pico de gallo

Pico De Gallo Recipe

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pico de galloI came up with this recipe because I was making shredded chicken tacos (just add some taco seasoning into a pan with a little bit of water and you have shredded taco ready chicken) and needed either a salsa or a pico de gallo to put on them. I decided on making a pico de gallo with the veggies I had in my fridge. One thing added, that was a nice addition, was roasted corn from an ear I didn’t end up needing from dinner the night before. I simply cut the corn off the ear and roasted in a pan to cook the corn. I also added diced cucumber which provided a refreshing crunch to the pico. It was a success in my kitchen that night, it tasted great on tacos and would be perfect with tortilla chips.

Ingredients:

  • roasted corn
  • chopped cucumber
  • chopped tomatoes
  • diced red onion
  • chopped green onion
  • seeded and chopped jalapeño pepper
  • some jalapeño seeds
  • cilantro
  • lime juice
  • salt

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients and stir! The amount of each ingredient is a matter of what taste is preferred. I personally like equal amounts of the veggies, only a few jalapeño seeds so it’s not too spicy for me, A LOT of cilantro, minimal salt, and enough lime juice to coat all the veggies in the bowl.

Enjoy!

pico de gallo


tie onesie

Tie Onesie

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tie onesie

My friend is about to have a baby boy and I wanted to make him something special. I saw this DIY Necktie Onesie tutorial from HauteApplePie.com  and thought that would be the perfect gift. I ended up using the pattern from CrapIveMade.com. Both are great tutorials but I did a few things differently for my tie onesie.

What I used:

  • muslin scraps
  • cotton fabric scraps
  • water-soluble fabric glue stick
  • matching or coordinating thread

What I did:

First I cut out the pattern pieces, I angled the knot part to make it look more like a real tie.

I wanted the tie to be a bit sturdier and I didn’t have interfacing on hand so I used muslin. I cut one of each pattern piece. I then trimmed ¼” off of the muslin piece.

Next, glue the muslin pieces to the wrong side of the patterned fabric pieces, positioning them so there’s a ¼” edge around the muslin.

tie onesie

Iron the ¼” fabric over towards the muslin, being careful of the points. Use the glue to help keep the fabric down. I didn’t iron the top part of the tie because the know will be covering it.

tie onesie

Position the knot over the un-ironed part of the tie, sew a line across the bottom of the knot, connecting the two pieces.

tie onesietie onesie

I trimmed the thread and ironed again.

I then took out the universal needle and replaced it with a knit needle because the onesie is a nice stretchy knit cotton. I then positioned and pinned the tie onto the onesie. I did it in a way to where I didn’t have to move the needles as I sewed so I could concentrate on the lines of the tie.

I sewed along all edges of the tie and close to the edge of the fabric as possible, pivoting at the points. Be careful as you sew, go slow. It’s very easy to catch some of the onesie as you sew .

Iron and wash.

Enjoy!

tie onesietie onesie


dress into a skirt

How To Turn a Strapless Dress into a Skirt

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dress into a skirt

I had this strapless dress and although I like it and love the color, I hardly ever wore it. I decided it needed a make over into something I’d actually wear. I made it into a high-waisted skirt and kept the pockets.  I worked on the fit in the waist of the skirt before I moved on to the length of the skirt.

How I did it:

1. Removed the hook and eye and zipper.

dress into skirt

2. Next I removed the top part of the dress being careful to keep the seam stitching on the top part of the band that is in between the top part and the skirt part.

dress into skirt

Close Up of the Seam

3. I shortened the zipper.

dress into a skirt

4. Next I put on the skirt to figure out how much I needed to take in on the waist because it is going to sit at a different spot on my body.

5. Seam rip the side seam.  Mark and pin it together with the new measurements. I left the seam allowance to be quite large to be cut down a bit with pinking shears later if I needed to let out the seam a bit.

6. It’s time to sew the new seam and install the zipper! It is important to note to TEST your FABRIC and USE the CORRECT NEEDLE in your machine. I’m sure you all know that, but I had a blonde moment and didn’t test my fabric first resulting in my universal needle poking/ripping some major holes into the material.

dress into a skirt

blurry picture of the holes that need repaired

The jersey/knit needle worked much better. Mark on the skirt where the zipper will begin. At that point, you’ll back stitch a couple of stitches and then change to a longer or basting stitch on the machine. The basting stitch is where the zipper will go.

7. Press the seam open, and carefully pin the zipper onto the seam making the teeth directly over the seam line. Make sure the pins can easily be removed as you sew the zipper on and that you changed to a zipper foot on your machine.

dress into a skirt

8. After the zipper is installed, it’s time to finish the top hem. Because I cut the top to where there was stitching at on the top band, I simply folded over ¼inch pressed and pinned. I then sewed it and pressed again. The only thing I wish I had done differently with this side seam and zipper would have been to leave space for the hook and eye. Rookie mistake on my part.

9. I put it on to make sure it fit and to figure out the length I wanted. I pinned it to the desired length. I needed to remove about 3½ inches. I marked the skirt to just below the desired length, and cut with my pinking shears. Folded up ¼inch and pressed and pinned.

dress into a skirt

10. Sew that seam! Press! Try on!

11. Enjoy!

dress into a skirt

Finished skirt and bonus flip flop tan lines!


shorten a shirt dress

How to Shorten a Shirt Dress

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dress

I recently bought a shirt dress to wear with boots as a fun fall work outfit but of course it is too long, about 2 inches too long. I knew I needed to shorten my shirt dress. This was going to be tricky for me because of the curves at the bottom. I usually only work with straight lines because my lack of patience usually gets the better of me when trying to work on a curve. But after a long afternoon with Rusty whining behind me from lack of attention I managed to get it to my desired length.

Here’s what I did:

Stood in front of a mirror and figured out how much fabric needed to be taken off the bottom. I pinned the length and then stood up straight to make sure that was my desired length.

shorten a shirt dress

chalk marks

Next I unbuttoned the shirt and laid it out, right side down, and with my chalk pencil, I marked a lot of spots up to the desired length of the dress. Then,  I also marked about an inch below that to serve as a cutting line.

shorten a shirt dress

two rows of chalk

It’s now time for my most time-consuming part, the hem! I needed to clip a couple of spots on the curves in order for the fabric to lay flat. Little by little I rolled over a ¼inch of fabric and then another ¼inch of fabric and pinned. I made sure to put the pins in to where I could sew with them still in the fabric so I’d have one less thing to worry about. And after all of that work, carefully, put the dress back on to make sure it is at the desired length.

http://www.covergirl.com/collections/nfl-collection/chicago-bears

lots of pins

Sew time! Slow and steady with some patience, wins the race because it is a tiny hem and there are curves, it’s best to go slow.

Try on one last time. Good? Press. Now I have a dress that will be perfect with flat and boots this Fall!

shorten a shirt dress


yoga pants

Shortened Yoga Pants

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yoga pants

This always happens when I buy new pants. They’re too long and these new yoga pants are no exception. I was a little worried about altering them because my experience with stretch fabric is next to zero. There was that one time when I used lycra for Rusty’s lions mane. But these pants needed to be about three inches shorter if I was ever going to get any use out of them. And let’s face it, when I say use, I mean lounging around my apartment, not working out in a yoga studio.

yoga pantsI folded and pinned the pants so they were the proper length while they were still on me. I changed and then measured the in-seam and the folded part to make sure that the lengths of each pant leg were even. Also, to see how much length, 3 inches, needed to be taken from each leg.

Next, I removed the pins and turned the pants inside out. I then carefully measured and cut 2 inches from each pant leg.

yoga pants

I then folded over ½ inch of fabric and pressed and then another ½ inch and pressed. Then I pinned the folds into place.

yoga pants

Rusty was not impressed by my cutting and ironing skills. I gave him a stretchy collar but he was even less impressed with that.

yoga pantsI placed my pins so they could be quickly and easily removed as I was sewing. I realized that although my machine can use a double needle, I don’t have two spools of thread in the same color. So that option was thrown out and instead I used a stretch stitch function my machine, a triple zig-zag stitch. I definitely had to pull out my user’s manual to make sure I was doing it correctly, very glad I kept it.

yoga pants

I stitched both legs using the edge of the folded fabric as my seam guide. I then pressed the seams.

yoga pants

I have crazy flip-flop tan lines on my feet. :/

I turned the pants right side out, put them on, and enjoyed my shortened yoga pants by watching TV and cuddling with Rusty.


How to Add a New Ball of Yarn to a Project

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 I am starting a new knitting project. I cast on 80 stitches and then realized that the tail was way too long and decided to trim it. Only, I didn’t just trim the tail. I also cut the thread attached to the yarn ball. You know it is time for a nap when that happens.add a new ball of yarn

I freaked out a little bit thinking I was going to redo it and then I realized that I can just tie the ends together! Like I needed to add a new ball of yarn to a project. So that’s what I did. I tied a little knot and now I go back to my project and knit away.

add a new ball of yarn


hard boiled eggs

How to make Hard Boiled Eggs

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Every time I want to make hard boiled eggs I have to call my dad and ask how to do it. It really is a simple process but for some reason I can never remember how to do it. Well, I finally wrote it down and decided to share.

Get a sauce pan, with lid, large enough to put the eggs in a single at the bottom of the pan.

Put enough room temperature water in the pan to fully cover the eggs.

Place on stove and add a dash of salt and vinegar. I usually add rice vinegar but I’m not sure if it really matters what kind of vinegar you use.

Carefully place the eggs in the pan and put the lid on.

hard boiled eggs

Put the heat on medium and bring water to a rolling boil.

Turn the heat off and leave the eggs in the pan with the lid on for 15 minutes.

Remove lid and carefully remove eggs from pan with a slotted spoon.

Let eggs cool down and then peel and enjoy!

hard boiled eggshard boiled egg


shrimp ceviche

Shrimp Ceviche Recipe

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shrimp ceviche

A few summers back when my husband and I spent a couple of days in Miami we ordered a shrimp ceviche and the waiter politely told us that was fine but a shrimp ceviche isn’t a real ceviche because you have to cook the shrimp with heat, as opposed to traditional ceviche where the acidity in the juice cooks the fish, before you put into the vegetables. I’m not sure why it needs to be cooked first but it’s not a big deal because it actually speeds up the time from making to eating which is always a good thing.

Ingredients:

  • 10 or more medium-sized shrimp, peeled, tail removed and deveined (or be smarter than me and buy some that are already like that) cut into bite size pieces
  • 1/2 cup of fresh squeezed lime juice
  • 1/2 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/2 red onion, finely diced
  • 1-2 chopped fresh seeded vine tomatoes
  • 1 chopped bell pepper, no color preference
  • 1/2 jalapeño pepper, chopped and 1/4 of the seeds, add more seeds if you want it a little hotter.
  • Salt to taste
  • Cilantro to taste, stem removed and chopped

Directions:

1. In a glass bowl with lid, like a Pyrex, combine equal parts tomatoes, onion, and bell pepper. Next add the jalapeño. Mix well with a spoon.

2.  Add cilantro and mix. Then add the salt to taste and a little bit of lime juice. The salt is to take some of the sweetness away from the lemon and lime juice.

shrimp ceviche

3. In a small saucepan on medium heat, bring the lime and lemon juice to a soft boil.

4. Add the shrimp and cook until it goes from clear to white.

shrimp ceviche

raw shrimp

 

shrimp ceviche

cooked

5. Add the shrimp and a little bit of the juice to the veggies and mix.

6. Enjoy! With tortilla chips, crackers, pita bread and/or guacamole.

shrimp ceviche

 


basket weave scarf

Basket Weave Scarf

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basket weave scarf

So remember way back in November when I started to knit a basket weave scarf for my husband? Well I FINALLY finished it! Just in time for this 90 degree and humid weather we’re having. So my husband will have to wait a few months to wear it but I’m very happy to have finally finished it.

Here’s what happened. I don’t enjoy long projects so I started knitting it in November worked on it for maybe two weeks and put it away. Then a few weeks ago I was sorting my yarn when I found this unfinished project sitting at the bottom of basket. I decided it was time I got back at it. I’m very happy with the results. The pattern is just nice enough to give it some visual interest without being overbearing. I love it. Now I need to tackle some other unfinished projects.

It ended up being  about 5½ inches wide x 6 feet long.

basket weave scarf

basket weave scarf


wedge salad

BLT Wedge Salad

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wedge salad

I had a BLT wedge salad at a restaurant the other day and loved it. It’s a fun new way to eat your veggies. I needed to make it at home. It is really easy to make too! Just wash and cut your head of lettuce into 4 pieces, sprinkle your favorite salad veggies and proteins around it, dress it and you’re done!  A wedge salad is also an easy way to wow your guests at your next get together! I like to serve it with salmon and a twice baked potato or biscuits.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • head of iceberg lettuce
  • diced tomato seeds removed, or cherry tomatoes cut in half
  • bacon
  • blue cheese
  • blue cheese dressing

Directions:

  1. Cut off bottom/stem of head of lettuce and then cut head into 4 equal pieces
  2. Cook bacon in skillet until and break into pieces.
  3. Put quartered lettuce onto four separate plates.
  4. Sprinkle the tomatoes, blue cheese and bacon around the lettuce.
  5. Cover in blue cheese dressing.
  6. Get your knife and fork and enjoy your wedge salad!

wedgesaladwedge saladwedge salad