Simple Solution: kitchen organizer for lids

I have always struggled with organizing the lids in my kitchen. Seems they were always falling out of drawers and cabinets, getting pushed far back where I couldn’t reach them, and basically just causing unneeded aggravation in my kitchen. Then, one day, I was getting ready to throw out a dish drainer I no longer needed (I replaced it with a much less bulky one) and I took a good look at it first. It hit me! What a great way to keep lids in place. And why hadn’t I thought of this before? Problem Solved. Easy. I have been much happier for the last couple of weeks.

Cabbage Bowl

cabbage bowl for the super bowl

I saw this idea in a magazine while waiting in line at the grocery store. I instantly fell in love with the idea. My mom made it for our super bowl party .It was a  Big Hit!

Just cut out the inside of a clean head of cabbage to make a bowl and fill with dip!

We are going to do it with purple cabbage too.

diy valentine’s succulent garden

mintdesignblog.com 's diy succulent garden

This might be the cutest little indoor garden I have ever seen…..

Click here or to go to the original sight for complete instructions.

what you need

I don’t think you need to save this craft only for Valentine’s Day. How about writing someone’s name on it for a birthday or shower gift?

oh! hello… handmade jewelry

was featured in a treasury today on etsy.com

thanks to bracraft on etsy.com for featuring my item in a lovely treasury

chips for dips

Here’s a simple way to bake and season corn tortillas to make a very yummy chip. (just ask my husband, he is hooked!) They make a perfect side to go with the spinach enchiladas!

what you will need:

• small corn tortillas (about 1/3 of  package or roughly 10 tortillas)
• 1 tbs. canola oil
• ground cumin (i use a spice grinder to grind my own)
• granulated tomato chicken boullion (i find this in the international/mexican food section of the grocery store)*** you can easily substitute plain, or garlic salt for vegetarian/ vegan options
• cookie sheet
• large mixing bowl

what you will do:

1. preheat oven to 400^o
2. cut tortillas in to 8 triangle sections (like a pie)
3. place in mixing bowl
4. add canola oil and toss gently until coated (i like to use tongs to keep my hands clean)
5. place on cookie sheet in single layer (it is ok to overlap some, but the more space they have the better and cripier they cook)
6. sprinkle with ground cumin and the tomato-chicken bouillon
7. place in oven and bake 10 minutes
8. remove from oven and rearrange (again, the tongs work great)
9. place back in oven and bake about 6 more minutes or until crispy
10. serve immediately with your favorite dips

how clever! kitchen soap dispenser

Here’s a clever way to add a little surprise of pizzaz to your kitchen.
Get rid of that messy ordinary looking dish soap bottle and replace it with this:

** you can also use a wine bottle if you like to keep more soap on hand. I found this specialty soda at the grocery store (it was quite good too) and LOVED  the brightly colored label that is painted on. Looks great with green colored apple scented soap!

you can  purchase the spouts at most stores in the wine or mixer section or order them from a site like amazon.com

spinach enchiladas

easy spinach enchiladas

Here is one of my own recipes: Spinach enchiladas. *** You can add cooked chicken, , mushrooms, onions, or any of your favorite Mexican food ingredients to these to give them your personal touch. ( We like ours with mushrooms!)

Although it looks like there are a lot of step, I created these with “easy” in mind. I promise that is what they are. Enjoy!

what you will need:

• large rectangular glass oven safe cookware.
• 1 block 1/3 less fat plain cream cheese
• about 10 ounces shredded colby -jack cheese (I buy block and shred my own.)
• large size ( burrito) flour tortillas
• 2 -16oz. packs frozen chopped spinach
• 1- 16oz jar taco sauce
• 2 packages enchilada sauce mix ( like McCormick)

topping suggestions: black olives, green onions, diced jalapenos, sour cream

makes 6 enchiladas

1. preheat oven to 425*
2. grease bottom of cooking dish (about 1 tbs. canola oil works great)
3. thaw and drain spinach well
4. prepare 1 package enchilada sauce according to package, substituting 16 oz. taco sauce for tomato sauce.
5. spoon a little bit of sauce into bottom of cooking dish, spread evenly
6. divide colbly-jack cheese into 2 bowls- half in each
7. layer onto the center of each tortilla: 1/6 cream cheese, 1/6 spinach, (***this is when you would add other ingredients to the layering), and 1/6 from one of the bowls of colby-jack
8. open the other package of enchilada sauce mix and spoon about 1/2 tsp of the mixture onto the other ingredients on each of the tortillas (you will have about 1/2 the package left over)
9. wrap tightly , folding both ends in.
10. place enchiladas side by side in pan
11. spoon sauce half of the sauce over the top, making sure to let some seep down between each one (this will make them easier to remove)
12. cover and bake for about 15 minutes.
13. remove from oven and sprinkle remaining colby-jack cheese onto the top of each one.
14. re-cover and bake for 10 more minutes
15. remove from oven

To serve: divide remaining sauce onto plates and with a spatula, carefully remove each enchilada and place on sauce.

Top with green onions, black olives, sliced jalapenos, and sour cream ( if desired)

leftover halloween candy cookies (no eggs needed!)

After all of the fuss over food during the holidays, I have been trying to be a good girl and cut back on -at least- sweets.I am going to be completely honest with you…. this is NOT an easy thing for me to do. I have been doing very well, except for about a week ago, my husband (who also has a sweet tooth , but will continue to deny it) jokingly , told me that I forgot to make chocolate chip cookies after dinner one night. I was not able to stop thinking about homemade chocolate chip cookies after that. BUT! I refused to buy what I needed to make them… and then the craving finally won!

So… the other night I went into the kitchen to see what I could come up with for cookies. I had only a small amount of chocolate chips,( but quite a bit of leftover chocolate Halloween candy), flour, sugar (brown & white), butter, salt, raisins, and oatmeal. But wait! NO EGGS!  I decided to look up cookie recipes that don’t call for eggs. I merged a few together, changed some things around, and came up with this!

DELICIOUS (LEFTOVER) CANDY COOKIES !

• 1/2 stick butter (softened)
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup boiling water
• 2 cups old fashioned oat meal
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
• 1 1/2 mixed crushed candy bars ( i used snickers, milky way, 3 musketeers , and m&m’s –do not crush the m&m’s)

Directions:

1. Beat butter or margarine, sugars and vanilla together until they are light and fluffy.
2. Add flour and salt
3. mix well.
4. Dissolve baking soda in boiling water and add to mixture
5. Stir in rolled oats, raisins and chocolate chips.
6. Drop by teaspoonful onto un-greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10-12 minutes. (make sure you allow enough room between cookies, they will spread)
7. Don’t over cook
8. ENJOY!!

** If you are using candy with caramel, they will stick to the cookie sheet. Be sure to remove them before they completey cool, or you will have a difficult time

*** cookie baking secret- always preheat your cookie sheets to make sure your bottoms don’t burn

good things that have to do with pets….

I must have been behind the times because I have only found out recently that every time you buy Milkbone products , they give a donation to the canine assistance program. Turns out they have been doing this for 12 years! If you aren’t familiar with Canine Assistance they are a group that trains and provides dogs to children and adults with special needs, for free! What a great thing! So… I say  give                                                                        your dog a treat! and make it Milkbone!

here we go ah-Wassail-ing!

If you have never been fortunate to sip upon wassail of any sort, i highly recommend you change that misfortune sometime this winter. Although often enjoyed with rum, you can make this heart warming hot beverage in the croc-pot minus the alchohol for almost any age to enjoy ( it is best to add in the rum per individual serving anyway so as not to cook out any of the alchohol). My grandmother used to make it for holidays, and it was one of the things I looked forward to so much growing up. As an adult, I enjoy it even more with a shot of BACARDI.

There are actually many different ways to make this yummy beverage, but I found a quick,  easy,  and most satisfying way.

like this:

• slow cooker with lid
• 1 gallon apple cider ( we bought local!)
• 1 pack mulling spices
• 1 orange
• cinnamon sticks
• whole cloves
• Rum (not spiced)

Pour cider  and contents of mulling spices into slow cooker. Set to high heat. Stir. Slice orange in half. Stick whole cloves into 1 orange half. Break cinnamon sticks in half and stick  4 halves into the same  orange half that has the cloves. Float in Cider. Slice 2 slices off of the other half of the orange and float in cider. Cover and simmer until hot. Now you are ready to serve your wassail. Fill coffee or tea mug 3/4 full of wassail and add 1 shot of rum. Serve with whole cinnamon sticks for stirring.