Crunchy Pecan Chicken

This Crunchy Pecan Chicken recipe is one that I have adapted from my 2002 Southern Living Homestyle Cookbook. This is a good baked chicken recipe with a lot of taste and crunch from the toppings. The prep is simple and the clean-up is easy for this dish.

Print Recipe

Crunchy Pecan Chicken

1 cup biscuit mix (like Bisquick)

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon Creole seasoning

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a sheet pan by lining with aluminum foil and lightly spraying with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, combine biscuit mix, pecans, paprika, salt, and Creole seasoning. Pour buttermilk into a separate shallow bowl. Dip chicken pieces in buttermilk, then dredge in pecan mixture. Place chicken pieces on prepared pan. Drizzle with melted butter. Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

 

To make this chicken recipe you will need biscuit mix, pecans, paprika, salt, Creole seasoning, buttermilk, and butter.

 

Combine the biscuit mix and pecans with the seasonings in a medium bowl. Pour the buttermilk in a separate bowl. Dip the chicken pieces in the buttermilk then dredge with the pecan mixture. Hopefully, if you make this recipe you will do a better job than I did getting it together. I was so intent on getting the chicken in the oven to bake that I forgot to drizzle it with the melted butter. The chicken was halfway through the baking time when I found my melted butter in the microwave oven!

With 25 minutes left on the baking time, I quickly added the butter and put the chicken back in the oven. I guess this recipe must be hard to mess up because the chicken turned out great anyway! It was very juicy on the inside and crunchy on the outside.




This recipe was shared with:
Your Cozy Home Party
Melt in your Mouth Monday
Mix it up Monday
Makin You Crave Monday
Country Momma Cooks Link and Greet Party
Momtrends Friday Food
Not Your Ordinary Recipes Foodie Friday
Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday
Bake with Bizzy
A Little Nosh Tastetastic Thursday

This Crunchy Pecan Chicken recipe is one that I have adapted from my 2002 Southern Living Homestyle Cookbook. This is a good baked chicken recipe with a lot of taste and crunch from the toppings. The prep is simple and the clean-up is easy for this dish.

Print Recipe

Crunchy Pecan Chicken

1 cup biscuit mix (like Bisquick)

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon Creole seasoning

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a sheet pan by lining with aluminum foil and lightly spraying with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, combine biscuit mix, pecans, paprika, salt, and Creole seasoning. Pour buttermilk into a separate shallow bowl. Dip chicken pieces in buttermilk, then dredge in pecan mixture. Place chicken pieces on prepared pan. Drizzle with melted butter. Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

 

To make this chicken recipe you will need biscuit mix, pecans, paprika, salt, Creole seasoning, buttermilk, and butter.

 

Combine the biscuit mix and pecans with the seasonings in a medium bowl. Pour the buttermilk in a separate bowl. Dip the chicken pieces in the buttermilk then dredge with the pecan mixture. Hopefully, if you make this recipe you will do a better job than I did getting it together. I was so intent on getting the chicken in the oven to bake that I forgot to drizzle it with the melted butter. The chicken was halfway through the baking time when I found my melted butter in the microwave oven!

With 25 minutes left on the baking time, I quickly added the butter and put the chicken back in the oven. I guess this recipe must be hard to mess up because the chicken turned out great anyway! It was very juicy on the inside and crunchy on the outside.




This recipe was shared with:
Your Cozy Home Party
Melt in your Mouth Monday
Mix it up Monday
Makin You Crave Monday
Country Momma Cooks Link and Greet Party
Momtrends Friday Food
Not Your Ordinary Recipes Foodie Friday
Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday
Bake with Bizzy
A Little Nosh Tastetastic Thursday

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Beef and Bok Choy Hot Pot

I've had this recipe in my collection to try for many, many years. After taking one bite, I was kicking myself for not making it a long time ago. But I quit kicking myself quickly so I could concentrate on eating more of this delicious dish. Tender beef swims in a spectacular broth and is surrounded by vegetables. Served over rice noodles, egg noodles, or just regular rice, this is a complete dinner in a bowl that will have you looking forward to the leftovers at lunch the next day!

Start by cutting the beef into bite sized pieces. I find that stew beef comes from the store in very large chunks, so I usually cut them in 2 or 3 or even 4 pieces, depending on their size. You do want the chunks to be relatively similar in size so that they cook at the same rate.



Then combine the beef broth and water in a large measuring cup. In another cup, combine the rice vinegar, soy sauce,



brown sugar and cinnamon.



Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat, then add the beef and brown it on all sides. Add the broth and water mixture,



the soy sauce/vinegar mixture,



green onions



and garlic and ginger.



Bring this to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Let the "hot pot" simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the beef is tender. (Mine only took about 1 hour, probably because the beef pieces were small.)

While it's cooking, prepare the other vegetables. Slice the bok choy - bok choy is sort of like celery so I cut the stalks in half lengthwise



and then slice it crosswise.



(If you're serving this over rice noodles, cover them with hot water and let them sit for 10 minutes. If you're using other grains, cook them appropriately!)

When the meat is tender, add the bok choy, carrots and mushrooms



and simmer for an additional 5 minutes or until carrots are tender. Serve the soup over the noodles.



And start wondering where this recipe has been all your life...

One year ago: Banana Blondies
Two years ago: Mixed Rice and Barley Pilaf

There are more great recipes at the Hearth and Soul Blog Hop, Cast Party Wednesday, What's Cooking Wednesday, These Chicks Cooked, It's a Keeper, Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friday, Fusion Friday, Food on Fridays, Friday Food, Ingredient Spotlight.

Beef and Bok Choy Hot Pot

2 1/4 cups water
3/4 cup beef broth
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 pound beef stew meat, cut into bite sized chunks
1 cup sliced green onion
1 tsp. minced fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 cups thinly sliced bok choy (including green leafy parts)
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cups cooked rice noodles, egg noodles or fettucine

Combine the broth, water, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar and cinnamon and whisk well to combine. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat and add the beef, browning on all sides.

Pour in the broth mixture, green onions, garlic and ginger. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until beef is tender. Add the bok choy, carrots and mushroom and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Spoon over cooked noodles to serve. Serves 4-6.

Recipe source: Adapted from Cooking Light

I've had this recipe in my collection to try for many, many years. After taking one bite, I was kicking myself for not making it a long time ago. But I quit kicking myself quickly so I could concentrate on eating more of this delicious dish. Tender beef swims in a spectacular broth and is surrounded by vegetables. Served over rice noodles, egg noodles, or just regular rice, this is a complete dinner in a bowl that will have you looking forward to the leftovers at lunch the next day!

Start by cutting the beef into bite sized pieces. I find that stew beef comes from the store in very large chunks, so I usually cut them in 2 or 3 or even 4 pieces, depending on their size. You do want the chunks to be relatively similar in size so that they cook at the same rate.



Then combine the beef broth and water in a large measuring cup. In another cup, combine the rice vinegar, soy sauce,



brown sugar and cinnamon.



Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat, then add the beef and brown it on all sides. Add the broth and water mixture,



the soy sauce/vinegar mixture,



green onions



and garlic and ginger.



Bring this to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Let the "hot pot" simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the beef is tender. (Mine only took about 1 hour, probably because the beef pieces were small.)

While it's cooking, prepare the other vegetables. Slice the bok choy - bok choy is sort of like celery so I cut the stalks in half lengthwise



and then slice it crosswise.



(If you're serving this over rice noodles, cover them with hot water and let them sit for 10 minutes. If you're using other grains, cook them appropriately!)

When the meat is tender, add the bok choy, carrots and mushrooms



and simmer for an additional 5 minutes or until carrots are tender. Serve the soup over the noodles.



And start wondering where this recipe has been all your life...

One year ago: Banana Blondies
Two years ago: Mixed Rice and Barley Pilaf

There are more great recipes at the Hearth and Soul Blog Hop, Cast Party Wednesday, What's Cooking Wednesday, These Chicks Cooked, It's a Keeper, Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friday, Fusion Friday, Food on Fridays, Friday Food, Ingredient Spotlight.

Beef and Bok Choy Hot Pot

2 1/4 cups water
3/4 cup beef broth
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 pound beef stew meat, cut into bite sized chunks
1 cup sliced green onion
1 tsp. minced fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 cups thinly sliced bok choy (including green leafy parts)
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cups cooked rice noodles, egg noodles or fettucine

Combine the broth, water, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar and cinnamon and whisk well to combine. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat and add the beef, browning on all sides.

Pour in the broth mixture, green onions, garlic and ginger. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until beef is tender. Add the bok choy, carrots and mushroom and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Spoon over cooked noodles to serve. Serves 4-6.

Recipe source: Adapted from Cooking Light

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Making a Tied Fabric Wreath

There may be as many ways to make fabric wreaths as there are crafters who make them. Some are made with short pieces of fabric tied on wire forms, others are made with squares of fabric pinned to straw forms, still others are made with pieces of fabric that are hot glued to a form, and the list goes on.

The fabric wreath that I have made is a tied fabric wreath using longer pieces of fabric.

 

I started with a 12-inch straw form. Once you select your form, then you need to cut a strip of fabric and test it to see how long you want it to be. The strip will need to be long enough to wrap all the way around the wreath form and tie in a knot with loose ends, so the thicker your form, the longer the fabric strip will need to be.

I  used pinking shears to cut strips of fabric 18 inches long for my form. It is not important that the strips all be exactly the same width, the width can vary. I used about 1/2 yard of each fabric to make the wreath.

 

Wrap the strips around the form and secure by tying in a knot. Keep the strips close together so that the wreath form is completely covered.

Keep working around the wreath, tying the strips of fabric and keeping them pushed close together. After all the knots were tied, I embellished the wreath with a small sock money.

 

My wreath was made to hang in my laundry room to go with the new ironing board that was made from the same print. My laundry room had absolutely no decor before, but now the little sock monkey will be keeping a watchful eye over all the washing and ironing activities at my house. I think I'll enjoy having him around.




This post was shared with:
Finished it Friday
Junk in their Trunk Link it Up Wednesday
These Peas Taste Funny Link it Up Thursday
Momnivore's Dilemma Creative Juice Thursday
The Shady Porch Rock n Share

There may be as many ways to make fabric wreaths as there are crafters who make them. Some are made with short pieces of fabric tied on wire forms, others are made with squares of fabric pinned to straw forms, still others are made with pieces of fabric that are hot glued to a form, and the list goes on.

The fabric wreath that I have made is a tied fabric wreath using longer pieces of fabric.

 

I started with a 12-inch straw form. Once you select your form, then you need to cut a strip of fabric and test it to see how long you want it to be. The strip will need to be long enough to wrap all the way around the wreath form and tie in a knot with loose ends, so the thicker your form, the longer the fabric strip will need to be.

I  used pinking shears to cut strips of fabric 18 inches long for my form. It is not important that the strips all be exactly the same width, the width can vary. I used about 1/2 yard of each fabric to make the wreath.

 

Wrap the strips around the form and secure by tying in a knot. Keep the strips close together so that the wreath form is completely covered.

Keep working around the wreath, tying the strips of fabric and keeping them pushed close together. After all the knots were tied, I embellished the wreath with a small sock money.

 

My wreath was made to hang in my laundry room to go with the new ironing board that was made from the same print. My laundry room had absolutely no decor before, but now the little sock monkey will be keeping a watchful eye over all the washing and ironing activities at my house. I think I'll enjoy having him around.




This post was shared with:
Finished it Friday
Junk in their Trunk Link it Up Wednesday
These Peas Taste Funny Link it Up Thursday
Momnivore's Dilemma Creative Juice Thursday
The Shady Porch Rock n Share

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Tote Bags From Place Mats

Tote bags have been my most recent sewing project, and these bags are put together with nothing more than ordinary place mats and ribbon. I saw this fun idea made by Daisha at The Family Scientista, so I pulled some placemats out of a drawer and gave it a try.

 

I felt like the first bag I made was going to be more or less an experiment, so I didn't want to spend a lot of money on it. I used two white place mats that had been put away unused for several years.

 

For each tote bag you will need two place mats and a spool of ribbon.  These white place mats were not the best shape for the project, as they had the corners squared off. This caused me to need to vary from the directions a little.

Instead of making a narrow hem, I turned one end of each place mat down at the point where the mat became straight and stitched across for a top hem.

 

On the opposite end I cut the part off that wasn't squared up.

Unroll the ribbon from the spoon and cut it in half. Each half of the ribbon will be one of the handles for the bag. Take one of the ribbon halves and pin it to the right side of the place mat, starting at the bottom. I measured over 3 1/2 inches from the side.

 

Pin up one side, then down the other forming the handle. Measure and keep the ribbon straight as you go. Stitch near the edge on both sides of the ribbon. You'll do this for both sides of your tote bag. Then lay both sides of the tote bag right sides facing each other and stitch down the sides and across the bottom.

 

 Then pull the bottom seam of the bag even with the side seam and flatten it out forming a triangle. Stitch a seam across this triangle about 2 inches from the point. This will give the bag its shape from the bottom.

 

When you turn it right side out it will look like this and will be squared off on the bottom.

 

And that's all there is to making a tote bag from place mats and ribbon, so simple I couldn't believe how fast it was!

 

For the second bag I made I actually bought two place mats at Wal-mart. These mats were just an ordinary rectangular shape, so they were easier to work with. I decided that I wanted to change this tote to make it larger than the last one, so I didn't cut any of the fabric away. I also turned the place mats in the other direction so that this tote would be wider than it was tall.

 

 I hemmed the place mats with a small hem across one of the long sides. This will be the top edge of the tote.

 

For this bag I measured 4 inches from each side to pin the ribbon in place.

 

After pinning the ribbon in place, then stitch along each edge of the ribbon. As in the previous tote bag, then place the two parts together with right sides facing each other and stitch across the sides and bottom.

Then squish the side seam flat against the bottom seam and make a triangle; stitch across the triangle. Do this on both sides.

 

Another tote bag finished! The black one is quite a bit larger than the white one. The white one is the perfect size to slip in a couple of magazines and a bottle of water or even a couple of diapers and some wipes. The black bag is the kind you can load up. We took our grandson Landon to the zoo in Memphis today, so I loaded up the black tote bag with my camera, my wallet, keys, hand wipes, makeup bag, and sunglasses to take along.

These tote bags were an easy and fun project. They can be customized in any color combination you like, there are so many choices in ribbon and place mat colors. With summer coming up these would be great to make for taking to the beach too.




This post was shared with:
Domesblissity Thriving on Thursdays
Petals to Picots Friday Link Party
These Peas Taste Funny Link it Up Thursday
Momnivore's Dilemma Creative Juice Thursday
The Shady Porch Rock n Share
NY Melrose Family Whimsy Wednesday
Your Cozy Home Party
Mop It Up Monday

Tote bags have been my most recent sewing project, and these bags are put together with nothing more than ordinary place mats and ribbon. I saw this fun idea made by Daisha at The Family Scientista, so I pulled some placemats out of a drawer and gave it a try.

 

I felt like the first bag I made was going to be more or less an experiment, so I didn't want to spend a lot of money on it. I used two white place mats that had been put away unused for several years.

 

For each tote bag you will need two place mats and a spool of ribbon.  These white place mats were not the best shape for the project, as they had the corners squared off. This caused me to need to vary from the directions a little.

Instead of making a narrow hem, I turned one end of each place mat down at the point where the mat became straight and stitched across for a top hem.

 

On the opposite end I cut the part off that wasn't squared up.

Unroll the ribbon from the spoon and cut it in half. Each half of the ribbon will be one of the handles for the bag. Take one of the ribbon halves and pin it to the right side of the place mat, starting at the bottom. I measured over 3 1/2 inches from the side.

 

Pin up one side, then down the other forming the handle. Measure and keep the ribbon straight as you go. Stitch near the edge on both sides of the ribbon. You'll do this for both sides of your tote bag. Then lay both sides of the tote bag right sides facing each other and stitch down the sides and across the bottom.

 

 Then pull the bottom seam of the bag even with the side seam and flatten it out forming a triangle. Stitch a seam across this triangle about 2 inches from the point. This will give the bag its shape from the bottom.

 

When you turn it right side out it will look like this and will be squared off on the bottom.

 

And that's all there is to making a tote bag from place mats and ribbon, so simple I couldn't believe how fast it was!

 

For the second bag I made I actually bought two place mats at Wal-mart. These mats were just an ordinary rectangular shape, so they were easier to work with. I decided that I wanted to change this tote to make it larger than the last one, so I didn't cut any of the fabric away. I also turned the place mats in the other direction so that this tote would be wider than it was tall.

 

 I hemmed the place mats with a small hem across one of the long sides. This will be the top edge of the tote.

 

For this bag I measured 4 inches from each side to pin the ribbon in place.

 

After pinning the ribbon in place, then stitch along each edge of the ribbon. As in the previous tote bag, then place the two parts together with right sides facing each other and stitch across the sides and bottom.

Then squish the side seam flat against the bottom seam and make a triangle; stitch across the triangle. Do this on both sides.

 

Another tote bag finished! The black one is quite a bit larger than the white one. The white one is the perfect size to slip in a couple of magazines and a bottle of water or even a couple of diapers and some wipes. The black bag is the kind you can load up. We took our grandson Landon to the zoo in Memphis today, so I loaded up the black tote bag with my camera, my wallet, keys, hand wipes, makeup bag, and sunglasses to take along.

These tote bags were an easy and fun project. They can be customized in any color combination you like, there are so many choices in ribbon and place mat colors. With summer coming up these would be great to make for taking to the beach too.




This post was shared with:
Domesblissity Thriving on Thursdays
Petals to Picots Friday Link Party
These Peas Taste Funny Link it Up Thursday
Momnivore's Dilemma Creative Juice Thursday
The Shady Porch Rock n Share
NY Melrose Family Whimsy Wednesday
Your Cozy Home Party
Mop It Up Monday

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Vodka Sauce

Do you ever eat things in restaurants and think "it must be impossible to make this at home"??? (I know, I'm probably the only one. It's weird.) That's how I felt about vodka sauce. (I know, of all things, a pasta sauce...) So you can imagine my glee when I found this recipe on My Catholic Kitchen. I was assigned that blog for the Secret Recipe Club, so I didn't even have to think twice about what I would make. And I'm so glad I did. No need to order this in a restaurant any longer - this version is absolutely delicious. I also love how versatile it is - you can toss it with "plain" pasta, or stir in meats and veggies.

As with all good Italian recipes, this one starts with a pile of onions and garlic.



Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven (best if this is oven safe!) and add the onions and garlic.



Cook for about 5 minutes or until the onions are translucent, then add the red pepper flakes and oregano



and cook for another minute, stirring constantly. Pour in the vodka



and cook for a few minutes until the liquid is reduced. Now add the tomatoes and give it all a good stir.



Cover the pot tightly and place in the oven for about an hour and a half. This will smell amazing! Let it cool for about 15 minutes, then use an immersion blender to puree the sauce.



(You can also use a regular blender or food processor, just be sure to puree it in batches and be careful about the steam - it's hot!)

You want the sauce to be nice and velvety smooth...



Pour in the cream



and stir. Serve the sauce with any pasta and add-ins of your choosing. This time, I made cheese tortellini and added smoked sausage and mushrooms.



Just be sure to top your pasta and sauce with fresh parmesan!



One year ago: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Two years ago: Oatmeal Caramel Chocolate Bars
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Find more great stuff at Mop it up Monday, Mouthwatering Monday, Mangia Monday, Menu Monday, Meatless Mondays, Tasty Tuesday, Tuesday at the Table, Tasty Tuesday (#2), Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, Made from Scratch Tuesday, Totally Tasty Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesday (#3), A Little Birdie Told Me, Tuesday Talent Show.

Vodka Sauce

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1 cup vodka
2-28 oz. cans stewed tomatoes
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 cup heavy cream

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat, then add the onions and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes until translucent. Add the red pepper flakes and dried oregano and cook for 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Add the vodka and continue cooking until the mixture is reduced by half.

Pour the tomatoes into the pan and add salt and pepper. Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid. Bake at 375 for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes.

Use an immersion blender to puree the sauce until it is smooth. (Alternatively, puree in batches in a blender or food processor being careful to let steam escape - it is hot!) Stir in the cream then toss with hot pasta.

(If you want to freeze the sauce for use later, freeze it without cream in it. Add the cream after re-heating, just before tossing with pasta.)

Do you ever eat things in restaurants and think "it must be impossible to make this at home"??? (I know, I'm probably the only one. It's weird.) That's how I felt about vodka sauce. (I know, of all things, a pasta sauce...) So you can imagine my glee when I found this recipe on My Catholic Kitchen. I was assigned that blog for the Secret Recipe Club, so I didn't even have to think twice about what I would make. And I'm so glad I did. No need to order this in a restaurant any longer - this version is absolutely delicious. I also love how versatile it is - you can toss it with "plain" pasta, or stir in meats and veggies.

As with all good Italian recipes, this one starts with a pile of onions and garlic.



Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven (best if this is oven safe!) and add the onions and garlic.



Cook for about 5 minutes or until the onions are translucent, then add the red pepper flakes and oregano



and cook for another minute, stirring constantly. Pour in the vodka



and cook for a few minutes until the liquid is reduced. Now add the tomatoes and give it all a good stir.



Cover the pot tightly and place in the oven for about an hour and a half. This will smell amazing! Let it cool for about 15 minutes, then use an immersion blender to puree the sauce.



(You can also use a regular blender or food processor, just be sure to puree it in batches and be careful about the steam - it's hot!)

You want the sauce to be nice and velvety smooth...



Pour in the cream



and stir. Serve the sauce with any pasta and add-ins of your choosing. This time, I made cheese tortellini and added smoked sausage and mushrooms.



Just be sure to top your pasta and sauce with fresh parmesan!



One year ago: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Two years ago: Oatmeal Caramel Chocolate Bars
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Find more great stuff at Mop it up Monday, Mouthwatering Monday, Mangia Monday, Menu Monday, Meatless Mondays, Tasty Tuesday, Tuesday at the Table, Tasty Tuesday (#2), Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, Made from Scratch Tuesday, Totally Tasty Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesday (#3), A Little Birdie Told Me, Tuesday Talent Show.

Vodka Sauce

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1 cup vodka
2-28 oz. cans stewed tomatoes
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 cup heavy cream

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat, then add the onions and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes until translucent. Add the red pepper flakes and dried oregano and cook for 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Add the vodka and continue cooking until the mixture is reduced by half.

Pour the tomatoes into the pan and add salt and pepper. Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid. Bake at 375 for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes.

Use an immersion blender to puree the sauce until it is smooth. (Alternatively, puree in batches in a blender or food processor being careful to let steam escape - it is hot!) Stir in the cream then toss with hot pasta.

(If you want to freeze the sauce for use later, freeze it without cream in it. Add the cream after re-heating, just before tossing with pasta.)

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Mission Organization: Week 11 - The Ironing

My ironing habits have changed since I became a retiree. When I worked full time I would spend 3 or 4 hours on the weekend catching up on my ironing for the week, then I would put it away until the next weekend came around. Since I have been retired, it seems that the ironing is never put away. My laundry room is very small, so I get out the ironing board and set it up in my bedroom, then do some ironing, but I don't finish. I no longer have the stamina to stand and iron for several hours, so after a little while I have to stop, but it's too much trouble to put everything away and get it out again just to iron a few more pieces later, so it seems the ironing board is constantly up. I don't like the ironing board up, I want it put away, but that's too much trouble and too much effort, so there you have it, a constant cycle of a no win situation.

 

 

I got really tired of looking at my ironing board in the middle of my bedroom, so I was very interested when I found how Amanda at A Crafty Fox cleverly solved the ironing board problem with a simple project to make a small portable ironing board that will fit on top of the dryer.

 

The first thing I needed was a board, and I had to ask my husband for help with that because I don't do saws. I measured the top of my dryer and decided I wanted a board 16 x 26 inches. For a dryer with a lint filter on top, the measurement would need to be adjusted.

 

After talking to the nice and knowledgeable lady at Hancock fabrics, I decided to use a slightly different kind of padding on my board. The bottom layer is a thermal batting by Pellon, the second layer is a cotton batting, the third layer is a heat resistant fabric (the silver kind like a traditional ironing board cover), and the top layer is just a cotton print. I bought 5/8 yard of each fabric. You can stop at the heat resistant layer if you want. The cotton print layer is just to make it more appealing to look at day in and day out. I chose a sock monkey print because they looked happy, and I thought they would be fun to see every day.

 

Pull all the layers tight around the board on all sides and secure with a staple gun.

 

The board fits right on top of the dryer, and it is so  handy to press an item as it comes out of the dryer.

The ironing board is banished from my bedroom, and I hope I never have to set it up in there again! With the help of the sock monkeys, maybe I can keep the ironing caught up one piece at a time.



This post was shared with:
Stonegable Tutorials Tips and Tidbits
Petals to Picots Friday Link Party
Momnivore's Dilemma Creative Juice Thursday
Our Delightful Home Show Me What You Got
Flamingo Toes Think Pink Sundays
Mrs. Happy Homemaker Mission Organization

My ironing habits have changed since I became a retiree. When I worked full time I would spend 3 or 4 hours on the weekend catching up on my ironing for the week, then I would put it away until the next weekend came around. Since I have been retired, it seems that the ironing is never put away. My laundry room is very small, so I get out the ironing board and set it up in my bedroom, then do some ironing, but I don't finish. I no longer have the stamina to stand and iron for several hours, so after a little while I have to stop, but it's too much trouble to put everything away and get it out again just to iron a few more pieces later, so it seems the ironing board is constantly up. I don't like the ironing board up, I want it put away, but that's too much trouble and too much effort, so there you have it, a constant cycle of a no win situation.

 

 

I got really tired of looking at my ironing board in the middle of my bedroom, so I was very interested when I found how Amanda at A Crafty Fox cleverly solved the ironing board problem with a simple project to make a small portable ironing board that will fit on top of the dryer.

 

The first thing I needed was a board, and I had to ask my husband for help with that because I don't do saws. I measured the top of my dryer and decided I wanted a board 16 x 26 inches. For a dryer with a lint filter on top, the measurement would need to be adjusted.

 

After talking to the nice and knowledgeable lady at Hancock fabrics, I decided to use a slightly different kind of padding on my board. The bottom layer is a thermal batting by Pellon, the second layer is a cotton batting, the third layer is a heat resistant fabric (the silver kind like a traditional ironing board cover), and the top layer is just a cotton print. I bought 5/8 yard of each fabric. You can stop at the heat resistant layer if you want. The cotton print layer is just to make it more appealing to look at day in and day out. I chose a sock monkey print because they looked happy, and I thought they would be fun to see every day.

 

Pull all the layers tight around the board on all sides and secure with a staple gun.

 

The board fits right on top of the dryer, and it is so  handy to press an item as it comes out of the dryer.

The ironing board is banished from my bedroom, and I hope I never have to set it up in there again! With the help of the sock monkeys, maybe I can keep the ironing caught up one piece at a time.



This post was shared with:
Stonegable Tutorials Tips and Tidbits
Petals to Picots Friday Link Party
Momnivore's Dilemma Creative Juice Thursday
Our Delightful Home Show Me What You Got
Flamingo Toes Think Pink Sundays
Mrs. Happy Homemaker Mission Organization

reade more... Résuméabuiyad