Painting on Plywood

This is a painting that I just did for my kitchen. I painted the kitchen what was supposed to be a pretty, coral color when we moved in and it turned out to be an orange-peachy color, circa 1983 after I got in on the walls. I wanted to update the color somehow and still have it match my dishes and the setting room. I found this piece of scrap plywood in our basement and decided to paint it to try to tie the the room together. I still can't decide if this makes the strange peach color look acceptable.

Garlicky Middle Eastern Shredded Chicken in the Crock Pot

As you can tell, I am getting to be a little crazy about my crockpot. I am also recently back to eating a little meat after several years as a vegetarian so I'm really making up for lost time. This recipe was originally found over at The Perfect Pantry. I made a few adjustments and additions, mainly because I just don't believe you can ever have too much garlic. For some additional info on the antioxidant properties of garlic, check this out. Here are the ingredients that I used for my version of this.
1 bulb oven roasted garlic
1 bulb sliced, raw garlic cloves
16 oz. plain greek yogurt
3 T chopped mint
3 T allspice
4-6 (depending on size) boneless chicken breasts
juice of 1 lemon
zest of 1 lemon
4 T olive oil
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
For serving:
Pita or flatbread
chopped tomatoes
chopped cucumber
chopped mint

If you have never roasted garlic in the oven, you are really missing out on a treat!! It is so sweet and delicious and loses most of the pungent flavor of raw garlic. I have a terracotta garlic roaster but if you do not, you can roast your garlic by slicing of the top of the head and placing it in a sheet of aluminum foil. Pour a little bit of olive oil and salt and pepper on top and seal the aluminum foil. Place it in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Let it cool and then you can squeeze the cloves out and put them into the crockpot. Next, place all of the other ingredients into the crock pot and set to low for 5 hours. 15 minutes before it is finished, shred the chicken with 2 forks and return to the pot. For the last 15 minutes, leave the lid off to allow the sauce to thicken. This is what it looks like when it is done in the crockpot.

When the chicken is done, you can serve it as a sandwich or just eat the garlicky yumminess with a fork. I served it as a sandwich on the garlic naan from Trader Joe's.

Then, I topped the chicken and naan with fresh cucumbers and tomatoes. Nom, nom,nom.

Halloween Wreath: Attempt #1

We bought a new front door a few weeks ago and now I am dressing it up like it is a small dog. I have found all kinds of new outfits for my door on Pinterest. This was my first attempt at a Halloween wreath. Okay, so it's not *that* bad but this is not what I had envisioned at all. I wanted to share what I learned about wreath making so that anyone else interested in giving it a try won't make my same, amateur mistakes.
Amateur Mistake #1: Impulse Wreath Making
I decided to make a wreath on Sunday afternoon and was hellbent on making it happen. Many stores were closed on Sunday forcing me to Michael's with their high prices and minimal inventory. I spent almost $50 on wreath supplies. I thought at least I would have enough ribbon left over to make another one but nope! I used the entire spool of all the ribbons that I bought. My lesson learned: Plan ahead and scour dollar stores and Big Lots for cheap wreath making supplies.

Amateur Mistake #2: Buying a Styrofoam Floral Ring
This dumb thing was almost $10 and then I used an entire spool of ribbon to cover it. I have since found this idea and am kicking myself. http://thedishydecorator.blogspot.com/2011/09/burlap-wreath.html
There is also a pin on Pinterest going around that suggests using plumbing insulation foam. Also a good idea!

Amateur Mistake #3: Geomesh
Geomesh is the black mesh-y stuff on my wreath. I bought roll of this about 12 inches wide. Now I know that a roll about twice that wide would have been more for my money and would have given the wreath a very full look. It also could have been attached to styrofoam using floral pins (kind of like a cross between a push pin and a staple).

Amateur Success: Monogram Letter
I impressed myself with my forethought here. I did not attach my letter to the wreath but rather hung it on the same nail behind the wreath so that I can use it with any wreath that I hang up. I may make a gold one too and just switch them out so my door has appropriate accessories for any outfit.

So that is my sage advice after one wreath making attempt. I will post a picture of my next one soon. If you have any tips that you have learned, I would love to hear them!

Southwestern Chicken Stew

This stew is a great alternative to chili. It would be great to feed a group!
I got this recipe inspiration from Pinterest. The original recipe came from http://thelarsonlingo.blogspot.com/2011/05/easiest-dinner-ever.html. I made a few changes to it though. The best thing about this one? Crockpot!! 

2 ears of fresh corn, cut from the cob
1 can tomatoes with jalapenos
1 can pinto or black beans
1 block of cream cheese
1/2 c. chopped green onions
2 T chopped fresh chives
4 chicken breasts
3 garlic cloves
1 T salt
1 T pepper
Zest of 1 lime
3 avocados
1 lime
Tortillas
Grated cheese, optional


I began with fresh corn that I shucked and cut off of the cob. If you have don't have time to do this, frozen would work too. Drain your cans of beans and tomatoes. You may choose to rinse them in a colander to remove excess salt too. Throw your canned ingredients, chicken, cream cheese, garlic, onions, chives, lime zest, salt and pepper into the crockpot on the low setting. Let it cook for 6-8 hours. 1-2 hours before serving use 2 forks to shred the chicken and put it back in the crockpot to continue cooking. At this point, I decided the stew was a little thinner than I wanted so I added a handful of flour to thicken it up.

Just before serving, cube the avocado and dress it with the juice of 1 lime. Coat all pieces with lime juice to combat discoloration. Top the stew with the avocado and the grated cheese, if desired.

When I served this stew I served it on tortillas (cornbread would be yummy too) because I have a debilitating carb addiction but you could also just serve it in bowls. Here is a picture of my husband's tortilla during construction.

This was a very easy recipe that my husband and friends loved! It definitely got a permanent spot in the dinner rotation. Let me know if you like it or if you make some delicious changes!