fish and chips my way

Though life has been insane these last few months and I have been short on time, I continue make time to cook. I seem to find daily solace and escape in my 1 hour routine of simple cooking each and every night. Recently, I put my own twist on one of my favorites- fish and chips!

I used tilapia fillets for my fish and chips- it has a nice light flavor, texture and is really versatile and affordable.

But you could really use just about any fish.

I cracked a few eggs in a bowl (don't worry they are local, organic and salmonella free).

Next, I prepared my breading with panko crumbs, my favorite herbs, salt and pepper- just like I did in this recipe

I dipped each tilapia fillet in the egg mixture

and then in the breading mixture.

I fried the fillets in just a little bit of olive oil

for 3-4 minutes on each side.

I placed the fillets on a paper towel to soak up any excess oil.

Remember my baked french fry recipe from a while back? Well, I used the same recipe but this time I used sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes..YUMMMMM!!

Last I made a quick spicy tartar sauce from light mayo, relish, lime juice, tabasco, salt and pepper.

I served everything on top of a bed of spinach that was drizzled in balsamic vinegar.

Oh so delicious!!

online class update and SALE!

I am happy to share that I've been hard at work moving over all of my online classes from Ning to private blogs. The classes look and feel a little different and while the task has been very time involved and there have been a couple of challenges, things are looking good and by the end of Sept/Oct all classes should be back online...YIPPEE!

My most popular class- Graffiti Chic is the first class to go live today and to celebrate I am having a sale this week to celebrate- $10 off Graffiti Chic- which equals $40!!

If you participated in this class you should have received an invitation to join the new classroom today.

click here for additional class/registration information

I have also decided to make Color Your World an unlimited access class. This means once you register you will have unlimited access and be able to work at your own pace. And I thought what the heck...why not offer $10 off this class too! I love a good sale!

click here for additional class/registration information

Sale runs Sept 7th-13th

a moment of escape

Friends, things have been insane over here! I have been working towards a looming deadline for my book- 1 week left! I am not sure I have worked this hard - EVER- we are talking around the clock kind of work. This insane schedule has coincided with my wedding anniversary and this weekend my husband not only surprised me with a brand new bike (something I have been talking about for months) but he also convinced me to steal away with him for a leisurly afternoon spent eating and strolling around our favorite marina. Oh how wonderful it was to forget about deadlines, to celebrate six years of marriage, reflecting on memories, enjoying good food, watching boats sail in and out, dreaming up stories of where we would sail and what we would name our boat, and just finding escape for a moment in time.

painted puzzle tutorial

Recently I gathered some fun things for a birthday package that I was putting together to send off to my friend's little girl. While doing my weekly browsing at Target's dollar bin, I came across a puzzle for $1 and suddenly had the idea to paint over it to make a brand new colorful kids puzzle to include in the package. This puzzle was super easy and would actually make a great project create with kids!

I started with the puzzle- how boring was it before?!?!?

I painted over everything with acrylic paint.

Tip- mix a little white paint with your color to get better coverage when painting over something with dark images.

I painted over the base and the frame of the puzzle

and let it all dry.

Once everything was dry, I took apart the puzzle just to make sure that nothing was sticking to each other.

Another tip- when painting a cheaper chipboard or cardboard puzzle- keep your brush dry (don't dip in water) and keep the paint thin. Too much moisture will cause the puzzle pieces to expand and contract.

I put the puzzle back together...ummm...this took me forever...I am NOT a puzzle person!

I then started to cover the surface with drawings ( I decided on a surface full of my favorite flower designs)

Next I filled the flowers with color.

Once the entire surface was filled and the paint was dry I used a thin coat of gel matte medium (Claudine Hellmuth's FABULOUS gel medium to be exact!) to seal everything.

VIOLA! A super cute, one of a kind kids puzzle! A perfect gift!

Of course I couldn't resist taking it apart and putting it back together.

It took me forever and my husband had to step in and finish it for me :)