Turkey Meatloaf

Taking a picture of meatloaf is more complicated than I thought it would be!  It's not the prettiest looking meal I've ever made, but it tastes great!  I hope you'll give it a try and let me know what you think!

 

Ingredients:

1lb lean ground turkey

1/2 cup of panko breadcrumbs

2 tbs of sundried tomatoes in olive oil

2 tbs of the oil the sundried tomatoes are packed in

2 tbs of feta cheese crumbles

2 cloves of garlic minced

1/2 cup whole milk

4 or 5 basil leaves

1 tsp salt

fresh cracked black pepper to taste

 

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.  While oven is pre-heating place ground turkey in a bowl.  Add sundried tomatoes, oil, feta, milk, garlic and spices to the bowl.  Begin gently combining ingredients with one hand.  With your clean hand begin adding panko until the mixture holds together enough to form a loaf.  For me it took about 1/2 a cup of panko, but you may need a little more or less depending on how moist your meat is.  Form your loaf on a sheet pan coated with non-stick spray.  Place in oven and bake for about 1 hour.  I served my meatloaf with mashed sweet potatoes and arugula salad. 

 

Please note this meatloaf does not have an egg in it, which is why I added the oil from the sundried tomatoes and the whole milk.  My daughter has a severe egg allergy and I had to adapt this recipe so she could eat it too!  If you prefer to add an egg to your meatloaf you may find that you do not need to add as much of the milk or oil, or you may need to add more breadcrumbs.

 

 

Chicken & Vegetable Curry

I can make this recipe faster than it takes my husband to get to the Thai House and back!

I use these types of curry that I bought at the Asian market. They cost $1.99 each and have lasted me for over 2 months, and I make curry almost every week.

Ingredients:

1 12oz bag of mixed vegetables (I used carrots & broccoli)

1 red potato cut into 1" chunks

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts chopped into one inch chunks

1 tbs yellow curry paste

1 tsp red curry paste

1 1/2 cans of coconut milk

1/2 cup of water

1 tbs vegetable oil

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

Directions:

In a non-stick skillet over medium heat add vegetable oil and curry paste.  I like the combination of the two, the yellow is sweeter and the red gives a kick.  When the paste starts to soften and melt into the oil, about 1 minute, add one and a half cans of coconut milk, water and chicken.  Season with salt and sugar and reduce heat until just simmering.  After about 7 minutes add the vegetables and continue to cook until fork tender (less than 5 minutes) and serve over white or brown rice.

Breaded Pork Chops with Chunky Applesauce

I fully intended to have this recipe posted by Saturday night, but I've had a sick baby, which has made things a bit of a challenge.  Anyhow, she is napping now so I'm getting this one out while I have a chance.  It's the perfect fall supper!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 bone in, thin cut pork chops
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup regular bread crumbs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 egg
salt & pepper
1/2 a jar of chunky apple sauce
2 tbs butter
2 tbs olive oil

Directions:
You will need three shallow bowls or dishes for the breading process.  First add flour to one of the bowls and season with a generous pinch of salt and some fresh cracked black pepper and mix.  In the second bowl beat the egg.  In the third bowl mix the panko and regular breadcrumbs together and season with more salt and pepper.  Begin heating a nonstick skillet over medium heat and add butter and olive oil to the skillet.  Begin your breading process by dipping each chop in flour, egg and breadcrumbs and place in the skillet.  Turn the chops when they start to turn golden brown, usually about 4 minutes then turn chops over and cook another 4 minutes or until golden brown.  (The chops will not take long to cook if they are thin cut.)  After the other side is browned remove chops from skillet and cover with foil.  Add 1/2 a jar of chunky applesauce to the skillet with the drippings you cooked your chops in and allow to heat through for a couple minutes.  Remove from heat and spoon applesauce over the chops.  I garnished my chops with an arugula salad and served over rice pilaf. 

Kale Chips

This recipe comes with a disclaimer: it will make your house smell funny! If you are inviting your boss over for dinner tonight, don't make Kale Chips today!

Recipe:

Take a bag of baby kale or a couple of bunches from the farmer's market and coat with about 2tbs olive oil. Spread evenly on a couple of foil lined baking sheets. (The foil makes clean up easy.) season with a pinch of salt, fresh pepper and garlic powder. Place in 250 degree oven for 1-2 hours. You'll know it's done when it has cooked down and is crispy! Enjoy!

Food I Love

I don't always have the recipes for my favorite foods. These ribs are made with a secret barbecue sauce recipe that belonged to my Grandpa and was passed down to my Mom. She made a batch earlier this year and canned it. It was a big job and the ingredient list was as long as my arm. Although I have an idea of what was in it, I don't actually know how to make this one. But, the picture was so pretty I just had to share!

Round Two: Beef Stroganoff

It doesn't get much easier than this.  I used the leftovers from the Beef Stew that I made on Wednesday's post.  I basically reheated, added sour cream and served it over buttered egg noodles.  I had planned to get this up yesterday, but I just ran out of time last night.  Hopefully you like this round two meal as much as we did!  Enjoy

Recipe:

Bring a large pasta pot to boil over high heat.  Cook egg noodles according to package instructions in salted water.  Reheat the leftover beef stew from Wednesday's recipe in a large non-stick skillet.  When stew is simmering remove from heat and stir in 1/2 a cup of sour cream.  (Depending on how much you have leftover use your judgment if you need more or less)  When sour cream is completely incorporated in the sauce, return to low heat and heat through once again.  Add a table spoon or two of butter to drained hot egg noodles and stir until melted.  Ladle stroganoff over buttered noodles and garnish with fresh parsley.  Enjoy!

My Crazy Day

I had the craziest day yesterday.  You know, the kind you don't want to admit to having, but none the less, they happen.  We needed groceries so I had to run to Trader Joes.  Normally I'm not big on taking my 22 month old daughter shopping with me, but there are times when the lack of food in your house makes grocery shopping impossible to avoid, even when it means taking the small monsters with you.  So off we went, my wee one, my neighbor's daughter and myself.  The shopping itself was uneventful and other than the kids running into each other and me with their small carts, I made it through the store with only a mild injury to my arm.  Success, I thought, but no... When I unlocked my car and opened the door, the alarm started going off.  VERY loudly.  I quickly rummaged through my purse finally finding my keys amid the dried fruit snacks, used wipes and receipts that I seem to collect, but never look at.  I began frantically pushing buttons trying to shut the darn thing of, but no luck.  Beep, beep, beep, still pushing buttons, I decided to try to start it to see if that would work, but no luck.  The kids are covering their ears.  Other shoppers are giving me dirty looks. (Really, like I am enjoying this??)  My food is slowly defrosting.  Finally it goes off on its own.  I open the other door thinking, okay I can get my daughter in her car seat, only to have the beeping start up again as soon as I open the door.  Luckily, my friend met me at the store to pick up her daughter and suggests I run to the drug store around the corner to see if I can get a replacement battery.  I replaced the battery on my remote only a few months ago, but at this point I'm desperate so I unscrew the screw on the back of the remote with a hair clip that I found in my messy hand bag and pry the old battery out and run to the other side of the parking lot to look for a battery at the drug store.  Out of breath I run inside and ask "Do you have this size battery?"  No luck, so, I run to the other side of the parking lot to the Save Mart and search through their wall of batteries (the whole time my alarm is going off) and no, Save Mart doesn't carry them either.  What the heck?  I have no idea what to do and after a brief and unhelpful conversation with my husband I call my dad who says he can come and try to unplug (that's my technical word for it) the battery to the car, maybe that will reset it.  I'm frustratedly still pushing the buttons on the remote and all of a sudden it makes the low beep beep sound it usually makes when it disarms and the alarm stops.   Could it be, is it really off? ( I still hear the beeping in my head.)  Yes, just a freak malfunction.  I was able to get the groceries home before the milk went bad and still made it to the school in time to pick up my 5 year old daughter from kindergarten.  But, man, what a morning!

Beef Stew with Mashed Potatoes

This was soooo yummy.  There were also a lot of leftovers, but that might not be the case if your kids aren't picky eaters like mine.  Don't worry, I came up with another recipe for the leftovers that I'll share with you tomorrow!  It was equally delicious!  I took a few more pictures than I usually do, so you can actually see some of the steps.  This dish is similar to a Boeuf Bourguignon, but I just used red wine that I had on hand and there aren't any potatoes in the actual stew, since I decided to serve it over mashed potatoes.

Ingredients for the stew:

2 lbs of beef stew meat

1/2 cup of corn starch

1 package of white mushrooms

1 package of baby carrots

1 - 14oz  frozen package of petite white onions

4 cloves garlic

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

2 sprigs of fresh thyme

vegetable oil

2 cups of red wine 

3 cups of beef stock

salt and pepper

Directions:

Open package(s) of beef stew meat.  If wet pat lightly with a paper towel to dry, as the meat will not brown as well when wet.  Place beef stew meat in a large ziplock bag and sprinkle in 1/2 a cup of corn starch some fresh cracked black pepper and 1 tbs of salt.  Zip bag up and shake until corn starch coats meat.  Heat a large dutch oven over high heat and add enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  You just want to brown the meat, not deep fry.  When the oil is hot add the meat in two batches.  If you over crowd it it won't brown.  You can see a photo of this step below. While the meat is browning, slice the mushrooms in half, unless you find small ones that you want to leave whole.  Turn the meat frequently until all sides are browned and both batches are complete.  Then empty most of the remaining oil/grease into a safe glass dish or jar and discard when cool.  Return dutch oven to medium heat and add the whole bag of onions, carrots, mushrooms and 4 cloves of chopped garlic.  Stir and let cook until garlic is soft and the onions are defrosted and have a little color on them, about 5 minutes.  Add two cups of red wine to pan.  Be sure to use a wooden spoon to scrape all the little bits from the browned meat from the bottom of the pan.  Add the 3 cups of beef broth, fresh rosemary, thyme, more black pepper and another pinch of salt.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat until stew is simmering lightly and cover with lid.  Continue to simmer the stew for a couple hours stirring every 20 minutes or so.  After about two hours my stew was perfect.  I served it with mashed potatoes.  My recipe for them is below.

Recipe for mashed potatoes:

6 large yukon gold potatoes

2 cloves of garlic peeled

2 oz cream cheese

2 tbs butter

1/4 cup light sour cream

1/2-1 cup whole milk

salt & pepper to taste

Cut potatoes into large chucks and add to a large pot of salted cold water.  Peel garlic and add that to water as well.  Place over high heat and bring to a boil.  When potatoes are fork tender (about 10 minutes of boiling) remove from heat and drain.  Put potatoes back in hot pot and add butter, cream cheese and sour cream.  Use a potato masher and mash until no longer lumpy.  Add milk a little at a time until potatoes become the consistency you prefer.  I like mine extra creamy so I use closer to a cup of milk, but it's really up to you.  Season to taste with salt and pepper, and you're good to go!

Serve potatoes in a soup bowl and cover with stew.  I garnished mine with fresh parsley so it would look pretty for the camera.  I hope you give it a try!  If you have leftovers like me, see my post tomorrow for my round two recipe!

Storing Thrifty Finds

I try to be a very organized person, but with two kids, a dog and my husband around that is not always easy.  When I started getting serious about buying the majority of my daughter's clothes at thrift stores I knew I needed to figure out a system for organizing and storing the clothes that didn't fit yet.  As many of you with young children know, they grow fast!  Especially during the first two years.  I wanted to organize their clothes in a way that they would be easily accessible, so here's what I came up with:

I have two tote bins for each of my girls.  One is for the next size up that they will be wearing in the near future and the other tote is for anything bigger than that.  For example in my 22 month old's closet I have one bin that is filled with 24 month & 2T clothes.  The other bin is 3T and up.  As she grows I swap out and reorganize the bins.  In the next month or so I expect to be cleaning her dresser out and replacing the 18 month clothes currently in there for the 24 month and 2T sizes that she'll be wearing for the next year.  The clothes that no longer fit I pass on to friends with little ones or donate.  I now have an empty tote in her closet.  I then go through all the clothes that are in my "bigger than 2T" bin, sort and start a 3T bin.  The other bin now becomes my "bigger than 3T bin."  Does that make sense?  Here's what it looks like in my youngest daughter's closet.

The stool makes it easy for me to add clothes to the bins!

I hope this helps you organize your finds!  Happy Thrifting!

Weekend Finds

Yesterday I got out of the house for a few hours.  I was able to make it to three or four thrift stores and found some really cute Christmas dresses for my oldest daughter.  Pardon the messy island & trash can in the back ground.  I was so excited about my finds I didn't set the scene very well!

Yep, $3.99 and $4.99.  Not too bad for Christmas dresses!  I'll be back tomorrow with my system for organizing and storing thrift store finds that are a size or two larger than my kids wear!

Roasted Carrot Soup

This soup is delicious, healthy and simple!  I've made it a couple of times and my kids love it too.  It's perfect for a weeknight dinner served with grilled cheese sandwiches, or "dippers" as we call them at my house!  The basil could easily be swapped out for ginger and served with a side of pot stickers!

Recipe

1 bag of baby carrots or 5-6 regular sized carrots peeled and chopped into about 2" pieces

1/2 an onion peeled and roughly chopped 

3-4 cloves of garlic unpeeled

1 - 32oz. carton of chicken broth (substitute vegetable broth if desired)

olive oil

salt & pepper

fresh basil

I've made this soup with regular carrots and baby carrots and it doesn't change the flavor so it just depends on what's in your crisper.  Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees.  Place carrots, chopped onion & garlic on a baking sheet.  Add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the veggies, enough to lightly coat everything so it won't stick to the sheet.  I've used parchment paper to line the cookie sheet before, it speeds up your clean up time, but it isn't necessary.  Season with salt and pepper and put into pre-heated oven.  The vegetables take 20-30 minutes to roast and I like to turn them at least once so they get carmelized on all sides.  When the vegetables look browned and the onions are carmelized remove from oven.  In a sauce pan on the stove bring 2 cups of chicken broth to a simmer.  Remove the garlic from it's peel (it may be hot, but should be easy to squeeze out) and add all vegetables to the simmering chicken broth.  I use my emersion blender to puree the mixture, but you could use a regular blender if you don't have one of those handy gadgets.  Remove the vegetables from the heat and puree.  If you find the soup is too thick add remainder of the broth a little at a time until it becomes the consistency you like.  Return to stove and heat through.  Garnish with fresh basil and serve with grilled cheese "dippers".  Enjoy!

Homemade "Twix" Bars

I made these for my husband (he has quite the sweet tooth) for his birthday this year instead of cake.  He loved them and has asked for them frequently since then.  They are pretty simple to make and would be great for a bake sale or potluck dessert dish.  

Recipe

Shortbread:

2 sticks of butter cut into small pieces

2 cups all purpose flour

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Add butter, flour, sugar and salt to a food processor and pulse the ingredients until the mixture until it resembles the texture of peas.  Press the short bread into a parchment lined baking dish and use a fork to lightly poke holes in dough (so it doesn't bubble up).  Bake about 20 minutes or until the edges become light brown.

Topping:

1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 bag of carmels removed from their wrappers

If you have one, feel free to substitute your favorite shortbread recipe. Once the shortbread is done, remove from oven to cool.  Take one bag of carmels removed from their wrappers and heat until melted.  If you use the microwave for this heat in small increments, 15-30 seconds, stir and continue heating a little at a time until completely melted.  Using an offset spatula spread the melted carmel evenly over the top of the shortbread crust.  Let set for 5-10 minutes in the refrigerator.  Using the same method as the carmel, melt one bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips.  Use same offset spatula to spread the melted chocolate over the carmel.  Return to the refrigerator and let set for a couple hours or until completely cooled.  Using the parchment remove the entire thing from the baking dish and cut into bars.  The bars are very rich, so you may want to cut them a little smaller than I did!

Vegan Pumpkin Muffins

I may have mentioned it before, but my 22 month old daughter is seriously allergic to eggs.  This can make baking a bit of a challenge, since most cakes, cookies, muffins and other baked goods usually call for eggs.  I stumbled upon a recipe similar to this on Pintrest about a year ago.  It called for one can of pumpkin and one boxed yellow cake mix.  I tried it and was surprised to find it was pretty good.  For any of you who shop at Trader Joe's (can you tell I love that place?) you'll know that all their pumpkin goodies are on the shelves right now.  I figured I'd try mixing the pumpkin bread & a can of pumpkin together to see how it turned out.  We loved it!  It is fun to be able to give my daughter a special treat that I made for her!  Technically they may not be considered truly vegan since the box states that the ingredients were made on equipment shared with dairy & eggs, but there are no added dairy or eggs in these muffins!  I promise even if you are not vegan, they are delicious.  My only suggestion is eat them the day you make them or they start to dry out.  That's not a problem at my house since I made them this morning and only have 2 left!! 

These are the only 2 ingredients!


Sorry for the blurry picture! I was hungry! LOL!

Thrift Store Finds

I get asked all the time "Where do you get your daughter's clothes?  They are so cute!"  My answer might surprise you because most of my daughters clothes come from thrift stores!  

That's right folks, I am a thrift store junkie!  I love a good bargain and as a stay at home mom to two kiddos any way I can save a buck helps (I buy underwear & I socks new!!) In August, my oldest daughter Lily Claire started kindergarten.  Any of you with kids know how expensive their clothes can be!  And how fast they grow!  I figured if I could assemble her wardrobe for school through mostly thrift store finds I could save us a ton of money!  So I did it and here's what I learned:

You have to shop frequently.  You don't have to spend a ton of time, but you do need to go often.  People donate all the time, meaning new product arrives daily. You don't have to spend a ton of time going though the the entire store (unless you want to!) you just have to do a quick sweep of the racks every few days.  My goal is to go at least once a week, sometimes twice.  Yes I know that sounds like a lot of work, but I swear some of the deals I have found have made it worth the time.

Another tip I have is to look for things that are off season.  In the middle of July I found jackets, sweaters, jeans and boots.  People aren't always looking for cold weather clothes when it is 100 degrees outside.  Don't be afraid to buy a size or two up.  I find cute things all the time, but they aren't necessarily going to fit my girls anytime soon.  I buy them anyway, because I know they will fit some day!  (I'll share my organization idea for storing larger sizes soon, so be on the lookout!)

My last tip for the day is look for quality.  I am not one to buy brand name at retail prices.  Mainly because I can't afford to pay $40 for one sweater or $30 for a pair of jeans.  However, I have found that name brand clothes do tend to last longer and still have a lot of life left.  I have had the best luck with Gymboree, Gap Kids and Janie & Jack.

Here are the pictures of Lily Claire's kindergarten wardrobe ALL from thrift stores.

If you want the break down I bought 4 pairs of jeans, 1 cords, 3 jackets, 3 short sleeved sweaters, 4 skirts, 2 capris, 2 short sleeved blouses, 2 long sleeved blouses, 4 long sleeved t-shirts, 2 long sleeved sweaters, 4 dresses (including the one she's wearing in the picture) and one pair of Ugg boots (with slightly scuffed toes) for a grand total of $80.  That's right folks $80 for EVERYTHING!!

Brussels Sprouts Spaghetti

Another fall favorite!  This dish is so simple and will take you no time at all to make.  Let me know what you think of it!

Recipe:

1 bag of shaved brussels sprouts

1 package of diced pancetta or 4 slices of bacon cut into little pieces

1 lb of spaghetti (can substitute whole wheat)

2 cloves of garlic

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

parmesan cheese

reserve a cup of pasta water 

Start your water to boil your pasta in.  While waiting for pasta to come to a boil get all your ingredients out of the fridge and ready to use.  If you need to chop your bacon go ahead and get that done now.  When the water is almost boiling, preheat a large non stick skillet and add just a little olive oil.  Add pancetta or bacon to the skillet and saute until golden brown.  When your pasta water comes to a boil add a tablespoon or two of salt and your pasta.  Stir frequently so it does not stick together.  Add garlic to the pancetta and continue to cook on medium low heat for a minute or two, then add brussels sprouts.  They will cook quickly since they are shaved finely.  (If you can't find them shaved already you can shave them by hand the same way you would a cabbage or toss them in a food processor.)  When your pasta is al dente add it to the skillet and remove from heat.  Be sure to reserve some of the water you cooked your pasta in before you drain it!  Add a little water at a time to your brussels sprout spaghetti and toss with tongs until everything comes together and the water/ sprout mixture form a light sauce.  Add parmesan cheese to taste and serve.  Makes enough for 4 adults.

This is a picture of the shaved brussels sprouts I used.

Enjoy!!

Heather

Butternut Squash Macaroni & Cheese

This photo does not do this dish justice, I promise!!  This is one of my very favorite fall meals and my whole family loves it, even my picky 22 month old daughter!  Please try it and let me know what you think!

Recipe:

1lb. penne pasta (whole wheat is delicious too)

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup whole milk

1 whole butternut squash

olive oil

salt & pepper

garlic powder

fresh thyme

Start by preheating oven to 425 degrees and putting a large pot of water on the stove to boil.  While the water/oven is heating up peel your squash with a vegetable peeler and dice it into 1-2 inch cubes.  The squash can be slippery so be careful with your knife!  Coat cubes lightly with olive oil and spread on a cookie sheet.  Season with salt, pepper & garlic powder.  Once oven reaches 425 place squash inside and roast for 20-30 minutes turning once or twice until golden brown.  Cook pasta according to box directions -2 minutes in plenty of salted water (since the pasta will continue to cook in the oven you want it al dente).  When squash is done add 2 cups of chicken broth to a blender or food processor along with cooked squash.  Puree until smooth.  Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat and add squash mixture.  Once heated through add milk, parmesan and several sprigs of fresh thyme.  Stir until cheese is melted completely and mixture is smooth.  Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.  Remove from heat and add to drained pasta.  Transfer to a greased baking dish (I love Trader Joe's Coconut Oil Spray for this) and top with the cheddar cheese.  Place in the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted, brown and bubbly.

**If you want to kick this up a notch, top it with diced browned pancetta & crispy onions!!  It's delish!

I hope your family enjoys this as much as mine does!

Meatball & Tortellini Soup

I have made this soup a few times and a few different ways, but it is always delicious and a family favorite!  It's my modern day version of chicken noodle soup!  Here's how to make it.

Recipe:

3 tbs olive oil

1 chopped onion

3-4 cloves of garlic minced

4 carrots peeled and chopped

5 ribs of celery with leaves chopped

4 sprigs of fresh thyme

salt & pepper to taste

1/4 cup of white wine

1 32oz carton of broth (beef, chicken or veg all work)

1 can of diced tomatoes or 1/2 a jar of prepared marinara sauce

1/2 a package of mini meatballs (I use the Trader Joe's brand)

1 package of cheese tortellini (I used 1/2 a package of the tri-colored from Costco)

1 large handful of fresh baby spinach

Parmesan cheese to garnish

In a large dutch oven or soup pot over medium high heat add olive oil, onions, garlic and salt and pepper to taste.  Saute for 3-5 minutes until onions start to become translucent, add carrots and celery. Continue to saute stirring frequently.  Add thyme and wine and use a wooden spoon to scrape all the little bits that may be sticking at the bottom of your pot.  Add canned tomatoes or marinara and whichever type of broth you prefer.  I find beef to be the richest in flavor, chicken a happy medium and vegetable to be a very light but tasty broth.  After broth comes to a boil reduce heat to simmer and let all vegetables cook through for about 15 minutes.  If you find the broth cooks down a lot add a little more broth or a little water works fine too!  Add the frozen meatballs and let heat for 5-10 minutes.  When you add the meatballs start a separate pot of water to boil to cook your tortellini in.  This is really optional, as you can easily throw the tortellini right in the soup to cook, however I prefer to make it separately as the leftovers tend to be mushy with overcooked pasta the next day.  If you choose to cook the tortellini separately just follow the instructions on the package then add a ladle full of drained tortellini to the bottom of each bowl that you plan to serve the soup in.  Right before you ladle up the soup add a generous handful of spinach and let wilt for a few seconds. Ladle soup over the top of the tortellini and garnish with parmesan cheese.  

Enjoy!

Heather

Chalk Paint & Wax

A few months back I was given a hutch in trade for a project I painted for a friend.  It was an old 1980's style china hutch in the typical oak style from that era complete with brass knobs and pulls.  Really not the style I wanted in my dining room.  I knew I wanted to paint it, but I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do with it.

I am an avid Pintrest follower and had been looking for the perfect idea and finally decided to try my hand at chalk paint with a distressed wax finish.  I looked up a ton of different methods to figure out how I was going to do it and finally decided to give it a go!  I started out thinking that I needed to find a retailer who sold Annie Sloan's famous Chalk Paint, but after looking for retailers online I couldn't find anyone close to me who sold it.  I really wanted to see color samples before I committed to a color and thought that by the time I ordered samples online, had them mailed to me, decided on a color and ordered enough to complete my project it would be several weeks before I would be able to begin working on it.  I decided to stop by Emigh Hardware to see if they had any ideas where I might be able to find the paint locally and was surprised to find out they had a recipe for making my own!  This way I could pick any color of paint I wanted to use, mix up my own batch of chalk paint and get started right away!  The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of plaster of paris, 1/2 cup of hot water & 1 1/2 cups of paint.  Since I never actually got to use Annie's paint, I can's say that one type is any better than the other, but I can say that I was impressed with how easy it was to make and how great it covered what I was painting.  

The cool thing about chalk paint is that you don't have to strip or sand your project, (unless it is in really rough shape) you just start painting.  You don't need to be careful to follow the grain of the wood, just slap on that paint!  It dries incredibly fast and takes so much less time than the more traditional method of painting wood furniture.  I loved this project!  It was fast and easy!  Even applying the wax was a piece of cake!  As soon as the chalk paint dried I applied my first coat of clear wax to the entire piece.  This smoothes out all the roughness from the texture of the chalk paint.  I used an old burp cloth to "polish" the top of the table part of my hutch since I figured it was the portion of the piece that would probably take the most abuse.  I did not polish the entire piece, just let the wax dry and harden and I am please with the way it turned out.  After I applied the clear wax and before it had hardened I applied a very small amount of the dark wax in the areas that I wanted the piece to appear aged and worn.  A little of the dark wax goes a LONG way!!  You can thin it out by mixing the clear and dark, but make sure that you always use clear first otherwise the paint will soak up the dark wax and you will not be able to get it off.  This process also went pretty fast once I got the hang of it!

To complete the piece I knew I wanted to get new knobs, but didn't want to spend a lot of money on hardware.  I decided to spray paint most of the original hardware with an oil rubbed bronze tone.  I love how the finished product turned out!  I hope this inspires you to give it a go! Feel free to ask any questions!  I may not know the answer, but I am happy to share my experiences!

I didn't remember to get a before, but you can still see the 

natural wood color at the bottom part of the hutch.

It only took an hour or so between coats so it was easy 

to get everything painted in just one weekend!

This is the finished project now in my dining room!  

The knobs came from Hobby Lobby and were $4 for both of them.

This is the wax that I used to give the chalk paint a smooth and 

aged patina.  I found it on the cleaning aisle at the hardware store.

Chicken Fried Rice

The other night I made Chicken & Vegetable Curry for dinner.  I made extra rice and thought I would use my leftovers to make Chicken Fried Rice.  My youngest daughter, Ella, has a major food allergy to eggs, so there are no eggs in my fried rice, but they would probably be delicious if you're so inclined.

Chicken Fried Rice

3 cups cooked white rice

2 carrots peeled and diced

1/2 of a red bel pepper diced

1 cup frozen peas

1 ear of corn shucked and removed from cob

1 cooked chicken breast diced

2 tbs canola oil

sesame oil to taste

low sodium soy sauce

chicken broth

Directions:  In a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat saute vegetables (except peas) with canola oil until slightly softened.  Add the rice & the sesame oil.  I did not put down exact measurements for the sesame oil, soy sauce or chicken broth because it depends on how much you like these things.  I started with a small amount of the sesame oil as it has a pretty strong flavor, probably only 1tsp.  I used about 3 tbs of soy sauce and about 1/4 cup of chicken broth.  Once the rice and vegetables are combined I turned the heat to medium and placed the lid on the skillet for about 5 minutes.  At this point I stirred the mixture again and added the chicken and peas.  Also check to see if it needs any more seasoning (more soy sauce) or liquid.  The rice can absorb the liquid fast so it is a good idea to stir it every couple minutes until it turns golden and looks like mine above.  It only takes a couple minutes for the peas to heat through and the chicken to warm up.  The whole dish probably only took me 20 minutes.  I garnished mine with a little thai basil, but green onion would be great too.  If you decide to add the scrambled egg I would make them separately and then add them when you remove the dish from the heat.  Eggs tend to cook fast and become rubbery and you wouldn't want yucky eggs ruining your beautiful rice!  Enjoy & let me know what you think!

Heather

Photo Gallery

I have linked a photo gallery of some of my favorite culinary creations!  I will be back later today with my recipe for last night's dinner, Chicken Fried Rice!  Enjoy the photos!

Welcome!

I have been considering doing a food blog for quite some time, at the urging of my mom and friends, and have finally decided to give it a go!  Please share my blog with anyone & everyone who might be interested!  I appreciate all the support I can get!!

I love to cook and am very excited to share what I have learned with all of you.  Over the next few days I plan to add a ton of the recipes I have created along with pictures to share with you!  I also love anything to do with interior design and consider myself to be quite crafty, so I'll also be sharing quite a few of my favorite projects I've done as well!  Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments!

Enjoy!

Heather