Valentines Mason Jar Candle Holder

Do you have mason jars hanging around?  I do.  I have a ton of them that I used for canning.  I don't can as much as I use to so I always have extra jars that I can spare for crafting.

 

Valentines is one of those holidays that I feels always gets overlooked as far as decor goes.  This is a simple project that doesn't cost much.  In fact you probably have most of it on hand already.

 

What you will need:

Mason jar

Scraps of tissue paper (various colors)

Scissors

Modge Podge

Paint brush

 

Start by cutting out some hearts.  Make them all different sizes and colors.

 

 

Next you will want to start applying a thin layer of Modge Podge on your jar.  Do this sections at a time to make it easier. 

 

 

Place your tissue paper on the glue and smooth out.  Keep doing this a little at time until you reach the end.

 

 

Fold the edges in the jar and on the bottom.  Glue those down also.  Now just let it dry.

 

Now you can start adding on your hearts.  Put some glue down on the jar and place your heart on top.

 

 



Smooth that out.

Keep doing that until you have your jar looking the way you want it to.  We did a little layering on top of other hearts too.

 

 

Let it all dry.  Once that happens, you can add a thin layer of Modge Podge over the whole jar to seal it all in.

 

And there it is, an easy Valentines project for anyone.  As you can see my daughter did most of this by herself. 

 

Cost of this project:

Practically nothing.

I had the tissue paper, jar, Modge Podge, paint brush and scissors on hand.

 

Did you make this project?  Link me to it!  I would love to see it!

 







Crockpot Pork Tacos

 

I love using my crockpot every chance I get.  It makes my life so much easier.  My husband is a HUGE taco fan.  He would eat them every night if I would let him.  It tends to get boring with the same old thing so when I came across this recipe over at Chef in Training, I knew I had to make them.  I changed it up a bit in order to fit my families needs and they turned out awesome!

 

What you will need:

3 lb. pork roast

2 4oz. cans of green chiles

1 package of taco seasoning

1 TBS cumin

Corn shells

Shredded lettuce

Mexican blend cheese

Sour cream

1 lime

Salsa

 

Place your pork roast in your crockpot along with 1 can of chiles, taco seasoning and the cumin.  Let that cook on low for about 6-8 hours.  Now my crockpot gets hotter than others so mine went a little faster.  Once that gets all yummy and tender, remove roast and shred with 2 forks.  Add back to the crockpot and add in your additional can of chiles.  You can use more cans of chiles if you would like but that would have been way to spicy for my kiddos so I stuck with 2.  Let that cook another 1/2 hour to hour on low.

Now you can build your tacos.  We used lettuce, cheese, sour cream and squeezed lime on ours.  They were so yummy that I will definately be making these again.  Plus this recipe makes alot so you can invite some friends over or just save it for leftovers!



Mexican Lasagna

The Holidays are finally over and I am able to slow down a bit.  It's been a very busy last 2 months.  My crafting has pretty much come to a hault but I can't wait to start creating again.  In the meantime I have tried out a few new recipes and I thought I would at least share those with you all.

 

So here we go.  First up, Mexican Lasagna.

I found this recipe over at Sugar & Spice and added my own touches to it.

 

What you will need:

 

Sauce:

1 TBS. olive oil

1 onion; diced

1 red bell pepper chopped and diced

1 small can green chiles

3 TBS. fresh green cilantro chopped

2 can diced tomatoes

1 TBS ketchup

1 cup water

1 package taco seasoning

1 lb. ground turkey

salt & pepper to taste

 

Filling:

1 can black beans drained and rinsed

1 can pinto beans drained and rinsed

1 can of corn drained

2 cups Mexican blend cheese

 

Other things needed:

Flour tortilla shells

1 1/2 to 2 cups Mexican blend cheese

13x9 baking dish

Pam spray

 

 

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Spray your cooking dish with Pam to prevent sticking.  Heat olive oil in pan.  Add in your ground turkey and cook through.  Add taco seasoning, bell pepper, onion, water and chiles to pan.  Let simmer for a few minutes.  Dump your tomatoes in and let simmer for about 10 minutes.  While that is cooking, get to work on your filling mix.  In a bowl, combine the black beans, pinto beans, corn and the cheese.  Mix them together well.

Head back over to the sauce.  Once you have let it simmer for awhile, remove from heat and mix in your cilantro.

Now lets start stacking your layers. 

Start with a ladle full of the sauce in the bottom of the pan.  Cover that with tortillas.  I ripped some up to cover the empty spots.  Do another layer of the sauce (about 1/3 of it).  On top of that, do half of the filling mix.  Add another layer of the tortillas.  Keep going until you reach the top.  Once you hit the top layer, put the last remaining 1/3 of the sauce on top.

Place lasagna in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes.  After 25 minutes, top the lasagna with cheese.  Place back in oven until the cheese melts then remove.

Let the lasagna sit in the pan for 10 minutes before cutting so that it doesn't fall apart on you.

This dish is even better the next day too!