Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole

I really wanted to try this one out and I am so glad I did. I have tried similar recipes and have enjoyed them all as well. This was a hit for everyone in the house, including my toddler. It took a few minutes of prep time and then just pop it all in the oven. One dish, no mess and a happy family...couldn't be easier!

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Happy Pinning! Val

Slow Cooker Applesauce

As with the vast majority of my food related posts, this one caught my attention for the sure simplicity. My son loves applesauce in any form and its a perfect after dinner or snack time treat for him. I had also recently acquired an apple slicer/corer/peeler appliance so I was eager to try it out.

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I did not use as many apples as the recipe called for simply because I didn't have them. I had 1/2 a dozen apples that were ending their life span in my fridge so I opted to try this out with what I had. I somehow could not figure out the slicing part of my new appliance so I ended up tossing my apples in chunks versus slices. No harm done!

I did add 3 tbsp of brown sugar which may have been too much, the applesauce would make the most amazing pie filling on earth!!! Either way, my son loves it and it took a total of 15 minutes of labor. 10 to prep and 5 to mash (potato masher) and clean up afterwards.

Happy Pinning! Val

Stacked Planters Spring Project

Now that Spring is here, I decided it a was good time to get in gear and start planting and potting some flowers to brighten up around the house. When I saw this pin, I knew I had to try it. It looked so cute and easy enough that I could figure it out. Sure enough, I was right! I got the entire project done for under $50, and that is including an entire bag of potting soil and a few plants leftover (which were simply planted elsewhere around the house).

LINK to Blog

I found the 3 pots at a craft store on sale. I actually used foam blocks meant for organizing fake plants as my filler in the pots. It worked perfectly as they are square and provided a sturdy base for the pots to stand on. If you want to follow her instructions (I didn’t think about this until I was done), you can use the plastic pots your new plants come in as the fillers (free and easy). And painting the pots was quick and easy. We had leftover outdoor paint from another project and painting all 3 pots took about 30 minutes.

For the bottom 2 pots, there is not a lot of planting space at all. So definitely buy smaller plants, the kind that come 4 or 6 plants to a tray. I had some of those and some larger ones, the larger ones involved some squishing of the roots to get them to fit. I am so glad I got a large plant for the top! It helps the whole set stand out and draws your attention.

 Happing Pinning!! Valarie