DIY Recipe Binder

As you may or may not be aware, one of the items on my 30 before 30 list was to put together my recipe binder. I have finally accomplished this one!

Over the past couple of weeks I have been typing up all of my recipes in Microsoft word, editing them and organizing them.

This weekend I printed each of them off, put them in page protectors and organized them in a binder with dividers. Each category has its own section:
Appetizers, Main Dishes, Side Dishes, Crockpot, Desserts, Drinks.

I found the printable cover here: http://richlyblessedrichardsons.blogspot.com/2013/05/checking-things-off-to-do-list-and-free.html

Isn't it adorable?!

I am so happy to have this item done!

Now as I find new recipes I can type them up and add them to the binder. How do you organize your recipes?

Hungry Girl Recipe: Cheeseburger Quesadilla

We tried this Hungry Girl recipe a few months ago, but it wasn't much of a hit. The recipe calls for a meatless hamburger patty. We ended up using turkey patties.

I wasn't impressed.

So this time we used lean ground beef. It was MUCH better. Obviously, the calorie count was not as low as listed in the book, but that's ok. ;)

This is the recipe we used too make 4 Quesadillas.

1 pound of lean ground beef
1 onion- chopped
4 low fat tortillas
4 slices American cheese, chopped
4 tbsp. of pickles chopped

Brown the beef in a skillet, drain grease and set aside.

Bring a skillet sprayed with non-stick spray to medium-high heat. Cook and stir onion, until softened, for 3 to 5 minutes. 

Lay tortilla flat and evenly top with chopped cheese. Top one half with onion, burger pieces and pickles.

If needed, clean the skillet. Re-spray skillet and return to medium-high heat. Place the half-filled tortilla flat in the skillet and cook for 2 minutes.

Fold the cheese-only half over the filling and press lightly to seal. Carefully flip and cook until crispy, about 3 minutes.

We had these with sweet potato fries and they were amazing. We all loved it!  

Clubhouse Chicken Quesadilla

As you may know, I am a big fan of my Hungry Girl cookbook! We have made this a least 5 times. It is my all time favorite Quesadilla, so I force Justin to make it ALL THE TIME.

Here is the recipe directly from the Hungry Girl website.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped bell pepper
2 tsp. fat-free ranch dressing
1/8 tsp. hot sauce
1/2 oz. mashed avocado (about 1 tbsp.)
Dash each chili powder, ground cumin, and garlic powder
1 medium-large high-fiber flour tortilla with 110 calories or less
 1/4 cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese
2 oz. cooked and chopped skinless chicken breast
1 tbsp. precooked real crumbled bacon
Optional: fat-free sour cream, salsa

Directions:
Bring a large skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat. Cook and stir onion and pepper until softened, 3 - 5 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix ranch dressing with hot sauce. In another small bowl, mix avocado with chili powder, ground cumin, and garlic powder.

Lay tortilla flat and spread avocado mixture on one half of the upward-facing side. Evenly top avocado with 2 tablespoons cheese, followed by the chicken, bacon, and cooked veggies. Top with ranch mixture and remaining 2 tablespoons cheese.

If needed, clean skillet. Re-spray skillet and return to medium-high heat. Place the half-loaded tortilla flat in the skillet and cook for 2 minutes. Fold the bare half of the tortilla over the filling with a spatula and press down lightly to seal. Carefully flip and cook until crispy, about 3 minutes.

Slice into wedges, and if you like, serve or top with sour cream and salsa!

MAKES 1 SERVING

Book Review: NASHVILLE SONGSMITHS - In-Depth Interviews with #1 Country Songwriters

 

Last night, I finished reading another great book by my semi-famous co-worker, Ty Hager. Nashville Songsmiths is a book full of interviews that Ty completed with some of the top country music songwriters.

As a HUGE country music fan, I loved this book. First, I thought it was incredible to read about how a few of my favorite songs were born, such as, "Suds in the Bucket", "The Dance" and "When I Get Where I'm Going."

Also, I really gained a deeper understanding and sense of respect for songwriters. They do not get the amount of credit they deserve, at all!

If you are a country music fan at all, I strongly encourage you to check out this book.

 Click here, purchase, read, enjoy, lather, rinse, repeat.

Or, if you are more of a mystery fan, check out Ty's other book "Diary of a Dead Guy- A Country Ghost Story".

DIY Glitter Initial Ornaments

Earlier this week I shared my DIY burlap Christmas stockings. Since I did not embellish my stockings themselves, I had to make some ornaments to hang with them.

I scoured Hobby Lobby to look for some nice wooden letters, and I couldn't find anything that I loved. However, I did manage to find some lowercase chipboard letters for really cheap.

I also picked up some gold glittered paper to decorate the letters with. I traced the letters on the paper, and glued them into place on the letters to cover them. I used mod podge to attach the paper, but any type of liquid glue would work just fine.

I then used some hot glue to attach black ribbon to the back of the letters.

After I was done I hung the letters on on the stocking hangers.

This could be a fun ornament to make and hang on your tree, or they could be used as gift tags. What other uses can you think of for these?

Aqua Pre-Teen Dresser Redo

When my cousin asked if I had any use for a dresser that needed a lot of work, I had to stop myself from jumping up and down when I told her that I would happily take it off of her hands. Rae's closet is pretty much out of control, so she could definitely get some use out of it.

The excitement grew even more the day I came home to see it had been dropped off while I was at work. This dresser held so much potential! 

Rae and I spent some time looking around on Pinterest so that we could decide on a color. She was immediately draw to all of the shades of aqua and turquoise that were all over the place.

I went to the paint desk at Walmart, and picked up a pint of "Cool Marine" from the Disney Paint Section. 

Next, I used that paint to make a bowl of chalk paint. I found a great recipe here.

2 cups of paint

2 tablespoons of plaster of Paris

2 tablespoons of water

First, I sanded off the dresser so the paint would stick. Then, I painted three coats on the dresser, allowing it to dry between coats. 

I roughed it up a little with a sandpaper block when I got done, I love the tattered look! 

I found some cute knobs for the top drawers (Hobby Lobby), 

but I ended up putting the old handles back on the rest of the drawers. I plan to paint them black when I have a chance, so maybe never... or in like 2 1/2 years after I graduate. We'll see how it goes. ;)

Anyway, the dresser turned out awesome and looks great in Rae's room! What do you think?

Book Review- The Christmas Cowboy by Shanna Hatfield

This week I took a full advantage of my week off from school and my week of being sick.... and I induldged myself in another book by one of my favorite authors, Shanna Hatfield. 

This week I read Shanna's new book "The Christmas Cowboy". This is a story of a young business woman named Kenzie, who falls in love with a rodeo cowboy, much to her dismay because of her history with cowboys. The cowboy, Tate, had a very difficult job of winning Kenzie's heart, and making her forget about being hurt in the past.

As always, this was a well written story that was easy to follow, realistic and always kept me wanting to read more. All in all, it was impossible to put this book down. If you like reading about romance, with a little bit of sarcasm, I highly recommend any of Shanna's books and I promise you will not be disappointed.