Metamorphosis Monday

Susan over at Between Naps on The Porch hosts Metamorphosis Monday each week and I thought I would participate this time around.

For about two years I had my eye out for a hutch or open-style china cabinet to go in my dining area.  Eventually my dad actually found one and bought it from a man on the side of the road. Here is how it looked…

After a couple of dry-brush coats of paint, new hardware, and my dishes were added…

Decorated for Christmas in December 2008 (you can see the color a little better here)…

Decorated for Christmas this year…

Hope you enjoyed the transformation of my kitchen hutch!

Be sure and check out all the other transformations at Met Monday!

Oreo Truffles

This Christmas season, I decided to try a new treat: oreo truffles. They were quite yummy so I thought I would share the recipe. I got this recipe from combining a couple of versions of the recipe from All Recipes and from my principal, Paige.

Oreo Truffles

Ingredients:

Block of cream cheese

Bag of Oreo cookies

2 tbsp oil

Bag of chocolate chips

Basic Ingredients

Instructions:

1. Allow cream cheese to soften at room temperature.

2. Place oreos in plastic bag to crush. I have heard of people crushing the oreos in a food processor, but I do not have one of those. I put my oreos in a bag and first crushed them with my hands then kept rolling over them with a can of green beans to get them finely crushed. Classy, I know.

The crushed Oreos

3. Reserve about 1/4 cup of crushed oreos to sprinkle of finished truffles. Add cream cheese to the bag of oreos and work in your hands until all white streaks are blended into black. Place the bag in the fridge for about 30 minutes or just until it becomes stiff.

The oreos and cream cheese mixed together.

4. Pull them out of the fridge and roll into balls. Place on wax or parchment paper on a cookie sheet and return to fridge while you melt your chocolate.

Rolled into balls and ready to be dipped in chocolate!

5. To melt chocolate, put the chips in a microwave safe bowl, add 2 tablespoons of oil, and microwave. My bag of chocolate chips gave instructions on melting.

6. Once the chocolate is melted, begin dipping your truffles and return them to the parchment/wax paper covered cookie sheet. Sprinkle with reserve cookie crumbs. Return to fridge to harden. Before serving, let sit at room temp for about 30 minutes.

I used the "two-fork" method for dipping the truffles.

Yummy!

Note:

• For dipping the truffles in the chocolate, I used the “two-fork” method. You stab the oreo balls on either side and roll around in the chocolate to cover. Lift the truffles and pass from fork to fork to remove excess chocolate.
• This made about 35-40 truffles depending on the size.
• As you know, I have a mint obsession so when I went to the store to get my supplies for truffle making, I could NOT pass up buying the mint oreos and putting my own mint-y twist on this recipe. The recipe is the same except that I used the mint flavored oreos and covered them with white chocolate. My original intention was to drizzle milk chocolate on top of the milk chocolate for this version, but that didn’t happen! Maybe next time.

Mint Oreo & White Chocolate Version

Ingredients for mint oreo truffles

Mom’s Cheeseball

A friend asked me to post a recipe that I served recently at book club so here you go!

My mom has been making this cheeseball for years, but I am not sure where she originally got the recipe. My family always serves this at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other assorted family gatherings.

Ingredients:

1 package of dry Italian dressing seasoning mix

1 box of cream cheese

1 small container of small curd cottage cheese

Basic Ingredients

1. Let cream cheese soften on counter.

2. Add cream cheese and cottage cheese to mixing bowl and mix on med-high until well blended.

3. Add seasoning packet and mix on medium until well blended.

4. Chill in fridge for at least 2-3 hours.

5. Serve with your favorite crackers.

NOTE:

• The pictures above shows a double batch of cheeseball being made.
• My mom forms her cheeseball mixture in a ball in wax paper, chills, then rolls in chopped pecans before serving. I don’t like pecans, so I skip this step.
• The cheeseball will only form a ball if you don’t use the low and non fat varieties of cream cheese and cottage cheese. I always use low fat or nonfat, so I have to serve it in a bowl, not as a ball.
• Chilling the cheeseball for several hours or even overnight will help the flavor be much better.
• Occasionally I throw in some crushed red pepper or ranch seasoning, as the mood strikes. Just sprinkle it in at the same time as the seasoning packet, if you so desire.

Enjoy!

Making a House a Home

To me, a home is a comfortable space full of friends and family, laughter and conversation, music and tears, rest and refuge, memories and mementos, treasures and trinkets…

I work hard to make our house a home and for me, part of that is making it visually appealing and inviting. Given my artistic sensibilities I love to be surrounded by beauty and visual delight. Decorating and filling a home need not be extravagant or expensive, it need not follow trends, and it should not be dictated by fads or design “rules”.  I enjoy dreaming of paint colors, wall coverings, fabrics, and furniture. I like to arrange bookshelves and display my dishes. Spending an evening moving around furniture and exchanging one picture frame for another and seeing if this or that will work here or there is fun for me.

Recently, I wrote about a day of shopping with my mom, including going to the annual barn sale and I wanted to give you an update on how it turned out.  Although we didn’t make any purchases at the barn sale, we certainly enjoyed looking at everything there and drooling over the collection of china. Then, at our first estate sale stop, I made a small purchase…

 

 

I got the book in the middle, Anna Karenina (in a perfect shade of orange) for $1.00. Can’t beat that. I just love books (I get this from my mom!).

I also purchased something at the next estate sale we visited…something much more major and very unexpected, but that’s for another post on another day!

Here are some finds from an antique store we visited, Ye Old City…

Cute little green pumpkin salt and pepper shakers my mom spotted and bought for me. She loves salt and pepper shakers and thought I needed these–especially for only $4.00!

I could not pass these up…

I first noticed the tall vertical painting sitting on the floor of one of the booths in the antique mall and loved it’s unusual size and shape.  Nearby I saw the black framed painting and was drawn to its unique mat and frame. My mom commented how they would look nice together. Also, these kinds of darker colors are more rare to find in landscape paintings. After seeing a half-off sign in the booth, I knew I had to bring these home with me. Of course, you must do things in threes so I hunted around the booth until I found a little companion to complete the trio. All three for under $25.00! A bargain for real paintings. In my opinion, actual paintings and original photography are so much nicer to decorate with than reproduction prints and “fake” paintings.  Don’t worry, I have some prints, too, but I love to use paintings. And as you can see, you can find them cheap if you look around!

Now to find a place to hang these…

My Desktop

I collect images I like on my desktop. When I see something I like, I right-click and “save image as” straight to my desktop. Jason says I have too many icons on my desktop, but I love having all those little wonderful portals that take me to visual deliciousness.

Have a peek for yourself…

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s to dreaming…

Too cute!

Just had to share a few pictures of my niece and nephew…

Thumbelina Kyndle: Costume #1

 

Fairy Ballerina Kyndle: Costume #2

 

Sheriff Andrew

 

Sheriff Andrew with Mommy

Black Bean & Chicken Enchiladas

I concocted this recipe from inspiration from several recipes. I have had a few people ask me for it, so here it is…

Black Bean & Chicken Enchiladas

2 Large, Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breasts

2 Cans of Black Beans, Drained & Rinsed

1 Can Mexican Rotel (or whichever you prefer)

8 oz Plain Yogurt

2 Cans of Cream of Chicken & Mushroom Soup (if you can not find this, Cream of Chicken or 1 Cream of Mushroom and 1 Cream of Chicken will work)

About 1-2 Cups of Chicken Broth

Shredded Cheese (Colby Jack or Cheddar will work)

20 Corn Tortillas

Seasoning (Taco Seasoning, Cumin, Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes…all to taste and depends on what you like)

1. Sprinkle some taco seasoning on chicken breast and bake until done.
2. Meanwhile: Mix soup, yogurt, Rotel, and broth (about a half cup to start) to make sauce.
3. Drain and rinse black beans and put in separate bowl.
4. When chicken is done, cut/shred in small pieces and add to beans.
5. Spoon sauce a little at a time in bean and chicken mixture until covered. At this point you may want to add a little more chicken broth to the filling mixture.
6. Scoop mixture into tortillas, roll, and place seam side down in sprayed casserole dish.
7. Cover with remaining sauce (depending on how much sauce you used for the filling, you may need to add more chicken broth to your remaining sauce to make it go farther).
8. Now I usually sprinkle on some cumin, red pepper flakes, and freshly ground pepper–this is optional.
9. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.
10. Top with shredded cheese and bake for another 5-10 minutes.

**Note: This recipe actually makes TWO casserole pans of enchiladas. To make only one dish, half ingredients or freeze your filling and sauce for another time.

**Disclaimer: As you can see from my recipe, I am not “married” to recipes, so to speak. Sometimes I use different soups, cheeses, etc depending on what I have and I don’t typically measure things or follow recipes exactly. That is why this recipe is not so exact. So, let me know if you have any questions.

Enjoy!

Yummy Scent

My mom bought me a candle a while back that she found on sale. It is called “Good Morning” by Yankee Candle. It has a picture of a muffin on the front, but the scent is more citrus-y mixed with something I can’t quite name. Now, I have had a lot of Yankee candles in the past, but nothing can compare to this one. It is my favorite candle I have ever had (even beyond the Yankee brand) and that’s saying a lot! My mom found it on base and I have never seen it anywhere since. Yankee Candle’s website makes no mention of this candle so I assume it’s been discontinued (which is probably why she found it on clearance). I am telling you, this candle is awesome….why oh why would they ever discontinue it?? I have gotten more compliments and questions about this candle than any other. I keep it in a cabinet and just pull it out every once in a while to light. It even makes the cabinet smell good and that’s with the lid on. If you EVER see one of these candles, buy it! You can enjoy it or give it to me.

That’s Refreshing

It is always nice and refreshing when a news story does not center on crime, controversy, or criticism. I recently read this story on the Dallas News website: 18 Couples Share Vows in Joint Ceremony.

At Concord Church in Oak Cliff pastor Bryan Carter started a 6 week teaching series called “The Real Flava of Love” for couples. It was hailed as “six weeks to discover God’s plan for singles and how to really maximize the season of singleness.” The last lesson of the series was called “Let’s Just Live Together” and wrapped up with a challenge: if you are living together, either move out or get married. They went even farther: for couples that chose to get married the church offered to pay for the weddings: tuxes, dresses, rings, cakes, etc.  Talk about putting your money where your mouth is! Church officials told the couples everything would be arranged for them and they would be getting married in 30 days. About 30 couples signed up for the challenge and the church conducted interviews and counseling. In the end, 18 couples ended up marrying at the October 25^th joint ceremony.

I don’t know anything about this church or the couples that were married in this ceremony, but I am glad that someone out there is standing up for the importance of marriage. Living together has become quite commonplace in our society. I appreciate pastor Bryan Carter for taking a stand for the sanctity of marriage.

Traveling

Recently, CNN ran a story about the 8 places every American should see…

Their recommendations were the Sears Tower, Gettysburg, Yellowstone National Park, New York Harbor, Monticello, Graceland, Pearl Harbor, and the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church. I have only been to one place on this list: the New York Harbor. What about you? Do you even agree with this list? What places would be on your list?

Compare that with a list of the 15 Places Every Kid Should See by Budget Travel…I have been to four of the fifteen landmarks.

As for me, I think it would also be nice to visit each of the 50 states. The list below illustrates which states I have visited…

* Alabama
* Alaska
* Arizona
* Arkansas
* California (had a layover here, but I won’t count that)
* Colorado
* Connecticut
* Delaware
* Florida
* Georgia
* Hawaii
* Idaho
* Illinois (had a layover here, but I don’t count that)
* Indiana
* Iowa
* Kansas
* Kentucky
* Louisiana
* Maine
* Maryland
* Massachusetts
* Michigan
* Minnesota
* Mississippi
* Missouri
* Montana
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Hampshire
* New Jersey
* New Mexico
* New York
* North Carolina
* North Dakota
* Ohio
* Oklahoma
* Oregon
* Pennsylvania
* Rhode Island
* South Carolina
* South Dakota
* Tennessee
* Texas
* Utah
* Vermont
* Virginia
* Washington
* West Virginia
* Wisconsin
* Wyoming

As you can see, I still have quite a few states to visit…I have been to a little less than half of them. In addition to visiting each state, here are some specific sites I would like to see: Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, Niagara Falls, Redwood National Forest in California, the lights in Marfa, the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco, and more!