Slow Cooker Chicken Recipe

Do you not have enough time to cook dinner every night?  It can be hard between classes, athletics, and clubs to eat a balanced meal.  However a slow cooker could be the answer.  Here is a great recipe for slow cooker chicken.  There are also some other great recipes that you can make for the rest of the week.  Go to All Recipes for more ideas.

5 Hard to Kill Plants

Do you have more of a black thumb than a green thumb?  Everyone can have plants in their apartment.  Here are five great plants that are very hard to kill.  They will be beautiful in your apartment this spring.  You can learn more at apartment therapy.

1. Snake plant (Sansevieria Trifasciata)
This is my favorite pick for the darker corners of my own apartment. It has a sculptural appearance, adds a bit of green, and seems to thrive on neglect.

2. Spider plant (Chlorophytum Comosum)
A popular houseplant when I was growing up, these interesting plants self propagate by sending out off-shoots, do well when their roots are crowded, and can thrive in low light conditions.

3. ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia)
A hardy plant that can tolerate both low light and watering neglect, the ZZ plant is great for those with a less than green thumb.

4. Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena Sanderiana)
Adaptable bamboo is a great fit for dim rooms, and is inexpensive and easy to come across.

5. Peace Lilly (Spathiphyllum Wallisii)
Known as a great plant for improving indoor air quality, the Peace Lilly is also one of the few low-light friendly options that produces flowers.

Ace Your Next Test

Whether you just finished midterms or you still have a few tests to go,  these tips can help you study!  Check out these great study tips for your big tests from cengagebrain.  We know you will ace your big tests, and you will have a great break ahead of you!

1. Skim: On midterm eve, you may be tempted to open up your chemistry book and read every word of chapters 1-55 (each chapter being approximately 35 pages). Don’t! This is a waste of time. Instead, focus on chapter headings, footnotes, the course syllabus (the subjects listed on here are probably the ones the professor deems most important), study questions, and chapter reviews.
2. Don’t cram: On this same note, don’t wait until the night before your exam to begin studying for it. Instead, begin preparing now! A September 6, 2012 article titled “Prepare Not For College Midterm Exams,” posted on SayCampusLife by Matthew C. Keegan offers some great tips on time management so you can get a head start on your upcoming midterms. Setting aside study time, reviewing notes from class, and planning early will help you feel prepared, says Keegan.
3. Attend review sessions, study groups: You may be tempted to skip out on that review session or study group being held by your TA, but this could be a huge mistake. Most of the time, these study sessions cover the main exam topics, and TAs usually let more than a few exam questions slip during these meetings.
4. Enjoy the silence: If you aren’t attending a study session, find a quiet place where you can stay focused and uninterrupted — the library, an empty classroom, the park. Your dorm room may seem like the most obvious place, but have a plan B ready for when the distractions hit (and they will).
5. Disconnect: Facebook, Pintrest, Twitter, and email are all unnecessary distractions, so while studying, disconnect for an hour or so. You may be surprised at how much you can accomplish when technology doesn’t get in the way.
6. Figure out what will be on the exam: No, this doesn’t require any mind reading abilities, but it does require you to listen and pay close attention to your professor. A 2010 post by Jeremy S. Hyman and Lynn F. Jacobs for the U.S. News & World Report titled “8 Clues to Figuring Out That College Midterm” offers up ideas such as using old exams to study and giving that review sheet another glance.
7. Meet with your professor: Stop by office hours to discuss difficult concepts, ask questions about lecture material, or just to find out what types of topics the midterm will cover. You may be surprised at how much your professor is willing to share.
8. Stay healthy: During midterms, it’s easy to overindulge on junk food, up your caffeine intake, and basically suspend all personal hygiene (you won’t be interacting with anyone anyway) — never mind the fact that you have no time to make it to the gym. Don’t fall into this rut. Instead, schedule time for healthy meals and regular exercise, and don’t forget about that shower! You may just find that these breaks help you stay focused.
9. Take breaks: Consequently, a 12-hour marathon study session won’t do anything but make you crazy. Instead, take short breaks every hour or so, even if only for 10 minutes. Leave your study area when you do — that bit of fresh air may be just what you needed to clear your head.
10. Relaxation, preparation, and time management: It’s finally here! Midterm day! Don’t let all of your hard work go to waste. Instead, check out CollegeAtlas’ post titled “Test Taking Strategies for College Midterms and Finals” (i.e. using the restroom before the exam begins and not spending too much time on a difficult question) to help ensure that you go into your midterm stress free and ready to ace that exam!

Dish Washing Tricks

Are you tired of washing the dishes?  There are some great tricks that will help you reduce the amount of time washing.  Apartment Therapy has seven different tips that will cut down the time it takes to finish the dishes after meals.   Keep reading below to learn more!


1) Start clean. Cleanliness begets cleanliness. Starting with a clean kitchen motivates you to keep it as clean as possible as you cook. For example, a clean counter makes your dribbles obvious and helps you wipe them right away. Also, prevent a backlog by making sure your dish rack and dishwasher have enough empty space to accommodate new dirty dishes.

2) Don't stack. Stacking dishes almost doubles the amount of surfaces you have to clean. Have everyone clear their own dishes and place them on the counter near the sink or in a soaking tub.

3) Clean as you go. The more you clean as you go, the less you have to clean at the end. Aim for no dirty cooking utensils by the time you begin eating your meal. You'll have enough to clean afterwards.

3) Prepare a soaking station. Although it's best to clean as you go, you can't always clean every single thing as it gets dirty. To corral dirty cooking utensils and keep messes from drying on them, prepare a soapy side of the sink or a tub placed in the sink. Do the same for dirty dishes after the meal. If possible, put dirty dishes in the dishwasher right away, but if you can't, keeping dishes submerged will also prevent caking on of food and save you lots of time scrubbing.

4) Fill pots and pans with water. Again, the idea is to keep food from crusting, which takes significantly more time to clean. While you're eating, fill dirty pots and pans with water so they can soak. Note: Don't put cold water into pots or pans until they've cooled. The sudden change in temperature can warp them.

5) Keep dishes to a minimum. Unless you're entertaining, don't dirty more dishes just for serving. One solution is to serve portions in the kitchen or bring pots and pans to the table. Another solution is to serve from containers that can double as storage for leftovers, such as glass tupperware.

6) Wipe it while it's wet. Swipe counters, appliances, the floor, and the stove when spills are fresh. This will keep your space clean and will keep the mess from spreading (like to the bottom of the spice jars that you place on the counter when you're cooking, for instance). Perhaps most importantly, wiping while it's wet will keep you from having to scrub dried-up messes.

7) Spray and wait. Inevitably, you'll have some spills to clean up. Spraying with your cleaner and giving it some time to soak in a bit before you wipe usually softens the mess and makes it much easier to wipe away.