Dressed Up Recycled Jars

There are these pickles we found a little while back called Bubbies and we are addicted to them.  Well, a little perk to these Bubbies pickles is the size of the jar; it's the perfect size for flowers.  I now have about five of these jars and when I go to the farmer's market I always get flowers to put in them and place all around the house.  There's something about flowers in jars that I just adore.

I came across a drawer full of buttons that I have the other day and immediately thought how fun it would be to string them on some wire and place them around the jars.  Nothing fancy, but just the right amount of simple to give them a little something.  So I took some photos to share with you and possibly inspire you to dress up some of your jars/vases.

What you will need:

Some craft wire - I used 26 gauge as it was pretty flexible
An assortment of buttons.  I went through mine and tried to come up with some fun combinations.  You can keep them in a similar color scheme or do something funky, whatever you like.
Wire cutters - I stole my husband's from his toolbox :)
I had a couple of charms around as well, so I added them in with the buttons.  It's completely optional.

All you do is take some wire and place it around the neck of the jar/vase you want to use and then allow yourself about 2 inches for clasping off at the end.  Cut the wire to that length.  Take buttons, in any order you like, and just string them on the wire, leaving some space at the end to twist the ends together.  You can place the buttons as close together or as far apart as you like.  Be creative.  It's fun! When you are finished stringing your buttons/charms onto the wire twist the two ends together.

Then take the end that you twisted and tuck it behind one of the buttons.

That's it.  It takes no time at all to make this but just gives a little something to your jars.

And an example on a pitcher.  It doesn't have to be a jar or a vase.  You can decorate anything you'd like.

I hope this inspires you to dress up some ordinary things around your home.

Until next time...

Lady by the Bay

Chicken Parmesan

This has to be one of my all-time favorite dishes.  It's one of those meals that's easy enough to put together during the week, and if you have leftovers can make delicious sandwiches the next day. You can also cut down on the time to prepare this by using jarred marinara, or using marinara you made ahead of time and stored.

Another time saver is to buy thin sliced breast fillets rather than having to pound the chicken to get it thin enough.  Just look for it to go on sale and grab a few packages to keep on hand.  If you only have regular cut chicken breasts for this recipe, then place each piece between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound to about 1/2-inch thick or fillet them to get two thinner pieces out of one thick piece.

Ingredients:

For the chicken:
4 thin sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
4 slices provolone cheese
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 Tbsp. olive oil

For the marinara:
5 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 small yellow onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1- 28 oz. can peeled San Marzano tomatoes
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 tsp. kosher salt





To prepare the chicken, lightly season each side with kosher salt and pepper and set aside.

Using three bowls/trays, place flour in one, egg in one, and panko bread crumbs in one.  Lightly beat the egg.  Season flour and bread crumbs with salt and pepper.  Add 1/2 cup of the grated parmesan cheese to the bread crumbs.  Stir to combine.

Begin breading the chicken pieces by first placing it in the flour, turning it to coat both sides.  Shake off excess flour and then place the chicken piece into the egg.  Let excess egg drip off and then place the chicken piece into the bread crumbs, coating both sides, pressing the chicken into the bread crumbs.  Place chicken on a plate and continue breading the other pieces.

Place a large non-stick skillet on medium heat. Add olive oil. Once heated, add the chicken pieces. They should immediately start to sizzle.

Allow the chicken to cook on the one side for 5 minutes without turning or moving the chicken.  After 5 minutes, flip the chicken and continue to cook on the other side for 5 minutes.  You want it to be golden brown and crisp.

Once the chicken is cooked, place it on a paper towel lined plate.

To make the marinara, heat a pot on medium heat.  Add olive oil, onion, and garlic.  Cook for 5-7 minutes, until the onion begins to soften.

Add the tomatoes and using a potato masher or a fork, break the tomatoes up in the pot.  Add salt, crushed red pepper, and basil.  Reduce heat slightly and simmer for about 15 minutes.

While the marinara is simmering preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a casserole dish, coat the bottom with some of the marinara.  Place the chicken pieces on top of the marinara in the casserole dish.  Ladle some marinara on top of the chicken but don't cover them completely. Like so:

Fold provolone slices in half and place over each piece of chicken and then sprinkle the remaining parmesan cheese over top of that.













Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and starting to lightly brown.

Serve with your favorite pasta.

Enjoy!

Until next time...

Lady by the Bay

SF Street Food Festival

So this past Saturday was the annual San Francisco Street Food Festival.  I've always wanted to go and finally made it there this year, with my friend Andrea.  We had so much fun!  What's not to love?  You've got food, sunshine, lots of people watching, and spending time with a great friend.

I live east of the city and don't get there as often as I'd like, but when I do go I'm always fascinated by the people and the buildings there.  I can never get enough of all of it.  Here are some photos I snapped while there on Saturday.  I think they're a lot of fun to look at and see what's going on all around.  I hope you think so, too.

Wax Moth Larvae Tacos????  Say what?

My friend Andrea posing for the picture :)

From Zella's Soulful Kitchen... barbecue chicken sliders and hushpuppies.  Delicious!

Ahhhh! Those houses in the background!  LOVE!

 

These guys were so neat, dancing to these amazing drum beats.

Cool cakes!

It's so neat how there's such amazing art all over the place, just in random areas.

It was the perfect way to spend a Saturday.

Mom's Stuffed Peppers

I've tried making stuffed peppers several different ways, trying out different combinations, adding new ingredients, but I always come back to the way my Mom made them. No need for fancy add-ins, just a few simple ingredients and a delicious flavor that reminds me of my Mom :) The only thing I add is some grated parmesan cheese on top. Other than that, I give you my Mom's version of stuffed peppers.

Ingredients:
4 bell peppers, any color you like
1 medium onion, diced
1 lb. ground beef
2 cups cooked white rice
2- 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
1- 14.5 oz. can tomato sauce
salt and pepper
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare the peppers by cutting the top off and carefully removing the insides. Lightly sprinkle the insides with some salt. If the pepper does not stand upright, trim off the bottom slightly until it's flat.

In a baking dish, pour the tomato sauce on the bottom. Using the same can, fill halfway with water and add that to the dish as well. Place the peppers in the dish.

In a skillet, add the ground beef, onion and some salt and pepper.  Cook until the ground beef is browned and no longer pink.  Drain. Add the cooked rice and one can of the diced tomatoes to the ground beef and onion. Mix together.

Spoon the beef/rice mixture into each bell pepper, packing it down to really stuff the mixture in, and slightly mound on top. Top each with some diced tomatoes and grated parmesan cheese. Pour any leftover diced tomatoes into the sauce mixture in the bottom of the baking dish.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, depending on how large your peppers are and how crisp/soft you like them.

To serve, place one on a plate, cut down the middle and spoon some of the tomato sauce mixture from the dish on top. You can also add some more fresh parmesan cheese, if desired.

Enjoy!


Until next time...

Lady by the Bay

Greek Chicken Skewers with Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce

Tender, marinated chicken grilled to perfection with onions and peppers, accompanied by a delicious, bright and fresh cucumber-yogurt sauce to dip it in. It only takes one bite of this meal to make your mouth come alive. No, I really mean it. Make it, take a bite, and you'll see what I mean. 

 

For the marinade:
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup olive oil
Juice and zest of one lemon
2 large cloves of garlic, smashed
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, roughly chopped
1 tsp. dried Greek oregano
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper

Add all ingredients to a large measuring cup, whisk together and set aside.

For the chicken:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 red bell pepper
1 orange or yellow bell pepper
1 sweet yellow onion

Cut chicken into cubes. Place in a bowl and pour marinade over them. Toss to coat. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours, up to overnight.

Cut peppers and onion into large chunks. String chicken, onions and peppers onto skewers. I usually put a couple vegetables in between each piece of meat, being careful not to push them too close together where they can't cook all around properly. Place skewers on a platter.

Light grill on medium high heat and allow to preheat for about 5 minutes. Place skewers on grill and cook 10-12 minutes, turning as needed, until meat is cooked through and vegetables are tender. Remove from grill and cover with foil to keep warm.

For the cucumber-yogurt sauce:

1/2 cucumber, with the skin
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Zest from half of one lemon
2 Tbsp. red onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Using the coarse side of a grater, grate the cucumber over some paper towels.  Once grated, squeeze all of the liquid out  of the cucumber, like so:

Place the drained cucumber shreds into a medium bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and stir together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

I serve the skewers and cucumber-yogurt sauce with Naan, warmed on the grill, and a Greek salad.

I hope you enjoy!

Until next time...

Lady by the Bay

Favorite Photo Apps

To say I'm addicted to photo editing apps would be an understatement. I love documenting everyday moments and have no shortage of captured memories. It's very rare a day goes by that I don't take at least one photo, and I have so much fun playing around with them. I get excited when there's a new photo app out that I can experiment with. So I thought I'd share my favorites with you. There are so many out there and it can be overwhelming. I've tried a lot of them, played and played and played, but as of right now, these are my favorites...

Of course, on the top of most people's list is Instagram; it's a classic and it is at the top of mine as well. It has great filters, is super easy to use, and has the social networking function to share with your friends and family. FREE

I've really been enjoying Retro Camera. This app has five different cameras that you can take your photo from directly to have the effect of actual vintage cameras. My favorite is The Little Orange Box. FREE

Pixlr-o-matic This app has some of the most gorgeous filters I've seen. It's so fun to go through them and watch the transformation of your photo, but it is so difficult to settle on one. FREE

tadaa is similar to Instagram, but has more flexibility with choosing the frame you want to go with the filter, not like where the frame comes with the filter automatically in Instagram. FREE

Lumiè is my favorite bokeh app. There are different bokeh shapes you can add to your photos, as well as adjust the lighting effect of them. Just magical. $0.99

If you want complete control of your photos, then Photo Toaster is the app to get. There are so many filters to choose from, almost too many. I get lost in this app sometimes. What's cool though is each one is fully customizable. You can edit everything--saturation, sharpening, contrast, brightening, etc. You can also save your own presets (create your own 'filters'). Really cool app! $1.99

Snapseed - While this app is a little pricey, it is so worth it. But if you don't want to pay 5 bucks for an app, just keep an eye on it as its price fluctuates often and is sometimes free. I got lucky and snagged this one while it was free.  There are filters as well as custom adjustments in this app as well. One thing I like so much about this app is that you just slide your finger to adjust the intensity of the filters, unlike a lot of other apps where you just have to use the intensity they give you.  You can also just slide your finger to scroll through the different filters and see them instantly applied to the photo you have open. $4.99

I used to have to pull a mobile photo into my computer in order to remove an unwanted item from the photo, until I found TouchRetouch. It is so easy to erase an item from a photo with this app. It is very similar to the content aware tool in Photoshop, where it looks at the surrounding area and fills in where you are removing something. It does an excellent job of it! Couldn't live without this app. $0.99

Photographers know there's a Magic Hour for shooting photos in beautiful, perfect light. This app calculates when the next magic hour will occur based on your location and counts down to the start. Once you enter magic hour the countdown changes to a clock showing how much time remains for your shoot. You can also set an alert before magic hour occurs to help you get to your location in time. Awesome! FREE

When I want to add words to my photo, Phonto is my go-to app. There are more than 200 fonts, and you can install your own as well. You can manipulate the text--color, shape, shadow, size, etc. It's just a lot of fun to play around with this one and it's really easy to use. FREE

I've tried a few collage type apps and have found Frametastic to be the best, in my opinion. I know a lot of people like Diptic, and I do have that installed, but I feel Frametastic has more options and I just like it a whole lot better. FREE

Here are just a few of the photos I've used the above apps on:

I would love to hear what your favorite apps are. I'm always excited to try new ones! :)

Until next time...

Lady by the Bay