Joyful Abode

What could I be making? And are you excited?

ERROR

The iron survived this incident.

Good thing, too, because I’m working on a lot of things right now.

One of my co-workers had a birthday recently, and I brought these gingerbread cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for our class to enjoy in her honor.

From allrecipes: Gingerbread Cupcake Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon Dutch process cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup hot milk
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter or line with paper liners a 12-cup muffin tin.
2. Cream 5 tablespoons of the butter with the white sugar. Add the molasses and the egg and egg yolk.
3. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and salt. Dissolve the baking soda in the hot milk. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until just combined. Stir in the hot milk mixture. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared tin.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20 minutes or until slightly springy to the touch. Allow to cool a few minutes in the pan and remove to a rack to cool.

Then, as several commenters on the recipe suggested, I made the frosting by whipping 8 oz. of cream cheese with 2 cups of confectioner’s sugar. I topped them with chocolate chips so they wouldn’t look so plain.

The kids really liked them, and some of them exclaimed, “Gingerbread! My favorite!” I was surprised that they had had gingerbread before, and the ones who hadn’t enjoyed them.

The husband also gave these a thumbs-up rating. At first he wasn’t sure, because they weren’t made of chocolate, but as he kept eating them, he decided, “They are really good and taste fall-y.”

Another variation on the Acorn Squash with Apples, this one takes the meal to a new level.

This time, I cut up golden delicious apples, plopped butter and brown sugar on top and microwaved it to melt the butter. Then I added the apples to a rice/barley thing from Rice-a-Roni and tossed in dried cranberries.

I’m not sure if this one was acorn squash or a close relative, but it is a similarly acorn-shaped winter squash. It tasted delicious filled with the rice mixture, and it made for a heartier meal than the apple/walnut filling.

If you’re really hungry, a grilled chicken breast would be a nice accompaniment, but half of a squash each and some rice was more than enough to fill me and the husband up.

Easy peasy.

Oven = 375 degrees Fahrenheit

Potatoes = sliced super-thin

Toss the potato slices with melted butter (not margarine), Worcestershire sauce, and Lawry’s seasoned salt.

Spread on a cookie sheet or two, trying to not overlap the slices.

Bake, flipping/stirring/shaking now and then, until the potatoes are crispy enough for you. I like mine really crispy. See that dark tiny chip on the top? That’s the one I ate first. Yum!

Enjoy!

Embroidery might be climbing the charts in my list of favorite crafts. I love the way it makes things look, and actually doing it is relaxing and methodical. So I recently decided to make some place mats for myself and my husband combining sewing, appliqué, and embroidery.

I learned a fantastic applique technique that I might write a tutorial for later, but for now, I’ll just let your eyes feast on my latest project-just-for-me. I love the way they turned out, and they grace our table now along with the place mats from Jennifreckles.

After ironing on interfacing to the yellow-dotted fabric, I appliquéd an autumn leaf onto each place mat. Then, I added a backstitched line for the leaf’s falling path.

After that, I layered two pieces of muslin on the back and bound the whole thing with handmade bias tape.

I decided to do the embroidery in two colors, for his-and-hers. I like that they match but aren’t exactly the same.

I also put one of my new tags on the back of each one, just because they make me smile.

This 1″ double fold bias tape is made from 100% cotton and is the perfect way to finish table linens and quilts, embellish existing clothing, create aprons, and more! Each package includes 3 yards of bias tape, but if you have a bigger project, I have multiple packages of a few of the prints. Just check out my bias tape listings on Joyful Abode @ Etsy for details.

And isn’t my packaging the cutest?

Since we bought so many bottom round steaks when they were on sale, I’m still trying to figure out ways to use them.

So I decided to make stroganoff… but unfortunately, only realized halfway through that I was out of egg noodles.

So… this was a can of cream of mushroom soup and a can of beef broth. Throw in the noodles and let them cook. Meanwhile, brown your meat in a pan, then add it to the soup/noodle mix. Serve it with a dollop of sour cream.

I’m not sure I’d call this an ERROR… because it was pretty good. But it was a reminder to check all of my ingredients before I start. It would’ve been so much better with egg noodles.

(Stick with me for this post… I’m not feeling very clever with words today.)

The last theme for the Tie one On apron challenge was “Local Pride.”

I was born and raised in Charleston, SC, but spent my teen years in Columbia, SC. When this apron assignment was issued, I was preparing to get married and move to Florida. I thought I wouldn’t have time to complete an apron for Tie One On. But then after we had moved to Pensacola, FL, Amy extended the challenge!

And then, we were packing up to move again, this time to Milton. So…

Finally, in my second house in Florida, I hunkered down and finished my Local Pride apron. I decided to use the deliciously beautiful Emerald Coast of Pensacola as inspiration. The water at the beach here is a lovely clear green, not blue. So with a green theme, and using embroidery, applique, and shisha embroidery, I came up with my this, representing my brand new local pride:

I was craving something creamy and warm, with the onset of Fall weather here in Milton, FL. So I whipped up this comforting soup.

You probably have most of the ingredients in your house right now, so give it a go if the air is starting to get chilly.

Dump in a pot:
1 can of cream of chicken soup (though any “cream of” would probably work)
1 can of milk
1 can of water
1 tbsp bullion (or substitute chicken broth for the can of water)
frozen veggies of your choice
egg noodles

Meanwhile, cut some chicken into chunks and cook it in a pan with a very liberal sprinkling of cinnamon and curry.

When the chicken is done, pop it in the pot with the rest of the stuff. Heat through until the whole thing is warm.

Serve with cheesy garlic biscuits.