Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Super Bowl Food - Vegetarian Style

In case you didn't know it I am a carcass hating veggie lover. Last weekend was the Super Bowl, as you know and I decided to make chili. We had plans to head to our neighbors house to watch the game and wouldn't you know she was planning on making chili too. I opted for a vegetarian version and she'd make the "real" stuff. Believe it or not all the adults ended up eating mine! It was "meaty" and spicy and an overall hit.
Here is MY recipe...that's right, it's an original, straight out of the Shanny test kitchen ;)


 I package morning star meal starters
2 tblsp olive oil
1 can pinto beans, rinsed
1 can northern beans, rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes w/ green chilies
1 can yellow corn
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
1 package chili seasoning

Drizzle olive oil into a large pot and brown the "meat".
Rinse all your beans and dump them into the pot.
Add the rest of your ingredients and stir.
Cook on medium til hot and bubbly.
Let simmer on low until you're ready to eat!
A dollop of low-fat sour cream and 1% cheddar cheese are the perfect finishing touches.

To guarantee your husband will eat it do this...

Add Frito's!!!


Since my friend was providing appetizers and drinks I thought it only fair to bring dessert. The day before while enjoying a lazy Saturday morning of Food Network I saw Giada make these wonderful chocolate/hazelnut filled won tons. My kids begged me to make them and I was happy to oblige.
Here they are...




Taste-test approved!



To make these little heavenly triangles you need :
nutella, won ton wrappers, 1 egg beaten, pastry brush, canola/vegetable oil ( HOT!), powdered sugar

 If you aren't familiar with nutella you are missing out!
It's awesome on Eggo's and in milkshakes.
I went with these natural, soy based won tons.
They were thin and fried very easily without burning.
To assemble these you simply:  Brush the edges of your won ton with egg wash.
                                   Place a dollop of nutella in the center.  
                                                             Fold them in half and press down all the edges.             
                Toss them in the HOT oil.
                                         45 seconds on each side and you're done.
A light dusting of powdered sugar on top and that's a wrap!

* Tips- be sure there aren't any air bubbles when you seal the edges, otherwise they'll be too puffy.
- I used wax paper on my work surface for easy clean up.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

No Sew Window Treatments


The before picture...

I snagged these sea foam window panels at Target. They were too good of a deal to pass up even though I knew the length was a little short... $6.97 each!!  I've seen a few different "no-sew" window treatment projects on other blogs and decided to give it a try. I picked up some iron on adhesive when I bought my fabric for the bottom.
This stuff is AMAZING!! Easy to use, cheap and super strong. I highly recommend it. With just a hot iron t0 seam the edges it really gave a professional looking finish to the curtains.
Here is the finished product!
 I fell in love with this paisley print. It went perfectly with the panels and I'm excited to make a coordinating table runner for my dining room table. Plus, it was on sale for $5 a yard!(I only used 1 yd) This means that I basically ended up with custom panels for less than $10 a panel!! Yay me ;)