Chicken Spaghetti

I've been hearing people say they were making this dish a lot lately, so I went on to Pinterest to see what was in it.  I had to alter the recipe just a bit to suit my husband (he does not like tomatoes or onions, at all!), but it was really good.  My kids even loved it (and they can be a touch crowd)!  The original recipe can be viewed here.

Chicken Spaghetti

Ingredients:

8 ounces of angel hair pasta
2 C of chopped, grilled chicken (or 1 large can)
1 can (10 3/4 oz) of cream of mushroom soup
1 can (10 3/4 oz) of cream of chicken soup
I can rotel (I used just the juice from the rotel because John does NOT like tomatoes)
8 ounces of sour cream
Sprinkling of parmesan or mexican blend cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Boil pasta as package directs and drain.

Mix all other ingredients (except cheese), add to cooked pasta and put in a 9x13 baking dish.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Sprinkle with your choice of cheese and return to oven to melt (about 10 minutes).

Enjoy!

Crockpot Loaded Baked Potato Soup

I love me some loaded baked potatoes.  Loaded baked potato soup sounds even better!  The original recipe (that can be viewed here) says this tastes like Outback Steakhouse's loaded baked potato soup.  I can't vouch for that as I've never had it, but nonetheless it is so yummy and VERY easy!

Ingredients:

1 - 30 oz bag of frozen, shredded hash browns (I used Ore Ida)
3 - 14 oz cans of chicken broth
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1/2 onion, chopped (I omitted this one because John doesn't like onions)
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 pkg cream cheese (do not use fat free ... it won't melt!)

Directions:

In a crockpot, combine everything except the cream cheese.

Cook for 6-8 hours on low.

About 1 hour before serving add the cream cheese and keep heated until thoroughly melted.  I will give you a tip on this one ... cream cheese doesn't melt easily whether you use fat free or regular, so I had to turn the crockpot on high and it took more like 1 1/2 hours to melt completely.  Just sayin'. ;)

Serve with whatever you like!  Pictured below I have grated cheddar cheese, real bacon bits and green onions.  I would have also added sour cream if I had some on hand.

 

ENJOY!

Henry's First Year

My first digital scrapbooking project is complete!  I'm very proud of it too.  It's of Henry's first year.  I took pictures each month of Jacob, too, so I'm going to make one of these for him some day soon as well.  Henry's just the youngest and therefore his pictures were taken more recently, so it was easier to find all of his.  Anyway, it's so fun to see the growth of your baby when you put the photos side-by-side like this.  So, I hope you enjoy this little collage of pictures of my littlest man! :)

Announcement!

You may notice on my most recent post I have a watermark on the pictures.  Not that I've had any issues with my pictures being stolen from my blog, but I don't want anything to start happening, so I've finally learned how to make a watermark in Photoshop, and now I'll be adding this on to all my blog pics from here on out.  That's all.  You may go back to your regularly scheduled programs now. :)

Throw Pillows

Last week after I finished the valances for the kids' playroom, I noticed I had almost a yard of fabric leftover, so I decided to throw together a few throw pillows for on their couch since the ones we currently had in there were old and beat up.  They turned out really, REALLY good, I think!

To make these pillows I cut two pieces of fabric that were 18"x18" and then pinned them together with the "right" sides together (you have to sew them on the wrong side and then flip them right side out before stuffing them).  I sewed three sides completely together and then sewed all but a small section on the fourth side.  Then I flipped the pillow right side out through the small opening, and stuffed in as much "fluff" as I wanted.  This was a good job for Jacob.  He had a blast helping me stuff the pillows! :)  When I was finished I hand stitched the small opening with the matching white thread and voila!  Two matching throw pillows for the kids to cuddle with while watching TV or movies. :)

 

And, here's a picture showing them with the valances. Now we just need to get the walls in the playroom painted and it'll be completely finished! :)

 

FIRST SEWING PROJECT: Valances for the Kids' Playroom

This was my first official sewing project after I got my new sewing machine.  My poor Facebook friends had to hear a LOT about it.  lol  Now I'm finally done and I can share with all of you!  I had to make a total of SIX valances for their playroom.  One for each of the single windows and then two for the big double window.  Seeing as how these were the first valances I ever made I didn't really know how I was going to do them, so I just took the ones down in Jacob's bedroom that I had bought and copied the pattern and measurements.

The valances are a total of 57" wide and 22" long.  I did 1/2" seams on the bottom, first, and then one each side.  Last I did a 4" pocket on top for the curtain rod to go through.  I only used the small, cheap, 1" white metal curtain rods that you can get at Walmart or Target, but any curtain rod up to 4" would work fine.

And, last, I had my heart set on Dr. Seuss patterned fabric for the valances, but our Joann's didn't have any. I'm not sure if that's because they just didn't have it or because it's a copyright thing and NO ONE sells it (although you can buy Dr. Seuss valances on amazon - that's where I originally got the idea).  Anyway, here are just a few pictures of the valances.  I'm so proud of them!

I have about a yard of fabric leftover, so I'm thinking of making a few matching throw pillows to add to their couch in their playroom.  Stay tuned for a post about those. :)

Four months.

Today marks four months since my sister passed away.  Four months.  In some ways it seems like it just happened, but in other ways it feels like it's been more like four years instead of four months.  I still have not accepted this fact.  I've started getting used to the feeling of not having her around, but every now and then I'll catch myself thinking "I need to ask Ashlee this" or "That's so funny. I should tell Ashlee this" or "I can't wait to show Ashlee what I just made" (we both love(d) crafting!), and then I remember that I can't ask her anything anymore.  I can't tell her a funny joke I heard, and I can't send her picture mail of the new valances I just made for the kids' playroom.  Sure, I have plenty of other people in my life I can share these moments with, but it's just not the same.

It's amazing how much you can miss in just four short months.  It doesn't seem like a long time frame, but it really is.  Since October 20th of last year we've had quite a few holidays and a few birthdays, too.  We've made changes here and there to our home, and Mike has made some changes to their home as well.  The boys have grown even more.  Jacob has learned his phone number and his address, plus he can write both.  He can write his name, first and last, his brother's name, and "mommy" and "daddy".  Henry is now putting together whole sentences and carrying on conversations.  He's turned in to quite the little independent two-year old.  I just know she'd love doing art projects with Jacob and dancing with Henry.

They say the first year is always the hardest after losing someone you love, so I'm thankful that we're in a "holiday lull" right now.  Since my birthday (which was January 17th) there hasn't been much that I was anxious about.  Of course I still have days where my heart aches, and I'm sad and/or cry about missing my sister, but I haven't had that impending doom feeling that I was having before every major holiday, so for that I'm thankful.

We're still dealing with our grief.  It's a slow and painful process.  I'm hopeful that we'll continue to move through this grieving period and come out of the other side unscathed. :)

Love you baby sister.  Please come visit me in my dreams soon! xoxo