What's For Dinner Wednesday.....7

I'm going to be honest. This is a lazy Wednesday. I made Christmas dinner and it ended up just being Me, Pants, Goose and Bear, so we have lots of leftovers! It was a toss up between just heating up leftovers or breakfast with the ham. In the end, Goose had scrambled eggs and ham and toast, I had buffalo dip, and Pants had a bit of everything, haha.

That being said, here is the buffalo dip recipe. This is my go to dish for parties etc. People love it!

Buffalo Dip:

1 8oz package of cream cheese
1 large can of chicken, drained
1 bag of shredded cheddar cheese
Hot sauce

Mix softened cream cheese and drained chicken together. Add hot sauce to taste. (I like mine a light orange color) spread in a baking dish and top with shredded cheddar. Bake at 350 until the cheddar is melted and the dip is warm. Stir and serve with crackers, tortilla chips, vegetables etc.

So it wasn't really dinner as much as it was a free for all with leftovers (we had a veggie tray and crackers, along with ham, stuffing etc) but it was easy and yummy and filled our bellies, so it worked!

I hope everybody had a happy holiday!

What's for Dinner Wednesday.......6

It's Wednesday, What's for dinner?

We are having my favorite soup, a copycat version of the Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana..it is SO good!

Ingredients

• 1 pound Italian sausage
• Pinch of Red Pepper flakes (optional, but I strongly suggest!)
• 2 large russet baking potatoes sliced in half and then in 1/4 inch slices
• 1 large chopped onion
• 1/2 can Oscar Meyer Real Bacon Bits (these are less fatty than real bacon)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups chopped kale or Swiss chard
• 2 14.5 ounce cans chicken broth
• 1 quart water
• 1 cup heavy cream

Instructions

Cook sausage in a 300-degree oven for approximately 1/2 hour; drain on paper towels and cut into slices.
Place onions, potatoes, chicken broth, water, and garlic (and red pepper flakes) in a pot and cook on medium heat until potatoes are done. Add sausage, bacon, salt, and pepper to taste and simmer for another 10 minutes. Turn to low heat; add kale, cream, and water (optional). Heat thoroughly and serve.


YUM! Let me know what you think!

Babies Don't Keep..

Christmas is just around the corner...HOW DID THIS HAPPEN????!!?!?! Last year at this time, I was pregnant and had Hypermesis Gravidarum and didn't know how I was going to survive the week, let alone until March! Here we are, and my sweet little Bear will be 9 months old in just a few days. It's insane! I am fortunate to stay home, and yet, I still don't feel like I have enough time with my girls before they grow up...

Anybody who knows me, knows that this poem is my favorite, and on a weekly basis I say "Babies don't keep!" It is so so true,  they don't, and it's sad to see them grow so quickly, but it is exciting to see the people they are turning into. I used to worry about Goose starting Kindergarten, and here we are the year is flying by! She will be on Christmas break! Enjoy the poem, it hangs on my fridge :)

Mother, O' Mother, come shake out your cloth,

Empty the dustpan, poison the moth.

Hang out the washing, make up the bed,

Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?

She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,

Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo.

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due,

Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek - peekaboo.

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew,

And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo.

But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.

Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?

Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow,

But children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!

I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

~ Ruth Hulbert Hamilton

What's for Dinner Wednesday....CrockPot Lasagna

It's Wednesday! What's for dinner? This week's recipe is for a super easy and really yummy lasagna...in the crock pot! Can you tell I love my crock pot? I love lasagna, so this makes me a very happy girl! My sweet little Bear had her first taste of lasagna and she approved as well! ♥

Here is the recipe:

Crock Pot Lasagna

· 1 lb hamburger (browned in pan)
· 1 can/jar spaghetti sauce
· 15 oz ricotta cheese
· 1 pack shredded mozzarella cheese
· 1 C. shredded parmesan cheese
· Cup of water
· 1 egg
· Lasagna noodles
· 2 Tsp parsley (flakes)

Add sauce and water to browned hamburger

Mix ricotta cheese, egg, ¾ of mozzarella cheese, parsley & 2 Tbs of parmesan in bowl

Put 1 cup of sauce mix in bottom of crock pot

Add 1 layer of noodles (break to fit)

Add ½ cheese mix

Add 2 cups of sauce mix

Add 1 layer of noodles

Add other ½ of cheese mix

Add rest of the sauce

Cook on Low for 3 to 4 hours. (You may want to check it, my mom made this recipe and it was ready in 2 hours.)

Top with rest of the cheese. Enjoy!

(could add sausage and/or pepperoni)

 Not quite finished! Hard to wait for!

What's for Dinner Wednesday....Sausage Rolls

It's Wednesday...what's for dinner? We are cheating in my house tonight. We are doing "brinner" (breakfast for dinner). Quick,easy and yummy sausage rolls.

Ingredients:

2 packages of crescent rolls

1 package of ground sausage ( I like maple)

Open the crescent rolls and unroll the dough and press together the seams so it is a flat sheet of dough (While shopping at BJ's the other day, I noticed they sold seamless crescent dough!)

Once you have a sheet of dough, put half of the sausage on the dough and spread it all the way to the edges. roll it up, and then slice it into "rolls". Repeat with the other package of crescents and the other half of the sausage. Cook for 15-25 mins (depends on size, you will be able to tell when they are done) at 350 degrees.

To make it better, we had homemade hot chocolate and watched the movie Elf. I was a happy girl! ♥

Bonus:

Hot Chocolate (one serving):

2-3 tablespoons of sugar

2 teaspoons of cocoa powder

dash of salt

Mix together. Fill a mug with milk (unless you have a cocomotion, more on this later) heat it up, and then add a little vanilla extract. Mix the dry ingredients into the milk and enjoy!

What's for dinner Wednesday......Pasta Casserole

It's Wednesday...What's for dinner?


I'm making a very easy and quick dinner, but Goose's favorite. It's basically a very picky person's Baked Ziti. When I was little, my mom would make it with egg noodles instead of ziti and my brother and I called it the noodley stuff. The name stuck, so even now as and adult, in our house we call it "Noodley Stuff".

This is a great basic recipe..but it is SO easy to add stuff and make it different each time

Ingredients:

Pasta (Ziti, Penne etc or try egg noodles!)
1 can of Hunt's Meat Sauce (or other tomato sauce)
1 package of ground beef
Mozzarella Cheese (slices or shredded)

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare pasta. Brown beef in the pan, and drain. Once drained, add tomato sauce. Combine sauce mixture and cooked and drained pasta. Mix well. Pour into a casserole dish (9x13) and top with cheese. Bake until the cheese melts and enjoy!

Sometimes we will add 1 bag of shredded Italian blend cheese with the pasta/sauce mix and pour into the casserole dish before topping it with the mozzarella cheese. You could also add ground Italian sausage as well...yum!

Glitter Ornaments!

Have you ever seen the movie Elf? (It is one of my favorites! )If you haven't, it's about a child who sneaks into Santa's bag and is raised by an older Elf in the North Pole. Buddy believes he is an Elf. It's funny. Check it out if you haven't seen it! That being said...

 I LOVE Christmas time. A few people jokingly refer to me as "Buddy" (the elf)  I like baking, and Christmas carols, and crafts, and the shows, the change in spirit people seem to have...you name it. I am going to share some of my Christmas activities and my most recent is glitter ornaments. Goose and I made some and I think they turned out cute!

They are SUPER easy to make, and take just minutes!

I bought the ornaments and glitter at Michael's (on sale!) I also bought an oil based Sharpie paint pen. The Pledge is the secret. I got it at Wal-Mart for less than $5, but I saw some generic mop and shine at Dollar General. It has acrylic protection and it's clear. I saw a yellow version, but it may discolor the glitter. I haven't tried it.



The first step is to take the metal tops of the ornament and put in a tiny amount of floor cleaner in the ornament. I swished it around the inside to coat it.





After it was coated, I poured out the remaining floor cleaner. (I just poured it into the next ornament) Then, I poured the glitter into the ornament and swished/shook it so that all the glitter stuck to the floor cleaner.

After you finish let them dry with the cap off. Once they are dry you can put the tops back on and decorate with ribbon or use a paint marker to write on them.

These are some different ideas on how you could dress them up!

So easy, and you can personalize them anyway you want to! Happy Crafting!

>

What's For DInner Wednesdays..2....Spicy Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

It's Wednesday! So...what's for dinner?!? I'm going to be truthful, since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I've got some other things going on, I'm probably not going to make much tonight. However..I'm still going to do an easy "recipe" that I came across about 6 years ago! (I think it was on Semi-Homemade..I will check and update!) It uses condensed soups! If you like grilled cheese and tomato soup and don't feel like cooking...this is for you! We had this frequently when we first moved in together..


Spicy Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup:


1 can of tomato soup
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 can of Southwestern Pepper jack Soup
1 bag shredded cheddar cheese
Bread of your choice
Dried Basil (or Italian Seasoning)
Hot Sauce (optional, could use red pepper flakes)
Butter
2-3 cups Milk (or spicy tomato juice)


Soup:

In a pot mix tomato soup, cheddar cheese soup, and milk (or tomato juice) Add a couple dashes of hot sauce and a couple pinches (about a teaspoon?) of basil/seasoning. Heat stirring occasionally.



In a bowl:


Mix one can of southwestern pepper jack soup and one bag of shredded cheese together in a bowl. This will be your filling for your grilled cheese. Spread the filling on bread with a knife and then butter the outside of the sandwiches and cook until golden brown on each side. The filling is thick, and to ensure it melts you can immediately cover the sandwiches on a tray with foil, or use a lid when frying them.



Dip in the soup and enjoy!

Diet Coke Brownies-My oPINion

While browsing on Pinterest, (go figure!) I saw a pin for Diet Coke Brownies. See it here. They were made with brownie mix, and one can of diet coke. Sounds sooo easy, and people were saying good things, so I decided to try it, with regular Coke, not diet.



I had one box of traditional brownie mix, and one can of regular Coke. I mixed them together and poured into a 9x9 glass pan. I baked them according to the directions on the box.





They looked and smelled sooo good........BUT I didn't care for them. They were moist, and pretty sticky, and chocolatey, but I could tell they were a lower calorie brownie, and let's face it, if I'm going to eat a brownie, I want to enjoy every. single. bite! I'd prefer to eat less and enjoy it more! (Sidenote: Brownies are a weakness of mine) They aren't terrible though, and Goose liked them, Pants said they were "okay" but he didn't like the middle that it reminded him of pudding?

If you are a brownie lover, stay tuned for my truffle brownie recipe. It's fabulous!

What's for Dinner Wednesday...Pot Roast

This is an idea I had, that I hope you like! Come back each week on Wednesday for a new recipe, and feel free to submit your own ideas!

Tonight for dinner is pot roast. I make it in the crock pot, it's so easy and one of my favorites, especially when it's cold outside! You can get fancier than mine, I've seen a lot of variations, but for the most part, I keep it simple.


Ingredients:

• Roast
• 1 packet of onion soup mix (for a larger roast, or more flavor use 2)
• Potatoes
• Carrots
• Water

I combine everything in the CrockPot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Spoon into bowls and enjoy!

I'm thankful for....2012

Thanksgiving will be here soon, and this is the time of year where people like to say what they are thankful for. I see the posts on facebook and I love to hear what people are thankful for, but I hate that it's only once a year!

Here are a few things I am thankful for everyday, with more to come.

• I am so so thankful for my family. I have a wonderful husband and two amazing girls. They are my world.
• I am also so so so thankful, that I am able to stay home with my babies. I have been home since a couple weeks before Goose was born, and it is a hard job. Sometimes it makes me crazy. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love experiencing their firsts, and watching them learn.
• I'm also thankful for our good health.
• Having just spent an entire pregnancy with Hypermesis Gravidarum, and being almost helpless really made me appreciate feeling good. I still have some issues, but overall I'm healthy, and despite all my issues I gave birth to a perfect, healthy beautiful baby girl. Good health should be appreciated everyday!
•  I'm thankful for a nice house, and warm beds.
•  Food in our bellies.

These are a few of mine...what are YOU thankful for?

Crock Pot Italian Chicken

Chicken is so versatile. You can do SO many different things with it...and this is so easy and yummy. In the summer we usually marinate boneless skinless chicken breasts in a bottle of Italian salad dressing and grill it. It's always been one of my favorites. I saw a 'recipe' on Pinterest that called for italian dressing packet, and roasted garlic, mix in the crock pot and cook on low. It sounded good to me!


I decided to make chicken one day, but didn't have the packet, so I used half a bottle of Italian salad dressing and that was it! I've served it with roasted potatoes, I've shredded it for sandwiches...I've topped salads....so good!


Here's what I did:


Italian Dressing Chicken:

Boneless skinless chicken breasts
Italian dressing to cover

Place chicken and dressing in crock pot and cook on low 3-6 hours (depending on your slow cooker) Once chicken is finished serve as desired. I like it in sandwiches, salads and served with roasted potatoes!

I hope you enjoy it!

Here we go!

I feel like there was a lot of pressure on this first post, and I was struggling with what I wanted to say. I wanted to be funny, and likable and intriguing. Basically, I wanted to make a good first impression, and introduce myself, without repeating what was in the 'About Me' section. I also wanted you to want to read the blog! I thought long and hard and decided that instead of trying to tell you all kinds of things about myself and sounding scripted, that I would share some of my favorite quotes and little tidbits about myself.





Some of my most favorite quotes:



The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. -Unknown



One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself. -Lucille Ball



It's a helluva start being able to recognize what makes you happy. -Lucille Ball



A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all things that stand in it's path. -Unknown



Step with care and tact, and remember that life is a great balancing act. -Dr Seuss



In case you haven't been able to tell, I am head over heels for my sweet girls, and being a mother is the greatest opportunity I've ever been given. I am also a huge Lucille Ball fan and if I could go back in time I would make sure I visit the 50's. I like crafting, I like saving money and finding deals, and I like cooking and baking .



I will have more posts to come soon (I'm already planning them, they seem much less intimidating than this first post) I'm excited to share my blog with you and hope you enjoy!