Chair! So in love!

I just just finished reupholstering this chair for my sister in law. And I’m in love!!!!!!! Love the fabric we picked online (source: fabric.com) it was a really nice weighted fabric and the pattern is amazing. Originally this chair came from a hotel so it’s nice and sturdy and was actually really easy to reupholster once a got the million staples out! I didn’t take any during pictures cause I was in go mode, to be honest I actually forgot to take a before! But luckily my bff has the same chair so she sent me a picture of hers. She and her mom have the same chairs so stay tuned there may be more to come!

Spanish rice

All I can say is yum!!!!!!!! This is a take on a recipe my mother in law used to make for my husband. When we got married my husband mentioned once or twice that he loved his moms Spanish rice….so trying to be a good wife I went on Pinterest and made legit Spanish rice! And he seemed well…. Underwhelmed, apparently it wasn’t the same. So I asked his mom what her secret was, And turns out her recipe is just ground beef with rice and tomatoe soup! So I decided to try again and put my own spin on it. And success! It’s now a family favorite again 😊

ps. Sorry about the bad picture I was in to much of a hurry to eat to notice!

Time: 20 min

Ingredients:        this recipe makes a lot! Hubby takes leftovers for lunch.

1-1.5 lbs ground beef

2 cans tomatoe soup

1 soup can full of water

1.5 cups instant rice ( I use instant because it takes less time)

1 onion chopped

3/4 cup salsa ( I used mild but use whatever your family likes)

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a LARGE skillet brown ground beef, adding salt and pepper to taste. once browned add in onion and cook for a few minutes until softened.add tomatoe soup cans and one can of water and stir. Add in salsa( u can add more or less whatever u like) stir everything till combined. Add in rice making sure there is enough liquid to cover rice( if not add more water) bring to a boil for a min or two. Let sit for 5 min or until rice is tender.

super easy and full of flavour! Enjoy!

Creamy chicken penne

This recipie stems from a delicious dish my best friend made a year ago or so now. But not exactly since I couldn’t remember or find the recipe! This is my go to meal, I crave it all the time. And when Im crunched for time or haven’t been to the grocery store in a few days it’s an all in one meal!

but be prepared this is not low calorie!!!!!!!

Time: 20 min

Ingredients:

2-3 chicken breasts

1 onion large chop

2 peppers large chop –  I like to mix red and yellow

1 cup or so sliced mushrooms ( or 4 unsliced mushrooms)

1/2 box penne noodles

1 container Philadelphia herb and garlic cooking cream

1/4 pkg cream cheese

2 tbsp butter

some olive oil to cook chicken

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Put pasta into boiling water and cook until done. Cut chicken breasts into bite sized pieces and cook in a large skillet with a little olive oil and cook until no longer pink. Add onions and mushrooms with butter to the chicken, after they begin to soften add peppers. Salt and pepper to taste.Add Philadelphia cooking cream  and cream cheese to skillet stirring constantly until, cream cheese is melted and mixed together.Add cooked pasta to the skillet and combine everything!

Sweet and sour meatballs with rice

As I’m sure u can tell by now my family likes sweet and sour foods😉 I was scouring my freezer for supper ideas and all there was was ground beef… So after searching Pinterest for a while I decided to take on the challenge of meatballs! This might not sound like much of a challenge but I have never made meatballs before and have kind of been avoiding doing so. I Decided to pair it will sweet and sour sauce since that’s something I always love at pot lucks!  Lots of recipes on Pinterest were grape jelly and chilli sauce wich I have neither of… So this is a bit of a twist on my sweet and sour pork recipe.And it ended turning out delicious!! Jon (my husband) took a bite and was like “yes! This is good”. I decided to pair it with some steamed carrots in butter and dill for a little veggie action. Hope you enjoy!

Time:  prep:15 min     Bake: 30 minutes

Ingredients :

Meatballs:

1 onion chopped finely

1 lb ground beef

1 cup crushed crackers (you can use breadcrumbs but this is all I had)

2 eggs

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp Worcester sauce

Sauce:  I ended up doubling the recipe because I wanted more sauce for the rice

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white vinegar

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/4 cup bbq sauce

1 tsp Worcester sauce

1-2 tbsp cornstarch

Directions:

*hint* if using a rice cooker start it now in case it takes a while!

Meatballs– combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix. Form into meatballs , I was able to make 28 pretty big meatballs. Put on a baking tray lined with wax paper. Bake at 350F for 25-3o minutes. I also put it on broil for a few minutes at the end to brown them a little more.

Sauce– combine all ingredients and bring to a boil.

Put meatballs in a bowl and cover with sauce!

Easy meal u can make quickly with things you most likely already have! And it’s kid approved 😊

Laminate bookcase shabby chic makeover

Before:                          After:

I did this project for my mother in law and I love how it turned out! Makes it totally unique. Sidenote: I forgot to take a before pic so I found this one that’s pretty much the same on Google  😉 And of course my cat miss Sophie had to be in the picture!

Fajitas!!!!!!!!!

While this isnt my most original recipe…. It’s on of my favs! So easy and fast and best of all cheap! Under $15 depending on what u have on hand, sometimes even cheaper😉. I use the pre packaged fajitas seasoning for ease but I’m sure it would be easy to make your own. Whenever I go to Chilli’s I always get fajitas, and it can taste just as good at home. If I had to pick a last meal it would hands down be fajitas !!!

Time: 15 min

Ingredients:

2-3 chicken breasts (or you can buy chicken stir-fry wich is already cut)

1 yellow pepper

1 red pepper

1 onion

2-3 large mushrooms

1 pkg fajitas seasoning

1/4 cup of water

—don’t forget the tortillas, sour cream and cheese!!!!!

slice chicken breasts thinly into strips and cook until no longer pink in a little oil. Cut peppers into strips and chop onion and mushrooms into large pieces. Add to chicken, sautée for a few min then add water and seasoning mix. Simmer until veggies are tender crisp.

And there you have it! Grab some tortillas add a dollop of sour cream and some cheese and enjoy!

Chicken Bacon Casserole!

This is casserole is soooooooo good!!! I could eat it all day everyday! And best of all it’s super easy and really inexpensive. My family ( me, hubby and 4 year old) could only eat half! And the whole dish probably cost less than $15 so that’s pretty good I think.  And you can add a little more or a little less to fit as many people as you need. Good old comfort food on a cold day.😊

Time: 30-40 min

Ingredients :

2-3 chicken breasts – cut in bite sized pieces

2 can cream of chicken soup ( or you can substitute one can with cream of mushroom if u don’t have two cream of chicken … which is what I did😉)

1/2 package of bacon

1/2 box of fusilli (spiral) pasta

2 cups of grated cheese ( whatever u have on hand! I used a preshredded tex mex mix )

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a pot boil water and prepare pasta as directed.

In a skillet cook bacon until crispy, and set aside. In bacon grease add chicken pieces, cook until no longer pink. Season with salt and pepper

Drain water from pasta once cooked and add chicken into pasta pot along with both cans of soup and 1 cup of cheese. Mix all together!

preheat oven to 400F

spray a 9X13 baking dish  with cooking spray and add the mixture from the pot. Top with remaining cheese and crumble bacon on top.

bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

And that’s it! So easy and so good. Enjoy!

Sweet and sour pork with fried rice

Time: 30 min

Sweet and  sour pork:

2-3 boneless pork chops

4 egg whites

2 tbsp cornstarch or flour ( I prefer flour)

vegetable oil to fry in a sauce pan or use deep fryer ( will require alot of oil! Like a deep fryer)

sauce:

3/4 cup white sugar

4 tbsp ketchup

1/2 cup white vinegar

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp garlic salt

2tbsp flour or cornstarch

directions: cut pork chops into small bite size pieces. Combine egg whites and flour or cornstarch ( save yolks for fried rice!) set aside. Put oil in saucepan till 3/4 full, and heat till 350F or use deepfryer. If to hot the pork with brown to quickly , just adjust temperature accordingly. Add pork pieces one at a time so they don’t stick together! ( may have to do it in batches) Brown 2-3 min take out. The key to making this just like takeout is to to RE FRY! Put them back in for 30 seconds to get them nice and crispy. Drain on paper towel.

Sauce: combine all ingredients into a saucepan and heat till boiling, till desired thickness.

add pork in and combine

Fried Rice:

2cups instant rice

1 cup peas and carrots frozen veggies

2 eggs  plus remaining egg yolks from pork

soy sauce to taste

1 onion

2 tbsp oil

Directions:

Make rice rice to package directions.  slice onion and soften in a skillet with oil.add frozen veggies and move to one side of pan.on other side add eggs and scramble. Once cooked add rice and combine.add soy sauce to taste.

And there you have it! Take out at home! My family loved it and it was quicker than take out.

butternut squash, sweet potatoe and carrot soup

Time: 45 min – 1 hour

1  medium butternut squash

1 med sweet potatoe

4 large carrots

3 cups chicken or vegetable stock

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2cup milk

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

chop sweet potatoe ,squash and carrots and onion And place on a baking sheet.drizzle olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Roast at 400 F for 30-40 min. Or until tender.

put roasted veggies into a large pot and add chicken stock, milk, and pumpkin spice. I used pumpkin spice cause that’s all I had on hand but u can also just use 1 tsp each of  cinnamon and cloves.

simmer for 20 min

use immersion blender , or if u don’t have one like me! I transferred into a bowl and blended in batches in my blender.

Yum! Serve with a dollop of sour cream and enjoy!

Spaghetti squash chicken mushroom alfredo

 

Total Time: 1 hour

ingredients:

1 med spaghetti squash

2 chicken breasts

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 an onion

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1 jar light Alfredo sauce

slice spaghetti squash in half, put on a parchment lined baking sheet. Roast at 350F for 45 min.

slice chicken breasts in bite size pieces and cook with onions and mushrooms until cooked. Add Alfredo sauce.

once squash is cooked, use fork to remove strands into a bowl . Add all ingredients together and return to the two squash halves. Top with cheese and broil until cheese in bubbly.

 

and there u have it folks!

enjoy!