New Food Friday - White Corn Chili

Well you can hardly call what I did as following the recipe I found here on Sumo's Sweet Stuff but the results were tasty anyway (it's also not the prettiest dish). 

I picked up the ingredients for this recipe but I hadn't actually looked at the amounts, 6 cans of of beans?  Really?  I was not prepared to make that much so I altered my amounts a lot.

This chili was good but I won't make it again, I feel like I make similar dishes but they're tastier.  I'll give the original recipe below with my alterations in brackets.White Corn Chili
6 15 oz. cans Great White Northern Beans (I used 1 can white kidney beans)
6 c cooked, diced/shredded chicken (I used what I had left of a roast chicken, maybe 3 cups)
2 t Cumin (I used 1 t instead)
5 c chicken broth (I made my own broth from the roast chicken and used all of it, no idea how much there was)
2 medium onions - diced (I used one small-ish one)
2 4 oz. cans chopped green chilis (I just used one)
1 1/2 t oregano (I'm out of oregano so I skipped it)
1/2 t red or Cayenne pepper (1/4 t)
1/2 t pepper (1/4 t)
24 oz. tub sour cream
1 can white corn (i couldn't white so I used peaches and cream)
Boil onions in broth for 15 minutes. (I don't really know why you boil the onions instead of a quick fry but since my broth was already in the pot I went with it.)Add all ingredients except sour cream.Simmer for one hour.
Fold in sour cream (I added the sour cream to our individual bowls).Like I said, it was tasty but will not make it into our regular rotation.  I think some tortilla chips would have been yummy with it but we were all out.

Necklace Update

Recently I've really been trying to make more of an effort when it comes to my appearance.  That includes taking more time on my makeup and wearing more accessories.  I picked up this necklace at Payless shoes, I love the combination of the beads and chains and at $12 the price was right.

I really felt like I wanted it to be just a little bit longer though.  This length was a little uncomfortable to wear so I added some satin ribbon to the back to give myself some extra inches.  Now it hangs like this

I know it looks like hardly any change at all but it feels much more comfortable now.

The necklace looks like this now (sorry, no before of it on it's own but it was just a standard chain and lobster clasp).

I realize the ends of the ribbon are unnecessarily long but I'm too nervous to cut them shorter.

What Catie Wore Wednesday #23

A full week of photos, it's been a while.  This week Catie was sick so there are some runny nose pictures and some awesome pajama pictures.

Wednesday

Striped T - Superstore
Jeans - Old Navy

Thursday

White Long Sleeve T - Superstore
Beaded Necklace - Payless Shoes (it's really mine I was just trying to interest her in the photo shoot, it was ineffective)
Denim Mini - Children's Place
Heart Tights - Superstore
Yeti Boots - Old Navy

Friday

Polka Dot Cardigan - Superstore
Skinny Jeans - Children's Place

Saturday

Beige Cardigan - Mexx
Brown T - Children's Place
Plaid Pants - Children's Place
White Shoes - Zellers

Sunday

Dress & Shrug - borrowed from a friend
Cream tights - Sears
White Shoes - Zellers

Monday

She's sick and needed to get into bed, these were the best pajamas I could find on short notice, the mismatched socks are my favorite.
Striped Onesie - Old navy
Alphabet Pants - Walmart (I swear they're pants, not shorts they just like to stay near her knees)
No idea where the socks are from.

As usual, I'll link to

Valentines Day Food

Updates to my blog lately would have you believe I've done hardly anything lately and the little I have done has been food related.  This isn't true at all though.  I've been sewing like a mad woman, obsessively working on a project that I'm so proud of, I can easily call it my best work yet (it also happens to be the most frustrating project yet).  I've also sewn a second project though both of these are gifts so they can't be posted until I give them, which will be soon.

Since I can't post the awesomeness I'll just keep to what I've been posting lately, food.

For Valentines Day I did what so many other women have done and made my darling a heart shaped pizza, complete with heart pepperoni.  

I've seen this done so often it almost seemed mundane but I forgot the important thing, Brad doesn't read all the crafty blogs and he hasn't ever seen this done.  He was very impressed and it was extra delicious.  I also made some bread sticks that were a letdown

and the most incredible cheesecake pops.

I expected them to be delicious but wasn't quite prepared for just how much I'd love them.  I dipped them in chocolate and then in graham cracker crumbs, toasted pecans, skor bits or drizzled with white chocolate.  They knocked our socks off and I can't wait to eat more of them tomorrow.

My best best friend Brad bought me some lovely tulips and dark chocolate covered almonds.  We celebrated the day with hockey and sewing, something for both of us.

It was a delicious day and you can bet you'll see cheesecake pops again.

New Food Friday - Chicken Tortilla Soup & Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

This week I used another recipe from Our Best Bites and made Chicken Tortilla Soup.

While I enjoyed the soup I'm pretty sure I won't make it again.  There was nothing particularly wrong with it I just didn't enjoy it the way I wanted to.  I wouldn't make any changes, just wouldn't make it again.

The real find of the night though was the Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie.  This pie was so easy and delicious I want to make another.  It's every bit as delicious as the picture makes it look and you should make one immediately.  I'm not going to give you the recipe because you should all go Our Best Bites and enjoy the lovely site..

Chicken Tortilla Soup
1 recipe Taco Chicken
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
4 cans chicken broth
1 15-oz. can chopped or diced tomatoes
2 jalapeno peppers (if you're scared, try serrano peppers; they're milder)
1/4 c. fresh lime juice (3-4 limes). Don't even think of buying the stuff in a bottle.
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

TOPPINGS:
Store-bought tortilla chips, or 2-3 corn tortillas, plus oil for frying
Sliced avocado or guacamole
Grated or crumbled cotija cheese
1/4 c. cilantro

Early in the day, begin marinating the chicken. Right before you start preparing the soup, start grilling it.

In a large stockpot, heat some olive oil (I can tell you right now that you'll never hear the words EVOO from my mouth. Or my fingers.) over medium heat. Add chopped onion and saute 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and minced jalapeno and cook a few minutes more until pepper is softened and garlic is fragrant. Add chicken broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer 15-20 minutes.

While soup is simmering, juice the limes and set aside. Start preparing the toppings: grate the cheese, chop the cilantro, cut up the avocado or prepare the guacamole, and fry the tortillas. Right before serving, add lime juice and chicken to the soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle soup into the bowls and add desired toppings.

What Catie Wore Wednesday #21 and #22

Obviously What Catie Wore Wednesday didn't happen last week and there wasn't even a good reason, I took some pictures I just didn't put the post together.  I figured I'd give you two weeks in one which works well since combined the two weeks will equal almost one.

Wednesday

Striped T - Old Navy
Jeans - Old Navy (obviously far too long and she will not be wearing them again for a while)

Thursday

Red t - Children's Place
Jean Skirt - Children's Place
Polka Dot tights - Second Hand
Sequined Shoes - Target

Tuesday

White Long Sleeve Onesie - Carters
Blue T - Superstore
Skinny Jeans - Children's Place

Sunday

Ruffle Headband - Made by me
Long Sleeve White Onesie - Carters
Ruffle Denim Skirt - Children's Place
Striped Tights - Sears
Yeti Boots - Old Navy

Monday

Long Sleeve White Onesie - Carters (I swear I have a lot of these so she really is wearing a clean one every day, not the same one)
Pink PJ Pants - Walmart
Socks - Who knows
Shedidn't get out of pajamas today

Tuesday

Under the coat is another white onesie so I thought I'd show the cute coat instead

Knit Headwrap - Lots of Knots
Brown Puffy Coat - Old Navy
Skinny Jeans - Children's Place
Yeti Boots - Old Navy


As usual, I'll link to

Faux Chenille Blanket

Barely February and already two new years resolutions done.  The first was to put in a zipper which I did here, the second was to make a faux chenille blanket.  I found the tutorial on MADE and was instantly certain I'd make one.  I won't give you any sort of tutorial because Dana's is so good, she tells you everything you need to know.

Here is the beautiful finished product that I just can't stop looking at.

One side of the blanket is the daisy fabric, the back is 4 layers of cotton/flannel sewed into rows of diagonal lines and then cut and washed to create faux chenille.  A little pricey and definitely time consuming but the end result is so worth the effort.  Making one with a friend definitely helped with the tedium.

Here are my fabrics before I started.  The white and yellow are flannel and the others are all 100% cotton.

I enjoyed this blanket so much that I already have an awesome corduroy picked out for my next.  Now I just need to find a cute baby to give this one too.

Project Frustraion

I've just had one of the most frustrating project experiences I've ever had.  It's a problem that defies all logic and no matter how many times I try it won't work.  The fix is going to require a ton of work, lots of adjustments and more supplies; I'm mad.  Until this point this was a project that I was super pleased with.  Lots of little individual parts that get put together to make an awesome finished product.  Not only am I re-covering something truly ugly but I'm completely re-designing the style at the same time, that is if I can ever make it fit like it should.  Mad! Mad! Mad!

I needed to vent, I needed it off my chest, I needed to share with you.  Tomorrow I'll start with renewed stamina and things will be great but tonight I'm just upset.

New Food Friday - Taquitos

In case you're new around here, New Food Friday is where I try a new meal and then report back on the success or failure.  I'd love if you'd join me but since there were no entries and linky tools isn't free anymore I'm dropping the linky.  Feel free to leave me a comment and tell me about your new recipe, I'd love to come back to your blog and check it out.

Since I've started making a new recipe a week we've eaten a lot of meals that were very blah, hardly worth mentioning but since I started recording them I've had some great successes.  I generally have low expectations of the new meals but for some reason I expected greatness of this meal and I definitely got it.  So yummy that we're going to eat them again tomorrow.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic, or garlic powder
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken (for extra yumminess, use grilled taco chicken!)
1 C grated pepperjack cheese

small corn tortillas (I used flour)
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or are coming unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.

Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.


I wouldn't change anything about this meal except perhaps to follow her directions.  We used large tortillas, not small ones and you can see the edges were pretty brown but the middle wasn't.  The filling was very hot all the way through but the browning was uneven, I really should have used the small tortillas like she says too.  I also thought when I wrapped them up that the ends looked really empty so I stuffed some extra filling in only to have it bubble out while cooking so don't worry if you have empty ends, they'll fill up.


I got this recipe from a site called Our Best Bites and you can find the original with photos and a tutorial here.  This site is my new favorite and you'll probably see a couple recipes from here in the next little bit, everything looks delicious.  They recommend serving the taquitos with a Creamy-Lime Cilantro Dressing that sounds yummy and I would have made but I didn't have all the ingredients on hand.

Microphone Stand Case

Brad has a pretty big family (6 kids and they're all married with kids).  We get together for everyone's birthday which means there are lots of celebration.  Being on a strict school budget we generally only give birthday presents if I can think of something really cheap to make.  This means that usually the men in the family don't get a gift (have you ever seen a project on here for men?).  I always try to think of an idea but come up empty handed... lucky Byron is going to be the first to change that.

Him and my husband share a talent/hobby of music.  They're both very musical but the aspect I'm talking about is recording.  They've recorded choirs and plays and bands and all sorts of events meaning they have a ton of equipment that has to be hauled out every time.

My husband had mentioned once that I should make him a case for his microphone stands.  I'd said you bet and filed it away in the back of my mind since it wasn't a project I was excited about.  This is a perfect gift for Byron though since he has two of his own stands.  I think they're the worst to carry places.

We have some camp chairs that fit in bags and the size of the bag was almost the perfect size and shape for the stands, just a little short.  So I added some length and copied the design.

For the fabric I wanted something pretty stiff so it would hold the shape.  Canvas was the best I could find and it really doesn't hold it's shape well, the finished bag sort of looks like a pile of fabric but it's functional so I'm looking the other way this time.  You can read my post yesterday about the fabric, I had to dye some canvas to get black.

This bag easily holds two stands with room for probably two more.

I think my favorite part of this bag is the zipper though.  I made a new years resolution to put in a zipper this year and I was pretty intimidated.  I thought it was tricky but in the end I think it took 10 minutes and one try.  It was super easy and looks really good.

I can already check off one resolution and it's not even February.

(The fabric doesn't look quite as bad as this photo would lead you to believe.  Darn that flash and night time pictures).

Now I just need to make one for Brad too (he's quite jealous that Byron got one before he did)