Monday, July 18, 2011

Scones?! Not so much

Hey friends! <3 How was your day!?! Can't believe that yesterday I was posting how proud of myself I was for making scones. Only to be sorely disappointed 2 hours later after both the kiddo's and hubs decided. Not so much! :( They all hated it! The kids told me is was crust, and hubs said "not to hurt your feelings, but I took 1 bite and put it back." Very sad day for me!

Of course and easy snack to make and deli-sh would not be enjoyed! Baaaa hum bug!

Today was full of work! Tomorrow is full of work! Hope you all are staying cool in this crazy hot weather we are having!

Have you tried any new recipes lately!?!? Send them to me so I can post them!

Sunday, July 17, 2011

The art of Scones

Hello Friends! <3 Hope you are all having a relaxing day of rest!

Remember yesterday when I told you all I wanted to try scones well... I give you my story ;)

For some odd reason I have always been scared of scones. Not really knowing what they were or how to make them. I very clearly stayed away from them. However, recently when visiting a friends coffee shop, I tried her amazing chocolate chip/walnut scones. I got home thinking I MUST try these

Today, I did it! I am pleased to say, scones are easy peasy to make and are FABULOUS! They have yet to be kid tested as they are still napping. However, I'm fairly confident these will not last through the week like I had planned. I'm giving it 2 days once both the kids and hubs try it out!

Is there a recipe you are scared to try? Want me to try it first?! Just leave a comment and I will!!!

Also stay tuned for another deeeelish recipe. Chow Mien Casserole!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Summer?? Where have you gone?!

So I must apologize to all of my 1 readers :) I have seriously slacked this summer. I cannot believe that school is starting in a month! :( Some serious booness is going on over here. Anyway, along with being a major bad blogger this summer I have also totally slacked in the cooking department. I wouldn't say that I LOVE to cook, but I do like it. I would like it way better if I did not have to do the clean up! (I digress)

I am going to be bringing back the menu planning mostly because yes, we have been eating out WAY to much again! So here is some menu planning a bit earlier then Monday! :)

17th - Chinese Chow Mien (recipe to come soon)

18th - Left overs for lunch and skillet pizza burgers for supper

19th - Leftovers for lunch and steak and potatoes for supper

20th - sandwiches for lunch and Roast, potatoes, carrots

21st - What else? Left overs! For supper BBQ Beef Pizza (homemade) Using left over beef from pot roast

22nd - **Pampered Chef Party so whatever we have there ;)

23rd - LEFTOVERS or subway ;)

I am going to be doing some freezer cooking soon! Hopefully one of these days will be raining and chilly out so I can turn on the stove! On the list of things to make?

1.cabbage burgers
2.chow mien casseroles (4)
3.Breakfast Burritos

Something new to try?
Scones and homemade Cinnamon Raisin bread.

Do any of you have a fab scone recipe??!! I found one of weight watchers, but would LOVE to know of any and all idea's or tips for making these!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Quick Snacks or Side Dishes

I have a great side dish. Well, I cannot take the credit. My friend K made this recipe while I was over one day and my kids not only loved it, but I did too. I had never thought to really incorporate these ingredients mostly because I did not think my kiddo's would ever go near them. They GOBBLED this up and asked for more! Oh yes, yes they did <3

Pasta Salad:

Box of pasta (these were the spiraly ones. I am going to get some gluten free ones)
Head 0f Caulif.
Head of Broccoli
Baby Carrots
1 bottle of Italian Dressing

Cook pasta. While pasta is cooking up chop the veggies and add into a large bowl. Mix it all together. Once pasta is done drain and run over cold water. Mix the pasta in with the veggies and then cover with bottle of dressing. Stir all until everything is coated with Italian Dressing.

You can serve this on the side of almost anything. Also use it as a great afternoon snack for the kiddo's. I don't have a picture of this one, but will soon.

Do you have any great pasta's that you cook up during the summer??? Please do share!

Well, until next time. The famous words from "Dear John" I'll see you soon then! <3

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Now.. Back to our regularly scheduled program :)

What else would I have for you but a chicken recipe? Pork Chops! Oh yes I did. We have been eating a lot of these lately, mostly so we could have another option besides chicken. We aren't big on steaks, so this is a nice alternative since I don't like fish.

Molasses Grilled Pork Tenderloin
Compliments of It’s a Keeper
www.everydaytastes.com

1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons coarse-grained Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 (3/4-pound) pork tenderloins, trimmed

Combine first 3 ingredients in a Ziploc bag, reserving a few tablespoons for basting. Add pork to bag and chill for 8 hours.

Cook, covered with grill lid, over medium-hot coals (350° to 400°) about 20 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 160°, turning once.

Serve this us with a green salad, broccoli, or cauliflower. What for a pasta recipe that would also go great with this.

What is your favorite part of grilling? Mine is that there are basically NO pots, pans, or dishes to clean up. In the summer we use a lot of paper plates. Yes, I know not so green, however, a great alternative for us so we aren't running the dishwasher every five seconds.

Interruption for Money Saving Idea's

I had a post ready for another good non cooking meal. However, I read a article today on saving money for your kids' college education. I found this extremely helpful and would like to share it with you.

Go over to www.momsplan.com to check out the guest post on affording your child's college education.

Go HERE for the article. Are you saving money for your child's education already? How are you working towards that goal?

Monday, June 13, 2011

Happy Monday!!!

HELLO Friends! Hope you are all having a fab Monday! <3

Before I jump into the recipe for today, I wanted to tell you some exciting news. I have officially decided to make cakes! Not all the time or professionally, but I have had a few customers who so graciously paid me to make a cake. How cool is that?! Paid to make a cake?! I still can't really get over it. I got to do something I love and get paid. That doesn't happen often. At least not often enough.

I made a cake for a bridal shower this past weekend and now have 2 other jobs lined up. So if you are in the market for a cake let me know. It is a DEEEEElish homemade butter-cream frosting decorated Fabulously! :) I'm pretty cheap really. I only charge between 25-40 depending on size and length of time spent on it! :)

Now on to the recipes to try this week.


Ingredients:




4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)


1/4 cup KRAFT Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing, divided


1 tomato, finely chopped


1/2 cup KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese


1/4 cup chopped fresh basil



Directions:


HEAT grill to medium heat.





COVER half the grill grate with sheet of heavy-duty foil. Place chicken in large resealable plastic bag. Add 2 Tbsp. dressing; seal bag. Turn bag over several times to evenly coat chicken with dressing. Refrigerate 10 min. Remove chicken from bag; discard bag and dressing.


PLACE chicken on uncovered side of grill; cover with lid. Grill 6 min. Meanwhile, combine remaining dressing, tomatoes, cheese and basil.


TURN chicken over; place on foil. Top with tomato mixture. Grill, covered, grill 8 min. or until chicken is done (165ºF).


prep time 5 min

total time 29 min

makes 4 servings
Thanks Kraft Foods


I realize there have been a lot of chicken recipes, but look for some grilled pizza and quesadilla recipes coming this week! Also don't forget to turn in a recipe or tell us what your cooking to save of heat in your house during these HOT summer months!




Friday, June 10, 2011

Family Business

Hello all! How have you been cookin'? Any yummy non oven meals you want to share? Don't forget to leave a comment or email me at jbnemecek@hotmail.com with your recipes. I would LOVE to spotlight you with a recipe of the week.

The last couple of days we have been having some family time. The hubby's sisters are in town, so there have been play-dates, meals, and chaos. That is why there have been no new recipes for a couple of days.

On another note, we got a TRAMPOLINE! Yes, we finally found one that we like. Well, actually my amazing mom did, but nonetheless there is a trampoline in our back yard. Before you ask, YES there is an enclosure and YES we are safe with it. We would not put our kids in harm on purpose. We are very well aware of the risks and see no reason they wouldn't be safe on it. So that being said. They LOVE it! I will post pictures soon.

Stay tune for next week. I have a few meals up my sleeve! You will need no oven, just a grill and a handsome man doing the cooking! :) *I know we can dream right* Seriously though, if you can get your hunny behind the grill.. DO IT! :) Give yourself a break and let them do the cooking!

Hope you all have a FAB weekend and we will see ya soon <3

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Grilled Chicken Salad

Now that you have made the yummy kebab's it's time to use the other 6 that we stored.

Grilled Chicken Salad

  • 8 c. mixed greens
  • All chicken and veggies left over
  • 4 oz. feta cheese
  • 1c. drained and rinsed canned chickpeas
  • 12 pitted kalamata olives
  • 3TBL balsamic vinegar
  • 2Tsp. Dijon mustard
  • 3/4c. EVOO
Place greens in a large shallow bowl. Arrange chicken and veggies on top. Scatter cheese, chickpeas and olives on salad.

Combine balsamic and mustard in a small bowl. While whisking constantly, drizzle in EVOO. Season with salt and pepper. Toss salad with about 1/2 c. vinaigrette. Serve immediately.
Picture and recipe from All You Magazine.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Chicken Kebabs with Yogurt-Tahini Sauce

The one thing I love as much as freezer cooking is leftovers. Yes, you heard that right mom! I am a known leftover hater, however, the more I had to cook every night the more I realized leftovers rock. I had a hard time with this at first, but there is nothing better then cooking a good supper and having a yummy and easy leftover lunch for the next day.

This next recipe is from All You magazine. If you don't subscribe I highly suggest looking into it. Not only is it full of recipes it is full of coupons! This magazine has paid for itself a couple times over because of the coupons.


Chicken Kebabs

1/2c. canola oil
1/2c lemon juice (or 3 lemons)
4 tsp. Cumin
2 tsp. ground coriander
2 tsp. paprika
4 cloves of garlic, smashed
3lb boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into pieces (I know that sounds like a lot but stick with me!)
2 red peppers, seeded and cut into pieces
3 small zucchini, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 small summer squash, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 c. yogurt, plain
2 tbsp. tahini
2 red onions halved, each half cut into quarters

In a bowl, whisk oil, 1/2c lemon juice, and seasonings. Pour half into a separate bowl. Add chicken to on bowl; turn to coat. Toss veggies in another bowl. Cover bowls; chill for 2 hours.

Make sauce: whisk yogurt, tahini, 1 TBL lemon juice and 1/2 tsp. salt. Cover and chill.

Preheat grill, remove chicken and veggies from marinade; thread chicken, veggies, and onions onto 12 metal skewers.

Lightly oil grill rack, grill turning until chicken is cooked through. Set aside 6 kebabs to cool. Serve remaining kebabs over brown rice(optional), with sauce.

When reserved kebabs have cooled, remove chicken and veggies wrap well and refrigerate.

***Check back tomorrow for the recipe to use for the 6 kebabs you didn't use! ***

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Buffalo Chicken Salad

First up on our no cooking with the stove recipes is this fabulous recipe by lifeasmom. She is actually in the middle of writing a cookbook all about freezer meals. How amazing is that!? I know right? She has SEVERAL amazing idea's that can be used for meals. You will see a lot of her recipes mostly because I use a LOT of her recipes for my own family. I do tweak them for our liking and to make some more figure friendly, but they are still amazing.

Buffalo Chicken Salad
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders1 Tablespoon Tabasco sauce
2 Tablespoons melted butter, cooled ( I will honestly omit this when I make it to help make it more figure friendly)
1/2 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
mixed greens, spinach or torn romaine lettuce
2 ribs celery, chopped
grape tomatoes
Blue Cheese Dressing
chopped green onion (optional)
chopped cilantro (optional)

Place the chicken breast tenders in a medium bowl. Drizzle the Tabasco sauce and butter over the tenders. Toss to coat. In a small bowl, combine the garlic powder, paprika, sea salt, and cayenne pepper. Sprinkle 1 to 2 Tablespoons over the chicken tenders, tossing to coat. Allow flavors to blend for 15 minutes before cooking on a hot grill. Allow cooked chicken to rest while you assemble the salad.

Layer mixed greens, grape tomatoes and chopped celery on each serving plate. Drizzle dressing over each salad. Garnish with green onion and cilantro. Top the salad with sliced chicken.

Don't want to grill 2 nights in a row??? Well, double you batch so that the next night you have....

***WRAPS! Wraps are easily portable and not as heavy as sandwiches, making them light fare for hot nights. Grill up a batch of Buffalo Chicken Breasts that have marinated while I assembling lettuce, chopped tomatoes, tortillas, and a blue cheese dressing.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Summer Cooking

Now that it is summer I'm guessing most of you do not want to turn on your oven or stove! I am working on a series of "non-cooking" recipes. There will be several grilling, sandwich, and salad idea's. I am hoping to find between 10-20 for you. I will be posting them 2-3 times a week so be sure to check back often for fun new idea's.

I am also working on doing some frugal fun idea's with the kiddo's! I'm hoping to post 1 a week for you guys through the next couple of months!

Lots of fun things to come! :) First recipe will be posted tomorrow so be sure to come back! <3

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Meal Planning


Another way we save money is to meal plan. This doesn't happen every week and there is not perfect way to do it. However, meal planning gives you a guide to follow throughout the week so you can hopefully avoid that last minute stop at the fast food restaurant!

There are several ways to do meal planning. Like I said there is no right or wrong way to do it. I personally just plan 1 meal a day for everyday of the week. Most time there is enough for leftovers, sometimes not. Either way at least having that one meal a day planned makes it easier for us.

Check out the post from Mom's Plan over HERE. She gives several different examples on how to meal plan and different idea's on how to do it.

A few of the subjects she touches on are
  1. Assign a Meal to a Day of the Week
  2. Make a Menu Plan Once a Month
  3. Choose Your Menu Plan Based on What Is on Sale
  4. Choose Your Menu Plan Based on What You Have in the Pantry
We have tried several of these. We find the one that works best for us is to choose our menu based on what is on sale. We have also occasionally done plans where we eat only out of our pantry for a week as well.

Making a menu plan for the month was one we tried and did not like. We only had to go to the grocery store once which was amazing! However, it was much harder to incorporate fresh foods and was something we were thrilled doing. We actually ended up spending more money on those months because we were trying to anticipate the little things that come up.

Do you menu plan? Which method do you use?
picture source

Monday, May 30, 2011

DIY Bubbles, Wands, and Blowers with Pie Birds, Buttons and Muddy Puddles

One of the blogs that I follow is guest posting today at HomeSpun Threads on how to make your own bubbles, wands and blowers as part of HomeSpun Threads' Summer Soiree.

There are a lot of other great ideas on how to have fun in the sun this summer with your little ones. This is so easy to do, and a very cost effective way to have fun with the little ones in the summers. She has a step by step instruction and picture's with each step! So go check it out! :)

What do you do in the summer to have fun with the kids AND save money while doing it?

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Healthy SNACK * Protein PACKED

Unfortunately, I cannot take any credit for this amazing snack. I am doing my "simple" tone it up diet, and have been having troubles finding an afternoon snack. Mostly because I'm not a veggies person. I'm not suppose to have starch so this does go a little off of that, but I figured 1 TBL can't hurt anything!

Now, I'm not going to post the actual recipe, but this is where to find this amazing protein muffin.

I did make a FEW minor adjustments. I did use the applesauce instead of the pumpkin, because lets face it, there is no way I keep that stuff on hand. I also ended up using 1 TBL of mini chocolate chips because I didn't have the cocoa powder on hand. You could honestly get away with only 1 TSP if you aren't a huge chocolate person. Although, who isn't??

Anyway, this was seriously food-gasmic (borrowed this amazing word from fitnessista.com) mostly because it totally works here.

I did of course top it. There are a ton of different ways to top it. I chose almond butter because I LOVE it! You could also use agave syrup or pure maple syrup. I used a full serving of almond butter, but again you could probably get away with only 1 TBL to lower the calories. (which I will be doing next time for sure)

Without further ado, here is the picture. Mind you I made this in a cereal bowl and then put it on a plate. This was HUGE! Much bigger then I was expecting. PLUS very filling. I could have honestly been fine with only eating half. I even shared some with Madisyn and you all know how I like to share food ;)
Not the best picture, but DEEELISH! :)

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Been too long!

Have you ever been speechless? I have! I always want to do such great blog posts that I can't seem to find that perfect one! Therefore letting days go between posts! Not anymore! Why you ask? Well, I'm hoping that some of you who read this will comment on some different things that interest you! That's right, tell me what you want to hear about. I am going to give away a zipper pouch from thirty-one gifts if I have at least 10 people respond! All your names will go into the drawing.

If you are at all interested in hosting a party or order let me know! Anyone who orders that mentions this post in the next 30 days will receive a FREE gift from me! It will be a 31 gifts item valued between $12-$50.

www.mythirtyone.com/32467

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Idea's on Saving Money

Many of you have asked how we save money on things. Here are a few tips we use to save money.

* We often call companies and see if they are willing to give us discounts. A few that we save money with are:
Qwest: They already do bundling so we save quite a bit with them. We also call back every 3-6 months to see if there are any new promotions they are willing to give us.

Direct TV: While we bundle this with Qwest we can still call them and ask for separate discounts. This past week I called and we got a $10 off a month for a year. PLUS, we got free movie channels for six months.

Verizon: My husband qualifies for their employee discount so we receive an 18% discount per month on the primary line. Usually equaling 10-15 dollars a month.

** Coupons: I'm not as much of a couponer as when I first started out, but this still comes in very handy. The one thing I will not budge on is cereal. I will not buy cereal if it is more then a $1 a box. We go through a lot of cereal so when there are deals I stock up to last until the next sale.

***Now some of you might be asking what about saving for the kiddo's. We save ALL of our change. I'm a waitress as well at night so sometimes this might be more then the average families. We do however give the kids all the change for their piggy bank. About once a month we go to the bank and let them cash it in to put in their savings account. This usually equals anywhere between $50-$100 a month.

Those are just a few of the tips we do. There is another great article HERE from momsplans she quest posted about 3 ways to reduce expenses. Check it out if you are interested! :)

Free P & G coupons booklet!

I'm not sure that a lot of people really read my blog, but be sure to sign up over here for a coupon booklet with over $35 in coupons in it. It is completely free!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Hamburgers with a twist

I know I said I would not be blogging until I lost those few pesky pounds. However, I made a recipe that I can't wait to share with you!

I have been trying to find ways to add more veggies in with our meals. I've gone as far as steaming and pureeing carrots to put in our meatballs! I made the cheddar cheese broccoli soup a while back and it called for grated zucchini. I thought how fabulous would that be in a hamburger! Oh yes I did. Here is my new go to recipe for hamburgers.

2 pounds of hamburger
handful of grated carrots (I bought them like that)
1 zucchini, grated
salt/pepper
garlic (i use powder, but would have used fresh if I had it on hand)
1 tsp group cumin (I didn't measure I just did a small handful)
1/4 onion, grated

Put all into a bowl and dig in. Yes, get your hands dirty and get it all mixed together. This made 11 good size hamburgers for us. We made 5 for lunch today and froze 6. This would be another PERFECT freezer meal to make. Way easy!

One thing I want to say if you aren't a fan of carrots be very careful. There were obviously some spots that had more carrot taste then others. Also you can see the carrots, so if your kids don't like them I suggest pureeing them so its not as noticeable! We couldn't even really tell there was zucchini or onion in it. I'd say major success! Hope you all try it! :)

Thursday, April 14, 2011

See you soon...

For those of you who know me, know I have been working towards training for a 5k. I REALLY want to be able to do one and run the whole time. I have also been working towards losing this last bit of pregnancy fat. I often find myself distracted from working out. Mostly due to the fact that I like my facebook and other blogs I read. I can always find an online way to procrastinate and most times skip my workouts.

That being said. I am not going to be online until I get to the next set of 10's. I have been stuck at this same weight for almost a year, so until I can get this kick started and lose those pesky 6 pounds I am not going to be blogging, face-booking, or emailing! Yikes!

That is going to be difficult for me! I love me some Internet. However, I feel it is necessary to cut out the things that I love doing for motivation! I will be completely honest and hope that I am back by April 30th! That's a little over two weeks. We shall see! Until then, I hope you all will check out the blogs that I have been following over on the left!

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Recipe Crazy?!

I have gone recipe crazy. I realize I have been posting more about cooking then couponing lately, but I'm more interested in cooking right now! :) I still am couponing just not as freakishly as I have been.

This week I have tried several recipes. Here is one I did today that doesn't really have a name, but here it is.

Pizza on Bread

1 loaf of french bread
tomato sauce (I used ragu)
garlic powder/oregano
Mozzarella cheese
Pizza toppings of your choice

Cut french bread into slices and lay out on a baking sheet.
Add tomato sauce, seasonings, mozz. cheese and pizza topping.
Bake in the oven on 375 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

These were great, but I didn't take a picture b/c I burned them :( I forgot about them in the oven! They were still good though! Kids loved them and I'm sure I will be making them again soon! Perfect for that leftover fresh bread!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Cheddar Cheese Soup with Broccoli? I think so!

If you all haven't been to good cheap eats you need to check it out. She is a mom of 5 babes and is always finding way to eat frugally. I use A LOT of her recipes including the pizza dough!

So a couple days ago I found this recipe for Broccoli and Cheese soup. Now I'm not a huge broccoli fan, but I have been LOVING the cheesy broccoli lately so I thought I would give it a try. Today for lunch we had this with some Parmesan bread-sticks from Safeway. Yes, next time I will make my own bread-sticks! :)

Photo from Cheapeats.com

Monday, April 4, 2011

Chicken Stir Fry

This recipe is a little take of Beef Cilantro and Chicken Stir fry. First you take chicken and cube it and cook it.

Remove chicken from pan and spray with non stick spray. Then add 1 onion and 1 bell pepper. Saute until brown and caramelized.

When onions and peppers are cooked add back in the chicken. Mix together. Add soy sauce and lime juice. Simmer for 5 minutes.


What would stir fry be without rice?! I used brown rice, trying to be a little healthier! :)
This recipe turned out amazing. My kids loved it (minus the onions and green things ;) Even Jeff liked it. I didn't use an exact recipe I just eyeball everything. I did use about a pound in a half of chicken. This fed our family of four and we had left overs for lunch the next day. The kids of course had PB and J because that is their favorite meal. So this could feed 6 people. ENJOY! :)

Snickerdoodle Muffins???

(Photo from Miss. Jen)

I have heard of snicker-doodle cookies, but MUFFINS?! Jen over at Miss. Jen's Kitchen Adventures has an amazing recipe up for snicker-doodle muffins! I can't wait to try these out!

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Have you missed me???

Today I finally write. I have been wanting to test out new recipes and putting them on here for you however, they have not be great and my cooking has been boring. The couple I tried turned out awful and then I got mad so I resorted to some oldies, but goodies for a while. However, I am back with a couple GREAT recipes! Which will be posted later!

I have somewhat of a book review today! I am reading "What Every Mom Needs" by Elisa Morgan and Carol Kuykendall. I have the new updated version. This book although I'm not far through it is definitely keeping my attention. It talks mostly about the crazy life of a mom. There is always that tug of war between your children and "who am I."

Every mom needs to know they are a great mom. I have recently struggled with the fact that I not only am a stay at home mom, but I work 2 part time jobs in the evening so our children do not have to go to daycare. I have thought twice about writing this most many times. I am not writing this to offend working or stay at home mom's.

I was out with my mom one day and someone said to me, "so what do you do?" I responded I just stay at home with the kids. Mostly because I didn't want to go into I work here sometimes and here other times. I didn't want to explain. My mother turns to me and says "and that is the most important job you could have." It somewhat hit me that it IS the most important job I have. I was almost ashamed at the fact that I hadn't accomplished anything since high school besides having kids. Then when my mom said that, something inside of me was snapped back into place. Being a mom is the most important job and I should be PROUD to be a stay at home mom.

I realize many of my friends or family members cannot or choose to not stay at home with their kids. I definitely give props to those moms because how crazy and hard is it to keep up with everything on TOP of your "other" job. I recently read a post about things NOT to ask stay at home mom's because it is offensive. I was in shock how right on it was. Also how many times I've been asked SEVERAL of those questions.

Another personal story was when I was getting coffee before working one morning (husband was on break so I was the worker that day ;) ) Anyway this lady says to me "well at least you have something to do, we wouldn't want you to get bored." I was so incredibly shocked I just stared at her. Then in a not so polite matter I said Excuse me? What do you think I do all day? Sit on my butt and eat chocolate. Yes, I realize that was rude, but I may not get up and get dressed up to go to work, but I DO work. I raise 2 amazing kids and my day is includes being a Doctor, nurse, mediator, maid, cook, milk machine, need meter and many many more jobs.

It's a choice and one I would make all over again. I am incredibly blessed to have a husband who prefers for me to stay home with our kids. I may not be working outside the home, or have a "real" career. However, to me, staying home with our kids is the best job I could have and I'm truly blessed to be able to do so. So next time you see a stay at home mom or working mom, give them credit. There's more to life then a job!

So, if you struggle with "who am I" you definitely need to read "What Every Mom Needs."

Monday, February 28, 2011

5 Meals out of 5 Chicken Breasts?! Really!?

JessieLeigh from Parenting the Tiniest Miracles shows you how to make five meals from five chicken breasts.

Now, I'm not usually one to re-post others post's. However, I found this one fascinating! I'm always looking for ways to stretch a buck, so this fit right in. I know many of my friends/family members are also looking for more frugal ways to cook! So here it is.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Recipe Tryout


I tried a new recipe from Hungry Girl and LOVED it! I'm telling you, everyone should have these books! I'm not going to give the recipe away, mostly because I have probably given away to many! However, take a look at this.

This is Chicken Enchilada Casserole:


BUT..... I did come up with a NEW recipe. I had Zucchini and Squash along with some chicken. So I cut it all up and threw it together on a pan and preheated the oven to 375 degrees and cooked it for about 30 minutes. It turned out great. The kids AND hubby both enjoyed it!


I didn't use EVOO because I wanted to save on calories. Yes, I'm always looking for ways to shave off a few calories.

If you are doing weight watchers then this would be about 3 points per serving. I could have eaten this WHOLE thing for like 12 points. Pretty good since it fed my family of four AND had leftovers!







Next up, DESSERT!!!! This of course is another Hungry Girl recipe. I had been craving chocolate and these cupcakes were perfect! Let me just say, Marshmallow fluff, hot chocolate, and chocolate chips. Yes, Yes it was delicious and a HUGE calorie bargain!






Okay now that I have officially used more pictures in this post then I have EVER used in one blog I have one more. This is just a small piece of heaven. Yes, it's homemade pizza. I got the dough from LifeasMom.com. She has some amazing recipes and awesome ideas for freezer cooking and organizing. You can find the recipe for her pizza dough HERE.




Friday, February 25, 2011

Cakes


Since my camera cord is temporarily misplaced, I decided to stop procrastinating another blog and do a cake blog. I have decided that buying a cake although good and easy is not always the most cost effective!

I started making my own after I ordered my son's 1st cake and it was a sheet cake with a sticker on it. Seriously I could have done that for $30!! So here are a few of my creations! Enjoy!! I've also made a Lightning McQueen and a Crown! They are somehow not downloading!

I also am willing to make cakes for others so let me know if you are interested! :)




Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Spring Fever

With the amazing weather the last couple of days it's got me thinking about summer. Summer is full of flowers and gardening. I have been trying my hand at gardening and flowers the last couple of years. The gardening part has gone great, the flowering part, not so much. However, with Spring Fever kicking in, I have been thinking about both!

This year I'm going to do some different things with my garden, but it will include squash, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, lots of peppers(of all colors), carrots, okra, and that's all for now! I have already told my hubby to be ready to make me a double the side garden spot this year, so he has been warned!

Flowers are going to go in the front of the house in the pot deal we have. I have been ignoring this spot for about 5 years, and the spot on the other side is going to also turn into a flower garden.

That's my small rant on Spring Fever. Can you tell I'm excited for summer? Are you guys gardening this year? What's going in your Garden?

Monday, February 14, 2011

Valentines Day Recipe w/ 4 ingredients!!





This is a ridiculously EASY recipe. I made this for my Valentine and he thought I had spend a long time working on it. It did take me about a 1/2 hour at first to cut the chicken and fat ect, plus it was my first time so it was a little dry. It did turn out good though!

This is for 1 serving so I had to triple as I made three.
5oz Boneless, skinless, chicken breast
Laughing Cow low fat Swiss cheese triangle
1oz of Ham
salt & Pepper

Flatten out the chicken by pounding it out. Using a butter knife spread the cheese out over the entire chicken. Place a piece of ham down and roll up keeping it in place with a toothpick. Put salt and pepper to your liking.

Bake COVERED for 20 minutes, then take off foil and cook another 15 minutes.
Bake at 350 Degree's

This is what it will look like when it comes out.

Recipe of the Day


Backyard BBQ beef cups

12 ounces ground beef
1 small onion, finely chopped ( I used minced onion)
3/4c. BBQ sauce
1 package Pillsbury crescent recipe creations seamless dough sheet

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 12 cup muffin pan with "Pam"

Bring a lg. skillet sprayed with Pam to med. high head. Add beef and onion. Cook
Reduce head to low stir in BBQ sauce and let simmer for 5 minutes

Roll dough out into a 12x9 rectangle using a knife cut into 12 squares.
Place each square into a muffin cup, and press it into the bottom and up along the sides to form a dough cup for the beef.

Evenly distribute beef mixture among the cups. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
Let cool and chow down! :)

Another way to make this easier is to have your hamburger already made. I had made up a couple extra pounds so this literally took about 10 minutes to put together!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Pantry Challenge Week 2


We are on to week 2 of this pantry challenge! Last week went well, with no eating out and no extra trips to the store for anything! To me that is what I call one BIG success!

This week is a little different. I have spend $50.00 roughly in groceries. Due in large part to the meal swap. I now have 4 extra meals in my freezer to eat throughout this challenge which to me was worth it!

I put the other $50 we generally use for groceries in our savings so that will be nice to have next month! This week I am a little behind posting this and I was not feeling the best so we have already ate out for our one time this week. Here is what the rest of our week looks like.

Thursday: Left over Chow Mein (freezer meal)
Friday: Homemade BBQ bf Pizza
Saturday: I will be at a Valentines Bazaar all day so will probably have Jeff bring me a piece of left over pizza or something. They will eat leftovers. PLUS my mom will be here so we may go out to eat?!?!
Sunday: Runza Casserole

Then for Next week my goal is to only go to the store for milk, eggs, bread, and cereal.
Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: Meatballs (freezer)
Wednesday: Pizza Meatloaf(freezer Meal)
Thursday:Left overs
Friday: Pizza (homemade)
Saturday: Something with Chicken ( I haven't found the recipe yet, will let you know!)
Sunday: Chicken Fried Steak *ww recipe*

This week besides the few things I need for these items, I will be stocking up on some really good Safeway sales!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Recipe of the week and my first attempt at homemade bread


Alright. The LONG awaited recipe for the pizzafied chicken.

1/4c. crushed tomatoes
1 stick light string cheese
5ounces boneless skinless cx breast
1/4c. each bell peppers and mushrooms
2 TBLS diced onion
4 slices turkey pepperoni chopped
garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper for seasonings

Preheat broiler.
Pound the chicken until it is uniformly 1/2 inch thick. season. Bring an oven-safe skillet sprayed with Pam to medium heat on the stove. Add peppers, mushrooms, and onion and cook until soft. 4-6 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Respray skillet and add chicken. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side. (until cooked through)

Top chicken with tomatoes, string cheese(chopped) veggies, and turkey pepperoni.

Place skillet until the broiler for a few minutes until cheese is soft and pepperoni is crisp.

**DISCLAIMER: I realize it looks DISGUSTING, however it is the best chicken recipe I have found in a LONG time. Plus it's healthy so how can you go wrong?!


Next up, my very first EVER loaf of bread!!!!!! Now, I have used my beloved bread machine several times to make dough. I have never make a loaf of bread. Here is my perfectly browned and VERY YUMMY smelling bread. You know how Rachael Ray says we need smellevision I think we need smellibloggin', :) okay, so that didn't really make sense, but you get how good it smells!

Working out?! What is that!?

This week has NOT been a good week for me!!! We went out of town and I went crazy. Instead of getting back on track when I got home, I kept going! Oops. Today I took the kiddo's to the library for story time and picked out a couple of DVDs to workout to.


Now this DVD kicked my butt. After I got home I jumped on amazon and read some reviews. It didn't get GREAT reviews, but more so so ones. I had in my head this was going to be an easy cheesy workout. I read that Cardio 2 was the way to go, but I figured I would start with 1 just to be sure. WOWZA, I was OUT. OF. BREATH. after about 2 minutes. I guess I'm not as in shape as I thought.

I ended up doing 3 out of the 5 workouts for a total of 30 minutes. It was a good workout and I can definitely feel it in my arms after the upper body one. I get these for 2 weeks, then I'm going to go switch out. Our library has about 20 workout DVDs for check out, so I was thrilled to find it! :) They aren't all biggest loser ones, in fact I think this was the only one that was there.

I also check out a Valerie Bertenlli one, so we will check that one out as well. The reviews on that one were horrible! However, there are 2 different workouts on there ranging from 20-40 minutes. Short enough to keep my attention, but long enough to work up a sweat!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Menu Planning/Pantry Challenge week 1

Hello!!! Sorry I didn't post much last week, we had a little sickness going through our house and then we were out of town! :)

This month, I am working on doing a pantry challenge. I want to only spend $50 a week on groceries, toiletries, ect. This is going to be a challenge! This week, I only spent $45.00. I will have to go to the store one more time to do my freezer cooking for the meal swap, which will add about another 20-30 dollars.

However, next week, we will have 4 meals already made! :) So next week will be an easy week to do. Hopefully we will not have to go to the store at all except for fresh fruit and milk! :) *The essentials.




This week on the menu is......

Monday: Turkey sands for lunch then I have MOPS tonight

Tuesday: Pizzafied Chicken and corn

Wednesday: Roast, potatoes, carrots, and HOMEMADE bread

Thursday: BBQ BF sandwiches (on the homemade bread)

Friday: BBQ BF Pizza with the leftovers and homemade pizza dough

Saturday: Steak Fajitas

Sunday: Leftovers

Sounds like a lot of BBQ bf I know, but I wanted to try the pizza with some of the leftovers b/c that is Jeff's favorite kind of pizza. I'm starting to fall in love all over again with my bread machine, so I have cooked up a bunch of dough for the freezer, and will be using that over the next few weeks to help with the pantry challenge.

I'm debating on trying to make homemade buns for the BBQ bf sandwiches or if I just want to use the bread I make?! We'll see. I will keep you posted throughout the week. Come back soon, I will be posting the pizzafied chicken recipe!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Menu Planning


Menu for the week includes:
Monday: Chicken Taquito's with green salad

Tuesday: Chicken Pizza 9hungry girl recipe)

Wednesday: Beef Ques.

Thursday: Extreme Mega Supreme Pizza pockets

Friday: BBQ Bf cups

Saturday: Leftovers for lunch/Steak for supper

Sunday: Roast

There is the week. All the recipes are very health conscionable! I am staying steady with the 3 pound loss. I only did it for about a day in a half, then started to just watch calories. I'm pretty content with that, so we will see how it goes! :)

Friday, January 14, 2011

Cinch! Day 2


Today went a little different then yesterday. For breakfast I had the eggs, spinach, and almonds, but instead of raspberries I had some clementines. Then by lunch I was so stinkin' hungry that I ate a bowl of cereal instead of the parfait. For supper 1 piece of pizza and a salad.

I did lose 3 pounds from yesterday morning to this morning. I'm not totally naive I know some of it was water retention, but nonetheless if it helped me jump start with the 3 pounds that excites me! :) We'll see how tomorrow's weigh in goes with the different diet. ;)

I am working on my menu for next week with a mixture of the core Cinch! recipes and the hungry girl recipes that are around 200 calories. I will continue to follow the cinch just more to my style.

I would definitely suggest this to someone who likes the foods listed, or needs to get off a plateau, or even just jump-start your diet. I know it is way motivating to see results right away and with this you will. I can only imagine if I had followed it to a T for the next 3 days! The weightloss would be phenomenal!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Cinch! Day 1


So, I could sugar coat this and tell you it's fabulous, the food is wondering, and I'm loving it! That would be a lie. I knew this would be hard considering I didn't like 3/5 of the foods, however, I thought I could force it down!

By Supper I was ready to give up! I told Jeff this was ridiculous. Breakfast was good, eggs with spinach, the raspberries just hurt going down. (gross) Lunch was alright, I'm not a fan of yogurt and since it was mostly yogurt, it was hard to choke down! I chose to have the smoothie as an afternoon snack at 4 so I just finished eating my salad. The salad was actually delicious. I really enjoyed it.

I can definitely say I probably won't do this for the full 5 days. I like the variety and smell and different textures of my food. I am going to try and do 1 maybe 2 more days depending on how my variations go tomorrow.

I am changing things up a little, tomorrow I will be buying FRESH raspberries to try instead of frozen. I thought they were bad, but the kids gobbled them right up and asked for more! Guess my taste buds are definitely not normal!

I did work today and had a chance to eat a cookie and candy bars. All before NOON! Yes, I walked away! :) WHOO HOO! I drank 80 ounces of water so that was good for me!

Well, that is all I really have to report on for today, we'll see how tomorrow goes!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Cinch!


I've decided to do a book review! :) Since everyone is working on their New Year's Resolution of losing weight, I thought I'd help some of you out sifting through the different books and idea's out there. I've done weight watchers and LOVED it! They did change it recently and I'm not into going back to find out the new program. This time I did the Cinch! Core program. I'm hoping to report back everyday on my progress and let you know what it is all about and if I would recommend it!

My overall impression of this book and plan is a very positive one. It seems to me this plan would be easy to follow has emphasis on what I consider my major struggle points protein, fiber, and low sugar.

The claim to this is that you can lose up to 8 lbs during the first five days on the 5-Food Fast Forward Plan and 15 pounds in 30 days. Many readers may like the fact that she makes it MANDATORY to eat chocolate each and every day, dark chocolate once a day.

Cynthia stays away from having you count calories/points and instead wants you to place emphasis on your timing of eating and your portion control. I agree that this is eventually the key to losing and maintaining weight. Many of us don't realize how many calories we put into or body not thinking about it.

A quick run down of the 5-Food Fast Forward Plan. It is based on five foods only during that five days, spinach, eggs, plain yogurt, raspberries, and almonds. You are given four meals using these five foods that you must follow for the first five days. I myself feel for me this is going to be TOUGH mostly because I'm not a huge fan of spinach and plain yogurt.

Her overall issue is to get you to learn to listen to your body and learn to time your meals to the cues of your body and learn the correct combination which she believes is a produce, whole grain, lean protein, plant-based fat, and seasonings at each meal. The book contains several yummy sounding recipes that are suppose to be easy and quick to make.

My only concern right now is in the first five days you will experience mild to moderate hunger. I think this may make it a little harder for me to follow. I prefer to eat on a schedule that helps you to not get hungry as that seems to be when people break down and make poor choices.

I don't know, we will see how day one goes. I only purchased enough for 3 days in case I decide to jump to the core program instead of following the strict 5 foods in 5 days plan!

Tomorrow is Day 1! We will see! :)

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Just another day in Paradise....

Not really. Today is negative 9 degree's out here! Brrrr.... Not fun! At least I've only had to go out once and don't plan on going back out! Update on my progress through the hungry girl cookbook. It's going Fabulous.

I've tried two more recipes and will be having pizzafied chicken tonight!

The two I tried were, Backyard BBQ Beef Cups and Extreme Mega Supreme Pizza Pockets. Both were FABULOUS!

Here are the pictures, I must say the beef cups are ADORABLE! Yes, I think my food is adorable, but come on just look at these cups.



The pizza pockets were a HUGE hit with the kids. I did not put peppers or onions in theirs or my husbands. (pictured is one of the kids') In mine I put mushrooms, peppers, onions, turkey pepperoni, and it was delicious! It was suppose to only be 200 calories however, I couldn't find the right tortillas so mine was about 300, still a DELICIOUS steal in calories! :) This is definitely going on our rotating menu!

On the water front, I haven't been doing as well as I want. I had a couple days where I fell into the horrible pop coma! :( I usually try to drink ALL my water plus some before I even let myself think of having a diet pepsi. No so much on Saturday. Oops. I make is 5/7 days though. So I pretty proud of that.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Goals and Food

This year has already been filled with challenges and lots of bible versus. My husband has taken it upon himself to send me a verse everyday to help me work on my goals. I have received 5 random verses throughout the days. It is always a surprise when I get one and it always perks me up!

I have officially cooked 3 recipes out of my hungry girl cookbooks. Including Chicken fingers, Bean and Cheese Enchilada's, and today Cheesy Beefy Ques.





Chicken fingers and Beef Ques were FABULOUS. The enchilada's were not so good. I'm not a huge bean person, so it was a little beany for me! :)

Water Goal: I have successfully drank at least 64oz of water everyday this year! :)

Exercise Goal: I have successfully worked out EVERY day this year!

I would say so far I am doing a fabulous job and only hope I can keep it up! :)

Monday, January 3, 2011

Hydration


DEHYDRATED. This is a word that seems to follow me around ALL the time. I am constantly dehydrated. When I was pregnant at every doctor's appointment I was told, "you're not drinking enough water." Oh boy! So, since one of my goals is to do better with this I decided to join in with Lindsey, a prior fat girl and Life off the D List in their water challenge.

They were challenged that from January 2-29th to drink 64oz of water or more a day! Then the winner would be the h20 queen!



So, I am taking on this challenge with them and will report back on how I do. Yesterday I did it! :) I had actually only drank about 35oz by 8pm. Yes I realize how pathetic that is. However, I then decided that I could finish and so in the next 2 hours I drank another 32 ounces! OOPS! BAD idea before bed time. Needless to say I was up about 6 times.

So today the goal is to drink all 64oz by 4pm. I challenge you all to keep track of your water intake! Let me know how you do.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Menu for the week


This week I am cooking 5 new recipes. Yes, you read that right FIVE! I had a goal to cook through one of my cookbooks this year. I picked out 5 recipes from my Hungry Girl cookbook to try. I am planning on incorporating at least 2 to 3 a week.

Monday: Bean and Cheese Ench.

Tuesday: Cheesy Beefy Ques

Wednesday: Little taco salad in shell

Thursday: Backyard beef cups

Friday: Exploding chicken taquito's

Saturday: Eat out (Gift Card)

Sunday: Left Overs

These recipes all seemed very easy and should keep me in range for my money goal for the week! Now off to grocery shop! :)