FINALLY!!!

I have some exciting news for my poor, sad, deprived followers. Once Christmas is over with, I'll be posting all the awesome crafts I've been working on for the past month. I can't wait to share it with you. Keep an eye out!!!

Zesty Noodles and Cheese

Pictures coming soon!

Apparently, I'm into "zesty" recipes right now. This recipe is really easy to alter to fit the amount of spiciness your family likes.

You'll need:

     16 oz. box of pasta

     16 oz. sliced deli ham, chopped

     4 cups shredded cheddar

     1 1/2 cups milk

     1 cup heavy cream

     1/2 cup sour cream

     2 tsp. ground mustard

     2 tbsp. worcestershire sauce

     1 tbsp. franks red hot sauce

     salt and pepper to taste

     1 1/2 cups italian bread crumbs

     1 cup melted butter

     paprika

In a 9x13 baking dish, combine ham, 3 cups cheddar, milk, cream, sour cream, ground mustard, sauces, salt and pepper. Prepare pasta per box instructions then drain and add to dish. (If you're mixture doesn't seem creamy enough at this point you can add a little more milk)  Mix bread crumbs and butter and sprinkle on top of other ingredients. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Sprinkle some paprika on last and then bake at 350 for thirty minutes. 

Coconut Rice

I get a little bored with plain white rice sometimes so I came up with a yummy coconut rice recipe. This isn't necessarily healthy, but it's not bad for you and my kids seemed to like it a lot. It's actually really simple, too!

You'll need:
     1 cup basmati rice
     1 cup coconut milk
     1 1/4 cup water
     salt and pepper to taste
     a couple of shakes of parsley

Combine all ingredients in a pot, bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit for another five minutes or until ready to serve. It will stay hot in the pot for an hour as long as you keep it covered. Do not uncover to stir until you are ready to serve. Makes two cups prepared.

 This goes really good with spicy dishes, like exotic chicken recipes. Enjoy!

My Healthy QUICK Lunch

I decided to try this lunch out yesterday. I've been eating healthier, but have come to realize that sometimes healthy delicious lunches can take a bit of time to prepare. This one is super quick and easy. I made couscous on the stove, which is very simple. Just boil the water, remove from heat, add the couscous and leave it covered until the rest is ready. I heated the frozen spinach in the microwave, then added a little salt and pepper. Then I heated some canned tomatoes in the microwave and added a little bit of salt and pepper to them. The whole plate was less than 500 calories and I couldn't even finish it. Very filling, yummy, and healthy!

Say it with Java!

I found this pumpkin block at the thrift store for a dollar. I brought it home, painted and decorated it. I've been trying to find things to use my extra coffee beans on. I might add a little head on the circle to make it look like a turkey for Thanksgiving.

I put it on the front porch with my other Fall decorations. 

I already had all these materials lying around my house. I just threw a bunch of stuff together to make a cute little basket decoration. It's on my front porch, too.

Apparently my new stylish decor was just what the local wildlife had been waiting for.

This lamp was given to me by my friend Whitney, (I told you we would be seeing that stuff on here). It was a plain silk lampshade. All I did was glue some coffee beans on it for extra texture. I was going to save this lamp to go on my night stand when I finally get one, but Phillip usurped it for his room.

The Lack Thereof

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't had any new posts lately. We've had a lot going on at home. I promise there will be some awesome new posts this week!

I Love Balls!!!

Okay, I couldn't resist that title. I guess I'm 13 today. Anyway, here are the latest decor balls I've come up with. The coffee bean balls I've seen all over the web, but I have no idea who to give credit to. The suede balls were my own creation. I'm sure you've noticed that I like purposefully sloppy looking stuff. Must be the hippie in me.

Coffee bean ball - I used a tennis ball and fabric glue, and just glued as I went along. Spray paint the ball before glueing the beans on.

Suede ball - I used a tennis ball, fabric glue and strips of suede. I glued the strips on in random places until the entire ball was covered.

Here is a display of all the different decor balls I have made. I think I'm in love!!! I still have a few more different kinds to try out.

Slow Cooker Barbecue Chicken

The original recipe for this chicken can be found here, but I tweaked it a bit to fit the ingredients I had on hand. It turned out really well and got a big thumbs up from my boys.

You'll need:

6 chicken breasts
1/2 c balsamic vinaigrette
1/4 c brown sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce

I just put everything in the slow cooker for 8 hours on low, and shredded half way through.

Restaurant Review: "Buddy's Italian Restaurant" of Idaho Falls

When you're ready for a fresh, authentic Italian meal, Buddy's is there to oblige. So what can you expect from this spacious, elegantly decorated establishment? Here's my rundown.

At a first glance, I almost didn't believe what I was seeing. The menu seemed very expensive. Almost too much for a regular date night. I mentioned to my husband that we could just have a drink and go somewhere else, but he said we should just stay. The waitress came over and was very helpful. It turns out the $20 entrees are big enough for two people to share, and they come with a drink, an antipasto, garlic bread, salad, and dessert. We decided this was a good option for us. One of the entree options was two 1/2 orders of pasta with meatballs in your choice of marinara or alfredo sauce. Mike chose rigatoni in marinara sauce, and I chose ravioli in alfredo sauce.

The first thing to arrive was our antipasto and salad. I'm not a huge fan of fancy meats and cheeses, but Mike really liked them. there were about ten thinly sliced pieces of salami, pepperoni, and cheese on a little saucer, along with a couple of mini peppers. Very small, but tasty and unexpected. The waitress brought a huge bowl of salad. Definitely big enough for two. If I could describe the salad in a word, it would be.... refreshing. Finally, a salad I can actually dig in to! The lettuce was fresh and crisp, and the dressing was phenomenal. You don't get any dressing options, there is just the Buddy's dressing. But it's delicious so I didn't mind at all.

Next we gout our bread. The waitress had suggested that she really likes the garlic bread topped with cheese, so we decided to give it a try. It was crispy, garlicy, and cheesy... no surprises, but    still yummy.

It took about 25 minutes before we got our entrees. This seems like a long time, but they make their ravioli from scratch when you order it. It even says on the menu that it takes longer to prepare. I can see why. My ravioli was amazing. Just one bite and I was hooked. The ravioli itself was divine, but coupled with their alfredo sauce, to die for! I was intrigued by the one huge meatball on the plate. Interesting and unique. It tasted pretty great, too!

It would be unfair for me to review Mike's entree, so the rest of this paragraph will be in his words.  WILL UPDATE TOMORROW

Magic Cookie Bars

WARNING:  CONTAINS CALORIES

Oh man, I'm going to kill Whitney for introducing me to this dessert. I'm guessing I'm going to gain about 2 pounds this month, ha ha. My boys loved these silly things. Here's what you'll need:

1/2 c margarine, melted
1 1/3 c graham cracker crumbs
1 c dried cranberries or crushed walnuts
3/4 c butterscotch chips
3/4 c chocolate chips
1 1/2 c coconut flakes
1 1/3 c sweetened condensed milk

In a 9x13 pan, layer the ingredients in the order seen. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until coconut starts to brown. Allow adequate time to cool, then cut into 16 squares and enjoy!

Rice Ball

  Okay, so how many people thought this was a recipe??? Come on, be honest now. Gotcha!!! This is actually a post for more decor balls. I've seen pinto bean balls around, but I didn't have any beans of any kind. All I had in my pantry was rice. Still super cute and fun!

This isn't how my display is actually going to look, just wanted a picture of all the balls I've made together,

I've Created a Monster!!!

Okay, so maybe not a real live monster. I have seen these types of toys for sale in the store for up to twenty dollars a piece. Kind of ridiculous if you ask me. So i got about seventy five cents worth of material and made one for Danny. It was a bit labor intensive figuring out a pattern and cutting all the pieces, but i really like it. I'm probably going to make ten or fifteen to sell at the craft fair. I will post a tutorial soon.

Zesty Chicken Soup

A delicious chicken and tomato based soup, derived from my popular  "Taco Soup."

64 oz. chicken broth

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1 tablespoon onion powder

3 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 onion, chopped
3 teaspoons minced garlic
1 (16 ounce) jar chunky salsa
2 (14.5 ounce) cans italian diced tomatoes
1 (28 oz ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
2 (16 ounce) cans chili beans, undrained
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream

Put everything in a 7QT soup pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for half an hour. Remove and dice the chicken, then return it to the pot. Simmer an additional thirty minutes. Serve by itself or with dinner rolls. 

Hairbows

Here's a little sneak peak of some of the hair bows I will be selling at the craft fair.

Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches

Sorry for the lack of pictures. It was a crazy day, and I just wanted to get dinner over with. That said, here is what you'll need:

2 lbs. Shredded beef

Minced garlic

Olive oil

1/2 Red onion, chopped

Place all the above ingredients in a crockpot on low for 8-10 hours.

Buns

1 c. Miracle Whip

1 tsp. Minced garlic

Shredded mozzarella

Mix the miracle whip and garlic and set them in the fridge until beef is tender and you're ready to assemble the sandwiches. 

Preheat the oven to 500, slather buns with miracle whip mixture, then top with meat and mozzarella cheese. Bake until cheese is melted.

Very yummy, and my favorite part... SUPER EASY!!!

Antiqued Candlesticks

Remember these candlesticks I bought at the thrift store for 75 cents each? Well, I decided to antique them in the same almond finish I have in my dining room and put them in the curio cabinet.

I used Krylon brand almond spray paint with satin finish. I very lightly coated them from a distance twice, allowing drying time in between. 

I really like the way they came out. It was so easy.

Decorative Hemp Balls

I've seen people doing this for a long time now. I have always wanted to try it, but I'm usually not a big stickler for messy projects. And boy let me tell ya, this one is messy with a capital "M." 

You only need three things. Mod Podge, (or whatever glue you like to use) hemp, and balloons.

First blow your balloons up slightly smaller than the size ball you want. Then wrap the hemp around the balloon to figure out how much you will need.

Next pour some mod podge into a container and saturate your hemp.

Now wrap your balloon in the hemp in whatever pattern you choose. This WILL be messy!

Next lay them out to dry. Do not pop the balloons until the string is 100% dry. Otherwise, your hemp ball is likely to collapse in on itself. I would say twelve hours is a good drying time.

Now pop the balloons with a needle, and pull them out by the tied end.

Viola! These are so cute and make wonderful table decorations. You can leave them this color, spray paint them, decorate with accessories, whatever you wish. You might want to remove some of the dried glue with tweezers.

Funky Halloween Inspired Shirt

I've been really into "scrappy" flowers lately. I love how messy and down to earth they are. It makes me think of a simpler time. With that in mind, I don't have any Halloween themed clothing. I did however find this old orange t-shirt in my closet.

I roughly cut out some different sized circles of white and green striped fabric. I don't like the perfect circles. These are much more fun, and they sort of remind me of monster eyeballs.

I sewed around the edges with a double stitch, leaving enough room for them to fray in the wash.

I used an "x" in the middle to sew them onto the shirt.

My finished product. I think this shirt is "sew" cute and fun.

Picture-less Scrapbooking

I've been way to lazy to print pictures lately, so I've been scrapbooking without them. I just try to have an idea in my mind of which pictures I'm going to use. Here is what I did the last two weeks. As soon as I get the pics, I will be sewing them on.