Sloppy Joes

I was looking for some quick new recipes to try once baby arrives.  I've never made sloppy joe's from scratch before, so I decided I would give them a go.  I was surprised at how easy they were to make and how much better they were from scratch.  This picture doesn't do them any justice.  I will be making this simple dinner once the little one arrives. 

Sloppy Joes

Recipe Courtesy of Ezra Poundcake

For the best flavor, make the tomato sauce ahead of time, and store it in the refrigerator for at least an hour so the flavors can meld together.

Serves 4

• 2 TABLESPOONS VEGETABLE OIL
• 1/2 MEDIUM ONION, CHOPPED FINELY
• 1/2 TEASPOON SALT
• 2 CLOVES GARLIC, MINCED
• 2 TEASPOONS CHILI POWDER
• 1 POUND GROUND SIRLOIN
• FRESHLY GROUND BLACK PEPPER, TO TASTE

Tomato Sauce:
• 1 15-OUNCE CAN TOMATO SAUCE
• 1/4 CUP WATER
• 1/4 CUP DARK BROWN SUGAR
• 1 TO 2 TABLESPOONS RED WINE VINEGAR
• 1 TABLESPOON WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE
• 1 TABLESPOON YELLOW MUSTARD
• 1 TO 2 TEASPOONS CRUSHED RED PEPPER FLAKES
• 2 TABLESPOONS TOMATO PASTE

• 4 HAMBURGER BUNS
• BUTTER, FOR SPREADING ON HAMBURGER BUNS

1. In a large skillet, heat the oil to medium-high. Add onion and salt, lower heat to medium, and sauté until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Add garlic and chili powder, and cook for about 30 seconds.
3. Add beef, and cook for about 3 minutes, breaking it up as you stir. (The meat will still be a little pink when you move on to step 5. Don’t worry. It will keep cooking as it simmers in the tomato sauce.)
4. In the meantime, grab a medium bowl, and combine the tomato sauce, water, brown sugar, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, yellow mustard and red pepper flakes.
5. Add the tomato mixture to the beef. Stir in the tomato paste. Simmer for at least 10 minutes, or until the mixture reaches your desired consistency. (If it seems a little “wet,” just keep simmering.)
6. To Prep the Hamburger Buns: Warm a skillet over medium heat. Butter the insides of the buns, and place them butter-side down in the skillet. Toast. (We just threw ours in the toaster without butter)
7. Taste the Sloppy Joe mixture, and adjust the seasonings. Sandwich the mixture in the hamburger buns, and serve.

Avocado Basil Pasta

I would have never thought of putting bacon and avocado in a pasta dish.  Surprisingly, it was a tasty combination.  I loved that the entire dinner took 20 minutes to make.  The only negative is that it doesn't provide leftovers because the avocados will brown.  

Avocado Basil Pasta

Adapted from Recipe.com

Ingredients:
8 ounces of pasta 
2 avocados, peeled and chopped
6 slices of crisp, cooked, drained and crumbled bacon
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tbs. lemon juice
1 tbs. olive oil
3 cloves minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste 
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to directions on package & drain.
2. In a large bowl combine the avocados, bacon, basil, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, pepper, and salt. Add the hot pasta and toss to combine. Transfer to a serving bowl. Sprinkle with cheese. 


Makes 4 servings.

Buffalo Chicken Casserole

Are you a fan of buffalo chicken dip?  I will never forget the first time I had it.  It was at a bachelorette party over 3 years ago!  I came home from that party and made it for my then boyfriend and it instantly became a hit in our household.  We always make it when we're having friends over or for football parties.  A month or so ago, I was looking for a chicken casserole recipe to make.  I went to one of my go to sites, Pillsbury to search for recipes.  This one caught my eye and the reviews seemed promising.  The entire meal took less than an hour to make and was scrumptious.  It definitely had a little kick to it but it's definitely a step up from a plain cream of somthing added chicken casserole. I made a few changes below and noted them in blue.  Add this guy to your upcoming menu, it won't disappoint!

Buffalo Chicken Casserole

Courtesy of Pillsbury

1/2

cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice

1

cup water

1

tablespoon olive or vegetable oil

1

lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips

2

medium stalks celery, thinly sliced (1 cup)

1

can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes, undrained

1/2

cup buffalo wing sauce

1/4

cup blue cheese dressing

1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese

1. Cook rice in water 20 minutes as directed on package. Meanwhile, heat oven to 350°F. In 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and celery; cook 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until chicken is no longer pink in center. Remove from heat. Open can of tomatoes; cut up tomatoes in can. Stir tomatoes and wing sauce into chicken mixture. We did not cook the celery.  I like a bit of crunch and didn't feel it was necessary.  I'm glad we didn't because it came out just fine.  I also recommend using rotisserie chicken, it will save time. If you do that, all you have to do is cook the rice, then pull the chicken and mix in celery, wing sauce and tomatoes for this step.  
2. Spray 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Spoon cooked rice into dish. Spread chicken mixture over rice (do not stir). I added the dressing to this step.  I poured it over the chicken mixture, topped it with a 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese and sent it to the oven.  
3. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until hot in center (or cheese is bubbling). Drizzle dressing over top.

Nursery Door Sign

One of the last projects for Avery's nursery was a sign for the door.  I knew I wanted to do something in pink & grey.  I also knew I wanted an A or her name on it and I have loved the saying above for a while now.  Lots of people have this sort of sign on their front door.  But, I'm not too comfortable with announcing that I have a baby in my house so on the nursery door it goes!

Materials: 

plywood (I bought mine at JoAnn's for $1, I think it's 12x12)

acrylic paint

paint brush

Mod Podge

scrapbook paper

cricut or letter stickers

ribbon

Directions: 

Start with the plain piece of plywood

This is how thin the plywood is. 

I painted the back of the board grey.  I applied 2 coats and finished it off with a layer of Mod Podge. 

After that, I gathered my scrapbook paper.  I put a larger piece of the grey polka dot on the top of the wood and a smaller piece of the pink polka dots on the bottom.  I measured the paper, trimmed it and adhered it with Mod Podge to the unpainted side of the sign.  Make sure when using Mod Podge, that there aren't any bubbles under the paper.  

Next, I used my Cricut to cut the letters for the "You Wake Her, You Take Her" portion of the sign.  I adhered the letters with Mod Podge.  Make sure to center them first before you glue them on.  After that, I used a piece of chip board for the A, which was already cut.  I covered it with grey paper and glued it on top of the pink center.   Once the bottom layers of Mod Podge are dry, apply a layer or two to the top to seal it.  

To finish it off, I added a piece of white ribbon to separate the pink & grey.  I hot glued the ribbon to the back of the sign to keep it straight.  I also added ribbon to the top in order to hang it from a hook.

Sprinkled with Love Shower

A friend of mine was having her third child and I offered to throw her a small shower at work in celebration of baby #3.  I'm personally not a huge fan of second or third showers, especially if it's the same gender.  But, I love the idea of a sprinkle.  Something small to celebrate the baby and mom with family and close friends.  There have been tons of ideas on Pinterest, which is what I used when planning the shower.  It was a shower for just over 10 people and we went with the sprinkle theme.  

Sprinkled with Love Banner made using the cricut

The food.  We did just desserts since it was an early afternoon event.  There was brownies (with sprinkles of course), ice cream with a varitey of toppings, sprinkle covered marshmallows, mini cupcakes and chocolate covered pretzels.  

 Drinks.  Soda and punch were served. 

 Cupcake toppers I made.  

 Brownies using the new Pampered Chef brownie pan, love it!

Marshmallow pops.  Marshmallows dipped in melted pink candy coating pieces, then dipped in sprinkles.  I stuck leftover pink straws cut in half in the top.  

 I made mini diaper cakes as centerpieces.  

Pesto Shrimp Pasta

 In this last trimester, I've been trying to eat fish once a week.  Not only is it good for me, it's good for the bebe.  I chose this recipe because I love pesto and already had a jar in my fridge.  This dinner took only about 20 minutes to make and it tasted like it was from a restaurant.  It was that good. Enjoy!

This recipe was adapted from Budget Bytes, a new site I've found from Pinterest. 

Ingredients: 
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Cloves Garlic
3/4 lb, peeled, deveined shrimp 
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 box (16 oz) whole wheat spaghetti  
1 8 oz. jar pesto
2-3 Tbsp. fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste 


Directions:

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. 2.  As soon as you start the pasta water, heat a large skillet with the olive oil over medium heat. While the pan is heating, mince the garlic then add to the pan. Cook the garlic for about 1-2 minutes.

3. Turn the heat on the skillet up to medium high and add the shrimp (thawed, drained). Saute the shrimp and garlic until the shrimp are fully cooked (about 5 minutes). They will be pink and no longer transparent when fully cooked.

4.  Once the shrimp is cooked, add the tomatoes. Season the pan with salt and pepper and continue to cook until the tomatoes start to break down just slightly (about 5 min).

5. When the pasta is finished, drain it. Then, add the pesto sauce to the pan and mix until all the pasta is coated.  Last, add the pesto covered pasta to the skillet with the tomatoes, garlic and shrimp.  Stir until everything is evenly coated with pesto. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve!

Wipes Case Band

I've had this tutorial pinned for about a year now.  I knew as soon as we had a little one on the way, it was something I wanted to make.  I don't have a wipes warmer for the nursery.  I plan on using a regular wipes case and refilling it when it runs out.  Of course, I want the case to match the nursery. So, I decided on a grey case with pink fabric flowers attached.  I was very pleased with how easy this was to make.  It looks fabulous in the nursery and is soo much better then the normal case.  

So, head on over to Less Cake More Frosting for the tutorial. And if you're looking for fabric flower tutorials, I found a similar one here.  

PS.  I just hot glued the flowers onto the case, no sewing involved! 

Baby Shower Hostess Gift

I know my friends and family worked very hard on planning my baby shower.  I wanted to get them a small gift to show my appreciation.  I was inspired by a pin on pinterest using Bath & Body Works fresh picked scents.  I gave each one of my friends a hand soap, hand sanitizer, small body lotion and a cute matching note pad that I found at Michaels.  I also found these cute bags at Michaels as well.  To finish them off, I made the round tags myself using Print Shop.  

That's it.  A simple and inexpensive gift that best my girls loved.  

DIY Bow Board

Here is another project from Avery's nursery.  I already made a bow holder, but that didn't fit all of the flowers and bows she has.  So, I decided to make a bow board to hang on the back of her bedroom door.  

Materials:

1 canvas (mine was 16x20)

Fabric to cover canvas

staple gun

ribbon

spray adhesive

Fabric Pen

Directions: 

I started with my canvas and fabric. 

I ironed my fabric to get all of the creases out. 

Next, I laid my fabric on the ground and put the canvas on top.  

I left about 1 1/2 to 2 inches around all of the sides of the canvas and cut the extra fabric. 

Then, get your spray adhesive and spray the entire canvas front with it.  

Place your fabric on top of the canvas.  Smooth out any bumps or lines. 

Next, use your staple gun to staple the fabric on the back of the canvas.  I made sure to pull tight enough to keep the fabric smooth.  Continue doing that around all four sides of the canvas. 

Now, your board is done.  All you need to do now is create a place to hang the bows.  

I measured the length of my canvas (after deciding which way I wanted it to hang on the door).  

I marked the distance I wanted to put each piece of ribbon.  I think I did mine about 3 inches apart.  The mark below is the width of the ribbon, so I knew exactly where to put it. 

Cut the amount of ribbon you'll need.  I measured mine about 18 inches and cut 5 pieces.

After that, staple the ribbon to the back of the canvas on both ends.  

Trim off any excess ribbon or fabric.  

Ta da- you have your bow board.  You can hang it with ribbon or place it on hooks, like I did.  

Fill it with bows and you're good to go!