Silly Saturday

(Photo found on the internet)

Have a relaxing weekend and stay cool!!

Recipe of the Week: Heroin Chicken

Justin recently sent me a text message stating that he had just eaten the BEST chicken EVER at the home of his "other mother", Pam Norwood. (Pam is the momma of Justin's best bud, David.) Justin got the recipe from Pam for me, so I knew that I needed to give it a try! Well let me say, Justin was right-as-rain...this chicken is soooooo goooood!! The recipe calls for chicken wings, but I used chicken tenders instead. (I shared this recipe with my friend and co-worker Mindy A. who used pork chops instead of chicken, and said they turned out delicious too!) Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 4 lbs. chicken wings (I used chicken tenders)
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 Tbsp. dried parsley
• 1 Tbsp. dried oregano
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 cup butter

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If using wings, cut into drumsticks, saving the pointy tips. (Not sure what to do with those wingtips? Freeze them for soup - they make great broth!)

Combine the Parmesan cheese, parsley, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper in a bowl. Line a shallow baking pan with foil. (Do not omit this step, or you'll still be scrubbing the pan a week later!)

Melt the butter in a shallow bowl or pan. Dip each piece of chicken in butter, roll in the cheese and seasoning mixture, and arrange in the foil-lined pan.

Bake for 1 hour - and then kick yourself for not having made a double recipe!!

Have a great day!

A Little Randomness on a Monday Morning...

Good morning, friends! I hope that you had a restful weekend. I just piddled around the house, catching up on some chores. Along with the normal weekly house cleaning and laundry, I decided to take down the curtains in our bedroom and bathroom to wash. Before hanging them back up, I cleaned all of the blinds, (such a tedious chore - UGH!). While I was working on the blinds in our bedroom I glanced down to see that Tony has crawled under our bed, but has his adorable little face poking out from under the dust ruffle - such a funny little dog! (I was lucky enough to have my IPhone, so I snapped a quick pic of him.) I guess he thought that I was going to put him to work cleaning too...maybe put socks on his paws so he could polish the furniture - ha! ha! ha! ;)

Recently I was out junkin' and popped into one of the local thrift stores to see what treasures I might find. I came across a super cute soap dish for only $.25 so I scooped it up and brought it home. It didn't match the decor in either of our bathrooms, so I decided to take it to work to hold paper clips on my desk:

I found the Mary Engelbreit flower pot at another thrift shop for only $1.00, so I bought it too. I wanted a saucer for it, so I bought a cheap terra cotta one at Hobby Lobby. Mike spray painted the saucer black for me, to match the flower pot, and it now has a home in my office too!

Thanks for dropping by my blog today! Be sure to check back in a couple of days, as I'll be sharing a SCRUMPTIOUS chicken recipe with you!!

Have a blessed week!

Quote Sunday

Silly Saturday

OUCH! Be safe and have a great weekend!

Trash-to-Treasure: From Breakfast Biscuit Box to Cute Desk Organizer

Good morning, folks! While browsing around on the internet a while back, looking for some "trash-to-treasure" craft ideas, I came upon a fun project from Katydid and Kid. She took a cereal box and transformed it into a really cute desk organizer. I decided that instead of using a cereal box I would use the sausage biscuit box that my hubby had emptied that morning:

Following the directions HERE from Katydid and Kid, (just tweaking mine a bit to work with the sausage biscuit box I was using), I created this lovely:

I LOVE how it turned out, (awesome, eh??), and I am going to make some matching accessories to coordinate with it! (Stay tuned for that post in the near future...) This would be a fun project to make with a girl scout or boy scout troop...a great way to teach them about up-cycling!

Thanks for popping by today to check out my project! Tomorrow will be a reeeeally crazy day for me...it's the first day of school for students and I'm SUPER excited to kick off the school year at my wonderful new school!

Wishing you a wonderful week, friends!

Quote Sunday

Silly Saturday

Hee! Hee! Here's a little giggle to start your weekend off right! Have a good one! :)

The Wonder of Washi Tape

Good morning! The teachers officially return to work at my school today, so it will be a super busy day charged with lots of great energy and excitement! Many of them have been at the school for the past couple of weeks getting their new classrooms ready for the kiddos return next Tuesday. Our theme for this year is "Saddle Up For Success", so the western/cowboy decorations all around our school and classrooms are so awesome!

Even though it will be a crazy busy day, I wanted to take a minute to show you a couple of cute desk accessories that I "made-over" using Washi tape. I started out with a couple of freebies that I got at a back-to-school meeting last year. (Many businesses and colleges in our area hand out goodies to the teachers and staff during these meetings.) Shown below are a notebook and pen and a post-it note/post-it flag notebook that I received last year:

I thought they were pretty blah, so I fixed them up by simply covering them with Washi tape. I also added a stitched "B" monogram button to the front of each of them. I found these pin buttons on clearance at Hobby Lobby for only $.35 each. I removed the pins from the backs and then glued the buttons to the fronts of these notebooks:

I love how they turned out! They look great at work sitting alongside the daily planner that I made-over a couple of weeks ago. (Click HERE to see that post.)

Have a SUPER day and thanks for dropping by!

Recipe of the Week: Chicken and Rice Stuffed Peppers

With all of the yummy, garden-fresh produce available now, I thought I'd try something new with some green bell peppers that were given to me. I stuffed them with a chicken-rice mixture, and they turned out FABULOUS! Served up with a simple side of right-off-the-vine tomatoes, these stuffed peppers make a perfect summer meal! Here's how I made them:

Ingredients:

• 12.5 oz. can of chicken breast
• 2 cups uncooked instant rice
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 soup can milk
• 1 can Rotel
• 3 - 4 green bell peppers
• Shredded cheddar

Method:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9" x 13" baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Wash bell peppers. Cut in half, remove the seeds and set hollowed out peppers aside. Open can of chicken breast and empty contents, including liquid, into a large mixing bowl. Using a fork, shred chicken. Add uncooked instant rice, soup, milk and Rotel to shredded chicken and stir until well mixed. Scoop chicken/rice mixture into peppers and place in baking dish. (If you have left-over chicken/rice, just spoon it in the baking dish around the peppers.) Sprinkle the tops of the stuffed peppers with shredded cheese. Cover dish with foil, place in oven, and bake for about 30 - 40 minutes. Serve with a side salad, sliced tomatoes, etc. Enjoy!

Have a SUPER week!!

Quote Sunday

Silly Saturday

(Photo found on the internet)

Have a SUPER weekend!!

"Spiffied-Up" Paper Bag

Earlier this week I posted a photo of the felt baby booties that I've been making. (Click HERE for that post and link to the bootie pattern.) Before giving this cute pair of booties to our family friend Jessica, for her baby girl Natalie, I made a little coordinating gift bag to put them in. Here's how I made the bag:

Start out with a colored 8 1/2" tall x 4 1/2" wide paper bag that can be purchased at Hobby Lobby or Michael's. (These bags come in lots of pretty colors!)

Cut a piece of patterned paper 11 1/2" long x 4 1/2" wide. Attach a 3 1/2" piece of cardstock that matches the color of the bag to one end of the patterned paper. This will become the bag flap...the cardstock just reinforces the paper to give the flap a little more body. Using adhesive of your choice, (I prefer a tape runner), attach the patterned paper to the backside of the paper bag. Cut a strip of contrasting cardstock 4 1/2" long x 1" tall. Using a scallop punch, punch design along one edge of the strip and adhere to the underside of the flap, leaving 1/2" of the edge showing on the flap. (See photo below.) Attach a silk flower, or design element of your choice, to the flap of the bag:

Cut an 8 1/2" long x 4 1/2" wide piece of the patterned paper to attach to the front of the bag as shown below. Attach a couple of knotted pieces of ribbon to the front of the bag; then add a small piece of Velcro to keep the bag closed once your gift is placed inside:

Here's a side view of the bag...

Super cute and easy, huh??

Lastly, here's a close-up of the darling booties that I made for Natalie...love the red ruffled gingham ribbon trim and the contrast of the yellow stitching on the blue booties!

Thanks for stopping by today!!

Blessings,

Sweet Felt Baby Booties

Happy Monday! Last week was really busy here...my summer break officially ended and I headed back to work. Things are really hoppin' at my new school, which is scheduled to open on August 20th. So much activity getting everything in place for when the kiddos and teachers return for the first day of school! I love all of the energy and excitement!

Lately I've started making something new in the craft area of my little world...ADORABLE baby booties!! We know several people who have either had a baby or are expecting a baby or grandbaby, so I wanted to make these cuuuuute little booties for them. Here is a photo of a few that I've made so far:

I know!!! So adorable, right?!?!?! I have been able to make these while watching TV in the evenings, and I've got several more pair in the works, so stay tuned for pics of those in upcoming posts. Would you like to make some of these darling booties too? Click HERE for the template and instructions to get started on these in time for Christmas or any upcoming baby showers that you may be attending in the future.

Here is a photo of the back of two pair of the booties that I made...I added little ribbon pulls with buttons as accents:

Such sweetness! Thanks for dropping by today - have a wonderful week!

Today is "Friendship Day"!

I am so grateful for the wonderful friends in my life! These folks have blessed my life immensely...no matter what the situation we can call upon each other for help or great advice. Be sure to take a minute today to let your pals know how much you appreciate and admire them!

Blessings,

Silly Saturday

Enjoy your weekend, friends!