I know I’m not the first to make this. It’s one of those recipes that there’s a hundred versions of floating around out there. Here’s my version.

• Chicken (I went with thin cut breasts, boneless and skinless)
• Panko bread crumbs
• Ranch dressing (I made homemade using a Hidden Valley Harvest Dill packet)
• Jalapeno, bacon, and green onion cream cheese (something I’ve recently discovered is awesome to have a jar of on hand)
• Shredded parmesan

Now my parmesan isn’t pictured because I forgot about it until the chicken was already in the oven. I went back and sprinkled some on one piece for me since Thom hates cheese. But really it would have tasted better had I mixed the parm and panko together. This is really one of those eyeball recipes, but for the four pieces of chicken pictured here I used about two tablespoons of cream cheese (which I softened in the microwave for about 20 seconds) and a cup of the dressing. I mixed the two together and dredged the chicken. Then rolled it around in the panko and put it in a dish I had sprayed with olive oil spray. I had the oven preheated to 375 and I baked the chicken for 30 minutes. The panko wasn’t turning golden brown so I kicked the broiler on and browned it up a bit for a couple of minutes.

Pretend this chicken is paired with pretty side dishes like roasted broccoli and/or crispy fingerling potatoes. Pretend I didn’t puss out and make chicken only for dinner.

And if you want to make the cream cheese spread, which is great on burger, here you go.

Enjoy!

• 8 oz of cream cheese (I prefer whipped, it’s easier to spread)
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
• 1-2 tbl of bacon bits
• one green onion, chopped

Soften the cream cheese and mix or fold in the remaining ingredients.

Awhile back I saw this recipe on Tasty Kitchen for customizable breakfast bread bowls. I knew I wanted to make them. I just kept not finding the right kind of bread. Finally, I ended up going to Panera for them. And since you can pretty much put anything you want in them, here’s what I did.

I hollowed out the roll to become a mini bread bowl. Then I did a shmear of this awesome cream cheese spread I made.

• 1 container whipped cream cheese
• 1 diced, seeded jalapeno
• 2 tbl bacon bits
• 2 tbl green onion

I made this spread to go on burgers, but I thought it might taste pretty good here too.

Then I put a piece of bacon in a skillet to cook. I scrambled one egg with a little more chopped green onion and some shredded parmesan and muenster and then crumbled the piece of bacon in there. I poured it into the bread bowl and then stuck it in the oven.

I wasn’t sure how to long bake it. I ended up cooking it for 20 minutes uncovered and then 10 minutes covered in foil on 350.

It sure does look pretty.

And it tastes good too. That cream cheese shmear was a good idea.

This past weekend I had a wild hair and I really wanted to make exciting new dishes. Beef Wellington came to mind as my friend Amanda had recently blogged about making it. So I’m standing in the grocery store googling it so I could find out what cut of meat to buy. Then I read (via wikipedia) that Beef Wellington is made when you take a filet of beef and smear foie gras (or pate) all over it. And then I stopped. Hell to the no. I don’t eat pate and I sure don’t eat foie gras. So I didn’t buy a filet. I did end up buying some puff pastry shells. Surely I could do something creative with them right?

I thought about some more and decided that I would use seasoned beef chunks wrapped in bacon instead. Bacon makes everything better right?

So my meat seasoned overnight in my special House Spice blend. Which is basically a cute jar I bought from Anthropologie and dumped a whole bunch of spices in. (garlic powder, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic & herb powder, seasoned salt, lemon pepper seasoning, italian seasoning) It’s a crazy hot mess blend, but everything I use it on tastes great.

So then I took two chunks and wrapped them in half a piece of bacon. I put them in the pastry shell and then stuck one of the pastry puffs on top. I put them in a 375 degree oven for ??? minutes. I confess: The oven was already on 375 for some biscuits I was baking. And I didn’t pay attention to the clock. I just waited until the puff pastry looked done.

My husband and a friend of his showed up just as I started writing this post. So I sat them down and made them be guinea pigs. They were happy to oblige. Thom, of course, got out the horseradish sauce for his. They gobbled them up quickly. I ate one as well. I didn’t actually eat the bacon since it was floppy and not crispy. But it gave the meat a wonderful flavor so you wouldn’t want to skip that step.

All in all this was a neat little dish, but probably not something I would make again. I only made four of these since I wasn’t sure how they would turn out. I’ll probably just throw the rest of the beef chunks in a hot skillet and make steak bites instead.

I do not like coleslaw. Probably because I do not like cabbage. My husband loves it though. So I decided to make him some. I’ve watched so many episodes of Chopped lately, so of course I would be awesome at this right? Right. I just took a bunch of stuff that he loves and threw it in a bowl and fed it to him. And he loved it.

• Red cabbage
• Cilantro
• Carrots
• Green onion
• Horseradish dijon mayo
• Regular mayo
• Honey
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Balsamic vinegar
• Tabasco sauce

I shredded the carrot and chopped everything else and just starting adding things until it looked right. He ate some on its own and also put a bunch on his pulled pork sandwich. I didn’t even try it. Instead I made a side of macaroni and cheese for myself. (the food he hates most in the world)

For the sake of a (somewhat) good photo, I plated everything to show it off.

Good stuff.

I’ve been watching a lot of Food Network lately. I’m currently hooked on Chopped, The Worst Cooks In America, and Restaurant Stakeout. I also DVR Pioneer Woman’s show each week. Oh and that new Bobby Dean show isn’t bad either. I’ll admit that Restaurant Stakeout is a bit over the top, but I love watching these horrible employees get busted for their behavior.

My new job is still going wonderfully. I love it more each day. It leaves zero time for internet play during the day though. So many tweets happening during the day. So out of the loop am I! I don’t even care though. I just unsubscribed from about half of the things in my feeder. I think Apartment Therapy, Fail Blog, and Damn You Auto Correct were the worst offenders. I hate to see them go, but it will be nice to not always have at least 400 unread items in my Google Reader.

We saw Need To Breathe in concert on Friday night. These guys have to be the best live show I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen them twice now and they just blow my mind.

These tanks from Old Navy. I ordered three of them in different colors and I’m crazy about them. I have plans to order at least two more. Yes they are that great.

So my sister told me about this website Warby Parker. I’m already a big lover of Zenni Optical, but I have to admit that about half of the time I don’t end up liking the glasses that I buy. Thankfully they are cheap enough that it’s not that big of a deal. I donate them and move on. Well with Warby Parker, you don’t have that problem. You go to the website and pick out five frames that you like. Then give them your info and they mail them to you to try on. You keep them for five days and send them back. They pay for the shipping both ways.

Also, when you buy a pair, they donate a pair. So you pay $95 and that covers the glasses, the shipping, and the donated pair. And they had really stylish frames. But before I was gonna spend $95 (since I usually buy $8 glasses from Zenni), I decided I had better go get my eyes checked. It had been two years and I was pretty sure my prescription had changed. I was right. It actually improved slightly. But then this one thing happened. I kind of sort of fell in love with a pair of frames at my doc’s office.

I haven’t bought a pair of glasses from his office in at least six years. However, I know me and I know that I like change. So I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before I go hunting the internet for more glasses. And when I do, I’ll be sure and check out Warby Parker again.

I made a tank of gas last me exactly three weeks. My new commute is the best.

I’m really enjoying my new job. It’s very different from what I was doing at my last job, and in a good way. It’s nice working at a desk where my phone rings maybe once a day instead of 80 times. My co-workers are pleasant to be around. They actually seem to really enjoy their jobs. This is obviously quite foreign to me. With my last job being at a collection agency, no one was ever happy. We were all nine shades of miserable. Even those of us who weren’t bill collectors. Over the years things just sort of disappeared. Work incentives, holiday parties, pot luck luncheons. It made it to where the only thing I ever looked forward to regarding work were the paychecks and the week off at Christmas. The six mile round trip commute wasn’t bad either.

But now my commute is more like six blocks. And I come home for lunch every day. And I get an extra 15 minutes of sleep time each morning. And I get to park my car in my garage each day. (this has nothing really to do with my new job. it’s just another awesome thing.)

It’s amazing how much has happened in one month. I never expected 2012 to turn out like this. And I’m so damn happy that it has.

Man, I’m so creative with my recipe titles. Basically I just dreamt up something that I thought would sound good and tested it out. Turns out, I was right.

Not pictured, one small chopped onion, which I threw in a non stick skillet with about a tablespoon of the minced garlic and olive oil. Then I shook in some dry Italian herbs. You know, the kind that just says “Italian seasoning” on the bottle. Once the onions start to get translucent add the can of tomato sauce. Then add a giant heaping spoonful of the Philadelphia Cooking Creme and stir until it’s well blended. Then you can add your cooked pasta to the pan. I went with fettuccine. (I only used half the box of pasta)

I hope you’re a good multitasker. Because while you are doing all of this you’re also making your chicken. Or you can cheat and make the chicken first. Whatever. This new Kraft Fresh Take is basically a bag of shredded cheese(s), bread crumbs, and herbs. The idea is that you open it up and throw your raw chicken in there and “shake and bake”. I also threw in about a cup of crushed french fried onions because I love using them with chicken. Now you can take your coated chicken and either bake it in the oven for the healthier option, or throw it in a pan with some oil and fry it up. I’m sure no one is surprised that I didn’t bake mine. In my defense I had just watched Adam Richman on Man VS. Food eating some insanely delicious looking fried chicken. And that sounded so good to me.

So the end result was this:

I was worried Thom wouldn’t eat it because of the cheese in the coating on the chicken. It turns out he really liked the chicken. It was the pasta he wanted nothing to do with. He’s such a weirdo.

This recipe made about four servings.

It’s been a whirlwind of a week for me. Losing my job came as such a shock. I suppose it shouldn’t have though. In the nine years I worked for that company there had been several rounds of downsizing. I went from wearing one hat to wearing three and doing it with a scowl. I remember the days when I would go home and rejoice in the fact that I was finally working a job that I didn’t hate. I would come home at night and not complain about anything and everything. But with all that downsizing, I had sort of figured that wearing three hats had given me lots of job security. I do so much around here! They can’t let me go, they won’t know what to do without me.

Yeah, I was wrong. For those who don’t know, I worked at a collection agency. My official title was Client Services Manager. It was my job to find clients, service clients, and be the liaison between collectors and clients. Then as time went on I also started doing data entry, posting all of the incoming payments, scanning, and pointing out everyone else’s mistakes. What was once a job I enjoyed just became a job I had. I couldn’t leave it though. Through a fluke blessing I was being generously paid for the job I was doing. (thank you boss’s wife who was active with the company during the time I got hired and promoted) I knew if I went anywhere else I would have to take a serious pay cut. Also, there were certain perks with my job. A week off at Christmas, $25 a month for health insurance, a short commute, a big private office. So I was stuck. I didn’t finish college so I knew I could not go elsewhere and make even close to what I was making.

I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. So when I was called into my manager’s office at 4:30 last Thursday and given the news that I no longer had a role at the company, I had to trust in that. Yes I cried and freaked out on the drive home. When Thom was unemployed it took forever for him to find work again. And when he did find a job, it was doing something he’d never done before. And in a completely different field than what he was used to. What would we do to pay the bills? How long would I be on unemployment? Would we make it?

Then a window opened. A client that I had worked closely with for the past seven years heard that I had “moved on to bigger and better things”. She knew better than that and by 10 am Friday my phone was ringing and she was getting the real story from me. She wanted to help. She knew of an office that was in need. And before I knew it I had slapped together a resume and sent it over to her. The weekend went by and I was busy focusing on other things, like cleaning out my garage. Monday morning rolls around and I get a call. That same day I go in for an interview and by four pm I had filled out paperwork and been asked to start the next day. It all happened so fast that it felt surreal. Yes I’ve taken a pay cut. Yes I’m starting out at the bottom. Yes it’s a little bit overwhelming being the new girl and knowing it will probably be a year before I have any vacation time. But you know what? I feel so good about it all. There’s room for growth at this company. It’s something similar, but different. It’s mere blocks from my house! The best part though? I NO LONGER WORK AT A COLLECTION AGENCY. Now when people ask me what I do for a living, I don’t have to cringe before I tell them. I don’t have to say “I work at a collection agency BUT I’M NOT A COLLECTOR.” And then try and scramble to tell them what I do knowing all the while all they really heard was collection agency. Collection agency = HORRIBLEAWFULNOGOODPEOPLE.

I must admit, I am a little worried still about how we’ll make it. But it’s not the kind of worry that keeps me up at night. It’s more like a distant thought in the back of my mind. Every few hours I think about something I didn’t enjoy about that job and I rejoice a little bit. I’ll never have to do _____ again. I’ll never have to deal with _____ again. Some of the people I worked with I am so happy to never have to see again. Yes I will miss working with and seeing my best friend every day. She was my person. The one I vented to. The one I laughed with. The one who knows me better than most people on this earth. I hate to think of how my getting laid off effects her day to day role there now. I hate that she no longer has me there to support her. To listen to her. To bring her sausage rolls and new music. She’s a strong woman though. She will take shit from no one and she will be just fine.

And I will be just fine. Thom and I will be just fine. There’s a new path in front of me, and I’m welcoming it with open arms.

You guys. Something completely amazing happened today. Something I thought would never ever happen. My garage got cleaned out. The garage that I’ve longed to park my car in for so many years. The garage I assumed was destined to look like this forever.

From the moment we moved into this house in 2002, the garage has been full of crap. And it’s only gotten worse over the years as people in Thom’s family have passed away and their things have been passed down to us. I’ve cried many a frustrated tear over the state of this garage. I got very angry at my husband, whom in 12+ months of unemployment never could find the time to clear out the garage. We’ve tried cleaning it together, only to get frustrated and give up after a few hours. It’s very overwhelming for two people to tackle. Especially when one of those two people is a weak gal like myself.

Yesterday I had a bit of a breaking point. I was laid off from my job of nine years on Thursday. And the worry and stress and my emotions got the better of me yesterday when I had what I like to call one of my “come to Jesus talks” with Thom. This is where I cry and vent and tell him about all of the things I wish he would do around the house without me having to nag him to do. And the clearing out of the garage was one of these things. It’s a conversation we’ve had many times which always gets us pretty much nowhere. Well this time, I wasn’t going to let it get me nowhere.

So instead of waking up today to spend a few hours in the garage trying to make a dent, I decided to try something else. My husband is very popular, as is evidenced by his 900 facebook friends. So I took matters into my own hands and pleaded to the masses. Come and help us clean out our garage and you can keep whatever you want from the get rid of pile. And oh boy was that a big pile.

Six people showed up to help us around noon. It was the most random bunch of people and I had only ever met one of them. But by golly they busted their asses helping us. I couldn’t be more grateful to them. They all walked away with some form of treasure. Some more than others. One guy who hauled off every bag of trash we had merely did it to be nice. He took nothing and wouldn’t even let me pay him cash. And oh was there trash. So much trash.

Almost every item from the garage was put into the driveway and then only what we wanted to keep was brought back in. Or should I say only what Thom wanted to keep. I think the deep freeze was the only item in the garage I actually cared about keeping. So now I have a half empty garage that I can park my car in. We are experiencing a very mild winter right now, but you can bet the next time we get snow I will be so freaking happy to not have to scrape ice off my windshield.

Let me just stop for a moment and give thanks to this mild Oklahoma winter we are having. And also say a prayer that it doesn’t mean that we will have another summer of 110 degree days for 60 days straight.

For a short moment today, my garage looked like this.

But now that things have been moved back in and I have parked my car in there it looks like this.

Thom still has some things to go through if he wants his side of the garage to be spacious enough to set up screen press equipment, but hot damn! Just look at that garage. You’ve come a long way baby.

You better never go back to looking like that ever again.

Next up? Project make the damn squirrels in the attic go away forever. This should be fun.

Last night I made a pair of curtains for my kitchen. I found some material at Joann that looked almost just like my beloved Dwell studio napkins (and the reverse side of the quilt on my bed). I snatched up a few yards and some iron on hem and went to town.

How pretty is this pattern? See how well it matches my napkins?

I could post a how to, but you really just hem each edge with the easy to use iron on tape. Then for your top tab, make sure it’s big enough for your curtain rod to go through.

I’ll be making another pair for the other window in the kitchen. And I should probably go ahead and make some for the main bath and guest room in the house. I used almost an entire roll of hem making just the one pair though. And these are short curtains. So buy extra hem if you’re making long curtains.