Casserole Slow Cooker

I got a new Crock Pot. I love slow cookers and my newest is a rectangular one designed for casseroles. I read the reviews and some had trouble with cooking times. I didn't have any trouble, but I did forget to reduce the liquid and you can see I have a bit of soup in mine. 

I made a scallop potato recipe. I'll give the regular recipe and then what I suggest for the slow cooker. 

Scallop Potatoes
4 large potatoes cleaned, peeled, and sliced thin.
1 pound of cubed ham.
1 1/2 cups of chopped celery.
1 1/2 cups of frozen peas.
1 cup of milk. (1/2 cup if using slow cooker).
1/4 cup of flour.
1 packet of dry onion soup mix.
16 ounces of shredded cheese.

Layer potatoes, ham, celery, and peas in 9X13 pan or slow cooker. Mix milk, flour, and onion soup mix thoroughly and pour over casserole. If baking, then add the cheese over the top. If using a slow cooker, wait until about 15 minutes before the dish if finished cooking. 

Bake at 350 for 1 hour. If using slow cooker, follow the instructions for your slow cooker. For the rectangular slow cooker, my potatoes were cut thick and it took about 6 hours on high. 

Personalizing Lunch Boxes

 I don't sew as quickly as I would like to. So if someone needs a lunch box immediately, I won't be able to sew it in time. I bought a lunch box and then I personalized it for the recipient. 

It was difficult to sew through some parts of the outer material. I didn't cover all of the lunch box because cutting out the odd pieces would have been awkward for me. 

In the future, I may use this idea for personalizing other purchased items that I didn't have time to sew from scratch. 

My First Mug Rug

Here is my first mug rug. It will be a holiday gift for one of my husband's friends. 

I am beginning to lose my interest in novelty fabrics. The only creative part that I did for this mug rug was to add the long white stripe and then add the block of stripes between the helmet and the C on the left side. I really did not know what to do with the fabric as it was rather busy and I didn't want to minimize the Chicago Bears print.