Finished Denim Rag Quilt

 

Last year I shared a post about salvaging jeans to make a quilt. (Read it HERE)  

I am pleased to announce that I have completed my Denim Rag Quilt!

Here it is all finished:

And the back:

I used denim and fleece, primary, for the backing.

Most fleece pieces were scavenged from a bunch of pajamas that were being given away by someone at church. 

I took some of the denim pieces from the cuff portions of jeans. I took all the stitches out and unrolled the hems. Looking back, I think I had taken saving fabric to an extreme! :)

The block above is special to me.  ^ It came from an apron I had had for many years. The apron was so tattered and stained that this is the only block that I could save from it for a quilt.

Here is a quick explanation of how I made my rag quilt:

I cut 6 1/2 inch squares. I tried to have half of the blocks from jean and the other half from prettier material that was kind of heavy. (And, Boy! Is this quilt heavy!)

I layered a block of jean on the back of the pretty blocks.

Then I sewed a X through both blocks to keep them from shifting 

Once I had all the blocks ready, I started attaching them to one another in rows. 

Then I sewed the rows together. I did two adjoining rows and then the next two rows in sequence and then sewed both of those sections together to create a section of four rows. 

I'll explain it like this:

If the rows were all numbered;

 I sew row #1 to row #2. Then I sew row #3 to row #4. Then I sew section #1-2 to #3-4. This way, (as opposed to sewing #1 to #2 to #3 to #4 to #5.........to#13) makes managing the quilt much easier. Working with smaller sections at a time allows you to have less bulk to maneuver around your sewing machine.

 The last seam was sewing the two halves together.

Never mind the shoe in the corner. :)

I suggest having extra needles for your sewing machine on hand when you sew a quilt like this. There is a lot of bulk to stitch through. I had a couple needles snap while I was working on this project.

The last step is to clip all the seams about every 1/2 inch.

I still have not finished clipping all the seams. It is a big job! I may never get around to it. :)

The raggy edges are not my favorite look, but this technique makes for a quick and easy quilt. I hope this quilt lasts a long time. I think this quilt will be nice for watching 4th of July fireworks. I am not sure if I will ever want to make another rag quilt, but I am glad that have at least made one. :)

Tikka Masala Recipe!

I have been wanting to make this recipe for months and months. It took some time for me to gather the ingredients, but I finally got to try it a few weeks ago. This is the first time I have made a dish that is so heavily inspired by Indian cuisine. The recipe I used was from Chef John. You can access the recipe on allrecipes.com. (Chef John's Tikka Masala Link) I am a big fan of Chef John. Being so confident that I would like his recipe I made a double batch. Mr. In The Mid-west and I really enjoyed Tikka Masala. We ate it 3 or 4 days in a row! It was too spicy for the children, though. 

I made two changes to the original recipe:

#1. I had no chicken broth pre-made so I used water and added some chicken bones to the sauce while it simmered.

#2. I added cooked chick peas to the recipe.

Tikka Masala Recipe

1 1/2 lbs.  Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Thighs

1 TBS. Oil

2 tsp. Kosher Salt

2 tsp. Garam Masala

2 tsp. Cumin

1 tsp. Coriander

1 tsp. Smoked Paprika

1 tsp. Tumeric

1/2 tsp. Black Pepper

1/4 tsp.  Cayenne Pepper

1/8 tsp. Cardamom

2 TBS. Clarified Butter

1 Onion, Chopped

1/4 c. Tomato Paste

4 Cloves Garlic, Finely Grated

1 TBS. Fresh Ginger, Finely Grated

1 c. Crushed Tomatoes

1/2 c. Chicken Broth

1 (13.5oz.) can Coconut Milk

2 TBS. Cilantro, Chopped

1/2 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

1 cup cooked Chick Peas

Drizzle the oil over the chicken thighs. Stir to coat. Combine salt, garam Masala, cumin, coriander, paprika, tumeric, black pepper, cayenne, and cardamom. Sprinkle on chicken a stir to distribute evenly. 

Melt clarified butter in large skillet. Cook thighs in hot butter until browned on all sides, about 5-10 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate to cool. When cool enough to handle cut into bite size pieces.

Cook the onion in the hot butter remaining in the skillet until soft and translucent, 5-6 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir. Saute until paste caramelizes, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Pour crushed tomatoes into the skillet and bring to boil while scraping browned bits off the bottom of the skillet. Pour in coconut milk and chicken broth, bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium low, and cook until sauce is slightly reduced, about 15 minutes.

Stir chicken, cilantro, red pepper flakes, and chick peas into sauce. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer until chicken is cooked through and tender, about 25 minutes.

• Serve with rice, garnish with chopped cilantro.

"If You're Happy And You Know It!"

 

This is a homeschooling idea for preschoolers and kindergartners. I like to sing, "If You're Happy And You Know It," with my little ones when we start our school day. Doing all the motions with them helps them to get all their wiggles out and puts everyone in a good mood. I think our favorite verse is, "Roar out loud!" We have a lot of fun with that! 

We have a Scholastic book with a version of "If You're Happy And You Know It," illustrated by Jane Cabrera. I love Jane Cabrera's illustrations! I grew up with her, "Over In The Meadow," book. It is one of my Mom's favorites. :)

This is the version that we do:

If you're happy and you know it.........

1. Clap your hands,...

2. Stamp your feet,...

3. Nod your head,...

4. Roar our loud,....

5. Spin around,....

6. Go kiss kiss,...

7. Flap your arms,...

8. Say squeak squeak,...

9. Jump around,...

Do you have a favorite verse? What variation do you sing? Let me know in the comments section! 

Proverbs 17:22 

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

Teriyaki Marinade And Teriyaki Chicken Recipe

This Teriyaki Marinade is great for flavoring all sorts of meat, especially for grilling, and vegetables for shish kabobs. I also use this recipe to make a sauce for stir fry sometimes.

Teriyaki Marinade

1/2 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup ketchup

2/3 cup vinegar

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup vegetable oil

5-6 cloves garlic, crushed and minced

2 tsp. ground ginger

Combine ingredients and soak meat and or vegetables overnight. 

Stir Fry Sauce Variation

Cut recipe in half

Omit oil.

Add 1 TBS. corn starch.

When stir fry is almost done pour in sauce and cook 1 minute, until thickened.

Baked Teriyaki Chicken Recipe

1 recipe of Teriyaki Marinade

6-8 lbs. Chicken Legs and/or Thighs

Remove skins from chicken pieces. Soak chicken in marinade for a few hours.

Place chicken onto a sheet pan and bake at 400° F. for 20 minutes.

Pull the chicken out of the oven and dunk each piece into the marinade. Place back onto the sheet pan turning each piece so that the side that had been facing down is now facing up.

Return chicken to the oven and bake 20 minutes longer. 

Add 2 tsp. or 1 TBS. of corn starch, depending upon how much marinade is remaining, to the leftover marinade and boil for 1 minute if you would like a sauce.

Dutch Baby Recipe!

 

This recipe has been a challenge for me to master. The first Dutch Baby that I made puffed up beautifully! It was followed by flat one after flat one. Dutch Babies are also known as German Pancakes, just for future reference.

Flat Dutch Baby, again. :(

I read an article called Why Didn't My Dutch Baby Puff Up? I implemented the techniques from the article. My resulting Dutch Babies were still flat as a pancake, not the kind of pancake I was aiming for. :)

I watched a bunch of YouTube videos on how to make a Dutch Baby. I gleaned a few new pointers. I tried adding these pointers to my recipe and voilá! A perfectly puffed Dutch Baby!

And then another one!

This is how I get consistent results. The method is specific, but it works.

Dutch Baby Recipe

3 TBS. clarified butter or clarify your own butter*

3 eggs at room temperature**

3/4 cup milk at room temperature**

3/4 cup flour 

1 TBS. sugar

2 tsp. vanilla flavoring

Pinch of salt

Confectioners sugar for dusting (optional)

Preheat oven to 400° F. While the oven is preheating place a 10 inch iron skillet into the oven. Heat the skillet for no less than 15 minutes.

In the meantime, combine the room temperature eggs and milk in a mixing bowl. Whisk until mixture is light yellow and no longer stringy, about 1 minute. Add flour, sugar, vanilla, and salt, whisk vigorously to remove lumps and incorporate air, about 1 minute. Set aside batter and let rest for 10 minutes.

At this point you can clarify your butter if you don't already have some.

*To clarify butter: melt the butter in a heat proof container in the microwave or in a sauce pan on the stove. 

Skim the foam from the top of the melted butter and discard.

Gently, dip the butter oil out with a spoon, avoiding any milk settled at the bottom of the vessel.

Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven. Pour 3 TBS. butter oil into the hot skillet. Give the batter one last quick whisk. Pour batter into hot skillet. Swiftly return the skillet to the oven. Cook the Dutch Baby 20-25 minutes, until puffed and golden brown around the edges.

Remove from oven. Using a spatula transfer the entire Dutch Baby from the skillet to a cooling rack for a few minutes to allow the steam to escape without condensing along the bottom and rendering the Dutch Baby soggy. Dust with confectioners sugar when slightly cooled. Slice into wedges and serve. 

**For room temperature eggs I leave them out of the refrigerator overnight. And for room temperature milk I heat it ever so slightly on the stove.