Tea party.

Went to a lovely afternoon tea party with Charlotte at grandma's house today! "Lucy" (the stuffed dog enjoyed it too),

Yard sale deals!

All these toys and shoes were $15 in total! (The robezze in the package are brand new and are normally $25, I got them for $5! The brown ones were only $1)

The table was $5, the wood puzzle was $1, the dog was .25, the play school toy was $2, all the little balls and stuff were .5 each. Spongebob is a talking flashlight .50, the phone was $1.

The chain was the best deal ( for my father in law) it was $5 too, and might be $100 to get new. The clothes I got are in the wash, photos to come!

Great Chicken Stew!

Ingredients

• 3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 5 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups medium-diced carrots (4 carrots), blanched for 2 minutes
• 1 10-ounce package frozen peas (2 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

For the biscuits:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
• 3/4 cup half-and-half
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Cut the chicken into large dice. You will have 4 to 6 cups of cubed chicken.
In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and the heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, onions, and parsley. Mix well. Place the stew in a 10 x 13 x 2-inch oval or rectangular baking dish. Place the baking dish on a sheet pan lined with parchment or wax paper. Bake for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the biscuits. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas. Add the half-and-half and combine on low speed. Mix in the parsley. Dump the dough out on a well-floured board and, with a rolling pin, roll out to 3/8-inch thick. Cut out twelve circles with a 2 1/2-inch round cutter.
Remove the stew from the oven and arrange the biscuits on top of the filling. Brush them with egg wash, and return the dish to the oven. Bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the biscuits are brown and the stew is bubbly.
Note: To make in advance, refrigerate the chicken stew and biscuits separately. Bake the stew for 25 minutes, then place the biscuits on top, and bake for another 30 minutes, until done.

More cards...

I've been crafting a little bit, it's been a good break for the lice problem we have here! I've been dreading it, but I knew the day would come the two older kids got lice (and with my long hair I'm surprised I only had a few). I didn't want to use the Nix, which is basically pesticide, so I looked up natural solutions and I found this worked:

1) Soak head in water and douse with white vinegar, let sit for 1-2 hours
2) Rinse and then wash with dishsoap
3)Rinse and then put in a handful of conditioner
4) Use a Nit comb and brush out conditioner, the nits and dead lice get picked up in the conditioner as it builds up on the comb, rinse comb each pass through.
5) Wash linen, vacuum furniture and bag stuffies
5) Keep checking and do another treatment in 10 days

That white vinegar is amazing stuff we use it for cleaning everything (mirrors, floors, countertops) in our house so we buy it in bulk, I was glad to not have to run out and get special products for this treatment, I had everything I needed already!

Here are the cards..nicer to look at than lice pictures ;) You can get the kit to make them at Created With Paper!