Homemade Refried Beans

A while back I canned (bottled) my first batch of pinto beans. It was fast and easy and not nearly as intimating as I thought it would be. Our family eats alot of mexican food and with mexican food you have to have beans..right?

Here is a easy way to make your own refried beans.

Pint/Quart size jar of pinto beans

1/2 cup to 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
salt to taste
1/4 cup oil
1 clove garlic

Place beans in frying pan with oil. Add salt and garlic. Mash beans as they cook. When beans look like they are getting crisp add about 1/4 cup water to beans to thin. Add more water if want thinner beans. Add cheese and remove from heat. Serve and enjoy!

DVD Organization

This may not be a new idea to some of you, but it has been a great way to organize the hundreds of dvd's (I exagerate a little bit) that we have collected over the years. When we moved into this home we had to make some changes. The media console that we used in our old home was too big for the space that the builder put in the home. My husband was a bit disappointed that the 50" plasma was going upstairs in the playroom. Bummer! :) We swap it with the playroom tv armoire that fit perfectly in the little nook cut out by the builder.

Yes I have a three year old that likes to touch the tv...so just disregard the fingerprints...please!

When I was filling the baskets that usually accomodated the playroom armoire I soon figure out that we were going to be overflowing with dvds. And being the over organized person I am I just had to figure out a way to make these all fit and of course look good too. I was on a search, I knew I didn't want these and boy was I happy when I found these cute books found here.

We recycled the dvd cases and placed all of our dvd's in abc order...and being crazy about labels I simply created labels for all of the dvd's we owned and stuck them onto each slot so we would know where the dvd would go once it was taken out. Extra pages were purchased so we could add to our collection if we wanted too....like Toy Story 3 of course!
The really nice thing now is that all those baskets you see in my armoire are virtually empty. One holds all the tv remotes and another holds Wii controllers and games. No more rummaging through each basket to find the dvd we want to watch. Organization makes me happy!

Inspired

Remember when I posted these. Well I finally got around to repainting the ones that I had from my kids. They were bright blue! I am terrible about taking before photos. Please forgive me!

I love the way they turned out! Whatcha think?Frames were purchased at Wal- Mart $10 for the 12x12 and $8 for the 8x8. I am loving these shadow box frames. I used burlap for the back of the frame...cheap, easy and looks great! I even got around to putting the little shirts that my children first wore..you know the ones they put on after their first bath in the hospital. I always asked the nurses at the hospital before I took them. I love the little memento and the kids love seeing how little they once were. Boy do they grow too fast. They are hanging on either side of the window on our staircase...I am still trying to figure out a cute something for above the window maybe?? Maybe a sign or vinyl lettering.... Maybe with the saying "Behold your little ones." I don't know yet. Any ideas welcome.

Wish List

Loving this clock from Ballard Designs.........

Mallory Square Clock

Computer Issues

I've been busy making changes in my living room. I am excited to share them with you. One of the changes made was moving out my computer armoire into our kitchen. I love it there now but it came with a price. When I moved it our wireless connection decided that it wouldn't reach that area which is making posting very difficult! I didn't realize how much I am on the computer until it didn't work! Today I am posting from my husband's very old laptop from back in the day of dinosaurs because when we went on vacation a couple of weeks ago our brand new super fast laptop was stolen along with several precious items, like our video camera, my Ipod, Wii and a personal dvd player. Thank goodness I still have my camera though! My patience is being tested and this silly computer won't even let me open my email. So I apologize if you have emailed me in the last week..... please please be patient with me as I am patiently waiting for a new DSL hookup to be installed in my kitchen on Wednesday.

Good Things To Come:

Kitchen Organization
Living Room changes
Organizing media collections

Chicken Salad Crossiants

I don't know about you but during the summer all I want to eat are salads, fresh fruits, and sandwiches. I love a good chicken salad sandwich and have found that their are so many recipes for them. Here is a version we love. This recipes is great to serve for a large group.

10 Chicken Breasts boiled in the following:
1 Celery Heart
1 Onion Sliced
1 Bay Leaf
2 Whole Cloves

Boil chicken until done, then cut into bite size pieces.

Mix together:
1-8oz. cream cheese
1 cup. mayo
3 green onions, minced
1 cup sweet pickles, chopped ( save juice)

Add the following to the chicken mixture:
1 med. can pineapple chunks, drained
1 med. can mandarian oranges
2 cups red and green grapes
1 1/2 cups chopped cashews
Pickle juice to thin mixture a little.

Stir altogether in a large bowl and serve in croissants

Pottery Barn Inspired-Clock

I guess I am not the only one that drools over the PB catalog of things they don't sell. A friend and I have been drooling over this clock that was in the PB catalog a while ago and then I came across this tutorial from Lemon Tree Creations. They did a beautiful job!