Sweet Potato Fries

Ahh Sweet potatoes. They conjure up images of casseroles dishes brimming with marshmallows, syrup, and chunks of orange. I was never a fan. I tried them a couple times and each time I vowed to never do it again. Then I had Eleanor and fed plain smashed ones to her and she loved them. I tried them and they were pretty yummy. So now she won't eat the mashed ones but they are a powerhouse vitamin packed spud so I tried making sweet potato fries and boy they are so good that Warren and I eat some too. 

They are super easy and you can get them year round so they have become a great side dish in my house that also reheat well.

First, get a 2-3 medium size sweet potatoes( we'll refer to them as SW so I don't have to keep typing them) Make sure they don't have any bruises, mold, or are beat up because if part of the SW is bad the whole thing will be bitter.

Turn your oven on to 375. Use a regular peeler to peel your SW and then chop off the ends.

Cut the SW into large chunky fry size. Warren thought I cut up a bunch of carrots. Try to keep them an even size because if you have a bunch of sizes they won't cook evenly.

 Place your SW into a ziploc bag and add about 1/4 C oil, I like to use olive oil. Mix that around inside and then sprinkle in some sugar and cinnamon. You really only need like an 1/8 C because the SW are already sweet this just adds a little more flavor.

 Line a baking sheet with foil and spray it with some cooking spray then spread your SW inside. Try to even it out so there isn't just a mound of fries in the middle. 

Check them at 40 minutes. I pulled these out a little soon, they taste better when the tips are a little brown, it gives it a little carmelizing affect. And there you go. Serve them fast because they cool off pretty quick, but you can just pop them in the microwave for 20 seconds and they are great.

*Note: These are not like potato fries. They are still very soft so don't expect that crispy potato fry, but they are delicious and nutritious. So Try it out!

Well Hello again!

Gosh it has been a while!

I have been so busy getting my flowers done that I haven't been able to do anything with my blog and it is starting to bug me, so here it is! I will just do a couple things today because I don't really want to wait for the proper day to post them.

Ok, First thing...Have you guys heard of Bountiful Baskets? My Relief Society President gave me a bag full of plums and said she got it from them so I looked them up on the internet and Hurray! They are here in Las Vegas now. So It is a food co op. You pay 15.00 and get like 25.00 or more worth of produce. You just have to sign up on your day and then go on saturday to your location, bring your own basket or cooler and you get a ton of produce! They also have bread and specials on seasonal stuff. So here is my basket. I also love it because it forces you to eat stuff that you don't normally buy so it made us healthier this week.

There is more stuff underneath. I got:
7 crisp gala apples
2 large bags of grapes, one green and one black which tasted like grape jelly
1 carton mushrooms
9 bananas
6 pears
2 acorn squash
2 head of broccoli
1 large lettuce
1 large honeydew
2 tomatoes
2 cucumbers

Cool huh? I was super excited. I am going to do it again this weekend. Oh for you people in vegas, Sunflower Market has their Utah peaches on sale for 57 cents a pound and they are delicious! I bought like 10 lbs. and I made some peach jam today..


Alright, so I had to come up with what to do with my mushrooms and broccoli because I already had Broccoli in my fridge, so I found this recipe which is like a tater tot casserole that I have seen other people make but it was super yummy with broccoli.

Tasty Broccoli Casserole!!!

Ingredients:

1 large head broccoli

1 lb ground beef

1/2 carton mushrooms

1 can cream of chicken soup

2/3 C sour cream

1/2 onion chopped

1/2-1 cup shredded cheese, I use a mixed blend

package of instant potatoes and ingredients to make that.

Steps:

Start cooking the ground beef. Chop up broccoli and put in a medium size casserole dish. Remove stems from mushrooms, rinse and chop. Chop onion, add to ground beef. Drain ground beef if there is a bunch of fat. Add mushrooms, Saute until soft and getting brown. Add can of chicken soup and sour cream, mix together. Add broccoli and mix. Turn on oven to 350. Dump broccoli mix into casserole dish. Make instant potatoes according to package directions, spoon over top of broccoli mix. Sprinkle cheese over top and cover with aluminum foil. Pop in the oven and cook for 1 hour. 

This was very delicious, Ella liked the broccoli and Warren and I ate it for leftovers for a couple days because it was so tasty.

So that is what I have been up to, along with working on my flowers during all my spare time. Hope all of you are doing great, I'll try to post a couple more things this week. Have a great week!

Fabric bracelet

Alright, so the other day I was thinking of bracelets and I came up with this design. This is my second one. I had trouble photographing it on myself, couldn't get the right angle to it so you can really see it better that and my hands have all kinds of scars and things so I might not be the best bracelet model. :)

So I made a long band of fabric that I lined with ribbon, sewed it and left a 1/4 inch border that I frayed. Then I added 3-4 button holes depending on the length of the band and the size of the buttons. Then I did the buttons on the other end. So I like the idea because you can choose how to wear it, you can leave it loose, wrap it tight, snap in all the buttons so it has movement to it, and whatever else you want. Let me know what you think, I'll try to come up with a better photo of it.

Going to take a Break

I know, you are thinking, Well Melinda you've taken quite a lot of breaks in the past couple weeks and You are right. :) But here is what's going on.

I went and got my hair cut at a place right down the street from me and the owner loved my hair clip (the ribbon one I demo'd  before) so I am going to start selling my clips and some other stuff at their shop but that means that I need my free time to get that going cause that takes a lot of work to get together. So I don't have time for my blog and that, atleast not every day, so my blog will be kind of hit and miss the next couple weeks. I'll post some of the cool stuff I'm going to be selling in the shop and if anything else comes up that I think you guys will like, I will post that too but it won't be an every day thing until I get everything rolling. So thanks for checking in, please don't abandon me completely, I will be back. 


Love,
Melinda

Busy Days

My goodness it has been a busy week.


Thursday-Had to do all the doctor stuff, laid around cause I didn't feel very good.


Friday- Made crackers, posted photo and recipe, had to pack and went off to barstow.


Saturday- Hubby went 4 wheeling with his brother and sister, I went garage sale hunting and hung out with my father in law, then when hubby got back I went horse back riding with my two sister in laws, my Mother in law, and their friend. So much fun! Got back from a relaxing ride and then I tried riding a galloping horse which was awesome but hurt my back.


Sunday- hung out with the folks some more then headed home but I was sick and throwing up most of the day so I was barely doing anything once we got home.


Monday- Had to clean up the house which took like all day. Blah...


Tuesday- Did a little shopping and had to call around and get all my doctor stuff figured out.


I've also been working on crocheting a cardigan for my friend's daughter so that is taking up my quiet time..


I tried to come up with a craft for today but nothing really clicked. I went to the mall yesterday to look at all the fall looks to see if that inspired anything. Seems this fall is all about layers, solids mixed with a bit of plaids, soft scarves, glittery accessories, slumped boots, and textures. 


Maybe we could do something with the accessories, something that is a mix of soft and harsh with a bit of glitter, I'm thinking bracelet. Alright I will see if I can get it done, it might be more of a sewing thing for tomorrow, if you have any suggestions or ideas for things you'd like to see demo'd don't hesitate to let me know,


 I love your thoughts and suggestions. Have a great day!!!