Gluten and Corn free sloppy joe

This is a sort of take on a sloppy joe that is gluten and corn free. We fix it for something different and it is pretty good.

Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs of ground beef
mustard gluten and corn free
honey
bread gluten and corn free
2 slices baby swiss cheese

Recipe

Brown the ground beef and drain. To the ground beef add mustard and honey to taste and stir. Heat until mustard and honey are warm. Toast the bread and place on plate. Cover with ground beef mixture. Melt 2 slices of cheese over top and serve warm with a salad.
You can also do the ground beef mixture and add potatoes to it and then melt cheese over it and serve with a salad as a casserole.

Crocheted Cross Bookmark and Potholder update

Just thought I would update you on the crocheted cross bookmarks that I am selling and money going to the missions at our church. As of today I have sold 135 and just got an order for 20 more. So this endeavor is going great.

I was able to give 18 potholders and dishcloths I was doing to the place that helps homeless families have a place to live and get back on their feet. They are opening something like 16 apartments and so I still have more to do. I have another 5 done now and still working on them. Here is a picture and pattern for one of the dishcloths and potholders I made.

The pattern for hot pad:
Materials 100% cotton
H crochet hook

Instructions
make 2
ch 27
Row 1 sc in 2nd ch from hk, (dc in next ch, sc in next c)h, repeat across to end ch 1 turn (26 st)
Row 2 sc in first dc, dc in sc, sc in dc continue in pattern to end ch 1 turn
Row 3-20 repeat row 2 at end of row 20 fasten off and weave in ends
Hold the two pieces together and attach cotton in one corner with a sl st. Matching st and going through pieces sc evenly across all sides making 3 sc in ea corner. sl st to first sc ch 10 sl in first ch of ch 10 for hanger and finish off weave in ends

Dishcloth
Materials
100% crochet cotton
H hook
Instructions
ch 33
Row 1 sc in 2nd ch from hk, hdc in next ch, dc in next ch, tr in next ch, dc in next ch, hdc in next ch. repeat across to end ending with a tr in last ch ch 1 turn
Row 2 sc in bl of tr, hdc in bl of dc, dc in bl of hdc, tr in bl of sc, repeat across ending with tr in bl of sc ch 1 turn
Row 3 repeat row 2 to desired size finish off and weave in ends.
here is a picture of dishcloth

These are simple to do and can make many easily.

Gluten and Corn free Spicey Hamburger Rice Dish

We are always looking for ways to change up what we eat because I have to not eat any gluten or corn. My husband came up with this recipe and we really like it. It can be used by itself or with a salad or as a filling for stuffed green bell peppers.
Ingredients are:
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 jar Jumping Jacks Mild Salsa ( you can use any salsa of your choice this one is gluten and corn free and is made by my brother)
10 oz of long grain white rice ( we used Rice Expressions organic white rice that is microwaveable)
Shredded cheddar cheese to your liking

Cooking:
Brown the ground beef in a skillet and drain. Cook the rice as it says to. Now to ground beef add the rice and jar of salsa and cook till salsa is warm and ingredients are mixed well. Add the shredded cheese to taste stirring until melted. Serve up and add more shredded cheese to top. Makes a large serving for two if you are hungry. It is a great way to change things up. Hope you like it.

Crocheted Hot Pad Pattern

This pattern is my own. My grandmother taught me how to do this by using a washcloth and folding it then crocheting around but I changed to make the cloth too because it is a thicker hot pad then. Hope it isn’t confusing they way I explain it.


With 100% cotton and a G hook
Row 1 with cotton and G hook ch 47. hdc in 3rd ch from hook and in each ch across. Turn
Row 2 ch1 hdc in each hdc across turn
Row 3 – 40 repeat row 2 At end of last row fasten off
You may have more or fewer rows depending on how tight you crochet. What you want is a rectangle

Now comes the folding. Take the cloth just made and fold in half. Pin to help hold in place to keep it from slipping when you start to crochet the border.
Starting at the top left corner
attach 100% cotton ch 3 do 2 dc in same space ch 2 skip one space dc in next sp ch 2 skip one space 3dc in next space ch 2 skip a space and in next space dc. Continue around in this pattern.
Go down the left side across the bottom and up the right side


Shown in this picture

Now take and fold to meet the top left corner to the meet with top right corner in the middle pictured below.


Pin to hold and then slip stitch right corner to left.
Now pin the sides and they will be squares on each side like the picture below


This will be square on both sides when you pin them.
Ch 2 and continue pattern where you left off across one side and top opening, down the side and across the bottom up the other side and across the top opening. Now all sides should be worked and you are back to the top. Slip stitch to the stitch on the other side across from last stitch made. Ch 10 sl st to form a ring and this is your hanger.

If you have any questions or would rather buy one from me contact me at lhxpmdj@aol.com

Crocheted Cross Bookmark

I know it has been awhile since I wrote anything but I have been busy. I have been crocheting dish clothes and potholders for a place that provides a home for the homeless families to help them get back on their feet. I also have been crocheting these Cross Bookmarks that I designed to sell and the money going to our missions at our church. Right now we have homes in South Africa, Thailand, and India and we also help local organizations. I am giving all the money made from these to our missions department to help in any way it can. This is a simple design but really following Christ is simple and it is simply important to love and help others and so that is why I kept the design simple. This is one way I hope to be able to do something to help. If you are interested in getting any of the crosses you can contact me at lhxpmdj@aol.com

Crocheted Scarf

I crocheted a simple scarf with tassels to match my winter coat and it was really easy and fast to do. I finished it in one evening.Here is the pattern.

Scarf
I used Soft Boucle yarn
H hook
Black Red Heart Super Saver Yarn

with Soft Boucle and H hook
ch 19
Row 1 dc in 4th ch from hk and in ea ch across turn
Row 2 ch 3 (1st dc) dc in ea dc across turn
Row 3-75 (or as long as you want your scarf to be) repeat row 2
when you get to desired length finish off. weave in end

Edge
attach black yarn in 1st dc of last row worked with a sl st, ch1 and sc in same dc ch 3 sk 1 dc sc in next dc continue around entire outside edge of scarf join in first sc with a sl st and finish off. I made fringe from both the boucle yarn and black yarn and attached to both ends of scarf.

Gluten and Corn Free Hard Candy

I have missed having hard candy to suck on since I have to eat gluten and corn free. My cousin use to make hard candy all the time and so I took her recipe and changed it to fit my needs. We made cinnamon hard candy the first time and though it doesn't exactly taste the same it is good and all of us including my husband, daughter, and grandkids liked it. The recipe is easy and I hope you will give it a try. Next we plan on substituting splenda instead of the sugar to see if it will work for a sugar free candy too. I will let you know how it works.

Cinnamon Hard Candy(gluten and corn free)
Ingredients
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 1lb5oz jar Lundberg Sweet Dreams Brown Rice Syrup
1/4 tsp red food coloring
15 drops oil of cinnamon

You will need a candy thermometer
In a sauce pan combine sugar, jar of brown rice syrup, and food coloring. Heat over low heat till sugar is dissolved and first bubbles start. Insert candy thermometer making sure it doesn't touch sides and heat till it reaches 300 degrees then remove from heat and stir in cinnamon. We lined the counter with two thicknesses of parchment paper and carefully poured the mixture out on it spreading it thin. Let cool and then break into pieces. Be careful that the mixture doesn't get on you because it will burn very fast. You can use other colors and oils to make different flavors of candy instead of the cinnamon and red. White with peppermint would be good or green with spearmint. You can choose the color and flavor you like just remember to check the ingredients to make sure the flavors are safe for eating on a gluten and corn free diet.

Crocheted Warmers, Muff, and Scarf

I have been crocheting fingerless gloves, scarfs and a muff. They have all been simple patterns. The muff is a little harder but I made it up as I went and it seemed to turn out good. The scarfs have been made with fun fur and cha cha yarn and the muff is made with cha cha and worsted weight yarn. The fingerless gloves are made with the body worsted weight yarn and the trim with fun fur. The muff has ribbed cuffs on each side to make it warmer when you put your hands in it. My Granddaughter is modeling one of the scarfs with the matching muff. She is also modeling the fingerless gloves they are made in the gray ones shorter than the black and variegated ones. The fingerless gloves are a simple rectangle then sown up leaving 7 st unworked near the top for the thumb. I have the pattern that I made for the muff if anyone is interested just let me know. This picture shows the ribbed cuffs on the muff that my Granddaughter is modeling in the picture above

Crocheted Bib

My friend became a Great Aunt again and so I crocheted some bibs to send to the new baby. These bibs are simple to do and made from 100 % cotton so that they are soft and absorbant.
Bib Pattern
Materials
100% Cotton I used Sugar and Cream cotton in Violet Stripes color
H hook
thread
sewing needle
2 small buttons

Directions
With H hook Ch 28
Row 1 sc in 2nd ch from hook and each ch across (27sc) turn
Row 2 ch 1 sc in ea sc across turn
Row 3-27 repeat row 2 till bib measures 6" turn
Row 28 ch 1 sc in 1st 6 sc then sc2tog in next 2 sc turn this begins the neck and straps
Row 29 ch 1 sc2tog over the first 2 stitches then 1 sc in each sc to the end turn
Row 30 ch 1 sc in each sc across to last 2 stitches and then sc2tog over last two stitches turn
Row 31 - 40 ch 1 sc in each stitch across turn (5 stitches)
Row 41 ch 1 2sc in 1st stitch then sc in ea sc to 2 last sc and sc2tog in the last 2 stitches turn
Row 42 ch 1 sc2tog over 1st 2 stitches then sc in ea sc to last stitch and make 2 sc in last stitch turn
Repeat Row 41 and 42 4 more times ending with a row 42 fasten off

Other side strap and neck
Row 1 With right side facing attach yarn in 12th stitch with a sl st ch 1 sc2tog over the stitch you joined in and the next sc then sc in ea stitch to end turn
Row 2 ch 1 sc2tog 1st 2 stitches then 1 sc in ea stitch to end turn
Row 3 ch 1 1 sc in ea st to last 2 st sc2tog over last 2 st turn (5st)
Row 4-13 ch 1 1 sc in ea st across turn
Row 14 ch 1 sc2tog over 1st 2 st then 1 sc to last st 2 sc in last st. turn
Row 15 ch 1 2 sc in first st then 1 sc in ea st across to 2 last st. sc2tog over last 2 st. turn
Repeat rows 14 & 15 4 more times fasten off
Edging
Attach yarn in the top left corner of the neck edge of left strap with a sl st ch 1 sc in same sp as sl st and then sc evenly around entire bib when you get to the opposite strap across from the beginning where you attached the yarn the chain 6 and sc in that same st then continue around the rest of the neck with sc attach to first sc with sl st finish off. Sew a button across from loop made on opposite strap and then another one down that same strap a little ways so that it can be adjusted for size.
I tried to write the directions down as I went but can't quarentee they are correct hopefully they are. Enjoy

Crocheted Doily Easter Baskets

Last year for Easter I made my Grandkids, Aunt and Mom and Dad Easter baskets from crocheted doilies. The picture above is of one of them. After Easter you can put other things or silk flowers in them for decoration. It is a simple way to make a basket.

This picture is of another doily basket I made and put flowers in for a table decoration at a retirement party. I had done some in smaller doilies and some in this size. The smaller ones were on the tables that people sat at and this and another one just like it was on the serving tables.

The way to make these is simple. You crochet your favorite doily and then you put it into a plastic bag with fabric stiffener. Make sure you get the whole doily wet with the stiffener then squeeze off the excess. Drape the doily over a bowl or whatever you have that is the shape you want the basket to be in and let dry completely. Remove and add flowers or plastic eggs or whatever you like. That's it simple. I hope you try this and enjoy.

Chocolate Peanut butter Peanut Clusters

I have to eat things without gluten or corn and was really wanting some chocolate so at Christmas my daughter, granddaughter, grandson and I decided to make some candy that I could eat and everyone liked it too. I will share some more with you later but here is one of the ones we made.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Peanut Clusters
Ingredients
1 12oz pkg gluten and corn free chocolate chips(we used Whole Foods 365 brand)
1 12oz pkg gluten and corn free peanut butter chips
1 jar of roasted peanuts (make sure no cornstarch has been used by looking at the ingredients on the jar.)

In a microwave safe bowl put 2/3 of the pkg of chocolate chips and the whole pkg of peanut butter chips in the bowl. Heat at 30 second intervals till melted. Stirring half way through. Take bowl out and add the rest of the chocolate chips to temper the chocolate stir till the chips are melted. Add the jar of peanuts or as many as you like to taste. Stir till thoroughly mixed then you can either spread the mixture out on wax paper and let it cool or you can use a spoon and put the mixture out by spoonfuls on the wax paper and leave to cool. If you spread the mixture out when it is cool you can break it into pieces. Store in an airtight container and enjoy.

Scrap yarn purse

I had some black yarn and fun fur yarn left over from a project I had done and decided to make a little purse for my teenage granddaughter. It is simple and takes maybe a couple of hours to make. I added skull buttons to both sides after the picture was taken and I used one of the buttons to close the purse off by making a loop of fun fur to go over the button. This purse she uses when she is just going to the store or out in the car to carry a few things and usually a paperback book. This is a quick and easy pattern and the purse can be ready to use by the next day.