Creamy Crunchy Chicken

Holy yum this chicken is delicious! Please don't let the picture discourage you from trying it. I am new to the food photography world so it doesn't look too good but I promise this chicken dish is worth trying! I got this recipe over at Taste and Tell. The "sauce" that cooks up with it is flavorful and creamy and just plain yummy! Make this soon! You won't be sorry :)

Creamy Crunchy Chicken

4 chicken breasts (6-8 oz each) (I actually used 3 so I would have more "sauce"!)

2/3 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon sour cream

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs

1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Place the chicken breasts in a baking dish. In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise, Dijon, sour cream, garlic powder, seasoned salt, and pepper. Spread the mixture evenly over the chicken breasts.

Mix together the Panko and the Parmesan. Sprinkle over the mayonnaise mixture.

Bake until the chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes.

Craft Room Redo

After living in my townhouse for almost 2 years I finally have some sense and organization in my craft room. It's difficult because it also doubles as my guest room for now but I am happy with the way things have progressed. I wish I had a before picture to show you. There was absolutely no kind of organization and nothing had its own place that it belonged to. I still have a few things I want to do (taking an old shelf and redoing it for my little bottles of acrylic paint) but this will have to suffice for now. It's a lot more neat as well!

The wire rack that's in there used to be in my kitchen and housed appliances. Now I have a dry sink and was able to utilize this thing! I got multiple plastic boxes of multiple sizes and some baskets as well and organized the crap out of some things. I have mostly scrapbooking stuff, card making things and stamping supplies. In the boxes I separated all my stickers, stencils, clear stamps, markers/crayons/colored pencils, and odds and ends. This works out so much better than the system I had before (which really was none!) I have my stacks of cardstock on the top and on the very bottom underneath I have my scrapbook sets. In the basket up top I have all my tags, bags and notecards stored for easy access. I also have my box that's specific to my Cricut stuff and loose 12x12 cardstock in plastic bins made especially for them. I still have a few things to put away and I think eventually I might make vinyl labels for the plastic boxes. At this point I am happy with the way it looks and now I have more work room then I did before! I am still looking for ideas for my craft room so if you have any let me know! I have BIG plans for one when I get my own house :)

To Begin

I bought myself a big girl camera! I got it two weeks ago and I ended up getting a Nikon D3100. I love it so far. It's going to take some getting used to but I have had a chance to play around with it. This week we have been at the beach so that has been good to toy with manual settings. It's going to take me a while to feel really comfortable with it but I'm going to work at that :) Here are some pictures I have taken so far. 

My sister and I went to Baltimore last week to see Justin Timberlake and Jay Z in concert. We spent the next day on the Inner Harbor and were able to take the water taxi back and forth to different areas.

I hope once I really get comfortable with using my camera I can get in the habit of using it at least once a day. Carmel over at Our Fifth House made it her resolution to use her DSLR every day for a year! Plus she has some tips for beginners which I have been trying to incorporate. I will get there eventually with a lot of use and practice.

Chicken Paninis with Homemade Honey Mustard

Last night I wanted something simple to make for supper since I had to go into work. I had bought a rotisserie chicken the other day at Walmart and decided to put it to good use. One of my good friends had me over two weeks ago and made these chicken paninis using her stove top griddle. She topped hers with basil, tomatoes and fresh mozzarella cheese. These are so versatile and can be made to fit all of your family's tastes. I had some leftover pepperoni from my tortellini pasta salad and thought they would be a nice addition. These are quick, easy and suitable to anyone's taste.

Chicken Panini

Sliced Italian bread

Shredded chicken or meat from a rotisserie

Mozzarella cheese (I buy the fresh balls or squares of it)

Homemade honey mustard (recipe below)

Pepperoni or other toppings you might like

Butter one side of each slice of bread. Place buttered side down on griddle (I actually used my panini press) and top with chicken, cheese and other goodies. You can either spread the honey mustard on the bread slices or you can do like me and dip it :) Place the other piece of bread on top and let cook through til hot and cheese is melted. Enjoy!

Homemade Honey Mustard

2 parts mayo

1 part honey

1 part mustard

Some people add lemon juice but I normally don't. This is simple and good! Just mix together and serve. If you make a big batch just store in an airtight container in your fridge.