Veggies and Bruchetta

For my birthday, I received some special home-made oils from my mom (sun dried tomatoe, herb infused, and chili oil). I wanted to try them out with a simple recipe. Decided to go with some roasted veggies in the oven (red skin potatoes, carrots, and broccoli). Olive oil marinaded chicken breasts pan seared to perfection. My favorite piece of this meal was the bruchetta. I got some dollar multi-grain french bread from Arnie's bakery, froze it for 3 weeks and am now using it! I use a combo of chopped (canned or fresh) tomatoes, Tastefully Simple SunDried Tomato Pesto mix, and parm cheese to make the topping. I top the bruchetta with Mozzarella cheese (the kind with Philadelphia Cream Cheese in it...yum!) Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes and oh so yummy!

Potatoes took the longest. I'd start them a good hour before the meal needs to be done. I chopped the redskins, washed them, and placed them on aluminum foil (recommend spraying the foil with cooking spray to prevent stickiness). Next, I drizzled the olive oil or herb oil over them, used some mixed spices (garlic, rosemary, salt, pepper to season) and popped them in the oven. These would be good with a little parmasean cheese on them. 1 hour roughly @ 400 degrees...I like them crispy so I keep them in when I put the rest of the veggies in the oven.

Pretty much the same seasoning combo on the carrots and brocoli. They only take about 30 minutes to bake @ 350.

The chicken I marinated in Kraft olive oil dressing/marinade. I added a little Italian dressing too during the cooking process in the pan.

This is a delicious and easy meal...and pretty healthy too :)

"L"ove Monogramed Wreaths! DIY project

I have alwayed LOVED the Monogramed wreaths on Pinterest and other DIY blogs...and got inspired to make one for myself. My front door needed a change from the wintery Christmas wreath!

I copied a wreath off of Pinterest, but also followed a blog I really like. Check this girl's site out for instructions and more fun projects! She gives way better instructions than I ever could!



Basic instructions:

Here's what you'll need:
12" paper mache letter ($2.50 from JoAnn with 40% off coupon-- love those!)
2 rolls of jute twine ($1.64 each from Walmart)
felt ($.44 each from JoAnn Fabric)
ribbon (You pick colors/style!)
glue gun
scissors

(finished product)

(Apologies for the poor picture quality- these last two were taken on my phone)

(while wrapping...it takes about two layers going the opposite way to cover the letter...which takes about an hour and a half to complete, but really easy! I just watched t.v while I did it!)

A fun project and gift!

Things to note when doing this...

1)wrap jute 2x's around the opposite way securing with hot glue occasionally

2) if you have a unsymmetrical letter of the alphabet..make sure you stick your letter to the door with some puddy or a sticky wall hanger because it likely won't sit nice! My "L" was hanging lopsided for a while until I tacked it down.