"E" is for Easter

Wow! Day 5. Trucking right along. Today's letter?

And this time of year, E is for Easter!

Continuing my goal this year of making decor for every holiday and not just Halloween, I decided to take advantage of "E" day and make something Easter themed. Two birds and all that.

"D" is for Dress

Are you keeping track? The A-to-Z Challenge is now up to D...

...and D is for...Dress!

That's right...it's the second BSU themed project of the A-to-Z Challenge. I told you we love Boise State around here.

"C" is for Coasters

It's day 3 of the A-to-Z Challenge. Things are going pretty swimmingly so far. Today's letter is...

In EPJ land, C is always for coaster. I've become somewhat famous (or maybe notorious) among my family and friends for my coasters. My bottlecap coasters are one of the most popular posts on the blog. Even two years later, it still gets one of the highest number of visitors each week. Crazy.

But today is not about bottlecap coasters. It's a different kind of upcycling. I'm all about reusing stuff for my crafts so I don't have to go out and buy anything. It's called frugal, people...it's not hoarding. Okay...maybe it's a little bit of hoarding. The crop room closet is a mess...I'll admit it.

A couple of years ago, I had the boys start saving our cereal boxes. I didn't have a plan for them at the time, but I figured they would come in handy for something. I thought maybe I'd use them to make magazine holder style boxes. I didn't think I'd use them like this. Sometimes ideas just work out.

"B" is for Boise State

It's "B" day on the A-to-Z Challenge!

In our case, B is for Boise State! Our family is a huge fan of the Broncos. Football season is a serious time around here. One of the biggest fans is my dad...so I decided that he needed a Boise State themed present for Christmas in 2012.

For those of you who have been around for a while, you know that each Christmas I do the Christmas Project Countdown, where I try to finish everyone's gifts before time runs out on Christmas Eve. I've gotten better at it every year, but it's still always a challenge. You also know that each year, one person gets the big present...the one present that is the total time suck (it's almost always a quilt...they take FOREVER). Well, in 2012, it was Dad's year.

"A" is for Aprons

This is officially my first post for the 2014 A-to-Z Challenge. I'm really excited to get things going for the month. I'm even more excited that I've actually been planning ahead so my posts are all started...that means more time for blog reading. I've already found a few blogs that are going to be fun to visit during the month.

For those of you not familiar...a little background before we get started with today's project.

The A-to-Z Challenge is a blog challenge that runs each year. The challenge is to write a post every day of the month (except Sundays) and have those posts correspond with ascending letters of the alphabet. Today is day 1...so it's "A" day.

Throughout the month, I'll be posting craft projects based on the letters of the alphabet...that's my theme. It's been amazingly productive getting ready for the month and I'm excited to show you the things I've been working on. There is a huge range of projects in store...everything from sewing to scrapbooking to ModPodge messes. Some of it is stuff that I've made for past presents...some of it is new. There will even be a couple of throwback posts. It should be fun! Ready to get started?

Summary Sunday: Preparation Edition

It's Sunday again...that means that spring break is almost over. Bummer. I was really enjoying my time off. But...it's back to work and the real world tomorrow. I really need to win the lottery so this work thing stops getting in the way of my fun time.

It's been quiet here on the blog, but don't worry...I've been plenty busy around here getting stuff ready for April's A-to-Z Challenge. It starts on Tuesday! I'm getting pretty excited. Still a lot of work to do, but I'm fully prepared for the first few days and hope to get more work accomplished today.

So let's wrap up the week and get me back to prepping!

Posts I Posted: Like I said, I was a little preoccupied with getting April posts ready to roll, so the blog got a little neglected this past week (in a sense). In fact, I only posted one little solitary post all week. So sad! But it was a good one...if you haven't tried Chicken Enchilada Pasta, you need to.

Recipes I Tried: In an attempt to try and use up some of the chicken breasts holding my freezer hostage, I busted out the CrockPot this past week and tried something new. I hit my Pinterest boards and pulled out the recipe for Italian Cream Cheese Chicken from Lindsay over at Artsy Fartsy Mama. I've followed her blog for a while (yes...initially I started reading just because I giggled at the blog name) and she's got some pretty good stuff over there. The chicken was no exception. Darian and I really enjoyed it. I do so love good CrockPot recipes.

Books I Read: We have another entry for the 2014 Book of the Year! I finished up Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. I quite enjoyed it. I'm still one book behind on my Goodreads goal, but I just started my first book from NetGalley and I'm kind of excited about it. I'm reading The Undiscovered Goddess by Michelle Colston. I think it might be a pretty light read and a good change of pace from all the YA fiction I've been diving into lately. Fingers crossed that the streak of good books continues!

Favorite Pinterest Pin: All of my pins this week came from posts on blogs I'm subscribed to. I didn't actually set foot (finger?) in/on Pinterest this week. I'm actually nearly three days behind on posts. It's probably ugly over on my Feedly right now. I seemed to be on a bit of an upcycle kick. I pinned a lot of decor projects using repurposed items. I actually really love this bench/coat rack that was made by Anna Bananas Furniture. The color is adorable and I love the fact that they used doors for the backing. Someday I will have enough room in my workspace to make something like this.

And now it's back to the prep work. I still have some photos to edit and some projects to recreate/finish for photos, but more than half of that work is finished. Phew! I'm looking forward to a fun filled (and post filled) April!

Chicken Enchilada Pasta

I'm hard at work on photo editing and writing posts in preparation for next week's start of the A to Z Challenge! But I haven't forgotten the blog. So...let me feed you. Well, I guess not feed you, but give you something so you can feed yourself. Close enough.

This chicken enchilada pasta is delicious and pretty easy to make. It's adapted from a recipe over at Pearls, Handcuffs, and Happy Hour that I found a few years ago. It's one of those meals that is particularly good in the spring or the fall, as the temperature starts to shift from cold to warm or warm to cold. It's comfort food.

And as is always the test in my house...the boys love it. That's two thumbs up, right there.

Here's What You'll Need:

2 cans chunk chicken, shredded

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 medium onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1-4 oz. can green chilies

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

2-10oz. cans green enchilada sauce

2/3 cups red enchilada sauce

2 cups shredded cheese

1 cup sour cream

Bowtie Pasta

Toppings : Olives, tomatoes, sour cream

Here's What You Do:

Boil your pasta according to the package directions. If you're buying your pasta in bulk, just boil for 10-12 minutes until al dente. Drain and return to the pot.

Heat your olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Cook onions 3-5 min until translucent. Add garlic and red pepper. Cook another 3-5 minutes. Add chicken, chilis, cumin, chili powder, salt and sauces.

Simmer the chicken mixture for 8-10 minutes. Add the cheese and stir until the cheese is melted and heated through. Turn the heat to low and add in sour cream. (You don't want to curdle it.) Stir until mixed and heated through.

Pour the chicken and sauce over your pasta and mix well. 

Serve and garnish with olives, tomatoes and sour cream.

Like I said, easy. It's a good meal for a night when you just don't want to put to much effort in, but you want something a little more elegant than ramen. If your family is anything like mine, this will become a pretty quick favorite.