Getting Settled in....and Chickens!

So we're finally settled in to our new house....and we are completely loving the new house, new area, and new surroundings!

We had to do a little work to the house, including adding a wall and doors to create a master suite in the former family room.

I'm so glad my dad and husband are carpentry-inclined!!!

Then we had to buy a new stove and dryer.....which were unexpected purchases! But as soon as all of that was done, we were able to dive into the fun stuff! We planted a few fruit trees. 

Then we moved on to the next project.....chickens!

With the chicken coop built, we were ready to pick up the hens, or as I refer to them.....the ladies

We've really enjoyed getting to know their personalities, and of course the eggs!

Meeting the New Neighbors

Chicken Helper to the Rescue!

For the last few months, I've been MIA. We've been house hunting, then packing and finally moving! It's been crazy around our place since February, but I'm finally (almost) settled in! Woohoo! During this whole process, most of my kitchen was boxed up and quite honestly, I was exhausted. That's why I was so excited when I received two boxes of Hamburger Helper in the mail from Betty Crocker and General Mills! I received Sweet & Sour Chicken Helper and Parmesan Crusted Chicken Helper. 

Nailed It!

Pinterest....the virtual bragging grounds that inspires us all to think "I can do that!" I'll be the first to admit I pin things all the time that I think I'll do one day. And then something else shiny and glittery snags my attention and I never think about that wonderful recipe I just pinned. I'm an pinner full of great hopes and dreams....and an empty reality. Yesterday, I decided to start changing that. I went through all the pins I had looked at recently and decided to actually do one!

There are several pins of this going around and I don't know if I have the original post here or not, but here's what I was going for....

Source: delish.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Two problems here....1. When I saw this, I thought it looked simple enough....who needs to read the instructions?! 2. The pin doesn't really have any instructions.
I figured it couldn't be that hard....mold dough over muffin tin and bake. I think I did something wrong....

The good thing is, it's still chocolate chip cookies so we all sat around picking pieces off the muffin tin. Lesson learned....I promise I will read the instructions next time. Well, probably not, but I will not attempt these ever again! 

What to do while you wait

Yesterday and today, I've spent a lot of time waiting in a hospital. And let me tell you, waiting sucks. But when you have lots of time on your hands, a computer, and internet, you can get caught up on things that have fallen through the cracks-like blogging.
So what's been going on lately? I had a bit of a surprise last week. I made cupcakes for someone to take in to their office for Halloween. What they didn't tell me, was that the "Halloween Pitch In" was actually a baking contest. I won. Crazy, right? I made chocolate maple cupcakes with chocolate maple frosting. For the decorations, I used candy melts and a piping bag to write "Boo" and make spiders. I also pulled out some skull molds and made candy skulls. Here were some of my early attempts:

I finally came up with these:

I guess they were a big hit! And here's the kicker-I can't stand maple. And I mean maple anything-syrup, candy, flavoring, etc. Making those cupcakes about made me gag, so I obviously didn't taste them. Come to think of it, that would actually be a good diet plan. Maybe I should only make sweets I don't like! I'm sure there will be more to come later as the waiting continues!

WW-Halloween Edition

More from MyInsite

Disclosure: The VIP coupon, sample kit, information and coupons have been provided to me by Green Giant through MyInsite. The opinions expressed below are those of myself and my family.

A really cool part of belonging to MyInsite is the opportunity to try new products. The latest one we tried is Green Giant Seasoned Steamers.

I got a coupon for a free package and several $1 off coupons to give out to my friends and family. We tried the Backyard Grilled Potatoes. I really like being able to toss a side dish in the microwave when I'm trying to make a quick dinner. I tossed these in the microwave while I steamed some veggies and a couple of minutes later, the smell of grilled peppers filled the kitchen. I'm not sure how they managed to do it, but it really did smell like a grill!

So what did we think? We loved it! But, I do wish there was more in each package. It was great for me and the husband, but there would not have been enough for the kids. That being said, we have already bought more -both this variety and the Tuscan Seasoned Broccoli. 

Disclosure: The VIP coupon, sample kit, information and coupons have been provided to me by Green Giant through MyInsite.