from the archives ~ Granny Squares

Since my Octagonal Orb quilt is on hold while I wait for fabric to arrive, and with nothing else new on the go, I decided to finally pull out my bee blocks from the beginning of the year.  I had my bee mates sew scrappy Granny Squares for me, using 3" squares of fabric.  Including the blocks that I made and one that was contributed by Holly, I ended up with 12.

I didn't have much of the solid background fabric left so opted to skip sashing the blocks, and as you can see I didn't even have enough to finish the borders (but don't worry, I'll still remedy that!).  Unfortunately all 12 were not equal in size so when trimming I had to almost chop off a few points and I seamed the blocks together using a slightly smaller than 1/4" allowance to minimize the number of points that were lost.  If you look closely you can tell, but in the grand scheme of things it is not obvious at all, especially with the scrappy fabrics.  This is a baby/crib size quilt so it should quilt up quickly.  I'm hoping to practice some of my FMQ on this one.

100% unrelated, I thought I'd share a few of the new recipes I've found on Pinterest and tried lately, if any of you happen to be in a cooking rut like I tend to be on a regular basis, especially in the summer:

Grilled Chicken Teriyaki Kebobs ~ delicious, so good in fact that we're having it again this week!

BLT Chopped Salad ~ I kept all of the ingredients separate so everyone could "build" their own

Cheeseburger Soft Tacos ~ a slight variation on your average cheeseburger, and the kids loved it

Taco Pasta ~ I made this tonight and it was super easy, very tasty, and was all made on the stovetop

Happy sewing and eating!

Tuesday at the Table

I don't think I have ever posted a recipe on my blog. I am not one who particularly loves to cook or bake, I tend to stick with the "same old" recipes, that keep us fed but never really seem worth sharing. But since it is Valentine's Day, and it is "Tuesday at the Table", (and Debbie is offering a prize....) I figured why not!

We don't often have dessert at our house, but today I decided to make something. This is a "same old" recipe, but it is so good and we all like it, so for Valentine's Day it seemed like a good choice!

Chocolate Cobbler

1 cup flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp, plus 1/4 cup baking cocoa, divided
1/2 cup milk
3 Tbsp oil
1 cup packed brown sugar
1-3/4 cups boiling water

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and 2 Tbsp cocoa. Stir in milk and oil until smooth. Pour into 8x8 greased baking pan. Combine brown sugar and remaining cocoa powder in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle over batter. Pour boiling water over all (do not stir!). Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Serve warm. Yields 6-8 servings.

P.S. I would recommend putting a larger baking sheet or tin foil under the pan, as the cobbler tends to bubble over a bit!

Happy Valentine's Day!