Crocheted Baby Blanket ~ Greens ~ Frozen Stuffed Bell Peppers and Home Canned Sauce

 The weather has been bringing us some of the most enjoyable Spring weather days lately.  The weather is also bringing coyotes thru the area (we heard them the other morning). 

Today it's starting at 39°F with possible snow (yes, I said snow, ha ha!), but tomorrow it is to start out as low as 26°F.  It's hard to believe I sat on the porch and read a book for a bit in almost 70 degree weather yesterday. 

 

It's typical Spring weather here, and even with the up's and down's.  We had rain showers last night, with thunderstorms.  It will be fun to see what Mother Nature brings the rest of the day today.  If it's cold enough, I may be seasoning my new pan.

I'm finally putting the edge on the the current baby blanket.  The mother is due about May, so I'm happy to be finishing it up. I feel like this blanket took a long time to work on.  However, as the weather is changing, it's hard to find time to read or to crochet.  We are taking advantage of any/and all nice days lately.

It also feels like there is always housework that needs done.  How does that always happen, ha ha!   Cleaning toilets, sweeping and mopping, dusting, dishes, baking and cooking (when you are a from scratch cook/baker it uses a lot of time), porch sweeping, chicken tending, laundry, errands, cleaning windows, etc.  

Every time I turn around, there is something else that needs done like re-filling the homemade vanilla. Or forgetting I bought several bunches of organic dandelion greens (a powerhouse that we often eat in a breakfast) that need blanched and frozen.  Both happened yesterday.  The last photo is watercress.  I could not believe I found both dandelion greens and watercress in the same day.  The watercress (also a power house of goodness) went into the day's salad.

I think we notice all the things that take up our time, as the hunkering-in months start to disappear.  It's why I try so hard to get indoor jobs/repairs done before Spring (and a few of those are lingering here).

We are still enjoying those lovely stuffed garden bell peppers from the freezer.  I just pull some out, top them with a jar of home canned tomato (herbed) sauce, and bake them.  I top them with some freshly shredded mozzarella cheese at the end of the bake time.  So delicious, and the best, easiest dinner when you have a nice day and want to go for a walk outdoors.  A very self-sufficient meal, however we will need to grow paste tomatoes this year if we want more sauces (of any kind) canned this year.

On a side note, that red crocheted XL hot pad was the very first extra large one I crocheted almost 17+ years ago. It still washes up nicely, and still looks very good after all these years.

It was a trial making to create my own pattern.  I have been using it since, but have changed the way I make them, as per my Mother's request (before she passed). She preferred them to be the size and shape of a 9 x 13 pan.  I had requests for more of this (it's more square in the photo) size, so it could be used for anything like pizza pans.  The one above also has different stitching than what I currently make them with.  Anyway, just a tidbit story to share.  It brings back good memories when we used to set up for craft shows.

Crocheted Baby Blanket ~ Greens ~ Frozen Stuffed Bell Peppers and Home Canned Sauce ©  March 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Blind Date with a Puzzle ~ Meal from the Freezer

 We have been having some beautiful weather here lately.  I however, have not put laundry out on the line, as we call this "bird" season.  Flocks of them are in the area, so as soon as they move on out, I will be able to enjoy the clothesline once again.

We purchased a "blind date" with a puzzle back on January 31st, from an area local store, while out on a getaway.  However, we paid $18.00 for this puzzle, and when we got it home, it was a used puzzle (box was falling apart).  I never saw any signage that stated the puzzles were used, so my husband insisted we purchase a 1,000 piece one.  

Well, we finished the puzzle finally. 

(puzzle is a portrait by a famous artist)

There were two puzzle pieces in the box that did not even go to the puzzle.

As we predicted, there were pieces missing from the puzzle.  We plan to donate the puzzle pieces to a place that recycles them with art/crafts.  Very disappointed.  We won't make this mistake again.

We have however, purchased two new puzzles.  I'll be back to share photos of them soon.  I, honestly, was not going to get more puzzles, as our weather is warming up here, but we did.

It's been so nice to pull the our homemade stuffed, garden bell peppers from the freezer.  I just top with more tomato sauce to bake them, and top with some mozzarella cheese.  It's a meal in itself, and we get to enjoy our "fruits from our labor" garden.

In the past years, I blanched the bell peppers.  I do not blanch them anymore.  The stay crispy, and bake up so delicious.  If you blanch them, they bake up too soft and more of a soggy bell pepper.  I prepare the stuffing mix myself, then stuff the fresh grown bell peppers (I cut in half lengthwise vs. cut the tops off), wrap each with saran wrap, and store them all in freezer containers.  The end result is a quick, healthy and delicious meal.

There are many ways to utilize growing bell peppers, if you are considering it this garden season.  We made breakfast egg filled bell peppers, we have cut them in rings and made "eggs in a nest" for breakfast, we have made oven baked bell pepper rings (like onion rings), stuffed bell pepper soup, and of course we freeze them in diced size and sliced for future meals.  Fresh bell peppers are healthy snack tools for hummus and other healthy toppings or dips.

Blind Date with a Puzzle ~ Meal from the Freezer  ©  March 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart