Throw Pillows DIY

I love pillows! I'll buy them if they are on sale, oops I mean clearance. Pillows are a relatively inexpensive accessory to change for a new look when decorating your house. One of my first sewing projects was sewing a pillow. Even if you are a beginner, you can make a pillow. After the holidays are over, I like to redecorate and reorganize my house. So today was day 1 of changing some things around...and changing out some pillows.
This afternoon while looking around at my favorite craft store, I spotted some soft, fluffy material on sale and I knew when I saw it, I would have to make a pillow! My granddaughters found some of their favorite material too so they also made a pillow. (Actually only one of them made the pillow while the other one was hanging out with her friends...kids are so cute!) I usually keep at least one or two bags of filling in my craft room so I only needed the material, $3.00 and $1.50. Depending on the width and the size of your pillow you can usually buy 1/2 yard for a fairly large pillow. Otherwise measure the size of the pillow you want and buy that amount of material.
How to sew a pillow:

Decide the size of the pillow you are going to sew and measure the material and add an inch to each side.
Fold my material in half, right sides together and cut the size you want.
I always sew the longest side first and save the shorter sides for last.
Sew one of the short sides from end to end.
Sew the remaining short sides toward the middle leaving a space just big enough to add the filling for the pillow. I usually leave about 4 inches, enough for your hand and stuffing.
Once the pillow is stuffed (don't forget to add a little extra in the corners), hand sew the opening edges together.
Fluff your pillow and enjoy!

Love and peace,
~ Simply Tammi

Grandma's Bread Pudding and Caramel Sauce

I was trying to think of something for dessert last night and homemade bread pudding was my choice. Our Dad was not a dessert lover but bread pudding was one of his favorites. Our grandma made the best bread pudding, hope you like it! Ingredients : 5 cups slightly dried out bread, any kind. I used Italian bread. 1/4 cup raisins (optional) 2 cups milk 1/4 cup butter 1/2 cup white sugar 2 eggs 1 T vanilla 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp cinnamon Caramel Sauce Ingredients 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup heavy cream 1 tsp vanilla Directions : Cut the bread in cubes. I cut some of the crust off (on about half of the bread). Place bread into a greased casserole dish or an 11x9 inch pan. Add raisins. Microwave milk and butter about 4 minutes on 60% power or heat in a saucepan over medium heat on the stove. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon. Slowly add the mixture to the egg and milk and butter

Grilled Orange Roughy

My favorite food choices are often related to family memories, so I wanted to share one of our favorite grilled fish recipes. Our Dad used to take us fishing and we grew up eating the fish we caught ourselves. Then came the time when we had to start buying fish, I searched for types of fish that didn't taste too "fishy". It's hard to accomplish that in the Midwest, we don't always have many choices. We were introduced to orange roughy during a trip to San Diego where my great-uncle treated us to some of the most wonderful seafood we had ever eaten at an establishment called Anthony's. It was the first time we had eaten orange roughy and it was white, flaky and not too fishy tasting. After a few experiments, this is my favorite method to prepare it at home. Serves 4 or 2 with leftovers! Ingredients: 4 orange roughy fillets 1/4 c fresh cilantro, I use a small handful * if you are not a cilantro fan use fresh dill, about 1/4 c chopped 2 tsp garlic powder o

Homemade Goulash

Last weekend I made meals for the freezer. It takes a few hours but this will save you time during the week (in case you have nights like I do when you don't feel like cooking) and your family will love it! I adapted this recipe from Paula Deen (it's called Bobby's Goulash). I used organic ingredients but use the products of your choice. I would have liked to use fresh tomatoes from the garden but my tomatoes weren't quite ready. You can also make it gluten-free by using gluten-free elbow macaroni. It's so tasty - my family loved it! Ingredients : 1 pound ground turkey 1 pound lean ground beef 1 -2 small onions, diced ( I used red onions) 1 (28 ounce) can tomato sauce 2 (15 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice 3 cups water 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 T Italian seasoning 3 bay leaves 3 T soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce 1 T seasoning salt course ground pepper to taste 2 cups elbow macaroni (uncooked) Putting it together: Brown meat and onions in a lar

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