Sweet Bacon Wrapped Chicken

Okay, you're probably wondering when are we going 

to start crafting again?

Well this week my in-laws are in town

and Candace has a house full of sick kids....what's with summer colds?

So with family comes yummy food

and I tried a new recipe last night that I just had to share!

Paula Deen's Sweet Bacon Wrapped Chicken!

It's was seriously good and easy to make!

I did alter a few things, I partially pre-cooked the bacon.

This helped burn off a lot of the grease

so that when we grilled them they didn't make a huge mess on the grill.

I also salted, peppered and shook a bit of onion & garlic powder

on the chicken before I wrapped them in the bacon.

I was worried that the chili powder would be too hot 

but it isn't, in fact next time I think I might add an extra Tablespoon.

Of course anything Paula Deen makes is wonderful...

remember her yummy

  Not Yo' Momma's Banana pudding dessert 

our brother told us about!?!

So much for the weight I lost getting ready for summer!

What good stuff have you guys been cooking?

Fruit & Nut Granola

We are back with another recipe!  It's hard to do lots of crafts this summer with the kids home, but we always have to eat, right?  :)

Our brother is undergoing surgical school training and recently shared with us his experiences with

the colon and rectal segment of his training.  Our brother is a fantastic story teller who also likes to pull out his study books to share pictures of today's diseases....yikes, I know this is TMI, but it scared the "poo" out of us...literally.

He said that in today's society we are eating way too much processed foods and it is creating many diseases of the intestines that we didn't see 40 or 50 years ago or more frighteningly even 20 years ago.  Our brother said that it is essential to add whole grain fiber to our diets to avoid many of these problems and whole oats are one of the best choices. 


Our first solution~a yummy granola recipe our Mom made that is chocked full of fiber and whole oats.  It's our Aunt Susan's recipe and it is so good! The flavors of the honey, butter, and vanilla make eating oats easy.  You can add whatever favorite nuts, or dried fruit that you like. 

Fruit & Nut Granola

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup chopped almonds

1/2 cup cashews or pistachios

1/4 cup hulled green pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup honey

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup dried blueberries or other dried fruit

(optional-add a couple tablespoons of flax seed)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large bowl stir together oats, almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, cinnamon, and salt.  In a small bowl melt butter with honey and stir to combine.  Add vanilla and pour butter mixture over oat mixture and stir until well combined.

On a large baking sheet, spread the granola evenly in a thin layer.  Bake, stirring once with a spatula halfway through, until golden brown and crisp, about 20 minutes.  Do not overcook; the granola will crisp more when cooled.  Cool the granola on the pan on top of the stove and then stir in dried fruit.  Granola is best if kept in an airtight container at room temperature. 

Yum!

This would be so great added to your favorite yogurt!  

Now go on out and eat some fiber! :)

8 Layer Rainbow Jello

Hello!  I'm back with a recipe for 8 Layer Rainbow Jello!  My sister in-law, Lesa, tediously makes this Jello masterpiece for every family picnic and it is gone in seconds.  It takes some time and attention to make but worth it in the end.  I asked Lesa for detailed instructions....because Jello layers can be complicated...really! I had to call her twice when making this the other day. :)

First, you want to stick with the basic flavors of Jello. Strawberry, Orange, Lemon, and Lime. These flavors are the best according to Lesa, she has been making this for over 20 years and has tried almost every Jello flavor combination.

Start with one large package of Lime Jello.  Boil 2 Cups of Water.

  Mix in full package until all sugar crystals are dissolved. 

Remove 1 Cup of hot Jello Mixture into a second bowl.

  Mix in 2/3 Cup of Sour Cream until fully dissolved.

Whisk really hard while the Jello is still hot,

you don't want any Sour Cream "dots" in your first layer. 

Add 1/2 Cup of "ice cold" water to the remaining Jello mixture.

(this will be the second layer) 

Pour the green sour cream mixture into a glass pan, preferably an 11x13 glass pan. 

 Pop any bubbles to create a smooth layer.

Tip:  when pouring each layer, carefully cup the new jello layer onto the set jello layers. 

 If you pour too much, too fast, a hole will rip into your layers!

To quick set each layer, place pan in the freezer until Jello layer is fully set. 

 Be careful not to freeze!

 When the first green sour cream layer is set, add the clear green jello layer.

  Repeat all steps with each package of Jello. 

You will have 8 layers when finished and a yummy, fun dessert to please a crowd!

Thanks to my sweet sister in-law for sharing our family favorite!

WYLTC? Wall Shelf Organization

We are over at Wood You Like To Craft? today!

The theme for July is organization.

I finally got up the courage to finish some Ana White wall shelves I built two years ago!

Come on over and see how the shelves are the perfect space for craft organization!

Ana White Table & Benches

I know that we are some of the thousands

that think Ana White is a genius!

I finally got up the courage to peruse through all her

wood plans looking for hutch ideas for my TV wall

when I came upon these cute Providence Bench and Table plans.

So forget the hutch for now.....I actually got my hubby excited to do something,

and guess what?
WE DID!

Last Saturday we started early in the morning,

printing out plans and running to Home Depot for supplies.
Everything is made from mostly 2x4" 's and then a few 2x6" 's.

It was the first time I think my hubby and I 

worked together without swearing, 

permanent raised eyebrows or clenched teeth.

Yes, there is a reason it's called Crafty Sisters and not Crafting with the Hubby.

Crafting with my sister is sooooo much more peaceful.:)

No offense hubby!:)

Ana has all her plans easy to access

with great directions and pictures!

I printed out what I needed and we got to work.

I consider myself pretty good with the saw but

this project was a lot of work.

The plus is that it was completely doable but you need 2 sets of hands for sure.

We built everything on Saturday in about 6 hours.

The rest of the week in between swim lessons

I sanded, and sanded and sanded some more.:)

Friday we finally got to staining it.

I was a little shocked at the color.

This is what it's supposed to look like as "classic grey".
I didn't want it to look too picnic~benchy
but didn't want it too dark to show every bit of dust either.
Soft grey seemed like a good compromise.

The swatch said it was supposed to be light grey on pine.

It is actually a bluish gun metal grey, which is actually really pretty.
Yes, I'll live......

I opted for spray can polyurethane

which worked like a dream!
After staining with my hubby the thought of brushing on polyurethane
into all those little cracks, upside down in 100 degree heat....
Well you can see why I opted for the spray on kind.:)

So now we have a fun and very sturdy table for our back patio!

Which also means the Korean feast next month is at my house!
Most importantly it was great to do with my hubby.
I fell in love with him all over again!

Stay tuned for our Wood You Like To Craft projects this week!

The theme is "Organization"
and Krystal from Sassy Sanctuary is up first
with her Broom Cabinet!