Finally Finished Friday

"Finished is way better than perfect"
                                                                ~author unknown


It's Friday!  I finally finished my Minnesota Stars quilt top yesterday!  Now to do a little piecing on the backing and by Tuesday I hope to be pin-basting it all together. 

How do you like the new look of my Stray Stitches?  I just had a complete makeover by Designs by Kassie.  She created just the look I wanted and in very quick time.  If you are looking for something new, I would definitely head over and check her out!

Today's photo:

American Goldfinch on my thistle feeder

I hope you can see this little yellow bird, the American Goldfinch.  I'm sorry the picture is so dark but they seem to only come shortly before sunset when the shadows are long and the temps have dropped just a little.  We usually have a feeder full of these little birds in the spring for about 3 weeks and then they disappear for most of the summer.  As the temperatures start to cool ever so slightly, they return by ones and twos and I feel lucky when I see one on the feeder.  They are very flitty little birds and shy at the slightest sound.  The American Goldfinch changes from winter plumage to breeding plumage by a complete molt of its body feathers.  It is the only member of its family to have this second molt in the spring; all other species have just one molt each year in the fall.  They are one of the latest nesting birds, starting in June or early July, when most other songbirds are finishing with breeding.  A group of goldfinches are known as "007", "charm", "rush", "treasury" or "vein" of goldfinches.  Sure would like to know the reasoning behind the "007" name.

Today I thought I would share one of my latest purchases to arrive from Connecting Threads.  I was just as pleased with it in person as I was when selecting in online!

I am going to make a bag for my hairstylist for Christmas.  What hairstylist couldn't use a bag to haul of her hair crap supplies to and from work.  Of course, I probably should call my gal a hairstylist - as you've seen from previous pictures, my hair is much to short to style, but she does keep it very nice looking and chops it off when it starts to do little wavy things.  I thought I would add a pocket on the outside using a panel of Loralie Harris Salon on each side.  I will let you know how it goes and add pictures of the progress once I get it started.  This is my next project after I quilt the Minnesota Star quilt.

I also have a recipe for you today.  It is so super duper easy that I almost hate calling it a recipe.  And the taste is yummy!

                                                                                                                                         SUPER EASY CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 (16 ounce) bottle Italian-style salad dressing

I only used two breasts

DIRECTIONS

1.  Fork chicken breasts.  To Marinate:  Put chicken in a glass baking dish.  Pour salad dressing over the chicken, lifting chicken to make sure the marinade also gets under the chicken.  Cover chicken with plastic wrap.  Place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour or overnight (the longer you marinate, the more taste the chicken will absorb).  Turn chicken over half way through marinating time.

Chicken in the marinade and ready for the refrigerator (once I cover it)

2.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C)

3.  Drain off the marinade from the chicken.  Discard the marinade.  Place the chicken in a lightly greased baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hours, or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.  Note:  Turn chicken occasionally while baking

Marinade drained off and ready for the oven

Super Easy Chicken served with summer squash (I know, too much yellow)

PERSONAL NOTE
1.  As you can tell from the photo, I only used two breasts and just used enough salad dressing to mostly cover the chicken.

2.  I sometimes forget to turn the chicken as the Note says and it still turns out great.

3.  I have a crock pot recipe very similar to this but this has a lot more flavor.

4.  Reheats well.

See what I mean about easy!  Let me know if you give it a try and how you like it.


FINAL THOUGHTS

Don't forget that once I reach 50 followers I will have another giveaway! That means only four more followers!   Do any of you have big plans for the Labor Day weekend?  We will be having our daughter, SIL, and Samson (their dog) here for Saturday and Sunday - that will be fun!  We will probably get some Wii in during their visit.  And, of course, we will be making our Saturday morning run to the Farmer's Market for a new haul of fresh produce.

I hope you all have a restful, fun, uneventful three day weekend!  Happy Friday!!