Ready For Friday

Hoodilly! Tomorrow is Friday. I am so excited. Not only do I get to hand out the backpacks and make some really great kids very happy, but I am going to my BFF Jenny's house for a "project day". And for the first time ever, I am going without my kids. Think of the productivity. I won't even have to stop to eat if I don't want to. However, I know I am going to because I just made the best stuff to take. It's called Bolivian Salsa. I got it from my sweet, talented, wonderful friend, Amanda. It's like nothing I've ever tasted before. Jenny and I usually make and consume an entire recipe (sometimes 2) of Texas Caviar, which is also awesome but I decided to shake things up. However, Jenny assures me that she has all of the ingredients for Texas Caviar if the need arises. The only snag is that we are both on the wagon when it comes to caffeine. I don't know if we will survive our late nights without it but I'm willing to try. Anyways, yesterday, as I was working on my project, I stabbed myself for the 473rd time with the needles floating around in my pincusion. I can't think of too many projects I have done that don't have either machine or hand stitching or both and I use needles constantly. However, I keep them in my pincusion and reaching for them has become a dangerous risk. Plus, my son, who likes to "help" pushes all of the needles into the pincusion and they are lost until one day, when you're in a hurry, wham!! Break out the band-aids. So I decided to make myself a needle book today. I have a ton of wool blend felt scraps, so I whipped this up in no time. It's a really quick little project. I can't wait to pack it in my tool box to take to Jenny's. My sister was amazed that I was actually making something for myself and to be quite honest, so was I. Most of my projects are gifts for others, which is great. I love giving my friends and family cute stuff. But, I've recently decided that I need to remind myself that I deserve cute things too. And I am loving this little gem.

If you're interested, here is the recipe for Bolivian Salsa:

Amanda's Bolivian Salsa

Bring to a boil:

1/2 c. olive oil (I use 1/4 c. Gotta save those Weight Watcher points, you know.)

1/2 c. water

1/2 c. cider vinegar

1/2 c. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. minced fresh garlic

1 tsp. minced fresh parsley

Set aside and let cool before adding the rest of the ingredients.

Rinse:

1-15 oz. can kidney beans

1-15 oz. can black eyed peas

Add to above with:

2-15 oz. cans white shoepeg corn

Chop and add:

2 oz. sundried tomatoes

1 green pepper (I use red, I'm not a huge fan of green)

1 red onion (I use 5 minced green onions, I like onion flavor but hate chunks of onions)

2 stalks celery

2 jalapenos

Serve with corn chips. Yum!

And in case you were wondering what Texas Caviar is here's that recipe:

J & J's Version Texas Caviar

1-15 oz. can black eyed peas

1-15 oz. can shoepeg corn

1-11 oz. can Rotel tomatoes (original)

1/2 large red pepper, diced

4 green onions, sliced

1 jalapeno, minced and seeded

1/4 c. cilantro, chopped

1 avocado, diced

Juice of 1 lime

1/3-1/2 bottle Ken's Steakhouse Light Northern Italian

Combine and serve with Tostitos Scoops

Well, I need to try to go to bed I guess. 5:30 comes awful early but I have to get my little job done and get back to town in time for the big Backpack day. Wahoo! I probably won't be able to sleep anyway.