Simple Baby Shower Invitations

Seems like everyone in my office is having a baby! I got to help throw a shower for one of my co-workers recently and I wanted to craft a simple yet modern/elegant invitation. Here were the results!

The small onsie was cut out using my Cricut and the New Arrival cartridge I borrowed from a friend. The invitations were a big hit! Simple to make, but cute and modern.

Best Shower Cleaner Ever!

Simple! Simple! Simple!

I keep seeing blog posts and pinterest posts with a version of this shower cleaner. Everyone claims that it is the BEST. Well, I'm here to tell you that it is! I hate using smelly, chemical filled shower cleaners in our poorly ventelated bathroom, so I was eagar to give this a try.

Just mix equal parts vinegar and dish soap in a spray bottle (I used a funnel to prevent spilling). Spray on your shower and tub and after about 10 minutes wipe clean. It worked so well! No harsh chemicals, no smell and a fraction of the cost of most shower cleaning products!!



Wedding Shower: Orange and Green Cupcakes and Cookies

Here are some pictures from the wedding shower I just helped throw for one of my best friends! We have known each other since my freshman year of college, and I am so excited to be celebrating her wedding day with her!

The colors for the wedding are green and orange, so I had to make sure that the cupcakes and favors (decorated sugar cookies) fit right in!

I decorated the cupcakes with buttercream frosting tinted with Wilton's leaf green coloring. I used a medium sized star tip to decorate. Then I topped each cupcake with a simple orange flower that I pipped using orange tinted royal icing.

I felt like there were cupcakes everywhere in my kitchen that day!!!

The favors were simple sugar cookies decorated to again match the green and orange theme.

Again, I felt like my kitchen was taken over! But these cookies were really simple. I used royal icing to pipe a boarder on the edges of the cookies and a simple sugar cookie frosting to fill in the rest. The white flowers in the middle were also made by pipping royal icing.

All in all the shower was a success and everyone loved the treats! I can't wait to celebrate with the bride and groom at the wedding!

Simple DIY Cupcake Stand

My friend is getting married! And we just threw her a lovely shower to celebrate. I was put in charge of the desserts and favors.

To give the dessert table just a little some extra, I decied to make matching cake stands using the wedding colors (green and orange).

The project was simple, I purchased two chargers (one round and one square) and a bud vase from Michaels and then used a strong adhesive to bond them together!

In total, this project cost $6 for each stand! So simple and it really added something to the overall presentation.

Cars Cake: 2nd Birthday Cake

A few weeks ago I got to make a birthday cake for a cute 2 years old. After talking with his mom, I found out that he was really into toy cars and trucks. Searching around online, I found some excellent inspiration and quickly put this cake together.

I used a yellow cake mix in a 8x3 pan, which I torted and filled with frosting. The majority of the cake is covered in Wilton's Leaf Green tinted butter cream and the black fondant I purchased as a precut sheet. The "tunnel" on the front of the cake was made from a square of cake that was cut off the top when I was leveling.

I hope that Caden enjoyed his cake! I can't wait to see pictures!



Creamy Meat Sauce

The other night, I realized that I had a partial carton of cream left in the fridge from making whipped cream. I wasn't exactly sure what I could do with it, but I did not want it to go to waste.

Looking around in my freezer and pantry, I was able to come up with some ingredients for a creamy meaty pasta sauce. The end result was delectable....even if it wasn't very healthy.....but I won't tell anyone if you won't!

First, I started off by boiling an entire box of pasta. Then, I cooked 2 small onions that had been chopped and 4 minced garlic cloves in some olive oil in a large skillet. Next, I added in a pound of ground beef and cooked it thoroughly, until it was no longer pink.

Next, I added a large can on crushed tomatoes to the meat mixture. I allowed the mixture to come up to a boil and then reduced the heat as low as it could go.  By this time, the pasta was finished, so I drained the water and returned the pasta to the pot. I went back to the sauce and with the heat still on very low, I slowly stirred in a cup of cream. I then poured the sauce on top of the pasta and stirred in about a cup of mozzarella cheese.

This easy and quick meal comes together in less than 30 minutes and makes a rich and tasty meal!

Recipe Recap

1 Tsp olive oil

2 small onions/1 medium onion chopped

4 cloves of garlic minced

1 pound ground beef

1 large can crushed tomatoes

1 cup cream

1 pound pasta cooked

1 cup mozzarella cheese

Cook the onions and garlic in the oil until translucent. Then add the beef to the pan and cook until no longer pink. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil, reduce the heat to its lowest setting and stir in the cream. Pour the sauce over the cooked pasta, stir in the cheese and serve.

Perfect Pot Roast

Looking for an easy and simple pot roast recipe?? To start, you will need any sort of beef roast and some simple root vegetables.

Start off by browning the meat on all sides in some vegetable oil until it is brown. Use a large, heavy bottomed pot. While you are doing this, chop up your veggies. I used carrots, celery and onions, but you could add potatoes, turnips, anything that can stand up to a long cook time.

When the meat is browned, take it out of the pot at brown the onions for a few minutes by themselves. Once the onions have a little color, add in the rest of the veggies and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir the veggies a few times, allowing them to pick up some of the bits and pieces of brown form the bottom of the pot. 

Put the meat on top of the veggies and then add 4-6 cups of water (enough to cover veggies and come up to the sides of the beef) and some beef stock base/bullion cubes. If you want you can also add some herbs, I added 1 bay leaf and some oregano. Allow the water to come up to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover the pot and allow the meat to cook for 3-4 hours, turning the meat every 30 minutes.

I like to serve the pot roast with crusty bread. Ymmmm!!! 

Recipe Recap:

3-4 lb beef roast

3 medium onions

4 carrots

5 stalks celery

4 cups water

2 tsp beef base

1 bay leaf

1 Tsp  oregano

Brown the meat in 2 Tsp of oil, then remove the meat and brown the onions and other veggies. Put the meat back in the pan, add the water, herbs and beef base and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 3-4 hours, turning the meat every 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Quick Cheesy Grits

These grits make a great side dish for any meaty/saucy meal, but also taste great on their own. I made these grits to go along with my BBQ Chipotle Ribs and they were the perfect side!

First, cook a cup of grits according to the package directions. In this case it was 3 1/2 cups of water for one cup of grits. Once the water was boiling, I slowly stirred in the grits. The the entire mixture cooked in a covered pot for 20 minutes on a low heat.

When the grits are done, mix in 1 cup of cheddar cheese (I used fat free cheese and it turned out great!) and 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese. Recover the grits and let it sit off the heat for an additional 10 minutes and then serve!!

Recpie Recap
1 cup of grits cooked according to the package directions
1 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Cook the grits and stir in the cheese. Let sit off the heat for 10 minutes and serve.

3 Ingredient Chipotle BBQ Ribs

These ribs are delicious and so easy to make! You will need a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce, a rack of ribs and 2-3 chipotle peppers. You can find these peppers in a can in the ethnic aisle of your grocery store.

To make this recipe, I used my pressure cooker, but you could just as easily make these in your crock pot or in the oven after marinating in the sauce.

First, cut up the ribs into 2-3 bone sections.

Second put the ribs into your pressure cooker, pour the BBQ sauce on top and top it all with the peppers. Then you will need to add a cup of water, I used the BBQ sauce bottle in order to get all the last drops of the sauce out at the same time.

Then just set your pressure cooker to high and cook for 25 minutes.

Serve on top of some Easy Cheesy Grits and enjoy! The sauce from the ribs goes great with the grits!

Recipe Recap
1 bottle BBQ sauce
2-3 chipolte peppers (depending on your heat tolerance)
1 rack of ribs cut into smaller sections
1 cup of water

Save $$, Buy a Rotisserie Chicken

I have a friend who says that she won't buy the precooked rotisserie chickens at the grocery stores because they cost too much money. I disagree, I think that they actually help me save money!

After the hubby and I eat a meal from the chicken, I then pick the rest of the chicken for meat. Do people pick chicken anymore? My mom would always do this growing up to make sure that all of the meat was used.....people just aren't frugal anymore!

To prove my point, while picking this particular chicken I got out my 1 cup measuring cup to see how much extra meat I was able to get. This time I was able to get 4 cups!!!!!!!! of extra meat. I sectioned this off into plastic bags and stuck them in the freezer, perfect for adding to salads, chicken quesadillas and other meals at a later time.

For $5.99, I would say we got our money's worth!!

Antioxidant Rich Chiliquiles

Have you ever heard of chiliquiles? They are like a yummy Mexican casserole, but this version is lighter and packed full of antioxidants. Its also meat free, but you would never never know it....I promise, just give it a try.

First, gather your ingredients. Most of this you will already have in your pantry/fridge. You will need eggs (1 per person), 2 cups cheddar cheese (low or fat free if you want), 1 can of black beans, 1 can of rotel, 1 can of diced tomatoes, 6-10 corn tortillas, 1 onion, some garlic, 1 can green chilies, cumin, chili powder, oil, cooking  spray, an avocado and a lime.

Cut the tortilla using a pair of scissors and spray them with a good amount of cooking spray. Put them in a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes until the get some color and crisp. In the meantime, begin cooking an onion (red, white, whatever you have) and a few cloves of garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil.

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When the onion is cooked through, add the spices, chilies, rotel, tomatoes, and drained beans. Do not drain the tomatoes. Allow the mixture to warm through and let the flavor meld. If you want at this point you can add some more liquid (like chicken stock or beer) and then allow the liquid to cook down, concentrating the flavor. If you have time, this will give the dish more depth of flavor. You can get creative here and add anything that you might have around the house.....bacon comes to mind.....

Next, you are going to pour this mixture on top of the tortillas and layer is with the cheese. This dish goes back into the oven to melt the cheese, it will take about 10 minutes.

While this is baking, use the same dish that you used to cook the tomato and bean mixture to cook up a few eggs. Also, cut up the lime and avocado. Squeeze some of the lime juice onto the avocado to stop it from becoming brown. Also, if you happen to have anything that would make a good garnish, chop it up. We happened to have cherry tomatoes and black olives.

When the cheese is melted, take the baking dish out of the oven. Serve a generous amount of the casserole with one of the eggs and plenty of the garnishes. Enjoy!

Yes, its actually vegetarian (minus the egg)....but shhhhhh, don't tell anyone and they will never know....trust me. This is a hearty and comforting dinner, they will never miss the meat!



Recipe Recap:

6-10 corn tortillas
Cooking Spray
Olive Oil
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 can rotel
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can black beans (drained)
1/8 cup canned green chilies
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
2 cups cheddar cheese
1 small can black olives
1 avocado
Cherry tomatoes
1 lime
1 egg per person

Cut up the tortillas and spray with cooking spray. Cook in 350 degree for 5-10 minutes. Using 1 tablespoon of olive oil, cook the onion and garlic. Add in the rotel, diced tomatoes, black beans, spices and chilies. Cook for about 10 minutes until all of the ingredients are warm. Pour this mixture on top of tortillas and cover with the cheese. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, until the cheese melts. Finally, top with any garnishes you have, as well as an egg any style.