Spruce Up your Mouse Pad

What you need:

scissors

iron

steam-a-seam or heat n' bond

fabric (I just used left over scrap from when I recovered my chairs)

What you do:

1. Cut fabric and steam-a-seam to size

2. Adhere to fabric and iron on mouse pad!

Shredded Beef Tacos

Ingredients:

3-4 lbs. boneless beef roast

2 pckgs. taco seasoning

1 small onion, diced

2 cups water

5 green onions, finely chopped

1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped

5 radishes, finely chopped

corn tortillas

salt, to taste

Directions:

1. In a crockpot, mix taco seasoning, onion, and water. Add roast (you may need to add a little more water to cover roast, all depends on size of your crockpot). Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

2. When meat is done, shred with two forks and place back in crockpot till serving.

3. Mix finely chopped green onion, cilantro, and radishes. Chill until ready to serve. (this garnish is what makes the tacos!)

4. Just prior to eating, warm corn tortillas. Spoon shredded beef and garnish into tortilla.Add cheese, salsa, jalapenos, etc.

Honey Chicken Kabobs

Ingredients:

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

2 garlic gloves, minced

1 large onion

1 yellow/orange bell pepper, cut into 2" pieces

1 red bell pepper, cut into 2" pieces

skewers

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, honey, soy sauce, pepper, and garlic. Reserve a small amount of marinade for brushing kabobs while cooking. Place chicken and vegetables in marinade and let marinate for at least 4 hours, the longer the better.

2. Heat grill to high heat.

3. Thread chicken and vegetables alternately onto the skewers.

4. Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill kabobs for 12 to 15 minutes, or until juices are clear. Turn and brush with marinade frequently.

Crafty Clipboard

What you need:
Clipboard

Mod Podge
Brush

Ribbon of choice

12 X 12 Scrapbook Paper

What you do:

1. Cut paper to size

2. Brush Mod Podge over clipboard

3. Position paper, let dry

4. Apply thin layer Mod Podge over entire board to seal paper down, let dry

5. Tie assorted ribbon on clamp

Magnets

What you need:

Large glass gems

clear drying tacky glue

paint brush

scrapbook paper of choice

1" circle punch or scissors

strong magnets

What you do:

1. Cut or die cut circles

2. Apply a thin layer of glue to back of gem using paint brush.

3. Place circle face down on gem.

4. Let dry and attach magnet.

some magnets come with adhesive backs, but if not you can use the same tacky glue or a hot glue gun

Binkie Clips

What you need:
5/8" grosgrain ribbon of choice
snaps
badge clip (available on ebay in many colors)
cropadile (to attach snaps)
embossing heat gun

What you do:

1. Cut ribbon to desired length according to age of baby

2. Heat seal each end of the ribbon using the embossing heat gun (a hair dryer may even work) to avoid fraying.

3. Thread badge clip on one end of ribbon and secure the clip by attaching a snap using a cropadile or you may sew the end as well. (the black floral clip is sewn, the pink dot clip is snapped)

4. Fold over opposite end leaving a loop big enough for pacifier to move freely and attach snap using a cropadile.

*the mam rings can also be purchased at Target and attached to the loop

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken, cubed
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup choppped onion
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1 can chicken broth (about 1 3/4 cups)
2/3 cup milk

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Add water to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain, and set aside.
3. In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer until thick.
4. Place chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust and seal edges. Make small slits in top to allow steam to escape.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown. Let cool before serving.

* I bake mine an extra 5 minutes because we like our crust really toasty.

Binder Clips

What you need:
1. any size binder clips
2. tacky glue
3. q-tips
4. your choice of scrapbook paper

What you do:
1. cut scrapbook paper to size
2. spread a thin layer of tacky glue over clip with q-tip
3. adhere paper to clip

Super Cute & Super Easy!

Chipotle Shrimp Tacos

Ingredients:
1 (12 oz.) package of bacon, cut into small pieces
1/2 onion, diced
2 pounds large cooked shrimp- peeled, deveined, and cut in half
3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
12 corn tortillas
1 cup fresh choppped cilantro
1 lime, juiced
salt

Directions:
1. In a large, deep skillet fry the bacon over med-high heat until evenly browned. Drain the fat from the bacon. Add the onions to the pan with bacon and cook 5 minutes or until onions are translucent. Stir in shrimp and chipotle chiles. Cook 4 minutes, or until heated through.
2. Heat tortillas, fill with shrimp mixture and sprinkle with cilantro, lime juice, and salt.

*for those who don't like spicy food, this recipe is still really good w/o the chiles in adobo sauce.

Thanks to my sister Megan for this recipe!

New Blog

So I decided to start a recipe/craft blog due to my obsession with trying new recipes and always looking for something crafty to make. I cook five days a week and the "same old, same old" gets REALLY OLD, REALLY FAST! So as I experiment with new recipes, I will post the ones I feel are blog worthy. As for the crafting, I'll post my latest creations with "how to" instructions for any wanting to give it a try. Most of the ideas for the things I make are found online, in magazines, or from friends. I would love any feedback or ideas any may have, so please share!