Monday, September 17, 2012

Kid Chair Repair

This post comes courtesy of my sister Bree

She made a quick fix to her girls chairs and text them to me

I thought they were so cute I just wanted to show you all what she did



She had those matching little leather...or "pleather"  kids chairs you  see at Target

I'd say they were probably around 6 years old and had some big rips and tears in them but she didn't want to deem them a total loss


So she bought some of those leopard print sheets of duct tape

Have you seen those sheets?  They are super cool and perfect for projects that you are covering a large area

See how cute they turned out!


And one of them had a rip on the side of the arm so she cut out a cute little heart patch



This is proof that you really can fix anything with duct tape

Sunday, September 16, 2012

DIY Mustache Pacifiers

Unless you've been living under a boulder, you'll know that mustaches are all the rage right now

Everything that could possibly have a mustache on it does

Cups
          
Rings




Even finger tattoos

 

 So when one of my coworkers baby shower came along and she was having a boy I knew I had to make some mustache pacifiers


Actually, pacifier sounds so technical

It was always a binky in our family

I had a hot pink binky that I loved so much that even after I was over sucking on it I made my mom keep it for a few years just so I could look at it every once and a while

 Weird right?

I've been a sentimental hoarder since the age of 3

Here's a picture of me and my binky with my childhood neighbor Cory


Hopefully The Boy doesn't see this

Ya know... I wouldn't want him getting all jealous and stuff

I mean look at the awesome sweater on that kid!

And those pants.....oh my!


No wonder I was hanging onto him


And here's another of me playing with my sister Kinsey, binky of course in mouth


Here's a funny fact for ya......

See how the pillow is in front of the VCR?
Well,  that's because no matter where I was in the room I would roll myself over to the VCR and stick my toes inside

So my mom had to cover it


(And yes, that's The Little Mermaid playing on the TV)


Anyways.....here's how I made the binkies

Got some simple pacifiers



Then I doodled some mustache templates



I had to keep making cuts to make sure they would fit properly



Then cut them out of stiff felt

I've seen that some people make them out of craft foam, but I personally prefer the felt

The foam can sometimes show off grease marks from your fingers and since these will be handled alot there's a good chance that would happen

The felt hides alot more imperfections 

Then I just hot glued them on



These were a huge hit at the shower and they are super quick and easy to make



Thursday, September 13, 2012

Super Fluffy Mexican Rice

Have you ever noticed how the rice in most Mexican restaurants is super duper fluffy?

Well, I don't know how they do it there but I have a method that will give you the absolute fluffiest rice you've ever eaten....like EVER!

It's so much better than those gummy and sticky rices that just feel like glop in your mouth.

The boxed Rice-A-Roni version are the worse culprits in my eyes.

Not that I'm a complete Rice-A-Roni snob,

Heck, if I went on a game show and won a year supply I wouldn't turn it away

I'm just not particulalry fond of their "Spanish Rice" after having perfected my own


There are 3 main steps that contribute to the said "fluffiness" factor


Key Tip #1 is to rinse your rice in a strainer under cold water for about 2 minutes


Mix it around so that each grain of rice gets rinsed thoroughly

The reason this is so important is that it removes much of the excess starch which leads to gumminess

You can use it right away if need be, but if I know I am making the rice ahead of time I like to rinse it then let it sit out and dry 

Next, prep your tomato and onion.  Drain the juice out of your canned diced tomatoes.  Pulse together with the onion in a food processor.  It should look something like this



It should be around 2 cups of this mixture.  I almost never measure it out but if for some reason  it looks like alot more than the 2 cups I would discard the excess

Key Tip #2 is to toast your rice in oil.  This is known as the Pilaf Method.  This helps by coating each individual grain in oil which prevents clumping and stickiness which then leads to......you guessed it....fluffy!

Cook your rice in the oil until it becomes a very light golden brown.  About 5-6 minutes over medium heat


 ^^ I know....this is an absolutely terrible shot.....but I put it on here just to show you that I at least made an attempt to show you the browning rice......even if it is terrible and lame

After the rice is browned a little, add your minced garlic and jalapeno



And yes, those are jarred jalapenos.  You can scoff if you'd like but it's just what works for me.  They are a little more mellow than the fresh and this recipe is one that I generally can make straight out of my pantry without special trips to the store.  I always have rice, tomatoes, garlic, etc.  But I hardly ever have fresh jalapenos.  

What I do have is one of those giant industrial sized jars of jalapeno slices you find on the big giant stuff aisle of Wally World  (at least that's what  I named the aisle)

Use fresh if the idea of this disgusts you

Next stir in your broth, tomato onion mixture, and salt.  


(^This picture is of the rice with the tomato onion mixture but not the broth.  I didn't want you to be confused)

Bring this up to a boil and then transfer the whole pot to a 350 oven.  If you don't have a dutch oven like me, you can always start the rice in a saute pan and just transfer it into a casserole dish covered tightly in foil

Baking the rice is Key #3

I actually prefer to bake all my rices.  The texture is so much better and it's almost no fail for all those people out there who have difficulty making rice

Bake for about 25 minutes, stirring after 15



After I take it out I stir in chopped cilantro.  I've heard some people don't like cilantro.  I think it's a silly myth because in my world.....how could you not love it?  Buncha hearsay nonsense!




 My Mexican husband gives his stamp of approval on this dish!  Pretty darn tasty


Mexican Rice

2 C. long grain white rice
14 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1 small onion
1/3 C. oil
5 cloves of minced garlic
Jalapenos (optional)  minced
2 C. chicken broth
2 tsp. salt


Rinse rice under cold water for about 2 minutes. Shake dry.  Pulse drained, diced tomatoes and the onion in the food processor.  It should yield about 2 cups. 

Heat oil over medium heat and add the rice, cooking until lightly golden brown, about 5-6 minutes.

Add garlic and jalapeno

Stir in broth, tomato onion mixture, and salt.  Bring to a boil.  Transfter into a 350 oven.

Bake covered about 25 minutes, stirring after 15.

When you take it out, let it sit for a few minutes before stirring in chopped cilantro.  Fluff and serve!

Monday, September 10, 2012

Football Team Wreath

I'm not much of a football girl

I know

That makes me unamerican right?

I also HATE apple pie

But I do like baseball

Redemption!?

I feel like I did my part and put in my time

The whole first season that we were dating I sat my ass on the couch next time The Boy and watch EVERY SINGLE GAME

Every one

Even college

I was even thinking of borrowing my sisters "Football for Dummies" book to try and get myself into it more

But I just can't do it

It stops every 5 freakin seconds and I can't handle it

At least basketball (which I like to watch) keeps moving the entire time

The only thing good about football is the parties and dip

I like dip


My simple disinterest in it has now turned to disdain

See, The Boy comes from a big football family

His parents have season tickets and the whole family is alllll about it

They teased me in the beginning of our relationship about not liking it and I could take the jokes for a while...and then....

It just got old!

I remember one time over text they asked The Boy if he had seen a specific play

He told them no because I was watching something on the TV

They said that I should get back to my baking and mending so he could watch the football game

Call me a Sensitive Sally.....but that was kind of it for me
 I just totally checked out of any effort I was thinking of putting in

At least I bake well ;)
And I can mend the shit out of a pair a pants

When was the last time watching football for hours resulted in an awesome cake and handmade gifts?

I'm gonna go with NEVER! 

haha

I win.

(can you sense some slight bitterness? haha)


But in typically Busy Broad fashion football season was just another excuse to make a wreath

One even The Boy would love

Look HERE for a tutorial on how I make most my wreaths

I did this one the exact same way

After the basic form was done I made the Cardinals logo out of foam





And glued some cardboard to the back for sturdiness

Then just glued it on along with some little footballs I got for 59c over on the wood aisle in Michael's


This is about as close as I get to going all Rah Rah for football







Sunday, September 9, 2012

Easy Low Carb Mozzarella Sticks

The Boy and I are back on the low carb thing.

Actually, we are always watching our carbs to an extent
We cut out the things that really aren't important to us and don't eat loads of sugar or bread everyday

We call it "Operation Don't Get Diabetes"

And we save the things we really crave for our cheat days...which are on my weekends off twice a month.  That's when we treat ourselves out to dinner or cook some of our favorite carby home recipes

It's sort of nice to make it an event you look forward to instead of just shoving your face full of bad food everyday mindlessly.  If we really want it bad enough we wait for it.  And if we have forgotten about it by the time cheat day rolls around we must not have wanted it that bad and it would have been just an "impulse eat"   

Know what I mean?

It really makes you think about how worth it it is

Recently though, our schedules at work have been nuts and we've been pretty stressed out so our eating habits have suffered quite a bit

We both are committed to dropping our extra lubs (pounds) before our one year wedding anniversary

I want to get back to wedding weight, not only just because I like the idea of being just as skinny one year later and I liked the way I looked, 

But also because we are going back to Disneyland to celebrate and on vacation I fully intend on getting my FAT ON!

There is clam chowder, chimichungas, corn dogs, and Dole Whips, waiting for me in Anaheim

When I go on vacation I want to be care free.  I don't care what I eat because this isn't an everyday thing.....it's vacation!  That' the whole point

So I would much rather go on our trip and come back only having to shed 5lb as opposed to 10 or 15 because I porked it up before I ever even left

So needless to say we are cracking down!

The Boy was watching football all day and he got a hard core craving for mozzarella sticks.

It's much better to find a substitute that you can make so he doesn't go off the deep end and eat something else so I headed to the store to whip some up


Here's all you need



Yes.....you use the green shaker parmesan.

I'm no snob =)

Cut your string cheese in half 
And mix the parm with some garlic powder and italian seasoning

Whisk your eggs and then set up your breading station

Dip the cheese in egg and then roll in the cheese

I redipped them in the egg and rolled them again to get a good crust



Place them on a wax paper lined baking sheet



After I breaded them I rolled them in between my hands to really pack the crust and make sure they were evenly coated

The ones on the left are right after the are breaded and the ones on the right are after I rolled them


Place them in the freezer for about an hour

Trust me on this one!  

It will make the crust adhere better and not come apart as you fry and will keep the cheese from melting too fast before the outside cooks

After they freeze fry them up in oil




And for the love of god make sure your oil is good and hot!!

Like HOT HOT

I got impatient (like usual) and put the first few in way too soon

If it's not hot enough they stick to the bottom and break open and create a big cheesy mess in your pan

Like this




As long as it's hot you should golden....and your cheese sticks will be golden too!



Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Half Up Wedding Hair Style

With my one year anniversary just around the corner, I'm getting a little nostalgic. 

 It's funny to think how this time last year it was almost time for my Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Party.  And how I was frantically working on DIY projects for the wedding.

Every single day I was at the craft or dollar store.  I came home with bags and bags of stuff.  They practically knew me by name!

Awww the memories.  It was such a fun time


Anyways.....

I just wanted to take this opportunity to be a little conceited.

Anybody who knows me at all knows I'm not one to be into myself.......at all.

But I have to say....I was one hot broad that day!

I felt exactly how a girl should feel on her wedding day.

I felt Beautiful.

And my hair looked freakin UH-MAZ-ING!


Looky!!   


Nice right?  That's my friend Courtney who did my hair.


And is that not the coolest picture ever...with the hairspray and all?

If you live in the Phx, Az area and want either my hair stylists or photographers info I would be more than happy to pass it along!




And here's a fun picture of us dancing but you get a good front view



So there!  

I just tooted my own horn

Toot! Toot!



Monday, September 3, 2012

Fiesta Corn & Black Beans

My husband has been working for a large catering company here in our area for a few years now.

He's done a few different jobs for them and one of them was to make hot entrees for their corporate catering side.

They put together about 600 hot entrees a day that were put into heat safe containers and then delivered them to various companies and schools that didn't have a cafeteria of their own

It was nice because he always brought home the leftovers and we hardly ever had to cook dinner or even shop for groceries!  Win win!

One of my favorite vegetable sides that they did was this delicious spiced corn.  I could eat my weight in it....and probably did at least twice.  Ive kicked it up a little bit and came up with my own version

The key to the deliciousness is the spice blend. 

 It's called 1, 2, 3 Spice

It's simply a ratio of  
            
 1 part Coriander
2 parts Cumin
      3 parts Chili powder

so you can make how ever much you like whether it be just a few teaspoons or a jar for you to keep in your cabinet


You can use already ground coriander, but I toasted and the whole seeds myself in a dry pan



Then ground them in a coffee grinder





It's sort of lemony in smell.  Alot of people haven't cooked much with coriander, but they really should!  It's delicious!


After your spice is all blended up.....melt a few tablespoons of butter in pan.  Add half a diced medium onion and cook until translucent.  Then add 1 can of black beans that have been drained and rinsed, 1 can of drained corn, and 1 can of diced fire roasted tomatoes (don't drain)

Add 3 teaspoons of your 1,2,3 and gently stir until it's heated through.  Season with salt to taste



I served this along side my Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Casserole