chair reupholstery

So I did my own dining room chairs reupholstering. I was gung-ho about it, bought my seersucker white and tan striped fabric online, it came in the mail and then... it sat around for months. Such is life! Finally, with a little last minute motivation I got the staple gun out and got it done. I love how it turned out! No more nasty stained seats to be embarrassed about. Brand spanking new!

...and I realize I've been gone for pretty much a lifetime. But that doesn't mean I haven't been doing anything. :) Stay tuned. Eventually I will post again. Promise!

golden pork chops

This is a perfect Sunday dinner meal. The definition of comfort food. My husband and I loved this. I've literally never cooked with pork chops until now. I've been wanting to try preparing other types of meats besides the typical chicken, hamburger, and pork roast. I have a couple pork chops left so maybe another recipe will be coming soon when I try something else with them.

Golden Pork Chops

Our Rating: ★★★★

Ingredients:
4 pork chops
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon crushed minced fresh garlic
1/2 tablespoon butter or margarine
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup fresh sliced mushrooms
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed golden mushroom soup

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Put butter, garlic, onion, and mushrooms in a large frying pan. Saute the vegetables on medium until soft. Move to medium mixing bowl. Mix in soup.

Rinse pork chops, pat dry, and season with seasoned salt and pepper. Brown them in same pan used to saute vegetables. Place them in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover with soup and vegetable mixture.

Cover with foil, and bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 45 minutes. Uncover, and bake for 15 more minutes (note: time could be less or more depending on the thickness of the chops). Pork chops are done when their internal temperature has reached 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

My comments:

I added a few more seasonings to the pork chops to my liking. This is best served with mashed potatoes because the remaining sauce works perfectly as gravy! I also served with a side of corn. We will definitely be having this again!

Photo credit and recipe go to allrecipes.com. The original recipe can be found HERE.

diy framed screen earring holder

Me and my good friend Kristi made these earring holders a couple weeks ago. Probably couldn't have been a more easy project and it turned out great!

Here's how mine turned out... :)

We bought frames from the D.I. for $1 each

We sanded them and painted them. Kristi painted hers all turquoise and I color-blocked mine with a creamy white and turquoise. As you can see below I used black masking tape to make a clean line with the turquoise.

We had an electric staple gun which we had used for the first time... as you can see some of the staples were a little iffy but effective! I'm sure using hot glue would be effective as well.

We also stapled on the ribbon to hold it up.

We also glued large beads on the back corners to set the holder a little further off the wall so the earrings don't hit the wall when they poke through.

And here's Kristi's :)

super creamy zesty italian crock pot chicken

Zesty Italian Crock Pot Chicken

Our Rating: ★★★★

Ingredients:
4 frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 tbsp. margarine
1 packet zesty Italian seasoning (we use 1½ for extra flavor)
4 cups cooked rice
optional 2 cups sauteed or steamed vegetables (i sauteed some Kroger brand key largo blend frozen vegetables)

Directions:
Put frozen chicken breasts, soup, and margarine into crock-pot.

Cook on low 3-4 hours. After about an hour open crock-pot, add cream cheese and zesty Italian seasoning, Stir everything together.

When complete, shred or cut chicken into chunks. serve over steamed rice with vegetables of your choice.

My comments:
After you cut or shred chicken you may want to let it sit in the sauce for 10 minutes or so to let it soak in.

Others have substituted the rice for pasta noodles. Bowtie and angel hair pasta is supposedly very good but I haven't tried it yet.

Crock-pots vary so therefore your cooking time may vary also. Cook until chicken is cooked all the way through and tender.

Recipe is from kraft.com. The original recipe can be found HERE.

latest craft ideas & inspirations

Haven't quite gotten onto the Pinterest craze yet but here's a few things I suppose I would "pin" if I were on there a little more. Some ideas I'd like to try out along with a couple inspirational rooms. i got these ideas from apartmenttherapy.com.

DIY home-made clocks

DIY scrabble decor

DIY modernized vases

Wooden chandelier decoration

Home theater room (seriously how cool is this?)

Craft room. Oh Pottery Barn, you get me.

 

chicken club pizza

Chicken Club Pizza

Our Rating: ★★★★★
Ingredients:
1 can (13.8 oz.) refrigerated pizza crust -OR- a pre-made pizza crust
1/4 cup mayo
1/2 cup ranch dressing, divided
1-1/2 cups shredded triple cheddar cheese, divided
1-1/2 cups finely chopped cooked chicken
8 slices bacon, cooked, crumbled
1-1/2 cups finely shredded lettuce
1 tomato, finely chopped
1 ripe avacado - sliced (optional)

Directions:
Heat oven to 400ºF.

Unroll pizza dough on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray; press into 15x10-inch rectangle. Bake 10 min (I did not do this: I used a pre-made pizza crust; see picture below).

Mix mayo and 1/3 cup dressing; spread onto crust. Top with half the cheese, chicken, remaining cheese and bacon.

Bake 5 min. or until crust is deep golden brown and cheese is melted. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, and avocado; drizzle with remaining dressing.

Feeds 3 hungry adults or 4 adults with breadsticks and salad or side.

Boboli pizza crust

Kraft Extra Virgin Olive Oil Greek Vinaigrette Dressing

Top pizza photo credit and recipe go to kraft.com. The original recipe can be found HERE.

peach shortcakes

Peach Shortcakes

Our Rating: ★★★★★
Ingredients:

1 c. flour
1/4 c. plus 2 tsp. sugar, divided
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) cream cheese, cubed
1/3 c. plus 1 tbsp. milk, divided
3 large fresh peaches (1-1/4 lb.), sliced
1-1/2 T. lemon juice
1 c. thawed cool whip whipped topping

Directions:
Heat oven to 425ºF.

Mix flour, 2 T. sugar, baking powder and zest in large bowl. Cut in cream cheese with 2 knives or pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 1/3 cup milk until mixture forms dough.

Use floured hands to divide dough into 8 pieces; shape each into ball. Place, 3 inches apart, on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray; flatten to 3/4-inch thickness. Brush tops lightly with remaining milk; sprinkle with 2 tsp. of the remaining sugar.

Bake 12 to 15 min. or until golden brown. meanwhile, combine peaches, remaining sugar and lemon juice.

Cool shortcakes slightly; split in half. Fill with peach mixture and cool whip just before serving.

Makes 8 shortcakes.

Photo credit and recipe go to kraft.com. The original recipe can be found HERE.