Life really can be a picnic!

Everyone loves a picnic! This blog is about some of the things I love the most, and the term "picnic" just about covers them all. First of all, a picnic has to include food; simple food that is easy to fix. Next, you need someplace fun or different to visit; a nice, peaceful location. And of course, you always need to take along a good book to read and a well-used quilt to spread everything out on. So, there you have it! Easy recipes, good books, fun quilts along with some interesting, down-to-earth places to visit. You can even take your family or a friend or two if you want.



Monday, December 12, 2011

Merry December!

"Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace." --Buddha

     Christmas is getting closer and hopefully my list of things to do is getting shorter.  December is always the busiest month of the year.  It's probably a good thing, otherwise we'd be either really bored or really depressed. 

    

 I read a good book last year.  It's the real story of the Trapp family singers.  What an amazing family with a tremendous amount of faith and reliance on God.  I was surprised though that the names of the children in real life are not the same names of the children in the movie.


In December, I am always in the mood for something warm and something easy to fix to eat for dinner.  Chicken Tetrazzini is one of my favorite meals and it is both warm and easy to fix.  It's one of those nice one pot meals.





Chicken Tetrazzini


Melt 3 T. margarine in large skillet.  Saute 1 chopped onion and 1 stalk chopped celery until vegetables are clear.  Layer 2 C. of cooked chicken, cut in strips, over vegetables.  Layer 6 oz. (1 ½ C.) uncooked spaghetti (broken in shorter pieces) over chicken.  Combine 1 tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper, 1 can cream of chicken soup and 2 ½ C. chicken broth and pour over spaghetti moistening all.  Place 1 can sliced mushrooms on top.  Sprinkle ½ C. grated parmesan cheese on top.  Sprinkle a little paprika on top of the cheese.  Cover and simmer.  Check after 20 minutes.  May need 10 minutes more to cook spaghetti.  Keep heat low.
















This quilt is called "The Stockings Were Hung".  It's from the book called 'Tis the Season by Jeanne Large and Shelley Wicks.  It was a fun quilt with mostly patchwork and a little applique and a few red button embellishments for the holly berries.  I used up a lot of my stash of green scraps.