Quilting 1

For those of you that have WAY too many tee shirts that you never ever wear, but you cant bring yourself to throw them away. Maybe they have too many memories, have too many holes or they are just don't fit any more. Then you should try cutting them up and making them and making a nice cozy quilt out of them. That way you can keep the memory alive in a beautiful, unique, one of a kind keepsake.

Its easy to do! Start by cutting the shirts up in to squares. the squares can be any size that you like. I am doing small squares, but you can make large squares or triangles or any other shape you want, but the square will be the simplest shape to put together.

Once you have the shapes cut out you can sew them together in whatever pattern you like, or no pattern at all. It is your Quilt be creative.

Sheri Pie

If you are looking for a sweet treat to make your honey for Valentines day you should try one of my Husband's favorites Cherry pie, or as he calls it Sheri pie. It is super easy to make and only takes a short time plus you can personalize it how ever you want.

First get all your tools and ingredients

The tools you will need a pie pan, mixing bowl, fork, spoon, knife, measuring cups, and a rolling pin.

for the crust you will need:

2c Flour
1c Shortening
1tsp salt
1/2 c warm water

The filling will be one can of Cherry pie filling, almond extract and Cinnamon.
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.



Mix the Flour and the Salt in to the mixing bowl Then add the Shortening.

use the fork to cut the shortening in with the flour until it looks crummy like the picture above in the center. Then add 1/2 cup of warm.

Don't be afraid to use your hands! Kneed the dough until it is one firm ball of dough. put flour on your hands to keep the dough from sticking and try not to handle the dough too much or it will make a tough crust. Then separate the Dough in to two equal balls.


Flour your surface and your rolling pin so the dough doesn't stick. Then roll out the dough until it is big enough to fill you pie pan.



Place the flattened dough in the pie pan and pat it down so it fits in snugly. then take your fork and poke holes in the crust so that air bubbles can escape while it is being cook.


Now open you Cherry pie filling and add a little Cinnamon and some almond extract to taste and stir it around.




Roll out the second ball of dough using the same method as before. then fold it in to 4ths. be sure not to rip the dough. then place it on top of the pie filling and gently unfold it and remove any excess dough and move it to the side. and score the edges of the dough together.so that it is sealed.



With the excess dough you can get creative. I rolled out the extra dough and cut little hearts out with a kitchen knife. you can also sprinkle Cinnamon on the top of your pie to add a little extra spice. When you are don't customizing your pie put it in that preheated oven for 30 min.

Valentines Day count down

There are just 2 weeks left till Valentines day. Weather you are going to spend it with your sweet heart, with some friends, or looking for a new and exciting romance you want to look good doing it. lets face it the economy is not in the best shape and cash may be tight, but not to worry we can look great on a budget.

Today I am going to show you how to make a super cute heart vest out of an old jacket and tee shirt.

First find and old jacket and tee shirt. make sure that the colors look good together. I am doing black and red. Remove the Sleeves from the Jacket (if you do indeed want to make a vest. you can just as easily leave them on if you live in colder climates.)





Then cut a heart out of paper to use as a pattern. keeping both pieces.

I don't draw great hearts so I printed one out.

Next take the heart shaped paper and pin it to the your t-shirt, and cut around it. you might want to do a similar project with the t-shirt later so cut the shirt carefully.

After you have your t-shirt heart cut out place it on the inside of the jacket where you would like the heart to peek through. then pin the other piece of the paper around the T-Shirt heart.

After you have the paper pinned down remove the T-shirt heart and begin cutting Slits in the middle of the heart frame. be sure to leave your self plenty of room between the edge of the paper and the end of the slit because you don't want the slits to go further then the heart shape t-shirt piece.



Once the slits are cut place the T-Shirt heart in the paper heart frame and pin the T-shirt heart to your vest. then place it on your sewing machine and carefully sew the heart around the edges into the inside of your vest


Now your ready! cut off any loose threads and hem any frayed arm holes and put it on over your favorite little red dress and you are ready to go!

Now you are one step closer to that big date!

Sushi Night! Sunshine Roll

I love Sushi, but it is sooo expensive. So after getting a fabulous deal from Groupon (http://www.groupon.com/r/uu249618 ) for Sushi a go go (http://www.sushiagogonyc.com/) I decided to make my own.

First I researched what exactly sushi grade fish was. I mean a tuna fish is a tuna fish what makes it sushi tuna? what I found out was there are no rules and regulations regarding sushi grade fish. the only standard regarding sushi grade fish is parasite destruction. which can be accomplished by freezing the fish for a day (15 hours). since I live in Austin, Texas and not on the coast most fish is already frozen and thawed when you buy it in the grocery store, but its not a bad idea to ask or freeze it yourself.

Second you need to get rice. The rice has to be sticky rice. I bought a long grain sweet rice. it is very sticky and yummy.

Third I had to figure out what exactly would be in my sushi. Since I'm making a Sunshine roll like the one i ordered at sushi a go go. I needed Tuna, Mango, and avocado to go in my roll. I also picked up some sesame seeds to use instead of sea weed.

Next start by cooking your rice. I have a rice maker, and I highly recommend it. when your rice is done cover it and put it in the refrigerator. Take a break, it will take a while for that rice to chill. when the rice is done chilling cut up your mango and avocado in to strips. then do the same to the tuna. there will be thin layers of connective tissue in between the layers of fish. I suggest that you take a bit of time to peel it away because the fish will be much more tinder when you do.

After you have all the ingredients prepared then it is time to put the pieces together. Professional sushi makes have bamboo rollers and boxes and other fancy things, but I was not willing to invest in such things. So I took some aluminum foil and spread the sesame seeds over it so that the sticky rice would not adhere to it. Then I spread the rice gently in a long rectangular shape over the seeds like I was icing a cake. after the rice is evenly spread across the seeds you can lay your ingredients side by side on top of the rice. Then very carefully roll the sushi over until the edges of the rice meet. Mush it together so that it forms the round shape of the sushi. then unwrap, chop and serve.

Some times its pretty and some times its not, but food is not about the look its about the taste. If you never try then you can never fail. and if you never fail then you never learn.

Happy cooking.

Sheri

Welcome to Cooking with Sheri

Greetings home adventurers I am Sheri. I am starting this blog to help those of you that aspire to be a domestic diva, but are afraid of messing up or are just don't know how to start. I am a normal everyday women just like you and am willing to try anything from baking to gardening I will not back down from a challenge. lets work together and discover how easy to be a do it yourself goddess in your own home.
Email suggestions to Sheri.Rothe@gmail.com .