Thursday, December 3, 2009

Chicken Fricassi

This is the recipe my good friend Angie shared with me recently. I must say, it is DELICIOUS!!! Here is the recipe as she wrote it (with a couple of notes from me) and pictures I took while making it the other night :)

4 bone-in chicken thighs
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp paprika (or until flour looks pink)
dash white pepper (optional.. i always forget it)
at least 1 tsp salt

Mix up in gallon sized ziplock (or whatever is handy) and shake chicken in it to coat.


1 tbsp light oil
1/2 cup an onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped


(I used my Ninja Master Prep! Though I accidentally pulsed it a little too much and basically pureed my onion and celery x.x)


Heat pan to medium-low heat. Add oil to coat pan.



Add onion and celery and cook until semi-tender. Scoop out and set aside.



Add more oil to recoat pan. Lightly crisp chicken in pan; DO NOT COOK THROUGH.



2 small cans (10 3/4 oz each) cream of chicken soup


In a crockpot, add 1 can cream of chicken soup.



Lay chicken on top.



Lay onions and celery on top of that.



In a bowl or measuring cup, add second can of soup and 1 can's worth of water. Mix up and pour in crockpot to cover everything.
Cook on high for 1 hour.
Reduce to low and cook for 6 hours.
Do not remove lid while cooking.



When time is up, use tong to grab chicken bones. If meat does not fall off the bone, recover and cook on high for 1 more hour.

Stir up contents of crock pot and serve over wide egg noodles (or preferred choice of base, i.e. potatoes, rice, ect.)
Enjoy! =D

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Happy December!

I have to say December is probably my favorite month of the year. I love the excitement that seems to fill the air as soon as it turns December first, and the extra bit of kindness people seem to show this month. I love giving gifts to those I love and seeing the looks on their faces as they open them. I honestly could go without receiving any gifts; seeing others happy is honestly enough for me.
All of my gifts this year are going to be handmade, so I hope that the people I am making them for will be a bit forgiving of how they look! Also I am very excited because my mother actually gave me my gift early--a home canning kit! I can't wait to start using it. Just another way to be frugal!
Today I'm going to attack a little bit of freezer cooking in attempt to keep us from relying on Pizza Hut for days I forget to thaw the chicken or buy an important ingredient in one of our meals (I have a bad habit of being forgetful).
I won't be freezer cooking for the whole month, but I figure this is a good way to start! If you want to join in with Freezer Cooking Daze, head over to Life as a Mom or Money Saving Mom!

Monday, November 30, 2009

Menu Plan Monday ~ Nov. 30, 2009

Ok I fell down on the job pretty badly last week. Know why? Because my husband made the most AMAZING TURKEY I HAVE HAD IN MY LIFE. So I just kept eating leftovers =x
Also, I forgot to thaw the chicken in time so Tuesday's meal failed, which is why you'll be seeing it again on this week's menu. Only I'm going to put the chicken in the fridge right when I finish this entry. I promise.

Monday - Hubby's homemade pizza
Tuesday - Chicken Fricassi
Wednesday - Tuna casserole
Thursday - Sweet & sour pork chops, green beans, and biscuits
Friday - Easy Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas
Saturday - Burgers :)
Sunday - Meatloaf

For more Menu Plan ideas, head over to Org Junkie :)

Monday, November 23, 2009

Menu Plan Monday November 23, 2009

The hubby has duty again on Wednesday, so it'll be leftovers for me that day!

Monday:
Corned beef and cabbage

Tuesday:
Chicken Fricassi

Wednesday:
Leftovers

Thursday:
Happy Thanksgiving! Turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, rolls, sweet potato casserole, and pecan pie

Friday:
Turkey w/ pasta and garlic bread

Saturday:
Burgers! (Seeing a trend? I just can't get enough of my hubby's recipe!!)

Sunday:
Chili and homemade rolls


For more Menu Plan Monday ideas, head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

You Capture Challenge: Sunrise/Sunset

I am in love with living in Key West. My camera does not do justice to the beauty of the sun setting over the island. I took these two pictures while driving to have dinner with my husband at the base one night.
I must say I am very excited about next week's challenge...FOOD! It just gives me another excuse to make something deliciously sinful to take pictures of. Now if only I could find the charger for my good camera (right now I'm just using a simple point and shoot Panasonic) I could have some pictures that were actually respectable!!!

For more You Capture Sunrise/Sunset challenge pictures, be sure to check out I Should Be Folding Laundry :)

Scheduling

I've found that I do better with getting things done when I have a list, so I decided to make myself a Daily Schedule and a Weekly Schedule. This way I will be more organized and hopefully nip my horrible procrastination habit in the butt.
My schedules look like this:


Daily Schedule
7:30am-8:30am Watch morning shows
8:30am Set tea to brew
9:00am Put Aurora down for nap
9:15am Eat breakfast
9:30am Work on Daily Chore(s)
10:00am Get Aurora up
10:00am-11:00am Have playtime/"class time" with Aurora
11:00am Make blog entry/entries
12:00pm Put Aurora down for second nap
12:15pm Eat lunch
12:30pm Finish any unfinished Daily Chores
1:00pm Get Aurora up
5:00pm Prepare dinner
7:30pm Aurora bath/me shower
8:00pm Aurora to bed
8:15pm-9:30pm Time with hubby :)
9:30pm Brush teeth, prepare for bed
10:00pm Lights out!


Weekly Routine
Monday:
  • Stroller Moms
  • Sweep
  • Mop
  • Collect trash

Tuesday:
  • Grocery Day

Wednesday:
  • Stroller Moms
  • Sweep
  • Laundry
    • Clean bedsheets

Thursday:
  • Collect trash
  • Clean bathrooms

Friday:
  • Sweep
  • Mop

Saturday:
  • Zumba
  • Baking day

Sunday:
  • Make meal plan for the week
  • Make grocery list

Obviously my days won't be exactly on the times I've put down (I'd like to meet someone who's life runs that well...), but this will at least give me a bit more structure than I've had in the last couple of lazy weeks. I even put an hour in there for blogging to make sure I finish the MANY entries I've "Oh, I'll do that later,"-ed, and also to make sure this blog doesn't go cold.
Do you have a daily and/or weekly schedule? What is yours like?

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Tryology!


I just got my first Tryology package today! I'm so excited to open it! (And apparently so is Aurora!) It's the "Secret Honey Bunches of Oats" Tryology :D

Monday, November 16, 2009

Menu Plan Monday


This week the hubby has duty on Wednesday, so that's the reason for leftovers :)

Monday - Fried Catfish, biscuits, and green beans
Tuesday - Tortellini with ham, peas, and alfredo sauce
Wednesday - Leftovers
Thursday - Cheesy chicken & rice casserole
Friday - Fried chicken, biscuits, and green beans
Saturday - Burgers (hubby's secret recipe!)
Sunday - Simple pasta & tomatoes

For more menu plan ideas, head over to Org Junkie!

Saturday, November 14, 2009

His Last Christmas

There is a 5 year old little boy named Noah Biorkmas. He has terminal cancer and the doctors have only given him 2 weeks to live. His parents decided to have his Christmas early and they asked him what he wanted. He said that all he wanted was Christmas cards. Here is his address, please take a little time to send him a card.


Noah Biorkmas
1141 Fountain View circle
South Lyon, MI 48178

Thursday, November 12, 2009

You Capture Challenge: Real Life

This is my entry for this week's You Capture!

"You bought this for me, right?"

My daughter learned to sit up on her own this week :)

"Hellooooo!"

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Christmas Frugality

So I've started getting paper bags when I go to the commissary because I plan on using the paper bags as wrapping paper this year! It's free, environmentally friendly, and we can decorate them as we wish. We can embellish them with my daughter's hand prints, stamps, stickers...anything we can imagine :)
Also this year I will be making all of my Christmas gifts. However, since my sister-in-law reads this blog, I won't be posting what I've made until AFTER Christmas =P

Monday, November 9, 2009

Menu Plan Monday


This week my husband has duty two days, Tuesday and Saturday, so I'll be preparing small meals and eating leftovers those days. You may also see some doubles from last week...that's because I really fell down on the job a couple of days :( I vow to do better this week!

Monday - Sweet & Sour pork chops, green beans, and biscuits
Tuesday - Crockpot BBQ chicken, corn, and leftover biscuits
Wednesday - Tacos and black beans & rice
Thursday - Chicken & dumplins and green beans
Friday - Baked ziti
Saturday - Leftovers :)
Sunday - Burgers and homemade fries

There aren't a lot of links to recipes this week because most of the recipes are from my family. The one exception is the Chicken & dumplins, which I got from one of Hillbilly Housewife's e-books. If you follow Econobusters they have liked up with Susanne to have a GREAT deal on a very large package of her e-books. Be sure to check that out!

Also, head on over to Org Junkie for more meal plan ideas!

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Whoops!

Seems I've been falling down on the blogging job a bit these past couple of days! I promise I have a couple of posts in store, including my review of my brand new Ninja Master Prep (yay!) and as soon as my glasses come in I will have a review of ZenniOptical.com :)

For now, enjoy this cuteness:

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Chicken Chili Recipe


Ingredients:
1lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
1 (14.5 oz) can low-sodium chicken broth
1c prepared salsa
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp ground cumin
1 (15oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1c frozen corn, thawed
1 medium onion, finely chopped


Add all ingredients to slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.


This is a simple and delicious recipe that my husband absolutely LOVES! As a side note, I never thaw the corn. 8 hours in the crock pot does it just fine :)

Enjoy! :)

Monday, November 2, 2009

Menu Plan Monday

This is my first Menu Plan Monday! This is also my first attempt at actually making a meal plan for the week :) I only plan dinners because the hubby is at work during the day and my daughter is only 4 months old, so my breakfasts and lunches are normally leftovers :)

Monday - Sloppy Cornbread and mashed potatoes
Tuesday - Chicken Chili and biscuits
Wednesday - Bean burritos made with homemade tortillas and mexican style rice
Thursday - Sweet & sour pork chops, green beans, and leftover biscuits
Friday - Chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese
Saturday - Mushroom swiss burgers (my husband's recipe) and homemade fries
Sunday - Barbecue chicken, leftover biscuits, and green beans

I will post the recipes for the chicken chili and sweet & sour pork chops on the nights I make them :) Head over to Organizing Junkie for more inspiration for meal planning!

Saturday, October 31, 2009

My Halloween Costume

So at least my costume didn't come out as an epic fail! I found an old dress, some black heels, a basket (which I will be handing the candy to the little kiddies out of), and used these directions to make the cape!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween-A-Palooza

So yesterday I started some VERY last-minute Halloween preparations. (Hey, I figure with the move and all, I'm allowed to be a little late =P)

So the first thing I did was make these DELICIOUS cookies from this website (she has SO MANY yummy things to make!). Originally I was going to post pictures and directions...but I'm feeling lazy and still have to sew the cape for my costume and I figure anyone that is interested in making them can click the link and use those directions :)

I put pumpkin candies instead of candy corn because they're cuter (in my opinion) and offer more honey-flavored goodness :) (Did you know that that is the flavoring of candy corn? Honey. Didn't know that until the other day.)

The next thing I did was fail at an attempt to make a mouse costume out of an old sweatshirt. So instead, Flashdance!

Again I was going to post how I made this...but really, I don't think anyone is going to want to replicate that epic fail. Oh, well. Embarrassing pictures to show to future boyfriends.

At least the cookies turned out good! In fact I keep running back into the kitchen to grab one :) Breakfast of champions!

Friday, October 30, 2009

From "In My Backyard" to In my LIVINGROOM?!?

So this morning when I got up I was greeted by this little guy skittering across my living room ceiling:


The way he moved was so neat I had to get a bit of video!




Unfortunately he seems to have skittered off somewhere...I'm hoping to find him before my dog does!!!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

In My Backyard??


Today as I was pulling into my driveway after dropping my husband off at the base I noticed a family of iguanas sunning themselves in my backyard! Of course I ran inside and grabbed my camera. A couple ran off before I could capture them on film but two of the biggest stuck around and modeled for me!


This big boy was hanging out on the sidewalk a few feet down the street. If I hadn't been holding my daughter I would have tried to get closer! Thank goodness for a good zoom feature on my camera!This, my friends, is a perfect Wordless Wednesday!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Shark® Steam Mop Review

So because all of the floors in our new home are that faux-wood, my husband and I decided to try out the Shark® Steam Mop.

We picked it up at the Navy Exchange around the corner from our house yesterday, and I was eager to get it out from the box! Right off I loved how easy it was to assemble. Just a few clicks and it's together! It has a very long cord, which makes it easy to move from room to room without having to plug and unplug every few feet, and I love the fact that all it needs is tap water--no worrying about my daughter or my dog getting into chemicals, and no need to buy any bottles of cleaning fluid or those wasteful (and certainly not eco-friendly!) disposable pads.

Another thing I liked about the Shark® was the size. It is tall enough that I wasn't having to bend over and hurt my back when I pushed it foreward.


(Don't I just look lovely in this pic? Lol.)

After I swept the house I mopped all but my daughter's and my bedrooms (I still have some unpacking to do in there), and this was the result:

The top one was the other clean pad that they included with the mop. As you can see, they aren't kidding when they say "The proof is on the pad"!

I may have to go over some areas one more time (just to satisfy my perfectionism) but I have to give the mop a lot of credit--this place was COVERED in dirt and dust from the renovations they had done before we moved in.

The floor also dried practically instantly, so I didn't end up mopping myself up into a corner like you can sometimes do with other mops.

Overall, I give the Shark® five stars! :)

Monday, October 26, 2009

Breathe in, Breathe out!

Phew! This past week has been crazy! I'll spare you the details but we finally got settled in on-base housing this week, and today our internet got hooked up (hooray!)




The house we live in is wonderful, it has a great little area for gardening that is actually inside the porch, so no worrying about the resident iguanas (yes, you read that right, there are iguanas running around in my backyard) from chowing down on my vegetables.







Right across the street from us is a playground, and if you walk about fifteen feet out into our backyard you can walk out onto our private (though dilapidated...smells like a project to me!) dock on the water :)









Also after doing some research I decided to order the Ninja Master Prep, so as soon as that comes in I will be sure to post my personal review on it! My next major project is to figure out how to start my vegetable garden as well. This will be my first crack at a garden, so wish me luck! I will be chronicling the journey here on my blog, and you can be sure there will be plenty of pictures :)

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Decorative Wall Hanging



This is my first tutorial! It was inspired by Make and Takes's post Mod Podge Magic :) (She also has a lot of adorable crafts there so be sure to check her out!)

I started out with just a few pieces of scrap wood from my mom's workshop:
Next, I had my mom cut the wood down to the size I wanted (because I probably would have hurt myself if I tried to do it):

Then I sanded the wood down so it was nice and smooth (make sure to get the edges too!):

I picked out a nice chocolate color for the base color of the wood that my mom had laying around from when she was picking colors to paint her house (doesn't it look delicious?):

Make sure to paint not only the front of the wood, but also the sides.

Next I used some stencils to add a nice design to the top and bottom pieces:

Here's what that ended up looking like:

Next I used some stencils to write "Family" on the top piece. You can write anything you want here, obviously.

Then I got some cream and red ribbon left over from Christmas and twisted it together, then hot glued it to the top...
...and the bottom pieces (you can see how this looks in the finished product)
Then I simply tied a bow on the top part (you could leave this as a loop, it may be less frustrating--it took me forever to get it even!).
After that you can add pictures to the bottom, or what I may do with my next one is glue a little clear sleeve onto the bottom part and use it to hold my menu plan for the week, schedule, etc :)

I hoped you enjoyed my first tutorial as much as I did making it!!!
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