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...

Pumpkin, Valentines & a B-Day Card

On Sunday I tried this recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I printed it out a while back, like in the Fall when I want to eat all things pumpkin flavored, but never got around to it.  So, yesterday when I had a sweet tooth I decided I would give it a try.  I am so glad I did because these cookies are tasty.  They have that pumpkin bread/muffin texture to them and the chocolate flavor mixes in nicely.  They will be added to my recipe book and made over and over again.

A couple weeks ago on one of Aiden's many snow days from school we made his Valentine's.  He will pass them out this Friday to all the students in his class.  We went with a simple printable with a Hershey kiss attached with a glue dot.  He enjoyed using my big paper cutter to cut them out.

We also made a special Valentine for his teacher.  I saw this idea on Pinterest, but they used Rolos inside the dynamite.  His teacher has diet restrictions so we went with dry erase markers instead.  Aiden is a very thoughtful guy and he remembered that she could use some more markers for her white board.  He also said she likes dark chocolate, but one Valentine seemed like plenty to me.

My sister's birthday was this past Sunday.  I think she turned 30.  Yikes!  That means I am old!  Anyway, here's the card I made and mailed to her.  I really liked the color combination and the rounded corners at the bottom of the card.  I just bought that teal and black twine at my last crop at Archivers.  I am so sad they will be closing their stores in a few days.

Anyway, it's been a good mix of crafts and kitchen experiments/recipes here lately.  It is good to do things I enjoy and a good way to keep my mind busy and focused on positive things like creating little things for others and feeding my family.

You Win Some, You Lose Some...

That's how it seems to go in life and in my kitchen.  I try a lot of recipes I fond online. Some are great and become regulars in our dinner menu and others are losers.  Here we have a few recently tried recipes that were losers...

Chicken Cordon Blue Casserole

 I thought this was ok, not fabulous, but good, and Andrew did not like it.

Paleo Blackberry Banana Muffins

I did not enjoy the texture of these muffins.  It was too spongey in my opinion.  I am not used to baking with coconut flour, so maybe that is something that I just have to get used to.  I did feel like they would have been better if I had diced up the blackberries and distributed them throughout the batter.  I put them in the fridge and Andrew ate most of them in a few days as snacks, so at least they didn't go to waste.

Easy Oven Roasted Potatoes

These were too dry and boring. We ate them, but I would not make them again.

And now for the WINNER of the week...

Coconut Chicken

This recipe called for roasted coconut chips, which required a trip to Trader Joes.  You would think that would take points off because Trader Joes is not near my house at all.  I had to make a special trip over there and that is a PITA.  However, I loved those coconut chips, they are very tasty and they make this recipe flavorful.  The chicken was juicy and the coconut flavor was just the right intensity.  I really enjoyed it and will plan my side dishes better next time to go with the coconut flavor.

January Reads...

I read a lot.  I mean A LOT! I got a Kindle a couple years ago and the convenience of being able to instantly buy a book really amped up my reading.  I also love that there are a ton of free and super cheap books for Kindle, so I tend to stock up on those and read them in between things on my must read list.

For the month of January here is a list and my comments on the books I have read...

Domestic Apparition by Meg Tuite
This was a freebie for Kindle when I downloaded it, but it looks like now it is $2.99.  I am glad it was free when I snagged it, because I would not have been pleased to have paid for it.  It is a short read, but the character is interesting and the prose is great.  However, I did not enjoy the way the book flowed from one scenario to the next, similar to short stories which I don't usually enjoy.

Divergent by Veronica Roth
I heard nothing but great things about this book and the next two in the series.  Also, I like dystopian novels.  So, of course I had to give it a try.  It was compared to the Hunger Games Trilogy, but I'm not really finding it to be in that league.  I enjoy the writing, the premise and the characters, but the main character in this series doesn't have that same attraction as in The Hunger Games.  I am going to read the next book in the series and maybe then I'll be more hooked.  So far, I am enjoying it though.  It does give me a bit of flash backs to either The Giver or one of the books in that series.

Essential Oil Healing Secrets
This is another Kindle freebie I downloaded.  Someone on the essential oil board I frequent on Facebook shared it, so I thought it would be worth a look.  It is short, not very informative and not well written or edited.  I'm not sure why it doesn't even list an author, just ADISH Books.  Very strange, but there was some interesting information in there and it was free.

The Girl In Room Fourteen by Carol Drinkwater
This is a Kindle Single, a Kindle exclusive short story.  I just started it and have been distracted by all the snow days my child has had from school, so I have not yet finished it, but it does seem good for a short story.

If you would like to read more this year, please check out my friend Toni's blog and enter her Kindle Paperwhite giveaway here.

A New Level Of Health At Home

Yesterday I received the Young Living Oils kit I ordered.  I purchased the Basic Plus Starter Kit as it seemed to have a good selection of oils, the diffuser and also some sample packs.  I was so excited when I heard Fed-Ex ring the doorbell, you would have thought he was delivering scrapbook supplies!

I am really looking forward to learning more about essential oils and their uses and experiencing their benefits.  Yesterday was a stressful day, so we started by diffusing Peace & Calming in the afternoon and in Aiden's bedroom right before he went to bed.  I enjoyed it and felt more relaxed and Aiden slept well all night (although he was exhausted from not sleeping well for two nights and getting up really early).  

Today I tried the Lemon Oil as a cleaner/degreaser.  I cleaned the top of my stove with a wet wash cloth and gave it a good scrub (it has been neglected the last couple weeks).  Then I used several drops of lemon oil and a paper towel to rub away any greasy residue.  It worked great and smelled so fresh.

Today I also put Purification in the diffuser and let that run for a half hour in the kitchen and a half hour in the family room.  I was exhausted in the evening after hosting a bake sale fundraiser at Aiden's school, so the dinner dishes sat in the sink all night.  Disgusting, right?!  Once I got rid of all the dirty dishes and ran the diffuser, the house felt so much cleaner and smelled great!

I can't wait to see what else I can do to improve our home environment and our health with Young Living Oils.  I'll be sure to share each use I find.

Halloween Decor

I made a very simple Halloween wreath last year and I was excited to get it out again this year to hang on the front door.  I saw something similar on Pinterest and made it my own.  Very easy, quick and simple.

This year I made a little framed word art for the entry way table.  This was made with free cuts on my Cricut and some added washi tape and patterned paper.  I used a dollar store black frame and a metal frame easel from Michaels.  Again very easy and simple.

Recent Digital Scrapbook Pages

Since Archivers added the memory lab to their stores I have been able to order 12" x 12" prints of my digital scrapbook pages.  The system they had before was a pain in the butt and the prints did not come out exact to size.  Now they are perfect and I can upload them from home and pick them up in the store.  So great! 

So, I have made some new digital pages and already printed them and tucked them away in the scrapbooks.

 

RoBOt Cake...

I have the goofiest kid ever.  I printed him a ton of robot photos to choose from for his birthday cake last year and he chose the simplest one.  I was grateful for sure, cause I do not have fantastic cake decorating skills.  Anyway, here's his robot cake from his 8th birthday...

This year he has decided on Pokemon and I am not sure what kind of cake I will be making for that yet.

Build Your Own Fort Kit

Once again I was inspired by something I pinned on Pinterest (here).  I saw this idea for a fort kit for boys.  I thought it would be a great gift for my friend's son's fourth birthday.  I picked up a blue sheet from Walmart, a non-woven drawstring backpack from Michaels, glow sticks from Michaels, and clothespins, rope, and a flashlight from the Dollar Tree.

I used felt to cut out the birthday boy's initial and some baker's twine (I think Martha Stewart brand) to hand sew it onto the bag.  I made a cute little tag with some scrapbook paper and my computer and stitched that on as well.  I loaded all the items into the bag and ta da...fort kit.  I know my son would love this!

End of Year Teacher Gifts...

I saw this idea on Pinterest here and decided to use it for Aiden's teachers this year.  I like to give them a little something to say thank you at the end of the school year.  I really hope they enjoyed it.

The baskets included a Bath & Body Works strawberry hand soap, Orbit strawberry gum, strawberry Twizzlers, a hand made notepad with strawberry themed cover and strawberry candies.  The tag says "Thank you berry much for a great year".

Homemade Quiver

You would think my son was the one reading the Hunger Games trilogy last year based on his obsession with archery.  The kid loves bows and arrows and attempting to use them in the backyard.  He was out there practicing one day and was trying to explain to me that he needs a thing to hold his arrows, you know mom, like a thing that can hang off my back, like Link has on Legend of Zelda.  Oh, a quiver!  He had never heard that word before, but he quickly embraced it and helped me figure out how to make one with materials we had on hand.

We cut up a couple old 7Up bottles and stacked them together (finally my 7Up addiction is good for something), then wrapped it in some old red material I had left over from a Christmas project.  Then we used hot glue to attach a ribbon to carry it with. 

Arrows inserted, dogs safely locked in the house...steer clear of my backyard when you see this little cupid running about in the Summer.

-Andrea

Sure, I Can Make A Beard

Last year my son was in second grade and got to participate in the wax museum project at school.  He chose Abraham Lincoln as his character to research and dress up as.  We sat down and looked at photos of old Abe and he knew he had to have the hat.  No big deal, I can make a paper hat.  All it took was a black poster sized paper and some packaging tape.  Then he decided he needed a bow tie, again easy peasy, some ribbon and elastic. 

However, when it came to the beard I wasn't sure how I would pull that off.  I knew it couldn't be hair or anything scratchy because my son has a serious aversion to anything itchy or uncomfortable.  After some trial and error I came up with felt and elastic.  I drew and cut it out of brown felt and sewed on a piece of elastic to hold it onto his head.  Voila!  One beard that doesn't itch!

He doesn't look all that thrilled here because they were supposed to stand still like statues, but he did like being Mr. Lincoln and he seemed impressed with my impromptu costume making skills.  I thought he was adorable!

-Andrea

Summer Fun From Pinterest

Last Summer I decided that we would try out a bunch of things I had pinned on Pinterest under Kid Fun.  My son and I had a blast trying to new crafts and activities and making them our own.

Here we are making our own sidewalk paint and decorating our driveway.

The paint was easy to make, click here for the Pin, and the colors were vibrant and it stayed on the driveway a long time, a lot longer than chalk.  Plus my quirky son does not like to touch chalk, it feels funny on his hands, so he never wants to draw with me.  This was something we both enjoyed and no one's hands had to feel icky.

-Andrea

Crafty Decor For My Craft Room

Last year I decided it was time to spruce up my craft room.  I am beyond lucky to have this little space in our basement.  A whole room with a door.  It is my own little hide out.  When I first decided it would be my craft room I had my husband paint it purple, he calls it plum crazy purple, but I still like the color 7 years later.  It has an old desk I rescued from a neighbors curb, an old cabinet we had in our kitchen at our last house and a hodge podge of other storage units.  It's not exactly Pottery Barn in there, but it works for me.

I took down all the preschool coloring pages and crafts my son had made and taped to my walls and created a few things to hang.

First up were these little gems made with scrapbook paper, free printables from online, ribbon, twine, buttons and a paper flower.  I used that blue tacky poster hanging stuff to stick them to the wall, they are just light enough to be held up by it.

Next was this little sign made with scrapbook paper, letters cut on the Cricut, another clear acrylic frame and some thick black satin ribbon.  I love that "Keep Calm And Carry On" saying and variations of it.  I knew I wanted to use it for my craft room and this was perfect.

These items flank the peg board my husband installed above my desk last year.  It feels so much more like "me" in there with just these few simple items.

-Andrea