Sweet and Sour Turkey Meatballs

This is a great recipe!  I am currently making a double batch so that I can freeze one set of meatballs after baking and then heat with the sauce for a quick meal after baby arrives.


Sweet & Sour Meatballs

Meatballs:
1.5 lb of ground turkey (or 0.75 lbs ground beef and 0.75 lbs ground turkey)
3/4 cup instant oats
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 T chopped onion (or about 1 T onion powder if you're me)
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
*flour for rolling meatballs in (about 1/4-1/3 c cup)

Sauce:
1/2 c brown sugar
3 t white vinegar
1 c water
2 T Worchestershire sauce
1/2 c ketchup
1/2 c BBQ sauce
1 T chopped onion (or dash of onion powder)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Spray a 9x13 baking dish with Pam.
• Mix together all ingredients for the meatballs but leaving the flour out. 
• Form meat mixture in to meatballs.
• Roll in flour and then place in pan.  Should make 1 full layer.
• Bake for about 15 minutes or until browned.
• In a small sauce pan, mix together all ingredients for the sauce.
• Stir over medium heat for about 5-10 minutes- enough to heat through.
• Pour over meatballs and bake for another 30 minutes.
• Serve over brown rice.

Enjoy!

CT Call!

Love what I do with some of the pages you see here?

Now's your chance to do what I get to do!

I'm looking for a few more girls for my Creative Team. Are you talented, motivated, dedicated? Then I WANT YOU! If you love my products and would like to work with them, please send an e-mail to jopkevandongen@gmail.com with a short bio, a link to your most complete gallery and a list of your current CT duties. More info about requirements and how we do things, will be send to you by e-mail. Meanwhile take a look at my store and see what you will be working with! Go HERE: http://winkel.digiscrap.nl/Jopke-Designs/

Crafting on my Due Date

I had been looking for a wipes case for my cloth wipes when we're out for a little bit on and off.  I couldn't find exactly what I wanted, so I wandered to etsy and found lots of neat things including a wet bag, changing pad and wipes case all in coordinating patterns.  Since I'm using a cross body style bag for a diaper bag instead of a regular diaper bag, I did have a need for a changing pad, though I do just like to use something simple so I can just wash it often and keep it clean. 


Here's the set I almost ordered:

But, it was $60 plus shipping.

So, I Google'd and found a couple tutorials that were exactly what I wanted:
For the Wipes Case, I used this Tutorial.
For the Wet Bag, this one.
To the wet bag, I added a piece of cloth to make a pocket for the front of the wet bag and a hang tab. 
I'm really happy with how it turned out!  I embellished the wipes case with quilt binding and ribbon and used the quilt binding on the pocket of the wet bag as well.  The changing pad is backed with minky.  And know what the cost was?  Out of pocket, $19 including the wipes case (I had to use Pampers as the Huggies ones were soft but it worked just fine) + some supplies I had at home to include the minky which was scraps from baby's quilt I finished up over the summer.

What do you think?

Lasagna Turkey Roll Up

This recipe is from a Simple and Delicious magazine by Taste of Home.  We love this and it also makes a great meal to take to someone for any occassion.  I like that you can also just thaw a few at a time to freeze as single serve/good for deployment or for small meals to deliver to a recent widow.  Enjoy!

Lasagna Roll Ups Servings: 10, single rolls- easily doubled and frozen

Ingredients:
10 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 package (19-1/2 ounces) Italian turkey sausage links, casings removed
1 package (8 ounces) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese (softened or cubed), softened
1 jar (26 ounces) spaghetti sauce, divided
1-3/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Directions
1. Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in cream cheese and 1/3 cup spaghetti sauce.
2. Drain noodles; spread 1/4 cup meat mixture on each noodle. Sprinkle each with 2 tablespoon cheese; carefully roll up.
3. Spread 2/3 cup spaghetti sauce into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Place roll-ups seam side down over sauce. Top with remaining sauce and cheese.
4. Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until bubbly.

NI: 1 roll-up equals 372 calories, 22 g fat (11 g saturated fat), 81 mg cholesterol, 885 mg sodium, 25 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 19 g protein.

Sleepy Bird...

I loved this pattern for a couple reasons...  One, it's adorable.  Two, if you've seen Pocoyo (a show my kids love), you've noticed the character Sleepy Bird.

So, I had to make the hat...  Here's the pattern I used: Sleepy Owl Pattern by Olesya Pronyaeva

I made the 0-3 month version of course. If you're on Ravelry, add me as a Friend please!

I then noticed an adorable penguin hat that I may have to work on tonight, lol.  Gives new meaning to the word "nesting", huh?

Enter to Win!

I almost hate sharing the news of these giveaways, but I absolutely LOVED using Wild Blueberry Ink's templates for my P365 this past year and would love to win a set for next too.

Here's the link to her giveaway and a preview of what she's offering.

Good luck!!!

Showing Off my Newborn Stash!

I became slightly addicted to the cloth diapers (CD) when my daughter was 3 months old. (Wondering why on Earth I would opt for this???  Check out this Cloth 101!)  It was tempered with needing to convince her daycare providers it was a) okay by the state code and b) better for her, the class and environment for a multitude of reasons.  After we got past that, they gladly accepted them and worked with us, but I didn't want to stray too much for a very comfortable style of Bum Genius (aplix only at the time).  (Need help talking to your provider?  Check here: Daycare Tip Sheet) However, we had a few others at home we used- Fuzzibunz for one and Rumparooz for another.

Since I'm staying at home this time with the new baby (and other 2), we went all out for newborn cloth.  With gently used sales on popular CDing sites, friends selling parts of their own newborn stash, etc I was able to build a stash slowly.  Many of those CD sites have rewards programs and I am redeeming a $30 credit tonight that I forgot I had on 1 last newborn dipe I really wanted to try (Swaddlebees Simplex Newborn AIO) and a few other odds and ends.  I also hosted a diaper party with an EverythingBirth consultant and got some free and discounted diapers since all my friends wanted Moby wraps!

So, I posted about how I organized the diapers with the help of my amazing husband.  Now, I'll show you what I have. My plan is to write a review about how I liked them and how the baby did with them.  Whenever possible, I opted for the snap version since I have had to switch out all the aplix on the stash from my daughter after her using them about 18 months.  Plus, it got annoying with it all sticking together after the dryer.

All In Ones/Pockets:
Lil Joey    Review

BumGenius Newborn    Review

FuzziBunz    XS   Review

Happy Heiny Mini       Review

 

Grovia Newborn AIO     Review

Thirsties Duo Diaper (old style) show with a handmade AI2 made by my friend as a baby shower gift- so lucky!

Fitteds (will require a cover):
Kissaluvs Size0   Review
Kissaluv Contour      Review  (use with a Snappi- shown)

Blueberry Newborn Fitted   Review

Thirsties Fab Fit (Size 1 and XS-older style)    Review

Covers:

Prorap       Review  (left)   Bummis Wrap NB        Review

Thirsties Duo Wrap (Size 1 and XS))       Review

Extras I've ordered but aren't in yet:

Swadddlebees Newborn AIO

Apple Cheeks Little Bundle
Ragababe Small and maybe a Ragababe 2 Step Size 0!
Little Fancy Pants Newborn Fitted

And, I scrapped about it!

Here are a couple pages for baby #3's neglected album.  I am now planning just to start their baby book with the pages talking about my pregnancy with him or her.

So here are my pages:

You're Gonna Have 1 Cute Fluffy Butt!

Using the kit by MLE Card- Fluffy Bottoms

Up close

Thanks for looking! Have a great Sunday!

Overnight Breakfast French Toast Casserole

Who else is working on Christmas menus this weekend?

Since I'm due the 28th, we are hosting everyone here and my Grandma is coming to stay with us the night before "just in case".  We are blessed with friends, but I don't want to be in labor, 4am Christmas morning and trying to find someone to take the kids, waking them up, etc.

So, here's my plan for breakfast Christmas Morning:
Overnight French Toast Casserole

I had another recipe I've used before, but when I searched and saw one with "Maple Syrup", I knew I had to go this route.  I'm married to a Vermonter after all!

I may also put some Nutella Hot Chocolate on the stove :)
So, what are you serving for Christmas morning???

To add fuel to the fire...

It's always hard when we can't get what we want, right?  So here I am, wanting this diaper that is a limited quantity, work from home mom's amazing business and they aren't stocking for a bit.  (Understandable- these are people.  It's Christmas and her grandma passed away.)

So, in Liking the FB page, I found out about this giveaway.  But, do me a favor and don't enter, k?  Just look and oooh and aaah ;)  I want to win, lol!

Here's the diaper I want:

It's sponsored by AllAboutClothDiapers.

So, have a great Saturday & weekend before Christmas while I go about, waiting for labor, and nesting :)