How to Cook Bacon in the Oven

My husband loves bacon. I do not. This is a problem. Ok, it's not a huge problem but my issue with cooking bacon is that it seems like grease is everywhere! I have tried cooking it in the microwave but he doesn't like that. Then I saw a brilliant idea on Pinterest to cook bacon in the oven. So I tried it and it worked perfectly for me, no splattering grease and my husband said it was the best bacon ever!
This is what I did:
10 pieces thick-sliced bacon
Line a baking sheet (11x15 with sides) with parchment paper
I placed the bacon slices on my baking sheet. My baking sheet was facing me (horizontally - the 15" side), place the bacon vertically. Place the baking sheet into a cold oven and turn the oven on to 375F. Bake for about 25 minutes. My husband likes his bacon crispy but not too crunchy.  Dab excess grease off the bacon with a paper towel after it's cooked. No greasy stove!

Almost done!

 Love and peace,
~ Simply Tammi

Spiced Tea Mix

This makes a great holiday gift but it's also a nice hot drink to serve on a chilly...or like our weather here in the Midwest...freezing cold... night.  You can make several servings in the slow cooker or single servings.
Here's what you need to make the mix:

• 2 cups orange breakfast drink powder (a.k.a. Tang)
• 1 c sugar
• 1 1/2 c instant tea with lemon (I used Lipton)
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl or jar and shake or mix well. The mix will keep up to 6 months.
To make the drink add up to 1 Tablespoon of powder to 1 cup hot water. Adjust to taste.

We hope you are able to celebrate and enjoy time with your family and friends this holiday season.  We especially thank our veterans and their families for the sacrifices they make on a daily basis.
We appreciate you all, Merry Christmas!

~Simply Angie and Tammi

DIY Fabric Flowers

I've been working a DIY wall decor project for my guest bathroom. I used a light pink vintage dress (it belonged to our grandma) for the entire project. Since she loved flowers, I decided to make a fabric flower for a finishing touch on the wall hanging. This is how I made my flower, you can make them smaller or larger, mine was 3 inches.

Directions: 

Card stock or cardboard for a flower template
9-12 small pieces of material (about 3 inches in diameter)
Hot glue or fabric glue
Felt, cardboard, or a heavier fabric for the base

         

1. I made a 5 petal flower template from card stock. I doubled my fabric and cut out the flower using the template as my pattern. It's easier to cut them in layers rather than one at a time. I cut 11 flower shapes because my material was thin. If you use thicker material you would only need 9. 
2. Cut a circle with a heavier fabric or felt to use as the base, I used chenille. 
3. Take one flower shape and fold it in half, then in half again.
4. Glue the bottom of the flower to the base.
5. Repeat this process until you have 4 folded flowers on the base. Keep the folded edges together.
6. The next layer is the same, but glue the 4 flowers opposite of the first layer. These will cover your first layer folds.
7. For the middle of the flower, take the last flower and roll it in the shape of a cone, cut about 1/2 inch from the bottom. Place glue on the bottom and hold in the middle of the flower. 
8. Place a small amount of glue on the petals closest to the middle and glue them to the middle piece. This will help the flower look more like it's blooming. You can glue any pieces together to get a fluffier flower.
9. Glue flower to your project or glue it to a clip on the back if you'd like to use it as a hair accessory.

 Love and peace,
~Simply Tammi

Homemade Painted Ornaments

  

If you are looking for a project to do with little ones, this is a great one for people of any age. Tammi started showing my kids how to make them years ago when my kids were little. They still like to make them. It's fun to look at them every year and see how much more creative they had gotten as they got older.  I bought these clear glass ornaments for under $2 for a set of 6. I put  a couple drops of acrylic paint inside (you can use other paint, that was just what I had). Then roll, shake and turn it until the paint is covering the inside of the ornament. This one was made by a 2 year old that I have in my daycare. After he was done rolling it around I put his name and year on it with a metallic marker, you could also use a Sharpie marker. Then I turned it upside down for a few hours to let the extra paint drip out and dry. If you don't want to use paint, you could also use glitter or pieces of tissue paper or anything small enough to fit in it. He made one for the baby in my daycare, by putting little glittery pom poms inside it. Of course you have to be careful because they are glass. It's a project to do together. It's worth it when you see how proud they are of what they have created!                                                                                                                          

~Simply Angie