Garlicky Marinated Mushrooms and Red Peppers
This is an easy appetizer for a crowd. These garlicky marinated mushrooms are best when made ahead of time (hallelujah) and delicious with an array of cured meats and cheeses.
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Almond Lemon Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
These beautiful little cookies look like jewels nestled in snow, don’t they? These are perfect for the holidays or any special occasion. Best yet, you can freeze before finishing & serving.
Snowy Mason Jar Candle Holders
The holiday season is here again and I really want to share these easy homemade candle holders with you. Creating these takes almost no time at all and there are so many ways you can decorate them so that they match your personal decor.
The really beautiful thing about making these is that you likely already have everything you need to make them.
Easy Homemade Snowy Mason Jar Candle Holder
- Mason jar of your choice
- Small sponge paintbrush
- Mod Podge
- Epsom salt
- Newspaper or paper plate (to catch the excess salt)
- Glitter (optional)
- Ribbon, twine, or raffia plus any other decoration you’d like to add
- Tea light candle
Directions
- Make sure your mason jar is clean and dry
- Holding the jar from the inside of the rim, cover the jar, avoiding the screw-top rim and bottom, with Mod Podge
- Still holding the jar from the inside, pick it up, tilt it at an angle over your paper plate or newspaper and quickly cover the coated jar with Epsom salt
- If using glitter, immediately sprinkle on glitter all the way around the Epsom salt
- Let dry for at least 24 hours
- This next step is optional but I find it very helpful at keeping the salt adhered: Pour some Mod Podge on a paper plate or small throwaway dish and then use your sponge brush to gently dab the Mod Podge on the salt, covering it well. If you cover it heavily it may drip a little, so be sure to leave it set on the plate or paper until it’s dry. I typically check it the first hour or so, and if it’s dripping, I’ll move it to a dry spot of plate/paper so it doesn’t stick.
- Let dry fully for at least 24 hours
- Decorate with your choice of ribbon or twine and any other decorations; I used just a pretty ribbon and a star-shaped brad to decorate the one pictured here.
- Place a tea light candle inside the holder, light, and enjoy
These are so easy and pretty when they’re all lit up. And honestly, why stop at candle holders? You can also make these festive little vases filled with flowers, pine branches, or candy canes.
The glitter I added here is optional but if you’re a glitter freak, skip the Epsom salts altogether and cover yours with glitter. Why not, right? 🙂
This is also a fun little project that kids can help with. Instead of ribbon, think about adding a couple of googly eyes and some small twigs that look like antlers for cute reindeer votive holders.
Happy Holidays!
Recipe Box Makeover
Here’s the full details on how I took this once-loved recipe box from faded to fully-loved again. I enjoy refinishing wood & bringing out the beauty of vintage pieces. #vintage #wood
Potato, Leek and Broccoli Soup
Potatoes, Leeks, and Broccoli come together for a creamy, dreamy soup, no dairy required. This soup is rich & luscious; perfect on a chilly day served with some warm bread.
Chicken Thighs in Mushroom & White Wine Sauce
This is a delicious rustic dish that I create with lots of sauce so I can serve it with buttery noodles or rice. It’s also good served in a bowl with some crusty bread; you decide. You can certainly cut down on the sauce if you want but oh, why would you want to?
Chicken Thighs in Garlicky Mushroom & White Wine Sauce Recipe
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 6 chicken thighs
- Salt and pepper
- 3 large shallots, cut in half and sliced thin
- 6 large cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 lb. baby portobello mushrooms, sliced thin
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 3/4 cup chicken stock
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 4 fresh sage leaves, chopped
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet
- Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper
- Add 3 chicken thighs, skin side down, to pan and brown until golden, about 4 minutes
- Turn chicken over and cook for 3-4 minutes more
- Transfer chicken to a plate
- Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil
- Repeat with remaining 3 pieces of chicken and then transfer to the plate
- Reduce heat to medium
- Add shallots and garlic and stir, cook for 1 minute
- Add mushrooms and stir well, scraping the bottom of the pan as you stir
- Cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to release their moisture
- Sprinkle flour over the mushroom mixture and stir well
- Cook for another 5 minutes or until the flour starts to brown on the bottom of the pan
- Increase heat back to medium-high and add wine, scraping pan while stirring, for 1 minute
- Add the broth, stirring well and continue scraping the pan
- Stir in pepper flakes and herbs and remove from heat
- Transfer the chicken back into to the sauce, skin side up
- Place in preheated oven cook for 45 minutes, uncovered
Again, I especially love this served with a side of buttery noodles; it’s comfort food at its finest.
This works great with chicken thighs because the dark meat just adds to the flavor and also doesn’t dry out as fast as chicken breast does. Can you make this with chicken breast? Of course! If you do want to use chicken breast, I recommend using skin-on breasts. Also, be sure to cut the oven time down and realize that the sauce isn’t going to have quite the same flavor.
You can also make this with white mushrooms but again, portobello mushrooms are going to be a richer flavor. You can also omit the wine altogether if you prefer or sub in some additional chicken stock.
Don’t have shallots? A thinly sliced white onion will work.
If you’re craving a rustic, flavor-packed chicken dish, this is a delicious solution. Enjoy!
How to Decoupage using Paper Napkins
A wonderful way to repurpose, reuse, & recycle glass jars, vases, scrap wood, and more is to upcycle them with the method of decoupage with paper napkins. Beautiful!