Henry Homebrewing {Part 1}

Well, Chris finally cracked open his Christmas present...a homebrewing kit. I know, I know...what was I thinking? But, after watching {and documenting} the process today, I have to say that I'm pretty intrigued.

Check out Chris brewing his first dry stout...

{Getting his Pandora Station just right}

{Drinkin' a brew while he brewed}

Now, it's doing it's thing in a dark and cool part of our home for the next week.

Being a beer girl myself, I'm excited to see what happens next!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I said in an earlier post that Christmas with a child is just the greatest.

Well... I can now confirm that EVERY holiday with a child is just the greatest!

We didn't want to make too much of a fuss over Valentine's Day.
So, this morning we simply exchanged cards and gave Lily just a little something extra.

She also had a fun little prize from GranZee and Pops!

Now, Lily isn't thrilled about doing anything extra in the morning...but she powered through!

GranZee made her little t-shirt special for today!

OWL always love you! How stinkin' cute is that!?!

Oh..and, the finished Valentine Pretzel Buttons for her classroom...

Hope you all had a fabulous day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine Button Pretzels

I've never been a big fan of Valentine's Day....but whatever, we are celebrating anyway!

I decided today that we wanted to bring something for Lily's teachers, so I needed something quick and easy...yet impressive... to make. Of course, I ran to Pinterest and I found just that!

These Valentine Pretzel Buttons might be the easiest thing I've ever "baked"! As I said earlier, I found them on Pinterest thanks to the blog G*Rated. Great site! Enjoy!

Valentine Pretzel Buttons

You'll need:
-square pretzels
-Hersey Hugs (regular Kisses would work, but I don't think they would be as cute!)
-M&Ms (disclaimer: if you are making them for your kid's class, best to grab peanut FREE)

First, pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees and place a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Then, line with your pretzels.

Next, top the pretzels with your Hugs.

Now, bake until the Hugs are a bit shiny and soft...which should only be 4-5 minutes. You want the Hugs to still have their shape. When you remove from the oven, carefully stick one of the M&Ms on tops of the Hugs. Barely push it into the Hug...you don't want to smash them all over the place!

Now, I'll admit...when I was patiently waiting the 4-5 minutes while they baked...and the M&Ms looked like this:

I snuck a few...shh, don't tell anyone!

Lastly, let them cool completely and then ENJOY!

Mine are currently chilling in the fridge overnight. And then tomorrow, I'll toss them in this cute little basket for Lily's classroom.

Can't wait! I'll share more pictures tomorrow!

Have a great Valentine's Day!

Addicitve Sweet Potato Burritos

Let me preface this post with a little fun tidbit about the Henry's...we LOVE sweet potatoes!

Seriously, if I see a recipe that has sweet potatoes in it, I'm automatically intrigued and that was certainly the case when I came across this recipe for Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos on Allrecipes.com!

This recipe makes a ton of burritos (12) and is fairly easy. We had enough for dinner and lunch the following day. I'm always a fan of meals that can do double-duty...anything to save a little time! Anyway, it was absolutely delicious and I hope you will try it soon! Enjoy!

Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos

Here is what you will need:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

6 cups canned kidney beans, drained

2 cups water

3 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

4 teaspoons prepared mustard

1 pinch cayenne pepper

3 tablespoons soy sauce

4 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes

12 (10 inch) flour tortillas, warmed

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

First things first, go ahead and skin, cube and boil your sweet potatoes. When they are good and soft, let them cool, mash away and then set aside. While those are boiling go ahead and prep your ingredients: cut your onion, mince your garlic and drain your beans.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. While that baby is heating up, heat your vegetable oil in a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Saute your onion and garlic until fragrant and soft. Then, stir in your beans and give them a little mash. Don't fret it they aren't completely mashed...that is ok! Gradually stir in your water and keep on stove until all is warm.

Now, remove from heat and stir in your chili powder, cumin, mustard, pepper and soy sauce.

To make your tortillas suitable for burrito makin', warm them about 15 seconds each in a medium skillet over medium heat. After being warmed, they tend to fold and wrap a lot easier!

Spoon your bean mixture and your mashed sweet potatoes into the warmed tortillas side-by-side and evenly. Top with your shredded cheese before folding up burrito style!

Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 12 minutes or so and then serve!

We topped the burritos with a little sour cream and WOW...tasty!

Spinach Enchiladas

My hiatus from the kitchen has GOT to stop!  So, I planned a couple meals for this week and so far, so good!

We were in the mood for something zesty and these spinach enchiladas were MONEY!

Very easy and very tasty! Enjoy!

Spinach Enchiladas

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup sliced green onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach , thawed, drained and squeezed dry
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
10 (6 inch) corn tortillas
1 (19 ounce) can enchilada sauce (NOTE: we only used a 10 ounce can, and that was just fine for us!)


Preheat the oven to 375 while you chop your onions and mince your garlic. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and then add the garlic and onion.

Cook for a few minutes and then add your spinach when you start to smell that tasty, fragrant garlic and onion. Let the spinach cook for about 5 more minutes and then remove from the heat.

Mix in the ricotta cheese, sour cream, and 1 cup of the shredded cheese.

Give it a taste...delicious, right!

In a skillet over medium heat, warm the tortillas one at a time until they are flexible, which is about 15 seconds.

Now, it's time to make your enchiladas! Spoon about 1/4 cup of the spinach mixture onto the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place into a 9x13 inch baking dish with the seam side down. Once they are all placed, pour the enchilada sauce over the top, and sprinkle with the remaining cup of shredded cheese.

Lastly, bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until sauce is bubbling and cheese is lightly browned at the edges. Take out and enjoy!

I served it with some fiesta rice and yum, yum, yum... it was a hit!

Project Update and Chandelier Fun!

Well, I want you all to know that I haven't given up on the 31 Day to an Organized Home Challenge. We are still working on our entry way and the hold up, is well, embarrassing! I found this fabulous picture of an entry way must have on Pinterest (where else) and I am searching for the perfect piece to re-purpose into something similar. It's taking a little longer to find that I expected...but I've been scouring Craigslist and hope to hit up some local garage sales this weekend. Fingers crossed, I'll be sharing photos of our new entry way soon!

Now, on to a finished project...

I just love the fun pop of color that a fabulously painted chandelier can bring...so I searched and searched and searched for the perfect chandelier to re-purpose for my dining room. Thank you Craigslist! I'm loving our dining room...but having this new chandelier makes me want to re-paint the walls and finally get around to painting that furniture...one day at a time! Anyway, check it out:

To complete this project, I simply took the ol' traditional gold chandelier and coated it with a primer. Once that was dry, I did several coats of my turquoise paint and voila...done! This was super simple and I love the way it turned out!

Now...on to the next project!