DIY Halloween Eyeball Wreath

This wreath may be one of my favorite Halloween decorations I have. I pinned something similar on Pinterest last year, but they place they suggested to get eye balls made the wreath cost almost $60! No thank you!  I made this one for $6.  I bought several of these wreaths last year after the holiday for $0.50 each.  The eye balls were a dollar a bag from The Dollar Tree. I was so excited when I saw them there. 

I bought 7 bags of eye balls, but only needed 5 to cover the front of the wreath. I could add more around the edges but I worry they'll fall off when I have to store it after Halloween is over so I just did the front. 

I just started hot gluing them on one by one, making sure all the pupils pointed the same direction and worked my way around the wreath. 

When I was almost all the way around I hot glued a halloween ribbon on it so I would have a way to hang it up.   I held it up and filled in some of the empty looking spots and then hung it up and stared at it all day. I was so proud! 

It hangs on our front door and I did add some window cling bats so the whole door is mighty festive and ready to scare the kids. However, now that we live in the country I doubt anyone besides my family will even see it. 

I wish I would of covered the wreath with some orange or black ribbon or tulle just to hide the straw a little more, but when I started I was too excited to think about that. 

Stove Top Swiss Chicken Casserole

I've mentioned before that I like recipes with stuffing in them. It's like Thanksgiving but without eating more than you should. This casserole dish was a good one to use your left over chicken in after a holiday meal.

shredded chicken

1 pkg Swiss Cheese

1 16 oz. box pasta

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 cup sour cream

1 box chicken stuffing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook pasta al dente'.  Mix shredded chicken, pasta, and cream of chicken soup together.  In another small bowl, mix stuffing and sour cream together. 

Spread pasta mix on bottom of baking dish.  Spread stuffing mix on top. Cover with swiss cheese slices.  

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. 

Queso Taco Pasta Bake

Taking a break from the freezer meal sharing to share this amazing pasta dish. It was one of my new favorite dishes.

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup salsa

1 pound lean ground beef

One 10 ounce can Rotel tomatoes, mild

1 tablespoon ground cumin

3/4 pound small pasta of your choice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a saucepan.  Whisk in flour, salt and pepper for about 30 seconds. Whisk in chicken broth until smooth. Continue to whisk until thickened.  Stir in  1 1/2 cups shredded cheese and salsa until well mixed. Set aside

Brown and drain ground beef. Mix in tomatoes and cumin. Mix cheese sauce with beef.

Cook pasta al dente'. Drain and mix with cheese beef mixture.  

Pour into baking dish. Top with remaining 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. 

Crock Pot Freezer Meal Golden Chicken & Noodles

The crock pot freezer meals I made a few weeks ago are running out. =(  I have another list of some that I want to try, but it will probably be a few more weeks before I get them all prepared.  Today's recipe is golden chicken & noodles. I made this the other day, but we ended up going shopping and just ate dinner out so I threw it into the fridge and just warmed it up the next night. It was delicious.

4-5 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts

 10 3/4 oz can broccoli cheese soup

1 Cup milk

1 tsp salt

1 tsp basil

1 tsp pepper

Extra Wide Egg Noodles (used on day of serving)

On cooking day, just dump bag into crock pot and cook on low for 5-7 hours.

Cook pasta al dente' and mix in before serving.