I Think I Have A Problem!

Good Monday morning!!! I hope that you all had an amazing weekend and Mothers Day! I sure did. My kiddos and husband sure know how to make a momma feel special. They obviously know me way to well. This is what I got and I couldn't be happier...

Its a thermal travel or stay coffee mug! And I know its hard to read what my husband got engraved but it says "We love you, Mommy." Perfect gift! I would have been happy with the all the homemade cards and crafts from them but this mug was the cherry on top. I am truly blessed. OK so now onto something a bit more serious...


I think I may have a serious addiction to the fabric store. No, trust me, I am totally serious! I cant even remember how many times I have been there this past week. But I do know that the people finally have realized how many times I have been in there and are super friendly now! I have actually learned a lot from them over the past week. They just don't cut fabric people, those ladies really know what they are talking about!!!

So just a little update for all that have asked, the Boutique is almost ready to open its virtual doors! I have an awesome friend who takes some pretty great pictures and we are gonna have a little fashion shoot today! I am so excited!!! So once I get my pictures up and shipping details figured out, it will be good to go.

Here is a little sneak peak for you guys of my newest item that will be available soon!

This headband is so stinking cute! I am definitely going to be making some for myself! Hope you all have a blessed week! Be back tomorrow.

Boutique Coming Soon!!

Yay!!!! SO I am bouncing off the walls with excitement today. I am super excited to say that by early next week I will be launching my new Etst shop: UggsBugs&Tutus Boutique!!!  I can hardly contain myself. I am busy busy busy working on my inventory so I can set up shop for everyone to see.

I want to thank everyone who pushed me to do this. I really just loved making things for people and never thought about actually making them for a profit. So here goes! It will either be a complete bust or a huge success. We shall soon find out.

Now the time comes to figure out my packaging! That is a very important part to me. I want the people that are investing their money in me to feel that I took time on each of their orders.

Also a big shout out to our friend Ken who helped me in so many ways! He owns an Etsy shop as well. Check him out www.etsy.com/shop/squarepegantuques.com. He is the one that design my banner for my shop. Here is a sneak peak...

I cant wait for the day I actually click "open." I will definitely let you all know when that time comes!
Thanks again to everyone who had a part of this! Now it is time to get back to the sewing machine!

A New Take On Meatloaf!

Guess what???? I made this amazing meatloaf last night, but it wasn't with the traditional ingredients! Normally I do not stray away from my normal meatloaf because my husband loves it and is extremely picky when it comes to it. But last night I decided it was time for a change. It will not be a permanent change but I wanted to switch it up and see how the family liked it. Well it was a huge success with my kids and a tiny one with my husband. He liked it but of course said, "I like my meatloaf better." I told him to get over it and to step out of the box, haha! He just laughed at me and continued to eat. So I guess he didn't hate it too much because he cleaned his plate.

This recipe came from The Whole Foods Market cookbook that I recently purchased. It was definitely worth every penny. I actually purchased it on my IPad and paid less than I would have if I bought the hardcover.

So here it is: Sweet Potato and Turkey Meatloaf!

Ingredients:

1lb of turkey meat
1 cup of grated sweet potato
1/2 coarsely chopped onion
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3 table spoons of BQ sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 and lightly oil a baking sheet.
2. In a bowl mix turkey meat, sweet potato, onion, salt, pepper, and BBQ sauce together until well blended.
3. Instead of putting the meat mixture in a loaf pan, make four small loafs and place on the baking sheet.
4. Top the loaves with BBQ sauce and place in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until cooked through.


For our side I made Maple Syrup green beans (also from The Whole Food Market cookbook)

Ingredients:

1 lb of green beans, cleaned and trimmed
2 tbs of maple syrup, if you want them sweeter just add more!
2 tbs of olive oil

Directions:

1. After you put together your meatloaves, wash and trim your green beans.
2. In a bowl mix together the beans, syrup and oil.
3. Place the coated green beans on a baking dish and throw in the oven with the meatloaves.
4. The beans should be done when the meat is cooked!

I hope that you all enjoy!!! This recipe was actually pretty amazing!!! I will probably double the recipe in the future so that there will be leftovers for the next day :)

Pop To The Tart!

My kids love them some pop tarts and I must admit, they are pretty tasty. But have you ever looked at the ingredients? It is pretty scary and there are so many words that I cant even begin to pronounce. Its insane and it kinda makes me sick to my stomach because I was feeding my children this crap!

So I was on a mission to try and find a good homemade toaster pastry recipe and I did!! Again www.100daysofrealfood.com is totally to blame for this wonderful concoction! 

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp of salt

2 sticks of cold, unsalted butter

1/2 cup of water plus ice

1 egg beaten with a splash of water

jam or jelly 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (I used a baking stone so I didn't need to line with paper)

2. Put flour and salt in mixer with a dough blade and blend together.

3. Fill a measuring cup with 1/2 cup of water and add a few ice cubes.

4. Take the butter out of the fridge and cut into 1/2 inch chunks and spread the chunks of butter over the flour mixture. Make sure you spread them evenly and not into one big pile. 

5. Turn on the mixer and mix butter and flour together until it resembles a crumbly meal. While mixer is still on, pour 1/3 of the water into the mixer. The dough should start to form together. If needed add a few more tablespoons of water so the dough ball will form. 

6. Remove dough from mixer and place on a lightly floured counter or cutting board. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a big rectangle. Keep dough no more than a 1/4 inch thick. 

7. Trim the edges to make a nice rectangle and you can use those trimming to patch any crack, if needed.

8. Using a knife, cut 14 to 16 small rectangles or make any shapes that you want!

9. Then spoon about a tablespoon of the jelly or jam on top of those rectangles and then cover with another rectangle and use a fork to close the edges. Also make a few holes on the top of the pastries with the fork.

10. Bake at 375 for about 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. You can keep these in the fridge for about 3 days or a couple of months in the freezer!! You can eat them cold or warm them up!

Hope you all enjoy these as much as we have this morning!! I think I have eaten more than my kids!

Also if you have multiple children like I do, I would suggest doubling this recipe. I have a feeling I will be in the kitchen tonight making some more for tomorrow!

The First Of Many!

This past weekend we celebrated Mother's Day and my Nana's birthday with the family and, as always, it was a wonderful time! There is never a shortage of laughs and tears when we all get together! Here is a quick picture of my Nana with her grandson and great grand babies.

It definitely took a few tries to get one where almost everyone is looking at the same camera. I think this one is a winner!

So as usual when the time comes for presents I draw a complete blank! But this year was a bit different. I have come to love sewing and my newest creations are scarves. And my Nana loves her a pretty scarf! So my present was pretty much decided for me. I then got to work!

The hardest part was trying to find the right pattern and fabric. I finally settled on a polyester fabric with a black and white design. I knew I wasn't going to need much fabric, but decided to grab a yard just in case I messed up.

I am really not a measurer (if that is even a word!) but an "eye" person, if that makes any sense at all! I just draped the fabric around my neck to determine the thickness and the length. That's high tech right there!!!

So once I figured out how long I wanted it, I cut the remaining fabric and began to sew!

All I did was fold over the edges, about half an inch, twice so there was a smooth line and began to sew all the way around. I made sure to double stitch on the ends so it would not unravel. 

So there you have it! My first scarf of many! Maybe as I get better I will be able to give better instructions!!! Bear with me people!

A Little Cajun For Ya!

My husband loves him some Cajun food and so do I! So we have been in search of a good shrimp and grits recipe that the entire family would love. My husband got this recipe from a friend at work and I am sure glad that he did! The other night was the second time that I made it and it turned out just as good as it did the first time. I was afraid that the first time was a fluke, but it wasn't! I have got this recipe down and my husband is already asking when I will make it again.

It is so simple to make!! 

Ingredients:

Shrimp and sausage:

1 lb of beef sausage

1 1/2 lbs shrimp (I used frozen)

2 tablespoons of Cajun seasoning

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon basil

1 teaspoon pepper 

Grits:

2 cups of water

1/2 cup of chicken stock

2 tablespoons of butter

1 cup of quick grits

1 tablespoon of tomato paste

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

cheddar cheese to taste

Sauce:

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon minced garlic

3 tablespoons flour

1 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

Directions:

First get your shrimp ready. Put your peeled and deveined shrimp in a bowl and season with Cajun, paprika, basil and pepper. Set aside.

Next, make your grits. Bring water, chicken stock and butter to a boil. Slowly add grits and cook for about 5 minutes. Then add your tomato paste, cream and cheese. Don't be shy on the cream and cheese! The cheesier, the better! Keep whisking until creamy and set aside. Make sure you continue to stir every so often until served. 

Now it is time to sauté the shrimp and sausage. In a large sauté pan melt butter and then add garlic. Cook garlic for about 30 seconds and then add your shrimp and sausage to the pan. Cook your shrimp and sausage until done. Do not over cook! Remove the shrimp and sausage, when done, and place them in a bowl. Make sure you leave the liquid/drippings in the sauté pan. 

The sauce is the final step! With all those wonderful drippings from the shrimp and sausage, add your 3 tablespoons of flour. Cook until roux gets a medium tan color, then slowly add the chicken stock and heavy whipping cream. Cook together for about 3 minutes and then add Worcestershire and hot sauce. 

Now you are done!!!! Serve however you would like. In my family we load our plate down with grits and the top with shrimp and sausage and the add the sauce on top. It is fabulous!!!!

I know the recipe may seem a bit much but it really is a very simple dish to make. I hope that you try it out! I wish that I had a finished product for you but before I realized it, I had cleaned my plate...maybe or maybe not for the second time! 

A Jean Transformation!

So today's post was totally last minute! Trust me, I am not that blogger that sits down the night before or two nights before and writes more than one post at a time. No no no...I am the blogger that gets up in the morning and then decides what to write and then I frantically try to finish usually before noon. Well the past two days it hasn't quite worked out that way. And you know what? I am okay with that!

So last night I was cleaning out my closet, which I do before the summer comes so I know what I am looking at for the upcoming months, and I found one of my favorite pair of jeans. Here is a picture that I blogged in the very beginning! They seriously are my favorite pair of $15 jeans from the Gap Outlet.

Well the hole in the knee was getting a bit crazy. Every time I would put them on, my foot would go through the hole, making it bigger and bigger each time. I definitely didn't want to throw them out because I seriously have had these things for a few years and they were apart of the family! So this morning I woke up with a mission; figure out how to save these pants! Oh and I did!! I decided to turn them into shorts. Yea jeans shorts. I wear them. What are you going to do about it?

So anyway I got to work! 

Holding back the tears, I cut them to about mid thigh. It definitely was hard to do! But it had to be done!

I folded the ends up one time and then began to sew. After I finished I cut the excess fabric off so when I went to fold them up again, it wouldn't be too bulky. 

I then folded them up one more time and then put it under the machine one last time. There you have it! Ridiculously easy!!!

Here are a few shots with them on.

Caution white legs ahead!

Told ya. They are pretty white! So there you have it. Jeans turned into shorts in literally 10 minutes! Now the next time you are thinking about getting rid of a good pair of jeans, remember they can always be transformed into something else!!! See ya tomorrow!