I didn't forget!

I'm so excited to see new readers on the blog! I wanted you all to know I didn't forget about you all or the contest, I had minor surgery yesterday so I wasn't able to answer any questions. I wanted to pop on and than all of you for joining me and supporting my blog!
I will resume blogging ASAP!

*please forgive the awkward writing. Percoset is strong!

Pin of the Week!

4'x4' Cedar Garden Box from Home Depot

http://pinterest.com/pin/217087644508422230/

I haven't set it up or planted in it yet but the plan is to have it done by Friday!
I'm not a huge veggie person so i'll probably be planting fruit instead (or whatever can tolerate the weather here) Wish me luck so I don't kill everything off!

Blog Design Giveaway!

Not only am I super handy with knitting needles and cake pans I also enjoy dabbling in blog design.

My latest project was for a friend of mine, Sarah at Frugal by Choice, Cheap by Necessity.
Sarah's blog is great, she has tons of great recipes, DIY projects and a ton of pictures of her adorable super-hero loving son!

For Sarah's Blog I made her a custom header, blog button/grab me code, favicon and added pages and other gadgets including a "pin it" button for Pinterest.

The Rules for the Giveaway are as follows:
1. Comment here with your blog address and why you want/need a blog design. (1 entry)
2. Head over to Sarah's Blog and mention me in your comment. (1 entry)
3. "Like" our page on Facebook and leave a comment mentioning the giveaway. (1 entry)
4. Follow me on Pinterest * (1 entry)
5. Become a "follower" of this blog ------> over there (1 entry)


Using random.com the lucky winner will get hooked up with a Free, yes free, blog design. How kewl is that?!

*If you live under a rock and don't have a Pinterest account yet and need an invite, email me here.

**Entry deadline is 6/15**

Gourmet Chicken Quesadillas

This is by far one of the easiest meals to make and according to my husband "in the top 3" so here it is getting a shout out on the blog.

Ingredients:
Rotisserie Chicken (about 1 cup, shredded)
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Red Onion (1/4 cup diced)
Artichoke Hearts (1/2 cup diced)*From a jar
Roasted Red Pepers (1/2 cup diced)*From a jar
Cumin (2 tsp)
Garlic Salt (2 tsp)
Cooking spray
Burrito sized tortillas

In a bowl mix together all inredients except for the cheese and tortillas (duh!)
or you could skip the bowl and do it all in your skillet, save yourself a dish.
Heat up everything in the pan until the oninons start to go translucent, and the chicken is warmed through.
Pile up the mix on your tortilla, sprinkle on the cheese.
Fold it up and throw it back in the pan to grill, only takes a minute.
Take it out, cut it up and ENJOY!

This is seriously a yummy dinner and only takes about 3 minutes of prep and 8 minutes total of cooking. And since most of the ingredients I had in my pantry (everything but the rotisserie chicken in fact!) it was super cheap!

Here are some pics!

Super filling and so good!

Back in the pan!

Get in my belly!

Taco Cornbread Bake

I decided to also start blogging about what I make for dinner. Not every night of course but probably once a week, highlight my favorite dish. The husband and I use Emeals. Basically for $2.25 a week ($15.00 every 3 months) I get a 7 day meal plan (ours is the low fat any store for 2 plan) complete with sides and a grocery list. Coupled with my local market's delivery service meal planning has gone from a chore and the bane of my existence to something I actually enjoy.
This week our meals included:
Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
Spring Salmon with a Wilted Salad
Creamy Pesto Pasta
Chicken BLT Salad
Fried Rice
Taco Cornbread Bake*
Chicken Alfredo Pasta

Sounds good huh? It's pretty easy to stick to a "diet" with food this tasty!* Emeals says this isn't a diet plan, and it really isn't. It's just eating low fat food, but for those of you on WW they also have plans that correspond with the points program and the points are listed with every recipe so it's easy to log your meals!

So onto today's featured dish.
Taco Cornbread Bake, one of the easiest and most delicious (IMHO) recipies I've made while using Emeals.
All you need is:
1lb of ground beef (we've been using ground turkey instead and it's just as tasty)
1 packet taco seasoning
(optional) 8oz can of tomato sauce (i use this instead of the water in the taco mix, much tastier especially when substituing the turkey for beef)
1 box cornbread Mix
Milk
1 egg (or egg beaters)
shredded cheese
(optional) can of refried beans, I don't eat them so I leave this out
Fat Free Sour cream for garnish

Preheat oven to 425
Brown your meat in a skillet, once browned add tomato sauce and taco seasoning, simmer for a few minutes.
meanwhile mix up the cornbread, let it stand for a minute or two.
once meat smells like tacos, put it in the bottom of a 8x8 pan, layer on cheese, then spread the cornbread mix on top.
Bake for 15 minutes and it's DONE!

So yummy and it definitely feeds more than 2 people!
Here are some pics:

Corn bread!

Cheese!

Ready for the oven!

All done!

Eat up!

Say hello to "Buster"

That's what I've named the bear I just finished knitting for The Mother Bear Project.
Not perfect by any means but I'm excited to make more and improve my work! The embroidery was definitely harder than I expected it to be but I will be using more YouTube videos for help next time!
Without any more suspense, here's Buster!

The Mother Bear Project

I've been knitting for close to 20 years (yes i'm only 28 but I learned quick thanks to my amazing Grandma) and before recently all I ever managed to turn out were scarves and small blankets.

I've been trying to expand my knitting horizons and while doing some surfing on Facebook I came across the Mother Bear Project. MBP is a non profit organization that sends hand knitted and crocheted bears to children in Africa that have been affected by HIV/AIDS.
So I decided to do my part to help and I ordered my kit, which came very quickly I might add!
In the envelope there was a set of knitting needles, yarn, and a pattern, which even for a scardey cat-I'm-only-sticking-to-scarves knitter like me I found the pattern easy to follow.
After another night or two (after I figure out how to sew everything up!) I should be finished and I'll post the finished product here. I can't wait to finish it and start making more bears!
As a bonus I'm impressed with myself that I'm making something more involved and it's given me confidence to try new things!
So if any knitters out there are looking for a project that goes relatively quickly and is also for a great cause, give the Mother Bear Project a try!

Easter!

I hope everyone who celebrates had a great Easter!

We had a great day with our family and I just love having holidays at our new home. I love having everyone together. I didn't take too many pictures but I did get one of the centeripece I did for our table.

I used peonies, hydrangeas and some stick thinkies from JoAnn's and for the vase I just used an existing vase and put scrap book paper along the inside.

And this is the Bunny Bait. Another recipie inspired by pinterest.

I used:

Plain Popcorn

Pretzel Sticks

Pretzel M&M's

White chocolate (melted and poured on)

Sprinkles (or where I'm from, Jimmies)

After it set up I broke it up and put it into bags for the kids.

I also made but didn't take pictures of:

Funfetti cake batter dip

Lasagne (YUM)

I have a couple of projects I'm currently working on. One is collecting knit/chrochet hats for my local hospital's maternity unit. If you would like to help please contact me -------> over there.

New season, New wreath!

I went ahead and made a yarn wrapped wreath. and while i'm super happy with the final product, there are always a few things i would change for next time.

I have some progress pictures for this post! Yay!
First, the materials"

• Foam wreath ring
• Yarn
• Flowers with clips
• Peacock feathers
• Ribbon
• Hot glue gun

*Patience*

The Wreath took almost 2 hours to wrap, but it came out nice!

And the finished product!

And here it is on the door!

Happy Spring!

S'mores Cupcakes

ok i'm really late on posting this, as i made these for the superbowl. but after i collected myself after my team's loss i forgot that i had taken pictures of the finished product. and what do you know, a whole month went by (and then some!)
So here are the cupcakes, chocolate cake batter, a fluff buttercream icing, topped with crushed grahm crackers and a nibblet of chocolate.

I think they came out pretty darn good, considering i made them from scratch! (my first batter) i did get the recipe from Pinterest Here.

Here they are:

The pictures from pinterest look much better but they tasted good!
I also made for the big game:
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Honey Teryaki Chicken Wings
Crescent Rolls pizzas
Everything was super yummy, i just wish the game had had a different ending, oh well. Better luck next year!