February 01, 2012

Rusty Pins~Valentines Hearts~Italian Nachos

Finally finished!!  I have been working on these for sometime now and today they got the safety pins put on and arranged in a bowl filler in my front entry way.  Hubby and I like to spend time together watching a little t.v. after the girls are down so I hand stitched them all on the couch upstairs.  It's relaxing to work with your hands like that.  They are double sided with the back being coffee stained muslin so I can turn them over and use them all year round tucked here or there.

I needed some rusty safety pins for this project so I set out to make my own.  Here's what I learned:
Day 1~ Soak your pins, or bells, or whatever you need rusted in bleach for a day.  Stainless steel ones won't work.  Just get the cheap ones from the dollar store.

Day 2~ Dump the bleach and then cover your pins with apple cider vinegar and a healthy dose of salt.

Day 3~ Dump the vinegar and let the items dry in the sun.  They will rust as they dry.  Note:  I had to keep adding more vinegar and salt for a few days to get them just how I wanted.

Or... You can get some stain and spray it on your pins for a very fast rustic look.  You can't really tell by the picture, but the pins look fantastic.

Have you ever heard of the restaraunt Johnny Corinos?  It's similar to the Olive Garden but in my oppinion the atmosphere (which counts for a lot with me) is way better and so is the food.
They have the best Italian Nachos there and I really wanted to try making some for DH birthday.  I must say they turned out dang good.
Here is the recipe I used:

1 package ground pork, cook in a saute pan until browned 
1 Package wontons (found by the salads at Walmart),cut on the diagonal to form triangles
1 jar Pepperochini peppers 
1 6-ounce package grilled chicken pieces(I just grilled my own at home)

2 roma tomatoes, diced 
Shaved Parmesan for garnish 
Jalepenos
1/2 cup sliced olives

Cheese Sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups half-and-half
2 1/2 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, or other good-quality Parmesan

Directions:

1~ In a heavy, medium saucepan melt the butter over low heat. Add the garlic and then the flour and stir to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Increase the heat to medium and whisk in the half-and-half little by little. Cook until thickened, about 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat; add 2 cups of the grated Parmesan. Season with the salt, pepper and stir until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Cover and set aside.

2~ Heat a heavy saucepan or deep fryer to medium. Cook the wontons until light brown. This only takes a few seconds per side. Set aside on paper towels to drain.

3~ Pile the wontons on a large serving platter. Drizzle with warm cheese sauce. Add sausage, chicken, tomatoes, olives and peppers. Top with shaved Parmesan.


Hope you all have a great day.  Mine will be spent washing blankets, towels, sheets, bathrooms, fetching 7-up and crackers, and holding kids' hair back.  Isn't motherhood the best sometimes?!!




10 comments:

TheCrankyCrow said...

Your little hearts turned out sweet Steph!! Wow - lots of patience to mess with rusting your own safety pins. The nachos sound great....might have to give them a try. I love anything even remotely Italian (food wise....) ;o) Awwww....bummer to have sick little ones. Hope they get to feeling better real quick. Luckily, my son never got the stomach flu much when he was young. Yeah! ;o) Hang in there.....Smiles & Hugs ~ Robin

Deppen homestead 1862 said...

Steph~ love the hearts~ Nachos look so yummy!!!
Wishing all get better~ ugh ~ no fun~
smiles
Teresa

Sheila said...

Hi Steph,
hope your little ones start feeling better. Your hearts turned out sweet and I like that you can turn them over to keep out all year. Very clever!
Those nachos sound yummy and I think we'll try them this weekend!
Take care~

Christine said...

Great job stitching up the hearts and rusting up the pins!
I love sitting with DH and sewing away at sthg as we chat!
Hope the girls are over this bug ASAP!
Best wishes
Christine

Susan At Glen Oaks Primitives said...

Hi Steph:
I'm sorry your girls are sick. It's the worst when they have a bug. The hearts are beautiful and you're so clever to make them reversible. I see the pins got good and rusty in the picture with the hearts. The pins came out great.
Hugs,
Susan

Traci~Moon Gypsy said...

Oh dear, yes, yes, I've had lots of experience with the hair holding detail. Long hair and puking kids just not a good combo.... Hope the girls are feeling much better tonight.

Great job on your hearts, love them!..I just rusted some pins the other day

Jen said...

Love Italian Nacho's- Ciao Mambo's is even better then Johnny Carino's- so I can't WAIT to try your recipe! LOVE the idea for rusty pins- I can think a few things I might want to try this on (thinking ahead to 4th of July!)- and it looks perfect on the hearts. How fun that you are decorating for ALL the holidays, not just the major ones. And with sick kids no less!!

A Primitive Homestead said...

Prayer lifted for the children. Moms are the best care givers. Cleaning up is never fun. I have a weak stomach. Sam up chucked once all over the bed & over the side on the braided rug. Rug went to the carwash for cleaning. Thanks for great rust info & your visit. Blessings!
Lara

A Primitive Homestead said...

PS Love the hearts. Great idea being two sided.
Lara

Deb said...

Your hearts are wonderful Steph and love that you did them '2 sided' so you can use them year round, smart girl! I've done the rusting thing myself a time or two but am lazy now and just order them online, much less mess LOL! Those 'nachos' look delicious, I never thought of using Wonton wrappers, great idea! So sorry the kids are sick, hope they are on the mend soon :O( Deb