mistycal-me

Creating a Cotton Candy costume for a toddler

Sun, 28 Oct 2012 19:45:09 +0100

If my 2-year-old understood Halloween or at least the concept of dressing up for candy, I have no doubt she'd dress up as a princess or as Jesse from "Toy Story." But, she doesn't. So I selfishly decided that I wanted to make her a costume of my choosing!

It's been an emotion and stressful few weeks on the job front and I needed to get into the "crafty mom" mode as an escape. It just popped in my head one day, "cotton candy." The idea stuck, so that's what I made a cotton candy costume!

We'll see if she actually wears it or not! If she does I'll add photos of her dressed up.

Materials:

Cloth, like muslin. I used an old towel.

Needle and thread, or sewing machine, or glue, or a quick heat bond - whatever you're comfortable working with that will "sew" a costume

Tacky spray glue

Spray paint - I used pink for pink cotton candy

Cotton or poly-fil

Scissors

Marker

Elastic or ribbon

An old stocking cap

White pants

Long sleeved shirt that matches the color of your cotton candy

Instructions:

1. Choose material and figure out your needed amount. Choose a light colored material that can be hidden by the "cotton candy." I chose an old towel because I wanted a warm material and it was the perfect size for my wee one (Seriously wee one… she's barely over 20lbs. She's 26-months-old and can still fit in her original bucket car seat because it safely fits up to 23lbs!)

2. Lay the material out and sketch a design - either a potato sack rectangle, or something like I did that comes in under the arms a bit and flares out to make a larger bottom. Decide where you want the costume to lay, such as at the waist, below the hips, etc. Add at least an extra 1 1/2 inches to this length for the hem.

3. Fold your material in half so the fold is at the top of the sketch, wear your head and shoulders go. Pin material together if necessary so it doesn't move as you cut.

4. Cut out your pattern.

5. Keeping the material folded, cut a slit in the middle of the top for your head. Next cut a slit down the back of the costume so the two slits form a "T." Make both slits long enough for the head to comfortably fit through, like this:

6. Hem each bottom of the costume so your elastic or ribbon can be threaded through.

7. Fold the material in half again and sew the sides together from below the arm holes to the top of the hem, but not through the hem.

8. Thread the elastic or the ribbon through the hem to create a draw string. Don't bunch up the hem, leave it flat.

9. Spray the glue on one side of the costume and spread out the cotton filling where you've sprayed the glue. Repeat until entire side is finished. Let that side dry for a few minutes then glue the cotton on the other side. Let it dry.

10. Spray paint the cotton letting one side dry before spraying the other side.

11. Once dry, pull the draw string so the cotton candy poofs out. This will show areas that need more cotton and/or more spray paint. Do the necessary touchups!

12. Repeat the glue, cotton and spray paint technique on the stocking cap to create the top of the cotton candy. You can build up the top of the cotton like I did to give it the cone effect.

13. Wear white pants, sweats, stockings to create the stem of the cotton candy. Wear a matching long sleeve shirt under the cotton candy. Voila! Your cotton candy costume is complete!

Have a safe and fun Halloween!

Waste not... recipes for disguising foods for the family

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 05:31:23 +0100

Okay, I admit it. I LOVE to “sneak” healthy food into the meals I make for my family. I rejoice in the triumph of getting them to eat right when they don’t know it. I absolutely do cartwheels when what I have disguised can throw off its cloak and becomes a favorite food.

One such triumph was spinach. I used to secretly add it to my homemade marinara and chopped it up beyond recognition for salad. Now everyone eats it without a fight... except for stewed tomatoes and spinach, but I think that’s more about the stewed tomatoes than the spinach! (Yeah, I don’t get it either.. they have such love for everything tomato as long as there are no chunks.)

Occasionally I get creative simply out of the mantra “Waste not, want not.” I found myself with a few items that we rarely have in the house: veggie dogs, low-fat cream cheese and whole cream. They were left over from Squeaks’ birthday party barbecue. (Check out this recipe for sturdy whipped cream frosting. It goes great with Red Velvet Cupcakes.)
While I alone could down the cream cheese, I knew that wasn’t the best choice for my hips. My DH dislikes cheese (GASP!) except in a few dishes and pizza. So, to use the cream cheese in anything I would have to sneak it. I decided to do something similar to blue cheese burgers.

Sliders with cream cheese

1lb lean hamburger
1 egg
garlic powder to taste
minced onion to taste
3TB worcestershire sauce
Half brick of reduced fat cream cheese

Mix all ingredients. Form 12 small hamburgers about the size of your palm. Grill. Enjoy.

The veggie dogs were going to be harder for me to disguise. It came to me when I looked in the freezer and saw a package of boneless/skinless chicken breasts. BAM! Disguise the veggie dogs in shredded chicken!

I slow cooked the dogs and chicken for 4 hours in the crock pot with two cups of water, half an onion, stalks of celery, whole carrots, sage and basil leaves. While the dogs and chicken cooled on the cutting board I added more chunks of random vegetables I found in the fridge to the broth left over in the crock pot. I continued to slow cook it all for a couple more hours to make a broth to keep on hand.

I shredded the chicken and dogs and mixed it all together. Now I had to make dishes that would truly blend the dogs and chicken together. I looked around the kitchen and settled on shredded BBQ chicken and chicken enchilada casserole.

Shredded BBQ chicken

2 cans tomato sauce
1/2 C worcestershire sauce
1/2 C dijon mustard
12oz agave nectar
1/4 C Splenda
1/2 C white vinegar
To Taste:
Sea salt
Ground cloves
Cumin powder
Chili powder
Black pepper
Garlic powder
Minced Onion

Add all ingredients in a sauce pan over medium heat. I go by taste on almost everything. Adjust all ingredients to your taste. Bring the sauce to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes.

Add half the BBQ sauce to half of the shredded dogs and chicken. Simmer through till warm. Serve on toasted buns. Enjoy!

Chicken enchilada casserole

1 box Chicken Enchilada Hamburger Helper, which calls for water and milk
Substitute the whole cream for the milk (yes, this makes for a rich, but yummy dish)
Half the shredded dogs and chicken mixture
1 pkg frozen corn
corn tortillas

Put out the corn to thaw. Follow the instructions on the Hamburger Helper box, using whole cream instead of milk. Once the Hamburger Helper is done spread a portion of the mixture on the bottom of a casserole pan. Add a layer of thawed corn. Add a layer of corn tortillas. Repeat, ending with a layer of corn tortillas. Drizzle the enchilada sauce from the Hamburger Helper on top of the top. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees until the top layer of corn tortillas has browned slightly and is crispy.

Voila! All three of the items left lingering in my fridge were used and every member of my family loved each dish. After each bite was thoroughly enjoyed with no leftovers I delighted in telling my DH what he secretly ate! It’s my version of food therapy - bluntly proving that scary foods are really quite delicious.

Reuse, refresh and renew an antique bedroom set

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 04:19:45 +0100

Two weeks ago we bought a home! If you've been following our journey you know it's taken a lot longer than we thought with many twists we didn't expect, like living with my in-laws for almost a year. You'd think after everything we would have rushed right in and moved in, but that didn't happen.

I paused when standing in our new home holding the key in my hand for the first time. The house was our clean slate to make ours. I asked my dear husband for time to move in to make sure everything was as perfect as possible instead of rushing in and wishing months later we'd taken the time to really decide how we wanted to set up the house. Then I asked for even more time to refinish our bedroom set.

When we moved out of our old house we gave away our queen-size bed to go to a full-size bed - yes we chose to go smaller. (What.. we like to cuddle ;) At that time we were under contract on our first house. We were a few weeks away from closing when we saw an estate sale in the neighborhood and checked it out.

We found an antique bedroom set with a long dresser, a tall dresser with mirrors, a bedstand dresser and a bed headboard. It was definitely the bedroom set of our grandmothers, complete with grandma mothball smell and all. We liked the look and how it would fit in the house we were set to buy.

Then the contract fell through and so started our year-long journey to buy a home.

The home we bought (the 4th contract) has been almost completely remodeled and updated. Our antique furniture no longer fit with our modern master bedroom. With a skeptical look from my DH I went off to Home Depot to see what I could do to update our bedroom set that is very ornate with deep ridges in the design.

Even though I wanted the time to move in right, I didn't want to get myself involved in a project that would take too long, and possibly end in disaster. After minutes of inspecting cans and cans of stain, varnish and shellack. I read instructions for removing old stain, sanding furniture and proper brush strokes with the grain of the wood. It seemed too overwhelming for me to do.

Then I stumbled on Rustoleum Furniture Transformations. I asked the paint expert at the counter about the product and decided this is a system I could do.

I chose to refresh our antique set in a modern shade of espresso.

The system was as easy as the instructions claimed.
1. Clean with de-glosser to remove dirt and grease
2. Paint
3. Apply decorative glaze - optional
4. Apply protective top coat

The only problem with the system I had was with the decorative glaze. Instructions say to paint it on in on in small sections and then wipe away leaving only what you want for the look. In doing this some of the paint came off. I don't know if this was my fault, user error in someway or not, or if the paint didn't adhere to the furniture correctly for some reason.

My solution was to use a dry brush technique where I brushed very little on at a time to get the effect I wanted. I still found that on some of the edges in the ornate decoration of the furniture the paint still came off. It wasn't much and easily touched up with the paint sans the glaze.

The renewed bedroom set looks awesome in our new bedroom!

Cost:
Bedroom set bought at estate sale: $170
2 Rustoleum Furniture Transformation kits: $70 plus tax
New knobs and pulls for the drawers: ??? haven't bought them yet!
Dear Husband's Reaction: "wow, you just turned a used bedroom set into something that would sell for more than 4times what we paid!"

Green Chili - vegetarian and pork recipe

Tue, 06 Aug 2013 17:00:22 +0100

I slow cooked one 7lb pork loin and I've made Barbecue Pork sandwiches and Tamales. I have just enough pork left over to make the green chili for the tamales. Since my father-in-law is a vegetarian, I also make a vegetarian green chili.

Ingredients:
12 chopped roasted green chilies - the amount of seeds will create your level of heat OR 1lb can of whole green chilies

2 cups chopped tomatoes or roasted tomatoes
Half a finely chopped onion
4 cloves garlic
2 Tbs flour
2 cups of water - separated
Sea salt
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
If you like it really hot you can add a hot pepper or spices

Instructions:

Drizzle EVOO on bottom of large skillet and warm
Add chopped onions and mashed garlic to the pan and warm until onions are soft
Add chopped tomatoes and green chilies and saute until mixture is warmed through
Add 1 1/2 cup of water and salt. Add any other spices you desire. Bring to a boil
While mixture is coming to a boil put the remaining half cup of water in a glass. Use HOT water. Add flour to water and stir until dissolved
Add flour water to the boiling mixture and reduce heat
Simmer for 5 minutes stirring constantly. Green chili will start to thicken
For Pork Green Chili pour desired amount of green chili over left over pork
Simmer both pots for 30 minutes

ENJOY over tamales!

Tamales: pork and vegetarian recipes

Sun, 08 Jul 2012 17:53:11 +0100

I love tamales and I enjoy making them even though it’s time consuming. I definitely haven’t mastered a technique, but it’s fun trying. I’ve only done this a handful of times and learn something new each time. Eventually, I’ll get it just right.

My father-in-law is a vegetarian so I’m making both pork tamales and green chili with cheese tamales. It’s my first try at the vegetarian tamales.

What you need for tamales: corn husks, masa tamale dough, and meat or vegetarian filling.

Ingredients Pork tamales:
Slow cooked pulled pork
1 chopped roasted green chili
Half a finely chopped onion
4 cloves of garlic
2 tsp or more cayenne pepper
1/2 cup of water
1 lime
Cumin powder
Chili powder
Extra Olive Virgin Oil

Ingredients Green chili and cheese tamales:
12 roasted green chilies
1 package shredded cheese

Make 2 batches of tamale dough. I use Maseca Masa for Tamales. Follow the instructions on the bag to make the dough. I also add a few dashes of cumin and cayenne pepper to the dough.

Ingredients for 1 batch of tamale dough:
2 cups Maseca Masa
1tsp baking powder
2 cups water
2/3 cup shortening

Soak corn husks:
Corn husks soaked in water to make husks easier to work. The lesson I learned this time is that the husks can get too soaked. I left the husks soaking during the entire process. By the time I got to the last dozen or so tamales the husks were truly soaked through. This made it easier to make the tamales, but these ones didn’t steam right. The tamale dough stayed sticky.

Prepare the pork:

Drizzle EVOO on bottom of the skillet and warm
Mash garlic on bottom of skillet and add chopped green chili and onion
Once onion is soft add water and slow cooked pulled pork
Cut lime in half and squeeze lime juice from both halves onto pork
Season with cumin and chili powder
Simmer until water is soaked into the meat or cooked off
Remove from heat

Make the tamales:

Flatten soaked husk on a plate
Spread tamale dough evenly on husk
Add spoonful of meat OR shredded cheese and 1 green chili
Wrap the tamale - fold both sides over then fold bottom of husk up
Use strips of husks to tie bottom up OR place in steamer so bottom side is held into place by side of the pot
Repeat - try to save some of the pork for the green chili!
When all tamales are made cover steamer with damp kitchen town and steam for a minimum of 1hour

Enjoy your tamales smothered in green chili or freeze in vacuum sealed bags for another day!

Barbecue shredded pork recipe

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 21:25:30 +0100

The meat:

Slow cook pulled pork

The sauce:
20oz can all natural tomato puree or 1lb of your own stewed & pureed tomatoes
1/2 cup apple cider or red wine vinegar
1 cup brown sugar

1 medium finely chopped onion
1 small finely chopped green pepper
4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp dry mustard
Cayenne pepper
Sea salt
Paprika
Chili powder
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Ingredients:

Drizzle EVOO In a large sauce pan and heat on low
Mash garlic cloves into bottom of pan and add chopped onions and green peppers
Saute until onions and peppers are soft
Add tomato puree and stir in vinegar, brown sugar and dry mustard
Add sea salt, paprika, and chili powder to your desired taste
Simmer for a minimum of 1 hour
Pour sauce over pulled pork and warm through

Enjoy with your favorite buns and side dishes!

Slow cook pulled pork for tamales and sandwiches

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 21:44:13 +0100

In the freezer I found an almost 7lb pork loin and immediately I know I want both tamales and BBQ shredded pork. Can I do both with this one big chunk of meat? I’m going to try!

We like our meat full of flavor and spice (who doesn’t?) To me, this means using the same slow cooked pork for both tamales and sandwiches can be done. So, here I go:

Ingredients:

6-7lb pork loin (if you only want half the amount only 1 dish, use 3-4lb pork loin)

Lemon pepper or whatever meat rub you have on hand

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Large yellow onion sliced

Entire garlic head

Low sodium Spicy V8

Large skillet

Large crock pot

Get yourself ready: 1st make yourself a bloody mary!

I couldn’t help myself... I had vodka in the freezer and Spicy V8, what else was I supposed to do? Put ice in a glass, add vodka, fill glass with Spicy V8, add couple dashes of worcestershire sauce, add dash of lemon pepper, stir, garnish with celery stick, green olive, and enjoy!

2nd: drizzle EVOO in bottom of large skillet and warm pan on medium heat. Rinse off pork loin and rub it down with lemon pepper or other spices. Brown seasoned pork on all sides. You want a nice crust on the top and bottom.

3rd: slice the onion and prepare the garlic. (I clean off the garlic cloves as much as I can and then I put them in the microwave for 10 seconds to loosen the remaining skin and soften them up.) Use a fork to mash the garlic cloves on the bottom of the crock pot. Layer the sliced onions on top of the mashed garlic.

4th: Place the browned pork in the crock pot and pour Spicy V8 over the pork. You can use the rest of the bottle, or leave yourself enough for another bloody mary.

5th: Slow cook on low for a minimum 20 hours. Yes, 20 hours.... the house will smell scrumptious!

6th: Remove from the crock pot and place on a large plate. If any fat remains on the pork, it should just fall away. Remove that fat. Cover with aluminum foil and let rest for at least an hour.

7th: Shred the meat and separate into two batches for tamales and sandwiches.

Use the meat however you'd like or go on and try either my barbecue pulled pork sandwiches or tamales!

Let me know how you like it and any changes you make to it.

No Sugar Mango Mojito Recipe

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 21:26:04 +0100

Mojitos are one of my favorite drinks, especially on a hot summer day or on a holiday like today.

However, I don't like the sugar that is a part of the drink. Some mojitos are way too sweet for me. So I started making my own without sugar, but are just as tasty or even as sweet. For the first time I tried a flavored rum, mango to make mojitos. The mango flavoring made the drink even sweeter, almost dangerous to the point you can forget you're drinking rum!

Ingredients:
Rum - favorite white Rum, Mango flavored (or plain)
Limes
Fresh mint leaves
Diet lemon lime soda
Ice

Tools:
Muddler if you have one - I use a heavy wooden spoon
Glasses
Knife

Directions:

1. Cut limes into quarters and rinse off the mint leaves

2. Add 2 or 3 mint leaves to a glass

3. Squeeze a lime wedge over the mint leaves

4. Mash the mint and lime juice with muddler or wooden spoon

5. Add ice to the glass

6. Pour in rum - desired amount/taste

7. Fill glass remaining way with diet soda

8. Stir

9. Enjoy!

10. Don't drink and drive!

Happy 4th of July!

Tradition: family, fun and fireworks. Now #NoFireworksFun

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 21:26:24 +0100

My best memories from my childhood are all my family get togethers over all the holidays. The 4th of July was always the best… bare feet… summer… Grandma's homemade ice cream… Grandpa's grilling… cousins… slip-n-slide… running through the sprinklers… and the grand finale of our own fireworks show!

All the men surrounded the grill and set up a variety of fireworks displays. The spinners nailed to a post was so awesome! All the women gathered in the kitchen talking and catching up. All us kids running around free of all adults! (Hey, it's small town Nebraska where the neighborhood took care of us.)

Then as I grew into a teen in high school the family night was split to include time with friends. This is when I realized my hometown actually had its own fireworks show! We drove to a couple different small towns to watch the public fireworks displays. Again, free of adults! (I was an angel.. just ask my mom.)

Then there was college where still time was split between family and friends. Then I was lucky to get a job in Denver soon after graduating at CBS Denver. The news never stops and no holidays are guaranteed off,

I worked my first 4th of July in Colorado in 2001. I consoled myself with the thought that we could celebrate in the days leading up to the 4th just like we did in Nebraska, where you can buy and use fireworks the entire week before the 4th!

Instead I found out that you can't shoot off your own fireworks in Colorado and a little part of my childhood cried. But, I was an adult by now and had to act like one. I embraced the public shows the various cities and organizations hosted.

Then I started dating Shawn, a guy with two young boys. They were 5 and 6 at the time. Immediately I knew I wanted them to experience the 4th of July as I had. My sister has taken up the family 4th of July celebration. In the past 6 years we have made it to Nebraska 4 times to celebrate the 4th of July, including this year.

Last year we also had Squeaks, our baby girl 10 months at the time, with us. I kept her inside during the loud fireworks part. We watched from the window of my sister's house and she was mesmerized by all the colors.

I couldn't wait for this year where she would be old enough to stay outside during the show if she could handle the pops and bangs! The boys were so excited because now at 11 and 12 years old they are allowed a little more responsibility with the fireworks - from picking out their own & paying for them to setting up the display.

We had a small family gathering and fireworks show Friday night. Until the first bang I was excited as ever! BANG! Everything in me froze.

I didn't feel the glee and nostalgia like usual. I was happy to see our baby girl, now 22 months, amazed and surprised. I tried to shake off the feeling.

It just got worse. Every panic nerve in me tightened. As everyone oooed and awed I sat trying not to squeeze Squeaks too tight. I watched every spark and stretched my neck in every which way to see where embers fell.

Squeaks shrieked and giggled in delight and mimicked her older cousin in covering her mouth in surprise. I found myself forcing a smile and asking, "how many left?"

All I could think was "fire."

On our way to my sister's house we saw smoke. I knew immediately it was a wildfire or brush fire. We drove 10-miles past my sister's house to Lake Maloney and found a brush fire with fire also cresting in trees. It was right up against the swim/recreation beach. (Ever the journalist, I took video and sent it to the local NBC station, KNOP.) The fire seemed to be contained quickly.

While I treasure all the sparklers I've held… the spinners that flew off and "chased" my dad and Grandpa… family celebrations… I think for the first time ever in my life I was over fireworks.

Thoughts of chasing fireflies… flashlight tag… outdoor movie or fireworks displayed projected on the side of the house… tons of fun sans fireworks. What mattered was being with family. Being together, eating a meal together and celebrating together are what matters.

What #NoFireworksFun do you have planned?

I broke my funny bone

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 21:26:39 +0100

We're two weeks into the Montano Family Challenge and the only update I have is: I broke my funny bone.

No joke.

Well, okay I didn't actually break any bones. I have ulnar nerve damage from hitting my elbow a.k.a. my funny bone extremely hard on a corner of a desk at work a few weeks ago. Whatever injury I caused didn't heal and now the nerve is inflamed to the point that I have only tingly feelings in my pinky and ring fingers on my left hand. The pain radiates from my elbow through my finger tips & up through my shoulder.

What does my funny bone have to do with our family challenge - nothing. It's not an injury (at this point) that prevents me from exercising and certainly has nothing to do with my diet. But, nothing or nowhere is where we are with our family challenge.

I'm disappointed, but not surprised. These last two weeks have involved two trips - family vacation to Salida and my brother's wedding in Nebraska - and breaking news of the High Park Fire. The past two weeks feel like months. All I want is to sleep!

I know I can't though. I have GOT to take our challenge seriously for several reasons:

Health, of course. My mom and grandma had heart attacks at ages 41 and 39. I have to protect my heart.
Health insurance. If I pass a physical and blood work and BMI and I don't know what else by Aug. 31, I'll get a discount on our health insurance.
I've been nominated for a Regional Emmy - nominated twice in the same category "Interactivity!" The Emmy Gala is July 21st and I want to look and feel better about myself. Even if I hadn't been nominated, I'd feel this way. I'm President of the Board of Governors for the Heartland Chapter of NATAS. Being nominated is just an extra push I need.

So, what am I going to do? I'm going to carve out the time I need to take care of myself. I really have no other choice.
My update sums up the update for the entire family. The boys are reading, but not as much as is required weekly in the challenge. My husband is in the same boat as me for our health challenge. He's got to make time for himself too.

So onward we go. I hope my next update is a much better one!