Hilary's Recipes, Decorations, and Projects

Peter Cotton Came to Our House: Easter Decorations

2010-03-25T06:52:00.000-07:00

One of my most favorite hobbies is decorating for the different holidays. As a kid I always wanted to be a teacher. One of the main reasons I wanted to be a teacher was to change bulletin boards. Isn't that funny! I thought that would have been awesome to decorate the classroom for different holidays. I guess it is fitting because I love pulling out my decorations from the last year and putting them up around the house. For some reason when I pull out my Easter/Spring Bin I am extra happy. I know that when I pull that bin out it is going to get warmer, brighter, and that it is going to be spring. YIPPEE!!

Entryway: Easter Table : the photos in the frames are of Zachary & the Easter bunny at the mall.

My newest additions: Boy & Girl Bunnies! I think I have mentioned before that last spring I went to a clearance sale at local store that has adorable decorations. Well at that sale I found these two paper mache (not sure if that is spelled right) bunnies. When I first saw them at 85% off I wondered why they were at this sale. Most of the sale items needed a little touch up (chipped paint, bent wires, missing pieces). I posted about some Christmas decorations from this sale HERE. Anyways I could not figure out why these bunnies were in the sale...until I picked them up. Both of their legs fell out of their bodies. I was a little embarrassed at the sale because the legs fell on the floor. Of course my mind started churning and I thought all they needed was a little super glue. Thank God for my glue gun. Long story short...I bought the bunnies that were once $85 each for $7.50 each with an additional 50% off so I got them both for $7.50! Not too bad! Their legs are completely fixed and no one would ever know they were discarded for being damaged. Aren't they adorable!

Coffee Table

Plate rack in Kitchen

Bunnies on the Mantle: I got these bunnies last year at Gordman's and I love them!

Happy Easter and Happy Spring!

Valentine Snack & Great Teacher gift

2010-02-10T12:15:00.000-08:00

I came across this yummy snack mix a few years ago. It is so yummy, so addicting, and so bad for you....BUT it's worth it. Zachary and I made two batches of it to give to his teachers at school. It is quick and makes a great gift for neighbors, friends, family, and teachers.

Ingredients (for one batch)

4 cups of rice chex

4 cups of corn chex

1/2 jar of milk chocolate m&ms

1/2 jar of honey roasted peanuts

6 Tablespoons of margerine

3 Tablespoons of light Karo syrup

3/4 cup of brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon of baking soda

Recipe:

Melt margarine, brown sugar, & Karo syrup in a GLASS bowl in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.

Stir. Add 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda and stir.

Pour the melted mixture onto the chex cereal. Stir.

Put back into the microwave for 1 minute.

Stir.

Put back into the microwave for 1 more minute.

Stir and repeat one more time. WARNING: It gets very HOT!

Stir and then pour mixture onto wax paper. Let sit for at least 4 hours to dry. Don't even try to sample because it is lava hot and will burn off all your tastebuds. Don't even say that I didn't warn you. Ask my husband...he learned the hard way. I leave mine out overnight so that it is really crunchy!

Then add the peanuts and m&ms. Eat & share.

****MAKE SURE YOU USE A GLASS BOWL BECAUSE A PLASTIC ONE WILL MELT!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-01T17:46:00.000-08:00

I am one of those people who love Valentine's Day. I love everything about it...Red, Pink, Candy, Cupcakes, Hearts, and celebrating the ones that I love. It's a perfect holiday! This year I chose to decorate with a cupcake theme. Hope you enjoy! Happy Valentine's to you and yours!

Entry Table

This is my new Valentine decoration for this year. She's a Valentine Angel that says " You make my heart smile".
Of course my candy jars....you can't decorate for Valentine's day without candy!

January Snowmen Decorations

2010-01-08T07:31:00.000-08:00

For January I usually decorate my house with snowmen. Zachary loves them. I think he loves Frosty more than Santa. Here 's our Decorations for the COLD month of Jan.

Christmas Decorations

2009-12-28T15:24:00.000-08:00

Better late than never...I wanted to post our pictures our our home Christmas decorations.
Our floating ornaments over our staircase.

The garland doing down to our basement

Zachary's tree

Our Stockings
The Mantle

Our tree

Willow Tree Nativity

Mini tree with Snowmen

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Seven Layer Salad

2009-12-09T22:00:00.000-08:00

This is a VERY easy salad to make. As long as you have all the ingredients it can be thrown together rather quickly. This is the salad I usually take to family gatherings or holidays.

Ingredients:
1 pound bacon
1 large head iceberg lettuce - rinsed, dried, and chopped
1 red onion, chopped

3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 (10 ounce) package frozen green peas, thawed
10 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
1 1/4 cups mayonnaise
2 tablespoons white sugar
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
Cook Bacon. Crumble and set aside.
In a large flat bowl, place the chopped lettuce and top with a layer of onion, peas, egg, shredded cheese,and bacon.
Prepare the dressing by whisking together the mayonnaise, sugar and Parmesan cheese. Drizzle over salad and refrigerate until chilled.

Christmas Garland

2009-11-24T13:17:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago I shared with you items from my birthday purchase. If you want to read about it you can click here. What I ended up using those supplies for was a 15ft garland for my stairs. I have seen these garlands in stores from $75-200 depending on the quality and quantity. Again I figured I could do it myself. I am quite pleased with how it turned out. It does have battery powered white lights wrapped in in. Since I don't have a power outlet nearby I had to go with a battery operated one.

The only problem I have with it is should I take the candles and glass candle sticks out of the display? If you peak real close you can see that the candles are still wrapped. I am trying to decide if...

1. I should take them back.
2. If I should apply glitter all over them.
3. Leave them as is with their wrapper off.

So if you have any suggestions please feel free to comment.

Copy Cat Wreath

2009-11-17T15:30:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, my mother and I were in a very cute home decor and holiday novelty store. They had a ton of wonderful Christmas decorations. Some were priced fairly and others were a little out of my budget. A beautiful red and lime green wreath caught my eye but when I looked at the price tag my smile turned to disappointment. There was no way that I was going to pay $150.00 for a wreath for my front door that would proabably be marked down at the end of the season. So I reached for my camera took a picture and went to Hobby Lobby. Again everything from the wreaths to the swags were and continue to be 50% off this week. I found a plain wreath for $3.99 (originally $7.99 but with the 50% off sale). Then I found some swags and picks that I thought looked similar to the original wreath from the fancy store.

Today I spread out all of my supplies and went to work. 45 minutes later..TaDA! It's finished, I love it and it only cost me about $29.00. How do you like that Dave Ramsey????
Here is the photo of the stores wreath...isn't it beautiful!

Here is my wreath....it will take permanent residence on my front door after Thanksgiving.

Christmas Bargin Rehab

2009-11-15T14:01:00.001-08:00

I wanted to share with you two Christmas bargin finds. We have a local gift shop that has AMAZING decorations. The store is one of my favorites and have top of the line gifts. The store has a one a year liquidation sale in the spring. They marked down all of their "un-sellables" that had some sort of defect. Of course I had to take a look and see what I could find. I found these two Christmas trees and I knew immediately that I could fix them up to make them look like new.

Before: This red tree was originally $30. The sale price was $5 with an additional 50% off. Total price $2.50. I say SOLD!The tip of this tree was missing beads and it was a little loose.

AFTER: Finished!

BEFORE:
Here is tree #2 that was originally $32.oo. Marked down to $4 with an additional 50%. So I got it for $2.oo. You can see that the tip was missing beads as well as a section on the bottom.

AFTER: Perfect! You would never know that these were damaged goods.

My only wish was that they had more of these trees that were damaged! It just goes to show you that if you give a little TLC to something that is defected it can look good as new!

Projects in the making.....

2009-11-09T13:05:00.001-08:00

Today was the first day I have been allowed out of the house for 5 days. I have recently been sick with pneumonia and per my doctors request I have been under house arrest. So where is the first place I go after my doctors appointment....non other than the infamous HOB LOB (aka Hobby Lobby)! I had some birthday money that was burning a hole in my pocket. Fortunately EVERYTHING I wanted was 50% off. It was my lucky day. I did not even have to use my 40% off coupon! WHOO HOO! Anyways I thought I would give you a sneak peek at a project I am going to get started on. Can you guess what I am going to make?

Stay tuned and I will show you the finished product soon!

Personalized Baby Gift

2009-10-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

One of my greatest friends from highschool and his wife recently had a baby boy. Tom is the ultimate St. Louis Cardinals Fan so I wanted to get Baby Aiden some Cardinals gear. I am sure Aiden has tons of Cardinals items so I wanted to personalize the gifts a little bit. This is something ANYONE can do. First of all let me reassure you that I do not have a fancy embroidry sewing machine. I wish I did but I do not. So I did the next best thing.

Instructions:I went to one of my favorite stores....Hobby Lobby. My husband calls it Hob Lob :) Anyways I purchased some iron on letters. Next I cut out the letters I needed for Aiden's outfit. Then I put the onsie and shirt on a hard surface. I use a wooden puzzle.

I placed my iron on the cotton setting and pressed it on each letter for 20-25 seconds. After that I turned the shirt/onsie inside out and ironed over the letters again. After one minute of cooling I revealed the final product.

Final Product of the t-shirt: Front of shirt
Back of T-shirt

Final product: Front of Onsie

Back of Onsie

I can't wait to see Baby Aiden sporting these outfits. I made two sizes. One for now and one for next spring when Tommy and Beth go to spring training. Now it's your turn. See what you can do to personalize your childrens items or gifts. It's easy. If I can do it you can do it.

I also made one for my cousin, Jen. Her little man is due in December. The gift was more for my Uncle Wayne...the baby's grandfather because he LOVES the Chicago Cubs.

Taco Soup

2009-10-15T08:11:00.000-07:00

Today is a rainy, cold fall day so Zachary and I decided to make some Taco Soup. It's super easy, healthy and almost better as a leftover. Enjoy!

P.S. Ignore my messy countertops...

TACO SOUP

16 oz. can chili beans
16 oz. kidney beans
16 oz. can black beans
8 oz. can tomato sauce
15 oz. can diced stewed tomatoes
16 oz. can whole corn
16 oz. creamed corn
pkg. taco seasoning
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 sm. can chopped green chilies (I omit these because I do not like hot or spicy)

Do not drain any of the canned foods. Add all ingredients to a crock pot and add taco seasoning to the soup. Brown the ground beef in a pan with the chopped onion and add this combination to the crock pot. Simmer for at least a couple of hours. Serve warm and garnish with optional toppings: shredded cheese, sour cream, tortilla strips (cooked in frying pan with olive oil and grated parmesan cheese). Another idea: Eat with large Fritos chips.

Happy Fall Y'all

2009-10-07T09:34:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our home! Come in side and visit for awhile. I would love to have company in my home everyday. The blog world has made it happen. Enjoy!

I have had my fall decorations up for a couple weeks but I have been too lazy to take photos of all of it. I finally did it. I hope you enjoy the tour of fall in our home. It's my favorite time of year!<

These little trick or treaters are new to my decor this year.... I think they are cute! You'll have to look past the Santa & Zachary picture. I keep it up year round because it is my favorite picture. Someone very special is in that photo. You'll have to look real close to see if you can see who it is. Also in my candy jars I have faux pumpkins and peppermint lifesavers. Since Kevin and I are watching what we eat we opted not to put candy corns or yummy candies in there this year. :(

These pumpkin plates are new this year too. I got them at Homegoods in KC when we were up there for a wedding. I wish they would of had three of them.
I painted this pumpkin for Z when he was just 4 weeks old. I love it.

Another Chalkboard Paint Project

2009-10-03T17:46:00.000-07:00

A couple years ago my sister was selling this mirror in a garage sale. I quickly snagged it from her "for sale" pile and gave it a new home. I hung the mirror on our mantle for about two months until we got a canvased family photo to replace it. It was not until I saw the mirror in photos that I realized it was incredibly streaky.

This mirror has been sitting around for over a year without a purpose. Fast-forward to a couple weeks ago. I was in my kitchen thinking about changing out the decorations on my wall by my fridge. I keep a red berry heart in this spot and thought I needed something else up there for fall. However I realized that if I put something fall-ish up there, then I would need something Christmas-y up there, and the cycle would be never ending. I thought what could I put up their that would stay, and would be useful? Ah-HA! A Chalkboard! Immediately I started thinking about that mirror and painting it with chalkboard paint. Here was the process...

Tape the edges of the mirror to paint the frame. Once that dried I did a second coat. Then I had to tape the frame to spray paint the chalk board paint. After two coats of that...I was ready to hang and post my first message. I love the new look and I think I will get a lot more use out of the chalkboard than I will seasonal decor. Total price of project....NOTHING. I already had the paint, paintbrushes, and the mirror. YEAH!

Rolo Brownie Bites

2009-09-29T13:39:00.001-07:00

A couple weeks ago I needed a quick dessert to take to a family birthday. I had this recipe so I wanted to try it. Its super easy and everyone at the party loved them.

What you will need:

Box of Browies and the ingredients listed on the box

Bag of individual Rolo's

Miniature cupcake/muffin paper

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 35o degrees

Make the Brownie Batter as the box instucts.

Put 1/2 tbsp of brownie mix into each cupcake liner....I like to use the Pampered Chef scoop.

Then drop a Rolo into the brownie mix and cover rolo with another 1/2 tbsp of batter.

My personal Sous Chef putting in the Rolo's candy

Before they go into the oven. You can see some of the brownies are fully covered with batter and some need to be covered

Place into the oven for 18 minutes. DO NOT OVER BAKE! I promise they will not look like they are done. In fact, my first batch I baked for a couple more minutes and my brownie bites were HARD AS A ROCK! Do not OVER Bake...I repeat do not over bake!

Cool for at least 30 minutes before tasting. ENJOY!

The Final Look

Easy, Healthy, Dessert

2009-09-11T15:49:00.000-07:00

This summer Kevin and I have been really focused on eating better. However we still feel that we need "dessert" after every meal. This is a really hard habit to kick. So I am trying to find healthier, lower calorie desserts to have just to quinch our taste buds.

A few weeks ago I was at my friend, Julie's and she made these for breakfast. I thought excellent! Why had I not thought of this? I mean I always go through McDonalds to buy these but why have I not been making these?

Fruit Parfaits (approx 130-150 calories per dessert)

Items Needed:
Light and Fit Vanilla Yogart, Fresh Strawberries, Fresh Blueberries, and Granola

*Not sure why these next two photos are not rotating. O'well I have tried 4 times and I am giving up. These are so easy that even my sous chef, Zachary can make them. I used 1/2 cup of yogart, then layered the fruit, added another 1/2 cup of yogart, and topped with more fruit. You can also add the granola in the layers if you wish.

Here is another sideways photos of the finished parfaits in the fridge waiting for my husband to arrive home from work. The colder the better!

Name Sign

2009-09-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

This is a name sign that I made for our basement book shelf. Again we did not have any decorations for our basement so I took it upon myself to make some. First I purchased a wooden board. I got this one at Hobby Lobby. I think it labelled $5.99 but I had one of their weekly 40% off coupons. Then I chose my paint color and painted it. For the name I used the rub-on letters that you can find in the scrapbook isle. It was super easy to line up because each letter was on the same size of paper. After I got the name & the "established" part on there I thought it needed something else. A little color, so I put a teal ribbon on it. I used a hot glue gun to glue the ribbon on. Then I found some lime green raised stickers from my scrapbook closet to put on there for extra color and decor. My advice is dig around in your house for things to add to the board...you can always glue magnets, stickers, photos, etc. You do not always have to go out and buy something. Here is the final photo.

Decorative Plate

2009-08-22T20:51:00.000-07:00

This is a very easy and inexpensive way to add some decor to your house. When we finished our basement and got new furniture I realized that I did not have "stuff" to fill my bookcases. I also did not have extra money to spend on "stuff" for my shelves so I started to look around my home to find things. I found a white square plate that was purchased at the dollar store...I actually had 4 but the other three were in my kitchen on a plate rack. I brainstormed and then realized that I could adhere a clear sticker on it. I went to my craft closet and found the perfect thing it was a pre-made scripture sticker. I know Hobby Lobby or as my husband says, "Hob Lob" has them and so does Mardel. If you can't find a clear sticker with what you want on it then I would run some clear Avery labels through your computer and cut around it. Next, I wanted to add some color. So I used some rhinestones that already had sticky adhesive to the back of them. Voila! I was done. I propped it up on a plate rack (you can find these at Gordmans or Wal-mart for $3 or less).

Upclose Picture of my scripture and rhinestones
The final look on my bookcase

**Disclaimer: Please do not leave the rhinestones around your children. True story...while I was doing this plate Zachary took an pink rhinestone off the sticker paper. Next thing you know I hear hysterical crying. He had shoved the rhinestone up his nose. I called my mom who is a school nurse. She said to put pepper under his nose to increase mucus secretions. He was so mad at the pepper that he kept crying more. Nothing happened so I called the pediatrician. While on the phone the rhinestone slid out of his nose and on my floor. Mom was right..Pepper did the trick. Therefore do not let you curious children put the rhinestones up their nose.

The Next Food Network Star...

2009-08-17T16:29:00.000-07:00

I LOVE reality tv shows, especially the ones based on food or cooking. This past season just finished up an my favorite candidate, Melissa d'Arabian was the winner. She is a stay at home mom of 4 girls and had no culinary training. She is self taught...which I really admire. She gave great cooking tips, money saving tips, and her food is GOOD. The night after the finale I made the recipe that won her the title of Next Food Network Star. It was called 4-step chicken. On the season finale she gave such great tips that I could re-create it in my kitchen without a recipe. Since then I have made it 4 other times. IT IS WONDERFUL, quick, and affordable for any budget. Today in my e-mail inbox there was the original recipe. So I wanted to share it with you.

Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, sliced in half crossways (butterflied, cut all the way through)
1 teaspoon dried thyme, plus 1 small bunch fresh thyme, leaves chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup white wine, optional
1 cup chicken broth
3 lemons, juiced
1 to 2 tablespoons butter

Directions
Season chicken with dried thyme and salt and pepper. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add the oil. Dredge the chicken in flour, add to the hot oil and saute until cooked through. Set chicken aside to rest on plate tented with foil.
In same saute pan, over low heat, add onions and fresh thyme and cook until aromatic.
In a measuring cup, measure out wine, if using, and broth, and add the lemon juice. Turn the heat up to high, and deglaze the pan with the broth mixture until starting to reduce.
Remove the pan from the heat and finish the sauce by whisking in butter. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Place on a serving platter. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve. ENJOY!

I can't wait for Melissa's show to preview on the Food Network. I will be DVR'ing each episode. Melissa is fantastic.
This recipe and photos came from www.foodnetwork.com
Check out this website for more recipes and information on Melissa d'Arabian.

Easy, Peasy, Yummy Green Beans

2009-08-14T09:27:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago we went to dinner at our friends Heidi and Jason's house. Heidi made the best green beans and was so sweet to share her recipe with me. We have had them at least 3 times since that night. So I thought I should share with you.

Ingredients: Frozen or Fresh Green beans, Balsalmic Vinegar, Olive Oil, Red Onion, and Bacon
* You can use the real bacon bits that are already ready too. I did not have any so I popped some of the Oscar Meyer bacon in the microwave.

Chop your red onion and mix in a hot fry pan with a dash of Olive Oil
The aroma is amazing. Just be careful not to burn them. Stir occasionally to for even cooking. When they look and smell done add the bacon and cook about 1 minute longer. Next add the green beans and as much balsamic vinegar that you want. We like a lot (3/4 cup) but start slow. Continue to flip the veggies.
Final look: everything is done. Put in serving bowl and you are ready for the perfect side dish.

This is a low calorie, high flavor side dish. I hope you love it as much as we do. Let me know if you try it!

Antique Silver Plated Trays

2009-08-11T11:25:00.000-07:00

I got this idea from a blog titled Bless Our Nest. Shannon always comes up with some super cute, creative decorations for her home. To be honest, I am not sure how I found Shannon's blog but I am glad that I did. One of her blog post was titled Tray Transformations and I fell in love at first sight. I thought those are awesome! I want one. So one morning my mom, Zachary, and I had some free time and popped in an antique flea market booth store. In my mind I did not want to spend more than $7 for a silver plated tray. I have to admit the "hunt" of the plate was very exciting for me. That day I did not find a tray that I wanted for my price. But a few weeks later my mom and mother-in-law went to lunch at a local tearoom and low and behold I found this tray for $4. SOLD! I had to have it.

Because I have been so occupied with summer and stuff I just finished my tray. Here are some photos from the project. Thanks to my wonderful two year old for his camera skills.

Before: Chalkboard Paint and My $4 tray

*I recommend taping the edges of your tray prior to painting :) You'll thank me later!

Painting my "taped" tray in the garage on a rainy day. Thanks Zachary for taking the photo!

After: Isn't it cute on my welcome table in my entry way!

My finished tray!

Thank you Shannon for your wonderful ideas. I love your blog! Keep up the good work!

Overnight Blueberry Breakfast Casserole

2009-08-01T19:51:00.000-07:00

Right after my son was born I was invloved in MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) at my church. At MOPS they would have different discussion groups host a breakfast buffet for the month. I was trying to figure out how to juggle a newborn, make a casserole, and get ready for a much needed morning with other moms all by 9 am. The week before I was scheduled to make a dish I started reseaching. I went to one of my favorite recipe sites...allrecipes.com . I found the perfect recipe to make the night before MOPS so that in the morning I could get ready and take care of my newborn. IT WAS AMAZING! Since then I have made this dish over 25 times for different brunches, MOPS breakfasts, and family gatherings. IT is 100% yummy and super easy. If you are looking for a dish to make the night before without any hassles this is the dish for you. Let me know if you like it.

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
12 slices day-old bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
1.5(8 ounce) packages cream cheese, cut into 1 inch cubes ( I have used 1/3 less fat and it works)
1 cup fresh blueberries
10 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup maple syrup
sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar

1 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon butter

DIRECTIONS
Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange half the bread cubes in the dish, and top with cream cheese cubes. Sprinkle 1 cup blueberries over the cream cheese, and top with remaining bread cubes.
In a large bowl, mix the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and syrup. Pour over the bread cubes. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.
Remove the bread cube mixture from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over mixture.
Cover, and bake 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking 25 to 30 minutes, until center is firm and surface is lightly browned.
In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, cook 3 to 4 minutes. Mix in the remaining 1 cup blueberries. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, until the blueberries burst. Stir in the butter, and pour over the baked French toast.