Tots in Tulle

Pinned From:  Treasures For Tots

If you've ever wanted to make your own tutu then you must use Ms. Treasuresfortots' cutting method!  It goes so fast and it turns out that one of the top flaps on a Huggies wipes box from Sam's Club is the exact measurement for baby tutu size strips.  In all the chaos of Christmas I didn't get a great shot of Sovie in her ensemble but below you get the general idea.  Adorable girl in foofoo girliness.

Pin Worthiness:  And How

The original plan was a red and green tutu.  Apparently they run out of red and green tulle in December, who knew?  Black and silver glitter dots looked darling with her red tights and I used a green glittery ribbon to attach all the tulle together and it was a big green bow in the back.  Ugh.  I'll have to take another picture!

Chicken Parmesan...BAKE

Pinned From: Food Wishes

This recipe got RAVE reviews so I had to try it out.  It really is super simple and fast to put together which is awesome.  But was it delicious?  In a word, yes.  However, I think we all know I have a few more words to say...it was really watery.  You can see in the lower right corner of my pan (below) the wateryness because I always scoop out a bit to cool for my kiddos ahead of time.  My theory for why it was so runny is three fold.  1) It could be because of my particular sauce (I always use Prego, usually the fresh mushroom variety) 2) I cut into it early to get some cooling time in for the kids 3) My croutons were too large and didn't get down into the sauce enough to soak up the juices (I used Texas Toast).... All in all it wasn't a home run per-say, but it was yummy enough and simple enough to try again.  Next time I plan to use a smaller crouton and wait a minute before serving.  

Pin worthiness:  You Betcha

Like I said, I'm going to try again.  I love that this is a simple recipe that I usually have all the ingredients for in my pantry.

A few notes:  I only used 3 chicken breasts because those mothers were HUGE.  I sliced them down the middle, filet style and spread them along the bottom of the pan.  Also, the price of fresh basil was astronomical that day so I bought the kind that's in a tube and you squeeze out and I thought the dish had a lovely basil flavor.  I LOVE basil so I'd love to try it with fresh but that might have to wait until I'm growing my own right outside my front door this summer.

It's a Box, It's a Snowman, It's a Refridgerator

Pinned From: Crafting My Talents

Did you pin this too?  You should!  It's so fun...the minute I saw it I knew my 2yo would LOVE it.  He's been pretty into snowmen.  Then my SIL actually did it and posted a pic on the ol' FB.  So I told her she should come help out her dearest nephew and she took the bait.  

Easy peasy lemon squeezy, she brought the paper, we cut out some shapes, ripped up some double stick tape and viola!  Berk climbed up the ladder and helped out his aunt and was pleased as punch to show this guy off.  

Pin Worthiness:  And how

I mean, what a simple cute idea!  It adds a big boost of holiday to your kitchen and it's just so adorable.  Plus it gives you a chance to clear all the crap off your fridge!  Am I right?

White Chicken Enchiladas

Pinned From: Joyful Momma's Kitchen

You know how we have perfectly tasty, relatively healthy recipes with tomato based sauces and we should be just fine with that?  And then, shazam, spaghetti marinara, meet fettuccine Alfredo, lasagna, meet white lasagna, enchiladas, meet white chicken enchiladas.  Sure we lose some nutrition in the form of a serving of fruit/vegetable (tomatoes! don't get me started), let's look at what we gain!  Creamy, ooey, gooey calories!  Oh, I mean, a good ol' dose of comfort food.  That's what we gain...pure c...comfort.

What we have here is half a pan because I forgot to photo before dishing up some plates.  Also, I used a Mexican Fiesta blend of cheese because that's what I had.  The results.  Pretty good.  But I felt like this recipe had to be better. I loved the sauce but it seemed like something was missing.  I made them again, this time being sure to use pure, unadulterated Monterrey Jack and adding about a tsp of salt to the sauce.  The results were super good.  Funny how a simple thing like cheese and a tsp of salt can make such a difference.

Pin Worthiness:  And How

Just make sure you follow the recipe, but add a bit of salt too because I think that just amped up the flavors in the sauce.  My husband and I agreed that round 2 was soooo yummy.

Ball Wreath

Pinned From:  Eddie Ross

Remember how you married a man with a closet full of wire hangers?  Remember how you threw them away in a fit of rage?  Remember how you really only threw most of them away and kept a few "just in case?" No?  Just me?  Hmmm...

Well if you are like me, with a few rainy day wire hangers stashed away than this is the project for you.  Last year on after-Christmas-clearance I snatched up some tubes o' ornaments for a quarter a piece.  I didn't know why exactly, I just knew that the price was screaming and I'd find something to do with them.  

Te gustas?  Well I do.  What's there to say?  It came together super fast and with SUPER cheap components.  One note though: this uses a lot of balls.  I mean a LOT.  So many in fact, I ran out so I had to cut a few inches off of my hanger with wire cutters and create my own twist.  OK, two notes: I didn't use various sizes of balls or glue my balls into place...there are a few gaps where you can see the hanger.  So sue me.

Pin worthiness:  You Betcha

Who doesn't love handcrafted holiday cheer?  I know I do.

Hot Cocoa Bar

Pinned From:  No Rococo

This past weekend my friend Natalie and I planned and executed a party for our church with an active congregation of about 200 people.  We had a turkey dinner, a Nativity performed by children, various musical numbers, games and crafts for the children and a HOT CHOCOLATE BAR!  I LOVED it.  I've seen it pinned all over Pinterest so there are multiple sources but this is the one I found easiest.

I did everything in clear glass containers with some homemade labels.  We had chocolate powder, white chocolate powder, regular marshmallows, gingerbread mallows, french vanilla mallows, chocolate mallows, chocolate mint mallows, peppermint mallows, toffee bits, peanut butter chips, caramel bits, peppermint candy canes, cherry candy canes and whipped cream.  I think it's safe to say that EVERYONE loved it.  Men and women, old and young, human and alien.

Sadly in all the hustle and bustle of being co-queen party animal I didn't get around to taking a picture.

Pin Worthiness:  And how

Planning a holiday get together?  DO THIS.  It's just good clean fun.

Taco Soup

Pinned from:  Six Sisters' Stuff

Remember this disaster?  Well this recipe is from the same collection of 25 recipes and that picture above is the one that shows up on Pinterest so for clarification I'm using that one.

Taco soup.  Not much to say really, it was simple it was good.  I'd make it again just because it was so simple but if I never remember to make it again it's only because it's nothing special.  If you're looking for something simple to make and you've got all the ingredients, give her a go.  Otherwise, don't go out of your way to make this one happen.

 Pin worthiness:  Meh