Crafting Projects: Picture Collage

I've been looking for a nice collage frame for our family room for awhile, but I am so picky! Then one day I came up with this cute idea instead (partially inspired by a similar photo grouping I have in our living room)!  Simple to make, just a few wooden letters from Michaels/AC Moore, paint and assorted frames.  I hung the letters with double sided command tape.

The great thing is it can expand with your family!  I look forward to adding pictures to it!

Nesting? Nursery Door Decor

With Baby Katherine due any day now, my mother-in-law thinks this is a sign that I am starting to nest.  In reality, I annoyed my husband so much in the last week (being off work) that he told me I needed to find a hobby.  So, I decided to try my hand at crafting a project I've had a vision of in my head for awhile: A hanging 'K' for the door of the nursery.  Our nursery theme is Jungle with a gender neutral green and yellow color scheme, you can customize this project to your theme and colors!

Items You Need (Purchased Mine at Michaels):
- Wooden Letter (in the style of your choice, Michaels had a variety of styles to choose from)
- Rhinestones (in coordinating color, mine are a light green)
- Ribbon (Mine is a yellow/green jungle themed ribbon)
- Paint (I used a leftover yellow paint sample we got when trying to decide on what color to paint the nursery)
- Paint Brush
- Hot Glue/Hot Glue Gun

First, I painted the wooden 'K'.  I took me three coats of paint to cover.  No need to paint the back, but make sure to paint the sides. 

Once dried, I played around with the placement of the rhinestones, finally deciding on accenting the swirl and the middle of the K.  Once I decided where I liked the rhinestones, I hot glued them on.  TIP: I like hot glue, because it is easy to remove after applying if you don't get the placement just right.

Lastly, I cut two lengths of ribbon about 15 inches long.  Because of the style of my K, I had to attach the ribbon at an inward angle.  Again, I used hot glue for this because I could easily remove it and try again until I got the angle perfect.  Once I attached the two lengths of ribbon (one to each top part of the K), I tied them together in a simple bow.  Then I cut the ends so that they didn't hang down over the K.  TIP: Once I was happy with the bow, I used a lighter to lightly melt the edges of the ribbon to stop it from fraying (a trick a learned as a ballerina).

And Done!  The whole thing took me maybe 2 hours (with most of it waiting for the paint to dry!).

Stuffed Acorn Squash

I found this awesome recipe for Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed with Fennel Sausage, Farro, Goat Cheese & Spinach on Pinterest and adapted it to what I could find/already had in my pantry.  When I put it in front of my husband asked if he was suppose to eat the 'food bowl'.  I told him yes, even though it was a vegetable, he was suppose to eat it.  It was really good, my husband particularly liked the stuffing bit :) of course!

Ingredients

1 Acorn Squash
1 Tbsp Butter

1/2 Cup Basmati Rice

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1 Shallot, Diced

Salt & Pepper To Taste

1 Tsp Dill

1 Package Ground Italian Sausage

2 Cups Spinach, Uncooked

4 Oz. Crumbled Feta Cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut the Acorn Squash in half and scoop out all of the seeds (and discard).  Rub the Acorn Squash all over with the Extra Virgin Olive Oil (inside and out).  Put half the Butter in the bottom of each Acorn Squash.  Season with Salt and Pepper.  Put the Acorn Squash in the oven and roast for about 30 minutes or until tender and easily pierced with a fork.

While the Acorn Squash is roasting, make your filling.  Cook Basmati Rice according to package.  While Basmati Rice is cooking, brown the Ground Italian Sausage in a pan.  When nearly browned, add Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Minced Garlic and Diced Shallot to the pan.  Cook for a few more minutes, until Shallot is soft and sausage is done browning.  Add Basmati Rice, Feta Cheese (reserve 1/4 of crumbles to sprinkle on top) and Spinach to pan and mix until Spinach is wilted and Feta Cheese is melted.  Season with Salt, Pepper and Dill.

Let the Acorn Squash rest for a few minutes after taking out of the oven.  Fill each half with a good helping of the filling. Top with the rest of the Feta Cheese.

Enjoy!

Leave It To The French

Leave it to the French to create a grilled cheese sandwich that takes 45 minutes to make, but it's worth it!  I paired mine with Campbell's Thai Tomato Coconut Bisque.

Croque Monsieur

I used this recipe from Simply Recipes.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Flour

1 1/2 Cups Milk

A Pinch Each of Salt, Freshly Ground Pepper, Nutmeg, or More to Taste

6 Ounces Gruyère Cheese, Grated (about 1 1/2 cups grated)

1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese (packed)

8 Slices of French or Italian Loaf Bread

12 Ounces Sliced Ham

Dijon Mustard

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Make your béchamel sauce. Melt the butter in a small saucepan on medium/low heat until it just starts to bubble. Add the flour and cook, stirring until smooth, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk, whisking continuously, cooking until thick. Remove from heat. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in the Parmesan and 1/4 cup of the grated Gruyère. Set aside.

Lay out the bread slices on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven, a few minutes each side, until lightly toasted. For extra flavor, spread some butter on the bread slices before you toast them if you want.

Lightly brush half of the toasted slices with mustard. Add the ham slices and about 1 cup of the remaining Gruyère cheese. Top with the other toasted bread slices.

Spoon on the béchamel sauce to the tops of the sandwiches. Sprinkle with the remaining Gruyère cheese. Place on a broiling pan. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes, then turn on the broiler and broil for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese topping is bubbly and lightly browned.