Food

Name: Beefy Jalapeno Bites
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 4 h 50 min
Yield: 12 taco boats
Ingredients: 5-6 medium to large jalapeños; 1 red onion; 1 clove garlic; 1 cup water; 1 cup distilled white vinegar; 3 tablespoons sugar; 1 teaspoon oregano; 1 tablespoon salt; juice from 2 large limes; 16 oz. room temperature cream cheese; 1 cup chopped Pickled Jalapeños & Onions; 1 tablespoon Old El Paso Taco Seasoning; 2 tablespoons sour cream; 3 tablespoons Old El Paso Taco Sauce; 1 lb. thinly sliced beef; 1 packet of Old El Paso Taco Seasoning in the soft taco kit, reserve 1 tablespoon; Old El Paso Mini Taco Boats - 12 count; 7 oz. sliced Gouda cheese; pickled jalapeños & onions; pickled jalapeño dip

Tailgate in Style with Beefy Jalapeño Bites

9 · Sep 10, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Kick up your game for GAME DAY! These Beefy Jalapeño Bites will win over even the most picky tailgater. Filled with Gouda cheese, Old El Paso seasoned beef and topped with scrumptious homemade pickled jalapeños… What’s not to LOVE! Come learn how to make these tasty treats.

Disclaimer • This post is brought to you by Old El Paso & Walmart. All thoughts, ideas and opinions are my very own.

Tailgating season is upon us and the age old question remains… What to make to share with our football loving friends? You know you want it to be fabulous, full of flavor but, easy to make. We live in Lincoln, Nebraska where football is the state religion (yea, not kidding.) People take football & Tailgating VERY SERIOUSLY here! I have no room for error when it comes to game day treats.

The problem is, you don’t want to spend all of your time in the kitchen or stuck at the grill when you have tailgating to do & games to watch. One of my secrets is to create elements that you can make ahead that really take your tasty bites up a level. Another secret, find elements that make serving and eating the food easy. No one wants to be weighed down with messing plates and hands. They want to grab and go without any fuss.

With that challenge in mind, I headed to Walmart to grab some of my favorites to create a new tasty treat for game day. First stop, the Old El Paso Section where I grabbed some of their Mini Taco Boats along with an Soft Taco Kit. These gems are perfect for creating easy and tasty treats that anyone can eat in 2-3 bites. The Taco Boats are flat on the bottom. That means they are easy to fill, serve and eat all in one. Touchdown!

Next, I grabbed some thin sliced beef. The kind you would use for fajitas. Some sliced Gouda cheese, Jalapeños, red onion and a few more ingredients that I’ll share in my recipe. Now, the secret to this recipe is the homemade pickled jalapeños and onions. This is what takes a normal tailgate small bite dish and kicks it up several notches and turns it into MAGIC!

Here’s a quick video to show you how to make these Beefy Jalapeño Bites…

Kick up your game for GAME DAY! These Beefy Jalapeño Bites will win over even the most picky tailgater. Filled with Gouda cheese, Old El Paso seasoned beef and topped with scrumptious homemade pickled jalapeños… What’s not to LOVE! Created by WhipperBerry

Beefy Jalapeno Bites

Prep 40 mins

Cook 10 mins

Inactive 4 hours

Total 4 hours, 50 mins

Author Heather Thoming • WhipperBerry

Yield 12 taco boats

Ingredients

Pickled Jalapeños and Onions

5-6 medium to large jalapeños
1 red onion
1 clove garlic
1 cup water
1 cup distilled white vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon salt
juice from 2 large limes

Pickled Jalapeño Dip

16 oz. room temperature cream cheese
1 cup chopped Pickled Jalapeños & Onions
1 tablespoon Old El Paso Taco Seasoning
2 tablespoons sour cream
3 tablespoons Old El Paso Taco Sauce

Beefy Jalapeño Bites

1 lb. thinly sliced beef
1 packet of Old El Paso Taco Seasoning in the soft taco kit, reserve 1 tablespoon
Old El Paso Mini Taco Boats - 12 count
7 oz. sliced Gouda cheese
pickled jalapeños & onions
pickled jalapeño dip

Instructions

Pickled Jalapeños & Onions

Sterilize your jar in the dishwasher and hand wash the lid and ring.
Wash and slice the jalapeños into rings. Don't make them too thin.
Thinly slice the red onion.
In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, add water, vinegar, sugar, oregano, salt, lime juice and garlic. Bring to a boil stirring occasionally. Make sure the salt and sugar fully dissolve.
Layer the jalapeños and onion in the sterilized jar.
Pour pickling brine over the jalapeños and onions.
Place lid on jar and put into refrigerator for at least 4 hours. Preferably, overnight or longer.
These pickled jalapeños and onions will last in the refrigerator for 2 months.

Pickled Jalapeño Dip

Place room temperature cream cheese into the mixing bowl.
Dice the pickled jalapeños and onions and add to the cream cheese along with the sour cream, Old El Paso Taco Seasoning and Taco Sauce.
Whip mixture until nice and light for about 1-2 minutes.
Place in an air tight container and store for up to a week.

Beefy Jalapeno Bites

Slice your thinly sliced beef into strips.
Place beef strips into a non-stick skillet on Medium heat.
Add the remaining Old El Paso Taco Seasoning and brown the meat.
Once meat is browned remove from the heat and start to build your beefy jalapeño bites.
Fold one slice of gouda in half and place the entire slice into the Old El Paso Mini Taco Boat.
Fill the mini taco boat with beef mixture and top with a couple of the pickled jalapeños and onion strips.
Place in a toaster oven or under the broiler in your oven and toast for 2 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Be careful not to burn the edges of your mini taco boat.
Remove from the oven and place on a serving tray.
Serve with the Pickled Jalapeño Dip

Notes

Make your pickled jalapeños and onion along with the dip a few days before hand, then all you have to do on game day is brown your meat and build your tasty bites. Super easy and oh, so good!

Notes

Courses appetizer

Let’s Say Oui to ME Time • Oui by Yoplait

4 · Sep 4, 2017 · 2 Comments

As much as I adore my kiddos, there are times when I need a special ME treat! Do you ever feel that way? This post is brought to you by the amazing folks at Yoplait, because they know that sometimes, we need to say Oui (French for YES) to ME time!

Disclaimer + This post is sponsored by Yoplait. However, all thoughts, ideas and opinions are my very own.

My kiddos are cute, they’re crazy, goofy and silly. Sometimes they’re grumpy and quite frankly they turn into pills at times. This little guy is a ball of energy, when that energy is directed towards good, he brings such light into our home. BUT… If that energy is a negative energy man-oh-man, his energy can turn negative rather quickly. It’s like it’s his super power. Jekyll & Hyde ring any bells? Toss him into a home with three teenage sister and it can turn into a powder keg for sure.

It’s true magic when we are all together and having fun just being together, but… When the wind is blowing from the east or someone’s foot touches someone else’s personal space, WATCH OUT! Think super collider!

We had one of those super collider days a few weeks ago, right before school started again. Actually, I believe it was the last Friday before school started the following Monday. We were all on each other’s last nerve. We had just returned home from a two week long road trip and we decided at the last minute to paint a couple of the girl’s rooms in our new house. Brilliant! Not our best move…

That afternoon, I just couldn’t take it anymore. I needed a break. I needed some ME time. I needed a treat. I didn’t know what. I didn’t want something full of sugar, but I still wanted it to feel decadent. I wanted it to be special.

The closest store to our home is Walmart and I decided to head there. I really don’t know why I chose Walmart, other than it was the closest place that was easy to escape to and I could wander the aisles aimlessly until I found that special something that could get me out of this bad attitude. Mom needed a timeout!

I wandered to the bakery, nothing looked tempting. I hit the candy aisle, again nothing hit the mark. Freezer section, nothing. I wanted something cool & creamy, not too sweet, something that tasted real.

I rounded the corner into the dairy section at Walmart and it hit me… I knew exactly what I wanted to help wash away the frustrations of the day, Oui by Yoplait.

I saw this new yogurt and before I even registered what it was, I knew that was what was going to hit the spot. It was so cute and you know how much I LOVE great branding. It was creamy French style yogurt in a little glass jar. I had found my ME moment with Oui by Yoplait without even trying! It was like this beautiful yogurt was created just for ME!

Of course, I immediately grabbed some of my favorite flavors; lemon, black cherry, vanilla & strawberry and headed home to enjoy my new found treat.

You may find it a little weird but, my children have been trained after 7 years of blogging, if Mom comes in the house with something and she says that, “it’s for the blog,” they WILL NOT touch it. In 7 years of blogging, I have never taken advantage of that… Until now! You guys, this yogurt is so good! Yoplait has hit it out of the park with this one. It’s thick, creamy and not too sweet and boy, I’m not going to share!

It’s made the traditional French way with simple, straight forward ingredients. The vanilla flavored Oui by Yoplait is made with; milk, cane sugar, yogurt cultures (L. bulgaricus and S. thermophilus) and vanilla extract. That’s it!

Their cows that produce the whole milk are feed a Non-GMO diet. The fruit is REAL, nothing is artificial. The French believe the measure of good food is the pleasure and joy it brings to life. That is exactly what I needed at that moment. Something cool, creamy & subtly sweet to bring back the joy that I needed to go back home to be with my family, with the right attitude in tow.

Will I start to share? Nope, as far as I’m concerned… These little pots belong to me. They are extra special and for those times when I need something extra special to bring that joy back into my day. Yoplait knew exactly what you and I needed to make our days extra special!

Creepy Halloween Taxidermy Plaques

9 · Sep 1, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Add a little flair to your spooky Halloween decorations with taxidermy plaques! I used the DecoArt Metallic Lustre to turn simple spooky objects into creepy yet classy home decor. Come check it out… If you dare!

{ disclaimer • I am a DecoArt Ambassador and they have sponsored this post. However, all thoughts, ideas and opinions are my very own.}

O.K. guys… It’s never too early to start thinking about your Halloween decorations! Over the years I’ve become quite the fan of decorating for this creepy holiday. I used to hate it, but I’ve kind of fallen in love with what you can create for this spooky night. I wanted to create some new pieces to add to my collection for the new home and found myself wandering the isles at Michaels wondering what to make. Then it hit me… I wanted to make some “taxidermy” plaques to add some cringe worthy art to my front entry way. I wanted to keep it simple and still classy so I thought a little Rose Gold Metallic Lustre from DecoArt would do the trick! Here’s how you can make them.

Taxidermy Plaques Supply List

wood plaques
DecoArt Metallic Lustre – Rose Gold
Americana Curb Appeal – Black
iron spider
iron keys
skeleton hand
small Staghorn Fern
paint brush
lint free cloth
drill
8 screws
floral wire
moss
large bowl of water
baking sheet
drop cloth or something to protect your work surface

Instructions for Taxidermy Plaques

To begin, you will need to prep your work surface and cover it with a drop cloth or some type over covering to protect it.

Next, place your moss into a large bowl of water so that it can soak while you are working with the other pieces. Set it aside.

Then, grab your Americana Curb Appeal paint and paint 2 of your wood plaques. Keep one natural for your Staghorn Fern.

I really like the Americana Curb Appeal paint and traditionally it’s not really used for crafting, it’s used to paint door and shutters typically. I had some on hand and thought it would work just fine for the wood plaques for this project. PLUS… I have used that same paint for my doors, fireplace & banister therefore, my plaques would match the rest of my space. Not only that but, I really like the finish that it create on the wood. You won’t see brush strokes, the coverage is phenomenal and you’ll still see the wood grain through the paint. I really like that! I like to paint wood but, I don’t want it to look plastic… you know?

Once those are both painted, set them aside to dry. Don’t worry, they dry pretty quick.

Next, let’s drill a hole into the skeleton hand before we add the DecoArt Metallic Lustre.

The hand is made out of a resin so it isn’t a problem to drill a hole into it. It might be a little hard to start, but once you get the hole stared, it’s not a big deal.

Next, grab the skeleton hand, keys, spider, the rose gold Metallic Lustre and your lint free cloth (or paper towel if you are in a pinch. Just don’t rub too hard.)

Now, the DecoArt Metallic Lustre is a wax finish, not paint. IT AWESOME!! I love this stuff! I put a little onto my cloth like so…

… And then, rub it all over your object that you are wanting to add a little flair to.

It cures really quick so, if you don’t want to have full coverage, make sure you work in small sections and work quick. With these pieces, I didn’t want full coverage, I still wanted them to look a little rough. As for the keys, I only wanted the rose gold at the top of the keys and then left the bottom black.

Once the paint on the plaques is dry and the Metallic Lustre has cured (it only takes a few minutes) you are ready to mount them on their plaques.

I just used a 1 1/2 inch screw to adhere the skeleton hand to the plaque. However, I did drill pilot holes into the hand and the plaque before to ensure a proper fit.

Now… I’m sure you’ve noticed that there is now a unsightly screw in the hand.

No worries!! I took a stick and roughly added more of the Metallic Lustre to cover the screw head.

Once it cures, it’s hard and voilá… You can’t see the screw! Nice, huh?

For the spider, I placed a screw on the plaque and hung the spider on it. If you use the same spider that I used, it has a screw hanger on the back so it works perfect. I did add some of the Metallic Lustre to the screw to help it blend in.

Now it’s time to mount your Staghorn Fern. Grab the plaque that you didn’t paint along with your drill and 6 1 1/2 inch screws and some floral wire.

First, I drill pilot holes into the plaque.

Three on each side about an inch away from the edge of the board. Then I add my screws but keep about an inch sticking up from the board.

At this point, I lay my plaque in a baking sheet. This part can get a little messy and the baking sheet will help contain the mess. Then I take the floral wire and make a little loop to help start the process and attach it to the top screw.

Then I wind it around the rest of the screws making sure to keep the wire close to the base of the screw close to the wood.

Do not cut the floral wire yet. Take some of your moss, gently wring it out a bit and lay it on top of the wire.

Then take your Staghorn Fern and gently take it out of the pot and remove as much dirt as possible. Staghorn Ferns are air plant so they really don’t need to live in soil. They get their nutrients from the air and the moisture on their frawns. For a really great post on Staghorn Ferns and how to mount and care for them, check out Vintage Revivals. Mandi has a real love for these plants.

Once I’ve removed as much of the dirt as I am comfortable with, I lay it down on top of the moss.

Here’s a funny tip…

Staghorn Ferns love banana peels. Apparently, they provide the kind of nutrition that the plants really like. Before I cover the plant with moss, I add a little bit of banana peel.

Next, cover it with more moss and then criss cross the wire over the whole mound like before, until it is secure. The wire actually melts right into the moss and you don’t see it at all.

Check out Mandi’s post for tips on how to care for your new mounted Staghorn Fern. Now you’re all set to hang your macabre little scene on your walls.

Another little trick… I hung mine with those Command Strip Picture Hanging Strips. LOVE those babies!

I love how these add a little creepy and yet class to my entryway if that’s even possible!

Preserving Inspiration in Indiana with Newell Brands Makers of Ball® Fresh Preserving Products

7 · Aug 31, 2017 · Leave a Comment

With a rich history of canning in my family, preserving the history of canning has become a new passion of mine. Come learn about what I learned on a quick visit Indiana with Newell Brands, makers of Ball® Fresh Preserving Products, a few weeks ago…

This post brought to you by the folks at Newell Brands, makers of Ball® Fresh Preserving Products

I grew-up watching my Mom and Dad in the kitchen during the late summer, toiling over the stove and sink where they were preserving our family’s favorite peaches. It was always an all-day affair with the kitchen loaded with boxes of fresh Colorado peaches straight from the orchards on the western slope of Colorado. My Dad spent some of his youth in Palisade, Colorado, a small town on the western slope that is famous for its peaches. He had family members that owned orchards and he spent many summers working the trees and hauling in the fuzzy fruit. He would talk about that peach fuzz and how awful it was to get all that fuzz stuck up your nose as you worked in the orchard all day. That just makes me squirm even thinking about it.

Every year, the first item on our canning list was to can peaches. Peaches, peaches and more peaches. Our family could never have enough. My parents would also preserve pears, and make jelly and jam from the elderberry bush in our yard and from the crabapple tree in the front. My Dad put in a huge garden and they would pickle cucumbers and beets. All such amazing memories. We had a small storage room in our basement where my Dad built rough shelves out of wood planks and cinderblocks. That is where the summer’s harvest would live until my Mom would send one of us girls down to the basement to grab a bottle of peaches, pickles or whatever her fancy was for our meal.

As a child, I never knew how special it was to have such traditions in our home. As we got older and busier, my Mom went back to work and sadly some of those traditions took a back seat and the skills didn’t quite make the jump to my kitchen. What a sad state really, for years, I have let the bounty of Summer be just that, the bounty of SUMMER. I haven’t had those days of canning in my kitchen with my kiddos, teaching them how to preserve the flavors of Summer for another most likely cooler day.

Well, all of that is about to change! The passion is back in a big way and I can’t wait to share. I was approached by the lovely folks at Newell Brands, makers of Ball® Fresh Preserving Products to come to Indiana, the home of the brand, and learn from their experts how to can for this year’s #CanItForward day. Of course, I was thrilled to learn more and couldn’t wait to travel to Indiana to learn more about their passion for preserving.

We learned about the history of the brand and we had the opportunity to tour their warehouse and packing facility.

Later, we met with Jessica Piper, the canning expert in the beautiful brand test kitchen to learn how to safely preserve some of our favorite fruits and vegetables.

Jessica and I actually filmed a great segment for Can-It Forward Day on the basics of canning. We made some simple Mixed Berry Jam. I learned sooooo much, you should check it out on their Facebook page.

A couple of things that I took away from that experience…

•Canning is so much easier than I thought

•You don’t have to can super large amounts of fruits and vegetables, you can preserve small batches

•Preserving needs to be precise

I’ll share more about those along with other gems I learned in the coming months. I’ve loaded up my pantry with all kinds of fun Ball® jars and I’ve purchased the official Newell Brands, makers of Ball® Fresh Preserving Products, cookbooks and I’m ready to start to #CanItForward!

For more great videos to learn canning basics OR to brush up on your canning knowledge visit their Facebook page for more videos from other bloggers that are a part of the Fresh Preservers program like Garden Betty, COOKIE + Kate and Food in Jars.

Disclosure + I am a paid partner for Newell Brands, makers of Ball® Fresh Preserving Products. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

DIY Fall Throw Pillow • Oh, Delicious Fall

9 · Aug 30, 2017 · 3 Comments

Summer is coming to a close and it’s time to start thinking about Fall decor! This DIY Fall Throw Pillow is Perfect for your front porch or any room in the house!

{ This post brought to you by • Cricut }

It’s time to start decorating for Fall and I’m over the moon excited to finally have a front porch that I can decorate! I’ve been working on all kinds of projects for the porch design and today I’m going to show you one of the elements. My DIY Fall throw pillow with the cute saying, “Oh, Delicious Fall.” Earlier today if you have been following my Story on Instagram… You watched live, how easy it is to make this simple accent pillow with the new Cricut Maker & Easy Press along with the Cricut Heat Transfer Material. It’s sooooo cool!!

The Cricut MAKER

You guys… I know you’ve seen all the buzz around the creative world about the new Cricut Maker and Cricut Easy Press. I’m here to tell you, everything you’ve heard is legit. These two new machines are game changers in the creative world. I’m sure you’ve seen some of the stuff the new Cricut Maker can do, it cuts…

fabric { without any type of backing }
felt
leather
balsa and bass wood
crepe paper
chip board
mat board
and the list goes on and on…

The engineers at Cricut have come up with an adaptive cutting tool system that is truly inspired. They have also dramatically increased the cutting power which allows for all of the new materials. They’ve increased the cutting power 10x… That’s seriously impressive! Here are some of the displays with amazing vignettes all created with the Cricut Maker for the launch event earlier this month.

Well, enough about that… Let’s get to work on the Fall throw pillow. Now keep in mind, I am using the new Cricut Maker but, you can use any of the Cricut cutting machines like the Cricut Air 2 for this project. We are using the Cricut Heat Transfer Material that any of those machines can handle just fine. Also, I am using the Cricut Easy Press, which is FABULOUS!! But, you won’t be left out in the cold if you don’t have an Easy Press yet… You can use your iron to create this accent fluffy pillow as well.

Instructions for the DIY Fall Throw Pillow

Materials needed:

pillow cover
pillow form
Cricut Iron-On Lite – black
Cricut Light Grip cutting mat
Cricut cutting machine
Cricut Easy Press or an Iron
light cotton towel
Cricut Design Space

Directions:

First, you need to download the “Oh, delicious Fall” design that I’ve created for this pillow.

Then you’ll need to upload it into Design Space…

You’ll do that by clicking on the upload button on the left side of the screen.

Now, the design is already sized for your standard 15 inch throw pillow but you can size it larger or smaller if you like. You will also need to add the maple leaf from the image library. I searched for a maple leaf in the search bar and then selected the leaf below. You could always select whatever image you like.

Size and place the leaf into the design and then you need to select your designs and then Weld them together and then Attach them to your “cutting mat.”

Now, it’s time to “Make It” by clicking on the Make It button at the top right of the screen. When working with iron-on material, you need to make sure that you mirror the design so that it cuts properly.

Now, you need to place your Cricut Iron-On light onto your cutting mat. Make sure to follow the package directions for how to place it on your mat. Basically, the shiny side needs to be placed face down on the mat. If you were following my Instagram Story, you would have seen that I don’t bother to cut the material off of the roll until I have finished cutting my design. It cuts down on waste and makes it easier to remove your design from the cutting mat. All you need to do is roll it right back up. It’s super slick.

Now, you need to load your mat into the machine, connect your machine to your computer, iPad or other mobil device via Bluetooth and then select your material that you will be cutting.

Click on Iron-On and you’re all set to cut…

Once you have finished the cutting process, you’ll need to weed your iron-on vinyl to remove the excess material.

While you are weeding your iron-on vinyl, you’ll want to pre-heat your Cricut Easy Press or your iron so that you’re ready to go once you’ve finished weeding.

I have found a setting of 350˚ for about 50 seconds usually does the trick when I’m working with the Cricut Iron-On Lite. The nice thing about the easy press is that is has nice consistent temperature over the entire base. Check this out…

This is showing the heat variance with a traditional iron. That’s why some people have been frustrated in the past with creating iron-on projects. You don’t have to worry about that anymore with the Easy Press. It has a large 9×9 inch plate which is AWSOME!! That’s how you’ll achieve professional results without investing in a bulking and expensive heat press machine. It’s light weight and easy to store which is a total bonus.

First, I pre-heat my pillow cover, this helps to start the iron-on process with the vinyl. Plus, it irons out any wrinkles in your pillow cover.

Oh, I also use a portable ironing blanket that you can find at Walmart or Target in the laundry section. It’s perfect for protecting your surface while you’re using the Easy Press.

Now, center your design on your pillow cover.

Cover your design with a light cotton tea towel.

And then, place the Easy Press onto your design with the timer set for 50 seconds and press the Cricut button to start the timer. Lightly press on the Easy Press and wait for the timer to go off.

Now, my design was a little larger than the 9×9 plate so I did it a few times to make sure I had transferred the entire design onto my pillow cover. Then I removed the protective plastic cover, replaced the towel and then did one more go with the Easy Press to make sure everything was set.

That was it! I put the pillow form into the pillow cover and voilá… I had a fun accent piece for my new front porch bench.

How simple is that? If you don’t have a Cricut machine or the Cricut Easy Press… I would for sure start dropping hints to Santa pronto! This is a new era for creating and these are the must have tools!!

Disclaimer • I am a Cricut Ambassador this year and I’m thrilled to be a part of that crew. I truly love these products and for sure would not share anything that I didn’t naturally use in my own life and LOVE. I have received product and payment for my time in putting together this informative post for you guys. I hope you ENJOY!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.

Food

Beefy Jalapeno Bites

Ingredients

Pickled Jalapeños and Onions

Pickled Jalapeño Dip

Beefy Jalapeño Bites

Instructions

Pickled Jalapeños & Onions

Pickled Jalapeño Dip

Beefy Jalapeno Bites

Notes

Notes

Taxidermy Plaques Supply List

Instructions for Taxidermy Plaques

A couple of things that I took away from that experience…

The Cricut MAKER

Instructions for the DIY Fall Throw Pillow

Materials needed:

Directions:

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