hey! i'm miken and this is my blog to show what i've been doing lately as far as creating, homemaking, etc. this blog may be feast or famine with regards to posting so follow to make sure you don't miss anything!

Friday, February 19, 2010

favorite beef chili


Favorite Beef Chili
(great freezer meal option!)

Our Rating: 

Ingredients:
1-1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1 can (15 oz.) dark red kidney beans, drained, rinsed
1 can (15 oz.) light red kidney beans, drained, rinsed
1-1/2 cups mild salsa
1 can (16 oz.) tomato sauce
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 onion, chopped
1 cup frozen corn, thawed, drained
1 cup mexican style finely shredded cheese

Directions:
Brown meat; drain. Add to slow cooker with remaining ingredients except cheese; stir. Cover with lid.

Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours. Stir occasionally.

Serve topped with the cheese.

8 servings about 1 cup each

If you want to make this into a freezer meal put all ingredients into gallon sized freezer bag - hamburger should be cooked before adding to bag. Label the bag with cooking instructions. Once ready to use let thaw in fridge for 24 hours. I separate all my freezer meals into 2 quart sized bags since it's just Eddy and I to feed so far. That way we can save one of the meals to eat at a later date. :)

Recipe and photo credit to Kraft.com. The original recipe can be found HERE.

quirky

Does anyone love this kind of stuff as much as I do? I love the color in this kitchen and I LOVEx3 the kitty pictures. Awesome.

gram's chicken pot pie

Gram's Chicken Pot Pie

Our rating: 

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
2 Tbsp. Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
1/4 lb. (4 oz.) Velveeta, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 sheet frozen puff pastry (1/2 of 17.3-oz. pkg.), thawed
1 egg, beaten

Directions:
Heat oven to 400ºF. Cook and stir chicken in dressing in large skillet on medium heat 5 min. or until done. Stir in vegetables and soup. Spoon into greased 9-inch square baking dish; top with Velveeta.

Unfold pastry sheet; place over chicken mixture. Fold under edges of pastry; press onto top of baking dish to seal. Brush pastry with egg. Cut several slits in pastry to permit steam to escape.

Place dish on baking sheet. Bake 30 min. or until crust is deep golden brown. Let stand 5 min. before serving.

Photo credit and recipe to Kraft.com. The original recipe can be found HERE

Monday, February 8, 2010

valentines felt catch-all

I am not making the mistake of saying I'm going to do something before I do it ever again. It was incredibly hard finding time to make these but after saying I would... I definitely made myself do it. I'm so happy with the finished project! I got this idea from a Martha Stewart Craft Blog... of course!

Inspiration:
And mine:
Just a little something extra I made for fun for my Mama.

During the Superbowl my sisters and I made each of ourselves one...

They turned out perfect!
What you need:
Basics (Fabric Scissors, Needle, Thread)
Felt
*I used Pinking Shears for the zig zag edges on mine. Great investment I must say!

shoutout: diy home makeovers

So, my sister got this idea from her sister-in-law Jessica. Look how much difference a little bit of paint and effort makes! These kitchens now look so luxurious! Now, I wouldn't recommend that just ANYONE take on a project like this but if you think you can do it - you can! I hate that I live in an apartment and can't make awesome changes like these!

You can see my sister Kerstin's kitchen makeover blog post here.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:
You can view Jessica's makeover blog post here.

Before:

After:

Amazing right?