Homemade Pasta Sauce and Tasty Tuesday Party

 

This is one of our family favorites! Its my attempt to make a less heavy and lower calorie cream sauce. 

Health(ier) White Cream Sauce

Low fat milk

Cream Cheese (8 oz)

Butter

Olive Oil

Parmesan Cheese

This recipe does not have exact measurements, but its hard to go wrong! I start by melting the cream cheese in a bit of butter and olive oil. I also threw in some finely chopped onions at this point for flavor, but that's optional. After the cheese is melted I add about a cup of milk and 1/2 cup of Parmesan. Let cook for a couple of minutes on low heat, then add pasta and steamed broccoli if desired. 

My husband really likes tomato cream sauce, so before I added the pasta I added around a cup of tomato sauce to the mix. We eat it both ways and its great both ways! I add fresh chopped tomatoes on top and you have a delicious dinner.

Now onto the AMAZING features from last week. Thanks again for all the great links! I have more recipes to try that dinners in the week. Love seeing all the yummy things you are making. Here are a few that stood out to me...

Real Food Forager- Arugula Salad

Chef in Training-Fruit Pizza

Hungry Homebody-Panzella Salad

A Step in the Journey-Peach Cobbler

Now onto the party for this week.

1. Please link up food only items

2. visit a few other links and show some comment love!

3. link back to this site in some way to so others can find and join.

4. most important... HAVE FUN!

Christmas Tree Skirt Tutorial- Part 2 (putting it all together)

For Part One (learning how to paper piece) go HERE 
This Tutorial will begin where we left off last time.
You should have 12 sections that all look similar to the picture below. 

Lay them out in the order you are going to sew them together. Pin and sew each piece. 

I did two sections of six pieces...

Like this... The sewed the two large pieces together.

I laid it out to check to make sure it was the way I wanted...

Now for the backing. Lay out the color you will use. I had to piece two pieces of red together to make it wide enough.

 

With right sides together, lay the top on the backing.

 Next, Trim around so the backing is the same size. I was a little generous when I trimmed

.

 

Make two strips for the ties (to keep the skirt around the tree) Here's one of mine.

 Tuck the ties inside the skirt before you sew it together. They will then be on the outside when its turned.

 

Sew the front and back together, leaving a hole to turn. It needs to be large as there is a lot of material to pass through.

 Clip the points, corners and the curve around the center before you turn.

 Close the opening.

 I decided to top stitch around the whole thing, and down the lines where each of the twelve sections are connected.

 I like the way it keeps it all together.

 and... You're FINISHED!!!  I would love to see any pictures you take using this pattern! (I may have to start a flickr group!) Please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions after trying this tutorial. Thanks!

Linking to my Saturday and Monday parties, listed HERE

Paper Piecing Christmas Tree Skirt (Tutorial and Pattern!)

 

The baby loves our new Christmas Tree skirt and so do I! Today I'm sharing my pattern (for free!) and the tutorial so you can make your very own!

What you will need:

3 to 4 yards of various Christmas Materials

3 1/2 yards for the backing

Rotary Cutting Board and Cutter

add 1/4 in rotary ruler

Perfect corner ruler (or any piece of paper laminated to make thicker and stronger)like an index card...

Printed Pattern

Iron

paper piecing tree skirt




Or Google Doc. Go HERE

 Begin cutting the material. For the LARGE triangles (No. 17 and 19) I used the pattern and cute a triangle around 1/2 inch bigger than needed. I used a variety of fabrics for both pieces to have options.

 For all the other pieces needed I cut strips of all the fabrics. Some 3inches wide and some 4 inches wide. This should cover all the other pattern pieces. You will cut the lengths later.

Trace the printed pattern onto tissue paper. You can use an old pattern or just gift tissue paper (what I did). Turn the pattern over, so the numbers are backwards.

 Place your first piece of fabric (right side up facing you) over the # 1 pattern spot. Use fabric from your strips, just cut the length to fit.  Make sure you have at least a 1/4 inch around all sides of the #1 piece.

 Take the fabric you are using for the #2 (make sure it has 1/4 allowance around all sides) and place right sides together on top of #1.

 I place one pin in the middle to keep everything in place.

 Now, turn the whole pattern over so the right side of the pattern is up, and sew on the line between the 1 and 2.

 Turn everything back over to the material side and iron open the seam. Step one done!

 **This is where your laminated card comes in handy. Turn the pattern back over (you will be flipping A LOT!) and place your card on the line where the next number (3) intersects with the numbers you just sewed (1 and 2).

Fold the paper pattern back on the line with the card and hold it secure.
 Place your ruler which adds 1/4 inch over the card and hold.

 Take your rotary cutter and cut off any fabric outside the ruler. This will leave a perfect 1/4 seam allowance for your next piece and get rid of the extra bulky material.

 When you unfold the pattern and turn back over, this is what you should now see.

Place the third piece of fabric right sides together over the other two, so when sewn will cover the #3 place on the pattern.

 Pin...

 Sew...

 Iron open... AND REPEAT from the ** only this time you will cute between the 3 and 4.

 

Repeat until you have a panel that looks something like this:

Eleven more to go!

 Here I have laid out all the panels to arrange the design. It was pretty random.. but just wanted to double check. I've removed one piece here so you can see the paper still on the back.

Well, that should get you all started! Ill do another post showing how I sewed it all together and put on the backing!
Part 2: HERE

Linking to the Wednesday and Thursday and Friday posts HERE

Chocolate Zucchini Cake and Tasty Tuesday Party

 

I'm not a huge sweets person... But... I LOVE this cake! Its almost a vegetable (Ha!)

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup oil (or applesauce)

1 3/4 cup white sugar

2 eggs 

2 cups grated Zucc

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup buttermilk (of milk with 1 tsp lemon juice added)

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

3/4 cup chocolate chips

 

Preheat oven to 350...

Cream butter, oil, sugar and vanilla in one bowl.

Add the eggs, beat well, mix in Zucchini.

Mix flour, cocoa and soda in a separate bowl.

Add mixtures together, mix in the buttermilk. 

Pour into greased pan, sprinkle nuts and chips on top. Push them into the batter a bit.

Bake for around 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Now.... onto the features from last week. THANK YOU all SO much for all the links and comments. What a wonderful week... over 100 links (I was SO excited!!!) and many lovely comments. You are all so sweet! I'm excited to feature all new bloggers this week and it was really hard to choose...

Blest Nest - Chinese Wontons

Life's Simple Measures- Chocolate Amish Friendship Bread

Grandma Loy's Kitchen- Nutty Carrots

Making Memories- Racing to the Dinner Table

Scout's Stitches- Green Rice Casserole

 

Now onto the party for this week!

1. link up food items only

2. Visit a few other links and leave nice comments!

3. link back to this blog in someway. Thanks...

So You Think Your're Crafty - Audition Project

 YEAH! So I made it!! (I think!) results will be OFFICIAL on Monday. Thanks so much for all the votes for my Christmas tree skirt!!!
I think I should have clarified in my post that the term paper piecing is the technique...Its not actually paper. Its fabric, all sewn together using the paper piecing technique. So I will have to be more detailed in my next S.Y.T.Y.C. post. The season starts in two weeks, don't worry, I'll keep you posted as we go!
I'm working on the tutorial and FREE pattern for this tree skirt. I'll post that sometime next week. Thanks again!

 here's my audition post
It's never to too early to start thinking about Christmas (in my opinion!)... Who has time to actually do Christmas crafts at Christmas anyway? I'm always too busy with other activities... So, I got a head start this year! I can't wait for Christmas time to roll around to put it under a real tree.

Paper Piecing Christmas Tree Skirt
(as modeled by a bush!)



  Shared here:
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Made By You Monday 
Making the World Cuter
Craftastic Monday link up
Sew Cute Tuesday