Make-Ahead Spinach Manicotti

I made this for Sunday supper and it was a hit! Not hard to do, but it does take a little time filling each manicotti shell. One tip that makes filling them easier is to put it in a ziplock bag, snip a little corner off and then insert it into a shell, squeeze lightly until the shell is filled. I served the manicotti with meatballs cooked in red sauce, crusty bread, and salad bar. Yum. 

• 1 (15 oz) carton ricotta cheese
• 1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1 1/2 cups (6 oz.) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
• 3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese, divided
• 1 egg
• 2 t. minced fresh parsley
• 1/2 t. onion powder
• 1/2 t. pepper
• 1/8 t. garlic powder
• 2 jars (28 oz. each) spaghetti sauce 
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 (8 oz.) package manicotti shells

In a large bowl combine ricotta, spinach, 1 cup mozzarella, 1/4 cup parmesan, egg, parsley, onion powder, pepper, and garlic powder. 

In another bowl combine spaghetti sauce and water; spread one cup of sauce in an uncreased 13x9" baking dish.

Stuff uncooked manicotti with spinach mixture; arrange over sauce. Pour remaining sauce over manicotti. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350' for 40-50 minutes or until heated through. 

Makes 6-8 servings

7.10.23: daddy's survival kit

7.10.22: 🔥 week 28

7.10.21: LeDonna's rhubarb pie

7.10.20: hungarian potato soup

7.10.19: cookie dough cupcakes 2.0

7.10.18: zesting a lemon

7.10.17: net wrapped mason jar

Tip-sy Tuesday: Brownie Knife

Who knew? Natalie keeps a plastic knife in her utensil drawer for cutting brownies - for some reason the plastic makes cleaner cuts and the brownies stay intact better than using a regular knife. Good tip Nat! 

A few brownie recipes from the blog you might want to make - a chance to try out the plastic knife tip! 

• caramel pretzel
• poke 
• zucchini v1
• zucchini v2
• loaded cream cheese 
• white chocolate 

7.9.23: week 28

7.9.22: roasted pork loin with fig sauce

7.9.21: yard yahtzee

7.9.20: bacon lettuce cups

7.9.19: hair bun hack

7.9.18: beach terrarium

7.9.17: knock-off Topopo Salad

Crochet Bowl

Still coming across uncompleted projects during my craft room cleanup - I don't remember making this small crochet bowl but I put it aside with literally 3 inches of stitches to go, why would I do that? It's been too long to know where I found a pattern, I googled around and found this one at Craftsy that seems similar to what I did - there are lot's of free patterns online, the one I made started with a magic circle at the center bottom, increased single crochet stitches until the bowl is as wide as you want, and then single crochet without increasing to build the walls of the bowl. I used variegated light weight yarn, if you want yours heavier and sturdier then use thicker yarn or crochet using 2 strands held together. 

My little bowl was quite flimsy because of the weight of the yarn I used and only crocheting with one strand so I decided I'd try starching it so it'll hold it's shape - I've never done that before and was curious how it'd work. For some reason I have liquid starch in the laundry room - probably bought for a different project that I never made hahah - I mixed equal parts of the starch with warm water, submerged the bowl until it was completley soaked, then let it air dry on a rack overnight. And sure enough, it worked and I have a firm little bowl now! 

7.8.23: words

7.8.22: lake life soap dispenser

7.8.21: mushroom rice

7.8.20: sugar cookie mini cakes

7.8.19: beaded hoop earrings

7.8.18: gazpacho

7.8.17: 3-ingredient sangria

🔥 Around the Campfire (week 27)

Dear Campers ~ 

Here's a quick recap in case you missed anything at camp last week:

Posts ~

6/30: 🔥 week 26

7/1: rhubarb banana bread

7/2: TT repair a torn umbrella 

7/3: brownies with sprinkles

7/4: July 4th

7/5: felt pouch with fortune 

7/6: words (distracted reading)

That's it for this week! See you next week for more projects, crafts, recipes, whatever we can think of to make at camp - bye :)

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor

7.7.23: MSTI: famous chicken breast rolls 

7.7.22: V8 soup

7.7.21: oreo cheesecake cookies by Brooke

7.7.20: tip-sy tuesday: outdoor paper towel holder

7.7.19: 🔥 week 27

7.7.18: movie popcorn butter hack

7.7.17: k-cup twine lights

7.7.16: dear deer by Candy

  

7/6 ~ Words

 

7.6.23: pesto pasta salad

7.6.22: PSA: phones

7.6.21: recipe holder hack 

7.6.20: wine cork cork board

7.6.19: propagating plumeria 

7.6.18: watermelon 'sushi'

7.6.17: garden update

7.6.16: river cruise packing

Felt Pouch with Fortune

I've been working on cleaning out my craft room, it'll take forever as I've got soooooo much stuff crammed into every nook and cranny! Ugh. The fun thing about the process tho is coming across projects I forgot I've made - take this one for example, I made a ton of these back in the early 2000's and am just coming across them again. I still think it's a cute idea so I'll share.

I have no idea why or how I got this idea to make simple little felt pouches and embellish them with fortunes I made up or Googled hahaha, but they are super cute and easy to make fun little gifts. I found thick plastic ziplock pouches and cut felt big enough to cover; in this case my pouch is approx 6.75 x 3.75 so I cut a piece of felt 8 x 7. 

Print a fortune on paper or cardstock, cut it out, sew it to a piece of coordinating felt that is a bit bigger than the size of the paper - in this example the fortune is 2.25 x 1.25, the felt piece behind it is 3 x 1.25. Then sew the small felt piece with the paper onto to the larger piece of felt about .75" - 1 inch from the top edge (your pouch will be 7" across and 4" high, so the top edge of the pouch is the 7" side). Add beads and sequins if you want. Fold the 8" felt in half, sew the 2 short ends together leaving the top (opposite the folded side) open. Insert the plastic pouch or a small gift. 

Note: I made these for Christmas presents, so I printed "lucky numbers 12, 25, 03" in small text under the fortune. You could make up random numbers or other significant dates, or the name of your fortune company (again, some random words like "The Peking Fortune Company" or something more significant). 

Some examples of fortunes:

• THE SECRET TO GOOD FRIENDS IS NO SECRET TO YOU
• THERE ARE MANY UNEXPECTED AND THRILLING SURPRISES IN STORE FOR YOU
• BETTER TO WEAR SLIPPERS THAN TO CARPET THE ENTIRE WORLD
• THE BEST TIMES OF YOUR LIFE HAVE NOT BEEN LIVED
• GOOD CLOTHES OPEN MANY DOORS - GO SHOPPING
• HOW YOU LOOK DEPENDS ON WHERE YOU GO
• A SURPRISE TREAT AWAITS YOU
• YOUR CHARACTER CAN BE DESCRIBED AS NATURAL AND UNRESTRAINED
• NEVER TROUBLE TROUBLE, TIL TROUBLE TROUBLES YOU

7.5.23: diaper floral arrangement

7.5.22: fanny pack gift idea

7.5.21: vinyl wall words in the bathroom 

7.5.20: 🔥week 27

7.5.19: lego scottie and hydrant

7.5.18: how to grease a bundt pan 

7.5.17: chocolate mint cookies

7.5.16: bleu cheese dressing

July 4th, 2024

You've seen this post before - but it says all the things I want to say again this year so...why reinvent the wheel hahahah!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!

cheers to:

~Stars and Stripes~
~Freedom~
~Sparklers~
~Parades~
~Liberty~

and food, fireworks, family, and friends

ENJOY YOUR DAY!

A note from the dog:

Guys! I usually like loud noises and want to go check out what's happening but seriously...fireworks are scary so please read these tips my mom found. She also turns on the tv which I appreciate...I know she's just trying to distract me from the loud noises outside but since I LOVE to watch tv and bark at anything that moves on the screen it makes the fireworks a little bit easier to take. They are fun for people, but not for me and my friends. Just sayin'. Now go have fun and save me some hot dog.

Love, The Sarge

7.4.21: 🔥 week 27 

7.4.20: Independence day

Brownies with Sprinkles

This is a repost from May '21 - an easy last minute dessert with red, white, and blue sprinkles perfect for celebrating the Fourth! 

Bake and frost a pan of brownies (I'm partial to Ghirardelli's triple chocolate) and top with a generous amount of reed, white, and blue sprinkles. Cut them into small squares, like half the size you normally would - you know there's always too much food at a dish-to-pass picnic so I figure some smaller bites of brownies will be a good option for people. 

I've been pre-slicing and individually portioning desserts for the past year to help spread the (sugar) love and not germs! 

 

7.3.23: couples baby shower plan copy

7.3.22: 🔥 week 27 

7.3.21: slow cooker cheesy breakfast potatoes

7.3.20: patriotic donut pops

7.3.19: patriotic mini fruit pies

7.3.18: triple berry shortcake

7.3.17: june outfits

7.3.16: nail art for the 4th

Tip-sy Tuesday: Repair a Torn Umbrella

My sis borrowed my old travel umbrella (it's really perfect for travel - it fold up small and fits in a hard zipper case so even if it's wet you can easily slip it into your tote/purse/pocket) and when she brought it back she mentioned that it has a small tear in it - not big enough that the umbrella wasn't useful, she just wanted me to know (and also wanted me to know she didn't do it hahahha). Anyway, I really like the umbrella so figured I'd try to repair it. My initial thought was to maybe sew it somehow, but when I Googled for solutions I read that some umbrellas can be repaired using a vinyl patch like for pool floats and other inflatables. I happened to have a clear vinyl repair patch kit on hand and simply cut out 2 squares large enough to completely cover the rip, applied one on each side of the umbrella and it totally worked! Saved my umbrella and it was incredibly easy to do. Just thought I'd share that tip in case you have a ripped umbrella (whether or not you blame your sister for the rip is your call 😂). 

Didn't take a photo - but it wouldn't have done you any good anyway, you can't see the repair at all. So just picture an umbrella and you've got the idea LOL.

7.2.23: 🔥 week 27

7.2.22: 10 minute chain workout

7.2.21: dessert hot pockets

7.2.20: pompom earrings

7.2.19: tip-sy tuesday: storing ribbons and trims

7.2.18: berry cake

7.2.17: cheesy stuffed omelet

7.2.16: chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches

Rhubarb Banana Bread

LeDonna made that yummy rhubarb bread last week and it made me wonder if rhubarb banana bread would be a good combination because I had 2 many ripe bananas to use up...and sure enough, it's great too! I used a different recipe than the one she shared, based it on the recipe I posted for zucchini banana bread and just swapped out the zucchini and added 2 cups diced rhubarb instead - another winner!

Note: I forgot to take a picture - not suprising that it looks just like most other quick breads! 

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 t. vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 1 t. salt
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1/2 t. baking powder
• 3 t. cinnamon
• 1 t. nutmeg
• 2 cups diced rhubarb (thawed if it's frozen, pat dry)
• 2 ripe mashed bananas

Preheat oven to 325'. Grease and flour 2 loaf pans*.

Beat together eggs, oil, and sugar until well combined. Mix in vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and stir into the wet ingredients. Stir in the zucchini and banana.

Divide the batter equally in the prepared pans. Bake 55-60 minutes. I tend to remove the bread from the oven when it's almost not cooked thru and a long skewer has a touch of batter on it - the bread will cook a little more on the counter in the hot pans. Leave for 30 minutes, remove from the pans, and let cool before wrapping them up. 

*I made 6 mini loaves (1/2 cup batter each) and had 2 cups left over to make 1 regular size loaf.  Bake time will vary depending on the size of your pans. 

7.1.23: words

7.1.22: salt and pepper shrimp 

7.1.21: baked salmon with crab topping

7.1.20: molasses sugar cookies

7.1.19: mosaic stepping stone

7.1.18: caprese salad with blueberries

7.1.17: beaded flag pin

7.1.16: patriotic donut pops