Bandana Dress

This just might be the easiest dress I have ever made...Well, maybe that is because it is the only dress I have ever made, but still!  Thanks to Trey and Lucy for the super easy tutorial.  It may have taken me slightly longer than 15 minutes to crank out the first one but after that I was flyin'...

Here is one I made for a friend for a baby shower!

For the embroidery part I did go through 3 bandanas until I got the monogram to stitch correctly.  I wasn't using enough stabilizer so here is what FINALLY worked for me.  I used one layer of Sulky Totally Stable Iron-On Tear Away Stabilizer (same stuff I use on t-shirts) and then I hooped a heavyweight tear-away like Sulky Stiffy Stabilizer and used an adhesive spray Sulky Temporary Spray Adhesive to attach the bandana to the hooped stabilizer.  By the way I also purchased my font from AKDesigns Boutique...it's the #12 Bold font!

By the way, be warned that the 100% cotton bandanas will shrink up about 1-1.5" on each side after you wash them (and they get a lot softer than they are in the stores).  I think this dress cost be a total of like $2.15, can't beat it!

Ham and Cheese in Puff Pastry

I am a little obsessed with the Food Network!  I just don't have the time to watch it as much as I wish but I did have time to catch Ina Garten and love to share this recipe with you.  I'm not a huge fan of ham but the Ham and Cheese in Puff Pastry just sounded too good (and it is).  Did I mention it is E-A-S-Y?

Since it is just my husband and I who would eat this (my daughter doesn't like mustard) I changed up the receipe a bit so here is what Idid...

Instead of using 2 pieces of puff pastry I used just 1 piece and folded it in half to make the pastry.  Also, I had some leftover frozen ham from Easter in the freezer so I diced it up in bite sized pieces and used it instead of the sliced deli ham.  This gave me 3 servings, which is just perfect for us because I don't like left-overs.

Finger Stamp Cards

I {HEART} Infarranty Creative's blog, you should too!  For Teacher Appreciation Day Beckie and her son Issac made hand stamped cards for his teacher.  Well my daughter is only 2  1/2 so she didn't have a weekday teacher but I thought it would be cool or give to her sunday school teacher at church.  I dusted off the scrapbooking supplies (haven't touched them since my second daughter was born in December) and we went to town.  I got the idea form Beckie and she got the idea from Fun Family, well you know how it goes in Blogland, 7 degrees of separation for everything, anyways check out Beckie's tutorial here...

No More Black Guacamole...

How much do you hate it when you make a killer guacamole dip but you can't keep it because no one likes black guacamole the next day???  Well there is a way to save it!

Avocados turn brown or black due to oxygen hitting the surface, so save your guacamole by taking a small piece of cling film like Saran Wrap and press it completely to the top of your guacamole, making sure to seal the edges well.

Guacamole that has been stored in the refrigerator for 3 days...

Stir it up and you are good to go!

Eggs Rolls and Goyza (Potstickers)

Using the crock pot roasted chicken breasts simply chop the chicken so that it is in mini bite sized pieces.  When you cut it some of the chicken will actually shread, it's ok!  I used about 1 breast for 7 eggrolls and 21 goyza!

Next, in a skillet add about 1-1 1/2 cups of shredded cabbage and 3/4-1 cup of the Trinity.  You may think it is too much cabbage but it will cook way down, so don't you worry your pretty little head!

Let the mixture cook down for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occassionaly.  The cabbage will become opaque and soft.  Add the chicken and I also added about 7 chopped shrimp.

Using egg roll wrappers located in the produce section of your grocery store, now you are ready to roll your egg rolls...

1. 
   
   Place about 2 tablespoons of your filling mixture in the center of the wrapper.

2.  Fold the sides in and wrap up the bottom edge it tight around the mixture, rolling it all the way up.  Before you get to the end apply a dab of water to the corner of the wrapper so that it will stick and stay closed once you finish rolling it.

To cook:  Heat a pot aobut 1/3-1/2 full of oil.  Fry the egg rolls until they turn golden brown.  If you are going to freeze the eggrolls cook to a light golden brown color because when you reheat them in the oven they will cook more and you don't want them overcooked.

Using the goyza or potsticker circular wrappers, also found in the produce department at your grocery store fill with about 1 teaspoon of filling.  Dab your finger in water and rub around the circumference of the circle. 

Fold in half and press the edges together. 

To cook:

I quickly made 7 egg rolls and 21 goyza (potstickers).  Perfect as a meal by themselves or appetizer.