Hello dear readers,

It is I, your resident crafter/baker/cook. I was involved in an accident over the weekend and therefore will not be making my usual post this week. I am fine, but poor Berta needs a facelift. Prayers that her repairs go smoothly would be appreciated. We'll be back with our regular scheduled programming next week.
Till then, take care and many blessings,
Heather

SODA MONTH: 7Up cake

Y'all, this is another recipe from Mawmaw :)
She makes this for all of her grandsons on their birthday. Sometimes she makes 2 depending on how many people show up. The grandsons fight over every morsel. And let me tell you, you don't want to get between them and this cake!

You'll need:
1 box lemon cake mix (this one doesn't have corn syrup)
1 box instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
10oz 7Up (or Sierra Mist to be corn-free)
3/4c oil

For the glaze:
1c powdered sugar (Trader Joe's has a corn-starch free version)
2Tbsp milk
1tsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all the cake ingredients together & pour into a greased bundt cake pan. Wilton's Cake Release works magic, just saying. Cook for 45-60 minutes until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Let cake sit in pan while you mix the glaze. Whisk all the ingredients together to get all the lumps out. Turn cake onto plate & pour glaze on top.

YUM YUM!

SODA MONTH: Coca-Cola Roast

This is another recipe from Mike's grandma. Man, this lady can cook! A bonus to this recipe is that it's SUPER EASY!

You'll need:
a cooked roast
1/2c ketchup
2Tbsp mustard
2oz Coca-Cola (or diet if you're watching corn)

Mix the ketchup, mustard, & Coke in a bowl.

Pour over your roast & enjoy!

SODA MONTH: 7up Rolls

I decided a while back that I wanted to do something fun and make a month's worth of posts using sodas in my recipes!

The first is something I found on Pinterest. The link took me here, but I decided to use Sierra Mist since it's made with real sugar and not high fructose corn syrup.

You'll need:
1 1/2c sour cream
2c Bisquick (Bisquick Complete & Bisquick Gluten-free are corn free) + more for dusting
1/2c 7up or Sierra Mist
1/2 stick butter.

Heat oven to 400. Cut the sour cream into the Bisquick until crumbly. Add the 7up. The dough will be very soft.
Pour some Bisquick onto the counter, pour the dough on top, and then pour more Bisquick on top of the dough. Flatten the dough and cut into 9 rolls.This is where I went rogue. I melted the butter in the microwave, used the butter to grease a muffin pan, then placed the rolls in the muffin pan. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

I will warn you, these are only good when freshly made. Don't make them too far ahead of time because the rolls get a little....funky once they've cooled.

CHRISTMAS ON THE CHEAP: Wreath

I know Christmas is over for this year, but keep this in the back of your mind for next year! You can also use other colors for Valentines, Easter, Independence Day, etc.

You'll need:
12 toilet paper roll tubes
hot glue
red & green paints

For half of the tubes paint the inside red & the outside green. Reverse for the other half.

Cut the tubes into strips about 1/2 inch wide & glue 5 together to make a star, keeping the ones that are red on the outside together & the ones that are green on the outside together.

Use one of the colors to be the "big ring" and one to be the "small ring". The small ring uses 5 stars & the big ring uses 7 stars. 

Glue the small ring on top of the big ring. Also, clear nylon thread can be used for reinforcement.

Take a piece of ribbon or sting & hand on your door.

CHRISTMAS ON THE CHEAP: Ribbon Bookmarks

If you have an avid book reader on your list, use this to cross them off your list. I had most of this stuff on hand so I was able to make this for free! I listed a hair elastic in the materials needed, but I used a piece of elastic that I had on hand and sewed it into a circle. I realize not everyone has this, but I wanted to make this as cheap as possible for everyone.

You'll need:
ribbon
hair elastic
button

Measure a length of ribbon using a book as a guide. I just grabbed the nearest book & used it. Place the ends of the ribbon near a lighter or burning candle to seal the edges. Place the hair elastic at one end of the ribbon & fold the end over. Either by hand-stitching or with a machine, sew the end down.

Sew the button onto the end without the hair elastic.

Boom! Done!

CHRISTMAS ON THE CHEAP: Felt Dolls

We haven't been blessed with kids of our own. This means we get to spoil our nieces & nephews! Spoil them rotten then send them home! Merry Christmas to us!

My soon-to-be-four-year-old niece loves dolls. She seriously has a dollhouse at every home she goes to except ours. My mom actually has 2 for her to play with at her place. Our apartment isn't all that small, but it's too small for a dollhouse. I decided to make her something a little special for her to play with when she visits us.

I found this case at a local craft store & painted it pink then glued some gemstones to it. (Like most girls her age she likes things that sparkle.)

I used spray glue to attach some felt to the inside of the top.

Then I cut bodies & clothes out of different colors of felt. I even cut out some hair. I drew the shape I wanted onto one sheet of felt then used it as a template to cut out the other dolls. Then I used the doll shapes to cut out the clothes, ensuring they would fit and the dolls would be modest ;)

I'm very excited about this & I hope she likes it!!