What's Cooking Sun{day}

Rainee and I got our hair cut yesterday... then did all the fun Saturday errands, one of which was grocery shopping. While shopping we passed the roasted chickens, which are so great because you can make so many different things with them... and it makes life easy!!! One of my favorite uses is making Chicken Enchiladas. Before I would roast my own chicken... wait until it was done then get on with making the Enchiladas. Until I realized how much easier life would be with one of the store's roasted chickens... and I like easy. I make enchiladas a lot more often now because of them... and did I mention it's because I like easy.

As for recipe... I searched high and low for a good recipe... tried several, and finally did combo of a couple, because none of them were perfect. It's spicy, but not too spicy... just enough to get the idea there is a little bit of heat there. Weather you like easy and buy a roasted chicken, or you want to make your own, I hope you'll like it as much as my family. Yesterday, Steve was so excited to come home from work and have them.... and I'm loving them today, because we have leftovers.... which means... no cooking for me today!! Enjoy... and have a fab Sunday!

Chicken Enchiladas

Sauce:
3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 medium Onion - diced
1 Tbsp. Minced Garlic
1 tsp. Oregano
2 tsp. Italian Seasons
1 tsp. Chili Powder
1 tsp. Ground Cumin
1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp. Cinnamon
2 Cans Chicken Broth 14oz
1 Bay leaf
1 Tbsp. Tomato Paste
2 Cups Tomato Sauce
1 Can Diced Tomato's (I use Mexican style)

25-30 Corn Tortillas
Mexican Blend Cheese (Monterrey Jack/Cheddar)
Whole Roasted Chicken

• Preheat oven to 350º, with tortillas wrapped in foil, place in oven to warm
• Place olive oil, dice onions and garlic in skillet start to saute then add the seasonings: Oregano, Italian Seasons, Chili Powder, ground Cumin, Cayenne Pepper.
• Saute until onions are transparent.
• Add Chicken Broth, Tomato Paste, Tomato Sauce, Diced Tomato's, Bay leaf and Cinnamon.
• Bring to boil, reduce heat. Cook until Sauce is reduced and somewhat thick.
• While sauce is reducing, shred chicken.
• When sauce is reduced, place a small amount of sauce in a 13"x9" pan
• Take tortillas out of oven and switch the oven to broil.
• Then with tongs lightly place a tortilla in the sauce coating both sides.
• Place in pan, add shredded chicken and cheese, then roll. (Seam side down) Repeat until pan is lined with Enchiladas.
• Pour SOME sauce over Enchiladas, top with cheese. (Set aside remaining sauce)
• Place in oven, on center rack for about 5-10 minutes... until cheese is lightly brown.

Serve Enchiladas with some remaining sauce over the top. Additionally you can add sour cream and cilantro on top. ENJOY!!!

Notes: Make sure to keep tortillas warm. Recover them each time you take one out. Corn tortillas will crumble, won't roll well and will crack if they are COLD, so be sure to keep them WARM.

Love You Angel Girl

I love love love this photo of Rainee.... it's from her Christmas performance at school. She did such a great job singing... and with that little garland around her head... she looks just like an angel. After the performance... she starting crying... my poor baby and I couldn't figure out why...

So when I picked her up after school... I found out she had a tummy ache... come to find out she had butterflies... stage fright!!! Poor thing! Too cute that it happened after the whole performance was over...

I know I put this photo in my December Daily... but since I loved it so much I thought I'd do another layout with it and use the Creative Imaginations Sketch... I love love love the CI - Narratives Heart Journaling Pad... it's just so much fun... can't wait to find more uses for it!! Anyway... if you haven't done your lo with the sketch... I wanted to remind you they are doing a giveaway and the winner will also be a guest designer for Creative Imaginations... fun! Can't wait to see what you come up with! Also... there are some amazing Sneak Peeks on their blog... my favorite is..... 'Real Wood'.... you HAVE TO check out... it's sooooooooooooooo much fun... it comes in different widths AND you can use it with your Cricut and emboss with it... I am totally in love with it... amazing stuff!!!

Well.... it's that time... time to go get my dear daughter from school... which I'm VERY VERY VERY happy to say... she's sooooooooooooooo enjoying her new class already... she can't wait to go every day... and it's only been 2 days!!! So happy she's happy!!!

(Materials: All are Creative Imaginations)

Weekly Gratitude...

Changing Teachers. My Weekly Gratitude for this week is one I've been praying about for months... Rainee hasn't like school at all for the first several months... UNTIL... she had a substitute for the last 8 weeks... and in those 8 short weeks, she been loving school.... something I want for her... especially since it's Kindergarten! In the last 8 weeks she was so excited to get up in the morning... to go to school... even on the weekends, she would ask when she was going back... can see what the problem is???...

Anyway... I was having a hard time knowing what to do... keep her in a class she's unhappy in or move her and hope it wouldn't traumatize her. But now, with the wonderful sub gone... Rainee has cried every morning this last week... not wanting to go to school... and we're back to her hating school. Which has been breaking my heart. So, when I found out 2 openings became available in the afternoon Kindergarten class... I decided to make a change for her... so she would be excited about school again.

I made a call to the principle... not knowing what would happen... still praying... and at 7:30am Friday morning, I got the call... she will be moving to the afternoon Kindergarten class - - with a teacher I know will show Rainee that school is fun... and I know she be getting what she needs.

Sooooooo today, I'm grateful it all worked out... that there were openings for a change... that Rainee is already excited about going to school on Tuesday... I'm grateful, relieved and overwhelmed with joy that it all worked out... because the most important thing is Rainee... being happy every{day}... even at school!!!

What are you grateful for today?

Before I forget... I have a P.S. To The Coffee Cake Recipe... when I talked to my aunt she told me I'd forgot to add one thing... butter over the top... so if you've made the recipe... or if you're still thinking about it... I've changed it and it is now correct... and again... this Coffee Cake is really yummy!!!

What's Your Favorite...

Here we are again... ready for a new challenge for WhatIsYourFaveThing. This challenge is... What's Your Favorite Fragrance??? I didn't think it was going to be that hard...but when I sat down to think about it... I couldn't decide. I have so many favorites that bring a smile to my face when I catch a whiff of them...

So I had to sit down and made a list... some were... fresh baked bread... the fresh clean air right after the rain... snow... vanilla... my husband's cologne... my perfume... the open pages of an old book... home made apple pie... the sweet innocence of a new born baby... my daughter after she's played in the mud... freesias... I could go on and on, there are so many more...

But as I looked at my list... the one which popped out... was the scent of a baby... my little baby Rainee... I miss holding Rainee with her fresh baby scent... so this is my page. My favorite scent in the world is my baby... who's not much of a baby anymore.

I wanted this lo to reflect the innocence of new born baby... so I put lots of butterflies (from the background paper) on it... for new life... and when it came to the photos... I tried everything... color... black and white... I even antiqued the photos... but nothing worked... so I took a chance and tried printing my photos on my background paper (since I had 2 of)... and it worked... it's exactly what I wanted... then I machine stiched the edges and put lots of vintage buttons on the page... it's exactly what I wanted.... Innocence.

We'd love to know what your favorite is... and see your card, layout or project... you have until the January 30th to upload it to WhatIsYourFaveThing... and there is a prize for the winner!!! Yeah! Thanks so much for stopping by... Have a lovely day!!!

(Materials: Paper: DCWV, Thread: Wrights, Buttons: Vintage, Punches: Martha Stewart, Rub-on: DCWV, Metal Heart: AMM)

Rainee's Top Ten...

After doing my favorite holiday lo for AFewOfMyFavoriteThings... I thought it would be fun to find out... what Rainee's favorite Christmas moments were this year...

When I first asked her... she kept going on and on and on... then I made her hold up fingers when she gave me a favorite... and told her, she couldn't go past 10... that was hard... she repeated some... forgot some... so we made a list, I read them to her and she decided which ones were this years 10 Christmas moments....

And this is what she came up with...

1. Decorating the tree 2. Ice skating for the first time 3. Making her gingerbread house 4. Taking pictures with Santa 5. Her class Christmas performance 6. Class Christmas party 7. Carriage horsey ride 8. Making s'mores 9. Letters to/from Santa 1o. Opening presents

Now that it's done, she continues to comment on it... and reminds me of how very special each moment was... how Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without each one... She is just the cutest thing... even now... when she sees it... she says.... 'Mommy, I miss Christmas....' can you say sweet???

What moments of your Christmas wouldn't be Christmas with out them... I'd love to know what they are!!!

(Materials: Paper: Creative Imaginations, DCWV, Rub-on: Creative Imaginations, Felt Border: Fancy Pants, Rick Rack: Wrights, Brads & Eyelets: Misc.)

Seriously Yum...

Well, here's a layout I promised to post last week... but with working on my 'business project'... stuff for Creative Imaginations... and getting back on schedule with Rainee and school... I failed to put it up... But I do have to say... things are going nicely with my project and the stuff I had to do for CI... way too much fun! I just love the new stuff and if you haven't seen their sneak peeks... you really need to check them out...

So this lo... ever since Rainee realized you can do more with a fireplace than just sit in front of it to get warm... and discovered the joy of making s'mores in it, it has become something we can't seem to get enough of. Whenever it's cold... rainy... or for no reason except to make s'mores, we put a fire on... and this Christmas season was no exception. Once the fire s lit... Rainee's making marshmallows... I often wonder which she enjoys more... the eating... or the making???? She loves them really burnt... nice and black... she won't even eat it if she can't blow it out... just like her mom. When I was a child... I remember whenever we roasted marshmallows, my sister's were always lightly browned... the perfect tint of brown with white peeking through. Then there were mine... well, mine were black... burnt to a crisp... and melting all over the place. Yum!

So, it doesn't surprise me that Rainee loves roasting marshmallows by the fire till they're burnt... and eating s'mores. A seriously yummy treat!!! What cold weather treat, do you seriously go YUM over???

(Materials: Paper: Creative Imaginations, DCWV, Stickers: Creative Imaginations, Journaling Tags: Jillibean Soup, Letter Stickers: Jillibean Soup, Making Memories, Rick Rack: Wrights)

Weekly Gratitude...

I came across a nice little blog, which talked about being grateful.... and I thought I'd take a tip from it and do a weekly thing I'm grateful for... and although I may have missed out on starting it the first week of the new year... I'm going to start doing it anyway. Because you can never be too grateful for what we've been given. Besides... it will be interesting to see what happens over the course of a day... a week... a year...

So today... the start of a new week... what I'm most grateful for is... My business project.

I know I've only told you I'm doing something... and I've yet to reveal it... but I want things really underway... along with the website up and running. But for now I'll just say... I'm grateful for the idea, I know God gave it to me... I'm grateful for the opportunity to look ahead and hope I'll be able to work from home with this project... because the most important thing to me... is being home with Rainee... every{day}!!!

What are you grateful for today?

Creative Imaginations...

I wanted to let you know about the sneak peeks for Creative Imaginations... so you could get in on all the fun new stuff! Starting tomorrow you can find them at their CI blog or on their Two Peas blog... and I know after seeing some of the lovelies first hand you won't want to miss them... very very fun!

Also, here is the Creative Imaginations sketch of the month... to see Patty's layout go to the CI blog and check it out and see all the rules... but the best part... one lucky winner will be the guest designer and receive a prize package!!! Can't wait to see what you all come up with!!!

So go check out the sketch and the rules... plus don't forget to go there tomorrow to see what will be new at CHA!!!

Design Team & December Daily...

First I want to let you all know how excited I am to announce I'm on the Design Team for WhatIsYourFaveThing. When Julie asked my to be the Guest Designer I was sooooooooooo thrilled.... so to be asked to be on the Design Team is really special.... thank you Julie... I'm really looking forward to it. So on that note, if you haven't gone over there to see what the new challenge is... it's... Your Favorite Layout (Project) from 2009... we'd love to see what you did and what was your fav. I actually had two... I couldn't decide between the Favorite Flower Layout and this one... Unconditional Love... so Rainee choose for me. So go check out what everyone chose as their favorites....

Next.... since I've been pretty much out of it this holiday season when it comes to blogging... commenting and even... scrapbooking... I thought I'd give you a bit of background as to why... My husband was home a lot during the holiday... which made it very hard to get anything done... Steve... although I love him dearly... doesn't like me on the computer... which for me, who loves loves loves anything to do with computers/Internet/photo editing... has been like withdrawals... I could spend hours on it... but my hubby hates it... mostly I think it's because he's not techy.
So I've come to the conclusion, it's a time management thing... I need to figure out, so it doesn't frustrate him and I don't feel like I'm deprived of something I love love love!!! So be patient with me, while I figure it all out....

Anyhoooooooooooow.... Enough about why I haven't been around... here are a few pages from my December Daily... these are memories which were the standouts of our holiday season.

Now, I can't wait to scrap them on 'real' scrap pages... not just for my December Daily... I'm working on more lo's and can't wait to post them... soon.

I also received in the mail some more Creative Imaginations products to do some things for them for CHA... which I'm super excited about... so I'm going to be a busy girl... but I'd rather be busy than bored... I'll post what I do for them once CHA starts, so you can see the fun fun fun new products... yippie!

As always... thanks so much for stopping by... your comments are always soooooo appreciated! Have a lovely day!!!

Happy New Year....

As this year comes to a close and a new one begins... I want to thank you for stopping for a visit, to see what we've been up to... thank you soooooo much for your lovely warm comments... It has been such a pleasure getting to know more of you this year... you have blessed my life more than you know...

As for the New Year... I'm excited to see what will unfold... it's always nice to start a new year... old things are past and new things begin. As for you... I hope your year is filled with crazy-wonderful {{everyday}} memories that last a life time.

From our home to yours...
Happy Happy New Year !

Christmas...

Rainee was so thrilled about Christmas, she even went to bed early without hesitation Christmas Eve... the next morning, she said she heard Santa on the roof!!! It was very exciting!!!

We did have a very lovely Christmas! Rainee woke early over joyed... opening her stocking first, while she waited for daddy to wake up, and mommy to make coffee... and of course take a few photos before all the packages were opened and there was wrapping paper everywhere!!!

She opened Santa's first... and got the Zhu Zhu pet stuff she asked Santa for... plus some other fun things... but once the Santa presents were opened she opened the BIG gift from mommy and daddy... the remote control TUNDRA TRUCK!!! Which since opened... has been her favorite thing to play with - - well at least until the batteries run out!!! LOL!

After opening presents and breakfast, we got ready for our annual open house potluck. And although I love cooking... I've always made it easy on myself when it came to the turkey. I would choose a Honey Baked Turkey, which I only had to put in the oven for 2 hours... because to be honest turkeys are a bit intimidting... but this year, I decided to attempt it... and it turned out delicious!!! It made for the perfect sandwich along side all the yummy things everyone brought.

After we ate and ate and ate... Rainee opened more gifts!! Which she loved... and after the last one, she wanted to know if there were any more... lol!!! Gotta love her!! All in all... it was beautiful day... full of family, friends, food, lovely weather... and presents that lit up my daughters face. We had a wonderful Christmas.

Now... over the next several days we'll be doing some fun things with Rainee before she has to go back to school... I'm goint to try to get some scrapbooking done and blog posts... but if neither happen... I hope you have a safe and happy new year!!!

Mom Do You Have Quarters??? Please Mom!!

Before I talk about my lo... I want to appologise for not being around... Rainee has been sick off and on... can I just say... I hate it when parents let their kid go to school sick!... That's how this started for Rainee... she was fine... then start to get a cold... then fine again... and then... at the Christmas party... her teacher brought her sick kid... ugh... can I tell you I was mad!!! When she told me, I made sure Rainee to stayed away from her daughter... but even though she did... with her daughter participating in all the fun... those germs lingered... and the next morning... Rainee wasn't feeling great and by the end of the day... she had a sore throat!!! Boy I hate it when parents do that.... and what makes it worse... it's right before Christmas... and it's vacation... she should be having fun... but instead... we're both up all night taking care of her fever... honestly... I'm bugged!!! I'm hoping she'll be better today... I have some fun stuff planned, but it won't happen if she's not feeling well. Enough about sick kids and their parents... and making mine sick... just ugh... that's all I can say!!!

So besides Rainee not feeling well, it's Christmas time, with all the things you NEED TO get done and all the things you WANT TO get done... we've been busy here!!! I have lots of photos... but the scrapping well it's not been on the top of my list....

But yesterday while Rainee had a nap, I did a layout for These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things... new challenge... Your Favorite Car... you have to read all about it... it's fun... but for mine... well... I didn't do my favorite... I did Rainee's!!!

Ya know when you go to the store and you see those fun little rides for kids... it could be a ride with Tiger, a dinosaur or a fun little car..... well Rainee loves them... and she has to go on it every time... but only if mama has some quarters... 90% of the time I do. It's such a fun little everyday thing which makes for a pleasant few moments... which can make for a very pleasant child... simple... fun... and smiles all around!!! Anyway... here's my lo... of Rainee in a truck when we were at Toys R Us recently... too much fun!!!

As for posting... it may be a few days before I get to it again... depending on Rainee, and of course how smoothly things go with getting ready for Christmas... at least you'll know why!!! I hope these last days before Christmas are filled with wonderful memories, to make for a really lovely Christmas...

(Materials: Paper: Bazzil, Making Memories, Ribbon: Wrights, Stickers: Creative Imaginations, DCWV, Creative Memories, Misc)