Thrifting Find. Singular. Plus an anniversary (of sorts)

Gotta admit, this was one of the worst weeks of thrifting that I've had lately.  Last week, I complained about the fact that despite a whole lot of incoming donations, the shelves were bare.  They weren't quite so bare this week.  In fact, one thrift had a crap-ton of Christmas stuff.  More even than they had during the actual Christmas season.

Of course, all of it was hideous.

Oddly, I came across not one, but two different coffee tables with drawers.  Unfortunately, both were in a condition that was lousy enough that I wasn't sure that I'd be able to restore either to decent shape.  So neither one came home with me.

Other than that, I didn't see anything that was the least bit tempting.  My one find of the day, as a matter of fact, wasn't even for me--it was for the Hubster.  So far, I've used the gift card he gave me for Christmas twice--both times for him!

And here's my sole purchase of the weekend:

1.  Blue Blown Glass Pitcher!  This may be the last piece of blue glass I get for the Hubster.  Seems he has an awful lot of it already.  My eye is automatically drawn to this color (as if you couldn't guess!), so my gut reaction is to buy it.  I know nothing about this, other than it's apparently hand-blown.  Goodwill, $4.00

What I made Department

I was kind of lazy in the kitchen this weekend.  

A:  Buffalo Chicken Barbecue!  This picture is a retread.  For some reason, it came out kind of dry this time.  Still delicious, though.  The recipe is here.

B:  Dr. Martin's Mix!   From The I Hate to Cook Book.  This picture is a retread as well.  See how lazy I was?

C:  World's Easiest Cole Slaw!  I'll include the recipe here since it's so brief:

1 16-oz (or thereabouts) bag of pre-shredded cole slaw mix.  I guess you could do your own, but that would be more trouble.

1C Miracle Whip.  The fat-free kind works very well in this recipe, surprisingly.  Don't use mayonnaise.

1/4C Sugar.

Mix Miracle Whip and sugar in a bowl.  Pour over the cabbage and toss well to coat.  Important:  Let this sit in the fridge overnight before you eat it.  If you eat it right away, it's nasty.

This recipe is supposed to be a clone of KFC Coleslaw.  I've never had The Colonel's cole slaw, so I can't vouch for its authenticity.  It sure is easy though, and good.  I've tried dozens of recipes in my life and this is the one I'm sticking with.

In other news.

It's my anniversary!  As of today, I am officially smoke-free for a whole year.

Go me.

Annnnnd, that's about it, kids.  Hopefully I'll have something better to post about next week (and I'm planning on slipping into a never-been-to thrift today), so keep your fingers crossed for me, will you?

Kind of ashamedly linking up with Sir Thrift A Lot, Thrifter/Maker/Fixer/Farm, The Nifty Thrifty  and We Call It Junkin.

Thrifting Finds #14!

Thrifting find, actually.  It was kind of a slow weekend.  Still, I really like what I got:

1. Rollers!  Just couldn't say no to a package of mint, shrink-wrapped bouffant rollers!  With the original price tag, yet--and you know how I love my original price tags! Savers, $.99 

Oh, and by the way, I'm pronouncing "rollers" the way the gal in this commercial does:

Now, you may be wondering just why the heck I bought a pack of rollers in the first place.  Well, it's because they'd go so well with my awesome collection of defunct hair-care products.

I've never mentioned that collection?  How remiss of me!  Here's a preview in case anyone cares:

If anyone's interested, I'll post more pictures.  I've got a lot of this crap.

In other news, The Girl Child blew in last night amid a tornado of luggage, Apple products, and girly-scented things.  We're more of a way station than an actual destination, but at least we get her for a day!

And because she's here, I did a little cooking.  I made Peanut Butter Candy Bar cookies and Caramel Apple squares. 

These are the Peanut butter bars:

There's a peanut-butter cookie base, covered by a layer of peanut cream, covered by a layer of caramel with salted peanuts, all covered with a layer of milk chocolate.  Needless to say, these were a lot of work.

Can't find the pic of the Caramel Apple squares, so picture an oatmeal cookie base with chopped apples, caramel, and more oatmeal cookie on top.

I also made deviled eggs for the first time.  The whole hard-cooked egg thing is kind of icky to me, but TGC likes them and I got to use my awesome Tupperware Deviled Egg Server!

I actually did make enough eggs to fill the container but one of them was so hard to peel that I had to toss it.  We're having these tonight with Buffalo Chicken Barbecue, potato salad, and some crudites.  Sort of a little indoor picnic!

So that's about it.  Only one purchase this weekend, but I'm sure you'll forgive me as I was a little busy.  Hopefully, next week will net many, many cool purchases!

Linking up with all the deliciousness at Sir Thrift A Lot, The Nifty Thrifty, and The Remnant

Recipe Roundup: Buffalo Chicken Barbecue

We're having this tonight, as a matter of fact, and both hubs and I enjoy this so much that I thought I'd share the recipe.

I totally stole this found this on some other blog, but I can't remember which one.  I'd gladly give credit if I could only remember.  If this is your recipe, let me know!

Buffalo Chicken Barbecue

1.5lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4C Buffalo wing sauce
1 packet Ranch dressing mix.

Dump the chicken in your Crock Pot.  Mix the Ranch dressing mix and the wing sauce and pour over the chicken. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours.  Check it after 5 hours, because it's easy to cook this to a pulp.  You know your own Crock Pot. so let experience be your guide.  When done, remove the chicken and shred it.  Return it to the pot for a minute to soak up the juice.  Serve on sub rolls with a squirt of Ranch dressing on top.
Double (or more!) this recipe because it's easy, it's delicious, and it freezes well.

But wait, there's more!  How about some photographic documentation?

I forgot to take a picture of the chicken, so use your imagination.

That Louisiana Supreme wing sauce?  Best.  Stuff.  Ever.  I've been putting it on everything.  I get it at the Dollar Store, so you might want to look there and see if yours has it.  If not, I'm sure whatever wing sauce you usually use will be fine.  Likewise the Ranch Dressing mix.  I bought the kind that happened to be on sale.

Finished product!  I know it doesn't look like much, but it's hard to photograph food well, and I'm not a good photographer in the first place.  You can trust me, though--this stuff is delicious.  Make a lot and freeze some.