CHOPPED:LEFTOVER TURKEY

photo by Food Network

 

I love the cooking show Chopped. May I say it again.... I LOVE CHOPPED!!! This is the best cooking show ever and it also, unknowingly serves as my muse. I had been putting limitations on my cooking for so long, but when I found Chopped two years ago my cooking chains were broken. I can gladly say that I can make a pretty good meal with random items and enjoy it. Recently ,I ran out of flour. I know, I know you're saying, "KC, Hunny, you are in the South we never run out of flour." Well, somehow it happened and I was left with defrosted chicken tenders and no flour. What to do..hmm... I put on my Chopped thinking cap and searched the Lazy Suzy. There I found a package of generic stuffing mix. I took the mix with a bit of cornstarch put it in a zip loc and crushed it till it looked like Panko bread crumbs. Then I remembered I had no eggs for my batter. I recently saw a Kraft Mayo commercial where they used mayo to coat the chicken to give it moisture. I had very little mayo so I added some milk. I dipped the chicken in to the mayo/milk moisture and then the stuffing mix to coat, seasoned with poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper. Let rest for 10 minutes then flashed fried the tenders aka browned the tenders on both sides.  Finally, I placed them in the oven for 20 minutes. And baby can I tell you that chicken was moist and flavorful. It was the best fried chicken I have ever made! 

I apologize but because  this was an impromptu recipe I can only give you the details above. I may go back and perfect it. When I do you'll be the first to know. However, in the meantime don't be afraid to try new things when cooking it could lead to the best thing you've created yet. Oh and don't forget to watch Chopped on Sundays on Food Network at 10pm.

In the meantime here is a Chopped worthy recipe courtesy of The Skinny Fork  and great for leftover Thanksgiving turkey.

 

Photo by  The Skinny Fork


Isn't this a beautiful photo? Love it.

 

Taking Back The Morning

Yesterday I was so overwhelmed and exhausted. I sat at my desk trying to figure out how to create balance and realized that it was the start of my day. Every morning I wake up an hour before having to leave. During this hour I do a quick prayer, quick breakfast, quick shower, throw on clothes, get my son ready..quickly and rush out the door. All these quick movements and lack of time were what was effecting the rest of my day. I was not giving myself the time to spend with God in prayer and devotionals, nor was I taking time to enjoy the beauty and quiet of the morning. There is a quote by Maya Angelou that I love. I will paraphrase, "Life is not how many breaths you take, It is about the moments that take your breath away." I was missing those moments because I no longer had balance in my life. So today I am taking back my mornings. No more sleeping late on the weekend (unless I am sick or exhausted) and no more rushing during the weekday. I know this will be hard to implement, but I must get disciplined in this. It's to preserve my sanity, salvation, and my health. How can I be the mother or wife I am made to be if I can't be conscience because I'm in rush? Now that I have this new time I plan to do many great things, for example continuing this blog. If this sounds familiar to you then reflect on this. Then take a vow with me to Take Back The Morning. It's going to lead to a better you!

Penny Covered Letters

Hello All.

Here is my first DIY. I had saw this craft several times on Pinterest and really wanted to make it for my kitchen. Here is the finished product:

The paper mache letters are covered in pennies (can't remember how many, but quite a few).
In order to do this Penny Project you will need to take a trip to JoAnn's or Hobby Lobby and purchase the following:

1.  Mod Podge Glass Luster
2. Sponge brush & paint brush
3. Paper Mache Letters
4. Dazzling Metallic Paint (Worn Penny color)  1 bottle will do
5. Hot glue gun (which I already had). If you don't own a glue gun please get one it's worth it.

The total amount cost me around $10. The Mod Podge cost the most, but it can be used for tons of other crafts later so it's so worth the $5 bucks. Don't forget your coupon that you can get on your Iphone, Facebook, or their web site.

First you will paint the letters. I painted the front and the sides not the back.

Paint and let dry for one hour. While the letters dried I enjoyed a nice cup of cinnamon tea in my favorite cup. Hmmm...

 

After this great cup of tea and an episode of Scandal via Hulu. I lined up the pennies on the letters and use my hot glue gun to glue the pennies to the letters. After each letter I used the foam sponge and put two coats of Mod Podge on top of the letters. Yes, the Mod Podge goes on white, but will dry clear. It's scary at first because it takes 10-15 minutes to dry clear, but don't worry. :)

 

 

 

Once the Mod Podge dries I added the second row of pennies to the middle section of letters (No photo shown of second row of pennies). You don't have to do this I just did because Papi suggested I should. Once I added the second row of pennies to the middle section I did another coating of

Mod Podge and let it dry overnight.

When you wake up in the morning you have a Pretty Penny Project that looks like a Million Bucks!

I placed my letters on an a shelf we already had, but you could use your mantle or add some

3M hooks to the back and hang on the wall.

Leave me a comment if you like this project and/or if you try it. I would love to see someone use quarters or dimes and paint the letters silver. Good Luck!

 

 

 

 

WELCOME

 

Hello and welcome all to my blog. This is my first post and first attempt at the whole blog thing. I love to read blogs not only for the quick tips I learn, but also to see others way of life. It's like a great way to people watch without seeming creepy. :)

If you want to know more about me and my fam please check out my about me for the

low down.

I hope to be able to post at least twice a week. I work full time, I am a full time student, a full time Mommy, Wife, and Ministry leader so I stay a little busy, but never to busy to talk.

Thank you for visiting and check back for new post.