A Flip Flop Wreath!

So I had this wreath that I started back in the beginning of March and I wanted to do something with it. I saw a wreath made of flip flops and thought, "I can SO do that!" I went to the local dollar store and bought 5 pairs of flip flops. Then I laid everything out to get started!

 

(Not sure why but this is side ways and I can't figure out how to fix it)

 

Then I laid them out around the wreath. I had to go back online to look at the picture a couple times before I understood how they should go on.

 

 

 

After the bottom row was glued on with the toes pointing in I layered the second row with the toes pointing out.

 

 

 

Here is the finished product! After I hung it I realized that I should have switched the pink and the yellow on the top layer. I just might tear them off and put them in the "right" spots or maybe not.

 







My Momma's Chili!

So this post is not from Pinterest but if you think it is good you could always pin it! When Ladies in our church have babies or when someone has a surgery we make meals for them and their families. This week I made chili and cornbread for a family.

This is the recipe that my mom sent me when I asked her about it:

I double this.

1 lbs. hamburger browned shake some salt over it and let it simmer 10 min.  1 can French onion soup.  (Recipe says to put soup in the blender but I don't bother). Put in soup and let simmer 10 min.  Add small can of tomato sauce I think it is 8 oz. and small can of tomato paste I think it is 6 oz.  I put in a can of diced tomatoes but I don't think they are in the recipe.  1 can kidney beans I use light ones.  Spices I use my hand and do it by sight but I would say that I probably use a big teas of chili powder and Cumin.  And a good 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.  Let simmer together for a while.    I double this but that makes a lot.

I followed it except for a few things. First I sautéed 1 clove of garlic and 1 shallot in 1 Tbs of olive oil.

 

Then I added a package of ground turkey and browned it.

 

 

 

 

Next I added a can of French onion soup.

 

 

 

While this was simmering I mixed up some cornbread.

 

1 Box Jiffy corn muffin mix

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

 

 

 

 

After I mixed this together I decided to half a can of creamed corn.

 

 

 

I had these silicone baking tray that was just a bunch of little squares so I gave it a try.

 

 

 

I popped this in the over at 400 degrees for 20 min. Then I went back to the chili. At this time I added an 8 oz can of tomato sauce, a 6 oz can of tomato paste, a can of kidney beans that I drained and rinsed, a can of diced tomatoes and the spices listed above. Then I let this simmer so that it all mixed together.

 

 

 

 

Of course I had to try it out! It was very good!

 

 

After this I took my cornbread out of the oven. I didn't have any toothpicks to test them so I used a chopstick.

 

 

 

This meal was so much fun to make that I am going to make it again tomorrow for another family!

















Cornish Game Hen

I got a Cornish Game Hen at Grocery Outlet the other day and decided I wanted to try to cook it. I looked on Pinterest for ideas and found one in a crock pot.

I have a small 1.5 qt crock pot that I thought would be great for this.

Here is the recipe I used:
1 Cornish game hen
1 onion
4 cloves of garlic
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 teas salt
1/2 teas ground pepper
1 teas garlic and onion seasoning mix
1/4 cup water or white wine

The first thing I did was sprinkle the bottom of my crock pot with half the salt and pepper.  Then drizzle 1 Tbs olive oil over the bottom of the pot. Rough chop the onion and spread over the bottom of the pot.

The next step was to place the frozen cornish game hen on top of the onions. However, when I  pulled mine out of the wrapper there were still feathers in the skin! YUCK! I decided to pull the skin off. I also noticed the wrapper said, "Gibblets may be missing." So in my mind that meant they may still be in there. So I went looking for an opening where they might be and couldn't find one. I was a little scared that this hen might not be cleaned out on the inside. But I cleaned it the best I could and put it in the pot.

Next I drizzled the remaining Tbsp of olive oil on the bird. Rough chop the garlic and place half on top of the bird and the rest, let fall in the pot. (I did not use the whole four cloves of garlic)  Season the bird with salt, pepper and garlic & onion seasoning. Top the bird with dried or fresh rosemary.

 

Add a 1/4 cup of water or white wine to the pot. I used water.

 

 

 

After this I put the lid on and stuck it in the fridge over night.

 

 

 

The Next morning I plugged in the crock pot and let the bird cook on low while I was at work.

 

 

 

When I got home the chicken was nice and tender and falling off the bone!

 

 

 



 

For a first attempt it was pretty good!







One More Easter Recipe

It has been a while since my last post AGAIN!!! UGH! So I have one more recipe from Easter that I would like to share. This is the original recipe for Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Pull Apart Bread:

• 1  egg
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1  (16.3-oz.) can Pillsbury® Grands!® Flaky Layers Refrigerated Original Biscuits
• 1  (2.1-oz.) pkg. precooked bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3  oz. (3/4 cup) shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/4  cup finely chopped green onions (4 medium)

Directions

1. 1Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 11x7- or 12x8-inch (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In large bowl, beat egg and milk with wire whisk until smooth.
2. 2Separate dough into 8 biscuits; cut each into quarters. Gently stir biscuit pieces into egg mixture to coat evenly. Fold in bacon, cheese and onions. Spoon mixture into sprayed dish; arrange biscuit pieces in single layer.
3. 3Bake at 350°F. for 23 to 28 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into squares.

This is how I made it: I was making it for a Potluck Brunch on Easter Sunday at church so I wanted to make it bigger AND I wanted to be more like an egg casserole.

1. I used 6 eggs. (I went back later and added 2 more)

 

 

2. Next I whisked the eggs together with 6 Tablespoons of milk.

 

 

 

3. The original recipe called for precooked bacon. I had some turkey bacon on hand so I cooked up about half a package.

 

 

 

4. While the bacon was cooling, I cut the biscuits in 8 pieces.

 

 

 

5. Then I added the biscuits to the egg/milk mixture.

 

 

 

6. Then I added about a cup of shredded Colby Jack Cheese and the bacon.

 

 

 

7. After I mixed it up I put it in a lightly greased glass baking dish and topped it with a nice helping of shredded cheese.

 

 

 

At this point I put it in the refrigerator over night so I could pop it into the oven in the morning. The next morning I put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Here is the finished product:

 

 

It was very yummy!











Getting ready for Easter

 

 

For Easter this year, I decided to have my Sunday Night Bible Club kiddos do a craft. Last Sunday when I got there I noticed I had ALL boys. I was a little worried that they would not want to do it but it turned out really good.

 

Each boy got a paper plate to color. While they were coloring I and another teacher walked around and traced their hands on brown paper and cut out them out.

 

When the boys were down coloring I gave them their hand cutouts and green leaf cutouts that I cut out earlier. These the glued on the hands to make trees. While they were doing this I went around and cut the plates in half, cut a "door" out of one half and stapled the two halves together insides facing in.

 

When they were done with their trees I gave them a circle of brown paper for a stone and then they could glue the stone and tree on the front. I wrote, "Jesus is risen" on the front of the tree. They were all very proud of their tombs.

 

 

 

This Easter at Church we are having a Brunch Potluck. I decided to try to make Almond Brunch Bread.

 

What you need:

 

BREAD
2 pkg. active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105°F. to 115°F.)
3/4 cup warm milk (105°F. to 115°F.)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon anise seeds
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
4 1/2 to 5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

TOPPING
1 egg white, beaten
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup sugar

What you do:
1. In large bowl, combine yeast and warm water; stir. Let stand about 5 minutes or until yeast foams.

Stir in milk, 1/2 cup sugar, butter, lemon peel, anise seeds, salt and eggs. Beat in flour 1 cup at a time until dough is very stiff but still smooth. Cover;

 let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease. Turn dough out onto floured surface; knead until dough is pliable. Divide dough into 4 equal portions.
3. On lightly floured surface, roll 1 portion into a round loaf; flatten slightly. Place in center of baking sheet.

4. On lightly floured surface, roll remaining 3 portions into ropes about 30 inches long.

 Braid ropes together to make 1 braid about 24 inches long. Wrap braid, without stretching, around dough on baking sheet. Pinch ends together. (At this point, dough can be covered and refrigerated overnight.)

5. Let shaped dough rise in a warm place until almost doubled, about 1 hour. (Chilled dough may take as long as 2 hours to rise.) Meanwhile, heat oven to 350°F. Brush dough with egg white; sprinkle with almonds. Brush almonds with egg white; sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar.

Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and dry. If loaf begins to brown before center is done, loosely cover with foil.

 

 

 

This was my first time trying a complex bread like this. It turned out pretty well. It looks (and smells) very good. I can't wait until tomorrow morning to try it.

The LONG over due post!

The last two and a half weeks was full of just about everything. This is the first chance I've had to post. The first idea I tried was making an Easter Egg wreath. I saw this really cute idea online where you wrap pastic eggs with yarn. I managed to do TWO!

 

It took so long and so much glue (not to mention quite a few burned fingers) that I gave up. They didn't look nearly as cute as the ones online. So I wrapped the wreath frame in yarn instead. I haven't decided if I am going to ad to it yet or not.

The next thing I did was a success! I made Oatmeal Crème Pie Truffles. All you need is a box of Oatmeal Crème Pies, a pkg. of cream cheese, and chocolate to coat.

 

The first thing you do is pulse the pies in a food processor. Mine is a tiny little thing and I could only fit two or three pies in at a time. It was quite fun!

 

 

 

Then I mixed in the cream cheese. I used my hands for this.

 

Next, I placed the batter in balls on a lined cookie sheet. I placed this sheet in the freezer for about 15 min.

 

While the truffles were in the freezer, I melted the chocolate. I did not have a lot so I mixed in a little nutella (YUM).

 

Then I rolled the truffles in the chocolate and put them back in the freezer for a while. After they had hardened they could go in the refrigerator. If they got left out, they started to melt. J

 

The next few things I made for my class of three-year-olds at work.

 The first thing I tried was “Smash Balls”. These are cotton balls that have been dipped in a flour and water solution (I dyed mine blue).

 

Then you bake them at 325 for 45 min.

 

Then next step is to peel them off the foil. (If I didn’t use the foil, I don’t think that they would have come off the pan. These did NOT turn out the way they looked on Pinterest. I decided not to use them.

 

Instead, I am going to use colored rice. To color the rice, I mixed 1 ½ cups rice with 1tablespoon of vinegar and the desired amount of food coloring. I mixed it in a zip top bag until I realized that I was not going to be able to get all of the rice back out without getting covered in food coloring. I switched to using an old mayo jar. This I could scrape out with a spatula and not get too messy. Then I spread the rice out on a foil lined cookie sheet and baked for 10 at 175.

 

 

 

After I baked the rice I wanted to mix the different colors up and put it all in an off brand zip top bag. As I was doing this the next picture shows what happened! Ooops!!

Here is a picture of it in use:

 

Next comes what I like to call: “Sparkle Gel Tracing Bags”. I took a zip top bag and put blue hair gel and glitter inside and taped the tops shut really good.

 

 The kiddos used these to trace letters in the gel (and not get sticky!).

 

 

 

Another fun thing that I did was “Spaghetti Brooms”. These are pieces of spaghetti that I tied together before cooking them.

 

 

Then the kiddos painted with them.

 

Some took them a part and just played with the lose noodles in the paint.

 

 

Another activity we did this week was "Color Fizzies." This is a pan full of bakimg soda that the kids drop colored vinegar into.