Swiss Chicken

Swiss Chicken

6 Chicken Breasts, tenderized
1 C. Shredded Swiss Cheese
5 C. Seasoned Stuffing Mix
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 C. Sour Cream

Place Chicken in greased 9x13 pan, sprinkle with cheese and stuffing mix. Combine soup and sour cream, spread over stuffing. Bake uncovered at 375° for 1 hour

 

This dinner tasted pretty good, it looks a little bit unappetizing, at least to my husband.  I made it while he was at work and when he saw the leftovers in the fridge, he wouldn't eat it.  I think it was because the black mushroom chunks on the top.  The next time I make it I might try a different "Cream Of" soup.  Probably Cream of Chicken, Cream of Celery would go well with it too. 

Roast Pork w/ Apple-Sage Gravy

I made this dinner a few weeks ago and it was spectacular!  I never used to like pork... I think that was because the only pork I ever had was plain pork chops.  I haven't cooked plain pork chops in about 4 years.  I've finally found a few select pork recipes I like and this one is Really Good.

Roast Pork w/ Apple-Sage Gravy

3 lb boneless pork loin roast
2 Garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbsp. Fresh Sage leaves
2 Tbsp Butter
2 Fuji Apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 M. Onions, thinly sliced (I used one)
½ C. Apple cider
½ C. Chicken Broth
Rub Pork with garlic, sage and salt and pepper. Set Aside.
In large Pan melt butter over medium heat, add apples and onions; season with salt to taste. Cook 6 min. Remove from pot and set aside. Add pork to pot; cook 5 min per side. Add cider and broth. Cover pot and place in oven. Roast 30 min at 350°, add apples and onions, return to oven. Roast uncovered 15-20 min.

For the GRAVY:

I made my gravy using cornstartch but you could use flour if you wanted.  Take about 1 cup of your meat drippings. (if you have to add water to measure one cup)  You can strain your drippings if you want. I chose not to.  Anyway take 1 cup of drippings and about 1 Tbsp Cornstartch.  Mix your cornstarch in with just a little water and stir it until it's smooth.  Pour into drippings and heat until thick.  If you're using cornstarch it will happen very very quickly.  Sitr it constantly and watch it like a hawk!  As soon as it's thick take it off the burner and serve.

Would you like another sneak peak?

This is the start of (one of) my current projects ☺

Skylight Stars

It's actually coming together pretty quickly...

if only

if only

my sewing machine will

STOP

EATING

the Fabric!

My sewing machine and I are not friends right now.  I've tried cleaning and oiling it and it's still eating my fabric... *sigh* oh well I'll figure it out and if I can't then I guess I get a new sewing machine ;)

Chair Covers

My kids have sticky fingers... literally, sticky, icky, gooey fingers.  Then they touch my chairs...  which would make my chairs sticky, icky, and gooey.  I decided I'm tired of scrubbing my dining room chairs, so I came up with a plan.  

I made these cute little chair covers.  I know they'll still get sticky, icky, and gooey, but they are washable!  Machine Washable! I decided I'd just slip these cute covers on my chairs and then once weekly... when I wash all my other kitchen linens I'll just throw them in the washer and put them back on.  It's brilliant!

I feel so smart right now

Anyway they were really simple to make
For One Chair Cover you'd need

2 fabric cuts of equal size
**My Chair backs are 19" long and 14" across and 1 1/2" wide so my fabric was cut 19"x 15" don't forget to include seam allowances on each side.
2 Thick Ribbons at least 1" thick and long enough to tie a bow, after being wrapped around the back of the chair.
(I used fabric strips... but I would have used ribbon if I had it.)

Place the 2 fabric cuts right sides together and stitch along the top, then about 1/2 way down one side.  Place the first ribbon In Between the fabrics along the edge and stitch it in place.  Finish stitching down the first side.

Stitch down the second side stopping about 1/2 way down and place the second ribbon in between the fabrics along the edge.  Stitch into place and finish stitching down the second side. 

Fold the bottom of the cover in about 1/4" and stitch to provide a nice finish to the bottom.

Making sure your cover is inside out.  About an inch down from the top corner pull each fabric away from one another until you have an angle at the top.  Stitch about 1" down from the top to one side.  Trim the excess fabric and repeat with other corner.
( I know this probably sounds difficult... it's the same way I did the bottom of the purses I made in this post if you want to take a look there is a picture there.)

Turn cover right side out and slip over chair, tie a bow and ta-da.  I think they look cute!  Did I mention they're WASHABLE!

Bacon Onion Beef Brisket

I never realized how incredibly off-schedule the holidays can make me.  What a week!  I have not had dinner on the table at a reasonable hour since Christmas Eve!  It's Crazy!

Speaking of Christmas Eve though... the last bi-weekly vote for dinner voted for Bacon Onion Beef Brisket.  I made it for dinner on Christmas Eve and it was FANTASTIC!  However, because of the hussle and bussle of the Christmas Eve day... I FORGOT to take a Picture!  Sorry.  *Edited: Picture has been inserted!  Lucky You!*

You'll just have to take my word for it.  It looked, smelled, and tasted like something from a gourmet kitchen!  The company we had that night said it was fantastic!

So here's the recipe.  You should seriously try this one.

Bacon Onion Beef Brisket

1 Tbsp Butter
1 Large Onion, sliced
3 cloves Garlic, sliced ( I actually used minced dried Garlic 3 tsp.)
2 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
1/4Cup Beef Broth
3 1/2 lbs Beef Brisket
1/2 tsp. Pepper
4 Thick Slices Smoked Bacon, chopped

Line large baking pan with heavy foil.  In large skillet melt butter over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic, cook and stir 3 minutes.  Reduce heat to med-low; stir in vinegar.  Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in broth. 
Season brisket with pepper and place in baking pan.  Top brisket with onion and bacon.  Bring edges of foil up and enclose the brisket.  Crimp to seal, leaving room for expansion.  Bake 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours at 350°(I cooked mine for 2 1/4 hour and it was perfect, but it depends on your stove and altitude.)  Slice or shread.


The next time I make this I will cook it slower and longer.  I might lower the temp to 250° and cook it for 3 1/2 hours.  Then it will be just a bit more tender.  All in all, excellent dish.

Choc-o's

My mom introduced me to these and I immediately fell in love! If you love chocolate then these are definately something you should try!

You will need:

A cake (I use chocolate because it is the best, but you can use any kind)

A tub of frosting (Again, I used chocolate because it is just the best)

2-3 bags of milk chocolate chips

2 teaspoons of oil

wax paper

Have you ever wanted to purposely destroy a cake? Well I have and that is another reason I love this recipe :)

Bake your cake as directed. Then let it cool for 20 minutes. Then crumble the cake :)
Put all the cake crumbles into a bowl and scoop in the whole tube of frosting.
And stir it
Then you can either roll it into balls or I tried cookie cutters this time and it worked great too!
Put them on a pan and put them in the freezer for 30 minutes. They don't need to be frozen solid, but they need to be hard enough to hold there shape while being dipped. Melt all the chocolate in the mircowave or on the stove top. Once it is melted add in the oil. This will make the chocolate a little smoother. Then drop in a few of the cake pieces at a time and cover with chocolate. I have found that if you use a slotted scooper (like the one in the top of this next picture) to scoop out your chocolates you can shake of the extra chocolate easier.
Once they are covered place them on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and then put them in the refridgerator.
Once the chocolate dries, you have yummy chocolate treats! Enjoy!!!
You can decorate it with whatever you want too! I tried putting crushed candy canes on it and that was tasty too (I just forgot to take a picture)! :)

Felt Roses

My neighbor taught me how to make these cool felt roses the other day and she said I could share with all of you!

First you will need a hot glue gun, a piece of felt, a hair clip, a good scissors

First cut the felt into a circle. It does not have to be a perfect circle. Then cut it into a spiral like this. Make sure not to make your spiral to thin, but not to thick.

Then cut the outside edge all the way around the spiral a little wavy so it looks something like this.

Then start with the outermost part of the spiral and start rolling it. The wavy side should be towards the top.

Once you have rolled the whole thing, you will get to the end of the spiral. This part should fit nicely on the bottom. Then you just put some hot glue on the top of the end of the spiral and glue it to the bottom of the rolled part. This should hold the whole thing in place.

And ta-da! You have a super cute felt rose! You can put leaves on it if you want too. I have seen these done on headbands, hair clips, hats, and many other things! See what you can do with a felt rose!