Thrifty Thursdays!!

**Update: I'm linking to the CSI Mod Podge Challenge!**

Vintage Signs

I love 'em! I found these online, but at $11-$20 each, I wasn't going to buy them.
So, instead, I pulled out an old calendar that I had saved because I loved the pictures, and made a trip to Michael's for some wood plaques.
Here they are before I did anything with them:
I then took a bottle of brown craft paint, watered it down, and "stained" the plaques.

Then I cut out the pictures I wanted to use from the calendar. I starting cutting with scissors, but didn't like the look, so ended up tearing them out carefully to have a rough edge.
Then I put the pictures on the wood with Mod Podge, dabbed a little brown paint around the edges, and sealed with another coat of Mod Podge.
Here's the finished product, and my total cost was:
wood plaques--$1.99 each
brown paint--59 cents
calendar pictures--free
total--$6.56

Up close:



I'm linking up to:

Monday Meals--on Tuesday

Well, I'm a little late this week, but I do have a recipe for you. This is not my recipe, I found it on The Pioneer Woman's blog. This was very good, but as with a lot of recipes that I try, my husband and I critiqued it as we were eating it, and came up with a couple things we would change.
For the ease of eating it, especially if you're serving it to company, we would use boneless chicken thighs instead of bone-in pieces. I used leg quarters because I had them in the freezer. It would also take less time to cook it with boneless pieces.
I would also use less olives or maybe a different kind. They were a little on the salty side. But, if you love green olives, you may not want to change it at all.
We had leftovers and they were even better than the first time, I thought! So don't worry about it making too much, unless you really don't like it.


Chicken with Olives

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 1 Hour30 Minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• 4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 6 pieces Chicken (I Used Thighs And Legs) With Skin
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
• 5 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 2 whole Green Bell Peppers, Seeded And Chopped Into Large Pieces
• 1 whole 28 Ounce Can Whole Tomatoes, Completely Drained And Juice Squeezed Out, Chopped
• 1 cup White Wine (or Low Sodium Chicken Broth)
• Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• ¼ cups Heavy Cream
• 1 cup Whole Green Olives
• 12 ounces, weight Linguine, Cooked Al Dente And Drained

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large ovenproof skillet, melt butter and olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and brown on both sides. Remove chicken to a clean plate.

Reduce heat to medium. Add onions, garlic, and green bell pepper to the pan. Stir and cook for a couple of minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for a minute or two. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in wine and stir. Add chicken pieces back to pan, cover with lid, and place into the oven for 45 minutes.

Remove pan from oven and remove lid. Add whole green olives and heavy cream (drizzle evenly over the top.) Put on lid and shake the pan to “stir” in the cream. Return to the oven for 15 to 20 minutes to thicken the sauce. Remove from oven and keep lid on until ready to serve.

Place pasta into a large serving bowl or onto a large serving platter. Arrange chicken pieces on top of the pasta, then pour all of the sauce over the top. Can sprinkle with minced fresh parsley and Parmesan, if desired.

You’ll love this!

Gitter Done Challenge--it's done!

I was inspired by Funky Junk's "Gitter Done" Challenge (through The Virginia House) to clean out my refrigerator.
I hate cleaning out my refrigerator. If there's one thing I could choose to never do again, that would probably be it.
But, after a weekend of company at our house and all the cooking that entails, my fridge was rather messy. So here's the before and after:

Before

AfterBefore

After
Before

After
And a close up of these containers from The Container Store. I love the labels! I forget to use them most of the time, but I love them when I do. (and so does my husband-he doesn't have to wonder what something is)
And now back to the rest of the things that need to be done today--laundry, cleaning up the house, fixing dinner. Thanks for the challenge!!