Current Project

Can ya guess what I'm working on with a dried out okra and Sculpey clay? The shape of the okra makes a perfect santa. I haven't sculpted in years and have been itching to try my hand at this...still a work in progress...these are my guinea pig ornaments. I managed to get three sculpted. I am now in the process of painting them. Stay tuned for the finished picture...soon I hope!

Serenity

When I stepped out onto my back deck this morning this is the word that would describe how I felt seeing the lake, the sky, the moon in their glory...loved the soft colors...just soothing. Every single day this angle of the lake looks different. I have to snap it so often and for that I apologize but I just can't help it! Just wanted to share a piece of what I call my little paradise.

Big Boy Pizza

Okay, the name comes from Frisch's Big Boy hamburgers and I must say that the taste was "similar" to the taste of a Big Boy...I was curious and that is why I tried this recipe. Plus you can't go wrong with hamburger and cheese and bread can ya? I used a roll of Pillsbury pizza dough but you can use Boboli or anything you desire. I also always make my own homemade tartar sauce and used it. Next time I'm going to pile on more tartar sauce as I wasn't sure how much to add to the pizza. The baked dill chips and lettuce made it very interesting and was quite tasty...Enjoy! My sister Donna's husband Matt would probably love this as I always call him "Wimpy" from Popeye...he could eat burgers all day long I do believe.

Big Boy Pizza
Ingredients
 1 prepared pizza crust (large)
 1 lb. ground beef browned and drained
 1 jar of Big Boy tarter sauce (or other brand if unavailable)
 Lettuce (Shredded)
 Dill Pickle Slices
 Shredded cheese (cheddar)
Directions
 On the prepared crust, spread a layer of tarter sauce. Then add your ground beef, lettuce pickles and cheese. You could add the lettuce after it is cooked if you choose. Place in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until the cheese melts and everything is hot. Yield: serves 6 Note: On all my homemade pizzas I always put the dough onto a pizza stone, take a fork and prick the dough and then brush on some olive oil and pre-bake in the oven for 5-8 minutes then add all my ingredients. Makes for a crispier crust.

Notes:
If you want to add lettuce after it is baked, spread some more tarter sauce on top and add lettuce. The tarter sauce is also good for dipping if you use a thin layer to start.

Busy Weekend Painting...FINALLY!

I only have about 8 different ornaments going at one time right now and I managed to get a few finished this past weekend. Such a joy to get that done. I always paint two of everything that is a new pattern so that I will have one for myself and I won't have to try and figure out in the future how I painted something, what colors I used, where did I shade. I wish I could do mass production but I'm just not born that way...I like to get one thing done and then move on to something else. I have soooo many ideas and never enough time. These ornaments are painted on spoons I found at the Goodwill. They are such fun to do and a very cheap surface. I have them listed in my Etsy shop.

Clone of Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad

I have been making this recipe for years and it is one of my favorite salad recipes. You could literally drink the dressing it is so good. We are having company tonight and this is what I am making. Just in the mood for a good ol' salad. I usually don't make the chicken from scratch anymore but just stop at Hardee's or somewhere and buy chicken fingers and cut up and add to the salad. To me, Hardee's has the BEST chicken fingers on the market right now. Enjoy!

Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad

Dressing
3 T. honey
1/4 c. mayonnaise
1-1/2 T. rice wine vinegar
1/8 t. sesame oil
1 t. Grey Poupon Dijon mustard

Salad
1 chicken breast
3 c. chopped romaine lettuce
1 c. red cabbage
1 c. Napa cabbage
1/2 carrot, shredded
1 green onion, chopped
1 T. sliced almonds
1/3 c. chow mein noodles

Dredge
1 egg
1/2 c. milk

Batter
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. Corn Flakes
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
2-3 c. vegetable oil (frying)

Preheat oil in deep fryer or deep pan to 350 degrees. Blend ingredients of dressing with electric mixer. Chill. Beat egg and milk, mix well. In another bowl, combine flour with cornflakes, salt and pepper. Cut chicken into 4-5 strips. Dip chicken into egg mixture and then into flour mix. Fry each finger for 5 minutes. Toss romaine, red and napa cabbage and carrots. Sprinkle onion, almonds and chow mein noodles. Add chicken and dressing.

Sheryl Parsons - Papier Mache Extraordinaire

I spent an entire day doing nothing but drooling over Sheryl Parsons' papier mache santas. She certainly has the process down to a science. For years I have wanted to try my hand at making papier mache santas but have always let my intimidation get the best of me. I have several books on the subject and have studied and studied them and bought several packages of celluclay but just plain chickened out. Why do we let things get to us like that? I mean, the worst that can happen is that I fail. I loathe failure and let just the mere thought of it keep me away from trying new things. I must work on this and get over that. A true hang up of my character if ever there was one. I am looking to Sheryl right now for inspiration and courage to try this...If I fail then so what? I go back to my comfort zone and do something I feel comfortable in doing, like my painting. You MUST go check out her blog...it is full of the most beautiful santas imaginable. Right now she is one of my heroes. I am finding several new heroes this year and they are all so creative.

http://mothersdreamartworks.blogspot.com/

Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes and Sloppy Chicken Joes

Well, hubby called me this past Friday and told me we were having company on Saturday night. Instead of making a big dinner I just wanted to make some kind of sandwiches as we would rather hang out at our bar and socialize more than eat but I knew I had to feed my friends something. I really had nothing that I could think of in the pantry or fridge to fix them until I came across these recipes and had the ingredients to make both the Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes and the Sloppy Chicken Joes (a BBQ type). I also had potatoes to make Buffalo Chicken Potatoes and BBQ Potato Wedges. I really liked them all...out of all four recipes I had only made the BBQ Potato Wedges before. I hope you find them fast and reliable on those days when you have absolutely nothing to fix. Who doesn't keep chicken and potatoes around? Enjoy!

NOTE: Instead of the ground chicken I just boiled about 10 chicken breast cutlets and shredded them and divided them up and used them in both recipes.

Buffalo Chicken Joes

Ingredients
6 whole wheat hamburger buns
1 lb ground chicken
1/2 cup hot sauce (i used texas pete)
1/2 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp olive oil
1 large stalk celery
3/4 cup grated carrots
4-5 tbsp fat free ranch dressing (could also use fat free blue cheese)
1 tbsp vinegar

Directions
Heat olive oil in nonstick skillet.

Chop celery and place in skillet with carrots. Add in two minced cloves of garlic. Add vinegar and ground chicken. Cook until chicken is brown and vegetables are tender.

Add in hot sauce. You can add as little or as much sauce as you like, depending how hot your like your buffalo wings.

Turn off heat and add in 4 tbsp of fat free ranch or blue cheese dressing.

Number of Servings: 6

Sloppy Chicken Joes
serves 4

1 1/2-pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or shredded rotisserie chicken)
1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
4 to 6 hamburger buns

Dice the chicken into 1/2-inch pieces. Set aside.

In a large skillet, combine the tomato sauce, vinegar, mustard, brown sugar, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Add the diced chicken breasts, cover and cook over medium heat until the chicken is cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. (If using rotisserie chicken, just cook until heated through.)

Serve the chicken on the hamburger buns.

Buffalo Potatoes

4 to 5 Large Idaho Russet Potatoes, peeled, each cut in 8 wedges
1/4 c. Olive Oil
1/2 c. Dry Parmesan Cheese
1 c. Instant flaked mashed potatoes
2 t. Old Bay Seasoning
1 pinch Cayenne pepper - I used 1 t.
Pan spray coating
salt to taste

1. Blanch potato wedges in salted water. (boil salted water and add potatoes and cook 4-5 minutes, until semi-tender), drain. While hot, toss with half the oil.
2. In bowl mix cheese, flaked potatoes, Old Bay Seasoning and pepper. toss with warm potatoes to coat well.
3. Spread potatoes on pan sprayed with coating.
4. Bake at 450° F, 18-20 minutes, or until cooked through.
5. Season with salt.
6. Serve with Marinara, Bologneses or Blue cheese sauce, if desired.


BBQ Potatoes

Cut potatoes into wedges. Lay foil on bottom of pan. Put wedges on foil and brush with ketchup, paprika, mustard, little butter. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. Brush with more sauce and bake 15 minutes more.