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!

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

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!

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."

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.

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.