Manic Monday Linky Party 16

It’s Time for

Manic Monday!

We had some amazing link ups last week….

and I can't wait to see what you guys have in store for me this week!

The Rules are simple:

Manic Monday 15 Features

It's time for Features!1

You guys are unbelievably AMAZING!!

There is just so much talent linked up every week I get so excited going through and seeing all of your great projects.

tIME FOR FEATURES:

Beautiful Paper Flowers

Have you seen these beautiful paper flowers at Hobby Lobby?!

I LOVE them!

They are such a fun and unique way to add a POPof color to a room.

The best part:

I found them on clearance for 60% off!

I mixed them in with some pieces I already had just to make it a little more springy.

What do you think?

Manic Monday Linky Party 15

It’s Time for

Manic Monday!

We had some amazing link ups last week….

and I can't wait to see what you guys have in store for me this week!

The Rules are simple:

Manic Monday 14 Features

It's time for Features!1

You guys are unbelievably AMAZING!!

There is just so much talent linked up every week I get so excited going through and seeing all of your great projects.

tIME FOR FEATURES:

Tequila Lime Enchiladas

This is by far one of my favorite recipes! You can easily make the enchiladas ahead of time and freeze them- then just make the sauce when you’re ready to cook them.  I make extras to freeze and my husband will just heat them up in the microwave as easy burritos for a quick lunch or snack.  I use to make them all the time when I was single because it was a quick meal for one!

Ingredients:

8 Flour Tortillas (Taco Size)

2 Chicken Breasts (Shredded)

2 Cups Mexican Rice

1 Cup Shredded Cheese (I use Monterrey Jack)

Tequila Enchilada Sauce:

3 TBS Salted Butter

3 TBS Flour

1/2 Cup Tequila (optional) 

1 1/2Cup Chicken Broth

1 8oz container Sour Cream

1/2 can Rotel Mexican Lime & Cilantro Tomatoes

Directions:

Start off by making your rice.  I cheat and use Knorr sides Mexican rice- it's easy and tastes good.  I add in 1 cup of frozen corn while it's cooking to up the veggie intake. :)

Then make your shredded chicken.  I take 2 boneless-skinless chicken breasts and boil them for about 30 minutes (until their cooked all the way through).  You can even use frozen chicken for this step!  Once cooked I tear the chicken apart with 2 forks.
Now, to form your enchiladas:
Get an 8x12 casserole dish to put your enchiladas in once you've stuffed them.
Layer 1: Mexican Rice

Layer 2: Shredded Chicken

Layer 3: Shredded Cheese

Roll them up and place them in your casserole dish- you can layer them if you need to.

Mmmmmm... Look how yummy!

Note: If you want to freeze ahead for easy take out just wrap each enchilada in a paper towel then in a piece of aluminum foil- place in a freezer bag and freeze. You can pull them out individually to make and eat as burritos- just remove the aluminum foil and pop in microwave for 60 seconds or continue on with making the Tequila Lime Enchilada Sauce and bake them like normal.

Now to make your Tequila Lime Enchilada Sauce:
Start off by making a roux with your butter and flour.  This step will burn so don't leave it!  Melt your butter then add your flour.  It will form a paste like substance.  You will want to have your tequila or chicken broth ready to add before you start this step.

Once you have made the roux, you will quickly add in the tequila (this is a kid friendly recipe- the alcohol burns off- the tequila just adds a kick of flavor to your sauce)- if you don't want to use tequila then just use 2 cups of chicken broth instead of 1.  You will add in your chicken broth at this step too.  Whisk until smooth and bring to a boil.

Add in 1/2 can of Rotel tomatoes- I like the Mexican Lime & Cilantro. Turn off the burner.  Then add in your sour cream.  Stir well.

Now pour your sauce over your enchiladas.

Add cheese if you wish. And bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

A Crafty Cook

Features from Manic Monday 13

Ooops.  Manic Monday had a little glitch, but it's up and running now.  But, I do have FEATURES from last week for you!

Are you looking for this week's Manic Monday Linky Party?
Go HERE!

You guys are unbelievably AMAZING!!


There is just so much talent linked up every week I get so excited going through and seeing all of your great projects.

tIME FOR FEATURES:

New Blogger Series - Guest Posting

Okay, it's time once again for....

But first...

I thought it would be useful to do a New Blogger Series post about tips and rules for writing a guest posting- whether through Trading Blogs or elsewhere- these are pretty universal for all guest posts.

A guest post is a chance to share your ideas with a whole new set of readers.  When you write a guest post you want it to be AMAZING- not only as a respectful gesture to your hostess but to gain new readers.  A guest post is by far the BEST promotion you can do for your blog- so I've compiled some tips so you can ROCK IT!

Stained Glass Vase

I know you've all seen these BORING plain glass vases at thrift stores.  I found this one for .80 at a thrift store near my house.... what a great deal.... right?!  

Well, I decided it needed a little color.  With Spring here I'm feeling like everything in my house is just drab... so I'm working on finding inventive ways to add pops of color.  This way is just sooooooo super easy and ridiculously CHEAP!

So I know you're wondering what the heck I just poured in that vase?!

Simple, I poured a whole bunch of Modge Podge (or white glue mixed with a little water.... yep- that's what Modge Podge is made of!) and several drops of food coloring.

WHAT!  Food coloring?  Yep, good old fashioned food coloring!  But, it has to be the liquid food coloring not this new gel stuff.  I chose blue and added about 7-8 drops.  The more drops you add the deeper your color gets.

Then add a couple of droplets of water so you can easily swirl around the mixture and evenly coat the whole vase on the inside.  Just shake shake shake!

Now, let you're vase dry for several hours.  I revisited it every hour or so and just shaked things up again to keep recoating the inside.  Like the rim of the vase? I just let the mixture run up to the rim but I didn't worry about making it coat all of the glass which gave it a nice decorative touch.

Then, I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out some white vinyl and attached it to the outside of the vase.

I decided to do our last name and large initial.  The key to this look is to make the initial 5 times the size of the last name and to use 2 distinctly different fonts.

Yes, you see that correctly- my last name is LLADO.  The double L's make a J sound in Spanish.

As you can see the paint starts out opaque but then turns transparent once it dries.  So, just add some flowers cut from the garden and....

Ta-Da!

Linking Up At:

http://sassysites.blogspot.com/2012/04/t2t-tuesday_16.html

http://debbiedoescreations.com/2012/04/16/toot-your-horn-tuesday-8-and-features-from-7

http://craftymomsshare.blogspot.com/2012/04/happy-family-times-4.html

http://www.pincushioncreations.com/2012/04/homemade-by-you-8.html

http://www.uncommondesignsonline.com/2012/04/uncommonly-yours-link-party-24.html

http://natural-nester.blogspot.com/2012/04/naturally-nifty-linky-party-10.html

http://www.jillifyit.com/2012/04/party-8.html

http://www.thenymelrosefamily.blogspot.com/2012/04/whimsy-wednesdays-7.html

http://www.claimingourspace.com/2012/04/tout-it-tuesday-2.html

http://www.myfavoritefinds.blogspot.com/

http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/2012/04/6615.html

http://theshadyporch.blogspot.com/2012/04/rock-n-share-25.html

http://www.gratefulbelly.com/2012/04/whats-new-wednesday-five.html

http://livelaughrowe.blogspot.com/2012/04/live-laugh-linky-6.html

http://brandyscrafts.blogspot.com/2012/04/get-your-brag-on-link-party_18.html

http://whatscookinglove.blogspot.com/2012/04/showcase-your-talent-thursday-3.html

http://www.the36thavenue.com/2012/04/party-time-51-and-tatertots-and-jello.html

http://www.thesasselife.com/2012/04/7-questions-crafty-sasse-wednesday-link.html

http://thriftydecorating-nikkiw.blogspot.com/2012/04/thrifty-thursday-56.html

http://www.firefliesandjellybeans.com/2012/04/show-off-your-stuff-party-123.html

http://acreativeprincess.blogspot.com/2012/04/its-party-50.html

http://staceyembracingchange.blogspot.com/2012/04/creative-inspirations-linky-party-10.html

http://www.52mantels.com/2012/04/thursdays-are-your-days-house-129.html

http://thefrugalgirls.com/2012/04/thursday-link-up-party.html

http://itsahodgepodgelife.blogspot.com/2012/04/its-hodgepodge-friday16.html

http://www.happygoluckyblog.com/2012/04/shine-on-friday_19.html

http://www.504main.com/2012/04/tickled-pink-no-94.html

Nana's Old Fashion Egg Salad Sandwich

We are entering into my absolute favorite time of year... the lazy days of Summer!

When I was younger, as soon as school let out for the Summer I would head to Florida and spend several weeks with my Nana and Grandaddy.  Being the oldest of 3 children and the favorite :) (my Nana confirmed this at every visit) of 7 grandchildren this time gave me some one on one time with my grandparents where I was able to be the center of attention.

My Nana would spoil me rotten during my weeks there.  Upon arrival there were always freshly made cupcakes (vanilla and chocolate) waiting for me.  We would go to the pool everyday.  She would cook my favorite meals.  And every year we always went out on the lake several times.  Whenever we would go boating on the lake she would always make egg salad sandwiches and pack the good coke (in glass bottles) with chips and some kind of dessert.  It was always a blast!

So here's the recipe for those amazing Egg Salad Sandwiches:

Features from Manic Monday 12

Yep, feature day is a little late- but hey, better late than never right?!

Are you looking for this week's Manic Monday Linky Party?
Go HERE!

You guys are unbelievably AMAZING!!


There is just so much talent linked up every week I get so excited going through and seeing all of your great projects.


We had a fantastic Easter weekend here! The weather was beautiful, there was TONS of yummy food, my sister-in-law came to visit so hubby and I could have a date night, the Little Man is getting a cousin! (YEP, I'm gonna be an Aunt- my other sister-in-law announced their baby is due near Little Man's birthday!)  I was having such a wonderful time this weekend I completely forgot about FEATURES!

So....
Here they are....
finally:

New Blogger Series - Time Management

I know, I know.... It's been several weeks since my last installment of The New Blogger Series.

Bad blogger, bad blogger!

Okay, so maybe not so bad, but these last few weeks have taught me that I need better time management so I don't neglect my blog.  It has just been soooooooo crazy around here!

Paint Brush Caddy from old Archer Farms Container

Do you suffer from Craftersmessydisorganization Syndrome?  

I do!

I am constantly looking for remedies to cure my CMDS.... it seems like every time I turn around I've misplaced my stash of paintbrushes or I can't find a particular ribbon that I just know I purchased but it's no where in sight! So I've been working on getting organized and curing my CMDS once and for all!

So, I made this cute Paint Brush Caddy to keep all of my paintbrushes coralled on my desk.  The best part... I can put them away wet! No more leaving them on the kitchen counter to dry!

Easter Cloche from Danni at Silo Hill Farm

We have a special guest today.... 
Danni from Silo Hill Farm!  


I'm so excited to be trading blogs with her today, she has become one of my closest blogging friends!  She's the queen of cute, simple, holiday projects-- I love getting inspiration from her and I hope you will too!  Make sure you come visit me over on her blog where I'm sharing a personalized flower vase!




Hello to all of you Serendipity and Spice readers!  I'm Danni from Silo Hill Farm.

  I'm thrilled to be guest posting here for Melissa today.  She is so awesome!  She makes such fun things and her blogging tutorials have been such a great help to me.  Not to mention the fact that I get tons of inspiration from her Manic Monday Link party!  I hope you'll stop by and visit my blog and maybe even become a follower.  I've always got some kind of craftiness going on and sometimes even some  cooking happens.  But today I'm going to show you how I made this little Easter Cloche:

I found one of those little glass votive holders at the thrift store and figured it would make a good cloche for my little bunny.   I needed some kind of base for it and decided on a clay pot saucer. 

 I painted it with some green paint. 

In order to make the bunny sit up a little higher in the cloche, I used this little wooden circle (found at Hobby Lobby) and painted it green so it wouldn't show up through the grass so much.

Since it had a hole in the middle of it, I felt obligated to put something in it! I thought that something resembling a bush might look nice and give my piece some perspective.  I clipped off a few sprigs from a bunch of faux flower buds I had.

I put them in the hole in the center of the wooden circle and just kind of wedged them in with extra clips of the wire trimmings.

I wanted to add some grass or moss.  I had some sheet moss, but decided that it was going to be difficult to cover that wooden circle with the moss.  I found this "Bunny Grass" at Hobby Lobby:

It was not nearly as messy as moss and it was very easy to work with.  I pulled some off and put it around the base to cover the wooden circle.  I put the cloche over the top and tucked any pieces of grass back under and this little project was finished!

Isn't he sweet?  I didn't use any glue on this project, so after Easter, it can be disassembled, stored away and I have the cloche and base to use for another project. Thank you Melissa, for letting me share this with your readers and thank you for being such a kind, patient follower of Silo Hillo Farm and a good faraway friend!

Creamy Broccoli, Rice, & Cheese Casserole

The Perfect Dinner Casserole

I love making casseroles.... they're such a fabulous way to sneak veggies into a meal!

This is one of my go to recipes for a busy night and it pairs perfectly with my Rice Crispy Chicken!

Manic Monday Linky Party 12

It’s Time for

Manic Monday!

Happy April Fool's Day!  Did you play any good pranks?

The Rules are simple: