Breathing Girly Life Into a Boring Tee

I felt like sewing something today, and since PJ is refusing to wear anything but dresses, a dress seemed like the right way to go.

Frugal momma that I am, I started with a 30 cent t-shirt (Halloween clearance at JoAnn) that I had attempted at one time to make into a fitted women's tee. It was..well, ugly, so I decided to try to give it new life as a toddler dress. I've had my eye on this cute, cute tutorial for a while and used it to get me going on the project.

Using a dress of PJ's to get the approximate shape and length, I cut up the shirt into a dress-ish shape.

I sewed up the sides with a straight stitch and finished the bottom hem with a rather uneven simple hem. The sleeves are unfinished (it's a rustic look. or punk. or lazy. or how about casual?).

{Somewhere around this time, Ava waltzed in and decided SHE wanted a dress, too. Fortunately I had another bargain JoAnn tee in a lovely purpley shade. More on that below.}

Now, I already had these little slits cut into the orange shirt from its failed existence as a woman's fitted tee, so I had to use them somehow. I decided to take strips of fabric from another tee and tie little bows through the slits.

I think it turned out pretty cute (but I think Ava's turned out even cuter).

For hers, I assembled it the same way, but I went with the ruffles, following the directions on the Oh So Happy Together tutorial. The ruffles were a little tricky to sew, but it's okay if they get messy. They still look cute. I nixed the green strips below, but I may have to do a white dress with a rainbow of strips some time...

Ava's dress was nice, because the length of the t-shirt made for a perfect length of dress, so I didn't have to mess with the bottom hem. Most playdresses are around knee-length, but I'm really liking the midcalf length for her.

For the sleeves, I decided to tuck under the fabric at the top of the shoulder and make a little 1/2 inch reinforced stitch perpendicular to the collar. That brought the fabric in a little at the shoulder for a more feminine line, and it also caused the fabric around the sleeve to curl under a bit, so that you don't notice that it's unhemmed. I like the look, for a casual play dress.

Ava wanted a matching headband, like the little girl on the tutorial, so I gathered up a long strip of the t-shirt fabric with a basting stitch and sewed it to a strip of elastic. The stitch ended up pretty uneven on the elastic, but no one will see that.


The girls had fun with the photo shoot, especially the elder child.



I think I may be raiding Derek's drawer for long-forgotten tees. It's very satisfying to make a dress in under an hour.

Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Pancakes!

In celebration of National Pancake Day (February 23, of course!), I experimented with a new pancake recipe. Our family is really into pancakes. It's one of those meals that never fails to fill every little or big tummy at the table. And we are all perfectly happy downing pancakes any time of the day.

Being a mom, I'm always trying to pull a fast one on my children. In the kitchen, this means sneaking nutritious stuff into normal everyday foods. Fortunately I don't have to be too sneaky. For example, Ava will not touch raw or cooked spinach with a 10-foot fork, but she insists that I put it in her smoothies. Strange, huh? Same with these pancakes. It really wasn't necessary to hide what went into them, and we all agreed that the "not-so-secret ingredients" make them even yummier than the original recipe. Pancakes are such a great food for squirreling away nutritious tidbits--bananas, ground oats, flaxseed meal, applesauce, etc. Once the syrup is slathered on, most little tasters don't notice the variations.

And now for the recipe. They're moist and tender and delicious. Easy, too.

Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Pancakes

2 eggs
2 C buttermilk
4 T butter, melted
1 C white flour
1 C whole wheat flour
2 T sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
A few dashes pumpkin pie spice (depending on your preference)
2/3 C pureed sweet potato

Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add remainder of ingredients and mix. You know how to make pancakes.

Makes about 17 medium sized pancakes.

The batter.

Getting cooked up.


Note on puree:
For the sweet potato puree, I roasted a few sweet potatoes (washed but not peeled) in a baking pan in the oven at 400 degrees for about 80 minutes or so. Then I pulled off the peel and pureed the potatoes in a food processor, adding a little water to get the right consistency. Here's a lovely little dollop of sweet potato puree. That is some fine baby food, and also terrific for mixing into other things.

Homemade Baby Food

I decided to try out making my own baby food, and it was actually really easy and fun. I used the website wholesomebabyfood.com as a reference for different food ideas, recipes, and instructions on how to prepare the foods. If you want to try making your own food, I would recommend checking it out.

To make your own baby food you're going to need a food processor, or some sort of thing to mash up the food. I used one of these.

And one of these.
Seriously, a fork works really well on some foods and it's a lot easier and cleaner. And when your babies are older they can handle more chunks so a fork works well for that too.

The first recipe I tried was mixed veggies. With all recipes you want to make sure that the fruits and vegetables that you use are as fresh as you can get. They will taste better and have more vitamins and minerals. The website above talks about different ways to prepare each food. I baked the sweet potatoes...

Steamed, chopped up carrots...

And I actually just used frozen corn and warmed it up. And I used canned tomato sauce. Here's the recipe. I just kinda made it up as I went along and ended up liking it. You could add any other veggies and different amounts depending on what your baby likes.

Mixed Veggies

• 2 Carrots
• 1 Sweet Potato
• 1/2 - 1 Cup Corn
• 4 Tablespoon Tomato Sauce
• Water

Prepare and mush all vegetables separately. Mix all together in one bowl. Add water till you reach desired consistency.

Once you have the baby food the way you want it, you can put it in a container in the refrigerator to use within the next few days, or you can freeze for longer storage. To freeze, the easiest thing is to divide up the food into ice cube trays, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze. Each of the individual ice cube pockets holds about 1 oz of food, so once the food is frozen, you'll have conveniently divided 1 oz portions of food. Once the cubes are frozen, move to a freezer plastic bag for more permanent storage. When you're ready to use the food, just get a few cubes from the freezer and thaw.

Sweet Potato Pie

• 1 Sweet Potato
• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of Cinnamon or Pumpkin Pie Spice
• Apple Juice

Prepare and mush sweet potatoes, add spices to taste, and apple juice till you reach desired consistency. You can refrigerate or freeze.

The next recipe I made used lentils. Lentils are one of my new favorite foods; they are so good for you and so cheap. Lentils are high in protein, fiber, and iron. They are on best foods lists for both babies and adults. I based this baby food recipe on a sausage and lentil soup recipe I made once. You should definitely give it a try. I know it looks disgusting, but it is delicious. It has some spices in it, like the sweet potato pie recipe. Spices are okay for older babies (8 months and up) and are a good idea for helping your child to like different flavors.

Lentil Stew

• 1/4 Cup Lentils (Brown)
  
• 2 Cups Water
• 1 teaspoon Chicken Bullion
  
• 1/8 teaspoon Cumin
• 1 Tablespoon Tomato Sauce

Rinse lentils and remove loose shells, drain. Mix water, and remaining ingredients. Add lentils and boil for 20 - 25 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Most if not all of the water will be evaporated so be careful to watch it. Cooking times and water amounts may vary according to type of lentils. Check the package instructions, that's where I got the water amount and cooking time. Once the lentils are cooked and tender, mush them up and add water till you reach desired consistency.

All of these recipes have been child tested. My son loves them.

Beef Broccoli Stir Fry

Ingredients:

1/2 cup oyster sauce
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 Tbs sherry (Yes, I went to the liquor store)
2 Tbs light brown sugar
2 tsp toasted sesame oil (toasted is typically for Asian dishes)
2 tsp cornstarch
1 lb flank steak
2 Tbs oil (veg or peanut)
1 bunch broccoli (about 1.5 pounds)
1 red bell pepper
1/3 cup water
6 garlic cloves (minced)
3 scallions (for garnish)
1 Tbs grated ginger

1. Whisk oyster sauce, broth, sherry, brown sugar, sesame oil, and cornstarch together. Pat the beef dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. *(I marinated my beef for 1 hour in soy sauce. It tenderizes the meat.)

2. Heat 1 Tbs oil. Brown the beef lightly. Transfer to clean bowl. *(It's okay if meat is still a little pink for now.)

3. Add broccoli, bell pepper, and water to skillet and return to medium heat. Cover and cook until the broccoli is emerald green, about 2 minutes. *( I cooked the broccoli and bell pepper separately. I cooked the ginger and garlic with the bell pepper.)

4. Add the remaining oil, garlic, scallions, and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Re-whisk the oyster sauce mixture to recombine, then add to the skillet with the beef. Toss until all ingredients are well coated with sauce. *(I used the scallions as a garnish on top instead of cooking it with the rest of the dish.)

5. Serve with a side of white rice. *(I used a box of Trader Joe's plain whole wheat rice with slivered almonds)
courtesy of: The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook: Best Weeknight Recipes
*(I am a fan of America's Test Kitchen. Has anyone else watched it on PBS? I love it and love the cookbook.)

*** Some of you might know that I have a very picky husband that is hard to please. He loved this dish and has been craving it ever since I made it. Flavorful but not overpowering. It's also not goopy like that crap you get from those Asian style fast food restaurants. (Should I name a few?) I will definitely be making this one again.

Baby Carriage Cake

This baby carriage cake is perfect as a centerpiece on the food table for a baby shower. To make this cake, you will need basic cake decorating skills.  The decorating tips mentioned are pictured on the Wilton site.  I make the body of the baby carriage from an 11" round pan and use two cupcakes for the wheels.  One cake mix will fill both the 11" pan and two cupcake liners.

My favorite flavor of cake mix to use is banana but I couldn't find it at either WalMart or Reams.  Today I saw one at Target so I should have waited as I ended up using a Funfetti cake mix.  When using a banana mix, I flavor the frosting with half coconut flavoring and half almond extract.  It is a yummy combination.  For the Funfetti cake mix, I just used all coconut and it seems to taste pretty good together.
I've tasted many decorative frostings but I much prefer this recipe to any.

Basic Butter Cream Icing

2 lbs. powdered sugar (7½ cups unsifted)

1 cup Crisco shortening (do NOT substitute)

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. cream of tartar

½ cup milk or water

2 tsp. flavoring

Mix all ingredients together adding liquid as needed.  Beat at high speed for at least 5 minutes.  Take out amount to color; fill bags with tubes requested.  Keep covered with damp cloth.

After you bake the cake, put it in the freezer.  This will make it much easier to cut later.  When you are ready to decorate and the frosting is all made, take the cake out of the freezer and place it on a piece of cardboard with a dollop of frosting.

This makes the cake stay in one place and not move around.  You can cover the cardboard with foil or use a decorative piece like this one I found at WalMart.

Now attach the two cupcakes to the board with dollops of frosting as well.  Cut out ¼ of the cake as shown.  A frozen cake makes this easy.

Take a portion of the frosting and thin it down a bit with water or milk so that it is easy to spread.  This will be what we call the "crumb icing".  Spread a thin layer on the top and sides of the cake.

Note how I've sealed it to the board so there aren't gaps under the cake.

The cake will still look pretty rough at this point.  Let this crumb icing dry for about 30 minutes.  Crumb icing is a must and well worth the extra time to do it.  When you put your final coat of icing on the cake, the crumbs will be dried into this icing and won't pull out into the outer layer of icing.  Nice!

Now put another layer of icing on the wheels.  You don't want the crumb icing to show through when you put the spokes on.  To smooth out the icing so it looks nice and flat, dip your spatula into a glass of very hot water and shake the water off.  The spatula will be warm enough to melt the icing and make it look smooth.

Next, apply basketweave to the side of the main body using a #48 basketweave decorating tip.  Now apply the basketweave to the top, leaving a portion around the cut-out quarter for the lining and ruffle. Don't look too close--I'm not as steady as I once was.

Next pipe a rope border along the top edge using a #17, 18 or 19 open star decorating tip.  This will cover up where the side and top basketweave meet.

Now put the spokes on the wheels using a #7 round decorating tip. Then decorate the sides of the wheel with another open star tip #17, 18 or 19.

Now place a ruffle around the baby carriage opening using a #104 petal decorating tip.  You could use a ruffle decorating tip but I don't have one and this seems to work just fine.

After the ruffle is applied, you need some blanket lining so I use an open star tip to fill this in around the ruffle and on the inside of the quarter cut.  A #17, 18 or 19 open star decorating tip will work.

Now you need a center for the spokes on the wheels.  I've used an open star #199 decorating tip with a #11 round decorating tip for the dot in the middle.  Next we need a rose using a #104 petal decorating tip and add some leaves around the flower with a #352 leaf decorating tip and voila, we have a completed baby carriage cake.

Baby Bib with Knit Neck Ribbing

You'll need:

⅓ - ½ yard of two coordinating pieces of 100% flannel

3" x 12" piece of knit ribbing for neck opening

This amount of yardage will be enough for two bibs.

1. With wrong sides of both flannel pieces together, iron fabric so it lies flat.  Trace the pattern onto the fabric.

2.  Cut out the neck opening.

3.  Cut the knit ribbing into a 3" x 12" piece.  A rotary cutter makes this easy.

4.  Fold ribbing in half and stitch ¼" seam.

5.  Finger press seam open, then fold over keeping seam inside and cut edges even.  Mark with pins into fourths.

6.  Mark neck opening in fourths on wrong side of flannel piece that will be on the outside of bib.  Place inside piece of flannel right side up on flat surface, then ribbing, then outside piece of flannel right side down over ribbing making sure that all cut edges are even and marked fourths on ribbing match marked fourths on flannel.  This creates a sandwich with inside piece of flannel at bottom, then ribbing, then outside piece of flannel on top.  I usually place the seam in the ribbing at the center back of the neck opening.

7.  Being careful to stretch ribbing fully between quarter pin markings, stitch ¼" seam, catching all layers together and making sure all layers lie flat with no puckers.  If using a serger, be careful not to sew over pins or you will be replacing a knife.  This is the trickiest part of making the bib so sew slowly and carefully.

8.  Now turn fabric so right sides of both fabrics are showing with wrong sides inside bib.  Press.

9.  Add decorative edging on outside edges of fabric to secure both layers together.  My serger does a ⅜" wide seam and I use Pearl Crown thread in both loopers with regular thread in the needle. Pearl Crown thread is made by YLI and is available here in the Cotton Shop. I like Pearl Crown because it is quite heavy and has a sheen that gives it a decorative look.

10.  The trick to starting and ending in a straight line on a serger is to cut a notch in the fabric the width that your serger will stitch, then place your fabric under the needle with the edge touching the blade.  This way your stitching will be straight down the marked line and will end up on the line as well.  Simply stitch a few stitches over where you started and stitch off to the side.   Unravel the few stitches that are off to the side and take the loose thread ends, tie a double knot, then thread all three threads into a large-eyed needle and work them into the inside.  Put a bit of Fray Check on the area with the knot.

11.  If you've done everything right, then your ribbing seam will end up on the inside so the bib will be reversible.  Here's the back side.

Buckeye Bars

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
¾ cup crunchy peanut butter
22 reduced-fat NILLA wafers, crushed
2 cups powdered sugar
½ of 8-oz. tub Cool Whip Lite (Do Not Thaw)
3 squares Baker's semi-sweet chocolate

Line 8-inch square pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides.  Beat butter and peanut butter with mixer until blended.  Mix in wafer crumbs*.  Gradually add sugar, mixing well after each addition.  Press onto bottom of pan.  Microwave Cool Whip and chocolate in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 minute; stir.  Microwave 15 to 30 seconds more or until chocolate is melted; stir until blended.  Spread over peanut butter layer.  Refrigerate 2 hours.  Use foil handles to lift dessert from pan before cutting to serve.  25 servings

*I put wafers in gallon ziploc bag, push air out, seal and then crush wafers with heavy rolling pin until fine.  This keeps all the mess in the bag and not on the counter.

This is a modified version of the original recipe that results in 4 points each for WeightWatchers but worth every point.  You can use full fat Nilla wafers and Cool Whip if you want but these taste pretty yummy as is.