Crock-Pot Pizza

It's been a while since I've shared a recipe, but we're veering into branding season around here and the topic of conversation is turning towards recipes. My coworker / friend and I are both addicted to quilting, but we are also both ranch wives that often find ourselves cooking for a crew - thus recipes are also frequent topics of conversation. On Monday, I  mentioned that I was planning on making this and she said, "Send that to me". I told her I'd post it here. So, here you go, C! 😊

I've been making this recipe for a coon's age. It's filling and inexpensive and it feeds a growing family well. I'm fairly certain it came from a Taste of Home issue. However, I haven't made it for a crew in years, but today I had to make dinner, bake bread, and dessert, and leave the house at 9:30 (after serving breakfast at 5:30) - drive 40 minutes to pick up the crew and their horses, and 40 minutes back, and have dinner ready. So a crock-pot meal helped me pull it all together. C - double this for your men, but I only had 6 today. Still, they cleaned out the Crock-Pot.

Crock-Pot Pizza

1 pkg (12 oz) egg noodles
2# ground beef
1 chopped onion
pepper - seasoned salt - granulated garlic (or fresh minced garlic)
28 oz spaghetti sauce
A handful of chopped mushrooms (the original recipe called for a can)
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
4 oz sliced pepperoni, halved
1 chopped green pepper
3 C shredded mozzarella
3 C shredded cheddar cheese
Red Pepper Flakes - I just keep this on the table and folks can shake to their content

*Cook noodles to al dente - drain and set aside. In large skillet, cook ground beef, onion, green pepper - season with pepper, seasoned salt, and granulated garlic. Stir in spaghetti sauce, mushrooms, pepperoni, and Italian seasoning. Spread 1/3 of the meat sauce, 1/3 of your noodles, 1/3 of both cheeses. Repeat layers twice. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or until heated through and cheese has melted.

                           

I served it with rolls, green beans, and a salad. Apple Crisp and Ice cream for dessert.

                           

DH and I have been cutting down on carbs around here, but that won't fly and all bets are off when I've got a crew of hardworking cowboys to feed. 😉

On Ringo Lake Finish

A few years ago, when Bonnie Hunter announced her On Ringo Lake Mystery, I caved to temptation. I'm not brave enough to stray from her color pallet when it's a mystery quilt and these colors were out of my comfort zone, but I was intrigued by the combination. I began by digging through my stash and admittedly, I made a few purchases in order to add a little more variety, but future quilts will be better for it. :) And between the digging and shopping, I came up with these:

                            

I wasn't able to keep up with the clues as they were posted, but I didn't worry about it - I just enjoyed stitching as time allowed and eventually, the blocks came together.

                                         

After the layout was revealed, I stumbled upon this image on Pinterest and I set off in a new direction. All I was able to find was the image and it said it was pieced by Forest Jacobsen, but there was no link.

                                       

 It required some un-stitching of units and some deconstruction of the image in order to bring it all to fruition. It also required a restructuring of the setting triangles - the top one is the original design and the bottom is the new one:

                                     

  I also ended up adding a brown piano key border and brown binding because I had leftover pieces that were already the perfect size and thought it might ground or tone down some of the coral and turquoise. I also just really like brown:

                                 

But the top sat for a good long time before it was quilted:

                                

 I bought yards and yards of this print years ago for $2.00/yd and it finally found it's home on the back of this quilt:

Jackie used a turquoise thread and her quilting brought such great movement to Bonnie's clever design:

My version finishes at 86 x 100 and I take my hat off to Bonnie and her mad designing skills. I'm not generally one to dive into mystery quilts, but I always learn something new and it gives me a whole new appreciation for pattern design.

DH had just finished his feed run and pulled up as I was perched atop the ladder, clipping the quilt to the side of the barn. Skeet was wore out, but he jumped out of the feed truck and plopped down without any persuasion on my part. He's a lot like DH in that respect - neither will pose for a picture.

As you can tell, we're still waiting on rain...the ground is bare. Nary a green sprig to be seen, but the wind wasn't howling and that makes it a good day:

The Pitter-Patter of Little Feet

Chicken feet. 😁

Yes, I brought home a dozen little fluffy baby chicks last week and set them up in the bunkhouse in an empty stock tank:

They are growing fast as evidenced by their burgeoning feathers from one week to the next:

                                   

I'm currently getting 7 or 8 eggs from 10 chickens, but about every 3 years or so, I bring in new chicks, as the older girls will at some point reach the end of their egg-laying days. Don't worry - they still get to live out their days being pampered with the rest of the feathered flock, roaming the homestead in free-range fashion and digging through the horse pens in search of delectable morsels.

In the meantime, these little peeps:

                             

Are being kept toasty warm under the heat lamp until they outgrow their nursery tub:

                            

A New Sewing Machine

Well, that's really misleading. It's not really new. It's the same machine I've been using for 10 years, but I took it in for a cleaning. I've always hauled my machine to town every 18 months or so and shelled out $75 for a tune-up. Or so I thought. Apparently the fellow who came to the local quilt shop and took in machines to clean a few times a year, wasn't as thorough as I thought because although I clean out under my bobbin, remove my needle plate and clean around that, and attach a tool to my vacuum cleaner to remove lint every couple of months, this is what I was gifted when I picked up my machine a few weeks ago. Truth be told, I'm kind of embarrassed to even show it to you:

When I made the trip to visit our boy a few weeks ago, I dropped off my sewing machine as I drove through a little mountain town with a wonderful quilt shop. I blogged about the shop here:

                                                           A Quilting Stitchuation.

 Jackie's husband is fastidious when he cleans machines and my old faithful sewing companion now purrs like a kitten. Honestly, it worked fine before and I didn't have any problems with it, but I had no idea how off everything was. My sewing machine was an investment a decade ago. I almost hyperventilated when I bought it because I don't spend that kind of money, but it's been a gem and I want it to last many more years and I try to take care of it.  I felt awful when I saw that zippered bag, but I'm sure glad Gene is so meticulous. It was $75 well spent and stitching can now commence because there are quilts to be made!