Another Holiday, Another Project...

I came across this project on Pinterest that was originally posted on Delightfully Noted. I spent a while looking at Lowe's, Menard's and Home Depot for the exact tile back splash to use. I finally found it at Home Depot. It has browns, creams, and copper. I think it is lovely.

I found the frame at Michael's for 50% off and got the small letters & numbers there as well. What took the longest for me to find was the "G." Every cut letter was a font that was boring or the wrong size. Last week, I ventured over to the craft store in Mattoon - I hadn't been there before. They had this G and it was perfect!

So, I spent the afternoon of Christmas eve getting the letters and numbers painted. I used the Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint. The frame has both blacks and browns in it so this paint looks really nice with it.

I glued it all together today. I added a small embellishment on the G - I just thought it added something, but I didn't want to use a silk flower as she did on hers. Anyhow, here it is:

Here is is sitting on the mantle:

I like it a lot. A nice reminder of the big 20th anniversary coming up!

And the hubby who says he doesn't like "crafts" ???
He likes this. Score! :-)

Merry Christmas everyone!

Lemon Bars? Hmmm...Maybe Not.

When I was visiting family for the weekend, my sister made some lemon bars from a mix. They turned out more like lemon gummy candies on top and the crust was impossible to remove from the pan. I remembered that there was a recipe I pinned on Pinterest that claimed to use only 2 ingredients to make lemon bars (not including the powdered sugar on top!). The recipe can be found at Practically Living.

Tonight, I was at the store buying stuff for tomorrow's office Christmas party (yum!) and I decided to give these bars a try. So, I bought an angel food cake mix (Betty Crocker) and a can of lemon pie filling. I was at Wal-Mart, and the only thing the had was Lemon Creme filling. I came home, mixed it up and baked.

The result is definitely NOT a bar cookie, but they taste really good! I am thinking that the problem may lie with the lemon filling so I will try again. I also think it is important to just stir together the two ingredients by hand and not use a mixer. I will let you know how they turn out!

Meanwhile, I hope folks want some lemon cake tomorrow...

Another Pinterest Recipe Success!

Last night, I put together the Crustless Sausage Quiche I found on Plain Chicken. I know what you are thinking...quiche without a crust? I decided to try it because my hubby is a diabetic. Any way we can cut carbs from a meal, we SHOULD try. (Truthfully, he probably should try more than he does!) So, I chose this quiche recipe.

I mixed up everything and just put it in the fridge. Then, when I got home from work tonight, it was ready to pop in the oven.

It was pretty good. I didn't have an 8X8 dish so I used a deep round dish. I think it was too small, so the quiche was too deep. That made it a bit uneven in baking. The flavor was good, but a bit salty. I would recommend cutting the salt by at least half, or even holding off and just adding salt after it cooks. I also used mild breakfast sausage, and now think I will try the spicy sausage next time. Still, I plan to include this on our rotation list now. :-)

Mexican Stuffed Shells - Yummy!

Tonight, I decided to try a recipe I pinned. It is Mexican Stuffed Shells and it can be found at The Way to His Heart.

I followed the recipe almost exactly, except I used light cream cheese and a shredded Co-Jack mix for the cheese. I also only used 12 of the giant shells.

Here is the dish once it was finished in all its cheesy deliciousness:

We also topped this with a few chopped green onions and a little bit of light sour cream.

Verdict: It was great!! It is a nice break from a traditional pasta dish. If you like tacos, I think you will really enjoy it. The best part is that you can easily alter the spiciness of this dish by adjusting the salsa and taco sauce you use. I also think you could cut back on the cheese a bit without hurting the flavor. (But when I do, I am not going to tell my hubby).

By the way, the hubby really enjoyed it too, which is good because there were plenty of leftovers.