Crocheted Mug Cozy

Trent and I treated ourselves to a coffee grinder and French press recently, because French press coffee is so yummy. Fresh coffee really makes for a good morning. We have been using local coffee beans from French Truck Coffee, and we both really love it so far. I made these simple crocheted mug cozies to go along with our new French Press, so I don't burn my hands after the fresh hot coffee hits the mug. A very cute solution I think. Here's the pattern:

Materials: 4mm hook, a very small amount of yarn, button, needle and thread, scissors

Abbreviations: Chain Stitch (ch), Double Crochet (dc), Single Crochet (sc), Slip Sitch (ss)

ch 27. ss into first ch to join both ends.

Row 1: ch 1. sc around. ss into the top of the first sc.

Row 2: ch 2. dc into first 25 ch stitches. (2 ch stitches should be left open) turn.

Row 3-4: ch 2. dc around. turn.

Round 5: ch 2. dc around. ch 10. sc into third ch from hook (this is the button hole).

Round 6: sc into the rest of the chains and in each dc from Round 5 around.

Fasten Off and weave in the end.

Sew your button on the opposite side of the clasp and button hole you made (use pictures for reference). I tried this mug cozy on several sizes of mugs, and it fit all of them, so hopefully it fits most standard mugs. Enjoy your coffee, tea, cider, etc. with your new drinkware accessory;)

Shrimp & Zucchini Alfredo

I recently bought this spiralizer from amazon for turning my veggies into faux pasta. Good trick, huh? It's obviously not the delicious carb filled pasta you treat yourself to on date nights, but it is the delicious pasta that brings no heartburn and fewer calories, so you don't feel as bad for skipping your workout.

Shrimp and Zucchini Alfredo: Serves 2


Ingredients:
4 tbsp. olive oil
4 small zucchini
1 lb. medium shrimp
2 cu. lowfat milk
1 cu. chicken broth
3/4 cu. all purpose flour
3/4 cu. parmesan cheese
1 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

1. Wash your zucchini and cut off the ends. Run all four zucchini through your spiralizer or use a pairing knife to spiralize your zucchini.

2. Heat 2 tbsp. of oil in large skillet and add your zucchini with a little salt and pepper. Cook on medium/high heat for about 15 minutes flipping occasionally with a spatula.

3. While your zucchini is cooking you can start on the alfredo sauce. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk, broth, and garlic powder on low heat until warm. Add flour and stir until the flour had been fully incorporated into the sauce. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the parmesan until fully incorporated into the sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste, and simmer on the lowest heat setting until ready to serve, stirring every so often. If your sauce is not thick enough, add 1 tbsp. of flour at a time over low heat until you've reached your desired thickness.

4. Once the zucchini has finished cooking, remove it from the skillet and place into a bowl with aluminum foil on top to keep it warm. Rinse your shrimp and set aside. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the skillet and return to medium/high heat. Add your shrimp to the skillet with salt and pepper and cook until bright pink (about 10 minutes).

5. To Serve: Place zucchini "pasta" on your plates and cover with shrimp and alfredo sauce. Add a little extra parm on top if you please.

Kitchen Calligraphy Art // You Wash, I'll Dry

This is a pretty simple and explanatory DIY, but I wanted to share. I am a complete beginner in calligraphy, but I've been practicing a lot. I wanted to create a simple calligraphy DIY that I could display in our home, even though I'm not that great at it yet. I've been on the lookout for a piece of art to hang above our sink in the kitchen, but haven't had any luck yet, so I decided to use an old frame and some fun calligraphy art for this space for the time being. I've seen the phrase you wash, i'll dry on tea towels and decided to use this phrase in my frame. I love this saying for a few reasons. It reminds me of my great grand parents ( I know, I was quite lucky to be able to know them for the first 9 years of my life!). My mawmaw Nobie would hand wash the dishes after every meal and my pawpaw Ancel would dry them and put them away, even though they had a perfectly good dishwasher that could do the work for them. It's one of my clearest memories of them. I also like this phrase because it applies to so many things in a marriage/household. You have to work together as a family and help each other out. Anyway, I hope you like this simple little DIY. Don't be scared to show off your skills, even if you feel nervous that it's not perfect!