Crafty Find: Gradient Flowers

I just stumbled across this little post and had to share on here. Not only is it something you can do at home (which makes it crafty!), but it is also really beautiful to look at. Arranging them in your home just like in the photo would be a great center piece on your table for any dinner party. You could even match them to your wedding colours if you happen to be planning such an event. 

Of course, I had to find out the instructions behind it (even if the photo is pretty self-explanatory), and found this science blog with an even more fun twist - multi-coloured carnations. This gives you the basics of how the science works, so to get the deeper shades of colour, simply make a more concentrated mixture of dye and water. 

I just might have to try this out at home with some white flowers of my own. 

Recipe #35: Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

(Original recipe from www.Skinnytaste.com) 

My sister-in-law posted this recipe on Pinterest and it was the perfect suggestion for a Sunday night dinner. The ingredients were easy to find in either my fridge or grocery store, and frankly, anything that makes use of the slow cooker means it’s already a winning dish in my books. This dish is not unlike the Chicken Taco Salad I cooked oh so often (it became our usual Monday night dinner by default somehow); it’s  just served up in a different way. I made a few adjustments, which I’ve included, to show you how easy it is to vary the recipe to your liking.

I will often boil chicken to cook it quickly and to keep it moist, so using the slow cooker was not that much different, except you can turn it on and forget about it! Cooking up a couple of chicken breasts, more than you’ll need for just one dinner, is a great time saver. You can freeze the leftovers for use in another dish - perhaps Chicken Enchiladas.

INGREDIENTS:

For the chicken:

24 oz boneless skinless chicken breast

1 celery stalk

1/2 onion, diced

1 clove garlic

16 oz fat free low sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup hot cayenne pepper sauce (I used Frank's) or bbq sauce

For the wraps:

6 large lettuce leaves, Bibb or Iceberg

1 1/2 cups shredded carrots

Shredded cheese

Salsa

DIRECTIONS:

In a crock pot, combine chicken, onions, celery stalk, garlic and broth (enough to cover your chicken, use water if the can of broth isn't enough). Cover and cook on high 4 hours.

Remove the chicken from pot, reserve 1/2 cup broth and discard the rest. Shred the chicken with two forks, return to the slow cooker with the 1/2 cup broth and the hot sauce or bbq sauce and set to on high for an additional 30 minutes. Makes 3 cups chicken.

To prepare lettuce cups, place 1/2 cup chicken in each leaf, top with 1/4 cup shredded carrots, celery and dressing of your choice. Wrap up and start eating!