Crockpot Sausage Corn Chowder...with Kale.

The original recipe is from Paula Deen. I followed her recipe to the (T) but it needed something green! A family member made this soup for a wedding I attended and she also added Kale, but left out the sausage, it was FANTASTIC! I thought to myself if I added the Kale and Sausage, Im sure it would be out of this world! So here it is! YUMMO!! Right?!

Sausage Corn Chowder (derived from Paula Deen)

1 pound ground sausage ( I used Tennessee Pride)

4 large baking potatoes (cubed, unpeeled)

1/2 medium onion (chopped)

2 cans of Cream Corn

5 cups milk (I used 1%, recipe said Whole, it was fine)

1/2 bunch of chopped fresh Kale (stems removed)

Salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder (to taste)

Brown sausage in large frying pan, remove from heat, Add Kale to pan and cover. Chop potatoes and onion, add them to the Crockpot. Pour in milk and Cream Corn. Add meat and Kale. Add seasonings. Cook on high for 5-6 hours or low 7-8 hours. I put mine on at 3pm, so it would be ready for my husband when he got home at 7pm. :) ENJOY! 

I made chicken drum sticks on the side for my meat loving man! ;)

NEW YEAR!

I pray you all had an Amazing Christmas and New Year! Ours was amazing and filled with family! Minor accident on Christmas Eve, had to take Myles to the E.R. for a Nurse-maids Elbow. Easy fix and he was good as new in a matter of minutes, after seeing the doctor! :)

I have MILLIONS of ideas for the upcoming holidays! I just  can't wait to show you! For now I'll leave you with a small Valentines Day craft that I whipped up the other afternoon. 

Found a scrap piece of wood, cut them into coordinating sized, painted and stuck on my vinyl words! WA LA! I love easy crafts that are just SO cute!

Im also working on a SPRING and 4TH OF JULY craft! Stay Tuned! 

<3 Hillary!

Christmas Yard Sign Tutorial

I've been working on a christmas yard sign, Similar to my Fall Yard signs. 

I picked up two pieces of wood from lowes. The horizontal parts were  2 x 6 boards. Had the hubby cut them  into 18 inches, I got 4 out of my 6 foot board. And for the posts I got a 1x6 piece. They were cut in half. 36 inches each. 

Here is my wood cut. I sanded each edge so it wasn't sharp or split.

I just used regular acrylic craft paint for the boards. And my foam brush!

Aren't they pretty!?

And Acrylic white for the posts. 

Of course I distressed the signs! 

I used my Cricut to cut out my lettering. I used the shiny vinyl, since its said to be more durable for outdoors. 

Then I screwed the pieces together, added some raffia and WA LA!

Love it! I will be straightening my boards before the Farmers Market this Saturday. I thought I would like them crooked, but after some other opinions, Im making them straight! :)

End Table Makeover...DONE!

So I started my end table makeover about a week ago, And I finally finished yesterday! 

I started with a Foam brush, but it sucked at staining! I remember reading that a rag works better, So i grabbed an old washcloth and went to town! Wrapped my hand in a grocery bag since I was out of gloves! Worked like a charm! 

I recommend doing this outside, the smell is pretty strong!

Here's a few photos!

Sanded with my Palm sander! Makes it MUCH easier! I recommend doing this outside too, Its quite messy!

DONE! Stained with Dark Walnut. I used Miniwax Brand!

Im SO in love with out it came out!

Vacation!

Even though I'm in the middle of Christmas crafts, we're heading to the beach, for a few days of sun and sand! <---Notice I didn't say relaxation...

I'm SO ready for this trip! I've been cleaning house and getting all the laundry done so I can come home to a nice clean house and RELAX. :) Good planning on my part! ;)

Starting off my vacation tonight with a trip to the movies, Me and my best pals are going to see Pitch Perfect! It looks absolutely HILARIOUS! 

I've got my camera bag packed and ready to go, So I'll be back on Wednesday with some gorgeous sunset pictures to share! :)

Newborn Stats

 Isn't it SO cute!

I needed a gift for a friend who just had a baby, And I've found inspiration all over the internet. 

(I like mine the best)

I had some ply wood type wood leftover from another project. Its 12x12. Perfect right? I painted it white, thinking I would just use a white background, But that was boring! So I found some cute scrapbook paper and glued it down with Mod Podge!

Waiting a bit and sanded the edges so the paper was 'one' with the board! 

Used my Cricut to cut out all the baby's stats and some cut little saying and shapes. I used my shiny vinyl and 3 different blues.

(positioned them a million times)

Used my transfer tape, which has been a lifesaver! SO glad I ordered that stuff!

Took me like 10 minutes to get everything on there after I got everything on the transfer tape! YIPPIE! 

I just LOVE it. Now I must make one for Myles! 

Heath bar poke cake

The original recipe is found here ---> Better than anything cake

It looked so yummy, and EASY! I had to try it!

List of ingredients: 

1 box of chocolate cake (and any ingredients for it)

14 oz can Condensed sweetened milk

8oz cool whip

Caramel sauce

Heath bar pieces

Bake your cake as directed. Let cool for 5 minutes. Then poke holes in cake. Original says to use the end of a wooden spoon, but none of mine were rounded. So i went with a large plastic straw!

Then slowly pour your condensed milk over the cake, but make sure it gets into all the little holes....

I had to help mine and poke a few more AFTER I poured on the milk, It was so thick it just sort of sat on top. Then do the same with the caramel. YUM!

Take your THAWED cool whip and spread it over the cake. Sprinkle with the Heath Bar pieces. I decided to 'decorate' a little with some caramel sauce...just because, Well, you can NEVER have too much caramel! :)

Doesn't that look SOO good! And not healthy AT ALL! haha!