Little Country Dreaming: A New Spin on an All American Dessert

Little Country Dreaming: A New Spin on an All American Dessert:          With Independence Day upon us, many of us are in search for something to cook that reminds us of American tradition.  Flags a...

A New Spin on an All American Dessert

  

      With Independence Day upon us, many of us are in search for something to cook that reminds us of American tradition.  Flags are flying, barbecues are starting, fireworks displays are abundant, but what could be more American than apple pie?  You could probably ask George Washington himself and find nothing comes closer than this dessert.   As much as I love apple pie, and we all know I love a good shredded apple pie, I thought it might be more interesting to experiment with it and create something different.  A few days ago, I was browsing facebook and a friend of mine posted a picture of what were called "crack sticks" or "crack rolls".  The name is less than to be desired, however they looked amazing and I knew then that I was going to be making these things!  After making them, I realized that they were very similar to a cheesecake chimichanga that I had eaten before.  Having a huge love for apple desserts, I decided to add apples into the filling and instead of wrapping them in flattened white bread, I would use flour tortillas.  The results were out of this world!  

Apple Pie Cheesecake Chimichangas:

Ingredients:

4 burrito size flour tortillas

8 ounces of cream cheese

1 and 1/2 cup of confectioners sugar

dash salt

1 and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla flavoring

1 cup canned apple pie filing diced

1 and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup butter melted

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Mix cream cheese, confectioners sugar, salt, and vanilla until smooth.  After mixing, mix in apple pie filling.  

3.  Spread filling onto one tortilla at a time. 

4.  Roll up each tortilla and set aside.

5.  In a microwave safe bowl, melt butter for about 30 seconds.  Time may need to be adjusted depending on the strength of your microwave.  Be sure that the bowl is going to be big enough to place the entire tortilla roll inside without folding.

6.  In a separate and equally large bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon.  

7.  Place buttered tortillas into the sugar and cinnamon mixture until completely coated. 

8.  Spray a large glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.  

9.  Place tortilla rolls inside and bake for 20 minutes.

      These are wonderful served right out of the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.  The great thing about this is, you can substitute the apple pie filling with just about any fruit.  Blueberries come to mind because around our area they are everywhere.  No matter what you choose to fill them with, they are sure to please.

Happy 4th of July, 

Michelle : )

1st Birthday on the Farm

      Ye-haw y'all!  Can't you just smell the manure?  Well, not exactly.  We weren't really on the farm, but our little buckaroo never knew the difference.  What could be more precious than a birthday on the farm for a little country boy?  Creating this farm themed party nearly consumed me for almost an entire month, but it was well worth the smile on our little guys face on his big day.
      Before it all came together, I scoured the internet looking for foods, decorating ideas, and color schemes.   I had a ton of great ideas, and being one that doesn't easily make up her mind, I chose to use as MANY as possibly would fit on my little serving table.  This meant shopping, crafting, cooking, photographing, standing back and saying "ooh" and "aah".   Trust me, I did lots of that.  What's the point if you can't admire your work, right?
      So, the first things I chose were the table cloths for the table.  I went rounds looking for something that said "farm".  When I saw the red checked tablecloths I was sold.  I got a boatload of these for little of nothing.  I only paid $16 for a dozen.  The cow print was a little more, so I only bought two of these. 
I bought balloons in red and cow print to spread the theme skyward.  I also found bandanas in red and white to fill the mason jars that would be filled with silk sunflowers and placed on all of the tables. 
      It still seemed like it needed a little something.  That's when I decided this farm was not complete until it had a barn.  I simply used a bi-fold presentation board covered in red wrapping paper.  I could not find a single sheet of red poster board, so this was my only option.  However, I think it actually turned out bolder and brighter with the wrapping paper.

Candy apple cakepops and oreo tractor tires

Chicken feed trail mix

Haystacks

Fondant farm animal cupcakes

Bandana and cow print cake

Shovels and pitchforks for eating all the grub

Gifts  and party favors

Dirt pie

       As you can see, there was no shortage of food as this shin dig.  It was a lot of work to put together, but mainly because of all of the searching for supplies.  Here are the lists of items I bought and where they came from.

Hobby Lobby:
6 navy blue bandanas
6 red bandanas
black fondant
brown fondant
pink fondant
green icing in aerosol can
white icing in aerosol can
black icing in aerosol can
yellow icing in aerosol can
bandana print food trays
bandana print cupcake sleeves
red balloons
royal blue plates


Oriental Trading:
cow print balloons
red checked tablecloths
cow print tablecloths
farm theme birthday napkins
farm theme birthday hats
build-a-farm sticker stories
silver place card holders


Wal-Mart:
yellow sunflowers (97 cents a stem!!!!)
red wrapping paper
bi-fold presentation board
construction paper
adhesive backed black letters

Tractor Supply:
galvanized tubs
spades

 Happy Entertaining,

Michelle

It's all in the Details

    
 When I thought about how I wanted our bathroom to feel, I knew that I wanted the look between the bedroom and bath to be seamless, so when I had extra fabric left over from our bedding, it made sense to follow suit with the same colors in the bathroom. 
      I started with the window covering.  I wanted something that was going to look tailored and not overly fussy.  I decided to go with a box-pleated valance made from the magnolia home java pattern in turquoise that I used for the euro shams in the bedroom.  I, not being a seamstress myself, enlisted the help of my grandmother.  She made making this sew (ha ha) easy.  I planned on taking pictures and detailing each and every step of how she did it, but with the little ones running around this was near, no just plain impossible.  Tanks to her it turned out fabulous.  Once I placed it above the window the room began to feel finished.  Something about adding window treatments makes a room so much cozier. 
      Next, I had to decide on how I was going to fill this huge bathroom.  To increase the coziness factor, I added pinch pleat drapes from nearly the ceiling to the floor.  Making them extra tall helped to add to the drama of the room and show off the high ceilings.  I again enlisted the help of my grandmother.  This time I actually helped.  I feel certain that I could make these again.  I hope to put my skills to use in the dining room soon.  :)
      I wanted the overall feel of the room to be light, bright, and most of all, coastal.  I think I was able to do just that without breaking the bank.  Some money saving tricks that I used were buying fabric remnants which are typically 25% to 75% off price per yard prices.  I just happened upon the Jennifer Lopez rug for  $3.  Buying things on sale and at discount stores can make every dollar go further, and no one will ever be the wiser. 
      Here are a few detailed images of the finished bathroom for now.

DIY Chevron Painting

Well, I finally did it.  After spending countless hours on all of those overly addictive how-to websites (which shall remain nameless), I decided to get up the courage and paint my very own chevron paintings.  I say "paintings" because that is what I intended on doing.  As you can see, there is only one chevron painting in the end product.  This is because of the tedious work and the time I spent working into the wee hours of the morning on the first one.  It just so happened that the NBA finals were on, so I was free to do as I pleased without interuption for the night.  :)  This was a very easy project, but do not undertake the chevron pattern unless you plan to spend at least three to four hours on one painting. However, it was fun and I ended up with exactly what I wanted.  

        So here is how I did it.

    First I gathered all of my supplies:

       *  ruler

       *  two 16 x 12 canvases

       *  acrylic paints, sublime lime, jack-o-lantern, fuscia, real navy (Apple Barrel Paints)

       *  angled brush

        Begin by measuring out a 1 x 1 inch pattern grid on your canvas.  I chose to use a 16 x 12 inch canvas because they were large enough to make an impact, but not too big for a bathroom.  Also, they were very inexpensive at Wal-Mart.  I can't remember what I paid, but I think it was around $6 or $7 for a two pack. 

       Okay, back to business.  After measuring out your grid, draw diagonal lines forming little triangles onto the entire canvas.  Do not skip the ruler.  The straight lines will ensure that your chevrons turn out symmetrical, which does mean much to some, but is EVERYTHING in my book. 

       It's starting to resemble something great, huh?  The trick here was using an angles brush.  This made the lines much easier to fill in without having to rotate my surface every time I painted a different angle.  This process took a long time.  As you can see, the paint does not look that great.  In order to get the solid non-patchy look, I had to paint four coats.  The pink color is fuchsia by Apple Barrel Paints.  To be honest, I could have done one more, but I was exhausted by this point and ready to hit the hay.  

       After painting my first color.  I chose my second color to fill in the white areas.  I chose sublime lime by Apple Barrel paints.  I found all of the colors at Wal-Mart for 97 cents a piece.  Yay!  Something cheap for once!  For the lime color I only painted one coat.  I say it's because I was going for the shabby-chic beach look, but really I was just tired.  

       Okay, here's what is looked like before adding the green.  As you can tell, it's coming along nicely.  

      And here is the final product.  I will mention that I used "real navy" by Apple Barrel Paints.  It took three coats to achieve the dark look of the silhouettes.  I also finished off the sides in the same color.  

      

      I hope you enjoyed reading and decide to paint your own!  I know my kids are going to love them in their bathroom for a long time! :)  Happy crafting!

Making Our New House Into a Home

Our new home in the country

We are finally here!  This is the house that we have dreamed of for eight years now.  When we finally sold our first house in December, we heard from family, friends, and people on the street :), about how hard it was going to be to build a house.  "This will be the most stressful thing you ever go through", was what everyone said.  I have to accredit our low stress level to my father who watched over the entire process with his eagle eyes.  Some friends of ours were buildling a house with America's Home Place, so we immediately called and asked for a tour of their home.  Being the sweet people they are, they welcomed us in showing us every single speck of their house.  The next day we were on the phone with Americas Home Place in Columia, SC.  Working with the team there was by far one of the easiest things I have ever been through.  I highly recommend this builder to anyone looking to build their dream home.  

Getting settled into our new space has been our goal over these past few weeks. Before moving into our new house in the country, my husband and I decided that we would take in slowly, only unpacking the things that we truly loved.  I have very selectively begun to fill our home with items that I have spent time looking at and contemplating in advance. 

The first space that I tackled, along with the help of my grandmother and excellent seamstress, was the master bedroom.  I wanted the house to have a coastal feel, but not look like I bought out the souvenir shop at the beach if you know what I mean.  Although the room is far from complete, it's coming together with a feel that I couldn't have dreamed of.  Here's what we have so far.

I have purchased an antique bench with rolled arms to place at the end of the bed, but it must first be recovered to replace the dated mauve crushed velvet that it is currently in.  

The headboard was a breeze to make.  I first consulted numerous blogs on how to achieve the look I was going for, and found the perfect one on Censationalgirl.com.  All of the fabric in this room was bought from remnants found on Fabric Guru.  The nail head trim was bought online from Beacon Fabric.  

I am so excited about getting to start from scratch and create a cohesive look throughout our new home.  Next on the agenda, the master bath.