The Best Salad I Ever Made!

Aw man!  I made a GREAT dinner last night!  It was so good that 3 out of the 4 of us were "Mmmm'ing" the whole time!  (what can I say...I have a 7-yr. old that's not wild about his greens...that's okay though! ~ more for the rest of us!)

I made Salad with Roasted Pork topped with Honey Mustard Viniagrette dressing

To make:
1 yellow or red bell pepper, thinly sliced
8oz. mushrooms, sliced
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
8-10 asparagus spears, cut into 2" pieces
salad greens (romaine/spinach/etc...)
Pork loin (with salt & pepper)
1 c. shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
viniagrette dressing
honey mustard

Cut pork into 1-1/2" thick medallions.  In olive oil, sear pork on all sides.  Place on baking sheet and roast pork medallions at 350degrees for about 20 minutes.  Do check them with a meat thermometer.  I HATE overcooked pork.  I like them at about a 140-150 degree reading. 
Meanwhile, saute veggies in 1-2 T. olive oil over medium heat.  Salt to your liking. 
Cut pork into bite-sized pieces.
Plate your salad greens.  Top with veggies, cheese, and pork. 
Whisk a bit of honey mustard into the viniagrette...I didn't measure...just squirt it. 
Drizzle on top of salads.  I like to let my salad sit for a few minutes to let the dressing drip down through the salad.  This would be fantastic with really good crusty, Panera bread... we didn't have any...just sayin'. 

Bon appetit!!

Cut a what with some what?

I've been looking at different blogs and youtube videos on wine bottle crafts.  I came across "how to cut a wine bottle using household items."  Hm?  How intrigueing! 

I decided to give it a shot, and it worked great!  (~the 3rd time~)

If you follow these simple steps, it SHOULD work!

1.  gather needed supplies: wine bottle, acetone nail polish remover (must be acetone!), 100% cotton string/yarn, lighter/matches, scissors, sink with ice cold water

Remove label from bottle. 

2. wrap string around the bottle, where you want it to be cut. If using thin string like I did, wrap it 10-12 times.  If using yarn, about 6 times will be fine.  (Youtube used yarn.  I used string). Tie in a knot.

3.  Slide the "rings of string" off of the bottle, but keep the shape of the ring of string.  It's easy to do this, don't worry. 

4.  Fill cap with acetone and soak string.  While this is soaking, fill your sink with ice water...with ice.

5. Remove string, again keeping the shape of the "ring of string" and slide this back onto the bottle.  If you did not remove your label, it will bleed....I recommend removing the label.

6.  Light the string on fire.  The flame will stay only on the string.  Again...no worries! 

7.  Rotate the bottle slowly until the flame goes out.  It's actually very pretty to watch the flame rotate around the bottle. **Please note:  This picture is NOT accurate!  You need to hold the bottle the OTHER WAY ~ so the bottom of the bottom is facing down ~ you want to trap the hot air inside the bottle ~ this is why I had to do mine THREE TIMES!!  (third time's a charm, right!) 

8.  After the flame goes out on it's own (about a full minute or so), submerge the bottle into the ice water.  The bottom of the bottle will just "POP" off! 

9.  What you will have, is 2 pieces with very smooth edges.  If they're a bit 'not smooth,' simple sand them gently. 

10.  Add a candle.  Or you can get really fancy and try to hang the bottle with a chain...and add some Christmas lights inside!  How beautiful would that look hanging on your fence in the summer?

For now, I think I'll just sit it on my end table in the living room.  It's a very small table without a ton of surface space, so it'll be perfect!
I hope you have good luck with this project! 

furniture painting tip!

I'm sitting here watching David Bromstad on HGTV (one of my favorites, as far as personality!!  I seriously WANT him to be my friend!) 

                              David?  You hear me? 

Anyway, when painting furniture:
1.  apply oil-based paint for the first coat
2.  thin the oil-based paint with a bit of kerosene for the second coat to avoid any brush strokes and to get a very smooth finish. 

They didn't mention the smell.  I can't IMAGINE it would be anything good...but at least it would look pretty, right??  LOL! 

elbow grease to the rescue!!!

When I first saw these lights at the warehouse, I really thought I was going to have to have them stripped and then repaint them... The rust looked to be a bit too much...I thought they were going to be lumpy and need tons of sanding as well...

Little did I know, it wasn't rust after all!! 

Just dirt!! 

...a little Dawn detergent and a LOT of elbow grease goes a LONG WAY!! 

I could totally be in a Dawn commercial after seeing the results!!  ...and now, to get this thing rewired...