Where I've been, and What's For Dinner?

You may (or may not) have noticed that I've been missing in action lately. I've been trying to be more productive, and generally that only happens during nap time. Unfortunately, I have a teething, 9 month old fussy butt on my hands that isn't keen on napping as much as he used to. Sigh.

I've been taking advantage of what little "down time" I get during naps to clean and organize the house. We have lived in this house for 7 months, but there are still half unpacked totes in our rooms, and Jackson's room had pathways between the piles and furniture. Now, his room is neat, clean, and re-arranged so there's plenty of extra space to play and crawl. It looks kind of cute, despite the lack of a theme. Now, on to our bedroom, which I need to have just as neat by the end of the weekend. At least the laundry is all caught up!

What's for dinner tonight, you ask? We're having Thanksgiving dinner! Yum! My husband's favorite holiday is Turkey day (because of the food), so we thought we would cook a big turkey with all the trimmings to celebrate the end of his summer semester. It smells soooooo good, I can't wait! What are you making for dinner?

10 in 10 Follow- Up

Remember the 10 Tasks in 10 Days challenge I was doing oh...about 2 weeks ago? Yeah, I'm a bit late in following up on that. The result? Well, I failed, but I got most of my tasks done.

1. Patch the pool filter -Done! Though I still have to test it.


2. Make a chore chart -Done! It's very cute too (if I do say so myself)

3. Make 3 scrub caps -Done!

4. Put away infant stuff -Done!

5. Wash and put up baby gates - Mostly done. They are washed, just not installed yet. We don't need them up yet though.

6. clean out fridge -Done

7. clean off dressers - Not done yet, whoops!

8. catch up on laundry -Done, though this is a never ending task

9. clean baby's room -Done, and it looks so much better!

10. build & install clothes line -Not done yet, though we have the wood, it's just a matter of getting the long screws and doing it.

The challenge really did help to motivate me, and the To Do chart I made is helping me to continue to be productive. I think I will do this challenge again very soon.

Confessions

It's confessional time.

First off, I have to admit that I hate all this Americana, Flag decor, and 4th of July decorating hub bub. I love living in America, but red, white and blue? Really? Seeing those colors together grates on my nerves like nails on a chalkboard. The only time you'll see me doing Americana is out of guilt when my son is older. Couldn't our flag have been a nice green, white and blue instead?

Secondly, burlap? What's all the fuss about in blog land over burlap? Sure, it can be functional, and I'm sure it has its uses, but I just don't get the craze.

Lastly, What's the deal with Pottery Barn? To be honest, I'd never given PB a second thought until I saw everyone in blog land doing BP knockoffs. I like Shabby chic, rustic, beachy stuff as much as the next person, but when did PB become all the craze? Am I just late to the show, or what?

That's all for now. Enjoy the holiday weekend.

What's for dinner?

Last night was homemade Chicken Pot Pie. Mmmm it was good!

I like to remind my husband that I love him.

I started with this recipe from allrecipes.com then I made adjustments. We are a meat and potatoes family, so I added a few small potatoes, and extra chicken. I tried the chix breasts, but they turned out kind of dry and chewy, so I use thigh meat now instead. Much better. I also omit the bottom crust and just use one crust on top. It saves some calories, and though my husband was skeptical at first, you really don't miss it.

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves thighs- cubed
1 cup peeled & sliced carrots
1 cup frozen green peas
1 cup frozen corn
4 small potatoes quartered
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup 1 medium chopped onion
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon celery seed (this really does add good flavor, don't skip it!)
1 3/4 2 cups chicken broth plus broth to cover chicken and veggies in step 1.
2/3 cup milk
2 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts

Directions

1.In a saucepan, put a metal strainer, then put combine chicken, carrots, corn, potatos, peas, and celery. Add water  broth to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove strainer (containing chicken and veggies) from broth heat, drain and set broth aside. Put chicken and veggie mix in deep baking dish.

2.Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C.)

3.In a saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in 2 cups of reserved chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside.

4.Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over chicken and veggies. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.

5.Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Yum! You could use store bought crust, but you shouldn't. It's so easy to make from scratch. Just try making it once, if you don't like it, you can always buy it next time. Here's how I made it.

Pie crust
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. vegetable shortening
1/2 t. salt
1/4 - 1/2c. ice water
In a mixing bowl add flour and salt together. Add shortening, and using a fork, mash the shortening into the dry ingredients until the shortening is broken up. Add about 1/4 c. ice cold water, and stir with the fork until it comes together into a rough ball.  Add a little more water if it's dry and crumbly. Flour your counter and rolling pin, then roll out and use right away. If you are making this in advance, keep it in the fridge since it rolls better when chilled. That's it!
 
What are you having for dinner?

Motherhood and my Creative Self

Donna at Funky Junk Interiors shared her story of how she came to be where she is today, being the creative person that she so obviously is. This woman is such an inspiration, her projects are so amazing. I had assumed she has always been this artistic, design guru who can turn trash into treasure in her sleep, but as it turns out, that is not the case. Her story encourages me to keep on doing what I'm doing. You see, I used to be a very creative person. I used to create art. Then life got in the way and I stopped. Now, I'm staying home raising my baby, we are broke, and I have been forced to get creative again. Thank goodness. First, creative with resources, with teaching my son, then creativity through diy projects, and maybe soon, creativity for the sake of creativity again. It sounds so cliche', but  being a stay-at-home-mother is actually allowing me to "find" myself again. I thought that I would be lost in Motherhood, but just the opposite has happened. Being broke is tough, but truth be told, this is a wonderful life, and I wouldn't trade this time with my son for anything. The fact that my creative side is slowly awakening from its slumber is just a wonderful added bonus.