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Friday, October 4, 2013
DIY: Quick, Cheap, and Easy Fall Wreath
I love wreaths! I think they add such a homey feel to any place and now-a-days you can get so creative with what you can do with them. I recently made our front door wreath for fall! It took me all of about 20 minutes and turned out super cute! (At least I think so anyway!) I used a grapevine wreath from Michael's (they run them on sale for 3.99 most of the time!) and some flowers they had in fall colors for 60% off. For the "S" and bow I used items I already had around the house. The great thing about wreaths is that with a little floral wiring and hot glue you can pretty much get whatever you want to on there! When adding flowers I typically cut the stem a little longer and bend it to stick it in the wreath (to anchor it a bit) I always arrange the flowers how I like and then hot glue any places that need more support. I then attached the "S" with some floral wiring to the bottom portion of the wreath and attached the chevron bow with wiring as well. I can always add/change the flowers later on if I want to. So for this cute front door addition I spent a whopping $6.51!
Delicious Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken
I had originally pinned this recipe on Pinterest almost a year ago and had been wanting to try ever since. The original recipe came from Mel's Kitchen Cafe who has lots of scrumptious looking recipes available on her site. One thing I'll change for next time is making more sauce, I just like a little extra on the side for dipping. If you aren't feeling rice this would go well with Asian noodles or even a salad with mandarin oranges and crunchies in it!
INGREDIENTS
Chicken:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil
Sauce:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. While the oil is heating, cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Place the cornstarch in a gallon-sized ziploc bag. Put the chicken into the bag with the cornstarch and seal, tossing to coat the chicken. Whisk the eggs together in a shallow pie plate. Dip the cornstarch-coated chicken pieces in the egg and place them carefully in a single layer in the hot skillet. Cook for 1-2 minutes and then flip each piece over to cook on the other side until nicely golden but not all the way cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.
Mix the sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl and pour over the chicken in the baking dish. Bake for one hour, turning the chicken once or twice while cooking to coat evenly with sauce. Serve over hot, steamed rice.
Note: if you like extra sauce, double the sauce ingredients – pour half over the chicken and follow the recipe instructions; pour the other half in a small saucepan and cook the sauce on the stovetop at a simmer for 8-10 minutes until it reduces and thickens. Serve it on the side of the chicken.
Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken
INGREDIENTS
Chicken:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil
Sauce:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. While the oil is heating, cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Place the cornstarch in a gallon-sized ziploc bag. Put the chicken into the bag with the cornstarch and seal, tossing to coat the chicken. Whisk the eggs together in a shallow pie plate. Dip the cornstarch-coated chicken pieces in the egg and place them carefully in a single layer in the hot skillet. Cook for 1-2 minutes and then flip each piece over to cook on the other side until nicely golden but not all the way cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.
Mix the sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl and pour over the chicken in the baking dish. Bake for one hour, turning the chicken once or twice while cooking to coat evenly with sauce. Serve over hot, steamed rice.
Note: if you like extra sauce, double the sauce ingredients – pour half over the chicken and follow the recipe instructions; pour the other half in a small saucepan and cook the sauce on the stovetop at a simmer for 8-10 minutes until it reduces and thickens. Serve it on the side of the chicken.
T
From Scratch Biscuits and Gravy
Since I fell behind with the meal planning post I decided to to post the recipe's with the picture. First up is biscuits with sausage gravy, all homemade mmm! Next time I will definitely add more pepper and maybe some hot sauce!
Biscuits
3 cups All-purpose Flour
2 Tablespoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1-1/2 stick (3/4 Cup) Cold Butter, Cut Into Pieces
1-1/4 cup Buttermilk
SAUSAGE GRAVY
1 pound Breakfast Sausage, Hot Or Mild
1/3 cup All-purpose Flour
4 cups Whole Milk
1/2 teaspoon Seasoned Salt
2 teaspoons Black Pepper, More To Taste
Preparation Instructions
BISCUITS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Add flour, baking powder, and salt to the bowl of a food processor (or a large bowl.) Add butter pieces and pulse until butter is completely cut into the flour mixture (or use a pastry cutter if using a bowl.) While pulsing (or stirring) drizzle in the buttermilk until dough just comes together and is no longer crumbly.
Drop in clumps on two baking sheets, then bake for 15-17 minutes, or until golden brown. (Optional: Brush with melted butter when biscuits first come out of the oven.)
SAUSAGE GRAVY
With your finger, tear small pieces of sausage and add them in a single layer to a large heavy skillet. Brown the sausage over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Sprinkle on half the flour and stir so that the sausage soaks it all up, then add a little more until just before the sausage looks too dry. Stir it around and cook it for another minute or so, then pour in the milk, stirring constantly.
Cook the gravy, stirring frequently, until it thickens. (This may take a good 10-12 minutes.) Sprinkle in the seasoned salt and pepper and continue cooking until very thick and luscious. If it gets too thick too soon, just splash in 1/2 cup of milk or more if needed. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking.
Another yummy recipe from the Pioneer Woman, she really knows what she's doing!
Ingredients
Biscuits
3 cups All-purpose Flour
2 Tablespoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1-1/2 stick (3/4 Cup) Cold Butter, Cut Into Pieces
1-1/4 cup Buttermilk
SAUSAGE GRAVY
1 pound Breakfast Sausage, Hot Or Mild
1/3 cup All-purpose Flour
4 cups Whole Milk
1/2 teaspoon Seasoned Salt
2 teaspoons Black Pepper, More To Taste
Preparation Instructions
BISCUITS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Add flour, baking powder, and salt to the bowl of a food processor (or a large bowl.) Add butter pieces and pulse until butter is completely cut into the flour mixture (or use a pastry cutter if using a bowl.) While pulsing (or stirring) drizzle in the buttermilk until dough just comes together and is no longer crumbly.
Drop in clumps on two baking sheets, then bake for 15-17 minutes, or until golden brown. (Optional: Brush with melted butter when biscuits first come out of the oven.)
SAUSAGE GRAVY
With your finger, tear small pieces of sausage and add them in a single layer to a large heavy skillet. Brown the sausage over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Sprinkle on half the flour and stir so that the sausage soaks it all up, then add a little more until just before the sausage looks too dry. Stir it around and cook it for another minute or so, then pour in the milk, stirring constantly.
Cook the gravy, stirring frequently, until it thickens. (This may take a good 10-12 minutes.) Sprinkle in the seasoned salt and pepper and continue cooking until very thick and luscious. If it gets too thick too soon, just splash in 1/2 cup of milk or more if needed. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking.
Another yummy recipe from the Pioneer Woman, she really knows what she's doing!
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
MP Day #4 & 5
No recipes for today! Thursday night I had planned to make Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken, but my chicken hadn't thawed, Spence and I were both tired and I got an email deal on pizza and breadsticks, so we decided to opt for that deliciousness (and boy it was good)! We had enough left over for both of our lunches Friday so that worked out well. Friday night's we usually always meet my parents for dinner, Spencer had to be a at football game so Dad and I went to Firehouse and had some delicious barbecue! Mmmm!
T
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