Starting a blog and selling some of our crafts has always been something my family and I have wished to do for years now. Dennis, (my father) is the brains behind every wood craft that is sold on our Etsy page. He draws, cuts, and paints everything by hand. So every one of his wood crafts has been carefully designed with a steady hand and lots of patience! Another member of our team is my mother Lisa. Lisa is currently working on something exciting for our shop so none of her creations have been posted as of yet. However, Lisa is the boss of the business! In other words, she oversees everything from the start of a design to clicking the "post" button on our Etsy page; if it weren't for her I think Dennis and I would be a little lost! I design all of the jewelry on our page, everything you see has been the result of hours in the craft store or on a crafting website and even more time carefully choosing color schemes and putting things together. Our heart and soul is in this business and that is why we want to share it and our lives through this blog!
Another member of our team is my older sister Jessica, she has down syndrome and is a big part of our family. None of her creations have been posted yet but Lisa is also working hard with Jessica on some cool projects that will be appearing soon!
Here’s a little recap of what we were up to in January:
January 10th was Dennis & Lisa’s 25th wedding anniversary as well as Dennis’ birthday!
We shared our Instant Pot Potato Soup recipe which has become a favorite quick dinner on a cold evening.
Alissa shared her 2023 reading challenge. She’s quickly working her way through the challenge. You can follow her read and currently reading books page for updates.
It was best January ever for sales in our store! We got some fantastic reviews & a good customer service badge from Etsy!
Dennis made quite a few hearts, and eggs while Alissa made some pillows, mugs, and treat containers!
We shared some custom order updates on our Facebook & Instagram
1/2lb fingerling potatoes (the little colored potatoes)
Dijon Cream Sauce
1 tbs butter
2 tsp garlic powder
1 cup chicken broth
4 tbs dijon mustard
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 c heavy cream
1 tbs water
1 tbs corn starch
Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°
Wash and cube potatoes. Place in a large bowl and coat with oil; set aside. In the same bowl, add chicken & coat with oil; set aside.
In a medium skillet melt 1tbs butter over medium heat and drizzle in a little oil. Add in potatoes and allow to brown and get crispy (3-4 minutes on each side). Set aside when done.
While potatoes are cooking, add remaining butter to a Dutch oven and melt over medium heat. Drizzle a little oil in Dutch oven (you don’t need much, maybe half a tablespoon), add chicken & cook until browned (3-4 minutes on each side). Set aside.
Melt 1tbs butter in Dutch oven. Add garlic powder, chicken broth, dijon mustard, Italian seasoning, and heavy whipping cream; bring to a boil.
In a small bowl, stir together 1tbs water and 1tbs corn starch. Add to boiling sauce & whisk to combine. Reduce to simmer and allow to cook 3 minutes or until thickened.
Add chicken & potatoes to dijon sauce & bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
Serve and Enjoy!
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2c warm water (about 105°; don’t make it too hot or you’ll kill the yeast)
1 tbs rapid-rise yeast
2 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
5c (approximately) flour
2 1/2 tsp salt
olive oil
2 tbs melted butter
Directions
Preheat oven to 400°
Fill a small bowl with the water and add the yeast and sugar. Stir to combine & set aside for 5 minutes or until foamy on top.
In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine 2 cups of flour and the salt.
Set the mixer to the lowest speed or the “stir” setting and pour the activated yeast into the flour/salt mixture.
Once that is mixed, keep the mixer running and add the flour in a half a cup at a time until the dough is smooth but not sticky. You may need to bump the mixer speed up a little bit if it seems to be struggling. You shouldn’t need to put it past the 2nd speed setting.
Leave dough in mixer bowl & form into a ball. Using a pastry brush coat the dough with olive oil. Cover & let rise for 45 minutes.
Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface. Split the dough in two and set half aside. With the first half form a rectangle and gently roll is out to about 15 inches long. Turn both ends in a little and pinch the seems closed. Flip the dough loaf over and gently round the ends with your hands. Place on a prepared cookie sheet.
Repeat step 6 with the second half of dough.
Make 3 diagonal cuts on the top of each loaf and then cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
Bake 18-25 minutes (mine usually takes about 20). Remove from oven & brush the tops of each loaf with melted butter.
Serve and Enjoy!
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Cut cream cheese into small cubes and set aside to soften. Spray bottom of Instant Pot insert with cooking spray or lightly oil.
Wash and dice potatoes; put directly into pot. Pour in chicken broth and all seasonings. Stir.
Place lid on pot and set to sealing. Cook for 10 minutes on HIGH.
When cook time is up let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes and then quick release remaining pressure. While letting the pressure release manually cook the bacon & in a small bowl mix the milk & cornstarch.
Remove lid from the pot & set to saute. Once the soup is simmering pour in the cornstarch mixture and stir. Add in the cream cheese and cheddar cheese, stirring until melted (about 4 minutes).
Turn off Instant Pot and allow to cool about 10 minutes before serving.
Top with crumbled bacon & chives.
Serve and Enjoy!
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Last year I participated in the Goodreads reading challenge; my goal was 15 books, and I ended up reading 25. This year I am doing that again, but challenging myself to read 45 books. I also decided to take it a step further & participate in the 12 books recommended by 12 friends challenge and choose my own books based off of the challenge I wrote below. Feel free to follow along on my Goodreads page and our Instagram to join in the challenge with me!
The food coloring can stain so if you want to avoid that, you’ll need gloves
Paper towels or a few towels you don’t mind possibly getting stained.
*I used gel food but powder & liquid food coloring works just as well. ** Casserole dishes or aluminum pans work great!
Directions:
Add cool whip to containers of choice ( if you’re planning on doing individual colors you’ll want a few small containers but if you’re planning on tie-dying the eggs then I recommend the casserole dishes.
Add food coloring to your cool whip & mix with a knife or skewer to leave a swirl design.
Roll your eggs into the cool whip and let sit for 10 minutes.
Gently wipe & dab the cool whip off the eggs. If this is too messy you can fill a medium sized bowl with cool water and dip the eggs in the water to rinse, then set aside to dry.
Eggs in Dye Before It was Swirled
Swirled for Tie Dye Effect
Another Color Combination We Tried- Yellow Doesn’t Show Up As Well if You Choose to Rinse the Eggs
1 15 oz can of sweet potatoes (with nothing added); drained
3 tbs margarine cut into cubes
1-2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar; packed
1 cup crushed pecans
Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 9×13 casserole dish
Directions
Pour sweet potatoes in a large bowl & add margarine, cinnamon, & brown sugar.
Mix with hand mixer until combined.
Pour into casserole dish and use the back of a spoon to smooth out the top.
Sprinkle crushed pecans and extras cinnamon to taste over the top.
Bake for 30 minutes
Serve and Enjoy!
To Make Ahead:
Follow all directions but don’t bake it. Instead, cover & refrigerate. When ready to bake remove from fridge & allow to reach room temp (about 20 minutes) then bake according to directions above.
Preheat oven to 450° if you made your own pie crust; if using store bought then preheat oven to 350°. Grease 9 inch pie plate. We use this recipe.
Put apple cubes in a large bowl and add the sugar and cinnamon. Stir until the apples are fully coats and then set aside.
Put the butter in a medium sized bowl and add the sugar.
Sift the flour and cinnamon into the butter and sugar. Stir until crumbly.
If using homemade pie crust: you want to put it in your pie plate and bake at 450° for 10 minutes when this is done turn the oven down to 350°. If using store bought pie crust: put the crust in your pie plate; don’t prebake.
Pour apple filling into pie plate and cover evenly with crumbs*
Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until the edges look golden brown.
* If I have left over pie crust I’ll sometimes cut that and use it on top of my pie over top of the crumb filling. You can make a design or do the standard lattice.
3/4 cup Crisco shortening (I used the sticks of Crisco & cut it into cubes)
3-6 tbs cold water
Directions
Sift flour into a large bowl and sprinkle table salt over top.
Cut shortening into the flour until the shortening pieces are the size of peas (I use a butter knife in each hand and make slicing motions into the flour).
Add water one tablespoon at a time until all the Crisco “peas” are moistened. You don’t want to use too much water, you only need enough to form a ball from the dough. Be sure that you don’t overmix, the crust will get tough.
Form the dough into a ball and set out on a floured surface.
Cut the dough ball in half and roll up each half into a ball. Set one half aside.
Using a rolling pin (we recommend this one to ensure you get the right thickness) roll out each half of your dough to 1/8″ thick.
If using a pie recipe that requires the entirety of the pie to be baked then follow those specific directions for baking the crust.
For Pastry Filling: Bake at 450° for 10-12 minutes and let cool completely before filling.
To Freeze: After rolling out pie dough flour the top, flip the dough over & flour the back. Lay out a large piece of shrink wrap on a clean surface and gently lay the pie dough onto the shrink wrap. Fold one end of shrink wrap over an edge of the dough and gently roll up the dough so that there is shrink wrap between rolled layers & on the outside of the dough roll. Let warm up a little before unrolling.
10 Easter basket stuffer ideas for kids that aren’t candy!
#1 Name Letter Shape Puzzle: These beautiful baltic birch personalized puzzles make a great gift for kids who are learning their letters, shapes, and how to spell their name! Handmade by BloomOwl on Amazon these puzzles come in a variety of colors and are made with non-toxic paint as well as food grade sealer!
#3 Stacking Montessori Rainbow Toy: This 7 piece colorful rainbow by EcoWorkShop is made with eco-friendly material & child-safe wood stain.
#4 Jumbo Dinosaur Eggs: Each of these jumbo eggs features a fun dino car inside!
#5 Crochet Bunny: This plush crochet bunny features embroidered and is stuffed with a high quality poly. This bunny would make the perfect gift for a little one to cherish for years to come.
#6 Wooden Interlocking Letter Name Puzzle: Here’s another name puzzle but this time the letters interlock so it can sit on a shelf or dresser. This beautiful puzzle made by Little Wooden Wonders in Minnesota is made with solid hard wood & is custom cut at time of order.
#7 Hedgehog Push Toy: Handmade by Dennis here at Cherished Cottage, this hedgehog toy is made from solid wood & painted/stained using non-toxic material so it’s child safe!
#9 Custom Name Crayons: Fun & colorful crayons come in a clear box that shows off the child’s name. The reviews state that the crayons ship fast and come the colors are vibrant.
#10 Big book of Easter Mazes: For ages 4-12 this book of 120 mazes is a fun activity to keep the kids busy Easter morning while they’re waiting to hunt for eggs or have Easter dinner with family.
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** The opinions/views shared in this post are solely that of the author. Some links might be affiliate links.
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