LeeLee's Likes............I like glitter

I Like Glitter

     I think glitter is a wonderful invention.  It can add so much sparkle and shine on just about anything it lands on.  That is why recently I made a post on my facebook page that I hope there is glitter in heaven.  I think it would be so much fun to shake a handful down on my family and friends if they are sad or lonely.  I have told them if they have something lightly touch their shoulders to shake it off and know that I am thinking of them.

     I recently finished this project:

     It was a lot of fun to make.  The finishing touch I used was glitter.  It was cute without the glitter however the glitter just makes it stand out.

     This is the unfinished wood that I used:

     I bought it at my local Bennion Craft store.  It would be cute in almost any paint color.  I just happen to have a lot of red and black in my house so I decided to keep it in my decor color.

     Here are the other supplies I hand on hand:

     My electronic cricut vinyl cutter, some cute scrapbook paper, paint and of course some chunkier red glitter. I started by painting the flowers red and the borders black.   Next, I mod podged the flowers pretty heavily and shook the glitter all over the tops.  I lightly pressed it down and let it dry before I shook off the excess glitter.

     I than took the little paper circles out of the frames and traced them on my cute checked scrapbook paper.  Once this was done I cut out the letters J O and Y and stuck each one to the paper circle.  Next I inserted them back in the flower and waalaa the cute everyday craft was done.  I love it!  It would also be extra cute as a frame for your favorite pictures.  Next time I'm putting my cute grandkids in a frame.  Have a glittery good day!

  

Tuesdays Tastebuds..........Kristi's Fireman Lasagne

Kristi's Fireman Lasagne

     I love my special leaf Kristi and I love my son Cameron the firefighter.  So I decided to share a recipe that was given to me several years ago by Kristi.  I am not sure how it got its name but every time I make it I am reminded of two special leaves on my tree.

     The reason I love this recipe for lasagne is because it is so simple.  There are no eggs to mix into the cottage cheese.  There is no water to boil to cook the lasagne.  There are no burns on your fingers as you try to get the slippery lasagne out of the water after it is done cooking. The added bonus is its deliciousness. 

Ingredients:  Uncooked lasagne noodles

                      1 lb. ground beef

                      1/2 cup chopped onion

                      1 (26 oz.) jar spaghetti sauce

                      1 (16 oz.) container cottage cheese

                      2 cups Mozzarella cheese, shredded

                      2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded

                      salt and pepper to taste

Brown hamburger and onion in pan.  Drain excess oil.  Mix cooked hamburger and onion with half of spaghetti sauce.  In greased 9 by 13 inch pan, lay down one layer of uncooked lasagna noodles, covering bottom of pan.  Pour half of the hamburger/spaghetti sauce mixture over noodles, making sure to cover up noodles as much as possible. 

Then spread half of cottage cheese container over the hamburger/spaghetti sauce layer.  Sprinkle one cup of Mozzarella cheese and one cup of Cheddar cheese over lasagne.  Repeat layers being sure to cover lasagne noodles completely.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cover the lasagne with two sheets of foil.  This is what helps cook the noodles.  Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.  Let sit for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Thanks Kristi for sharing the recipe with me and Cameron I hope one of those dang calls doesn't come in right when we're ready to sit down and eat! 

LeeLee's Likes.........Spring is here and I can hear the Robins chirping

Spring is Here

     I am so excited for the warmth of the sun and the beauty of the flowers.  I can spy the buds on my trees and hear the birds chirping.  It can only mean one thing.  Spring has sprung.

     To celebrate I made some cute birdhouses.  I like birdhouses.  I like them in all shapes and colors.  I like to create a few birdhouses each Spring.  These are the two I made the last few days.  I love the colors.  They remind me of all things Spring.

These are the supplies I used.  I found my birdhouse and paint at Bennion Crafts in Kaysville.  I had the small wood items in my craft stash.

Next I painted my birdhouses in these fun colors.  I also painted the cute wood shapes at the same time.

Next I sanded my birdhouses and wooden shapes.  I spray painted my wire green for the flower stems.  Using tacky glue and some hot glue I glued on my wire, wooden shapes and Spanish Moss.  I think they turned out pretty cute!  I hope it gets you excited for Spring.  I know I am!

St. Paddy's Day Craft

     Here is another idea that I came up with for St. Patrick's Day.  You can go to my LeeLee's like post I made last Saturday the 8th of March.  I used the technique for wrapped Hershey's Kisses and put them in jars.
     After I spray painted the lids green I sprayed gold spray glitter on the lids for some added bling.  I bought a cute stamp at Bennion Crafts in Kaysville to make my cute personalized tags.
     There is still time for some last minute crafting so I hope you enjoy as much as I enjoyed making them!

Thoughts for two special leaves on my tree.......

     Yesterday two of my friends lost loved ones.  Brent lost his brother and Cindy lost her mother.  I have never experienced the loss of a sibling or of my mother.  The closest I know of how they are feeling is because I have lost my grandmother and my father.  Reading their posts yesterday made me sad and I wrote a poem for them.

I think about the life I have known,

The tender mercies the Lord has shown.

The times when I have needed a hand,

He has given me experience, I know it was planned.

When I was small and afraid of the dark,

He gave me comfort, he left his mark.

When I was a teen and felt all alone,

He walked beside me, I didn't need to moan.

He walked beside me each step of the way,

Even with illness when I didn't want to stay.

I thought dying would be easier than all of my pain,

If I knew only happiness what would I gain?

Many times I have felt love when others would blame,

We are all here to learn not to feel shame.

Where have they gone and why so soon?

Are they among the stars or shining singular like the moon?

Each life is given so we can share,

We are not alone even though the time doesn't always seem fair.

That is why we need to have help from God above,

By so doing we can feel of His love.

     Cindy and Brent and your families you are in my prayers at this time.

Tuesdays Tastebuds.........Denni's Chicken Cream Cheese Soup

     Denni is one of my best leafs (friends).  In fact you could say we are blls, bestlastingleafs.  I met Denni twelve years ago.  She was a newlywed and her and her husband moved into my neighborhood.  It took me about six months to win over her heart.  She was shy back in the day.  I kept running into her everywhere I went.  I kept saying hi to her and I tried to have conversations with her.  Being that I am 22 years older than her, I, can understand her hesitation.  She just had to find out that I am a young person in an older persons body.  Once she caught onto that she knew I wasn't going away anytime soon.
     I will have more Denni stories as my blog evolves, but, today I wanted to share a soup recipe of Denni's that my family loves. She introduced it to us two years ago and it is delicious!
     1 1b. chicken ( breasts or combination meat )
     1 small onion, diced
     1-2 Tbsp. butter
     2 cups of carrots sliced small
     4-5 small potatoes, diced small
     1 cup milk
     1/4 cup flour
      8 oz. cream cheese
1.  Put chicken in a pot and cover with water (about 4-5 cups) boil until cooked.  Take chicken out of water, but keep the broth.  When chicken is cool, shred.
2.  Saute onion in butter.  Put onion in pot and add carrots and potatoes.  Add four cups of the broth or enough to cover vegetables. ( some of the broth will have evaporated when you cooked the chicken so you may have to add some more water).  Add the shredded chicken.  Add bouillon cubes to flavor ( I add four bouillon cubes).  Bring to a boil and simmer until veggies are tender.

3.  Mix flour with milk and add to soup.  Soften the cream cheese in the microwave, then add to soup in little pieces.  Stir until melted.  This is what makes the soup marvelous!  Season with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

Sunday Satiables......aka Banana Sour Cream Pie

Banana Sour Cream Pie

     I was laying in bed this morning minding my own business when tears started rolling down my cheeks.  It came upon me suddenly and unexpectedly.  I was just thinking about the pies I needed to get up and start making.  One thing lead to another and soon I began thinking about my leaf I call my dad.  My dad loved my pies.  It didn't matter if it was a pumpkin pie, a blueberry pie or a banana cream pie he loved them all.  He would eat them as fast as I could make them.  I lost my dad almost six years ago.  I haven't had a chance to make him a pie in a very long time.  Somehow thinking about pie and thinking about my dad made heaven seem just a little bit closer this morning.

     I have been making this pie since I was 17 years old.  One of my friends Jane Mead used to make it and she shared the recipe with me.  It's my families favorite.

     You need to start by making the pie crust.  Put 2 cups of flour and 1 tsp. of salt in a large mixing bowl.    Stir them together with a fork.  Add one cup of shortening to the flour and while dancing along with Alan Jackson singing Living on love you want to take your pastry blender and mix the shortening into the flour and salt.  It is an uplifting beat and really helps to get the little particles of flour and shortening mixed together.

     Once you have this mixed together well the particles will look the size of coarse cornmeal.  You will add one third to one half cup of water to the mixture.  Toss lightly with a fork and get it well mixed.  Don't add too much water or it will be sloppy and soupy.  You don't want that!  Now you will roll  the dough out to fit into the pie pan or you can take the easy way out and buy a pre-made pie shell and bake it.  The recipe will make three single layer pie crusts or one single and one double pie crust.  Be sure to flute the edge of the pie and prick the dough with a fork before baking.  Bake for 10-15 minutes in a 400 degree oven.
     For the pie you will need the following ingredients:

     Prepare one 5 oz. pudding with two cups of milk. I have enough ingredients pictured for two pies.  Stir one half cup sour cream until smooth.  Fold sour cream into pudding.

     In pie shell, slice up 2-3 bananas, pour pudding over and top with cool whip.  Serves 6-8 depending on size of slices.  Expect a yummily delicious satisfying taste to melt in your mouth!

     This shows what it will look like as you are smoothing the pudding over the bananas. Before you eat it look around the room and cherish those who are there with you.  One day they might not be and you're going to miss them.  Enjoy!