The letter "L" all dressed up!

Today's project is brought to you by the letter "L". The letter "L" represents many words, for instance, like, love, live, lovely but most important to me, it represents the word LaRue, my family name.

I have acquired quite a few of these "flip off caps" from work and have been storing them for well over a year now and have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to use them. If you are in the medical field and have access to these little caps then by all means use your imagination and get creating.

 



Supplies needed:

·   Various size and colors of "Flip off" caps (from medicine vials) 

·   A wooden letter (mine came from Hobby Lobby for around $1.69)

·   Acrylic Paint ( I used yellow but any color will work)

·   Sponge applicator for the painting

·   Hot glue gun with glue stick 

·   2 inch ribbon to make a loop hanger

Directions: 

First things first!  I painted my "L" yellow, knowing that some areas would not be covered with the round caps. Next I decided on a color scheme to work with. I chose blue as my back drop and made yellow, white and pink flowers. I added a few small light green caps on the blue backdrop for a pop of color. Hot glue your backdrop color on the letter. Next design a flower and hot glue on top of your backdrop. After the caps have finished drying completely, turn the letter over and adhere the ribbon with hot glue for your hanger.

You are finished! It’s a pretty simple project and costs a minimal amount to make. Since I already had all the supplies except for my letter it costs me $1.69.  I hung my masterpiece in our guest bathroom to give it a pop of color for the spring!

Thanks for stopping by! I'm off to see what other letters I can make and give away!

Angela's Spinach Turkey Meatballs

My sister Angela and I didn't grow up together and didn't meet until we were adults.  It has been fun getting to know her and her family and now being able to share recipes.  Finally, she has started posting pictures and comments on her facebook of her meals that she cooks. Once such meal caught my eye, not only because it was quick and easy to make but was a relatively healthy dinner. And hey, if my nephew Seth likes it I think most kids will too.

Spinach and Turkey Meatballs
 
Ingredients:
1lb Turkey Burger
1 cup Low Fat Mozzarella Cheese
1 Egg
1 10oz Frozen Chopped Spinach (drained)
Onion Powder (roughly 1tsp)
Garlic Powder (roughly 1tsp)
Other Seasons to suit your taste(roughly 1tsp)
Fresh Cracked Pepper (roughly 1tsp) 

Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Make 2 inch turkey spinach balls and place in a greased baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes.
Serve with egg noodles and Heinz Turkey Gravy (in the jar).

Angela's recipe calls for 1 cup of Parmesan cheese, but I didn't have any on hand, thus the mozzarella. She uses brown gravy, but again I didn't have any in my pantry. I also added additional seasonings plus fresh cracked pepper.

Optional: Could be served with brown rice and brown gravy. There is no need to serve anything else on the side. This meal provides a meat, veggie and a starch.

Makes 8 meatballs. Angela doubles the recipe because she has more mouths to feed, but this was plenty for Jodi and I.

After working a 12 hour shift this was just the dinner I needed for tonight. Quick, Easy and Delish!

Enjoy! And Thank You for Sharing Angela!

Fruit Flies Be Gone!

Working in a ER can be daunting and emotional at its best. And sometimes we do silly crazy things to change our thoughts of a really hard day or because we have found something new on Pinterest to try. Today was such a day.

My friend Melanie, found an idea on Pinterest on how to get rid of Fruit Flies. Today just happened to be the day that we had some fruit flies. Yes, we have fruit flies. Certainly, not all the time but mostly when are given baskets of fruit from patients, the community or when we bring our own for snacks and forget to eat them or simply don't have time to eat them. I'm sure we aren't the only ones that have these pesky little critters.

Below is all you need to get rid of your fruit flies too. Have fun!


Items needed:
1 clear glass/cup/jar
1 coffee filter or a piece of white paper large enough to make a cone
Tape ( We used surgical tape because that's all we had, but any tape will work.)
A piece or two of fruit (Melanie shared two pieces from her little "cuties".)
Hungry fruit flies

Directions:
Fold the coffee filter so it makes a cone. At the tip of the cone make a tiny hole big enough for even fat fruit flies (say those words 3 times real fast, hilarious!) to enter. Next place the cone in the cup and fold the edges over the lip of the cup and secure with tape, so those  little critters can not escape.

Next sit back and wait for the little darlings to enter the cup!

I am here to tell you it works! You should have seen us dancing around at the sight of not one but two fruit flies in our cup! I sure hope our patients didn't notice us!

Fruit Flies Be Gone!

Above the Kitchen Cabinet Love

Above the Kitchen Cabinet Love

I have a love for vases; especially crystal ones and vintage ones, and well, all vases. With all that I have collected I have waited for the perfect inspiration and space to display them. With a little help from Pinterest. I was able to get the creative juices going.

First thing I did was unpack my vases and give them a good cleaning.  They had been in storage in our garage since August wrapped in newspaper and were yucky!  After I had them sparkling I began the work of placing each vase in its current location.

Next came the picture frames. I purchased three 8 ½ x 11 black picture frames at The Dollar Tree for a total of $3.00. Don’t you just love The Dollar Tree?

Next I sprayed painted my $3.00 black picture frames white. The picture frames do not have glass inserts. That’s because I broke all of them while removing the backs. (You definitely get what you pay for!)

As it turns out I like them without the glass. Just think, you won’t have to clean the glass nor will you get a glare from your lighting.

I downloaded the pictures from Pinterest and my DW printed them for me. Since the pictures were printed on an 8 ½ x 11 white card  stock, I trimmed the edges to fit on the backing. 

I then used double sided tape from my scrap booking supplies and taped the pictures right on the back of the picture frame. 

As you can see, I placed them on top of the cabinets along with the vases for a pop of color. I love the new look and it really brightens up a dead space! 

All for a whopping 3.00!! Make it a great day!

Chicken Pillows

Our Valentines Day Dinner was SCRUPMPTOUS!

Chicken Pillows 

Ingredients
2 (8oz) Can Reduced Fat Pillsbury Refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls
1 (10 3/4 oz) can Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup with Herbs, undiluted
3/4 grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese or any cheese of choice
1/2 cup milk
Garlic Salt (about 2Tbls)

Filling:
1 (8oz)of fat free cream cheese (very soft)
2 Tbls butter (I used the "I cant believe its not butter spray" poured out  to 2Tbls, because it was already soft)
2 large cooked chicken breasts saute in garlic olive oil (finely chop)
1 cup of finely grated sharp cheddar cheese
Sea Salt (pinch or so)
Fresh Pepper (to taste)
2Tbls milk
1-2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese for topping

Set oven to 350 . Spray a 9x13 dish with cooking spray

Topping:
Mix together milk, 3/4 grated sharp cheddar cheese and undiluted cream of chicken soup. Can add any seasonings as you desire. I used Sea Salt and Pepper.

For the Filling:
Mix the soft cream cheese and butter in a bowl until very smooth add the garlic. Add the chicken and cheddar cheese, mix well until combined.  Add in 2Tbls milk, more if the mix seems to dry.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add enough of the topping mix to the bottom of the pan to lightly cover the pan.  Next unroll the crescent rolls. Place 1 heaping tablespoon chicken mixture in the middle of the triangle.  Roll the triangle starting with the larger end. Place in greased pan with the seams down. Once you have finished with the rolls, top with the remaining topping mix and cover with shredded Cheese.

Bake for about 30 minutes
Serves:  Approximately 6

Alternatives: Use Turkey or just use all cheese.
I served this with fresh green beans and red potatoes. Yrm!!