My “Crafty” Husband

My husband has been building airplanes out of foam for the past …8 months or so. He found plans online and has built and rebuilt and remodeled and works with them till he gets them just how he wants them. Then he paints them, puts the electronics in them and then ..YEP! flies them! He has been having a blast with this new hobby of his. He says building is the best part though! :) Honestly, in the beginning I thought..oh no, what is he getting in to now.. (I’m sure he has thought that MANY more times of me and my crafty ways) But the first time he flew it.. it was SUPER EXCITING! Seriously! They are SOO fun to watch! He has built 7 planes now expanding 5 different models!

Paper Bag Book

    

Double Slider Pull Out

    

    

Fall Paper Hangie

I had to come up with a quick but fun fall craft to teach some girls and it had to be inexpensive. This is it. Card stock for the background colors; pretty printed paper for the smaller square (I used the same print on all of these because it matched so well). I used my circle cutter a couple times for the circles but decided I wanted a ruff edge. My decorative scissors helped with that but don't look too close because it's impossible to keep it a circle when trying to cut with the decorative scissors. Brown ribbon going across each square and for the hanging part to hold all squares together; and the letters I used my cricut cutter for. I put a little gold glitter glue on them for a little something more. Also, I used more of my pearl stickers around the circles but you can't tell in this picture very well. Inking the edges of all the pieces gives a nicer feel and looks like more time went into the project. Also, to give better sturdiness to the squares I actually used coasters (the cardboard like ones you use at any restaurant) which work really well.

Tasty Tuesday - Pico de Gallo Salsa

This recipe makes a big bowl full of the yummy deliciousness that is pico de gullo salsa. It’s a favorite at our house! It’s practically a meal in itself and we’ll eat it for dinner with chips or over/on burritos.

For a big batch of chunky salsa:

1/2 C chopped cilantro

1 medium onion, chopped

3-4 Green onions, chopped

1-3 jalapenos, deseeded and chopped (leave seeds in if you like it spicy)

3 lemons, juiced

3 limes, juiced

3 large tomatoes, diced

1 large green pepper, diced

3 tsp. salt

Add more or of what you want or less of something else. It’s hard to mess up the recipe. If you want it less chunky, cut it all smaller. You can also use a blender to take the chunks out all together, but it’s delicious chunky!

Nursing Cover, Burp Cloths and Onesie

Here are a couple things I made for little Hampton this week.

A couple little burp cloths are missing, but the rest is here..

A nursing cover, 3 burp cloths, and a little onesie w/a tie on front and an “H” on back for little Hampton!

Happy Birthday Baby Cake

I also made a birthday (cup)Cake. They were able to offer some to the nurses at the hospital which was kind of fun! They are made from cupcakes.

Decide what design you want and shape them best you can! Pull them as close together as you can. Frost it like a regular cake, filling in all the dips to make it flat, then continue to decorate it like you would a regular cake! I make a little bassinet here! And I decorated it with the basket weave and then some little flowers!

The binky was a starburst flattened out, and a gummy life saver cut and stuck to the starburst.

It was fun to make!

Hampton Barratt Smith

Our dear sweet Nephew was born this week.

8lb10oz, 21in.

after being 10 days lae and 22 hours of labor, he’s here!

Congrats K and S!

  

It has been so sweet for me to watch my sister and her husband become parents for the first time! What a special little family!

Tasty Tuesday - Hummus

Amazing! I didn’t realize how EASY hummus is to make! Here is the recipe I adjusted from the one I found on Allrecipes.com. (Real Hummus). Like I said, I made a few adjustments though. Here is my recipe:

1 can Garbanzo Beans

2 tsp. minced, Garlic

2 Tbsp. Tahini Paste

4-5 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

Salt and Pepper to taste

Drain the liquid from the can of garbanzo beans into a cup. Empty the beans into your mixer (I use a magic bullet). Pour about 1/2 the liquid back into the beans. Add your garlic, Tahini paste, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Blend. If it’s too thick, you can add a little more of the bean liquid. Everything is “to taste”. So, if you feel it is lacking a little in any ingredient, just add a little more. You can drizzle olive oil over the top and put any kind of flavor you want into it.

This is just a basic hummus recipe. So from here you can add ground red pepper, or try cumin, dill, curry (I tried red thai curry paste and liked it), my husband added a few drops of juice from our bottle of jalapenos and loved it.. I’ve heard of peanut butter hummus, cucumber hummus, and many more. ..I would look up details on those though!

Eat with pita bread or pita chips! YUM!! Enjoy

It keeps in the fridge .. IF there is any left when you are done! I think we’ve gone through about 4 cans of beans in the last week! (Once you have opened your bottle of Tahini..that will also go in the fridge!)

Tasty Tuesday - Sweet and Sour Meatballs Over Rice

I used the quick meat balls recipe already posted under Tasty Tuesdays. So easy! We froze the rest and used them in spaghetti. Yum!

1 C packed brown sugar

1 Tbs cornstarch

1 Can pineapple, chunky

1 cup white vinegar

1 Tbs soy sauce

1 Green pepper, chopped

While your meatballs are cooking… in medium sauce pan mix brown sugar, and cornstarch. Stir in Pineapple with syrup, vinegar and soy sauce. Heat to a boil, stirring constantly; reduce heat. Add cooked meatballs; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally. (10 Minutes) Stir in green pepper. Cover and simmer until crisp-tender (5 Minutes).

Serve over rice. Jasmine sticky rice is my favorite! Enjoy!

Pork Chops with Black Bean Salsa and Rice

4 pork loin chops, cut 1 1/4 inches thick

1 tsp cajun seasoning

2/3 C corn relish (optional)

1 medium onion, diced

1 Tbsp. oil

1 can Black Beans, rinsed and drained

1 1/2 tsp lime juice

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1 small can Green Chilies

1 tsp black pepper

sour cream (optional)

Rub pork chops with pepper and cajun seasoning and then cook your pork chops however you like them (broil, in a pan, etc).

Meanwhile, for salsa, in a small sauce pan saute diced onion until soft with a tablespoon of oil. Then combine black beans, corn relish, lime juice, green chilies and cumin. Heat to a boil and then serve over pork chops.

This dish is delicious served over white rice, sour cream optional. You might also try chicken instead of pork chops with this salsa and serve on tortillas...it's that good. You can do so much with this salsa!

It’s gotta be good if my one year old loves it!