All from the pantry

It was the Monday after Thanksgiving.  We had all had our fill of Thanksgiving foods and were looking for something different.  Needing to use the leftover chicken from Thanksgiving dinner, I went to the pantry to find my inspiration.  Soup...that's what I would make.

A medium onion, garlic, can of whole sweet corn, can of cream corn, black beans, cream of chicken soup, milk, taco seasoning, ranch seasoning.....here we go!

1 lb chicken, cooked and shredded
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can whole sweet corn
1 can cream corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 soup cans of milk
2 cups water
1/2 package taco seasoning
3 tablespoons Ranch dressing powder mix
1/2 cup sour cream
cheese and fritos to top

Saute onions in a bit of little bit of oil.  When tender, add remaining ingredients.  Heat tilll warmed through.  Just before serving, stir in sour cream.  Top each bowl with cheese and fritos.

ENJOY!

Craig and I think it tastes like sour cream enchiladas and have named it such.  Since that day, we have had Sour Cream Enchilada Soup twice.  SO YUMMY! 

Cooking up a storm!

When I created this blog, forever ago, I had the intention to use it as way to journal the quick, simple dinners I make/create for my family.  Thus the name "Table for 4".  I think I have only posted one meal on here and I didn't even make it, my brother did (and it was oh so yummy!) 

I have decided to try and post one recipe or helpful tip every week.  First, to help me have a journal of the recipes I create and second, to share them with friends.  Hope I can stick to my plan and that every one enjoys.

Pizza Soup

1 lb ground turkey (beef or chicken would work, too)
20 - 25 slices pepperoni
5 - 6 slices of ham, chopped
handful of black olives, sliced
1 can sliced mushrooms
2 handfuls of bowtie pasta, cooked
1 large can spaghetti sauce
2 cans tomato soup
2 cans water
Italian seasoning
fresh garlic
basil
salt

Brown the grounded meat and season with the Italian seasoning.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir until warm.

Serve with shredded cheese and bread sticks.

*Note: Add anything you would normally have on a pizza.  You could add bell peppers and onions (just make them tender before adding them to the soup. 

A place for everything. Including homework.

I started a resolution in 2010 to simplify our daily life.  When outlining a plan to meet this resolution, I decided that the first step was to make a place for everything and to keep everything in it's place.  Over 18 months later, we are still in the process of simplifying our daily tasks.  It has taken longer than I expected, but the changes have now become habit.

September 2011 started both the 19th month since my resolution and the 2011-2012 school year.  Our oldest, Stacy, is in middle school and in all Pre-AP classes.  As a result, we...er, um, I mean she, has quite a bit of homework.  Since our goal is to have a place of everything and keep everything in its place, we created a homework center.

In order to simplify (there's that word again) things, we used a bookshelf that we already had.  This really made things easy, because it was already painted black.  ONE LESS STEP!

 We used scrap wood from the garage (yes, I have a never ending supply of "junk" in my garage) to make a desktop.  Screwed it in place and Voila!  A place for homework and homework in it's place.

Stacy LOVES it and so do we!

Making old new again

While at Kohl's last week, Michelle feel in love with an outfit she saw.  Never mind the outfit was $45 (originally $72!).

She feel in LOVE with the look of the tie!

When I told her no, she had that broken-hearted look on her face.  Determined to repair her heart and not break the bank, I turned on my thinking cap.  I went through all of the clothes that I had saved from Stacy and found an outfit that was similar in style.  It didn't have the look of the tie that she fell in love with, but we worked with it.

Before

I went to my fabric box and found a coordinating fabric that was a perfect match!

I quickly made a tie out of the fabric which mended the broken heart and didn't put a single dent in my checkbook.

After

From a day of cleaning to a redesign

I woke this morning with the intention of simply cleaning my daughter's room.  That quickly turned into a "gather and donate" session.  With everything disheveled and out of place, I decided to go ahead and paint.  Which then lead into moving furniture and wall decor.

Twelve hours later, she had a really cute and CLEAN room!  Best of all, the redesign cost me very little money.  $34.09 to be exact!  I'm happy, my daughter is happy and best of all....my checkbook is happy!  

The purple paint was actually the springboard for the redesign.
Purchased in the  Oops Paint section of our local big box hardware store for a mere $5.
The butterfly wall decor was picked up at a discount store  and craft store for just under $5, combined.

Once we had the paint, we went for the fabric.  We found the fabric for the pillow at our local big box retail store in the clearance section.  6 yards of fabric for $4.50!  

The curtains were recycled from a previous year.
The Peace Sign wall decor was upcycled from my eldest's last bedroom.
 The comforter was purchased at a local big box retail store for $15.

 

Since she LOVES to color, draw, write and do just about any craft, we created a small space for her.
The shelf was an unused shelf in my laundry room, simply painted to match the wall.  The pink shelves are plastic baskets that I had in the garage.  I screwed them to the wall (going through the plastic to add stability).
 The pencil/pen holders are soup cans that I covered in coordinating scrapbook paper.

A few other pieces of wall decor to hang and we are done!