Mother's Day Cards!

Since Mother's Day is quickly approaching, I decided to break out my Cricut and create some fun and inexpensive (well free since I already had everything on hand) cards for the mother's in my life. For all of the following cards I used my Serenade cartridge.

I started with some blank cards that I had:



First, I cut out 4" trees with shadow


Then I put them together with some small brown embellishments that I found in my sticker box


I thought this was still a little plain, so I jazzed it up with some brown dash marks



Then I went on to the inside. I found a cute motherly quote and added this along with a little bird


Then once the creative juices got flowing I went ahead and did a couple more:







While I had the Cricut out I also decided to do a small gift for my mom. She loves to use the plastic "to go" style cup, so I wanted to customize one for her. Using vinyl I cut out her name and adhered it to the cup. Add a cute flower and you have a great gift!
Here I am using transfer tape to line up the letters of her name


And here is the final product

Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs

Here is a deliciously healthy recipe for two.

Note: you have to marinate the chicken for a least an hour, so plan ahead!

Ingredients:

• 2 skinless boneless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
  
• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium teriyaki marinade and sauce
• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar or rice wine vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoons ground red pepper (optional)
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• Four skewer sticks
  

Directions:

• Place chicken in small resealable plastic bag.
• In small bowl stir together teriyaki sauce, vinegar and red pepper (if desired). Pour 4 tablespoons of teriyaki mixture over chicken. Seal bag. Refrigerate for at least an hour, turning occasionally. Cover and refrigerate remaining teriyaki mixture until needed.
• Drain chicken, discarding marinade. Thread chicken pieces onto 4 small skewers. In small microwave-safe bowl stir together reserved teriyaki mixture and cornstarch. Microwave on high for 45 seconds or until boiling and slightly thickened, stirring once. Set aside.
• Grill skewers directly over medium heat for 6 to 9 minutes or until no longer pink (or use a grill pan over medium heat on the stove top as pictured) , turning kabobs frequently and brushing with thickened teriyaki mixture during last 2 minutes of grilling.
  
  
  
  I like to make these chicken kabobs with fresh green beans, with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, and brown rice with a half a stick of Smart Balance® 50/50 Buttery Sticks made with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and diced chives.
  
  

This recipe is an adaptation from a Special K recipe

MMMmm Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken potpie is the ultimate comfort food. The delicious warm, toasty crust, with the chicken and vegetables steaming through. Here is a great recipe that is super simple and way better for you than the typical frozen chicken pot pie.

8 oz. (cut into small pieces) raw boneless skinless chicken breast

3 cups mixed frozen mixed vegetables

1 can (10.75 oz.) Campbell's Condensed Soup, 98% Fat Free Cream of Celery

3 servings Pillsbury Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls (unprepared)
2 shakes of garlic salt 2 shakes of Grill Mates® 25% Less Sodium Montreal Chicken Seasoning


Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-Spray a skillet pan with cooking spray
-Saute chicken over medium heat until it is done, but still tender, when it is done add the Montreal Chicken seasoning and garlic salt then stir until mixed well
-Heat mixed vegetables according to package directions
-Mix the chicken, vegetables, and soup in a bowl
-Place in a greased 8" baking dish, and bake for about twenty minutes, until heated thoroughly.
-While this is baking, roll out the biscuit dough until it is the size of your pan.
-Add this dough to the top of your dish after the twenty minutes. Bake for about fifteen to twenty more minutes, or until dough is lightly browned.

(Note: I use extra virgin olive oil in a pump sprayer to grease the skillet and baking dish)



(This is an adaption of Hungry Girl's recipe)

Recipe for disaster?

If you are anything like me you have recipes everywhere. Sometimes one in a magazine catches your eye, or maybe you stumble across one on the internet. Any way you get them, they usually end up in a disorganized, haphazard pile. A simple solution to this problem is to create a recipe notebook.

All you need:
3-ring binder
glue-stick
scissors
card-stock
dividers
page protectors
your recipes

First gather all your materials.


Categorize your recipes into piles that are important to you. Some examples; main course, dessert, appetizers, Italian, chicken, beef. Take a look at what you have and go from there. Once you have decided on your categories, label your dividers with them and place them in your notebook.


Now, after all of your recipes are divided into piles according to their category, start by looking at each one and asking yourself if you will ever make it. If the answer if no, toss it! There is no need to save recipes that you never see yourself making.
When you have weeded throughout the recipes you are ready to start your book. Cut out each recipe and glue to card-stock. Some sheets may only have one recipe on a page, while some may have more. Once you have completed this step, slide the card-stock into page protectors. Place these sheets into the appropriate category into your dividers, in your notebook.




A tip for maintenance of your notebook is to stick some extra card-stock in the back pocket of the notebook, and some extra page protectors in the back. This way, next time you find a recipe you are all ready to put it into your notebook.