Burlap kitchen curtains

In December I went to a craft/junk show in Tulsa, Oklahoma called 2 Friends and Junk... (If you are local be sure to check them out!) while I was there I picked up a burlap coffee bag for $3. Then, I store it away in my cabinet for a couple of months. 

A few weeks ago I finally got it out and put it to work! I started by cutting the bag at the seam to make two curtain panels. Then, I used my sewing machine to sew a rod pocket along the top of the panels so I could insert the curtain rod. 

This took no time, cost a minimal amount of money... And it is great for hiding junk in the cabinet above my fridge! Plus, who doesn't love a little burlap? This would be cute above a kitchen sink or really in any place where you would like to hide your stuff. :)

Cherry Chocolate Cookies

Recently, the girls started to take turns picking out a dessert for us to bake together. Last week Felicia picked these Cherry Chocolate Cookies, and they were amazing.

She made them right before Valentine's Day, and they were the perfect Valentine's Day cookies, but they would seriously be great for any day of the year!

The recipe came from here:
http://www.thecurvycarrot.com/2011/03/04/cherry-chocolate-kisses/

Cherry Chocolate Kisses
Servings: approximately 36 cookies

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, softened, but still cool*****very important!
1 cup powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons maraschino cherry “juice”
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup maraschino cherries, chopped
Granulated sugar, for sprinkling the cookies
36 milk chocolate kisses, unwrapped


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute.

Reduce the speed to the lowest setting and slowly add the powdered sugar and salt. Add the cherry juice and the almond extract until combined.With the mixer still on low, slowly add the flour, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Increase the mixer speed to medium and add the cherries.

Shape the dough into 1-inch balls, and place the balls on a baking sheet, approximately 2 inches apart. Using your thumb, gently press each cookie in its center until the cookie is about 1/2-inch thick.Sprinkle each cookie with a little granulated sugar. Bake the cookies until the bottoms are lightly browned, about 14 minutes. Once removed from the oven, immediately press a chocolate kiss into each cookie’s center. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Man Bouquet

Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday. I'm not a huge fan of giving big gifts for Valentine's Day, but I know that my husband is not going to get anything out some mushy Valentine's Day gift either. So, I decided to make him a "Man Bouquet" similar to one I made a few years ago. This was all done at the last minute because I was sick for most of last week, so I threw this together in just a few minutes.

I ran to walmart in a frenzy Thursday night to pick up a card, and I grabbed a few supplies.

Can of Monster
Milky Way
Nutella to go pack
Fruit Snacks
Beef Jerky
5 hour energy shot
Paper gift bag
Ribbon
Dowels
Hot Glue

I hot glued the snacks onto the wood dowels and then glued the dowels to the Monster Can. After all the food was in place I put the can inside of the paper gift bag, and trimmed off the top of the bag.

I wrapped red ribbon around the top of bag to finish it off. The hubby loved it.. and had most of it ate by the end of the day.

I ended up with a beautiful Valentines bouquet too!

Anyway, this could be given for any reason! Anniversary, birthday, or just because!

DIY Kitchen Signs

If you have been reading my blog at all lately, you probably know that I have been working on getting the finishing touches on my kitchen. Part of this project has consisted of filling up some empty wall space. So, I thought I would show off a couple of the signs I recently made and got hung on the wall. 

First, I made this "Sweet Tea Served Here" sign to hang over the doorway in the kitchen. I painted a board aqua (because I'm obsessed with aqua and red) and painted the words onto the sign in black. Love it so much!

Also, before I get started I will admit that this sign is completely nerdy... but I'm kind of nerdy so it's fine.

I have seen so many versions of this sign floating around on Pinterest, so I knew I would have to make one! 

I picked up a cheapy wood plaque at Hobby Lobby, and painted it black with aqua around the edges. 

Next I cut out the words "Spooning since 2010" in red vinyl and stuck them to the board. 

Lastly, I used some E6000 glue to stick a big spoon and little spoon to the bottom of the sign. I got the spoons at Dollar Tree for cheap (2 for a dollar). I think it turned out awfully cute... even if it's a little corny. ;)

More kitchen crafts to come!

Avocado egg salad

I've recently seen a lot of pins floating around on Pinterest about clean eating, so I decided if I could try to eat clean for even just breakfast and lunch I would feel much better about myself. I love avocado so I knew I had to try this avocado egg salad. It was completely amazing! I spread it in a wheat tortilla, rolled it up and chowed down. Just two suggestions:

1. Don't overdo it! I put (way) too much on my tortilla and I was full before I was done eating! 1/2 cup is plenty! And 1/2 cup is only 154.7 calories! (this is the egg salad only)

2. Add some lettuce when you put it on your tortilla and make a wrap.  Here is the skinnytaste.com recipe. 

Ingredients:

4 large hard-boiled eggs, chopped

4 hard boiled egg whites, chopped (discard the rest)

1 medium hass avocado, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 tbsp light mayonnaise

1 tbsp fat free plain yogurt

1/2 tablespoon finely chopped chives

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp Kosher salt

pinch freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Combine the egg yolks with the avocado, light mayo, yogurt, chives, vinegar, salt and pepper. Mash with a fork. Combine with egg whites and adjust salt as needed.

Easy Cheesy Baked Ravoili

If you are anything like me, you can not have nearly enough dinner recipes with the word "easy" in them. Also, if they are kid friendly recipes, that are instantly winners. This recipe was both!

What you need:
1 bag of frozen ravioli (I used cheese ravioli)
1 jar a marinara sauce
2 cups of mozzarella cheese (I realized at the last second that I was out of Moz. cheese, so I used cheddar... still just as yummy!)
Parmesan Cheese for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Pour 3/4 cup of marinara sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
Arrange half of the ravioli down in the pan on top of the sauce. Top with half of the remaining sauce, and half of the moz. cheese. Repeat layers once more, starting with ravioli. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil, bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until bubbly and hot in the center. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Original recipe from: Tastykitchen.com

Crock Pot Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork

So, apparently last week there was some sporting event on television during which people eat large amounts of ridiculous foot and yell at the TV. There was also a Bruno Mars concert during halftime, so ya know, I didn't want to miss it for the world.

In honor of the Bruno Mars concert, and some random football game... I decided to eat something delicious. I had just picked up a Pork Roast at Aldi the week before, so this was a great opportunity to eat it.

I looked around on Pinterest and I immediately found a recipe for Crock Pot Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork, so I knew I had found a winner.

This cooked all day while I was at work, and when I got home to turn on the game it was time to eat!

Doesn't this look delicious?



Yes? Ok, go make it. Trust me, you want to. Here is the recipe:

What you need:

3-4 lb Pork Loin Roast
Pork Rub (see how I make mine here) or your favorite seasonings
12 oz Dr Pepper
Barbecue Sauce (to taste)




How to make it:

Season pork with your rub on all sides.
Place in slow cooker.
Pour in Dr Pepper.
Cook on low 10-12 hours.
Drain most of the liquid.
Use tongs to shred pork.
Add barbecue sauce to taste (I use a whole bottle)
Stir well and reduce temp to warm for serving.
Serve on buns with cole slaw on the sandwich or on the side (optional).

Here is the original source: http://www.raininghotcoupons.com/crock-pot-dr-pepper-pulled-pork/