Monday, November 12, 2012

Chicken Gumbo

Last week when I was roasting a chicken I was thinking about recipes that I have not made for a while that I could use for the left overs of the roasted chicken. I thought of making gumbo, and it just so happened that I had a coupon for andouille sausage so that made it even better. We really enjoyed our pot full and it disappeared quickly. I thought you would enjoy the recipe too.

To start with you will need my recipe for stock. You can find it here. or you can use canned.

I used 4 cups stock, and the chicken that was left on the carcass.
1 bag of frozen Cajun mixed vegetables (onion, celery and green pepper)
 1 Tbsp of minced garlic
1 Tbsp of parsley flakes
2 Tsp of Salt
2 tsp of chili powder
1/2 tps of   thyme
1/2 tps of cayenne pepper (you can always add more if you like some heat)
1/4 tps of black pepper
paprika for taste
1 link of andouille sausage

It is as easy as throwing all the ingredients in a pot and letting it simmer for an hour till all the favors have melded together. Serve it over a big bowl of rice, and you've  got a great cold weather soup.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Always Pointing North Blanket


 A Free Crochet Pattern for a fast moving Motif and Blanket


Is anyone else starting to stress out about Christmas coming up soon? At some points I feel like I have it all put together, but at times I wonder if i am going to get all my projects done in time. I started working on Christmas presents in August.

The first one I got done is the one I will share with you. Hopefully this will be fun for my family because they will get to see it early but no one will know who is getting it.  Maybe they can have a raffle for it. Ha.

The things that I love about this free crochet pattern is that the motifs are only three rounds so I can sit down on the couch for a five minute break and get one done. Then it is a join as you go blanket, so you  can't lose any of your pieces, unless you lose the whole thing. I would not doubt that happening in my house with a toddler. I also like that you can make lots of different color patterns.

If you would like to see more color options click here.





Always Pointing North Blanket 



Yarn: Any 4ply acrylic yarn 
Hook: G/ 6
Gauge: Each motif is 4 inches by 4 inches

Free Crochet Pattern Download:

This is a free Crochet Pattern. Keep scrolling down to see this great free crochet pattern. This pattern is also available for a free download. download now  This is a download from My Ravelry Shop. Thank you for your Support and don't forget to add it to your Favorites. 

First Motif

Round 1:{Ch 5, make 2 tr in fourth ch from hook keeping the last loop on the hook of each tr, (yo and pull though 2 loops) twice}repeat {to } three more times, sl st into beginning ch .  4 tr clusters.

Round 2: Ch 4, {tr in next space between tr cluster of previous row, ch 4, tr3tog in same space, ch 4, tr in same space} repeat {to} twice, tr,  ch 4, 3togtr, ch 4, sl st into beginning ch 4.  4 3togtr

Round 3: Sl st into next st and sp, ch 1, {5 sc in ch 4 sp, ch 7, 5 sc in next ch 4 sp, ch 3}, repeat {to} three more times, sl st into beginning sc. Finish off.

Motif with 1 joining motif:

Round 1 and 2: Follow first motif directions

Round 3: Sl st into next st and sp, ch 1, 5 sc in ch 4 sp, ch 3, make a joining sl st connecting with the other motif’s ch 7, ch 3, 5 sc in next ch 4 space, ch 1 make a joining sl st connecting with the other motif’s ch 3, ch 1, {5 sc in ch 4 sp, ch 7, 5 sc in next ch 4 sp, ch 3}, repeat {to} two more times, sl st into beginning sc. Finish Off.

Motif with 2 joining motifs:
Round 1 and 2: Follow first motif directions.

Round 3:  : Sl st into next st and sp, ch 1, (5 sc in ch 4 sp, ch 3, make a joining sl st connecting with the other motif’s ch 7, ch 3, 5 sc in next ch 4 space, ch 1 make a joining sl st connecting with the other motif’s ch 3, ch 1) repeat (to) ,  (5 sc in ch 4 sp, ch 7, 5 sc in next ch 4 sp, ch), repeat (to), sl st into beginning sc. Finish Off.

Edging:

 Round 1: Starting in a corner square at the ch 7,make a beginning tr3tog, {ch 3, tr3tog, in ch 7 space} repeat three times, ch 3, (sc, ch3, sc) in next ch 3 space {(ch 3, tr3tog) 5 times in joining spaces , ch 3, (sc, ch 3, sc) in next ch 3 space} continue to repeat {to} till you come to a corner, in corner make (ch 3,  tr3tog) five times, then continue with the repeat, sl st into first st when you come to it.

Round 2:  Sl st into ch sp,{ (sc, ch 3, sc, in each ch 3 sp between tr3tog) 4 times, (tr, ch 2)  4 times, tr in the ch 3 sp of previous row} repeat {to} around, sl st in first st. Finish Off. Weave in all ends.



More Patterns You Will Love 

Here We Go Do-See-Do blanket

Colors of Sunshine Blanket


Pin For Later!






Thursday, November 1, 2012

busy day

This is a great big busy day for me. A new issue of Crochetvolution is up. I have a pattern that is in this issue called Dragon Slayer Scarf . It is a fun pattern that works up fast since it is a bulky yarn. I like how it looks like you have just slayed a dragon and have draped it over your shoulder in victory.

Also today in the mail I got my contract for that pattern that will appear in Crochet World. So the next step is done, now to publishing! Again I can't wait till April.

All of these things were wonderful additions to a crummy week. I love how God blesses at times when we don't feel blessed. Even when we have bad weeks we can have confidence in God always taking care of us.