Strikes my fancy

Yup - another crockpot recipe!  This time from here . Provençale Chicken Supper - 4 (6-ounce) bone-in chicken breast halves, skinned - 2 teaspoons dried basil - 1/8 teaspoon salt - 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper - 1 cup diced yellow bell pepper - 1 (15.5-ounce) can cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained - 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano, undrained - Basil sprigs (optional) Place the chicken in an electric slow cooker; sprinkle with basil, salt, and black pepper. Add the bell pepper, beans, and tomatoes. Cover with lid; cook on low-heat setting for 8 hours. Pros - the chicken fell off the bone.         - this made A LOT Cons - the bones also dissenegrated          -  the flavor was "eh" If I made this again I would probably add more veggies (why not?!) and experiment with some additional spices.  I might also go for boneless chicke...

I found this recipe here .  Where I find most of the yumminess I'm making these days.  It's fall/winter, so that means it's crockpot time!  With a little planning, making dinner is easy-peasy! Crock Pot Balsamic Chicken with Pears and Portabella Mushrooms - 1lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts - 1 large or two medium sized pears, cored and sliced thick - 8-10oz portabella mushrooms, sliced thick - 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar - 1 tsp salt - 1/2 tsp black pepper Place all ingredients in the crock pot and let cook for about 4-6 hours on low, or until chicken falls apart easily.      Yum, yum, yum!  The flavors mix together so well!  I actually served this over brown rice just to make it a bit more hearty.  Make this when pears are in season and it becomes a pretty cheap dish to feed 4!

I love, love, love this dish...and yet EVERY time I make it - it is not picture worthy.  Yummy, but not pretty.  The original poster (sorry, I forgot where this came from!) says that this should be the consistency of fried rice.  Not sure if it's because mine usually is holding in the "Stay warm" setting for about 2 hours - or I'm doing something wrong, but it's not as fluffy as fried rice.  Still delicious!  Great to come home to on a chilly fall night! Autumn Sausage Casserole 1 pound sausage (I've used Kielbasa and I've used the flavored sausages you get in the 4/5 pack) 1 larger (or 2 small) apples, chopped - no need to peel! 1 yellow onion, chopped 1/2 cup chopped carrots 3 cups already cooked long-grain rice 1/2 cup raisins 1 Tbls dried parsley flakes 1 Tbls brown sugar 1/2 tsp allspice 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp black pepper 1/3 cup chicken broth or water Dump all the ingredients into the crock and stir well. Cook on low for 5-7 ho...

If you follow our blog you'll see we've inherited a love for old furniture...either refinishing or something else to make it useful for everyday life.  Well, we don't just do that for furniture - I do it for clothes too!  Ok, maybe not as much as with furniture (because I can't see potential/ideas for clothes as easy!), but every once in awhile. Take this 80s dress I found at the thrift store (at least I think it's from the 80s, maybe it's older!)     I wore it just like that (with a skinny or br oad bel t) for awhile, but I knew that I wanted to do something to make it feel more modern...knowing I'd wear it more if it felt less 80s. S o after fran tic brain storming emails with sister #3 I had a game plan .  But it was still hard to make that first cut!! I cut off the sle eves and made them more of a c ap sleeve and shorte ned t he skirt by 4 ".  I'm trying to decide if I want to go another 1.5 -2" shorter....     And here ...

This is one of the few pieces that has moved with me to every apartment I've lived in.  Actually, now that I think about it this is THE only piece of furniture that has moved to every apartment/house I've lived in (except the first two).  Wow - I must like this piece ;-) Our love story began when I was in college and wanted to "build" some furniture.  This was back in the day when Lowe's sold build-your-own furniture (do they still do that?).  I picked up two pieces and put them together and stained them.  This piece came with wooden knobs and at some point in my NY moves one broke.  I replaced all the knobs with the metal ones in the picture.  I knew I wanted to do something different with the piece.  It was stained cherry and I couldn't decide between going darker or painting it.  So for THREE YEARS  I lived with this piece and the fact that the stain didn't go cover the whole piece (look closely under the knobs, you'll see it....) ...

SWEET POTATO AND PINTO BEAN TACOS adapted from thugkitchen.com ....but there is offensive language on the site (and in the recipes) - so you've been warned! 3 cups of cooked pinto beans (about 2-15 ounce cans) 1 teaspoons of coconut or olive oil (Olive oil is what I had) ½ cup veggie broth or water (water....) 2 teaspoons smoked paprika or chili powder (I went chili powder) 2 teaspoons blackstrap molasses (I used what I had in the cabinet) 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice (I have both of these at home usually, went with lemon juice this time around) 2-3 garlic cloves 1 pound of sweet potatoes (this should be about 2 cups when you chop it all up) ½ of a yellow onion 1 teaspoon coconut or olive oil salt to taste soft corn tortillas standard taco toppings that you like to add. Warm the first teaspoon of oil in a medium pot. Add the beans, water, chili powder, molasses, vinegar, and garlic. Get it to start bubbling slowly for about 5 m...

I have been looking for a desk to make a vanity for quite some time.  I was scouring Craigslist and came across this beauty.  I got to see a different part of Atlanta when going to pick this guy up!  The drawers stuck and someone decided to try out chalk paint...  I love the color green and thought I could live with this for awhile, but I was wrong.  So I took some gray paint I already had (you'll see that featured in another post) and made it darker by adding some black paint that I already had.  Sanded down the desk to take off the chalkiness and applied - 1 COAT!  I was so excited it only took one coat ;-) Here's the piece now...without the cool handheld vanity mirror I recently got from one of my favorite antique dealers (hint: my sister!) I'm in love....and I think this will be a piece I move with me and use in different ways in different houses - we shall see!

Oh how I wish we had time for a before picture of this one! But here is the after. We found this sweet gem being sold by a guy who cleans out houses after he buys them. Apparently the owners had left a bunch of stuff in there. This one had great bones, but was messed up just about everywhere, and the drawers were a nightmare to open. It was a typical piece, typical stain, typical use marks by someone who did not care about it, and rather boring. So D sanded the top for me, and didn't it turn out pretty! We had thought is was a veneer, but got surprised by a beautiful wood top underneath all the grime and stain.   I primed and fixed all the drawers after removing the hardware. Then I opted to go a very different route than usual for me. I had seen an idea, and wanted to try it! I enjoy the juxtaposition of paint and wood together, and this piece was the perfect guinea pig. Why? Because honestly, I did not think the drawers would ever be righted, so I saw t...

Oh the joys of one pot cooking - I've discussed it here before!  This one messied up a few more dishes simply with prep (and the fact I added a wee bit more zucchini then called for an had to get a bigger skillet....) Tex Mex Skillet Supper (click here to see the recipe in it's original form) TEX MEX SKILLET SUPPER Serve with warm corn tortillas, and any accompiments you like: salsa, avocado, guacamole, sour cream or chili sauce. This can serve as a stand-alone supper, but adding a plate of crunchy crudite or salad on the side makes a nice counterpoint. 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 large yellow or red onion, finely chopped 1 teaspoon ground cumin 2 teaspoons ground chili powder Pinch red chili flakes 2 large cloves garlic, minced 1/2 pound ground beef 2 medium zucchini, cut into large dice 1 cup uncooked corn kernels (fresh off the cob or frozen) 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans, drained (one 14 to 16 ounce box or can) 1 ...

If you've spent any time with me you know I'm not a huge fan of red sauce.  It can make or break pizza or pasta all on it's own.  I'm very, very picky.  I think we decided this week that it's the acidity of the sauce that affects me.  I digress....  I love pasta and any idea for sauce I'm willing to try - especially if I already have all the ingredients at home! Broccoli Feta Pasta Sauce (as modified from LaaLoosh, click on the name to see the original recipe) Broccoli Feta Pasta Sauce A delicious, creamy and silky sauce that works wonderfully over pasta or potatoes. It’s loaded with healthy broccoli and is a delightfully unique pasta sauce recipe that will help keep your Weight Watchers goals in check. Ingredients 16oz package of frozen broccoli florets 1 cup feta cheese, I used the herb kind as that's what I had in my fridge 2 tbsp butter 1 small onion, finely chopped 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 tbsp olive oil 1/3 cup water Juice of 1...

If you need any proof that my sisters and I think alike - even while miles away - just keep reading.  I was gifted this beautiful rocking chair - because the giver had seen some of the work I've done and thought I could do a "marvelous" job with it.      Now, I'll admit right now that sister #3 pays much better attention to detail to me & I was intimidated by this chair!  Great bones, but it needed some lovin.   Luckily the wood and frame were in pretty good shape and I could focus on simply reupholstering it.  That's when I call my resident This Old House expert....sister #3.  She pointed me to products and a great site for material.  And then she answered every.single.frantic.text I sent while working on this chair.  But my first question was "what fabric?!"  I switched between what I knew would be "historically accurate" (= leather) and wanting to do a bold, modern fabric (since when did I become a bold, m...

It's summer time in the south.  Which means when I actually cook dinner it's usually fast and 1 pot (ie stir-fry).  But I made this to switch things up a bit (and convince my boyfriend I COULD actually cook ;-)) Recipe from here : Ingredients 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 4 fillets 2 jalapenos, seeded and diced 3 slices extra lean turkey bacon, cooked and diced 3 oz reduced fat cream cheese, at room temperature 2 tbsp fat free chicken broth 1/4 cup reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese, shredded Salt and pepper to taste Instructions Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a shallow baking dish with non-fat cooking spray. Using a mallet, pound out each chicken fillet to get a larger, thinner fillet, and then season both sides with salt and pepper. In a medium sized bowl, combine cream cheese, broth, cheddar, jalapenos and bacon. Spoon the cheese mixture onto on half of each chicken breast fillet. Fold in half to close, and secure with a toothpic...

From wood to wood I refinished this little guy this week. I originally bought him to paint, but something kept holding me back. I didn't really want to paint him. We got it over the winter, so everything looks a little dead and washed out. But he had been through a lot, and was in need of a few things to reach his full potential. I had to sand off all the old finish which was flaking off. I also sanded the top, so that all the paint drops would come off. I then used one of my favorite tricks that my Grandmother taught me: Oxalic Acid to remove black spots in wood. She learned it in an old book on refinishing (when you could get Oxalic Acid in the pharmacy.) Now you have to purchase it online. I buy it by the pound, but a little bit goes a long way. Wear gloves and an eye mask if you use it! You mix it with water (paste consistency), spread it over the area, and let it dry. Oxalic Acid is a bleach, and it bleaches out the black spots on wood. I then vacuum up th...

Finished another chair! Turned out to be quite a beauty. I really thought about keeping it, but wanted to see if we could sell it.  This is how it started out! The material was very worn out, showing holes in many places. So, I took it off, fixed the stuffing, and painted the wood. The carving on the wood was absolutely beautiful! I had to cover the bottom twice, because it wasn't straight the first time. Thankfully, I had ordered an extra yard of fabric (ordered 4 yds total). Turned out pretty well and sold it within 24hrs! We like that! Made my decision of keeping/not keeping rather easy.

We bought this chair after we had seen an ad on Craigslist that cracked us up. Its funny what challenges you to buy something. The ad listed a chair in similar style for almost $800. (YIKES!!) Then it said it was "All original" and "Recently reupholstered". For some reason it cracked us up to read that. So we came across this beauty and decided we could do a little switch-a-roo with it too. D thoroughly enjoyed the duct tape seat. I took all the layers off, re-stuffed the bottom and then recovered it with a lovely modern material. Loved the result!