Please help!

Reaching out to the Quilting Community.

 

My friends son has gone missing in Oregon.

He was traveling alone and was heading back to Arizona after visiting a friend in Settle WA. His car was found in the small town of Riddle Oregon.
Below is the Facebook link with his picture and more information.
Please share this link so we can get this information out, the more people who see this the better chances someone will have seen or know something.
Please keep Monica and her son Johnathan in your prayers.
Monica is a quilter and has a long arm quilting business , we need to come together and help anyway we can.  Thank You!
 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=644455742241430&set=a.293336600686681.71900.212865135400495&type=1&theater



Family Favorite

Many of you have asked me for this recipe, so I thought it would be easier to share it on my blog.

 

Easy Chicken Enchilada's

 

 

Ingredients you will need.

2 cups cooked chicken breast

( I bake a whole and half of breast in oven with a little olive oil and seasoning and when it cools down I chop it up.)

 

10 soft shell tortillas

2 cups Monterey Jack Cheese

3 tbs butter

3 tbs of flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

  4oz can of diced green chilies

Recipe didn't call for Cilantro but I love it and I think it cuts the richness of the sauce.

 

Pre heat oven to 350

Mix chicken, 1 cup cheese and some chopped cilantro in a bowl. I add the juice from the chicken into the mixture as well. It add more flavor and keeps the mixture moist.

Here is where I eyeball the amount of mixture I add to a tortilla. I usually use my hands and use a fist full. Lay it on one edge of the tortilla and roll it, place it in a baking pan. I use a 9 by 13 and also an 8 by 8. You don't want to smash them all into one pan.

Next melt 3 tbs of butter in a pan, add flour and cook for one minutes whisking as it cooks. Add broth and continue whisking until mixture thickens and is bubbly. Remove from heat and add the sour cream and green chilies.

Pour mixture of enchiladas, sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake for 22 minutes or until cheese is slightly brown on top.

Serve with a sprinkle of chopped cilantro.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

MIA

Yes, I have been MIA from my blog!

Every time I have thought about posting a blog I think to myself I don't really have anything that interesting to say. Okay, so some of you are thinking when has that ever stopped me before!

 

Lets see, I finished the dreaded tie quilt. I really didn't enjoy this project so I didn't take any final pictures. I did post one on Instagram.

 

I have been obsessed with Instagram lately, you can check out all my pictures there. Follow me at Sewbella50

 

We sent Amanda off to Jr High, can you believe it, Jr High already..... where did all that time go?

 

 

 I am also going back to work a few days a week, I will be back at A Quilters Oasis. That's right back where my obsession for quilting and fabric first started.

I will also be teaching some classes there in a few months, I will be sure to post those classes.

 

Where did our summer go?

 

 

 



No Excuse!

I have no excuse for not blogging in way over a month...except maybe....

 

Okay, I will share with you some of the things that have kept me busy during this past month and maybe you will forgive me for being absent.

Our little backyard farm which we have now named Dill-Licous Farm has kept us very busy, no complaints we are loving it.

 

 

    

There is nothing better than picking fresh vegetables from your own yard.

 

 

 

I made these carrot cake cupcakes from the carrots we grew in our garden.

 

We have also added a few new members to our family (Amanda's not to pleased) but we are loving these girls.

 

 

 

I helped Wally construct the addition to the coop as well.

 

They are so fun to watch and they really have started to develop their own personalities. Yes, they really do have personalities.....

 

My quilt room has been a little neglected this summer. I did make Amanda a duffle bag to use when she goes to Boulder to visit Aunt Barb, I will post a picture of it in the next few days. I am also working on a quilt made with silk ties and a baby quilt for our neighbor Bo and Jessica, who are expecting their first child in a few months.

 

I finally got Wally to help me recover my kitchen chairs. He had 4 days off of work so I chipped away at some of my honey do list.



Before



After



I have also enjoyed some girl time, some shopping, having lunch and lots of laughs.

 

So I guess I have been rather busy this past month, I guess it is true what they say, Time does fly when you are having fun!

 

 



 

 



 

 

 



A gift for a good friend.

I have been wanting to share this quilt with you for a while now, but it was a gift for a very good friend and I know she reads my blog so I couldn't post anything until she received it.

 

I have been having some fun with  Dresden's lately and a while back I saw a similar Dresden quilt on Pinterest.

A year ago my friend Nancy was in town for my son's graduation, she always loves going into my sewing room to see what my latest projects are. She was telling me  that she had recently changed the colors in her living room and was pointed out the new colors in a fabric collection I had in my stash.

After she left I pulled those fabric and put the aside, I decided I would make her something with that fabric for her house.

Time had passed and I kept looking at those fabrics, I went through my patterns and books but nothing really talked to me. I know for some of you that may sound strange, but for the rest of you , you know our fabric talks to us!

So one night in my menopausal 3am in the morning, wide awake, get out of bed and get on the computer time, I found a quilt on Pinterest that called to me. I knew I had found my quilt for those fabrics Nancy picked out several months ago.

As soon as I started making the different Dresden's I fell in love with the pattern.

The next part that I pondered over was the quilting. There was a lot of negative space and I wasn't quite sure what to do.  So it sat on my design wall for a month while I doodled in a sketch book.

It was calling for feathers but it had been a while since I had quilted feathers and I was having a mental block while trying to sketch them. Boy those were some funny looking feathers. I decided I was just going to put the quilt on the machine and start quilting. I convinced myself that it wasn't going to be hanging in a show or judged by expert quilters. Once I relaxed I actually started to get into my design.

I was very happy with the outcome and almost sad to see it go.

 

My fathers has been bugging me to make a quilt for a friend of his. He gave my Mom a box of silk ties several years back and asked if she could make something with them. I think this pattern will be great with those silk ties.

 

I apologize for the poor quality of my pictures, I had to use my cell phone to take the pictures and they just don't show the detail. 

This mornings harvest.

 

Our tomatoes are so happy! This is what we pick this morning.

 

So of course I knew what I had to make for dinner, Lidia Bastianich Pasta with Baked Cherry Tomatoes.

First I halved the tomatoes and put them in a large bowl.

 I added 3 TBS of Olive Oil, 1/4 tsp. pepperoncino flakes and 1/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs. Mix gently and place on baking sheet and place in 350 oven.

While the tomatoes were in the oven I sliced 10 cloves of garlic and chopped 1 cup basil and grated 1/2 cup pecorino.

I put a large pot of salted water on the stove and just before the tomatoes were lightly caramelized  I added the pasta.

Next I added the sliced garlic and 1/2 cup of olive oil in a large pan.

Once the oil starts bubbling I added 2 cups pasta water and turn heat up so I had a rapid boil. Reduce the liquid by half.

 

Next I removed the tomatoes from the oven.



 

Once pasta is AL denta, I lifted it out of the water and into the pan of garlic and olive oil.

Lightly toss pasta and then add tomatoes.

Remove from heat and add the half cup of Pecorino and basil.

Next I add small dollops of Ricotta.

 

As my dear sweet Mother would say "Manga"

 

Sorry for the poor quality of the final picture, it was still steaming and it cause the picture to be a bit blurry.

 

 



 



Cooking from our garden.

Our garden is producing some amazing vegetables!

 

Last night for dinner I made Lasagna using Zucchini instead of noodles.

 

 

I used my mandolin and sliced my Zucchini lengthwise and replaced the noodles with Zucchini.

I place a small amount of Olive Oil on the bottom of my baking dish and put my first layer of Zucchini down.

Next I took Ricotta cheese and mixed in one egg, chopped Chives from the garden, grated Romano Cheese, grated Mozzarella, crushed garlic and salt and pepper.

I then spread a thin layer of the Ricotta mixture over the Zucchini and then laid another layer of Zucchini on top of that. My next layer was sliced tomatoes and lots of fresh Basil on top of the tomatoes. Another layer of Zucchini, more Ricotta another layer of Zucchini and then I topped it with Marinara sauce and grated Romano and Mozzarella cheese.

Baked it in a 350 oven for 30 minutes and let is sit for 15 once out of the oven.

It was delish! My daughter went back for seconds and that says a lot!

Our Cherry tomatoes are starting to turn red and yesterday I picked our first Cucumber. We planted Watermelon and  Pumpkins yesterday and will plant more Sunflowers and Musk Melon this weekend.

We have really enjoyed our garden and learning about the growing season in Arizona.