Valentine Idea

Valentine Bouquet or Center Piece

What started as this

Has turned into this

Directions:
Decorate tumbler with ribbon and foam stickers. Fill with 2 sheets of tissue paper; one loose and the other tightly packed. You could also use one sheet of tissue paper and floral foam for tumbler base.

Take 2 flower die cuts and punch a small hole in the middle. Feed rose lollipop stick through flower die hole; secure with floral tape if needed. Take 2 flower die cuts in coordinating colors and punch a small hole in the middle. Feed Dum Dum lollipops through flower die hole; secure with floral tape if needed.

Fluff up flowered/rose lollipops and insert into tumbler arranging as you go. Use flowered/Dum Dum lollipops as fller and to add color to your arrangement. Tie ribbon around heart pick and add it to the center of your arrangement.

Supply List:
Tumblers - $1 for three
Heart picks - $1 for seven
Foam Stickers - $1 for 200 pieces
Rose lollipops - $1 for 6
Dum Dums - $1 for a bag
Tissue paper - $1 for 30 sheets
Ribbon scraps
DCWV cardstock scraps
Making Memories printed paper scraps
Quickutz Revolution flower dies – REV-0173-S and REV-0174-S
Crop-A-dile (or any small hole punch)
Floral tape (optional)

Sneak Peak - Valentine Gift Idea

Need an inexpensive Valentine gift for someone in your life? Come back later on tonight to see what I made using Dollar Store finds (tumblers, tissue paper, lollipops, etc) along with scraps of DCWV & Making Memories papers, Quickutz dies, and left over ribbon.

Under Construction

Please bear with me! I am updating my blog page and will be up and running again shortly.

HG Kickin Faux Fried Chicken

Hungry Girl has done it again. Now you can have fried chicken fingers without the "fried", calories, and grease.

HG's Kickin' Buttermilk Faux-Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup reduced-fat buttermilk (I used skim since I didn't have buttermilk)
• 1/8 tsp. paprika (Hungarian is the best)
• 12 oz. raw boneless skinless lean chicken breast tenders (about 10 pieces)
• 1/3 cup Fiber One bran cereal (original)
• 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs (like the kind by Progresso)
• 1 tbsp. dry onion soup mix
• Optional: salt, to taste
• Optional: If you want a kick, add a shake or two of hot sauce to the milk

Directions:

In a large sealable container or plastic bag, combine buttermilk with paprika and mix well.

Add chicken and coat completely. Seal and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a large baking sheet by spraying it with nonstick spray. Set aside.

Using a blender or food processor, grind Fiber One cereal to a breadcrumb-like consistency. Pour crumbs into a large bowl. Add panko breadcrumbs and onion soup mix. If you like, add a dash or two of salt. Mix thoroughly.

One at a time, remove each piece of chicken from container/bag, give it a shake (to get rid of excess buttermilk), coat it evenly with the crumb mixture, and lay it flat on the baking sheet.

Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Flip carefully (tongs work well!), and then bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until outsides are crispy and chicken is cooked through. CRUNCH time!

MAKES 2 SERVINGS
Serving Size: 1/2 of recipe, about 5 piecesCalories: 315
Fat: 5g
Sodium: 586mg
Carbs: 25.5g
Fiber: 5g
Sugars: 3g Protein: 43g POINTS® value 6*

In loving memory of CJ

Melissa at Stamp it, Scrap it, Share it posted the following on her blog and I wanted to give everyone the opportunity to support this worthy cause.

"It was about a week ago that I was pretty bored. No crafting mojo to speak of, didn't really want to watch a movie and I don't have a book at the moment either so I was playing around on my computer. I read a few blogs and then got on Facebook. Let me say, I am not necessarily a fan of Facebook - I don't get what all the charm it holds for some. Well, I was messing around and decided to go looking for some old friends from high school. I was surprised that I found a few. One of them being a someone who was very dear to me, particularly in my sophomore year.I was excited to see that he didn't have his page blocked, so I sent him a note. I was really happy to learn that Roger had married and I saw that he had a beautiful little girl. Then I was very sad because I learned that his little girl had been diagnosed with a brain tumor on January 20, 2009. You can read more about Charlotte and her family here. Sadly, Charlotte passed away on January 7th. My heart goes out to Roger and his wife Rachel. Well, Roger and Rachel have created the CJs Thumbs Up Foundation in order to pay it forward. Their mission statement is this: To provide financial support to families of children with chronic, life-threatening illnesses through individual giving and public/private partnerships with organizations who have similar goals. "

In her efforts to find a way to help, Michelle together with Joni (owner of Inktegrity) created a digital stamp where all the proceeds go to CJTUF.org

If you are interested in purchasing this digi stamp go to Michelle's blog and on the right column you will see it. It is only $3 (using PayPal). Again, all proceeds go to CJTUF.org.

Later in the week I will be making a few items with this stamp and sharing it with all of you.

Inktegrity Blog Hop

Inktegrity is having a birthday blog hop January 14th. Come join in on the hop and see some really great projects by the design team.

If you are not familiar with Inktegrity, check out Joni's store to see all the wonderful digi images to use on your cards, scrapbooks, and other papercrafting projects.

Italian Bake for 2

This recipe is a modified version of the Italian Pizza Bake recipe from Betty Crocker.

Italian Pizza Bake

Crust:

1/3 cup Bisquick Heart Smart mix
2 tablespoons fat-free egg product or 1 egg white
1 tablespoon water or 1 tablespoon liquid from dice tomatoes for extra flavor
1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Topping:
1/4 cup diced pepper (red, orange, yellow, or green)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped cooked chicken or turkey breast
1/2 cup canned diced (seasoned or unseasoned) tomatoes, drained (I like tomatoes so I use 1 cup)
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/3 cup shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 8x4 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. In small bowl, stir crust ingredients (Bisquick, egg, water, seasoning) and spread into pan.
3. In skillet, cook pepper and onion over medium heat stirring frequently, until tender. Stir in chicken/turkey, tomatoes, and seasoning; cook until hot. Spoon over batter and sprinkle with cheese.
4. Bake 20-23 minutes or until gold brown.
5. Loose edges with a butter knife, cut in two, and serve

1 serving is 220 calories, 4 g fat, 1 g fiber, 20 g carbohydrate

Some people find this good, but a bit bland on seasoning. You might want to make it once as is and then adjust seasonings in the future. You can also additional vegetables such as mushrooms for a few extra calories. I like it the way it is and serve it along with a salad topped with low fat balsamic dressing.

Sketch Challenge

As soon as I saw the sketch (SSS37) this week at The Sweet Shop Sketch Challenge blog, I knew that I could combine it with the Bee Crafty Challenge 21 (Thank You card) & the Clearly Delightful blog challenge #1.

This is the cute card I made for my uncle as a Christmas thank you:

Close up of the bunny decked out with Stampendous! Fun Flock Cotton Ball White:

Another angle, so you can see some of the details on the card including faux stitching and distressing of paper edges:

Supplies include Tim Holtz Distressed Ink, Stampendous Fun Flock, Christmas Fluffy Bunny Bee Crafty dowload, rhinestones, and scrap pattern & solid papers.

Thanks for looking!