- Liz is using clear shoeboxes, which I think will be great and colorful on a shelf.

- Karen found these on Amazon, which look nice, especially if you can hang them. (Although sitting on a shelf would be good, too.)

- Lots of you use ziploc bags and clear plastic tote bags.

- Melissa hid 12 of hers in brown paper bags and put them in a basket. When she is ready for the next month’s project, she picks one and gets a nice surprise!

- Carol has an entire wall in her living room filled with cubbies and baskets of yarn. Wow!!

- Ronni uses something like this on the back of a door, due to lack of wall space. I think that’s a great idea.

- Some of you don’t keep anything in physical view, but you organize your soon-to-work-on projects on Ravelry or in notebooks.

- And Lori thinks my projects look like they are in prison, waiting to be paroled, which cracked me up! (Well,  I guess they sort of are waiting to “get out” ….)

I think anything that keeps us on track with our knitting is a good thing, no matter what the system is! I hope you find something that works for you.

Today I have another good soup recipe to share with you. I made this over the holidays when we had family in, and it was a big hit with everyone. Plus – it’s easy. I like things like that! (It comes from this blog. Check out the latest post – those mushrooms look great!)

Lasagne Soup

1 1/2 lbs. Italian Sausage
2 c. chopped onions
4 garlic cloves
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 Tbl. tomato paste
1 can (28 oz) fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
6 cups chicken stock
8 oz. pasta (corkscrew, bowtie, whatever. I used a bit more.)
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil leaves
salt and pepper to taste

8 oz. ricotta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch of pepper

2 cups mozzarella

Heat the olive oil in a large pan and add sausage to brown. Add onions and cook until softened.  Add garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes and cook for a minute.  Add tomato paste and stir well, cooking for another 3-4 minutes.

Add the diced tomatoes, bay leaves and chicken stock. Mix well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente. (Don’t overcook or let it simmer too long, or it will get mushy.) Stir in basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.

While the pasta cooks, mix together the ricotta, parmesan cheese, 1/4 tsp. salt and pinch of ground pepper.

To serve, place a dollop of the ricotta mixture in the bottom of the soup bowl, ladle hot soup over the dollop, and top with mozzarella.

Have a great weekend! Any plans? I have a few knitting projects to work on!

Sheri beautifuldayheretodayinthemountains!

We’re looking forward to a weekend of relaxing, celebrating, and being with family.

Before the New Year diets kick in, you ought to give these cookies a try. They are seriously delicious. S.E.R.I.O.U.S.L.Y. They melt in your mouth and your family will gobble them up and ask you to make more. (Found on Pinterest, from this blog, originally published in the Salt Lake Tribune.)

Paradise Bakery Sugar Cookies

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
2 cups shortening
3/4 tsp. vanilla
1 large egg, beaten
4 1/3 cups cake flour*
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
plain or colored sugar for decorating

Heat over to 375 degrees.

In medium bowl, cream together both sugars and shortening, using an electric mixer. Mix on slow speed for 30 seconds until blended, and then mix on medium speed for 3 minutes.

Slowly add vanilla and beaten egg, while mixing.

In a separate bowl, combine cake flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the dry mixture to the creamed mixture, mixing slowly until just blended. (Do not over mix.)

Roll a tablespoon sized ball in your hand, flatten slightly, and then toss in sugar.

Bake 9-10 minutes.  Cookies are done when small cracks appear on the top and they are pale golden. Do not let the edges get brown.

Let cool and enjoy!

*If you don’t have cake flour on hand – and I didn’t – it’s easy enough to make. Measure out 1 cup of flour. Remove 2 Tbl. of flour from the measuring cup and add in 2 Tbl. of cornstarch instead. Sift this 4-5 times and then it’s ready to use in your recipe. (Since this recipe takes 4 1/3 cups, I measured out 4 1/3 cups of flour, removed 8 Tbl. of the flour, added in 8 Tbl. of cornstarch, and sifted it 5 times. Worked great.)

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas, a Loopy Ewe Gift Certificate in your stocking, and a relaxing weekend with the ones you love.

Sheri (with holiday wishes from my whole family to all of you, too!)

(P.S. We’re in the shop and shipping today, but Monday the 26th is a holiday. We’ll be back in there on Tuesday again.)

That title pretty much sums up what I’ll be doing this weekend. Our new space is done!!

So many of you asked about having the webcam going for the moving in process, so we’ll be sure to connect that first thing. Not that I don’t think you have better things to do a week before Christmas. But if you’re sitting and knitting those last minute gifts and want to pop in to view the chaos once in awhile, we’ll be there!

Since this will be a busy weekend, there’s nothing better to have for dinner than a hearty soup that you can toss in the crockpot in the morning. This has turned into my favorite soup recipe this fall, and it’s easy!

Wild Rice and Chicken Soup

4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 package of Rice-a-Roni long grain and wild rice
1/2 tsp. salt (plus more to taste)
1/2 tsp. pepper
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
2 cups half and half (can use fat free, or a mix of both, or be brave and go full fat….)
1 cup sliced carrots (or a pack of frozen, sliced carrots)
1 cup diced celery

Combine broth, water, carrots, celery, chicken and rice (including the seasoning packets from the rice mix) in a large slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours (or on high for 4 hours).

Take chicken out and shred it. Add it back into the slow cooker.

In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper, and flour. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the flour mixture slowly, whisking to form a roux. Whisk in the cream a little at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth. Stir cream mixture into slow cooker and let cook on low for 15 more minutes.

(I usually double this recipe so that we have lunch leftovers for the next couple of days as well. It reheats well.)

Enjoy your weekend and we’ll be back on Monday to let you know about the new things going up Monday night. A new line, a new base from a favorite company, and some gorgeous re-stocks!

Sheri heatedbirdbathonthedeckwasfrozenthismorning.
Thatcan’tbegood.Brrrrrr.

In the meantime, if you are in the mood to make something other than pumpkin pie this coming week, you might try this Pumpkin Crunch Cake recipe. It smells wonderful in the oven and it tastes great.

Pumpkin Crunch Cake

1 Large can of Pumpkin (29 oz)
1 Large can Evaporated Milk (10 or 12 oz)
1 Box Yellow Cake Mix
3 eggs
1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans or hazelnuts)

Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil and then spray the foil with cooking spray.

Mix pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl. Pour into foil-lined pan.

Sprinkle the dry cake mix over the top of the pumpkin and pat down lightly. Sprinkle nuts on top of the dry cake mix. Melt the butter and drizzle it over the top.

Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.  Let stand for 2 hours before turning it out on a cutting board.  Peel off the foil and cut into squares. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.  Enjoy!

Do you have a favorite pumpkin recipe?

Sheri whomightwhipupsomepumpkinbreadthisweekendtoo

Now please help us choose your favorite project from Camp Loopy’s Project Three Gallery. You can send your response to us at support@theloopyewe.com and we’ll report back soon.

We also have winners of last month’s blog contest, which I snuck in at the last minute. We’re sending a skein of Wollmeise to Diane in MA, Patricia in WA, and Jen in CA. Congratulations to all of you!

Today’s recipe is one I tried earlier in the fall and it was a hit. I found it on Pinterest and it comes from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. I hope you and your family enjoy it.

Baked Penne Chicken, Broccoli and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

1 bunch broccoli (about 1.5 lbs.), cut into small pieces
12 oz. penne pasta
2 Tbl. olive oil
1 md. onion, minced
6 md. garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 c. flour
2 c. chicken broth (I used low sodium)
1 c. heavy cream
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into small pieces
3 oz. smoked mozzarella, shredded (I used regular – couldn’t find smoked)
8 oz. jar oil-packed sune-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped

Topping:
3/4 c. bread crumbs mixed with 2 Tbl. melted butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Bring water to boil in large pot, add 1 Tbl. salt and the broccoli. Cook the broccoli until it is bright green – 2-4 minutes. Remove from water and add pasta to the boiling water. Cook until al dente (about a minute less than you might normally cook it). Drain and toss with 1 Tbl. olive oil.

Drain water from pot and add 1 Tbl. oil. Put on med. heat until you see the oil shimmer. Add the onion and cook about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and thyme, mixing well. Slowly whisk in the broth and cream, stirring as you bring it to a simmer. Whisk in flour, salt and pepper. Add the chicken and cook through, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in tomatoes and mozzarella.

Add the pasta and broccoli to the sauce, and stir to combine. Transfer to a greased 9 x 13 pan and sprinkle with the topping. Bake at 400 degrees until it’s bubbling and the crumbs are lightly brown (about 15 minutes). Enjoy!

Sheri thinkingaboutcastingonahatthisweekend.
Gotafavoritehatpattern?

I’m back in St. Louis and … it’s RED around here.

It’s Fall Break for College Daughter, so I met her here in St. Louis last night and am enjoying a fun weekend with her! We promised WH that we’d send photos, since he’s stuck back in Colorado this weekend. (Not that you can really call it “stuck”, being in Colorado …) I’m also looking forward to shopping working at Loopy over the next few days. I miss walking around the aisles of yarn. My little office at home is not quite as colorful.

I tried another crockpot recipe that I wanted to share with you. This one is for pork roast and it’s delicious. I found it on Pinterest, but it looks like it originally came from recipe girl.com.

Crockpot Cranberry Pork Roast

3 lb. boneless pork loin
16 oz. canned whole berry cranberry sauce
1 Tbl. brown sugar
1 tsp. yellow mustard
2 Tbl. cornstarch
2 Tbl. water

Brown the pork roast in a skillet, catching all sides, and then put into crockpot.

Mix cranberry sauce, brown sugar and mustard and pour over the roast. Cook, covered, on high for 1 hour. Reduce to low and cook for 6 more hours. When done, remove roast and put the cranberry sauce in a bowl.

Whisk cornstarch and water together.  Add to the cranberry sauce bowl and whisk well. Cook in microwave for 2 minutes and pour over the roast.

(Note – you can serve the roast sliced or shredded for sandwiches.)

In the mood for more great fall recipes? Try:

Pumpkin Granola (snacking time)
Pumpkin Pecan Croissant Bread Pudding (sounds like a winning breakfast)
Pumpkin Pie Dessert Bars (dessert for the weekend?)
Cauliflower Poppers (this would go well with the pork roast)
Rose Apple Pie (I can’t read the recipe, but isn’t it beautiful?)
Red Hot Popcorn Mix (which I will have to make for World Series munching…)

Are you watching the World Series? Confession: I really only watch it when the Cards make it. I guess I’m a fair weather baseball fan.

Sheri hopingyouhaveagreatweekend

It might just be the perfect fall day, today.

Or we could call it “National I Love Yarn Day”, as The Crafty Council has suggested. That means you get to buy some new yarn, start a new project, and leave work early to celebrate and knit. I suspect we might need to extend that throughout the entire weekend. How can you celebrate all of that in just one day?

As long as we’re making holidays, let’s also call today “National I Love Chocolate Day” so that I have an excuse to share a decadent dessert with you. (Not that I need an excuse to do that, I know.) I found this on Pinterest, and it comes from Kevin & Amanda’s blog. I do like the way she stacks two bars for each serving. Not sure I could eat that much since it’s so rich, but it looks impressive!

Oreo Brownie Chocolate Chip Dessert

1 brownie mix (for 9 x 13 size pan)
1 batch of chocolate chip cookie dough (or 1 tube of slice and bake)
1 package of chocolate sandwich cookies (like Oreo’s)

Press the chocolate chip cookie dough into the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. (Or, if using slice and bake – slice the cookies, layer them so that they cover the bottom of the pan, and then press them together to seal any openings.)

Put a single layer of chocolate sandwich cookies on top of the cookie dough batter.

Mix the brownie mix as directed and pour that over the top of the chocolate sandwich cookies.

Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes.

Let cool slightly and then slice and enjoy with ice cream.

There you go. A triple dessert celebration for a triple national celebration day. Fall, yarn and chocolate. Yum.

What else should we be celebrating today? Since I made up two days (chocolate and fall), you get to make some up, too.  National I Love …. what?

Sheri  hopingyouhaveagreatweekend!

1. One of the fun things about moving to a new town is that you get to discover new shops -

2. There is an elementary school about 4 blocks away, and we can hear the school bells. I should follow them and break for lunch and recess every day, don’t you think?

3. Our mail doesn’t come until 5 pm on weekdays. I’m not a fan of that. And I think the mail lady hates me because I get packages from Loopy and she has get out of her mail truck to walk them to the door.

4.  The Aspens are absolutely beautiful right now. Can you pop in the car and come see them in person this weekend? Because you ought to. WH took this up near Breckenridge this week. If you click on it, it almost makes you dizzy. I was going to use it as my screensaver, but I think I’d feel like I was being sucked in. (As if I didn’t already feel like that with computers from time to time.) I’ll share a couple more of his fall photos next week.

5.  I made this soup and it was a big hit. Perfect for a chilly fall evening. And it does not taste at all low fat, which I like. I should have photo-ed it in a colored bowl so it would show up better. Although I don’t have colored bowls. I might need to go shopping.

Creamy, Low Fat Potato Soup (from Monica at The Yummy Life)

4 baking potatoes (2.5 lbs.) OR 4 cups leftover mashed potatoes
2/3 cup flour
6 cups 2% milk
1 cup low-fat extra sharp cheddar cheese (divided)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 cup low-fat sour cream
3/4 cup chopped green onions (divided)
6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

If you are using baking potatoes, bake them (400 degrees for 1 hour in the oven, or microwave them). Don’t forget to poke them with a fork before baking. Peel and mash. OR use leftover mashed potatoes.

Add flour to a large pot or Dutch oven. Whisk in the milk and stir until blended. Cook over medium heat until it starts to thicken (about 8-10 minutes).

Add in the mashed potatoes, 3/4 cup of cheese, salt and pepper. Stir until the cheese is completely melted. Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup green onions.

At this point, I used an immersion blender to thicken it up a bit. (Love that blender. Also good for smoothies.)

Serve in individual bowls and garnish with green onions, shredded cheese, and bacon.

You might want to serve this with Monica’s Cheesy Jalapeño Cornbread – also yummy.

6. I will be working on a Cladonia Shawl and the little Hexapuffs this weekend. Speaking of the little puffs, thanks to ALL of you who entered to win a free Mini Skein kit in last week’s blog contest! The random number generator picked Iris in NY for a free Lorna’s Laces Mini Kit. We’ll let you know as soon as the kits are in stock and ready for everyone.

So back to the mail-which-comes-too-late  - what time does your mail come? And does your mail person hate you, too? I think I need to bake her some cookies and do some brown-nosing. Or stop ordering yarn. (Yeah. Like that’s going to happen.)

Sheri hopingyouallhaveawonderfulweekend.
Andthatyourmailcomesearly.

This week’s recipe is a delicious salad that can be served as a meal (just toss in some chicken for protein) or as a side dish. My family loved it, and I hope you do, too. I found this on Pinterest, but it originally came from the Espresso and Cream blog (and check out the Whole Wheat Salt Bagel recipe that she had on there yesterday. Sounds good.).

Fall Chopped Salad

6-8 cups of lettuce (I used a mix of Romaine and Iceburg)
2 medium pears, chopped
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup chopped pecans
8 slices cooked/crumbled bacon (I totally forgot to add this in)
4-6 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
Poppy Seed Dressing (I always get Marzetti’s)
Balsamic Vinaigrette (I used Newman’s Own Light Balsamic)

Use your judgement on the ratio of Poppy Seed and Balsamic. I used about twice as much Poppy as the Vinaigrette. The taste of the two mixed together makes this salad even more delicious.

Now that my blanket is done, I’m going back to working on my Lorna’s Laces Devon Socks this weekend. I wore my first pair of hand knit socks of the season yesterday (my favorite pair – knit for me by Knitting Daughter) and I was glad to have them back on my feet. Have you started wearing hand knit socks again, this fall?

Sheri ormaybeIshouldunpacktherestoftheboxesinthebasement
this weekend,instead?Nah.

For those working on Project Three: we’ve been working on the Project Three Gallery this week as well. I knew you all could knit up an 800 yd. project in one month! I’m so proud of you. Remember, all project three’s are to be done by 9/15 (internationals 9/22) and photos are due in by 9/17 (9/24 for international projects). For those of you who completed all three projects by the deadlines (with yarn bought here during each Camp Store week or after, photos uploaded on our Loopy galleries in time), we’ll be sending you your grand prize – a skein of Wollmeise and a pattern! Next week (starting with orders that are placed on Monday, 9/12), we’ll start sending the Wollmeise to project completers who have placed orders during the week (and who have had their Project Three photo approved already). Please note – you do not have to place an additional order to get your prize. We’ll eventually get prizes out to everyone who earned them. We’re simply starting with the easiest ones – ones where we can add the prize into an order that we currently have in-house. Reason 1 – We will be shipping a lot of skeins out, and we thought we’d start with the ones where we’re already sending a box out to that address. Reason 2 – While we have some Wollmeise here for Camp Loopy, we also have a lot of cases of Wollmeise stuck in Customs, fees and duties paid for, but not yet shown up here at Loopy. This has been going on since they were shipped in mid-July. We’re not happy with the post office at the moment. We’re also not happy with the Customs office. But we’re on it and we will get those boxes. It just means that some of you will have a bit of a delay before getting your rightly-earned, highly-coveted skein of Wollmeise. But you’ll get it. I promise. (Did I mention that I’m not happy with the Customs Office and the Post Office right now? Because I’m not.)

Again, you do not have to place an order to get the Wollmeise you have earned. We hope to have the rest of the skeins here and turned back around to you sometime late this month or early next month. The website is keeping track of who we owe yarn to. If you’re wanting to verify that you earned a skein of Wollmeise, check the order note on your August Camp Loopy Project Three Yarn order, once we have approved your project photo.

I wanted to share something that we’ve been having fun with this summer. My friend Monica tempted me one too many times with her Raspberry and Velvet Hot Fudge Sauces, and I finally gave up and ordered this ice cream maker. I love it. You freeze the compartment 24 hours ahead (we just keep ours in the freezer now) and then pour in the recipe and turn it on. In 25-30 minutes, you have 2 quarts of soft-serve ice cream. That plus some of Monica’s wonderful sauces makes a great dessert for family or company. I won’t tell you how many different recipes we’ve tried, but each time, I’m still amazed that we get awesome home-made ice cream in just a half hour (no salt, ice cubes, or hand cranking required.) Here’s the latest recipe we made:

Oreo Cookie Ice Cream

1 1/2 cups milk (it calls for whole milk, but I use 2% and it works just fine)
3 cups heavy cream
1 Tbl. vanilla
1 cup sugar
15-20 Oreos, cut into bite-sized pieces

Mix the sugar into the milk and stir until it is dissolved (about 2-3 minutes). Add the cream and vanilla to the mixture and pour into the maker. Process for the recommended amount of time (usually 25-35 minutes). Add the chopped Oreo pieces during the last two minutes.  Enjoy as soft-serve ice cream, or freeze an hour or two in the freezer to firm it up more.

Pretty soon I’m going to try some of these recipes. (So far I’ve just had fun reading the book from cover to cover.) I’ve been to Jeni’s in person and her Salted Caramel Ice Cream is amazing. I was so happy to find the recipe in the book. She is known for her unique flavors, and even though some combinations sound strange, you try them and you’re hooked. Her main store happens to be in Columbus, OH, where we go for Market each summer (to find more yarn and accessory lines to add to The Loopy Ewe for all of you.) And to eat Jeni’s ice cream, which is a must for most everyone at Market.

What’s your favorite dessert, if you are going to splurge on something? Any plans to do some dessert eating this weekend?

Sheri hopingtofinishupProjectThreethisweekend.
Andmaybedessert.