markers to create this stunning sunflower card...

And she always adds an extra touch to the inside..

Nicole used a Jennifer McGuire technique to create this beauty. Love the gold embossing...

The little dots in the background is just Copic marker. It matches so perfectly.
And there you have it. Another month in the books.

My Garden Favourites

I realized while I was re-reading my Garden Pet Peeves that I only had 4 not 5 so Keri reminded me of another...

5. Leaving the hanger on an urn arrangement.

Now on to the positives ( and there are so many )

1.  Walking in the spring and smelling all the delightful shrubs especially the lilacs...

2. Neatly edged sidewalks ( I need this tool )

3.  Seeds sprouting up, I put a few things in the only sunny corner of my yard: radish, spinach and lettuce...

4. Crimson King Maples, the photo doesn't do them justice...

5. Colourful flowers of any kind...

6. Boulevard trees - the existing trees were removed due to Ash Borer THREE years ago. Many calls to the City later, they have finally been replaced with a variety of new trees. I was out of the Country when they went in so I never saw them with leaves. It's been exiting watching the very slow unfurling of leaves this Spring...

7. And my personal Favourite - A Snowball bush, every house should have at least one. Unfortunately Maya likes to dig and then lay down in the corner where mine is located so once I get my maple cut down and the backyard opened up to more SUN, I will plant one (or more)....

I really appreciate the signs of Spring now more then ever on my many very slow strolls around the neighbourhood with Maya.