I love making Dish towels and I just added a bunch of my patterns to my Etsy Shop.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Busyascanbe?ref=si_shop

They alway give your kitchen that extra touch. And make the best gifts.

My friends always think they are little works of art 

and to me it was something special

 I can make for them in a smaller amount of time.

If you are a stitcher then stop by and see....

Pioneers Dish It Up

“The United States has 49 million people who do not have access to enough food, and in Canada over 800,000 individuals access food banks on a monthly basis”

Our first ever International Centennial project,

Dish It Up,

is well under way in over 45 states and provinces

across the US and Canada. Please help us meet our goal! http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110907005788/en/Pioneers-Announce-Dish-Feeding-Families-Healthy-Food

It's alway a good cause when it comes to feeding hungry families

So go to the link and "read all about it"!

 

Where Would You LOVE to Cook Today!

Such a pretty kitchen...I can almost smell the lemons on the counter.

I love these cupboards and the one under the stove top is so fun.

I really like when they make it look more like a piece of furniture

rather than a cupboard.

I could just stay all day!

I had lunch the other with a girlfriend at a local bakery and

I had Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup. It was so good I had to

 come home and find a recipe. So out came the laptop

and the searching began. I found several recipes but none 

had everything I tasted....lol

I finally decided on one at:

http://www.myrecipes.com

And this is what I want to cook in this kitchen!

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

• 1 (4-pound) whole chicken
• 2 carrots, peeled, cut in 1-inch pieces
• 2 celery stalks, cut in 1-inch pieces
• 1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 4 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 cups water
• 1 1/3 cups chopped carrot
• 1 1/4 cups chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 8 ounces uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• Lemon wedges (optional)
• Coarsely cracked black pepper (optional)

• 1. Remove and discard giblets and neck from chicken. Place chicken in a large Dutch oven. Add 2 chopped carrots, 2 chopped celery stalks, and next 5 ingredients (through bay leaves) to pan. Add 6 cups water; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes.
• 2. Remove chicken from pan; place chicken in a bowl. Chill 15 minutes. Discard skin; remove chicken from bones, discarding bones. Chop chicken into bite-sized pieces; cover and chill. Strain broth mixture through a sieve into a large bowl; discard solids. Cool broth mixture to room temperature. Cover and chill 8 to 24 hours. Skim fat from surface; discard.
• 3. Add enough water to broth to equal 9 cups; place broth mixture in a large Dutch oven. Add 1 1/3 cups carrot, 1 1/4 cups onion, 1 cup celery, and salt to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add reserved chicken, and simmer 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Keep warm.
• 4. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Add pasta to pan with chicken and broth mixture; stir in parsley, rind, and juice. Garnish each serving with lemon wedges and cracked black pepper, if desired.

Where Would You LOVE to Cook Today!

Ok I can keep doing these post without adding Aunt Ruthie's 

Kitchen.

http://www.sugarpiefarmhouse.com

I don't think there is a kitchen out there I like more.

This has to be the "first Place" at the fair of kitchens!

Makes you want to cook! 

When I was trying to decide on a recipe all 

I could think of was Ruthie's wonderful recipes. 

And since she not only does she have an amazing blog, 

all of the recipes I have gotten from her blog have been just as wonderful. 

So I decided on one of hers. 

If you haven't been to her blog you must stop by. But fair warning...

you will be there for hours!

September makes me think of apples 

so Ruthie's Apple butter recipe is perfect.

Aunt Ruthie’s 

Crock Pot Candy Apple Butter

1 gallon of peeled,  cored and sliced apples

1 cup fresh apple cider

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon Red Hots cinnamon candies (if you don’t have these then put another 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon in its place…it will still taste delicious!)

Give it a good stir, put the lid on:

For fast cooking turn on High for 6 hours.

For slower cooking turn on low for 10-12 hours.

Stir occasionally during the cooking process. Once the apples have cooked down and have become soft use a hand held Immersion Blender to puree the apples into a smooth sauce right in the slow cooker pot…and you’ve got Aunt Ruthie’s Candy Apple Butter! Then make some biscuits or toast  to spread it on and enjoy!

You can make applesauce this way too. Just reduce the amount of sugar to 1 or two tablespoons (or leave it out completely) add the cinnamon, apple cider and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours. You really can’t mess it up, it’s so easy and delicious!

The apple butter recipe makes 5 pints. I sterilized the jars in boiling water, filled and sealed them with lids and gave the jars a 10 minute boiling water bath so I could give as gifts or store in my pantry.

Rosy red apples are good to eat

and Mama’s apple butter is always a treat!

A rule of thumb that I read about is if a spoon can stand up on its own in the apple butter, then it’s ready.