Chicken enchiladas with green chili sour cream sauce

 i love pinterest. do you pin? i've found some wonderful ideas and fabulous recipes. you'll have to sign up! you have to be invited, so email me and i'll send you an invitation. if you want to follow me, click the red pinterest button on the right of my blog.

in the meantime, i wanted to share a recipe i found from a fellow pinner that i follow. we made these enchiladas tonight and i cannot tell you how amazing they were. the kids ALL loved them, and for my kids to ALL love something--it has to be good. they didn't have anything left on their plates, so you can bet we'll be making these on a regular basis.

the recipe is easy to follow. a word of advice, definitely roll them tightly so you can get ten in the 9x13. we didn't roll ours tightly enough and had to re-roll to stuff all ten in the dish. these are excellent!

 

Chicken enchiladas with green chili sour cream sauce

*These are seriously so so good*

10 soft taco shells

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

3 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp. flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 pan

2. Mix chicken and 1 cup cheese.  Roll up in tortillas and place in pan.

3. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute.  Add broth and whisk until smooth.  Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly.  

4. Stir in sour cream and chilies.  Do not bring to boil, you don't want curdled sour cream.

5. Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.

6. Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.

if you try them, let me know what you think. i can't wait to have them again. :)

our favorite banana bread!

 

Bisquick Banana Bread

1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 large mashed bananas
1/2 tsp vanilla (i use real vanilla)
3 eggs
2 and 1/3 cups PLUS 2 heaping tbls of bisquick
1 and 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
2 tbls fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup nuts (i use pecans), chopped

heat oven to 350 degrees.

grease bottom of a loaf pan. beat all ingredients with spoon until thoroughly mixed. pour into pan.

bake until knife comes out clean, roughly 55 minutes, depending on your oven. remove and brush with melted butter (will make the top moist). cool 5 minutes.

tip: i cut pieces of parchment paper and line the bottom and sides of my loaf pans. it makes it very moist and comes out easily, not getting stuck inside. :)

my kids LOVE LOVE this bread, and it's the very best i've ever tasted. promise. :)

hello new things!

i'm so excited to introduce my new things. it's been a long time in the making and more difficult than i originally anticipated, but aren't all good things, really? when i had the desire to work in PMC {precious metal clay} i thought it would be super easy. here, almost eight months later, i'm feeling a little more secure in my work, having spent countless hours on drawings, revisions and yet more revisions...making microscopic changes that anyone might think as unnecessary... but each small change mattered. i am thrilled with the outcome and hope you will be too.

each charm is drawn and a relief is made, digitizing it in Adobe Photoshop. it's tedious but rewarding work. the digitized image is sent off and a prototype is sent back to me, and this is where i have to revise the image over and over and over again... well, until it's perfect. once i'm satisfied i make a clay impression into PMC (99% fine silver). various steps happen after i make the stamp, but it's finally fired, tumbled, oxidized, tumbled some more and polished to a high shine. each charm has its own personality which i love the most.

the love tree was something i wanted desperately to turn out the first time, but alas, it took almost six times for it to work out as i'd seen in my head. just a simple tree, sure, but the heart was either too big, too small, too fat or simply didn't look like a heart at all. i am so pleased with the its shape and more importantly the heart. <3

it really began with cupcake joy. i think she turned out as cute as a well, cupcake, especially with her heart on top. and again, it took roughly eight times to perfect. for some reason i was having a tough time with the look of the wrapper. one line would be off just slightly and make the entire thing look like it would grow legs and walk away. not the look i was going after. ha! in the end, it turned out as darling as can be and i absolutely LOVE her. :)

this was my most difficult. the coffee mug. i began drawing this in the summer. cracks me up to think how many times i sat down to sketch it out, only to get frustrated and toss the paper in the trash. i'd walk away and come back a few days later, hoping to have a clear mind. it wasn't until mid-december that it came together. the body of the mug was lengthened and i added more steam. originally, there was just one waft of steam coming from the top but it needed more. it took four times to perfect the width and length of the steam... sending it off to the stamp company and each returning incorrect... ::sigh:: i knew coffee would give a headache but this was ridiculous.

the final result is darling. this charm was made for my BF because she brings me coffee most days of the week. i love my java mornings with her.

this is how i wear my charms, in a cluster and i cannot tell you how many times i'm stopped and asked, "where did you get those?" and now i'm happy to say, "I Do!"

most necklaces run $69 which includes one charm, one pearl drop and sturdy sterling ball chain. you can also purchase charms separately, they're each $34. more charms are in the works... so be sure to get on my mailing list to be notified of new styles.

if you'd like to see my entire spring collection, click here.

picture project {month 1}

i complain all the time to friends or anyone who'll listen, that i love taking photos {i have a great camera that i've had a couple years and it needs to be used more} and yet i rarely pull it out. so enough is enough. i want to capture moments with my family {all together}. this is such a cool idea.

while catching up with favorite blogs, i've decided to do a monthly-family-portrait. i am SO excited! here's on of the blogs i read regularly and where i have stolen this idea.

Fourteen Thousand Days {blog}

i've chosen a photo from november to use as my first... i realize it wasn't taken by me but i love love love this photo. for two years i begged Moon to find me weeds so we could take our picture in it... so this is the first.

happy saturday everyone. i have been making some new things, oh and i'll have tiny charms up later today. :) finally!

sweetest letter. {necklace}

several years ago (like eight), a friend introduced me to PMC (aka: art clay silver, aka: precious metal clay) and i bought a small 25 dollar packet of it. sadly, i didn't know what to do with it and eventually it dried out. little did i know that i could revive it but i ended up throwing it away. 

every now and then i'd think of the PMC and wanted to jump right into really working with precious metal clay. last october i got the chance, buying a new kiln and all the supplies to start moving in a new direction with my jewelry. i can't tell you how excited i was to really get clay on my hands. :)

i suppose one could say i'm late to the game, but with four kids i am late to a lot of things, and last year was a rough year for me and my family. we are all looking forward to twenty-twelve!

so here's the first in several new designs...

 

i'm excited to introduce the sweetest letter {necklace}. it's a thick piece of solid sterling with your initial in the center. if you'd like to find out more on how i create these, check out the listing on my website... link below.

go here

 excuse the photo quality. my purse was stolen a few weeks ago and with the christmas rush i didn't have time to get a new one before this was taken. i absolutely love it! hope you do too! it's on sale right now until supplies run out. :)

hello 2012! {so glad you're here!}

hello! it's been a while since i've written so i thought i'd post my christmas family newsletter that i sent to our family and friends.

dear family & friends,

what a long year it has been. normally i say it was so fast, that i didn't see it slip by, but not this year. although...since last year is over, maybe it did slide by pretty quickly. eh? :)

most of the year was a blur until summer when a few things happened at once. in june, jeff suffered a series of heart attacks, was hospitalized and had a stint put in a blocked artery. what a stressful time. with a lot of prayers, he's doing great now.

in july the four kids enrolled in theater camp at the theater house and had the best time performing in Once On This Island, Jr. Later in the month, my niece gave birth to a darling little boy. she and her husband are having the time of their lives with their new, happy bundle. he is so caaauuute! we all had a lot of fun with him at christmas.

august rolled around and can you believe we have two in middle school and two in elementary? however, this fall all that will change but the biggest change will be nathaniel's heading to high school. lord help me! :) crazy. they grow up too fast.

november came and i turned thirty. i mean forty. wait. what? what just happened there? ten years? where did those years go? well. poo. yeah. so i'm forty. :)

our december was eventful. nathaniel landed a role in our town's theater production of Scrooge, the Musical. he was peter cratchet and young ebenezer. we all saw it several times--the entire show was like being in New York. it was fantastic! i wish you all could have been there to see it. all the kids seem to have the acting bug and it's been a joy to see them perform.

my purse was also stolen last month. so sad. so much loss. it's unfortunate that people choose a life of crime that causes so much heartache to others. it just makes you stop and realize how we all need the lord in our hearts.

twenty-twelve came in with a bang, and we couldn't be more thrilled! jeff will walk the line in may from asbury university and begin student-teaching in the fall. currently he's teaching kindergarten and of course those little kids love him. he's always been my hero, but seeing him work so hard for our family makes me so proud. i adore him so.

we hope you are all doing well and keeping safe. may your year bring you happiness and cheer and in the words of Buddy the Elf, "take time to snuggle." hopefully we'll see you soon, but if not please know that we think of your often and love you all so much.

hugs,
jeff & laurie
nathaniel, natalie, nicole & nadine

new things {in the shoppe}

{taken november 2011 by my bf moon}

happy holidays friends!

this has been a wild month for us, both bad and good. here's the scoop.

a few months ago my hands began shaking, almost like temors and i didn't want to go and have it checked out. however, after a few months of this driving me bonkers, i had no choice but to see someone about it. long story short my thyroid hasn't been working and my blood pressure is through the roof. ::sigh:: so they put me on some meds and thankfully i'm feeling worlds better! :)

nathaniel has been in our towns production of Scrooge, doing an amazing job, the entire cast has been fantastic. i can't even begin to tell you. this is the last weekend, and we're going to see it again on Saturday night. cannot wait! it's just like any wonderful broadway play in new york. love it.

so the last not-so-great thing that happened is that my purse was stolen out of my car a little over a week ago. just devastated. not only did i have cash in there, but i had put some loose diamonds inside the zip pocket. they were my grandmother's diamonds {remember me telling you we removed them from their old settings and sold the gold? that's how i got my new kiln...} anyway, we'd planned to have the diamonds set into something nice for christmas. ::sigh:: i think that was the biggest heartbreak of the entire year. not only did my favorite little coach bag get stolen, but my grandmother's diamonds are now long gone... so sad. i sobbed for two days. my daughter, nicole, put a letter in my room, telling me that i could have all of her birthday money {which was inside} so i could buy myself another new purse. i just sat and cried. bless her heart. i had told her that i just couldn't go out and buy a new purse like that... so she was trying to help. so sweet.

it's been an interesting month for sure, but even with these ups and downs i'm still so excited for christmas even if there's nothing for me under our tree. i can't wait to see the kids faces and how excited they are. we have some real surprises in the works. cannot wait!!!!

so lastly... my shoppe is filled with new goodies. be sure to check them out. go HERE. :)

have a great week, be safe out there!

what a great long weekend!

hello friends!

lots to share... i'm trying to be a better blogger. :)

earlier in the school year our son, Nathaniel, tried out for Kentucky's Honor's Choir. he was so excited when we got news that he'd been asked to participate. while i didn't get to tape the entire two hour production, i was able to video one of my favorite songs of the performance. first, let me tell you that i cannot get over the voice-change, new height and the fact he'll be fourteen in a few months. ::sigh:: where have the years gone?

singing, i shan't be gone long. they did such a great job.

{sorry for my shaking hands, it was difficult to keep my phone steady}

yesterday we had a photo shoot with Moon, it's been two years, if you can believe it or not. i'm not liking this trend of time passing so quickly. however, we had a wonderful day {despite a bit of wind}, and as soon as she edits all the photos, i'll post more, but for now here you go:

 nicole...

 the girls...nicole (10), nadine (9) and natalie (11)

 the family....growing up so fast

...in my entryway of my home, i have this quote framed on the wall. :)

we had a fun time doing some more "sexy" photos, if you can call these sexy, but there was a lot of giggling going on by me. lol and jeff kept trying to lick my face. lol i'm so glad moon made us do these.

and last but not least...thank you for all the emails and facebook comments, wishing me a happy birthday. forty only comes around once. lol i had a GREAT week! i went out to eat more times than i'd like to share, but it was worth it. my folks came to town the weekend before and took me out for lunch, friends missy and lisa took me out for lunch on wednesday, jeff and the family took me out for dinner wednesday night, then thursday i recovered from all the eating...my mother-in-law came for the weekend and she took me out too! lol but moon surprised me with our gang of girlfriends at PF Changs. they made me wear a "40" crown. lol it really wasn't so bad turning forty. :)

 our waiter was wonderful too... and smelled very nice. lol ::wink wink::

i hope you are all having a great November {can you believe it!?} -- remember my Online Holiday Open House is coming up soon. :) later tonight i'll be reducing the prices of the items remaining in my shoppe. be sure to check them out.

happy wednesday!

Happy Birthday to Laurie - a post from a hacker

Today is Laurie's 40th birthday, a day she has fretted about for months now.  To honor this special occasion I have decided to hack her blog to wish her a happy birthday.

Dearest Laurie,
I think I have known you for nearly half of your life now.  I want you to know that I love you now more than ever.  Looking back I cannot even begin to imagine my life without you and all that you have added to my life over the years.  Thank you for putting up with me because I know I got the better end of the deal.  Im sorry that I can't throw you a big party and give you extravagant gifts (which you deserve).       

I don't care that you are getting old, the gray hair, failing eyesight, and creaking joints haven't bothered me yet :)  Actually I think you are  getting sexier everyday.  I was watching you sleep this morning and was reminded of just how lucky I am. 

I hope your birthday is a very happy one.  Because of the kind of person you are I know you will have about 7000 people emailing, calling, and stopping by to wish you a happy 40th.  Everyone wants to be around you, and I am lucky because I get to live with you.  Have a great day today, I will see you tonight and remember to save Friday for you and I to celebrate.

I love you baby!
Jeff

love {& loss}

hi. i know. it's been a long time. for weeks months i've had a difficult time blogging. not sure why. i have a lot going on and i'm hoping that things will slow down and that my desire to chat will come back {because let's face it. i'm chatty.}

something happened to very close friends of ours. you know my friend. i've blogged about her many times. remember these faces on one of their visits? five of those faces are my friend carie's. we have been friends forever. it's one of the things i am most proud of, that i have this person out there that i have known so long and i know that if i really, truly need something she will be there for me. with open arms. crying with me. no matter what. in good times and in sad. that's the way lifelong friends are, after all. there is no greater love.

{that's a lot of hair i had, and look how preppy carie is with her izod and wooden handled purse.}

 {this was taken about seven years ago, thankfully i have lost some weight but carie still looks fabulous.}

on october 7th my dear friend delivered a full-term little boy, but he was born still. my heart is so heavy for their family, whom we love so so much. both jeff and i walked around for days with this weighing us down and feeling their pain, it was simply the worst thing that could have ever happened. it was a freak accident. so random. the cord was wrapped around his leg five times, cutting off circulation to his body and heart. i am just so sad...i cannot even begin to imagine what they are feeling.

i wanted to do something. didn't know what. many people ask me to create 'memory' pieces for them and i am always happy to do it, but carie is a busy mom of five and doesn't need something banging into the washing machine or earrings that might get stuck in her sweater as she's taking it off. i needed something easy, something that i would wear...

and i thought of what i love the most... little charms. since i'd been working on PMC {precious metal clay} i decided to make something. with the help of my friend Beth from Hint, i made a relief drawing of the tiny lion that was on little baby's outfit, the last outfit he would wear. i then sent my drawing off to have made into a stamp, finally pressing it into PMC and then firing it.

i have debated sharing this story. not sure how to tell it, and being so personal...but then i thought of how many people who might be hurting and needing something just to keep with them, next to their skin.... that's special. personal. endearing. something tangible. 

here's the little lion and baby's initial along with a freshwater pearl.

he is not perfect. this is one of the first pieces i have created. truthfully i love his imperfections. he is so sweet, this sweet little angel lion. i hope she can feel a bit of peace in her heart as she wears it. i love her so. <3

hello! {happy tuesday}

hello! happy tuesday!

last friday i added some new items and let all my email subscribers know, and a lot was sold but there's still some left if you'd like to take a look. :)

i love this one and it's still here. the focal is beautiful. reminds me of a sunny beach with floating clouds.

this year my online annual holiday open house (!!!) will be earlier than usual. our son is in our town's production of Scrooge at the theater house. so exciting! he doesn't have a huge part as this is an adult play, but he does have some speaking lines and will be in the musical dance numbers. i can't wait!

so i'll be busy during the entire month of december. the online open house will be wednesday, december 7th at 7:30p. hopefully you'll be online to check everything out. :) it's always a huge hit and i always have huge discounts for holiday gifts.

ok, i'm going to get moving. so many things to do today. oh and hey, have you seen the new Whitney sitcom on Thursday nights? omg. too funny.

i'm outie. have a good one!
hugs,

something is wrong...

something is wrong with my site... we're checking it out. i hate problems! lol all my photos are missing. ugh. hopefully i'll have it corrected soon!