More Wall Art

I finished the project I was doing with the 8-inch squares.  Now I just need to figure out where and how to hang it.  I really want to hang it on my brick above the fire place because that is where I have all my family pictures (of my sister's family, sister in-laws family, etc.)  But I don't know how to hang it without permanently putting a hole in the brick.  Does anyone know how I could do that?  So if I don't hang it there then I'm not sure where to hang it.

So, what do you think?

I did this the same way I did the 6-inch squares.  Please see the "Getting Crafty" post.

Boredom Buster Block

I found a wooden 2 inch cube at AC Moore and decided to make a little Boredom Buster Block for my boys.  I chose 6 things they enjoy doing... Color, outside, cars, read, puzzles and games and found a picture to go with it.  I printed the pictures with the word to go along with it in 2 inch squares (I actually had to trim it a bit, so it was technically smaller than that.)  I sanded the block and glued them on using Mod Podge.  After about 20 minutes I Mod Podged over the whole thing twice, letting it dry in-between coats. 

Now when they are bored and don't know what to do they can roll the Boredom Buster Block and let it decide for them, or clean up the house.  :) 

Peach Crisp

Here is the yummy peach crisp I made!  The recipe is below!  Yum!!!

Peach Crisp

Ingredients For Filling: 

•  8 cups fresh sliced peaches (free stone peaches)

•  2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

•  1/4 cup sugar

•  2 teaspoons flour

Topping: •  1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

•  3/4 cup sugar

•  1/2 cup light brown sugar

•  1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

•  1/2 teaspoon baking soda

•  1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

•  Dash of fresh grated nutmeg

•  3/4 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

•  1 large egg

Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine all of the filling ingredients in a large bowl and gently mix.

Pour the filling ingredients into a 9 by13-inch baking pan and set aside while 

making the topping.  In a bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, 

baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cut in the butter until the mixture 

resembles large peas. Stir in the egg. Distribute the topping evenly over the 

peaches in the baking pan. Bake for 40 minutes.

Savory Peach Chicken

The boys and I picked 69 pounds of peaches on Friday.  On Saturday Becky came over and showed me how to can some.  We canned 7 quarts that night.  Then on our anniversary night Dave and I canned 7 more quarts.  They had to be done, we lost about 5 from mold.  Dave wasn't too thrilled to be canning on anniversary.  Maybe next year I won't pick peaches until after our anniversary.  We washed and put the rest in the fridge.  So I made a very yummy peach crisp!!!  I made a cobbler on Saturday and this crisp was way better, especially with vanilla ice cream.

I also made a Savory Peach Chicken.  I made rice and french cut green beans to go along with it.  I thought it was wonderful!!!

Savory Peach Chicken

Ingredients •  1 tablespoon canola oil

•  4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, about 1 1/4 pounds

•  1/2 teaspoon salt

•  1/4 teaspoon pepper

•  2 tablespoons brown sugar

•  2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

•  2 tablespoons rice vinegar

•  1/4 cup orange juice

•  1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

•  2 cloves garlic, minced

•  1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

•  4 large firm-ripe peaches, cut into 1/4-inch slices, or 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen peaches, (about 4 1/2 cups)

•  2 tablespoons sliced almonds

Directions Heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper, add to the skillet and cook until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Meanwhile combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar and orange juice in a small bowl and set aside. When the chicken is browned, transfer to a plate and set aside.

Add the ginger and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth, the soy sauce mixture, and the peaches to the pan. Turn the heat up to high and cook, uncovered, for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce is nicely thickened and the peaches soften. Add the chicken back to the pan with the sauce, turn the heat down to moderate-low, cover and cook for about 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

In the meantime, toast the almonds in a dry skillet over a medium-high heat stirring frequently, until golden brown and fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Serve the chicken topped with the sauce and sprinkled with the toasted almonds.

Yield: 4 serving, 1 piece chicken, 2/3 cup sauce and 1/2 tablespoon almonds per serving

Butterfly

I was walking the camera back to the car after I took some pictures of the boys swimming when I saw a butterfly on the butterfly bush at Becky's.  So I quickly stopped to snap a few pictures before it flew away.  These were my favorite.  It was like 7:30 at night and in the shade of the house, but I think they aren't too bad.  What do you think?

In the picture below, look at his wings, there is some of it missing... poor little thing!

So I also snapped a few pictures of her other flowers.  I love this sunflower.  There were 2 pedals that were torn off and I fixed it in photo shop.  Can you tell which 2 they were?  ( I have the vertical picture of it with the stem and leaf, I like it a little better, but I didn't fix the pedals on that one, so I posted this one.)