Friday, May 8, 2009

Small chair


Loving this stool/chair and the overall color/feel of the room

Mexican Green

My second favorite color:




So the question is, is it green or blue?

Key Holders

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Falling for Fabrics one pack at a time

There was a post on design mom about charm packs that I investigated and what I found, I loved. They are pre-cut pack of matching assorted fabrics.

Here are some of the fabrics I'm lovin'.
This is Daisy Chain from Amy Butler.


There are a bunch of great packs by Moda. Here are some fun ones.



And then there's other great pieces from noted printers like Michael Miller:




and Alexander Henry.

I adore this owl print. I'm thinking Owl for the next nursery decor. Wouldn't this be a fantastic base?

I'm loving this new-found world.

Mini Greek Meatballs

Greek Meatballs
The cookbook calls these Mini Greek Meatballs, but I think mine are not-quite-mini Greek Meatballs. I use a plastic tablespoon to scoop up just enough meat to make each meatball, and I get 24 meatballs from a pound of ground beef, not 40 like the recipe says. I'm also cooking mine quite a lot longer. If you like Greek flavors, be open minded about the cooking mess, and give the meatballs a try.


Looks are a bit deceiving in this photo, but each of my meatballs is about 1 1/2 tablespoons of meat. If you'd like them a bit smaller, the recipe says to make each meatball about a tablespoon.

Mini Greek Meatballs
(Makes about 24 small meatballs, recipe adapted slightly from The South Beach Diet Quick and Easy Cookbook.)

1 pound lean ground beef (I use ground beef with less than 10% fat)
1/2 small onion, minced
1/2 cup very finely crumbled feta cheese (measure after crumbling finely with a fork)
2 cloves garlic, minced (I used 2 tsp. minced garlic from a jar)
1 large egg
1 T extra virgin olive oil, plus more for baking dish
1 T dried Greek oregano
4 tsp. red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp. salt (optional, I used a tiny bit of Vege-Sal)
1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp. Greek seasoning (optional, I used Penzeys)

Preheat oven to 400. Use a food processor to chop the onion very finely, then drain if it seems like there is a lot of liquid. (In the photo I used red onion, but any onion will work.)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, then use your hands to mix ingredients.

Lightly oil a 9 X 13 baking dish. Shape meat into 1 tablespoon size meatballs and place on baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes, after which time you will see some liquid oozing out. Turn meatballs and bake 10 more minutes. Turn again, and bakd 5-10 more minutes, until meatballs are well-browned and cooked through.

I do want to warn you that the meatballs look like a mess for about 2/3 of the time they're cooking because some of the cheese and vinegar oozes out during the cooking process. If you're patient and keep browning them, all those things nicely carmelize and the finished meatballs are delicious.

Meatballs are delicious served with tzatziki sauce.

Easy Ravioli Bake

This is a great, easy dinner for a weeknight off of the Kraft website.

Ravioli Bake

1 jar Spaghetti sauce (any flavor)
1 can diced tomatoes undrained
1 10 oz can beef broth
1/4 C zesty Italian dressing
2 9oz pkgs fresh ravioli (in refrigerator section)
1 C shredded mozzarella

1-Preheat the oven to 375
2-combine sauce, tomatoes, broth and dressing in a 9x13 baking dish
3-add ravioli and mix lightly
4-Cover with foil and bake 50 minutes
5-Remove foil, sprinkle with cheese, let stand 5 minutes

Serve and enjoy!

Easy White Chicken Enchiladas

Easy White Chicken Enchiladas from Allrecipes




INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 pound cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup green salsa
  • 4 (6 ounce) packages seasoned cooked chicken cubes
  • 2 cups shredded Mexican-style cheese blend
  • 3 cups white cheese sauce, or queso dip
  • 12 (8 inch) flour tortillas

DIRECTIONS

This recipe's Ingredients were scaled to yield a new amount. The directions below still refer to the original recipe yield of 6 enchiladas.
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly spray an 9x13-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.
  2. Stir together the softened cream cheese, sour cream, and salsa until blended. Fold in chicken and shredded cheese. Spread a small amount of white cheese sauce onto the bottom of the baking dish. Evenly divide the filling among the tortillas, and roll into firm cylinders. Place into prepared baking dish and cover with remaining sauce.
  3. Bake in preheated oven until golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Allow to rest 5 minutes before serving.
Some quick notes: a jar of Tostitos Monterey Jack Queso dip (in the chip aisle) works great for the sauce. Also, depending on the size of your tortillas, sometimes a larger baking dish works better. Enjoy!