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Easy Chicken Pot Pie

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Lets face it–the weather is cold, life is busy, things are complicated and we all need to save a buck or two. Not to mention the kids are hungry (and the spouse too) and you have about a million other things to do in your hectic life. In other words, you need a way to make dinner simple and practical. The solution:

Easy Chicken Pot Pie
It’s my very own recipe. Confession: When I usually make this chicken pot pie, I do not use standard measurements. A handful of this, a pinch of that, a little more, a little less. For most of y’all, those kinds of measurement simply won’t do. So, I’ve taken the time to actually get out my measuring cups and measure this stuff…with one exception–the dough. It is still easy though and you’ll see what a mean in a moment.

Put on your apron and gather up these ingredients:

INGREDIENTS:

Filling

1 Family Size can of Cream of Chicken Soup (26 oz)
4 Cups mixed vegetables (use canned, drained or frozen)
3-4 Cups cooked chicken, torn into bite-sized peices

TIP: Use half a whole rotisserie chicken which you can purchase cooked in the deli section of most grocery stores for around $5.

Dough

3 Cups Bisquick-type mix mixed with enough water to form a very sticky dough

METHOD:

Mix all the filling ingredients together and place into 9 x 13 baking dish. Top with dough mixture. Bake at 400 F for 25 minutes or until dough is golden-brown and thouroughly baked through.

Dang that was easy! Delicious too.

A New Baby Boy

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So, if you’ve been keeping track of my wild adventures in Oklahoma last weekend, then you know that I got all four of my tires slashed by some crazed maniac, in my opinion of course. Well, we were supposed to leave my sister’s place at 6 AM to be in Tulsa by 9:30 AM. Well, with four slashed tires, you really can’t go anywhere until they get changed, so we actually left at more like 1:30 PM from Lawton and didnt get to Tulsa until 4:30 PM.

Our orginal plans took us to Sapulpa to check into a hotel and get something to eat, but since we were so late leaving Lawton, we went straight to the hospital in Tulsa to see the new bundle of joy that had arrived at 7:30 that very morning.

That’s right: I have a new newphew! His parents named him “Richard Alan” after family on both sides.

Then my sister and I started thinking…and that’s never a good idea in my family. Since our brother is such a great auto mechanic (working in Sapulpa, Oklahoma), naturally he is going to teach his boys all about cars, right? So my sister and I determined little Richard’s future occupation: He’s going to be the owner of a car dealership. That’s right, and the name of the car dealership is going to be named “Richard Alan Auto Sales”. Now doesnt that have a special ring to it!

I dont think The Mechanic (my brother) thought it was too funny.

CLR Bathroom and Kitchen Cleaner Review for Tackle It Tuesdays

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As a busy mother of three young and very energetic young boys, I am always looking for an easier way to stay on top of things…especially when it comes to cleaning. Oh, and believe me, there is always something to clean in this crazy home!

I was one of the lucky ones that signed up and got a FREE full size bottle of CLR Bathroom and Kitchen Cleaner from 5minutesformom, a blog devoted to helping moms take control of their busy lives. The purpose of this freebie is to try out CLR Kitchen and Bathroom Cleaner and then review it for their Tackle-It-Tuesdays section.

For this review, I purposely left my kitchen and bathroom dirty just so I could get the full effect and true results for this product. Personally, my favorite type of bathroom cleaner is the foaming kind that comes in one of those metal spray cans. But hey, the CLR didn’t cost me any money, so why not try it?

Here’s my bathroom before CLR Bathroom and Kitchen Cleaner:

And here is my bathroom afterwards:

My opinion: CLR Bathroom and Kitchen cleaner works great for removing hard water stains from tiles and fixtures, but it only gets a little more than a so-so rating for removing heavy soap scum buildup. The foaming stuff in the metal can would have gotten the heavier dirt/soap scum build-up off the first time and without so much elbow grease. However, CLR Bathroom and Kitchen Cleaner left a very pleasant scent after cleaning that lasted for a couple days–something vital in my home with four males.

Here’s my kitchen before CLR Bathroom and Kitchen Cleaner:

Here’s my kitchen after CLR Bathroom and Kitchen Cleaner:

My opinion: CLR Bathroom and Kitchen Cleaner again works great for removing hard water spots from fixtures and the stainless steel sink, but it got just a so-so rating again for removing spills, food and grease. I had to reapply the product several times to get the countertops and stove clean. On the other hand, CLR worked great for my microwave–all I did was spray and BHAM all the food splatter “magically” wiped clean. Again, CLR Bathroom and Kitchen Cleaner left a wonderfully pleasant scent that had me organizing my counters and walking into my kitchen just to sniff.

An additional suprise with CLR Bathroom and Kitchen Cleaner came Friday afternoon while I was cleaning out my van for my trip to Oklahoma (something I’ll be blogging about later). You see, our cup holders were full of heated and hardened barbeque sauce, coke syrup and other who-knows-whats. I sprayed down the cup holders with the CLR Bathroom and Kitchen Cleaner and then wiped them down with a damp rag and Voila!, the been-dirty-for-two-years cup holders are now clean! Amazing!

Overall, I think CLR Bathroom and Kitchen Cleaner is a good product. On a scale of 1 to 5, I’d score it a 4. I will definitely be buying this product in the future (Retails in the $4 range).
And if you’ve ever wondered what a little Photoshopping will do to a bathtub, take a look below–GROSS!

Now head on over to 5minitesformom to check out other great mom bloggers’ reviews for this product!

The Haunted Old Alton Bridge

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October is finally here and you know what that means…Halloween and spooky stories (no, today’s post is not on Oktoberfest).

So, do I believe in ghosts? Yes, but I believe that these ghosts are really spirits that have not made it to the other side and wonder here on Earth because they are still holding onto human emotions such as greed, revenge, sadness, anger or any combination of the preceding. Do I have any Christian doctrinal basis for this belief, no (or at least I don’t think so), however I do still believe that these entities exist. I believe other spirits are real and some walk among us today, whether they be good or evil. I further believe that some of us are able to sense and view these spirits more than others.

A while ago, I blogged about a bridge just a few miles from where we live. This bridge is one of our family’s favorite hiking and fishing spots. Once, I even saw a three foot alligator gar come to the surface of the creek that runs under this bridge. If seeing an alligator gar up close isn’t enough to spook you out, then I don’t know what is (actually, they aren’t all that scary).

This bridge is called locally as Goatman’s Bridge or historically as Old Alton Bridge. It used to connect Copper Canyon with Alton, a town that doesn’t exist anymore (if I’m wrong with that, please correct me). You can access the bridge from Lewisville/Flower Mound, Texas by taking FM 407 west to Copper Canyon Road (before Lantana) and turning north. Once you go a few miles up this very scenic road, you will come to a fork in the road. Stay right and continue for a short way. You will turn right into a gravel parking lot just before Teasley Lane in Corinth/Denton.

For time and reading constraints, I am posting a YouTube video to the story behind the Goatman’s Bridge below.
It is well worth viewing and very spooky. I now know why I get creeped out and feel like someone or something is watching me. It was a horse last time.

When I was a kid, the Old Alton bridge was passable by vehicles, but a modern bridge has been built down the road as the main part of the road. For more information about hiking here, please refer to my earlier post, ELM FORK TRAIL AND OLD ALTON BRIDGE.

Do you have a spooky story that you would like to share? Then send it to me at getitdesignservice (at) verizon (dot) net and I will share your story in an upcoming post. If it is really good, I might just share it in a post all its own.

In the meantime, keep the lights on (unless you’re not handing out candy!).

Homemade Natural Carpet Freshener

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If any of you read my post about my embarrassing children, then you will find it easy to believe that my children occasionally have “accidents” on my carpet as well. Well, actually I don’t think they’re accidents…what my kids do is more on purpose than anything else.

So, you can imagine how my upstairs carpets used to smell. As embarrassing as it is for me to confess…my upstairs occasionally smells like kid pee. Ugh! Even steam cleaning my carpets is not enough.


It wasn’t until a week ago that I found a great solution to the problem from a friend of mine. She had the same problem with an older pet of hers and found a great natural remedy for urine scent. I tried it and it really works! Here’s how to do it:

Measure 1 cup baking soda
Mix in 1/4 tsp of your favorite essential oil (I like lavender and orange)
Make sure you mix the soda and oil well and break up any clumps
Now take the mixture and add to an old spice or powder shaker and sprinkle all over carpet
OR sprinkle mixture using your hands
In either case, let stand for 1 to 3 hours
Vacuum up completely


Side note: Now I use a bag vacuum cleaner (I think they work better than the bagless variety). I have found that every time I run the vacuum that it lets off a lavender fragrance. I can’t smell any pee, just the lavender and that is something to keep in mind. Make sure you use a fragrance you like, because you are going to smell it every time you turn the vacuum on.

Anyways, this tip works for anyone with small children or pets and I highly recommend it over commercial products that are expensive and contain chemicals. Costs 30 cents to 50 cents per cup.