Taken Over by Yarn

February 23, 2012 nk330Leave a comment

Well, I have been neglecting my blog lately… sorry, guys! Most of you know that I have been a crocheting machine for the past month or so! What started off as a few harmless baby hats has turned into a mini-business for me. I didn’t see that coming at all!

This can all be blamed on my sister, Kelsi, by the way. She wanted a few hats for baby Braxton (he should be here in just a few weeks now!), and I was pleasantly surprised by how quick and easy they were to make. So I thought I’d see if any of the local military families (I think of it as the Tri-Base Area, haha) would be interested too. Well, they were! I suddenly found myself scrambling to think of prices and get some photos up on Facebook. I haven’t had a day without an order to fill since. No complaints here… I’m making some money by doing one of my favorite hobbies, while sitting in my pajamas watching movies. Yeah, the chore board has been a bit neglected… oops. Good thing we don’t have pets or kids to make a real mess of the house!

But the house has been taken over. By yarn.

I usually manage to corral all of the yarn in bags and baskets. Sometimes I even bring some of it upstairs to the craft room. Although, when I do, I end up needing a color I just brought upstairs, so it all ends up back in the living room. I find scraps of yarn on the floor (which are now being collected in an empty Wheat Thins box), yarn fuzz on all of my clothes (sometimes I remember to use the lint roller before I leave the house…sometimes), and finished projects lining the back of the sectional. Man, I must have a very tolerant husband. 🙂 He DOES get to use all the throw pillows now, since I rest my arms on skeins of yarn.

I’m up to 22 completed items now, not including the ones I made for Kelsi. I can’t wait to see those little hats on my nephew-on-the-way! Here are a few of my other customers though:

little puppy hat — Just in time for our snow day!

blue puppy — A windy day -- the ears were flapping in the wind!

Want to see more? Find me on Facebook at NK Crochet! 🙂

Recipes

Chicken Primavera

February 17, 2012February 17, 2012 nk330Leave a comment

This is another one of my mom’s recipes from when I was growing up. I know it’s a favorite of at least one of my sisters, and I’ve always really liked it too!

Makes: 4 servings

1 c. julienned sweet red pepper
1 c. sliced, fresh mushrooms (I opted not to use them…I don’t really like mushrooms)
1/4 c. chopped green onions
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c. butter (half of a stick)
2 c. whipping cream
1 t. dried basil
1/2 t. salt
2 grilled boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, thinly sliced (I pan-fried mine)
hot cooked angel hair pasta (I used 16 oz)

This is just a bowl of all your chopped up veggies ready to go.

1. In a large skillet, saute red peppers, mushrooms, onions, and garlic in butter.
2. Add the cream, basil, chicken, and salt. Cook and stir until slightly thickened. Serve over pasta.
Enjoy!

Recipes

Penne with Tomatoes & Red Onion

February 16, 2012 nk330Leave a comment

I try to do 1 or 2 “vegetarian” dishes each week. It tends to cut the grocery bill down a bit, which is always helpful! This is a tasty recipe that you can throw together pretty quickly!

Active time: 15 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 medium red onion, sliced 1/2″ thick (I went ahead and used a whole onion)
1 T. +1 t. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 t. + 3/4 t. salt
1/2 t. crushed red-pepper flakes
8 oz. penne
1 garlic clove, minced
1 T. chopped fresh oregano (I used a teaspoon of dried oregano)
1/4 c. part-skim ricotta cheese

tomatoes&onion — FYI: this was before I broiled them

1. Preheat broiler. Toss tomatoes and onion with 2 teaspoons oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the red-pepper flakes. Broil on a rimmed baking sheet until tomatoes are just starting to brown, 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water.
3. Toss warm pasta with garlic, remaining 2 teaspoons oil, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Stir in tomato mixture and the oregano.
4. Add 1/4 cup reserved cooking water to moisten; stir in remaining water as needed. Divide pasta among 4 bowls, and stir 1 tablespoon ricotta into each.

**Each serving has about 297 calories, 6 g fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 48 g carbohydrates, 384 mg sodium, 10 g protein, 6 g fiber**