Chicken Bastone

This delectable chicken dish is simple to prepare and easy on your budget.  I usually add mushrooms which will add another complementary layer of flavor. Suggested sides include broccoli rabe and rice, farfalle (bowtie pasta) and peas, or spinach salad.

Ingredients:

1 Lb. boneless/skinless chicken breast

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup Bisquik

¾ tsp kosher salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

1 zip top plastic bag

1 oblong glass baking dish

Sauce:

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 clove garlic

2 Tbsp Marsala wine

1 Tbsp fresh parsley

Heat oven to 325 degrees

Cut the chicken into 2-3 inch pieces and put in zip top bag with bisquik, salt, and pepper.  Close bag and shake to coat chicken.  Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to a frying pan or non-stick skillet that’s been warmed over medium heat.  When oil is hot, add chicken pieces and cook 1-2 minutes per side until nicely browned (the chicken is not fully cooked so don’t eat it yet) you may have to do this in batches if your pan is not large enough.

Place pan cooked chicken into glass baking dish.  At this point you can add fresh mushrooms to the frying pan and caramelize them.  Pour mushrooms and “sauce” over chicken pieces and place in the oven for 20 minutes.  Stir once.

Guaranteed to be a great dinner for you, that special someone, or your mother-in-law.

Recipe provided by Gloria Bastone-Blair

Show Off Your Best Curves with Shapewear

Show off your shape with confidence thanks to the supportive and smoothing effects of Shapewear.  You can wear Shapewear under all types of clothing, but your ability to look fabulous will be evident when wearing clingy dresses, skirts, pants, and tops.

Today’s Shapewear fabrics are stretchy and light so you’ll hardly even know you have it on.

Make sure you avoid products that will, “Take off 10 pounds” as these will certainly bulge where the shaper isn’t.  When wanting to target specific areas, just follow these simple tips:

e   For Thighs-A moderate control shaper in spandex or microfiber

e   For Tummy & Bum-Either try a panty with a reinforced support panel or perhaps choose high-leg briefs which have flattening qualities

e   Full Torso-Shaping bodysuits from breast to hip are a smooth hit

Buy Shapewear in a color closest to your skin tone for near invisibility.  Black Shapewear will also work well beneath dark clothing.  *White Shapewear has a tendency to be visible even under white clothing.

You can find superb Shapewear examples from Spanx and Glamorise at Aspen Gold Ridge, your ultimate source for fine quality Plus Size clothing and accessories.

Revitalize Your Skin This Winter

When winter’s chill has made your skin feel dry, flaky and tired, revitalize your skin with moisture. First, since harsh soaps and abrasive body scrubs wash away protective oils and will make you more vulnerable to dry skin than in warmer climes, skip them this time of year and switch to mild glycerin-based facial cleansers and body washes.

Hydration is Critical

Hydration both inside and outside is critical to your skin elasticity according to dermatological experts.  Drink the requisite eight glasses of water a day and skip excessive consumption of dehydrating liquids containing caffeine or alcohol.

Herbal teas are naturally caffeine-free and are packed with minerals and anti-oxidants that benefit your skin while supplying a tasty alternative to water.

Moisturize and Your Skin Will Love You

Old-school moisturizers contain mineral oils that seal in moisture and prevent water loss from the skin’s outermost layer.  New school moisturizers not only help lock in moisture but can contain ingredients that replicate natural oils in the skin to further build up a protective barrier.

Dermatologists agree that moisturizing throughout the day is essential, especially after getting wet.  Restrict the use of exfoliators since they can inflame dry skin and strip away oils. For long-lasting hydration, look for ceramide, a type of fatty oil found in the skin when purchasing a facial cream.  In body lotions look for emollients from shea or cocoa butter and mineral or plant oils.  Thicker creams and ointments should contain urea, glycerin, lactic acid, or glycolic acid which penetrate the skin and increase its ability to retain water.

 Recommended Products

Get the glow that you need and help start the revitalization process by using Marius Fabre Olivia BIO Organic Leaf Shower Gel, Institut Karite Paris Revitalizing Day Cream with 25% Shea Butter, and Pre de Provence Beauty Care 20% Pure Shea Butter Soap.  You can find these products and other superb offerings of soaps, gels, lotions, and creams at thefrenchybee.com

ECO SHOPPING BAGGS

Help save the planet with stylish Baggallini ECO baggs, a smart alternative to store-supplied plastic shopping bags.

According to The New York Times, fellow Americans like us throw away 100 billion plastic shopping bags each year.  Yes, I said billion. Only 1% of that staggering number gets recycled.  Plastic shopping bags are made from a petroleum product called polyethylene and can take up to 500 years to break down.

We can stop the madness by electing to shop smart and look stylish by carrying an ECO Expandable Tote bagg from Baggallini.   The Expandable Tote is an incredibly sturdy bagg (able to hold 8 wine bottles with ease) and is made from a lightweight water-resistant fabric.  The fabric is what makes all the difference since this bagg is made entirely from recycled plastic bottles!  #1 clear plastic bottles are cleaned, ground up, re-polymerized, and created into fiber.  The fiber is then spun into yarn which is woven into a soft and durable fabric.

Each Baggallini ECO bagg will keep between 7-32 bottles out of landfills.  To date, Baggallini has saved over 900,000 bottles from going into landfills!

Give plastic shopping bags and plastic bottles a one-two punch!  Baggallini bags can be found at Aspen Gold Ridge, your ultimate source for fine clothing and accessories.

Eat Foods That Will Help Your Heart Love You Back

Take care of your heart by eating healthy high in fiber-rich foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains.  According to the American Heart Association,  unsaturated cooking fats such as olive oil and canola oil combined with a consistent ingestion of omega-3 fatty acids are believed to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, and each helps keep your healthyin a different way.

• Omega-3-These acids found in fatty fish such as salmon and tuna, may lower triglyceride levels and have an anti-inflammatory effect.
• Fiber-Found in foods such as black beans, kidney beans and whole grains, fiber helps reduce blood cholesterol.  Studies show that people eating oatmeal every day have had impressive reductions in their cholesterol.
• Flavonoids-These compounds, found in some fruits and dark chocolate (cool!), appear to help blood vessels dilate and expand, which improves blood flow.  Please keep in mind that only moderate amounts of dark chocolate could be part of a heart-healthy diet!!

I have provided a very short list of heart-healthy suggestions coupled with the pertinent nutritional benefits that they deliver.  This list is certainly not the end all be all.  For more information, go to the American Heart Association website.

Salmon and Tuna     Omega-3 fatty acids

Almonds, Walnuts, Flaxseed, Black beans, Kidney beans    Omega-3 fatty acids & Fiber

Oatmeal    Fiber

Blueberries   Flavonoids & Fiber

Please let me know if you would like to see additional posts like this one or if you have any suggestions for recurring themes.

We are very sorry that it has taken us so long to announce the winners of this contest, the Holidays kind of messed us up a little bit.

That being said…

We’d like to thank everyone who took the time to participate, it was fun to watch this contest grow. We are excited for the opportunity to do more contests in the future, we’ll keep you posted on what we plan to do next. Without any further delay these are the 3 contestants, of all the entries we received, that Random.org pulled as our winners.

Third Place (receiving a $50 credit to Aspen Gold Ridge’s eBayStore): Melissa!!! With the comment:

Great idea. Good luck. Nice clothing line.

Second Place (receiving a $50 credit to Aspen Gold Ridge’s eBayStore): Andreah!!! With the comment:

Great Giveaway! I am in and will be blogging about it!!!

First Place (receiving a $100 credit to Aspen Gold Ridge’s eBayStore): Baba!!! With the comment:

Oh I would love to win this. What a great giveaway. Thanks so much for the chance.

If you are one of the above winners, Rich will be getting in touch with you to get you your prize.

Thank you to everyone who participated and we can’t wait to do another contest again soon.

This past week as I was shopping for a gift in the women’s department of a well known department store in Orem, Utah I noticed an exuberant and smartly dressed shopper happily browsing racks of fashionable clothing. What’s so special about this scenario?

All of the clothing was my size!!! Yes, that’s right, racks and racks of trendy, gorgeous plus size clothing!! Look how far we have come. I can certainly remember not too long ago when I was lucky to find one sweater in my size on a bargain rack shoved into the back of the women’s department. Finally, the fashion industry has realized that millions of curvy women just like me are the real trend setters. Consider that of the $140 billion spent on women’s clothing last year, $90 billion was plus size!! How about another little tidbit of information, over 60% of women worldwide are plus size!

I am thrilled that beautiful and fashionable clothing is available more readily so that I can really knock them out all year long and at the annual Christmas get-together. Here’s wishing all of you a wonderful Holiday Season filled with blessings of good health and happiness!

Best regards,

Jennifer

Prizes

Grand Prize: $100 store credit at our eBay Store
Second Prize: $50 store credit at our eBay Store
Third Prize: $50 store credit at our eBay Store

Visit our eBay Store by clicking here

Blog Giveaway Guidelines

1. You have 8 days to enter this blog giveaway, until 11:59pm PST on Monday, December 22nd.
2. You must make a single comment on this post to enter.  To learn how to earn additional entries for each contest, click here.  You have the best chance of winning by gaining additional entries!!
3. Anonymous comments will be ignored/removed.
4. One entry per person via commenting, please.
5. The winner will be randomly picked and announced in a new post on Tuesday, December 23rd.

The field of women’s fashions has always been a volatile one, here today, gone tomorrow kind of thing. But, in the last several years a constantly growing trend has emerged. One that shows no signs of slowing down. The segment of the women’s clothing market that continues to see the greatest growth is plus size women’s.  We are not just talking quantity, but increased quality and fashion as well. The evolution in this market segment has been dramatic.

Most of us know that traditionally, plus size women’s clothing has been an afterthought for women’s wear manufacturers. They had given little thought to the self image they were creating with their rather dowdy, mundane, and some times down right, dare I say it, ugly offerings. What self respecting woman really wanted to wear those double knit stretch plus size pants that soon were baggy and misshapen? None that I know of. What were they thinking when all they offered were the mu-mu style plus size dresses?

In today’s world, an ever growing number of women are more and more fashion conscious and demand that there clothes not only be functional, but stylish and of great quality.  Retailers are jumping for joy as their customers realize that there are now stores that really care about the plus size women’s clothing customer. These same stores now employ people that understand the plus size customer and want to offer them the best shopping experience possible.

One of the most critical elements in designing plus size women’s clothing is being aware that in many instances you just can’t take clothes designed for a smaller customer and make it larger. When planning a new clothing line; cut, color, drape, and fabric play key roles and need to be considered carefully.

Fashion designers become engaged in the business because they want  their customers to enjoy wearing their clothes.  Full figured women want to feel and look beautiful like other, more petite women and maybe turn a few heads in the process. Glamour and sophistication never go out of style and know no restrictions.