Fabric Tote

Here is another project from one of my Birthday presents, the book I got it from is called Sewing In A Straight Line. It's full of super easy projects that don't require any fancy techniques. It's perfect for a busy mom like me! This was my first time working with interfacing and while I thought it would be difficult it was actually really easy and straightforward.

I took some pictures of Echo rummaging in it for toys but it is really too tall for her to comfortably get in to so it ended up holding extra diaper inserts and wipes as you can see in the first picture. I think I might make a few smaller fabric storage containers with my leftover materials to hold other things around Echo's room! 

Peach Pecan Muffins

We have been getting great peaches at the farmers market all Summer and as a money saving technique we usually go for the "scratch and dent" peaches which are discounted. Usually this means they will just have a little brown spot or the skin is scratched up but they still taste great and are perfect for baking! I got this recipe from mrbreakfast.com and man is it ever good! I think it is like a cross between muffins and coffee cake, definitely had to struggle not to eat the whole batch at once. Here is the recipe.

Peach Pecan Muffins

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter - melted

1/4 cup milk plus 2 tablespoons

1 large egg

2 medium peaches, diced

For The Topping:

1/2 cup pecans - chopped

1/3 cup brown sugar - packed

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 Tablespoons butter - melted

To make the muffins combine all ingredients from the topping list in a small bowl and set aside. Next mix sugar, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and in a separate bowl mix egg and milk, whisking until combined.  Gradually stir the wet ingredients in to the dry ingredients until just combined and stir in the peaches. Fill a greases muffin tin with muffin mixture and sprinkle pecan topping on each one. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

Sewing Small Toys for Echo

As I mentioned before, I got some awesome new sewing supplies and books for my Birthday and I have had a lot of fun putting them to good use. I have been using some scraps to sew some small stuffed toys for Echo, here's what I have so far.

This small stuffed rabbit is from from the book Baby Stuff by Aranzi Aronzo.It is so cute and made of terry cloth so when Echo chews on it it has the added bonus of soaking up some of her drool, yay! It was actually much harder to make than I thought because it is so teeny tiny and it came out a little bit lopsided but I still think it's cute. It's the perfect size for Echo to hold in her hand or in her mouth.

The next project I took on was a fabric ball. This is a great way to use up scraps and is super cute and fun for baby to play with. Echo is at a stage where she loves balls and will even roll one back and forth to you for a little bit. I can't find the tutorial I used anymore but you can find a similar one here.  Really this couldn't be easier to make, I may do some more of them with different color schemes.

I have also been putting little jingle bells in all my toys for Echo because she loves shaking things that make noise. If you do this you just have to make sure the toy is sewn up really well so it's not a choking hazard.

I tried to get a picture of Echo playing with her toys but she was only interested in running at the camera. You can see her cat scratches here poor thing, some day she will learn to leave them alone!

Quick French Bread

I know we are late to the game but we finally got a stand mixer! I really didn't want one for a long time to be honest. I felt like it would take up too much room on our counter and that we really didn't need one. I was however frustrated to see how many recipes (especially bread recipes) assumed I had a stand mixer. Well when I saw one on sale for a really great price at Target I broke down and got one and it has revolutionized my bread making. I had previously stuck to knead varieties because it was too much work to knead and keep an eye on my baby at the same time. Well no more! I love that this machine does the kneading for me and I feel like the quality of the bread is soooo much better than the kind you get from a bread machine and is just as easy.

I have been on a quest for the perfect French bread recipe that is just the right mixture of chewy, crusty and airy so I have been trying lots of new ones (with the help of my stand mixer of course). While this is not quite what I was looking for ( I found it not quick crispy enough in the crust department and a little too dense in the middle) it is still a very solid recipe and great for sandwiches! I got this recipe from Hungry Hungry Highness, like I said it is very solid and a great easy recipe for beginners plus it is quick to make (by bread making standards anyway).

Quick French Bread

Yields: 2 baguettes

1 1/2 tbsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water (split)
2 tbsp honey
3 1/2 to 4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
5 ice cubes

1. Combine honey with 1/2 cup warm water. Add the yeast and stir with your finger. Let it sit and activate for 5 minutes.

2. Mix the flour and salt in a mixer. Add the water with the yeast and mix with the dough hook. Mix with the mixer for 1 minute, or until combined.

3. Pour out of mixer bowl onto lightly floured surface. Knead for 2-6 minutes, or until elastic. Do the fingerprint test. If you can press your finger very lightly into the dough and the dough pops back out slowly, it is elastic enough. Put it back in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 25-30 minutes or until doubled in size.

4. Punch down dough and divide in half. Shape into 2 baguettes by trifolding the dough (like you fold a letter). Pinch the seam closed and repeat the process twice until it's about 14 inches in length. Fold the ends round. Set in a baguette pan or a lined cookie sheet (baking stone would probably work well too). Cover with a dish cloth and let rise for 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.

5. Preheat oven to 450 degrees fahrenheit. Set an old (non-glass) baking dish on the bottom oven rack.

6. When the rising is done and the oven is ready, quickly put the baguettes in the oven and throw the ice cubes into the old baking dish in the bottom. It should steam.

7. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Skillet Enchiladas

Sorry I didn't get a better picture of this, I was impatient to eat and it was getting dark!

As a Texan (born if not raised) I love Mexican food almost more than anything! Unfortunately it seems like I don't cook much of it at home. This is because a lot of authentic mexican food can be kind of labor intensive and I have no time to mess with it. For example, I love enchiladas but traditional enchiladas require you to lightly fry each tortilla to make it pliable before rolling it. This has long kept me from making enchiladas since I hate frying but I recently became inspired by some recipes I was browsing online to make skillet enchiladas. Not only do I get to use my beloved cast iron skillet (one of my favorite cooking tools of all time) but I get easy, tasty Mexican food! It's a win win. I also got the chance to make my first ever homemade enchilada sauce, yum! Here is the recipe I came up with.


Ingredients

For the enchiladas
2 tbs olive oil
3 cups diced sweet potatoes
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, diced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 can black beans
8 corn tortillas cut in to thick strips
1 cup shredded cheese
1 avacado, chopped to serve
2 cups enchilada sauce

For the sauce
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 chicken bullion cube
1 tbs cumin
1 tbs chili powder
1 tbs all purpose flour

Directions
Saute onion, garlic, jalapeno and sweet potatoes in a large cast iron skillet until sweet potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. It the mean time whisk all ingredients for sauce together over low heat until smooth. Add black beans, tortillas, spices and sauce to sweet potatoes and stir to combine. Remove from heat and stir in half shredded cheese, sprinkling the rest of the cheese on top. Place skillet in broiler on high for 3 to 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Needle Keeper

As I've been sewing more and more I've  found that I am not good at keeping track of my needles. This is probably not a good thing since I have a baby crawling all over the house, yikes! I came up with a cute little needle keeper using a business card holder to trace for size. It has two layers of felt on the inside and cotton on the outside with cute decorative stitching and a button and ribbon closure.

So far it has kept my needles all in one place but I have to keep it out of Echo's reach because she really wants to play with it! Hmmm... maybe I should have made it less cute?

Reversible Baby Smock

Front

For my Birthday this year I got some great new sewing supplies including fabric trim and sewing books. I am now super inspired to sew more and you can expect a lot of sewing related posts in the near future :-) This pattern wasn't something that I got out of my new books but was one that I made based on an outfit I used to wear when I was a kid. i wish I had a picture of the original on me but I'm not sure if one even exists. Anyway, this is a cute and super easy design to throw together. The best part is it's reversible! I love that in an outfit, especially one for a child because one side is bound to get stained. Here is Echo modeling her new outfit (she's such a good sport).

Back

 Above you can see the other side of the smock, aren't these fabrics just adorable? Unfortunately it is a little big on her and since it is so long she can't crawl in it but with the way she's going she will be walking soon and then she'll be able to wear it no problem.  If anyone is wanting to attempt to make something like this here is what it looks like all laid out. Unfortunately I don't have a printable pattern (maybe I will start doing those one day) but the shape is pretty simple and it is easy to figure out how to make one.

I also got to use my button hole foot for the first time on my new sewing machine. I had always sewn button holes by hand in the past so this was amazing to me! So easy and sturdy, I love it!