Italian Potatoes

Every once in a while I manage to accidentally stumble across a really good recipe in the kitchen.  It's not that I'm TRYING to get creative and make my own delicious dish but rather that I'm STARVING and looking for some home-cooking really fast.  This was the case with the Italian Potatoes.

You will need:
1) a bag of small "baby potatoes"
2) 1 packet of dry Italian Salad Dressing mix
3) Olive oil
4) salt and pepper to taste

Slice the baby potatoes in half and when you're finished add some olive oil to a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the sliced baby potatoes and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Sprinkle the potatoes with about 1/3 of the Italian seasoning and then cook till done.  They usually cook up pretty quick but they are done when you can easily pierce them all the way through with either a fork or butter knife.

Bacon-Cheddar Potato Rounds

I recently discovered Pinterest and found that there are some FANTASTIC recipes others have pinned! I am certainly not a chef but I pin the ones that interest me and then attempt to create my own version later.  Thus was the case with the Bacon-Cheddar Potato Rounds.  They turned out delicious and the sauce that goes with them is equally delicious.

I followed the Pinterest recipe as close as possible but decided to add more pictures because I thought it might be good for those of us who REALLY NEED pictures when we cook! lol

1) I started by slicing the potatoes into thin 1/8" pieces like the recipe called for

2)  Once you've sliced all the potatoes you want put them in cold water on medium/high heat with a lid and bring to a boil.  Once the potatoes have started to boil turn the heat off and remove them from the stove.  Gently scoop them out of the water and dry on paper towels.

Don't worry... it doesn't have to be perfect.  I gently dried them off and allowed them to drain any excess water and gave them time to cool off so I could handle them easier when adding the finishing touches.

3) After they have cooled and drained the potatoes line them up on a cookie sheet, pan, pizza stone or whatever you have!  And don't worry if they are overlapping like mine in the picture below.  In case you are wondering what I have placed beneath the potatoes it's parchment paper... and the only reason I did this was to avoid cleaning the cookie pan. (Yes, I admit, I can be a bit lazy)

4)  Once you have them lined up on a pan spray the with Pam Spray or I suppose you could even drizzle with olive oil if you prefer.  Liberally season them with salt and pepper to taste and then add some shredded cheddar cheese and bacon bits.  In my case, I did not have shredded cheddar cheese I had shredded Gouda cheese so I used that instead and they turned out just fine!

5)  Then place them in a preheated oven at 425 degrees.  I baked mine for about 20 minutes but I suppose you could baked them a longer or shorter period of time depending on how crispy or "done" you like for your potatoes to be.  Below is the finished product with the sour cream/ranch dip that makes them totally delicious.

For more help on this recipe you can look it up at www.allrecipes.com. It's a great appetizer and even works well as a side dish.

Christmas Mantle

Christmas is just around the corner so I figured I had better get my decorating into high gear!  This year I decided to decorate the firplace mantle with a garland/deco-mesh swag.  I really enjoy working with and using deco-mesh because it doesn't have to be "just perfect."  There's room for error and it's easy to style.

All you need are the following:
1- Strand of garland, you can double up on the garland if you like a thick full greenery look
2- deco-mesh of your choosing - I chose red and white because I like the look of those two together
3- Ornaments and ribbon to accent the finished piece.

Once you have all of your supplies just weave the deco-mesh in and around the strand of garland.  If you are using ribbon do the same thing with the ribbon.  You can use zip ties, bread ties or anything you have on hand to "tie down" the deco mesh to the garland.  You can probably tell from the picture where I tied the deco mesh to my swag.

All in all it was really easy to do.  I hung oversized ornaments at the ends of the mantle but I have seen some really pretty wrapped and stacked presents that would be cute on the floor to the sides of the fireplace, (provided you don't use your fireplace enough to get them too hot!).  At any rate, I hope you found something useful and happy decorating!

Turkey Ranch Potato

One of the things I love to eat is a baked potato.  Especially if it's a baked potato loaded with all the goodness of turkey-ranch flavors and cheddar cheese!  The recipe is fairly simple!... It's actually so simple I couldn't help but blog about it!

All you need is



1) 1lb. of ground turkey

2) One pack of ranch flavored sasoning

3) Shredded cheddar cheese... as much/little as you prefer

Brown the ground turkey adding the ranch flavored seasoning to the meat.... and there you go!  Top a baked potato with some shredded cheddar cheese and DANG!!... that stuff is GOOD!!

My Soup Can "Tote"

I hate to do yet ANOTHER can craft but I use so many of them!  Not to mention they are durable, sturdy and cheap!  One of the things I look for with my crafts is "upcycling," ... taking something made for one purpose and "upgrading" it to be used for another purpose.  Soup cans or just cans in general are perfect for crafting and thus "upcycling"! 

1) I've already paid for them, aka They're cheap





2) The possibilities are endless!



3) If you happen to mess one up it's no big deal!!

I started with my cans and for the purposes of a "tote" I made sure all of my cans were the SAME SIZE.  I chose some fabric I had which complemented each other.  I suppose if I had wanted to make a "soup can tote" for one of the holidays I could have chosen fabric or colors consistent with the Holiday but I was looking for something to use year round.

I then used Mod-Podge... you can make your own with 1/2 glue 1/2 water.  I cut my fabric to the width and length I needed for my cans allowing for about 1/2 inch overlap (because the fabric will shrink slightly when you paste it on).

 I knew I wanted to add a handle to my tote because  wanted to use it for some of my craft storage.  I looked for a rope handle but in the end... I settled on using some 2-ply twine.  I braided a "handle" to the length I needed and presto!... A handle for my soup can tote.

I think it turned out pretty well.  You will have to use a hot glue gun to glue the cans together after they have been mod-podged/decorated to your liking.  After they have been "glued together" then you can work on the handle.  I think in some cases ribbon would be cute or maybe even some embellishment to the top of the cans.  At any rate... the possibilities are endless which I love about crafting with leftover cans!!!

My Deco Mesh Wreath

I have seen over a dozen tutorials on how to make your own deco-mesh wreath. I think they are gorgeous and so sturdy they fare really well in the outdoors. So, I set about trying to make my own deco-mesh wreath. Because I'm an Alabama graduate red & white seemed the obvious choice for my colors! But, I also settled on red and white because I intend to double its use by leaving it out for Christmas as well.

I started with a regular wire wreath base and some deco-mesh that fit my color scheme.

Because I purchased the wider roll of deco-mesh I decided to cut it down the middle (you do not have to cut the rolls down the middle if you don't want to.... in fact, if you prefer a fuller looking wreath you may be better satisfied by NOT cutting it down the middle).  The wider rolls were a MUCH better value at Hobby Lobby (where I purchased everything) and by cutting the roll down the center I now have enough to do ANOTHER wreath.

I started by pinching the ends of the deco-mesh together and using zip ties, I tied them down to the wire wreath frame.  You will need to "bunch" the mesh or "gather" it between each of the zip ties.  You can make as big or small of a "bunch" as you would like.  I tend to like a wider, fuller looking wreaths so I chose to bunch about "8 rows" of the mesh at a time.  Because my mesh was striped I was able to count the "rows" to have an even amount of length between each zip tie.  I have since learned that is the important thing.... you really need the SAME amount of lengh between EVERY tie

that you make!  You don't HAVE to use zip ties... you can use floral wire, bread ties... or any other item that could serve as a tie.... but... FOLLOW THE SAME RULE and space each "tie" the SAME LENGTH apart!  Notice my attempt in the pictures to space the ties apart as evenly as possible!

 At this point I have half way finished my wreath.

I am now through with the first "layer" of my wreath.  Because I tend to prefer thick, "full" looking wreaths I decided to add an additional layer of deco-mesh.  I could have spaced the first layer CLOSER TOGETHER to get a "full look" but I tend to enjoy alot of variety, shape and color to my wreaths.

I opted for an additional filler of red deco-mesh.  Notice this roll is much more narrow.  This is actually the perfect width (in my opinion) to prevent from having to cut the wider deco's in half.

I added my additional layer of red deco-mesh and some red and white poinsetta flowers I found in the Christmas section of the store.  Luckily the end of the flowers was wire so I was able to just wrap it around the wire wreath frame.

And this was the finished product!  You will want to "shape" or "mold" the mesh wire into place a little but I especially enjoyed this wreath project because it allows room for error and you don't have to be "just perfect."

Storage Containers

In my efforts to begin reorganizing I needed storage containers.  Because I wasn't willing to spend a fortune on storage just to organize my belonging it left me wondering the following:
1) What's affordable?
2) It needs to be easy... I have a toddler!
3) It needs to be cheap.. I DON'T feel like spending a fortune!
4) It needs to be dependable and reliable :-)

This line of thinking led me to the versatile, affordable but not so stylish cardboard box.  Cardboard boxes are everywhere!  Most of the items I purchase come in a box.... everything from diapers, wipes, cereals... you name it!

I've seen a dozen tutorials on how to decopauge a box to upcycle it as a storage container.  I've done this numerous times however, I just wasn't in the mood to get out my brush, the glue, fabric, etc... and start the decopauge process.  That's when I came across some self-adhesive prints in the store.  I found them in the school supply section because they were originally designed to be a "locker sticker" for students returning to school.  Because they were on clearance I loaded up and thought "eventually I'll find a use for these"... and boy did I ever find a use!!

I started with an empty box of baby wipes because it seemed really sturdy and re-usable.  I took the self-adhesive sticker and cut in order to match the length and height of the box.  I allowed for about one inch extra on both length and height in order to accomadate error and ensure the total coverage of the sides of the box.

I used duct tape to cover the bottom seam of the box and also to tape down the side handles for extra support.

The finished product was way more fashionable than a baby wipe box.  It was also more importantly, usable, affordable and way easier and less messier than decopauging!