German Pancakes

I absolutely love BREAKFAST. Oh, it is the best meal of the day. I love the sizzling warm bacon, the crispy ham, eggs on toast, pecan pancakes, french toast, croissants, fresh whipped cream, hot mouth watering syrup, Belgium waffles with fresh fruit. I really could go on and on. But my favorite, is GeRmAn PaNcaKeS! What is great about this recipe is it is easy and taste just as good at home as in a restaurant.


I love to make my german pancakes with caramelized apples making them absolutely delicious. Start by putting 2 Tbls. of butter into a 9" pie pan and placing in oven while it preheats to 415 degrees. Once the butter has melted you must remove pan from oven or butter will burn when oven is preheated.


To cArAmElIzE ApPlEs: cut, peel and slice half an apple and place in small sauce pan. Add 2Tbls. butter, white sugar, brown sugar and cook on high for about 8 minutes. You will have to watch and stir the apples so they don't burn, but cooking them on high will make them cArAmElIzE!!!

To make BaTtEr: in a small bowl, add 2 large eggs, 1/2 cup of milk. 1/2 cup of flour. Whisk and set aside.

While you are making your batter your apples should be looking like this: Delicious!!

Place batter into pie pan, then place apples on top of batter. Cook for 12-15 minutes. Sides of pancake should be brown and puffed(like picture at top). Add syrup or powdered sugar to sweeten. Devourer immediately. This serving is for one person maybe two.

PTA - Presents Teachers Adore

Being a new Mom of a first grader I thought: "Pamela, get yourself involved" (I have a great friend, Andrea, who is so involved in her PTA, and has always inspired me.) So I signed up for the PTA and went to my first meeting. Little did I know, but on top of all the PTA does, they also give birthday and Christmas gifts to the teachers. This is my new J.O. B. So, to me PTA really stands for: PrEsEnTs TeAcHeRs AdOrE - because I have thought up some pretty fantastic ideas. (wink, wink, nod, nod)

Since my budget is roughly around $5.00, I got on my friend Marie's blog looking for some super-duper ideas (check out http://www.makeandtakes.com/ - you'll love it) and I learned all about etched glass. What is great about this gift is it translate into all sorts of gift giving categories: school, neighbors, family, work, friends and so on.

I decided to find a large clear glass mug, (I found mine at IKEA) and have each teacher's name etched into the glass. This is a nice way to personalize a gift (having their name on it) and the mug has many purposes.

If your doing more than one, an assembly line works great and having all your supplies handy makes for an easy and stress free project. What you need:

Etched glass
*rubber gloves - not shown in picture
clear glass mug, plate, cup, vase etc.
sponge brush
vinyl design
painters tape or masking tape

****For safety reasons: before beginning put on rubber gloves****

Step #1 - Place vinyl on glass, making sure it is smooth and flat
Step #2 - Tape painters tape to sides, making work surface bigger - for no mistakes

Step #3 - With sponge, paint etched glass on top of vinyl design
Step #4 - Follow directions on back of etched glass label for wait time - mine says: let sit for 6 minutes
Step #5 - Rinse with warm water and remove vinyl/tape
Step #6 - Wash with dish soap and clean with glass cleaner

Since I am making this for teachers I filled my mug with candy, tied a bow and added a little birthday note. Come up with your own great ideas and let me know how it turns out.

Linking up:
Sumos Sweet Stuff
Todays Creative Blog

Family Tree Quilt #2

You are the "apple" of my eye. This is my sister Candice's block.

****For more information about this quilt block search previous posts

about family tree quilt.******

"Life is a bowl of "Cherries" This is my block.

****For more information about this quilt block search previous posts
about family tree quilt.******

Hang me up!

Check out this great VINTAGE FALL DOOR SIGN!!! I bought a cardboard sign from Roberts (my local craft store) then, I bought some OLD VINTAGE SHEET MUSIC at Deseret Industries (a local thrift store) and mod podged it to my sign.
I let it dry for a few hours and contacted my friend Lorinda for some great black vinyl. I knew I wanted to put our family initial "C" and to give it a FALL-ISH feel: two large black pumpkins.
With a little bit of prep work: sign, sheet music and vinyl, I assembled it in a few hours.

pammy

Big Boys!

Here is another great fall harvesting reciepe: StEwEd ToMaToEs. Any type of tomatoes can be used, I love roma, big boy, yellow roma, celebrity and heirloom. Simply pick them from your garden vine or buy them at your local farmers market. Cut and core stems and place in large, heavy duty sauce pan or stock pot. Add 5 - 6 fresh basil leaves, 2 Tbls olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.

For a couple of years my husband lived in Italy and he said all the Italian Momma's loved to add fresh cubed zucchini to their tomatoes. Not only does it give it great flavor, but the addition of green makes the stewed tomatoes look beautiful. Hopefully your zucchini is growing right along with your tomatoes, and you can pick both right out of your garden. I love to add my stewed tomatoes to soups and pasta sauces.

Allow the tomatoes to simmer on low heat for about two hours with lid partially on. As the tomatoes begin to cook the skins will curl and they are very easy to remove. You want your tomatoes to cook to a nice medium thickness. The tomatoes will need to cool before bagging, so you can either let them cool in the pan for several hours or cool in fridge up to a couple of days.

Once the tomatoes have cooled, scoop 2 - 2 1/2 cups of tomatoes into freezer bags and store in freezer.

Lego Maniacs

I have two boys and they love legos. Legos are a great way to get your kid's imagination to work in new and different ways. Kids can start at an early age using legos (children who put small toys in their mouth are not old enough, yet). In my opinion, nothing beats legos for quiet, creative time. They come with easy instructions (my boys call them maps) and usually 1-3 creations can be made from the same set. My older boy (age 7) can understand the instructions on his own. My younger son (3) still needs my husband and I's assistance. After a lego is completed we take pictures and pose the lego in cool, fun ways. The boys get a kick out of it!

My boys love the Lego Magazine. It is a free monthly magazine with games, coupons, comics, and pictures of kids creating legos. We found a subcription form in one of our lego boxes. This November, we are taking a trip to Legoland San Diego, CA. and are we thrilled about the chance to see, breathe and play legos all day long. For more information go to http://www.lego.com/

Family Tree Quilt

For a very long time it has been a dream of mine to make a FAMILY TREE QUILT (FTQ). I love genealogy and the idea of remembering and honoring those family members in our past, present and future. With my background in quilting, I have spent several years studying FTQs and creating pattern ideas. Nothing seemed quite right until now, and I am excited that I can blog about the quilt to my sisters, family and friends. The FTQ will be a Christmas present to my parents this year.

I came up with the concept of a Tree (duh), but a Tree that grows fruit. I have four sisters and one brother, who is deceased, so I designated each of us a fruit. In the center of the quilt is a beautiful tree and on that tree is each of the fruits. Each fruit represents one of my siblings and their families -Pear, Apple, Peach, Lemon, Cherry and Plum.


This quilt is primarily created from two techniques 1) applique piecing 2) embroidery. The fruit and tree is done in applique and the words and family history is done in embroidery. Since this FTQ is currently a work in progress, (I hope to finish it in the next 5 weeks) I will blog and showcase specific parts of the quilt until it is done.


As you see this FTQ take shape, all the applique piecing is done by a talented and extremely supportive quilt friend named Jeanette. She is a master applique quilter and I owe a world of gratitude to her for helping me with the beautiful applique sections.


The picture above is the tree block, all the fruits are represented on this tree. It still needs a few more leaves and some gravestone at the base. The gravestones will be marked with the intials of both sets of grandparents and my brother who have pasted away.

This is the lemon block, it is represented by my brother, Michael who past away 6 1/2 years ago from open heart surgery complications. The lower half of the block will have his full name and date of birth and death.


I am so thrilled to see this FTQ take shape and see the transformation as each finished block creates the entire quilt.

P.S. This is a surprise Christmas present so mums the word about the blog to mom and dad!