It's Been So Long!!

It feels like forever since I posted here! Did you miss me? :P School is starting back next week and things have been a bit hectic here getting things ready for that, and just spending time together as the summer winds down.

The kids and I went on a fantastic nature walk a few days ago. I'll be posting some photo's either later today or sometime in the next few days. I have a bunch of them that need to be taken off my camera card and reworked so I can post them. My computer isn't working all that great for some reason, it's very, very slow, so it's taking longer than usual to do anything at all.

I've set aside my 9 patch quilt for a little while. My cutting wasn't all that great apparently, and I have a lot, and I do mean a lot of strips that just don't match up. So, I set it aside and maybe later I'll either find uses for the strips or figure out a way to make them work the way I want to. Either way, it was a fantastic learning experience for me.

So, that moved me forward to a new project. Exciting, yes? LOL! I don't have a lot of matching fabrics, so I decided to just cut up my scraps into 3 1/2 inch squares and sew them together in a crazy quilt, which quite honestly is something I love. I don't know why, but mismatched colours sewn together into a quilt is gorgeous. To me it speaks of a different time where people quilted because they needed to, for warmth, rather than for pretty designs. It's very homey to me.

So, I've started cutting my fabric to get ready to sew. I have a long way to go yet, since I haven't had a chance to cut anything since Saturday. That's three days! I'm seriously going into withdrawl here. LOL!

But, and here's the really exciting part. My mom and I may be purchasing an Acuquilt GO! Cutter today!! We were going to go buy it yesterday, but the quilt store is closed Sunday's and Monday's. I'm pretty sure if the cutter is still there, we'll be going to get it this afternoon. Which means that I will be setting aside the squares I've already cut and using the 4 1/2 inch die that comes with the cutter for my crazy quilt. Either way, I'm going to love this one.

Today's Update

I haven't been doing anything at all with cleaning and decluttering. I decided that the kids go back to school next Tuesday, everything can wait until then. I'll be home all day, by myself, I'll have plenty of time to get right into cleaning, why spend the precious time I have left with the kids, up to my elbows in decluttering? I'd much rather enjoy the small amount of time we have left of summer together as a family. :)

Today's Supper

Tonight, if I get home in time to prepare everything, we will be having

Farmhouse Chicken Dinner

1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp pepper
4 small chicken breasts, bone in, skin removed (I'll be using boneless)
1/4 cup italian dressing
2 cups carrots
1 medium onion, wedged
1 can chicken broth
1 1/2 cups minute rice, uncooked
1/4 cup cream cheese

Mix flour and pepper in a shallow dish. Add chicken, toss lightly to evenly coat both sides. Shake off excess flour. Heat dressing in a large, nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add chicken, meat side down and cook 5-6 minutes, or until golden brown. Turn chicken, add carrots, onions and 1 cup of the broth. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes or until carrots are tender and chicken is cooked through.

Prepare rice as directed. Spoon onto serving platter. Use slotted spoon to remove chicken and vegetables from stew. Place over rice. Cover to keep warm.

Add cream cheese spread and remaining broth to skillet. Increase heat to high, cook until cheese is melted and sauce is well blended, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to med-low. Simmer 3-5 minutes or until sauce is slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Spoon over chicken and vegetables. Serve.

This recipe doesn't take long to prepare, really only the 20 minutes to simmer the chicken as you can prepare the sauce at the same time, so we should be eating this tonight. If not, I have a ton of leftovers that need to be used up.

Have a fantastic day!