More than Burnt Toast

I tried this recipe last week and it was a hit.  It was fresh and a perfect way to end a hot day.

**Grilled Chicken Club with Garlic Pesto Mayonnaise**

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets
Salt and black pepper, to taste
8 slices Swiss or other cheese of your choice
4 Kaiser rolls, sliced horizontally, toasted
4 lettuce leaves
8 tomato slices
8 slices bacon, cooked crisply
1/4 avocado, peeled, sliced
Garlic Pesto Mayonnaise, recipe follows

****************

Preheat grill. Season chicken with salt and pepper and grill over medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Top each chicken fillet with 2 slices cheese; heat on grill until cheese melts.

Spread garlic pesto mayonnaise on bottom half of each roll and top with lettuce, tomato, bacon, chicken and avocado.

Close each sandwich with top half of roll and serve.

Garlic Pesto Mayonnaise

1 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves
1/3 cup lightly toasted pine nuts
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup mayonnaise

***********
On a cutting board with a sharp knife or mezzaluna chop basil, pine nuts and garlic until a fine consistency. Add to a bowl. To this add salt, pepper, Parmesan. and mayonnaise, stirring to blend well. Cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to serve.(Of course you could prepare the basil in a food processor if you like for speed)

My alterations:

I left out the pine nuts in the sauce (they are ridiculously expensive)

I also substituted 1 T garlic salt instead of 1 T minced garlic

**I'm sure the original recipe is delicious but my slight variation tasted yummy too!

Check out more recipes at More than Burnt Toast

Ruffle Tote

This is my next project!  Find the free pattern here

Sincerely,

Ms This

Heirlooms

A few days ago I went to visit one of my grandmothers and came home with awesome spectacles.  My grandma said she had found them and was going to throw them away, but there was no way I was going to let her do so.  So she let me have them and now they sit on my nightstand.  She wore these glasses when she was about twenty years old, so during WWII.  I absolutely love them and am so glad she let me have them.

This isn't a very good picture but at the top of the rims there are small diamonds.  There is a lot of detail on these glasses.

My next retro finding is from my other grandparents.  I was cleaning their house one day and came across these groovy 70's drinking glasses.  My grandparents don't use them anymore so I asked if I could have them.  They agreed and now I use them for decoration and one day I will use them to drink from as well.

"Oink Oink"

For some reason i've been obsessed with piggy banks--well i wouldn't use the word obsessed, I have just seen some really cute ones lately.  One day I was at Tai Pan browsing around and came across some plain white piggy banks.  I thought it would be fun to do a little project on them with my little brother.  So we purchased some craft paint and created our own customized piggy banks.  I couldn't find his anywhere around the house (he probably broke it and didn't want to tell me) but here is mine...

This was a really fun project to do with a little kid--it may even encourage them to save money:)

Now here are some cute ones I found on Etsy of course....

mossbottle

The Pig Pen

I bought this next one in Hawaii--All money in it goes towards my next trip to North Shore!

Now this one is by far my favorite...

Purchased at Robert's Crafts

Sincerely,

"Ms. That"

Bloom

These flowers are making me happy today.  

Nesting Dolls

The other day I stopped at one of my favorite consignment shops and found these beloved creatures...

I fell in love instantly, so it was a must to purchase these nesting doll pillows.  They were the last two and I thought about only buying one, but you can't separate them because they go so well together.  The consignment shop where these pillows were purchased is called Urban Renewal--located in St. George, UT on the Boulevard. This is such a fun shop and the women that own it are so creative.  You can find so many ideas for your home by visiting this shop.

Sincerely,

"Ms. That"

Oh So Clean

Someday I would really like to have a ruffled shower curtain like the one below.  But I want it to blend from white to cream to yellow.  I think I might attempt to make it.

Here are some other noteworthy shower curtains.  

Journal

I'm having a lot of fun with this journal.  It is a five-year daily journal with about a one inch space for each day.  What I like about it is it forces you to only write what you really want to remember.  It has been great and makes it so keeping a regular journal isn't overwhelming.

You can find the journal here or here

Simplicity is Bliss

I'm loving these Vintage Finds from Simplicity is Bliss.  I really want a Vintage inspired Swimsuit.  It would cover up all the goodness that comes from bearing children and it is modest and cute.

Mothers Day

I had a great mothers day weekend.  I spent it playing superman with my toddler and newly manicured feet.  

I also spent some time making lace-fabric covered magnets.  Probably my new favorite project...easy and fast.  What more could you ask for.

My favorite pick-me-up was this message for woman.  It helped me feel my own potential as a daughter of God and gave me energy to look this next week in the eye.

You can find the same message here.

I'm thankful to be a mother and for all the wonderful women out there that continue to bless my life.

Banana Bread

I really enjoy Banana Bread and my moms recipe has always been my favorite.  It is super easy and super yummy which makes for a double threat.  I made some yesterday and thought I would share the recipe with you.

Banana Bread

½ Cup margarine

1 Cup Sugar

3 medium over ripe bananas mashed

2 eggs (well beaten)

1 ½ Cup flour

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

Mix dry ingredients together, set aside.

Cream margarine and sugar together.

Add bananas and eggs.

Add dry mixture, blend together (but not too much).

Pour into loaf pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes.

Makes two 3 ½x7 loafs.

*Did you know that you can freeze bananas???  I didn't know that until I went over to my friends house and she had a million bananas in her freezer.  I made this bread from frozen (thawed out) bananas and it turned out great.

**Does anyone else have to use Gwen Stefani's HollaBack Girl song to spell bananas?

***It's Friday!  That makes me happy.

Face Lift

My daughters rooms were horrendous.  They were cluttered and boring.  So the first step in improving them I decided to paint (the one process that almost causes divorce in our home).  Below is the color of the walls before....

And after...

Behrs Ice Flower

Sherwin Williams Jersey Cream

(I realize that it kind of looks the same in this picture but the actual color is a creamy yellow)

Book Worm

One positive thing about nursing for me is that I get to set down, relax, and read while my daughter is getting chubbier. I've been able to complete these three books in the last couple months and wanted to recommend them to you.

Bud, Not Buddy:  Laugh out loud funny.  The main character in this book is a young orphan boy.  He uses many defense mechanisms to survive all the trials he is faced with.  The beauty of this book is in him being able to let go of his defenses and love others and be loved back.

Purchase Here

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings:  Poetic and Comical.  I love how Maya is able to recall her childhood from her mind as a child.  She doesn't put her adult opinion into what she went through which I think would be a hard thing to do.  There are a couple of terrible things that happens to her as a child that made it hard for me to sleep that night. I'm hesitant to recommend the book to you but I feel like I learned a lot from it.  If your interested in reading this book contact me and I'll give you a heads up.

Purchase Here

Esperanza Rising:  My least favorite of the three but a lovely read.  Esperanza is an extremely blessed girl who ends up getting everything taken away from her.  What I like about this book is her ability to adjust to unfortunate circumstances and love people from all walks of life.

Purchase Here

Sincerely,
Ms This

I've seen Martha's Pom-Pons all over the place but I haven't seen these paper bag flowers until today!  Check them out.

That's May

My friend Lisa over at That's Happy keeps creating beautiful monthly calendars.  The new Calendar for May is currently on my desktop.  Click here for the free download!

Sincerely, 

Ms This