Sweet and Spicy Hawaiian Grilled Chicken

I am a self-proclaimed chicken snob. I can pick a boneless skinless chicken breast to pieces! Dark meat as always had a “gamey” taste to me…. Lately I keep seeing these amazing recipes (thank you pinterest!) for boneless skinless chicken thighs. Wha…wha….what?!?!? A chicken thigh? Who would buy that? Who would deliberately buy that? Alas…  After looking at these pictures for months, longing to have a more “developed” palate, thinking what are they tasting that I’m not?!?
 
Well the wondering got the best of me, I couldn’t stand it any longer.

I had to try them… Cause, well, if I hated them, at least I would know. I searched and searched for a recipe that I hoped would “mask” the strong gamey flavor…. I found several that sounded pretty good, but ultimately came up with my own.

I was terrrrrrrrified to slice into the first one. Against my better judgement, I sliced away….

Took one bite…. The heavens opened up, angels began to sing, a rainbow appeared, the sun started shining and I fell inlove!!!!

Sweet and Spicy Hawaiian Grilled Chicken
 

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/3-1/2 cup pineapple juice (I just used the juice from the pineapple chunks)

4 tbsp. pineapple chunks

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. sesame oil

1 tsp. fish sauce

1 habanero (you can omit this or substitute a jalapeno or serano)

3 tsp. siracha

Juice of 2 limes

1/2  cup coconut milk

2lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs

(Cilantro for garnishing) *optional*

 

I let mine marinate for 24 hours. I wouldn’t do any less than overnight. I grilled them for about 7-8 mins on each side. (I wanted to make sure they were done, done, done, done!)

 

Let them rest for 5-10 minutes, garnish with an obscene amount of cilantro, then dig in!!! I served these with my absolute FAVORITE rice. I’ll share that recipe later.

Enjoy!!!!

Front Door Dilemma

Due to my pinterest addiction I have been very intrigued by painting interior doors black. I love love love love love the look of them. However, everyone that I have seen had white trim. Our house has wood trim (gag), so I was concerned that it would look stupid in my house.
So one day last week, I was bored….. And well, when that happens…. Watch out! I decided to paint the interior of our front door. Because let’s be honest, if I hated it, I could always paint it white again.

Here is the door before:    

 

And here she is after!!!! I am thrilled with how good this turned out. I’m now tackling the back door as well. I wish I hadn’t waited so long!

So what do you think?!?!

Cilantro Lime Jalapeno Dip Deliciousness

Happy Friday!!!!  I thought I’d start off the weekend with the most delicious dip everrrrrrr. This is a combination of two different recipes that I found. I have perfected the combination and it is simply A-MA-ZING!!!!

 Cilantro Lime Jalapeno Dip

1 cup sour cream (I use light)
¾ cup mayo
1 packet hidden valley ranch mix
2 cloves garlic (minced)
¼ cup salsa verde
Juice of 2 limes
3-4 fresh jalapenos (minced)
1 large bunch of cilantro  (¼ to ½ cups)  I use at least 1 cup though!

 

Place everything in food processer or you can cheat like me and use an immersion blender. Refrigerate for a couple hours to allow the flavors to get all happy! We have used this for almost everything. We’ve used it as a dip/sauce for taquitos, it’s simply to die for on fish tacos, or just use it as a dip with your favorite tortilla chips! I promise you’ll love it.

The Ugly Lamp Ducklings

I am not a bargain shopper.... I'm not a sale chaser... I don't even like to shop! However, I desperately needed two lamps for our living room. So I began my quest...... Of course, the only lamps that I started to drool over were wayyyyyyyy out of my price range. So I did what all bargain hunters do.... I set out on a new improved thrifty quest, with the hopes of being able to beautify them myself.

Enter the cheap tacky lamps from the thrift store:

                                                     

 

(Nevermind the ugly fireplace, we'll get to that makeover soon!)

Don't you just loooooove the 80's shiny brass?!?! I really loved the shape of these lamps, but that was about it. I wanted to do something different with these lamps.... Something bright and wild, which as those near and dear to me know is NOTHING like myself! Here's how I got started.

I gave them a good scrub down and a layer of primer.

Then moved on to the real paint..... 

Tada!!!!! Enter beautiful lamps:

I am sooooooo inlooooooooooooooooooove with these lamps!!!! I can't believe how awesome they turned out.

Lamps - $5 each

Primer - $3.37

Spray Paint - $3.37

Happy Girl - Priceless!!!

 

Hopefully I've inspired you to give something a facelift!