A Texas Star

Did you know that the Texas will be 176 years old next week! March 2, is the celebration of the adoption of theTexas Declaration of Independence, declaring itself independent from Mexico. Even though state joined the United States a decade later, Texas Independence Day is still an official holiday in the state of Texas.

In celebration of this uniquely Texas holiday, I thought I’d share a quick little craft idea. This Texas Star is a variation of the rustic Valentine heart. I purchased this wooden star a couple of years ago in Canton for 50 cents at the same time I purchased the wooden heart. It too got stuck away in my craft stash. Fortunately wooden star cut outs are easy to find year round.

I painted the star a bright blue, using acrylic craft paint. I let it dry for about four hours. While that was drying, I used white acrylic craft paint on the pre-cut wood letters and bright red on the pre-cut heart I purchased at Michael’s. Once drive, about six hours, I glued the letters and heart to the star using wood glue. When the glue had set up, about two hours, I sealed the whole thing by painting it with a layer of white craft glue and let it dry overnight.

I put it on the fireplace as a reminder of holiday.

Easy East Texas Jambalaya

With Mardi Gras just around the corner, I’m in the mood for something a little Cajun so I set out to create an easy slow cooker jambalaya. Authentic jambalaya takes forever to make, and you have to stand over it – something I’m not a fan of doing. And I’m not a big fan of mixing meats, chicken with seafood and sausage and whatever else Cajuns toss in. I set out to create a jambalaya that was easy and appeasing to my pallet. I ended up with easy Cajun dish slow cooker with a little bit of East Texas influence.

Ingredients:

4 cups brown rice

1 small bag of dry red or pinto

1 ring of smoked beef sausage. I’m using Hillshire’s all beef

1 can of plain diced tomatoes
1 bag of PictSweet's seasoning blend. It has onions, bell peppers and red peppers.

Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning

Mix everything in the slow cooker and season to taste with Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning, Cook on slow until the beans are soft, about seven or eight hours.

Lentil Soup

Once upon a time, my mother and grandmothers would labor over roasts on Sunday. Every single Sunday. It was the “fancy” meal of the week where everybody gathered at the table. I love a good roast, but I'm basically lazy when it comes to cooking, especially the day after a StoneAge show… and I don’t remember the last time we ate at the table.

In trying to figure out quick soups I could make before we left for a show, I hit upon lentil soup.
It’s quick, easy and pretty inexpensive to make. And John says they're pretty good too! Just what we need to get us out of bed on Sunday after a night of rock and roll.

Lentil Soup

Ingredients:
1 package of dry lentils
2 cans of sliced carrots, drained (or one package of frozen sliced carrots)
1 medium onion finely chopped (or one package of chopped frozen onions)
1-2 rings of smoked sausage, any brand or flavor. I usually get Healthy Choice or Hillshire Farms, all beef.

Fill to the crock brim with water

Sometimes I’ll put this on low before we go to bed and it’s usually ready in six hours. Lentils cook really fast compared to other types of beans and legumes. If I forget to put it on the night before, I’ll set the slow cooker on high, so it's usually done in about three hours.

Rustic Valentine

Even though Valentine’s is just around the corner, there’s still time to create a one-of-a-kind Valentine for your true love, that be used for decorating year after year.

I purchased this wooden heart a couple of years ago in Canton for 50 cents, and stuck it away in my craft stash. I also have a stash of fabric cut outs, which includes multiple sizes fabrics. At this time of year, wooden and fabric hearts are easy to come by.

I painted the base of the heart a deep red, using acrylic craft paint. I let it dry for about four hours. Then I used fabric glue to attach the bigger of the two hearts to the wood. With fabric glue, make sure that you coat the entire surface that you want to glue down. Once you have the fabric heart placed where you want it, smooth out the bubbles. I just used my fingers to smooth out the bubbles and shape the heart. I let that dry overnight and then in the morning, I glued down the second heart, again using fabric glue and smoothing out the bubbles.

While I let the second heart dry, I painted pre-cut wood letters. For this project, I used a paint pen, but next time, I’ll use acrylic craft paint or maybe just spray paint. I set aside the letters to dry as well.

Once the letters were completely dry, about 12 hours, I used a fine-tip black Sharpie to outline the edges and paint the sides. While those were drying, I used the white pen to seal the edges of the fabric hearts and outline the wooden heart. Again, I waited 12 hours to let the paint dry. I used the black Sharpie to outline the fabric hearts. Once dry, I used fabric glue to place the letters. I sealed the whole thing by painting it with a layer of white craft glue.

Now I have a cute, rustic Valentine that I can use year after year.

While I love the result, the paint pen was difficult to control. I’d use fabric paint next time.