Month: March 2019

New Civil War Frock

Dear Sis,

William grew out of his 18 month size frock I made him last summer. To be ready for an event at the end of April we made a size 2T. He picked his own fabric! 

I’m planning to make Laughing Moon’s pleated wrapper pattern for myself as a maternity/sizing down dress, so I had pleats on my mind when I searched for an inspiring original on which to base William’s new frock. 

1850-55 Dress for a Boy or Girl, MET Collections

I used Elizabeth Clark’s Infant Gown pattern with the unlined “Infant” bodice option, collected into 1/2 inch pleats. I did have to add fabric for four more pleats because the pattern piece wasn’t quite full enough.

The neck and sleeve bands are created with a 1/4 inch rolled hem, whip stitched in place. 

The bodice and skirt are attached with a 1 inch waist band that it top stitched at the top and bottom to add security to the pleating of both the skirt and bodice.

The skirt has 2 (30 inch) panels, a 2 inch hem, and 3 (1/2 inch) pin tucks to follow the theme established in the bodice.

Front

Back

I found some passable metal buttons in my button tin that I’ll be adding as a closure along with hand stitched button holes.

Happy Sewing!

Love,

b

Pizza Hamantaschen

Dear Sis,

These super easy pizza bites are perfect for toddlers at Purim!

We used a packaged refrigerator section pizza dough to save time and effort. 

We got 1 dozen 2 1/2 inch circles. If we had taken the time to roll out the leftover dough,we would have gotten a few more:)

We placed a dollop of sauce in the center of each dough circle and topped it with one slice of turkey pepperoni, some turkey sausage, and a bit of shredded cheese. Then we folded them into triangles like traditional Hamantaschen cookies and baked them.

We used the temperature suggested on the dough package and just kept a close eye knowing they wouldn’t need to bake anywhere near the suggested 20 minutes:)

Happy Purim!

Love,

b

Traditional Hamantaschen

Dear Sis,

We made traditional jelly filled Hamantaschen cookies in the morning to share with our Jewish neighbors and munch on throughout the day. 

Hamantaschen
Yields 30
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Ingredients
  1. 4 oz cream cheese, soft
  2. 1/2 c unsalted butter, soft
  3. 1/4 c granulated sugar
  4. 1 t vanilla extract
  5. 1/4 t salt
  6. 1 c unbleached flour
  7. 1/4 c apricot preserves
  8. 1/4 c raspberry preserves
  9. 1 egg white, beaten
Instructions
  1. Cream together cheese, butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt until fluffy.
  2. Stir in flour until dough forms. Wrap in plastic and chill 30 min - overnight.
  3. Line baking sheets with parchment.
  4. Full dough on a floured/powdered sugared surface to 1/8". Cut 2 1/2" disks and place on prepared sheets.
  5. Warm preserves in microwave slightly to make more pliable. Fill each cookie center with preservers.
  6. Brush egg white around edges, fold into a triangle, press, to seal.
  7. Chill 30 minutes before baking!
  8. Bake cookies 12 minutes at 350.
Adapted from Saveur
Adapted from Saveur
Tag Sis, You're It! https://www.tagsisyoureit.com/
William rolled out a half dozen of his own. They turned out so much like the rest it was hard to tell them apart. My kitchen helper is getting better all the time:) …still pretty messy with the flour though.

Happy Purim!

Love,

b

Purim Crafts

Dear Sis,

Today we made some crafts in preparation for Purim later this week.

We decorated foam masks from the craft store. William started by coloring his. Then we glued on some fun feathers, pompoms, and wiggly eyes.

We also started reading our new kid friendly book of Easter: The Queen Who Saved Her People by Tilda Balsley.

My review: This picture book is written in rhyme, and humor even parents will enjoy.  It hits all the key points of the story without trying to force deductions on the reader. The story is blunt and un-sugar coated, without over asserting the violence of the book. A great Tanakh story for the whole year! 

We also made graggers (noise makers). Though they don’t win any ascetic awards, William loved painting the toilet tubes, taping up the ends, and putting dry pasta in them:) What toddler doesn’t enjoy a thing that makes noise when you shake it?! 

Happy Purim!

Love,

b

Honey Mustard Chicken

Dear Sis,

Today we tried another great and simple freezer meal.

Honey Mustard Chicken
Serves 6
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Ingredients
  1. 3 (1 gallon) freezer bags
  2. 18 chicken thighs
  3. 1 1/2 c honey
  4. 3/4 c unsalted butter
  5. 1/2 c prepared mustard
  6. 1 T curry powder
  7. 2 t salt
Label bags
  1. Preheat oven to 350. Run freezer bag under water just enough to remove frozen chicken from bag. Pour into a square baking dish.
  2. Bake 30 minutes. Separate chicken into a single layer and cook 1 hour more until sauce gets thick and sticky.
Fills bags
  1. Place 6 chicken thighs in each freezer bag.
  2. Combine remaining ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat and cook until dissolved and smooth. Cool before pouring equally over chicken thighs.
Adapted from Fix Freeze Feast by Kati Neville and Lindsay Ahrens
Adapted from Fix Freeze Feast by Kati Neville and Lindsay Ahrens
Tag Sis, You're It! https://www.tagsisyoureit.com/

Goes well with Mashed Potatoes and Cracker Barrel Style Carrots.

Love,

b

William’s New Bedding

Dear Sis,

Now that my first trimester nausea has finally passed. I can again get back to sewing… and life:) William uses a railed top-bunk bed instead of a toddler bed. The low profile mattress makes fitted sheets way too big! The rail makes bed-making insanely difficult. Plus the cheap synthetic sheets and quilt we have make William sweat like crazy. We solved all those problems with our custom bedding set. 

We used cotton flannel for both the sheet and pillow case.

The quilt was the largest part of the project. We purchased fabric that was already pieced to save time and effort, but we still had to seam the backing, batt, yarn-tie quilt each square, and binde the quilt. Here is a closer look at the fabric William chose. He is so proud to be part of the process!!!

The best part… our quilt fits the railed bed perfectly.

Tuck free bed making means William can do it himself!

Love,

b

 

Sweet Meatballs

Dear Sis,

Today we had a playdate with Carter and Mama Jen. The Mama’s made two homemade meatballs dishes each while the boys enjoyed a nice spring day outside!

Sweet Meatballs
Yields 120
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Ingredients
  1. 4 (1 gallon) freezer bags
Meatballs
  1. 6 lb ground beef
  2. 3 c Italian bread crumbs
  3. 2/3 c whole milk
  4. 4 eggs, lightly beaten
  5. 1/4 c onion, minced
  6. 2 T garlic, minced
  7. 1 T salt
  8. 2 t pepper
Sauce
  1. 4 c ketchup
  2. 2 c dark brown sugar
  3. 2 c red wine vinegar
  4. 2 c Worcestershire
  5. 2 T garlic, minced
  6. 2 T onion, minced
  7. 1 T dry mustard
  8. 2 t pepper
Meatballs
  1. Combine meatball ingredients and shape into 120 meatballs.
  2. Bake meatballs in foil lined pans at 500 for 15 minutes. Cool.
Label freezer bags
  1. Thaw in refrigerator.
  2. Pour into a 9x13 dish and bake 30 minutes at 350.
Fill bags
  1. Place 30 meatballs in each bag.
  2. Combine sauce ingredients and pour it equally over each bag of meatballs.
  3. Freeze up to 3 months.
Adapted from Fix Freeze Feast by Kati Neville and Lindsay Ahrens
Adapted from Fix Freeze Feast by Kati Neville and Lindsay Ahrens
Tag Sis, You're It! https://www.tagsisyoureit.com/

Goes well with rice, mashed potatoes, or mac and cheese with a side of green beans.

It would also go well with whatever your family usually likes with BBQ.

It was nice enough to eat outside again today!

Love,

b

Make Ahead Marinate

Dear Sis,

My freezer meal campaign has me reimagining a lot of foods in a make-ahead way. Any marinate can be made in a large batch and frozen in portions and thawed to use on a cut of meat, poultry, or fish later!

Brown Sugar Bourbon Salmon
Serves 2
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Ingredients
  1. 1 lb fresh salmon
  2. 1/2 c orange juice
  3. 1/4 c dark brown sugar
  4. 2 T bourbon
  5. 2 T soy sauce
  6. 1 T minced onion
  7. 1/2 T minced ginger
Instructions
  1. Place marinate in gallon size bag. Add salmon. Massage and chill 6-8 hours.
  2. Preheat oven to 350. Place salmon in a baking dish skin side down.
  3. Bake 15-25 minutes depending on thickness of filet.
Adapted from Fix Freeze Feast by Kati Neville and Lindsay Ahrens
Adapted from Fix Freeze Feast by Kati Neville and Lindsay Ahrens
Tag Sis, You're It! https://www.tagsisyoureit.com/

We made a fresh batch for dinner and three additional batches of marinate for the freezer.

It was in the mid-60s today. I couldn’t bring myself to bring William in from his play for dinner, so I brought it to him!

Love,

b