Spicy Black Bean, Egg and Vegan Chorizo Bake

Yesterday, I was rummaging through the fridge trying to figure out what I could make for dinner with a somewhat limited amount of ingredients. I happened to glance at the back of one of our shredded cheese packets and found a recipe for a sausage and egg bake. I didn't follow the recipe at all, but it gave me a great idea for my own egg, black bean and spicy vegan chorizo bake!

what you need:
4 eggs
1 can of rotel
1 can of black beans
1 bag of shredded cheddar cheese and any other kind of shredded cheese you want (i used a mix of asiago, parmesan, mozzarella, and romano)
sour cream
milk
onion
green onion to sprinkle on top
spicy vegan chorizo "sausage" or regular chorizo sausage, if you prefer =)

With 4 eggs, this recipe can feed 2- 3 people, 2 if you have big eaters in your family (or maybe my boyfriend was just particularly hungry last night!).

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Beat eggs with milk until evenly mixed. Pour into greased baking dish and bake for 10- 15 minutes. Eggs should be fluffy and softly set. Meanwhile, cook the chorizo and onion on a skillet for 8 minutes or until lightly browned and onions are slightly see though (caramelized).
After the eggs have cooked, layer black beans (drained), cheddar cheese, rotel (lightly drained), chorizo and onion, green onion, and more cheese to top it off. Bake for 35- 40 minutes on 350 degrees. Top off with sour cream and enjoy!

This recipe is great for any meal. I'm eating the left overs for breakfast right now =)

The recipe on the back of the shredded cheese packet called for mixing the eggs with sour cream rather then milk, but I thought that the sour cream mixed in with the eggs gives it and unpleasant texture.

My Estyversary came and went

Yes, an Etsyversary is a real thing, and I flaked on mine! As of July 5th, my etsy shop has been open for a year! I wanted to do something special for it, and I completely forgot about it, until now! So as I hang my virtual streamers and throw my virtual confetti, you can check out my Etsy sale! Until August 5th, all of my tote bags will be on sale for just $16, smaller totes are only $13!! If you get a chance, stop by my shop and check it out! KtOriginals tote bags.

Polka Dots and Turtles

Every month, the area that I live in has an art walk where local bars and gallery's stay open late to showcase and sell local artisan's work. At one of these art walks, a very sweet, tatted up girl asked if I could make one of my zipper handle bags in a specific color to match her roller derby colors. I love custom orders, so of course I said yes! Well, I finally had the opportunity to finish it today:

It's been awhile...

I know I should update my poor, neglected blog more often, but as soon as the thought enters my mind to do so, it quickly disappears again. So I have decided that there is no reason for me NOT to sit in front of my sewing machine everyday and get some work done. I'm coming up on my etsyversary (there really is such a thing, I didn't just make it up!), and I thought that after a year of having my shop open, I would have more items listed in my shop. So I've decided to do something about it, starting with these two bags:

I love this bag so much! So many pockets to it (3 on the outside, 2 on the inside), you'll be sure to never loose your cell phone in your purse ever again! I do wish that the buckle closer that was suppose to go on it would have worked out, though. I felt like it completed the purse, but I screwed up the measurements on it and couldn't use it for this bag.

This is the second bag I've finished this week, in the same style as the first one, just with less pockets! I've been waiting for the perfect bag to come along to use that huge button with, and this is the one!
In the next week and a half, I'll be working on a clutch to match a bridesmaids dress and a custom zipper handle bag. I wish I could work on more items for etsy, but that will just have to wait til next week!

Little pink bugs

Ok, so I know I said I would post new pictures of the garden, but I haven't even taken the time to take new pictures! Except of this jalapeno plant. I noticed a day or two ago that there are these little pink bugs on it, and then this morning, I noticed them on the eggplant that I have, too. Does anyone know what they are, if they are harmful and if so, how do I get rid of them? Thanks for any help! (you can click on the pictures to get a larger view of the bugs)

A little from the garden

So far, the experience of gardening out of pots alone has been pretty rewarding. In the last two weeks or so, I've acquired a few new plants, 4 or 5 of them being peppers (sweet, hot and mild), a zucchini plant, eggplant and a roma tomato plant to put in the topsy turvy! And to top it off, each plant was a dollar! I also picked up a few more basil plants, since i go through it waaaaay to quickly. I also figured I'd try growing some peppermint. You know, for mojitos!! This is pretty much how it looks now.

I wish I could remember exactly what day these next two pictures were taken, because both plants have grown so much since then. I think it's only been two weeks or less since they were taken.


My basil plant that I bought at the Tremont Farmers Market and the only thing that I started from seed, tomatoes.

Snap dragons. The only flower I have =)

My little lady, Lexie, keeps me company while I play in the dirt.

I think tomorrow I'll post updated pictures of the tomatoes. They've grown like crazy in just the last couple of days!!

Minnie the Meanie

My gorgeous, fluffy, mean kittie has been so cuddly lately. It's hard to believe that at one point in time, you couldn't touch this cat without being bit or scratched, and definitely hissed at! Anyway, she decided to make herself at home on my leg while i was sleeping one day:

Happy Earth Day!!

To celebrate, I'm having a sale on this tote bag, made completely from recycled materials, Banana Tote Bag, for today only! It's a steal at only $15 (usually $25!!)! Refunds will be made via paypal. Happy Earth Day!

Pretty in Paisley!!

I sold a tote bag today to one of my fellow sneak attack buddies (HandmadeBySandi, check out her shop, she has some GREAT items!), and it finally gave me the kick in the butt that I needed to finish the tote bag that has been sitting in pieces on my sewing room table for weeks! I walked down to the coffee shop that I go to every morning and asked one of the barista's to model my bag (trying to take a picture at home by myself was a little difficult). This is the end result of it all:

This tote is part of my sale along with all of my other totes, buy one for the normal price of $25, buy two for $40! You can check out my sale and my shop here: KtOriginals

The Urban Garden

So I've never been good at gardening, or keeping plants alive (I once killed bamboo. Isn't that bad luck?), but I've moved since last summer and actually live in a place were there aren't 100 trees in the yard taking up all the sunlight.


Snap dragons are the first thing I planted while my toes stayed warm in my monkey slippers!

This is the end result. Basil, garlic chives (yum!), oregano, spicy oregano (can't wait to try this one!), thyme, dill, parsley and i think there's a few other things in there as well.


And, of course, catnip for the kitties! This picture wouldn't have been so blurry, but Minnie was so excited that she wouldn't stop moving! It was pretty cute.

Tote bag sale!

When I'm out selling my wares at festivals, I always sell my tote bags for $25, 2 for $40. So, I figured, why not do that on my etsy shop? Check 'em out at www.etsy.com/shop/KtOriginals. I'm currently working on 3 new totes, one of them is a custom order for a friend. Well, I'm going to go back to eating homemade brownies and sewing!

I love handmade gifts

When my niece was born, she lived with my family until she was about 3 1/2 years old (I was still in high school at the time). One of our family friends that was AMAZING at taking care of her took her to one of those paint your own pottery places, and she painted this for me (she was only 3 at the time!). Of course, she didn't do the lettering on it :)

I try to use this mug everyday that I can. It's one of my favorite mugs, my other favorite came from my best friend and has an owl sitting on the handle of it! Now it's time for me to patch a hole in the butt of my favorite jeans!

Do you know what a S.N.E.A.K. attack is?

If you don't, then you're about to learn! Twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, the S.N.E.A.K attackers meet in the Etc. forum on Etsy to "attack" shops with little to no sales, resulting in a slew of new sales for the unsuspecting shops! It's a great boost for a shop just starting out, or for someone who is low on sales. Anyone and everyone can join in on the fun!! For all the information on sneak attacks, go to handmademovement

Anyway, last Monday I hosted a sneak attack with Danaswove as a "victim". She sells all sorts of cute cell phone pouches (including ones with owls, my favorite!!) and adorable retro aprons. I decided to save the owl pouches for someone else, and instead, I bought this one for myself!

One of my favorite pair of pants to go hiking in has no pockets (i like to carry my cell phone with me when i'm hiking), and this pouch is the perfect size for my phone!

This is how I ended my day today...

How can you go wrong with a water fall, 3 bridges and a train using one of them? I love Ohio.

Artisans Alliance (the other AA!)

I think, for not really having anything planned, our last minute meeting on Saturday went great! I'm really glad that people are still interested and want to get involved with AA. More people showed up then I expected, and we even have some new people joining! The weather's getting nicer and all I can think about are all the upcoming artwalks, farmer's markets, music festivals and gatherings to come. I can't wait wait for this summer! Taking on the Artisans Alliance will be a big task, but I know I'll be able to handle it, and I have some great friends to help me out too! If you want to know more of what the Artisans Alliance is about, you can check out our myspace (i know, who uses myspace anymore? hehe) at www.myspace.com/artisansalliance. If you can enjoy the wonderful weather today like I can, go do it!

Useful website for vendors and sellers of handmade goods

I just found this website with tons of great, useful tips for outdoor vendors. I'm posting this to keep track of it for myself, too :) Even seasoned vendors could get some use out of this!

www.craftsreport.com

My first blog in years!

I thought it might be nice to keep a blog of my unorganized thoughts. Lets see how this goes!