My Perfectly Imperfect Life!

Test 1,2,3…anything but that.

2012-06-30T16:29:00.001-07:00

Hi, everyone! Sorry for the Rent reference, but just wanted to try out blogging from my phone! My computer is on its last legs and it is getting harder and harder to make it do what I want it to do. I also have a hard time justifying the purchase of a new one when I have an iPhone and a Kindle Fire.

Anyway, if this works well, hopefully I'll get back to blogging more often!

Hope everyone is staying cool!

Faith

Cheesy italian herb chicken with Fusilli and tomatoes

2011-06-06T17:08:00.000-07:00

I created this for dinner tonight and OMGoodness it was sooooooo good! I call it Cheesy Italian Herb Chicken with Fusilli and Tomatoes.

Not the greatest picture, as we had all almost eaten the whole thing before I thought about taking a picture because it was so good!

Ingredients:
tablespoon or so of cooking oil.
2.5 Large boneless skinless chicken breasts (I use the frozen bagged breasts) cut into bite size pieces.
salt and pepper to taste
2 containers Philly italian herb and cheese cooking Creme
1 can diced tomatoes (I used the basil and oregano variety)
1lb fusilli pasta or really whatever pasta you like.
Parsley for garnish
Pamesean to top.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, season chicken with salt and pepper, but go easy on the salt. Saute chicken in the oil in a large skillet until brown on all sides. Drain tomatoes well and add to the chicken and continue cooking until chicken is no longer pink. Stir in Cooking creme and cook on low until sauce is smooth and creamy and hot. Serve over cooked pasta with hot fresh bread.

There are 5 of us in my family (3 kids) and there was only maybe a plateful left, and it was a huge pan, so that tells how good it was! lol Let me know if you have any questions and feel free to let me know if you have any suggestions :)

Want to win a trip to Wilderness in the Smokies??

2010-12-20T12:06:00.000-08:00

I do!!!

Check this out:

Time 2 $ave will be giving a way a 2 night getaway to the Wilderness in the Smokies!!!!

Check out the details here: Time2Save

Good luck!

Check it out!

2010-09-13T10:10:00.000-07:00

Michelle over at Muffin Tin Mom is having a FANTABULOUS Giveaway this week! I would SOOOO love to win this! Here is the video post that she did...

I hope that works, I've never imbedded a video! If not, go check it out on her blog. (link above!)
Faith

Muffin Tin Monday - Movie theme

2010-09-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Muffin Tin Monday! Lots going on today but wanted to post what I did. This week theme is Movies, and I had a hard time being creative with this so I just went simple and did "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" The kids enjoyed it :)

Join the fun over at Michelle'e blog Muffin Tin Monday

Happy Monday!

My September Menus completed!

2010-09-06T16:43:00.000-07:00

I'm so super excited!! I actually got an entire month of menus made!

I use an excel spreadsheet that I normally print out a week at a time and just hand write the menu in as a worksheet. However, I've really been wanting to start posting my menus for those that need some help with planning. I know I can always use extra ideas so why not post them? It's a pretty simple menu this month, as I'm using up alot of what we have in stock, but if there is something you need a recipe for, let meknow and I'll be glad to share!

Let me know if this is something you all would like to see more of!

Download September Menu for personal use only.

Happy Cooking y'all!

Muffin Tin Monday

2010-09-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

There is no theme this week, so I just went simple :) We are back to school at home now so my kithcen helpers have been a bit too busy to help lol

Pepperoni bagel bits

tomato slices

Peach slices

Brownies

Happy Labor Day Everyone!

Check it out and join in! Next week's theme is Movies!

Any suggestions?

Muffin Tin Monday - ABC Theme

2010-08-23T14:25:00.000-07:00

Short post today. Aleah was kitchen helper this week but I didn't get any pics. We've had a crazy couple of weeks but I did snap a pic of the final product. I'm afraid I wasn't very creative with the theme, but I did find some really neat tater tots :)

Clockwise from top left, sorry it's so dark. Watermelon balls, Little cheddar smokies, Alphabet tatertots, Mandarin orange "c"s, barbecue sauce, and more tater tots.

If you want to join Muffin Tin Monday It's lots of fun!

Kids Cook Monday

2010-08-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

Check it out!

So, last week, I was a little distracted. I've been sick and really everything kind of fell by the wayside. Anyway I wanted to share this with everyone because it is something that is special to me.

My Dad is a wonderful baker. Growing up we used to have these huge pizza feasts! My dad would bake pizza from scratch, italian rolls from scratch. Then on the weekends he would make biscuits, from scratch. He made breads, sweet and savory. He made any kind of bread you could think of. There were times he even made his own pasta, but that isn't baking is it? lol

Anyway, my point is, this is something I remember fondly of my childhood. Now, I pride myself on being able to cook well. I won't even begin to claim I am a chef or anywhere NEAR a chef. My sister is the chef, Nationally recognized at that. But I think I can pretty well hold my own in the kitchen. But the one thing I DON'T do is bake. oh, yea, sure. I can open a box with the best of them. But I don't sift flour, or knead dough. It's just not something I like to do. I like to make cakes, but never from scratch.

However, it is something I want my kids to experience. And so, I ask my dad to step in...

He and Nathaniel had fun making rolls to go with some really great soup I made that night. They all got eaten before I could take a finished product pic, but I did snag this one of Nathaniel being goofy.

He loved how you can see his eye in this pic :D

I really want my kids to develop a love of cooking for what it is: creative, fun, and a way to show your loved ones you care. It's days like this that I thoroughly love being a Mom.

Happy Healthy Monday Everyone!

ps... For those looking for my Muffin Tin Monday post, it's coming....

I did it!

2010-08-22T20:10:00.000-07:00

OK, I have decided that I have to share my success of today. I'm hoping it will help some of you out there that are having similar troubles.

This morning, I woke up to my husband in the kitchen making the usual Sunday pancakes. He does this every week. Sometimes pancakes, sometimes waffles, but always, always, always, I get to sleep in :) It is bliss. However, today, as in so many days lately, I also can hear the frustration in his movements, the little grumbles. Nothing major, he's too sweet for that. But I can tell he's frustrated. This is why....

Yes, that was my kitchen this morning.... Well, sort of.. Technically this is my kitchen AFTER I had already begun cleaning it. Now, before you go condemning me as filthy or lazy or whatever I have to say, this is really only 2 days worth of dishes. {{ The coke bottles are actually empty water bottles that needed refilling (my mother likes our well water for drinking)}} Add to that the fact I've been sick and the medicine I'm on makes me loopy.

But, no excuses. It makes me sad to see my kitchen this way. One of the main reasons we bought this house was the kitchen. So, I got out of bed determined to get this cleaned up and after I had eptied the sink and the dishwasher (as seen above) I decided to blog about it to prove that it CAN BE DONE and also to help those out there that are in the same boat, for whatever reason.

Now, first I want to tell you that I used http://www.flylady.net/ as a huge motivator here. I've been fluttering for years and might just begin flying yet. I used the 15 minute method she talks about on her site. Even though my meds make me feel really funky, I figured I could work on it for a little bit at a time. So here I go.

Set the timer....

The first thing I did was

I took everything out of my sinks and the dishwasher and loaded all the dishes I could into the dishwasher and started it. My timer went off, so I reset it and took a break.

When the timer went off I got back to work.

Next, I followed the steps to

Shine My Sink!!

No, this isn't the finished product, I apparently forgot to take a pic when it was completely done, but it's getting there. I really dislike having white sinks LOL

Anyway, the timer went off so.... I took a break.. are you getting the pattern here?

So, the next 15 minutes of working produced this...

And I took a break, then...

Yes, I washed ALL those dishes in 15 minutes BY HAND LOL

It really doesn't take long.

So I took a break.

Then came this...

And after a break, finally this...

HOORAAYYYY my nice pretty kitchen is all clean again! Yes, it took a little while, but I was still able to do it even though I could only stand for about 15 minutes at a time!

So there you have it. There's my success that I want to celebrate. What's yours?? let me know! I wanna celebrate with you!

And definitely, go check out The Flylady She truly is an awesome inspiration!

Happy Housekeeping :)

Couponing - how I do it.

2010-08-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

Many people ask me how I do my coupon shopping. I thought I would share.

This is what I do to make my shopping trips easier, considering the fact that many times I have to shop with 4 kids in tow.

Firrst, make sure all my coupons are printed out and cut out at least a DAY before I want to go shopping. Even if I don't get them all in my binder, I can find them quicker than having to go print them and cut them out just before I go shopping. Now, staying on top of this is not easy, certainly. But I have found a way to try to keep up with it. I print immediately when I see a good deal. I subscribe to several other blogs that go out and comb the internet for the best printable coupons and deals. Then, any time I'm sitting, either watching TV or waiting on the kids to finish up some school assignment, I cut them out. If I have time right then, I put them in the binder, if not, i have an envelope that I put them in until I can.

Second, I use http://www.southernsavers.com/ to print my shopping list. She puts all the coupon matchups right on the shopping list so I can find them easily. I do this the day before usually as well. I add my own items to the page and be sure to print them on fit-to-page setting. (one page makes it MUCH easier)

Third, I go through all my coupons while I have my list right in front of me. I pull out all the coupons that are relevant (even if I may not use them because pricing) and put a quantity on the list next to that item so that I know how many I have to buy to meet the specifications of the coupon as well as how many I CAN buy). This makes it MUCH easier in the store. I know exactly what brand, how much my coupon is, and how many to buy. I put them all in an envelope marked with the store name.

I want to say that I use an alphabetical system for my binder. I go alphabetical by brand name, except for things that I can easily switch brands depending on whats on sale, like cereals, oral care products, paper products, and pet supplies.

Fourth, and this is what makes the difference for me. I have a clipboard with a pouch on the back. I put the coupon envelope in the pouch and clip my list to the board. This allows me to put my binder under the cart and not worry about it falling and dumping as it has sooo many times. lol I have it with me, but I don't have to worry about it. Then when I get up to the register, simply pull out the envelope, remove any that I didn't use, and I'm good to go.

There you have it. I'm still learning, but this is how I do it right now.

Happy couponing!

couponing tip

2010-08-15T19:59:00.000-07:00

I don't have time for much, but wanted to let everyone know, stores are getting smart about these coupons. I went grocery shopping today with my mom. I had some really good target coupons, but didn't want to go to target (we don't have a superTarget here :( ) Anyway, good thing Bi-lo accepts competitors coupons right? I thought I was gonna have some awesome deals. Unfortunately, they have a new rule. (or at least new-to-me, i've never run into this at my store) I get to the register and the guy tells me they only accept 3 competitors coupons. That was really a bummer. I had about 6 coupons (high dollar too!) that I had to take out, but next time I will know and can divide my order up a little better.

In this heat, I don't have the opportunity to go on many shopping trips. I am 30min from most stores, and the van isn't exactly in the best working condition. Add to that a small gas budget, and I really have to limit my shopping. Here is basically what I bought today... beef (2 separate family packs, different cuts), italian sausage, canned soups and pasta, LOTS of produce (my kids go through about $25 worth of fruits/fresh veggies in a week) 3 gallons Milk, bread, ice cream, cereals, snacks, chicken, juices, and who knows what else that I can't remember LOL {one of these days I will have the energy once I get home to lay it all out and take a picture lol } My fridge is pretty stocked now LOL I really won't have to go shopping for more than eggs and bread for the next few weeks. 2 grocery carts FULL for this trip. I had a ton of good deals that probably could have waited, but I wanted to take advantage of them while I could.

Here's my totals:

Subtotal before savings:     $367.50
Savings:                              126.01
Total after savings               241.49

It took me about an hour to get ready for this trip AFTER I had all the coupons cut out and in my binder. I'll post more about how I get ready later in the week. Have a good week everyone!

Happy Couponing!

Muffin Tin Monday - Kids cook Monday! - OOPS :)

2010-08-10T06:04:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was crazy and I didn't get my post up, so here's a quickie!

This weeks kitchen helper is...

ALEAH

This is what we came up with :)

Clockwise from 12 :)

Cucumber sticks, Carrot Sticks, bread sticks, cheese sticks,

Chicken sticks, and ranch to dip!

Can you guess what my "theme" was this week LOL

Have a good one everybody!

Go check out more Muffin Tin Meals

Kids Cook Monday has awesome ideas to get the kids involved in the kitchen!

Muffin Tin Monday and Kids Cook Monday

2010-08-02T16:23:00.000-07:00

Hello All.
Late post today, but I got it done :)

This weeks kitchen helper is....

GARRET

Garret LOVES making MTM's. His favorite thing to do is to cut things out with the little cookie cutters. Sometimes it makes it difficult to come up with things that he can cut out (remember the little bat shaped honeydew?) lol

I was brave today and let him use the big knife...

He is cutting the kielbasa before we cooked it.

He did pretty well, I was proud of him.

Then we made little tomato/mozzarella skewers

Here is the total tin

Clockwise from top left: Bat and pumpking bread, Tomato and mozzarella skewers,

Banana nut bread bunnies, heart shaped rice mold (LOVED THIS)

and Kielbasa skewers.

Overall it was a hit! This was our dinner tonight and it LOOKS YUMMY. So I'm gonna go eat now :D

To find out more about Muffin Tin meals check out the link below.

Also check out The Kids Cook Monday

Happy Homeschooling :)

Couponing

2010-07-28T19:50:00.000-07:00

Hey there everyone!

I'm trying to get back in to couponing. I struggle with weather it is truly worth it for me. I know financially it is. when you think PURELY financial, heck yea its worth it. The numbers don't lie. However, it takes me a LOT of time to accomplish coupon shopping. I have 3 children whom I homeschool, plus a 3 yr old I keep during the week, not to mention all the other things to keep up with that everyone has to deal with. I'm not special. I know there are TONS of people out there who TONS more than I do, and still successfully coupon. What I do is mediocre at best. lol But, I am trying again. and I keep telling myself that the money saved will be much better than being able to go to Sams twice a month.

Anyway, first I have to say a few things about my couponing. I only go grocery shopping at most twice a week, and usually not even that much. I pretty well pick one store that has the best deals that match my menu needs. And I have a rule. I only buy something that we don't eat on a regular basis IF and ONLY IF, it is DIRT CHEAP. I mean, like 50cents or less. Usually free. My kids aren't picky. They will eat pretty much anything I put in front of them. Because of this, and the ability to stay home and cook from semi-scratch, (there is no way I could cook every day if I had to go out of the house to work everyday-to those that do, Hats off to you!).. As I was saying, I don't serve convenience foods very often. To be honest, the kids get gripy if I slack off on fruits and veggies and home cooked stuff. Tonight we got home late and I ended up doing a simple boxed pasta salad with added meat and cheese and they were upset because I didn't "cook" lol.

I digress..

First rule: limit the trips!!! I live 20 minutes from the nearest store, so I gotta make it worth it.
Second rule: don't buy things you don't normally eat unless it is REALLY worth it. Buying food you don't normally eat just because its a deal only wastes your budget unless it is TRULY a deal. I have no problem buying treats and special foods just because they are cheap. But when it cuts into my budget for feeding my children healthy meals, then I draw the line.
Third rule: don't save/print coupons for things you will never eat/use. I don't use chemical cleaners. My husband has a special cleaning solution that he has used for years and I found it works just as well, so that is what we use. If you want the recipe, let me know, I'll get it for you. When I first started couponing, I found myself with TONS of cleaner coupons. I was spending SOO much time trying to figure out how to sort them and keep them where I could find them, then always ended up throwing tons away at the end of the month because they werent cheap enough for me to warrant buying things with those coupons.
Make sure the difference between the generic and the brand name is enough for any extra that you have to pay. Many times it is cheaper to buy the brand name when you can stack coupons, but many generic/store brands are being discounted heavily enough that you can get them cheaper, so be careful.

Furthermore, don't buy more than you can store. Someone once told me, it's a 6 week cycle. buy enough for 6 weeks and you are good. Unless you really come on a deal that is once in a lifetime(or once in a year at least) don't overdo it. You will end up stressing over where to store the items and not remember half the stuff you have in your store.

So, this week wasn't that great for me. I didn't need a whole lot and the few things I needed weren't really on sale. I'll save you the specific details, and I didn't get pictures, but I'll share my totals.

Bi-Lo.
This is my stand-by. I usually find the best overall deals here on the foods we eat most often. I did find something out this week though. They don't double other store coupons. I had some really great coupons from foodlion and target this week, and they took them, so I saved a trip to foodlion, but missed out on those doubling. This week I had a LOT of produce (normal for us) probably $25-30 worth.

Sub-total before savings: 285.20

My savings: 72.04

Sub-total after savings 210.37

So, I saved 72.04, with 26 coupons, and of course the bonus card deals. OH, and I got a $5 catalina coupon off my next purchase that I used today at Publix. So make that savings $77.04.

Publix.

I live 40 minutes from the nearest publix, so this is only a once in a while trip. Today I went there simply because I was in the neighborhood and they are the only local store I can find that carries the ziplock vacuum bags that I use for storing meats in my freezer. Thanks to the really good coupons in last weekends paper, I was able to stock up on these. They are the only bags that I buy brand name. Target brand works well enough for anything other than the freezer.

OK, since this was a small trip, I am going to break it down so you can sort of see how it is done:

I only bought 4 items.

I had 3 coupons:

$1/1 ziplock vacuum pump or refil

$1/2 any ziplock bag

$0.40/1 any ziplock bag *this doubled at publix*

Each of the 4 items I bought (all ziploc vacuum freezer bags) was 2.89.

2.89*4=11.56.

Now deduct the coupons.

1+1+.40+.40 (don't forget the double) = 2.80 for a current total of 8.76.

Now, remember earlier I got a $5 off your next order from Bi-lo yesterday. It said Manufacturers coupon on it so I was able to use it at Publix(be careful with these, sometimes they won't take them, I had to discuss it with the manager before they would take it, because they thought it was a "store" coupon and the dollar amount was too high). Anyway, deduct that and we are down to 3.76. Add our horrible tax and our totals come to:

Total payment 4.80

Total savings: 7.80

Not too shabby, but not worth a special trip. If I had needed other things like for a regular shopping trip, it wouldn't look nearly as good. But like I said I was in the neighborhood and I really needed these bags.

OK, last but not least:

Target. This is my favorite store. Many people argue that Walmart is better, but I cannot stand walmart. I used to be the walmart queen, no joke. we were there at least twice a week. then I realized that the store was literally making me sick. but that's another post.

I got many free items on this trip. The totals arent that impressive, because of another rule of mine. I don't specifically "coupon shop". Those people you see with these outrageous numbers ONLY buy what they have massive coupons for in that trip. those totals don't take into account anything other than what they have coupon deals for. If you pay attention to what they are getting, it does not usually take into account normal day-to-day groceries, staples, and necessities. yes, they are great deals and it is really and truly awesome how well they can do, I'm just saying my numbers aren't quite so impressive. I bought household items that were necessary, but high dollar. Anyway, here goes.

Total spent $68.68

Total savings $35.74

So for the week...

35.74

7.80

72.04

Total Savings = $115.58

That's 2 weeks worth of gas money for me :D

Happy Couponing everyone :D

ps.. having looked back at this long-winded post, I must apologize for the length :) Thanks for taking the time to read it if you have made it this far.

Muffin Tin Monday and The Kids Cook Monday

2010-07-26T10:03:00.000-07:00

This week's kitchen helper is:

Nathaniel!!

Yea, he likes to look goofy for the pictures :)

The other two are always trying to get in on the fun.

The only muffin tins I have are 12 cup large tings and 12 cup small tins and I only have 2 of each with 3 kids. Obviously, that doesnt work too well, so we improvise :) Thanks to Michelle at Muffin Tin Mom for the fun tools we used :)

Here is what we ended up with:

Clockwise from upper left: string cheese discs, pear chunks, Salad, Pizza rolls, and rainbow grapes.

The kids really got a kick out of the pear food pick in the pears :)

We didn't use the egg mold this week, as Nathaniel doesn't really care that much for boiled egg, but I suspect we will use them next week, because Garret LOVES them!

If you are new to Muffin-Tin-Meals or have never heard of them, check out Michelle's blog below! I can't wait for themes to come back! Also, check out The Kids Cook Monday link as well to get ideas about how to involve your children in the kitchen! It doesn't have to be hard or stressful, even with little ones!

Have a great week and Happy Homeschooling!

Muffin Tin Mom's Blog

The Kids Cook Monday

Muffin Tin Mondays and Kids Cook Mondays!

2010-07-19T10:17:00.000-07:00

Muffin Tin Monday and Kids Cook Mondays

Recently I was asked to participate in Kids cook Mondays. It is a program to help get kids involved in cooking and therefore promote healthy eating habits.

I have also recently found a blog Muffin Tin Monday. This is a simple concept. Serve one meal in muffin tins, bento box, small container or whatever you have really. I think it is a good way to ward off the stresses of Monday and make it fun and entertaining for the children and maybe get them to try new foods. I personally had never served a MTM (muffin tin meal) but was excited when they did a swap recently. I was lucky enough to be paired with the creator/author of MTM and got some really grooovy things :)

We got some adorable little forks and spoons, bird and bunny cookie cutters, a heart shaped rice mold, some really awesome boiled egg molds (CANNOT WAIT TO USE THOSE-- such a neat idea) some paper food liners (like cupcake liners)some pretty picks with tags on them and a box to put everything in! (whew! I think that is everything, but I may have forgotten something lol)

Now, in my house, kids don't just cook on Mondays. They cook every day. A few months ago, we started a tradition in our house. The kids take turns on three different weekly duties: kitchen helper, set table, clear table.

The kitchen helper is responsible for sitting down with Mom at the beginning of the week and making a menu of all the meals that will be served during that week. Then, through-out the week, that child is responsible for helping to cook and serve those meals. The only rule is that they must have at least 1 fruit or vegetable and a protein at each meal. If I let them, on certain weeks we would have no meat whatsoever, and all fruits LOL

So today was our first ever MTM. Using all my new supplies (THanks MICHELLE :)) Garret and I worked together to make a wonderful meal. I hadn't really planned ahead on this one, so we had to make due with what I had on hand.

This is what we ended up with: Casaba melon (kind of like honeydew), cucumbers, and heart shaped bologna and cheese sammiches :) The melon and cucumbers are cut into bunny, bird (banana), bat, and snowman shapes lol even though they are hard to see in the pic.

Garret is very serious about cooking.

This is a Casaba Melon bird... Garret thought they looked more like bananas though.

the heart shaped rice mold actually worked pretty well for cutting out the sandwiches

Overall I think it was a huge success. My nine year old (read "9 going on 18) tried to act like he didn't like the melon, but seeing as how he ate a third of it 2 days before, I think he was just being dramatic.

My daughter likes making that face for pictures btw.

If you want to join in the fun at The Kids Cook Mondays check out their website here .

If you want to join in the fun at Muffin Tin Monday check out her blog here .

I must admit that this meal and post were not written on Monday, BUT I have good reason :) Monday is Garret's SEVENTH birthday! I cannot believe my baby is going to be 7! (well, he WILL be 7 by the time this posts) Anyway, I didn't want to put it off and we really couldnt wait until Monday to do our first meal when all these goodies were sitting there waiting to be used, could we? Eventually I hope to actually post these things on Monday, but well, lets face it, Mondays are crazy, and I'm only human LOL

TGIF

2010-07-16T06:51:00.000-07:00

TGIF - Thank Goodness it's Friday

As homeschoolers, this doesn't always apply. Some weeks I dread Friday. Why? because it means our busy weekend is about to start. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE all the things we do on the weekends but sometimes it gets so hectic it is hard to keep up. There is gymnastics, and grocery shopping (because it is MUCH easier to do with one child versus 3or 4) then family birthday parties (at least once a month), friend birthday parties, Errands to run for hubby, grass to mow, etc. Not to mention every other weekend is an "End of unit" for Erik and I, which means tests, homework due dates, and finishing up other assignments. Then of course there is planning for the following week of school for the kids. After all is said and done, we are oftentimes looking forward to the break that is Monday.

This weekend is not that busy, thankfully. We have gymnastics, and Erik and I have just started a new school term so we have lots of reading to do, but otherwise just the around the house things to be done. Today we are hoping to go swimming at the YMCA and I'm hoping to be able to read a bit for school while we are there.

I would have liked to be able to do some of my shopping today, but alas, I haven't got my coupons together. I really gotta get on top of that. Does anyone out there have a trick for staying on top of them? I print any time I see a good deal, but they end up staying on the printer until I absolutely HAVE to take care of it lol It's terrible.

Well, there you go, another one of my random posts.... hm... where did I put my tea?...

Faith's Salisbury Steak - It's what's for dinner :)

2010-04-26T17:35:00.000-07:00

OK, so I got a really good deal on some cube steak on "hot price" mark down at Bi-lo the other day, and was planning on making salisbury steak the way I had once before. From what I remembered, I pan-fried them and smothered them in canned or jarred gravy, maybe even a dry mix gravy ( I know, shame on me). Well, they were good enough when I made them, but I didnt have any gravy, mix or otherwise, and I thought they were lacking anyway.

So, here I go shooting from the hip again with my recipes :) This time I'm writing it down though LOL
Here goes:

Preheat oven to 350.
Ingredients:
5 or 6 cube steaks (I used a family pack) pounded thin.
seasoned salt
black pepper
flour
Cream of chicken soup
cream of celery soup
1 can of water
1 packet dry Lipton onion mushroom soup mix

Season steaks with seasoned salt and pepper. Put flour in shallow plate or pan. Press cube steak into flour to coat evenly. Fry steaks in hot oil until golden brown on both sides --3-5 minutes per side. Then place in baking dish (I sprayed mine with PAM to help with cleaning)

Mix can soups, dry soup, and water until smooth. Pour over meat and put in preheated oven for 1 hour or so.

Serve with mahed potatoes and a vegetable, and some crusty rolls would be yummy too!

ENJOY :)

update

2010-03-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my baby Nathaniel had his tonsils out. I was completely stressed out. He came through OK with no problems, except that he didn't want to wake up from the anesthesia :) That's my boy. Knows how to sleep that is for sure. He is eating alot of mashed potatoes so far, but not really enjoying the popsicles. On the way home yesterday we got a milk shake for him, and he enjoyed that. This morning his throat and jaw are swollen but not drastically. I had the alarm set last night for 1230 and 430 to give him his pain medicine. I don't want to give him the chance to come off of it until later this afternoon. I wanted to get him eating before I do. It's gonna be an interesting couple of weeks.

Tomorrow we go for our follow up appt with Dr Knowles, Garret's neurologist. I'm not overly concerned with this, as I figure if there were anything terrible they would have called us before now. We recently have been given a diagnosis of PDD, Pervasive Developmental Disorder. This is on top of the anxiety disorder and the sensory disruption. Basically it is all rolled into one. Theoretically I suppose they could have found something on the MRI that is indicative or treatable and is related to this. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

I have spent today putting together our lesson plans for this coming school year. Our new year will be starting the first week of April. I have done things much easier this year (as far as planning goes) but I also think it is more inclusive than the hodge-podge we used this year. I'll post my choices later.

Time to go make some dinner. Any idea how hard it is to creatively feed a child who can't swallow anything harder than mashed potatoes???

long time no see

2010-03-06T20:12:00.000-08:00

Well, it sure has been a while since I was on here. Sorry about that. Life gets in the way sometimes. Sometimes I simply have nothing to say, but usually life is to blame.

Every now and then I feel like I need to reconnect. This really doesn't make much sense to me, seeing as I am connected to just about everyone I know via facebook, text messaging, email, etc. But there are times when I feel like this digital age is not enough. I want to connect to PEOPLE, not words on a computer screen. I want to be able to actually hang out with friends and play REAL games, like Sorry and Sagarian and Password. Maybe even play Farkle with REAL DICE. (yes, it actually exists... Santa put one in my husbands Christmas stocking this year :D) I've never been much for the bar scene. I prefer to have people over. Have some drinks, have some snacks, watch a movie or something. The problem with this is everyone is SO BUSY. Everyone has so many things to do it is simply ridiculous. Between baseball games and work and school and doctors and shopping and family obligations it simply never ends. People these days just don't slow down enough to relax.

I'm not innocent here. I, too, have lots going on and it makes it difficult to do as much as I would like.

I guess for now I will simply have to make do with chatting on yahoo or keeping up with friends on facebook. Maybe once it is warmer people will be more apt to get out and about for purely social reasons.

Could this be Christmas?

2009-12-25T18:36:00.000-08:00

Everyone has been talking all season long about how it just didn't feel like Christmas. "I just can't get into the spirit!" some said. Others said they just weren't in the mood. Still others felt like there was too much grief and sadness to be joyful this year. Everyone I spoke with seemed to be having a more difficult time this year. Not necessarily money, either, it was more persisitently the "spirit" of things.

Well, I have to admit, I wasn't any different. I was ready to call the whole thing off. Heck, I wasn't alone, even my own mother was ready to call it quits. Like "The Year Without A Santa Claus" we were just gonna stay in bed and ignore the season. But alas, we have many kids in our families and as much as we just didn't feel like doing it, we couldn't let our babies down.

So, here in our neck of the woods we planned the Salmon family Christmas gathering. We did things differently this year. We drew names so that if you wanted a gift you had to give a gift. That went pretty well, but coming to the decision wasn't easy. Lots of arguing and tears which I had not seen much of in years, and well, I guess I'm just not cut out for that anymore. But like I said, we got through that part at Thanksgiving, and the Christmas party time was drawing near. I bought our tree finally on Thursday and Mom helped me get it in the stand and set up before Erik came home. Decorations would have to wait. I came down with a nasty cough on Thursday night, and was feeling pretty out of it on Friday. Then Saturday morning came and I was too sick to take Aleah to gymnastics. So I stayed home and rested and then my Mom and the kids and I decorated the tree. We also tried very unsuccessfully to decorate the gingerbread house that my dad had bought for the kids. Then she and I went shopping for the party that evening. We went ahead and got a few little stocking stuffers and what we needed for Christmas Day dinner as well as New year's dinner.

Sunday I awoke with what I can only call a sinus migraine. I felt like someone had taken a baseball bat to the side of my head and jaw. I took about a 30 minute much hotter than normally tolerable shower and lots of ibuprophen and sudaphed. Finally it subsided a bit, which was good because guests were to arrive by noon, and I had not even cleaned house yet! (although, I must admit, Erik has been wonderful helping out with keeping things tidy) I didn't get to make the cookies for the decorating station or anything! Oh well, Jenny offered to bring a tray of cookies from Sam's and that will just have to do.

The party went off without much of a hitch. There was plenty of food for everyone and all seemed to have a good time. My nephew had an upset stomach, and of course the fates decided it was time to create chaos right in the middle of the opening of the gifts. Well, we got that cleaned up and everything else went well. Then just a while before everyone was due to leave, he got ill again, and Lori (his mom, 4 or 5 mos pregnant) is trying to clean him up and had an anxiety attack. So that was pretty crazy! But overall, everyone was happy. No one complained "he got more than me!" or hey, I wanted one of those!" Everyone was content with what they received and I was quite glad. Needless to say by the time everyone left I was wiped out, but hope was relatively restored that Christmas could be not only conquered but perhaps even enjoyed!

Monday came, and I was feeling lousy. Just couldnt shake this cough. Tuesday came and not much change. I could get a hold of it for about 2-3 hours out of the day with a certain combination of medicines, but the same combo didnt work every time. Well, Wednesday came and trashed me out again, as the song goes, but this time I couldnt beat it. I literally thought I would die! This was it, I was not gonna get better. Well, Erik came home and took me to the ER (cuz the only walk-in clinic in town was "closed unti further notice" hmmm.. can we say SCANDAL?) Well, after 6and a half hours we finally had a diagnosis. Pneumonia. Yep. Sure was. I couldnt believe it! And the doctor's prognosis for the next few days was not good. Stay in bed. You are not gonna feel up to doing more than opening a few presents and then going back to bed. I was devastated! I had family coming for Christmas dinner. I hadn't wrapped a single gift! I still had stocking stuffers to get! How was it all gonna get done??? I thought we were going to have to somehow trick the kids into thinking that Christmas wasn't until Saturday or something!

Well, lo and behold, after a really good dose of narcotic at the ER on Wednesday, and IV antibiotics, I was feeling MUCH better come Thursday. Erik refused to go to work because he didn't trust leaving me alone for that long. Which was probably good cuz I was only able to be upright for a little bit at a time. He took the kids Christmas shopping and while he was out it was all I could do to wrap their presents. I felt really bad when I realized they each had only 4 presents each, plus 1 from Santa. Now, granted, these were mostly gifts that they had asked for specifically, but usually I overdo it tremendously. But this year I only used my babysitting money for Christmas presents, determined not to overspend and not have money for bills and such. Then I felt much worse when I was filling the kids' stockings and they were so light they could still hang on the stocking hooks. But what could I do? It was Christmas eve and all our extra money had gone to my medicine ($140 worth) and I was certainly in no condition to try to go out to the store anyway. So I decided it would just have to do. We would make the most of it, one way or another. I was grateful that I was at least able to wrap all the gifts and I didn't have to leave that to Erik.

Christmas morning came and after very little sleep Erik and I were quite grouchy. He greeted me with "not merry Christmas" and I said, no, Merry Christmas, we have to do the best we can for the kids. And so we did. The kids enjoyed their presents and had a grand time. No one seemed to notice how sparse the presents were, and were just as thrilled with the smaller gifts from us as they were with the BIG gifts from a very doting Aunt Chris up in Michigan (thanks Chris -the kids always LOVE what you get them) I had made the comment earlier that it is kind of a sad state of affairs when Santa is outdone by an aunt, but that was how it was this year, and I was actually quite grateful because Santa could not have fulfilled that wish all by his lonesome!

The next hurdle was Christmas dinner. We haven't had Christmas dinner here on Christmas day in years, and I was certainly NOT feeling as well as I was yesterday. Well, Mom and Dad came down and my dear sweet husband and the two of them got the turkey going and peeled potatoes and cleaned house all while I was napping on the couch! I was so touched by how much they accomplished in just under 2 hours. I felt much better after my nap and a shower and was able to finish up the Turkey, make the potatoes and finish getting everything else together by the time my Sister and her family arrived. Of course, by the time dinner was served, I was wiped and couldn't eat more than about 3 bites, but I was able to sit at the table and enjoy some good conversation and a relaxed time with my family.

After everyone had gone and around bedtime for the kids they were all sitting around the table having their bedtime snack (cereal, seems to be becoming a tradition with them) and they start up a conversation:

Aleah: "Wasn't this the best Christmas ever??"

Both boys agreed.

Garret: "Know what the best part was for me?"

Aleah responded but I don't know what she said.

Garret: "Opening the Rainbow in my room!" (this was his Santa present, Santa was very proud right about now :P)

Later Aleah made mention about their being LOTS OF THINGS in their stockings! Which I was just amazed at. My mother said it best. More isn't better. More is just More.

This has made me truly appreciate and marvel at how well kids can tolerate things that we think are just devastating. So what if it wasn't the "perfect" Christmas in my eyes. My children loved every minute of it and are tucked soundly in their nice warm beds as we speak, dreaming of all the fun they will have with their new toys tomorrow. It was one of the most meager Christmases I can remember, but I will never forget it. We did it all on our own, with help from Family of course, and it truly was a Christmas to remember.

Now I have a week of company to look forward to, and I've decided I am not going to stress! I have opened my home to these relatives because it is the best option, even if I am not Martha Stewart OR the Flylady, and they are simply happy to be visiting family!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone's holidays are as blessed as ours was!

Erik made this Rebus puzzle "Merry Christmas and a Happy 2010!

If we make it through December......

2009-12-01T08:29:00.000-08:00

Ok, so, it's been absolutely nuts here lately. Family issues aside (who doesn't have those?), it seems everything is just falling apart here.

Our cars are both having multi-hundred dollar issues, and we are lucky to have a hundred after everything is paid for the month. Erik works an hour away which means that if I need a vehicle, I have to take him to work at way too early in the morning. This is not new to me. We went over a year without a second vehicle, so it's not that big of a deal. Just mainly another straw, if you know what I mean. LOL

I just made an appointment for a consultation with a surgeon to see if Nathaniel needs his tonsils taken out. Again, I know this isn't a HUGE deal; kids get their tonsils out all the time, right? it's just that it will be my first experience with something MAJOR with my kids. I'm not overly surprised by it, though. I mean, he's the one that has always had some sort of illnes, it seems. He's allergic to most everything (which reminds me I have to call the doc about the medicine they gave him last night), he has chronic bronchitis, we usually go through about 2 rounds of breathing treatments per winter, he's already had MONO, has very sensitive skin, and has had more bizarre rashes in his 8 years then i have had in my life LOL. So even though I kind of expected this at some point, I'm still not feeling very brave about my baby having surgery.

Aleah has to have speech therapy. Again, not really a big deal, but one more thing to throw the schedule off. And with not having a vehicle, it really stinks.

Garret starts his "play therapy" on Thursday. However, the first appointment, I have to be there by myself. Great. This means that Erik will have to take a half day off. which means he doesn't get paid for a half day.

I go to school online, and needless to say, I'm a bit behind. With everything that has gone on this last couple of weeks (not to mention Thanksgiving) I've just not had the time or attention span to truly devote to my studies. The kids and I are focusing on more "unit study" type schooling right now, simply because it is all I have time for. We read lots of books and do crafts and hands on things that we can do on the spur of the moment. They are learning plenty, but I can't say they are learning "traditionally". But I must say I am glad that we do homeschool, otherwise, these next couple of weeks/months would be REALLY bad. I don't have to worry about juggling the kids' appointments with their "school days" AND our transportation issues.

Well, I guess I just needed to vent a bit :) I really am glad that we are able to do all these things that need to be done and that it will not take away from our family time together. As long as we have each other, we will be just fine. Reminds me of an old song... If we make it through December..........

a great site for young children and children with special needs

2009-11-12T10:42:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine and her husband developed this site for their son. Check it out.

What's for dinner?

2009-10-07T13:28:00.001-07:00

Tater-Tot Casserole!

1lb ground beef (browned and crumbled, drained)
1 bag tater tots
1 can cheese soup
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can evaporated milk
8 oz sour cream
Shredded cheese

Preheat to 375
Stir all ingredients in a big bowl and put in 9 x 13 pan. top with extra shredded cheese if desired. Bake until bubbly and crispy on top.

ENJOY :)