My first Pintrest project

In the Pintrest world the people are represented by two separate, yet equally important groups. The people who post pictures of their crafts and the people who attempt to recreate them. These are their stories.

This weekend was my first attempt at a Pintrest project after falling in love with this holiday gem...

Bring on Christmas!!

I read the blog that it came from and it seemed easy enough - in fact it read like a foolproof craft. The perfect little Saturday afternoon project.

So I went to the dollar store to get the ornaments - not only cute but cheap!! I had to make a run to Hobby Lobby because I was missing some large green ornaments but otherwise I was on my way to wreath perfection.



The supplies




The MOST important tool in crafting :)

 Ok - so step one - bend a wire hanger into a circle

Check

Step two - hot glue the tops of the ornaments on so they don't pop off... easy enough??

Lesson one: When buying a hot glue gun - the low heat ones should read "This glue gun is a slight step up from Elmer's School Glue - it will take forever and won't stick - get the high heat unless you're five and like to eat paste."

Ok - so minor glitch but I make it work - I'm on my way to becoming a craft pro.

Wrong.

One thing the blog doesn't mention is what to do when your cheap ornaments from the dollar store break at the top... that's right... They. Broke.

But I'm optimistic - heck I've got my most important crafting tool - my Coors Light - and darnit my mom raised me to be a problem-solver.

Problem solved.

Yup - $30 later at Home Depot and I have a battery-operated pre-lit wreath. The whole time I kept trying to determine exactly how much my "cheap" craft ended up costing me. I decided to have another Coors Light instead.

After spending the next two hours trying to get my crummy hot glue gun to work... the finished product.

Super cute right? Yeah.. it was...

Lesson two: When buying a wreath hanger if you get the plastic one so it doesn't "mess up your wreath ambiance" you're asking for trouble - or at least your wreath broken and laying on the front porch.

I told Justin the house was rejecting my craft since I tried to skip over Thanksgiving decorations...

My wreath and I ended up coming out a little worse for wear - but we managed to make it. Next time though I might be using Pintrest for buying ideas instead of crafting...

A tribute to my Crock-Pot

Those who know me know I have a slight obsession with my Crock-Pot. Ok – “slight” might be an understatement for someone who has hugged an inanimate object…

But can you blame me? A few ingredients, a few minutes of prep and then you go about your life only to be greeted with the awesomeness that is a crock pot meal.

To honor all the great meals my crock pot has bestowed upon me, I thought the best tribute was to share the wealth with a work-weeks’ worth of crock-awesome:

Grocery list:

·         Canned Food Section

• 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup (2 cans)
• Chicken broth (1 large box should do)
• Jar of spaghetti sauce
• Rotel tomato (2 cans)
• Tomato Sauce (either 1 large can or two medium-sized cans)

·         Produce

• Baby carrots (I usually get a bag)
• Small red or white potatoes (Again I usually just get a bag of these)
• Onion

·         Dairy

• Cream cheese (8 oz)

·         Dry foods

• Flat egg noodles
• Pasta (whatever kind you want)
• Minute rice

·         Spices

• Salt
• Pepper
• Worcestershire sauce

·         Meat

• Stew meat (2 1lb packages)
• Pork chops
• Frozen chicken breasts (usually comes in a bag)

Meal 1 (Chicken Rotel)

1. Add 2-4 chicken breasts to Crock-Pot
2. Add both cans Rotel
3. Cook on low all day (I’ve let it go 11 hours before and it’s fine)
4. About 20-30 minutes before eating add equal parts Minute rice and water
5. Salt to taste and serve

Meal 2 (Beef Stroganoff)

1. Add one package of stew meat to Crock-Pot
2. Add 1/2 onion, both cans Cream of Mushroom. two tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, and 1/4 cup of water
• Note: I don’t care for onion so I usually put the half in there whole so I can get it out easily – if you’re an onion enthusiast, you’ll want to chop this up and throw it in
3. Cook on low approx. 8-9 hours
4. About 20-30 minutes before eating, cook egg noodles separately and add cream cheese to Crock-Pot (stirring until melted)
5. Mix noodles with Crock-Pot goodness and serve

Meal 3 (Pork Chops)

1. Pre-brown pork chops in frying pan
2. Put browned pork chops, chicken broth, half bag of baby carrots, and half bag of potatoes in Crock-Pot
3. Cook on low all day
4. Serve

Meal 4 (Chicken Spaghetti)

1. Add 2-4 pieces frozen chicken to Crock-Pot
2. Add jar of spaghetti sauce and cook on low all day
3. Just before ready to eat, cook pasta separately
4. Combine pasta and Crock-Pot goodness and serve

Meal 5 (Stew)

1. Add remaining package of stew meat to Crock-Pot
2. Add remaining onion, baby carrots and potatoes along with tomato sauce
3. Fill tomato sauce can up with water and add to Crock-Pot
4. Add salt/pepper
5. Cook on low all day and serve

 Happy crock-potting!!