Lovely Lolly

I am in love with the Lolly Chops blog! It is filled with tutorials, ideas, recipes, and fun! I am always inspired by it. Check it out! Now!

Rose Slippers

I am in love with these rose slippers that I made for my Etsy shop. I had to make some for Ruby (my daughter). She likes to pick them up and smell them, like she does with real flowers.

Fabric Giveaway

Check out Hart's Fabric they have a huge selection of wonderful fabrics to choose from.

And, every week they have "Take Away Tuesday", where you can enter for a chance to win a yard of great fabric. Check it out on their blog.

Good Luck!

My Bernina

I just got a barely used Bernina sewing machine as a gift from my mother. I love it! I've been sewing like crazy.

I'm excited about the new items that I am and will be offering in my Etsy shop. I finally put up a listing for custom baby quilts. I'm really looking forward to that, I love making baby quilts! I'm also now offering organic baby bandanas in fun fabric from the My Happy Garden line by Cloud 9 Fabrics. Yay!

Beef Stew

I made a delicious beef stew last night, and I thought I would share the recipe before I forgot it. This could easily be made vegetarian, by replacing the beef stock with vegetable stock (and removing the meat, obviously.)

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 lbs stew beef, cut into pieces
salt & pepper

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 Cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced

2 Tbsp tomato sauce or ketchup
1 Tbsp good mustard
1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 Cup good red wine
1 Tbsp powdered onion soup mix

2 bay leaves
1 tsp sage
salt & pepper

Unsalted beef stock

Peel and chop:
1 large sweet potato
4 small potatoes
2 large carrots
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1. Pat meat dry, sprinkle with salt and pepper
2. Heat oil in dutch oven or soup pot on med-high heat
3. Add meat, brown on all sides
4. Remove meat from pot, leave all juices and brown bits (great flavor!)

5. Reduce heat to med-low
6. Add up to 2 Tbsp of olive oil
7. Add onions, cook for a couple of minutes
8. Add garlic, carrot, and celery; cook 5-10 more minutes, stirring regularly

9. Reduce heat to low
10. Add tomato sauce, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, red wine, and soup mix; stir
11. Scrape up any browned bits that are still stuck to the bottom of the pan
12. Add bay leaves, sage, and salt & pepper
13. Add meat and enough beef stock to cover; cover and cook for about 1 hour

14. Add sweet potato, potato, and carrots; add more beef stock or water, if necessary
15. Cover and cook for 30-40 minutes
16. Adjust salt & pepper as needed
17. Enjoy!

This stew only gets better the next day, so feel free to make ahead! I served it with fresh bread and a salad. Yum!