SLOW COOKING IS THE LIFE FOR ME !!!

In an effort to eat healthier this year, I've been attempting to make more meals at home. One of the things that is super handy is a slow cooker. Oh, my friend Sarah found one for me at her local Goodwill store for just $5.99. It works like a dream.  I'll be sharing about that soon, because there were some other seriously good yard sale finds that I'm just dying to tell you all about ;) :) Oh, I've posted a few photos at the very end of my post today...of the sandwiches I made from the leftovers!!! I forgot to take photos of the actual slow cooker process.

Also, I've been having problems with the font size on blogger today. I hope you can still read what I wrote. For some reason, I couldn't enlarge the font today...Boo :( :( :(

Heres the recipe for "Lemonade Chicken". I found on page 66 of Taste of Home magazine's winter edition of "Busy Family Recipes". Recipe submitted by Jenny cook, Eau Claire, Wisconsin (NOTE: make sure to read my notes at the end, because I did make a couple of changes to the recipe)

YIELD: 6 servings

*6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (4 oz each)
* 3/4 cup thawed lemonade concentrate
* 3 Tablespoons ketchup
* 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
* 1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
* 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
* 2 Tablespoons cold water


1) Place chicken in a 5-quart slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine the lemonade concentrate, ketchup, brown sugar and vinegar; pour over chicken. cover and cook on low for 2 1/2 hours or until c hicken is tender.


2) Remove chicken and keep warm. For gravy, combine cornstarch and water until smooth; gradually stir into cooking juices. cover and cook on high for 30 m inutes or until thickened. Return chicken to the slow cooker: heat through.


So in place of cornstarch, you can actually use pumpkin puree...Yes, I said pumpkin puree. I'd read somewhere that it was a good substitute if you didn't want to use cornstarch. I used it in a chili recipe and it did a good job of thickening the chili. No, it does not taste like pumpkin. It seemed to work just fine ;) :)


I also used raw boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins....instead of chicken breast halves. It worked GREAT!!! Since I'm relatively "new" to cooking stuff from scratch, I thought chicken breast halves would be too large. As it turns out, it would have been just fine :)

I used apple cider vinegar. Not sure if there's any other kind of cider vinegar.


Even after letting the "gravy" thicken, it's still a little bit runny. Mine turned out just the like the picture of the recipe in  the magazine. Having said that...it tastes GREAT!!!! It was very moist and tender...and tasted like sweet tangy lemon. You could easily substitute a different citrus fruit concentrate like orange or pineapple, whatever you think will taste good.


Okay....try it out. Enjoy...!! Since I had leftovers, I made what I call seriously delicious "lemonade chicken blues bun" sandwiches. My daddy asked for seconds. Here's a few photos :) :) :)

This is a little toaster oven I bought at a yard sale for $5. The lady had purchased it from QVC. It's great for a single person or two people. However, since her family was growing, it was no longer practical. Plus the last time I toasted these buns in my toaster oven, they burned on the outsides..so I used this. It worked  GREAT!!!!
I began by reheating the lemonade chicken in a small saucepan on medium-low on the stovetop. Make sure to stir occasionally. I'm convinced that help spreads the heat around, so the chicken will warm up a little faster. While that was happening, I took some "Blues Buns" (aka seriously delicious hamburger buns) from Dave's Killer Bread and toasted them here. Take a look at their website. The story behind this company is truly inspirational. There is a real "Dave" behind the face of this company and when you read his story...well, it's just wonderful :) :) Plus, it's the best store-bought organic bread EVER!!!

While the buns were in the toaster, I did take out some butter to soften. Here is my chicken sandwich about half-way to being eaten :) :)
So  once the buns have been toasted, add some butter. It's whatever you prefer. I like butter today, because that is what I had in my refrigerator. Attempt to pull apart the chicken and pile it on the bun. Take a spoon and gently drape some of the "lemonade" gravy over the top. Place top half of bun on top of the chicken.

Here is my simple, but very tasty sandwich.
So here it is. It's simple and that's okay. You could easily load it up with other goodies, too. It tasted GREAT. My father even asked for seconds. He was a little "sad" when I told him there wasn't anymore. So next time, I'll have to make more, so there's be extra sandwiches ;) :)

That's about it for the moment.  If you try this recipe, let me know how it turns out. That's the news from Oregon today. Love and hugs, Heather :)

 

My Sixth Tea Time Tuesday & Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday for August 17th, 2010

Happy Monday everyone !!! Here are my tea things for today....enjoy :) :)

Now this first cup is one that I purchased a few weeks ago at Goodwill or St. Vincent de Paul. It was only $0.69..I can't remember now, but it was really cheap :) :) In any case, I snapped it right up because it's so beautiful. This would be perfect for tea or coffee. Oh, and when you see the other two cups, you'll understand why I had to purchase this one.



There's a beautiful design of pears on this side. Notice the ring of leaves at the base and the inside rim of the cup? How beautiful is that? I love those "secret surprise" details !!!

I seem to really love all sorts of tea things...I especially love tea cups that have beautiful detail on the inside of the cup!!! It's like a special surprise!!


This is the design on the other side of the teacup.

Okay, here's a photo of the backstamp. I have to be honest here, the backstamp did make me laugh a little...but it's such a beautiful teacup!!

You don't see many tea cups made in India...but that would make sense, since some teas are grown there!! I think it makes my cup even more special :) :) :)

Now this next photo will show my recently acquired tea cup/coffee cup along with the other two matching tea cups. The other two cups I purchased at a TJ Maxx back in 2004. So when I saw the first cup I pictured...it was like this "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy...This is unreal...so cool" :) :) What are the odds that I'd find a matching cup 6 years later? That's awesome!! Have you ever had experiences like that?

The two tea cups in front are the ones I purchased at a TJ Maxx back around 2004.  Notice how they're a little more straight up and down, while the one in the background has more curves...plus a vintage tea strainer :)


Here's that same vine detail on the inside rim of these tea cups!!! It's the same beautiful design. In fact, when I purchased these originally, I bought them for the vine design on the inside rim and no other reason :) :) :)

This is the front of one of the teacups. It matches the tea cup/coffee cup EXACTLY...how cute is that?


The front design matches perfectly.....


.....and so does the design on the other side of this tea cup :)

Here's the backstamp on the bottom of the tea cup. It's just like the first backstamp I showed you, except it's in red. There's also a date missing...normally found right above the icon of the tree...saying that this particular line was established sometime in the 1700s...

Here's the "sibling" tea cup...related and very similar in style and tone..Now I do have tea cups that have slight imperfections in them...this one has a couple of chips...literally...but I still think it's very beautiful :) :) I'll show you later what I use this cup for...HINT, it's not for tea...

I don't remember  how the "chips" happened.  I just know it was something I dropped on it while trying to wash dishes one day. I was a bit sad...but I did find a new use for it. Don't you love those purply plums?


Here's the detail on the other side of the "plum" tea cup :) :)

One of the things I used this cup for was a pretty container for my pens and pencils!!! Lately I've used it for some of my earrings.  At the time, I didn't have a jewelry box for my earrings. I still don't...I prefer this. It has more style!!! Here's just an idea of what you can use a tea cup for besides tea...especially if it's not suitable for drinking anymore...


I made that blue bracelet that's surrounding the tea cup along with the matching blue earrings. It wasn't easy since I was a beginner...but it was fun.  I wear those earrings quite a bit!!! I like sparkly...a LOT when it comes to earrings..OKay..enough...back to tea :) :) :)

I love everyones tea displays...so different and ALL are beautiful, girlie, feminine, romantic etc...all the good things :) :) Here a couple of my own attempts at "styling" a tea cup :) :) It was quite fun. So I may have to try that some more in the future :) :) :)

 

Those are my tea things for today :) :) :) I pray you enjoyed your visit.I can't wait to see what everyone shares today :)

 

Oh, my friend Gerry at Gerry's Soap N Stuff sent me the loveliest gift of homemade soap. Oh, it's luxury, ladies....so nice and smells so GOOD. I'll share a photo of her nice gift on Wednesday :) :)

 

This morning, I felt like I was going to throw up. I was really nervous today and NOT looking forward to getting on the phones. Sometimes making outbound sales calls can be challenging. It's not the rejection...that I can handle. It's a normal part of the job. What makes me sad is when people yell at me for no good reason..anyway, I had some concerns this morning...God worked a miracle today. My first "official" day back on the phones went really WELL.

 

It's been since April 2009 since my co-workers and I have done the outbound calls...but it went so WELL. Customers were nice and no one yelled at me. God answered my prayer for nice customers today :) :)

 

Oh, I could go on and on...and remember, I do try and keep work life and private life seperate...but I thought you'd want to know about my "first day back at school...oops, "work"...but you understand :) :)

 

If you're experiencing hot weather where you're at...I'm sorry. It's so hot here in Oregon at ca. 104 F/40C...it's almost beastly. Literally these high temperatures are wiping me out. It makes having an air conditioner at home...two air conditioners (one upstairs and one downstairs) a double blessing from God. It's wonderful!!! Stay cool everyone!!!

 

That's the news from Oregon today. Love and hugs, Heather

My 3rd Tea Time Tuesday & Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday for July 27th, 2010.

Hi everyone, I'm a little late getting this post together. I had some things I needed to get done today, that I had been putting off. Okay Here are my tea things for today.

This first teacup was actually given to me by a friend.  I was staying at a friend's house while recovering from surgery in September 2004.  She had this lonely little teacup. She asked if I wanted it. I said  "yes"...even though I wasn't real thrilled with the design at first. However, it did grow on me and now I love it :) :) :) I'm so glad I kept this little teacup!!!

Isn't the design lovely? It's got such detail. Oh and wait till you see the backstamp on this teacup. Every teacup should have such a lovely backstamp :) :) :)


I'm especially fond of teacups that have a special something on the inside room...almost always a flower or two :) :) It's like a special secret surprise :) :) :)

Here's a close up of the detail on the teacup.  This is incredibly colorful and intricate. If you look carefully around the rim, you'll see the design of the cup itself in addition to the beautiful colors :) :)



Check it..this is just too cool...even around the handle there's detail!!!  Nothing was left out of this teacup...except some tea ;) :) :)



I did some research on the internet.  I haven't been able to find out much about the history of the company. However, this backstamp is stunningly beautiful. Just look at all that detail. So I went to my now favorite website for looking up any possible china pattern out there. It's called "Replacements Ltd." Let me tell you, if you need replacement sets, this is the place to go. The prices vary..but I was able to find the same pattern here. Click here to view other items in this pattern "Chartreuse". 

The backstamp...even the backstamp is a work of art!!! This was made by the Homer Laughlin Co.  This pattern is no longer manufactured.

I decided this lonely little teacup needed a friendly saucer to keep it company.  Remember awhile back how I talked about going to the thrift store to look for tea things? I totally hit the jackpot. I'll show just some of those finds today.  I found all of these tea things, with the exception of the sugar bowl, at the local St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop. As it happens, ALL DISHES etc were 50% off :) :)  Here's a lovely little saucer I found to go with my "Chartreuse" teacup.  I know the pattern doesn't match, but it's so pretty and has lots of detail. This saucer only cost me $1.

The detail is exquisite. I found some similar examples,but was unable to find this exact pattern online.

This is the backstamp.

How this was a really interesting find. I also found these teacups at St. Vincent de Paul. I actually bought TWO of them for just $1.50. These are lovey little china teacups.  I have a matching sugar bowl that was given to my dad decades ago. My dad gave it to me...and when I saw these teacups I bought them to go with the sugar bowl. This is a Japanese teacup with lovely, dainty pink/gray roses.

I really like the delicate detail of flowers climbing up the entire cup :) :)

This teacup also has a secret flower detail on the inside :) :)

The manufacturing date for this particular pattern is around 1959. The backstamp on this teacup is also quite lovely!!!


Here was a another lonely little saucer for $0.50. This was the closest thing in terms of color and tone, that would go with the "Rosebud" teacup. I love mismatched dishes!!!  It matched the "Floral Mist" design I found here at Replacements Ltd. Click here to view on image. They didn't have an image of the saucer, but this matches the plate perfectly.



This is the little Japanese china sugar bowl that prompted me to buy the two  Harmony House "Rosebud" teacups. My father doesn't even remember being gifted with this sugar bowl, but I do!!! I've had this sugar bowl for at least 20 years now...and can you imagine how delighted I was to find something that matched almost exactly in a little thrift shop? That's just a really nice treat. Here's the lid to the sugar bowl.

The one difference in this sugar bowl verses the teacups is that there's a slight pale yellow accent of miniature rosebuds in addition to the grey stem leaves/pink roses.


A side view of the sugar bowl with a small rosebud detail.


Here's the larger pink roses detail on the other side of the sugar bowl.

Surprisingly I found this pattern on Replacements Ltd here. I also found this exact sugar bowl selling on eBay here. I"m more surprised by how much these things sell for than anything else. For me, teacups and other dishes etc, I buy because it's beautiful or I inherit, as is the case with this sugar bowl :) :) :)


Those are my tea things for today.  If you know anything else about these particular china patterns, please let me know. I couldn't find much history about how these patterns came to be in existence, just some info about the names.

Oh,  I even made special heart-shaped ice cubes with the pink rubber ice cube tray I purchased the other day. Click here to see a small photo of it. You'll need to scroll down a little bit. I wanted to show you all "romantic ice cubes" and I totally forgot. I'll make sure and have it ready for next week :) :)

We had really serious dark clouds last night and I thought maybe finally we'd have a rainstorm. Alas, it was not to be..some areas saw some thunder...but not me. I did close my window last night. I was afraid of getting struck by lighting in my room. A little unrealistic I know :) :)...but I just wanted to be on the safe side!!! Now I feel cheated.

Alright, I'm off to watch a  another cool episode of Perry Mason. That has become one of my new favorite "old tv shows" :) :) It's got glass and drama without any of the yucky stuff.

Thanks for joining me for tea today. I hope you all have a blessed day. That's the news from Oregon. Love and hugs, Heather :)

Bon Ami is Mon Ami !!! & Happy Wednesday everyone!!!

I have found a powder cleanser that I like even better than Comet. It's Bon Ami :) :) :)

UPDATE ON JULY 21st at 2:41 p.m. I'm switching to a new blog background. Once I find a matching header, things will look better...hey that rhymes!!!! Thanks for hanging in there with me ;) :) :)

Here's the link where I found the free headers. It's a nice blog and the headers are fantastic. Here's what I did...once I added the text and saved it..when I went in to edit the header, I removed the current image and uploaded the one I saved to my removable USB flashdrive...also I clicked on "instead of title and description" AND there should be a nother link at the bottom that says "Shrink to Fit" YOu must click on BOTH...and it worked for me and I didn't have to crop anything. If my "instructions" are bad, let me know. I'll rewrite this later when I have more time...Love and hugs..I'm much happier with my new header, for sure!!! (added 4:52 p.m.)

Hey there everyone...It's been a bit of a crazy day so far...but very good. If you read my previous post, I got my blog background from "The Cutest Blog on the Blog".. However, they're switching to a new server and I'm not sure if I'm going to keep this blog background or not. I may switch to a new one!!! I was trying to get into their website to see if there was another background I could pick..but no luck. Arrggh...

Anyway, I was looking for a new powder cleanser for the bathtub and sink. I decided to go with Bon Ami. (quick note here...I wasn't paid to talk about the product. I'm doing this competely on my own, because I LOVE the product.) It's been around since the 1880s..and I love the vintage package design.  It's crazy, I know...but I think I'm in love with the product.  I even joined their page on Facebook.  If you want a little more history about the company click here...


I love that it just has a few simple ingredients.

I remember seeing Bon Ami commercials on tv as a kid...but for some reason I had an extreme aversion to it...just like I refused to eat pizza. Weird, I know...but that's just how it was back then. Maybe it was the packaging. Maybe as a child I didn't believe that "Bon Ami" was really "mon ami" ...hee hee hee :) :) Anyway.....that is now no longer the case ...and yes, I LOVE to eat pizza.  It's one of my favorite foods.


See this cute little chicky...Yes, the power of good marketing and packaging design...yes, that is pretty much what convinced me to finally try the product...and it's love!!

....I had used a name brand powdered cleanser and a generic...and while both did the job, they also left a little residue and were fumy. I didn't like either one bit.  The last time I cleaned the bathtub I used the name brand cleaner...and  the fumes made me sick!!! So I decided right then and there it's time to find a more natural cleaner. Now I'm sure I've got a natural powdered cleanser recipe somewhere, but I was too lazy to look for it. I remember seeing ads for Bon Ami...and I remembered that the company had recently changed their packaging. I love the new design don't you? It's vintage and cute!!!

This product has been around since God was a boy...well, maybe not quite, but almost...hee hee hee :) :)...since 1886. That's a long time.

So I bought some Bon Ami to give it a try.  It was on sale and I thought "Why not?"  Well, let me tell you what...I"m in cleanser heaven. I used it on a particularly crusty frying pan and it worked GREAT. It got all the crusty off without scratching my pan. The best part was that it washed off nicely. There was no residue and there absolutely NO FUMES. So that was huge...because as I mentioned earlier the fumes made me sick. Speaking of which, and this is completely random, ever since I've moved towards homemade/natural cleaners...well, if I'm in the grocery store and I walk down the cleaning supplies/detergent aisles...the smells are overpowering and I can't handle it anymore...so natural is definitely the way to go for me!!!

This pretty much says it all here...I'm truly thrilled with this product!!!

Bon Ami worked great and it was a good purchase. I'll definitely be using this product in the future.  I WAS NOT paid to do this. I just really love the product and wanted to blog about it today :) :) :) That's the sign of  a good product, if you're willing to give it some free blog space :) :) :)

In other news, my dad and I had some errands to run yesterday!!! We stopped by our old job site to take some photos and pick up some food. There's a United Way office there on the campus.  Let me tell you, it was wonderful and so nicely decorated and very clean.  The lady who worked there treated us very nicely and with dignity. She made it fun to be there. My father and I have been unemployed since February, with the exception of a short callback to work at the end of April/beginning of May. So things have been really tight for us. Please don't feel sorry for me or my father. Just keep us in your prayers. It's just a season of life that we're going through...but we're still trusting fully that God will provide...and so far He has not disappointed :) :) :) God has been faithful to my little family.

Below are three photos of the farmland near our old job site :) :) It sure is beautiful. I love Oregon and I love this beautiful land!!

The United Way lady was really nice and let us pick out what we wanted/needed. My dad and I made sure not take too much, but just enough. Oh, so not only did they have food but clothes, a few household items etc.  They were running a little low on those things...but here is what I did find..

This doily is falling apart, but it was hand-crocheted with such fine thread. The United Way lady said that doily had been sitting there for a whole month and no one took it. She said that someone's grandmother probably knit that.  Well, I'm giving it a new home in my home. I'll have to fix it...but that's okay!!!! It still has beauty and usefulness!!!



Oh, this was free, too...a complete puzzle.  My father and I are actually going to try putting this together..but when you look at the photo on the box, you'll understand exactly why I couldn't pass this up. it's just my decorating style..well, one of them!!! My dad started laughing when he saw this, because he knew exactly why I took it home :) :) Isn't it cute? Poor dad will lose the kitchen table for awhile...but I don't think he'll mind :) :) :)

Most of you know by now that I love going to yardsales, garage sales, thrift stores etc...AND you also may know that I love participating in some of these lovely tea parties on Tuesdays. It's great fun. Well, I don't have a lot of tea things, so I went shopping WITH A VERY SMALL, STRICT BUDGET..and here is what I found...Now I'm not giving you any details on the tea things..but there some great stories to go with those...You'll have to check in on Tuesdays to hear more about that :) :) I will say this, that two of the items there match invididual pieces that were given to me over 5 years ago. So to find something that matched on a so-called random shopping trip today...that was no coincidence :) :) :)



I also found this cute rubber heart-shaped ice cube tray and those mini-crochet threads at St. Vincent de Paul. Those were not on sale...but they were cheap, cheap, cheap. I told my dad that I'm going to make heart-shaped ice cubes..and then it'll be romantic ice cubes. He just rolled his eyes and smiled :) :) :) Can you imagine a nice cup of iced tea or coffee with romantic heart-shaped ice cubes? 

RANDOM FUN TIP FOR COFFEE: I love to drink coffee..especially the fancy, super sugared ones. Well, I'm making more coffee at home now. Once in awhile, it's just necessary to have an iced coffee. However, when the ice starts to melt, it waters down the coffee...boo!!! So I read somewhere that you can freeze fresh made coffee into cubes. I'ev done that before..and then use those in place of regular ice cubes in your coffee.  It keeps the coffee nice and ice cold...and when it melts, it won't dilute the flavor or integrity of your iced coffee....ahh...big smile on my face :) :) :) Anyway, I thought you might like that random tip.

I'm thinking about changing my blog background and header in the next few days. There are changes going on with "The Cutest Blog on the Block"..and I"m not sure if I'll keep my current background. Hang in there with me :) :) :) :) Oh, I did buy some more yarn today...inexpensive cotton yarn that is a real workhorse. I love it.  It's so fun to knit with!!!! 

Thanks for stopping by. If you're new to my blog, please let me know how you found me :) :) I love it when you all leave comments!!! It really makes my day!! That's the news from Oregon today. Extra love and hugs, Heather :) :) :)