DIY: Glass "Etched" Salt & Pepper Shakers.

I have seen a lot of lovely projects recently involving etched glass. I found several DIYs online that used an etching cream, and thought that seemed simple enough and was a good place to start. So, off to the craft store I went. FYI: when I go to the craft store I get completely lost in craft-land. I spent a combined 3 1/2 hrs at our local Hobby Lobby and Michael's yesterday, and left without half of what was on my list but a few extra things I hadn't intended to buy. I couldn't find the etching cream at my first stop, but I did pick up some Krylon Frosted Glass Finish. At the second stop, I found the etching cream but when I saw the price I decided to stick with the frosty spray finish instead.

Like I said, there are a ton of awesomely great ideas for glass projects, but I figured for my first time ever I should start small. I decided to decorate some salt and pepper shakers that I purchased at the dollar store a while back for... a dollar. Making this total project cost about $8, with plenty of frosted finish to spare.

 

Materials:

• Painters tape
• Krylon Frosted Glass Finish
• Glass salt & pepper shakers
• Stencil or stickers

Tape off all the areas of the project that you do not want to be frosted. I wanted just a tiny bit of it frosted, so I basically covered the entire shaker with tape, leaving a small square on the front.

Place your stencil, or in my case a sticker, on the surface where you would like it to go as well. Remember, anything covered will not be frosted.

Following the directions on the back of the bottle, in a well-ventilated area, spray the exposed surfaces with several thin coats of the finish. Allow to dry approximately 20-30 minutes before removing the sticker/stencil.

If there is any sticky residue left from your stickers (this happened to me), grab a q-tip and some nail polish remover to clean it off. The nail polish remover WILL remove the frosty finish as well, so be careful. But don't worry, if this happens (it happened to me), just replace your sticker/stencil and spray it again. I used a combination of q-tips and a toothpick to clean up my lines and remove all the sticky residue.

Remove the painters tape last. I suggest waiting about an hour before doing this just to be sure everything is dried up. If any of the spray seeped under the tape (this happened to me), just clean it up with your trusty q-tips, toothpicks and nail polish remover.

For my first project I think the results aren't bad at all. It wasn't as difficult as it sounds, just be patient and allow the finish to dry before you go peeling off your stickers!

Recipe: Balsamic & Garlic Pork Tenderloin

I have challenged myself with the task of trying one new recipe a week for every week of the new year, and so far it is moving along nicely. I have to admit that coming up with the time to choose a worthy new recipe, purchase the ingredients that I don't already have, prepare it and cook it, is harder than I thought it would be. But I am determined to keep this going! Not only because I don't want to fail at the one and only "resolution" I made this year, but because I LOVE food and I really enjoy cooking. I think it's important not to fall into the rut of eating the same old, same old all the time. When able, I will credit whatever blog, site, or cookbook that I adapted the recipe from. This one originally came from Kitchen Confidante. That blog is chock full of wonderful recipes and other food-related posts so I suggest you check it out! I followed the recipe pretty closely with just a few minor modifications.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lb pork tenderloin, or two 3/4 lb loins
• 4-5 garlic cloves, finely minced or crushed & roughly chopped
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons oil for cooking 

Mix together the garlic, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a small bowl. The original recipe describes the result as a paste, but mine was much runnier than that. More like a marinade.

Place your tenderloins in a dish and brush on the marinade generously. I cut a few slits in my tenderloin and made sure to get plenty of marinade inside there too. Then, I ended up pouring the entire mixture over the tenderloins and massaged it in using my fingers for a minute or so.

 

I recently read an article that described common cooking mistakes. One of them was not allowing your meat to reach room temperature before cooking. So, remembering that, I left my covered tenderloins to marinate on the counter for about 2 hours before cooking. This will also allow it to really soak up the flavors of the marinade and makes for an incredibly moist tenderloin. 

Preheat your oven to 400°. Heat the cooking oil in a saute pan over med-high heat. Move the tenderloins to the skillet and cook in the oil until browned on all sides, about 4-5min. total.

 

Place tenderloins in a baking dish and pour any leftover marinade on top. Bake in the preheated oven until cooked through, about 30-35min. Let rest several minutes before slicing.

Serve and enjoy! This is easy and DELICIOUS.

 

**October 17, 2013 EDIT: The photo above is the original photo taken for this recipe. I made this again tonight for dinner and it was even better than last time! I made a few very slight tweaks the recipe which are reflected above, as well as a couple of new photos.