Crock Pot Salsa Chicken

It's chilly outside and time to dust off your crock pot if you haven't already!  I made this very yummy recipe last week, adapted from the recipe found here at Crockin' Girls.  I doubled their recipe and added some extras.  We served ours over plain couscous because that is what we had instead of rice and also served with nacho chips.  You could also use this as taco meat.  Next time I think I'll add a sliced onion and some beans as well.

If you don't have a crock pot, you should definitely get one!  They are not too pricey and the relief of being able to just throw all of your ingredients in it first thing in the morning and know that dinner is already done by breakfast is priceless.

Here's how I made our Salsa Chicken...

Ingredients:

• 3-4 pounds frozen chicken breasts (don't even have to be thawed!!)
• 2 packages taco seasoning
• 2 cans cream of "something" soup (original recipe calls for mushroom but I think I used a chicken and a celery)
• 2 cups salsa
• 1 can corn (optional)
• 1 cup shredded cheese (optional, I used quesadilla but you could use anything, I just happened to have this type and this amount in the fridge)
• 1 cup sour cream

Directions:

• Put chicken in the bottom of the crock pot.
• Mix the taco seasoning, soup, salsa, corn and cheese in a bowl and pour over chicken.
• Cook on low for 8 hours.
• Stir up to break up/shred the chicken.
• Mix in sour cream just before serving.

Yum!

Glade Expressions

One of the most recent products we've had the chance to try out through BzzAgent (see my post here on trying new products for free) is the Glade Expressions product line.  Glade has embraced the idea that not only should air fresheners smell good, they should look good too!  Industrial looking aerosol containers just don't fit into the decor of most modern day homes, right?  Well Glade Expressions do.  You can see above that both the Fragrance Mist and the Oil Diffuser are pleasing to the eye and kind of have a decorative appeal to them.

Beyond the look though (because I don't really care too much about that to be honest), the scents of these things are amazing.  There are four that you can choose from: Cotton & Italian Mandarin, Fuji Apple & Cardamom Spice, Lavender & Juniper Berry, and Pineapple & Mangosteen.  YUM!  All of the above.  I love them all and my favorite changes depending on my mood.  The scent is lasting and not at all offensive (those industrial looking and smelling flowery ones give me a headache).

We have loved trying and sharing these Glade products and I would definitely recommend them to anyone in the market for air fresheners!  You can get more info on the Glade website here.  BzzAgent has given me coupons to share and I have links to them below along with a deal idea you could use at Target.  Enjoy!

There is a $2 printable coupon here for the Fragrance Mist
and a $1 printable Target store coupon here ($1 off Glade Air Care Item)
You can use both a manufacturer's coupon and a store coupon together and since these are priced at $2.99 the use of both coupons together makes it FREE!

There is a $4 printable coupon here for the Oil Diffuser
and the same $1 printable Target store coupon here ($1 off Glade Air Care Item)
These are priced at $5.99 so .99 after both coupons

There is also a deal at Target right now that if you purchase a Fragrance Mist or an Oil Diffuser you get a refill free automatically (the signs are right on the shelf) so pick up one of those for each starter kit you get as well!  Start printing, friends!

Remember that you can print each coupon two times per computer.

Try new products for free!

I love being able to try new things... most especially when they are free!  Manufacturers will often use marketing companies to help them get the word out to consumers when new products come out or when they want to give the popularity of their products a little boost.  These companies are looking for feedback and word of mouth marketing from consumers.  They want you to try and love their stuff, buy it, and get others to do the same!

To give you an idea of what I'm talking about, here is a sampling of some of the products our family and friends have had the opportunity to try through these programs:

Infant/Children's Advil

Bic Markers

Bic Razors

Knorr Homestyle Chicken Stock

Energy Drinks

Diapers

Frozen Fish

Baby Wash

Fresh Express Salad
Green Mountain Fair Trade Coffee

Kleenex Hand Towels

Pull-Ups

Legos

Coffee Creamer

Glade Air Fresheners (you can read about my Bzz Campaign here)
Candy

Poland Spring Water/Delivery Service
Burt's Bees Intense Hydration Face Care Line

I am a member of several different programs and if you are not signed up for these, I highly recommend it!  Some require a little more follow through than others.  All of them select only a portion of their applicants for each trial so don't be disappointed if you don't get chosen.  Keep trying and participating how you can.  It's fun and a great opportunity to try new things for free.  You can read about the ins and outs of each program on their websites but if you have more questions, let me know!  I'm also happy to email you referral links if you are interested.  Most companies reward you for inviting your friends to join the fun as well!

Smiley360

Vocalpoint

BzzAgent

House Party

Be on the lookout for some new blog posts with reviews on some of the most recent products we've gotten the chance to check out!

Iced and Spiced Applesauce Cookies

We have finally finished off the last of the applesauce!  We made these cookies the other day and I have one last batch of fruit roll ups cooking now.  I have to see that I was a little sad to see it go, but it was certainly time and there will be more deals around the corner.

Before I post the recipe for these cookies, I need to tell you about another bit of VERY useful information I found as I prepared this recipe.  I can't believe that I didn't already know this and you probably already do, but just in case, I will share it here.  Did you know that you can soften up hardened brown sugar by putting it in the microwave for one minute with a little bowl of water next to it?  It's true!!  Mine was not quite soft enough to break apart after one minute but another 15-30 seconds did the trick.  Just be careful because if you heat it too long it's going to be hot when you touch it.

Anyway, these cookies are YUMMY!  My daughter loved them and quickly decided they should be called "Daddy Cookies."  Good thing Daddy loved them too!

I found the recipe at The Spiffy Cookie, followed it, and will post it here!

Cookies
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup shortening
3 teaspoons water
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup applesauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves; set aside.
In a stand mixer (or medium bowl), cream together the shortening, water, and brown sugar.
Add egg, and then applesauce to the mixture; beat until creamy.  (mine was more goopy but it worked!)
Mix in dry ingredients.
Drop on cookie sheet by round tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
Bake for 15 minutes and cool on rack.

Icing
Ingredients:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

In a small bowl combine confectioners' sugar, milk, and cinnamon.
Add milk as needed to achieve drizzling consistency (a little goes a long way!!).
Drizzle over cooled cookies.

Selling Old Books

This post contains affiliate links.

If you are anything like me, you have shelves and boxes full of books you will never read again.  Maybe old text books or novels that were read once and now take up precious space in your home collecting dust.  Every few months I go through the books I know I will never read again and try to sell them online.  This may sound daunting but please read on.  This is a very fun, potentially semi-lucrative hobby.  De-cluttering, money-making, and fun... there's nothing to lose! 

Online booksellers are always looking for books that they can buy from you and resell to other readers. Now you know where the used books that you can buy online come from... people like me (and soon to be you)!  Basically you enter in the ISBN numbers (those little numbers by the barcode, often on the back cover) from your books on any number of websites and if that particular company is interested in buying the book you have they will make you an offer.  Should you choose to accept their offer you just print out their pre-made, pre-paid shipping label (or they will mail you one if you don't have a printer), package up your books, send them in, and wait for your check or paypal payment!

Now, I'm going to be honest, sometimes I only get offered maybe 73 cents for a book I paid over $10 for but I look at it this way... if I honestly will never use the book again and I can get more from these companies than I could get at a yard sale (a quarter), then it's worth it.  Less things in my house to dust, and a little extra cash in my pocket.  Some of the companies require a minimum total with a sell back but gather all your books together and you'll be surprised how quickly they add up.  Plus, you never know what little treasures you might find.  Sometimes I expect to get nothing for a book, and get offers for close to the amount I originally paid... for expensive textbooks, this could be a lot!  

Don't be discouraged if you search a bazillion books and only get a few that anyone wants to buy back.  I have found that these companies are not always looking for all books one day but they might be a few days or months from now.  I set the ones I can't sell aside and try again next time.

Here are some things I find to be helpful in keeping myself organized while I do this:

1. Visit Bookscouter or get their phone app - they do a nice cross search of several sites so you know where to start.  The phone app allows you to scan a book's barcode so you don't even have to type!  This step is not a necessity but I find it helpful to get started.  Other times I have just opened a link to each website on my computer at once and copied and pasted the ISBNs into each page to search and find the best deals.  Using something like bookscouter saves you a little bit of time but you are trusting someone else to find your deals for you... sometimes I prefer to do the work myself.
2. Put a sticky note on the cover of each book and write how much different companies are offering you.  I like to do this rather than just automatically accepting the highest offer.  Sometimes you have to do some creative math and mix and match a little bit when the company requires a minimum buyback.  You might accept an offer for $1 one place instead of $1.10 another place because you already have books going to the first place and need to sell back $1 more.  Know what I mean?
3. Go to the websites that have given you the best offers to enter your info, the book's info, and follow the prompts to complete your sale.
4. Keep all the books for one company piled together with the shipping label on top until you package them.  I usually write in the corner of the shipping label paper what company it is.  It's such a pain to get things mixed up and forget what is going where.  Most of the shipping labels do not print with the company name on them!

Here are some of the book selling websites I would suggest checking out.  It's not an exhaustive list.  A google search will show you there are tons of sites to choose from!  Some sites only offer you credit toward their online stores (or offer you more if you do this instead of getting paid out other ways), others pay in check or paypal.

Bookscouter
Bookbyte

Cash4Books

Sell Back Your Book

Powell's Books

Valore Books

To see all this in action, watch the video of my chat with Leslie Gaydos of New England Cable News!

The links above are affiliate links.  Most companies will reward you for referring your family and friends to their sites, so once you see how great this is, make sure to pass it on to others!

The Children's Garden at Long Hill

I cannot even begin to tell you how much we love The Children's Garden at Long Hill in Beverly, MA.  If you are in the area, you absolutely must visit this little hidden treasure.  We lived nearby for a long time before we found this magical place and I was so disappointed that we hadn't been visiting all along!

Long Hill is one of several locations owned by the Trustees of Reservations.  You can visit the official website here.  There is no cost to visit this location, even without a membership.  The children's garden is a beautiful little place with flowers, plants, bugs, butterflies, birds, hiding places, trails, tools for watering, digging, raking, collecting water from the well... you name it.  It is a small, peaceful, magical place.  My description cannot even begin to describe it so you will have to visit to experience it in person.  There are benches for grown ups to watch their little ones explore.  The garden is located right next to a chicken coop and there are chickens and guineas galore.

We hope to visit again soon before the weather gets too cool!

If you don't live local to this garden I highly recommended looking to see if there are any similar places in your area.  It really is such a wonderful experience for children... and their families!

Spinach Applesauce Cupcakes

We've been trying to find some new healthy, yummy snack and meal ideas for our two year old and in my search I came across a recipe on weelicious for Spinach Muffins.  I was a little bit skeptical but after I saw that the recipe called for applesauce I knew it was for us!  The reviews said these little muffins would come out sweet and I was shocked to find that they really did.  We call them cupcakes here because they really taste like cake.  Our daughter ate some yesterday afternoon, dipping them in cool whip.  Hooray for healthy treats!  Even if you don't like spinach, please give these a try... I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!  These are a great treat for kids or grownups.  I followed the recipe with the exception of using frozen spinach instead of fresh spinach.  The original recipe said this was a no-no but I had frozen in the house and was anxious to try these without having to go to the store first.  They came out just fine!  I will write out the recipe here the way I did it but you can visit weelicious for the original!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 box frozen spinach, cooked in microwave and drained
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt






- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Puree the first 6 ingredients together (I used a blender but if you have a food processor that's even better)
- Combine the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl
- Pour the spinach puree in a large mixing bowl
- Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients
- Scoop batter into a greased mini muffin tin, filling each cup 2/3 of the way
- Bake for 12 minutes

Enjoy!