Watch out World

Tomorrow will be the 7 month anniversary for my Etsy shop (minus December because I took a long vacation from making boots to regain my sanity). It's been so nice to have something for me, something that's mine, something I've created, something I've seen grown, and I've seen go all around the world. I threw this map together to show all of the places my little white box of boots have gone. I'm just five sales away from selling a total of 200! 

I've been so excited to see those boots go to Australia, Norway, Taiwan, Greece, Germany and France. I just wanted to take a minute to document all of this, so I remember how nuts I was. I'm excited to see where the next 7 months take me! Now it's time to gear up for Swiss Days.

Coconut Chicken

(recipe inspired from Best Bites)

Crispy Coconut Chicken Tenders

12 chicken tenders

1 cup chopped coconut

1 cup shredded Parmesan 

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. curry powder

1/4 tsp. chili powder

2 eggs

1/2 cup flour

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. 

Combine the coconut, Parmesan, Panko bread crumbs, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder and curry powder. Set aside in a small bowl. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl. Put the flour out on a plate. 

Prepare a foil-lined and greased baking sheet.

Put about a cup of the coconut and bread crumb mixture on a plate. (You don't want to dump out the entire mixture because the Panko bread crumbs are super absorbent and after a few chicken tenders is won't stick. So dip a few chicken tenders, and then pour out more crumbs as you go along). 

Dip a chicken tender in the flour, shake off excess. Dip in the eggs. Place the chicken tender in the crumb mixture, make sure to cover both sides. Place on the baking sheet. 

I used my Misto to spray some olive oil (or just drizzle some olive oil) over top the chicken to create a more crispy coating. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes until chicken is no longer pink inside and the coating has turned a nice golden brown. 

Try this dipping sauce! It was perfect with the chicken. 

Dipping Sauce

1 cup of apricot-pineapple preserves

2 tsp. Soy sauce

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

2 tsp. honey

1/2 tsp. curry powder

1 Tbsp. pineapple juice

Turkey Chili

On a stormy, rainy, and "chilly" afternoon, this is a perfect, quick meal to dish up. 

Turkey Chili

1 large can diced tomatoes

2 cans tomato sauce (no salt added)

1 small can of green chilies

1 can of black beans

1 can of pinto beans (you can use red kidney beans if you like those better)

1 can of whole kernel corn

1 lb. of ground turkey

½ cup of chopped onion

1-2 gloves of garlic, minced

1 cup of water

2 Tbsp. of chili powder (or more – the more the better!)

¼ tsp. of black ground pepper

Shredded cheddar cheese

Cilantro

Add salt and pepper to taste 

In a large sauce pan, brown the ground turkey. When it is no longer pink, add the chopped onion and minced garlic. Also add in the chili powder and black pepper. Once the onion starts to soften add in all the canned ingredients (diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chilies, beans, and corn), and water. Bring to a boil. Then turn down the heat and let it simmer for about 30 minutes. Top it off with a little cheese and cilantro. Delish! It makes enough to feed 6 – 8 people, or left overs for lunch!

Enjoy!

Baby Shower

I had so much fun hosting a baby shower for one of my best friends. It was fun to get everything together. I didn't get a picture of all the food, because once it was out, we were diving at it! It turned out really cute. It was fun!

Swiss Days

I just got accepted as a vendor for the Midway Swiss Days! Words can't not describe how I'm feeling...but here are a few: excited, scared, anxious, nervous, thrilled, overwhelmed, etc. 

Am I crazy for doing this!? This is the craft fair of all craft fairs. There's about 180 vendors, and they anticipate anywhere from 18,000 to 20,000 people in attendance. It's absurd. I applied because I didn't want to regret not trying...and then surprisingly I got accepted! Now I have to contemplate if this is really feasible or not. When there's a will, I'm sure...some how...there is a way. I have a few weeks to decide for sure. Wish me luck! Am I crazy? Yes, I think very much so. Hopefully people will like my little boots!

Chocolate Mint Cookies

My father-in-law told me that these were "one of the best cookies I've ever eaten!". They really are quite a treat.

Chocolate Mint Cookies
1 Devil's Food Chocolate Cake Mix
1/4 cup flour
1 egg
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup Ande's Mint Baking Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour your cake mix into you mixing bowl. Slowly mix in the flour, egg, water, and vegetable oil. Mix until combined. Add the Ande's baking chips.

On a lightly greased baking sheet, place small balls of dough an inch or so apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes. I like baking 15 cookies at a time, then keeping some dough in the fridge or freezer, so that I can have fresh warm cookies at a later date.

Enjoy!

Woman to Child - Refasion

My mother-in-law had a big ole' pile of clothes she was going to give-a-way, so I took advantage and stole a few! There was a sweater vest that first caught my eye. It had such a cute print. So I decided to make my little girl a dress! Literally 10 minutes. I sewed in the sides. Cut off the excess, and used the excess to make a ruffle. Voila!