Even Packing Paper Can Be Fun!

Even though we got to California in May, we are still unpacking stuff here and there.  Especially with a baby coming, everything is getting un-boxed.  Last week, I unpacked our bassinet which was wrapped in huge sheets of packing paper.  Then I got the idea to put the sheets on the floor of our living room and make a little art area for our toddler.  I even drew a little road for her to drive her cars on.  I gave her crayons and stickers and let her go to town.  It ended up being really fun for the two of us to sit on the floor and play on the paper!

I love being creative like this and thinking out of the box.  I think it's really good for kids to do things like this from time to time as well.

Love Chicken Pie

Growing up, my mom's chicken pie was one of my favorite dishes.  I had never made it myself, assuming it was very labor intensive, but the other night I stumbled upon my own version that ended up being super simple, and tasted just like my mom's! 

Here's my easy Chicken Pie recipe.  It's a little unrefined, but you can get the gist:

Ingredients:
Fresh boneless chicken breasts or tenderloins
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
Frozen Mixed Veggies (carrots, green beans, peas, and corn)
Salt & Pepper
Two Pie Crusts

Put chicken and Cream of Mushroom (along with 1 can of water, according to soup directions) into the crock pot, and cook on High until chicken is cooked through.  You may need to stir the water and cream of mushroom soup to blend. 

Take out chicken and add frozen veggies.  Watch your amounts, because you want to have enough Cream of Mushroom to Chicken to Veggies.  Allow the veggies to start cooking in the Soup as you dice the chicken.  Return chicken to crock pot. 

*If you have extra chicken, you can add another can of soup & can of water and more veggies for two batches, or you can set chicken aside for something else.  I used the extra chicken for lunches and dinners for my toddler.

Season mixture with salt and pepper to taste and allow to cook until veggies are heated through.

Lay one pie crust in bottom of pie pan, and press in to fit it snugly.  Pour in chicken/veggie mixture.

Lattice crust is easy!  Roll out your second pie crust and using a pizza cutter, cut crust into strips.  Lay strips across top of pie, half going one way and half going the other.  Lift alternating strips to weave the lattice.  Use excess dough around edges to fold and pinch and seal the crust.  I used a fork for added seal.

Cook at 425º for 30-45 minutes, until crust is golden brown.  There ya go!  Delicious!

Christmas Cheer - Eclectic Christmas Balls

Pinterest has given me a lot of ideas for DIY Christmas decorations.  With my supplies I got at Michaels yesterday, I went a little crazy last night trying out some of those ideas, and some of my own. I got plastic and glass hanging balls.  I think plastic works for some ideas, and glass is better for others.

This ornament is a large plastic ball, and I simply put some littler sparkly balls (two different sizes) inside.  I tied some wire and a velvet bow to the top, and there you go.

These are really fun to do!  I got the idea from Pinterest.  This is a small glass ball.  I sprayed adhesive into the ball very liberally and spread it around so it coated the entire inside of the ball.  Then I poured glitter inside and swirled the ball until the glitter was evenly distributed.  I dumped out the excess glitter, twisted some wire to the top, and that was it!

I got this idea from Pinterest too.  This is a medium plastic ball.  I put a glob of tacky glue on the bottom of the little tree, and using long tweezers, I placed the tree inside, attaching it to the bottom of the globe.  I then dropped in some fake snow and white iridescent glitter.  I found a cork that fit, and added wire and a ribbon.  I love this one!

Christmas Cheer - Front Door Hanging

Now that Halloween is over, I immediately want to press on to Christmas decorations.  Maybe it's because we're expecting baby #2 within days of Christmas, and I want to start early, or maybe it's because Starbucks had their Christmas drinks out already, but whatever it is, I spent over $70 yesterday at Michaels on Christmas craft supplies.  The first decoration I made was a monogram door hanging for our front door.  I already had the big G, the spray adhesive, glitter, and ribbon, so all I bought for this was the plastic greens & berries, which were $1.

This project was really easy.  I sprayed the wooden G with spray adhesive, and covered completely in glitter.  When dry, I arranged the greens & berries, tied the ribbon in a knot around the top of the G & the greens, and then tied another knot to the hook on my door, and made a bow.  All for a dollar plus what I already had.  Voila!

Paula Dean's Peach Cobbler

I have made this peach cobbler now a few times, and not only is it delicious, but it's pretty darn easy!  It's really good right out of the oven with vanilla ice cream.  Find the recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/peach-cobbler-recipe/index.html

Make sure to use SELF RISING Flour, because it does make a difference!

Giada's Macaroni & Cheese

One of my favorite Food Network chefs is Giada De Laurentiis.  I found this recipe for her "Venetian" Mac & Cheese when looking for a mac recipe for my husband.  It is definitely not traditional mac & cheese, but boy is it delicious!  It's more like an Alfredo dish, and it's packed with whole milk, cream, and three kinds of cheese - not exactly low fat.

The recipe is super easy, and the hardest part is shredding the cheese, so for a quicker prep time I recommend buying the cheese already shredded - at least the Parmesan and Mozzarella.  This dish is sure to please any family or guest!

Easy Cheap Yummy Enchiladas!

I like easy food.  I like delicious food.  And, my family likes dinner that will taste good and fill their bellies.  We love almost all kinds of cuisine, and Mexican is a favorite at our house.  However, with very little experience in Mexican cooking, I am often hesitant to do much more than nachos or tacos.  I had tried the Old El Paso Enchilada Bake before, and they came out good, but this time I decided to try them myself without the kit.

So, I purchased two cans Old El Paso Enchilada Sauce, and went by the recipe right on the can.  Basically, the recipe was for beef but I used chicken instead.  Additional ingredients needed are: chicken, cheddar cheese, and flour tortillas.  The hardest part is dicing the chicken.  The rest is super easy and straight-forward, and most importantly, very tasty!  Muy Bueno!

My enchiladas made with whole wheat tortillas!  

(Regular flour tortillas taste better, but I'm always trying the healthy route.)

Preggo Clothes

There's a lot that goes along with being pregnant.  Probably the biggest change for most women is the big belly!  While it can be a little annoying when you can't button your pants anymore, or when your tummy starts peeking out of the bottom of some of your more slim fitting shirts, pregnancy can also give you a chance to be creative and come up with some really cute preggo clothes!

While I think we are fortunate in this generation to have so many stylish maternity options, we also have the benefit of long and loose tops being in style!  When I was pregnant with my first child, I went to Urban Outfitters and bought a whole bunch of clothes that were not "maternity" but they worked for most of my pregnancy.  With this pregnancy, I got a lot bigger a lot quicker.  My pants already do not fit, and I am already obviously pregnant.  I took out all my maternity clothes pretty much right away.

But at the same time, I have been able to put together some really cute outfits from my normal wardrobe.  I think my favorite article of clothing that is totally in style and super cute with a preggo belly is the maxi dress!  A lot of stores are selling them right now, and most of them are available in an empire waist style and stretchy jersey fabrics, that fit just right.  Maxi dresses are comfortable ad effortless, and should really only be worn with flats, so there's no concern with high heels during pregnancy.  They also can go from day to night, and if it's cooler you can pair your dress with a jean jacket and give your look that effortless-coolness you want - even when you're pregnant!

I also love drapey cardigans, and anything that fits above my belly.  If you buy a couple pairs of maternity pants (skinny jeans!) - and don't forget the pairs of stretchy leggings you already have - and layer long and loose tops with drapey cardigans, you'll look totally in style, and not like you're wearing maternity clothes!  If a loose top doesn't give you much shape, just tie a ribbon or belt above your belly, and voila!  Instant empire waist!  I'm one of those people who likes to accentuate my belly so it's obvious that I'm pregnant.  And, don't forget that you can wear as many accessories as you want!

If you're creative, you can have some really cute preggo clothes that will not only look great for everyday, but also will be awesome in any pictures you take!  After all, don't you want to look back and have some of those cute preggo pics you see on Pinterest??

I'm only 20 weeks pregnant, and look how huge I am this time!

This outfit is actually put together with items I bought even before I was having kids.  

The dress is an empire-waisted dress from J.Crew, and the wrap cardigan is from Target.  

The only thing that is somewhat new is the hat (J.Crew Factory Store, Men's)!

"Easy" Key Lime Pie

Northern Cali is great for a lot of things, and one of those things is fresh produce.  We often go to Larry's Produce in Suisun Valley.  It's great because you can get tons of fresh produce for cheap, and we are support local business!  Anyway, Larry's has Key limes, and even though they're actually imported from Mexico instead of the Florida Keys, I still had to pick up a bag and make some "real" Key lime treats!

My first attempt was a Key lime "cheesecake".  I found a super simple recipe online, and went to work!  I knew the reason most people don't use real Key limes in their dishes is because they're sooo tiny and labor-intensive, so I was prepared.  I bought a little hand-juicer (that's really cute, too!) and readied myself to cut and juice a lot of little limes.  It actually went pretty easy, but it took me 23 limes to get the 3/4 Cup of juice I needed for the recipe.  Anyway, the recipe turned out less like a "cheesecake" and more like what I know to be a Key lime pie.  And, besides the juicing the recipe was super simple, and the pie ended up being delicious!

Here's the recipe I used ->

Ingredients:
1 prepared graham cracker crust (or make your own - might make it that much better)
1 Pkg Softened Philadelphia (I think any brand is better than Philadelphia) cream cheese

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2-3/4 cup key lime juice (I prefer closer to 3/4 for tartness)
*You could just use regular lime juice of course, if you want this to be super easy and fast.

Directions:

Blend in food processor until smooth.

Pour in pie shell and refrigerate.

*And you may want to serve it with whipped cream!

Enjoy!

Easy Delicious Chicken Sausage Herb Pizza

I have been trying to increase my cooking repertoire, as I am not a natural housewife, but I'm trying to have dinner on the table for my family every night.  I like recipes that are easy and tasty, and hopefully lower in fat and calories.  I adapted this pizza recipe from a Pampered Chef recipe called: Chicken Sausage & Herb Wheat Pizza.  Their recipe has you make your own dough, but I opted to use the pre-made stuff to save a little bit of time and effort.   I started with the regular old Pillsbury Pizza Dough and rolled it out on my baking stone, which does happen to be by Pampered Chef, but you can use a cookie sheet too.  Then I made a little mistake, and brushed the dough with the honey & oil mixture instead of the oil & garlic.  Hoping that it would still taste good, I just added garlic to the top of the dough and proceeded.  And there was success!  In fact, I think the honey gave it a sweet flavor that was better than if I had done it right!  My husband and 18 month old loved it too!  Overall it probably took 30 minutes from start to finish, and had simple ingredients, and was delicious while not being overloaded with fat and calories.

Easy Food - Broccoli Instead of Meatballs

So I LOVE easy recipes and tips and tricks in the kitchen.  I also love healthy food!  My maiden name is DiSabatino, and even though I'm really only 1/4 Italian, the food from that country is definitely my favorite.  I make spaghetti A LOT.  I make it for lunch, for dinner, I eat it hot and cold.  I could just eat noodles and sauce, but my husband loves meatballs.  I am also partial to having chunks in my spaghetti, but not really a fan of meatballs on a regular basis.  Usually, I buy frozen broccoli, cook it in the microwave, and then throw it in instead of meatballs.  But, I just found a super-easy way to do the same thing!  I cook my pasta and then when there's 2 minutes left on the timer, I throw fresh broccoli florets in the boiling water.  This blanches the broccoli to exactly the right tenderness, and then all you have to do is add sauce, and voila!  Spaghetti with broccoli instead of meatballs!  

I made this with Newman's Own sauce, and I added some Hunt's Diced Tomatoes w/ Garlic, Basil, & Oregano for extra chunkiness.  You can also add chicken, sausage, cheese, and if you're still hankering for beef, meatballs will still go very well!