Fall Gift Tags

 I like to give out baked goods to friends and/or neighbors.  I have four people in mind to give to this year.  

I wanted some cute gift tags to include with my gift of food. 

I used only supplies that I had on hand. The tags are made from cardstock paper. 

• Buttons
• Images that I cut from ribbon
• Emblishment jewels and faux pearls
• Vintage Ribbon 
• Words from old books

 

These were very easy to make and were made in under an hour.

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Stuffed Shells Pasta

 

My mom made this recipe when I was growing up.  It is quick and easy to make.

Start by  cooking a box of jumbo pasta shells.

While they are cooking, mix together the  following items

• Bag of frozen spinach 
• 15 oz container of ricotta cheese
• 2 generous cups of Italian blend cheese

Mix until well blended. You  don't need to cook the spinach. 

When the shells are just tender, drain  off the water and let them sit for a few minutes. You don't  want them too soft.  

When the  shells have cooled enough to touch, spoon the ricotta mixture into the them.

Line up the filled shells in a baking pan. 

I overfilled my shells just a bit and the filling started to fall out.  

Cover with 

Regular red pasta sauce or meat sauce.  

Regular red sauce will spill over the noodles better.  The meat sauce kinda stayed on  the top of the shells. (I think I will do thinner sauce next time). 

Cover the sauce and the shells with more Italaian blend cheese.  

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes.  Check for bubbling and golden melted cheese. 

It  was a wonderful meal. We topped ours off with Texas toast, coleslaw salad  and some fresh fruit. 

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Bread

 This recipe is a family favorite.  I made double and triple batches of this bread when we lived in rural Nebraska.  Neighbors would leave boxes of zucchini on our porch. 

Start with a nice-sized zucchini.  Give it a good washing. You are going to be using the skin as well.  

Shred it in a food processor or on a food grater.  

It has a lot of moisture in it.  If you leave it in... the bread will turn mush and really bake. 

The moisture will need to be squeezed out.  I cover the shredded zucchini with paper towels and squeeze.  The paper towels will get very wet.  Toss them and get a new paper towel.  Keep doing this until the zucchini is "almost dry".  

Now start adding your ingredients:

3 large eggs                                                       1 cup butter, melted or super soft

2 cups zucchini, grated                                      3 cups all-purpose white flour

1/2 teaspoon salt                                           1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda                                   1 cup white granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon                             1 cup (or about) chocolate chips

              Option: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

The dough will be quite wet. 

Put it in a well-greased loaf baking pan. 

Bake for about 40 minutes to an hour in a 350-degree oven.

Watch carefully around the 40-minute mark, this bread browns quickly but the inside will still be "gooey".  Check it with a toothpick.  If you need to cover it with a piece of aluminum foil. When the toothpick comes out fairly clean, it is done. 

Let the bread cool in the pan.  

When cool enough to touch the loaf pan, run a butter knife along the edge between the bread and the pan.  This will loosen the bread. 

Allow it to cool even more on a cooling rack. 

Cut into slices and enjoy!!

That is me, taste-testing a slice. 😼

The loaf of bread will disappear very quickly. 

If baking one loaf:   it will stay fresh in a ziplock bag or wrapped in aluminum foil for a few days (leave a small open crack in the ziplock bag). 

Freezing (if making multiple loaves) -- put in a freezer-safe bag.  Allow the bread to thaw completely and transfer to a new ziplock bag or aluminum foil. 

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Low Bookcase Autumn Decor

I rationalized that if I keep it simple, I could allow myself to decorate my living room for the fall season.  

I decided to start with my low bookcases.  

Bookcase #1

I placed a carnival glass bowel and rearranged the books .  

I plan to swap out the seashells with faux leaves in a few weeks. 

In the oppostive corner, I created this small vignette. 

I just love the colors in this bowl. 

Bookcase #2

I  already had my  crackle glass vase and pitcher on display, so I added these cermaic leaves. 

The crackled glass is amazing and I hope to find more pieces like it. 

While it doesn't yet scream "Fall is Here!!", that will changed in a few weeks. 

Large Utensil Drawer Reorganize

 We have three cooks in our home.  Sometimes the mixing and serving utensils get jumbled up and messy. 

It was time to organize them again. 

I started out by emptying the drawer and wiping it clean.  

Then I sorted the drawer contents and created a plan to reorganize everything.

I grouped the spatula together and then all of the serving spoons.  I put the grill utensils in the back of the drawer since we only use them on the weekends. I bagged up the canning supplies and might even get rid of them later. 

I neatly stacked the potholders and  I realized that I need to make or buy ones.  Mine are looking quite shabby. 

This setup is so much better.  We can easily find the tools we need when cooking, and the potholders are all in one spot. 

I want to order a large utensil caddy for this drawer to keep things from moving around too much. 

Flatware Drawer Reorganize

When we moved into our house a few months ago,. I decided to reorganize everything by first emptying out the entire drawer and sorting through all the items. After that, I cleaned the drawer with warm, soapy water and let it dry. I also cleaned the flatware tray organizer, which had accumulated bread and cracker crumbs. After reorganizing, I used a dish to hold all the chip clips and categorized the utensil organizer into sections for measuring spoons, can openers and zester, and narrow tools. I used tins in the back of the drawer to hold less frequently used items such as extra coasters, corn on the cob handles, and beer/pop can openers.

I decided to reorganize everything by first emptying out the entire drawer and sorting through all the items. After that, I cleaned the drawer with warm, soapy water and let it dry.

I also cleaned out the flatware tray organizer which had acculmulated  bread and cracker crumbs in it.

                                                                        So much better!!

After reorganizing, I used a dish to hold all the chip clips and categorized the utensil organizer into sections for measuring spoons, can openers, zester, and narrow tools. I used tins in the back of the drawer to hold less frequently used items such as extra coasters, corn-on-the-cob handles, and beer/pop can openers.

It is much easier to find things in the drawer now and it is crumb-free. 

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Changing the Bedsheets

I take all the blankets and sheets off the bed every Monday morning.   Instead of immediately putting clean sheets right back on,  I let the bed air out for several hours.

While the bed airs out, I wash and dry the sheets since I only have one set per bed to save on strorage.

I also iron the pillowcases for that extra crisp and clean feel, as my grandmother taught me. 

Remember to put the patterned side of your flat sheet closest to your body so you can enjoy the beautiful design when you fold it back. 

When putting the bed back together, I put the pillows in the dryer on high heat to kill dust mites. I also do this with the throw pillows. 

A freshly made bed always make the bedroom look put together and feel fresh, ready for a new week.

For more tips and tricks on bedroom cleaning and tidying, check out this post

Bedroom Days