Vegetarian enchiladas

Enchilada sauce:
-2 cans of tomato sauce
-2 tbs fresh ground cumin
-1 tsp garlic
-1 tbs diced onion
-1 tsp chili powder
Or 2 cans of tomato sauced mix with 1 pack of taco seasoning.

Filling:
-corn tortillas
-2 cans refried beans
-1 can black beans
-2 cans olives
-1 onion diced
-1 big tomato diced
-1 lb of pepperjack cheese

Preheat oven to 350*
In a big casserole dish put a spoonful or two of enchilada sauce down a smear around. Layer 6 small corn tortillas smear one can of beans on tortillas layer. Sprinkle half the can of black beans on the layer. Add one can of olives, half the onion, half the tomato, and one third of the cheese evenly to this layer. Sprinkle with a couple tbsp full of sauce and repeat
After the second layer is complete top with 6 more tortillas, the rest of the cheese, and the remaining sauce.

Bake for 45 minutes to one hour or until bubbly and golden brown.

Add ins:
Whatever you would like

Toppings:
Guacamole
Sour cream
Olives
Onion

DIY Napkins

I hate waste.

I hate wasting products and money.

Frustrated about how many napkins this family uses I decided to sew up some washable napkins.

I choose a woven black linen for one side and cotton camo for the other.

I cut out different sized squares so I could make small and large napkins.

I simply sewed the camo to the black inside out and left open a section to turn right side out. Once turned right side out I top stitched.

DONE!

Easy, cheap, and reusable. I love them!

Apple crisp

I made this amazing apple dessert out of some apples I had.
I used 6 apples, 2 granny smiths, 4 figis.
I diced the apples and tossed them in juice squeezed from 1 oranges, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
Set apples aside and mix a box of yellow cake mix with a half a cup of brown sugar, one to two table spoons of cinnamon.
Add one stick of softened butter to dry mixture until well mixed.
Cover apple mixture with cake mixture.
Cook covered for 30 minutes at 350 and uncover for another 20 to 30 minutes until golden brown.

Domino Damsel at the cleaning station

The domino damsel stopped by the cleaner shrimp today for his routine cleaning.
This is one of my favorite activities to observe. It was hard to get a picture so I had to take a picture of the reflection in the mirror behind the tank

Fred the red

Fred the red is sick or got squished. He has lost two tips off his arms. We will have to wait and see how long they take him to regrow.
Okay, 1, 2, 3, go................

Cinnamon house fragrance!

I wish you could smell this picture.

Simplest Christmas potpourri:
Apple peels
Orange rounds
Apple juice
Cinnamon
Spoonful of vanilla

Place ingredients in a small pot and simmer.
Enjoy the citrus cinnamon fragrance all day long.

Caution: do not eat
Keep an eye on the mixture, add more liquid if it drys up before you are done enjoying it.
Discard when done.

Stick Christmas Tree

I turned our thanksgiving tree into a Christmas tree with ten plastic ornaments. It is super cute, super easy, and super cheap!

Swirly foam mobile

I made this swirly fun art to spruce up my living room. I can't find my Xmas decorations so this year is handmade projects all the way :-)

This was super easy. I cut an 8x8 inch circle out of thick foam paper. Then I drew a spiral and then cut it out.

I was thinking of stapling the stars on but instead I sewed them on with white tread with a bead tied on to the end. This part took me a little while, but it was well worth the time.

Arm Warmers

I cut up a bunch of my cute toe socks that I've never worn and turned them into arm warmers.
Two pairs I cut the toes off and zig zag stitched the edge.
The other one I simply cut off the toe tips to make fingerless gloves.

Ahhhhh warmth!!!!!!!!!!

IV covers

When Brodie was in the hospital it bothered him that the IV tubes and heart monitor cords were always touching him. So being the sweet mommy I am, I made little tube sleeves to slide over the tubes and cords so they could not touch Brodie anymore!

Since his hospital stay I have been wanting to make a million cord covers to donate to Doernbechers Children's Hospital. Because every child deserves to feel more comfortable and safe.

DIY mustache

-Popsicle stick
-cut out mustache out of black junk mail
-glue or tape


Glue or tape mustache on stick.

Viola!!!!!!

Thanksgiving Tree

A thanksgiving tree made with vine maple.
Find and cut branches, put in cute vase or mason jar.

Viola! It's that easy.
I let the kids do it and they thought they were pretty special ;-)

So kid friendly.

Harry potter broom

I turned Brodie's toy broom into a Harry potter broom in two minutes. And it cost me less than 50 cents. Just some foam paper cut into the appropriate shape with two slits to slide it on.
It is the double thick foam paper and is still going strong!

Cut down on your waste!

We made this chart for our family to tally up if their meal waste goes in the trash, compost, burnables, or recycling. After only one week, we have produced barely one bag of trash compared to our regular two to three bags.
Everyone in the house even visitors (Sophia) are way more conscience of their waste, mostly because none of us want to put a tally on trash.
This is a great way to visually see waste outputs.
As a species on earth we need to all do our part to "go green" and stop being the most wasteful being in existence.

Kale and potato soup

Yummy, easy, and really good for you.
-Potatoes (any kind)
-Kale
-Vegetable broth

Fill a big pot with broth and turn on medium heat. Slice potatoes into rounds and put into pot (I use 1 per person). Tear the kale leaves off the stems and put the leafy part into the pot. Cover with a lid and simmer until potatoes are done.

Extras:

Add pepper flakes when cooking to add heat.

Add tbsp of heavy cream to make a creamier broth.

Add extra veggies like mushrooms, carrots, celery, onion, or garlic.

Add meat to make it non vegetarian. Hot sausage is a great addition.

Fake Blood

This is the fake blood I made to be a zombie it was so easy.
-Red food coloring (1or2 drops
-Corn syrup
Mix, drip, allow 5 to 10 minutes to dry.

 

I drew the cut on with brown, red, and black crayola marker. I have also used eyeliner which works well too.

Link shield

These are the link shields that I made for the boys. They are easy to make:
-cardboard
-Elmer's glue
-duct tape
-foam paper
Cut out shield shape, glue on foam front. Cover edges with duct tape. I cut a 10 inch strip of duct tape for the handle that is backed in the center with a 5 inch strip of foam paper. These are very sturdy and cost me about $5 to make both.

TP wall art

I started collecting tp rolls to make this really neat looking wall art. It is so simple and practically free.
First cut tp rolls in half inch rounds and flatten to make the leaf shape. Glue together and pin until dry. Continue until you are satisfied. I will post my final pics once I collect more tp rolls.

Chalk board paint

I painted two squares on the fridge tonight to write notes, to do list, and shopping lists.
I can not wait till it dries. I am not sure who is more excited, me or the kids.

Japanese garden in Portland

My wonderful little boys at the breathtaking gardens today.

TP pumpkins

This is a diy super cute decoration and it is super simple to do. These three took me about two minutes to make. Simply place a full tp roll on a square of cute material. Wrap fabric up and tuck into the top. Stick in a stick in the top and tie with something cute.
These three are pumpkins I made to spruce up my father in laws house for fall.

Tube anemone

The pink tube anemone has the coolest markings. It was a wonderful addition to our saltwater habitat, as long as nothing gets to close to it. It loves it's new location of under the rocks ledge.

New growth in saltwater tank

It looks like some kind of stem of a polyp. I will just have to wait and see what the grey mystery stem is.

It has been a couple months now and it has grown, broke, and reproduced. I'm still unsure as to what it is