My Sweet Things

The weather is changing and fall is here! My favorite time of the year! Halloween is coming right up and I was feeling crafty and I came across this cute project courtesy of Martha Stewart. I am a fan of Mason Jars and use them for all sorts of home projects so I pulled them out and got to work.

Project Items

Acrylic Paint in Orange and Black – I ended up using a Sharpie Paint Pen for the Black

Paint Brush or Sponge Brush

Clean Glass Jar

Copper Wire – I use #20 since I will hang these and it’s sturdy

Needle nose pliers

Orange and Black Beads – Optional but I like the Sparkle!

Sand

Small Candle

Paint the inside of the jar. I found it dried very quickly.

This is the Paint Sharpie I used to paint the face. It dried quickly as well and

I found it easy to use. You can use a template for the face but I went free style

as you can see….I may use a template for the next one!

These are glass beads I bought to add some sparkle! It’s all about the sparkle!

I wrapped the copper wire around the jar to measure the cut. Copper wire comes in many colors but I

choose black. I also bought some orange wire as well but settled on the black.

I added a few small beads along the wire base. I bent the wire just a little so the beads would not move around.

I measured the wire hanging loop for the cut. I wanted to hang these on

Shepards Hooks so I gave them some length.

Here is the finished product!

Hanging outside on the back deck! I added some sand to the bottom

of the jar and placed a candle inside. I was happy with the results!

Behind the scenes photo! My lighting in the kitchen is terrible. Even though I have that lovely window,

I also have tons of tall trees outside. The lamps are a huge help and very cost friendly. $7 at the Home Depot!

Anyhoo, Thanks to Martha Stewart to helping me get my craft on. Once again here is the link to the original

project.  Be Creative!

It’s all good!

~Donna

We have chicken for dinner in our house a few times a week. In a year, that’s a whole lot of chicken dinners! I was in a chicken rut and needed some chicken change so I searched for recipes and found this  recipe from a site called Simply Recipes. Growing up I do not recall having Parmesan Chicken for dinner. I certainly remember lot’s of rice, beans,  tortillas and grilled meats but nothing that came close to chicken in a lovely coating of Parmesan, garlic, butter and herbs. It’s not a meal I have ordered out at dinner and while I have had a bite or two, I have not served this meal for family dinner and it did sound delish, so I gave it a try.You will most likely have the ingredients in your pantry and it is a very simple recipe. I used three chicken breasts and ended up with extra bread crumbs. The next time I make this I will keep some of the bread crumbs out on the side and use as needed to coat the chicken. I ended up having to throw them out since I dipped the raw chicken in them. It is a wonderful blend of herbs and spices that could be used in other dishes. Meatloaf perhaps?

Anyhoo, Ladies and Gentleman, I give you Parmesan Chicken!

List of Ingredients:

1 clove garlic, minced

1 stick unsalted butter melted

1 cup dried bread crumbs

1/3 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

2 tbsp chopped parsley

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

A large pinch of Italian Seasoning

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

2 lbs of skinless, boneless chicken – I used chicken breasts

Melt butter and add minced garlic.

Add the dry ingredients and kindly introduce them.

Mix them around so they can mingle!

Dip the chicken in the butter and garlic. This shiny chicken is grossing me out but it is part of this chicken

adventure so I quickly paste the image and move on..

Dip  the chicken in the crumb mixture to coat. “Hey who invited this chicken to our mix?”

Place coated chicken in a baking dish and bake in a preheated 450 degree oven.

But wait! I forgot to drizzle the left over butter, garlic mixture over the top of the chicken, so make sure you do

that before you bake.

After I put the chicken in the oven, I looked over and saw this mess. So what did I do?

Put off doing the dishes and took pictures of my favorite things in my kitchen!

This little coconut  mask got damaged in our move but still has a place in my heart.

I snapped this photo and saw the nice cobweb and thought I should dust but kept doing this…

Taking more photos!

The coconut masks I personally carried across the Mexican border. When I lived in

San Antonio a visit to Mexico was a short trip and the shopping was awesome.

This little switch plate, I crafted myself! Yes. I did. I will show you how in another post.

But….after a little diversion…here is the Chicken Parmesan!

I baked for 15 minutes and then another five and when the juices ran clear it was ready and it was Tasty!

It’s all good.

~Donna