Knit It- Chunky Monkey Boot Toppers

Who doesn't love boot toppers?  Exactly!!!  I must have looked at a ton of patterns but I finally settled on one that would incorporate a new technique for me-- CABLES.  Who doesn't love cables?  Exactly!!

This was a quick gratification project using bulky yarn that I knitted over the course of 2 days.  The pattern can be found on Ravelry.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken with Sautéed Spinach

Bacon makes everything better is what I have heard.  All the fancy, smancy bacon wrapped recipes around.  For a while I have been wanting to try one but I decided to wing this one.

Initially, I just wrapped the bacon around the chicken and let it cook.  My next bactch I decided to cook the bacon until it was relatively done but still flexible enough to wrap around the chicken. My wrapping technique leaves something to be desired but I wrapped it around and threw it in the pan, let the chicken cook and ta daaaa.




Sauté some spinch and make a halfway decent presentation.  The girls liked it.  Liked it enough to eat at least.  I will try this again.

Salt and Vinegar Kale Chips

Admittedly I am very bored with food.  Yes, yes, I know food is not here to entertain and please me but to serve as a source of energy and nutrients for my body to function.  The problem is I get bored eating healthy because I don't have a variety of healthy recipes in my arsenal.  Armed with a ton of kale in my refrigerator I was determined to do something different.  I did hear mention of Kale Chips a while ago so I was up to the challenge.  A quick Pinterest search yielded options galore but who doesn't love Salt & Vinegar potato chips.  Salt, vinegar, olive oil and kale.  Easy peasy!!!

So get your ingredients mix them up to you liking put it on the pan and bake.  This is really something that is a purely to your liking type deal.  Experiment to find what you like.  Flavor, crispness, type of kale, etc.  It was fun having my girls come taste and give the "not-quite-thumbs-up-but- let's-tweak-this" approval.  If that is really and approval.  They helped and we determined a bit more vinegar and more salt would be fine.  These shrivel up quite a bit as you can so so pack as much as you can on your baking sheet but make sure it is still only one layer.

We even burned a batch causing the smoke detector to go off so keep a close eye and check often.  One minute does make a difference in hearing your smoke detector go off.  This is going to definitely be made again!!!  Probably a lot.

I can't wait to try with Old Bay, Curry, Chile and Lime.  So many options.

WELCOME 2015

Happy 2015 everyone!!!! Another year has passed with ups and downs, joys and disappointments and everything else that goes with this journey we call LIFE. Looking back, 2014 was great and as I look forward to this year. I am excited for all of the greatness and potential it holds as well.  Wishing all of you the best 2015 ever!