Peacock Extravaganza!

What a lovely collection of everything Peacock! Thanks to Eden Gemstone for including my Peacock Lampwork Glass Earrings in her beautiful treasury on Etsy!

Meat Substitute

Ok, so, I'm on this new "thing" where I'm trying to stay away from livestock/farm-raised/processed meats. Not only is it (mostly) inhumane how these animals are raised (if you can call an 8 week old chicken, raised), but also very unhealthy.

Farm raised meats contain high amounts of growth hormones, steroids, antibiotics, and even pesticides - the sort of things that can give cancer a start and encourage it to grow out of control. Believe it or not, chicken is the worst. It is pumped so full of chemicals and hormones that it's unbelievable. Is it any wonder that the rate of cancer in the United States is one of the highest in the world? It's because of all the unnatural stuff in our food, mainly meat and dairy products.

So, with that being said, I'm trying to stick to just wild game and fish/seafood. This really isn't much of a problem for me b/c I love wild game and seafood. Chicken actually does gross me out unless I'm cooking it at home. Have you ever bitten into a chunk of chicken only to have your teeth bounce right off of a nasty gristle?? It's probably one of the most disgusting things while eating. Oh, and not to mention I've been to a chicken processing plant. Absolutely disgusting, and sad, all at the same time.

Let's get back to being positive, shall we! I LOVE portabella mushrooms. Actually, I love all mushrooms!! LOL! I like to take those big grilling portabellas and fixing them up.
First, take your mushrooms and turn them over, and remove most of the black gills. The gills aren't really that tasty, and it gives you room to fill them :)


I like to quickly saute the mushrooms in a touch of butter and olive oil to get them going.


Next, saute a slice of onion for each mushroom in some butter and EVOO. Place the sauteed onion in the mushroom cap and squeeze some fresh garlic over it. Drizzle with Balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese on top, and finish with your favorite seasoning blend (I like the Cavender's Greek Seasoning).


Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until tender with a fork (depends on thickness of mushrooms) about 365 degrees. Not sure why my picture is vertical! Haha!! But, you see the finished product :)
Let me know what you think!

♥
Amanda

Chloe's 5th Birthday Pawty!

I know...this is VERY late...but I just had to share some pictures. Chloe turned 5 back on St. Patty's day. I wanted to do a Pawty and boy was it a success! Complete with custom made cupcake toppers and invites!

Here are a few pictures :)

Birthday Girl!

The Spread: Custom made Birthday Cake for Chloe and her friends (Pos Bag of Bones Bakery). Custom made St. Patty's day themed sugar cookies (Cookies by Sara), and custom made fondant "Pug" face toppers for my cupcakes (Small's Sweet Shop)!

Chloe devouring her birthday cake!

Sitting on my lap, taking a break from the excitement!

Some of Chloe's friends; Tyler, Charlie and Vespa

~♥ Friday Spotlight ♥~

Ouachita River Valley Animal League, Monroe, Louisiana- ORVAL helps low-income families pay for their vet bills thus lowering the amount of surrendered animals that go to the already extremely overcrowded, high-kill shelter located in Monroe. ORVAL also has a foster program.

100% of the proceeds from purchases of Doggie treats goes to help the ORVAL funds, which in turn helps those furbabies get into and STAY in their homes!


Oatmeal Doggie Biscuits

Each bag contains 12 (1 dozen) small doggie treats but special orders of a larger quantity or larger sized biscuits may be made. Only $1.50 a dozen!!

Peanut Butter Doggie Treats

Each bag contains 12 (1 dozen) small doggie treats but special orders of a larger quantity or larger sized biscuits may be made. Only $1.50 a dozen!!

Questions about the ingredients, or would like a larger quantity, send Erin an email at ErinLove@PanachebyErin.com

♥
Amanda

Mmmm...Lemon Chicken Piccata

I love just about anything with lemon in it...sweet or savory!

I found this recipe in the Spring 2011 edition of Food & Family by Kraft Foods. It's very easy to make, and fairly healthy. I highly recommend making it if you need a chicken pick-me-up!


You will need:
2-3 large lemons, divided
4 chicken breasts
1/4 cup (or a large dollop) Kraft Reduced Fat Mayo with Olive Oil
22 Ritz crackers, finally crushed (about a cup....I didn't have Ritz so I used the Multi-grain Club crackers...just as good and maybe a little healthier!)
2 T Olive Oil
2 t chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 T butter

~Cut 4 thin lemon slices from one lemon and put aside. Squeeze juice from remaining lemons.
~Coat chicken with mayo, then dredge in cracker crumbs.

~Heat olive oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook 5 minutes. Turn chicken and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes or until chicken is golden brown on both sides and done (165-degrees). Transfer chicken to platter; sprinkle with parsley. Cover with foil to keep warm.

~Carefully wipe any crumbs from skillet with paper towel.
~Add lemon juice and chicken broth to skillet. Cook on medium-high heat 6 to 8 minutes or until slightly reduced, stirring occasionally. Add butter and lemon slices. Cook and stir on low heat 3 to 4 minutes or until butter is melted and lemons are heated through.

~~Serve over chicken with a bed of angel hair pasta (or your favorite pasta)!! DELISH!!

**I usually take my OWN pictures, but I was so anxious to try this that I forgot to! This picture and recipe are from Kraft Foods - Food & Family Magazine and Website.

Enjoy!

♥
Amanda

Love for Malacia Babies - Etsy Angels' Charity of the Month!

✿✿º°¨¨¨¨¨°º✿✿º°¨¨¨¨¨¨°º✿✿º°¨¨¨¨¨¨°º✿✿º°¨¨¨¨¨¨°º✿✿º°¨¨¨¨¨¨°º✿✿º°¨¨¨¨¨°º✿✿

This month, starting on July 15th, the Etsy Angels will be raising money for LFMB. LFMB has done so much already for so many families and they need our help! Make a purchase from any of the stores listed below and a portion of their total sales will be donated directly to LFMB to help them do what they do best....support parents with children that have Malacia.

Can you possibly imagine having a baby and knowing something is wrong and no one seems to know what? That is sometimes what it is like when you have a baby with Malacia. Malacia is described as: "Airways carry air from the nose to the lungs. Some children are born with airways that are too soft. Soft airways do not hold their shape, and air does not flow through as well as it should. There are three places where airways can be soft: the voice box, the windpipe, and the breathing tubes. A person may have softening in one, two or three parts of the airway. This softening is called Malacia."

From the founder of LFMB, LeeAnna, "Almost 2 years ago we created a support group on Facebook, while we were living in the hospital with our youngest son. The group has been such a great support for over 200 people. With the support group we have reached 3 different country's and just about every state in the United States. With so little support found elsewhere we decided to take it a step further. In March of 2011 "Love For Malacia Babies" received their EIN and prepared to file for non profit status. LFMB will one day be able to help families who have Malacia babies. There are so many things we would love to be able to do."

Shop with the Angel's below and help us help them! Happy Shopping!

www.loveformalaciababies.org/

Sewinggranny - sewinggranny.etsy.com

Ozarknana - ozarknana.etsy.com

BeadedTail - beadedtail.etsy.com

MamaJody54 - mamajody54.etsy.com

AJStuff - ajstuff.etsy.com

Beadz N Stonez Jewelry Supplies -beadznstonezsupplies.etsy.com

Crochetbymsa - crochetbymsa.etsy.com

Ooh Leela! - isabelafelix.etsy.com

Craftsbychris - craftsbychris.etsy.com

Wildlifer78 - wildlifer78.etsy.com

SilkCreekGallery - silkcreekgallery.etsy.com

Maranda - maranda.etsy.com

H & J Star Creations - Handjstarcreations.etsy.com

Jewelry Designs By CBL & CO. on ArtFire - Jewelry Designs by CBL and Company

Jewelry Bargain Boutique on ArtFire - Jewelry Bargain Boutique

My Mini Mocs - MyMiniMocs.etsy.com

Starwaves - www.starwaves.etsy.com

You can also visit our Charity Forum Chat Thread on Etsy to find out more and to chat with us, and to see how our efforts are progressing throughout the month!

♥
Amanda

Kashi vs. Kellogg's Mini Wheats

So...this seems to be an odd topic for a blog post huh?

I LOVE the Strawberry Frosted Mini Wheats by Kellogg's but I was certain that they were not the healthiest choice b/c of all the sugar "frosting"! They are especially good with fresh sliced strawberries or even fresh blueberries.

I found these Cinnamon Harvest mini wheats by Kashi (I LOVE Kashi products) and they are DIVINE! They actually remind me of those Quaker Cinnamon Oatmeal Squares which I too love!
However, after scanning the nutrition information (I currently have both at home right now), there is LITTLE difference. You can actually eat 4 more 'biscuits' of Kashi as the serving size is 28 biscuits to the 24 biscuits of Kellogg's. Oh, and you get a little more protein from the Kashi. The calories and fat and sodium, etc., were all comparable.

So...with this being said...I no longer feel 'guilty' eating the frosted mini wheats...I could be eating something worse like Lucky Charms...I do love those though!!

Have you done any recent product comparisons?? I'd love to hear about them :)

Happy Monday :)
♥
Amanda

~♥ Friday Spotlight ♥~

Fleur de Lis Creamy Peachy Freshwater Pearls Necklace

I LOVE this topaz rhinestone Fleur de Lis pendant! This gorgeous pendant dangles from pretty creamy peach freshwater pearls. Pearls have been accented with "Purple haze" Swarovski crystals and Bali silver daisy spacers. Necklace has been finished with a sterling silver toggle clasp.
Necklace measures almost 20 inches. Pendant dangles about 2 inches.

You can find this necklace (link will take you to my primary site) and many other pieces of artisan jewelry handmade by ME on my Etsy and ArtFire online venue sites!

**MENTION THIS BLOG POST FOR 15% off your ENTIRE purchase!!

♥
Amanda

Orange DREAM ♥

Perfect for any SUMMER Day!

I know...Yesterday I posted about exercising and running. Today I post a picture of a DELICIOUS Orange Torte I made for Father's Day. So light and fluffy, and creamy. You can totally make this reduced fat/sugar :)

Been WAY too Long...Bare with Me!

Yes, Yes, Yes...I know...I've not had a blog post since like February 1, 2011! WHAT is wrong with me!!! Where have I been!

I think I burned out b/c my blog was entitled "Chloe Boutique- Handmade artisan jewelry from the Bayou" and that limited my blog posts to things revolving around jewelry, online selling Venues, other artists, etc. So, I've decided to change my blog title to encompass everything important in my life... This includes, but NOT LIMITED TO, my handmade artisan jewelry, other artisans, my running life and inspirations/goals, travel tips/advice/experiences, friends, FOOD including my favorites and recipes, etc.

So...my first post will be just a lackadaisical one...about THIS & THAT!


♥ I've been back into running and exercising, hardcore. I started my new "regime" on January 2. I tend to get burned out by doing the same thing OVER AND OVER or just allowing my brain to talk my body out of it. I have found it's MUCH easier (and rewarding) to do my workouts during lunch. This has just become part of my normal work day...and I stick to it b/c it's during my lunch...and I'm not cutting into "ME" time after work which is used for cooking dinner, doing a few house chores, and spending time with Hubby and Chloe.

Though I wish it were a touch more (ok, a lot more), I've logged 223 miles since January 2. My workouts during lunch are limited because of time. I can only run about 3-3.25 miles during lunch. So, I typically run 2 days a week, and then do some other type of cardio for a short time (elliptical, stair stepper) and also incorporate some weight lifting the other 2 days (I work 4 10-hour days). During the "cooler" months (this is funny being that I live in Louisiana and "cooler" often refers to temps below 90 degrees) I can get in some good LONG runs outside on weekends. I just can't (I am NOT trying to be pessimistic...just realistic) run outside during the summer here! However, during the summer, I'm still confined to the dreaded treadmill. My "long" weekend runs are usually only 4-5 miles during the summer...on the treadmill.


♥ So...my current goal? I'll be running my FIRST Half Marathon on Saturday, December 3 -- ST. JUDE! Yes, this seems pretty far off, but with it already being halfway through July, December will be here in a blink. Though I'm not officially training for the 1/2 right now, I'm in great shape b/c I continue to run 6-12 miles a week (that doesn't sound so good now that I "see" it written). I'll begin my real training as soon as it "cools", or at least by mid September...whichever happens first! LOL!!!

How rewarding, though, will it be to know you ran FOR THE CHILDREN of St. Jude? I'm stoked :)
I'm currently fundraising through for our local Team who will go as a group and run...Team Jake. Please visit my personal page for more information about Team Jake, and to make a donation to St. Jude on my behalf ;) It's greatly appreciated!
http://www.mystjudeheroes.org/amandad78

Ok, that's enough for now. I'll be back!!

♥
Amanda