Bringing sexy...err, fabric (and myself) back...

So I've clearly been taking a blog break. I just have not found myself feeling craft inspired lately. I decided to jump back into the craft world to distract myself. So here goes nothing...

I attempted to order curtain fabric a couple months ago and it fell through. I eventually ordered the same fabric again and got it about a week ago. It.was.horrible. SOOO much brighter in person than it was on my computer screen..which is always a risk when buying fabric online. I've returned the fabric and I've been perusing a different website. I've come up with some more options that I like and if the colors are not quite the same I think they'll still work. I'm totally in love with gray and yellow together these days. I have a slate grey/blue couch that dominates my living room. I'm tired of blue and brown together. I'll consider going yellow and blue but this grey and blue stuff is really intriguing me. What do you think??






Right now I am in looooove with the fabric in the third picture. It's by Amy Butler and is called Midwest Modern Optic Blossom. It is not a conventional choice for me at all. Something about it just keeps bringing me back to it.

Grr!!!

What the heck www.Joann.com!?!? I placed my order for my fabric and it went through. They charged my account. I get an email from them and I open it expecting it to be the shipping information but noooooo. Evidently they don't have it in stock so they're refunding my money...at some point. Ugh!!

Brrr...it's freezing in here!!

Well, not really...but I'm doing a ton of cooking and freezing. I'm not really sure what has gotten into me but I like it!

This method works really well for us. The husband isn't left scrounging in the kitchen in the wee hours of the morning to find something that is P90X friendly, delicious, and relatively easy for him to put together.

I decided to try my hand at frozen "breakfast bowls" and our version of chili. For storage space and easy defrosting, they're not in bowls. Instead, I measure them into one cup portions, pour into ziploc baggies, and spread out what's inside the bags so I can get the air out AND they freeze/defrost much easier when they're flat. This way you just cut the side and they slide right out (you can't just open the top because the corners where the zippers are block it). Nuke them on a plate in the microwave for a minute and they're perfect!!

Just in case you were curious...the breakfast "bowls" are made up of egg beaters, half a package of mushrooms, two stalks of celery, and several sliced of ham (NOT the lunch meat type). As well as our seasoning staples: black pepper, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder.

Our version of chili involves one carrot, one celery stick, one polish sausage, 2.5 cups of previously cooked black beans, and all of our seasoning staples.










One last thing, let the food cool some before you bag them. This way the plastic baggies don't melt and make all your hard work pointless!!

Curtain Fabric Reveal

I went ahead and made a decision on fabric. The color surrounding the fabric in the photo is close to the color of my couch. I reallllly hope this fabric works with my huge pain in the butt sectional. Soooo.....9 yards of this is on the way.....





Wait for it....










Keep waiting....










Be patient!......










This is so exciting! I'm excited. Are you excited???










Okay, okay...here it is!!!

Thrift store finds altered for the kid!

I've found some pretty cute things at second hand stores lately but they are never in my daughter's size! So, I figured I could edit the things I liked. It is incredibly easy with skirts and tank tops.

Step 1


Step 2


Step 3 - Sew along the marks, then cut off the excess fabric. Turn the skirt inside out again and you're done! Super, super easy!



Here is my darling daughter modeling one of the skirts I altered. This isn't the one in the alteration pictures but you can see the original in the top corner of the first photo!


This is an easy way to get the perfect outfit, inexpensively. :)

Breakfast burritos!

I won't lie...we partake in quite a few store bought frozen waffles. Occasionally I decide to make an alternative. This week it was breakfast burritos.

Ingredients:
Turkey sausage
One red bell pepper
One yellow bell pepper
Half a package of fresh mushrooms
Half a yellow onion
10 whole wheat tortillas
Half a carton of egg beaters or 10 eggs
Low-fat sharp cheddar cheese
Fat-free sour cream
Black pepper
Garlic powder
Cayenne pepper

This is pretty straight forward and easy to edit for your preference. The husband and kid really like this mixture but it's a bit sweet for me. If I was making it just for myself I'd replace the yellow and red bell pepper and yellow onion with a white onion and green bell pepper.

I diced everything up and sauteed the ingredients (not the eggs, obviously) in a pan. Then I moved that mixture into a casserole dish and made scrambled eggs. I seasoned both the ingredient mix and the eggs while they were cooking. Then I combined everything together in the casserole dish.

I set up my "fill station" with wax paper and tortillas on my kitchen counter. I ran out of wax paper only two burritos in so I switched to plastic wrap. I put a little bit of cheese on the tortilla, a big spoonful of the mix goes in the middle of the tortilla, then you fold it up (duh). I put both sides on a hot pan for a minute to brown the tortilla. This also helps hold it together. If you're going to thaw these in a toaster oven, I'd skip this step or they might be "too brown." I let them cool for a bit and wrap them up in wax paper/plastic wrap, then stack them in a large freezer ziploc bag, mark it with the date, and pop it in the freezer. These thaw in the microwave in a minute or two (depends on your microwave settings). They are super awesome for school mornings, running late to church, or if the husband needs a protein boost and I'm not available to make him a smorgasbord.

As far as calories and carbs go....I really have no clue what's in these babies. We cook/eat by P90X's quick foods and portions rules. So these are healthy, but I can't give you facts and percentages to prove it...because I'm lazy...and I don't like math...and it doesn't like me!

Ground Chicken Burgers

I have not cooked with ground beef in years. We used ground turkey for a couple of years and then moved on to ground chicken about 6 months ago. I had used it before maybe once or twice to make meatballs years ago and the were so unbelievably dry that I said never again! I guess either my cooking has improved or ground chicken has. I'm guessing it's my cooking...

Anyway, chicken burgers are a huge hit in our house. They aren't dry, have lots of protein, and are no where as greasy as beef. In fact, they're not greasy at all. What you put in the burgers keeps them from getting dry.

I dumped a pound of ground chicken in a large bowl, add in about 3/4 cup of whole wheat Italian seasoned bread crumbs, 1/2 cup of skim milk, and 3 tablespoons of BBQ sauce (or soy sauce, A1, worcestershire). Then I put on my handy dandy latex gloves because raw chicken FREAKS me out. Next, I miss it all together and form the burgers. I season each side with garlic, cayenne pepper, and black pepper. Place the burgers in the pan, cook on each side until they are a nice golden color. Always use a meat thermometer to double check done-ness.

I served these burgers on whole wheat buns with provolone cheese and BBQ sauce, broccoli, and brown rice with garlic and black quinoa. They were so good that the kid and husband were happy...but the plate was happy too! Check out that smiley face!

By the way, ground chicken is substantially cheaper than other ground meats in this neck of the woods.