Plaid Tail Feathers Quilt

 A few years ago I bought a fat quarter bundle of Moda's Dad's Plaids

I knew I wanted to use it with this pattern

After making this quilt

And this quilt

I knew I wanted one dedicated to plaids. I redrafted the pattern to decrease the block size to 9" and pulled plaids from my stash to scrap things up a bit:

I ended up with 45 different plaids. 90 blocks later I had enough for a 9x10 layout. I handed it off to Jackie and Sandy to quilt some magic into it using a Modernish #4 pattern with a Baguette colored thread

I don't know what it is about plaid, but boy howdy, do I love this quilt!

I used plaid on the back too because if you're going to make a plaid quilt, you may as well go all in:

I think I had a big grin on my face the entire time I worked on the binding. 

I probably should have made it a little smaller because  at 83 x 92 it's almost too big for a cuddle quilt. But then it occurred to me that it would be perfect as quilt #1 for the friend of ours that asked me to make a few quilts for him. I'm pretty smitten with this quilt so I had better get it to him before I become even more attached to it. Good thing I've got leftovers because if one plaid quilt brings this much joy, just imagine what making another one will do!

Stacking Up

 January got busy, filled up fast and is whizzing by. It's already the 27th and I have yet to set foot in my sewing room. I did pick up a few quilts from Jackie that have been there for a long time. One of them isn't even on my 'to be finished' list I posted earlier this month because I had forgotten about it.

And I have 2 more waiting for binding as well (2 quilts - same fabric) - 1 is partially bound

I could have 5 finishes if I'd just make myself sit down and bind and I actually love binding, but I rarely take the time during the day to do that. However, this quilt is a commissioned quilt (my first) so I am telling myself that it's OK to work on it during the day

And once it's done I can start on the next quilt which is also a commissioned quilt. I have yet to make up my mind on a pattern. I have a few ideas, but I had better settle on something soon.

It's tempting to curl up and bind all day when it's 15° and looks like this outside

We just got a skiff, but we welcome any and all moisture

It doesn't last long around here, but it sure is pretty

Another Road Trip

 On Thursday morning I loaded up and headed East, driving over hill and over dale

7 hours later, I reached my destination

The chiddlers always make the trip to see us and a visit to them has been long overdue - my cozy guest room came complete with a squishy foot warmer

And a pretty box of treats along with a a funny sign 😂

Our girl spent the day on the road as well as she just drove in from Kansas that evening where she had been on a panel at a conference.  Friday we drove to town to return her company rig and to enjoy a girl's day. Just browsing through some fun gift shops

as well as a good visit over a yummy lunch at a fun establishment called Scout (after the protagonist in To Kill a Mockingbird)

What a fun way to advertise the daily special

I miss one on one time with this kid

This is the direction we're headed with the floral elements for the wedding

Then on Saturday we braved the big, scary city of Dallas with 2 members of her tribe to shop for this

     Kenny's mama couldn't be there, but Facetime was the next best thing                                        

                                                    

She says this is her favorite picture from the day - it's mine too because of her radiant smile. 

Miriam, the lady who helped our girl, was from Germany and just the most fun! When I asked her what brought her to Texas, she said she married a Texas boy and, "I don't know what the mamas put in the milk in Texas, but those Texas boys don't want to leave Texas!" 😂

If you're in a market for a wedding dress, I can highly recommend Mockingbird in Dallas. Our girl said it had great reviews but it's in a sketchy part of town and they keep the doors locked so you have to call them so they can open the door, but Miriam is so worth it! No pictures of the actual dress until the big day

 but what a fun day!

I drove home on Sunday and when I got home, DH had a fire in the firepit, and handed me a glass of wine while he cooked steaks over the fire. The perfect way to close out a precious weekend

Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've baked a lot of cookies through the years. So many that I'm dangerously close to being known as the cookie lady. Their portability makes them a favorite in this house. DH has often walked in at various times throughout the day and if I'm taking a sheet of cookies out of the oven, his eyes light up. It's easy for him to grab a handful as he walks back out the door. I love popping a ziploc bag of cookies in the mailbox at the end of the road for our mailman, handing one to our UPS and Fed-ex man, and stashing them in the brand inspectors', vets', and cowboys' rigs for trips back home as an extra treat.

I've got a good collection of favorites, but the ultimate chocolate chip cookie has eluded me...until now. This Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie rolled across my screen when I was on Pinterest one day and it sounded promising so I mixed up a batch. Oh, WOW! My search for the perfect chocolate chip cookie has ended.

                             

Here's the link to the original recipe from Monique over at Ambitious Kitchen

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Monique's recipe is much more detailed with helpful tips, but I am posting the recipe here as well because I made a small change in the original recipe...I added more flour and baked them a little longer. I also think these would be amazing with dark chocolate. These take a little more work than your average chocolate chip cookie recipe as you need to brown the butter, but I promise it'll be worth it. That, along with the dark brown sugar and sprinkle of sea salt gives these cookies a deep, rich flavor profile and makes them irresistible. 

                               

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/2 C flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 C unsalted butter

1 1/2 C packed, dark brown sugar

1/4 C granulated sugar

1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk at room temperature

2 tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp plain Greek yogurt or sour cream

3/4 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 C milk chocolate chips

sea salt for sprinkling

*Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. You will need to whisk continuously while making the browned butter. After a bit, the butter will begin to foam. Remove from heat when it begins to brown and butter begins to give off a nutty aroma. Pour into large bowl and let cool. Add sugars and mix well. Add eggs, vanilla, and Greek yogurt or sour cream - mixing until combined.  Add dry ingredients, mixing on low speed until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Roll into balls. Chill for 2-3 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 12 minutes. This will vary as each oven bakes a little differently. Sprinkle with sea salt as soon as you remove them from the oven. The original recipe calls for removing the cookies before they look set, but we like our cookies a little more done. 12 minutes was perfect for us. The cookies were perfectly crisp on the outside, and soft inside and I'm going to have a lot of happy cowboys next time we have them out to work cattle.

                               

Chicken Tortilla Soup

 I made this on Saturday and couldn't remember if I'd previously posted it, but after a search, I couldn't find it so you get Chicken Tortilla Soup today. This really is so good and it's a fast recipe for a soup. I imagine you could fix this in the Instant pot or Crock-pot, but I just whipped mine up on the stove this time. I don't recall the original source for this recipe. I scribbled it down from somewhere a few years ago. There are a thousand versions flying around. We tried a creamy version last year, but we like this one better because it freezes well. I'm not a food blogger so you don't get all the detail food bloggers are known for, but although I love the story behind quilts and recipes, I don't like wading through all the 'this is why you should make this' and 'this recipe will change your life because...". I know that's their job and they do it well. If someone is unfamiliar with or new to cooking, those details are greatly appreciated, but I remember reading a post once about how to boil potatoes and it went on and on. Just the facts ma'am - please and thank you. 😉 And part of the fun of cooking is making it your own. Want to use crushed tomatoes? Be my guest. Corn makes it more colorful. Throw some in. 

Chicken Tortilla Soup

8 chicken tenderloins (yes, you can use breasts or thighs - I just buy tenderloins at Sam's and keep                                                 them in the deep freeze as they are handy and cook up quickly)

2 TBSP olive oil

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp granulated garlic

1/2 tsp salt

1 C diced onion

1/4 C diced green pepper

1/4 C diced red pepper

3 cloves minced garlic

1 can Rotel

32 oz low sodium chicken stock

3 TBSP tomato paste

4 C water

2 cans black beans, drained (I used black eyed peas because that's all I had)

4 TBSP cornmeal or masa 

Corn tortillas cut into strips

*Mix cumin, chili powder, granulated garlic, pepper, and salt.  Brown and cook chicken in 1 TBSP olive oil. Sprinkle chicken with a little of the mixed seasoning as it is cooking. Remove chicken from pan once it is cooked through and shred. Add 1 TBSP of olive oil to same pan and saute onions and peppers for about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and saute for a minute or two. Add the rest of the spice mix. Stir in shredded chicken. Add tomato paste, chicken stock, Rotel, and water. Stir in beans. Simmer for 30 minutes uncovered. Mix cornmeal or masa with small amount of water and stir into soup. Simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit 10 minutes before serving. Top your soup with tortilla strips, cheese, sour cream, and avocado. 

Week Peek

 This past week filled up again. I'm not complaining because so far I've been too busy to get into any trouble. 😉 We had a REALLY long day at the sale barn on Monday. We sold over 2400 hd of cattle and the sale ran for just over 12 hours. 

I don't know where all these cattle are coming from - I thought we sold them all last year. LOL. Our eyes were crossed by the time the last hd was sold after 9 p.m. and it was close to 11 by the time I fell into bed. At this age, it takes me a day to recuperate, but my recuperation day looked like this

DH was out early and he was armed with the tree saw

I know it needs to be done, but it was all I could do to muster up the energy to start hauling the mess out into the horse lot - about 50 yards away. I worked on it for about 8 hours this week and I'm still not done

I know some of you will think that should be DH's job, but that's not the way things work on a ranch. Sure, he would do it if I were unable to, but he's busy cleaning out water troughs, fixing leaks, feeding cows, moving cattle, and shoeing horses, and that's pretty much the way his days look. I actually like working outside too. Our winter days are filled with brilliant sunshine and it seems a waste to spend them indoors. And hey, it's a pretty good workout. 😉 But I WILL be glad when it's all cleaned up.

Thus far, our winter has been incredibly mild and that makes feed runs enjoyable. Look at those blue skies

I wish I had been standing in the bed of the truck for this shot in order to see the antelope better, but we are so thankful for the grass this year. I love watching the antelope fly across the pasture

On Thursday we left the house at 3:30 a.m. and drove 3.5 hours to have the flatbed and a grill guard put on the new ranch rig. If you're in the market for a horse trailer or flatbed, I can hook you up. These are good folks that build things right - we've been doing business with them for 10 years

It takes most of the day so they lent us a pickup and we drove 1.5 hours south to the next town and puttered around a little. Browsing through a bookstore is a rare, but favorite treat

As is a leisurely noon meal out

The flatbed was ready to roll at 4, and after another 3.5 hours and a time change as we crossed state lines, we pulled back into the ranch at 7. The old bed is still loaded because we sold it to a salvage yard and DH will take it in today

At this stage in life, driving like that just wears me out, but after more limb hauling, I did spend some time binding a quilt on Sunday although my hands hurt some from dragging tree branches.

 I'm not ready to grow old, but ready or not...😣 

Here's a shot of the sky (no filter or editing) as we were out tending to chores one evening. Pretty good way to close out the day.