Deliciously Moist Cashew Crusted Chicken

I made this chicken for dinner last night and it was really good.  I wish there were leftovers for lunch today.

Ingredients:
2/3 cup raw cashew pieces
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 egg
4 tblsp butter

First, put the cashew pieces in a food processor with the S-blade in place and grind them to a fine texture.  Dump them out onto a plate and add the salt, pepper and paprika, mixing the whole thing well.  Set aside.

Pound chicken breasts until they're 1/2 inch thick all over.

Break the egg into another plate with a rim around it.  Now, dip each chicken breast into the egg, then into the cashew mixture, coating both sides.

Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat and add the chicken.  Saute until it's golden brown on both sides and cooked through.

Spring Cleaning Tips

It's Spring and I feel as though I have been trapped in my dusty house forever.  My cleaning routine has been out of whack for almost a year.  I have honestly been slacking off since I had surgery last April.  However, now is the time to get things back in order.

One thing I have neglected to clean is the ceiling fans.  They are covered in thick dust and need to be cleaned before anyone turns them on and they create a dust cloud.  I saw this tip on Pinterest and thought I would give it a try and it worked great!  You just use an old pillow case, put each blade inside it and swipe off the majority of the dust trapping it inside the pillow case.  This was great because then the dust was not floating around in the air irritating my eyes and nose.

After that step I just used a wet rag and some Thieves cleaner to wipe everything down really good including the light fixtures.

We can't wait to start eating the foods of Spring and Summer and strawberries are definitely one of those flavors.  So, I have found myself washing and slicing a lot of strawberries lately.  I like to put the strawberries in a big stainless steel bowl with 2 drops of lemon essential oil and water.  I swish them around with my hand and let them sit for a few minutes.  Then I just take them out and slice them up.  You will be amazed at what you find floating around in your dirty water and your strawberries will last longer when you use the lemon oil.  And no...they do not taste lemony.

One more tip I have been using lately is a homemade bleach recipe I found on Pinterest.  I have been working to remove toxins from our every day lives as much as possible and this is a great toxin free recipe for "bleach".  The hydrogen peroxide and lemon are great at whitening and removing stains.

Do you have any favorite cleaning tips to share?  I would love to hear them!

March Reads

I have enjoyed blogging about what I read each month.  I think it will be neat to look back on at the end of the year and see all the books I read and think about each one.  Sometimes I cannot remember the details very well once I move on to a new book, but I can usually recall how I felt reading a book.  Anyway, this month starts with another book I snagged as a Kindle freebie...

If Naturopaths are "Quacks"...Then I Guess I'm A Duck: Confessions of a Naturopath by Shauna K. Young.  I have been reading a lot about food, health and alternative medicine this year.  After having thyroid cancer and surgery to remove my thyroid last year, I started to rethink some of the things that I put in and on my body.  So, when this book popped up as a freebie one day it piqued my interest.  I really enjoyed the writer's humor, her description of typical types of patients has me laughing.

The other book I read this month was The Magpies by Mark Edwards.  It was a $1.99 special even though it was just published last Fall.  I enjoyed the writing and the characters.  I also liked that it was written from the point of view of Brits.  I had to Google a few things I wasn't familiar with, like Gretna Green, in order to fully understand the story, but that is just a good opportunity to learn about something new.  Even though it was a bit creepy, I will read the next book coming out by this author later this year.

What are you reading or have finished recently?

New Handmade Cards

Last weekend I attended a baby shower and a wedding shower.  My brother is expecting a baby and my step-brother is getting married.  Fun times in the family!  Of course I made cards to go along with my gifts for each shower.

Here is the baby shower card I made.  I used my cricut to cut out the onsie shape.  I merged together the same shape with one upside down so that the onsie would open.  Then I mounted it on a cardstock base embellished with washi tape and ink.  It was simple yet cute.  I also used my envelope punch board to make a matching envelope out of patterened paper.

Here is the card I made for the wedding shower.  I used my cricut again to cut out a scalloped circle as the base for my wedding dress skirt and a heart as the top of the wedding dress.  I also cut out the "Congratulations" using the Calligraphy Collection cartridge.  I used a peacock feather patterned paper because peacocks are their wedding color scheme and theme.

I also made a card to encourage my friend Jodie who is a full time missionary in Tijuana, Mexico.  She works with children at risk and survivors of human trafficking.  She spreads the words, love and encouragement of God.  You can check out her blog and learn more about her missionary here.

I really loved this little card.  It was one of the first things I made using the Texture Boutique I got for Christmas.  Birds are a favorite "symbol" of mine to work with.  They signify so much in terms of freedom and soaring to reach goals.  I hope she enjoyed the card and felt the love coming to her from my craft room and heart. 

Kid's Chore Chart

I recently completed a new chore chart system for my son.  He has regular chores he has to do every day that he does not get paid for.  However, he has been asking for opportunities to make some money because he wants to save up and purchase a WiiU.  So, when my Aunt Linda posted a link to this awesome idea on Facebook I knew it would work for us. 

 I had actually purchased the cork board strip months ago with something similar in mind, but these printables made it easy to execute.  I used some scrapbook paper to mount the printed pieces and it looks great hanging in our office next to the calendar.  Now I can only hope my son will take the initiative and do some chores around the house.

Orange less Orange Smoothie

This morning I made a new smoothie and it is tasty. It's a nice sunshiney orange color and full of healthy foods. 

Ingredients

1 banana

1 handful strawberries

1 kiwi

3 oz organic carrot juice

Almond milk

Ice 

Directions

Blend it up. I use whatever amount of almond milk and ice gives me the thickness I want, it's your preference on those. 

Enjoy!

February Reads

I finished the Kindle Single, The Girl In Room Fourteen, I started at the end of January.  My reading has been thrown off since my son has barely been in school due to an excessive amount of snow days this year.  Anyway, I am not usually a fan of short stories, but I wanted something light and quick to read in between Divergent and the second book in that series, Insurgent.  This Kindle Single was just the thing.  It was well written and not too deep.  I enjoyed it and was surprised by the ending.

Then I read Insurgent by Veronica Roth.  This is the second book in the Divergent Trilogy.  I really enjoyed this book, just as much as the first one.  People keep comparing them to the Hunger Games books, but they are quite different in my opinion.  I have read a lot of dystopian novels though, so I can classify them by their subtle differences.

Of course that was followed by Allegiant, the third book in the Divergent Trilogy.  I liked this one as well, although things started to get very complicated in their world(s).  I did not like the ending, but I am glad there was finality to it.

Next I read another Kindle freebie called Medicine Men: Extreme Appalachian Doctoring by Carolyn Jourdan.  This book was a funny collection of stories from rural doctors.  I think it would make a great documentary or tv show to follow similar doctors in their daily practices.  I enjoyed this book, but would have liked to see better editing skills.  There were a lot of missing words and errors which annoys me when I am reading. 

I finished this last book with only three days left in the month, so I'm going to leave off there.  I will start something new, but I'll share about that one next month.  I'll be poring over my Kindle library and wish list to decide what will be my next read...