Poor Man's Beef Wellington

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Apple Pie Logs (Four Ingredients!)

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Elvirochka (Russian Vegetable Pie)

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The Door Decoration

My supplies.

Our front door has looked fairly bland to me ever since we moved in. I wanted a decoration but not just anything. I wanted something unique, something pretty, something simple, and not a wreath to hang on it. I also wanted it to be something that I made, not bought, so that it had a bit of that homemade look.

The first stop was my absolute favorite craft store, Michael's. There, I picked up this nice letter S, two bottle of acrylic paint, and a metal magnetic flower.

The S was near the picture frames/woodworking crafts, not with the other cut-out letters, interestingly enough. The magnetic flower was in a clearance bin for a dollar. The paints were with the other paints.

After painting the S yellow, I taped off the stripes.

The paint I selected was 509 Sunny Yellow and 2561 Steel Gray.

First, I painted the S in yellow. I gave it three coats so it was nice and bright, letting it dry in between coats (about 20 minutes). Once it was coated, I let it set for two hours so it was fully dry and cured.

Next, I taped off my stripes. Originally, my stripes were perfectly spaced. I ended up re-taping the bottom part of the S, as I wanted my stripes to curve with the S. I also made some of the stripes bigger than others, instead of making them uniform.

After taping off my stripes, I started with the gray paint. I just painted from top to bottom going right over the tape.

I recommend pushing down your tape to ensure it's fully covering the area. I did not do that and had some gray paint escape under the tape. I went back with a touch-up brush once it dried and fixed the stripes as best I could.


After removing the tape, before clear coating
it with the fixatif.

I let it sit overnight before removing the tape. I then clear coated it very, very generously with some workable fixatif (I prefer Krylon Workable Fixatif) to give it a glossy look and protect it from the weather. It also makes it very easy to keep clean.

I went ahead and sprayed the metal flower as well, to keep the weather from rusting it. I let the S and the flower sit another 24 hours to fully cure.


The next day I hot glued the flower to the S. I had to bend the petals just a bit to make it fit flush against the wood. I hot glued the magnet directly to the wood, along with each petal that touches it. If there was any gap between the flower petal and the wood, I filled it with hot glue to ensure it would stay secured (I prefer the term overachiever to paranoid).

I spent two days searching for twine, but it seems every place nearby was sold out. I finally located a $0.94 package of jute (which is very similar to twine) in the craft aisle at my local Wal-Mart.


Before the jute.

I originally was going to hot glue the jute to the back of the S to create something to hang it by. Since I wasn't certain the jute and hot glue would hold up for a long time, I chose to wrap the twine around the S a few times, then knot the two ends together to create a loop to hang it from.

To attach it to the front door, and to keep it secure, I used the upside down command hook method. (It's a simple method that keeps your stuff secure. Install a command hook upside down on the inside of your door. Hook the jute/twine/string/ribbon/whatever you're using around the hook and hang it over the top of your front door. This will allow whatever you are displaying to hang nicely on the front door without driving a nail into your door. It will also keep your item from falling in the event the hook fails you).



It's complete!



Spinach with Golden Tomatoes and Mushrooms

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Baked Cauliflower with Avocado

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Eggplant with Sesame Soy Chicken

Want the printable? Click the title and scroll to the bottom

This is a semi-Asian take on the ever popular Italian Chicken Parmesan. I love eggplant, but I get very tired of covering it with tomato sauce and shredded cheese. I needed something different. This recipe was a hit.


Eggplant with Sesame Soy Chicken

The great part about it is that it can be served several slices at once if it is the main dish (as pictured), or can be made as individual pieces if you would like to use it as a side dish or if you're having it as an addition to salad or something. As the main dish, it was very filling. We were all stuffed.


Eggplant slices, de-moisturizing.

I found this to be very easy to make. The longest part was waiting for the chicken to marinate and the eggplant slices to dry (this process takes 30 minutes. I sliced and set out the eggplant, then put the chicken to marinate so they would be ready at the same time).

 You'll Need:

• 1 medium eggplant
• 1 slice onion (white or yellow), diced
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1 chicken thigh per person
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 1 ½ cups flour
• ½ Tablespoon sesame seeds
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tablespoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon -and- 1 Tablespoon parsley
• Mozzarella cheese, shredded
• salt
• oil for frying

Chicken, after marinating.

PrePrep:

• Place chicken into container with lid. Cover chicken with soy sauce. Close container and allow to sit for 30 minutes.
• Slice eggplant. Lay slices on paper towel and salt lightly. Allow eggplant to sit for 30 minutes. (This will reduce the moisture in the eggplant so that it can be fried). 
• Combine flour, paprika, and Tablespoon of parsley in separate bowl. This will be your eggplant coating.

Prepare:

Chicken, tomato, onion, parsley, and sesame seeds.

• Remove chicken from marinade, and cut into strips. **SAVE THE MARINADE**
• Top chicken with onion, tomato, sesame seeds, and a teaspoon of parsley.
• Cook the chicken on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is thoroughly cooked. Remove from heat.
• Bring oil up to frying temperature.
• Add two eggs to the marinade. Whisk until blended.
• Coat eggplant slices in marinade mixture, then in flour mixture.
• Fry until golden on both sides (about 2-3 minutes on each side).
• Place fried eggplants on paper towels to absorb grease. Pat any additional grease off with a paper towel before serving.
• Place 4 eggplant on a plate. Top with chicken mixture and cheese. --OR-- To make individual servings, top each piece of eggplant with chicken mixture and cheese and serve individually.
• If you need the cheese to melt faster, microwave for 30 seconds before serving.

That's all there is to it. It really is fairly simple. Enjoy!