Muffins Pans Aren't Just for Muffins 2 and a New Soup

I hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas!!  Can you believe that tomorrow is the last day of 2013?!  Crazy!  I am looking forward to 2014!  I just have a feeling that it's going to be a great year!

I have 2 recipes for you...lasagna cups and Chicken Enchilada Soup.

Lasagna Cups

The recipe with pictures can be found here http://www.catchingfireflies.com/blog/2012/06/mighty-tasty-mini-lasagnas/

Ingredients:
Won Ton Wraps (These can be found near the tofu up where the bags of salad and such are.)
Ricotta Cheese (1 container)
Mozzarella Cheese (1 2 cup bag)
Parmesan Cheese (I used grated, but you could use shredded or shaved too.)
Marinara Sauce
Italian Seasoning
Ground Beef (optional)

Instructions:
Brown ground beef.  I cooked it with garlic and Italian seasoning.  You could add onion too.
Preheat oven to 375.
Spray cupcake pan(s) with cooking spray.
Put a won ton wrap in each cup.  Layer ingredients (My order - ricotta, sauce, beef, mozzarella, parmesan, seasoning). Add another wrap and repeat ingredients.  (I used 1 lb of beef.  One set of cups only had one layer of beef.)
Bake 18-20 minutes. (They only took about 15 in our oven.)
Allow to cool about 5 minutes and then lift out of the cups.

I made 24 cups with these ingredients.

I was looking through my soup magazine and Pinterest to find a new soup to make this week.  Nothing was popping out at me, so I did some searching online and found this recipe.  I love taco soup and this one sounded very familiar, so I decided to give it a try.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

The recipe can be found here http://realmomkitchen.com/463/chicken-enchilada-soup-and-my-top-10-soup-recipes/

Ingredients:

1 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

1 10 oz pkg of frozen corn

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped bell pepper (I didn't add these.)

1 10 oz can enchilada sauce (I used mild)

1 10.75 oz can cream of chicken soup

1 1/2 cups milk

2 chicken breasts

1 cup shredded Pepper Jack (This is for putting on before you eat, so it's optional, but I love cheese!)

(I read the comments on the blog where I found the recipe and used some of their suggestions.  I added a 7 oz can of chopped green chilies and some chili powder.)

Instructions:

Combine beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, and peppers in crock pot.  Place 2 chicken breasts on top of the mixture.  In a large bowl, whisk together soup and enchilada sauce.  Gradually whisk in milk until mixture is smooth.  Pour mixture over other ingredients in crock pot.

Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low 6-8 hours.

Remove chicken breasts, shred with forks, and then return to the soup (I cooked mine on low, so I did this about an hour before we were going to eat.  You can wait until the end though too.)

We ate ours with the pepper jack cheese, sour cream, and chips.

It is very similar to my taco soup, but creamier because of the soup and milk.  The enchilada sauce gives it a different taste while the chilies and chili powder give it a nice kick.  It was yummy :)

Ornaments!

Sorry I don't have a soup recipe for you.  We have been eating out and finishing off leftovers.  I'll have some new ones after Christmas!  I have some craft ideas for you instead :)

For the past 2 years, my friends and I have had an ornament exchange party where we made and exchanged ornaments.  All of these were made for me by friends and family.  I love decorating the tree each year, because these ornaments bring back memories and make me think of special people :)

We didn't get to have the party this year, but I still wanted to make ornaments.  I had lots of ideas floating around in my head, so I set out to make them happen.

Foam Ball Ornaments

For some reason, I really wanted to see what I could do with foam balls this year.  I had seen some ideas on Pinterest that I wanted to try and had come up with some others myself.
I gathered my supplies and got to work...

I had some ornament fails...

This cupcake ornament didn't quite work out the way I hoped that it would.

These didn't work out either.  

These good ideas gone bad didn't make me give up though and thankfully I had some great ornament successes too!!

Yarn-wrapped Foam Ball Ornaments

I am sure there are directions out there for these somewhere, but this is one that I just made on my own.  I used simple foam balls, yarn, and craft glue.  I decided starting in the middle would be easiest, so I covered half of the ball with glue and then wrapped the yarn around the ball.  Once that half was finished then I covered the other half with glue and wrapped it with yarn.  For the hanger, I pinned ribbon to the top with a sequin pin.  I had some bells left from other projects, so I either strung them on the top ribbon or pinned them to the bottom.  The red, white, and green yarn was a little smoother and was easier to work with than the other yarns shown, but I was happy with how they all turned out.  The most challenging part was trying not to get my fingers in the glue!

Ribbon-wrapped Foam Ball Ornaments

I found this simple idea online here www.houseontheway.com/christmas-ribbon-ornament-craft/
I used smooth foam balls for these and I pinned the ribbon with sequin pins, because I already had them.  The shiny ribbon was a little more challenging to work with, but so pretty!  Tip:  When you cut your ribbon, cut it a little longer than it takes to wrap around once.  I didn't do this with my shiny ribbon, so I had to pin both ends.

Fabric and Sequin Foam Ball Ornaments

I had an idea in my head of how I wanted this ornaments to look, but it did not work out.  As you can see from the fail picture (green one of the left), I couldn't get the fabric to sit just right.  I even tried using a template for cutting the fabric that I found online, but that didn't work out either.  

Thankfully I found this site www.stitchingunderthesoutherncross.yuku.com/topic/2559#.UrBzr9JDsfV

It took a little while, but it turned out way better than my first couple of tries!

I really enjoyed making these ornaments and am super happy with how they turned out!  Hope you will try them too!!  

One last idea...

I made ornaments similar to these a couple of years ago for our ornament exchange party.  I decided to make some more this year.  This year I used the larger glass ornaments, but the small ones work well too.  The side of the ornaments that you can't see has the first initial of the person who they are for, but I can't show you that because I haven't given them away yet ;)

Here's how you can make your own...
Fill plain glass ornaments with fake snow (I made a mess doing this, but I got them filled!).  I always glue the top back on in hopes of keeping it from falling off and making a big mess!  Clean the side of the ornament that you are going to paint with rubbing alcohol.  Let it air dry (doesn't take too long) and then paint.  Enamel paint is best for painting on glass and mistakes can be "erased" with rubbing alcohol.  I used circle sponges to make the snowman body, because that was easier than trying to paint circles and I like the texture that they create.  When I made these before, I painted several snowman around the ornament.  This time, I painted an initial on one side and one snowman.  Allow the body paint to dry and then dress your snowman.  It's fun to customize the snowmen by using the person's favorite colors or modeling them after something the person likes (favorite sports team, school colors, etc.).  I made all of these in a couple of hours.

If you ever have questions or need more directions to help make something, don't hesitate to ask!  Also, feel free to share any ideas for Christmas crafts that you have made!  I love new ideas!!  :)

Still Have Turkey?

I know most of you have probably finished any leftovers you had from Thanksgiving, but we still have some turkey, so turkey soup seemed like a great idea.  (We had saved the carcass too in case we did want soup.) The magazine that I usually use has a couple of different recipes for turkey soup, but I didn't like them as is so I combined and created my own version.  I think it turned out pretty yummy and will probably be even better tomorrow after the seasonings have a chance to infuse the soup with flavor.
Here's the recipe...

Turkey Noodle Soup

Broth:
1 leftover turkey carcass
1 medium onion, cut into wedges
2 small carrots, cut into chunks (I used about 6 baby carrots)
1 rib of celery cut into chunks
6 to 8 garlic cloves (I used a couple of teaspoons of diced garlic)
4 quarts of water (I just filled my pot, so I'm not sure how much I actually used)

Put all of the ingredients in a large pot.  Bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer for 3-4 hours (I forgot to put mine on until late last night, so I only boiled mine for 2 hours.)  Cool slightly and then drain broth.  Discard bones and vegetables.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Soup:
Bag of egg noodles
1 cup of chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen peas
1 medium onion, chopped or diced
3 cups cooked turkey
1/4 cup fresh parsley (Wal-Mart didn't have any fresh when I was there, so I just used dried.)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons ground thyme
Broth

Skim fat off broth.  Add vegetables, meat, and spices.  Bring to a boil then cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.  Add noodles and simmer until noodles are tender.

I thought it was rather simple and delicious.  (If you don't have any turkey or a carcass, you could easily use chicken and chicken broth.)

Welcome December!!

I'm excited that it is finally December!  I LOVE the holiday season and I'm ready for this semester to end ;)
I love crafting and have a lot of ideas for this holiday season that I plan to share as I make them so that you can make them too if you'd like :)

This is my pile of supplies!

Need something cute for your front door?
I don't normally decorate with Santa, but I found this via Pinterest and had to make it!
Here are the directions http://www.babyrabies.com/2012/11/santa-tulle-wreath-tutorial/

Need a cute project to do with your kids or Sunday school class?
How about a Happy Birthday Jesus ornament?
I made these with my Sunday School class last year and they loved it (even the boys!).
It's so simple but cute and holds a great message.
We filled glass ornaments with confetti, candles (I think I had to cut them to fit.), and curling ribbon.  I put some glue on the tops of the ornaments after they were filled to secure it.  We wrote Happy Birthday Jesus on a piece of cardstock which we strung on the ribbon that the ornament would hang by. We ran out of time to make the cards any fancier, but I think everyone was happy with how they turned out.

Keep checking back for more crafts ideas and more soup recipes! :)