Homemade Dog Bed

Full disclosure. I can't sew to save my life. But a couple of straight lines on the machine and some hand stitching is all you need to make this dog bed.

You could start with new material and make it like a giant cushion cover similar to these.

http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2014/01/easy-im-not-kidding-cushion-covers.html

But for this bed for Karma I recycled an old hammock whose ropes had started to fray. The canvas was still like new though. 

You could also use old curtains with tabs as long as the material is sturdy enough for a dog's bed. (This isn't Karma. It was Chanelle keeping an eye on my husband.
You'll meet Karma later in this post)

I folded the material in half and found some old pillows around the house that would fit well.

I read somewhere that dental floss makes a great thread for heavy work so I gave it a try here using it to stitch the pillows together. I overlapped them by a few inches. 

Now with the wrong side out sew the 2 sides together at each side just a little longer than the pillows you want to put inside. Leave about 4 inches not sewn at the tab end and leave the tab end opened.

Fold 1 tab end in to almost the size of the pillows and sew it down like this. I hope these instructions are making sense.

Now turn the work right side out and put the giant pillow inside.

I used a few lengths of cloth ribbon to make ties. I just sewed them onto the pillow at several intervals and tied the tabs together, making the cover easy to take off and wash every now and then.

And this is Karma our 2 year old boxer/shar pei mix baby. She's our rescue furbaby and she is very lovable.

She's learned a lot in the month that she has been with us, but clearly chewing is still a bit of a problem.

Oh well, almost good as new!

Spiralized Potato Latkes

You could always use shredded potatoes, but since I got a spiralizer for Christmas I thought I'd give that a try.

2 cups spiralized potatoes (about 4 medium potatoes)
1 tbsp dried chives
1/4 cup flour
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp lemon zest
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
vegetable oil for frying

Mix potatoes, chives, flour, eggs, lemon zest, garlic, salt and pepper together. Have your frying pan and vegetable oil on medium low heat. As you can see I didn't use alot of oil.

Carefully pour about 1/3 cup of potato mixture into the pan for each latke, pressing down lightly. Fry 1-2 minutes.
Flip and fry another 2 minutes until golden brown.

Remove to a rack on a paper towel lined baking sheet or serve right away with sour cream or applesauce.

Or try some Pulled Pork on top of your latkes.  
Don't knock it 'til you try it!
Here's the link to Pulled Pork
http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2014/01/pulled-pork-fajitas.html

Meatball and Mushroom Stroganoff

Because you can't have too many comfort foods...

340 g broad egg noodles

1 lb lean ground beef
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tsps minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

1 medium onion
2 cups mushrooms
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 cup beef or chicken stock
1 tsp dry mustard
2/3 cup whipping cream
1/3 cup sour cream
2 tsps cornstarch
1 tbsp water
salt and pepper to taste

Mix the beef, breadcrumbs, egg, water, worcestershire, garlic, salt and pepper together.
Form into heaping tablespoon sized balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
This made 16 meat balls.

Bake at 375 F for 12 minutes

Meanwhile in a large skillet heat olive oil and butter and fry the sliced onions and mushrooms until lightly browned. Add the stock, thyme and dry mustard.

In a bowl whisk together the whipping cream, sour cream, cornstarch, water, salt and pepper.  Make a well in the center of the meatballs and slowly pour the cream in while whisking, then stir and heat through.

Cook egg noodles as per package directions and toss with butter. Spoon the meatballs and sauce on top.

Serves 4-6

Rice Paper Spring Rolls

(Spring rolls or hand rolls) Until yesterday I didn't even know what a hand roll was. I know I'm late to the party, but I'm not really crazy about sushi. My daughter brought some hand rolls home and they looked pretty interesting.  She also picked up some supplies so we could try making them.

rice papers
sticky rice
cooked shrimp
carrot
cucumber

Ma vinaigrette

This was one of our first attempts.

Start by cooking the sticky rice, then set it aside for 1 hour to cool. Once cooled you can try adding a little vinaigrette to the rice or just leave it plain. Cut the carrot and cucumber into very thin strips. You can leave the shrimp whole or slice them.

Take a sheet of rice paper and dip it into lukewarm water. (We left the first one we tried in the water for just a few seconds and it turned into a sticky mess, literally dip it in and out of the water!) 

We then laid the sheet on a piece of parchment paper for ease of handling. We waited 1 minute for the rice paper to become pliable then started adding the filling. Before putting a layer of sticky rice down we sprinkled some parsley on this sheet. 

Here's my daughter placing the whole shrimp, carrot and cucs on top of the rice. Then she used the parchment to lift and roll similar to rolling a jelly roll cake with a dishtowel. Don't forget to tuck in the ends.

For the next one I tried strips of carrot on top of the rice paper, then the layer of rice, sliced shrimp and cucumber strips.

She had the idea of squirting some Ma vinaigrette down the middle before rolling. Good idea!

We had alot of fun making these. It was the first time but it won't be the last.

Mason Jar Lid Labels

And here's something really easy you can do with old Christmas cards.

Cut circles the size of the mason jar lid and write what's in the jar on it, place it on top of the lid and put the ring on to hold it in place.

You could use any cards for labels during the year but the Christmas card labels look kind of festive, don't you think?

Here's the link to Christmas Jam

http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2015/12/christmas-jam.html

Cinnamon Candle Centerpiece

All you need for this simple centerpiece are 4 things.
And no special craft talent needed.

A tall clear vase, several cinnamon sticks, an unscented candle in glass and some white crystal fake snow from the dollar or craft store. 

You can use any size vase but I thought this tall one looked good. Fill it part way with snow, sit the candle jar in the center and poke the cinnamon sticks in the snow all around.

Once lit with a long handled lighter it gives your table a nice soft glow.

Spicy Cranberry Sausage Rolls

Using bulk sausage meat was new for me having only every used sausages in short pastry for rolls. But this recipe, using bulk meat and puff pastry is a little fancier than those regular tired old sausage rolls.

1 tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
300 g spicy bulk sausage meat
1 recipe puff pastry (see link below)
6 tbsps cranberry sauce
1 egg

Follow this link to an easy puff pastry recipe originally from Canadian Living.

http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2016/01/puff-pastry-recipe-from-canadian-living.html


Puff Pastry

1 cup cold butter
1  2/3 cups flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup cold water
1 egg, beaten


Start by browning the chopped onion in olive oil. Set aside to cool.

Once you've made the puff pastry roll it out on a floured counter to measure 9 X 12", then cut in half lengthwise.

Spread 3 tbsps cranberry sauce on each piece leaving a 1" border. Mix the cooled onion with the sausage meat.

Divide it in half and form into two flat sausage shapes, laying it onto of the cranberry sauce.

Wet the sides of the pastry with a little water, fold over and press the edges to seal.

Cut into 2" rolls, place well spaced on a parchment lined baking sheet seam side down. Brush with beaten egg.

Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature with mustard.

Adapted from
http://m.tesco.com/mt/legacy.realfood.tesco.com/recipes/cranberry-and-leek-sausage-rolls.html