Southwestern Stuffed Peppers

I wasn't planning on writing a blog entry for these Southwestern Stuffed Peppers. It was more of a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing! Since I've started this blog, most of the posts that I've done have been pre-planned and pre-written; doing it this way has (at least when I pre-plan and pre-write haha) helped me stay motivated and a smidge more consistent in my blogging. But as I've been procrastinating on actually doing some of the projects and cooking that I've pre-written.....it's kinda hard to blog about them! So instead, I decided in the middle of my cooking to snap some pictures and write about my newest try-out recipe that turned out to be a smash hit. I know so since D. told me to say that they were "yummy!" Such a sweet, supporting husband I have. :)

Of course, I found this recipe via Pinterest. After scanning the recipe, I thought it looked intriguing enough to try. Good decision! Click here for the recipe. Something that I appreciated about the way this recipe was written is that it can be adapted for your eating preferences: meat, vegetarian, vegan. So while we enjoy the meaty version in our house, adapt as suits you! I also really like the southwestern flare; it adds a fun, different taste compared to what I'm used to in stuffed peppers.

Side note: I somehow managed to make far too much stuffing, plus I think my bell peppers were much smaller than hers due to it still being in the middle of winter here....oops! I added the extra to the bottom of the baking dish before putting it back into the oven. We'll have a lot more leftovers than I had planned for, but I'm not complaining; I can't wait to take them for lunch!

In other news, our family is adapting well to the new addition! Lucy still seems to be getting the balance on when we leave and when we're home, and I'm still getting used to her play time at 3 AM......sigh. But we're having so much fun with our little kitty; she's quite the entertainer!

Isn't she just so cute? :)

DIY--Easy Pillow Slip Covers

I’m dedicating this post to my good friend, Justin, who first encouraged me to start a blog. I’ve really been enjoying all aspects of blogging, from thinking up and doing posts, to designing and redesigning (and redesigning again lol) the look of my blog. I’ve really been striving to carry out what I originally stated as my blog’s purpose: to stop just being a wannabe and actually do some of the things I’ve been wanting to do. I’m not perfectly there; I definitely have some big areas that I want to start making waves in (namely being more organized at home and getting rid of the mess haha), but I’ve been pleased with my progress so far. So, thanks Justin; I gave you the blame when I first started this venture, and now I’ll give you the praise! :)

I LOVE being crafty! Really, I love being crafty with a purpose. There are a lot of simple craft ideas out there…..but a lot of them are things that I would never use. I don’t like to make a project that I ultimately won’t use just because I want something to do. So, I look for ideas that I think are useful or practical. My recent pattern has been to search Pinterest after I finish my Facebook time to see if I can find any good ideas. Which is how I found the project I’m blogging about today.

I think pillows are wonderful. They’re fun décor that add warmth to furniture. When I’m at a store, I could spend quite some time just looking at all the pillows. The only problem with them is that they are expensive! “You want HOW much for this pillow?” I feel like asking. I just look at them and know that I can’t really justify the expense, nor would my husband appreciate me spending that kind of money on pillows. So, I was really excited when I came across the tutorial for these easy pillow slip-covers.

The best part about these (other than being easy to make haha)? I was able to get 4 pillow forms for just over $20 total, plus approximately $10 for fabric…..voila! Four pillows done for around $30. Yay!

I followed this tutorial here. However, I'm also going to blog this tutorial myself.

To make your own:

Gather a pillow form, 1/2 to 1 yard of fabric (depending on how many pillows you'll be making and the size; I made 14" by 14" pillows and used about 3/4 of a yard for two), thread, and your sewing machine.

Wash and iron the fabric. Cut the fabric two times the width of the pillow form plus 6 inches by the height of the pillow plus 1 inch. For example, for a 14" by 14" pillow, the width would be 34" by a height of 15".

Iron and sew a rolled hem on both short sides of the fabric.

Place the pillow form in the middle of the fabric, right side up. Fold one side of the fabric over the pillow until centered and then fold the other over until snug around the pillow form. Pin the fabric together at the top and bottom.

Carefully remove the pillow form and repin all three layers of fabric. Sew the top and bottom edges with a half inch seam allowance (I cut my fabric a little larger than I meant to, so my seam allowances ended up being more like 1 inch each; if this happens to you, adjust the seam allowance as necessary).

Turn the slip cover right side out and poke out the corners with a point turner (or whatever pointy type instrument you happen to have on hand lol). Insert the pillow form, and you're done! You're very own homemade pillow!

Banana Almond Smoothie

Recently, my husband and I have begun to endeavor to eat a little healthier and to work out to lose a bit of weight and get into better shape. Towards this end, I decided to stop eating cereal for breakfast and to start making fruit smoothies. Which also means that I have to be a bit more motivated to get up and get things done in the morning; not a bad thing, even if my bed is incredibly comfy haha!

I have been enjoying my berry fruit smoothies in the morning, but that’s not what I’m going to be sharing in this post. While on Pinterest, I came across a pin for an Almond Energy Shake that looked de-lish! So, I picked up a couple extra ingredients when grocery shopping for the week and whipped it up. I can say that it lived up to expectations grandly! It has a fairly light flavor at first taste, but the more you drink, the better it gets. I think that I’m going to enjoy alternating this smoothie with my berry smoothies in the mornings!

(UPDATED 1/31/2013) Gather the ingredients:

     1 1/4 Cups Almond milk

     1 banana, sliced and frozen

     2 tablespoons almond butter

     ½ teaspoon (approx.) cinnamon
     1 scoop vanilla protein powder

     4 ice cubes

Place all the ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. This updated recipe makes 1 serving; pour it into a large mason jar and enjoy! Note: with the updated recipe, it won't fill a large mason jar to the brim like in the picture below. It's still yummy though!

DIY--Stay-Put Kitchen Towels

I enjoy being crafty, and I like to use my sewing machine when being crafty, because it gives me the knowledgable--"Look, Ma, what I can do!"--kind of feeling haha. But sometimes it's hard to find something that I'm inspired to make because it's too time-consuming, too high an experience level, not something I'd really use, etc. But when I came across a Pinterest post referencing Stay-Put Kitchen Towels, I thought, "Perfect!" They seemed fun, easy to do, and I could make some just in time for Christmas gifts!

They did turn out fun and easy to make, although making 6 at one time was a bit more time consuming than I had anticipated. But it was well worth it, and the towels were well received gifts. They were also the gifts I was most proud of, other than a microwavable neck warmer I made for my husband.

To see the tutorial that I used (and perhaps make your own Stay-Put Kitchen Towels), click here. I decided not to add the decorative strip of fabric at the bottom of the towels like the tutorial shows. Echoing another blogger who also made these towels from this tutorial, I felt that it decreased the usable towel space a little too much. Enjoy!

DIY--Mason Jar Soap Dispenser

Like a lot of other people, I seem to have a fascination with mason jars. In fact, I like them so much, I used them in different sizes as vases for my wedding. 

In addition to this, though, I love all the different types of projects one can do with them. I’ve taken to pinning my favorite ideas to Pinterest for future use.

One of the ideas I came across but didn’t actually pin was for a Mason Jar Soap Dispenser. We had been leaving our large dish soap container on the counter because we didn’t have a nicer looking container to put the soap in, so when I initially came across this idea, I thought it was a great idea and hopefully a simple enough project to put together.

I searched several different websites while looking for a good (and easy!) way to make a mason jar soap dispenser. Some were definitely too complicated, but I finally found directions that were doable! It took me a month or so, but I finally gathered my supplies and took a half hour to make my new soap dispenser. Success! I LOVE the way it looks. Happy days!

To make your own:

Gather a medium sized mason jar (found at your local craft store or grocery store), a pump from an empty soap bottle, a hammer, a nail, and craft glue.

With the lid on the mason jar, place the nail in the center of the lid. Hammer until a hole breaks through the center. Continue to hammer the nail into the lid around the center, widening the hole until the soap pump fits into the lid.

Place the soap pump into the lid. Carefully lift the pump slightly and apply glue to secure pump to lid. Allow the glue to dry overnight. Add soap, and Voila! Your very own mason jar soap dispenser!

Cheesy Garlic Biscuits

I was surfing Pinterest a couple weeks ago, and I came across a recipe for biscuits that boasted that they tasted like the ones you get at Red Lobster. Which everyone knows are the best reason to go to Red Lobster haha. So, even though I doubted that they could really live up to Red Lobster’s biscuits, I wanted to try out the recipe anyway, especially because it looked super easy.

It was a good gamble. The biscuits were de-lish! And they were indeed super easy to make. I wouldn’t go as far as to endorse them as being as good as Red Lobster’s….but they’re definitely worth making. And enjoying. A lot.

Gather the Ingredients:

     1 ½ Cups Bisquick

     1 ½ Cups shredded cheddar cheese

     1/2 Cup milk

     2 tablespoons butter

     1 tablespoon oregano

     3/4 tablespoon garlic salt

Combine Bisquick, milk, and cheese in a medium bowl and mix well to form a sticky dough (you may need to add an extra splash or two of milk to get enough stickiness). Drop by spoonful onto a greased cooking sheet about 1 ½ inches apart. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until lightly golden.

In a small bowl, melt butter and then mix in oregano and garlic salt. Brush butter mixture over biscuits and return to oven for another 2 to 4 minutes. Mmm, garlicky goodness!