Chalk painting wood candlesticks

I found some plain wood, boring candlesticks & decided to chalk paint them. I painted them with chalk paint mixed with a little beige acrylic. I waited for them to dry then distressed them by rubbing a nail file in various places to rub the paint off. I think they look pretty cool. Decorations on the cheap!

Mexican Bean Soup

I kind of combined 2 recipes for this soup, but my husband absolutely loved it! It was so quick & healthy!

 

1 package frozen corn 

1 small onion chopped

1 can black beans rinsed

1 can large kidney beans rinsed

2 cans rotel (kind w/chilies)

6 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 can enchilada sauce

1-2 cups tubetti or other small soup pasta

2 tsp cumin

1 tablespoon chili powder

Cilantro, salt, pepper, coriander if wish

You may also add sauteed peppers if you wish (I didn't because hubby doesn't like)

Saute onion, add other ingredients except pasta, which you add last. Cook till pasta is tender & soup is warm. You can serve with tortilla chips, shredded cheddar, soup cream etc. if you choose.

~ Enjoy! 

Salt dough Crafts

Easy salt dough recipe:

1 cup flour
1 cup salt
1/2 cup water
Mix and roll out with rolling pin. Shape as you wish, or cut out with cookie cutters. You can also stamp the dough to make embossed design.

Bake 250 for a few hours until hard. Cool & paint if you wish.

You can use these for:

Kids dough crafts, Christmas ornaments, ornaments for gift bags, decorations for the home, etc.

I will show ornaments I made, then will update when I use these ornaments in various ways. :)

EASY Pasta Salad Appetizer for a crowd

 

 

Ingredients: 

Broccoli

Salami

Red & Yellow cherry tomatoes

button mushrooms

Artichoke hearts marinated

hearts of palm

chunks of cheese

parmesan shredded cheese

Mozzarella balls

salad dressing

Cooked tortellini

Green & black olives

I use as much as each item as I see fit. It's up to you how much you'd like to use. Cut all items into bite size pieces & toss with dressing

Sprinkle with a little parmesan cheese & toss again. You can serve with toothpicks if cut into larger pieces, or serve as a pasta salad.

Enjoy!

Around the Home

 

Savory Mushroom Crepes

Crepes

2 eggs
1 cup milk
2/3 cup all purpose flour
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil

Blend all ingredients in magic bullet, food processor or blender. Spray cooking spray onto a medium saute pan. When pan is hot, add thin layer of crepe mixture & swirl around to coat pan. Cook until bubbly, then flip. Cook on other side until lightly browned. Transfer to paper towel lined platter. Do this until mixture is used up.

In same pan, saute cut up mushrooms & onions with a little olive oil. Season with a dash of salt/pepper & a generous pinch of thyme.

Put this mushroom mixture onto a crepe & sprinkle with fresh parmesan cheese & parsley. You can eat as is, or roll.  

*Very tasty & very low on weight watchers points! Bonus!

Quick & Light Lunch

Tortilla
Lo-fat Plain Greek Yogurt
Black beans
Srirachi sauce
Lettuce
tomatoes
corn
onions
cucumbers
Cilantro
shredded parmesan cheese

Make your salad (ingredients as you desire) on plate.

Spray flat pan with cooking spray. In pan Put your tortilla & fill with beans, onions, corn & cheese. Fold in half & cook each side until lightly browned. Remove from stove top & put on salad, top with srirachi sauce & a dollop of yogurt. Sprinkle chopped cilantro on top. YUM! Filling, quick, healthy & light! Note: You can fill with whatever ingredients you choose.

Roasted Baby Red Potatoes & Asparagus

This is a very quick & easy side dish!

Simply chop the baby red potatoes into bite sized pieces. Pinch off the bottom of the asparagus, then cut into thirds. Chop 1 onion & add to bowl with potatoes & red onion. You can pre-season with dressing & chopped garlic if you like also until ready to cook.

For dressing: Mix olive oil, salt/pepper, rosemary seasoning mix (can find in spice aisle of grocery store, either packet, or TJmaxx has a nice rosemary mixture I like to stock up on & use too.

Toss all ingredients gently, but well, till coated. Pop into 350 degree oven & cook until potatoes & asparagus get lightly browned & softened. ~ Enjoy!

Spanish Salad

 

Ingredients:

Baby Kale spring salad mix

Avocado

cherry tomatoes

black beans

frozen corn

red onion

Cilantro

For dressing:

Cumin, Olive Oil, garlic (through garlic press)

Lime, salt/pepper

Simply put kale in bottom of bowl. then cut the avocado into slices. Cut the Onion into little bits, rinse the black beans, cook the corn, chop the cilantro, cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Then layer these items in sections on top of the lettuce mix & top with the chopped cilantro.

For Dressing: add olive oil, cumin, lime, salt/pepper, garlic (pressed) to taste. ~ Enjoy!! 

Lemon Cake with Chocolate Frosting

I made this cake for my kids to take over my ex husband's house for his birthday. They brought us a piece & it was YUMMY!!! So good & you know it doesn't have all the chemicals that are probably in the box mixes. I made it in a bundt pan & drizzled the chocolate sauce over the top & looked fancy too!

Lemon Cake:

3 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3 cups sugar
1 cup butter (room temp)
1/2 cup shortening (room temp), I used butter flavored shortening
5 large eggs
1 cup milk
6 tbsp lemon juice
1 lemon zested

Spray flour cooking spray on bundt pan

Add all ingredients together & mix until blended. Pour batter into pan. Bake at 350 degree's until center comes out clean, about an hour. Cool in pan.

Chocolate Frosting:

2 3/4 cups confectioners sugar
6 tbsp. butter
5 tbsp evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Add Dry ingredients in bowl. Beat other ingredients in until blended. You can change texture by adding more sugar or milk to taste. Pour over cooled cake (which is popped out of pan right side up). Enjoy!!!

Garden veggie tomato soup & pasta

I served this with honey beer bread & was delish!!! Everyone loved it & used up garden veggies.

Put onions cut up on bottom of cooking sheet. Put cut up tomatoes on top. Roast 350 degrees 20 minutes. Add garlic, 2 cloves chopped to top, salt/pepper & some cooking sherry. Continue roasting until tender. Put roasted mixture into food processor with some rosemary seasoning & crust bread. Blend until chunky/soupy. Pour into dish. 

For pasta i sautéed corn & cherry tomatoes with butter & broth. Season with salt/pepper & add chopped fresh basil. Add cooked pasta, toss & add shaved parmesan cheese. Serve with homemade beer bread, or crusty loaf & real butter. Enjoy! 

Quick Garden veggie dinner

Bisquick 1 1/4 cup

2 eggs 

1/3 cup parm cheese

1 cup milk

Salt/pepper

Rosemary/garlic seasoning

Zucchini cut up

Tomatoes cut up

Onion cut up

Put cut up veggies bottom of baking dish. Add remaining ingredients put on top. Bake 350 degrees 35-40 minutes. Serve with salad with veggies from the garden! 

Quinoa bean chili

Got this recipe off of pinterest & tweaked it a little.  

Bag of quinoa chili cooked

Can of corn

1 large onion chopped

Can of black beans

Can of kidney beans

Tomatoes in olive oil & garlic

1 can tomato paste

Chicken orveggie broth 

1/2 tsp.Cayenne

1 tsp. Cumin

1/2 tsp Paprika

1 tsp. cocoa powder

2 cloves garlic crushed

Plain greek nonfat yogurt

Shredded cheddar cheese

Sriracha sauce to taste

Cook onion in olive oil. Add all other ingredients except sriracha, yogurt & cheese. Add broth so it can simmer for about 20 minutes & flavors meld. Put in bowl, top with dollop of yogurt, sprinkling of cheese, sriracha. You can add cilantro if you wish. Healthy & delicious served with crusty bread, totinos chips, etc.

Decoupage glass magnets

Clear Glass stones

Modge podge

Paint brush 

Craft paper

Magnet

Glue

Cut craft paper to size of stone & modge podge on bottom. Cut magnet to size of stone & glue to bottom. Let dry.

Gift box re-do

I took a gift box that had a jewelry company name on it & decoupaged right over logo! Now its ready for me to use to give a jewelry gift in. 

Modge podge clothespins & paper clips

Modge podge (i used glitter type)

Clothespins

Small paint brush

Pencil

Scizzors

Scrapbook paper

Trace shape of clothespins with pencil on paper & cut paper to size. Put paper on clothespin & spread modgepodge over top of paper evenly with brush. Do same on other side. Let dry.

I'm going to use these to decoratively hold gift bags together, but they could be used in many ways. You could use holiday themed paper & hang photos on twine with these also when you receive christmas cards. Just some ideas. 

Plastic paint for moldy, scuffed old outdoor chairs

Sorry forgot to take before pictures. Just picture old, white, moldy, dirty looking plastic outdoor chairs. For $3.00 can of spray paint, i made them new & colorful!

Ta da!!! Like the outcome? I do. 

Easiest Dinner EVER!

This is literally my go-to easy dinner, which is pretty healthy, smells delicious & everyone likes. Win-win!

You take a bone in chicken breast, wash & pat dry, spray baking dish with cooking spray, put salt/pepper on top of chicken. Then put some McCormick pinch perfect rotisserie chicken on top of chicken. Lastly top off with a little butter.

I put in oven with chicken a few baking potatoes, scrubbed & stabbed & cook 350 degrees about an hour (or until browned on top & no longer pink). Once literally thrown in oven, you can go do other things. When dinner is almost done, I make up a quick salad. I think the Italian dressing gives additional flavor to the meal. How easy is that?

Before going in oven...spices shown.

 

When done & plated. Wallah!

Healthy Easy egg dinner or brunch

I love this meal because everyone in the family loves it, it's healthy, filling & easy to make. You can make any salad you like, but I paired the egg dishes with oven potatoes & Kale salad with a side of oranges. I like oranges with eggs because the vitamin c helps you absorb the iron in the eggs more efficiently!

For Kale salad, I make a vinagrette with: chopped garlic, orange juice, lemon juice, salt/pepper & soy sauce. Mix as you wish, I used about a cup of each of the juices, 2 cloves or garlic & 2 tbsps of soy sauce. Toss well.

Then I make 2 eggs strata's. I make a vegetable one for the vegetarians in the family & a sausage one for the meat eaters.

Vegetable Strata:

Sausage Strata:

 

For  Veggie strata, Just saute 1 onion chopped, & veggies of choice chopped in olive oil. Example: Mushrooms, asparagus, zucchini, spinach. Saute until tender & season with salt/pepper.

For Sausage strata, saute onion & 6-8 breakfast sausage links cup up until cooked & tender. You could also add bacon if you wish.

In a separate bowl, beat 12 eggs with 2 cups of milk. Grease 2 separate baking dishes. In one dish put veggie mixture, in other sausage mixture. Crumble bread (partly stale) over each dish to cover vegetables. Put about 1 cup of cheddar cheese/parmesan cheese over each baking dish mixture. I like to add some feta too for more delicious flavor!! Then put 1/2 egg/milk mixture in each pan. You can season with more salt/pepper if you wish. 

Bake 375 degrees until solid & browned on the top, about 1/2 hour to 40 minutes.

It's an easy brunch, or dinner! Here it is plated:

I also cooked chopped potatoes, onions in oven which were tossed with olive oil & seasoned with salt/pepper. Delish! Enjoy!