Chile Relleno Casserole - It's Better Than Good!

It's Monday again and the gift making continues.  There seems to be no end in sight at the moment and I have got to get some things in the mail or they are not going to arrive in time for Christmas.  Also, our oldest daughter and her family are moving to Nashville this weekend and next week we will be busy helping them get settled along with -- yes -- Christmas.  This happens to me every year even though I intend to be finished by this time.  Oh well, don't know why I am even remotely surprised.  

Since today was busy, busy, busy I needed something for dinner that wouldn't take a  lot of time and this casserole certainly filled the bill.  It's a recipe I found on Pinterest and knew I would give it a try because it has ingredients that we love.  The "Pinterest poster" called it beef, cheddar and chile casserole.  I call it chile relleno casserole because that is what it tastes like and my husband and son called it fantastic! 

This is a good one if you like Tex/Mex food and it is easy.  It's one that we will be having often.  I can tell you that because it is that good.  Here is what you need.

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef (I use grass fed)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 jalapeno, seeded and chopped (I used canned)

2 teaspoons chili powder (I added more chili powder)

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 8 ounce can tomato sauce

3 cups water

1.5 cups corn meal

1 can creamed corn

1 egg

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2  -4 ounce cans chopped chiles

Preheat oven to 350

Brown ground beef and onion until beef is just done.  Add garlic and the jalapenos and continue to cook for another minute.  Add the cumin, chili powder and salt - stir to combine.  Add the tomato sauce and stir to combine.  Remove pan from heat.

In a medium saucepan, bring three cups of water to a simmer.  Using a whisk, slowly add the corn meal and stir to remove lumps.  Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the creamed corn.  Stir in the egg, then stir in the baking powder, salt and grated cheese.  Mix well.

In a 9 x 13 casserole dish, layer the ingredients in the following order:

Spread green chiles evenly over the bottom of the casserole.  Spread cooked meat mixture over chiles.  Spread cornmeal mixture over meat, smoothing the surface.

Place the casserole dish in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.  Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.  This is how a serving looks -  full of meaty goodness topped with cheesy cornbread!

And this is how it tastes -- yummmmmmmmy!  Since Dan and Tyler declared it wonderful,  it will appear on the menu again (and again and again).

This casserole would be perfect for a crowd, holiday party, tailgate party, or family dinner.  It is easy and ever so tasty.  If you like chile relleno or tamales, you will love this recipe!  All you might need is a green salad and you are all set!  And maybe some guacamole or salsa and chips - yeah.  That sounds wonderful.  We also had black beans cooked with Rotel and Chiles, one of our favorites.  There are so many possibilities here.

With all the busy schedules in the coming days, this is a recipe that is tasty, quick and easy.  Give it a try. I think you are really going to like it.  Simply delicious.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas;
Soon the bells will start,
And the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing
Right within your heart.

Hand Painted Table Runner Tutorial - Easy and Beautiful

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It's been another busy, creative week here at the little yellow cottage.  Once I get started (finally) the ideas start to roll and I can't seem to work fast enough to accomplish all my goals.  You know how it is?  Anyway, I wanted to create a new table runner for our dining table and for the trunk I use as a coffee table in the living room.  My burlap phase from Thanksgiving has passed for the moment and now I am into painter's drop cloths.  Talk about a bargain!  You can get a drop cloth at Home Depot for $9.00 and it is huge.  Way cheaper than comparable fabric from the fabric store and it is much wider!  

From that one drop cloth I made a bunch of pillow covers, two table runners, two stockings and a partridge in a pear tree (just kidding about the partridge).  But, the fabric has the look of linen and is very easy to paint on with a brush.  Burlap requires a stencil-type method because it is very porous and has lots of "holes".  This fabric is like painting on canvas, you can use fine brushes and control the look you want.  Super!

Here is what you will need:

Fabric

Paint - colors of your choice

Fabric medium

Brushes

Print outs of words and stencils

Tracing paper

Trim

Sewing machine or glue

To make my runners, I simply cut pieces of fabric the length and width I wanted to fit the table and trunk.  Next, I printed out words I wanted to use in a font and size that I liked.  For this project I used Chopin Script which is quite beautiful and I was able to download it free from the internet.  Free = Yay!  Also, I downloaded and printed a lot of free Christmas stencils from About.com.  (They have some really great ones and they are - free.)  I printed a lot of stencils because I wasn't quite sure what I was going to use.  I ended up using two different stencils and putting them together for the big table runner to get the look I wanted.  

Now, I didn't use the stencils as "stencils" this time, but traced the words and stencils onto my fabric using tracing paper that I bought at Michaels in the art department.  Those of you my age will know it as carbon paper.  Remember typing class and all those carbons we had to make?  Sorry, I digress.  Simply find the center of your fabric and mark it with a straight pin.  Next, decide on the design you are going to use and place it where you want it to on the cloth.  

I used masking tape to hold my paper to the cloth, placed the tracing paper underneath and used a dull pencil to trace the words and designs.  It will look like this when you remove the paper.

These are the three brushes I used - a fine liner, a small angle and a small square shader.  The most important brush is your fine liner.

Put about a 50 cent sized glob of paint on a paper plate (so it doesn't dry up as you are working) and mix in fabric medium according to directions.  This will make your paint washable.  If you want to use fabric markers, you can.  I just prefer paint and brushes and I have plenty of both on hand.   Since I am right handed, I begin at the far left and work to the right so that I don't drag my hand through wet paint and get it everywhere.  You do what is comfortable for you. When using the liner brush, "roll" it through the paint to keep a sharp point so that the bristles don't splay out when painting.  I do the outlining first and then fill in one letter at a time.   It took me about an hour to paint the big table runner and slightly less for the smaller runner.  This is how they looked completely painted.

You may ask why I chose the French words Joyeux Noel?  Because I think they are lovely, the English equivalent is Merry Christmas, and French script is very popular this year in decorating.  It was just a decorating choice.  But, isn't it gorgeous?  I simply LOVE the Chopin Script.  

Next, I pressed the hems all around the runners and stitched them down on the sewing machine.  If you don't sew you can use stitch witchery or "sewing" glue - just follow the directions.  Then, I added trims.  I don't like "matchy/matchy" so I used different designs and trims and yet they "go together."  Just personal choice.  The trim I used on the small runner is vintage and looks like this close up.  It ties in with all the colors in the living room.

It has the look of needlepoint with dark reds, greens, blues and blacks.  It is gorgeous.  This is the small finished runner.

For the big table runner I used a black and gold metallic trim that is very "madrigal" and regal in look.  

And how it looks on the table.

I had trouble getting the "whole" thing in a picture, but this gives you an idea of how beautiful it looks with all the decorations. 

Where else could you get a hand painted runner for so little money?   The joy of producing such a lovely piece is worth the effort!  You can customize it in any color with any words and decorations you like.  That is the best part.  And, you are using your inner artist!!  

What fabulous gifts these would make!  It wouldn't even have to be for a holiday - it could be something "everyday" useful.  It's the little things that make a house a home.  Have fun with this project.  Let your imagination run wild and let me know how much fun you have making it!  

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Man will begin to recover the moment he takes art as seriously as physics, chemistry or money.  ~Ernst Levy

Remember those $1.38 plate stands I showed you yesterday?  Well, here is what I did with them.  This is the big reveal.  If you look really close, you will see that I used a candlestick, a sherbet dish and a martini glass to achieve different heights for my candle holders.  The variety is also very visually appealing.   The picture simply does not capture how pretty they look on the table.  

This is the way our kitchen table looked this morning before I began setting it for Christmas. 

 Nice huh?  Guess you would never know I have been crafting on the kitchen table.  Why you ask?  Because my craft/sewing table is also buried in projects.  At least, I resolved this table today.  The other one is going to take some more work.  

After I cleaned off the table and put everything away (sort of), I put down my new hand painted table runner.  It looks like this.

I made it from a painter's drop cloth.  I will give you a tutorial on how I did it later.  I have to say I love it!   Next, I placed three of the plate stands in the center, added three of the sparkly candles I made and some cedar and holly from our bushes outside.  (Remember, use what you have.)  The holly has really beautiful red berries on it and it makes a nice little pop of color on the elevated plates.  Then I added one of my beloved acrylic stars.  Yes, more stars because it goes with the star in the center of the table runner and it WAS a star that guided the wise men to the nativity.  

The same treatment was done on the other two plates.  Next, I added 5 mercury glass votives, and hung some stars from our light fixture.

Then, I put out my red chargers which were given to me by my dear sweet friend Don and added a festive red holiday napkin that is embroidered with gold holly.  I have some beaded napkin rings, but didn't want to use them so I searched around and decided to cut a branch of artificial berries apart that I had and twisted them around the center of each napkin and then added a sprig of fresh holly leaves.

The backs of the chairs have red velvet bows tied on them with a crystal snowflake and some red and white string.  Here is a close up.

Because we use our table every day (we don't have a dining room) I will have to move the chargers for daily use, but I just love the way the table looks.  It is simple but festive.  Smashing actually and that is what I was aiming for.  There will be so much ambience when all the candles are lit. 

These pictures were taken with my phone because I don't have a camera at the moment.  They are not the best, but will give you an idea of what you can do with little expense.  Here are a few more pictures.

I also used some of the plate stands on the trunk I use for a coffee table in the living room.  There is a new hand painted tabled runner on it also.  Instead of candles, I used some of my Dollar Tree mirrored trees that I got a year or two ago.  Here is what the coffee table looks like.  I LOVE this look.

So I have $1.38 in each plate stand and $1.00 in each mirrored tree for a total of $5.76.  Not too shabby for a great looking arrangement.  Greenery is from the yard.  Now that makes me happy.  Here are a few more pictures for you.

At last, I am at the end of my decorating spree.  Everything has come together quite nicely and I will be sharing some more tutorials with you and pictures of all of my efforts.  I LOVE when the sun starts going down and all the lights are on and everything looks so beautiful.  It's a lot of work, but so worth it.  Can't wait for the grandsons to see all the trees! Our New York grandson won't make it here this Christmas  because his dad (our son) will be performing and we will really miss him.  Otherwise, it's going to be such an exciting Christmas and we are counting down the days.  

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more 
beautiful.    Norman Vincent Peale

Okay, you look at this and say yeah?  What is it?  Looks like a cake stand.  So?  But, it's something I made to fill a need.  I am going to use this in the centerpiece on my dining table.  It's going to be a candle holder.  Actually, I am making several.  And was it ever cheap!

This is what I used.

I found these plates in the clearance section at Old Tyme Pottery.  They were 38 cents each.  That's right - 38 cents each.  They were on clearance (my favorite word) at 75% off with another percentage off.  Original price was $3.79 each so I saved $3.41 on each plate.  YES!  They have a silvery cast to the glass which makes them really beautiful to use for my Christmas centerpiece and are 8 inches in diameter.  Perfect to hold a pillar candle and leave room for some decorations around the candle.

I had several glass candlesticks from the Dollar Tree that I have been shifting around from place to place for a couple of years.  They were - you guessed it - $1.00 each.  I have them in several heights, but I am using the 4 inch pair to make my candle holders.  They look like this.

The only other thing I needed was super glue.  You can get two tubes  in a packagefor $1.00 at Dollar Tree.

All you have to do is clean  your plate and make sure it is really good and dry.  Lay your plate upside down and apply super glue to the top of the candle stick or glass you are using for the base.  Center it on the bottom of the plate and let it dry.  Turn it over and you have a really pretty elevated plate that can be used for whatever you want it for.  Wouldn't this be lovely to hold cookies or candies for gift giving or to grace your table for Christmas?  It makes a beautiful candle holder and I will show you what my table looks like tomorrow after I get it all decorated with my hand painted runner and finished table setting.  It's going to be smashing I think.  (Did I just say smashing?)

This is a quick and easy project you can do using mismatched plates you may already have and odd and end stemware or candlesticks.  I have a couple of sherbet glasses and martini glasses that I am going to use for bases also.  Any base you find interesting could work as long as it can be glued to a plate.  You can even hit the thrift stores and see what you can find that is usable.   Any vintage plate or candlestick could be fantastic.  Here is what mine looks like with a  candle sitting on it.  Just remember, it is undecorated (and yes I decorated the candles).  Will tell you more about that later.  These candles would also make lovely gifts!  I couldn't decide which picture I liked best so I posted both of them.  Can you see the potential here?

Well, it's time to get to work.  I have many more gifts and projects to make before I am finished.  Hope you can put this idea to use to make something lovely for your home or for gift giving.  With budgets being tight this year, remember it is the thought that counts and you will have put your time and effort and thoughtfulness into this gift.  And, it  is a really inexpensive project that only takes some glue, a couple of pieces, and an idea.  No one will ever know it only cost $1.38 or whatever you spend.    They will think you worked very hard putting it together and are so creative.  : )

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

May no gift be too small to give, nor too simple to receive, which is wrapped in thoughtfulness, and tied with love. ~ L.O. Baird

Yesterday, I told you I had another adorable candy cane project for you and here it is!  A star made from  candy canes and starlight mints.   How cute is this?  I think they are super adorable.  They look good enough to eat, but don't because they are sprayed with acrylic sealer!

If you know me, you know that I LOVE stars.  My family likes to tease me about it because I have them all over the house.  I can't tell you why I love stars, I just do.  They resonate with my soul, especially when they are in the night sky.  I also have a great fondness for candy canes.  Their red and white stripes are representative of Christmas time and joy and happiness.  Who can't smile at a red and white striped candy cane?  When I saw one of these stars made from - of all things - candy canes, I knew there was another project in my future.  Here is what you do.

  Start by unwrapping 10 candy canes and 20 starlight mints.  This will make one star.  (I bought boxes of candy canes at Target for $l.29 for 24 canes.  A bag of Starlight mints were less than $2.00.)  You also need a hot glue gun and lots of glue sticks, some kind of acrylic sealer (I used Mod Podge matte clear acrylic sealer), and a covering for your work surface.  I use brown craft paper.

Glue 5 sets of candy canes together at the top and bottom like this making "hearts".  Use plenty of hot glue and watch your fingers!  Let the glue set. 

Once the glue sets, place your candy canes in this order and I will try to make this understandable.   First, look at this picture.

Notice how the tops of the candy canes are laying.  I started with the bottom right "heart" and laid it flat on the table.   Continue by laying another heart to the left with the tops of the crooks butted together.  Now, lay a heart on top of these two, adjusting the crooks to cover the ones underneath as close as you can.  They will never fit perfectly.  Continue to the left by laying another heart on the table, but here's where it gets tricky, lift the left side of the previous heart and lay it over the heart you just put down.  This heart is now under the previous heart and over next heart.  Now, lay the final heart over the heart you just laid down and the first heart that started the star.  You will have "under, over, under/over, under and over".  I know this sounds confusing, but just look at the picture.  After you have them all adjusted, begin gluing them together.  Lift one side of a heart at a time and place hot glue on the candy cane underneath where it will be attached. Make any necessary adjustments and press the top candy cane into the glue before the glue sets.  Continue gluing around the star.  Don't be concerned if the glue runs.  When it sets it will simply pop off the candy cane.  Then I trimmed any "globs" with small scissors.  Your star should look like this at this point minus the starlight mints.  Again I forgot to take a picture.  

Now, working one junction at a time (where the hearts join together), put a generous glob of glue at the top and bottom of each heart and place a starlight mint over the glue.  Let the glue set and turn the star over.  Glue mints to all the junctions on the other side.  After the glue is good and dry, remove all globs and glue webs.  After all the glue sets, spray both sides of the star with clear acrylic sealer to preserve the candy.  That's it!  You are finished. 

This really is not hard I promise you.  The hardest part is unwrapping the candy canes without breaking the crooks!  Make sure you have some extras on hand.  I saved all the broken ones to use in peppermint bark.   

Make a hanging loop at the top with ribbon or string and hang your stars wherever you want.  I hung a couple in the front window because our porch is done in a candy cane theme.  I could not get a great picture, but this is what they look like.

This is a really fun, inexpensive and easy craft.  It makes a thoughtful gift for a secret santa, neighbor, friend, or teacher that comes from your heart and hands.  They also don't cost you a lot of money!  How about tying some on Christmas gifts?  That would be lovely.  There are lots of possibilities here.

I hope you enjoy making these beautiful stars.  They will "light" up your Christmas.  

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.
Vincent Van Gogh

Have you ever had so many projects you wanted to complete that you can't seem to do them fast enough?  That is indicative of my impatience issue which leads to my procrastination problem which leads to hurrying and THAT leads to impatience and on it goes.  Hopefully, you don't have that problem.

This weekend I helped the daughter of a friend who recently moved to Nashville with some crafting projects that she will be giving for Christmas gifts.  We had a wonderful Saturday afternoon of listening to Christmas music and crafting.  Let me say, she is a natural -- picked right up on the new skills she is acquiring and created some really lovely Christmas gifts  Before we began, she told me she had no creative abilities.  WRONG!  Everyone has an inner artist and it is so much fun to see someone discover hidden talents.  

While I was helping her, I worked on a few projects myself.  Lots of decorating has been done this last week, but there are more things I want to finish and add before I consider the house "complete."  Of course, things are never done as far as I am concerned, you just finally say that's it!  

This is one of the projects that I worked on while helping Erin.  Aren't these candy cane striped snowflakes adorable?  Even your children or grandchildren could made these.  Our two oldest grandsons, who are 8 and 5, made these while they were visiting Thanksgiving week.  We had so much fun.  I found these on Centsational Girl's blog site and, of course, knew I had to make some.  She used paper straws, but I found these lovely red and white striped plastic straws at the Dollar Tree right before Thanksgiving and I knew they would be perfect for this project, and they will hold up better than paper.  I also found a package of little foam Christmas decorations at the Dollar Tree which had a bunch of little white snowflakes that I used for the center.  This is an inexpensive craft!

Here is what you need:

a package of red and white straws

white chenille stems (pipe cleaners)

small red beads

Decoration for the center - hopefully foam snowflakes 

First, cut 4 white chenille stems in half.  You will have 8 halves.  Cut off a piece of chenille stem that is about 1.5 inches and twist it tightly around the center of the 8 halves and then fan them out like a snowflake.  It will look like this.

Now, cut two plastic straws into 8 pieces about 2 inches long.  You want the straw pieces slightly shorter than the chenille stems.

Next, slide the cut pieces of straw over the chenille stems, leaving a small end exposed.  Cut 1 inch pieces of chenille stem and twist them tightly around the exposed end above the straw pieces.

At this point, you will have 3 pieces of chenille showing.  Take some small red beads and slip them over the pieces of chenille and trim the ends.  Place a snowflake in the center of the spoke and TADAH!  You are finished.   This candy cane snowflake is about 5.5 inches across.  Makes me smile!

Now, how cute is that?  Add a ribbon or string for hanging and you can use these on a tree as ornaments, tie them on packages for gift giving or do what I did.  I made this cute little banner to hang over my sink.  We do not have a window over the sink, so I try to keep it interesting.  I painted three wooden letters I have had since last year in a candy cane stripe and then highlighted it with gold leaf.  Sorry, the picture is not the best.

I have some red and white striped rope that I bought at Hobby Lobby, so I hot glued the letters to a length that would fit between the cabinets and tied two of the candy cane snowflakes, one on either side.  It looks like this.

Again, it's not the best picture in the world, but you get the idea.  The sign underneath the shelf says Candy Canes, 5 cents.  I have had that sign for years.  It just makes the kitchen a little more festive don't you think?  I placed some ornaments I gold leafed on the shelf and placed some candy canes in the coffee cup to complete my Christmas arrangement.  The red and white striped jar is used to hold sugar all year round.  Yep, came from the Dollar Tree.

I hope you will give this project a try.  It's lots of fun and would make a great inexpensive classroom project if you have a party coming up and need a craft for the students to make.

Check back tomorrow because I have another beautiful candy cane project for you.  It's one that I simply love.  Talk to you soon.

Everyday donna

Things to remember:

I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month. 
Harlan Miller

Use What You Have

There has been lots of decorating going on this week at the little yellow cottage, but I needed a wreath for our side door and it had to be somewhat flat since we have a storm door.  So many wreaths are too thick and the storm door won't close.  Ever have that problem?   But, I thought I had a solution and it was laying on the ground in our back yard.

I had been looking at these things laying all over the ground under out magnolia tree since the tree bloomed.  They are hard like pine cones but look slightly different.  Of course Dan is less than crazy about them because they litter the ground and create issues when mowing during warm weather.  Of course, I kept looking at them and thinking they had to be useful for something -- just wasn't sure what.   That's the way my mind works.

I did a little research on Wikipedia and found out these things are called carpels.  They are the big center in a magnolia flower.  After the tree blooms, they harden and fall to the ground.  They are what create new magnolia trees -- the seed.  At Thanksgiving the solution to how to use them came to me.  I can make a wreath from all those carpels.  Fortunately, our grandsons were MORE than happy to gather a bunch of them for me which made me very happy.  They managed to fill a medium sized box in no time (and there are still tons of them on the ground).  A special thanks to H and Z for all their work!!

I started by wrapping a wire wreath form with ribbon so they would have something to adhere to.  You have probably seen those wreath forms in the craft stores.  They are green and have several wires with big gaps between them.  Needless to say, I forgot to take a picture before I wrapped it.  This is how it looked after it was wrapped.

As  you can probably tell by the picture, these forms are very flat which is just what was needed to fit between the doors.  It is a 16 inch form and I wrapped it very tightly with ribbon like I did for the ornament wreath tutorial I posted earlier this week.

Next, I fired up the hot glue gun and began arranging the carpels on the ribbon in a random pattern.  I glued  them  in different directions for interest and then added a few small ones to the top of the first layer so that there would be some definition.  It looks like this.

Using the glue gun, I just spread a lot of glue on one side of the carpel and then attached it to the wreath form.  It took some playing around with them before they were glued down so that they looked the way I wanted.  After the whole wreath was filled, I decided to paint it to highlight the interesting textures of the carpels.  I had Krylon paint left from painting pumpkins for Thanksgiving.  There was shiny gold and a color called latte which is kind of a pewter color.  The latte went on first for a base coat and then the gold.  I used brown craft paper to cover the ground and sprayed away.  Here is how it looked.

Love the way the paint highlighted the textures of the carpels!  Now, it needed a bow.  Red velvet of course - my favorite.  I also added some jingle bells and then hung it on the door.  You can see the finished product in the picture at the beginning of the article.

This wreath cost very little.  The wire frame was just a few dollars at Michael's.  The paint was left from another project and the ribbon was used in all my other decorating.  You may have pine cones or a sweet gum tree with all those annoying things we always called gum balls, or even a magnolia tree.  Pods and large seeds are so interesting and cost nothing other than the effort to pick them up!  This is a great way to use what you have.  These would make lovely gifts - you could even make candle rings by using small wreath forms.  How about a wedding reception?  They could be sprayed white or any color and sprinkled with diamond dust.  How gorgeous that would be!

Hope this inspires you to look around and think about how you can use things you already have that would make your project cost very little.  It's all about inspiration!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”  Arthur Ashe