Blueberry Cajun Chicken

Decided to make a nice dinner last night.  For some reason I knew I wanted a dish that combined chicken and blueberries…no I’m not pregnant.  After some web browsing I found this recipe for Savory Wild Blueberry Chicken Breasts (recipe below).  I did substitute lemon juice for lemon rind and I marinated the chicken in Eating Right Blueberry Pomegranate Salad Dressing overnight.  (Eating Right is a fairly new brand from Safeway that has some decent healthier products.)  I served the chicken with baked sweet potatoes and some fresh steamed string beans tossed with lemon juice and slivered almonds I pan-toasted in a bit of butter.

Everything turned out wonderfully!  The chicken was the perfect blend of sweet and savory.  The lemon juice in the string beans gave it just enough zing.  And you can hardly go wrong with sweet potatoes.

Bonus: Packed up quite nicely with some steamed broccoli for the today’s lunch!

Todays Lunch

Recipezaar’s Savory Wild Blueberry Chicken Breasts

Blueberry Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/2 teaspoon cajun spices (or more, to taste)
• 4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/3 cup red wine
• 2 cups wild blueberries
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh lemon rind
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)

Directions

Marinated Chicken

1. Dust chicken breasts with Cajun spices.
2. Saute in olive oil until brown and almost cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes.
3. (If thick, cover for 3 or 4 minutes more.) Remove chicken breasts from pan and keep warm.
4. In same pan, sautÈ garlic and onion until transparent, scraping remaining bits of chicken from bottom of pan.
5. Add red wine and cook down until most of the liquid is evaporated.
6. Add Wild Blueberries, lemon rind and salt.
7. Simmer for 5 minutes.
8. (If blueberries are frozen, until berries are heated through.) Add salt and pepper to taste.
9. Let sit for 5 minutes, heat off, for flavors to blend.
10. Spoon over chicken breasts and serve.

Inspiration while driving

Have you ever noticed how the best ideas hit you in the car, in the shower, just as you’re about to fall asleep? Whenever pen and paper aren’t handy basically…

Well today, I was stuck in traffic (what a surprise for NoVA) trying to think of a name for my store.  I wasn’t completely happy with any of the names I listed here. For some reason I feel as though the name of my store should relate to my name somehow (kinda stuck in a rut here…). So I began thinking of my first name, last name, nicknames, etc and then remembered how I used to spell my name when I was little.  Somehow, I would always include all the letters of my name but totally out of order – so “Danielle” would appear as “ailednle” one day and “lledniae” the next.

I can’t believe it took me 23 years to realize this but the letters in my first name (Danielle) rearranged become “All I Need”.  Seems somewhat fitting for a store.  I’m not sold on this idea but I thought it was kinda neat.

What do you think? Is “All I Need” a good store name? It seems a bit boring to me without the lengthy explanation of how it came to be…Any thoughts??

Pink and Brown Dress – update

A month ago I posted this dress. I wore it to two weddings in November. And now I am finally posting some better shots of it (hemmed and ironed).

And here’s an action shot at one of the weddings. (It twirls well!)

Since I wanted to wear this in November, I made a brown shrug to match it. The shrug is kind of a prototype…several things I will change the next time I make one. For example, the seams along the sleeves are too far forward.

In my last post I mentioned some projects I was working on at the beginning of December.  Most of them dealt with sequined or very silky, slippery and otherwise difficult materials. So, long story short, I’m still working on them. Hope to have at least 2 or 3 of them done by the New Year.

Until then – working on the last few Christmas presents (will post them after they have been given).

POLL – New online store name

So I’m in the process of building up inventory for an etsy store. (If you’ve never heard of etsy check it out NOW!) I can’t decide on a name for my store/line. It will be women’s clothing and some home decor stuff as well. At the moment I don’t really have a clearly defined style – still trying out a lot of things…but it’s definitely geared towards 20/30-somethings. some classy stuff, some party stuff, some loungy stuff – have played around with some lingerie too.

My initials are D.E.W. so I was going to try to incorporate that into the name somehow. Here are some of the ideas I have so far:

• DEWlusions
• DEWlusional
• DEWlusional Designs
• sQuare
• sqWEAR
• Danigirl

Let me know what you guys think of these (too cheesy??) and I’m completely open to new suggestions!!

(btw, went on a sewing binge this weekend – will post photos as soon as I finish them all off)

Gifts from Grandma

I recently acquired loads of goodies from my grandma’s “stash”. Buttons, elastic, zippers, patches, thread, as well as all sorts of doodads I’m not really sure what to do with… I am particularly excited about the Big Mac Iron-Ons, the Dippity-Do jar, the Howdy-Doody patch and the Knitting Knobby.

I’m still trying to figure out how to use the flat braid, the knit perma-trim, and the hem & drape markers. And I need some ideas for projects to use the patches, trims, and iron-ons. I’d also like to come up with something nice to do with the tatting pieces my grandmother made.

Any ideas?

2 Weddings and Thanksgiving

Tis the season. The rush to Christmas has begun. I’ll be busy making Christmas presents from now through December. I did manage to make this dress for myself though.

I’ll post better photos – this is before I hemmed (or ironed) it.

I’ve already worn it to one wedding and will be wearing it to another wedding this weekend. Perhaps to Thanksgiving as well…

My last project before I completely devote myself to Christmas is a brown jacket to wear with the dress this weekend.

Project Runway Season 4 Premiere!

I am anxiously awaiting the first episode of this season’s Project Runway! (32 minutes and counting…)

To get in the mood, I’ve assigned myself my own PR Challenge. I bought 3 yards of this obnoxious fabric at JoAnn’s yesterday.

Trust me, it’s more obnoxious in person…

So my mission is to make something wearable from this craaazy print.

Wish me luck!

My life has been changed forever…

Yes, I had a life-changing experience today. I went to G Street Fabrics for the first time.
Apparently G Street Fabrics was started in 1941 in Northwest DC (on G St. of course).  It is now run by the founder’s son and grandson and has expanded to 4 locations (I went to the one in Centreville, VA).

This place ROCKS MY SOCKS!  Tons of fabric of every texture, color, weight, pattern that you could ever want. They cover the entire range -there’s a whole section of gorgeous designer fabric (some as much as $300/yd!) right next to an entire wall of discount $3/yd fabric.

As if their amazing variety of fabrics wasn’t enough – there’s a whole room dedicated to notions (ribbon, zippers, buttons, patches…).

And to top it all off, they offer classes. Knitting, quilting, pattern-making, fashion business & design.

I think I’ve found my new addiction…it starts with a ‘G’ and rhymes with ‘Street Fabrics’.

Before and After

Here are a few of my latest creations…

Cocktail Dress reconstructed from thrifted items

Autumn Shirt reconstructed from a Walmart turtleneck

Convertible Skirt/Dress – this can be worn with a belt as a tube dress or as a skirt!

Let me know what you think of these. Be harsh…I can take it!

True confessions of a procrastinator…

So I started this blog a few weeks ago and then life got hectic. I’m now in the process of switching jobs and moving! (My first big move since college!) I’ve also recently rekindled an old friendship so I’ve been busy with work and relationships.

So that’s my lame excuse for procrastinating and not blogging yet…

As well as my day life as a computer engineer, I am an aspiring fashion designer. At the moment I’m into the reconstruction fad – refashioning ill-fitting, ugly, or out-dated clothing into modern, comfortable, and hopefully innovative pieces. I am an admitted crafster.org, t_shirt_surgery, and craftgrrl addict.

I intend on using this as a forum to share my work and ideas, receive criticism and feedback, and learn about sewing/fashion industry/trends/small businesses/etc.

Most of my work has been for my personal wardrobe so far but I hope to break into the small business world soon (relatively speaking of course – remember i AM a procrastinator).

Cheers!