Crockpot Italian Chicken

I was lucky enough to have a day off recently, while Mr. Pennington had to spend the day at school (haha)!  So in his absence and with free range over the apartment I set about on a little DIY project and tried a new crockpot recipe.

My DIY project was repainting an old nightstand so that it will finally match our decor.  The problem was that my nightstand was black... i mean really black and I wanted to paint it white.  Well thanks to Lowes, $15 later I have a brand new nightstand.  Check out the before and after:

The nightstand is not quite complete yet.  I also bought a beautiful blue paint that I am going to use to create a stencil pattern on it and I have to add new hardware.  I'll be sure to update later when it is completely finished.

P.S. the best investment in the world is paint with primer already in it!!  its incredible how quickly this piece of furniture went from black to white with little difficulty!

While my paint was drying I found a recipe on Pinterest that I had been dying to try.  Its called Italian Chicken Pasta.  It was pretty simple to make and the results were very good.

Italian Crockpot Chicken

what you need

4 chicken breasts

1 packet dry Zesty Italian dressing

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1-2 cans cream of chicken soup

how to make it

Place the chicken in a crockpot and sprinkle Italian dressing over it. 

Combine cream cheese and cream of chicken soup in a small pot over low heat and pour over chicken. 

Cook on low for at least 4 hours. You can leave it in there all day.  Once chicken is done you can leave the chicken breasts whole, cube it, or even shred it.

end result

In other news I have been on the hunt for a Halloween Costume for this year!  I have finally narrowed down my choices, but there is still a good chance I will change my mind again!  So, what are your great ideas for Halloween this year?? 

A Day In My Life...

Today, I'm trying something a little different

I have recently started checking out other blogs and I stumbled upon

Mrs. T Naturally

She has a weekly "Blog Outside the Box" idea

So this week its all about...me?

Today's post is all about a day in my life and what that exactly looks like

Not an easy task since everyday is completely different

but I'll give it a whirl

Let's look at a typical Tuesday

5:30 a.m.

Unwillingly roll out of bed

Get ready while Mr. Pennington makes breakfast

6:20 a.m.

Breakfast- usually a delicious waffle

6:40 a.m.

Off I go... nice little drive to school

7:20 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Student Teaching

Lunch @ 12:30

4:00 p.m.

Quick drive by to visit my mom

4:45 p.m.

Home, pack my bag for class

Eat a small snack

6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Class

9:30 p.m.

Dinner and TV time with Daniel

(Best part of each day!)

11:00 p.m.

Bedtime... Tuesdays exhaust me!

Ok... so nothing too exciting, but that's how my Tuesdays roll

The other days of the week are better, not as jam packed with stuff

I get to come home to Mr. Pennington each night though

so its all worth it!

How can I resist this face?

CHEESE BISCUITS

I was a sweet wife this morning and made breakfast for Mr. Pennington! 

We had really amazing cheese biscuits!

Cheese-Garlic Biscuits

 

2 cups Original Bisquick mix

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 oz.)

2/3 cup milk

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees.  In medium bowl, stir 

Bisquick mix, cheese, and milk until soft dough forms

2. On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by spoonfuls

3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. In small bowl,

mix butter and garlic powder; brush over warm biscuits

 

(p.s. I didn't add garlic this time since it was breakfast)

This recipe is super easy and absolutely delicious!  They are a great side item with soup as well!

Pirates Arrrrrrggghhh!

new found football fanatic = pennington pirate experience

this household bleeds purple and gold and we love it!

purple haze!

cool shades.

final score: well lets just say it wasn't a good day for the pirates

ECU vs. UNC

5 days!!!

Crazy Busy

It has been one of those weeks.  You know the one where you barely see each other much less have a decent conversation.  Oh well, I guess that's the life of two married kids in college.  Nevertheless, I love you Mr. Pennington!

Mrs. Pennington

Beef Noodle Bowl

One of the things that Daniel and I really enjoy is cooking together.  We absolutely love trying new recipes, but we of course have some old favorites too.  We decided to make Beef Noodle Bowl for our "first married meal" together and its too good of a recipe not to share. Its simple and delicious!

Recipe courtesy of Food & Family magazine

what you need

1/2 lb. linguine, uncooked
3 cups broccoli florets
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 tsp. oil
1 lb. beef sirloin steak, cut into strips
1/2 cup Kraft Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing
1 Tbsp. teriyaki sauce



how to make it

cook pasta in a large saucepan as directed on package & add vegetables to boiling water for the last 2 minutes


heat oil in large nonstick skillet. Add meat; cook until browned on all sides, stirring occasionally. Stir in dressing and teriyaki sauce; cook 2 min. or until sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally.
 
drain pasta mixture; place in large serving bowl. Add meat mixture; toss to coat.

Enjoy!

The Pennington's

Here we go...

Welcome to our little slice of cyberspace!  Mr. Pennington and I have decided to start a blog to help the rest of the world keep up with our busy little life.

We have been married precisely one month tomorrow and it has been the best month of my life!  In just over a month we have had a lot happen: I completed the first semester of grad school, we got married, we went on a honeymoon, we went to Disney World, we celebrated Daniel turning one year older, we moved into our apartment, we started the fall semester of school and somehow managed to keep our sanity!

So here is a little preview of our new life!

 Cooking our first meal in our apartment...beef noodle bowl

 Daniel trying to take credit for my hard work.

 

 He was working hard too though!  We ran out of cabinet space, so he put together a pantry for us!

 

Finished product!!!!

We are going to try really hard to keep up with the blog as much as possible with our busy schedule so stayed tuned to find out more about.... the married life!

The Pennington's