What's cookin?

I love trying new recipes and am blessed to have family that is willing to try them. Do you have an over abundance of zucchini? I did a google search for recipes and printed off a few that sounded good. A couple got thrown out, but here is one that was very yummy and is going in the recipe box.
I got the recipe for this from here:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cheese-and-Sausage-Stuffed-Zucchini/Detail.aspx
but I changed a few things, so here is what I did:

Cheese and Sausage Stuffed Zucchini
INGREDIENTS
12 ounces pork sausage and hamburger mixed
1 large zucchini
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup shredded Colby cheese
2 cups cottage cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pinch garlic powder
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes (I didn't have tomatoes, but we put salsa on top. I will make with tomatoes when they are ready in the garden)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a baking dish (size is dependent on the size of your zucchini).
Place crumbled sausage and hamburger in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain and set aside.
Partially cook zucchini in the microwave on high for 5 minutes. Remove from the microwave and let cool for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl combine eggs, Colby cheese, cottage cheese, Italian blend cheese, onion, salt and pepper.

Slice the zucchini in half lengthwise, remove the seeds and rinse. Place both halves in prepared baking dish and sprinkle with garlic powder. Layer the sausage, tomatoes and cheese mixture in each half.
Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes.

This is Strawberry and Mango Salsa. This recipe is so easy and you can see it here on Nichole's blog. I made it like she said and we ate it on ice cream. With the hot temps we've been having it was so yummy and refreshing. I had bought several mangoes when they were on sale last week to make this recipe for Strawberry Mango Slush that Anna had on her blog (didn't get a picture taken). So we had plenty when I saw this a day or two later on Nichole's. I didn't have an ice cream maker for the slush, so just used our blender. We added some mangoes and strawberry's and ice to the blender as well as the juices. It too was very refreshing and yummy and the boys were asking for more. Thank you Nichole and Anna for sharing your yummy recipes that will now be family favorites!!
Here is the last recipe to share. I am a hoarder of recipes! I see recipes I like and put them in a file folder. Then eventually I get them made and they either go in the trash or the recipe box. Here is a recipe I took out of Taste of Home in 1997 and just got around to making it!! We have been missing out!! Before I post it I want to share a tip that we do here. We buy lots of bananas when they are on sale and in the summer it is hard to get them eaten before they get too ripe. I can't eat a banana that shows ANY brown on the skin, but the boys can. When they are starting to get brown, I put them in the freezer in their skins. Then when we want muffins, cookies, bread, etc, I take out however many bananas are needed and I let them thaw in a stainer. This way the "juice" drains. All you have to do is cut the top and the banana squeezes right out. The skins will be black, but the flesh is still "banana" colored. You can also slice the bananas frozen for a summer treat.
Okay, on to a VERY delicious banana muffin!!


Double Chocolate Banana Muffins
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/3 cups mashed ripe bananas (I used 3 bananas)
1/3 cup canola oil
1 egg
1 cup (6 ounces) miniature semisweet chocolate chips
(semisweet chocolate chunks are yummy too)

In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In a small bowl, combine bananas, oil and egg; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done.

Patchwork Card

I heard from Kerry that she rec'd this card so now I can post. This was a card I made for a patchwork challenge on a group I belong to. It was alot of fun to make. The squares were cut 1 1/4". If you have a punch that size that would make it even quicker. I didn't, but that's ok, because now I can make several more cards like this with the strips I already have cut. Ü Supplies-All Stampin' Up!:
Stamps: Seeing Spots
Ink: Basic Black, Cranberry Crisp (I stamped off once and it matched the paper pretty good. I don't have any of the new In Color ink pads)
Cardstock/paper: Basic Black, white, Wild Wasabi, Purely Pomegranate, Cutie Pie patterned paper
Other: sanding block, scallop circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, brad

Sneak Peek Time!

WOOHOO!!!! Today starts the Storage Units Ink & More Sneak Peek Week for August's new stamp set releases! Today Leigh and I will be sharing the first of the peeks. This card uses the new exclusive stamp set Bear With Me. I am having so much fun making my own background paper using these clear stamps. You can see exactly where you are stamping and it is so easy to do. That is what I did for the panel with all the little teddies. I used Core'dinations cardstock from three different sets: Blue Moss and Arctic Pool from Turquoise Waves, Vanilla Cream from Creams and French Roast from Coffee Cafe. The bears were stamped with Basic Black and colored with Gamsol and colored pencils.

Nesting Chick

Another card I made using Inky Antic images for the Summer CHA in Chicago.

What's Cookin' chick?

Card I made using Inky Antic stamps for CHA in Chicago.

Birthday Wishes

I loved the layout of the card I did when I did the SCS Featured Stamper of Stephanie Hargis (you can see it here). It is a great way to use up scraps of patterned paper and to make several cards at once.

I have a box with cardstock scraps that is organized by color in gallon ziplock bags. All of the pieces are smaller than 1/4 sheets.

I have a shoe box that has 1/4 sheets of cs that are arranged by color. I was able to make 5 cards very quickly with this layout and organization tool.

I pulled a partial sheet of patterned paper from my scrap box-patterned paper scraps are kept in a pizza box (25 cents for Pizza Hut boxes)-matched the blue in the pp with the 1/4 sheets I had already cut and went thru my ribbon, found some to match as well as some paper flowers for accent.

I needed to make birthday cards, so grabbed a SU! set with a birthday sentiment and went to work. By doing this assembly line fashion, in less than 1 hour I had 5 cards completely done.

Put Me In, Coach!

This is the last of the 3 cards that went to CHA. This card was made with the Put Me In, Coach set from Storage Units, Ink & More.
There was some masking done to make it look like the boy was in front of the bench.
The "grass" is made with the bat. I just inked the center part of the bat and then stamped over and over (reinking each time) at slighty different angles till I got it as full looking as I wanted. To me the boy looks like he has a wistful look on his face, and he is trying hard to keep smiling as he is waiting for the Coach to put him in the game and the grass is growing all around him. (this could be me-if it were a girl-cuz the coach wouldn't have wanted to put me in esp if it was a close game LOL!!)
To make the sky, I tore a piece of computer paper in a cloud shape and then sponged lightly blue over and over to give the look of clouds. After doing the grass there was just too much white.

Frog Eye Salad

I love frog eye salad and when I was playing with the Leap Frog set from Storage Units, Ink & More, I thought how fun it would be to make a recipe card for the salad. How fun would this be to pull this kind of card out of your recipe box than just a piece of paper or an index card! Click on the image to see a larger view of it if you want the recipe. If you still can't read it, let me know.

All Things Grow Seed Packet

This is the first of 3 cards that I made for Denise to take to CHA to be in the Core'dinations/Storage Units, Ink & More Booth.

The flowers remind me of Shasta Daisies. I made a pocket card for a seed pkt of flowers. This would be a fun card to send to a gardening friend.

The tab on the seed packet is made with SU's tab punch.

Raincoat Lucy

I love this image by Inky Antics. Just makes me want to go out and play in the rain (I know, *some* of you who may read and live here are wondering WHAT rain!).

I am finally getting the images I colored way back in May made into cards!

I used the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder again for this. Right now, I think it's my favorite design. Ü If you missed the post yesterday, just click on the Embellish It Online banner on the right and it will take you to the EIO store. You can then click on "Cuttlebug" and it will bring up a couple of pages of Cuttlebug items. The swiss dots is on the first page.

Teapot Challenge #1

Okay, I'm almost a week late, but then not really, cuz you can post anytime!
Over at EIO, Mothermark (Cindy) is posting a Teapot Inspiration Challenge on Tuesday's. You all are invited to come and play. She has some of the COOLEST teapots!! Here is her teapot:

Here is my take on her first challenge. I know, not really close, but the set reminds me of Holland and I just went with the colors.

Let's just say this card isn't even CLOSE to how it started. I did several over before I got anything I liked. Maybe it's because I didn't sew on it! Ü

The dots are made with a Cuttlebug Embossing Folder called "Swiss Dots". You can buy it in the Embellish-Online Store. Just click the Embellish On-line button in my right column.

Flower stamp is from a discontinued CTMH stamp set. Verse is from Stampabilities (Hobby Lobby).

Lizzie Ann Flower

This is the other card I made for the Lizzie Ann Designs sketch contest.

I love to sew, so I pierced around the image after I had colored the flower with Gamsol and colored pencils and then hand stitched (embroidered really) the flower. I love the texture this gives my cards. I added Cinnamon Stickles to the center of the flower for more detail.

Papers used are Basic Grey from the Blush collection.

Hey Cupcake!

Here is another card I entered for the sketch contest and this card won that sketch challenge! There were 3 sketch challenges and 1 winner from each, then the grand prize. I didn't win the grand prize, but I did win one set and that is very exciting! Thank you to all of the design team that voted for my card.

Lizzie Ann Mermaid

I entered this card (and a couple of others) for a Lizzie Ann Designs sketch contest. They will post the winner tonight. I have seen the other entries and know who I would choose if I was a judge, but can still cross my fingers can't I? The winner wins all of the July releases. My favorite is the fall set with the scarecrow!
I won't even be able to know right away who won, because Aaron has a Bible School program tonite, so will be away when they announce the winner. I will definitely be checking in as soon as I get home. Ü I will post the other two cards I made Saturday and Sunday.
Now I need to go work on my Storage Units, Ink & More sneak peek for August (July 28) and my EIO items that will go live the first week of August. Stay tuned and I will let you know when and where you can view the fun new stuff I'm working on! After CHA, I will post the items I made for SUINK & More for CHA.

Master Calls Butterfly

I have always loved this sentiment. I recently got both the sentiment and the butterfly from Inky Antics. Yesterday, I decided it was time to ink it up. I am pleased with how it turned out.

The flower is only attached by the center to give it a dimenional look.

Images: Inky Antics

Cardstock: Creamy Caramel-SU!; black-Bazzill; white-Wal-Mart

Ink: SU!'s Basic Black, creamy caramel and white

Other: Gamsol, colored pencils

Girly Play Ball!

I wanted to make a more "girly" looking card with the Put Me In, Coach! set. I have another card to show you later that I made with this set, but after seeing this Sunday's Featured Stamper Challenge on SCS, I knew I wanted to show this card first. The featured stamper was Stephanie Hargis. I case'd this card of hers. I loved the simplicity of it and yet it also is very classy. I know I will be making more cards with this look.

Supplies:

stamp set: Put Me In, Coach!-Storage Units, Ink & More

cardstock: Core'dinations Scotch from the Harvest Yellows set

ink: Basic Black-SU

other: Gamsol, Prismacolored pencils, ribbon-Target, piercer

Play Ball treat box

I think I've said before how much I love these boxes by Nichole Heady! They are so quick and fun to make. You can see a step by step tutorial for these here.

I used the Put Me in Coach! stamp set from Storage Units, Ink & More and Black Iris from Core'dinations Indigos Blues cardstock set. Red is Bazzill and white is Georgia-Pacific. I colored with colored pencils and Gamsol.

Hoppy Day bag and card

This was really fun to make. The bag pattern was from a PaperCrafts magazine. I stamped a full 8.5" x 11" sheet of white cardstock with the frog stamp from Storage Units, Ink & More Leap Frog set. I colored with Gamsol and colored pencils and then cut up for my projects. This box is a perfect size to fill with cards or any kind of goodies. Solid cardstock is Core'dinations.

The sketch for the card was for Julee's Mojo Monday challenge this week.

Thanks Coach!

It seems we need alot of these cards. Benjamin has a wonderful Cross Country/Track & Field distance running coach-they are the one and same. Mr. Petit really CARES about his "kids". He is always encouraging them, has them over for spaghetti feeds, watermelon feeds, BBQ's, and sets up running times for them as a group throughout the summer and winter when they aren't involved in any other sports. He sets goals for them (many then set their own a little higher) and helps them reach those goals. He is very careful when it comes to their safety too. If they get hurt, he will NOT let them run until he is sure they are ready, even if a dr. says it is ok. He knows the kids that well. So we are always in need of thank you cards for him (and his wife Ü) for everything they do for the kids.

The shoe is from Storage Units, Ink & More's "Put Me in Coach" baseball set, but I am using it for a cross country/track theme. I like sets like this that you can take and use "out of the box" (for something other than they are originally made for).

For those of you that know Broken Bow's colors are red and white, you may wonder why the green and black. I took Benjamin's running shoes and colored these the same color as his (mainly because I don't have my Core'dinations red cardstock yet Ü). So the next "Coach" card I make I will use the school colors when my red comes.

Green cardstock is Mantis from Grass Green's Core'dinations, black is Bazzill. Colored with Gamsol and colored pencils, brad is from JoAnn Fabrics, "thanks coach" computer generated.

Edited: Forgot to say this is my FIRST "inchie" card. These have been kind of the rage lately. The squares with the shoe are 1" square. I set them on the diagonal and they fit perfectly across the width of the card! How cool is that!! If I had a 1" punch, I would suggest: stamp your image and then punch. But I didn't so cut ALOT of 1" pieces and then stamped the shoe. It helped that the stamp was clear, but still had to do lots of them to get the shoe at the right angle.

My Little Garden Journal

Today’s project is this mini album using coasters for the front and back. You can find a tutorial here that Beate wrote.

I did mine different in that I cut my pages 3 5/8” x 7 ¼” and folded in half to make a 3 5/8” square. I corner rounded the folded edges and added double stick tape to each side of the score lines on the spine so that the spine didn’t show on the back side of a page. Otherwise, I pretty much followed her instructions. “My Little Garden Journal” was computer generated using the font “Sunnydale”. The sentiment in the flower is from All Things Grow by Storage Units, Ink & More. The peach, green and aqua cardstock is Core’dinations and the patterned paper is DCWV.

Sock Swap

Now that Michelle has received her pkg, I can post this. We are doing a 1-4-1 swap with each other. This was a sock swap. We were to buy a pair of $1 ankle socks and make a coordinating card and candy wrapper (with the candy) Ü.

All Things...tall card

It seems like I never get to SCS to do challenges. I'm "kinda" late on this one as it was Sunday's challenge, but according to the thread, "you are never late" just post when you can. Sunday's challenge on SCS is a Featured Stamper challenge. They choose someone's gallery to be featured and you go to the featured stampers gallery and choose a card/project to CASE (copy and share everything). One of the guidelines you have to follow is to change 2 or more things on your project-so that you aren't posting an EXACT project that is already there. Sunday's FS was Teneale Williams. This is the card that I chose as my challenge card. And here is my version. I chose to CASE the layout of her card. Supply list:

stamps: All Things Grow

cardstock: Core'dinations-Atoll Aqua from Aqua Blues , French Roast from Coffee Cafe , Fern from Forest Greens collection. The orange was in my scrap bag. I will have to order it next as I LOVE the Core'dinations cardstock!!! Patterned paper was some I picked up at a scrap store when I was staying with my SIL last summer. There is no company name on the back, so I have no idea who makes it, but I love the color combo in it.

misc: brads: unknown-rec'd in a secret sister pkg long ago, sewing machine, scallop punch by SU!

fun RAK's

The past few days I have rec'd some fun RAK's, BRAK's and bd cards. FYI...RAK-Random Act of Kindness; BRAK-Birthday Random Act of Kindness.

I rec'd this card from Jennifer Bradley congratulating me on my design team acceptance: Birthday RAK I rec'd from Deb Albright: Birthday cards: another card from Jennifer... And this from Emma's Paperie-be sure to click on the name and check out this website. I love how she used a glassine bag. Too cool! And this 4th of July card from a friend who was also a very dear friend of Kim's. I love this card!!! It was soooo good to hear from you Sonya!! I will be e-mailing you.

Back to stamping...

Hello! I am back to stamping again. What a busy week/weekend we had! Benjamin is now in New Mexico, our 4th of July BBQ was lots of fun-we had 24 here, I am another year older today and I got to stamp! WOOHOO!!!

Benjamin called me this afternoon to wish me a Happy Birthday. I was good and didn't cry, but it was hard. What in the world am I going to do when he goes off to college??!! Follow him? LOL!! It's funny what guys see and what girls see. I talked to one of the girls' mom this morning and she said that Tessa said it is just beautiful where they are. I asked Benjamin if it was beautiful there and he said "no, it's red". LOL!! The "red" is because of the clay. Too funny! He has already seen the reservation and they are going to set up for the Bible School today and then tomorrow morning start their first day. The Bible School is from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM and then in the evenings they will be working on a barn. Not sure what all that is about, but we will learn everything when he comes home.

Anyway, had a great weekend with friends and family and a good day today. Bruce and Aaron took me to Runza-new to town, then we went to Pump & Pantry to get a 60 cent ice cream cone-strawberry with strawberries in it-had a yummy yogurt taste to it too.

This afternoon, I braved the hot humid upstairs and finished putting this card together. I have lots of Storage Units, Ink & More images to finish up into cards and projects. This card is made with the All Things Grow With Love set. You can click on the name of the set and see what the other design team members have done so far with it. I don't want to look until I get all my projects done so that I won't be influenced in what I make. I DID however see THIS card made by Leigh. You are just going to flip!! You have to check it out as well as the rest of the cards/projects with the other stamp sets. Okay, back to the card...

I used Core'dinations cardstock again-have I said how much I LOVE this cardstock!!!! It is soo cool AND I just learned that the top strip on each color is what the core color is. I love sanding cardstock/paper and this is just the best with the colored core vs. white core. I stamped one bunch of flowers in SU! Basic Grey ink and masked and stamped another bunch. Masked both bunches of flowers and stamped the wheelbarrow. I colored the images with colored pencils and Gamsol. The olive green cardstock is some textured cs that was in my scrap bag and I don't know the company of it. I *think* the patterned paper is SEI, it was also in my scrap box and didn't have the company name on it. Finished it off with some Prima and paper flowers and antique copper brads.

Cake Inspired

ETA: Someone wanted to know what size of card this is and whate size of circles I used.
The card fits into a regular envy like you would mail a bill in and it is 3.50" x 6.25" when folded. The circles are 1/2".

Rose are you peeking?????

I belong to a yahoo group that has weekly challenges. I can't always do them, but had a chance to do this one. The challenges vary, sometimes they may be color, sketch, stamp set, theme, etc. This one was to make a card inspired by this cake:

And here is the card I made