A weekend of doing nothing and a random recipe...

The little lady and I decided it was time for daddy to take a break from all the work around here and spend time doing nothing. I have to say that is much easier said then done when it comes to my hubby. I do think we did manage to keep the projects to a minimum but it was only because we had to keep reminding him that he was not supposed to be working.

I will say that I am actually super excited about a small project hubby threw together. It doesn't look the prettiest but definitely serves a great purpose...

 

Introducing our new compost bin!
(please ignore all the other stuff in the pic it is located in the back corner of the yard by the storage building)

Hubby re purposed the door to the cat pen we are no longer using.
It works great, you can roll the wheelbarrow right up the center for dumping of yard waste and then close the gate right back. Easy access for turning the pile also.

It has amazes me how much food scrap our family of four produces.  The trick is going to be remembering to put the food into my countertop bucket versus tossing it in the trash. I am looking forward to spring gardening already and the possibility of some great dirt to mix into the soil.

The little lady and I "camped out" in our playroom on the new trundle bed. We had a great time hanging out watching movies until way past her bedtime.  When we woke up the next morning she wanted to keep the camping theme going hence the tent in the backyard.

 The cedar siding is labor intensive and little lady forbid hubby to work on that this weekend but we did manage to sneak in the small project of cleaning up the area around it. We cleared out all the weeds and leveled out the ground and put down some fresh pine straw. Hubby also painted the old clothesline pole, he is re purposing that as a rope ladder.

Hubby also snuck this tunnel in behind the playhouse. I wasn't sold on the idea but little lady and a neighbors visiting 4 year old thought it was super cool. A secret path behind the playhouse for them to run through.

 I haven't tried any new recipes lately but I had a few minutes to flip through my cookbook notebook yesterday and I stumbled upon this one from  Jan2012 Southern Living. It is called King Ranch Chicken Mac and Cheese.
 

1/2 (16-oz.) package cellentani pasta

2 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 (10-oz.) can diced tomatoes and green chiles

1 (8-oz.) package pasteurized prepared cheese product, cubed

3 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 (10 3/4-oz.) can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 1/2 cups (6 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare pasta according to package directions.
2. 2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and bell pepper, and sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in tomatoes and green chiles and prepared cheese product; cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Stir in chicken, next 4 ingredients, and hot cooked pasta until blended. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 10-inch cast-iron skillet or 11- x 7-inch baking dish; sprinkle with shredded Cheddar cheese.
3. 3. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until bubbly.

 My picture is not the greatest, it really does not show how creamy it was. I cooked the recipe as directed. For my cooked chicken I diced two breast and browned with a little salt and pepper in a lightly greased skillet. I do not have cast iron cookware so I did mine in a glass dish which worked great. The only change I would make for next time is maybe the addition of some more chicken, 3 chicken breast would have been a little heartier. I would also maybe try using the hot rotel versus the original diced tomatoes and chillies just to kick it up a notch but all in all it was pretty darn yummy.  Hubby enjoyed it but if you ask him anything with cream of chicken soup in it is a winner!

 

And because I forgot to email this video out to family, I am going to post this here. Little lady is still really enjoying her dance classes. This is her taking her turn doing her tap routine. I do have to brag a little, she was the only little one that did the routine without the teacher having to hold her hand the whole time. So if you have a minute to spare, check out our little tiny dancer in action...