8/2/17

My main goal today was to get up to Lonestar Mercantile and get my frames moved around so that normal height people can reach them, and I’m happy to say that not only did that get accomplished but a whole crapload of other stuff got done too!

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We still need to add Stacie’s stuff from Tick Tock Crafts, and I have some other things I’m making for opening like some fall/pumpkin themed stuff and more Allen High School spirit necklaces/jewelry, but so far I think it’s really coming along well!  Excited to share my love of crafts AND vintage (especially the PYREX!)

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Speaking of Pyrex, I finished off my Pink Gooseberry Refrigerator Dish set today!  Isn’t it GORGEOUS?  I really love the pink patterns, they’re really filling up my display cabinets too.  LOL!  And of course now there’s this huge surge in the Pyrex craze so I’m sure some of this stuff is going to start getting expensive to get my hands on! (Not like it isn’t already.)

Wyatt spent some time being unimpressed by me while I worked on my TO DO list for the day, but this afternoon with the weather being so nice we took a trip outside to look around.  I don’t think he was much impressed by that either, but at least it was a change of things to be unimpressed by.  *grin*

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And finally here’s a picture of my sad (but delicious) dinner that I ate by myself because Wade is still at work even though it’s almost 9:30pm.  Delicious Chicken Tacos I made with my amazing Crock Pot:

Crock-Pot 6-Quart Programmable Cook & Carry Slow Cooker with Digital Timer, Stainless Steel , SCCPVL610-S

Can you sense a theme with my cooking?  With a newborn (ok, I guess he’s an “infant” now that he’s over a month) in the house, I am ALL ABOUT the quick and easy.  I’ve been relying heavily on both my Crockpot and Instant Pot the last few weeks to get dinner made and on the table with a minimum of fuss, and since I was doing bedtime for both kids by myself tonight I was really relieved to have dinner done and ready to go.  Tatum even approves of this recipe!!

3-Ingredient Slow Cooker Taco Chicken

  • 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 4 breast halves)
  • 1 tsp. medium-hot taco seasoning or 1 tbsp. mild taco seasoning (adjust to your desired spiciness – this is for mildly spicy)
  • 1 cup mild salsa
  • for serving: tortillas, shredded cheese, avocado or guacamole, tomatoes, additional salsa, etc.
Directions
  1. Place chicken in bottom of slow cooker. Sprinkle with taco seasoning. Spoon salsa on top of chicken and spread to cover chicken.
  2. Cook on low for 3-4 hours, or on high for 2 hours, until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken to a plate to cool slightly, along with any salsa that is on top of the chicken. Shred with two forks or your fingers and place in a bowl. Stir in some of the liquid from the slow cooker, starting with ¼ cup and adding more as desired.
  3. Serve chicken in tortillas with toppings as desired.

Instant Pot Corn on the Cob

So the other day I posted the greatness that is the Chicken BBQ sliders, but I also had some amazing corn on the cob on the plate that day, and I wanted to take a second to talk about it.  =)

My hubby LOVES corn on the cob.  In fact, every time I send him to Walmart on his own he comes back with a bag of 25 cent per cob corn that I have to find a way to work into almost every single dinner that week.  But for a lot of ways that it’s cooked, corn on the cob is a royal pain.  You grill it (which I love) but requires constant supervision.  You boil it (also constant supervision). You do whatever to it, but what I do?  I Instant Pot it.

Instant Pot Duo Plus 9-in-1 Multi-Use Pressure Cooker, 6 Qt | Stainless Steel

This baby is my GO TO kitchen appliance.  I love it SO MUCH I have two.  Two.  Yes, I said two.  If I could justify it I’d probably own three, but I can’t.

It’s like a crockpot hyped up on steroids.  I make ALL KINDS of meals in here, but one of the easiest things is perfectly cooked corn on the cob.

INSTANT POT CORN ON THE COB:

-Remove the husks and silk from the corn and rinse.

-Place 1/2 cup water in the stainless steel insert inside the pot.

-Place your corn directly in the pot in the water.

-Salt your corn and I also place about 2 tbsp butter on top.

-Put on the lid and turn the knob to sealed.

-Hit Manual button and set for 3 minutes.

-I usually do a manual release of pressure, but that’s just pure laziness on my part because I’m generally fixing something else at the moment.  You can do a quick release if you like too.

Done.  Perfect, fabulous tasting corn.

 

7/30/17

A puzzle piece fell into place on Tatum's no good, very bad weekend. She was running just the slightest fever this morning, and since both Wade and I figured the ear infection didn't get knocked out by the antibiotic Wade took her in to Nitehawk (pediatric urgent care). They checked her ears, checked for strep, uti, everything, but nada. Virus. So at least it's not an infection, yet… 😬

We had a fairly low key day since she was feeling kind of off. Naps, mommy treated herself to a MASSAGE (and it was ah-may-zing!), and then I grabbed my new additions to my Pyrex collection from my "dealer":

I present, PINK GOOSEBERRY!

I had the top bowl (the smallest) but she was able to complete my set for me! Really love them!!

After that we did our very first Walmart grocery pickup, and I have to say, I can't believe it took me this long to try it!! Should have listened to Sara!! No more lugging kids into Wally World for me! Woop Woop!

We braved it and went to Cotton Patch for dinner, and it went better than expected. Stopped off at the dollar store for me to get the little cups I use to stack my pyrex and Tatum picked out a flower. She was so pleased with it, and what the heck, it was $1…. right? I know, spoiled…

Tomorrow I have a whole stack of stuff to do so I'm really hoping she will feel well enough to go to school. I am so not ready to have both of them at home!!! She's been pretty much fever free since this morning so my fingers are crossed!!!

Until tomorrow!

7/21/17

I managed a little more productivity out of my day today!  While our sitter was still here this morning watching Wyatt I made it over to the storage unit and unearthed my pre-pregnancy clothes.  Why on earth I took them to the storage unit I have no idea, but the good news is I have some clothes that aren’t falling off me again!  =)

After that I packed Wyatt up and we headed off for our first (and now LAST) adventure of going to the grocery store with a month old baby.  Holy cow, even with wearing him in a ring sling it was one of the more exhausting hours of my life.  He did GREAT, don’t get me wrong, but there’s some issues that I didn’t really think through, like how you grab a 36 pack of bottled water and put it on the bottom of the cart with an infant in a ring sling.  I’m sure I’ll get it eventually, but for now I think the ordering groceries online for pickup is the way to go for sure!

A little grocery store funny: Another customer at Walmart approached me in line and said “Hey, didn’t I see you here last week with your dad and a different kid?  You didn’t have this one?!”  I responded with “Oh, you mean the toddler having the meltdown because Granddaddy was holding her when she wanted Mama to hold her, yeah, that was me!”  She pointed at Wyatt questioningly and I said, “He was at home with his Grandma, I’m crazy, but not insane. Two kids those ages in the grocery store? LOL”

So now I’m getting recognized by other random Walmart customers. A level of fame I never thought I’d achieve. =)

Check out how exhausted I look.  I can tell you’re impressed.  *grin*