Worth Waiting For

So ... you know I love Pinterest, right?

I created a board called "Stuff I Want for Me" ... and I just keep ideas of things I see there. Like ... kitchen gadgets I want, shoes I like, a necklace, etc ... I mean, what if someone asks me what I want for my birthday? I need a place to refer back to.

Well I had a pair of shoes on there that I really liked - black flats with spikes all over them. They are by Sam Edelman and are $150. OUCH -but they are so unique and spikes on shoes seem to be all the rage. OH, I LOVE SHOES.

I don't know when I would EVER spend $150 for these shoes, but ... we can dream right? Well this weekend I stumbled upon a VERY similar pair at Kohl's.

I was there to shop for my dad's birthday and saw the clearance sign. I wandered over, and there they were. They were a vast improvement on price, at $69-- but still too steep, but OH - they were on sale for $20! ... and WHO HAD A COUPON? ME. So I walked away with VERY similar shoes for $10. I mean WHAT?

Sometimes it is TOTALLY worth waiting. I needed a new pair of black flats anyway... and I can't even REALLY tell the difference. Love them! 

LOVE LOVE LOVE - and like my grandparents before me, I LOVE a good deal!

Kah

Garage Sale

Bless my soul! Today's garage saling was good times! I haven't been in probably a year ... maybe a little less. It's so hot ... I don't want to get up that early and lately, I've been going to a Zumba class on Saturday morning.

If you follow me on Facebook, you know that Blanca has not been herself and we have been having a TIME with her. It has been frustrating, expensive, upsetting, etc ... I lost my will to Pinterest, cook, blog, garage sale ... basically I went to work, came home, cried and then went to bed. Finally though .... I have gotten myself together and Blanca seems better. So this morning I got up and headed out.

I spent EXACTLY $19.25 today ...

Today's finds:

Guess Purse for a $1 - worth about $50
Clutch Purse for a $1 - worth about $10
Bunch of baskets for $5 - worth about $50 or more
 --- these baskets came from Pennsylvania and were 50-60 years old. The lady selling them said they were from her mother in law's fruit cellar. They are very old, very nice ... and priceless to me and her. She said she has kept a bunch of them and the mother in law is long gone- but she just treasured them and had no more room for them.
Cookie jar for $3
Giant vase that sits on the floor for $5
Toile print plate - $1
Battery powered erector set for nephews - $1 worth about $50
3 Clay pots for $1.50
Bird shaped pot for $.50
2 foot high dressmakers form for doll clothes for $.25

I think the finds of the day were the dressmakers form and the erectors set. Then again, the purses were cool too. I don't know, it was a nice haul and I got way more in merchandise than I paid for. It was a REALLY good day. Only took 2 hours and I was back home with all my treasures!

I sure have missed garage saling!

Kah

Picadillo Empanadas

Sorry for the absence ... just have not been feeling the blogging! I am addicted to Pinterest, which frankly would not exist without blogging!

So, last weekend I made picadillo empandas. ANYTHING wrapped in pie crust is delicious and I love them. I made these in the oven, not fried, so they were pretty healthy. You can sub my ground beef with anything - chorizo, ground turkey, chicken, etc  ... I am just a huge ground beef fan.

If you're not familiar with Mexican food, you may not know what picadillo is. It's actually just like taco filling but with little diced potatoes in it. I LOVE IT. All the best restaurants in Austin use it. I've even had it on nachos before. 

So, I made these for the first time and they are NOT pretty --- I used a box of that rolled out pre-made pie crust ... and I used my biscuit cutter. I used the smaller cutter and I should have used the larger one. So these were busting out of their little pies, but it didn't hurt the flavor. Just doesn't look beautiful!

Filling:

Brown 1 lb of ground beef (or use the subs I mentioned) with 1 diced onion. Once that is browned and onions are translucent add 1 garlic clove, minced and 1 or 2 jalpenos, minced. Give this a few minutes and then add 1/2 cup of water, 1 can of diced tomatoes (I used fire roasted), 1 tbsp of chili seasoning, 1 tbsp of cumin, salt and pepper to taste, 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper AND ... 1 russet potato, peeled and diced into small squares. Put the top on this and simmer 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350.

Roll out your pie crust on some flour and use a glass or biscuit cutter to cut out your rounds.

When your picadillo is ready - fill the little round about 1/3 full and add a pinch of shredded cheese. I used monterey jack. Use some water around half the circle and close the little pie. Use a fork to crimp the edges.

Bake these for about ... 15 or 20 minutes. Oh, I also gave these a light egg wash before I baked. DELICIOUS.

This picadillo recipe was enough for all these empanadas, tacos the next night, 4 more larger empandas for 2 days of lunches AND I froze enough filling for probably 4 more emapandas. CRAZY. Talk about a money stretcher!

Dinner was great. Little sides of sour cream, salsa and cheese .. with some chips. It was the perfect dinner and Conrad liked it too!

We'll be making again. Also, they were GREAT heated up in the microwave for lunch the following week.

Karyn

Horseradish Potatoes

I spent last weekend in Arkansas with my friends and had a GREAT time ... one of the places I wanted to eat is called Mr. B's in Rogers, AR. That place is awesome --- and we were so lucky to go on the day they made horseradish twice baked potatoes. HOLY CRAP.

Well, tonight I had a hankering for them again. I didn't have white cheddar like Mr. B's, so I used monterey jack.

First wash your potatoes and then rub down with olive oil. Bake for an hour. Then I let them cool about 45 minutes and cut them in half and scooped out the innards into a bowl. I put the skins on a baking sheet.

Into THAT bowl I added salt, pepper, horseradish, monterey jack and lots o' sour cream. I mashed it all up until it looked like mashed potatoes. Then piled the mixture back into the skins. I put a small pat of butter on each one - and baked for about 20 minutes at 350.

BROTHER! That was good stuff!

I also attempted Hawaiian Chicken (I MISS YOU STEAK & ALE!!!) ... in the crockpot. Also a winner!

I use my crockpot EVERY weekend for easy dinners and these crockpot liners are LIFESAVERS! I won't cook chicken any other way.

Run into your kitchen and make these potatoes!

Kah

7UP Biscuits- Found on PINTEREST

Go into your kitchen and make these NOW.

2 cups Bisquick (they do make a Gluten Free version)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup 7UP
1/4 cup or 4 tbsp melted butter

Preheat oven to 450.

Put Bisquick into a bowl and add the sour cream. Cut it in, using a fork - until the flour gets all lumpy. Add in 7UP and stir to combine. Dough will be really soft. You want to dump this out on the counter, on top of a little dusting of Bisquick to keep it from sticking. I just rolled it out and used my biscuit cutters to make my biscuits.

In your pan - melt the butter and let it sit on the bottom. Put your cut biscuits on top. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

These are DELICIOUS, slightly sweet ....  and the bottoms, since they are sitting on the butter - are crispy and buttery.

These are great for breakfast or with dinner! So easy and quick! Better than biscuits from the can.

Kah

Exploring Houston: Tomball German Festival

Two weeks ago, we decided to go to the German Festival in downtown Tomball. It was the 12th year, I've lived here for 6 - and I'd never been. I think most people go for the beer and food - but there are crafts and some entertainment too. It's actually a VERY popular festival and it's on a lot of Texas Festival websites, which is cool. They also have a German Christmas Festival in December which is supposed to be outstanding and a great place to find German ornaments and Christmas decorations, plus gifts! I can't wait to go this year!

The first thing we went for was the FOOD! Here is Conrad with his turkey leg. I had sausage. He later had a corndog and I had Frito pie. I've been doing GREAT with my eating plan- but I blew it at the festival and that's ok-  I was planning it!

I take the WORST pictures, but you know ... proof I was there!

We went by a salsa tent. The lady also had jellies, jams, relishes, etc --- and she asked me if I had ever had sauerkraut and I said NO - and she said well you are at the German festival, YOU MUST. So I did and Conrad captured the moment for us all.




DIDN'T love it

Ugh ... moving on ... when we would find a treat to eat, we would take it down to the picnic tables and eat. The tables were set up right by the petting farm. Conrad and a bunch of 4 year olds were enthrallled! Here are the baby potbelly pigs that we all thought were so super cute ... and their baby goat friends!

... and last, but not least - we enjoyed buying stuff for us! This was my giant bottle of Mexican vanilla (goodbye imitation!) ... and a loaf of hatch green chile/cheddar bread. The baker lady was there with all kinds of bread. It seems any kind you could possibly want!

Conrad and I both drive a long way for work ... and weekends are for doing nothing, or errands, if we absolutely have to. So I was thrilled to get out of the house for a few hours and do something different. We had such a good time. It's a very small festival, but so easy for us to get to. Parking was easy and I think we have the hang of it now- when to go, what time to go, etc ... and so we will for sure go to the event in December and this one again next year. SO MUCH FUN!

I've gone so far as going online to find a list of nearby festivals. I really want to start going to more. Such a great place for fun and great food- and unique gifts. I just really dig them right now.

Kah

New Lamp

There is another new addition in the guest room 'cause once again, it will transfer VERY well into my new craft room. It's on the girly side, Conrad wouldn't want it front and center in the living room or anything ...

This lamp was $80 at Hobby Lobby which was WAY too much ... but the day I found it, it was 50% off - so I got it for $40 and I had a $50 gift card from Christmas.

SO FREE

How dang cute is that bird????

Kah