I am in the mood to craft but don't know what I want to make. I did stumble across a few ideas that I might do. This first one I have had on my "to make" list for 3 Christmas's in a row. Prior to finding the idea I would see white mittens everywhere. But I can't find them when I get in the mood to make them. I'm going to start looking online in August/September.
I have a bazillion (well close to it) buttons and always trying to think of a craft project. This is cute for a sewing room decor. The back of the flowers could be felt flowers or just big buttons and some sturdy wire for the stems. Salt shakers like that are $1.00 for 2 of them a the Dollar Store. May try to do these.
And I have wanted to do these coasters for a long time. They are plastic canvas and would be super simple. I have all the stuff. May start on these this week.
So I got a burst of energy and decide to spend it in the kitchen. I love shredded chicken barbecue sandwiches. I also love coconut cake and I love Dolly Parton. No, she wasn't coming to dinner but I was going to bake a cake from one of her recipes using the new Duncan Hines cake mix she has partnered with them on. First I gathered all the ingredients for all of it.
Chicken takes the longest so I did that first. This recipe will make enough to feed a family of 4-6 with some left over. Put 3 boneless, skinless chicken chicken breasts in a pan and cover them about 1" over the top with water.
Next add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water.
Start at medium high heat with no lid. Once it comes to a boil, immediatley turn temperature down to a low simmer. Cover, but leave the lid cracked a little for steam. Once you cover it and reduce the hit, cook for exactly 60 minutes.
While the chicken is simmering, prepare the barbecue sauce. You will need the following:
1 Bottle of Heinz Chili sauce
1 and 1/2 bottles of water (measured with the chili sauce bottle)
1 small onion diced or chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons Worchestershire
5 tablespoons ketchup
1 stick Parkay margarine
1 tablespoon sugar
Mix all ingredients in a medium sauce pan. Stir good then bring to a boil over medium heats. Boil for about a minute then turn heat off and set to the side.
Once chicken is done, you need to shred it as soon as you take it out of the water so it stays moist. (Pour the water out of the pan, wipe it out and set to the side. (This way you will have the pan to put the pulled chicken back into). You can shred with a couple of forks or you can use a mixer. I do a piece at a time so it has room to "tear" the chicken apart with the beaters. Either way you do it, just make sure it is all shredded good so you don't have big chunks in your barbecue.
Put the shredded chicken back in the large pan and pour the barbecue sauce back over the chicken and mix it until all meat is covered with sauce. Put on stove over low heat and simmer for about 15-20 minutes stirring occasionally.
I like mine for sandwiches on hamburger buns. My husband would put cole slaw on his. My daughter makes it and some of her family eats it as a sandwich; but some eat it over nachos and some on a baked potato.
While the chicken was cooking, I decided to make the cake. It's not a normal Duncan Hines cake. The added ingredients were different then any cake I ever made, but I followed the directions exactly so I could "rate" the cake when I was done. As you can see, it turned out good. But I was a little concerned because most of my Duncan Hines cakes raise up some above the pan which makes for super moist delicous cakes.
Then I followed their directions and spread the Dolly Parton buttercream frosting. They make a regular Duncan Hines buttercream frosting. But I used the Dolly one. The ingredients were just about the same, but I did notice this is not as creamy or easy to spread as their normal buttercream. But I plunged ahead and spread the coconut on the top in a thin layer like it recommended. It turned out so pretty.
I cut a piece and look how beautiful. I still didn't think it looked as fluffy as their normal white cake mix.
I fixed me a couple of barbecue sandwiches and cut a piece of cake to have for supper.
Since I make this barbecue all the time, I knew it would be delicious and I was right. Now let's talk about Dolly Parton's coconut cake. All I can say is I am a big Dolly fan and love her music. After eating her cake, my advice is for Dolly to stick to music. It wasn't just "not very good". It was horrible. The icing was so thick and bland that I think wallpaper paste would have tasted better. I was right, the ingredients made a big difference. It was not a normal Duncan Hines cake. It was not moist at all, rather on the dry side. The cake had no flavor. None. So I ended up with a dry cake, with no flavor and heavy instead of fluffy. I tried to be fair and give it several taste tests. But after three bites, I was done. It was horrible. I went on Facebook and posted my opinion. A friend of mine is a die hard Dolly fan. 100% loves anything and everything she does. So he made the banana cake she came out with. He had the same reaction. It was so bad he couldn't eat it.
So there you have a shredded barbecue chicken recipe you MUST add to your cookbook and a coconut cake recipe that you would be best to avoid.
Don't get me wrong, I love fall. But I love it during fall. However, if you need some new decor and you stumble onto something, it's okay to buy it. But put it away until fall arrives and it is time to decorate. Having said that, Hobby Lobby is getting their stuff in. I didn't go crazy and buy a bunch because I want to check other places and figure out how I want to decorate. But I did see some things that interested me.
I don't know what I will end up or what I still have from last year that can work for what I want. But I love having a charger plate in the middle of my kitchen table and then decorate it. I did go ahead an buy the one I found because I don't want to take a chance on not getting it. And it was just a little over $3.00.
I'll find a pretty placemat or table runner to put under it, but time will tell what my plans will be to set on it. I also love these items but I have until September to decide what I want to get. But these are in the running..
It won't be long until I have to start narrowing it down. You really need to go to your Hobby Lobby. They are getting in some amazing things.
Being someone who loves candy and adores vintage candy dishes, I just had to post my wish list. Some of the prettiest candy dishes that I have seen are from Indiana Glass and Fenton, just to name a few. I decided that I need a collection. But I don't want more than 10 total that will match various rooms throughout my house. Keep in mind, I won't use them all for candy. They are great for bobby pins, saftety pins, bath powder, cotton balls, hair ties, just tons of stuff. Here is my wish list. The first one being my #1 that I want the worst. This is my favorite style of the vintage candy dishes and you may see more than one on my list made like this only in different colors.
You must admit those are some beautiful pieces. Hunting for them is going to be so much fun because I don't order vintage items from online. I only purchase them when I can find them in person at antique stores or thrift shops. Hope you enjoyed seeing my wish list.
Art is a thing of beauty....no matter what form it is in. I have been seeing some of the most unique things painted in such a way they become a thing of beauty. Paint stirrers are becoming very popular for holidays.
These are just random tree branches that have fallen out of the trees and they were made into a unique piece of art.
Rock painting has been around for awhile. I'm not real artistic, but I think even I could do these cute ghost rocks.
Another bunch for Halloween. They are gorgeous but way out of my talent zone.
But I bet I could do these little acorns. I am obsessed about them. They are just too cute.
I have painted seashells before, but these are amazing. I'm going to have to do some like this. They are gorgeous.
Wonder what else is out there that we could paint into a work of art?
I have had some beautiful clouds in my sky lately. The morning view is on my front porch. The evening view is from my back porch. And when storms are blowing in they are from the end of the house. They have been crazy. All of these were just taken with my Motorola phone. Can you imagine if I had a good camera what kind of results I would get?
For those of you who have followed me a long time, you know I have five amazing grandchildren who I refer to as The Grands. You've watched them grow, helped me wish them happy birthdays, and celebrated their school years. I just thought I would share my most recent picture of all five of them together.
Ladies and gentlemen.....I present to you The Grands.
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