Easy Chicken Pot Pie

Part 2, in what has apparently become an unintentional "Comfort Food" series, is another quick and recipe-free fall supper. Chicken Pot Pie has to be one of the countriest, most warm and cozy "Come-on-in-and-kick-off-your-shoes" kind of meals. I hadn't thought of making it this way, but here's a genius shortcut that will undoubtedly be added to my arsenal of home-cooked but quick-fix meals.

All it took was:

• a package of frozen vegetables (mine were Italian-style with zucchini, carrots, green beans, etc but Veg-All, frozen mixed vegetables or any other kind you like would work)
• A can of cream of chicken soup
• 3-4 chicken breasts or tenders (or Rotisserie chicken for an even quicker shortcut)
• a can of biscuits
• 1.5 cups of milk
• 1/2 cup of chicken broth
• butter
• seasonings

If you want the full version, I found the recipe here.

Here's the jist:

Boil your chicken until cooked, if using raw. Remove the chicken and set aside. Microwave your frozen vegetables as directed. I used these:

Bake biscuits for 10 minutes at 375 so they rise but do not brown.

Pour your chicken broth and cream of chicken in the pot.

Add your spices (Italian seasoning, garlic and herb seasoning or garlic powder, salt and pepper. Then add your half and half or milk.

Whisk together over medium heat.

Add your cooked vegetables to the sauce.


When incorporated, add chicken and pour into a buttered casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Add the biscuits on top and cook an additional 5 or so, just until the biscuits are golden brown on top.

Voila! So easy, creamy, and comforting. Enjoy:)

The Gray's Follow @ktgray13

Buffalo Chicken+Mac N Cheese=Comfort

The start of a new school year, a new challenging setting for work, and settling into married life has me craving relaxation and comfort every evening when we make it home. My workouts have gone on a short hiatus since the honeymoon (Don't tell!) and I'm not in too big of a hurry to kick it back into gear. We're just TOO busy and need some time to unwind at night. There's no better way to do that than with fall comfort foods.

We hosted a couples shower at our house saturday night after a crazy week of overtime. Totally spent, I slept in Sunday morning later than I have in ages. Sean somehow managed to go golfing that morning while I snoozed. That afternoon, Lindsay and baby Avery (who recently celebrated the big ONE!)

...came to play for a bit. After Sean and Avery swang in the hammock for a minute, I took her to run with the puppies in the yard. 45 minutes later, Sean still hadn't moved from that hammock. And when Lindsay and Avery left to go home, he STILL had not moved.

I checked to make sure he was still breathing.
He was.


Passed out, sound asleep, cocooned up like a caterpillar between two trees in the backyard, slightly swaying in the autumn breeze. I took a few pictures and woke him up with my uncontrolled laughing, then climbed inside for a little peaceful afternoon nap myself.


That weekend for the shower, I made buffalo chicken crescents and needed to use the leftover buffalo chicken. What better comforting combination than buffalo chicken and macaroni and cheese, I thought!

No real recipe here. Just inspiration for a deadly combination. You know I never follow them anyways. In addition to the comfort food kick I'm on, I'm also loving simple, easy "throw-together" meals with any short-cuts I can think of. This was perfect.


I used cavatappi, or corkscrew, pasta which I think makes the best macaroni and cheese. I added butter, milk, and leftover cheeses from different meals for a combination of velveeta, mozzarella, and cheddar, then a little sour cream and salt and pepper. Make whatever macaroni and cheese is your favorite!

The buffalo chicken I had was fully cooked and just needed to be nooked in the oven or microwave. I like the oven so it's crispy.

I used oven-safe ramekins to layer macaroni and cheese, chicken, then a little of the melted cheese from the bottom of the pot.


We topped with red pepper flakes and Sean used a few shakes of extra hot sauce on top. It was oh so bad. SINfully delicious.

If you would rather go full out and like an exact recipe to follow, here's one from YumSugar.

Enjoy!

~Katie and Sean

Follow @ktgray13

Fall Burlap and Felt Wreath

Fall has officially become one of my favorite seasons. Which doesn't seem like such a compliment to fall, since there are just 4, but it is! I used to think there was nothing special about it...For a kid, it just meant back to school, no more sleeping in, and no more running around barefoot in a swim suit all day long. I guess it's a sign of age, but I crave getting back to the normalcy of a predictable schedule...cooler, comfortable weather...warm comforting fall foods for supper...and football season!

My never-ending list of projects is longer than ever since everything was put on pause with the wedding. This little DIY wreath is the first of several fall projects I've got up my sleeve.


It's gracing my back porch with its presence and has me itching to make more. Surely I can find a door or window in the house for at least 5 more? I LOVE it!!

It started as a green styrofoam wreath...
...Combined with the burlap I had leftover from a dining room project...coming soon...It was simply wrapped around the wreath in long 3-4 inch strips; hot glued periodically.

I didn't use tutorials for making the felt flowers. I just looked at pictures of different flowers I liked and recreated them. But Tip Junkie offers a tutorial she used for this adorable wreath:

I also loved this wreath from Nest of Posies that I drew inspiration from for some of my felt flowers.

I loved the look of the rolled felt strips that made those cutesy, fluffy flowers. To make mine, I just cut a felt circle and several 2-3 inch long strips of felt. I looped the ends to touch each other then hot glued them to the circle, standing up. Only 78 more to go!

This flower was made exactly as it looks. Circles cut in decreasing sizes glued on top of each other, then leaf shapes glued to the back. So cute!

The roses were made by folding a circle in half to form a semi-circle, then rolling it up and gluing like a cone. Then I continued to wrap semi circles around it until I liked the look.

I added sprigs of random flowers I had leftover from DIY'ing our groomsmen's boutonnieres.

Happy Fall Yall:)

The Gray's

Follow @ktgray13

Dining Room Sneak Peek

I can't wait to finish up and share our new and improved dining room. It took almost a whole year for me to get to it and somehow once I started, it came together in just a couple weeks. It was one of those rare, magical puzzles of a room where every piece fit together so perfectly and so quickly. I have just a few finishing touches to polish it off, so here's a sneak peak into what it holds. Check back soon for the full reveal and see how closely you envisioned it!

~The Gray's

Follow @ktgray13

Old bookcase revamp: weathered, gray and chic

Happy Long Weekend! We are ecstatic to be back in "Honey-Do" mode, with a long list of projects to complete over Labor Day Weekend. Now that "Hurricane: Wedding" has subsided, we are back to the home improvement projects and DIYs we love so much. And I have a finished project for you in celebration!

This little one makes me all warm and fuzzy when I look at it now. I love when old pieces sit around for so long with no purpose, and then FINALLY the perfect vision allows them to find their place and be beautiful again. I've had these 2 bookshelves sitting in the garage for over a year. And they sat in Dad's attic for a decade before that. I'm pretty sure they were in my room when I was little.

My project for the weekend is our dining room, the space we haven't touched since we moved in almost a year ago. I had 2 lamps I got on sale at TJ Maxx several months ago that were waiting to have something to sit on in the dining room. Those little bookshelves were perfect.

Before:


Not the most flawless finish:


After:

Gray paint in SW Pavestone with some distressing and glazing in Smoke.



I covered the backs of the shelves with patterned paper I had bought for the wedding and never used. Just paper and a little mod podge.





I don't think the pictures show just how cute they are!

I LOVE them.

Happy "First Day of Football" to you!
~The Gray's

Follow @ktgray13

Honeymoon Part 2: Zipline and Kayaks

While staying at Cap Cana for our honeymoon, we went on a zipline adventure excursion in Bavaro. The destination took an hour to reach by way of an open safari-style bus, which took us into the city of Punta Cana, then up, down, and around the steepest, windiest mountain roads you can imagine!

We were both SO excited to do it, but the slightest hint of nerves began to set in when we were getting suited and strapped up. One of the instructors said to the group, "Why everyone look so scared? You did not come here to die. You came to have fun!"

You'll have to settle for the poor quality pics. It was raining on this day so we used the underwater disposable.

The view from a tower.

Off goes KK! Also known as, "the professional" :)

Seany headed into the platform. Don't judge that picture...It was way up there but the shortest line.

Coming in again.

On the last and longest line, 800 meters, (about half a mile?) the view was over the river and waterfalls and it was gorgeous! We were all standing in our line on the platform as the instructors sent each person when their turn came up. I had NO idea what was going on when the guy singled me out from the back of the line and motioned for me to come next.
"Oh, no. It's not my turn yet," I said.
"No, no no..." blah blah blah (enthusiastic and insistent words in his native tongue that I did not understand) and he pulled me up the the platform before I could protest. He used one carabiner to hook up an instructor, then hooked me up right behind him. I was looking at Sean, SO confused, as was everyone else on the platform.

I thought maybe we were going to zipline tandem, if that's possible. But before I knew it the guy who was hooked up flew off the platform and was on his way. And again, before I knew what was going on, the instructor gave me a running start and FLEW me off the edge, just seconds behind the guy in front. I then flew at lightening speed over the longest, most beautiful stretch of land you could imagine. I was going so fast, I could barely move my head to look down. My contacts were pushed all the way to each corner of my eye. The instructor had weighted the line down with the guy in front, making the ride a lightening fast rush for me. It was incredible!


We survived and loved every minute!

We tried to take a few videos of the ride, but it was quite complicated. Here's one taken by an instructor so you can get an idea of the gorgeous view!

On the first full day we were there, we also took a little mini excursion on our own, venturing to the neighboring public beach "Juanillo Beach" for some kayaking and exploration.

We played in the beach huts...

And played in the palm trees...

It was just so blue lagoon! :)

We took a paddleboat out, but soon gave that up. We traded in our semi for a sports car!

These things flew across that ocean water with little to no effort.

The getaways were so much fun. But it was always nice to get back to our "home" on the resort.

~The Grays

Follow @ktgray13

Jason's Kinda Party at Snowden Grove

We got to see our buddy ROCK his show at Snowden Grove in Southaven Thursday night...bus tour (for one of us), meet-n-greet, and vip style:)
After we met Jason and Jessica while on our honeymoon and he and Sean struck up their sweet little bromance, Jason offered to leave us tickets and meet and greet passes at the gate for his concert near our hometown just 2 weeks after our vacation.

I was progressively getting more sick after complaining of a sore throat while on our honeymoon. The morning of the concert, I woke up feeling near death but went to work anyway. 30 minutes later I decided I was stupid for making that decision. I headed to the doctor and waited 4 hours to hear that I have bronchitis plus sinus cold. A shot in both cheeks later and I was wiped out in the bed for 4 hours. I pulled myself together just in time for the show!

It was so funny when we first went to the ticket counter:

Sean: There should be some tickets to pick up for Sean Gray.
Ticket Lady: Ok, who left them for you?
Sean: Um...Jason.
Ticket Lady: Jason who?
Sean: Jason Aldean?
Ticket Lady: (smiles) Here ya go.

We had a gift to give his youngest daughter as a way of thanks for the tickets. Her birthday is saturday so I painted a piece to hang in their playroom. Sean texted him to find out how to get it to him and Jason said he was sending someone to meet Sean on the other side of the stage. Sean then told me to stay and grab some food. When he returned FOREVER later, I was thinking, "Glad I didn't go. That must've been a LONG walk!"
Instead, he hung his head and said "...Sorry...the guy drove me to his bus and we just kicked it and watched a game for a while."

Shut it.

We laughed at all the frantic fans in the meet and greet line, hyperventilating over their 2 second picture:)
When our turn came up, Sean walked up and said, "I'm sorry, what was your name again?" Jason replied, "Throw this guy out," then the bro-hugging commenced. He told us to wait in the corner for the stragglers to come through the line so we were able to chat a while when everyone else was gone.

When he needed to head backstage, he sent someone to walk us out. I followed without questioning where we were headed, but all of a sudden looked up to see carpeted floor, big comfy couches and candle-lit tables...and then a Central BBQ spread that was fit for a "hadn't eaten ALL day" little king.

I wasn't shy. My plate was soon full.

This is the way to do it!

We unknowingly coordinated with our crocheted tops.

Dev and Seany

Not lookin too shabby for a girl who moments earlier had NO voice. We're talking pulling up to Sonic and realizing I had no way to even order! I'm convinced it was the smoooth coating of strawberry margarita on my throat that had cured me. Minutes later I was singing like Ariel.

Dev and Niner

Definitely doesn't hurt to get seats from the artist...about 8 rows back in the center. Perfect view for these shots.



After Sean and I made our way to our seats, we enthusiastically high-fived over how excited we were just to be there. The man standing in the row in front of us turned to Sean, looked at us both and said, "Aren't yall the couple they met on the island?"
Sean gave me a look that said "Holy, sh--, did we wind up in the tabloids or something?! then said to the man, "Umm...yeah we are. How did you know that?"
The man said, "He told us about yall. Said they had a great time."
He then introduced himself as the owner of Jason's record label.



When Jason finally spotted Sean in the crowd (I would say spotted "us" but we all know he could not have found me!) the moment of excitement for both of them was so cute. I can't imagine performing like that for a crowd of strangers in an unfamiliar place and then finally seeing the only 2 familiar faces in the crowd. We felt special:)

~Katie and Sean

Follow @ktgray13