Chicken Verde Enchilada Lasagna

My husband loves Mexican cuisine. Tacos, burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas; he loves them all. His most requested dish is enchiladas. For special occasions I will take the time to roll up the enchiladas individually before baking them, but for a normal weeknight dinner I like making an enchilada lasagna. It is so much easier, not as time consuming, and still tastes just as great!

-Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
Taco seasoning packet
Olive Oil
10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup
7 oz can diced green chilis, drained
19 oz can green enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded cheese
1 cup shredded cheese (for topping)
12 corn tortillas (I like using the King Size ones)
Juice of 1 lime
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
Tortilla strips (optional)

-Directions
Heat olive oil over medium heat. Slice chicken breasts through the middle so they are not as thick. You should have 4 thin filets now. Sprinkle taco seasoning on and cook in olive oil until cooked through. Be careful not to overcook though. Save the rest of the taco seasoning.

While the chicken is cooking, mix 2 tbsp of the taco seasoning mix, cream of chicken soup, green chilis, 1/4 cup enchilada sauce, 2 cups cheese, lime juice, and half of the chopped cilantro. When your chicken is done cooking and has rested for 5 minutes, chop it up into small bite sized pieces and add to your mixture.

Layering the enchilada lasagna:
Add 1/4 cup enchilada sauce to the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Layer 3 tortillas on the bottom (I put 2 on one side of the pan, and split the 3rd one in half to fill in the holes on the other side of the pan). Scoop 2 cups of the filling mixture and spread it out on the tortillas. Repeat the tortillas and filling again. Add another layer of tortillas. Add the remaining filling mixture and spread. Add the last 3 tortillas. Pour the enchilada sauce over the top tortillas. Add 1 cup of cheese and remaining cilantro.

Cook at 350° for 30-45 minutes until bubbly and heated through. Top it with tortilla strips for a little crunch.

Serve with your favorite enchilada sides. My favorites are cilantro lime rice and refried beans.

Check back in next month for my Beef Enchilada Lasagna with Red Sauce!

Happy Cooking!
-Sarah Liz

Ladybug Hat - Free Crochet Pattern

I am so excited that the end of summer is in sight! I love the fall. One of my favorite things about the fall weather is that I can make adorable hats for my children to wear. A favorite hat has to be the ladybug hat. When I was searching for patterns I came across a few that I liked well enough, but they were not exactly what I was looking for. So with a combination of patterns, I made up my own.

Materials:

I hook (5.5mm) (I am a tight crocheter, so you might want to adjust your hook size based on your tension)

Caron Simply Soft Yarn (Black, Harvest Red)

Scissors

Needle

Patterns:

First of all, I love Repeat Crafter Me. She has so many cute designs, and her crochet beanie pattern is a staple for my own designs. She did a version of a ladybug hat here. I used her basic beanie pattern with some color changes at the top. Here is what I did.

- Using black, do the first 4 rows of the hat pattern in the size of your choice.

- Switch to red starting at row 5.

- Continue with earflaps in red.

- Sc around entire brim of hat (including earflaps) in black.

- Starting at the bottom of the black rows at the crown of the hat, surface slip st down the middle on both sides of the hat.

- Antennae

1. Magic circle, sc 8, do not join

2. Sc8

3. Sc8

4. 4sc decrease

5. 4sc 

Continue with round 5 until antennae measures 2.5 inches

- Dots

Magic circle, 12 dc around, join. Cut leaving long tail for sewing on.

- Ties

I use 5 strands of black, and 4 strands of red, approximately 1 yard long. Loop through the bottom of the earflap, and braid the ties to the desired length.

I would love to see your ladybug hats! Tag me on instagram @craftsbysarahliz so I can see your work!

*Permissions*

- The main hat and earflap patterns are Sarah Zimmerman's from Repeat Crafter Me. Please give her due credit.
- You are free to sell what you make from my parts of the pattern. I would appreciate links back to my blog to credit me as the designer.
- You may not use my photos
- You may not sell this pattern or claim it as your own

© Sarah Gross - Crafts by Sarah Liz

Hannah Hair Bow - Free Knitting Pattern

My 2 year old loves hair accessories. She often opens the drawer where I keep all the headbands and hair clips and asks to wear one. She also throws a fit when I take it off, we are working on that part. Because of her love of hair accessories, I knew I needed to have a red bow for her 2nd birthday earlier this year. I was really wanting to do a knitted version of a bow so I created the "Hannah" Hair Bow just for this special occasion. But it really is a versatile piece that I want to do in all the colors possible to match every outfit. I wrote down the pattern to share with you. I also have the free pattern in pdf form on my Ravelry shop. Enjoy!

Materials:

Size 6, 4mm needles

Worsted Weight Yarn (I used Caron Simply Soft)
Scissors
Needle for weaving in ends
Optional - Hot Glue Gun
Optional - Hair Clip
Optional - Nylon Headband

Abbreviations:
K - Knit
Purl - Purl
St - Stitch
RS - Right Side
WS - Wrong Side

Instructions:

Long tail cast on 10 (alternatively, if you do not want to to a long tail cast on, thumb cast on 10, and knit 1 row before starting row 1 below)

1. K across

2. Slip 1 st purlwise, P rest of row

3. Slip 1 st knitwise, k rest of row

4-19. Repeat last 2 rows until you have 17 rows stockinette, ending with a rs row.

20. (WS) Cast off knitwise

Finishing:

Weave in ends.

Option 1:

Cut long length of yarn (I use approximately 1 yard). 

Weave needle through the center (see photo). 

Pinch center of bow. Wrap yarn around center of bow 10 times. 

Knot in the back and weave in ends. 

Using hot glue gun, glue center of bow to hair clip of choice.

Option 2:

Cut long length of yarn (1 yard). Weave needle through the center (see photo above). Pinch center of bow. 

Wrap yarn around the center of the bow AND a nylon headband. 

Knot in the back and weave in ends.

I would love to see your bows! Tag me on instagram @craftsbysarahliz so I can see your work!

*Permissions*

- You are free to sell what you make from this pattern. I would appreciate links back to my blog to credit me as the designer.
- You may not use my photos
- You may not sell this pattern or claim it as your own

© Sarah Gross - Crafts by Sarah Liz

My Personal Cheerleader

I highly doubt I would be where I am today with my crafting were it not for the praise and encouragement from my husband. We have been married for 8 1/2 years and have 3 children. He makes me laugh, and is such a source of comfort and encouragement. He even lets me use his pretty face to take photos of my menswear. Having said all that, he has only asked me to make him a few things in all my years of knitting and crocheting. Here are some of the things I have made at his request.


-Minion hats for the family-

This was a fun one. It is something of a family tradition now to see any Despicable Me movies as a family in the theaters. He requested that I make minion hats for all of us when the Minions movie came out. Naturally we had to capture the moment for posterity.


-Baby Groot-

We love Guardians of the Galaxy, so after we saw Volume 2 he requested a Baby Groot for his desk at work. Hubby wants a Baby Groot, hubby gets a Baby Groot. Our son wants one now that he saw his daddy get one so there may be more Baby Groots in the near future.


-USC Trojans Hat-

With the previous projects, he was pretty open with the designs, and I didn't have to worry too much about it. Then came the USC hat. He was VERY specific with what he wanted. After lots of research, presenting color options, and reworking the letters to get them just so, this hat is what I produced for him.


Since these are all items that have copyrights, I won't be able to sell any of these items, but it was fun making them for personal use. And it made the hubby happy. And a happy hubby makes the best kind of cheerleader for a Mom Boss / Entrepreneur like me. I wonder what his next request will be...

Much Love,
Sarah Liz

Flower Child Headband - Crochet Pattern

Do you remember making those daisy chain crowns from the tiny flowers in the grass? That is what I was going for. My oldest daughter loves all things girly. Which we find hilarious, because she is a determined, tenacious, little bruiser of a little girl. She loves flowers and especially flowers that go in her hair. I was inspired to make her a headband with tons of flowers.

Most of the flower headband patterns I have seen, including some of my own, have you make the headband separately and make individual flowers and sew them on one by one. Most fiber artists will tell you that the sewing and weaving in ends is our least favorite part. I wanted to make something with the least amount of ends to weave in. After some trial and error, I created the Flower Child Headband. I love it because the white yarn is never cut except at the final cut to finish off the headband. The yellow centers are the only ends to weave in, and I actually use those ends to help secure the flowers to the headband!

I used Aunt Lydia's #10 Crochet Cotton thread to make a dainty little piece that fits both my 8 month old and my 2 year old! I love making headbands that adjust to your baby's head so you don't have to buy a new one every time they outgrow it, which seems like every month.

I added the headband to my Etsy shop, but if you want to have a go at making one yourself, you can also purchase the pattern on Etsy, or on my Ravelry store.

I would love to see your Flower Child Headbands! Tag me on instagram @craftsbysarahliz so I can see your work!

*Permissions*
- You are free to sell what you make from this pattern. I would appreciate links back to my blog to credit me as the designer.
- You may not use my photos
- You may not sell this pattern or claim it as your own

© Sarah Gross - Crafts by Sarah Liz

Hardly Jambalaya

Think of Jambalaya. A few things should pop into your head, like andouille sausage, tomatoes, the trinity (onions, celery, peppers), etc. Well, if I were to make for myself, I would probably try to get it as authentic as possible. However, I cook for my family, so sometimes we sacrifice authenticity for something they like instead. For example, my husband prefers ground sausage in his jambalaya. Also, since he doesn't like warm tomatoes, I skip the canned diced tomatoes and use only tomato paste to get the tomato flavor. With these changes I am not sure I should even call it jambalaya! At any rate, this recipe is a favorite of ours, even with the changes that make not as authentic as it should be.

In a large pot over medium heat, brown 1 lb Jimmy Dean ground sausage. Once browned, remove the sausage from the pot. Leave the fat from sausage in the pot. If there isn't a whole lot of fat left, add 1 tbsp olive oil.

Add your trinity - half an onion diced, 1 red bell pepper diced, 1 green bell pepper diced, and 3 stalks of celery diced. Saute until veggies are soft. Add 1 tbsp minced garlic and cook 1 minute.

Add sausage back into pot.

Add 6 oz tomato paste and stir to combine.

Add Old Bay Seasoning. My sister-in-law introduced me to Old Bay Seasoning and said "Old Bay on everything". We love lots of spicy cajun flavor so I put tons of it in every batch. I recommend starting with just a little bit (think teaspoon) and tasting it to check the spice levels.

Add 32 oz chicken broth. Bring to boil. Turn heat down and simmer for 10 minutes. If you have more time, simmer it for even longer. The longer it simmers, the more rich the flavor will be. But only simmer BEFORE putting in the shrimp.

Turn off heat, and add 1 lb uncooked, peeled shrimp. Shrimp tends to overcook easily so cook it with the heat off, and only until it turns pink and they start curling up into a spiral. If they spiral up really tight, you have most likely overcooked them. 

Serve immediately over prepared rice. Our favorite is jasmine rice.

If you don't want to scroll through all the step-by-step photos for the instructions, see directions below.

***Ingredients***
1 lb Jimmy Dean Ground Sausage
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 an onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 tbsp fresh minced garlic
6 oz tomato paste
Old Bay seasoning to taste
32 oz chicken broth
1 lb raw shrimp, de-veined, peeled
Rice (for serving)

***Directions***
In a large pot over medium heat, brown Jimmy Dean ground sausage. Once browned, remove the sausage from the pot. Leave fat from sausage in the pot. If there isn't a whole lot of fat left, add 1 tbsp olive oil. Add onion, peppers, and celery. Saute until veggies are soft. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add sausage back into pot. Add tomato paste and Old Bay seasoning and cook 3 more minutes. Add chicken broth. Bring to boil. Turn heat down and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off heat, and add shrimp. Shrimp tends to overcook easily so cook it with the heat off, and only until it turns pink and they start curling up into a spiral. Serve immediately over prepared rice.

I would love to know how yours turns out!

Happy cooking!
-Sarah Liz

Itty Bitty Bow Headband - Pattern and Video Tutorial

So many of my crocheting friends have asked me how I make my Itty Bitty Bow Headbands. While the pattern itself is super simple, the construction and sewing of the bow is hard for me to explain, even with the photo tutorial below. So I decided to make my very first pattern video. I would love to know what you think!

P.S. Pay no attention to my kids shouting in the background. They were fighting about tortilla chips, naturally.

Materials:
F hook (3.75 mm)
Yarn of choice (I use Caron Simply Soft)
Scissors
Needle for weaving in ends
Nylon headband (see tutorial below to make your own from a pair of tights)

Abbreviations:
Ch - chain
Sl st - slip stitch

Written Instructions:
With F hook, chain 30
Sl st in 2nd ch from hook, and in each remaining ch. (29 sl sts)
Cut yarn, leaving 6 inches for sewing bow

Make a bow by folding ends over and crossing over the middle. Use needle to weave the yarn through and wrap around the middle of the bow and the nylon headband. For a better description of how to sew the bow together, see video above.

Photo Tutorial:

With F hook, chain 30

Slip stitch in 2nd chain from hook, and in each remaining chain. (29 slip stitches)

Fold right side over and cross over the middle to form one loop.

Cross left side over to form the other loop.

Use the short end to tack the bow in place.

Use the long end to wrap around the middle of the bow AND the nylon headband. Wrap around for a total of 6 wraps.

Knot the ends in the back. Weave in ends, and cut the remaining tails.

Nylon Headband Tutorial:
I learned how to turn tights into nylon headbands using this tutorial on Pinterest. The short of it is to cut a piece of nylon from the thighs of the tights approximately 1 1/2 inches wide. Use your thumbs to stretch the piece out and let the nylon roll up on itself. It will create a small headband that is super stretchy and perfect for growing with baby's head.

I would love to have your feedback and to see your Itty Bitty Bow Headbands. Tag me on instagram @craftsbysarahliz so I can see your work!

The Itty Bitty Bow Headbands are also available for purchase on my Etsy shop.

*Permissions*
- You are free to sell what you make from this pattern. I would appreciate links back to my blog to credit me as the designer.
- You may not use my photos

- You may not use my videos
- You may not sell this pattern or its photos or videos or claim it as your own

© Sarah Gross - Crafts by Sarah Liz

An 8 Year Project

Some projects are nice and small, and can be completed in less than an hour. Some, over the course of a few days. And then there are some that end up taking years before they are done. The story of my 8-year project includes Winnie the Pooh, tears, and orange juice. What a weird combination. Who knew this "little" cross stitch kit my mom bought for me would end up taking the better part of my young adult life to complete?

My affinity for crafting started in middle school when my mom gave me one of my first cross stitch projects. It was a small "Count Your Blessings" bookmark. I was so proud of it, and to this day I still keep it with my books. It is full of mistakes, but I kind of like that. It shows me where I started, and how far I have developed my crafting skills.

I was hungry to do more, so I started making small baby shower gifts for friends. Then, when I was 16, mom bought me a huge Winnie the Pooh cross stitch kit. I started working on it, but life, school, work, a trip to the British Isles, and meeting my future husband shortly thereafter distracted me. I didn't pick it up again until my husband and I decided to start trying for a baby.

I am going to get a little personal here. It took over a year to conceive due to a medical condition that can make getting pregnant difficult. I tried to be positive, and kept working on Winnie the Pooh. Then there was the orange juice incident. I just know fellow fiber artists are cringing. Yes, I spilled orange juice all over Winnie the Pooh. There were tears, lots of tears. I immediately put it in the washing machine, but I could not help the feelings that were manifesting. I was convinced it was a sign that I was not going to be able to have a baby. I know, I was so melodramatic. My sweet husband calmed me down, and once I pulled the project out of the wash with no traces of orange juice left, I started at it again.

2012 started off with quite a bang. I took an at-home pregnancy test on New Year's Day, and I expected it to be negative again for what seemed like the billionth time. But it was positive! I really started working on Winnie the Pooh in earnest now that we were expecting. I finished it a month before my due date, and my friend and knitting mentor Manuella framed it for me.

It was ready for when my son Kenny was born. The Winnie the Pooh cross stitch now hangs in the nursery where his little sisters sleep. As I write this, he is watching The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. His favorite character is Tigger (not so shocking considering his energetic, wild personality), but his favorite thing to say is "Oh bother", just like Pooh. It took 8 years, some tears, and some blood (I really need to stop pricking my fingers) to complete the project. But I am very happy that I stuck it out and finished it.

I still have lots of projects beyond my Etsy shop that I want to do for myself. Maybe the next personal project won't take quite so long to complete. Or maybe life will get in the way again, not that it would be a bad thing if it did. I think that is what is so great about crafting. It doesn't matter how long it has been since you have done anything, you can always pick it back up at any time when you need to. It will be there waiting, ready for you when you need it the most .

~Sarah Liz