Chicken Parmiginia and Made Over Deep Dish Brownies

Tonight for dinner we had Chicken Parmigiana...after dinner my hubby said something he has NEVER said in his life..."Woman, that was good...now get in the kitchen and make me bake me something sweet"...Those who know my husband understand that was purely harmless and done out of a loving, sweet and joking manner...so all you hardcore feminists...relax ;)Pictures Below Recipes!!

Rachel's Chicken Parmigiana
Three boneless skinless chicken breasts
Two pieces of stale lunch bread (ends preferably)
2 tablespoons flour
1 Jar Traditional Marinara
1 Jar five cheese Marinara
2 Tablespoons Ricotta Cheese
3 Tablespoons butter
1/2 pack (more or less) of Spaghetti Noodles
1/2 cup of Mozzarella or Shredded Italian Cheese Blend

Boil noodles according to package directions.
Cut chicken breasts in half (lengthwise) to make the 3 breasts a total of 6.
Refrigerate 3 of the breasts and use them for another dish, later.
Season the remaining 3 breasts with a garlic/rosemary/oregano blend (or any poultry seasoning) and salt and pepper to desired taste.
Pulse the two slices of bread in a processor until they are fine crumbs.
Mix with flour
Heat Canola Oil or Vegetable Oil over medium-high heat.
Coat seasoned chicken breasts and put in hot oil.
Cook about 10-12 minutes. While the noodles are cooking is convenient.
While chicken and noodles are cooking, add half traditional sauce and half five cheese sauce, ricotta, and butter in a casserole dish.
Once chicken and noodles are cooked through, drain noodles and dab chicken breasts with a paper towel to remove excess oil.
Place noodles in sauce mixture and stir. Place chicken breasts on top of spaghetti and cover each breast with a mixture of traditional and five cheese sauce (just enough to cover)and divide cheese evenly to spread on top. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes.
Enjoy!

Made Over Deep Dish Brownies
3 tablespoons unsalted butter ( I used salted butter and omitted the salt below)
2 tablespoons canola or other neutral tasting oil
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, (I used chocolate chips)
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1.5 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
2 large eggs, cold
1 tablespoon cold brewed coffee
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Directions
Position rack in the lower third of the oven and heat oven to 325 degrees F. Use an 8 by 8 silicon baking pan or line a similar sized metal or glass baking dish with foil or parchment paper so it hangs over the edges by about 1 inch. Spray the pan completely before and after lining.

Put the butter, oil and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat until melted, stirring occasionally.

Stir the brown and white sugars, vanilla and salt into the chocolate mixture with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs and coffee and beat vigorously until fully incorporated and the batter is thick and glossy. Add the cocoa, flour and baking soda and stir just until it disappears.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake until the top is crispy and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with a few crumbs, about 30 minutes (40 minutes if not using silicon).

Cool the brownies in the pan on the counter. Lift brownies out of the pan by the foil, if needed. Peel off the foil and cut into 2-inch squares. Serve. Store extra brownies in a tightly sealed container at room temperature for up to 3 days.


Here are the pictures: The Brownies are kind of fudgie!!!

Getting Creative with Giving

LET ME APOLOGIZE FOR THE LAYOUT OF THIS POST...SOMETHING IS FUNKY WITH MY BLOG TONIGHT...

In honor of Valentines Day and a tight budget I want to share a few ideas with you. With my money often tight around gift giving time, I like to make homemade gifts to give to my loved ones. Over the years I have written stories, bound them and given them as Christmas gifts. I have written poems and had them framed or laminated and attached to gifts as a cute and different "tag". Here are a few of the items I have made for my husband over the years that may help give you ideas for Valentines Day. It is coming up on us pretty quickly. (Really quick) A few things I have done that I have no pictures for are as follows:
1. How Do I love thee? Candy Jar: A jar filled with mini candy bars (mini...mini...candy bars)Printed tons of things that I love about my husband on computer paper, cut it in to thin strips(small enough to tape on to candy bar wrapper) then printed out "How do I love thee....let me count the ways" tag that I glued around the outside of the jar. Every time he went for a piece of candy, he got a reason I love him...it lasted about a month and a half.

2. Poster Board love note with Candy. I took a poster board and using the candy I made sentences. For ex. Hi "Sweettart" (made the "t" an "h" with a marker.) "York" (but blacked out the "k") my "sugarbaby'. I love you "mounds" and could smother you with "kisses". I am so happy to be Mrs. "Clark" & I wouldn't trade our love for "100 grand"...this can be done REALLY cheap by buying the stuff from the Dollar Store.(here is a picture I found on net close to what I did...but like I said, I used poster board)
















3. Last year instead of a card I got an envelope and printed 30 things I wanted for his life and future. One for him to read each day for a month. I cut each "wish" in to 30 strips and put it in an envelope labeled "What I pray for your life"
Some of the things were 1. Laughter in the midst of sorrow 2. A long healthy life 3.A job that you can be passionate about...etc...etc...






Here are the things I have made...

the first gift ever when we were dating. You take a TV tray or tray like you use at a cafeteria, cut out things that remind you of that person, glue them on there and then buy craft glue that dries clear that you can wipe down (can't remember the name of it...has been soooo long) but someone at a craft store can help you. He uses it as a tv tray...(MAKE SURE TO TELL THE PERSON HELPING YOU what it will be used for and that a wet rag will be used to wipe it down so the "glue" has to be waterproof)






















I took letters that I bought from Wal-Mart, cheap craft paint, and a picture that represents him and one that represents me, printed them, glued them to painted letter and we are going to attach hooks to the bottom to use as coat hangers.


















Another one was a poem I wrote about his passion and framed it:





















I took pictures of our pets(could do your kids) and made him a picture to hang up:























Finally, I took (he is a firefighter..volunteer for 10 years and paid now) a firefighter ornament, cut it apart and glued it inside of a shadow box...You can make all kinds of shadow boxes using old photos, concert tickets, things from when you two were dating...etc...



















These are just a few ideas on how you can make gift giving a little more special. Something made with love and from your heart means more than you will ever know.

As I promised!

As I promised, here is my second Vlog of the day! If you have not, you MUST...I repeat Must...check out my first one titled First Timer and then scroll to the bottom to see it...Go ahead and check it out and then check this one out. GO!!!!

First Timer

Okay, decided to make this site about cooking, also. Two of my many passions are decorating and cooking. So trying out my Vlogging skills. Go to the bottom of the page to watch the video of me making breakfast and making myself look like an idiot :) And let me apologize in advance for the HUGE mistake towards the end...I could kick myself!!!! However, it just shows my First Timer-ness at this Vlog thing! Enjoy!

Four Dollars?!

So my venture into Salvation Army produced more than I was planning. I was on a mission to pick up a $10 bed frame for my mother that my grandmother told her about since my mom wanted to have an extra bed in the grand kids room. So, one rainy day my husband and I proceeded with taking his truck to Salvation Army to purchase this bed frame for her.

While there, I happened to look over in a corner and saw a lonely yellow single bed frame. My spare bedroom had just received a "dumping". We were turning the bedroom turned computer room turned bedroom turned computer room back in to a bedroom, forever!!! The one thing this bedroom was missing was a bed. I did not think this bed would happen upon me so quickly. I was actually expecting it to be a few months, really. I knew that my budget could not afford a bed and I knew no one wanting to get rid of a single bed for free-so it was a huge surprise when I happened upon this bed frame.

The $10 bed my mother was getting was not as cute as this bed over in the corner and I walked over thinking I probably did not have enough cash to purchase the bed at the time. I was sure it was $20 or more. As I was looking at the frame, I leaned it over and saw a 4 written on it in pencil - no $ sign - just a 4. I kept looking for the price when an associate asked if she could help me and so I asked her the price. She looked at it and said - "it's right where you are looking"

$4??!! Really??!! So I snatched it up and she asked what color I planned to paint it as it had paint that was peeling off and a little red was shining through the yellow. "I'm not planning to paint it!" I said.

We loaded it up, and took it home!

From there, everything fell in to place. My sister-in-law had a spare single mattress she gave me and a lady I worked for had already given me a spread and vintage pillows (which at the time she gave them to me, I had no use for...I just knew they were cute and free and couldn't pass them up) So we got everything home, set it up...threw on the spread....the pillows, two different quilts given to me and a few stuffed animals (for my niece) and taa-daa! My $4 purchase along with my hand-me-downs transformed the entire room!

THRILLED!!

Welcome & More

Hi Friends! Welcome to my new blog!

I started this blog because I have been seeking other ways to let my creative juices flow. Many friends and family who have been to my house "ooooh and aaaaah" over items I decorate with. Each time they are amazed that either:
A. I took an old piece of furniture and "re-did" it myself.
B. Purchased the item they "just love" at a yard sale.
C. Got my picture, or bed frame, or cabinet at a thrift store.

More than once I have been asked to help another with decorating their home. The thing is, I don't think I am good at coming up with decorating suggestions on the spot...so I usually decline or act like I forgot that they asked. This decorating thing that people think I have has come from many years of purchases, or wanting a new dresser and not being able to afford anything more than a can of spray paint to change it myself, or hunting yard sales and thrift stores.

My decorating style as my husband likes to call it is "Old-People stuff with some young people stuff thrown in". I told him it is referred to as "Vintage with a Modern Twist"....thank you very much.

So I started this blog to hopefully help you release those creative juices of yours when you want to add new items to your collection or re-decorate your house but have only $10. The good thing is the stuff I get range from 5¢ to around $30, so it can fit many budgets.

I hope this blog will help you see that $1.00 cabinet door at the yard sale as a picture frame. Or that it just gets you out to go to yard sales, thrift stores and sale racks instead of high-end stores when you just have to spend that dollar you don't have.

So sit back, check in at least once a week, and start putting your creativity to use!!!

WALL ART Cheaper than WAL-MART
Here begins our adventure in to Cheapville, USA. Our first stop along the way is Wall Art Ave. The pictures on these walls range from 5¢ to $9. With these items you don't need perfect credit or a financial planner. There is 0% interest and no monthly payment. Wall Art Ave displays some of the cheapest art available.

Picture #1

$1.00 Cabinet Door and 50¢ pictures with no frames purchased from three different yard sales: Creative juices...get to work!

I hope you can see this picture. The "frame" is a cabinet door I got for $1.00 at a yard sale. I saw it sitting over by its lonely self. I had no idea what I was going to do with it until I got home. While rummaging for paint, I noticed two pictures I had purchased a few months earlier at a yard sale for about 50¢ a piece, but had not gotten around to finding frames for them. So I got some glue- forwent the paint- and proceeded with making a wall hanging for my kitchen.

Picture #2

Art surrounding my art. These items were FREE! My grandmother was getting rid of a few items and no longer wanted these two pictures.

So I stuck them by my creation


Picture #3

My $1.50 a piece pictures from a yard sale I happened upon when heading to town one day

Picture #4

10¢ a piece pictures from Salvation Army hanging in my room.

(Note: Here is an example of the "Old People Stuff" he referred too) Pressed flowers in frames...can't say I blame him...

Picture #4

Picture in middle $1.00. Pictures on top and bottom, gift from a friend that she got at a yard sale for me. She knows my style ;)
Picture #5

Needed something to cover my electrical box, couldn't afford a wall covering, so got this rug for $9.00 at a thrift store.

Picture #6

My dollar store pictures and my thrift store bottle collection

There you have it. Just a few of my pictures that I have found for low, low prices along with having to get creative!!
So the next time you see those 50¢ pictures with no frame and stumble upon a cabinet door...grab 'em up and get to work :)