Shades of Pink Tablescape

 These beautiful silk roses with dark brown

French script caught my eye and inspired this pink

table.  I think I am just wishing for warm

weather as we got blanketed with snow

this week!

The pink mercury glass also jumped right into

my shopping cart as I was treasure hunting

at Home Goods this week.  I thought the

two of them went so well together and they

immediately had a place on my kitchen counter.

I created this pink confection to go along with the silk

roses and mercury glass.

Pink and white layers starting with a jeweled charger

and topped with a beaded napkin ring make up today's table.

My aunt's pink depression ware glasses in two sizes

seemed perfect with the roses.  

The table has a romantic old fashioned feel with

a modern edge to it.  The French script roses give

it that updated feel.

I chose my Old Maryland Engraved sterling that I

received for my wedding.  My parents felt that everyone

should own sterling, so they gave us four place settings

when we married and an additional one each year for

Christmas until we had a set of 12.  I am so glad they did.

A little jeweled candle holder adds a fun

textural element to the center of the table.

This table is just so soft and romantic.

It sets me dreaming for warm and sunny

days in the rose garden.....

....but for now, the garden looks more like this!

I will be posting this with

Tablescapes Thursday

Feathered Nest Friday

Pink Saturday

White chargers - Z Gallerie (this year)

Pink and white plates - Tai Pan

Candle holder - Tai Pan

Pink Goblets - Inheritance from my aunt

Sterling silver - Old Maryland Engraved

Roses - Home Goods

Pink Mercury Glass - Home Goods

Pink napkins and rings - Home Goods

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Chicken - Pinterest Week

It all started one week night when I was trying to

decide what to make for dinner.  I really love to

cook (but not clean up) but I don't love to decide

what we are having.  I decided to just open my

Pinterest Recipe Pantry and choose something.

This Bacon Wrapped Chicken caught my eye

and I had all of the ingredients - that was really important as I

had no intention of running to the store.

When I pound chicken, I place it in a plastic bag,

but not tightly sealed so that the bag doesn't pop

open.  Then I use my french rolling pin to evenly

pound the raw chicken thin.

The recipe called for garlic and chive cream cheese but since I only

had plain cream cheese, I decided to add my own 

flavorings so I chopped a little chives and added some

granulated garlic.

I found the recipe on Blogchef.net.  Bobby is the author of

Blog Chef and there are so many yummy

comfort food recipes on this site.  Go give it a try.

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Chicken

6 boneless skinless chicken breast pieces

(pounded thinly)

8 oz. cream cheese

2-3 T. finely chopped chives

1/4 tsp. granulated garlic

12 pieces partially cooked bacon

(I used the precooked bacon from Costco)

I like to use the precooked or partially cooked

bacon so that the bacon still isn't raw when 

the chicken is done and I don't like wiggly bacon.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  

In a medium bowl mix the cream cheese,

chives and garlic. 

Spread the thinly pounded 

chicken breasts with the cream cheese mix.

Roll the chicken breasts up from the narrow end

and set aside.  

Place the precooked bacon on a plate covered

with a paper towel.  Top with another paper towel and heat

in the microwave for 1 minute to soften the bacon.

Now wrap the bacon around the chicken.

Secure with toothpicks.

Season with a little sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Bake at 400 for

about 20-25 minutes or until the juices run clear.

(This is the uncooked chicken.  See how the precooked bacon

is already brown and mostly cooked?  You will to just warm 

it up a little in the microwave so it will be flexible enough to

wrap around the chicken.)

Oh, when you slice it open, you get the creamy

goodness of the cream cheese and the salty crunchiness

of the bacon in each savory bite.  Definitely a keeper!

This was delicious and simple and is certainly

company worthy.

I have a lot of people tell me they don't like recipes

they have tried on Pinterest.  I tell them that just 

because the picture looks great doesn't mean the

recipe is going to be great.  Sometimes you may want to

tweak the recipe a little to make it so you like it (like

using the precooked or partially cooked bacon) but 

we thought this recipe was great.

I will post this with 

Foodie Friday

Apres Ski at Hidden Pony Lodge

President's Day weekend couldn't have been

more perfect as we got tons of fresh

powder for skiing at our mountain home

at Sundance.

One beautiful thing about Utah's weather is

that often the next day after a storm is sunny

and bright which makes skiing so much fun

and makes the snow just sparkle like diamonds.

Our home, Hidden Pony Lodge sits right 

on the ski slopes so we can watch people

come down the hill.

When I designed the interior of the cabin I wanted

a timeless native Indian look.  The plates

I chose were Pfaltzgraff's Midnight Sun

"inspired by the traditions of America's Southwest."

Midnight Sun is matte black with glossy black geometric

designs, perfect for an updated Native American design.

Swirls of silver accent the silver napkins.

Last year I did a tablescape at 

Hidden Pony Lodge 

(click to see more of the interior of the home)

and afterwards Marlis at Creative Journeys 

left me a comment suggesting

the perfect flatware for the home called

Pueblo from International Silver.

It wasn't long after that the Cascade dishwasher

detergent changed its formula and it turned all

of my flatware a horrible dark gray.  I was so

glad that Marlis had suggested this new flatware

and at such an opportune time.  

It really picks up the Southwest motif that runs

throughout the rest of the mountain home.

Today we have moved out on the sunny

deck for an Apres Ski trayscape.

I just love the twig chairs and the twig table

which came outside for the day.

I found two of these unique tree chairs at a store in Salt Lake City

when I did the interior of of the home 17 years ago.

I also made the leather and suede cushions

and pillows and decorated them with

beading.  So simple if you just use

a leather needle on your sewing machine

and leave the raw ends exposed on the sides.

These silver pieces are just tied on with strips of

leather.

Cowboy boot mugs are perfect for the

casual table.  You can find these online

for about $3 each sold in sets of 12 -

follow this link.  

Of course everyone wants to

drink out of these.

A silver organza placemat is a great contrast to the

rustic table, tray and setting.

Warm soup and fresh bread out on the sunny deck -

what better way to enjoy watching skiers swoosh down

the Sundance slopes.

Wish you could all be here!

Hope you had a wonderful President's Day weekend too.

I will be posting this with

Tablescapes Thursday

Wow Us Wednesday

Open House

Feathered Nest Friday

Outdoor Wednesday

Seasonal Sunday

Chili and Cornbread In A Cup

It is cold outside and what better way to take away the

chill than homemade chili and cornbread?  How

about combining the two into one clever and

creative dish that showcases both?

Who hasn't seen this creative presentation
for chili and cornbread?
I pinned

this one quite a while ago from Giver'slog,
and decided to give it

a try.

Since we are all lovers of Pinterest here at
Purple Chocolat Home,
 we decided to try and
make some of the delicious things we have
pinned or marked.  Pinterest is like a personal set
of files of things you want to save and be able to
go back and find.  Before Pinterest, I was going through
reams of paper printing off your wonderful ideas that
I wanted to get around to or to save!  (A little complaining
from hubby about paper waste there!!)  Still, it was hard
to go through all of them and find what I was looking for.

Enter Pinterest - now not only can I save every great idea
(without paying for ink and paper) but I can see great
ideas you have found.

Pinterest is now my greatest referral source and has
increased my readership.  I love that too!

I saw this fun blurb on Pinterest and decided to make

a whole week of Pinterest items.  Of course I have 

pinned so much, I could do a whole year of things but

really I am just visiting your great blogs 

and trying out

things you have suggested!

 I decided to tweak this one and make my favorite super quick

recipe for chili.This recipe is perfect for something

that is thick and tasty but is done in a flash.

I developed this quick chili recipe one time

when I was out of time and needed 

a thick rich chili in minutes to top Navajo Tacos.

I like my chili thick, almost thick enough

to stand your fork in and that can take a

lot of simmering.  Substituting refried beans 

for kidney or chili beans gives that luscious 

creamy thickness instantly.

Fast As A Rattlesnake

Southwest Chili

1 1/2 lb. ground beef

1 T. onion powder

1/2 tsp. granulated garlic

2 T. chili powder

1 1/2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. oregano

28 oz. finely diced tomatoes

30 oz. refried beans

3/4 C. warm water (more if needed)

Brown the ground beef in a large saucepan.  Drain the

fat.  Add the spices and stir while still on the heat for

about 2 minutes to toast the spices and bring out

additional flavor.  Stir in the tomatoes, the refried

beans and water. Heat to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes,

stirring often to avoid sticking.  Add additional water if

desired to make it how thick you want it.

I decided to make my quick and thick homemade

chili and top it with the kind of cornbread I love,

sweet and cakelike.

Sweet Cornbread

1 1/2 C. flour

3/4 C. yellow cornmeal
2/3 C. sugar

3/4 tsp. salt

2 1/2  tsp. baking powder

1/4 C. butter, melted

1 1/4 C. milk

1 egg

Preheat oven to 400. 

Use Pam with flour only on the bottom of an 8x8

inch pan.  

 Mix the dry ingredients together.

Melt the butter and add the milk.  Microwave the milk and

butter mix for 1 minute to scald the milk.  Stir the milk

into the flour mix and then stir in the egg.  

Spoon into the pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or 

until golden.  Let cool 5 minutes before cutting.
(Or if you are really in a hurry,
Marie Callender's Cornbread
Mix is great too if it is available where you live.)

To make the Chili and Cornbread In a Cup
(or in a jar) fill the bottom third of your ovenproof
container with warm chili.  Make sure it isn't too hot
because it could crack a cold jar.  Fill the next third with
the cornbread batter.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for
20-25 minutes or until the bread is cooked through
and the chili is bubbling.

And I had to take the suggestion given on her

blog and top the cornbread with soft creamy

butter and rich honey!  Yummy!

(The honey and butter get eaten in the first few bites

so don't worry about it mixing in the chili, unless you

want it to of course!!)

(I served them in small pie tins with checkered
tissue and tied on bamboo forks and spoons which
I found at a local restaurant supply.)



"This is one of the funnest meals I've had!", said my hubby
after he finished the meal!  Now I LOVED that!!

I will be posting this with
Foodie Friday

From Ugly Duckling to Beautiful Swan - A Pillow Makeover

Time for a little sprucing up around Purple Chocolat Home.

We did a little redecorating in the living room and these

large leather double wide chairs needed something.

I had some ugly striped pillows from the last model

home I decorated and decided to recover them.

I found this beautiful flocked damask on a burlap

type weave that I thought would be beautiful

Here is a before shot.  I had never used these pillow,

they just came with a couch we used and I was

actually getting ready to ship them off to a thrift

store.

Recovering pillows is one of the easiest redecorating

projects.  If you haven't given it a try, you should.

I just cut open the fabric and then used it as a pattern

for the new fabric.  With the damask pattern, I had to

be careful to center the design.  I was going to try and

reuse the fringe, but it just fell apart when I dismantled

the pillow so I bought new instead.

After the two sides of the pillow were cut out, I sewed

the fringe on the right side of the pillow front.

Next I placed the two pieces right sides together, being sure not

to get the end of the fringe caught in the seam, I sewed

the two sides together with the fringe.

Trim the corners and turn right side out.

Stitch the opening closed and fluff the fringe.

To tuft the pillow you will need an upholstery needle.

You can buy these at almost any fabric store.  This one

is about 8 to 10 inches long.  This way the needle goes

all the way through the thickness of the pillow.  I used

the more expensive jeweled button for only one side

and this faux leather button for the opposite side.

I also used heavy duty upholstery thread and tied

each one off separately for extra security.

Throw on another purchased pillow and

pull up the ottoman and the project is done.

There are two of these chairs so I made two of 

the pillows and saved a fortune.

I will be posting this with

Metamorphosis Monday

Wow Us Wednesday

Feathered Nest Friday

Fabric from Home Fabrics