Teacher gifts, and new do's.

Time to get a start on some fun, and of course crafty, teacher Christmas gifts! Pinterest gave me lots of ideas, so off I went to pick up some supplies to make some cute personalized mugs. Hopefully the teachers haven't be bombarded with many many mugs over their years of teaching LOL.
Some ceramic or porcelain mugs, oven safe and no decorations. Ceramic or porcelain paint markers..I have heard it also works with oil based sharpies, but haven't used them. Craft stickers in letters and shapes are nice too.

Mug 1...for Mrs. Gill. At the triplets school the Kindy kids get to go into the library for 30 minutes every morning before class starts and listen to the fantastic Mrs. Gill read a book to them. We have heard so much about these books and how funny Mrs. Gill is...the trio actually freak out if we do not get them to school in time for story time LOL. When I saw this mug idea on Pinterest I couldn't believe how perfect it was for Mrs. Gill.

I free handed the figure and the books...unfortunately when I used my homemade stencil I didn't take into account that the traced figure would look a little plumper than I had wanted it to. Jason assured me it still looked great, so I didn't wipe it off with a wet towel and start over.

Some books.

A superhero.

Is this not perfect...but I still love it, and hope Mrs. Gill does too!

More teacher mugs. This was so fun...hopefully they hold up. You bake them in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes, then the paint shouldn't rub off. I don't think they will be dishwasher safe...but a little hand washing with soap and water is supposed to be OK.

Xan man got a little haircut today, the lady was nice enough to style him up with a little colored gel too. He, of course, LOVED it.

Looking pretty fly...

Cutie.

Giving me a little Dean :)

Poor kid, I hope his teeth start growing in soon Hahaha!

Ugh...do not give me Bieber.

It has been forever since I posted a recipe...this year has not been a good one for the diet. This one is "Skinny" and fantastic! 

Crock Pot Sazon Pork Chops with Peppers, Olives and Potato.

Ingredients:
4 cloves garlic, crushed
4 center cut bone-in pork chops, trimmed of excess fat (with bone about 32 oz)
1 1/2 tsp sazon (I used the "Skinny" homemade recipe...below)
1 tsp ground cumin
black pepper to taste, to taste
2 tbsp all purpose unbleached flour (for gluten free use sweet rice flour)
8 oz yukon gold potato, peeled and diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup alcapparado (or green pimento olives)
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
2 dried bay leaves

 Directions:
 Rub the pork chops with crushed garlic, then add sazon, cumin, black pepper.
Sprinkle the flour over the chops and add to the slow cooker.

Top with the potatoes and peppers. Pour the tomato sauce and 1/4 cup water over the pork.

Add the garlic, alcapparado (or olives), 1/4 cup cilantro and bay leaves.

Cook until the potatoes are tender, for me that was on LOW 6 hours.

Transfer the pork chops to a platter and remove the bay leaves. Add the remaining fresh cilantro to the sauce and stir.

To serve place 1 chop on each plate with 3/4 cups sauce and vegetables.

4 oz pork, 3/4 cup veggies & sauce is 267 cals and 11 grams of fat.

 Sazon... Ingredients:
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground annatto seeds (achiote) or turmeric
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons oregano
1 tsp ground black pepper

 Directions: Combine all ingredients and mix well. Store in an airtight container.
1 1/2 teaspoons of this mix equals one packet of commercial sazon. 7 cals for 1 1/2 tsp.