Somewhere over the Rainbow

After all that work getting my bear-paw blocks done for the honey-honey quilt, I needed a break. I decided to start work on a quilt that has been nagging at me.  I have had this particular collection of fabric for years! It's a set of hand dyed rainbow fabrics that I found in a little shop near my hometown that has all sorts of hidden/forgotten treasures in it. I don't know if the shop is even there anymore, but it was a fun little shop if you were looking for something you haven't seen in a while.
I kept thinking I wanted to do a rainbow theme, but didn't know whether to do squares or try to do something more complicated. After flipping through magazines and books trying to get ideas, I finally found something that worked perfect! So, I got to work cutting...

and sewing...

I came up with this wonderful pile of blocks. I still need to iron and assemble. Hopefully I can get that done today. I am so excited to share more information on this little beauty in the near future. Until then, I had better get back to work!

I am linking up with WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.  Can't wait to see what others are working on.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

I have a confession about this recipe.  It's a lot of cans! Normally, I really try to avoid can-recipe's, but there are a few family favorites from when I first started cooking that are just too awesome to go away. This is one of them. We LOVE this meal!  

 

Enchilada's themselves can be tricky because they can fall apart while you're serving; this totally eliminates that problem. It's creamy with a little bit of kick, and I can hide veggies like corn in it (great way to get kiddos to eat more veggies).  This recipe was handed down from my mother, and originally was vegetarian. But she fixed it up a bit to make it a hearty weeknight meal the whole family can agree on.

 

I am putting this recipe up for 2 reasons: first, because it's a meal that my family enjoys and we've been making it for years so I want it to be a part of my cache; and second because I want to challenge myself to improve the recipe so that it doesn't include cans (or at least eliminate a couple of them). I am hoping to have an 'updated' version of this recipe in the near future.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

2 c sour cream
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 small can diced green chili's
2 cans diced, cooked chicken
2 bunches green onions, diced
2 c shredded cheddar cheese
12 corn tortillas




 

In a bowl, mix the sour cream, soup, and green chili's together. Spread a thin layer on the bottom of a casserole dish. Tear 4 tortilla's in half and spread them across the bottom. Add the chicken to the mix. Place about 1/3 of the mix onto the tortilla's in the dish and spread it evenly. Sprinkle 1/3 of the green onions and 1/3 of the cheese on top. Add 4 more tortilla's, and continue to layer in the same order 2 more times.  The last thing should be the cheese and onion.
Bake in the oven at 375 for about 20 minutes, until the cheese starts to bubble. To finish it, I turn on the broiler on Hi and brown the cheese before pulling out of the oven. Leave it to cool for a few minutes before serving.  Enjoy with corn, cornbread, chips and salsa, even guacamole. Such a great meal for on-the-go days when you don't have time. It's also great for meal-prep, up to 1-2 days ahead.

Finally have the blocks finished!

I am learning a lot about working with jelly rolls. Most importantly, I am learning that I need more practice.  Guess I'll need to get more jelly rolls. :D I am so happy that I am finally done with these blocks.

There are 20 blocks total. Half of them have a print in the centers and the other half have white in the centers. Here's a few of my fave's:

I love the colors in this one.  Sherbet orange with the bubble gum pink. Fantastic combination.

I didn't know what to think of this flower pattern fabric at first, but I love it! All the different colors of flowers mixed together so well.

Big prints make me nervous, so I was glad to see the flowers fit into these square cuts so well.

Pink, of course, is one of my favorite colors and this flower print is so fun. The bunches of flowers looks so fluffy and soft.











All I have left to do now is the sashing and the border, but I need to muster up the energy to get them done.  The border consists of the left overs from the jelly roll, which means a whole lot of sewing strips.  I think I need to take a break from this one and call it a 'finish for now'. I'll come back to it in a couple of weeks.

I am linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finished Friday! Hope everyone has a great weekend!