This is my new favorite fabric shop.

Cotton Thread Fabrics

I just decided that.

Cooking a whole chicken...

Cooking a whole chicken is a really unpleasant experience.

In our 11 years of marriage, I'm not sure I've ever cooked a whole chicken.  I only buy the tenders or the skinless boneless breasts that are fresh or frozen in the freezer section.

Raw meat of any kind grosses me OUT.  <--- I'm so whiny sometimes.

When there was a sale on whole chickens I bought two and threw them in the freezer - because I knew if nothing else I could throw it in the crockpot, and $3.00 for a chicken was really cheap.

Today was the day to throw one in the crockpot.  Because you  really can't mess something up in the crockpot unless you forget about it for a few days.

I hated every second of preparing it.  I didn't realize there was stuff I would have to pull out of it's insides.  I think it had four livers.  Justin told me to "grow up" - then said he was kidding, but I think he only pretended he was kidding because I gave him the death look.

I will not be able to eat it at dinner tonight, so I hope my family enjoys it.  I will now go back to buying my chicken already cleaned up, pulled apart, and liver-less.

Gathered Clutch

I'm trying to psych myself up to make this:

http://noodleheads.blogspot.com/2010/04/gathered-clutch-tutorial.html

I'm scared of it.  There's a zipper.

Super Duper Easy Summer Picnics.

We like playdates.

I like keeping the kids busy, so if someone calls and says - "wanna meet at the zoo??" - as long as we're not doing something already, it's not unusual to drop everything and go.

I also am not a fan of spending $25 bucks on lunch at the zoo.  That's money I could spend on fabric.  (ha)

So here's what I've been doing - it's worked for impromptu picnics on the driveway on a break from the kiddie pool, on the little picnic table under the new swingset so that they don't even have to skip a beat playing - and those pop-up playdates where I don't want to spend a fortune on crappy food to feed them.

In another life, I sold Pampered Chef.  (I'm the classic jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none)

This little dandy has been in the drawer unused all these years, until this summer:

If you don't have one, go here and grab one... Cut-N-Seal

I've been buying an extra loaf of bread at the grocery store.  Then the next time I make the kids PB&J for lunch, I take an extra 15 minutes and go ahead and make the ENTIRE LOAF into PB&J sandwiches.  Then I use this cut-n-seal to make them into neat little sealed circles, drop five at a time into a ziploc bag and seal.  I take several of those bags of five (my big kid always eats two), stick them in a bigger ziploc to make sure they are nice and airtight - and pop them in the freezer. 

Then, when I need to grab something and go, I grab one of the smaller bags, stick it in my purse (or in a bag and take it outside w/ us).  They defrost pretty quickly, so by the time it's time for lunch, they are ready to go!!  I keep juice boxes in the crisper drawer at all times, so those are easy to grab, too ;)

I'm amazed, but even when thawed the bread is soft.  I haven't frozen any of these more than a month, but they really are the same as the "Uncrustables" you spend a fortune on in the freezer section at the grocery store.

So there ya go :)

nom, nom, nom...

xoxo

Super Delicious Chicken Tortilla Soup.

Super easy.  If you're in a hurry, replace the chicken with a drained can of chicken.

I take 4 or 5 boneless skinless breasts and cook them in the crockpot all day with a splash of vinegar (makes it tender), few chicken boullion cubes, and taco seasoning.  About 6-8 hours later, drain, shred - stick half in a ziploc bag in the freezer (to make this soup even faster on a different day!) and use the other half in this recipe:

1 can corn, drained
1 can chicken broth (or - I use bouillion cubes and water to make broth, usually i'll make 1 1/2 or 2 cups)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can of Rotel (not drained)
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

Whisk the broth and soup together, add everything else.  Season to taste with chili powder, salt, cumin, garlic powder - then eat!  We serve it with sour cream, cheese and tortilla chips.