Crispy Chicken Tenders

It's random recipe day!!
Weee!

So I have recently discovered a show on Lifetime called Cook Yourself Thin. It takes already prexisting "bad foods" that we all know and love and makes them healthier. This way you don't have to give up your favorites just because you want to lose some poundage.
So I dedicate today's recipe to them after seeing something that I want to try immediately!

Here we go kiddies:



Serves 4
Calories per serving, chicken with coleslaw: 519
Calories per serving, tartar sauce: 27


For the chicken
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup nonfat buttermilk
1 pound chicken tenders (about 12)
1 1/2 cups cornflakes, crushed to medium crumbs
Nonstick cooking spray

For the tartar sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons low-fat sour cream
1 tablespoon nonfat buttermilk
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon drained nonpareil capers
1 tablespoon chopped sweet gherkin
1 tablespoon water


For the coleslaw
1 1/2 (10-ounce) bags cabbage slaw mix
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
2 tablespoons thin-sliced red onion
1 tablespoon low-fat sour cream
1 tablespoon nonfat buttermilk
1 tablespoon seasoned rice wine vinegar
2–3 dashes hot pepper sauce
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
8 cherry tomatoes, quartered, for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. Set aside.

2. For the chicken: In a medium bowl, combine the garlic, spices and buttermilk. Add the chicken and turn in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.

3. For the coleslaw: In a large bowl, combine the cabbage slaw mix, bell pepper, onion and shredded herbs. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the sour cream, buttermilk, vinegar, hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss to coat.

4. For the tartar sauce: Whisk together all of the ingredients in a separate small bowl.

5. Place the cornflake crumbs on a plate. Drain the chicken tenders. Pick up a chicken tender with one hand, and turn it in the cornflake coating, using the other hand to gently press additional coating onto the sides. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Continue on in this way to coat all of the chicken pieces, arranging them on the baking sheet in a single layer. Bake at 400 degrees until firm, about 15 minutes.

6. To serve, divide the coleslaw among 4 bowls. Arrange 3 chicken tenders, standing up with wide ends at the bottom and overlapping slightly, at one side of each mound. Drizzle the sauce over the chicken. Garnish bowls with chopped cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs.


I also highly recommend this book. I picked it up the other day. It is fairly similar to the Cook Yourself Thin idea. So far most of the recipes in the book I cannot wait to try!
Let me know what you think!

Ta-Ta for now.

Super...squirrel?

It's a bird
It's a plane
No...it's super squirrel

Seriously...these little SOB's have been running around my house all weekend.



I am really exhausted from trying to help my ex stop these things from coming through

We got one, but there is another one trying to get in as well and we have to keep checking the area so that it doesn't come in.
Unfortunately, we don't want to kill them, but if we catch them and just let them go they'll come back again.

I did a lot of shopping though for the new place. Got some bedding and accessories for the kitchen. I am down to a few weeks left until I need to move. Luckily things are strong enough between us that I don't need to have all my stuff out by a certain time.

Wish me luck with the squirrels!

Loose Teeth Vintage Inspired Sundress with Petticoat GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Loose Teeth Vintage Inspired Sundress with Petticoat GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Nox Arcana

So I have come to realize that I have been living under a rock all this time.
Being a lover and mistress of all things horror, you would THINK I would have heard of this group, Nox Arcana.
I was doing some searching around on you tube for some creepy Halloween carnival music firstly for the haunted house my family does every trick or treat night, but mostly for me. I think the sound is freaking awesome.
So anyway, I pull up these guys and am completely blown away by all their wonderful awesomeness. Here are a few youtube Videos:







You can visit them here. The CD's are only about $10 each. And there is a little history behind each disc.

They are my new best friend :)

Tim Burton

While I love almost everything Tim Burton has done, I have to say that this movie really struck me. I saw it in the theater, but I just got the soundtrack for it and it reminded me of it again. The one where it's Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter doing all the songs. It is phenomenal and it has me thinking about the costumes that he used for the movie. So I did some searching and found these:





Seriously - is it odd of me to want to be able to dress like this on a daily basis?











I think this one is just fantastic - and so Tim Burton-esque. I want to find a pattern to sew something like that for myself. Not that I go on the beach ever.




I love this:

Tim Burton first saw Stephen Sondheim's 1979 stage musical, Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, as a CalArts student in London in 1980. Although not a fan of the musical genre, Burton was struck by how cinematic the musical was, and repeatedly attended subsequent performances. He described it as a silent film with music, and was "dazzled both by the music and its sense of the macabre.

All for now lovies.

Black Forest

It's Random Recipe Time!!

This recipe comes to us today from Germany.

Black Forest Cake (American English) and Black Forest gateau (British English) are the English names for the southern German dessert Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (literally "Black Forest cherry torte").

Typically, Black Forest cake consists of several layers of chocolate cake, with whipped cream and cherries between each layer. Then the cake is decorated with additional whipped cream, maraschino cherries, and chocolate shavings. In some European traditions sour cherries are used both between the layers and for decorating the top.^[1] Traditionally, Kirschwasser is added to the cake, although other liquors are also used (rum is common in Austrian recipes). In the USA Black Forest cake is most often prepared without alcohol.

So now that we know what it is, let's get down to it!

Ingredients:

1 2/3 cup of cake flour (if you don't have cake flour, you can use all-purpose)

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/2 c kirsch (cherry flavored liqueur or brandy)

1 cup butter

3 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

1 pinch of salt

1 tsp very strong coffee

2 (14 ounce) cans of sweet cherries in heavy syrup, drained

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp kirsch

1 ounce semi-sweet baking chocolate

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottoms of two 8-inch round pans with parchment paper circles. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and 1 teaspoons salt. Set aside.

Cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat into flour mixture, alternating with 1 cup buttermilk, until combined. Pour into prepared pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool completely. Remove paper from the cakes. Divide cake into two layers. Sprinkle cut side of each layer with kirsch.

In a medium bowl, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add confectioners sugar, pinch of salt, and coffee, beat adding buttermilk as needed for consistency. Place first layer of cake on plate(cut side down works best for frosting). Spread with 1/3 of the filling. Top with 1/3 of the cherries. Repeat with remaining layers.

n a seperate bowl, whip the cream to stiff peaks. Beat in 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1 TBS kirsch. Frost top and sides of cake. Decorate with chocolate shavings made with a vegetable peeler on chocolate.

Thanks to SweetySJD at Recipezaar for such a fantastic recipe.

Canisters

So I went all over creation to try and find an inexpensive canister set. I am really only looking for three for Flour, Sugar, and Coffee. I found the cutest pair at the Consignment Home Decor shop down the street from my parents, but unfortunately the largest one just wasn't large enough for flour.

The internet is a wonderful thing, fortunately because I found this post on how to create your own custom canisters. Check it out!

http://www.thehipstersguide.com/2009/04/15/make-your-own-fabulous-custom-canisters/

I will have to venture out to my local Target as soon as I can so that I can make these fantastic homemade jewel. I wanted strawberries because I am thinking of having a strawberry theme in my kitchen. Or at least it is going to be red. So I picked up some fabric at Joann's Fabric Store to make my own dish towels. Of COURSE they didn't have a strawberry themed fabric that wasn't pink, so I decided to go with red. The lady that was cutting the fabric asked me if I was making a Minnie Mouse dress. I realized that yes it indeed looked like I was creating her dress, but they will be dish towels with a white ruffle. Should be very cute. Here is my fabric:



I also have the same fabric with the same sized dots but it's white. That will be used for the ruffle part. Then at the bottom, will be a swatch of red polka dot ribbon to just to bring it back around. I think it will turn out great. Once I have them completed I will post photos.

I want to make curtains for Brenna's room similar to these:



They should be fairly simple and way too cute. I still have to get the bedding for her room once I get the twin bed from my mother.
I still have a ton of stuff to get for the townhouse, but we're almost there and only down to a couple of weeks.
I think I shall be much happier.