Simple Sundays

Anyone besides me remember where you were when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon?  Even though he was in his 80's, I was still saddened to hear of his passing. For my generation, Armstrong was one of those iconic men that by just being ordinary, was extraordinary. Really, can you imagine being able to say, "I was the first person to ever set foot on the moon." I think his famous quote is truly one for the ages. Rest In Peace, Neil Armstrong. 

Cheesy Beef Enchiladas

 These cheesy beef enchilada's meet all the "F" requirements I strive for when I cook. Surprised at "F" requirements and not "A's" like the teacher in me would normally do?  Well cooking brings out the straight "F's": Food (obviously), Family (will the family think it is absolutely great), Friends (I either get the recipe from friends or share it with friends), Fabulous (this one is very much so) and Football (this isn't always a necessary category, but we do spend a lot of time eating good food in the fall while watching football!!

 This recipe was given to me by a Friend. My Family absolutely loves it. It is a Frequent request. It is without a doubt Fabulous. And of course, it works out as Football Food sometimes. And just for the record, yes I absolutely did use the ugliest pan I own to cook these in. I do get a true F for that!!!

 When I make beef enchiladas, I also make chicken enchiladas as well. It is always interesting to see which pan(s) get scarfed eaten up first by my crew. A few weeks ago we were back in Kansas for a wedding and so many of my sons friends told me they missed my cooking, especially our Mexican nights. I started thinking that I had never posted the two enchilada recipes. Since I am doing Cheesy Beef Enchiladas tonight, I will post the Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas next week. 

 Throw in a green salad and add some nachos and dip and you have the perfect (according to my sons and their friends) meal. Believe me when I say my sons are experts in the food category. You've seen their pictures!

Cheesy Beef Enchiladas

2 lbs. ground beef, browned and drained

1 large can evaporated milk

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 tall can enchilada sauce (the temperature is up to you!!)

1 can chopped green chilies (or you may substitute a can of drained Ro-tel)

2 lb. Velveeta cheese, cubed

Flour tortillas

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl, except for the flour tortillas. Stir well, combining all your ingredients. DO NOT let the less than appetizing look of this deter you from trying these. Believe me, pure deliciousness. Spray the bottom of a casserole dish (hopefully prettier than mine!!). Put a spoonful or two of the goop on the bottom of the pan. Then place a flour tortilla in your left hand, scoop a heaping (serving) spoon full of goop with your right hand. Lay the goop on the middle of your flour tortilla, roll it up and place it in the pan, seam side down. Continue this until you are almost out of goop. Save a couple of spoonfuls of goop to spread across the top. You can also add shredded cheddar cheese to the top (yes, I do). Cover with foil and bake about 25 minutes at 350 degrees. 

A few things to note: 1. You can actually use either hand to hold the tortilla and/or spoon with goop. I was just kidding when I said which hand to put them in. Just in case you did not figure that out. 2. When there is goop that oozes out onto their plates, or in the pan, my sons (very non-mannerly) scoop the goop (say that three times) onto a chip and eat the goop as dip. I am neither condoning that cave-man behavior, nor recommending it. I am just telling you it might just happen. 3. My friend that gave me this recipe, never ever made it into enchilada's. She called it Enchilada Casserole. She used the same goop and instead of rolling her enchiladas, she put the goop in a deep casserole dish, then a layer of tortillas. Another layer of goop. Another layer of tortillas, etc. Until you end with the goop. This is equally as good, but we just do the enchiladas. Now you know. 

P.S. Please use better manners than my sons and their friends when you see these come out of the oven. 
Linking with:
Wow Us Wednesdays
Foodie Friday
On The Menu Monday

French Florence

 When our daughter Taylor started Radiology school, she moved back home to live with us. The idea was to help her save money, and she would not have to work so hard, therefore concentrating on school. Well, Taylor has graduated and passed her Boards on the first try. She is out looking for (an exciting) new job, and we are getting her things ready for her to move back to a place of her own. 

 Taylor found a complete set of French Provencial  furniture for sale on Craigslist. She bought it and it has sat in storage. With her new own place in the near future, we pulled part of the set out and began our makeover.   The set came with two nightstands, a king sized headboard, a long dresser with mirror and a tall dresser. It is the old-school kind of set where it is solid wood. (A/k/a HEAVY!!!)  

 Taylor loves the color turquoise and she loves black and white houndstooth. With that in mind, we pulled out our Annie Sloan "Florence" to redo one of the nightstands in the set. I had previously painted the tall dresser in an AS blue, but it just wasn't turquoisey enough for Taylor. I think "Florence" does the trick.

 Speaking of tricks, I had one more trick up my sleeve. A long time ago I had seen where someone wanted the patina of aging copper and they had used turquoise and gold paint together. I googled and tried to find the post I had read long ago, but I had no luck. So I just winged it! I took the handles off of the nightstand and then proceeded to spray paint the entire white French Provencial nightstand with gold spray paint. Surprisingly, it stayed on very well, except for the shiny laminate-type top. It did stay on the top, but just did not "grip" like it did on the rest. 

 I was doing this outside (in Oklahoma) and it was over 100 degrees. Not the smartest thing I have ever done, but I was so anxious to try my idea!  Because of the heat, the gold spray paint dried very quickly and I was able to put on a coat of AS Florence. At that point, I let Taylor's likes and dislikes take the lead. She did not want heavy turquoise on the dresser. She wanted the patina that was created with the gold over white and then the one coat of Florence.

 I also let Taylor do all the sanding. I showed her what to do and then let her take off what and how much she wanted. In some places she took it down to the white and in some she just let the gold show through. 

 We used the original hardware, as it could not be more perfect with the whole aged patina look. I did tell Taylor we might need to Rub and Buff a little of the hardware in places. I used my phone to take the pics and some of them are not perfectly clear. But I hope you can see how cool the "aging" is behind the handle. It is little white flecks and little gold flecks. 

 We put a final coat of Minwax on "natural". It has a very slight tint to it. I wanted to put a darker wax on it and whined begged for Taylor to let me, but she wanted to leave it as it was. 

In "real life" the color is just beautiful. We still have to do the other nightstand to match and at least one more of the dressers. I am not sure what her plans are for the other pieces, but we'll get them knocked out soon. In the meantime, Florence is enjoying her new French flair! 

Linking up to:

Wow Us Wednesday
Furniture Feature Friday

We're Off to See The...Quilt!

 A couple of weeks ago, one of my mother's best friends (and a friend of mine as well!), was down-sizing from her family home to a smaller apartment. She was having a big sale and getting rid of years worth of wonderful collections. My mom, being the savvy bargain hunter that she is, headed over to her friends house to check things out. Yes, my mom did buy several things (for me and herself!!). But it was this gift that absolutely made my day. Or week. Or month! 

 Our friend held this hand-stitched quilt out of the sale, and instead gifted it to me for becoming a grandmother. Wait till you see how sweet this baby quilt actually is! 

 Our friend cross-stitched the entire quilt herself. That makes it even more special in my book, because every time I think of it, I will think of sweet MFH. It is in absolutely perfect, mint condition (as was everything from her house.) 

 What makes it even more special is that the quilt is all about the Wizard of Oz. When my children were 1 to 8 years old,  I made Wizard of Oz costumes for the group. I stayed up the entire night before Halloween trying to get all five costumes done.  At the time I had never seen a "group" go in a themed costume set. I think it is more common now. That night, my little gang of five turned many heads. Luke (the 1 year old) was the scarecrow. Coulter (the 2 year old) was the lion. Taylor (the 5 year old was Dorothy (and carried Toto)). Annie, (then 7) was Glenda the Good Witch and Fielding (8 years old) was the  Tin Man. We lived in Oklahoma at the time and had no thoughts of moving. 

 Later on that year we did in fact make a move to Kansas (home of the Wizard of Oz, of course!). It was like it was fate. I had dressed my crew up as the Oz characters and then we moved 350 miles away to the Land of Oz, where we would live for the next 17 years. Every time we made the trek back to Oklahoma, we went through Sedan, Kansas, that has a huge memorial to the movie/book, replete with yellow brick roads and characters on Main Street. 

 So when my mom told me that MFH had given me a hand-made baby quilt I was very excited. When I saw it and realized it was the Wizard of Oz, I was just ecstatic...and touched. The small details in the quilt are just wonderful. The lion has a 3-D tail. Dorothy has 3-D braids. There is a yellow brick road throughout the quilt and yellow X's all around the edge. 

We have a bedroom at our house that will be "Leightyn's Room" (and all future granddaughters!). I have the cutest four poster twin beds for the room. I had not begun to decorate it yet, as I was waiting on Leightyn to get big enough to enjoy the room. I had not really thought about what I would put in to the room besides the cute beds. 

 Then I received this quilt and I knew instantly the colors of Leightyn's room at our house. This quilt will take center stage and the muted primaries will be my colors-of-choice. 

 How cute is the cowardly lion?

 And the scarecrow and tin man. Be still my heart. (Like that pun?)

 Even the mean-ole witch is not too mean looking. (Thank goodness!!) 

 The outside edge is finished with a double edge of ric-rac. Just as cute as can be. Can you see why I want to use the colors from the quilt for the room? 

 It will not be a Wizard of Oz room, but will just showcase the quilt which sets the color tones. 

The quilt is so exquisite, that I do not want to take away from it by bringing in any more Oz things..... Unless it was of course one certain picture.......

Of my own little Oz bunch!

Linking to:

Metamorphosis Monday

Thrifty Treasures

Wow Us Wednesday

Simple Sundays

Happy Anniversary to the only person that can put up with me and all my crazy ideas. He is the most patient man in the world. Thirty-four years, five children, one granddaughter and many moons later, he has agreed to another 34 years!