Slow Cooker Pork Chops - Super Duper Tender

Pork chops were on sale a few weeks ago and I decided to pick up a pack.  On the day that I decided to cook them I had a hard time deciding how to cook them.  I found a few recipes on Pinterest but I ended up making up my own because I did not have all the ingredients for some of them.  Here is what I did.


Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
4 pork chops
olive oil
1 can of cream of chicken soup

Recipe:
1. Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl big enough to coat the pork chops with the mixture.  (next time I cook this I will omit the salt)

2. Coat the pork chops in the flour mixture.

3. Brown the pork chops in a skillet on all sides and place browned pork chops into slow cooker.

4. Cover the pork chops with 1 can of cream of chicken soup.  (You could also use cream of mushroom.)

5. Cook the pork chops on low for 6 to 7 hours or high for 4 hours.

The pork chops came out super duper tender.  They just fell right off of the bone.  They were a hit with both kids and adults.  We will so be making these again soon.

Creating a Fabric Baby Gate for a Large Opening

With a very mobile baby, it was time to start making our stairs safe.  Even though Amelia is not walking yet, she can crawl up the stairs very quickly.  We bought a wide baby gate for the bottom of our stairs since it is so wide but it was not wide enough.  We had to come up with something creative and fast.

I always have fabric in the house and after perusing Pinterest I decided to make a fabric baby gate for the bottom of our stairs.  Fabric gates only work at the bottom of the stairs.  They are not strong enough for the top of the stairs just in case they push through.

Here is how I created the gate.  It is very simple and very adaptable for the width of the opening at the bottom of your stairs.

1. I gathered my materials.  I used 2 yards of a whale flannel, 6 inches of blue cotton, zigzig ribbon, and matching thread.

2. I attached the blue fabric and the whale fabric to make an extra 6 inches.  I put the right sides together and then sewed a seam attaching the two fabrics.

3. I hemmed all four sides of the fabric.  You could just leave them as is if you want to make this even quicker to get it up.  As you can see I did not even trim the selvage end.  I did not do a lot to the fabric so that I can reuse it one day.

4. I then attached the ribbon to all four corners after hemming.  I sewed each ribbon to the fabric so that it will be secure and not come out if pulled.  I made loops so that I can attach it and detach it from the wall for easy movement of the big people in the house.  

5. I attached it to the wall using 30 lb picture frame holders.  This makes it easy with the loops to get easy access to the upstairs for the big people and strong enough that the little one can not pull it out of the wall.  Make sure to make adjustments and pull it tight so that your little one can not crawl under or around it.  We have had ours up for a few days and it has been a lifesaver.  We have not had to make a beeline to the stairs to get Amelia down from the stairs.  Also you can see that I made it very tall.  Amelia was 30 inches at 9 months and she is even taller now as she approaches 11 months.  When she stands, I did not want her to be able to reach the loops and take them down.  

I hope this helps for those that also have a weird size opening at the bottom of your stairs.  Just remember this is for the bottom of the stairs only!

Refreshing Pineapple Cream Pie - So YUMMY!!

I decided that I was really in the mood for a pie.  I went to the pantry and started looking through to see what I could make into a tasty pie.  I found some cherry pie filling and thought ohhhhh I will make a cherry cheese pie, a family favorite. But alas, I did not have all the ingredients.  I started searching again and ended up kinda making up a recipe.

Here is what I used:
I envelope of DreamWhip
1/2 cup milk
1 8 oz. can of crushed pineapples
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
pinch of salt
graham cracker pie crust


Recipe:
1. Make the DreamWhip.  I made it according to package directions using 1/2 cup of cold milk and beat it on low for 4 minutes. Set aside.

2. Beat cream cheese and sugar until it is fluffy.

3. Mix in the pineapples and pinch of salt into the cream cheese mixture.

4.  Fold into the DreamWhip.

5. Pour into the crust.

6. Refrigerate for at least an hour but I find that longer helps it set better.


This is such a great summer dessert.  It is so easy to make!  And it is very refreshing on a hot summer day (even though it is technically still spring - it is already in the 90's here!)

Family Vacation

We had a great road trip to Pennsylvania.  It was a long trip - a car trip that used to take Tim and I 10 hours now takes 14 hours with two kids.  Both of the kids did great.  Alex has been on lots of road trips across the country but this was Amelia's first big trip and she did great!

At our stop for breakfast.  Amelia enjoyed being out of her carseat for a while even though she slept most of the trip thus far.

Alex being silly at our breakfast stop.

We has so much fun visiting family and lots of fun visiting new places. One of the favorite places that we stopped was Longwood Botanical Gardens.  It was a beautiful day and lots of beautiful flowers to look at.  One of the favorite parts for the kids was the fountain garden where they could play in the water.

Alex's favorite place that we went was an amusement park.  This was his first time ever going to one and it was very exciting.  We did not know what to expect with him but he loved it and enjoyed riding all of the rides.

Alex and I riding the helicopters.

This is a giant slide inside a silo made to look like a rocket.  This was one of Alex's favorite rides!  After Alex and I rode down it together on the burlap sack, he wanted to do it by himself the next time.  He said that he wanted to go fast next time!

It was nice to have new adventures as a family!  We had so much fun and now we cannot wait until we get to do it again.  Family vacations are the best!

DIY Camera Strap - For the Photographer in your Life

Later this week, we will be leaving for vacation.  My hubby has been asking me to make him a camera strap for a while and I thought now is the perfect time to make one for him.  This one is made for someone with is tall, so feel free to adjust it to your height.  This one comes to the middle of my thighs since I am just barely over 5 foot, but perfect for Tim since his is over 6'3".  Here is how I created it.  

First, I chose my materials.  This is a scrap piece of fabric that I had on hand.  I needed it to be big enough to cut our two strips that were 6" x 27".  I also used my Fiskars cutter and board, matching thread, grograin ribbon, and two clips.  I needed small clips to fit his camera.  I found the ones that I used in the jewelry section at Joann's.  

I then measured and cut out two strips of material measure 6" x 27".  My cutting board is a little shy of 27" so I used a piece of paper to make sure it lined up all the way to the top so that I got a straight cut.  

Next, I cut off the selvage end of the fabric.

Next, comes the ironing.  You will want to fold the material in half long ways and iron a crease into the material.

Using the crease that you just made, fold each of the sides to that crease and iron down.

Next, fold both sides together to create a long, skinny strip. On each end, fold it in 1/4" to create a finished end once completed. This is part of your strap. You will need to repeat with the other strip of material.

Next, you will need to cut out to pieces of ribbon.  This is the kind that I just happened to have on hand.  I cut two strips 6" each.

Thread the ribbon through the clip.

I used a straight stitch to hold the ends of the ribbon together. Do this to each of the strips of ribbon.

Place the ribbon inside of the end of one of the strips, centering it when you do this. Sew the end of the strip down.  I used a zigzag stitch to make it secure.

You will also want to sew the other end shut and do a zigzag stitch all the way down the long side of the strip.

Place the end of the strip that you just completed inside the other strip just like you did the ribbon. Sew together using a zigzag stitch.

Sew in the other ribbon and hook into the other end of the strip that you just completed.

You now have a new camera strap.  Much cooler than the black ones that usually come with the camera.  And you can customize it to your height since we are not one size fits all.

DIY Fabric Trash Bag for Car

We are leaving for a car trip at the end of the week and one of the things that we always have to deal with on a long trip is the trash.  There is always something to throw away with two kids.  I am not great at remembering to bring plastic grocery bags so I decided to make a trash bag for the car.  I let Alex pick out the fabric so it is a red and black cotton with gold glitter.

You will only need about 3/4 of a yard of cotton fabric although I bought a yard just to be on the safe side.  I am always afraid of making a mistake as a create something new.

I always wash the fabric before I start any project.  This is important so that if there is any shrinkage, it will happen now not after your project is complete and ruin it.  There is nothing worse that working so hard on something just for it to get ruined.

I started by drawing the pattern onto tracing paper and and then cutting it out.  You can just measure on the fabric if you want.

Here are the pieces that I made:

Main Pocket - 16" x 9 1/4" - cut 2
Front Pocket - 10 1/4" x 9 1/4" - cut 1
Binding - 2 1/2" x 13 1/2" - cut 3
Short Strap - 8" x 4 1/4" - cut 1
Long Strap - 16" x 4 1/4" - cut 1

You will also need a parachute clip and matching thread.

After I got all the pattern cut out, I pinned it to the fabric and made my cuts.

I began by making the straps.  I took the short strap and ironed it.  I folded in long ways and ironed a crease in it.  I then folded the long sides into the middle and ironed it down.  Finally, I folded those into those in to make a this strap. Fold the short ends in 1/4" to finish the ends. I repeated the process with the long strap.
Once you have the straps folded and ironed, you will need to sew the open three sides together on the long and short strap.

You will need to thread the short strap through the female end of the parachute clip.  Once it is threaded through, you will need to have at least 1 1/2" pulled through.  To secure the clip to the strap, you will need to sew a box stitch.  Sew the strip down by sewing a square and then an X in the middle.  It will look like this when you have the box stitch completed.  Repeat with the male side of the parachute clip and the long strap.

Next, you will need to make the binding to finish the edges of the pockets.  Fold the binding in half long ways and iron.  Unfold.  Fold the long edges to the middle crease.  Iron.  Fold both of the flaps you just created to make a long skinny strap.  Iron to make flat.  Sew the long edge together, but leave the ends open.

Now you will need to sew the binding to the top of the pockets to finish the top edge.  Place the top of edge of both main pockets and front pocket inside of each binding strip.  You will sew the pockets inside each of the bindings one at a time.  The top edge is the shorter end of the pockets.















Once you have the top edge of each of the pockets finished, it is time to assemble the bag.  Lay one of the main pockets right side up.  Place the front pocket right side up on top of the main pocket, lining up the bottom edges.  Place the second main pocket on top of the other two right side down.  Pin the two sides and bottom so that they will not shift as you sew them together.   Leave top open.  At the top of each side, I used a zig zag stitch to make sure that it is secure and not come apart as it is used.

Before turning the bag  right side out, I sewed the strap to the bag using a box stitch.  I sewed one side of the strap near one side seam and the other side of the strap to the opposite side of the bag.  Trim the excess binding,

Now all that is left is to turn it right side out and you have a nice trash bag to hang in your car.