9.27.2012

12 - Warm & Tasty Fall Soup Recipes



Now that it is officially Fall {ba-ha!  Excuse me while I sit her in 99 degree weather dreaming of cooler temps} I figure it's time to stock up on some cool weather recipes!  Soup always seems to hit the spot on a cooler night and it can sometimes be such an easy meal to prepare.  I've rounded up 12 warm and comforting soups for you to enjoy.  They all look amazing and I can't wait to try some of these recipes myself!





Baked Panko Mozzarella Balls with Creamy Tomato Soup

Cheeseburger Soup Recipe


Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup. Photo by danakscully64

Loaded Baked Potato Soup from Carnation Café at Disneyland Park


Picture of Hunter's Minestrone Recipe


Creamy Tortellini Soup

9.26.2012

Halloween Entry Way



 Yesterday I shared my Halloween Mantle display with you, and today I'm sharing my Halloween Inspired Entry Way.  It's themed goes along with the neutral colors I used in my mantle display.  The only new purchase in this display is the cloth on the table.  Everything else is a thrifted purchase I made previously, stuff from around my house, or previous Halloween decor.



This giant round frame use to be an ugly clock from Kirklands, take the clock out and it's an awesome huge chunky frame!  The felt skull is from Dollar Tree.



I stole the owl from my sons room and spray painted it white, shhhh!  The odd glass head is from Ross for like $6 bucks about 8 months ago.  I've always wanted one and finally caved in and got one.


These four frames that are on each side of my giant round frame usually have photo's of our boys that were taken on our last family photo shoot session.  For this display I just printed out vintage black & white pictures of creepy crawly things and some skeleton remains.  You can find such great vintage printables at The Graphics Fairy.




These crazy feather things have been in my holiday decor boxes for almost 10 years, I've been holding on to them thinking what I could use them for and this year I love how they look with my display.





9.25.2012

Halloween Mantle



 Today I'm sharing my Halloween Mantle with all of you.  As many of you have read before...I like cute & simple Halloween Decor.  I'm not big on all the creepy scary Halloween stuff out there.  So this is my version of cute & simple.  Don't get me wrong I {LOVE} skulls so there will always be skulls, but I don't find those creepy or scary.  


I am super blessed and cursed with a massive mantle and brick fireplace.  This thing takes up a huge corner in the family room.  It's awesome for decorating, yet really hard for me to photograph {sorry}.  Ignore the color of the walls, hopefully it's changing soon.  

I love to keep the colors neutral with the blacks, white, and cream mixed with hints of silver for my Halloween Decor.  Some of my items are repeats from last year of course, but I love this mantle display so much more than last years.  Yes it's super full, but I think it just works with this massive mantle.  


This sign is a repeat from last year, too cute to throw out.


Gotta shop those dollar stores people!  Great stuff to be found.  









Mantle breakdown:

- Eek, Spooky, & Boo signs are from Michaels last year.
{only one of them was silver the others I spray painted to match}
- White frame from Goodwill.
{was gold, spray paint is your friend!}
- Pumpkins are all from Dollar Tree, spray painted of course.
- Books are my books wrapped with wrapping paper and printed labels.
- Printables are all made by me, the anatomical framed art are all graphics from The Graphics Fairy.
- Glitter skull is from Michaels last year, it's paper mache with Martha Stewart Glitter.
- Simple jars from Walmart filled with cut electrical wire for spider legs & water for the love potion.
- Brass candle holder from Goodwill.
- Clock from Kirkland.


Hope you like it.  Tomorrow I'm sharing my Halloween Entry Way!



Linked up at the following parties:

9.19.2012

23 - Fall Pumpkin Recipes


It is most definitely Fall, how do I know for sure...well the canned pumpkin is in stock in every grocery store from here to kingdom come!  Everyone is snatching it up like it's the end of the world, and for good reason!  This stuff is great.  There are so many pumpkin recipes for Fall that are sure to make you incredibly blissful.  I'm sharing some recipes I found that sound amazing.



Perfect Pumpkin Roll


no bake pumpkin cookies

Crockpot Cashew Chicken



Today I'm sharing my recipe for Cashew Chicken, best part of it...it's made in the crockpot!  Can I get a Whoot - Whoot for a easy meal!  I do have to apologize about the picture above though, I really rushed to take it since the family was incredibly hungry after church on Sunday and were glaring at me with pitiful faces.  The picture doesn't do it justice, and I promise this dish is super tasty!

Grocery List:

-  2 Pounds of Chicken thighs or breasts 
{we use thighs for this since it makes the meat super tender}
-  1/2 Cup Flour
-  1 Tbsp Black Pepper
-  1/2 Cup Soy Sauce
-  4 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
-  3 Tbsp Ketchup
-  3 Tbsp Brown Sugar
-  2 Tbsp Minced Garlic
-  1 Cup Cashews
-  1/2 Tsp Red Paper Flakes {optional}
-  2 Cups of either Snap Peas, or Green Beans {optional}
-  1/2 of a Red or Yellow Bell Pepper, finely diced

Begin by combining your flour and black pepper in a large zip lock bag, shake together to combine.  Next cut your chicken in to small tender size pieces, approximately 1" x 3" in size.  Toss your chicken in to the flour mixture in small batches, shake to coat the chicken.  Remove from the bag, shaking any excess flour off as you do and set the chicken aside until all the chicken is coated.  Toss any remaining flour mixture in the garbage. 

Next over a medium high heat add 2 Tbsp of Vegetable Oil or Olive Oil to a skillet.  Brown your chicken about 2 -3 minutes per side.  Spray your crockpot with a non-stick spray, then add all your browned chicken.  I also added some bell peppers.  Then add half of your cashews.

In a separate bowl combine your ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, soy sauce, and the optional red pepper if flakes if you want some added spice.  Once the sauce mixture is combined pour over the chicken in the crockpot.  Cook on low for 4 hours.  Once cooked add the remaining cashews, and add any cooked veggies {like snap peas or green beans} you desire to the chicken and stir to coat.  Serve over brown or white rice.  Enjoy!

9.18.2012

18 Spooktacular Halloween Wreaths


Since I featured Fall wreaths the other day and it seems most bloggers {myself included} skip the Fall decorating until closer to Thanksgiving, I felt it was time to feature some fabulous Halloween wreaths!  I've chosen 18 of my favorites from around blogland & Etsy for you to get inspiration from.  It doesn't take a lot of money to make a great wreath, remember that the Dollar Tree is a great source for inexpensive Halloween merchandise that can be transformed in to great things!







Halloween Wreath

Halloween Wreath, Mummy's Tomb Wreath