Staying Warm

Hey, y’all!  What did ya’ think about the outcome of Groundhog’s Day?  I know I was bummed about it.  Not that I believe a furry little rodent controls the weather (is a groundhog a rodent??), but it sure would have been a nice to have him on my side.  I hate winter!!!  I’ve been anticipating spring since December 26.  It happens that way every year for me.  I go straight from thinking, “Merry Christmas,” to, “Is is spring yet?”  I’m sick of winter coats, short days, cold weather, barren trees, and brown grass.  I need green!!!  (I also need to be able to kick my children out of the house for a while so they can burn off some energy.)
Luckily, I live in Louisiana, where, within a week’s time, we usually experience temperatures ranging from 28 to 68 degrees.  Thank goodness for those “68” days.  I try to enjoy them as much as possible.  On the cold days, I pass the time by dreaming about what I’m going to do when spring does arrive:  plant tomatoes & squash, raise some more chicks, spruce up the flowerbeds, shop for Easter dresses, take annual spring pictures of the monkeys, set up the pool, cook on the deck… I can’t wait!
Yesterday was a particularly cold one.  I’m pretty sure the mercury didn’t make it past 35 degrees.  Brrrrr!  The best way I know to stay warm on days like that is to cook up a big ol’ pot of soup.  A steamy bowl of delicious soup always does the trick, warming me up from the inside out.
I don’t know about y’all, but sometimes I get in a soup rut, bouncing back and forth between staples:  taco soup and potato soup.  But last week we feasted on a new recipe I found on Pinterest. It was so yummy and very easy to prepare, so I thought I’d be neighborly and pass the recipe link on to y’all.

It’s called 20 Minute Italian, Turkey, Bean, & Spinach Soup, and it was pinned from rachelcooks.com.
Now don’t let the the “S” word in the name scare you off.  The spinach becomes so soft and tender and soaks up the flavors of the broth.  It’s just delicious!  And if you are feeding hard-headed people who refuse to try spinach, well, they can just eat around it, because there’s not really all that much spinach in the pot.
Without a doubt, the best part about this recipe has to be the “20 Minute” part.  I am all about simple suppers lately, and this dish fits the bill.  The only actual cooking involved is browning some onion.  How hard is that?
So next time you’re feeling chilled to the bone, why don’t you try out this new recipe?  Then kick back in front of the fire and think warm, happy, spring thoughts.  It’ll be here before we know it.
Lindsey

How I Spend My “Free” Time

Hello.  Hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  We sure did.  There’s no doubt that Christmas is my favorite day of the year, but when it comes down to it, Thanksgiving yields that same special time with family minus all of the stress.  I’m beginning to appreciate this fact more and more every year.

Now that Thanksgiving is over, we’ve been working on getting the house ready for Christmas.  This weekend I managed to set up the tree, and it’s about 90% decorated (there are still a few more ornaments left to unpack and hang.) Ty also got a full-sized tree in his room this year.  Here’s how he reached the top branches.  Very resourceful!

School is also back in session this week, much to Ty’s disappointment.  But I tried to make him (and me) feel better about this by pointing out that we’ve only got three weeks until we’re out again for Christmas. Whoop whoop!

Ok.  Now time to get to why I’m here today…

Sharing about my favorite pastime.

Pinterest.

Oh, the hours I could spend “fetching more pins.”  If you’re on Pinterest, you know exactly what I’m talking about.  My creative side absolutely loves browsing through photos gathering inspiration for my next crafting, decorating, or cooking adventure.  Pinterest is the main reason why my blog has been feeling a bit neglected lately.  If I’m not actually on the site, I’m making something I’ve seen on the site.  Which brings me to the point of this post…

Sharing a few of the things that I’ve made with inspiration gathered from Pinterest.

Waffle Iron Hash Browns.  I made these for the Tool Man one morning last week.  They turned out really good!  So crunchy, which is exactly what I like but can never seem to achieve.  Next time I want hash browns, I’ll definitely cook them like this.

Turkey Tube.  This was Ty’s inspiration.  He woke up early one morning and crafted his own version of a turkey while I was still asleep.

What do you think?  Ty couldn’t find an empty cardboard tube, so he made his own with construction paper. Also, as you can see, he is a firm believer in scotch tape!

Black Bean Soup.  This was a delicious and super easy recipe.  I tweaked my version a little bit, adding a few extra ingredients like fresh onions and peppers and some seasonings. Also, I served my soup over a bed of hot, steamy rice.  We enjoyed this soup so much so that I made a big pot of it to sell at the restaurant this week.

Window Frame Display.  (I pinned this photo myself, and I have no idea where I first found it.)  I’ve been saving a old window for the past 7 or 8 years, just waiting for the right project to present itself.  This week I finally decided it was time to do something with it.  Here’s my version.

I made this for Lucy’s, using some family heirlooms and things I picked up at flea markets.  I love how it turned out!  The blue card was given to my parents when I was born.  The bib is Lucy’s, and the baby bootie was given to a great aunt of mine about 70 years ago.  I think this project is a perfect shabby chic element for Lucy’s room.

Crispy Chicken Wraps.  Yummy much!!!  I made these this weekend, and the Tool Man and I gobbled them up during the LSU-Ark game.  (Maybe that’s why they tasted so good!)  Shredded chicken, rice, beans, and cheese all rolled up in a tortilla and grilled in a pan.  The secret to making them crispy is to spray the outside of the tortillas with Pam before cooking.  So good!  My stomach is growling just thinking about these.  The recipe calls for black beans, but I didn’t have any on hand.  I did have a can of refried beans, so I used that instead.  Also, you were supposed to use chopped red bell pepper.  Didn’t have that either.  Instead, I just added a couple of spoons of picante sauce.  Mmm mmm good!!!  I can’t tell you how much the Tool Man loved these.  Definitely a recipe to remember.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this seemingly random post today.  If you are not following me on Pinterest I invite you to check out the link on my sidebar.  And if you are not a member of Pinterest, I would certainly recommend starting an account of your own. The inspiration is endless.

Baking Just for Fun

Well this past week marks the first week in a couple of months that I have not had to bake a cake.  (Unless, of course, you count the sweets I made for the restaurant, which included a heavenly Coco-Cola Cake – Yummmmmmm!)

Never the less, I found myself in the kitchen, whipping out treats purely for the fun of it.  I’m not gonna lie to y’all, though.  Not all of my baking endeavors turned out for the good.  My Dad requested a pecan pie to share with his brother who was visiting from out of town.  But unfortunately, with all the distractions of two little monkeys, who shall remain nameless, I managed to add twice as much butter as called for in the recipe.  Bummer.  I realized this about 30 seconds after I popped the pie in the oven, and I did my best to salvage the filling.  In the end the pie actually tasted fairly good, but it looked like it had been beaten with an ugly stick.  When it comes to cooking I believe at least half the appeal is in the way a dish looks, so I was none too happy with this little pie.

So the next night, I decided to redeem myself by turning out a recipe of Paula Deen’s Lemon Blossoms.  I think I succeeded!

These little bites of goodness are so petite and cute that it wouldn’t be hard to make oneself sick eating them.  You could very easily down a dozen before you even knew what you were doing.

This is a glorious little recipe that begins with a boxed cake mix.  Take it from me, there is no shame in taking a little help from a cake mix now and then.  Especially when you doll it up with some extra ingredients.  And certainly when you are a mother to two little monkeys!

I’m sure you could find this recipe elsewhere online, but if you’re interested, I decided to save you the trouble and post the recipe here.  It comes from the book Paula Deen & Friends.

Lemon Blossoms (Makes approx. 5 dozen)

• One 18.25 oz. package yellow cake mix
• One 3.5 oz. package instant lemon pudding mix
• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil

Glaze:

• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray miniature muffin tins with cooking oil spray.
2. Combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, and oil and blend well with electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes.  Pour a small amount (about 1 Tbsp.) batter into each cup of the prepared tins.  Bake for 12 minutes.  Turn out onto a tea towel.
3. To make the glaze:  Sift the sugar into a mixing bowl.  Add the lemon juice, zest, oil, and 3 Tbsp. water.  Mix with a spoon until smooth.  With fingers, dip the cupcakes into the glaze while they are still warm, covering as much as the cake as possible.  Place on wire wracks over wax paper to catch any drips.  Let glaze set thoroughly (this may take an hour) before storing in containers with tight-fitting lids.

Enjoy!

Lindsey

It’s Getting to Be that Time Again…

Time for SOUP!

I’ll admit.  I’m not a fan of the cooler months.  (I know, crazy, right?)  The shorter days, the bare, brown, landscape, the chilly temps…not my idea of fun.

But there are some positive things that come along with the cooler weather.  One being the return of “souper” suppers.  I don’t think there’s an easier or more economical meal to prepare than soup.  Plus, soup is a one-pot-wonder, so there are less dishes to clean when you’re done cooking.  Plus, plus, all you need is a pan of cornbread (or if you’re really in a pinch, a pack of crackers) and you’ve got a complete meal.  Plus, plus, plus…it’s yummy!

I know it’s not really cold out yet, but with the summer we’ve had down here, anything less than 90 degrees is cool, right?  So this weekend I decided to stir up a big ‘ol pot of Taco Soup.  Mmmmmm…..  The recipe I use (ok, so I don’t use a recipe) is so simple that I’m not even sure it qualifies as cooking.  Basically, if you can open a can, you can make this soup. (No pun intended.)

I decided to take a bunch of pictures to go along with this post to get your tummy growling.  And while I was making the soup and taking the pictures, I had an idea about a tip that I could share with y’all.

The Tool Man is always bragging on my onion chopping skills, so I thought I’d show y’all just how I do it.  I’m not saying that mine is the absolute right way, but this method sure does work for me. 

First things first.  Grab yourself an onion.

Then slice the onion in half from root to top.

Working with one half at a time (I leave the other half cut-side down on the board.  It helps with the whole crying thing) slice off the top end of the onion, about a half to one inch depending on your onion.

Grab the outer layer or two of onion and peel it off.

Time to chop!  Please notice how I’m holding my fingers in these photos.  I’ve got my fingertips curved under so my nails are touching the onion.  This protects my fingertips from the blade.  Should the knife slip while I was cutting, my knuckles would stop it before it could cut my finger.

Now, work your way around the onion, with your knife blade aimed at the middle of the onion.  This is the important part:  Leave the root end intact.   Keep the tip of the knife about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch from the root.  This will help hold all those layers together while you’re slicing.

Once you’ve slice all the way around the onion, turn it 90 degrees and begin chopping across the cuts you just made.  If this is starting to sound confusing, just take a look at the pictures.

Just keep chopping until you work all the way back to the root.

There!  A perfectly diced onion.  And I still have all 10 fingers.  Woop woop!

Taco Soup

• 1 lb. ground beef (or in my case, venison)
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 pkg. taco seasoning
• 1 can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 1, 16 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 can creamed corn
• 1 can whole kernel corn
• 2 cans pinto beans
• Corn chips, sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese

1. In a large stock pot, over medium heat, brown meat.  Drain if necessary.  Return meat to pan. (Since I used the venison, I had absolutely no fat in my pan. Yippee!)
2. Add onion and cook 5-7 minutes.
   
   
3. Sprinkle meat and onion mixture with taco seasoning and stir to combine.
   
   
4. Dump in all the canned ingredients.  Yep, just open them up and dump ‘em in.  No draining required.
   
   
5. Add a can or two of water if needed.
6. Mix well.  Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer on low 1 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add more water if needed.  (See.  I told you this would be easy.)
   
   
7. Serve soup over corn chips. Top with cheese and sour cream. If you’re feeling really ambitious, you can bake up a pan of Mexican cornbread to go with your soup.  Yummy!
   
   
   
   

Feel free to adjust this recipe any way you like.  I said earlier, it’s not really a recipe, more like a guide.  If you want more meat, add it.  If you want more tomatoes, corn, or beans, just pop open another can or two.  It’s totally up to you.  Just remember, if you add too much more, you’ll want to increase your seasoning too.

Hope y’all enjoy!

Linking to:

Tutorials & Tips @ Home Stories A to Z

Ta-Da Tuesday @ Mommy by Day, Crafter by Night

Lindsey

The “Bird” Day Party

Ty’s Angry Birds “Bird”day Party was this weekend! Yea!!!

Ty and I have spent weeks planning this party - the decorations, the food, the cake, the activities…so many ideas! There were a few things that I just didn’t get around to doing, but when all was said and done, the party turned out great!

First the invitation.

Quite simple, really. I had some blank note cards left over from previous birthday parties. I just used some of my scrapbooking papers to construct an Angry Bird on the cover. For the wording inside, I typed the text in Word, printed it out, and glued it in the card. Easy peasy!

Here’s what I made to hang on the back door to greet our guests. It was such a fun, inexpensive project. Ty and I had a good time working on this one together. I started with a circle cut from the side of a cardboard box. Then I took some lime green tissue paper and cut it into 4” squares. Ty was in charge of scrunching the tissue paper, and I glued it into place. Not bad for a bunch of reused materials. I think this little piggy turned out so cute!

I also made these hats for the birthday boy. One for when he’s feeling birdlike and one for when he’s feeling piggish.

The main party table…

I don’t mind telling you that I’m a cheap thrifty party planner. I always try to use as much stuff that I already own as possible. Here’s what I used for the table and what I paid for it:

• Ty’s plush Angry Birds (part of his birthday present, so basically free)
• some faux wood blocks from Ty’s toy work bench (free)
• clay pots from the Dollar Tree (6 for $2)
• pinwheels from Hobby Lobby (6 for $3)
• scrap fabric from my stash (free)
• left over plastic eggs from Easter (free)
• shredded packing paper from the Dollar Tree ($1)
• scrapbook paper ($1)
• online clipart (free)
• tablecloth and placemats left over from previous parties (free.)

Grand total…$7

I also made these pig lanterns to hang above the table. I picked the lanterns up at Hobby Lobby for under $4 and used more scrapbook paper to add the eyes and noses. Unfortunately I forgot to make some ears for the poor dears, but I don’t think anyone noticed.

To keep the kids busy at the party I chose a couple of bird-related crafts for them to make. I set up a craft table on the back porch to keep the mess (and the noise) out of the house as much as possible. And even though it was 101 degrees out there, the kids didn’t seem to mind. An added bonus: the crafts doubled as party favors for the kids!

First they made bird feeders using pines cones, peanut butter, and birdseed. It’s an easy craft that even the littlest partier can do. Simply spread peanut butter on a pinecone and roll it in birdseed. Then hang it in a tree for your feathered friends to enjoy.

The other craft project was painting bird houses. You can pick up small wooden birdhouses at craft stores for only $1. I just set out some brushes and washable paint and let the kids get crafty.

I made these Birdie Bags using plain red paper bags and some scraps of paper. Each kid got a bag to carry their craft projects home in.

Now, the cake!!!

Or should I say cakes?

Yeah, I was just crazy enough to tackle two cakes. One for the birds and one for the pigs.

Birds…

Pigs…

For another sweet treat, I made “Birdseed Pops.” They’re just like Rice Krispie Treats, only I used Fruity Pebbles. When they were cooled, I cut them into squares and stuck a lollipop stick in them.

This little birdie really enjoyed her pop.

Our Menu…

I tried to make all of the food either bird or pig related. Here’s what I came up with:

• Hot Wings
• Deviled Ham sandwiches
• Pigs in a Blanket
• Bye-Bye Birdie Dip (a.k.a. Cheesy Chicken Dip – recipe to follow)
• Birdseed Pops

Here are a few pictures of the food table. I ran across the two tiny green pigs while cruising in Mexico and just had to have them for this party. They were perfect!

The “Bird” Day Boy…

Ty got some great gifts. Lots and lots of fishing paraphernalia, a Rio character, G.I. Joe toys, a new Webkinz animal, swimming goggles, some interactive books, and of course, a plethora of Angry Birds.

Here’s Ty in his new fishing hat and life jacket. Ain’t he cute?

Make a wish! It was all Luke could do to keep from helping Ty blow out the candles.

After the party, the cousins went for a ride in the paddle boat.

I really think Ty was just looking for an excuse to try out some of his new gear. Looks like Blue wanted to go for a boat ride too.

Well, that was fun, but next year I’m thinking Chuck E. Cheese.

Oh, y’all know I would never do that. This party business is a sickness, and I think it’s hereditary. Ty’s already planning his next party. His next two, in fact.

Besides, it’s time for me to start thinking about little Lulu’s 2nd birthday. It’ll before before we know it!

P.S. Here’s the recipe for the Chicken Dip. So easy and so good! I hope you’ll try it.

Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken Dip

• 2, 8 oz. pkgs. cream cheese
• 8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 lg. cans chicken, drained
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 can cream of celery soup
• 1/2 soup can water
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes
• salt and pepper to taste
• chopped green onions

Combine all ingredients except green onions in crockpot. Heat for 45 min. Top with green onions. Serve hot with crackers or chips. Rich and delicious!

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