Our old dishwasher was from the 70s and had a handle you would slide to lock and unlock.  We used that to tell if the dishes were clean or dirty – if they were clean, we would leave the handle locked if we got something out of it.

Enter our new stainless steel dishwasher.

It is so sleek and cool but we soon found out there is no way to tell if the dishes are clean or dirty. (I don’t always have time to put them away as soon as the cycle is done.)

Thanks to my cute little magnets that Yahoo! sent me years ago – now we can tell!

We picked two of the magnets and one indicates that the dishes are clean and one that they are dirty.  I just swap the magnets out when I unload or run the dishwasher!

What clever ideas have you had around the house?

Preparing dinner for us is now something I’ve been doing more of.  I’ve never been a good cook so I’m a little intimidated by making a meal.  Lately, after flashing back to my childhood, I have discovered the wonderfulness of SHAKE AND BAKE.

What is Shake & Bake, you ask?  It’s a box that comes with two powder packets as well as two small plastic bags.  You wet the chicken breasts, throw them in the bag, and shake.  The powder coats the chicken and you throw those bad boys into the oven for 20 minutes.  It leaves a crispy coating on the chicken – YUM!

Not only is this totally easy – but I really do love the flavor of chicken that tastes and looks fried but isn’t!

And now I find myself wanting to use it as my “go to” meal every night and just mix up the sides.

Am I totally earning a big fat F in Housewiving?

P.S.  I really am kidding about making it EVERY night.  Sorta. lol