More Mini Cross stitches

Here is my next batch of stitched up mini cross stitches. They are all done on the same hand dyed antique white 28 count lugana fabric, with the exception of the last picture. That one is stitched on plain old Antique white lugana.

I saw this design here over at the blog Little Lovelies, but it comes from the book A Rainbow of Stitches which they carry at my lovely local library.  The original was done in two colors but I liked it in just the one.

This is a free chart from from sub rosa called Keys to the Past. It's the companion freebie to Locks and Keys that I wrote about here.

I found the chart for this pretty little lady here via pinterest. The Chart was created by Corinne Leroy Creations.  I changed the colors to fit the basic muted brown color palate of all the mini cross stitches I've been stitching lately.

Finally, this was supposed to originally be a black dress, but again I changed it to a redish maroon, with dusky pink flowers to fit the color palate of the other small stitches I've stitched so far.  The pattern is another freebie from Les douces Heures de Piatine.

And that's it so far!

Seasoned Salts

I might seem a little odd for me to be posting about seasoned salts. I'm usually writing about how to eliminate salt from food and seasoning blends. Sometimes it's nice to use seasoned salts as a dry rub for meats, or for roasted/grilled potatoes.

One day I found two slightly different recipes for seasoned salt blends. I thought it would be fun to give them both a test drive.

The first one I made was seasoned salt from Family Feedbag.

It contained: Garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, white pepper (I broke both of my pepper mills, so white pepper was the only ground pepper I had on hand.) and salt.

The second seasoned salt was Mock Lowrys Seasoned Salt from Group Recipes.

It contained, cornstarch, turmeric, sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and of course salt.

Here's what they looked like all blended up:

The Family Feedbag seasoned salt is on the left, and the Lowry's Copycat is on the right.

The Lowry's kept wanting to separate after the initial blending.  I'm guessing this was because of the cornstarch.  Because of this, and the fact that the Lowry's was so much lighter than the first salt blend, I was convinced I would prefer the Family Feedbag version.

Color me surprised, because we all liked the Lowry's better.  Not that the other blend was bad, the Lowry's was just a bit better balanced.  I think it was the sweet from the sugar and the heat from the smoked paprika.

Once I run out of both seasoned salts, I'll most likely make another batch of the Lowry's seasoning.


Seasoned Salt from Family Feedbag
1/4 c salt
1 T onion powder
1 T garlic powder
4 t paprika
1/2 t pepper

Copycat Lowry's from Group Recipes (I doubled this recipe)
2 T salt
2 t sugar
1/2 t smoked paprika
1/4 t turmeric
1/4 t onion powder
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t cornstarch

Thankful Thurs #17

1. No one was home to see how I licked every last bit of Biscoff out of the jar.

2. Blockette scored another goal at her last Soccer game.

3. It was a game that Grandpa was at, so she was even more excited.

4. Mrblocko was nice enough to let me stay home so I didn't freeze off all my appendages.

5. Chocolate Cake.

6. Resisting the urge to buy pizza for dinner on Sun; the fish we had instead was awesome.

7. Mrblocko teaching our God-daughter how to ride a bike.

8. Making time for Blockette to read to me, outside of her school work.

9. Boo snuggling with Blockette and how happy she was about it.


10. I've decided to officially change Boo's name to Boo-ford Aloysuis Poopington III.

Thread Catcher

If you do any kind of sewing, or hand work, you know that you get little thread bits everywhere.  These little threads are often refered to as Orts, an archaic word for useless scraps. I usually put my orts on the arm of the couch, then I put my arm there or the cat jumps up and the bits get scattered. All. Over.  Drives me nuts.

Or even worse.  You're stitching with dark thread and you keep looking at the thread bits out of a corner of your eye thinking it's a bug.  Cause you know the one time you don't give it a second look it actually WILL be a bug.  And that bug will GET you. (You know it will.)


 Something needed to be done to stop the madness. 

Once upon a time I used a small ceramic Japanese tea cup to contain the bits, but I was always knocking it over and spilling the contents.  It was a miracle it never shattered.

Maybe now I can use it for actual tea?  Nah.  Way too crazy of a concept for me. More likely I'll keep my marbles in there.  You know, so I don't lose them.

A fabric thread minder seemed like my best bet.  If I dropped it, no big deal.  And as an added bonus, the thread bits would most likely cling to the fabric.

I'd seen these triangle-y pyramid-ish shaped thread catchers on Pinterest, and for the life of me I could not make heads or tails of the tutorial.  I sat there puzzled, scratching my head.  Then, I realized I hadn't taken a shower in four days, or something like that, and that was why my head was so itchy.  So I took a shower.

Once I was all clean and clear headed I did what any sane person would do, look on Google for a better tutorial.  Brilliant.  I found this Thread catcher tutorial from Gingerbread Girl's Quilting Adventures.  The pictures explain everything so well, even I could understand it.

I made two, one to keep at home, and one to keep amongst my travel sewing kit.  I love how they fold flat.  Even stuffed with orts they take up less space than my old jar.

The photo above is for size reference against my freaky big hands, and also to show the bottom of the thread catcher.  What was tripping me up originally was that I thought this was made from 3 triangles instead of one.  A picture of the bottom would have been a big help.  So here you go internet community, a picture of the bottom of the triangle thread catcher. 

I love these little guys.  They were fun to make.  I wanted to make more but I couldn't justify having more than two of them.  I do think they'd be a cool thing to add if you were making a sewing kit as a gift for someone learning how to sew.

Pierogi Lasagna

I really like pierogies. Although, it was another one of those things that I hadn't ever heard about until I moved to Illinois. You'd think they'd be a big hit in Minnesota, being all white and potato-y.

I've never attempted to make pierogi before. They seemed a bit complicated. I've not yet mastered the art of noodles, other than opening the box and dumping them into boiling water.  Then I saw this recipe for pierogi lasagna from Omnomicon AND The Cutting Edge of Ordinary.  I can do lasagna, so why not give it a shot.

I mashed up both recipes and came up with a tasty meatless dinner for Lent.  I swear this recipe made a metric ton.  We wound up eating the leftovers all week.  Well, when I say we, I mean Blockette and I.  I couldn't subject Mrblocko to an entire week of no meat for dinner.

After one day of leftovers he came home and said, "Do you know that commercial for Fiber One snack bars, where the husband says, 'Fiber makes me sad?'  Well that's me, but with meat." 

That made me chuckle, so I found something else for him to eat.

By the end of the week Blockette and I were totally sick of this dish.  I think once we finished the last of it I actually said, "Hooray!"

Don't mistake me.  This was a really tasty dish.  It's just too much leftovers for our tiny family. Next year, if I make this for Lent, I'll just half the recipe.


Pierogi Lasagna adapted from Omnomicon and The Cutting Edge of Ordinary
9 lasagna noodles
3-4 lbs potatoes (I used russet) to get about 6c mashed potatoes
1/4c sour cream (I used low fat)
1/2 c milk
1 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
4T butter or olive oil
5 medium onions, finely chopped


Bechemel Sauce
3 c milk
4T butter
1/4 c flour
1 t kosher salt
pepper to taste
pinch of nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a 9x13 dish, place noodles.  Cover with boiling water and let sit for 15-20 min.

Meanwhile, peel, dice and boil potatoes.  When potatoes are fork tender, mash.  Add sour cream, milk, salt, pepper and cheese.  Drain the noodles.  Spray the 9x13 pan with cooking spray and set aside.

While the potatoes are cooking: chop and saute the onions in butter/oil until light golden brown.  Fold into mashed potatoes.

Prepare the bechemel: Pour milk into a saucepan on medium heat and bring just to a boil.  Remove from heat.  (I poured the milk back into the glass measuring cup.)  Melt butter in the same sauce pan over medium heat.  Whisk in flour.  Stir constantly for 2 minutes.  Slowly add hot milk in driblets, whisking constantly.  Cook 10-13 min, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.  Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Cover the bottom of the pan with a layer of sauce.  Then layer 3 noodles,  and a third of the potatoes.  repeat two more times and end with a layer of bechemel sauce.  Cover with foil and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia with Tartar Sauce

I guess a lot of people like to fry fish in cornmeal. Not being all that into fish, I didn't have a clue. This recipe for cornmeal crusted tilapia from The Boho Birdie is a slightly more healthy version as it is baked instead of fried.

Not being all gung ho about fish in the first place, I took a bite and didn't think this recipe was any better or worse than your average fish recipe.  Mrblocko and Blockette loved it, but then again, they both really like fish in general.

Then I tried some with some Tartar Sauce.  Oh. My. Word.  I could just eat the tartar sauce by itself.  It's that good. SERIOUSLY.

I've only ever had the stuff from a jar before.  That stuff is total and utter garbage.  I didn't even know it was garbage until I tried this tartar sauce.  It is the BEST TARTAR SAUCE in the world.

Yes, yes.  I know.  A lot of bloggers say that about the things that they make, but I swear, this really is the best tartar sauce.  Mrblocko doesn't even like tartar sauce, and do you know what he said about this tartar sauce-mana-from-heaven?   "It kicks all the other tartar sauces' butts"

It really truly does.

One more quick thing before you get to the recipe, we halved the breading as I used 3 thin tilapia fillets from the freezer section.  The fillets in the original recipe are nice and thick, like the kind you might buy fresh from the fish counter.  So unless you are using the thick fresh stuff, half the amount of breading called for in the recipe below.

Also, we didn't have any Old Bay.  Instead we used Bavarian seasoning from Penzeys Spices.  It had bay in it, so I thought it would be a good swap.  The thing was, we could barely taste the seasonings.  Next time we will double the amount of spices

Cornmeal-Crusted Tilapia with Mom Pat’s Tartar Sauce from The Boho Birdie
for the fish:
2 thick tilapia fillets, cut into pieces (cod or sole would work well here, too)
1 c. flour (I used all purpose)
1 c. cornmeal
2 eggs, beaten or 1 c. egg beaters
2 tbsp old bay seasoning, divided, plus more for sprinkling (I used Bavarian Seasoning)
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper

preheat oven to 350 F.

Set up an assembly line with 3 bowls for breading the fish. In the first bowl, combine the flour, 1 T old bay seasoning, salt, and pepper, in the second, eggs, and in the third, cornmeal with 1 T old bay and garlic powder.

Cut tilapia into pieces (if needed) and spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

Dredge tilapia pieces in flour first, egg second, and cornmeal third. Use one hand to coat the fish in the flour and cornmeal and the other hand to coat the fish in the egg. Ensure all sides of the fish are coated in each mixture before moving on to the next. Sprinkle with more old bay.

Place the breaded fish on the greased cookie sheet (or, you could place the fish on a wire rack on a cookie sheet and not have to flip it during cooking). Mist the fish with more spray if you like, this will create more browning during the baking. Cook the fish for approx 15 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

Mom Pat’s Tartar Sauce
1/2 c. mayonnaise (I used the kind with olive oil)
1 tsp minced onion (I used onion powder)
1 tsp pickle or lemon juice (I used a tsp of each)
1 tsp pickle relish (we use dill pickle relish)
1 tsp. olives (optional) (We were out of olive so I used another tsp of relish)
Cayenne pepper or paprika to taste and add color

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and drown yourself it it's goodness.

Ham with Maple and Mustard Glaze

Ham. Nothing beats a good ham. We're experts on ham in this house.

 This is just a representation of what 90% of the pictures of my beloved child look like.

But we aren't talking about that kind of ham.  We're talking about bone-in ham shanks.  Over Easter they were on sale for 89¢ a pound.  I bought two and stuck one in the freezer for later.  I would have bought more but they were standing at the door with clubs if you tried to buy more than two.  I probably could have taken them on, but I left my cast iron skillet at home.  Alas.

The last ham my husband prepared was tasty, but as we rarely eat the same thing twice, I had to go searching for a new recipe. I settled on this recipe for ham with maple and mustard glaze from Cook, Shoot, Eat.

Mrblocko and his knives of fury, carving up the ham like a maniac, maniac-woah-oh-oh.

Of course, not one to want to let anyone down, I made a few minor changes to the recipe.  The recipe called for champagne vinegar.  Well I didn't have that, but I did have white wine vinegar.   I thought that would work out just as well.  Except for the fact that when I went to use it, I noticed it had this huge floating disk of yuck in it.  I didn't know that vinegar could grow funky junk.  Guess you learn something new every day.

I decided to use cider vinegar.  Cider is made from apples, and apples are a nice complementary flavor to ham.  And, as it turns out, I had EXACTLY the right amount for the recipe.

Instead of using Apricot jam, I used peach-mango preserves.  Wow.  Awesome substitution.  I've made a peach glazed roaster chicken before that was to die for.  Peach-mango kicks regular peach's butt.  Of course, I might just be a tad bit biased as I LOVE peach-mango stuff.

Oh, one more thing, we left off the cloves.  Neither Mrblocko nor I particularly care for cloved ham.  The ham had plenty of flavors going on, that even if you were a clove fan, I don't think you'd miss them.

This ham was super moist.  I can't stand it when a ham gets over cooked.  It's so sad to see the tender goodies turned into pork chewing gum.  Bleck.  Sometimes glazes can be über sweet, but not this one. This glaze had a nice balance of flavors.  It was salty from the mustard, sweet from the maple and jam, and tangy from the vinegar and mustard. An all around winner.

Ham with Maple and Mustard Glaze adapted from Cook, Shoot, Eat
ready-to-eat, cooked ham, bone-in, uncut (not spiral cut), shank or butt end, 8-11 lbs.

Glaze
 ½ cup cider vinegar
¾ cup maple syrup
½ cup Dijon or spicy mustard
2 T peach  mango preserves
Salt and pepper to taste

Remove ham from the refrigerator still in its wrapping a couple of hours before you’re planning to cook so as to bring it close to room temperature.

Make a diamond pattern on the ham by cutting straight lines into the fat with a sharp knife about ½ inch deep parallel to each other. Score another set of lines at a 45 degree angle to the first to create a diamond pattern.

Preheat oven to 325° F. Place ham, fat side up in a roasting pan lined with aluminum foil. Cook ham in oven for one hour.

While ham is cooking, make glaze. In a small saucepan, heat vinegar over medium heat until reduced to 2 T.  Add maple syrup, mustard, jam and salt. Cook, whisking, until well combined, about 2 minutes. Season with pepper to taste and set aside.  Remove ham from oven and brush top and sides generously with one third of the glaze.

Return to oven. Remember that the ham is already cooked so you don’t have to cook to an internal temperature of 140° F as is often instructed. The ham will need about another 30 min of cooking to achieve an inner temperature between 110° and 120° F. It will be very warm, if not hot, and is more likely to retain its moisture.

Baste every ten minutes with the glaze. Don’t baste ham with its own juices as the glaze might wash off. Take the ham out of the oven, cover with aluminum foil and let rest 15 minutes before serving.