Chicky Nuggets

If asked what my favorite fast food place would be I would have to say.

Chick-fil-A

I love their sweet nuggets and waffle fries.

You can only imagine when I came across this recipe for

Sweet Chicky Nuggets at

My Name is Snickerdoodle

This recipe is amazing-

we did adapt it a little.

2 skinless boneless chicken breasts

1 cup milk

1 egg

1 1/4 cup flour

2 Tbs powdered sugar

2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

peanut oil or canola oil

Look how cute my measuring spoons are.  I really like how they make me smile each time I drop a spoonful.

In a medium bowl whisk the egg and stir in milk.  Trim any fat away from chicken.  Cube chicken into bite size pieces (we like our pieces small).  Place chicken in milk mixture, and cover.  Let it marinate for 2-4 hours in the fridge.  This will make the chicken very nice and tender.  In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar salt & pepper.  Place 2" of oil into deep fryer or pot.  Heat oil over medium high heat until 375 degrees.  If you don't have a thermometer do the drop test.  Drop a couple of drips of water into oil.  It should sizzle and not pop too much.  Adjust your heat if necessary.  Using a fork remove a few pieces of chicken from milk mixture and place in flour mix.  Make sure to fully coat chicken.  Place about 6-8 pieces into hot oil letting them cook until golden brown, turning once the edges are turning white.  About 1 minute on each side.  Double check to see if chicken is cooked through.  Cut a little slit to see if it's pink.  Remove and drain on paper towel.  Repeat until all nuggets are cooked.  Serve with your favorite sauce and enjoy!

We had a little of the flour mix left and thought about yummy

fish 'n chips, so why not chicken 'n chips.

We enjoyed our nuggets with

Mac 'n Cheese Balls (recipe will be out next week)

Marinara Sauce 

World Lemonade

Brown Chicken

Brown Cow

~ Katie

Don't ask- this is just something she says???

Friday night dinner

What are the 4 seasons?

I know that is a silly question and you are quick to say

Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall

But here in Louisiana the Cajun 4 seasons are

Crawfish, Crab, Shrimp, and Oyster

We are smack in the middle of Crab season.

It's my favorite season of the year.

So last night we had crabs for dinner.

So a trip to Tony's Seafood was in order.

We did go in for crabs, but you just can't walk out the door with out Boudin Balls.

And I don't mean just 1 ball.  You need 2 bags.

1 for dinner and 1 for the trip home.

Oh, I could not for get dessert.

 Hubig's Fried Pies.

These pies are so good they tickle your tummy.

So what is a 3 course Cajun dinner looks like?

Crabs

(with corn & potatoes)

Boudin Balls

Fried Pie

Hummmmm.....I now have a puppy tummy.

A full stomach makes a happy heart.

~ Spanish Proverb



World Lemonade

Why do we call this lemonade

World Lemonade?

Well the true name is

Brazilian Lemonade

In Brazil they call it

Swiss Lemonade

Why- because it is made with milk

Now the big question why is it called lemonade?

It's made with LIMES

Brazilian lemons are a lot like limes.

Ingredients

4 fresh limes- thin skin

6 cups cold water

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

 

Wash the limes thoroughly.

Slice each lime into 8 wedges.

Mix the sugar and water together.

Add 1/2 of the lime and 1/2 of sugar water into blender.

Blend for 20 seconds.

 (if you blend longer it will cause the drink to be bitter)

Strain through a fine strainer.  This will remove the rinds.

Repeat with remaining limes and sugar water.

Pour into pitcher and mix in the sweetened condensed milk

Serve in a glass full of crushed ice.
  
 When fate hands you a lemon, make lemonade.
Dale Carnegie

Pen Holder

What do you do with all of your pens?
Are they thrown into a drawer?
Placed into a coffee cup?
Tossed on your desk?
Every where BUT where you need them?

How about a nice pen holder?

We made our pen holder out of  stuff we had on hand.

We are getting in the Stashbusting mode.
It's not too late for you to sign up for
Stashbusing September over at
The Tshirt Diaries

This is what you need to make your own pen holder
Spray Paint
wine rack (from the garage sale box)
Mardi Gras cups (souvenir from our Destin trip)


before & after

Spray paint your rack and cups.  We needed a 2nd coat.

Let dry
and Ta-da
you have a handy dandy Pen holder that did not cost a dime.

 (unless you needed spray paint).

A little tip for storing paint and gel pens.

To keep ink from leaking and drying out store pens horizontal.

Our helper for the day

Johnny Cash

 You may remember this little fella as the scrawny kitten someone did a drop and run.  He is growing into such a handsome man.  Each day we are earning his trust.  We are now able to pick (when he wants us to) him up.  He is eating like all get out.  And talking up a storm.  So I guess the people who dropped him off knew the right people to become his family.

A friendship with some assembly required.
~ Quoted from my favorite Toy Story coffee mug

CheeryO Bowls

What a fun and cheerful bowl.

Would you like to know how to make one?

It is an easy to do craft.

Items needed:

Plastic hole beads (Perler is one brand)

Oven safe bowls

Cooking Oil

Pour enough oil to coat the bowl, rub the oil with a napkin making sure to go up the sides.

There are two reasons for the oil.

It helps the beads stick to the bowl.

It will help release the finished bowl.

Be looking for a tutorial of the cute finger nails.

Sprinkle the beads into the bowl.

If you want to get creative you can put all of the beads standing up or all on their sides.

There is no wrong way to place the beads.

Make sure to push the beads together so you don't have any open spaces.

Pop in to a pre-heated oven 200 degrees.

Heat until the beads are melted.

There is not a set time.  Each bowl will be different, so check often. 

Once the beads start to melt the entire bowl will start to melt quickly.

The beads will start to look like the picture below, or you may want your beads melted more.

Take out of the oven and let cool.

Once cooled dip into a sink or large bowl of water.

Your colorful bowl will slip right out.

Rinse oil off.

Now enjoy your beautiful bowl.

This is such a fun and easy project with such a cheerful result, why not grab your kids and have fun.

**Update**  The oil will make the bowl a little tacky, so the beads will stick to the sides of the bowl.
As far as the toxic fumes- I recommend you do your own research on this matter.  The beads are made for children to melt with an iron.  I called one bead company and they did not give a comment.

The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.  ~Mark Twain

The Beach The Beautiful

 If you have never taken a trip to the sunny gulf cost-

here are a few family photo's of San Destin, Florida.

And a few corny quotes...

Summer- When the waves kiss your feet,

the sand is your seat &

your friends out number the stars.

 For whatever we lose

(like a you or a me)

it's always ourselves we find in the sea.

~ e.e. cummings

 If you want to know how much I love you,

count the waves.



"Don't grow up too quickly,

lest you forget how much you love the beach."

"Our memories of the ocean will linger on,

long after our footprints in the sand are gone."

Bacon-Wrapped Pork Medallions

Are you in need of an easy dinner?

What can beat Bacon-Wrapped Pork?

This recipe is adapted from

Hormel 

Ingredients:

• 1 package  Pork Tenderloin
•  Bacon
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Season to taste

1.  Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2.  Slice tenderloin into 1" medallions and season.  Wrap each medallion with bacon and secure with tooth pick.
3.  In an ovenproof pan, heat butter and oil until hot.  Add pork and brown on all sides, but don't cook through.
4.  Place pan into heated oven and cook for 15- 20 minutes or until bacon is crispy and pork is cooked.

After a day at the beach the three amigos really enjoyed this meal.

it even got a thumbs up!

A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be.  ~Douglas Pagels

Johnny Cash

Do you ever get the feeling someone is watching you?

Or

You should be watching someone?

Well apparently someone thinks we are good animal parents.

Why you ask?

Because someone did a drop and run at my house.

They left this precious little angel.

His name?

Johnny Cash

How are we to catch him?

The BAIT

Hamburger meat meant for the dogs.

Each day he is getting closer and closer.

He is learning how to trust us. 

We don't want to scare him.

Trust is letting go of needing to know all the details before you open your heart. 

~Author Unknown

Bacon Wrapped Green Beans

Everyone has a family favorite recipe!

One of ours is

Bacon Wrapped Green Beans

There are a few wonderful recipes that calls for brown sugar.

Even the Cooking Godess Paula Dean has a recipe for

Green Bean Bundles

Both sound so tasty, but our family likes this version.

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh green beans 
• 1 bottle of Italian dressing
• Bacon cut in half

Directions

Rinse green beans and pat dry.  Snip of ends of the green beans if you wish. 

Bundle 5-6 green beans and wrap with a strip of bacon.

Cover with foil and marinate for 4 or more hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place on pan and bake for 15 minutes, until bacon is cooked.

 "If you call ham "Canadian bacon", what do you call bacon?"

Michael Kelso, That '70s Show

French Toast Casserole

Are you looking for an easy breakfast casserole to feed a crowd?

This is it

Baked French Toast Casserole with

Praline Topper.

Well the recipe called for French bread but we used Biscuits instead.

Ingredients:

Butter enough to generously butter baking dish

1 loaf of French bread or 10 biscuits

8 eggs

1 cup milk

2 cups half & half

2 Tbs. sugar

1 tea. vanilla

1/2 tea. cinnamon

Dash of salt

Syrup

1.  Butter the baking dish and tear bread/biscuits into 1" pieces (enough to fill 2 rows in a 9"x13" baking dish).

2.  Place bread/butter in buttered baking dish.

3.  In large bowl wisk eggs, half & half, milk, sugar, cinnamon and salt.  Beat until blended.

4.  Pour mixture over the bread/biscuit.  Make sure to cover evenly. 

5.  Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

6.  Take out of refrigerator.  Make Praline Topper (recipe below).  Spread Topper over Casserole

7.  Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes and topper is light golden brown and puffy.

8. Cut into slices and serve with warm syrup.

Praline Topper

2 sticks butter

1 cup light brown sugar

1 cup pecans

2 Tbs. light corn syrup

1 tsp. cinnamon

In medium bowl blend all ingredients.

This recipe is great when you are on vacation.

Pop into the oven and then go wake your little angels.

Even the syrup is happy in the morning!

Anywhere is paradise; it's up to you.  ~Author Unknown