I have an issue with labels.
That removing them & changing them can be so difficult!
Not people labels. Although, I think the same is also true for those kind. 
 Jar labels.

    It's no secret that I like to reuse jars. I also like to label them. For things like rice, lentils, couscous, flax...staples in my pantry, I'm not terribly concerned about needing to wash those jars very much. Those jars are always in use for the same products. The turn over rate for those items is also high, so nothing is going bad before it is used up & replaced with the exact same item. Therefore, my scrapbook paper labels that are glued on work just fine. No worries about having to peal & replace.

    My issue comes into play when I want to use the jars for gift giving. I'd like to make it easy for the jars to be reused. Either by me (because so many of the people I send food gifts to send back the containers even though I don't always expect them to) or by the person I've gifted. It's to tedious to remove glued on labels!

    So, I came up with a crafty solution while using up some scrap yarn - I could just make knit cozies to pretty up the jars! And then, it occurred to me I could sew on a label! You remove the sleeve, you remove the label. You can then throw the jar in the dishwasher & reuse it. Reusing the sleeve, or changing it out with a different one. I love simple crafty solutions!

    The first one I knit alittle too wide/tall for the jar. It fit, but as you can see above, it covered every bit of the glass. Since I don't frog things unless I think I absolutely have to, I just knit the rest of them a bit more to the size I liked. I found some scrap pieces of canvas & some cute cotton scraps to cut wonky labels from. I didn't do anything to finish the edges, I like the fraying, organic feel of them just simply layered & stitched on with some embroidery floss.

    Now, the plan is to put granola, trail mix, or candied nuts in the jars with bird themed labels, & dog cookies in the dog labeled jars. I even found a new beefy, cheesy dog cookie recipe to use this year. Which I'll share when I get around to actually making them. :) I also like the idea of getting scraps of fruit themed fabric to label jam, jelly, pie filling, or dessert topping. I could get other dessert themed fabric for chocolate or salted carmel sauce, hot cocoa mix, cookies in a jar... the possibilities are numerous! I love being able to put all those recycled jars to good use!

    Are there any food items you give as gifts? For Christmas, I make specialty popcorn every year, & now the dog cookies are a tradition. My sister-in-law bakes special candy cane cookies, & her husband makes beef jerky in a variety of flavors. Our family loves gifts of food, all year long it's my favorite thing to give! I so enjoy spending a day baking & then filling up containers to give 'just because'. There's a lot of love involved in homemade food gifts, don't you think?

This week I had a bit of a canvas tote factory going on over at my Mom's house. There is a confirmation class having orientation Saturday & the kids will be decorating the totes to hold all their confirmation supplies.

The creation of the bodies of 25 french seamed canvas totes seemed to go pretty fast & easy...It was attaching the 50 handles to said totes that got a little tedious!

In the end they weren't the prettiest totes I've ever made (we had some bobbin tension issues) but they are sturdy & ready for the kids to add their own pretty. Which was kinda the point, so I'm very happy. Canvas tote factory success!

We also had some good food while we worked! Parmesan pasta, white cheddar popcorn, peanut M&Ms, chocolate poundcake, pie...OH! & lots of iced coffee. Factory work is hard, y'all - we had to keep the employees happy! :)
I thought I'd share a Quick & Easy "Keylime" Pie recipe with you to sweeten your day!

Here's what you'll need:
    1 9-inch graham cracker pie crust
    1 8oz. package cream cheese, softened
    1 8oz. container of whipped topping, soft & fluffy
    1 14oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
    6oz. limeade juice concentrate (Comes in a 12oz can from the frozen food section so would've been a good idea to double everything else & make 2 pies to use it all up...There's always a friend in need of a pie, right?)
    a few drops of green food coloring (optional)

Here's what you'll do:
    mix the cream cheese until it's fluffy
    add the condensed milk & the juice concentrate & mix
    set aside 1 cup of whipped topping for decoration (optional)
    fold in the remaining whipped topping - folding here is very important, if you mix it it will cause the pie to become runny & not set up properly
    add your food coloring to the desired shade of green
    pile it all in your piecrust & refrigerate for 1 hour
    decorate with the reserved whipped topping - you can use a piping bag for a fancy design or just spread it with a spatula for a little extra fluff
    cut, serve, enjoy!

You can also make this with lemonade or orange or any other juice concentrate that sparks your fancy!

{Our Creative Spaces}

Have you heard of the cookbook Eat What You Love?

I hadn't until 2 weeks ago.
The hubby's grandfather had had surgery & a lecture about taking care of himself & being careful with his diabetes. I was trying to think of something to buy or make to send to him when he went home from the hospital & decided that I would bake him up some diabetic friendly treats. Of course I then needed to find recipes & I called the one person I always call when I need food advice & help - my mom!

She'd heard about the Eat What You Love cookbook on QVC & said it sounded like just what we needed to get started.  We found our copy at Barnes & Noble & met for lunch to talk about what recipes we should try. We ended up with an entire day of baking planned & six recipes earmarked to shop for! Why make one batch of muffins when you can make two? And some breakfast bars...and chocolate cherry bars...and...yeah. You get the idea. :)

The first thing we baked up were some bran muffins with craisins. Neither of us are super fans of the bran muffin, but we decided that these were actually pretty good. Our biggest fear for these recipes was that the sugar substitute would make everything taste odd or off. Happily, it didn't!

Recipe #2 was the Chocolate Cherry Bars. I loved this one! The sugar-free cherry pie filling did have a bit of that sugar-free flavor, but the chocolate cake-like bottom was so very yummy! I'd definately make these again. I would even use the chocolate base for some healthy cake brownies. Yum!

Speaking of cherries, we also whipped up these little Cherry Berry Pie Cups. This is so crazy easy! 1 can of sugar-free cherry pie filling + 1 pint of fresh raspberries + 1 package piecrust = The most adorable little cherry pies ever! We didn't actually eat one of these because it looked odd when we went to package them up to have one missing. But I think I'll use a varitaion of this recipe next time I'm in charge of dessert for family dinner. So freakin' cute!

Recipe #4 were some delightful Carrot Cupcakes. These were super tasty! And I'm not just saying that because I love carrot cake! They were moist & cinnamon-y delicious. Although, I would have loved some cream cheese frosting on mine - & will add that when I make them again for my family. :)

The one thing we made that I neglected to get photos of were the pumpkin oatmeal Breakfast Bars. They were pretty good as well. A little dense, but maybe that's how breakfast bars are supposed to be? They had good flavor from the pumpkin & cinnamon & would be pretty good for a quick snack on the run.

The last thing we made was a couple batches of the Nuts & Bolts Sweet & Spicy Snack Mix. This was our least favorite of everything we tried, & the one thing we both said we probably wouldn't make again. The first batch - following the recipe - ended with a pile of burnt snack mix. The second batch we took out 10 minutes before we were supposed to & came out looking much better. However, the egg whites used made it so we had to break apart the mix, & we found the cajun seasoning used to be a little too spicy for our liking. I guess we could have just used less seasoning & maybe it would've worked out just fine. But, my mom already makes a really yummy snack mix that we know & love. So what we actually took away from this Eat What You Love recipe was a way to make her original snack mix lower in sodium & tweak it to make it more healthy. It's never a total loss when you try something new - you always learn something!

Our next challenge is to delve into the abundance of entree recipes offered up in Eat What You Love & see what other healthy choices we might like. Really, what could be better than eating what you love if it isn't to eat the best possible version of it?

After Monday's Warm Cool Quilt Along post I got busy working on piecing the top of my quilt. I layed it out on my bed to fiddle with all my squares & try to work out the design. What I learned was that when you're working so close to the fabrics the contrast is much harder to see! I even tried to enlist the help of the hubs who said he couldn't see the contrast enough to help me. It all worked out though! Because once I did get it pieced & hung it up to admire it - there it was - all that glorious warm cool contrast! Maybe it's just meant to be a wall hanging? It looks so good viewed that way! :)

I'm also making delicious progress working with my Textiles A Mano yarn! I love it so much! I also love that with each row my stitches across get shorter. After the 300+ cast on stitches for this sweet ruffle edged shawl I thought it would take forever to see progress. I'm enjoying this knit so very much!

Some friends & I went out to Berry Patch Farms yesterday to pick some strawberries! After a couple hours of hard-on-your-back-work I now have 5lbs of those delicious little berries to create with! Strawberry shortcake, muffins, jam, pancake syrup...oh the possibilities! Do you have a favorite strawberry recipe? I'd love to find a new one!

There's more so see & love over at Our Creative Spaces!

Are y'all wondering what's with all the talk about food lately?
Well...I guess I'm takin' an impromptu break from crafting & getting my cook on. :)
Hope you don't mind!

If you aren't familiar with spoon bread you are going to be so glad you clicked over here today! The easiest way to describe it is like a cornbread souffle. It's considered a southern dish so it's not uncommon to see it beside fried chicken & greens. To me, it is just a geat side dish for any meal.
Tender & corn-y & yummy!

Let's get to it!

Happy cooking!

It's a little hard to believe I've been away for a week!
What have y'all been up to??

I was out & about a lot this week.
Also, I decided to send my phone through the washing machine...
Don't panic - I think it can be revived. At least, it turns on & lets me access everything, but it hasn't gotten signal to say -call, text, or email yet...hoping that is just a small & overcomeable glitch. I don't want to have to replace another phone!

Oh, did I mention this is the 2nd time I've done this?
Yeah.

We should move on...

On Tuesday, I hit the road with some friends & headed down to Denver to do some exploring at the Nature & Science Museum. We had a pretty great day - sadly no pre-historic animals or dinosaurs came to life to shock & awe us. But, the T-Rex Cafe was a lovely surprise! It's the little restaurant inside the museum, & they had prices that were actually reasonable! The salad & sandwhich bars were a new vegetarian's dream come true & we ate a pretty fantastic lunch.

On Wednesday my mom & I decided to look for a new veg-friendly restaurant to try out. We used Happy Cow to hunt up someplace we've never been before. The place we decided on, after reading lots of reviews for different places, was Zudaka.
We LOVED it!

Due to the fact that the small strip mall where they are located is going to be torn down in a year & be replaced by a fancy new multi-use retail, office, & restaurant space Zudaka is a little hard to find. Just keep your eyes peeled & don't be afraid to have to turn back & look again - your effort will be well rewarded!

It is owned by a husband & wife from Venezuela & Columbia, & they make wonderful latin homecooking. The wife was just wonderful to explain the menu to us. She really took the time to tell us what things were the most traditional, what she grew up eating, & what she knew we weren't going to find anywhere else. We ended up ordering 5 different things from an appetizer, to entrees & desserts! Everything we had was fantastic!

My most favorite thing was the tamales!
So very sorry for the messy plate, but it didn't dawn on me to record our fantastic find till I was already in the middle of the best tamales ever! She said that they just dump everything over them & eat them as messy as possible - so, that is what we did!
Yum. Yum. Yum!

Now, it is no secret that Boulder is not my favorite Colorado town. I used to enjoy going down to Pearl Street - which is this big outdoor mall - to walk around & hunt the great shops. But, even that has been tainted. Now, when you walk Pearl Street you get stopped by people wanting you to petition or join their cause. It is no longer just a relaxing way to spend an afternoon.

I was walking with a bag in one hand & a cup of coffee in the other & a guy came up and wanted to shake my hand to get me to stop so he could deliver his speech. Uh - no. Hello?! Do you not even notice -1- I'm in the middle of a conversation with my mom, & -2- my hands are FULL! It's like walking the gauntlet at the state fair with people heckling you to come play their games & win a cheap prize. Totally annoying.

All that being said, I would gladly drive the hour+ from Fort Collins over to Boulder just to go to Zudaka. It is these kinds of family owned places that make a community - a community! Great people, great food, great atmosphere. Love it!

I'm using Happy Cow to find more Veg-friendly places to eat when my mom & I go on our California trip in a couple weeks. I already know we are stopping in Salt Lake City, Reno & we'll be staying within driving distance to Fresno so I've searched for places in each city to try out. I just adore finding little treasures in new places!

Do you have a little treasure in your town or state? You should tell me about it! That way if I'm ever passing through I know just where to go to eat, or shop, or sight see!

Hope your week has treated you well, sweet readers. And, I hope that the weekend ahead is full of love & laughter!

I found a different stuffed squash recipe online & then because I never follow recipes exactly I tweaked it to my liking. :)
This was one of my first vegetarian main dishes (although would be great as a side) & I was so happy because it is SO good!
I hope you enjoy it too!

What you'll need:
2 Acorn Squash
1 small onion, diced
1 cup sliced button mushrooms
1 clove minced garlic 
1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed & the water squeezed out
1 can Great Northern or Cannellini beans, drained & rinsed 
1/2 cup Italian style bread crumbs
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
canola spray (Pam)
olive oil
salt & pepper

I also added used - but not necessary:
a few splashes of Bragg's Liquid Aminos (tastes like soy sauce)
2 tbls. ground Flax seed

What to do:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees & then start with the Acorn Squash.
Halve it, seed it & put it in a baking dish cut side up.
Spray it with the canola spray & sprinkle with salt & pepper.
Cover it with foil & bake it for 1 hour or until fork tender.

Then in a large skillet or saute pan...
Saute the onion & mushrooms with a little salt & pepper until the onion is soft & translucent & the mushrooms have darkened & evaporated some of their water. 
Add in garlic, spinach, & beans. And continue to saute and pull apart the spinach until there are no big clumps, & any vegetable water has cooked off. You can add the Bragg's & Flax here if you like. (I added most of the Flax here but also added a little of it to the topping mixture.) Taste & add salt & pepper to your liking.

When the squash are finished roasting remove the foil, stuff them & set them aside.
Then in the same saute pan add a little olive oil, & the bread crumbs. Lightly toast the bread crumbs, you'll want a mixture that is like damp sand. Remove from heat & add the shredded cheese. Then sprinkle this over the tops of your stuffed squash.

Return the squash to the oven about 10-15 minutes until everything is heated through & the breadcrumb mixture is a nice golden brown.
Enjoy!

Notes:
If you aren't a fan of spinach you could use something like kale or another green sliced & wilted into the stuffing.
If you aren't a fan of cooked greens try shredded zucchini, remember to squeeze the water out of this too before you use it.
You could also add shredded carrot, or diced tomato -the color would look great in the stuffing.
Try whatever your favorite veggies are & tweak the recipe to YOUR heart's content. :)

**In later experiments with this recipe I also discovered I love it even more using spaghetti squash! :)

Well, I've gone & done it now, y'all!
Decided to change the way we eat around here!
I'm going vegetarian & flirting with being a vegan.
Oh my.

Over the past month I've drastically cut down on the amount of meat I eat at home & made lots of vegetarian choices when I've been out. Now, as I am preparing my new grocery list I'm just saying no to meat & stocking the pantry with lots of grains & beans. In the bulk section of our grocery store I can find tons of things to round out our meals on the cheap. The problem came when I got home with all the thin little bags (instead of boxes & packages) of various staples. I needed a way to store it all.

Since I started making my own yogurt I've been saving jars to store it in. I could have gone out and bought new mason jars, but when I bring in perfectly good reusable jars everytime we grocery shop why spend the money? Between the spaghetti sauce, pickles, & jelly jars I certainly can find enough storage, even if it takes me a little while to accumulate it all. I pulled a couple of my yogurt jars & repurposed them for grain storage last night.

Well, you know me - I couldn't just fill em up & leave em be! So, I got to label making while watching Criminal Minds. Break out the scrapbook supplies! I discovered my large circle punch & some cute scrap paper was just right for top of the lid labels. Something I definately need since all of these are stored on a bottom shelf. And, I cut some squares out of other scrap paper to stick on the sides of the jars to remind me of all the water to grain ratios since every one of them seemd to be different!

They may not be as beautiful as all new same sized mason jars woud be but I'm sure enjoying my own little recycling project in saving the jars. OK, the labeling is pretty fun too! I still ahve some jars to gather for lots of other things...Quinoa, various kinds of dried beans, Arborio rice, etc. I didn't want to use up all the jars I saved for yogurt afterall.

I so love needing something & then discovering a solution right at hand. Doyou have any great storage ideas to share?

Or how about a great vegetarian recipe? I've discovered that many of the things I make can be easily modified by removing meat & adding lots more veggies - things like lasagne & coconut curry were simple converts to my new diet. Other things - like beef stew & burgers - are much more difficult since the hubs is mortal enemies with mushrooms which would be one of the things I would use to replace some meaty flavor & texture. So, if you've got a favorite thing you like to make I'd love to hear it! I might try some chickpea burgers tonight, going falafel style. :)