Well, I did it. I have found the easiest meal ever. Send the balloons falling from the ceiling and play some celebratory music, because this is game-changing in my house. Let me back up a little…my husband works swing shift, I work from home, my son goes to school virtually but splits time between our house and his dad’s, and we almost always have something going on every single day. Sometimes I have a call with a client or my mastermind at 8pm, right when Nigel is coming home from work. And other times I’m doing photo shoots all day long and I honestly “forget” to stop working to cook.
But are you ready for this? I found out about the easiest meal ever, and it’s my knight in shining armor. Crockpot armor, that is. All you do is drop chicken breasts and a jar of salsa into the Crockpot and let it go on high for four hours. Then take out the chicken, shred it on a plate, and put it back in the Crockpot to swim in the salsa. And serve it however you want.
If we are all eating at different times, I just put a box of taco shells next to the Crockpot and everyone can fish out whatever toppings they want from the fridge when they’re ready. And sometimes we microwave a pack of 90-second rice from Uncle Bens and turn it into a bowl with whatever leftover veggies we have in the fridge. Sometimes we make sandwiches with pepper jack cheese, and every once in a while I’m lazy and just throw a big scoop onto some leftover mashed potatoes.
You can use any kind of salsa you want, and even throw in some sliced peppers and onions if you have them. We actually spend one Sunday a month filling up Ziplock bags of chicken breasts and various salsas (verde is my fave!) and storing them in the freezer. I can thaw out one if I know I have a packed schedule a couple of days ahead of time, and boom, zero effort.
Random Thoughts On This Saturday Morning
My hairdryer of 10+ years died this week. So I bought a new one. Same brand and style. It sucks. They just don’t make ’em like they used to.
What’s the best way to clean glasses? Like the kind that go on your face. I have tried all the wipes and sprays and everything leaves smears.
Do you still read magazines in print or have you gone digital? I find them to be so joyfully relaxing and I look forward to getting them in the mail.
There are five pairs of shoes scattered throughout my sightline right now. This annoys me.
I’ve gone full-on-bird-lady. I go out to feed the birds every morning and I talk to them. Yesterday I called one Northern Cardinal by the name I gave her, realized that wasn’t Judy, and apologized. Yep. This is my life now.
Can you believe it’s almost May???
I need to add some grass seed to my yard, but I didn’t realize how expensive it is now! Maybe I’ll just let it all die and fill the yard with pea gravel. Or sand. Ohh sand! I can buy a tiny rake and make patterns! But the neighborhood mouser-cats would just think I built them a giant bathroom. Never mind.
What’s New On The Blog
Yesterday I shared my biggest tips for gaining momentum when you’re trying to get organized. This is my biggest secret that I am terrible at keeping, because I literally tell everyone. Sorry lady in the grocery line…
Did you know I buy a lot of my organizing bins and containers from Target? That drive-up service is so handy! Here’s a list of all my Target organizing faves. Speaking of faves, this pegboard makeover might be my favorite DIY project ever.
In more DIY news, this Lego tray I made years ago still gets a ton of use, so I updated the blog post and materials linked so you can make it yourself. And I shared an update on how my dollhouse (aka, the money pit) remodel project is going. Did you know that one dollhouse sofa is $30-40 plus shipping? Before you roll your eyes, they’re so cute though!
And because I know you’re patiently waiting, I promise the bedroom remodel will be on the blog this coming week, along with the utility closet reveal. All my projects are D.O.N.E. and ready to share with you. And truth be told, I’ve already started planning two more. Ugh. Why do I do this to myself?
Fun Things I Found This Week
“My birdseed brings all the Cardinals to the yard, and they’re like, it’s better than yours. I could teach you, but I’d have to charge.” If you know the Milkshake song, you’re impressed with that. If you don’t, you almost clicked away. But for real, this birdseed is clearly the best for attracting Cardinals (and bully Blue Jays).
I saw this brand of phone cases on GMA this week and immediately ordered one. They’re completely compostable. I heart you, Earth.
Walmart has the best outdoor plates that have a little lip around the edges to keep summer succotash from sliding off the plate. And they’re 50 cents a piece!
Finally! A simple but beautiful way to style a bed like an Instagram influencer without 500 pillows and forty blankets!
These Mother’s Day printables are so cute for young to middle-aged kids!
This battery operated remote control picture light is in my Amazon cart right now. Well, six of them are. Do I need six? I don’t know. That’s why they’re in the cart. But they look so fancy and don’t need an outlet or hardwiring!
Before You Go
Did you see this video I posted on Instagram earlier this week? If you didn’t, and you want to feel better about not having all your -ish together, watch this 12 second clip. And just know that the room doesn’t look like that anymore. It looks worse.
Lauren Martin says
Good morning!! ☕️ We love salsa chicken too!! Sometimes I add a can of corn and a can of drained & rinsed black beans. So yummy. Also. We have those Walmart plates in white and they are our fave! We never use our “real”
plates anymore. Thanks for the link on the bed styling. I can go overboard with throw pillows but I love her recommendation.
Lela Burris says
Hi Lauren! I love the idea of adding corn and black beans! Definitely doing that next time. And yay for having the Walmart plates! I have a feeling we may be using them a lot more than just for outdoors. Happy weekend my friend!