Over at The Grant Life...

Stop by The Grant Life to check out my delicious, baked Italian Chicken Meatball recipe. Seriously guys...this is excellent!

 

Easy Rice Cooker Spanish Rice {or getting dinner on the table as quickly as possible}

I first shared this great recipe over at Not Everything I Make is Pretty. I wanted to make sure you all didn't miss it! Mexican food is a staple in my house. Therefore, this quick and easy rice cooker Spanish Rice is one of our favorites!

I have a love affair with my rice cooker. I honestly have never made rice just on the stove top. It scares me. I use my rice cooker for plain old rice, a host of flavored rices, and even quinoa. My fancy pants rice cooker {ie cheap from Target} even has a delayed start on it. This lovely little feature makes my rice cooker the perfect tool for getting dinner on the table quickly on hectic week nights.

Want to make your own quick, tasty Spanish Rice? Bust out your rice cooker and gather your ingredients:

1 1/2 cups rice

1 1/2 cups water

1 can diced tomatoes, with juices

1 Tbsp. lime juice

2 Tbsps. cumin {I am a cumin loving fiend...you can always reduce if its too much for your taste}

1 tsp. chili powder

Dump everything into your rice cooker and stir well.

Hit go and you're set. When that wonderful little machine finishes cooking everything up for you, fluff well before serving.

Simple, tasty, and fast. As a momma with a toddler who thinks the world is about to end if dinner isn't on the table right at five, I love simple tasty, and fast! You can also easily freeze leftovers to save on cooking time for another meal.

Come party with me! C.R.A.F.T, Mommy By Day, Crafter By Night, Shwin & Shwin, Tip Junkie, Southern Lovely, Uncommon Designs, Somewhat Simple, Yesterday on Tuesday, House of Hempworths, 52 Mantels, The CSI Project, Serenity Now, Tatertots and Jello, Family Ever After, The Grant Life, Positively Splendid, I {Heart} Nap Time, It's Overflowing

Guest Post Over at Not Every Thing I Make is Pretty

Hey everyone! I'm over at Liz's wonderful blog Not Everything I Make is Pretty sharing a wonderfully tasty, quick Spanish Rice dish. The secret? My BFF rice cooker!

Stamped Polka Dot Toddler Hoodie Tutorial {or cute-ing up blah}

Here is a quick, simple way to dress up a boring old hoodie. This stamping method is a quick, super easy nap time project. If you have older kiddos, they could even help out!

I love the look of toddlers in dresses styled with leggings, cardigans, and adorable headbands. However, I haven't found this to be terribly practical. My little miss thinks that things on her head are pure evil. She is also always on the move. So, its much more likely that my little miss is running around in leggings, a t-shirt, and a hoodie.

But, there's no reason that hoodie can't be absolutely adorable. On a recent trip to Target I snagged a plain grey hoodie on clearance. While it fit the bill for what we needed, it was just so blah. So I decided to jazz it up using only paint and a pencil.

You read that right. All you need is fabric paint or regular old acrylic and a fabric medium {I got mine at Joann's} and a pencil with a brand spanking new eraser. Ok, you also need an iron, a work space, and some wax paper/cardboard, too.

Start out by putting down wax paper or kraft paper to protect your work space. Then, mix your paint up according to the bottle's directions.

Make sure that you either have wax paper or cardboard between the fabric anywhere it overlaps. You don't want your paint seeping through! I used waxed paper because it was easier to manipulate and shove into the random corners of places like the pockets.

Now, go to town with your dots.

A couple of tips. Make sure you don't have too much paint on your eraser. It will bleed everywhere and make a funky shaped dot. Press down firmly when making your dot. You can always add a bit more paint and go over the dot a second time if you need to. This doesn't have to be perfect. There's a lot of character in the less than perfect dots!

I  used a blow dryer on low heat to help the drying process along. This let me finish doing all the dots in one sitting.

After you finish up, you'll want to heat set your paint. This makes it so they won't fade in the wash. Follow the directions on your bottle. For me, I had to wait 24 hourrs before ironing the hoodie. The bottle also says to wash inside out.

Givne that this hoodie is for my dirt loving little miss, it's already been through the wash three times. The paint still looks good as new. I'm sure it will fade a bit with the excessive washing that a toddler demands. I think that adds character and will give the hoodie a nice vintage vibe.

This quick and easy technique can be used on a variety of items. You can also get super creative and carve different shapes into the eraser.

What's you favorite toddler look? 

Come party with me! C.R.A.F.T, Mommy By Day, Crafter By Night, Shwin & Shwin, Tip Junkie, Southern Lovely, Uncommon Designs, Somewhat Simple, Yesterday on Tuesday, House of Hempworths, 52 Mantels, The CSI Project, Serenity Now, Tatertots and Jello, Family Ever After, The Grant Life, Positively Splendid, I {Heart} Nap Time, It's Overflowing 

$75 Target Gift Card Giveaway over at The Grant Life

The beyond wonderful Kelley over at The Grant Life is celebrating two years of blogging. Not only is she one of the sweetest women in blog-land, she is also kind enough to let me stop by her great blog twice a month to share projects.

To celebrate two year of blogging, Kelley and a group of her friends{like me} got together to offer a $75 Target Gift Card Giveaway. Man, I know I could sure burn through $75 at Target in no time!

Hurry on over to The Grant Life to enter. Or, use the link bellow. Be sure to enter daily now through 5/24/13!

a Rafflecopter giveaway