Tag Blanket

I had seen a bunch of tag blankets posted on the weekly link up parties I follow.  A good friend of mine just had a baby boy and I knew it would be the perfect thing to make for him.  It didn't seem too hard and the supplies were pretty cheap. There are a bunch of fabulous tutorials I came across when looking into how to make the blanket.  The one I found most helpful was from Sumo's Sweet Stuff.  I would definitely recommend visiting her blog.  I find so many creative ideas on there. The only thing I changed from her tutorial was using a 12 1/2 inch piece of fabric instead of 15 inches. I thought mine was the prefect size when it was done.  The embroidery probably took me longer than making the actual blanket!  

Chicken & Guacamole Tostadas

Cooking Light Magazine is one of my favorite places to find recipes. When I get one in the mail, it makes my day.   This recipe was definitely two thumbs up from me and hubs.  Hubs decided to forgo the tomatoes and added sour cream and cheese.  I ate it exactly how the recipe suggested.  We both were happy with the results.  

 Ingredients

• 1  ripe peeled avocado
• 1  cup  plus 2 tablespoons finely chopped tomato, divided
• 3  tablespoons  minced fresh onion, divided
• 3  tablespoons  fresh lime juice, divided
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt, divided
• 1  small garlic clove, minced
• 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh cilantro
• 1  tablespoon  minced seeded jalapeño pepper
• 2  cups  shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast
• 1/4  teaspoon  smoked paprika
• 8  (6-inch) corn tostada shells

Preparation

1. Place avocado in a small bowl; mash with a fork. Stir in 2 tablespoons tomato, 1 tablespoon onion, 1 tablespoon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and garlic.

2. Combine remaining 1 cup tomato, 2 tablespoons onion, 1 tablespoon lime juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, cilantro, and jalapeño; toss well.

3. Combine chicken, remaining 1 tablespoon juice, and paprika; toss well to combine. Spread about 1 tablespoon guacamole over each tostada shell; top each with 1/4 cup chicken mixture and about 2 tablespoons salsa.

Hubby's Creation

Check out my giveaway at Happily Herring!

Flower Clip Tutorial

Cinnamon Popcorn

This recipe is coming from All Recipes.com.

Ingredients

• 4 quarts popped popcorn
• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions

Place popcorn in a large bowl. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the butter, sugar and cinnamon. Microwave on high for 1 minute; stir. Microwave 1 minute longer or until the butter is melted. Pour over popcorn and toss to coat. Transfer to two greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pans. Bake, uncovered, at 300 degrees F for 10 minutes. Cool. Store in an airtight container.

Black Bean Chili Dip

*Adapted from Cabot recipe found here

INGREDIENTS

15oz can black beans, rinsed and drained, partially mashed

1/2 c drained canned whole kernel corn

1/3 c salsa

2 tbs. water

2 tsp chili powder

cooking spray

1/2 cup reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese or pepper jack cheese, grated (about 1.25c)

2 Tbsp drained canned green chiles

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Combine beans and next 4 ingredients. Pour into a small casserole dish coated with cooking spray.

3. Sprinkle with cheese and green chiles.

4. Cover and bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and filling is bubbly. Uncover and cook an additional 5 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips.

 

       NOTES:

      8 servings
69 calories
2g fat
7g protein

S'mores Cookies

A friend of mine makes these cookies and they are one of my all time favorites.  They are semi-homemade and are sure to be the talk of any dinner party.  I didn't have an exact recipe, so I made it up at I went (directions below). You will surely love these cookies. 

Ingredients:
Break & Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies
12 Large Marshmallows (cut in half)
Baker's Dipping Chocolate

Directions:

Bake cookies according to package.  About three minutes before they should come out, take them out.  Place 1 marshmallow half on top of the cookie.  Place it back in the oven for the remaining minutes.  When marshmallows have melted (spread) just a bit and cookies are slightly brown on the bottom take them out.  Allow them to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet.  Then place them on cooling racks.  Leave for about 20 minutes or until they have cooled.  Then, heat the chocolate pieces.  Spread a few teaspoons of melted chocolate on top of the marshmallows.  Place in the refrigerator to harden for about 10 minutes.

Appetizer Ring

I came across this appetizer while going through my daily reads.  I found it over at...Keeping up with the Jonses.  It looked good and I had all the ingredients at home.  So, I made it for our National Championship party.  I can't say it was a hit, but I enjoyed it.  Looking back, I probably should have made it for an event with my girlfriends.  Not an event with boys, who just want to eat meat and carbs! Mine definitely isn't as pretty as Kendall's and I probably over did it with the strawberry preserves. But, it was still pretty tasty.  

Appetizer Ring

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 cups mayo

2 cups chopped pecans

2 bundles chopped green onions

1 jar of strawberry preserves

Combine first 4 ingredients and spread into bottom of a well-greased bundt pan. Refrigerate overnight (covered). When ready to serve, run a spatula around the edges and invert on a serving plate. It should come out in a nice ring pretty easily! Spread the preserves on the top and put the rest in the center of the ring. Serve with crackers.

Chicken Taco Soup

My friend Caroline shared this recipe on her blog and I immediately bookmarked it.  It looked like the perfect winter meal and it did not disappoint.  I made it last night and it was easy peasy. I boiled the chicken because I started the soup a little later in the day and it wouldn't have the full 8 hours to cook.   After boiling the chicken, I added it to all of the ingredients and that was it.  I read some of the reviews on All Recipes, where the recipe originally came from and a lot of people used chicken broth instead of beer.  We didn't have chicken broth in our house, but had the beer so beer it was.  I loved it and couldn't really taste any of the beer in the soup.  What I loved the most was the 4 lunches it made for D and I for the week! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
1 (16 ounce) can chili beans
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer - we used Bud Light Lime
2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
sour cream (optional)
crushed tortilla chips (optional)

Directions:
1. Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.

2. Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.

Coffee Cozy

I first saw this coffee cozy on a blog I follow.  I was hooked and instantly wanted to recreate it.  So, I did a little Google search, like always.  Here is the oh so fabulous tutorial I found and followed.  I love that it's a PDF and easily accessible.  The only thing I changed was the stitching on the bottom (last part of the project).  I decided to hand stitch it instead of using the machine so that you couldn't see the stitches.  Other than that, it was pretty simple to make.  I look forward to making lots of these next Christmas and giving them as gifts with a Starbucks gift card.  Happy Sewing!

                                        

Sweaty Headbands

I love wearing my Sweaty Bands when I workout.  They are the ONLY headbands that stay on my head without me having to readjust.  I bought too many at the expo show for my half marathon.  After a little examining, I decided I could make them myself.  So, I did a little research.  Found a tutorial.  Tested it out. Had myself a new sweaty band.  The tutorial I followed used a sewing machine for the bands.  Next time, I think I'm going to try some fabri-tac on the ribbon and just stitch the ends.  I'll let you know how that turns out.  For now, go here to find the tutorial I followed.  Go get sweaty!

Tomato Walnut Tilapia

I've got lots of catching up to do on this blog.  I've made it a goal to start cooking healthy dinners again.  My Mister has been working late, so I haven't been making dinner as much as before.  I usually end up eating cheese and crackers or soup.  This is the first recipe I've made for dinner in 2011.  It was easy to make & came from a recent issue of Taste of Home Magazine.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 4 tilapia fillets (4 ounces each)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 medium tomato, thinly sliced
• 
  TOPPING:
• 1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1-1/2 teaspoons butter, melted

Directions

• Sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper. In a large ovenproof skillet coated with cooking spray, cook fillets in butter over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned.
• Place tomato slices over fish. Combine the topping ingredients; spoon over tomato. Broil 3-4 in. from the heat for 2-3 minutes or until topping is lightly browned and fish flakes easily with a fork. Yield: 4 servings.