Recipe Friday

I have been busy with school lately but I did manage to sew a little last night. Thanksgiving is getting close and the meal planning has begun. Here is our family's favorite dish for Thanksgiving...

Grandma Norma's Jello Salad

2 pkg. frozen Strawberries
1 can crushed pineapple
6 oz Strawberry Jello
1 or 2 bananas
1 cup sour cream

First put a bowl and beaters in freezer.

Then drain juice from strawberries and pineapple to make 1 1/2 cups, bring to a boil then remove from heat add jello to dissolve

Let cool till it starts to harden then add strawberries, pineapple and banana. Place in fridge to set. When berries, pineapple and bananas are set, beat sour cream for 5 minutes with frozen bowl and beaters, then mix all together (sour cream and fruit mix) with spoon, return to fridge to set.

Enjoy!
Melody

Recipe Friday

Here is another fall recipe that I enjoy making when I have friends over for drinks. It is not for the faint of heart.... lots of fat and calories in this one! Best when served with Pita Chips, I recommend Stacy's Pita Chips from Costco.

Hot Artichoke Dip Recipe

1 (14oz) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1 (8oz) block of cream cheese
**1 cup of shredded mozzarella
Dash of Tabasco
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

** I used the already shredded cheese (6 cheese Italian blend, 2 cup bag) from the store and used 1 ½ cups in the dip and ½ cup sprinkled on top of the dip.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Then beat in the mayonnaise until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and stir together until combined. Transfer the dip to a shallow pie plate or gratin dish. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes until the top is golden brown and the cheese is bubbling. Serve hot with crackers, tortilla chips, pita chips or veggies.

Enjoy,
Melody

Quick start and finish....

This is Lily helping me quilt. She has to be on the table looking out the window while I am sewing. When working on little quilts such as this one, it works, but when I have larger quilts on the table she gets demoted to the floor.

This is a little quilt I finished last night about midnight. I love the back! I used a Santorini charm pack from Moda and the pinwheel tutorial on the Moda Bake Shop website, less the prairie points. It is very quick and very fun to make.

Here is the front. I used a white on white flower print to keep the flower theme and the brown has a tiny white polka dot. The binding is green with larger white polka dots.

Below is some of my practice on free motion quilting that is not meandering. I took a class from Judi Dains a couple weeks ago to get some confidence in my free motion quilting without marking. I love the way these flowers turned out. I used a basic white cotton machine quilting thread on the back and then changed the front on the border to a Sulky Rayon variegated purple. It was my first time using rayon to machine quilt and I loved the effect. It has a shine to it that really helps the flowers stand out.

Melody

Recipe Friday

With the holidays in the horizon, I have been feeling a little sentimental lately. It has been one year and eight months since the passing of my beloved Grandmother Norma (L). I miss her deeply and think of her everyday. She was robbed, in my opinion, by the deadly disease of dementia at the age of 81. Her sister Aunt Kay (C) is fighting the disease too and is currently in a care home. Aunt Midge (R) is all we have left of the ten brothers and sisters of the Gallino Family that can spend holidays with us.

One of my favorite recipes that my Grandma Norma made was Persimmon Drop Cookies. Grandma Norma wasn't much of a cook, being at the younger range of siblings, she was responsible for watching the older siblings children. But when she did cook/bake it was something we all loved. During the fall and winter, it was almost unheard of not to smell the freshly baked Persimmon cookies in her house. I am posting the recipe for all to enjoy this holiday season.

Persimmon Drop Cookies

1 cup persimmon pulp 2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup sugar ½ tsp. ground cloves
½ cup butter ½ tsp. nutmeg
1 egg beaten 1 cup nuts
½ tsp. salt 1 cup raisins

Beat till creamy: pulp, soda, sugar & butter

Add: egg & beat well

Sift flour & spices

Add: flour, raisins & nuts to creamy mixture

Drop by spoonfuls on greased cookie sheet

Bake 375° 12-15 min. Makes 3-4 dozen

Figgy Trees

Figgy Trees is done, well sort of. It is quilted and I am currently sewing the binding on by hand. I should have it done in time for the Church's meeting on Sunday. I hope they like it. I sure do.

This little beauty is for my cousin's wedding in two weeks.... She is getting married in Redding CA and I can't wait to see her. I have not seen her since our Aunt's funeral last January. This time it will be a fun ocasion. I hope she likes it. It is quite a stretch for me, scrappy and not very symetrical.

Melody