EASY Creamy Crockpot Chicken and Mushrooms

When my husband and I were married 19 years ago, it was magical. I'll never forget the incredible friends and family who joined us for our special day. We had lots of wonderful gifts, including .... a crock pot. I remember thinking... really?! What am I... 70? Who uses a crock pot??!

Well, today I'm not ashamed to say... I use a crock pot! It's become one of my FAVORITE kitchen gadgets! And one of the few wedding gifts we received that day that we still use on a regular basis.

Let's face it... we're all busy and cooking dinner is something that can be a bit of a challenge when we're working and taking care of all life throws at us. SO... I want to share with you one of the many crock pot creations that makes life a little easier for us.

One of my favorites is creamy chicken and mushrooms. It's SO easy!!! It uses just three main ingredients:

Just chicken, mushrooms and your favorite soup. I like to use Campbell's Cream of Chicken, but you could use whatever you like (Cream of Mushroom, Cream of Celery, etc.).

This takes about six (6) hours to complete in the crock pot. However, I've left it for far MORE hours (10-12) and still had wonderful results. It's a great mixture to put in the crock pot before leaving for work and then when you get home, it's ready to go! YAY!

Here are the main ingredients:

• 1 large can of Cream of Chicken Soup 
• 16 oz of sliced Baby Bella Mushrooms (or your favorite type of mushrooms)
• 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast or tenderloins

To start, spray your crock pot sides with cooking spray (such as Pam) OR line your crock pot with slow-cooker liners. Either will make clean up SO much easier.

Layer your chicken into the bottom of the crock pot pan. You can leave them in whole pieces as found at your store, or slice them up as I've done here:

 

I also take this opportunity to add some garlic salt and pepper at this point, if you are so inclined.

Afterwards, layer on your mushrooms on top of the chicken:

Then spread the soup over the top:

Next, pop it into your crock pot on low for 6 (or more) hours, then wait for deliciousness to arrive! Once completed, spoon the mixture over rice (my favorite!) or mashed potatoes. It is also good alone with your favorite sides. And if you have extra, it freezes VERY well!

There are LOTS of variations that can take place of this ... If you are vegetarian, try using thick, sliced Portabella mushrooms in place of the chicken with either Cream of Mushroom or Cream of Celery soup. Just be sure to  adjust your time.... it won't need to cook as long.

You can also cook this with less soup and mushrooms... if you prefer to have a less creamy mixture, use 8 oz of mushrooms and a SMALL can of your preferred soup. 

ENJOY!

Deodorizing Stinky Shoes

Recently, by hubby and I had the chance to visit our nation's capital... Washington D.C. is an AMAZING city!  Full of wonderful monuments and museums, many of which are free to explore.Some of my favorites included the Spy Museum (free!), the National Portrait Gallery (free!) and Ford's Theatre (also free, with a free-will donation encouraged).We put MANY miles in each day we were there and had a fabulous time.

BUT...... Washington D.C. is incredibly HOT and HUMID in the summertime, particularly in August, when we visited. Haaving worked in D.C., I was prepared with several clothing options and many shoes, but my husband brought just ONE pair of walking shoes... his closed-toe sandals. I guess he was attempting to limit his baggage. Big mistake! 

We were there five days .... and on the last day, the skies opened up and doused us with an incredible amount of rain as we were walking back to our hotel. We were headed to the airport that night and looked like a couple of drowned rats. But that's okay... no one knows us here, right?! (ha!)

However... the hubby's shoes were so full of SWEAT and rainwater that they were just plain RANK. I mean nasty, nasty, nasty.... on the airplane, we had an empty seat between us and I could STILL smell those things from where I was sitting! UGH!

When we arrived home, he was ready to throw them out. But I begged him to give me a chance to save them. Surely I could find SOME way to get the nasty stank out!

The offensive shoes!

I decided to try a home remedy I had once heard of and hey... it couldn't hurt to try, right?  He was just going to throw them out if it didn't work.

Here's the recipe I used:

• 1 1/2 cups of cornstarch 
• 1 cup of baking soda 
• Essential oils - I used Rosemary, Orange and Lemongrass (about 10-15 drops each)

I mixed them all in a bowl, then spooned them into two pair of his socks, tying off the ends tightly with rubber bands.

I flattened them out, then molded them into the shoes, leaving them (in the garage, because they WERE stinky) for about 24 hours, before checking the results.

Happily... we were THRILLED with the results!!!!! The shoes no longer smelled nasty and were once again wearable in public. And because of the scents I used, they weren't "girly" smelling, which my husband appreciated. And, as an added bonus, the garage smells GREAT!

He doesn't have to throw his favorite shoes out and he now thinks I'm brilliant, which is a plus (ha!).

Painting Tips!

Painting is always an adventure for me... and this project was no different!

My husband and I moved into our current home four years ago... and one project I've continued to put off is painting the family room on our main floor. The people who lived here before were both surgeons and had little time to paint anything (too busy saving lives, I guess - yeesh!), so it's been at least 10 years or more since it's been refreshed. One wall was a sickly, pale off-white and the others were stark white. You could even see on one wall, the outline of an oval picture that had once hung there many years ago. Lovely!  With our annual Halloween party fast approaching - and me still being off work -  there was no time like the present to tackle this project.

I couldn't get a shot of the entire room, but here's a picture of the fireplace before I started:

 

Pretty vanilla, huh?!  I learned a few important lessons during this project that I'd like to share with you.

Lesson #1: They sell those tiny paint samples in the stores for a reason.

Sadly, I learned this lesson a little too late.  I chose a Pittsburgh Paint color called "Hot Stone". (Don't you just love those paint names??! I want that job...)

According to the paint swatch, it was supposed to be a grey/beige (greige?) and I thought it would be perfect. Somewhat neutral, but still enough color to make the white on the fireplace pop, instead of fade into the wall like it was doing at the time.

When I opened the paint can, I was instantly worried. It looked to have a more greenish tint than grey: 

Green? Grey? Beige??!

 Uh oh... well, I know the color always looks different on the walls, so I took a leap of faith and started painting. Come to find out, on the wall, it has a significant blue tint.  See below: 

 

Oy.... well, the good news is, it actually looks good with the furniture in that room - and the hubster loves it - so I'm going to leave it. But one thing is for sure...I'll NEVER take on a painting project again without trying multiple samples on the walls first. I encourage you to learn from my pain!  

Lesson #2: Clean up

I am  a messy painter... and a bit of a clumsy person. I'm not proud of it, but I know my limitations. So I always make sure to tape off the woodwork and put a drop-cloth on the floor. I've never had good luck with the "blue" painters tape, so I decided to try Frog Tape. I was delighted to find it worked SO much better!! 

When I pulled the tape off, it didn't pull the paint off the walls like the experience I had with the other brand. It cost a little bit more, but was well worth the few extra pennies.

However... I still managed to get a considerable amount of drips on the floor, despite my best efforts. How that happened, I'll never know. BUT... I have a new best friend when painting: 

Goo Gone Painter's Pal is AWESOME!!!!!!!  Honestly, where has this been all my life??!! I just sprayed a bit on the dried spots, waited a bit and they wiped right up, no problem. If there is stock to be purchase in this stuff, I will be snatching it up pretty darn quickly. It even helped with lesson #3...

Lesson #3: The Near Disaster on the Couch 

Remember, I said I'm a clumsy person. Seriously, it's sad. So after the walls were done and the tape was removed, there were lots of touch-ups to be done. I'm not the best at getting the tape on exactly straight, so the walls needed a bit of help. I put some of the paint in a plastic cup, took my tiny paint brush around and hit any spots that were missed. 

By the way... I couldn't find any tiny paint brushes in the home improvement stores, so you know where I picked mine up??  Walgreens! They were in the kids art section and worked beautifully! And for a fraction of the price of regular paint brushes.  They worked GREAT!

But then... disaster struck. As I walked around the back side of the couch (which had been carefully pulled into the center of the room to avoid any paint splatters), I bumped the cup holding the paint. And it went FLYING.... onto the fabric-covered couch and the walls I had just painted. 

I'm sure the neighbors in my happy little suburb wondered what the heck the screams and incredibly loud F-Bombs coming from our home were really all about. I'm not proud, but I'm pretty sure I could have made a sailor blush. 

I tried to wipe the paint off the cushions with paper towels. That was just smearing it around and making things worse. Thankfully, the majority of the paint landed on one cushion, so I grabbed it and made my way to the sink. Turning the water on HOT and using the spray nozzle, the paint began to rinse off the cushion. It took about 20 minutes and I also used a washcloth to work the paint out, but it's FINALLY back to normal. Whew!  

At that point, I turned my attention back to where the rest of the paint had landed - on the walls. It had been a good 20-30 minutes, so it was starting to dry. Yikes! 

This is where my BFF, Goo Gone Painter's Pal came into play. I sprayed it liberally on the the paint splatters and yep! They came right off with a quick swipe of a paper towel.

Ugh... what a day... it's time for a cocktail.

Spray Painting Brass Lamps

Seriously.... is there anything better than spray paint?!!!

We've been in our "new" house for four (4) years now. It's still a work in progress. Heck... we just finished unpacking the last of our moving boxes a few weeks ago!!!  

(please don't judge me!)

In our family room, we had two small 60-watt lamps that, while cute, just didn't throw off enough light for reading (we are getting older!). I set out to find new lamps when I discovered that I we might just have the fix right here at home...

I remembered the two brass lamps (which I loved - everything but their awful color) in a box in our basement. We haven't used them in several years, since their appearance is so outdated.

Why not try spray painting them???  Let's face it.... if it turned out hideous, we weren't using them anyway, so we could throw them away. Right??!

Notice my two "helpers" in the background?

I did a bit of research and learned when you are spray painting brass, you definitely need to sand the material you are working with. Otherwise, the surface is too slippery for the paint to adhere to as needed.

Be sure to tape off your openings to the actual lights (I used paint tape)... you don't want any paint in there!

I used a fine-grit sand paper to scuff the surface. And surprisingly, it didn't take much time! After sanding and cleaning the dust off, I used Rust-Oleum Clean Metal Primer to prep it for painting.
 

With the primer (and the paint), keep in mind that a light touch is best. I spent about a 30 minutes on the priming phase. You want to use smooth, even strokes to make sure you don't have any drip marks, because that's quite unsightly! Give the it some time to adhere and continue working around the base.

When it was done, it looked like this: 

Primer phase

I have to admit, I thought they looked kind of amazing in white, but that wouldn't work for our family room. (SIGH). I moved on to the paint phase. Thankfully, there are so many great colors of spray paint!

In the Twin Cities, we are fortunate to have many home improvement stores. But honestly, I was a bit disappointed in the selection at Home Depot. They had so little selection!!  I went to Menard's and found so many awesome colors and finishes.

I used another Rust-Oleum paint for the finished product... a hammered finish. As with the primer, I worked SLOWLY around the bases, using a light touch again, so there were no drips.

Notice I sent the dogs INSIDE for this phase.

Be advised ... this is NOT a quick process... I let the primer dry nearly 24 hours before starting the painting process. And I found that you need to give it considerable time to dry to make sure you have the primer covered. I started this process in the early evening and thought I had everything covered. The next day, I found that wasn't the case, so I had to do another round of paint to finish the job. Perhaps different light helps? That's my thought...

You must also give the paint a good 24-48 hours to dry. 

When it was done, I was pleased.... the lamps were updated and looked SO good!!! Now I'm just trying to decide if they need new lampshades. Maybe a light gray? I'm not sure the linen color looks so good...


And for those of you family members.... yes, that is Grandma Hale's old side table. And yes.... it will have a makeover sometime soon. :-)

Overall, I was pleased with the outcome and will NOT be afraid to paint any brass in the future!


UPDATE! The old lampshades had to go... they were too dated for the more modern finish. Top that off with the amount of dust the fabric had accumulated while in the basement and it was easy to toss them in the garbage! I found some great, smooth-finished lampshades at Lowes which really modernize the lamps AND will be easy to clean.

Ta-Da!!!!!!!!  This project is officially finished.

Shower and Tub Cleaner

At our house, the master bathroom has a HUGE shower. Seriously... you could hold a dinner party in there (but that would be awkward). While I think our shower is fabulous, it is a bugger to clean...

Until I found an easy solution.




















These three materials have made my life so much easier!!!!  

Pick up a couple of dish cleaning soap dispensers at Target, Wal-Mart, or wherever you shop. They are inexpensive, so buy one for each bathroom! Be sure to get ones with the soft head, not the heavy-duty scrubber, which may scratch your walls.

Fill the handle with half white vinegar, half Dawn dish soap.

A couple of times each week, while you're showering, wipe down the walls and fixtures. Let it sit for a bit, then spray it off with water. I've found that it leaves the shower walls and fixtures sparkling clean! The vinegar will fight any mold/mildew that may be lurking and the result is fantastic.

Below you'll see an example of just how well this works. I wiped this fixture down this morning with a quick swipe of the cleaner and then rinsed it with water. This picture is from four hours later... Not a smudge on it! It dried perfectly...

 


Please ignore the fact that there is still brass on my bathroom fixtures... It's a mid-90's bathroom after all.

Eliminating dog stains from the carpet - an easy fix!!!

I consider myself to be extremely fortunate to be a mom to two adorable Shih Tzus who are a joy to live with every day. What I don't find a joy is that every now and then, one of them decides to leave a piddle spot on the carpet... gross! This was particularly common when we first moved into our new home four years ago... they were a bit stressed with the changes and decided to show us exactly how stressed by peeing on the white carpet. 

We have shampooed the spots using every type of cleaner we could think of... even the heavy duty pet stain remover from the local pet store didn't work. The stains would seem to disappear, only to reappear a short time later.

Then I came across a rumored remedy that seemed too good to be true, using very simple products already in our home:

Yep... good old baking soda and vinegar. And a vacuum cleaner.

This fix was incredibly easy.  Fill a spray bottle with straight vinegar and soak the stain... take my advice - DON'T be stingy with it!! It needs to be fully saturated to get into the carpet pad. And let's face it, vinegar is pretty inexpensive, so you can afford to use plenty.

After the stain is saturated, cover the spot with baking soda. It will immediately begin to fizz and you'll see some of the yellow foam up to the surface. (eww!)

Now comes the part where you have to be patient... The mixture needs to dry completely before removing it. Since our stain was at the very top of the stairs which are used daily, I threw a paper plate over the spot so we wouldn't kick baking soda everywhere.

After two or three days, remove the plate and scrape off majority of the baking soda. Make sure the carpet is dry, then run your vacuum cleaner over the top to get any leftovers.

I was amazed... the spot was completely gone! It's been a few weeks now and it has not resurfaced.It appears to be gone for good.

What I did discover is that the rest of my carpet now appears to be a bit dingy around that very clean spot... so I'll be shampooing the rest of it soon (SIGH). But the trouble spot is history. YAY!!

The Piddle Monsters!!