Best Pumpkin Milkshake Ever!

The kids have been wanting homemade milkshakes. We have pumpkin. So, we made up a pumpkin milkshake. Here's what we did...

3 cups Low-Fat Vanilla Frozen Yogurt
1 Cup Pure Pumpkin
1 tsp Cinnamon
Pinch of Nutmeg
3 TBSP sugar-free caramel topping
1 Cup Skim Milk

SOOOOOO tasty! Really. Yummy.

It comes out to be about 220 calories for a 1 Cup serving. This recipe makes 4 cups once it's all blended together. This will definitely be made again in the coming months of pumpkin goodness. Yum!

Cherry Chip Recipe

Since I posted my Cherry Chip layout online, I've had multiple requests for the recipe. I fear this will be rather disappointing for you all, but I really have no recipe to speak of... unless you count the 3 easy steps on the back of the Betty Crocker box *giggle.*

Seriously, I use the Cherry Chip cake mix, make it exactly like it says on the box (other than I use EVOO instead of veggie oil). And then I eat it. The end.  See, super boring and disappointing. The good news is, anyone can do it!! 

Out of curiosity, I did search for homemade cherry chip recipes, for those of you who turn up your noses at box mix cakes.  I found THIS. It has pieces of real cherries in it, which I'm sure is divine. I, however, have other things to do with my time than bake cakes from scratch, so I shall be sticking to the ten-minute variety.  ;) 

Easy Berry Smoothies

Yesterday for Mother's Day, I treated myself to a Mt. Dew. I know that sounds funny, but I haven't had one in a while, and it just sounded good. Since we no longer keep it in the house, I made a run to Speedway (I needed gas anyway, so....). When I got back, Meagan saw my cup, and asked right away if I had gotten her a slushy. Nope, I didn't. So I decided to be nice and make them slushies.

I found this recipe in a Kraft Foods magazine and tried it out. Super easy. And YUM!  I altered it a bit... here's what I did...

Ingredients: 
1 - 6 oz. cup of light strawberry yogurt
1 cup ice
6 fresh strawberries
1 pkg. Kool-Aid Singles (I used Tropical Punch)

Directions: 
Dump it all into a blender and blend until smooth.


Kids loved it! I loved it! I might make one of these for myself today!!

Recipe Box

I thought I'd try something new for 2012.... a recipe box so to speak. Because I know so many of us struggle with what to make for dinner, as well as having the time to actually MAKE the dinner, I thought some 4x6 recipe cards of the meals we eat as a family might be helpful. I'll share meals that are pretty easy and don't take centuries to prepare, as well as some helpful tips for time management to make dinner-making less of a dream and more of a possibility.

This was dinner for us last night:

Grilled Chicken Salad

TIME: about 35 minutes (only because of making the hard boiled eggs), otherwise, 5 minutes
TIPS: I made the chicken ahead of time... diced it and cooked it through. Then cooled it and froze it until I was ready to use it. I took about an hour on one weekend afternoon and prepped a bunch of chicken all at the same time... some diced cooked, some trimmed for chicken breasts, some trimmed for chicken fingers. Then I froze each type and labeled it for easy identification. For this meal, I took the chicken out of the freezer a day ahead and put it in the fridge. Then, just before adding it to the salad, I warmed it in a skillet (with a lid) with a bit of water and some italian seasoning. SUPER easy and quick for throwing a meal together in a hurry.I also made the eggs ahead of time and kept them in the fridge until I was ready to slice them and throw them on the salad.

Parmesan Breadsticks

TIME: 20 minutes (including oven preheat time and bake time)
TIP: I knew I wouldn't have the 20 minutes to spare for dinner time, so I made these before leaving to pick the kids up from school. Once they cooled, I but them in a container to keep them fresh, then warmed them in the microwave for just a few seconds before serving. I prefer them fresh from the oven, but this is a doable alternative when time is short.

Double Stuffed Potatoes

TIME: 15 minutes start to finish

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Parmesan Potatoes

A pinterest-inspired recipe. I found a few different potato recipes that sounded tasty, and I sort f mashed them together to come up with this potato recipe I made for dinner last night.



* gold potatoes washed and quartered (or smaller)
* microwave the potatoes until they're fork tender (about 10ish minutes or so?)
* coat with melted butter, grated parmesan & parsly
* bake at 450 for 15 minutes or until golden & crisp.

Yum. Although I think I would use red potatoes (or maybe idaho?) next time.

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Polka Dot Pumpkin Cupcakes

I found this recipe on verybestbaking.com and tried it last night for desert. On those evenings when I make a not-so-favorite meal, or one that's new to us (which I think both could have applied last night), I try to make desert to kind of ease the pain of trudging through the dinner part. So these were desert last night. They were pumpkin-y and tasty. And I made a tray of mini's for after-school snack today.




Credits: Sahlin Studio Kitschy Kitchen Mixed Media

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Making it up as I go - Spicy Sausage Tortellini Soup

Sometimes I cook off of a recipe. Sometimes I cook from memory. Sometimes I cook based on whatever random foods I have available.

My plan today was to go to the grocery as soon as some repair people came to fix our closet doors. They had given me the 'sometime between 12 and 2' deal. Had they come closer to 12:00, instead of 1:15, I would have had plenty of time to get to the grocery and get home before Sebastian got off the bus. As it was though, had I attempted a grocery trip, I highly doubt I would have been back in time.

This left me with only one option for dinner... make something up. I looked in the fridge to see what I had. A pack of whole wheat cheese-filled tortellini. A pound of bulk sausage. A pack of bacon. Some veggies. And a bit of cheese. Not a lot to work with. After scanning the pantry for on-hand options, I decided to try to make up a soup. I only had beef boullion, so I decided to try using the sausage with it to see how it went. Here's what I made:



And here's how...

Ingredients:
7 cups of water + 7 tsp beef boullion (aka 7 cups of beef broth)
1/2 lb ground sausage, cooked & drained (I cooked the whole pound and split it... I'll use the other 1/2 for pizza tomorrow...after I go to the grocery, of course!)
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 cup matchstick carrots
1 cup fresh baby spinach, washed & cut
1 package refrigerated whole wheat cheese tortellini
1 tsp garlic powder (I would have preferred fresh garlic cooked in with the sausage, but I had nothing fresh to work with really, so powder had to do)
1/2 tsp dried basil
generous dash of pepper

Instructions:
1. cook sausage, drain
2. bring beef broth to a boil
3. add carrots & seasoning, stir to combine
4. add tortellini, boil ~ 3 minutes
5. reduce heat, add sausage & spinach; cook on low until spinach is softened & soup is heated through

We served a quick pack of dinner rolls with this, as well as a plate of fresh tomatoes & mozzerella.

Results: Isaac LOVED it. The kid ate three bowls and 2 rolls, plus a slice of cheese (no tomatoes for him). Meagan loved the tortellini, sausage, & spinach. She ate around the carrots and ate some of the tomatoes. Sebastian wasn't so much of a fan. He liked the tortellini okay, but he does not like spicy anything, and this was just too spicy for him.

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Saying Goodbye to Summer

It seems to me that around here school starts much earlier than I've ever been accustomed to, which means that we had to do summer wrap-up in the middle of August. Weird. But we did it anyway.

The last week before school always means a few things for us. First of all, it means shifting bedtime and wake-up time to more closely reflect school sleeping schedule. That's a must. Anything else is just asking for trouble.

But more fun than that, the last week before school means relaxing the reigns a bit and doing things we maybe wouldn't normally do, or maybe just doing a few special little things that don't get done as often as we might like.

Here's a look at some fo the ways we spent our last week before school...

PB&J Pizza! One thin, whole weat organic pizza crust, all-natural peanutbutter, and low sugar jelly / jam. Pretty simple stuff. Pretty tasty. Pretty out-of-the-norm for lunch around here. But yummy just the same. (In case you're wondering about cooking instructions - spread a thin layer of PB and top with a moderate layer of jelly. bake according to pizza crust instructions for about 5-6 minutes)

(okay, so this is really not the greatest picture ever, but I thought I should show you the finished product)


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Because we will have so many hours of gymnastics practice each week, at any given time there will be three of us who will need somewhere to go for 2 hours during said practice. Since the library is just around the corner from the gym, we decided library memberships were in order. Our trip to the library prompted a need for a wish list of books to read. So we detoured to Barnes & Noble to browse the children / youth section. We made a list about a mile long! While we were there, the kids each chose to use some of their money they had saved to buy a book. The boys each bought a Zelda book, and Meagan bought a Biscuit the Dog book. I'd say we spent a good 90 minutes in their browsing. I love that the kids thought that was a fun way to spend the day. I love that they want to spend their money on books. All good stuff.

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2 days before school started, we took what might very well be our last real chance of the season to head to the beach park. It was funny to me that the boys took their recently-purchased Zelda books and sat on a piece of playground equipment to read.


Meagan, however, wanted no part of sitting still at a park. She went off on her own and climbed and played. Isaac eventually ended up joining her, but Sebastian read the whole time, only looking up from his book long enough to move to the shade.




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This was maybe one of my most favorite little moments. The last day before school, we made a last-minute shoe shopping trip before gymnastics. When we were done, we still had about an hour before practice, so we got a 'snack' of complete and total junk and headed outside to eat. Because we wouldn't DARE eat that stuff in the van, we sat in the grass beside our van and had a curb-side picnic of sorts. Snack consisted of 7-Up and Airheads for Isaac, 7-Up and a butterfinger for Sebastian and rootbeer and gummy bears for Meagan.

Did you know there are rules for eating gummy bears? I'm not sure I remember them just right, but it's something like this: Red: Eat the heads off first; Green: Squish them before you eat them; Yellow: tear them in half... you get the picture. :)

And this was my own personal contribution to snack time... Mt. Dew and Butterfinger.


Definitely out of the norm for us, and it totally took my kids by surprise that I was actually letting them get something from the check-out line, but it was a fun last-week-of-school thing to do.

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Easy Summer Smoothies

On our quest to learn better, healthier eating habbits, we've been trying lots of new things. We've especially been looking for creative ways to incorporate fruits and veggies into snack time.

This post doesn't help the veggies any, but it sure has a yummy dose of fruit. In an effort to use what was on hand and make something tastey, I've come up with two of the easiest smoothie recipes ever. The kids absolutely loved both of them!

CHOCOLATE COVERED BANANA SMOOTHIE

3 cups of ice
3 cups of dark chocolate almond milk
3 or 4 ripe bananas
whipped cream (if you like)

In a blender, add the ice, almond milk and bananas. I just put everything in whole, no necessary preparation. Then blend on high, until ice is crushed and bananas are pureed into the mixture. Easy as that!




They guzzled these down and ask for them often. What I love is that I can partake of these as well because there's no dairy. And the health benefits of the almond milk are quite a pleasant perk.


MIXED BERRY SMOOTHIES

3 cups ice
1 cup milk (or original almond milk)
3-4 cups mixed berries (we used strawberries and blueberries)
1/4 cup sugar
whipped cream if you like

In blender, add ice, milk, berries and sugar. Blend on high until ice is crushed and berries are pureed into the mix. Again, these were a huge hit!



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Spicy 3-Bean Chili

I was getting bored with my usual chili recipe, so I decided to try something new. I started with a recipe out Betty Crocker's Soups, Stews & Chilies 2011 (Volume 20, #5), then changed it up a bit, cuz that's just what I tend to do. Here's what I did:

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey
1 pkg taco seasoning
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
a bit of olive oil

28 oz. organic tomatoes crushed with basil
15 oz. organic tomato sauce
2 - 10 oz. diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained
16 oz. light kidney beans, drained
1/2 - 15.25 oz black beans, drained
1/2 - 15.25 oz garbanzo beans (chick peas), drained
4 oz can chopped jalapenos
4.5 oz can chopped green chiles
2 heaping tbsp chili powder
1 small/medium green bell pepper, finely chopped and seeds removed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

* Heat the oil in a skillet, then brown the turkey, onion & garlic together; Add taco seasoning and stir until evenly coated.

* In a large soup pot, combine all other ingredients; bring to a low boil, then reduce heat to low; stir frequently to avoid burning; add meat when it is ready.

* Allow the chili to cook for at least one hour. Super yummy. Perfectly spicy. Lots - LOTS- left over because it made so much. So Lucas will have lunch for the next 3 days. But he likes chili, and doesn't mind leftovers, so it all works out. **********

More Soup - Spinach Tortellini

This was SO yummy. Really. A bit spicier than I was expecting - in fact Isaac (my spicy food eater and king of black pepper) was the only one of my 3 kids who could get past the first mouth full and I ended up heating up a can of condensed chicken noodle for the other 2... it really was a bit spicy... Isaac went through 3 drinks). I found this recipe in a Betty Crocker Soups magazine, but it required a dutch oven (no, not the kind where you fart under blankets... ) which I do not have, and it sounded all a bit complicated. So I did what I usually do. I made something up. (Thus, the extra spice... sometimes working without a recipe does that to you!) Here's what I used: * A bit of olive oil * About 1/4 of a sweet onion, chopped * 6-ish cups of chicken broth * fresh baby spinach, washed and chopped * matchstick carrots - about a handful * 9 oz refrigerated package of cheese tortellini * some pepper (I used Hot Shots red & black pepper blend) * garlic powder (not sure how much - 1tsp +) * basil (again, not really sure how much... maybe about a tsp as well) * maybe some sea salt if you need a bit of extra seasoning

• Add the olive oil to the bottom of a big soup pot & saute the onion for a few minutes


• Then add the chicken broth, spinach, carrots and seasoning and bring to a boil


• Once it's boiling, add the tortellini and boil until pasta is tender

Easy as that and super yummy. If you aren't one for spice, use just a bit of black pepper instead of red and black... or just skip it altogether.

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A bit of randomness & some Baked Spaghetti

Just a note on today... my computer had to be reformatted (I am very happy to be married to a techy geek. I love that he can fix my computer. He's cool like that). I had no laptop for the entire afternoon / evening. I got a lot of cleaning done. Like, I did laundry, cleaned the oven, dusted the china hutch, swept & mopped the kitchen floor, did the dishes, and made dinner. Dinner.... baked spaghetti. Only I didn't have a recipe to work from... but how hard can baked spaghetti be to make up? So I made something up. It was good. Here's what I used: 3/4 of a box of spaghetti - prepared slightly undercooked 1 jar of spaghetti sauce 1 140z can of Italian style tomatoes, partially drained 1 lb of smoked sausage (it was the only meat I had available to work with.) 4 oz shredded mozzarella 1/4 cup shredded parmesan So I boiled the noodles & browned the sausage. Drained the noodles, and mixed the noodles, sausage, sauce & tomatoes together. Put it in a baking dish. Topped it with the cheese. Covered it with foil. Baked it at 375 for 30 minutes. Took the foil off & baked it a few more minutes to brown the cheese. Yum.

Best Chicken Noodle Soup Ever.

My husband is NOT a chicken fan. He is not a chicken noodle soup fan. But he said this to me yesterday after dinner... "That was the best chicken noodle soup I have personally ever had." Music to my ears! Especially considering it was SUPER easy and quick. I threw it together with random things I had laying around. Used up some inventory and had a yummy healthy dinner. Here's what I used: 2 12.5 oz cans of premium chunk chicken (I'm SURE that one can would work just fine). 1 tsp olive oil 8 cups of chicken broth (I used 8 cups of water and 8 tsp of chicken bouillon granules) Frozen Cali blend veggies. I used mostly the broccoli & carrots, but left some cauliflower in. About 1 1/2 cups of uncooked egg noodles 3 green onions thinly sliced (scallions only) 1 tsp dried basil 1/4 tsp pepper 1/4 tsp garlic powder sea salt to taste (about 1/2 tsp?)

• Microwave the veggies for 4-5 minutes to get them mostly heated through


• In a large soup pan, heat the olive oil


• Add the chicken. Separate the larger chunks of chicken as the chicken warms.


• When the chicken is warm, add the broth (or water & granules), scallions & seasonings. Heat over medium high heat until boiling


• Add veggies & egg noodles. Bring to boil. (If you are not one to use the microwave for step 1, then add your veggies a few minutes before you add your noodles.)


• Once the soup is boiling again, reduce to low heat and cook for 8ish minutes until the noodles & veggies are the desired tenderness.


• We sprinkled some grated Parmesan over the soup once it was in the bowls. You don't have to do that, but it was yummy.

How did the kids weigh in on this? Isaac chowed it. Meagan was hesitant to eat it, but liked it once she took that first bite. Sebastian loved everything but the veggies. He's just not a veggie loving kind of kid.

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A Few of My Favorite Things

Pausing once again to take notice of the little things here and there around me that brighten my day and make me smile. As fall is in full swing, and winter is quickly approaching, I decided it was time to forgo the fresh flowers for a bit. So I threw together a quick bouquet of silk flowers with shades of green and white. Green absolutely puts me at ease and makes me happy. ***** I'm definitely Feeling festive this month. Look at these cute little glass pebbles we found at Pier 1, which is quickly becoming my favorite browsing place... I love to go in and look around. The colors and textures in there are amazing. I'm sure by now the sales people sort of roll their eyes when they see me walk in... 'Oh it's her again.' Bet they wish I would buy a bit more often! But I must say I've gotten some great ideas in there! And this fall planter that I found at Meijer.

Aaah, and candy corn. I don't particular LIKE candy corn, but I LOVE the way that it looks! And the kids like having it around, for sure!

And because I like the look of candy corn, it's only fitting that I have candy corn lights on our holiday tree.

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One more of my favorite things... fresh grilled veggies! Yum! Super easy and one of my favorite additions to any meal. When it's warm enough to grill, that is the absolute best. But on cold days, steaming the veggies instead of grilling works almost as well.

To make them on the grill:

• Chop up your favorite fresh veggies... we've been known to use broccoli, squash, zucchini, onions, peppers, mushrooms, carrots, tomatoes... you name it.


• lightly coat them with olive oil


• then sprinkle Italian dressing mix over the veggies and toss until evenly coated


• grill... we use a grill basket... works like a dream!

To steam them instead, chop and steam the veggies first, then toss them in olive oil & dressing mix.

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Dining In Weekend Edition - & a Chili Recipe (sort of)

Yea!! Grand total spending for the weekend was $16.00. We ordered pizza Saturday for dinner... $16 total. No trips through the McDonald's drive through for tea, which is a major accomplishment for me. Tough to do, but I'll take it, at least for one day! On the menu over the weekend was stuffed peppers. I haven't made these in quite a while, so I completely forgot how much my kids actually like these. I made six huge stuffed peppers. And we ran out. Isaac actually requested more, but they were gone. I guess I will have to make more stuffing next time so I can stuff a few extra peppers. I also made some chili this weekend. I don't really ever work off of a recipe for chili, but I tried to jot down some notes on what I used so I can share it with you. Here's the definites:

• 28 oz. crushed tomatoes


• 28 oz. fire roasted tomatoes


• 14 oz. Italian style tomatoes


• 14 oz. light kidney beans, drained


• 4 oz. chopped green chills


• 2 lb. ground beef


• 1/2 sweet onion, diced


• 3 cloves garlic, minced

And the not-so-definites:

• ~ 1/3 cup + chili powder - I started with 1/4 cup, but I kept adding it as I went. 1/3 cup is my best guess.


• generous dose of garlic powder


• palm full of dried oregano


• ~ 1/8 cup cayenne pepper


• 2+ tsp paprika


• generous dose of black pepper


• 1/2 tsp salt (ish)


• ~ 1/2 pack taco seasoning

Steps:

• Saute the onions and minced garlic in olive oil for a few minutes.


• Then add the ground beef to the onions; brown & drain


• In a large pot, mix all the tomatoes, beans, cooked & drained ground beef, seasonings, and everything else on the list


• Mix it up and let it stew for as much time as you can or want to give it.


• Eat.

This most definitely made plenty for us to get two full chili meals plus a few left-over servings. We froze a little less than 1/2 of the pot for another round of chili later on, and we kept the rest on hand for quick lunches, etc. for the next day or so. Worked lovely! Tasted yummy!

Meatless Spinach & Cheese Stuffed Shells

Yum! That's all I can say. Here's what we had for dinner over the weekend: 1 box jumbo pasta shells (uncooked) 1 14.5 oz jar pasta sauce 15 oz. ricotta cheese 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan garlic powder, oregano, black pepper 1 egg 1 package frozen spinach, thawed and water squeezed out 1 cup water another 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella 1) combine the ricotta, egg, 1/2 cup mozzarella, and Parmesan, along with the seasonings in a bowl 2) make sure the water is squeezed out of the spinach; then add that to the cheese mixture and stir until it is evenly disbursed 3) combine 1 jar of pasta sauce & 1 cup of water in a bowl To make in a crock pot: 4) cover the bottom of crock with sauce 5) stuff uncooked pasta shells with cheese mixture 6) lay the shells in the crock on top of the layer of sauce 7) cover shells with remaining sauce 8) top with 1/2 cup mozzarella 9) cook on high for 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 hours... shorter cook time will result in more al dente texture in pasta To make in the oven: 4) cover the bottom of casserole baking dish with sauce 5) stuff uncooked pasta shells with cheese mixture 6) lay the shells in the baking dish on top of the layer of sauce 7) cover shells with remaining sauce 8) cover with foil & bake at 375 for about an hour 9) remove, top with 1/2 cup mozzarella 10) bake until cheese is melted & browned and pasta is tender I am not kidding you, my kids ate this up! Meagan took a big bite, got to the spinach, and said, Eeewww, I don't like this. I told her it was the same thing that she eats when she eats all of my spinach & artichoke dip when I get that at a restaurant... that was all it took. she ate the rest with no complaints... in fact, with lots of Yums instead. The best part was that I had about 1/2 a box of shells and 1/2 a bowl of cheese mixture left. So I stuffed the rest of the shells, mixed up another jar of sauce and water, put the dish together in a baking dish, and froze it for another time. So, I ended up getting two meals out of this one as well! I am gonna get spoiled if I keep this up! As far as the cost goes, I got both jars of sauce on sale for $1 each. The mozzarella was $1.67 for the block, $2.50 for the entire container of Parmesan, $1.50 for the pasta, about $2.00 for the ricotta, and $1.00 for the spinach. So two meals for less than $11.00 total (and lots of Parmesan left over). Love it!

Empty Bowls

I love it when I cheat and it works! ... Isn't that a nice lesson to teach my kids??? Scary to know I am one of their major influences, huh?

So I've made the decision to not eat fast food for dinner for the next 3 weeks. I started on Sunday. It's been four days now, and I've only been tempted about 42 times. Really. But I've stuck with the dinner plans, and we have eaten in every evening. Tonight I made chicken pot pie soup. I was going to do it the 'real' way - you know, make a roue, add the broth, blah blah. But I just really didn't feel like going all out. I wanted to just be done cooking, eat, and move on. So I threw some stuff together real quick like a rabbit. And the kids loved it! Clean bowls all around! Momma likes! So here's what I did...

2 cans of condensed cream of chicken soup

2 cups of milk

3 tbsp flour

1 cup of chicken broth (or water & granules)

1 package of mixed veggies steamed (you know, peas, corn, green beans, carrots, etc)

1 can of white meat chicken

a bit of pepper and garlic powder

What to do with all the ingredients:

* whisk the chicken soup & milk together

* while the soup is still cold, add the 3 tbsp flour, and whisk together

* add the chicken (drained), veggies, broth, and seasoning.

* mix it all up, let it cook for a bit

* eat.

Again, I had half of the soup left over. I am freezing the remaining mix and I'm going to pull it out in a few weeks and use it for pot pie filling (it's thick enough to not be too runny... should be quite tasty actually). I figure I'll spend $2.00 on a 2-pack of refrigerated pie crust and for about $6.00 (including the croissants we had with the soup and the crust for the pie) I will have 2 meals. Quite a different from $6 per person at a restaurant.

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Potato Soup

The potato soup was a hit - at least for 2 out of 3 children... and I think Sebastian would have been fine except for the little broccoli's floating in it (LOL... the kid is convinced that broccoli florets are poisonous). The good news (well, for everyone except Sebastian, who does not so much consider this to be good news) is that there was plenty left over for us to have it again for dinner tonight... so I don't have to cook!! SA-WEET! If anyone wants to give it a try, here's what I did:

• peel & dice 3 - 4 medium potatoes. boil them in a large soup pot until they are fork-tender. set them aside


• in a skillet, melt about 3 tbsp butter. then mix in 3 tbs flour and stir until fully combined.


• add salt & pepper to the flour/butter mixture. heat it over low/medium heat for 2-3 minutes


• add 1 cup of milk to the flour mixture. stir or whisk until the flour is fully mixed into the milk.


• add additional salt, pepper, garlic powder for seasoning. heat on med/high heat to a boil.


• drain the potatoes and return to the pot


• add the milk mixture to the potatoes


• add 1 cup of chicken broth (I actually just used 1 cup of water and added chicken granules... in a glass jar, of course!)


• add 2 cups of milk


• stir & bring to a boil


• stir in 1 can of condensed cheddar cheese soup, 4 oz. shredded Colby, 4 oz. shredded Monterrey


• add some bacon bits if you like


• add one pack of chopped broccoli, steamed

I calculated that this pot of soup cost me approximately $6.50 to make, and it will feed all four of us - (Lucas isn't here to eat with us at present) for two meals easily.... so $3.25 per meal. Nice! So yes, we had loaded baked potatoes in soup form (Isaac & Meagan even added sour cream to top off their soup... I'll pass on that, thank you), my kids liked - or at least tolerated - it, and now I don't have to worry about cooking dinner tonight.

Best Breakfast Sandwich Ever

This was my breakfast yesterday morning. It was so yummy, I had to take a picture of it (I turned it around so you can't see the bite out of it, LOL). I thought I would share it with you, in case you want to give it a try. I diced up some green peppers and tomatoes (was going to do onion to, but I was just being lazy). I warmed them in my little egg-frying skillet for a few minutes until they were warmed through. Then I cracked an egg right over top of them, broke the yolk and smushed it around a bit. Salt and pepper. Fried it on both sides. Then stuck it on a toasted english muffin with warm ham and melted cheese. YUM. My new favorite Saturday-morning-breakfast sandwich. :)

Photos Today - 6/27/10

Several pictures from today...

McDonald's Sweet Tea on the way home from church... I tried a new church today. It is such a weird feeling to be a stranger in the crowd again. I haven't felt that for a long time. Starting over...

Bacon spinach salad and bread sticks for lunch. Yum.

Hot. 'nuff said.

Made this castle for the hall tree in Isaac's room. He chose dragons and castles for his room, and the one thing he asked for is a sign that says "Isaac's Castle." We found this little castle at Hobby Lobby, although it was all pink and purple. Nothing a little paint can't fix!

Playing in the sprinklers with the neighbor boy and two other little boys. Six kids, 6 sword-like weapons, two sprinklers, and wild imaginations. I think they were all secret super spies who were fighting bad guy aliens or something like that. It always makes me smile to overhear their play.

After getting our 1/2 bath painted yesterday, today I semi-decorated. I decided to refinish the mirror since it didn't match anything else that was in there. Gonna do white paint as the base and then go over it with crackle paint. Hope it turns out...