Joyful Baking - Sage Chicken, Potatoes and Butternut Squash

Hello Fellow Thrifters and Friends,

 During this fun new phase of my life I have so enjoyed trying new recipes. This one is one of my favorites lately. It is chalk full of wonderful flavors, and the house smells amazing when I make it.

 Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons minced garlic, divided
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 leaves of Fresh sage
• 1/4 Olive oil
• 3 Chicken Breasts
• Cooking spray 
• 12 ounces red potatoes, cut into wedges 
• 1 1/2 cups cubed peeled butternut squash (about 8 ounces) 
• 
  Preparation
• 1. Preheat oven to 400°
• 2. Combine 1/2 tablespoons garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, sage, and olive oil in a small bowl.
• 3. Chop potatoes and Butternut Squash
• 4. Poor mixture on potatoes, squash, and chicken mix with your hands.
• 5. Bake Potatoes for 15 minutes. 
  6. Place chicken in pan with the potatoes and squash
  7. Bake 30 to 35 minutes longer or until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are tender
  
  
   
  
  
  
  ENJOY! Be ready for your house to smell amazing! 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Smiles,
  

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Pyrex Addict?...It Might be True

Hello Fellow Thrifters and Friends,

   We are loving our new home so much. It has been such a joy to live in this home. Things I have learned so far about living in our house and moving:

1. This house makes some funny noises! When the wind blows especially.
2. Cooking in my new kitchen is so much fun.
3. Unpacking boxes is way more fun then packing them.

The biggest thing I learned during this move is that I have A LOT of Pyrex. I knew that my collection was large, but it did not hit me how LARGE until we packed it all up and then unpacked it.

My kitchen was covered in Pyrex for days until I could find new homes for it all. If I am being honest I have yet to find homes for it all yet, but hopefully in time I will have new storage for it. 

Have you ever had to move THE PYREX before?

Smiles,

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Moved!! FINALLY!

Hello Fellow Thrifters and Friends,

We are officially moved into our beautiful new home, and now we have internet so I can update you on the fun decorating adventures I will be going on. Pulling out the For Sale sign was such a fun experience for us! We were so proud to say we bought this home, and we get to live in it. Home ownership is going to be a new journey we are going on, but we can't wait to see what it brings. 

Smiles,

The Joyful thrifter

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The Firsts of Life

Hello Fellow Thrifters and Friends,

   Wow life lately has been full of firsts. Some good and some bad, but all have brought me lots of wonderful lessons. Some lessons are meant to be personal, so I won't be sharing those. However the first that I am most excited about sharing is that Mr Joyful Thrifter and I are officially homeowners! Wahooo! Because of this wonderful event it has kept me from my little blog world. I have been packing up a storm. When Mr Joyful Thrifter comes home the boxes accumulate like bunnies.

It is a little frustrating having everything in boxes, but the end result will be wonderful. We can't wait to be homeowners. I will post pictures when the internet is set up at the new house of our new living digs. 

I hope you all are well and finding lots of treasures!

Smiles,

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Joyful Creations - Fall Banner

Hello Fellow Thrifters and Friends,

  Another lovely week is half way through. What a blessing to enjoy this season staying home. I am one happy girl. Once Mr Joyful Thrifter finishes his shift at work today he is off for three days, and we are working on some really fun adventures to go on this week.

After spending a whole evening reorganizing my craft room I was able to get back in there today to make some more fall decorations.

I bought a bag of loose leave at the Dollar Tree. I wanted a fall banner, but wanted it to have texture. These leaves brought the perfect amount of texture and fall color. 

I made sure I had a long tail of thread before I started sewing the first leaf, so I could hang it from any where.

Make sure you leave room between leaves so it moves easily when you hang it. 

I just love how this little banner came out. It was just what I wanted. I have plenty of more leaves, so I am going to make a few more banners to hang around the house.

Time for me to gloat over my cute nephew. This picture was taken a few years ago, but I think it is just so cute. I framed it this year to be part of my fall decorations. He is such a cutie. 

Happy Crafting!

Have you been working on any fall crafts?

Smiles,

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Thank You!

Hello Fellow Thrifters and Friends,

I had the pleasure of popping onto my blog today only to discover a little present! I have grown to 300 followers! What an exciting mile stone for me. I started this blog never knowing that I would actually have people want to read it, and you all have become such wonderful friends to me. This blog brings so much joy to my life, and I love sharing my treasures with you all.

I wanted to take the time to thank you for stopping by my little place in the interent world and for all of the wonderful comments you leave.

THANK YOU!!

Smiles,

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Joyful Cooking - Loaded Potato Soup

Hello Fellow Thrifters and Friends,

   I could not resist making a soup during this small bit of colder weather. I just love curling up on the couch with a warm bowl of soup. Nothing better. This recipe was so easy, and will definitely go into the make again pile. That pile is getting large because Pinterest makes finding recipes just a bit to easy for me.

• Loaded Potato Soup (via My Recipes)

  
  

  Ingredients 

• 4 (6-ounce) red potatoes 
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup prechopped onion 
• 1 1/4 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth 
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups 1% low-fat milk, divided 
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 bacon slices, halved 
• 1.5 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1/3 cup) 
• 4 teaspoons thinly sliced green onions 
• 
  
• Preparation
• 1. Pierce potatoes with a fork. Microwave on HIGH 13 minutes or until tender. Cut in half; cool slightly.
• 2. While potatoes cook, heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add broth. Combine flour and 1/2 cup milk; add to pan with 1 1/2 cups milk. Bring to a boil; stir often. Cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream, salt, and pepper.
• 3. Arrange bacon on a paper towel on a microwave-safe plate. Cover with a paper towel; microwave on HIGH for 4 minutes. Crumble bacon.
• 4. Discard potato skins. Coarsely mash potatoes into soup. Top with cheese, green onions, and bacon.

ENJOY!!!!

Smiles,

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Treasure Hunt Finds

Hello Fellow Thrifters and Friends,

   We went on a fun adventure this weekend and headed to Hemet CA to visit Mr Joyful Thrifters parents. It was so much fun to escape and enjoy their company for a few days. We got to garage sale hop on Friday, which was a whole new experience for me because where I live garage sales are only on Saturdays. We hit a few Estate Sales and a few random garage sales. It was great fun. I found this wonderful set of corning tea cups and one plate. They are a wonderful addition to my family of dishes, and they were a wonderful price of $3.00 for the whole set.

I do hope you all had a wonderfully thrifty week!

Smiles,

Here are the lovely sites I enjoy linking up with. We get to share more fun that way:

 Apron Thrift Girl,

 Her Library Adventures,

 Thrifty things Friday,

 Nifty Thrifty Things Tuesday,

 Hey Mom Whats for Dinner, 

 Thursdays are for Thrifting  

Vintage Thingy Thursday 

 Time Travel Thursday  

Treasure Hunt Thursday 

 Vintage Inspiration Friday  

Tuesdays Treasures  

Anything Goes

Wow us Wednesdays 

2nd Time Around 

Feathered Nest Friday

Catch is Catch

Restyled Sundays

Pearls and Lace Thursdays

Thrifty Treasures

Knick of Time Tuesdays

Frugalicious Friday

Club GoodWill Party

Rock N' Share Party

Thrifty Thursday

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Joyful Cooking - Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Hello Fellow Thrifters and Friends,

    Another winner at our house. I made this Chicken Enchilada casserole, and it went over great! Both of us enjoyed it so much!

Ingredients

1

boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into thin bite-size strips

1/2

medium red bell pepper, finely chopped

1/4

teaspoon ground cumin

1

can (18.5 oz) Progresso® Light Southwestern-style vegetable soup

1/4

cup uncooked instant brown rice ( I added an extra 1/4 cup because I love rice)

1

oz fat-free cream cheese, cut into cubes

3

tablespoons Old El Paso® fat-free refried beans (from 16-oz can)

4

corn tortillas (6 inch)

1/3

cup shredded reduced-fat mild Cheddar cheese

• Step 1(I cooked my chicken in a crock pot in the morning, which made it very easy to just shred it and then start cooking)Heat oven to 350°F. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook chicken and bell pepper over medium-high heat 4 to 6 minutes, stirring constantly, until chicken begins to brown and bell pepper is crisp-tender. Sprinkle with cumin.
• Step 2
  
  
  Stir in soup. Heat to boiling. Stir in rice; reduce heat to low. Cover; cook 10 minutes or until rice is tender.
• Step 3(Instead of making Individual tortitalls Enchilada's i put everything on top of the tortillas and beans)
  
  
  Stir cream cheese into chicken mixture until well blended. Spread 1 tablespoon of the refried beans on 1 tortilla; place, beans side up, in bottom of ungreased 1-quart casserole. Top with 1 cup chicken mixture; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the cheese. Repeat 2 times. Top with remaining tortilla; sprinkle with remaining cheese.
• Step 4Cover; bake 20 to 25 minutes or until mixture is hot and cheese is melted.(recipe via Live Better America)
  Again this meal was quite the success, and the plates were wiped clean.
  
  
  
  Enjoy Dinner!
  Smiles,
  
  
  

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