"Guess & By Gosh" Porkchops

While looking through cookbooks at my dad's house, I came across one from the local volunteer fire department.  In it I found a recipe of my Nana's (who passed away when I was 5, but I still have fond memories of her) called "Guess & By Gosh".  It's very simple, but very tastey - so I wanted to share with you all

Guess & By Gosh

by Vivian Whitehead

You will need:

4 med. sized pork chops

2x10 oz. cans Cream of Chicken soup

1/4 c. chopped onion

1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1x10 oz. can water

Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350° c.  Brown pork chops in frying pan.  Mix together all remaining ingredients in a bowl.  Place pork chops in casserole dish.  Pour mixture over meat and bake for 30-45 mins. Serve over rice (or with Nana Potatoes!)

An update and a Thank you

Well...here I am...still sane...for now  lol  The last year or so has turned my life around quite a lot - and not in a good way, unfortunately. 

Almost a year ago we moved out of the town that I'd spent my whole life in, about 3 hours away, because hubby got a job - and for the first little while things were great.  He was getting decent wages, they had a staff house with cheap rent, the people were nice - then things started going downhill.  Hubby's boss (I sure wish I had googled Jack Purdy before we moved!) started messing around with his pay, slowly giving him less and less and saying things would return to normal after 'this' was done and then it was when 'that' was done etc, until we were barely surviving - let alone able to move back to our hometown.  Finally hubby decided enough was enough, he wasn't counting on their "promises" anymore, and he filed a complaint with Labour Relations for all the unpaid hours (even at minimum wage, because they didn't give him pay stubs proving he made more, they still owe him around $6K!).  His boss's response was to give us a 24 hour eviction notice.  Nice, right?  Long story short, in February we had to store our stuff at friends' houses (in that town, because we can't afford a truck to move it) and come back to our hometown (staying with my dad, who happened to have a heart attack - on my son's birthday while I was still stuck out of town -  and need a double bypass just as we were planning to come to his house)  and I'm now looking for work and having no luck.  It's been....tiring...trying...stressful... but, onwards and upwards!

During all this I haven't been too active on here or at Mum Made Me (or crocheting at all, for that matter), and I lost a bunch of likes on Facebook.  At first I was a little upset but I've decided that it's ok, because it gives me a chance to thank the fans who have stuck around during my absence, and to appreciate those who emailed me to show their support while I was/am dealing with some bumps in life's road.  I know that things will turn around again and I will be able to get back to you all, happy and energized, and back to crocheting things again.  Thank you again to all of you who have stood by my side  <3

Chick Pea "nuts"...who'da thunk it?

I'm always looking for a snack that's cheap, easy, and that my 3 year old son will like.  Someone mentioned roasting chick peas so I decided to investigate.  There are a lot of recipes for them out in internet-land, you can basically season them to taste, but here's a general idea:


You will need:
1x15oz can chick peas
1 tbsp. cooking oil
seasonings to taste - approx. 1/4tsp each, give or take

Some of the seasonings you can use are: cumin, seasoning salt, pepper, sea salt...the options are endless and totally up to you!  One combination that my son and I really enjoy is: pepper, salt, a little dried mustard, old bay seasoning and ground oregano.  So here's what you do:

Preheat oven to 450°f/230°c (I have a convection oven so I set it to 425°f/220°c)

In a bowl, whisk cooking oil and seasonings together.  Drain and rinse the chick peas, then pat dry with paper towel.  Put the chick peas in the bowl and mix well.  Dump contents of bowl into a cooking sheet with deep sides.  Cook for 45-50 minutes, stirring about half way through.  Enjoy warm or cooled off

 

 

They end with a texture very similar to corn nuts.  And best of all - my little man LOVES them!Another thought I had, but haven't tried out yet, would be to prepare in the oil and cook (minus the seasonings) and then sprinkle with pop-corn flavorings (Salt 'n' Vinegar are the first on my list to try!).  Please leave a comment if you find a seasoning combo that you really like, I'd love to try it out!

Mountain's Edge: A Free Crochet Pattern

A while ago I was wanting an edge that looked kind of like peaks and vallies, but I just couldn't find a pattern that matched what I saw in my head.  So I started playing around on a granny square I had and the Mountain's Edge is what I came up with.  And guess what....the pattern for the edge is available (with tutorial pictures) on Ravelry (as a free download!) or written instructions at the bottom of this post.  I hope you like it and I hope you'll "hook it" on Ravelry or post on Mum Made Me to share pictures with me

 

 

Materials

- yarn/hook of your choice - I used ww and 5.5mm/US I hook

- project that needs an edge

- Yarn needle

Stitches *US terminology used*

Ch - chain

Ss - slip stitch

Sc - single crochet

Hdc - half double crochet

Dc - double crochet

Tc - triple crochet

LS - ladder stitch (not sure that's what it's called but for the purposes of this pattern it is. If you know the real term please tell me. It's a sc into the side of st just made (see pics 1 & 3 of pdf) [Insert hook into side of st just made, yo, pull up loop, yo, pull through both loops] (see pics 2 & 4 of pdf)

Please note: This pattern works in multiples of 5, not including corners, if going around a project, as pictured. If working along one edge only, multiples of 5, including corners: Join with ss at corner, ch 1, sc in same st then work from [---* of pattern across. If your edge is multiples of 4 or 6, dec/add a LS and remove tc/add qc [quadruple crochet - yo 3 times, insert hook, pull up loop, (pull through 2 loops) 4 times]

Join with ss to corner with RS facing.

Ch 1. Sc in same sp. Sc in next st. [insert hook into side of st just made, yo, pull up loop, yo, pull through both loops] (LS just made. See pics). Repeat [LS] 2 more times. Tc in next st. Dc in next. Hdc in next. Sc in next. (Sc in next st. [LS] 3 times. Tc in next. Dc in next. Hdc in next. Sc in next) across. *Sc in corner. (Sc in next st. [LS] 3 times. Tc in next. Dc in next. Hdc in next. Sc in next) across. Repeat from * around. Ss to sc to join

Please add your project on Ravelry by clicking on this link http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mountains-edge and clicking "hook it"

This pattern is for personal use only and is not to be sold or redistributed. You are welcome to sell items made from this pattern, but do not claim it as your own design. Please credit http://www.facebook.com/mummademe and http://www.ravelry.com/stores/mum-made-me in any publications ©MumMadeMe2012

 

HAPPY HOOKING!!  <3

Mum Made Me referral contest

I thought I'd have a little contest... From now (January 19) until next weekend (January 26) refer your friends to my page (http://www.facebook.com/mummademe). Get them to like it, and swing by here to follow my blog and leave a comment here telling me you sent them. Then the person who sent the most new likes will win a prize! The winner will get their choice of free hat (Ready to ship or custom order, not including shipping) or two free patterns from my Ravelry store (http://www.ravelry.com/stores/mummademe) Good luck, and have a great day <3

Photo how-to: yarn organization

 

 

 

1K Milestone Giveaway

It's finally here! I woke up this morning and we had reached our next milestone. Thank you so much everyone <3 To enter the giveaway please go to Mum Made Me on Facebook and write "agree" on the main photo of the giveaway album for the following rules: 1)You must comment on the picture of the prize you want to win to be in the draw for that prize (you may comment on more than one) 2) go like the sponsor page and say hi 3) then come back to the 1K Giveaway post, subscribe to my blog and comment that you've fulfilled the requirements. You get a bonus entry if you tweet about the giveaway, including the tags #mummademe and @cyndellecrymson so I can verify it. Please leave another comment on the blog for your twitter entry. Random.org will choose the winners in 2 Weeks - on September 4th. Please make sure to leave your email address so we can get a hold of you if you win. Thanks again so much for getting us here, and I can't wait to get to the next milestone Giveaway at 2500 likes. Have a great day <3