Tag Archives: mess

the pantry challenge + white chicken chili with corn muffins recipe

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Confession: my pantry is a bit of a jumbled mess.

I’ve tried organizing it multiple times, but no matter how I sort through all of the cans, jars and boxes, it always looks messy. I finally realized the problem is that I simply have too much stuff crammed in there! So many cans and boxes and mixes that it’s impossible to even know everything that I have. So when I go to the store, I inevitably buy new cans and jars of stuff that is already buried in the back of my pantry. What a waste!

So, inspired by this post by Jill at the lovely blog Reini Days, I’ve made a resolution to use up all the food in my pantry that I already have. I’m not going quite so hardcore as Jill and her family did — I am still giving myself permission to buy new food and ingredients that I don’t currently have if necessary. But I will make an effort each week when doing my meal-planning to make recipes centered around ingredients that already live in my pantry before I go out and buy new things at the store.

The other night, I got my new pantry challenge off to a great start when I made a big batch of chili! I had friends over for Labor Day dinner and I made two big pots of chili. Look at all the cans & boxes from my pantry that I used in this single night:

Count ’em! That’s eight cans and two boxes for a total of ten items that were languishing in my overstuffed pantry! Perfect way to kick off the challenge I’ve set for myself.

Since I had seven friends over, I made two big pots of chili. In one pot, I made a tomato chili recipe from my mom that I am looking forward to sharing with you in the near future. In the other pot, I made a white chicken chili that was delicious and is perfect for anyone who is sensitive to high-acid foods such as tomatoes or suffers from heartburn because this chili is tomato-free! This is the recipe I’m going to share today. I call it “California-style” because I think it’s best served with sliced avocado on top!

california-style white chicken chili

– 1 package chicken breasts or chicken breast tenderloins
– 1 green bell pepper
– 1 orange or yellow bell pepper
– 1 tsp mixed garlic
– 1 tbsp olive oil
– 1 can white beans {I used organic great northern beans}
– 1 can corn
– 1 package white chili seasoning
– 1/4 cup water
– 1 medium avocado

1. Pour the olive oil and garlic into the bottom of a large pot. Turn heat on low. Dice the bell peppers and pour into the pot. Cook for 5-10 minutes, until pepper begins to soften.

2. While pepper is cooking, cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and set aside.

3. Drain the can of beans and corn and pour both into the pot.

4. Add the chicken, water and white chili spice packet and bring chili to a boil.

5. Turn heat down a little and simmer the chili for 20-30 minutes {or longer if you have the time … the chili gets more and more flavorful the longer you cook it. YUM!}

6. Before serving, top chili with diced avocado if desired.

My friend Xun who came over for dinner absolutely loves cornbread, so I served the chili with corn muffins, which were super easy to make. I just used a Jiffy boxed cornbread mix and poured the batter into muffin tins instead of a bread pan.

jiffy corn muffins

– 1 package jiffy cornbread mix
– 1 small can corn
– 1 egg
– 1/3 cup milk or buttermilk

1. Preheat over to 400 degrees.

2. Combine cornbread mix, egg and milk.

3. Drain can of corn and add to the batter. Mix thoroughly.

4. Pour batter into paper-lined muffin tin and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Each box of mix yields about six muffins. For our get-together, I used two boxes and doubled the ingredients.

These were fantastic! We had a bit of each kind of chili left-over, but the corn muffins were all gobbled up by the night’s end!

It was a really fun night, and chili is such a relaxing meal to cook — all you really need to do is plop all the ingredients in the pot and let it simmer until you’re ready to eat. Perfect for having people over and wanting to spend your time visiting rather than slaving away in a hot kitchen.

So, does anyone else want to join the challenge with me? I’m excited to update you on my progress as I try out new recipes to clear out my pantry!

Have a great day–
Dallas

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-Time spent: 1 hour {including cook time}
-Cost: about $10 {though I had almost all the ingredients in my pantry already, hooray!}

MPM-Winter
This post is linked up to Menu-Plan Monday at I’m an Organizing Junkie!

quick freezer organization

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A couple weeks ago I confessed my tendency to hide my messes inside cabinets and behind closed doors. But since starting this blog I have resolved to organize my home — and my life — from the inside-out. With that in mind, I finally summoned the courage to tackle my freezer.

{Cue the horror music …}

Yep, it was bad. Every time I opened the freezer something would come tumbling out. And I had absolutely no idea what I had in the back of the freezer {I knew most of it probably hopelessly freezer-burned by this point.} How much money and food was I wasting with such a disorganized freezer?

It was time to finally tackle this hidden mess and organize my freezer for good.

My first step was taking everything out of the freezer and giving it a good wipe-down with disinfecting spray.

Better already, right?

Then I sorted through all the food, checking expiration dates and freezer burn-edness. I had to toss a lot out.

My last step was simply putting the food that was still good back in the freezer, organized by type: veggies on one side, side dishes in the middle, and meat on the other side.

TA-DA!

Look at all the space! Look how easy it is to find things! I am swooning over here.

And all it took was a little courage, a trash bag and about 15 minutes of my time!

Are there any projects you’ve been scared to tackle, but once you do it’s waaaaay less intimidating than you imagined? I’d love to hear your success stories!

-Dallas

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Time spent: 15 minutes
Cost: nothing

under-the-sink organization & plastic bag recycling

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Before I started this blog, I was a big hide-my-mess person. I would shove all the extra stuff I didn’t know what to do with into closets and dresser drawers. Then, I’d feel better, because while my place wasn’t exactly organized, at least it appeared that way from the outside.

The problem with this strategy? It’s only a temporary fix. Any time I would open up an overflowing closet or dig through a stuffed-to-the-brim drawer trying to find something, all the stress I had slapped a Band-Aid over by shoving my mess out of sight came barreling back into my life with full force.

In starting this blog, not only am I trying to organize on a budget, I’m also trying to organize honestly and thoroughly, from the inside-out. And that means tackling the hidden places I might otherwise prefer to ignore. Like: the space under my kitchen sink.

Umm… yeah.

Every time I had to reach under there to get a trash bag or cleaning supplies or dishwashing soap, I felt depressed. I would grab what I needed and quickly shut the cabinet up again. And then wash my hands, because it just felt grimy under there. {Ironic for a place I store cleaning supplies, huh?}

Finally, I decided it was time to tackle this problem area for good! My first step was taking everything out and giving the space a good wipe-down. I tossed some crusty sponges, raggedy dishtowels, and empty cleaning bottles that I found way in the back. Then I consolidated products, like my multiple three-quarters-empty bottles of Windex was poured into one bottle.

The biggest mess-factor was the barrage of plastic bags I’d saved to use as trash bags for small trash cans, to bring my lunch to school, etc. I try to bring reusable bags to the grocery store, but every so often I forget. Over the past year or so I’ve accumulated quite a few, and they were completely taking over the entire cabinet!

Yikes!

Then Mike found this really neat bag holder for me, and it made all the difference! This one is from the company simplyhuman, but there are many other similar versions available.

All I had to do was gather up the plastic bags and cram them into the container, and then hang the container up on the back of the cupboard door. It fit perfectly!

In all, the project only took about 15 minutes, and now I feel even more motivated to clean! It’s an all-around win. I’m feeling more inspired than ever to tackle the other hidden messes in the closets around my apartment. I’ll be sure to keep you posted on my progress!

Hope you’re having a great week —
❤ Dallas

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Time spent: 15 minutes
Cost: $12.00

the linen closet

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The linen closet isn’t the most glamorous of spaces, but it’s an important one. Mine has become even more important since my introduction to freezing cold Indiana winters, because it’s where all my blankets live! {And I have a LOT of blankets!}

But my linen closet had become a jumbled mess.

As a result, many of my blankets and towels have stopped living in my closet and are more likely to be flung haphazardly across this poor chair:

Every time I passed this chair it made me feel bad. I knew it was time to do something about it!

My first step was clearing out the closet and deciding how to organize each shelf. I chose to put extra sheets, pillowcases, and not-much-used blankets on the very top shelf. I folded them all neatly and stacked them up on the shelf.

Next, I designated the middle shelf for towels. I have always just folded and stacked my towels, but I’ve read on some other organization blogs that rolling your towels can keep them more accessible, better organized, and also save space! So that’s what I did. I made one section for my big bath towels, another section for hand towels and kitchen towels.

On the third shelf, I folded and stacked the blankets I use more often — the ones that are in hiding now that the weather is getting warmer, but that I will definitely want to pull out again next November when the snow returns!

Here is what my newly organized closet looks like:

Hooray! I’m so happy about it that I’m leaving the door open today, and every time I pass it, I can’t help but smile.

What organizing projects are you working on this week?

Happy Wednesday,
Dallas

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Cost: $0.00
Time: 15 minutes