Mango Chicken

My daughter has been begging me to make this.  She gets it from the food court at the mall and absolutely loves it.  So with much hesitation, I gave it a try and boy was I impressed with myself!  It was very similar to the mall version but actually better! 

1 package of fresh chicken tenders cut into bite size pieces.

1 1/2 c. flour

1 c. Panko crumbs

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

2 eggs

1 tbsp. water

peanut oil for deep frying

sauce

1/2 c. water

1/4 c. rice vinegar

                                   1/2 c. mango nectar (like Jumex or Goya)

1/4 c. ketchup

1/4 c. honey

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. corn starch

1/2 tsp. sesame oil

                                          1 c. mango chutney (usually found in Indian or Thai section of grocer)

Heat oil in deep fryer to 375 degrees.

Mix flour, panko, salt and pepper in a bowl.  Beat eggs in another bowl with the tbsp of water.  Dredge chicken through flour mixture and then through the egg mixture and back to the flour mixture.  Then add to the deep fryer and cook until crispy and golden brown.  Transfer onto paper towels to drain excess oil. 

In a sauce pan or wok, add water, rice vinegar, mango nectar, ketchup, honey, sugar, cornstarch & sesame oil.  Whisk until blended well and slightly heated through. Then add the mango chutney and bring to a slow simmer.  When all of your chicken is browned and drained add the chicken to the sauce mixture and coat. 

Voila!

I poured the mango chicken over jasmine rice but my daughter tells me it would have been great over fried rice.

Enjoy!

Arcadian Lighting Guest Post

Today’s guest post is from Susi, a writer for Arcadian Lighting, a must-shop resource for beautiful light fixtures.

Colorful lamps can bring any room to life. Whether you choose a colorful glass lamp or colorful lampshade, lighting is a great way to introduce a new accent color, add a bold pop of color, or tie into other accent colors in your room’s décor.  Brighten up your room with a colorful table lamp and see how much it changes the look and feel of the space.

Pinterest via

In a monochrome or neutral room a single spot of color can have a big impact.  This buttery yellow lamp looks great paired with white walls and black furniture.

Anthropologie via

We love this light with its range of warm hues in glass.  It has a vintage feeling to it but could work well in many style rooms to add color.

Ohdeedoh via

A colorful lamp with a multi-color polka dot shade ties together a color filled room. The green contrasts nicely with the rose wall to make the lamp pop.

Pottery Barn via

Notice how the amber and green glass lamps stand out more strongly than the clear glass lamp.  The colored clear glass of the lamps adds a subtle color to the room.

Desire to Inspire via

A mustard yellow floor lamp draws the eye in this grey filled living room. A yellow pinstripe on the pillows helps tie in the lamp with the rest of the décor.

Apartment Therapy via

A red reading lamp spices up this modern room with its neutral palette.  Any colorful lamp would stand out in this neutral space.

Everything LEB via

Make a room feel cohesive with a lively pair of colorful lamps in one of the room’s accent colors, in this case red.  Make sure your light fixture is part of the rooms’ over all design for a polished look.

Everything LEB via

A white or metal lamp can still bring color to a room with a colorful shade.  Switch out a neutral shade for a bright solid or multicolor shade to add color.

Content provided by Arcadian Lighting, a site that specializes in top quality lighting fixtures at extremely affordable prices. If you like this post, be sure to stop by the Arcadian Lighting blog and tell us you saw us here at Savvy Decor!

Thrift Store Desk Makeover

I love this desk.  My hubby has an entire office and I wanted a little space to myself in our bedroom so I patiently searched for a small desk for a couple of months and this is what I found.  $30 for the desk, paint that I already had and $35 in drawer pulls.  I would say for $65 total, I am very happy with my purchase!

Before...

And after...

I am linking to these great parties!

http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/

Frosted Basement Windows

Here is a little something I did a while back to the basement windows. I simply wanted to frost them for privacy from my neighbors and just for fun I added the design. Painters tape, a utility knife and glass frosting paint is all I needed. I used the utility knife to cut the edges of the tape for nice clean lines. It took me about 15 minutes!

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Adding some fun to an otherwise basic room.

My master bathroom is nothing special.  I have dreams of Italian tiles, a glass dual head shower and a glamorous claw foot bathtub - but as for now those dreams will have to wait for a winning lottery ticket. 
However, when you have a basic room and Decorating ADD, the wheels will start turning at any given time...
What started out to be a 15 minute "tidy the bathroom"...
soon turned into touching up the paint...
which then turned into mixing some paints...
which then turned into 3 hours later and stripes!

 Now I just need to think of something to do with this mirror below.  Hmmm....

What do you think?

Linking to:

Thank You Design Shuffle!

First of all let me start by giving a great big THANK YOU to Kristen at Design Shuffle for her fabulous guest post.  After taking a couple of months off to deal with contractors, landscapers and to just enjoy the new pool - I am not only inspired by her post but I was also excited to see the DIY Sunburst Mirror that I just completed and hung on my wall. 

I am thrilled to be back and blogging.  I have many projects that I have completed and documented to share with you all.  I hope you will enjoy them. 

Please take a moment to head over to designshuffle.com and check out all the fabulous designers!

Ideas for Handmade Décor

With all the wonderful bloggers and DIYers out there, ideas for handmade décor are more accessible than ever and more clever than you can imagine.  Here are a few ideas that we love. Some are new to us and some are classic handmade décor ideas we've loved for years. Use these interior design ideas, get out there and make something handmade for your home!

Freshly Picked Blog via

This fantastic chandelier looks like a classic capiz shell light, but it is really a DIY masterpiece made from wax paper. Yes, wax paper.

Pinterest via

The starburst mirror looks great in a traditional or modern interior. This one was made of wood shims. It would also look great painted white or a bright color like yellow.

Martha Stewart via

Love these colorful petal covered lanterns by the geniuses in the craft's department over at Martha Stewart.  Brilliant way to customize an inexpensive paper lantern, inspire any decorating ideas?

The Cottage Home via

Love pattern and color in the kitchen. Here's a project to create colorful tile trivets with scrapbook paper or wallpaper.

Poppy Talk via

Reminiscent of vintage milk glass vases, this clever DIY project uses glass bottles and jars destined for the recycling bin.  You can paint them whatever colors you'd like to match your décor.

3 Lambs Studio via

Terrariums are a wonderful way to bring nature inside.  This is a great DIY project too.  Create a terrarium using a glass Mason jar or vintage cloche, or even a glass covered cheese tray.

Whipper Berry via

Creating a custom chalkboard in your kitchen design is a clever way to keep track of groceries and answer the age old question “what's for dinner?”.  With the new generation of chalkboard paints, you can add a chalkboard to a piece of furniture, wall or door.

Vi.sualize.us via

An oldie but goodie, glass jars converted into hanging votive lights with a little heavy gauge wire. It’s a timeless classic for warm summer nights.



This post comes courtesy of Design Shuffle, where you can find top tier interior designs from around the world – from New York interior designers, Los Angeles interior designers, and more, check out the latest at Design Shuffle.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

My family enjoyed a little Mexican feast for dinner.  It was yummy!!! Did any of you celebrate this holiday with Mexican food?  Did you cook a meal for your family or go out to your favorite Mexican restaurant? 

Well, yours truly,  just so happens to be Latino and cooked up some fabulous chicken enchiladas. 
My family absolutely loves my chicken enchiladas and guess what! I am going to tell you all my secrets!

Like most mothers out there, I don't have the time to spend hours in the kitchen.  Besides, as much as I love Mexican food, I am not a fan of corn tortillas smothered in grease!  I am also not a fan of spending hours at the stove.  Now I wouldn't go claiming these enchiladas to be "healthy" but I think given the traditional recipe - they would be a healthier alternative.

If you make similar enchiladas - I would love to hear what you do different. 

Chicken Enchiladas

Normally I would top these with lettuce and then the black olives but I wanted a good picture so I left it off and we added it to our plates.

Black Beans, Guacamole, Pico de gallo, Spanish Style Rice

Chicken Enchiladas

1 rotisserie chicken

1/2 can of low fat cream of chicken soup

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 can of green chilies (small can)

1 tbsp of taco seasoning

1 package of flour tortillas

1 can of red enchilada sauce

2 cups of shredded mexican blend cheese divided

1 can of white queso cheese

1 small can of black olives

1 cup of shredded lettuce

cut, chop or shred all of the meat of the rotisserie chicken in a bowl

add half a can of the cream of chicken or however much to desired thickness

add onion, taco seasoning, green chilies and half the package of cheese and mix together

spoon mixture into each tortilla and roll up leaving both ends open and line up in desired baking dish

then pour the entire can of enchilada sauce over drenching all of the tortillas

then spoon the white queso cheese straight down the center of all the enchiladas and top with the remaining shredded cheese

bake at 350 for 20 mins or until the cheese is nice and bubbly

top baked enchilada with lettuce and black olives and serve

YUMMY!

Spanish Style Rice

(the fast and easy version)

2 cups of fat free chicken broth  (equal to 1 can)

2 cups of minute rice

3/4 cups of chunky picante style sauce (at desired spiciness)

salt and pepper to taste

bring chicken broth to a boil

add picante sauce and bring back to boil

add rice, stir, take off burner and cover for 5 minutes

fluff and serve!

The chicken broth gives the rice great flavor.  For a much healthier version, I sometimes use brown rice and measure the broth according to the package directions.

Guacamole

2 avocados pitted

1 lime squeezed

1 roma tomato chopped

1/2 small onion chopped

1 clove of garlic pressed

2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

salt to taste

mash avocados, add juice of lime, roma tomato, onion, garlic, cilantro and salt

refrigerate for 30 minutes or serve immediately

Tip: to keep your guac from turning brown - stick the avocado pit in with it while in the fridge!

Pico de Gallo

5 roma tomatoes chopped

1/2 onion chopped

1 clove of garlic minced or pressed

1 jalapeno seeded, rinsed and chopped (if desired)

1/4 cup of cilantro

1 lime squeezed for juice

1 pinch of chili powder

1 pinch of garlic powder

salt to taste

mix all ingredients and refrigerate for 30 minutes for best taste

Black Beans

Look, I like to do things easy - I just rinse a can of black beans, add a few tablespoons of chopped onion and cilantro. Add in some picante sauce  and salt to taste

So there you have it! The easiest mexican meal ever....and it's straight from a Mexican so you can even pretend it's authentic! LOL

HAPPY EATING!

 

JUST A FEW THINGS I AM PONDERING FOR MY BEDROOM...

Like I said before... I am in the middle of finishing up my youngest daughter's bedroom and I am already dreaming up ideas for mine. Here are a few things I love. I haven't figured out exactly which direction I will go but I know it will involve some of these pretties!

This headboard from Pottery Barn is just lovely!

I just found this gold garden stool at TJ Maxx!

I have looked all over for these resin heads! Now I just have to decide which one I want...

Every bedroom needs some bling right?

Of course the Moroccan Pouf is on everyone's wish list these days.

Need I say more?....

My facination with green has me drooling over these vintage murano glass lamps!

And last but not least the sunburst mirror 

BUT my diy version is almost complete!

Victory for America and Justice for All

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?