I am trying to make Maggie some sweaters for fall and winter. I was going to make a mock up, so I did not use material that I liked just in case. I measured Maggie from head to toe, then I made the pattern. Afterwards, I cut out some felt and started the sewing. I realized I sewed the sleeves up! Then I seam-ripped it and started the sewing process again. When I was done, it did not look the best, but it would do. I tried it on Maggie; it was a little tight just while putting it on, I thought. But when it was on her, the top part of the neck was WAY too tight. The sleeves were too tight where you could not get them off! So I went to cut the sweater off. I will post a new pattern that works and a photo for Sew Crafty Friday.

My Birthday is on August the 6th, so I just turned 14! On my birthday my Mom, Dad, and I went to the Houston Galleria (which they need better maps!) We found our way to Chile’s and got GREAT food. My Dad got some chicken poppers and corn on the cob, and my Mom and I split some mushroom fajitas which came with guacamole, tomatoes, sour cream, onions, and chicken, so it was sooooo good! After that we looked around the mall and found a Border Books we went there and found a lot of books on sale! So I got “The Cookie Bible” for seven dollars. My mom got some school books and “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” on CD. After the mall we went to Wal-Mart to get some Mountain Dew for our party. We went home and ate cake, drank M-Dew, and opened presents. On our birthdays We do our parties with our family only and I like it that way. I made my cake which was a lemon meringue cake from my Taste Of Home baking book. Here is a recipe: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Lemon-Meringue-Cake

Today my kitchen tips have to do with washing dishes by hand. With a family of 7, I often find it quicker to do the dishes by hand as opposed to using the dishwasher. We have very hard water down here in south Texas, which can cause issues when washing dishes. I have found that if I put about a tablespoon of baking soda in the wash water it helps tremendously. You can feel the difference when you put your hands in the water, and when you are finished your hands feel softer. I also run a sink full of cold water to rinse the dishes, and add a couple of tablespoons of vinegar. Rinsing in this manner causes your dishes to come out squeaky clean, and when rinsing glasses it eliminates spotting. I hope that you find my kitchen tip helpful, don’t forget to drop byTammy’s Recipes to get more great kitchen ideas!

I have made some coconut macaroon brownies, but the way you were suppose to layer them made them over cooked on the top and under cooked on the bottom. I didn’t care for that brownie recipe. Over all they weren’t very good. I made my own recipe, and I used a brownie recipe from my “Taste Of Home Baking Book” with my own coconut topping.

Rich Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients:
2 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup butter, melted
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup baking cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°f and prepare a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Use baking spray and spray the bottom and sides of the dish. Then tear a piece of parchment paper (NOT wax) and place it on the bottom and sides of the baking dish. Spray the paper.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add butter; mix well. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; add to batter and mix well. Set aside.

For the coconut mixture
1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1 14oz bag of flaked coconut
1 teaspoon of vanilla
Mix together and place it in the bottom of the pan. Spread the Brownie batter on top of the coconut and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean.

1 c. milled flax seed
3 c. whole wheat flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
6 eggs, separated
3 c. milk
1/2 c. butter melted.
Combine the first eight ingredients; set aside. Beat the egg whites making a stiff meringue, and set aside. Mix the last ingredients with the egg yolks and add into the dry ingredients until moist, but do not over-mix. Fold the meringue into the batter, making sure you still see specks of it in the batter. Cook in your waffle iron until golden brown. Makes 12 7-inch waffles