Easy Cashew Chicken

I must confess, I'm not much of a fan of Chinese food. I much prefer Thai or Japanese cuisine! However, Prince Charming is a big fan of Chinese food, and in general, pretty much anything "outside the ordinary." So, when I stumbled across a recipe for cashew chicken that I could prepare with a few ingredients I already had, plus the aid of my slow cooker and my trusty kitchen sidekick, the rice cooker, I was in. :)

Ingredients:

1 lb (approx.) Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 Can Campbell's Golden Mushroom Soup
3 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 1/2 Tsp Ground Ginger
1 Small Jar (4 oz) Sliced Mushrooms
1 Bag Asian Style Frozen Veggies

Directions:

1. Place the chicken breasts in your slow cooker, and top with soy sauce, ground ginger, and golden mushroom soup.

2. Cook on high until chicken is fully cooked (4-6 hours)

3. Add in your bag of frozen vegetables, stir, and cook on low for 1 more hour. (For faster prep, you can cook the vegetables in the microwave or on the stove, then stir them in before serving!)

4. Serve over rice, with cashews sprinkled on top.

5. Enjoy!

Monday Makeover: Mini Makeover Edition

Sometimes in the midst of major home makeovers, you have to stop and work on some smaller tasks to keep yourself from going crazy.

... Or, at least I do!

I thought I'd dedicate today's blog to two of the mini-makeovers I've worked on over the last couple of weeks. These were relatively simple afternoon projects I completed that had a tremendous impact on the way I feel about my house. Hopefully they will inspire you to do the same.

The first project I worked on was my laundry room. I'm fortunate to have a large laundry room, but to be honest, it used to end up being a "junk room" that I tossed things into when company came over. Those days are OVER now! 

The shelf you see in the picture was a white shelf that used to be in my apartment's entryway. It had seen better days, so when we moved into this house, I relegated it to the laundry room. On a rainy afternoon, I shelf-papered the shelves with cute chevron striped paper I found on clearance (thank you T.J. Maxx) and added some Sterilite plastic drawers to serve as junk drawers. I try to keep the drawers relatively organized by giving each of them a "theme" (i.e. kitchen, office, craft, first aid, etc.) 

Once the bulk of the work was done, I bought some inexpensive decorations and a few bargain priced baskets at Hobby Lobby to finish the look! I also threw a large gray bathmat (found on clearance at Target) onto the floor to keep my feet "comfy" while doing laundry. 

Quick and CHEAP! (My second favorite word, right after FREE!)

I'm not even sure if this next project technically counts as a makeover, since it was so easy, but I'm still claiming it! Here's one important principle I've discovered in home decor:

When you get bored with a room, mix it up! 

Seriously, what's the fun in furniture if you don't rearrange it once in a while?!

The wall above used to house my computer on a high "pub" table. It looked lovely for a while, but I noticed that it was catching a lot of clutter and wasn't the style I was going for anymore. Because I use my laptop more often, I moved the desktop computer to my desk in the "guest" bedroom, and asked Prince Charming and my Dad to move the table into our "bonus" room for use in a future makeover. Then, we slid my piano over a few feet into it's new home! I pulled in a lamp from across the room, and gathered a few pictures from around the house to spruce the area up. This was an easy fix and changed the entire room - my living room feels so much larger now!

So there you have it - makeovers don't have to be major and time consuming. Mix up your furniture, artwork, and trinkets once in a while. Little changes can make a big difference!

5 Tips for Vacation Survival!

I've never considered myself much of a traveler, and I don't frequently find myself struck with wanderlust. However, after our May trip to Seattle, I've been bitten by the travel bug! Over the weekend, we took a short road trip to the not-so-distant city of St. Augustine, and on the way home, I put together these 5 quick tips that I learned this summer. Hopefully they'll be of help to you, too!

1. Check Groupon for deals and steals on local attractions.
This tip never dawned on me, until I made a quick little purchase on Groupon a few weeks before our trip to Seattle. I started searching Groupon Seattle on a weekly basis to see what I could find and scored some half-price tour tickets! I did the same for our trip to St. Augustine and was able to get some discounted museum tickets. You never know what you'll find!

2. Make a travel itinerary, but don't be afraid to ditch it.
I hate to say it, but my Prince Charming and I are some of the most indecisive people I know. A few days before our trip, we sat down and picked out 1-2 museums or tours to do each day... and then ditched most of them when we got to our destination in favor of more exciting adventures! Pre-planning was vital, though. If we hadn't chosen anything, we most likely would have spent half the day in our hotel room trying to decide what to do!

3. Find hotels you're comfy with, and stick with them.
If you're an adventurous traveler, you can go ahead and ditch this tip - but for me, it's key! If you aren't comfortable in your hotel room, you aren't going to get good sleep... and if you don't get good sleep, it's gonna be a rough trip! To be entirely honest, I'm a fancy resort kinda gal, but that's just not practical most of the time. I've never been dissatisfied with a Courtyard Marriott or La Quinta, so I usually try to seek those out!

4. Stay hydrated!
Travel adds a lot of extra stress to your body, so combat some of it by staying hydrated! When we travel by car, we usually grab a case of bottled water on our way out of town. When traveling by plane, you can either pick one up once you arrive at your destination, or use our preferred method, which is to carry one of these awesome Brita soft-sided water bottles that contain a handy filter!

5. Eat well!
I used to be a "stick with the chains" girl, but where's the fun in that?! Ask around and find out some of the popular places, remembering that your tour guides, the front desk staff at your hotel, etc. are all locals! I've discovered, though, that you may have to ask twice! Listen to the places that they are forced to recommend due to partnerships, etc... and then ask where THEY would go for a nice meal. I usually take these results and filter them through websites like Urban Spoon, Zagat, or Trip Advisor. After all of this feedback, you're bound to end up someplace great!

Now it's your turn! I'd love to hear some of your tried and true vacation tips. Share them in the comments, or leave a link to your blog! :)