Jigsaw Puzzle Quilts

I saw a puzzle quilt on Pinterest this morning which reminded me of two jigsaw puzzle quilts I made a few years ago. One was for my nephew (above) and the other one I created for my friend's daughter (below). 

The Jigsaw #201 pattern designed by Alyssa Clancy for Lehmann Quilting is for a full-size quilt.  However, I used half the pattern (24 blocks) for each crib-size quilt.  

My friend's daughter is 2 1/2 and she is now using this quilt in her big girl bed.  Yay! I'm psyched that my quilts are being utilized.

Campfire Cones

These campfire cones were an awesome addition to our camping trip.  My friends and I still made the traditional S'Mores, but also assembled and ate campfire cones when it was time for our second dessert.  The recipe calls for sugar cones, mini-chocolate chips, peanut butter, bananas, and mini-marshmallows.  We made these for two different camping trips - with and without the marshmallows.

I was disappointed that the marshmallows did not melt as well as the other ingredients. Next time we make campfire cones, we'll either omit the marshmallows, or toast them first (like for S'Mores).

Look how the warm peanut butter and chocolate just ooze out. What's not to love about melted peanut butter, chocolate, and bananas in a crunchy cone!

Fire-breathing Toilet Paper Roll Dragons

Here's an easy and fun dragon craft you could make with your kiddos or students after reading a dragon story, like:

Raising Dragons by Jeredine Nolen
How to be Friends with a Dragon by Valeri Gorbachev
Goodnight, Dragons by Judith Roth
Good Night, Good Knight by Shelley Moore Thomas
If I Had a Dragon by Tom and Amanda Ellery

I was inspired by the dragons I saw here.

For Fire-breathing Toilet Paper Roll Dragons You'll Need:

-toilet paper rolls
-green paint
-pom poms (4/dragon)
-self-adhesive googly eyes
-red and yellow crepe paper (cut into 6" pieces)
-Elmer's glue 




1. Paint the toilet paper roll green.  Let dry.
2. Glue 3-4 pieces of crepe paper inside the toilet paper roll.
3. Glue 2 pompoms on the top of the roll - above the crepe paper - to make the snout.
4. Attach the googly eyes to 2 more pompoms.
5. Glue the pompom eyes to the top back-end of the head. 

I tried making a fire-breathing dragon with a paper towel roll, but the snout looked too long, and the pompoms and eyes seemed out of proportion.  Perhaps the paper towel dragon would have been more successful if I used larger pompoms and eyes.

Chicken Tikka Masala

The other night I was craving chicken on the grill.  My boyfriend suggested we make chicken tikka masala.  I wanted a recipe that was easy to make and one that did not require too many ingredients that we would never use again if the dish was a flop (which is was not - please keep reading).   So we bought a new propane tank for the gas grill and a few ingredients for our Indian meal.

Chicken Tikka Masala with Sautéed Greens (upper left)

I found a great recipe here, which we tweaked. This recipes serves 4, which we ate for dinner and still had enough a left-over lunch the next day.

Marinade:
1/2 cup yogurt
1-1/2 teaspoons lemon juice 
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
3 thin boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces (less than a pound of meat)

Grill: We added the marinated chicken and 1/2 onion - chopped in large pieces - onto 4 wooden skewers.

Tikka Masala Sauce:
1-1/2 teaspoons butter
1/2 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1-1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1 can of peas
small can of tomato paste

Garnish: chopped fresh cilantro

Procedure: 

1. In a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon cumin, cinnamon, paprika, black pepper, ginger, and 2 teaspoons salt. Stir in chicken pieces, cover, and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes. 

2. Preheat grill on high heat. 

3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Thread chicken and chopped onion onto skewers, and discard marinade. Grill about 5 minutes on each side. 

5. Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Sauté garlic and jalapeno for a few minutes. Season with 1 teaspoon cumin, paprika, and 1-1/2 teaspoons salt. Stir in tomato sauce, cream, and tomato paste. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 15-20 minutes. 

6. Add the grilled onion to the sauce and blend with an immersion blender.   

7. Fold in the grilled chicken and peas into the tikka masala sauce. 

8. Place chicken tikka masala over jasmine rice and  garnish with fresh cilantro.

COOKING NOTES: The peas added a great textural element to the sauce.  We're thinking of incorporating potatoes and/or cauliflower next time as well. 

I cannot express how delicious this Indian dish was.  My boyfriend stated that it was even more impressive than some of the chicken tikka masala meals we had in actual Indian restaurants.  If you enjoy Indian food, than you must try this recipe!!!  We've been talking to all our friends about it and will definitely be making it again.

Sautéed Greens

This time of year, there are so many delicious greens at the farmers market.  I selected Chinese broccoli (which we never tried before), dandelion greens, and some red chard. The greens were a wonderful side to our chicken tikka masala (recipe coming soon). 

Sautéed Greens (upper left) and Chicken Tikka Masala

Sautéed Greens
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
8 cloves of minced garlic
Chicken broth
Bunches of greens (Chinese broccoli, dandelion greens, red chard, or whatever you like that's in season)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Mince the garlic and add it with some olive oil to a hot skillet.
2. Separate the leaves from the stalks of the red chard.  Cut the stalks into bite-size pieces and place in the pan with some salt and pepper. 
3. Sauté for several minutes until the stalks soften.  For more flavor, I used chicken broth, but you could always add water or vegetable broth. 
 4. Next chop the greens and add them to the pan.  Again I added more chicken broth, salt, and pepper. Stir often, until the broth evaporates.
5. Cook until the greens are tender. 

COOKING NOTES: I used the entire bunch of chard and a half bunch of broccoli and dandelions. 

I had an opened 14oz can of chicken broth in the fridge.  I used about 3/4 cup to 1 cup of broth.

You can see the red chard stalks in this picture.  The yellow, orange, and red stalks from rainbow chard would be a colorful addition to this dish.

Very Hungry Caterpillar Quilt in Blue

The Eric Carle fabrics have inspired me to create another crib-size quilt.   This quilt also sparked my creativity.  Thanks, Mom, for finding it!

All the fabric (with the exception of the blue, yellow, and green pieces) is from the Eric Carle Very Hungry Caterpillar fabric line.  I began in the center with the caterpillar from the draft stopper panel.   Then I added a 2" border of the color dots, followed by the 3" squares: yellow, green, fruit, and junk food.  Next I stitched a blue border around this center piece and another blue border around the food on the sides; and I joined them all together.  Finally, I sewed a strip of 8" squares - color dots, green fabric, and green caterpillars with texts - to finish the top and bottom.  This completed the top.  Again I brought this baby quilt to Bayberry Quilts to be professionally quilted and bound. I used the same blue fabric for the binding and also the back. 

NOTE: In order to stretch all the Eric Carle fabric I had, I interspersed the fruit and junk food squares with the yellow and green fabric and along the sides with the blue border.

Kite Runner Curtains

I have yet to read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, but I am calling these curtains my kite runner curtains.  It's not because they have anything to do with the Aghan novel, but because the fabric reminds me of the cover.  Look behind the title.  It's as if the curtains are blowing in the wind with the kite.

A few weeks ago, I finished the Anthropolgie-inspired curtains for my friend's guest bedroom.  The windows in her bungalow are a unique size, which makes it difficult to find curtains that fit; therefore, she asked me to customize the curtains for her home. Well, these kite runner curtains - made with a brown, orange, and green batik fabric - are for her living room.