Sunday, December 8, 2013

Hash Brown Casserole





I came across this recipe on the back of a Tennessee Pride package of sausage and thought hmmm…. this actually sounds like something we would really enjoy around here!  So I figured why not give it a try …. and it turned out delicious enough I knew I had to blog about it so here I go!




Ingredients:

2lbs. of ground Sausage
1 can of Cream of Chicken Soup
8oz. container of French Onion Dip
1cup of Sour Cream
30oz. package of Frozen Hashbrowns (allow them to thaw for use in the recipe)
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

Optional:
Chopped Onions to taste
Chopped Bell Pepper (recipe calls for green and red)



Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Meanwhile, brown 2 lbs. of sausage.


While your sausage is cooking, mix the cream of chicken soup, French Onion Dip, Sour Cream, Shredded Cheese and 30oz. package of thawed hash browns.  Also, if you are adding any chopped onion or bell pepper go ahead and mix it in with the rest of these ingredients.

Once the sausage is fully cooked, drain the grease off thoroughly.  In a 9x13 pan, spread the bottom with a layer of the hash brown mixture, then a layer of sausage.  Continue layering the ingredients until the ingredients are used up.  I topped my casserole with the remaining shredded cheddar cheese.

Bake for one hour.


Obviously the casserole was over half gone before I got around to taking some pics for the blog… but hey.. at least it's proof the recipe was actually a really good one.


Sunday, December 1, 2013

Deco Mesh Christmas Wreath




I have decided (yet again) to make another deco mesh wreath for the upcoming Christmas season.  For this project I started with a standard work wreath "pencil frame" which I ordered from www.trendytree.com.  The reason I opted for this wreath frame is because it comes with ties which are already attached to the wreath frame.

1)   I'm sure you can tell fro the picture below, I straightened out all of the ties on the wreath frame before I began working on the wreath.




2)  Start by using a 21 inch 10 yd. roll of deco mesh and gather the WIDTH of the roll together in your hand like the picture below.




3) Secure the gathered mesh down to the wreath frame by using a tie to tie down the mesh.  It doesn't matter weather you start with the TOP outer loop of the wreath frame or the BOTTOM.  The important thing is to just pick either top or bottom to begin with and continue tying down your deco-mesh until ALL of your ties (top or bottom) whichever you began with have been tied up with the deco mesh.



4) The next most important thing is that between EACH tie down you need the SAME AMOUNT of deco mesh.  I used a yard stick and measured 14 inches between EACH and EVERY tie down.  This method helps ensure even, consistent 'poofs' which you will want for your wreath.  If you prefer a smaller wreath you may want to measure out a SMALLER amount, or if you prefer a LARGER wreath, measure 14 inches or more…. just remember, no matter what size you choose to go with… make the measurements between each tie down the SAME for a consistent and even look.




5)  Once you have finished securing the deco mesh to the wreath frame you may see your results and feel a bit disappointed… however, DON'T be! … making a deco mesh wreath is a PROCESS that you have to stick with until you are finished.  the picture below shows a good 'rough draft' of what my wreath looked like once I was finished tying down all of the deco mesh.





6)  The next step was to choose other deco mesh, ribbons, bows, etc… to embellish the wreath.  I chose a 6 inch roll of deco mesh.  I started by tying down this deco mesh beginning with the same tie I used with the red deco mesh.  …. All you need to do is just untwist it a bit and then tie in your 6 inch roll of deco mesh.  Measure the same amount as before  --- 14 inches and work your way around the wreath tying in the 6 inch decorative mesh.




7) Ok, so…. here we are once I've finished tying in the 6 inch roll of decorative mesh around the wreath.  I still plan to add a few more embellishments to the wreath.





8)  The next step is to add the ribbon I chose for the wreath.  Again, I measured out the same amount as deco mesh and decorative deco mesh (14 inches) and cut numerous pieces of ribbon in that length.




9)  Because I knew I wanted to chevron the ends of my ribbon… I folded it in half like the picture below.





10)  Using a pair or scissors I cut each end at an angle in order to make the 'chevron pattern' for the ends of each ribbon.




11)  This is the second ribbon I opted to use for the wreath.  I measured out numerous pieces of ribbon (each 14 inches of length like the mesh).  I folded the ribbons in half and using a pair of scissors I cut each end at an able to 'chevron' the ends.







12)  I secured the ribbons to the same ties I used to secure the deco mesh, just untying and then tying the ribbons back into the wreath.  The picture below shows what the results were.





13)  Afterwards, I adjusted the ribbons, mesh, and other decorations to try and 'even out' the decorations on the wreath…. although I'm pretty sure there isn't much difference between the wreath below and the one above.




In the picture below I opted to add various other embellishments although I'm not sure you can see them too well.  The picture just isn't justice compared to the actual wreath …. if you look close you can see various other embellishments which I fastened down to the wreath frame.