Cheeseburger Macaroni -- a wonderful freezer meal

 

 I mentioned this back in April, and even included it in a post.  But I'm going to schedule it for the end of October, as Lucie commented that November is the time to be sure we have meals stashed in the freezer.  This is a good one to share with others so they too will have something hearty and good ready for those busy days approaching the holidays.  I often give a pan of this to families with a new baby, or those with a houseful of holiday guests.

CHEESY BEEF MACARONI BAKE

1 onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 lb. ground beef
15-ounce can tomato sauce (the Contadina kind that includes herbs is wonderful!)
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 cups elbow macaroni, boiled and drained
1 cup whipping cream OR half & half
2 1/2 to 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Cook the crumbled ground beef and onion and garlic in a large skilled until beef is no longer pink.  Stir in the tomato sauce and seasoning, salt and pepper.  Spread this mixture in the bottom of a greased 13x9-inch baking pan.

Heat the cream in a medium saucepan; when it bubbles a bit around the edges, stir in the shredded cheese and whisk until smooth.  Mix the cooked macaroni into the cheese sauce and spread this mixture over the meat sauce in the pan.

If you like you can sprinkle with chopped parsley or a bit more shredded cheese.

Bake uncovered at 350º for 25-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

This freezes well and reheats nicely.  If you freeze it, thaw it out (take out of freezer and place in fridge the night before) before baking it.

Will serve about 6.

Just a quick check-in

 

 Just checking in for a few minutes on a cool dreary October Thursday.

I thought I would pop in and report my progress toward Christmas. 

 I have purchased a few gifts for specific people, labeled them and placed in my gift stash.  

I bought my Christmas stamps some time ago, so even if the price goes up we are all set.

Just ordered two boxes of these Christmas cards and they have now arrived.  I love them!

 Also one box of these: 

There are some beautiful cards on Christianbook.com this year!  Here's another:

I'm also saving ideas on Instagram and my Pinterest boards for kitchen gifts and special Christmas food, plus trying a recipe now and then.

I'm continuing to work on the Poinsettias and Pines sampler.  Thankfully it's a winter design and not necessarily a Christmas one, so hope springs eternal I'll finish it in the next few months.

 

I'm also trying to decide about my Sunday Scripture posts for December -- whether to do anything special or stick with Fix Your Focus.  Trying to get that figured out today, but we will see.  Hubby keeps throwing computer tasks my way ... 

I guess that's about it for me right now.  How are you readers coming with your Christmas plans?

Ending Christmas in July with a festive flourish!

 

Wow, we did it!  Managed to post every day in July for the annual Christmas in July as I so enjoy doing.  This time I scheduled very few posts ahead of time.  It was mostly day by day, though I did schedule the last few since we'll be on a short getaway during that time.

For today, a really fun dessert idea which unfortunately is composed mostly of processed foods, but which I'm sure is also absolutely delicious.  Since this is a refreshing chilled dessert, it will be perfect to try in summer.

I imagine everyone has heard of the strawberry pretzel salad.  (It's much more of a dessert in my opinion.). Well, this recipe from Taste of Home takes the strawberry pretzel salad concept and gives it a festive red and green twist: Strawberry Lime Pretzel Salad.

It's actually even nicer than one might think from the title, because the green layer, rather than just being a lime green, is actually more of a pastel green owing to the addition of cream cheese and whipped topping.  As you can see, it's really pretty.

So use your own judgment in trying this recipe,  I'm thinking it might be something I'd make for a once-a-year splurge.  It really would be perfect for a Christmas in July party!

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A sweet calendar page from 1962

 

Actually, I guess I should say two calendar pages, for I am also including the cover page, above.  Does anyone else remember these delightful little calendars that came bound in January issues of Woman's Day magazine?  These included Scripture, and the illustrations were by Erik Blegvad.

I recently came upon the calendar for 1962 and thought the timing was perfect for me to share for Christmas in July.  The cover page here is just so beautiful!  I know several grandchildren who could slip right into those chairs at the round table in the lovely scene above and feel right at home.

Here is the December page, including Luke 2:10:

 Isn't it fun?  By moonlight, two people are maneuvering a fresh Christmas tree into a white house with turquoise door and shutters.  Light spills from the house door, window, and attached greenhouse or conservatory.  The snow outside is deep and a snow shovel is at the ready.

Erik Blegvad's drawings are always detailed and make you want to step right into them.  This one was no exception, snow and all!

A fun little crochet project -- granny square trees!

 

I've had this project saved on my Crafting for Christmas board for some time.  I like simple granny square style projects and these little trees look easy and fun to make.  

Here is the link: Granny Square Trees.   (The designer has named them "Grandma Trees", which is sort of fun.)  This tutorial uses the Australian crochet terms, but the author includes US terms in parentheses and it really didn't look too confusing, so I gave it a try.  

I decided to try making one with some pretty Christmasy green yarn from my stash.  You can see it has a bit of sparkle to it.  I used an F hook and it seemed just about perfect.

 

The tutorial, done with clear photos of the various rounds and stitches, is super easy to follow.  I just took it step by step and I was very pleased with how quick it was to make a tree.

 

I think that a number of these, strung together to make a garland, would look really nice.  I initially thought of stringing them together on matching green yarn, but I've also had the thought of red and white bakers' twine.  We will see!  These trees are so quick to make that I probably will make a bunch of them and make a garland.  Maybe two!

A couple of Christmasy thrift store finds

 

 Last week I took a very quick browse through parts of our local thrift store.  This store is actually two stores, in buildings across the street from one another.  The stores are named Ladders and Step Ladders.  Step Ladders has a very large Christmas section, all sorts of lights and decor, ornaments, tins, and other goodies.  I didn't go there this visit, but instead visited the very small Christmas area in Ladders, which mostly contains Christmas dishes.  

That's where I found the item at top.  I think maybe it's supposed to be a hot mat.  It's hard to tell.  It's made of vinyl, I think.  It's plain brown on the back and the whole thing is nicely saddle-stitched around the edges.  I paid 80¢ for it and plan to use it as a piece of art to display at our cottage in the woods.  I love this vintage-looking scene of deer in snow!

I also bought this cookie cutter, for 40¢.  

It's a sort of stylized Christmas tree complete with trimmings -- it looks as if the design will impress into the cookie dough if the dough is rolled thick enough -- maybe 1/4 inch or so.  It doesn't show up well in the photo, which I took in haste, but this is a nice sturdy cookie cutter and has a handle.   I'm looking forward to using this cutter for Christmas baking this holiday season!

And there you have it -- just a couple of fun thrifty finds.

One more lovely Christmas fabric collection -- Berry & Pine!

 

Yes, here is one last Christmas fabric collection to share with you -- Berry & Pine by Lella Boutique for Moda Fabrics.  Here are some of my favorites from this collection:

The Fir Tree Lane quilt pattern looks like fun!

The Magic Dot Forest yardage is pretty.  It also comes in 108" width to use in backing a quilt.

This little tin is a fun part of the collection!  It's under $5!

O Christmas Tree yardage in the Snow color

Poinsettia Party in Snow

Cranberry Bell Song yardage

Cranberry Pine Needles

Such inspiring fabrics, don't you think?  They come in a large variety of precuts as well as the yardage.  I can definitely see myself making a table runner with some of these gorgeous prints!