This time of year starts to get hectic for all of us, the holidays coming up, cooking and decorating~so I am going to be doing lots of quick and easy things, we all need shortcuts during busy days…
My kitchen is currently a sea of turkeys~ about to trot off to holiday tables~ with a sleigh full of Santas to follow~
This is my busiest time for JMdesigns, and I’m already feeling the holiday crunch.
I don’t need extra projects right now, but things keep popping up, CC’s Baptism, a destination wedding, football parties every Saturday, Grandparents Day at school, plus I just found out that I might have to host Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, all the little fun things that add up to massive amounts of time!
“When are you going to do something about that ottoman?” said HH, “it’s looking rough!” I had been covering it up with fabric and trays for months [click here to see the ugly details]
Uh oh. This is really the elephant in the room!
There it is, right smack in the middle of the room, faux leather peeling and cracking all over the place…and those sad saggy chairs that get used and abused~
“I’m waiting for the new West Elm to open! They have a free in home design service.”
“Why do you want a designer?” he asked, “You never needed a designer before!” Interpret that to mean how much does it cost and nothing is ever free!!
“Oh, you know, get a new perspective…I’m not committed to anything she suggests, just thought it would be interesting…fresh eyes and all that.”
“You really need to do something, and I thought you were a designer ….”
And apparently we decided this was the perfect time to remodel our family room!!
So, hence this 4 minute chicken
It only takes 4 minutes to prep. Four minutes!
Sprinkle the chicken with dry onion soup mix
Then cover with cranberry sauce
Top with that bright orange retro French dressing that nobody eats anymore
And it’s done!
Four minutes!! Now you have time for some redecorating!
I did start with this rug from West Elm and brought in the white chairs from the living room~
Then I decided to do a little shopping. In 2 hours I had bought 4 chairs and a rug. Well, that should do it!
Bye Bye ugly shedding ottoman!!
Bye Bye heavy dark leather furniture!
Now, I probably won’t get around to all the little details and touches until January, I have pieces to paint and redo, but I am so grateful to have a bright new look! And so grateful to be rid of the ottoman monster!
The first thing HHjr said was, “Mom, I can’t believe you are going to use all this white furniture with the kids around!”
Ha! You know what I didn’t say?
I didn’t say I’ve decided to take my house back!
I didn’t say, no more can the boys walk around eating blueberries, they eat in the kitchen!
I didn’t say, my house my rules…
But you can be assured, I will be saying these things very soon!!
In the meantime, I’m off to buy some Scotchguard!
Here’s the recipe:
Cranberry Chicken
Ingredients
- 3-4 boneless chicken breasts cut into tenders 3-4 tenders per breast
- 1 envelope dry onion soup mix
- 16 oz whole berry cranberry sauce
- 8 oz spicy-sweet French dressing [Kraft Catalina]
Instructions
- Rinse chicken and pat dry.
- Place in a lightly greased baking dish, sized to hold your chicken in an even layer.
- Sprinkle evenly with soup mix.
- Stir cranberry sauce and spoon over chicken.
- Top evenly with dressing and cover with foil.
- Bake at 400 for 40 min. Reduce to 350 and remove foil and bake for 20 more minutes.
For more photos and sides to go with the Cranberry Chicken Click Here
Hopefully my super simple favorites might help you out during your crazy busy times too!
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rug/west elm
floral chair/ Alabama Furniture Market
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