Initial Plaque

I really like this project and I am so glad it is FINALLY finished! I started working on this a while ago but had to put it on the back burner with so many things going on. I can't decide whether to hang it outside my door or on my door. I guess I have plenty of time to decide with my Christmas decor taking over. Too bad it took me so long to finish, now I have to wait to display it till' after the holidays. I'll post the "how to" instructions soon. I just wanted to get it uploaded and I'm running short on time.

Ranch Chicken

Ingredients:

3/4 cup corn flakes, crushed

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 pkg.(3 Tablespoons) ranch salad dressing mix

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half (or you can use 6-8 tenders)

1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions:

1. In a shallow bowl, combine corn flakes, Parmesan cheese, and ranch mix.

2. Dip chicken in melted butter, then roll in corn flake mixture to coat.

3. Place chicken in a greased 9X13 baking dish.

4. Bake uncovered, at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until juices run clear.

Happy Thanksgiving

Just wanted to wish all my readers a Happy Thanksgiving!
Have a safe and Happy Holiday Season!

Banana Bread

Ingredients:

(1/4 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon) for dusting pans

3/4 cup butter

3 eggs

6 very ripe bananas, mashed

1 16oz. container sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking soda

4 1/2 cups flour

Directions:

1. Grease 2 regular size bread pans. Mix 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon and dust greased pans with it.

2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Mix in eggs, mashed bananas, sour cream, vanilla, and cinnamon. Mix in salt , baking soda, and flour. Divide into prepared pans.

4. Bake at 300 degrees for approximately 90 minutes, or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.

Journal/Notebook

I made this as a sample for enrichment the other night and thought it turned out cute.

What you need:
composition book
scrapbook paper
mod podge
foam brush
scissors/paper cutter
embellishments- glitter, ribbon, jewels, tags, chipboard, stamps, whatever you want!
(any tools needed to apply embellishments)
What you do:
1. Cut the scrapbook paper to size. I cut my paper exactly to size, leaving the original spine exposed. You can also wrap your paper around the entire book covering the spine. Repeat the same thing for the inside covers as well.
2. Apply an even layer of mod podge on cover and apply scrapbook paper.
3. Apply embellishments. If you choose to add a ribbon page marker, I glued my ribbon to the entire length of the very center page of the book so it could evenly reach all pages of the book.
4. When finished, you can put a coat of mod podge over the entire book to help seal the paper and embellishments, but you don't have to.

Tag Swap

I went to a tag swap tonight and these are all the adorable tags I came home with. Just thought I'd share!

Stink'n Good Carmel Corn!

Ingredients:
5 tablespoons butter

2 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup light corn syrup

1 can Eagle brand sweet and condensed milk

8 quarts (5 bags of microwaved) popcorn

Directions:

1. Prepare popcorn. Remove kernels. (see tip at bottom)

2. In a medium saucepan, combine syrup , butter, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Simmer for 10 minutes and continue stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add milk and vanilla.

3. Pour over prepared popcorn.

This is so yummy and gooey!

*Tip: I got an awesome tip that I wanted to add. An easy way to remove the kernels from the popcorn is to pour it out over a cooling rack. The kernels will fall through the slats and the popcorn stays on the rack...genious! No more sifting through popcorn for me!

Mexican Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 Lb. ground beef

½ onion chopped

1 jar spaghetti sauce 24-26 oz.

16 oz.cottage cheese

1 egg

½ pound grated Mozzarella cheese

½ pound grated cheddar cheese

½ cup parmesan cheese

1 package flour tortillas

Directions:

1. Brown hamburger and onion in a pan and drain well.Combine with the spaghetti sauce.

2. In large bowl combine beaten egg, and all the cheeses. Save a little of the Mozzarella and cheddar for the topping.

3. Put a layer of the tortillas in a 9x13 pan. Tear them to fill in all the spaces. Then add a layer of sauce and a layer of cheese mixture. Repeat (about 3 times) ending with the sauce. Top with remaining grated cheese.

4. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve hot.

On your individual plates top with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and chopped olives as desired.

Name Board

I found this not-so-cute sign on clearance at Target...
and turned it in to this Oh-So-Cute sign!

What you need:

sign/board (again, Target clearance $4.24!)

paint (for edges of wooden letters)

spray paint (for board)

sand paper

brush

wooden letters

scrapbook paper

mod podge

hot glue gun

What you do:

1. If you do buy this board, you'll want to "rough it up" a bit with sand paper. If you buy a wooden board, it wouldn't be a bad idea to sand it first as well.

2. Spray paint board.

3. Paint the sides of you wooden letters. Let dry completely.

4. Trace each letter onto scrapbook paper and cut out.

5. Apply a thin layer of mod podge to each letter and position paper letter over top.

6. Once board is dry, hot glue your letters on.