Beside Table Idea

When I was shopping for my new apartment, I was dying to finally have a bedside table (considering I've never had one). I was shopping around one day and managed to find tons of crates all stacked up together intended for storage space for kids toys. It immediately clicked with me, especially since they were $10 each, that I would use these as my bedside tables!

I spray painted all four of them yellow and stacked two on either side of my bed. The bottom one was turned like the picture above and the top is turned upside down. This is an excellent way to add extra storage, plus it's so easy and affordable!

Teriyaki Apricot Chicken with Red Chard and Rice

I go to this little farmer's market every time I need some produce and I have always wanted to do something with chard or kale, but I just didn't know what. Today I went there and just decided to get a bunch, come home, and try and make up a recipe that incorporates this leafy green. I was already going to have chicken, so I figured I'd do something with that

 

                                           This is the Chili Paste I use.

 

This is Red Chard

Ingredients: (Based off of one serving)

• 3 Tbsp         Chicken broth
• 1 Tbsp         Teriyaki sauce
• 1 Tbsp         Apricot preserves
• 1 Tbsp         Ginger; grated
• 1/2 Tsp        Dijon mustard
• 1/4 Tsp        Fresh grown chili paste
• 1                  Shallot; minced/grated
• 1                  Whole chicken breast
• 1 lb              Red chard
• 2                  Strips of bacon

Directions:

1. First, add broth, teriyaki sauce, apricot preserves, ginger, dijon, chili paste, and shallot in a bowl and mix together to make the marinade.
2. Chop the chicken into same size pieces and add to marinade.
3. Drizzle a tbsp or two in a pan on medium heat. Slice the bacon and drop into the pan and cook until brown. While bacon is cooking, peel chard away from the stem and tear into pieces.
4. Add the chicken (with the sauce) into the pan with the bacon and let cook for about 3-5 minutes.
5. Add the chard and cover for about a minute. Uncover and stir to get all parts wilted. 

• I use Minute Rice, because it's easier and faster than cooking regular rice. This is how you make one serving of rice using Minute Rice:

1. While that's cooking, in another pan bring 1/2 cup of water to a boil. Add 1/2 cup of rice, cover, remove from heat, and wait 5 minutes. Uncover, fluff, and plate.
2. Cook the mixture until all the chicken is cooked, then place on top of rice, drizzling the sauce over top.

This was a really tasty dish and it's a type of Asian fusion comfort food. Hope you all enjoy!

Nutella Wrap

This is something I came up with when my boyfriend was wanting something to eat, but I had nothing in my pantry. I'm sure many people have done this before, but I'm also sure many people haven't thought of this either. It's ingenius, unbelievably good, and satisfies that sweet tooth on any budget. This is also perfect for those who are in dorm rooms.

Nutella Wrap:

• Nutella
• Tortillas (keep them in your fridge to last longer)

Directions:

1. Take your tortilla(s) and spread nutella over it leaving about a half an inch to an inch on the sides. Roll it up. To make it stick together, put a little nutella on the flap and stick it to the rest of the tortilla.
2. Put it in the microwave for 30 seconds! This part is important. If you do it longer than that, the tortilla becomes crunchy and the Nutella gets somewhat burned.
3. Done. It's so simple, so sweet, and so delicious. Enjoy!

You could easily add fruit to this as well. Some straw-, blue-, black-, or raspberries, kiwi or mango would be delicious.

BBW (Big Blank Wall)

We all have those walls in our aparments, condos, homes, etc... that are just those walls you don't know what to do with. Well... I have a solution. I found this design idea on one of my favorite blog websites, ever. Design Sponge.

I know what you're all thinking... what the heck is this made of? Well, it's very simple, affordable, creative, and easy to do. It's made of toilet paper rolls! This is one of my favorite things as a college student to discover, because not only are their so many ways to rearrange them, but their easy to color, paint, and put together! These are just a few of my favorite pictures found on the internet, but there is so much individual creativity involved in this. This decor idea is something that even the most creatively challenged person could do, because you can't screw it up!

All you need:

• Paper towl rolls/toilet paper rolls
• Glue or stapler (I used a stapler - less mess!)
• Paint, glitter, those colorful fuzzy balls, etc!

Kitchen Sink Soup

I came up with this recipe, because I was about to move and I didn't want to have to take more food than I needed to. I literally just started going through my pantry, fridge, freezer, and spice cabinet and pulled out things I thought would mix nicely together. Fortunately... all those days of watching Food Network paid off, because it worked! Here's the recipe, and you can easily add or substitute other ingredients if needed!

Kitchen Sink Soup:

• 2 cups of chicken broth (seafood or beef could easily be substituted, this was just what I had).
• 4 green onions; chopped
• 1 can each of: dark red kidney beans, butter beans, carrots, and tomatoes (need to be roughly chopped if not diced already).
• 1 Tbsn dried Tyme
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1 Tbsn celery salt
• 2 cloves of garlic; minced or grated
• Chili powder (to taste)
• 1 Tbsn Cumin
• 1 Tbsn dried Mexican Oregano (regular dried oregano will work just fine too)
• 1 lb Shrimp; peeled & deveined
• 1/2 tbsn salt & pepper

Directions:

1. First, bring the chicken broth up to a boil and drop the shrimp in. Take them out when they're done (watch them closely, won't take them too long). Put them on a paper towl lined plate and set aside.
2. Next, add all the vegtables/beans to the broth (All veggies/beans should be drained). Reduce to a low simmer. Put lid on them for about 5-10 minutes.
3. Add all spices and shrimp, cover for about an hour so that all the flavors can blend. Stir occasionally to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom.