What Is A Mom To Do

Incredible Pizza Soup

2013-10-06T16:56:00.001-07:00

We had such a good day today! We went to the pumpkin patch with Kara and played at the petting zoo. It was a perfect October day with some clouds and the temps in the 50’s.

I had made this week’s meal plan before I realized we were going to go but I didn’t have to change a thing. I wanted a good tomato soup recipe for the crockpot and so that is what I set up last night before going to bed.

This soup is made in a crockpot with a small amount of additional prep right before serving. All in all it is pretty easy to make and I think that Josh will be able to do it in the future when baby comes in January.

Ingredients:

2 (14oz) cans of diced tomatoes, with juice

1 cup diced celery

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup diced onions

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp basil

4 cups of chicken broth

½ cup flour

1 cup parmesan cheese

½ cup butter

2 cups half and half, warmed

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

Add all of the veggies and the broth into the crockpot. Cover and cook on LOW for 5-7 hours. (Before the next step you can put this in a blender to make it smooth. I find it helpful because Kara is such a picky eater.)

About 30 minutes before serving prepare a roux. Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour. Stir the mixture constantly for 5-7 minutes. Add one cup of hot soup to the roux, stir until smooth. Then add 3 more cups of soup to the roux and mix it all back into the soup remaining in the crock.

Stir in the half and half and parmesan cheese and cover. Cook on LOW for another 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

This soup is so good! I sliced up a loaf of French bread and dipped it in the soup. Yummy!

Kara ate it all and even helped me name it. She said it tasted like pizza. I’ll take it, as long as it gets her to eat her veggies!

Do you have any thoughts on how to make this better? Maybe you have some more recipes with hidden veggies in them! I would love to hear them and try them out for myself.

Have a great week!

Peanut Butter Cinnamon Brownies

2013-10-05T08:57:00.000-07:00

This week I caved and bought some store bought peanut butter brownies. They were okay but they were missing something. They were missing TLC.

So this morning the baking bug hit me and I decided to try making my own peanut butter brownie. It has been forever since I have made brownies from scratch and I forgot just how easy it is! So here is the recipe and pictures. I hope that you have as much fun as I did making these.

Half a stick of margarine, melted

Half a cup of granulated sugar

Half a cup of firmly packed brown sugar

Two eggs

One teaspoon vanilla (All I had was imitation but it works)

Half a cup of AP flour

One teaspoon ground cinnamon

Half a teaspoon of baking powder

Half a cup of peanut butter (Crunchy is really good in this but all I had was creamy)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla; beat until smooth. In another bowl combine flour, cinnamon, and baking powder; add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir until just moistened. Add you peanut butter and mix in. (At this point I added a half bag of chocolate chips but that’s just me.)

Put the mixture into a greased 11*7 pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until nice and set. Cool completely in the pan and cut into squares to serve.

Yield: about 2 dozen brownies

Saturday Morning Success!

2013-09-07T11:08:00.001-07:00

I am having such a great day! I got up really early this morning to take advantage of some neighborhood garage sales. I was expecting to find lots of stuff for Kara and was hopeful that there might be some deals for baby #2.

I did just that! I found a ton of clothes for Kara, mostly stuff for the upcoming fall and winter months. I got like 20 pieces for $10! I also found brand new muslin blankets for baby. I have registered for these and they are EXPENSIVE! 3 of them go for about $36, I got three for $3! Talk about a deal!

But the best part of my day is when I found a three piece bedroom set with a crib and 2 dressers, al wood and gorgeous for a steal. I have looked up this set and it retails for around $1800 I got the whole set for $200. I did not leave this morning expecting to spend that much but I could not pass up that deal. I have been on a baby high all day from it. I can now go through and organize Kara and baby clothes and get rid of Kara's beat up old dresser.

The Lord is good! I keep getting this feeling that I truly will have nothing to worry about when it comes to this baby's needs. His timing is perfect and I know that He will provide.

P.S. We also went to the Farmer's Market with Kara. She got to pick out her own Watermelon. She took the job very seriously.

I couldn't help but post this super cute picture!

Getting Back To It!

2013-09-06T15:18:00.000-07:00

Wow! Its been over a year since my last post. So not cool! We are all alive and kicking. I guess I just let life get away with me and haven't taken a lot of time for things that I enjoy. So here's the deal, I promise to write at least one more entry this week. I'm not sure what it will be about, but I am sure that I have TONS to write about.
I'm also getting back into my food blogging kick. This should be fun especially with the holidays just around the corner. (Yikes! Did I really just say that?)
Toodles!

It's easier than I thought!

2012-06-12T07:01:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to give a quick update. My goals are falling into place! Yesterday I was able to go out with one of my best friends and her two adorable daughters. Kara was so excited and we got to spend the afternoon swimming and having a good time.

Well most of us had a good time, Kara is a little bit water shy so she wasn't too happy when I made her get in. I hope that she can get over that soon. It's no fun being scared, but I do know the feeling.
Yesterday was also the first day that I have ever gone off the diving board! I have always been too afraid. I don't like deep water, but yesterday I didn't die and so I think my fear is ebbing just a little.

Anyways, I am going to accomplish another goal today. Our church started a mom group for mom's with young children. And today we are all having an outing. We are going to play in the fountains at Crown Center then have a picnic lunch. All of this will be followed up with a trip to Kaleidoscope. I am excited it is supposed to be a really cool place with lots of art and interaction for the kids. I will be sure to post pictures soon.

How is your week going? Have you reached any goals? I would love to hear from you!

Goals for my week.

2012-06-11T08:48:00.001-07:00

Wow! It's been a long time since I posted. So sorry.

Have you ever had a period in life where you just feel like you are on auto pilot? I am sure that most of us have. Between our families, work, church, home, and anything else that we do it can feel like everyday we are just going through the motions. We are there but we are not really connecting. This has been me, and I am tired of it. But how do I fix it?

Well, first off I admit that I have a problem lol! Isn't that the first step to a lot of things?

Secondly, I need to figure out a way to make my time work for me instead of the other way around. No more being lazy! If I keep up a little each day then things don't become so big and get out of hand.

I frequently tell myself that I cannot take up a new thing because I do not have he time. This isn't really all together true. Yes, when people look at my schedule they feel a little light-headed but there are a lot of short spaces of time in between that I could use to my advantage. I NEED to do these things.

What are these things that I keep referring to? My friends and my church. I put them on the back burner too often in the excuse of not having the time. If I don't make time for them then when will they make time for me?

And the other thing I need to take time for is ME..... Yep, this is still a tough one. I want to just keep going and sometimes Josh has to literally force me into going to read a book for pleasure! This is sad, I guess.

So I guess that my goals for this week are

To go out with at least one friend.
Go to an extra church service or event.
Get through my latest Tedd Dekker book if it kills me!

These may seem trivial to some but right now it's something that I need to do. I need to find balance. I want to be a happy and carefree as my little Kara.

What are your goals for the week? Would you like to see a weekly post about goal setting?

Leftover Day!

2012-04-18T12:19:00.002-07:00

Today I feel inspired! I will admit that part of this feeling came from me Needing to be inspired. You see, we are almost at the end of our groceries but not at the end of our week. This isn't a bad thing though! It means that I have been cooking more from home and eating out less, this in turn saves us money! So even when we had to spend $200 on the van this week I didn't panic like a normally do.

This did leave me wondering what I was going to cook for today. I hate having to serve PB&J all the time, (even though I am pretty sure Kara can survive on it) so I started digging in the refrigerator. Eureka! I found soome leftover chili. Hmmmmm.... what can I make with chili that was different than burritos. I turned to my books for inspiration. I didn't find anything specific but I did start peicing an idea together.

I took the chili and added a can of italian diced tomatoes, I wanted rotel but like I said we are out of just about everything lol. Then I added some extra onions and chili powder to make it a little spicier.

After that, I mixed up a small batch of cornbread. Honestly, I used a box of Jiffy. And I shredded a half block of cheddar cheese. You can probably see where I am going with this.

Now all I had left was to assemble, I put the chili in a 11*7 baking dish. I sprinkled the cheese over that, then I dolloped the cornbread over that. I didn't spread the mix because then it would be too thin and it would burn while baking.

I put all of this in the oven @ 350 for about 30 minutes. Oven times will vary so keep an eye on it and pull it out when the breading is golden brown.

This looks so yummy! Too bad I will have to wait until I get off from work to eat it. The cool thing about this dish is that you can make it ahead like I did and then pop it back in the oven to heat it up when you are ready to serve.

I don't thik I did too bad, being that I am not a super creative person when it comes to food. I usually need an exact recipe. Maybe this means that I am improving.

What do you do when you are needing to make a meal in a pinch? Do you have any standby's?

A Positive Day!

2012-04-16T19:52:00.002-07:00

Hello Readers!

I am here ending my busy day with ice cream and DWTS. Sometimes its the little things in life that make it all worth it.

I feel bad for not writing. I guess that I was letting my general bad mood take over. You know how it is, job pressures (I am training for a management position yay!!!) and homelife can sometimes leave you feeling overwhelmed. And last week we added another thing, POTTY TRAINING!!!!!

Kara has been telling me every time she potties in her diaper so I thought that it was time to start the fun. So we went and got the big girl panties and she even got some in her Easter basket and we set to work.

Day one:
We started the day with our big girl panties and high hopes. We were very consistent, going to the potty every 30 minutes to try. We had many accidents but we stayed patient.

Day two:
After going all day with panties and just staying focused we rose to the challenge again on the second day. Same rules, but I will admit that it was a little harder for me to stay 100% because we still hadn't had any success and I was tired of the messes. But we went through the day. I think that Kara was getting frustrated too because she was losing enthusiasm. By the end of the day we still had had no success.

I gave up. I know that I shouldn't have but Kara just didn't seem to be getting it yet. So for now we are just talking about it and using the potty a few times a day. I know that it will get easier once we start having successes because hen I can reinforce the good behavior.

On other news, I have started my own business! Yes, you read that right. I am now an official independent beauty consultant for Mary Kay. I never thought that I would say those words, but I needed to do something from home for a little extra cash. SO if you need some extra pampering or just want to shop for some fun colors I would be honored to be your consultant. I promise a no pressure approach to your needs.

Happy Spring!!!

I think that I needed a night like tonight, a night to reflect on the more positive things that have been happening in our life. Kara is growing up becoming a more beautiful and unique everyday. I am finally starting to move up in my employment. And Josh is doing very well in school. This has been a good Spring and I am so excited to see what the rest of the year will bring.

Thank you for reading my somewhat meandering post tonight. I will try to be more focused next time.
What are some things that you wold like to read about? Do you have any tips for potty training? If you like what you read I would love it if you share this with your friends!

A Little Dried Out

2012-04-11T23:02:00.000-07:00

I know that I haven't written like I should. It seems that I have hit a bit of a dry patch. I was going through a really inspired phase. And like all phases it was just that, a phase. I am sure that it will be back. Even if I have to drag it back kicking and screaming!
This little post is just the beginning of many thought that I have, thoughts that need to be aired out. I apologize if in the next few days this seems to be more like a public journal that a place to get cool mommy ideas.
I promise that the fun and entertaining posts will return soon. I feel a season of change on the horizon. It is both exciting and terrifying. Now that I am beginning to see some light at the end of this tunnel I will begin writing again to tell the tale.
Tonight though I think that i just need to rest.

Don't think that I am all gloomy! I will leave you with some super cute pictures of miss Kara to brighten up the page a little!

Kara got some very interesting glasses in her Easter basket!

Sunday School Bread

2012-03-12T21:24:00.000-07:00

Who loves to get up early on a Sunday morning and make cinnamon rolls for their family or church group? Well, I think that we all would like to deep down but in all reality it isn't very likely to happen.

A couple of weeks ago I was feeling a little more zealous. I wanted to make something special for my Sunday School class. I had heard of making cinnamon rolls in the waffle iron. The idea intrigued me and so I set forth to experiment!

First, I went to my local HyVee and got two rolls of my favorite quick cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing. I just got the cheap kind. I'm sure any other brand will work too.

Then, I preheated my waffle iron. I also lightly sprayed it with PAM. I only did this once it didn't need it.

Next, I started putting one roll for each waffle square. I put the top down and cooked them until the steam stopped coming from the sides.

This is what they look like fresh out of the iron. I put butter on mine and ate them plain. They were SO good!!! For the rest, I just drizzled them with the icing that was included with the rolls.

All in all the recipe only took me about 10 minutes to do two tubes of rolls. I will definitely be using this idea more often!

Do you have have any quick, go-to breakfast ideas? I am always getting bored with the usual cereal and milk routine.

Curve Balls

2012-03-07T21:45:00.001-08:00

Life has a way of throwing us curve balls. When Josh and I were dating events kept popping up that really tested our relationship. I moved twice and then Josh moved so that he could be with me. This took a lot of faith in God and faith in me. He left a pretty good job and moved to Springfield with no leads. The Lord came through, Josh landed a great job working in a local manufacturing plant.

Then came our baby! Oh Kara, the light and joy of my life. She is such a blessing. Each day she teaches me something new. A new and pure way of looking at things. I owe her a lot.

Then in November of 2010 Josh was laid off from that really good job. Boom! We were left completely without an income and no one was hiring in his skill set. This led us to move in with his mom and grandparents. Moving to TN, now that I think about it, was just what we needed. We needed a chance to take a step back and try to listen for the Lord's plan.

We waited for several months for something to open up in TN. That didn't happen. So in another complete leap of faith we moved in with some great friends in Kansas City, MO. Josh started taking classes that were fully funded through the Department of Labor. That was a miracle in itself! His tuition is not only paid but he will continue to receive unemployment benefits for the whole two years.

I started working again, I tried several different places. Things just weren't working out. Then I found my current job at David's Bridal. I love this job! It is a lot of fun and pretty rewarding on most days. I am also working at Sunglass Hut.

But now there is a new curve ball! My jobs are very demanding and I don't get a lot of time at home. (Hence the lack of writing.) I am feeling somewhat taken advantage of. I try to work in the same way that I live my life, with integrity. I feel that many people target me for that and it is getting to be more than I can handle. I need the income desperately! I just don't know if it is worth all of this inner turmoil.

I know that this is not my normal entry. I just needed to get some of these thoughts out of my head. I would appreciate your prayers as I am again in a situation that is gonna take a bunch of faith.

A Busy Mom's Guide to Being Sick

2012-02-28T14:03:00.000-08:00

Yuck! The famous stomach bug has landed at our house. Fortunately, it isn't the kind that makes you want to die, it just clings to you and makes you super tired and icky. Because of this I did not go to work today. I hate calling in! I always feel like my boss will never understand, this is silly because she is actually really good about being understanding.

So if I don't need to feel worried I begin to feel guilty. Guilty that I am taking the day to lay around and recoup. I have a million things to do and Kara needs my attention, I can't just lay in bed I tell myself. Yeah, you know you have done it too! In that case I normally get up and do too much and make myself sicker than I was originally. Thus, the cycle starts over!

Today I decided I would be good to my body and try to rest. But I still had so much to do! So to ease my feelings I decided to find things that I could do from either my bed or couch, all the while keeping Kara entertained.

I started out working on Kara's Birthday list. Things that I still needed to get done and stuff that I still need to buy. This was a lot of fun and I had Kara help me by giving her her own notebook in which she could take her notes.

Then I sent Josh out to get some groceries. Another thing that I didn't have to do. Josh sweetened the deal by taking Kara with him so that I could sleep. I haven't had a nap in a long time, it was delicious!

Josh is gone for his classes now so my plans for the evening are to work on my menu planning skills. I love the idea but I so far haven't been consistent. I also have lots of laundry to fold and put away. After that and bath time I think our day will be complete.

Even though I have been taking it slow and easy today I feel like I did get a lot done. Now it's time for some crackers and ginger ale...and maybe another nap.....

So what do you do when you are sick? If you have kids what are your tricks to keeping them entertained and healthy when you are sick? I think that having kids makes it even harder and still struggle with this. Kara is a very hands-on girl.

Here I Am!

2012-02-22T21:17:00.000-08:00

Hello!

You are probably wondering why I haven't posted in awhile. To put a long story short, I started a new job. The new job coupled with my already full schedule has pretty much monopolized my time. I am hoping that after the schedules get synced a little better I will have more time to write.

We have started to got our apartment looking a little more like a home. This is mostly due to the exciting news that we have finally gotten a couch!!! I have been waiting for 3 years for this couch. (It's a long story!) We have also gotten some new shelves, crates, etc. . I will be posting pictures of our little abode as soon as it all comes together.

As far as cooking goes, well..... I haven't gotten much done. We have been living off of some of my freezer cooking and whatever we can throw together at a moments notice. I hope to get back in the kitchen soon.

That is an update on my life for now. Tell me what you have been up to! Has anyone started their Spring cleaning a little early? What do you do to get rid of the Winter blues? Have you tried any new recipes?

Yummy Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal

2012-02-15T12:07:00.000-08:00

I love oatmeal. I could eat it most mornings for breakfast if I only had the time. Josh is not a fan, he thinks I am a bit old fashioned in some ways. In fact, one day he told me that only old people eat oatmeal!

I know why I have grown to like it, growing up in a large family oatmeal was a pretty cheap meal to prepare for the whole family. Of course, mom would always add sugar and cinnamon and other assorted goodies to help spice things up a bit. But I digress....

In an attempt to eat healthier on a budget I began looking for some different ways to prepare oatmeal besides cookies and your typical morning bowl of goodness. I have found several and I am planning to make one or two each week and talk about my results here. None of these recipes are original with me so I will be linking you to their original authors, but I will add my own comments.

I hope you enjoy the start to this new series. I would love to hear some of your favorite oatmeal fixins. Or maybe some of your favorite breakfast memories.

Angie, from The Cellar Door Stories has a lot of yummy food ideas. So far, my favorite has been Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal. If you want the recipe please click the link. I am all for giving credit to whom credit is due.

Here are my thoughts on this one:

I love that this is so easy to throw together. Most of us already have these ingredients in our kitchens. For me, if I don't have the ingredients when I am looking up the recipe it probably won't get made. Pretty lazy right?!
You CAN NOT go wrong with apples and cinnamon they are the worlds best combination and they make me happy just thinking about it.
Being able to through it all together without a whole lot of steps actually make this a pretty quick hot breakfast option. I don't like giving out quick breakfasts every morning, it's nice to be presented with something nice and warm knowing that there was some extra love thrown in.

P.S. as I was taking pictures of my finished product I realized that something looked different. And sure enough, after looking over the recipe again I found that I had forgotten the OIL!!! Wow, I am glad that you guys are only reading this and not having to taste my version. It taste great but it's pretty thick, edible but thick.... So if I were to change one thing it would be to add oil next time!

I am still learning, and I get in a hurry sometimes. I promise that next time I will have quality pictures and a better result. HA!

Cheers,

Finally! A Snow Day!!!

2012-02-13T14:00:00.000-08:00

When I awoke this morning I felt like a little school girl, it had snowed in the night and it was still coming down! Oh how I had hoped this day would come! Kara has never really been able to play in the snow and so I really wanted to get at least one good snowfall before Spring.

With all of the stress of the last couple of months we decided to make it a carefree day and we set out to the best sledding hill around. That hill happens to be at our church, Northwest Bible Church. And we weren't the only ones, there were several other children and parents from the neighborhood who had also come out to play.

Kara had so much fun! I thought that she may be a little scared but after her first trip down with her daddy she was ready to tackle the hill by herself. My soon to be 2 year old is fearless!

We played and we played until we were frozen and tired. Well, Kara was frozen but she was far from tired! She was not a happy little girl when we packed up to head home.

Today is a comfort food day, so for lunch we made Grilled Cheese and Josh made us Hot Chocolate. He says that he makes the best hot chocolate, so therefore I will post his mini recipe soon.

Josh's Hot Chocolate

2012-02-13T13:48:00.000-08:00

1 package Swiss Miss

1 stirring spoon filled with hot fudge

hot water

a sprinkle of nutmeg

mini marshmellows (we like the freeze dried variety)

Put all of the ingredients together in you favorite mug.

Enjoy in front of a cozy fire, or wrapped in a blanket with a good book.

This is pretty good! And although I normally try to make stuff from scratch this is something that my husband likes to make for us and I like being lazy sometimes. And if you by the Swiss Mimss at Sams or Costco its actually pretty cheap!

Do you have a favorite hot drink? I love to hear ideas and new recipes!

Inspired By A Can

2012-02-09T18:07:00.000-08:00

Okay readers, you may have to hang in there with me tonight. I am not feeling to good I want to go bed but it's one of those things where I can't sleep. So I decided to take some time for myself to write and relax. I lit a candle, changed into my jammies and have slow music on Paandora. See, I am feeling better already!

Yesterday was great day and Kara was being so good that I decided we would cook together! Now that is something we had not tried until yesterday so I was taking a big risk. I knew that we would most likely end up in disaster. I was pleasantly surprised though and we only had 2 incidents that involved tears. She doesn't really understand the whole taking turns thing yet.

So by now you must be wondering what we made. I started out looking for ingredients for dinner but then I found a can of pumpkin. I turned it around and found that I had all I needed to make a pie! Pumpkin Pie is one of Josh's favorite foods. I don't really like it but because I was feeling so good I thought I would give it a shot. And since he was away at class I thought it would be a good way to surprise him. So the following is my adventure in pie making and my review of the recipe, and I may have to throw in some pictures too!

This is where it all started. I just followed the recipe on the can.

3/4 c. Sugar
1/2 t. Salt
2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 can (15oz.) pumpkin
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
1 UNBAKED deep dish pie crust

First, get your handy helper. Mine happens to be a cute blonde almost 2 years old.

Then, in a bowl blend together all of the dry ingerdients. I wouldn't do this in a mixer because I think that the stuff in the bottom never mixes with the rest. And besides, when you have an extra pair of hands it's more fun to do things the old fashoined way.

Then, beat the eggs in a large bowl. (Something big enough for all of the ingredients in the final step.)

Blend the dry ingredients with the eggs then add the can of pumpkin. Finally, add the can of evaporated milk and stir gently until everything is mixed well.

Doesn't Kara look like such a good helper? I kindly edited out the pictures when she is screaming and crying when I have to help her, or switch out the bowls.

Anyways, the final step is to put the mixture in the pie crust. I will tell you that we really flubbed up this step. I was in a hurry and overflowed the pie, resulting in a very burnt crust in the end. Hense, no final pictures.

Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Then turn down the oven to 350 and bake the pie for about 50 minutes or until a inserted butter knife comes out clear. One tip, I put the pie on a cookie sheet to help me with the transfers.

Like I said earlier this was an adventure! I normally let my mom make the pies that way I don't have a whole one at home, I really don't like pumpkin pie. But according to my husband who I really can depend on for a honest opinion, this pie was great! Kara seemed to like it too, all of it but the really burnt crust, sigh.....

So what did you think? Do you like to bake with your kids in the kitchen? What do you do when you want to surprise someone you love? Do you have a better version that may make me like pumkin pie? Leave your thoughts below, I can't wait to hear from you!

Meet My Family Part 2

2012-02-07T15:12:00.000-08:00

Meet my husband Josh!

This picture was taken in St. Louis this past summer on one of those really quick trips when we didn't have Kara with us. By quick I mean we were literally just passing through and wanted to take a few photos. That's one of the great things about Josh, he isn't afraid to go do things on a moments notice. He loves to live life and just go with the flow. It really helps to balance out my semi OCD tendencies.

We met in 2007 when I was only 17, just a baby! We became friends then we knew that we were meant to be. We got married on September 20, 2008. The coolest thing about this story is that Josh is my first boyfriend. I had prayed for a long time that I would be able to avoid the whole dating game and all of the drama that comes with it. We do have our moments like every couple does but I have never wished that I had waited.

Then along came baby! Our little Kara was born in March of 2010. Josh adapted so fast to being a daddy, much faster than I did I think. Him and Kara are the best buddies. There are days that she just isn't right until she has had her daddy fix.

Right now Josh is a full-time college student. He is studying to be an electrician of sorts. I know that there is an official name for it but I really can never remember it! I am so proud of him, he manages to keep it all together and have a 3.8 GPA to boot!

I am sure that I have the best husband ever! Can you argue? I know that I am not one bit biased!

I just thought that introducing you to my family would help you put a face to the names I use, because I tend to talk about them a lot. (Maybe I need to get out of the house more!) I hope that you all enjoyed.

My Twist On Pan-Roasted Chicken With Garlic-Lemon Green Beans

2012-02-06T13:25:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends!

I do a lot of my menu planning on different websites. I love stumbling across a new recipe. Sometimes I simply google the ingredients that I want to use then PRESTO! Well the dish that I am going to talk about today is one of those good finds. I will give you the original link because I am not claiming this one to be original with me, but I did change it some and after eating it I know there are a few things that I will do differently next time too.

So here is the original link: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/pan-roasted-chicken-lemon-garlic-green-beans-10000000780291/index.html

And here are my thoughts, changes, and pictures:

I really, really liked this dish! It was pretty easy to put together and cheap too. (Well, the original was a little more but after my substitutions it helped a little.)

Instead of chicken breast I used thighs. (They were on sale for like 94 cents a pound whereas the breasts were almost 2 dollars a pound.)

And I used one can of green beans. Our family isn't really keen on green beans so I was lucky to even have those in the pantry!

With everything else I stayed true to the recipe. It turned out great! Even Kara ate the meat, and trust me that is no small feat!

Now for the changes that I would make next time around.

I found that the sliced lemon on the bottom of the pan was a little bit over the top. It made the green beans pretty bitter. And parts of the chicken tasted really lemony. So next time I think that I will just use the lemon juice and see how that goes. The potatoes were probably my favorite.

Also, if you are doing more than three or four pieces you will need a bigger roasting pan, I don't have one, (yet) so I guess I will just making smaller portions for now.

So what do you think? Did you make any other changes? Did you like it? Would you like to see more reviews similar to this one? Where do you find good recipes when you are low on inspiration?

Meet My Family Part 1

2012-02-05T18:36:00.000-08:00

This is Kara! She is my beautiful little girl. Born on March 11th, 2010. (Oh my gosh, that means that she is almost 2!) She really is the joy of my life. Before she came along I thought that I was happy in every way. Now I really can't imagine how it felt before, I love being a mom. True, there are days I question my sanity. And days that the housework never ends. But when she comes running up to me just for a hug its all worth it!

As I write this it has come to my realization that I need to plan her party! I haven't even started, does anyone have any ideas? She loves Mickey Mouse so we may have something started there... if only we could go to Disney World! That has to be every little kids dream, I think we will wait one or two more years though so that she can fully enjoy it.

So this is my entry for tonight. I will have more to come this week. More recipes and I will introduce you to my hubby! I hope that you are all having a good Super Bowl Sunday.

-God Bless!

Grown Up Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.....Sorta

2012-02-03T18:11:00.000-08:00

Okay! As promised here is my first recipe.

I love grilled cheese sandwiches, I mean REALLY love them! You know how they are one of the main things on the childrens menu in most resturants, sometimes I would steal Kara's or order my own because they are just that good! I hope that all of you have had the simple joy of a perfectly made grilled cheese sandwich growing up.

I could eat them everyday. My husband was probably a little tired of my lack of creativity though. So I started trolling the web for a more "grown up" grilled cheese. I tried several different mixes and none seemed to work. It was then that I decided to make up my own, pulling my favorite aspects ffrom different attempts.

Let me tell you that I am not a girl who can just pull ingredients out and make a perfect dish. I need a very clear plan! I am hoping that the more I cook the more I can improvise in the future. I took pictures as I worked. Sometimes I get so frustrated when my dishes don't look anything like the pictures in the book. But then I have to stop and think that they spend lots of money to make their food look like it could be framed rather than eaten.

So are you ready? Here we go!
All you need is:

1 c. grated cheddar (I like the sharpest that I can find)
1/2 c. grated montery jack
2/3 c.plain greek yogurt (I like this better than plain sour cream, its a bit thicker)
2 green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped (VERY IMPORTANT for flavor)
Salt and Pepper to taste
8 slices of your choice of bread

Combine all ingredients and spread on buttered bread.

Grill. Serve immediately while they are still hot and gooey!

A note from Erica: One tip that I would give is that if you have small children who are picky like mine is to mince the pepper and onion. I also think that this would be AMAZING on a thicker, chewier bread such as french bread. Another thought, I grated the cheeses myself so they were super fresh, I don't know if the drier pre-shredded cheese would change it any.

Tell me what you think! did you do anything different? Do you have any grilled cheese sandwich recipes? If so, please share!

My first real entry!

2012-02-03T11:57:00.000-08:00

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen!

And by Gentlemen I mean those of you reading over your wives' shoulder to see what she is interested in just before Valentine's Day, because we know that they all important gift is weighing heavily on your mind by now. But I will let that slide and maybe you will find me so witty that you follow me of your own accord!

I am starting this blogging journey because I feel like I have something to give. I am a young wife and mother who has no clue what she is doing, I am an avid learner though and I want to share those experiences with you. I hope that you find this blog informative and enjoyable. It is my desire to make this a very open and honest look into my life and the things that seem to make it a little sweeter.

I love to hear thoughts and comments. If you have ideas for me, such as a new recipie or something that you do everyday to cut the clutter etc. please let me know! Maybe we can learn together.

My first recipie will be up soon! It's super yummy and super easy. I think that I am going to keep it on hand for the long haul.