It’s here! Tomorrow is Coffee Break Fest in Stoughton, WI. The giggleFritz and Co. both will be in the craft fair again this year and we are so excited! Stop by the booth if you can, or stop back to find out how everything went.
Coffee Break Fest is calling and I must go! There’s still much to do today, so I am off!
I have been avoiding my garden lately. It has been too hot and humid for me to dig into the weed problem. However, today was one of the most beautiful days we will have all year. I didn’t waste it. I spent a good portion of the day weeding my garden. And my body is FEELING it!
I am super excited for these pumpkin plants! I love watching them grow as we approach fall and Halloween. I was worried they wouldn’t do well because they are kind of close to a Maple tree. I hear that is bad.
This is the second year I have planted pole beans and I am loving them! Last year was the first time I tried them and they produced all summer. This year I did a better job with trellising them. I made two good-sized tee-pees for them to climb, thanks to a YouTube video I watched from The Farmer’s Almanac. Tee Pee for climbing Beans Video
Besides gardening, I also put the finishing touches on a Socktopus and started work on a new yellow and purple Socktopus. I will be listing a few new things shortly. I also have a loooooong list of things that need sewing for the upcoming craft fair at Coffee Break Fest in August. So, my aching gardening body is off to work on a few things before turning in for the night.
It’s that time of year again, when we are counting down the days until Coffee Break Fest in Stoughton, WI! On August 18 head over to Mandt Park and take a look at the car show, shop at the craft fair, sample some extraordinary coffee from the brew-off, get a bite to eat and more! Stop by the giggleFritz booth and say “Hi”!
One of the projects I started back in May was to make a better binder to hold all of our gardening and landscape info. I have been collecting notes and articles for years, but they have been tucked away with other misc. notes in a binder. I went ahead and pulled out leftover scrapbook making materials and prettied-up a binder I had on hand. Total cost of Gardening binder: $0.00ish!
I just wanted to share a neat recipe I found a few weeks back. I found “Sloppy Joe Tater Tot Casserole” in one of our area newspapers. We’ve eaten this twice now and it’s a keeper with my family.
The recipe calls for tomato sauce, brown sugar, Worcestershire Sauce, yellow mustard, and salt to make the sloppy joe sauce. I made it faster and easier by just using a store bought can of sloppy joe sauce.
Sloppy Joe Tater Tot Casserole – Serves 8
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbsp yellow mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1 bag (32 oz) frozen tater tots
2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (8 oz)
1/4 cup chopped dill pickles
Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 13×9″ (3 qt.) baking dish with cooking spray. Brown hamburger with onion. Drain grease. Stir in tomato sauce, brown sugar, Worcestershire Sauce, yellow mustard, and salt (or can of sloppy joe mix). Cook 2-3 minutes stirring frequently until bubbly. Line bottom of baking dish with half of bag of tater tots. Pour beef mixture on top of tots. Add 1 cup of cheese over the beef mixture. Add remaining tots and top off with last cup of cheese. Bake 45 minutes or until bubbly and tater tots are slightly browned. Top with chopped dill pickles.
Note: I don’t do all of the layers. I put the sloppy joe/meat mixture in the bottom of the baking dish, add a layer of tater tots, and bake. After the casserole is baked I add the cheese and let it melt for 5 minutes, add chopped pickles, and serve.
This recipe works great for my family of three (two adults, one toddler). We eat half and then I freeze the other half for a meal later.
What’s up, Buttercup? Lots of good stuff! A list of some of the things that flew by the last two months: End of DD’s school year, Mother’s Day, planted my garden, ran a 5K with my sister, Father’s Day, swimming lessons with DD, Waupaca Strawberry Fest craft fair (and the hard work that went into that grand event!), hurting my back, camping at Mirror Lake, and now baking in the hot sun! When does the “summer vacation” start? Ha! Never. But it’s all good. There is literally never a dull or boring moment. I just need to manage my time a little better.
As I noted above, the giggleFritz and Co. booth traveled to Waupaca, WI to take part in the Strawberry Fest craft fair. We haven’t been to this event in many years, but it is still the awesome shindig it was before. The turnout was good and the strawberry shortcake was great! Thank you to everyone that stopped by our booth, bought an item, or just told me they like the things I make!
This time last week it was snowing. Snowing!! My crocuses had come up before we had two snow storms. As the snow started to melt, you could see them poking through the snow. THAT is a tough flower! Now my bulbs are in full bloom. Every time we go outside DD must count and “boop” each flower. She can’t wait to start picking dandelions.
The nice weather is really making a difference. People I have talked to or run into today seem happier. Everything is greening up and neighbors have been out doing yard work. I have been planning our vegetable garden and researching which apple trees I want to plant this year. This is spring!
I am off to make sock monkeys! Have a fantastic Wednesday!