March 22, 2013 - Posted by Candy - Leave A Comment
Filed under: Other Stuff
It’s finally Friday! Yeah, it’s been one of those weeks here. I’m so grateful that it’s the weekend and time for some downtime with my man.
Before I run off for weekend fun (of grocery shopping and church commitments – we know how to live large here!), I thought I’d share some things that make me happy.
This repurposed spice rack hanging on my bathroom wall? Make me happier than you can know. I freely admit I am a girly-girl. Raising a girly-girl. Painting my nails makes me feel feminine and sexy. So yes, I own a lot of nail polish. It’s been hanging out in a big wooden box with my favorites tossed in a metal pail. Having all the colors together and out where I can see them made me smile all morning. Thanks for being my knight with a drill, baby!
These perfectly mismatched stools sitting at our bar? <sigh> Perfection. I have a very eclectic style – it’s hard to pin me down. But I know what makes me happy when I see it. And these totally do! A local furniture store is having a moving sale, with big markdowns on lots of items – I scored some other fun items I’ll have to share. We were browsing with my mom, whose love language is gifting. I had already spotted these random beauties on a previous visit with the hubster and mentioned that I loved the look of the row of them. He agreed. Mom and I were pointing out different items we liked in the store and I showed her these. She negotiated an even sweeter deal on them and treated us – thanks, Mom! They’re sitting at our kitchen counter, which is one of the first things you see when you walk in our house. Happy, happy, happy!
This card? Made for a sweet friend who had to say goodbye to her husband way too soon this past week. Hug your loved ones, folks. While I know this life is just a blip in time and we are not meant to get too comfortable in this temporary world we live in, it sure does hurt us when we have to say goodbye to our loves. Never take those you love for granted.
This storage for embossing folders? Does it look familiar? YES! It’s a floppy disk holder. I picked it up at our local Goodwill store for a few dollars – new in package. I don’t have a huge collection of folders and it’s just perfect to hold them. This pic is also a pre-cursor to a full studio post coming soon. I’m working on cleaning it up (always) and maybe moving a few pieces around before I take all the pics.
I had to change the name of this post – I thought I had only four, but I remembered another fun for Friday. This bunch of fun? $43, delivered to my door! Seriously! Bind It All is having a huge liquidation sale – stuff changes often on there, since it’s so stinking marked down. I get nothing from sending you there other than sharing the enabler’s need. 
Enjoy!
Have a wonderful weekend!
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March 7, 2013 - Posted by Candy - 2 Comments
Filed under: Recipes
Yeah, there's a reason why it's called simple. I'm not sure this even qualifies as a recipe! And yes, I used a recycled jar to make it. I don't always, but it was a special occasion, you know. Hey, this is real life, people. Warts and all.
Candy’s Simple Pico de Gallo
- ½ medium onion, diced
- 1 tomato, diced
- ½ bunch cilantro, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeno or Serrano pepper, diced (honestly? We leave the seeds and membranes in, but you can definitely remove them for less heat)
- pinch of sea salt, to taste
Add ingredients into a quart size jar. Seal well and shake. Serve fresh or refrigerate overnight for a stronger flavor.
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March 7, 2013 - Posted by Candy - 1 Comment
Filed under: Recipes
I cook at least once a day – the crew has this terrible habit of liking to eat on a regular basis. I’m most definitely not a chef, but I can follow a recipe with the best of ‘em. Reverse engineering a recipe, however? THAT is a challenge.
Our local Mexican restaurant makes the most amazing chicken tortilla soup. It is seriously delicious. And I kind of crave it ALL the time. There’s a problem with that on a few levels:
- These days, who can afford to eat out much?
- It’s never just the soup. The soup comes with chips and drinks and other people’s meals and it’s just too much money and too many calories.
- We now live far enough out of town that my cravings can’t just be indulged on a whim, though my sweet husband would certainly try.
So, I set out to figure out my own version of this amazing chicken tortilla soup. And I think I’ve hit it pretty close! I make this in my crockpot, because if you know me, you know I adore my slow cooker. It just makes cooking so much easier.
This recipe evolves occasionally, but this is the recipe we had last night and it kind of rocked. Hope you enjoy!
Candy’s Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup
- 2 split chicken breasts
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp garlic granules or garlic powder
- 2 tsp Adobo (I use Goya Adobo with cumin)
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2-3 tsp Sazon (I use Badia Sazon with no MSG – if you can only find the packets, one packet will do.)
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 4-6 cups water (I add this until it’s at the level I desire – remember, I feed hungry people!)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- Pico de Gallo (this is my oh-so-simple recipe)
- Avocado, chopped
- Tortilla chips
- Cooked rice, if desired
Place chicken breasts in bottom of crockpot and season with onion powder, garlic granules, Adobo, cumin and Sazon. Add chicken broth and water. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. When chicken is cooked through, remove from soup. Remove chicken from bones and shred. Add minced garlic and shredded chicken back to crockpot. Cook on low for another 30 minutes.
To serve, add a scoop of cooked rice into bottom of bowl. Ladle soup over rice. Top with Pico de Gallo and chopped avocado. Enjoy with tortilla chips!
You’ll note I do not make my own tortilla chips. I have tried, but they just don’t turn out well. Some come out very crispy, some come out burned and some are floppy. All in the same batch! So, if you have a fool-proof method for making your own tortilla chips, please share!
Enjoy your very own Chicken Tortilla Soup.
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March 6, 2013 - Posted by Candy - 1 Comment
Filed under: PaperCrafting
It seems this time of year is so rough on so many people. I know I have friends who are battling the flu and various colds and bugs. <blech> An easy way to help cheer up a friend who is under the weather? Send them a gorgeous card! Or even better, hand deliver it with a big batch of Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup (recipe coming SOON!).
Here’s a really neat card I whipped up using The Stamps of Life’s set umbrella4you. It’s a layered card, which looks a lot more complicated than it is.
If you need further instructions, let me know – I’m debating doing a video on it, but the whole thought of a video terrifies me.
And yes, that little blue umbrella you see sticking out under the card is the stamped envelope. I really do love adding in that little extra touch!
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February 20, 2013 - Posted by Candy - 1 Comment
Filed under: CTMH, Mini Album, PaperCrafting
This is truly a project without a purpose. I simply felt like making a fun little mini, cruised YouTube to get some inspiration and…here we are! 
I found a tutorial on these fun pages from Elsa at Just A Few.
Each page in the mini is created from just half of a 12×12 piece of paper – economical too!
I used my stash to create this – with the majority of the paper from an older CTMH kit.
Embellishments were pulled from my (overflowing) storage – don’t we all have too much?? This cute little project is a great way to use up some of the fun embellies we’re holding onto.
The covers are just 7 Gypsies Book Boards, cut to size and sanded.
I used my Bind-It-All for the binding. LOVE that little machine! I did have to re-bind it, as I underestimated just how large of a binding it would need. (It took the largest wire I had – the 1 ¼” size was perfect!)
I finished it off with lots of flowers and ribbon. Now, I just need to figure out what to do with it? I don’t know that I have ever made a project without an end purpose in sight…
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