Wax on, Wax Off + Cashew Chicken Salad Wraps & Creamy Italian Ranch Chicken (a great Crock Pot Recipe) Recipe

Yesterday I posted a photo of the drawings I made of Frida Kahlo. I am working for a few pieces for a call for art for a Frida exhibit. I glued that to a cradled panel board, colored it and began to use encaustic wax to finish the painting.

I wanted to make the flowers 3D, and that took a little practice. I tried making them and dipping them in the encaustic wax, but that did not work all that well. Many of the pedals stuck together, or hung in ways that were not very pretty. I then figured out that it was better to put a small bit of wax on the griddle, then lay the flat tissue paper pieces in that wax, which soaked into the paper. I plucked them off of the griddle with a pair of tweezers and waved it around to make the wax cool quickly. I was also planning to use wire to attach the flowers, but that made them sit at a weird angle. I found that I could use the end of a stylus to push some of the flower into the wax to make it stick and that worked nicely.

I am thinking about adding a few small beads in the center of some of the flowers. I am also still deciding what color to paint the sides of the panel. It will most likely be black, but I might be more daring and paint it a shade of blue.

Larr took photos of Ellie and Kohlton for graduation announcements.

Spring break is over, but I am going to go back to making art as soon as I figure out what we will eat for lunch tomorrow. I am going to start on a book sculpture for another call for art.
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We had this for dinner last night. It was a big hit!

Cashew Chicken Salad Wraps
via: The Kitchn

Makes 4 wraps
3 cups shredded cooked chicken
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup roughly chopped cashews or peanuts
1/4 cup sliced green onions (white part only)
1/2 cup sliced mandarin oranges or clementines, divided
2 to 3 tablespoons finely chopped red cabbage
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
4 large wraps or tortillas
1 cup fried Lo Mein noodles, for serving

In a large bowl, combine the chicken, mayonnaise, rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, and Dijon mustard until combined. Season generously with salt and pepper, to taste. Fold in the cashews, green onions, half of the mandarin oranges (the citrus will crush; you want this to happen), and the chopped red cabbage. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to marry. Taste and adjust ingredient amounts to personal preference. Spread a wrap with a dollop of chicken salad. Garnish with a few mandarin oranges and fried noodles and roll up, sealing with a toothpick if necessary.

Recipe Note
This salad is equally good served in a large bowl or as a regular sandwich; garnish with remaining mandarin oranges and fried noodles before serving.

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Creamy Italian Ranch Chicken
via: Yummly

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (I like to dice them up so they're chicken tender sized)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 packet italian salad dressing
1 packet ranch dressing
8 ozs cream cheese

Throw everything in the crockpot on low and cook 6-8 hours.
After about 4 hours of cooking I usually stir everything together- but if you're not home it's no big deal.
Just stir about 20 minutes before serving to really mix together the cream cheese and dressing packets.