DIY Ornament Wreath

This is my favorite thing.  My favorite.  I have finally gotten most of the things I wanted to blog about right off up, and I saved the best for last.  After my crayon art, I was looking for another big craft project to occupy my time and satisfy my need for creativity.  Pinterest to the rescue!  I decided to make an ornament wreath:

There are a lot of really cute ornament wreaths out there on the Internet and Pinterest, but I LOVE MINE SO MUCH.  Okay, I am bias, because it's my favorite colors (purple and turquoise), and I spent hours on it, and it goes great in my apartment.  So great, in fact, that I might cry when Christmas season is over and I have to take it down.  I did this back in October (before my button ornaments, which btw, have been a rave hit among my relatives and friends, and I have requests now for them and people are even paying me for them, crazy).  I still love looking at it every day.

Here's some of the stuff I bought.  As another blog I looked at said, you need A LOT of ornaments.  I already had a couple bulk packs I was going to use, but even so, I spent like $25 on ornaments.  If I didn't already have any, I could've easily spent $40+ buying them.  I think it's worth it, but just beware. Not all the ornaments I bought are in this picture, not even close, actually:

Also, you will want to get unbreakable ornaments.  Not all mine were and I broke a few.  Plus, I would hate it if one broke on the finished wreath and ruined the whole thing.  Also, I bought a 12" wreath straw form, and the whole finished thing is over 16" across.  It's a good size to handle your typical Christmas ornament ball.  A smaller form might be overwhelmed with standard size bulbs, and standard bulbs are easier to fine in bulk (for cheaper).

To start out, you wrap the wreath form in ribbon.  I kept going with the same ribbon to make a bow to hang it from.  Then, I put ornaments around the outside of the wreath:

After this, I did spend quite a while (okay, hours), trying to plan out how I was going to position everything (and running out to buy more ornaments.)  I am a little too OCD for crafts sometimes.  (Yes, that is a beer in the background.)  I did have to let go eventually and just start gluing though.  You can't plan it all.

After I just sort of had a loose outline for where I wanted the big ornaments, and then started gluing with just a regular ol' glue gun.

When I was all done with the ornaments, it looked like this.  I had these tiny little black foam balls with sequins from Hobby Lobby that I added last, to fill in the gaps.  Here, I had just set a couple in place.

And then, I just added more ribbon (sort of weaved it through; it would've been easier to do it before I put the ornaments on of course).  I hung it on my wall with a 3M temporary hook.  The thing weights under 3 lbs.  I love the ribbon I found, btw.  Sheer purple/turquoise mesh, matches perfect!

Even though you can spend a lot on ornaments (a good idea would be to buy them half off after Christmas), I recommend making one of these!  It looks great and it was fun.

Veggie Jambalaya - 250 Calories Per Serving!

This is a miracle meal.  It's a miracle because it is so unbelievably good, and yet you can eat the WHOLE PAN for 1,000 calories.  Yes, I said the whole freaking pan.  This entire thing, if you were so inclined:

That calories count does not include the wine (darn it).  And you probably won't eat the whole pan.  You will be stuffed full after just one serving, or 1/4 of this - 250 calories!  This is crazy.  This should be national news.  And, if you don't believe me that it tastes amazing, I will tell you that this is my (meat-eating) boyfriend's favorite meal, even though it's vegetarian.  He begs me to make the stuff all the time.

The recipe calls for Emeril's Creole Seasoning, which you can buy pre-mixed in the store, but I highly recommend you don't.  Make your own.  I tried using the kind you buy once and it is just not near as good and the flavors are not as prevalent.

Ingredients:

1-2+ Tablespoons Emeril’s Creole Seasoning

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 Green Pepper

1 Red Pepper

3 Stalks Celery

1 Large Onion

1 Medium Zucchini

1 Large Tomato

2 Tablespoons Chopped Garlic

2 Bay Leaves

1 Tsp Hot Sauce

1 Tsp Vegetarian Worcestershire

1 Cup Uncooked White Rice

3 Cups Vegetable Stock

4 Tablespoons Tomato Paste




Chop up all the vegetables.  Cook zucchini in ½ tbsp olive oil with a sprinkle of creole seasoning for 2 minutes.  Remove.   Add to the pan the pepper, celery and onion with 1 tablespoon creole seasoning and rest of oil).

Cook for 3 minutes, then add garlic, bay leaves, hot sauce, Worcestershire.  Add rice, and stir in broth and tomato paste.  Cook covered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add tomatoes and zucchini, with more creole and salt to taste  (at least 1/4-1/2 tsp of salt).  Cook ten minutes more. 

You can thrown some shrimp in it too, or any protein you'd like, really; however, it doesn't feel like it needs it.  It tastes like a complete meal. 

Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Muffins

Okay, here's something that's not my recipe, but I want to share my experience making.  I have always been a big fan of Starbuck's Pumpkin Muffin with Cream Cheese, and so when I saw this recipe on Pinterest, I had to try it!  And I have to say, they are even better than the Starbucks ones!

Here is the original recipe with the list of ingredients.  I followed it exactly, except I make my own pumpkin pie spice.  And I don't like clove or allspice, so I leave that out of the PPS.  When you make the muffins, there are three parts.

The batter (I do not have an electric mixer and just used a whisk and it was fine):

The filling (I found the first time I made them that rolling it in a bag and slicing it doesn't work at all; however, you should freeze it to firm it up, so that it doesn't spread all over the batter when you put it in the cup.  I just freeze it in a bowl and spoon it out):

And the topping (Using cold butter is a horrible process; room temperature makes it easier to work with):

First, you fill the cups with just a tablespoon or two of batter:

Then, you add a bit of the filling.  In this pic, it wasn't frozen enough, and it spread some.  My next dozen was better, because the filling was firm and scooped into balls:

Here's what happens if you don't freeze the filling.  It's more of a cream cheese muffin sandwich.  Still good, but not as cool or pretty:

Then you place the rest of batter on top, covering the filling:

And top:

You bake them at 350 for 20-25 minutes (mine needed the whole 25).  Here they are!

My family raved about these and ate them up immediately the first time I made them.  24 went fast!  I just made 24 more today for a belated "Friendsgiving" at my sister's and I can't wait to get more "ooohs and aaaahs," lol.  I'm especially glad that I don't have to worry about them only being at Startbucks for a month out of the year, I can make them anytime!

Pico De Gallo & Bean Enchiladas

In case you can't tell, I LOVE mexican food!  And my favorite thing to make are these enchiladas, which are vegetarian, and filled with refried beans and homemade pico de gallo.  Doesn't this look amazing?

First, I could do a whole entry on making pico de gallo, but I don't have a picture if just that, so I won't.  It's super easy though, and you should always do your own.  I make the pico, then save a little to mash avocados in and - bam - perfect guacamole.  For the pico, you need:

2-3 tomatoes
A red onion
Fresh cilantro
A jalapeno
Fresh lime juice
Salt

You really just chop up the tomatoes, onion, and jalapeno in a proportion you like, and add everything else to taste.  So easy!  So good!  It's also an absolutely perfect guacamole base.  So, you're making two things at once.

I suggest refrigerating the pico at least overnight before you eat it or use it in these enchiladas, as it gets better as the flavors mingle.

For the enchiladas, you need:

Pico De Gallo
Soft Corn Tortillas
1 Can of Your Favorite Refried Beans
2 Cans Enchiladas Sauce
2 cups Cheese
Avocado (Optional - Mash with extra Pico for gauc)
Sour Cream (Optional)

These are my favorite beans to use:

I put the beans in the tortillas, then the pico, and about half the cheese.  Then I roll them up:

Top with sauce and the rest of the cheese, and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes:

This obviously isn't a fancy recipe where I make everything from scratch, but it's a fantastic combination that's quick and easy.  It's also a great vegetarian alternative to "cheese and onion" enchiladas (boring).  I like to serve them with rice and a Corona!

Making Sushi & Spicy Veggie Rolls

If you're going to make sushi, I highly suggest you get Sushi For Dummies.  My sister got me the book last year for Christmas, and when I followed the directions exactly, the rice and everything else came out PERFECT.  Though it is an involved process (do it when you're in the mood to make a big production in the kitchen), it was actually easier than I thought it would be.

First, I bought everything I needed.  As far as equipment goes, you only need a rolling mat, which I got at the grocery store next to the nori for like $2.  I used a shallow dish for turning the rice and a piece of cardboard for a cooling paddle.  (Nothing fancy.)  You need nori (seaweed sheets), short or medium grain rice, and unseasoned rice vinegar (definitely not the seasoned kind, the book says you need to season your own), among other things:

I was amazed that the rice turned out perfectly.  I just followed the directions exactly.  You are supposed to toast the nori in the oven for 30 seconds first, so I did that too.  Then you put the rice on, and like magic, it sticks!  You can even then turn the whole thing over to make inside-out rolls, and somehow the rice doesn't fall off when you do.  I made a few types of rolls, including california rolls and rolls with shrimp.  My favorite, though, is just a veggie roll with spicy mayo:

Then you just roll it tight:

And slice it into pieces:

In this picture below, I have some inside out rolls.  They actually turned out to have a high rice ratio, but were still good:

I just make the nori-on-the-outside kind now because they are just as good and one step easier.

If you are wondering about making your own, you should!  It is a lot of fun and deciding what to put inside and trying different combinations lets you be a little creative.  Here's what I put in my favorite spicy veggie rolls:

Avocado

Red Pepper

Tomato (Optional)

Cilantro (A Must-Have)

Green Onion

Spicy Mayo (Mayo, Siracha, and a little Soy Sauce)

Silver Christmas Tree

So my Button Ornaments are creating much more of a buzz than I expected.  I have several requests for them, and my mom's friends are trying to pay me for them, lol.  It's too bad I can't find enough buttons!  Jo Ann's is sold out of most of their selection.  But anyway, speaking of Christmas, can I show you a spliced-together picture of my Christmas tree?  Okay.  Great!

I'm so excited.  I wasn't going to have a tree this year, but I picked this one up at Hobby Lobby for $65.  It's 6 feet tall, though skinny.  I found the mini tree skirt at Target today.  I got the silver tree in part because this is the first Christmas I've had my own place, so no stupid boys can tell me it's tacky.  It's a super girly tree and I love it!  Perfect.

Dessert Wins! Raspberry Almond Cupcakes, Key Lime Bars, & Red Velvet Brownies

I am a dessert person.

Addict.

Fiend.

I love sugar more than anything, and I love baking.  I have so many great wonderful awesome desserts I’ve made that I would love to blog about, but if I haven’t changed anything about the original recipe, it isn’t really mine to blog.  I will share a couple photos of my favorites, however:

Key Lime Bars, courtesy of Martha Stewart.

Red Velvet Brownies (oven pic), found through Pinterest on this awesome blog.

And, then, one of my mother’s favorites, these amazing Raspberry Filled Almond Cupcakes.  So, so good.  And they turned out perfect.  They are most moist, tasty cupcakes ever.  I know I mentioned in my Amaretto Cheesecake Truffle post that I love anything Almond, then there’s raspberry.  And cream cheese frosting.  Come on.  Come on.

Here were the cupcakes before frosted:

And the finished product:

After being in the refrigerator overnight, the gel firmed up some:

I’ve made some pretty bad desserts as well, but that’s the fun of Pinterest, finding the gems.  I highly recommend any of these three, as well as my new favorite, Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins, which I’ll be baking and blogging about this weekend.  (But here's a sneak peak pic from my last batch:)