Enchilada Casserole & Key Lime Pie

So recently my sister introduced me to Pinterest. For those of you who have been on the site know how incredible addicting it is. Needless to say she has created a monster!! Pinterest makes my “I must try this” list longer, which isn’t fair because there are not enough hours in the day to make all of these crafts/ideas/recipes. If only I could get a job where I test out these ideas and get paid for it. I can dream can’t I!!

While on Pinterest I came across this recipe for Bubble-Up Enchilada Casserole. The original post on Pinterest is linked to this site. The picture looked so good and the recipe seemed easy so I decided to make it for dinner last night. Plus it was a Weight Watchers recipe so it was healthier than other recipes I could have made.

Here is the recipe:

1 lb. ground turkey

1 (10 oz) can of enchilada sauce (I used La Victoria)

1 (8 oz) can of tomato sauce (I used the no-salt added kind)

1 can of refrigerated biscuits (I used Pillsbury 16.3 oz but I only used 4 biscuits)

1 ¼ cup of reduced-fat Mexican cheese

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Brown your turkey and drain any excess liquid. Mix in enchilada sauce and tomato sauce. Cut the biscuits into fourths and mix that into the meat mixture. Pour into a greased casserole dish. Bake for 25 minutes and then remove from oven and add cheese. Place back in the oven for another 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy.

It was really good and my hubby liked it too. There are a few things I would add to it like a can of black beans and maybe some corn, just to add fiber and a veggie without adding too many calories. When you look at the recipe you wouldn’t really believe that it would taste as good as it does but give it a try.

The other new recipe I tried last night was a Low Sugar Key Lime pie. I found this one just by researching recipes and figuring out which would actually taste and look like key lime pie. I changed a few things and this is what I came up with. The recipe is practically Sugar-Free but not entirely. The crust has a little sugar, as does the evaporated milk and the natural sugar in the limes but that is it. This pie was awesome. If you have tried to make sugar-free desserts before you understand the frustration I get sometimes because the sugar-free equivalent does not cook or set the same sometimes as sugar does. Being that my hubby is type 1 diabetic, I get frustrated often because I want to make sweets for him that won’t kill him. This recipe worked like it should and was delicious!!

Here it is:

1 reduced-fat graham cracker pie crust (you can make your own or buy the pre-made one) (I used Keebler)

1 tbsp unflavored gelatin or sugar-free lime jello (I used lime this time but will try gelatin next, just to see)

½ cup fresh key lime or lime juice (If you can find key limes you will need about 22, if reg. limes just 5)

1 cup boiling water

¼ cup Splenda

1 (12 oz) can of fat-free evaporated milk (I used Carnation)

¼ cup cold water

1 (4 serv.) packet of sugar-free vanilla instant pudding (I used Jell-o)

Dash of lime zest

Sugar-free whipped topping (I used Cool Whip)

In a blender, combine jello/gelatin and lime juice. Wait 1 minute until softened, and then add boiling water. Cover and blend on high speed until all gelatin granules are dissolved. Add Splenda, evaporated milk, cold water, pudding mix and lime zest. Cover and blend until smooth. Chill in the freezer for 20 minutes. Spoon chilled mixture onto prepared crust and chill in the freezer for about an hour or until firm. Top with Cool Whip and serve.

I hope you try out these recipes and enjoy them as much as I have.

Valentine's Wreath

Today I decide to make a Valentine's Day wreath for my front door. I can't stand what my door looks like without a wreath on it!!! It makes me happy when I have a cheery wreath to welcome me home everyday.

Last year I bought a bunch of Valentine's stuff after the holiday. That is seriously the best time to stock up and get stuff for crafts. I plan on getting some table linens after Valentine's Day this year so I can decorate my dining table next year. Okay, back to the wreath.

Here are a list of supplies you will need:

1 straw wreath (18in)

3 pkg. of garland (12 ft each)

Various ornaments or picks to place on your wreath (I found so cute foam hearts, a little mailbox and some wooden sayings)

Glue gun and plenty of glue sticks

Ribbon to make a bow or buy a pre-made bow

Assembly:

When you buy the straw wreath leave the plastic wrap on it. Since you are covering the wreath with the garland there is no need to take this off because it will make more of a mess. Start wrapping your wreath with the garland.

As you wrap, be sure to glue down the garland to the wreath as you go. You don't have to use a lot just here and there so it stays in place. Continue until the entire wreath is covered.

Now you can work on the ornaments. Sometimes I buy fancy picks or ornaments for the wreath and other times inspiration hits me when I see a few simple things that I could make into something unique and super cute! That is what I did this time.

I found this cute little pink mailbox in the dollar bin at Target and the foam hearts too. I glued the hearts together and then glued them in the mailbox. I glued the door to the mailbox on the bottom because it wasn't hinged to it. Then I found this cute wooden saying at Hobby Lobby and glued it on the mailbox. 

Extremely cute!!!

My other foam and wooden ornament saying were red so I needed to put them on a pink or white background since the wreath is red. I added the LOVE foam saying and the Sweetheart wooden saying to some of the white and pink foam hearts. They also stand out more since they are three-dimensional.

This time I just made a simple two loop bow and added a little foam heart. I love bows!!

Now you can add everything to your wreath. Since I have made a few wreaths I try to change it up a bit by placing the bow or sign (if I have one) in a different spot or at a different angle.

Now you have a beautiful Valentine's wreath!!

I hope everyone has a Happy Valentine's Day (even if it is a month early!!!!)



A few weekends ago my husband and I participated in a Dog Walk here in Tulsa. The proceeds and donations went to a local shelter here so we definitely wanted to participate, plus the doggies get to walk in it too! This was needed for Maggie our Labrador because she is not a social butterfly. We hoped being around other dogs would make her stop barking at them and dragging me across the apartment complex when she saw another dog and wanted to chase them. Fun for her but not for me seeing as she is really strong and I have hardly any upper body strength.  J

The dogs received bandannas for making a donation and participating. Gyzmo was a little too small for his bandanna so he wore his STUD sweatshirt instead because it was a little cold and windy that morning.

In the past when we have participated in charity dog walks I usually had to carry Gyzmo part of the way because he would get tired and hot half way through and want to stop. I was so proud of him this time; he walked the whole way and the whole way back without wanting to be picked up! Even though he is older now he was still able to do it!

Mommy’s little old curmudgeon!!!

After the walk there was a stage and a bunch of doggie vendors set up in the park. We got to see some of the local businesses that are in Tulsa like groomers, boarding places and some cute doggie shops. Plus Maggie and Gyzmo got to visit with the other dogs.

I was proud of Maggie for not being un-social at the walk but it didn’t do much to keep her from chasing and barking at dogs in our apartment complex when we go for walks. So much for that idea! We plan on taking her to the dog park down the street to see if that will slowly help her to be more social. J

Gobble, Gobble!!!!

Gobble!!! Gobble!!! Turkey and Thanksgiving go hand in hand and hopefully everyone got enough of it. J I know I did. On thanksgiving this year is was just me and James but I still went all out and kept tradition.

I made a super yummy jalapeño butter injected turkey, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes with gravy, crescent rolls, stuffing, a pumpkin cheese ball, pumpkin pie, and chocolate pie. All for just us two! I thought it was worth it and I know James did too.

Plus one of the best parts of Thanksgiving turkey is the leftovers! I turn mine into an awesome tortilla soup with a recipe from my Mom that I tweaked a little. This is why I inject it with jalapeño butter; the flavor is amplified once it is in the soup with all the other ingredients. I didn’t take a picture of the soup but maybe at Christmastime I will share the recipe and pictures!!

This was the first year that I put out Thanksgiving décor. I made a Thanksgiving wreath and bought some cute placemats and runner for our dining room table. Then I place a fiber optic cornucopia that my Mom gave me as the centerpiece. Super simple but super cute!! Now I can’t wait to put out my Christmas décor!

Our New City-Tulsa, OK!!!

We have moved!! J On September 12^th we moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma for my hubby’s job promotion. We had been waiting for his promotion but we were surprised at how quickly it came, especially since we were told that it probably wouldn’t be until spring 2012. It was a hectic move; 5 weeks to pack up, find a place to live in Tulsa, put our house for sale and say goodbye to everyone in the valley. Needless to say it was a tad stressful. It was a difficult decision for us to move with me loving my job and the people I work with and then the worries of selling our house and me finding a good job in Tulsa. 

Now that we have been here for a month and a half, we are settled in our apartment and I have found a great job in a short amount of time. That was one of my biggest worries because of how the job market and economy are right now. I work as a government contractor for an agency for the U. S. Dept. of Energy. I have only been “on the job” for a little over 2 weeks but I like it a lot so far. While I wasn’t working I was able to unpack and set up our stuff. James loves his job and excited to see what else his company has to offer him in the future.

It’s funny how much stuff 2 people can have, plus going from a house to an apartment is not easy but we want to sell our house and get to know the area before get a house.  We had a hard time finding apartments that allow bigger dogs and that weren’t less than 1000 square feet. We managed to find one and we like it. I can’t say we love it because the kitchen is tiny and I like to cook and bake so I get frustrated with it, but it is still a very nice apartment so I am thankful we found it. J

So far we have gone out and explored the area on the weekends. We checked out the casinos, the zoo, done some shopping and we went to the State Fair a few weeks ago.  There are still a ton of things for us to explore and see which is why we really like it here!!

I'm officially a Thirty-One Consultant!!!!

It’s Official!!!  I am now a Thirty-One Independent Consultant!! I am so excited to begin this new journey in my life. I can’t wait to see the awesome things Thirty-One has in store for me.

I decided to become a Thirty-One consultant to have fun and meet new people. Growing up my Mom always had some type of direct selling party at her house, whether it was Pampered Chef, Tupperware or one of the other companies and I loved going to them. I would help with the food and cleaning and play the games that the consultant had. I loved it! As I got older I thought about becoming a consultant for other companies before but I didn’t find one where I really, really loved the products until I was introduced to Thirty-One!  The way I was introduced to Thirty-One is another great reason why I joined, to be able to travel more!!!

I meet Kristen my Sponsor/Director on a cruise that my husband and I went on in February. Her and her husband were assigned to the same dinner table as us so we were introducing ourselves and what we did and she told us that she worked for this great company that I had never heard of, Thirty-One. I was planning on googling the company when I got home. J On the last night at dinner she handed me a catalog and said to look at it on the drive back home from Galveston. Within minutes I was hooked! I love purses and bags and everything personalized! I couldn’t believe how the catalog was perfectly me. J I was just planning on calling her to have a party when my husband said why don’t you just become a consultant since you have always wanted to do something like that, so here I am!! Once talking to Kristen she told me that she had won that cruise as a reward from Thirty-One!! I was even more hooked then!

Thirty-One has wonderful products that can be personalized for that special touch. They have purses, totes, and accessory bags, organizing products, children’s products and so much more. The best part is that you can personalize it with your name or a cute saying embroidered right on the product.  I also liked what Thirty-One stood for. Here are some products that I recently purchased!

Such fun stuff!!

The company’s mission is to celebrate, encourage and reward women. They are a very giving company and put their employees and consultants first. A great example of this happened yesterday when I enrolled. I got a call from Home Office welcoming me to the company and wanting to see if I had any questions or concerns about my enrollment. This was crazy to me because not a lot of companies put much effort into supporting their consultants.

I am hoping to make this a very prosperous business venture and hope you can help. J I would love to have you host a party so you can see all the awesome products Thirty-One has to offer. As a hostess you can earn free and half price items!! What is better than that?

 If you are in the RGV area you can host a home party right at your house and invite all of your girlfriends, family and co-workers. If you are in San Antonio or Corpus Christi area, you could do a home party too since I travel to these cities often as well!! If you aren’t in my area you can also host a catalog/online party! They are super simple. I send you all the info and resources you need and you show your friends, family, etc and reap the benefits. J Contact me today if you are interested.  E-mail: 31giftsbyHNA@gmail.com

As part of being a consultant I will have an all things Thirty-One Blog in addition to this one. It will have product reviews, special offers and lots of great information about Thirty-One and its products! You can follow it with this link: http://www.31giftsbyhna.blogspot.com/ 

View the catalog here.
Visit my website at www.mythirtyone.com/31giftsbyHNA.

Super Cute Cupcake Carrier

I found the cutest cupcake carrier recently so I had to share!

While grocery shopping at HEB Plus I found this cupcake carrier in one of the bins they have at the ends of the aisles. Normally I don't pay much attention to these bins but this caught my eye right away. I love to bake cupcakes and I always had the problem of transporting them to work or whatever party I was bringing them to. I would have to carry two different containers because the one I have only holds 12. Carrying two big carriers was not easy with my purse and all the other junk I bring to work, plus trying to open doors and use a swipe card didn't help. This one holds 24 and is easy to carry with the handle and its small size!!

Plus the great thing about this one is that the cupcakes don't shift around because the cups are deep so the whole cupcake fits in the slot. The trays also leave room for them to be decorated. Perfect for me!! I may have to get a second one, especially since it was just $20!

The tag was super cute too so I had to share!!

Very Me!!!