Tuesday, January 10, 2012

A Lamp I Can Love

Hello All,


I have had a lamp. I absolutely hate looking at it, in my opinion it is ugly all day. It has been sitting on one of our end tables for almost five years, not being used, just sitting. I decided to do some research and see if I could make it into a lamp I could love!!! :) I discovered you can in fact successfully spray paint a lamp or anything for that matter with a little primer and a lot of spray paint.


Here is the lamp before:


So sad and lonely, never used except for by my boys (who loved knocking it of the table).

With a lot of Krylon Primer and Flat Black Spray Paint here is what she looks like now.


After:

Now it is actually being used, and I love it. I love the feeling of turning something from ugly into something I love. I was also so excited to get the lamp shade, I had my eye on for 2 months, for only $13 from Target. Each can of spray paint was $5 but when I bought them they were 30% off at Hobby Lobby. So I spent about $20 bucks to make the lamp new and it was given to me years ago for FREE.



TIPS: Make sure you clean the metal and also sand off any rust. Also follow directions on can very carefully for the best look.



Hollie

Friday, January 6, 2012

Jillian Michaels Recipes and a card








Starting off with a card I just made with the new LOVE and Marriage and Rosie Posie sets from PTI. I first have to say I fell in love with the fonts of this set!! So pretty! I used the new color from PTI Canyon Clay with some Aqua Mist (I love the orange with light blue look). I love the rhinestone look Maile created on her card here. I paired the rhinestones with a some painted roses and that's the card.




Now to some recipes. I started the Ripped in 30 with some friends on Facebook. The DVD comes with a free 30 day meal plan. Today I am going to share some recipes my family has enjoyed so far.




From Ripped in 30 meal plan.



BBQ Chicken and Black Bean Burrito
1 tablespoon olive oil
¾ pound skinless, boneless organic chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
½ cup onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup low-sodium barbeque sauce
15 ounces of low-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
½ cup (2 ounces) organic reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
4 Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted grain tortillas
¼ cup organic nonfat plain Greek yogurt
Preparation
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken, onion, and garlic; cook 8 minutes or until chicken is done, stirring constantly. Stir in barbeque sauce and beans. Sprinkle with cheese; cook 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Warm tortillas in skillet until lightly brown. Spoon about ½ cup chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla; top each with 1 tablespoon Greek yogurt, and roll up.
Serves 4. 368 Calories per serving, 13.3 g Fat, 29.1 g Carbohydrate, 544 mg Sodium, 4.8 g Fiber,
34.9 g Protein


This burrito is so easy and yummy! I don't know why I never came up with it.




Black Bean Chili

1 cup dried black beans, rinsed

1 tablespoons olive oil
1 onions, finely chopped
1 green peppers, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 pinches ground black pepper
1 14-ounce can diced organic tomatoes with their juice
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1 to 2 teaspoons chopped chipotle chilies in adobo (optional)
1/4 cup medium-grain dried bulgur
pinch salt
2 tablespoons minced scallions (white and green parts), for garnish
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro, for garnish
4 lime wedges, for garnish

Preparation

Place the beans in a colander and pick over them to remove any debris, then rinse and drain. Place them in a Dutch oven or other large, heavy pot and add water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low and simmer, partially covered, until almost tender, about 1 hour. Drain and set aside.
Heat the oil in the same large pot over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the onions and the green peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until just starting to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the chili powder, the cumin, the oregano, the cinnamon, and the black pepper. Then stir in the tomatoes, the orange zest and juice, the honey, the chipotle, and 1.5 cups of water. Add the reserved beans. Return to a simmer, and cook, partially covered, checking occasionally and adding more water and needed, until the beans are just tender to the bite, about 1 1/2 hours. Stir in the bulgur 15 minutes before removing the chili from the heat. Add pinch of salt.
Divide the chili into 4 bowls and top each serving with the scallions, the cilantro, and a lime wedge, if desired, or pass the toppings separately at the table.
Servings: 4. 297 Calories per serving, 4.7 g Fat, 52.9 g Carbohydrate, 14.6 Protein


I wanted to see my husbands reaction to this recipe so I didn't tell him about the orange juice or honey (he doesn't like to know if weird things are added lol). Anyway he just kept going on and on about how great it was. I made some changes to fit what I had on hand, I didn't have bulgar so I used brown rice instead, also I used canned beans which saved some time.



I recently got the The Master Your Metabolism Cookbook by Jillian Michael's free, I just had to pay $4.95 for shipping (so that's cheap).


Here is a few recipes I love!


Banana Almond Smoothie

1c. sliced banana

1c. almond milk

1T. Almond butter

1 T. ground flaxseed

1t. vanilla extract

2c. ice cubes (about 8)

Place the banana, almond milk, almond butter, flaxseed, and vanilla. Blend until well combined. Add the ice cubes and blend until smooth.


Serves 2


Calories: 167.6, Fat: 7.8g, Protein: 3.2g, Carbs: 22.6g Sodium: 112.6g


Since we like dessert around here I had to try something sweet from the Cookbook


Fudge Brownies


Olive oil spray for pan

2/3 cup honey (she suggests clover or orange blossom I just used regular honey)

1/3 cup natural, unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup white whole wheat flour

1/4t. aluminum free baking powder

1/4t. baking soda

1/4t. salt

1/2c. unsweetened applesauce

2 T. Olive Oil

1 Large egg, at room temperature

3/4 t pure vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8 inch pan with olive oil spray. Set aside

Place honey in a large glass measuring cup. Microwave on high until honey is runny and just bubbling, about 45 to 60 seconds. Add the cocoa and stir with fork until well combined. Let cool to room temperature.


Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Whisk until well combined.


In a large bowl, combine the applesauce, oil, egg, and vanilla. Whisk together until well blended. Add the honey cocoa mixture and whisk until smooth. Add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture and stir until no trace of flour remain. Scrape the batter into the pan.


Bake until the surface looks dry around the edges and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs, about 25 minutes (took closer to 30 for me). Do not over bake. Let cool completely before slicing. Makes 16 2 inch squares.


Per 2 inch square



Calories: 86.2, Fat: 2.2g Protein: 1.3g, Carbs: 16.0g Sodium: 63.6mg



My hubby loved this one as well, so that means we will have it again! :)



Hollie