My ‘winter’ mantle

After all my babies left the nest I started focusing a little more on decorating our house.  Its never really been a priority for me; while I don’t particularly care for blank walls I didn’t have this overwhelming need to fill them right away…I still have some rooms with nothing on the walls(we have lived in our house for 14 years!!!).  It mostly stems from not knowing how to put things together and my lack of confidence when it comes to doing things.  A friend of mine helped me with my dining room wall(which I’ll show another time) and EVERY TIME I pass by it I LOVE IT!!!  However, every time I pass something that I have done I find myself picking it apart ARGHHHHH!!!  Oh well…I digress…back to the original reason for my post….I decided yesterday that I wanted Christmas GONE!!!  I was done..over it, so in the early morning while Mr. LOML(love of my life) was sleeping I went around the house retrieving decorations and placing them on the dining room table..when he woke up he said ‘you’ve been busy‘..so we proceeded to take down everything and he placed it all neat and tidy in the garage rafters.  Its so nice after all these years to have enough plastic containers and everything has a place..thanks only to Mr. LOML…cause he’s just that kind of guy!!  Geez will I ever get to the real reason of this post?  Okay..winter mantle..one more thing…I change my mantle, buffet and dining room table with the season or holiday(I,e, winter, balemtimes, spring, summer, fall, Halloween, back to a fall look for Thanksgiving and then Christmas)..I got this idea from my VERY good friend and I have loved doing it ever since!!

The mantle:  The candle sticks are from Ikea, the garland is from Michaels(a couple of years ago)..I wove a 50 light strand through it.  The candles are from Walmart(they are glittered if you can’t see)..I first covered them in ModgePodge(I can’t live without this stuff) and then sprinkled them with a fine sparkly glitter(I don’t recall which one). The glass apothecary jar is from SavonCrafts its filled with glittered pinecones.  The wreath was made by Mr. LOML from tree clippings our neighbors gave us. Did you know that Command Hooks stick to bricks?  (I think every household should have a few different kinds…they are great!)   The silver glittered accent were bought from Walmart last year-I just cut them off of the picks and stuck them in.

The Buffet: I really struggled with this.  I tried all kinds of combinations and ended up with this simple arrangement.  I had Mr. LOML  take apart a wreath Mr. FSIL(fabulous son-in-law)had made and turned into a --, I bought the ribbon from Walmart and with the assistance of my Bowdabra(I cannot make a bow for nothing…this thing is amazing) I made a beautiful bow and then hung it on the mirror with the help of a…of course a Command Hook!

I know…there is nothing under the cloche…I have a beautiful frosted magnolia but it wouldn’t fit…so I’m off to find SOMETHING that I like.

Dining room table…super simple as well, just a faux mercury glass cake stand I bought at a Williams Sonoma outlet last year, a wreath with more of the silver accents and a bow(don’t ya just love the fact that the candle isn’t centered?).

So…long post…I’m much too wordy…I will find my groove eventually!! 

Thank you to my FD for taking the pics!!

Maryanne

Chicken Enchiladas

Okay, so I don’t claim to be a chef…in fact I remember years ago I found out that my room mates used to pretend to have dinner plans when I was cooking! I’ve come along way since then learning from the cooking channels, cooks illustrated (in my opinion one of the best cook books series ever) and a lot of trial and error.  Here’s a recipe that my family loves..its VERY quick and easy!  The full recipe is below.

List of ingredients-corn tortillas(I like white corn-king size), 2 roasted chickens shredded, 1 1/2lbs of cheddar and jack cheese shredded, enchilada sauce(your choice-green or red…I prefer red), chopped green chilies and pitted black olives.

Put the shredded chicken into a skillet(this is a lodge enamel coated skillet…a gift from my daughter and son in-law….awesome!!!) and add the green chilies and generous sprinkle of garlic powder and cumin saute long enough for the flavors come together.  Cool slightly before assembling the enchiladas.

A word about the tortillas…I used to pan ‘fry’ each tortilla prior to assembly…this took WAY TOO LONG!  I saw someone on the Food Network do this method and every since it’s the way I do it…take a cloth napkin(paper towels would work too) and put two or three tablespoons of water on it, wrap them up and place them in a tortilla keeper(or covered bowl) and put them in the microwave on high for 2 1/2 minutes.  They will be steamy and hot and easy to work with. 
Assembly:
Put a small amount of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9X13 pan.

In a pie plate, pour a small amount of sauce, add tortilla and make sure both sides are coated with sauce, add a line of chicken and cheese(amount is your decision-I tend to make mine pretty fat), roll it up and add to the pan.



When your pan is full, pour some additional sauce over them and a little cheese down the middle and some chopped olives

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, then uncover and bake for 10 minutes more.   Enjoy!!!

Chicken Enchiladas
 2 whole roasted chickens(from deli at grocery store)
2 cans of chopped green chiles
 1 can pitted black olives(sliced or purchase sliced black olives)
1 1/2 lbs of cheddar and monterey jack cheese-grated
 2-3 cans of enchilada sauce(your choice red or green)
garlic powder and cumin to taste corn
tortillas(# depends on how big or little you make them)-today I made 22 enchiladas)
Shred chickens and add to skillet along with green chiles and a generous sprinkling of garlic powder and cumin. Saute until heated through(about 5-10 minutes). Pour a small amount of enchilada sauce in bottom of 9x13 pan. Steam tortillas in microwave, dip in sauce, add chicken and cheese, roll and place in pan. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes covered and 10 minutes uncovered. Serve with sour cream.
 I also serve them with this rice-NO JUDGING-its delicious and its almost the only pre-packaged food you will find in my house.