What we had for supper the other night and meal planning.

On Sunday of last week we went to the grocery store after church to get food for our weekly meals and some food we needed.  After getting home I decided to calculate how much we had already spent for the month on groceries and going out to eat.  I could not believe how much we had spent already.  One of the reasons why is because we had to buy a lot of things for Kenton's party.  I actually thought that I did pretty good because we only spent about $80.00 at Wal-Mart for food.  But we did go to Sam's Club and buy a lot of bulk items for it.  Some of the things that we bought where plates and cups.  Both of these items we will be able to use for all the party's for next year so I won't have to buy them for next year.  Well at Sam's we also bought hot dogs, chips, hamburger and hot dog buns.  We did not have to buy hamburger because we get a half a cow about every other year.  So I think that we spend about $150.00 for the party just on food. Not bad if you ask me. 

Another thing that I have noticed is that if I look at the ads or try to make new recipes from the Internet I feel like we are spending more money.  I am trying so hard to be frugal when it comes to the store but just feel like I am doing a very bad job.  I also am just amazed at the price of things lately.  We have been drinking about two gallons of milk a week.  Just for one gallon it is costing about $3.60.  This is one thing that I do look for to see if it is on sale.  It make me mad because one week you can find it for under three on sale then the next week it is not on sale at all.  We usually buy two gallons of milk every time that we go to the store but I hate to buy more because I don't want it to get bad. 

So I guess the whole point to this rant is food costs to much.  I really would like to keep our grocery bill under or at $400.00.  Then our out to eat budget to under $100.00. 

So on with the blog I wanted to post this new recipe I tried.  One of the things that I am looking for in recipes is that we don't need a lot of new items to make the recipe.  So for this recipe I already a had the chicken, the can of cream of chicken, and the stuffing.  So all I needed at the store was the ham and cheese.  This was a good choice because I did not have to buy a lot.  I also thought that the recipe was pretty good. 

Crockpot Chicken Cordon Bleu

Recipe adapted from Amber (Dessert Now, Dinner Later!)

• 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 3/4 soup can milk
• 4-6 small chicken breasts (cut large breasts in half, making two pieces)
• Ham Slices (I used 10, thin slices)
• Swiss Slices (I used 4 slices)
• 1/2 box Stove Top Chicken or Herbed dry stuffing

Coat the inside of your slow cooker with pan spray.

1. Mix condensed cream of chicken soup with milk. Pour enough soup mixture in crock pot to cover the bottom.
2. Place chicken breasts on top of soup. Layer ham & swiss slices over chicken.
3. Pour remaining sauce over the top. Sprinkle everything with stuffing.
4. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours.

Third Trimester is Here!!!

Well I am getting closer to the end of my third pregnancy.  I hit my third trimester on Sunday and am so excited.  I still technically have 82 more days but know that I will not make it full term so am now counting down the days.  I think that I only have 70 to 72 more days left until God does magic. 


As for now I still feel great.  I do have some discomfort in my legs if I stand long or do a lot of stuff on my feet.  I also still have the heartburn and think that it is getting worse.  I am not expecting it to go away until I have the baby.  When I was pregnant with Madison one of the things that I remember is how bad my hearburn was when I was in the middle of the c-section.  So I think it is here for the long run. 

One of the things that I am getting a little worried about is the fact that right around this time with Madison I got put on bed rest.  I am trying to do everything in my power not to make that happen.  Last week I worked pretty hard with Kenton's party but now we don't have any big events so I should be good. 

I am also a little anxious and never about bring a new one in the house.  Just the thought of having to be in the hospital well the kids are at home without me bother me.  I know Kenton is 4 and Madison is 2 but I still like to know what they are doing all the time.  I know it crazy or I am crazy but I like to know when they are sleeping, eating, and even playing.  I feel better knowing and having the control over them. 

Another reason why I am never is just for the reaction of the kids.  I just don't know how either of them will act.  I think that Kent will be okay but need a little more attention at times.  I also feel that I will have to do a lot to make him understand and watch out for the baby.  Right now he can be kind of loud and has a tendency to be a little rough sometimes.  Madison I really have no clue how she will act.  I know that having little Kaelyn (the little girl I watch) here will help.  But I think it will be a changing knowing that this baby dosen't go home.  Also I will have to talk to Madison about being soft and just watching out for the baby.  Right now when I sit she wants to be sitting on my lap.  When the baby comes that will be a little harder.  I am sure it is all stuff that will work out it just will take time. 

The last thing that I am a little worried about is Scott's schedule.  Right now he works shift work so you never know if he is coming or going.  When he works nights it is hard on him and also hard on me.  To be honest I hate it when he works night.  When he works nights there is only a two hour period he can help or even be with the kids in a 24 hour period.  This will be a change when I am getting up all hours of the night and still functioning when Madison and Kenton need me.  I know I can do it just nervious.  I know that there is a saving like God never gives you more then you can handle.  I know this is true and just will have to make it work. 

Well I was just planning on talking about how excited I am to have a new bundle of joy soon.  I just wish it was closer.  I really can't wait for this baby to come.  I love being a mom and love having a little one to cuddle and love.  I am one lucky Mom and am so blessed to have two great kids and one on the way. 

Kenton's 4th Birthday Dinosaur Party!!!

So this past week has been crazy.  I spent all week and I mean all week getting ready for Kenton's Forth Birthday party.  We had a great time and it was all worth it.  Kenton wanted a Dinosaur party and we had a great time planning it.  We started planning it about three months ago by looking on the Internet and just coming up with things on our own.  Some of the things that we did where dinosaur eggs, dinosaur cake, volcano cake, dinosaur head display, and a lot of edible dinosaur food.  Here is a couple of pictures. 


The big thing that we had that I have to give my Dad full credit for is the Dinosaur entry display.  Here is some cool picture of it.

The next thing that we did was make the volcano cake.  We used cherry jello and dry ice to make it explode.  Kenton had a great time adding the dry ice to it and making it explode.  My sister and my Mom made the volcano cake.  It was a big hit with Kenton, his friends, and even some of the adults.    Here is some picture of it. 

Here is a picture of the birthday boy in the Dinosaur Shirt my Best Friend Danielle made.  It looked so cute on him.  He love the dinosaur on the back of the shirt. 

Here is a picture of the Dinosaur Cake that my Sister and I made.  It took a long time but turned out great at the end. 

We also made a cute Dinosaur watermelon, cute dinosaur feet, cute dinosaur heads, and cute tree decor.  Here is a picture of the food table. 

There was a lot of other thing like the dinosaur paper mache eggs.  I did not get a good picture of it.  Some of the fun food that we had like the dinosaur feet and the little dinosaur strawberry heads that my Mom made turned out great.  I tried to upload a video to show you them but can't seem to get it to work. 

Well all in all the Dinosaur party was a big hit and Kent loved it.  Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated with us.  We had a great time. 

Cleaning with 2+ Kids!!!

So I have always lived in a pretty clean house.  I am not one of those people that have a clean house every night they go to bed.  But at the same time I try to keep my house clean.  I do have my area's in the house that you don't want to see!!  Well let's get to the point.  For Madison's Second Birthday in March I cleaned this house from top to bottom.  Once I got one place clean I noticed other things needed cleaning.  Who knew that you needed to clean your doors!!  Well my doors needed more then a little cleaning they needed a scrub!  So now this week we are having Kenton's Fourth Birthday and I have to clean again.  Sorry to say this house will not look like it did for Madison's party.

I know that I do have an excuse being almost seven months pregnant.  At the same time I still want and need to do somethings.  To be honest with you I just don't have the energy to clean like I did two months ago.  I also had to be put on bed rest with Madison and I am trying to prevent that happening with this little one. 

Another thing that drives me crazy is cleaning a room and then ten minutes later my kids messing it up again.  So to make that happen I almost have to clean ten minutes before the guests arrive.  That drives me crazy and as most of you know I am not a procrastinator.  I like to plan ahead and get it done. 

Last week I went through the baby/playroom and cleaned and shorted all of the toys.  If you go in there now you would not even know that I did anything.  I also feel like my way of organizing for the playroom  is just not working.  I have a lot of little Tupperware containers with different toys.  The problem is that we just have a lot of big toys that I just don't know what to do with.  I know what you are saying "get rid of some of the toys" or "rotate some of the toys".  The problem with both of these is one I don't want to get rid of anything right now.  The second problem is I do have a little rotation going but to be honest I have no clue what is in some of the totes of toys in the basement. 

So I guess my questions is what do you do?  How do you make it work?  Any suggestions would be great. 

Fun lunch Meal.

So I saw this recipe and thought it would be something fun to make when Scott and the kids where home for lunch together.  I also knew that it was something that the kids would eat good.  I  really liked the dough and thought it was so easy to make.  It was a very fun and easy meal.  I think that you could do a lot with it as well.  I was thinking instead of ham and cheese you could make a pizza pinwheel. 

This recipe is from the same lady that I have been using a lot.  One of the things that I did not like is how much it made.  I would almost make half a recipe the next time.  But it would be great to make for a football party with lots of people.  Hope you enjoy this fun recipe. 

Hot Ham and Cheese Pinwheels

www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com Time: 45 minutes start to finish Yield: 24 pinwheels Recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up! 1 1/2 C warm water 2 T sugar 1 T yeast 1/2 t salt 4-4 1/2 C flour 1 pound deli ham, sliced thin 2 C cheddar cheese, shredded 1. Pour 1 1/2 C warm water into your stand mixer and preheat your oven to 170 degrees. (You read it right...170 degrees is all you need.) 2. Add 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 tablespoon yeast. Turn the mixer on low for about 30 seconds allowing the ingredients to combine. Let it rest for 5 minutes, or until it gets all bubbly. 3. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 2 cups flour. Turn the mixer on to low and let the flour mix in. Add the rest of the flour (2 1/2 cups worth) one cup at a time. When the dough pulls itself away from the side of the bowl, you have enough flour. 4. Turn the mixer to medium speed and allow it to mix for 5 minutes. 5. Spray your counter with cooking spray, divide the dough into two equal parts and allow them to rest on the counter for 5 minutes. Don't skip this step, ok? If you don't let the dough rest it won't roll out nicely and then you might start to cry and then your kids would think you have lost you mind. Thanks for your cooperation. 6. After the dough has rested roll the old girl out into a large rectangle. 7. Cover it with half of the ham and sprinkle it with 1 cup of cheddar cheese. 8. Roll the dough up starting at the longer end. 9. Spray a large knife with cooking spray and slice the roll into 12 rounds. 10. Place each pinwheel onto a large cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. 11. Repeat steps 6-10 with the other half of the dough. 12. Place both pans into your warm 170 degree oven for about 10 minutes, or until they start to rise just a bit. You don't want them to get super puffy, you just want the dough to have the chance to expand a little, like you see in the picture above. 13. Turn the oven up to 350 degrees (don't take the pans out of the oven) and let the pinwheels bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown along the top and bottom. 14. Take the pans out of the oven and let the pinwheels rest for about 5 minutes...then gobble them up

Three New Recipes for one meal!!!

So wanted to post what we had for supper last night.  I wanted to post this last night but was just to tired and did not feel that good.  I started off my meal plans with just one recipe idea, then as you can see made three last night.  The first recipe that I made was Bourbon Chicken with NO Bourbon,  This I think was one of the best meals that I have made in awhile.  I got it from the same blog I got the Chicken Crescent Rolls that I posted on Monday.  One of the things that I have been craving this pregnancy is Chinese and this meal ended up being like a sesame chicken.  Both kids ate this dish pretty good.

Bourbon Chicken

www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com Time: 15 min. prep + 30-40 min. cooking time Yield: 5 servings 5 chicken breasts 2 T oil 1 t garlic 1/4 C apple or pineapple juice 1/3 C brown sugar 2 T ketchup 1 T apple cider vinegar 1/2 C water 1/3 C soy sauce pinch red pepper flakes 1 T cornstarch 1. Cut your chicken into small 1-2 inch pieces with some kitchen scissors. 2. Heat up a large skillet over medium high heat. Once it is hot, pour 2 T Olive Oil into it. 3. Add your chicken pieces to the pan and let them cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 4. The chicken will start to get a bit juicy and bubbly. Put the lid on the pan, slightly tilted and drain the juices out into the sink. Return the pan to the stove top and continue cooking over medium high heat. 5. Into a medium sized mixing bowl combine 1 t garlic, 1/4 C apple or pineapple juice, 1/3 C brown sugar, 2 T ketchup, 1 T apple cider vinegar, 1/2 C water, 1/3 C soy sauce, a pinch of red pepper flakes and 1 T cornstarch. Whisk it all together until the cornstarch is dissolved and all ingredients are well combined. 6. When your chicken has a nice brown sear on some of the pieces... pour the sauce into the pan. Stir it around to cover all the chicken pieces. 7. Reduce the heat to a low simmer and cover the pan with the lid at an angle to allow some of the steam to escape. Let this baby simmer away for about 20 minutes, stirring a couple of times during the cooking period. 8. Serve over white or brown rice.

Well at the store buying stuff for my menu they had a great deal on mushrooms.  So I bought some and had no clue what to make with them.  I decided to make Sauteed Mushrooms.  The recipe that I found for this meal called for wild mushrooms but I just used what we had.  The recipe was from one of the Food Network shows.  The lady who made the recipe Ina Garden is one of my favorite Food Network people.  I am not a mushroom fan at all so did not try this at all.  Scott tried it and loved it.  Said I could make it again he liked it so much. 

Ingredients

• 2 pounds mixed wild mushrooms
• 1/2 cup good olive oil
• 1 cup chopped shallots (4 large)
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic (6 cloves)
• 1 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

Directions

Brush the caps of each mushroom with a clean sponge. Remove and discard the stems. Slice the small mushrooms thickly and cut the large ones in a large dice.

Heat the olive oil in a large (11 - inch) Dutch oven or saucepan. Add the shallots and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, or until the shallots are translucent. Add the butter, mushrooms, salt, and pepper and cook over medium heat for 8 minutes, until they are tender and begin to release their juices, stirring often. Stir in the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. Toss in the parsley, sprinkle with salt, and serve warm.

The last recipe was a Cheesy Pesto Pull-Apart Bread.  This recipe called for basil pesto which I thought that I could make for cheaper at home.  When I looked up the recipe last night I realized that I did not have everything to make the basil pesto.  So I made the recipe work and made it a Garlic Cheese Pull Apart Bread.  This had way to much cheese on it but we all like it.  I would make it again but instead of three cups of cheese I think two would be fine. 


 Cheesy Pesto Pull-Apart Bread

www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com Time: 10 min. prep + 15 min. baking Yield: 7 servings Recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up! 1 large crusty loaf of bread 1 C basil pesto salt and pepper 2 C mozzarella cheese, grated 1 C Parmesan cheese, grated 1. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray it with cooking spray. Set one large crusty loaf of bread in the center. 2. Slice the bread carefully, without cutting all the way to the bottom of the loaf. Then slice it going the other direction so that you have lots of little 1 inch squares all over the top of the loaf. 3. Grab yourself about 1 cup of pesto, pour it into a small bowl and add just a bit of salt and pepper. I like to buy Pesto at Costco. It will keep for about a month in the fridge. If I don't use it all and the expiration date is approaching, I pour it into and ice cube tray, cover it with plastic wrap and store it in the freezer. 4. Using a butter knife, spread pesto inside the loaf along every sliced part of the bread. 5. Pull the slices apart and push a bit of shredded mozzarella cheese and shredded Parmesan cheese into each little crevice. 6. Wrap the bread up in the aluminum foil and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Uncover the bread and allow it remain in the oven until the cheese is melted and a bit golden in color. 7. Take the bread out of the oven and let it cool just a bit before serving. ***NOTE: This bread is best served warm from the oven. However, if you have leftovers store them in the refrigerator and reheat them in the microwave when you are ready to enjoy them.

 Well as you can see we ate pretty good last night.  Hope you try some of these recipes they where great. 

Breakfast For Supper

So for my menu planning this week I had two chicken meals, a taco meal, and a day of nothing.  Scott asked if we could make homemade waffles one night.  So that is what we had tonight.  I had some leftover buttermilk so found a fun buttermilk waffle recipe.  Along with the waffles we had bacon and sausage.  My husband also had eggs.

The waffles where pretty good.  The peanut butter with syrup on the top made them the best. 

Ingredients4 3/4 ounces all-purpose, approximately 1 cup
4 3/4 ounces whole-wheat flour, approximately 1 cup

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3 tbsp sugar

3 whole eggs, beaten

2 ounces unsalted butter, melted

16 ounces buttermilk, room temperature

Vegetable spray, for waffle iron

 

Directions

Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions. In a medium bowl whisk together the flours, soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In another bowl beat together eggs and melted butter, and then add the buttermilk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until combined. Allow to rest for 5 minutes. Ladle the recommended amount of waffle batter onto the iron according to the manufacturer's recommendations. Close iron top and cook until the waffle is golden on both sides and is easily removed from iron. Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve.

Recipe courtesy - Alton Brown, Food Network