Sweet & Sour Chicken Make Ahead Freezer Meals

Freezer Meals!

Made with love,

For the busy people, elderly, and working parents of today.

 

Here is what you need.

The containers $1 at the dollar store for a pkg of 3

A marker to write the name & date of the meal

 

Today I'm going to show you a sweet and sour chicken freezer meal.

 

Cooked Basmati rice, cooked carrots from Brookfield Gardens PEI, Chicken from a local Farm Gate small producer named The Egg Man of Hunter River, PEI.

 

 

 

 

 

Directions:

Cook rice set aside, cut and cook carrots set aside. Cook chicken in a slow cooker - cool and refrigerate overnight.

The next day make the sweet and sour sauce.

Sweet & Sour Sauce

1. 1/4 cup brown sugar
2. 1/4 teaspoon of salt
3. 1 Tablespoon of ketchup
4. 1/2 cup of pineapple juice/chicken stock/or water
5. 3 tablespoons of rice vinegar
6. 1-2 Tablespoons of light soy sauce
7. 2 teaspoons of cornstarch stired into 2 Tablespoons of water.

I double this recipe easily. Place 1-6 in a pot on medium heat and bring to just before a boil. Mix 2 tsp of cornstarch with the 2 Tbs of water. Pour into the sweet and sour sauce and cook until thickens, then cool.

 

Cut up the chicken into cubes.

Fill your containers with the cooled rice/carrots and then add the sauce to the cut up chicken and put it into the containers. Label the lid with the name and date and heating instructions ex: thaw in fridge, heat 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Enjoy from Grandma's Afternoon,

Cindy

 

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Etsy Marketing & Sales

We the Artisans and Etsy marketers try to break the trend of going from zero sales to the first sale.

Finding the niche and market for our on-line goods is hard.

Etsy shop owners like seaglassing https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/seaglassing are out there but they compete with a bazillion other artisans with the same product idea. How do we stand out? how can we be unique? How do we get sales? Do we have a select market and direct product just there? Who has the answers?

We have a product, we craft for all different reasons, and we run out of family to give these gifts away to. We are mothers, crafters, taxi drivers, nurses, time stretchers, and yet we all want to polinate like a Bee turning the pollen into rich honey. Everyone says we are amazing, "oh you should sell these" This is beautiful! But does anyodne buy it?

I've had a booth at events and it is hard as an artisan to hear someone say, "Martha, you got buckets of sea glass? look you could do that! It can't be that hard."

Come on people we artisans are struggling, don't insult us while we struggle, at the very least walk away and say these sort of things. Live market is one thing.

Selling on line is another thing.

I have an etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/seaglassing, part of marketing is where I put the link right here https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/seaglassing right now. Not for you to buy, but just for you to visit, visitors get other visitors. Do you know having a Pinterest account and following other on Pinterest, and following sellers on Etsy is a good way to get noticed? I blog as well. I know, I don't blog much in the summer as life is hectic but I love taking pictures of my product but most of all I love to get comments on the pictures.

Do you have a story to tell. People love to hear how you started, what you do and why, maybe someone about the product you use.

Ghost Bead Bracelets

The photo below is a product I made special order off my https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/seaglassing seaglassing shop. A Grandmother asked me to make a special order for her grand-daughter who lost her bracelet awhile back and is so upset. That might be the story although true, I created this for her and it sells for $3.75.

But the story is the Ghost Beads,

The wee brown ones.

These are juniper berries off a cedar tree. They fall to the ground, ants nibble off the end and eat the centre. Artisans collect and drill out the other end making them into a bead. Why? Well it is a Navaho tradition that women years ago made these ghost bead necklaces for children to wear or hang over a baby crib if the child had bad dreams and nightmares. These beaded items connect the earth, the trees, the animals and humans. The Ghost Bead brings peace, harmony, safety and protection to the person wearing them.

Putting product on facebook gets comments. Will it generate sales, not likely but it does generate traffic if you post a link to your etsy account at the same time, oppps there is that sales pitch again, https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/seaglassing nice how I just stick this in.

They say a person has to read or hear a name 7 times before they start to actually show trust and acknowledgement that they know this person or business, 7 times so that means I have to post a link to my seaglassing etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/seaglassing another one more time before you might come for a visit, lol.

If I can share anything I know.

Print business cards and pass them out to everyone who sees or comments on your products, wear your own making, talk it up. After all it is a great product or you wouldn't take the time to make it.

Share your etsy name with me so I can visit soon.

Bye for now,

Cindy on Etsy seaglassing.ca https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/seaglassing

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Tea Gift for Tea Lovers of Prince Edward Island

TEA-RIFFIC

Tea gift giving ideas from Grandmas Teas

 

 

This Vintage Rose Queen Anne Tea Cup and Saucer is included with Island memorabilia making this a tea drinkers dream box.

65g of our best English Breakfast tea

Disposable paper tea bags

Wild blueberry tea / Anne's favourite

A tea pot tea strainer

PEI Island tartan tea towel

3 photos of PEI

Tea scrapbooking for card making

A "tea time in PEI" card

 

 

 

A Tea Time Gift Box ready to ship

What better way to say I love you than with tea!

Great for teachers gifts, grandmothers, or somone who needs a pick me up.

Find on Etsy at MadeByGrandmasHands https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/MadeByGrandmasHands

Enjoy your day,

Cindy

Seems that cindy@besidethetrail.ca hasn't been working and I'm just finding out that the profile email stopped working ??? Whenever. I've fixed it now and I can be reached.

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A bike hike into town

I want to Blog!

I've been away so long I think I've forgotten how,

I lost all my blog friends,

I've been so blog lonely lately and don't know where to start.

Breathe!

 

Let me start by saying, "I"m sorry". Sorry for staying away, and sorry for not just jumping on here to say, "hey, I've been busy with our tourism year and not had a chance to visit you or to blog."

 

Forgive me?

Nice, thank you!

 

Yesterday,

I gave some time to exercise,contemplating and cobwebs. First thing was getting the cobwebs off my bike, second was contemplating how windy it really was, third thing was pushing past the wind and getting that all needed exercise. So I biked into Charlottetown, to Wendy's in fact for a favourite of mine, come bike wiht me.

The day wonderful,

the salad was the apple, pecan with roasted chicken, oh magnificent,

and then a stop at the grocery store to pick up a little that always turns into a lot.

The ride home pushed past cow pastures and hay fields, the memory strikes me vividly - I was looking down at the pee gravel path when the strong smell of fresh cut field caught my attention. The sun was jumping through the hedge row that lined both sides of the Confederation Trail and I came to a short small clearing pointing to where the fresh hay smell came from. Just as I cleared the hedge row a box on the back of a tractor pooped out a large bail, giggling over the ordeal as I thought of #6 grand-daughter and how she finds humour in everything. I pushed on past, realizing although the trail was a safer ride it was 4 klm longer than If I'd rode from town on the highway.

Home with the groceries.

The Asian pears were on sale but heavy for the ride.

Hummus on the bottom of the pile and pita to the right. The back is everything bagels - two only because I had to buy to get the sale price and herb cream cheese to go with.

Nice fruit, very watery, not so sweet but gritty. Hubby likes them and they were on sale. I tried to imagine these heavy things growing on a tree and my imagination saw them all falling to the ground.

Thank you for stopping by,

If you have come this far leave me a short note so I can return the visit and start my routine back up again.

Take care,

We care,

Cindy

 

 

 

 

 

~00~ Grandma (aka Cindy) or Crafting - http://scrapandwrap.ca

 

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Ghost Bead Bracelets

Ghost Bead Bracelets

Bangles

Galore

Pink, blue, brown, white, yellow, orange, green purple and black.

A Sale on Inventory

Visit my Etsy shop at

Seaglassing

 

Ghost Bead Story

Ghost Beads are the seed of the cedar or juniper tree (Story)

The juniper berry falls to the ground and when ants find these little seeds. The ant then chews off one end and eat the inside of the berry. The Juniper berry is hollow easily to be dried out. Artisans make a hole in the opposite end of the berry and string them in harmony with nature to be worn to ward off evil spirits bringing the wearer protection and harmony. The tradition holds a legend that the person given the necklace is protected from evil spirits, ghosts and of nightmares.

These beads are of nature and are a perfect gift, also if not to be worn these beads could be hung in your bedroom, reading place, work space over a crib or anywhere wishing to be at peace and with nature and harmony in life.
On my trip across Canada September 2014 I purchased strings of Juniper berries to make my necklaces in the Grand Canyon Region, a magnificent spot. Juniper Berries are a hot item and hard to keep in stock. I don't sell the berries themselves however do us them in my necklaces.

Thanks for viewing

Cindy

 

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The Bazaar Truth Behind Crochet Slippers

Once you start crocheting them you can't stop!

Our road trip was 49 days, and we went to some wonderful places that I never blogged about because

I was making slippers on the road.

I call it Road Work,

So here is a glimpse of my

Baby Booties

 

 

 

 

Lady Slippers

 

These are great for anyone who is

older

diabetic

and has problems with cold feet.

 

Even Men's Slippers

 

Do you or someone you know need warm feet?

Order slippers MadeByGrandmasHands on Etsy.

Slippers, Hats, Mitts

My favourite is "Pussy'N Boots" hat and mitts set.

Have you ever visited a new mom and baby in the hospital and wondered what to take her for a gift? Ya, me too.

Well I've made this simple with

"Mom & Me" Slippers

These come in all colours

Pick your size S, M, L and newborn 0-3 months and colour and email me @ ccousineau@eastlink.ca and I'll be sure to fill your need a gift plan.

Oh and if you are shopping local and are picking up on PEI, contact me so you don't have to pay shipping charges.

Thanks for stopping by,

Cindy

 

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What to do with all your feed bags

You'll know I'm visiting NC from Prince Edward Island, right?

Ya, well I'm not home but this feels like home as it is my daughter's place and we head down here once a year to visit all the brute. That is the 8 children and 58 Chicklen's she has.

Yesterday Grandpa and I took up some noodle leftovers of the kids and watched Chicken TV.

Chicken TV

A large container with lid in the carport holds layer ration. Around this container are empty bags of feed. What to do with all these feed bags was my first thought. My second thought was to sew up a tot bag. Days ago I was at a consignement store and picked up what appeared to be an insert for Thirty-One bag You can find Thirty-One Bags from Victoria MacLeod as she sells 31 www.mythirtyone.ca/2588104/shop/hostess Pockets both inside and out, wow this will do for my daily craft jobs. However it didn't have a handle on it, hum. I'll take it anyway and think of something later, was my thought. So when I saw how cute these feed bags were I made a carry all for my junk.

Feed Bag Tot

Notice how the "Wise' is top and centre?

 

I love this little hen on the side.

This is the insert

 

Yes, I know it has something like 9 pockets on the outside and another 8 on the inside but I was so excited it fit I just tossed everything in to get the picture. Now I need to work on being organized before Margie from the Joy of Organizing http://www.joyoforganizing.ca/ will be knocking on my door. If you need help with organizing anything she is a great person to work with.

Until I return, God bless take care,

Cindy

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Itchy arms and I scratch until it bleeds

(Graffic pictures ahead)

I have visiting doctor's over the years. My family doctor has prescribed a number of things for me to try even had the pharmacy mix old remidies to try to releave this itch. I've been to two dermitologists, had a skin sample ( didn't get any results ) was given a prescription to try. Sometimes I have been places where a doctor has said to me outloud, "you have old people's skin, you are too young to have that." I've looked after elderly people, seen this and have no idea what it is.

I can wake up in the morning and my pillows and sheets have blood on them from where I've scratched myself until it bleeds. I feel like a cat with scotch tape stuck to it's paws, as I spend countless hours through the day being careful not to touch the area, as soon as it is touched it reacts by getting itchy just as new hair growth makes you itchy if you shave your privates.

My daughter tries to help she is anaesthician, she has been waxing my arms for years. I get relief when there is no hair on my arms. I can feel the hair grow, I feel it move, I feel it tingle.

My other daughter puts ice on my arm, while I get some together time as she rubs a piece of ice back and forth it seems to be the only thing that gives me relief however it isn't long lived.

It isn't a rash, it is blood that has surfaced the skin just from itching. It doesn't blister like chicken pox however I carry the virus and have had shingles twice now and been sucessfully treated. I've had allergy testing done and shows I'm allergic to dust. It is also on a few other areas of my leg and back but not as bad. My arms are the worst.

I'm going through a bought of this now, however seems I'm never fully realived of it. just gets milder sometimes.

The itchy areas will actually rise up.

 

 

 

Here are somethings I've tried

 

I get relief from allergy meds as I have a very low tolerance to medication and it puts me to sleep, ei - giving me realief. This blue star seems to be the same as vick's. The betaderm is prescribed for red irittation of the scalp that I get also very itchy, and it has a lot of alcohol in it and well you can guess. The other is a prescribed antibiotic that I use and it doesn't take the itch away however it will kill germs and keep away an infection. I have found I get relief from ice or a glass of wine. This leads me to believe it isn't in my head as the nerve endings stop tingling and I get some temporary relief.

I have now moved to another source of treatment as I've left Canada and I'm visiting my daughter in North Carolina and a visit to a doctor here might be pointless as well very costly.

This is horse lineament and ointment.

 

I'm about to try this. I know it is for horses, dogs & cats. I'm aware of the first aid lables, the dangers and have read the active ingredients. I'm at my witts end, or my scratching end.

 

The scratching seems to consume great parts of my day and concentration keeping me from doing things I'd like to be doing or enjoying.

signed itchy scratchy

 

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Crochet Felt Insole Slippers

Once a year I visit my daughter and 8 grand-children in North Carolina. At Christmas time we spend the odd numbered years in Prince Edward Island with our two children and three grand-children, then the even numbered years we are in North Carolina for Christmas. We are here in NC we arrived yesterday and I got the biggest hug in the world from Jennifer my daughter just after she hugged grandpa first, lol.

 

On the drive down I crochet slippers and filled orders that I took over the Christmas holidays, have a peek.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've been mailing these beauties all over Canada and the USA. The cost is Small $10 Medium $12 and Large $15 all booties are $10 a pair plus shipping and handling. the baby booties can be purchased on my

Etsy shop

Now, that all my children moved from the big city of Ottawa to rural areas they are all farmers, I find that funny. My daughter here works for a farm equipment company and farms fresh eggs and I'll be taking chicken pictures soon. My son works for a turkey farmer and he has his own farm chicken/eggs/beef and my daughter is living operating their dairy farm.

No me, I like to visit them, I'm still a city girl, lol

cindy

 

 

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