I met Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond!

So coming to Seattle has its perks! 

I was on Pioneer Woman's FB the other day and saw that she was going to be in Seattle promoting her new cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks, A Year of Holidays, and she would be available for book signing and pictures! So yes, I jumped at that chance because anyone who knows me knows I LOVE her and her recipes! 

So yesterday, Tall Guy came home from work and we instantly left for Town Hall in downtown Seattle. I was thinking we would be late but as we were walking in, so was she! She was with her sister and her nephew, who is too adorable, and they walked into their area. It took everything in me not to go EEEE! 

So we went into the auditorium and waited for the presentation to start. She came out and did a slideshow about her background and showed some pictures of the kids, Ladd's jeaned behind and her good eats. Then the book signing started. 

I bought a ticket so I was in the "priority" line and towards the front so that made me really happy. When we left, it was crazy long and there were people waiting down the stairs for a chance to meet her. Not to mention the people who didn't buy a ticket and had to wait. But she said she was signing every single book so I wonder how long she was there last night! 

It was my turn and we snapped this photo:

EEEE! 

We chatted for a couple minutes. I told her "From high heels to tractor wheels" rings very true for me lately! I went from Seattle, WA to Abilene, Texas which is downright country! So that was a total change for me. She goes "Then you know exactly what I mean then!" I said yes! Its a whole different world. She laughed and said "Well you're back here now then?" I said yes. And she goes "Well then you're where you belong huh?" I laughed. (Growing up outside Cleveland, albeit a crappy city, still a city then to Seattle, WA then to Abilene, Texas...yeah, culture shock!) 

Overall, she is just as sweet as she seems on her blog and her show. She is so down to earth and she is absolutely beautiful! I hope I get to meet her again one day!!

Family Recipe: Pudding Things

Simple name huh? Not entirely sure how it got its name or if its just a made up thing with a really simple name (as its pudding) but I think its funny.

Tall Guy's family makes these all the time. Christmas, Sunday breakfasts or just because. So the other morning he made these for breakfast. And they were super delicious! Not only are they delicious but they are super simple. The only disclaimer I give is that they are very filling and very rich. So while that plate shows 4, I was only able to eat like 3.5. Which yes, holy crap 3.5. But once you get going, you can't stop! LOL

Recipe after the pictures! Enjoy!

Recipe: Pudding Things

Ingredients:

2 Packets COOK AND SERVE Pudding

Whole Milk

Whipped Frosting

Crescent Rolls (for 2 boxes of pudding, use two canisters)

Cook Pudding to directions on box.

Fold crescent rolls back onto themselves to form a square and place on an inverted muffin pan, cook according to package.

Melt a portion of the frosting in the microwave.

Fill crescent roll bowls with the cooked pudding and drizzle with frosting.

Pair with a cup of coffee or some milk! 

ENJOY! 

Closet Cookings: Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Popper Chicken

Just like Pioneer Woman's recipes, I have yet to make a recipe on Closet Cooking's site that I didn't like. Their flavors are amazing, their recipes are delicious. Great website! 

Tuesday was my birthday (big ole 2-8, getting old!). So for dinner, Tall Guy made me Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Stuffed Chicken Breasts. I've had this a couple times with him making it and each time its amazing. This time he actually remembered to season the chicken breasts! The jalapeno's were sliced a tad larger then before too. We tried to have baked potatoes with it but we ended up buying bigger ones so they needed about 2 hours to cook, yes cooking fail. So this picture, via my phone, doesn't even begin to do it justice! 

Its so delicious I had leftovers for breakfast the next day! 

Recipe below!

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken

Chicken stuffed with jalapenos, cream cheese, cheddar cheese and wrapped in bacon; it's like chicken jalapeno poppers for dinner!

Servings: makes 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 small chicken breasts, pounded thin
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 jalapenos, diced
• 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 8 slices bacon

Directions

1. Lay the chicken flat, season both sides with salt and pepper, place 1/4 of the mixture of the jalapenos, cream cheese and cheddar on the chicken and roll them up.
2. Wrap each chicken breast up in 2 slices of bacon and place them in a baking dish.
3. Bake in a pre-heated 400F oven until cooked, about 25-35 minutes.

Cherry Pomegranate Habanero Marinaded Chicken

So the other day at Costco, this was bought...

NOM NOM NOM!

 And it was turned into this:

Put salt and pepper on one side of the chicken breasts (cut in halves or leave them whole).

Put some sauce in the pan, lay the chicken seasoned side down into the sauce. 

Cover the rest in sauce (as you can see, we still have half a bottle left!)

Bake 350 degrees and then the last 10 minutes, broil it to give the top that crispy taste.

Serve with your favorite sides (it was served with corn and baked potatoes in my house).

Easy dinner done! 

Bottle can be bought at Costco. I thought about buying a bottle and doing a giveaway for it...it was THAT good. Whatcha think? 

What's for dinner tonight? 

We have AWANAS tonight so we are doing something quick and easy like chicken tacos.

Goulash...Nom Nom Nom

Ever want one of those quick meals that really fills you up and takes minimal ingredients? 

Goulash is totally one of those meals.

Tall Guy makes this quite often. I guess when you're only feeding yourself and want plenty of leftovers, this is the meal to make! Its spicy, its quick, its easy and its oh so delicious.

Sadly I took no pictures of the after effect. It was all in my tummy :D

Cast of Characters

Nom nom nom! Ground beef seasoned with Salt, Pepper and Lowrys!

1/2 Box Macaroni

1lb Ground Beef

V8 Juice

Pepper
Salt

Lawry's

Cayenne Pepper

Chili Powder

Start water boiling for the macaroni. Doesn't matter if there is too much, you will end up draining it. Start cooking the meat Med to Med/High. Once the water has started to boil, add the macaroni. As the meat starts to cook make sure to season it with salt, pepper and lowry's. Make sure you can taste the flavor once it's finished cooking. Once the meat has cooked, turn down the heat. When the macaroni reaches the al dente state, drain it. Pour the meat into the macaroni and start adding the V8 Juice. You'll want to pour past the point where it looks like enough because some will boil off and the macaroni will absorb some. Once you have the right mixture, turn up the heat until it begins to boil. Add in plenty of salt, pepper and chili powder. Add in the cayenne pepper to your level of comfort. Stir everything and once it begins to boil, turn off the heat and let it set a few minutes before you serve it.

And I would never admit this to him but his is so much better. I don't know what he does differently but I will be finding out! 

Enjoy!

Saturday was a birthday dinner!

Like the title states, Saturday was filled with me cooking a birthday dinner. 

Tall Guy turned old.

And by old I mean...

28.

Nah that isn't old but we like to give him crap cause he's...almost...30. 

As if men really care about that number.

Or do they? I've never really asked.

When I asked him what I should cook, it didn't take him long to decide on Sloppy Joes. I was going to make the Italian Joes but I don't have her spaghetti sauce cooked yet (will be doing that on Monday!!) so we did the regular ones. I have cooked them before and posted them on the blog but this was his first time having them. 

Instead of kaiser rolls, he bought Potato Rolls. The flavor and thickness was really really good with the sloppy joes. So I give that 2 thumbs way way up. He also added some spice to it (I believe he added some cayenne and something else, can't remember which now) and yeah that gave it a big kick. I made him chop up the vegetables because let's face it, if I don't have to cut up an onion, I'm not. He got to witness my weird way of eating sloppy joes (open face, I hate making a mess eating them in a sandwich) and we sat down to watch Chopped with a bag of chips in front of us.

Yes...Chopped was the show of choice. Which is kinda funny because that show makes me feel huge everytime I watch it and yet here I was stuffing my face with sloppy joes. Can we say big fat fatties? 

Yeah, I knew you could.

But it was a great dinner, great show and great company. That's all that matters right?

The pictures were taken with the last of the leftovers he said. Neither one of us took pictures even though I said I was gonna blog about it. Seems to be a habit around here....

The delicious rolls that I made him brown too! 

Nom!

See that mess? Yeah I just can't do it! 

What's on your dinner agenda tonight? Tonight before RCIA class, I am making Chicken and Mozzarella Stuffed Ravioli with Bertolli Vodka Sauce. Sounds heavenly and it is!

Steak Fingers with.....?

Last night I finally made Steak Fingers With Gravy. I was going to make them on Tuesday night but we had an Open House at the school for Cub Scouts so I didn't have time. 

I sliced up all the meat into little strips, I used cube steak because they don't sell precut Steak Fingers where I shop. 

Ewww....raw meat! 

Then I started the process of coating it and frying it up. I fried some up real fast for Little Man as he had Awana's last night (came home with his blue Wing Runner book and is MIGHTY excited about it!). He gave me this look that said "um sure Momma" but surprisingly, he ate it right up. Even asked for more. I was SHOCKED. This child will eat tons of chicken, like his Momma. But anything steak or hamburger and it takes some prodding. Glad to report his plate was clean. 

The cayenne pepper that you use gives it a little kick that says "Oh here I am!" which I like. I like having some spice just now something overpowering you know? Very minimal seasoning too...cayenne pepper, black pepper and seasoned salt. Which, if you have cooked any of PW's recipes they are normally minimal in seasoning but chalked full of flavor!

Now the recipe is Steak Fingers with Gravy right? Her gravy making instructions are the same as her gravy for Biscuits and Gravy (which I adore her recipe for that by the way!). So I was like Okay, I have done this tons of time, I'll be good.

Yeah. No.

There wasn't enough grease to make it. At all. Which not gonna lie, is slightly irritating. Cause I bet this would be amazing with gravy. Guarantee it. 

Verdict is: 

This is amazing. I will be making this again. Ate it for lunch and my son is highly unhappy that there isn't more cause he wants more..again. He just asked me if I would make it again tonight. 

Pot Roast Recipe from Pinterest

Lots of recipes are flying around from Pinterest on my news feed on Facebook and the various blogs I read. It really seems that they are hit or miss. Sometimes they are AH-MAZING and other times you are like Welp, we can still get a Little Ceaser's pizza and salvage this night!

I am still fairly a noob when it comes to cooking pot roast. I normally leave that up to Other Chef cause he makes an amazing one but lately, I have been giving it a try. For the longest time now, Pioneer Woman's Perfect Pot Roast has been my absolute fave to cook. But given how hot its been around here lately, which is completely abnormal, I haven't wanted to touch the oven. So I was looking for something in the crock pot (which OMG its going to be fall soon and I can't wait to start using that more and more again!). I found this recipe a long time ago on Pinterest and it looked fairly simple. So finally decided to give it a try.

Its really simple. In fact, not sure who's recipe this is as its just a picture on Pinterest with a tag under it on how to make it. You mix a package of ranch dressing, italian dressing (I actually used garlic and herb dressing packet) and a package of brown gravy. Cover the roast in it and add some water, voila. Done. Cook for 8 hours and love the smells that it creates for your kitchen. 

The meat is so juicy and tender, it literally just melts with a fork. Literally. I was a tad skeptical, as was Other Chef, about the ingredients but honestly, perfect flavor. Serve with some mashed potatoes (or scalloped like I did) and a veggie and you have a perfect meal. Enjoy! 

Oh lazy weekends!

I love my weekends usually. They are mostly laid back filled with either a CSI or SVU marathon. Laundry gets done and I just relax all weekend. Its glorious. 

And this weekend was none different.

I took a break from nesting and just spent the day watching trash TV and reading. Some days you just need those lazy days you know? A day to just recoup and regroup.

Course a hot new Blizzard game is finally out...

So when I wasn't engrossed in A Storm of Swords, I was playing this. Little Man was either watching me play and when I wasn't he was engrossed in Other Chef playing. Other Chef, and about half of my friends, have already beaten Diablo on regular mode. I just got the full game yesterday so I am still in the beginning stages. Plus I can't seem to want to play for hours on end either. Too much to do!! And this book has severely sucked me in! I have a week left for my two week break in between classes so I am trying my hardest to get really far into this book so I don't feel bad when I have to take a break for school. 


19 Weeks Pregnant shot. Yes that is a frown face. I feel HUGE!! AND I am only 5 months. Oy! 

I look outside and its pouring. Cold too, in the mid 50s. Then I look down and I see this...

Don't let the cuteness fool ya. She's been nicknamed Spawn for a reason...

Ah the life of a cat huh? Just sleep all day and not worry about a dang thing!

Upcoming Giveaway (starts on Thursday!!): Vita Coco! A chance to win a case of a flavor of your choice out of the three they gave me :D 

What's on your menu tonight? We are having chicken alfredo :D Nom!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers out there, including the Mothers of fur-babies!! I hope you all have a special day and are being pampered :D 

Today we are BBQing with N and her kids. On the menu is some delicious steaks, corn on the cob, sliced tomatoes, pasta salad, broccoli salad and then some Klondike bars and fruit juice pops for dessert! It is a beautiful day here in WA and I can't wait to have some good eats and some good company!! Then tonight I will end the night watching Game of Thrones, season finale of Once Upon a Time and series finale of Desperate Housewives (not gonna lie, kinda bitter that it's ending :*() 


My Computer Applications class is officially done. I ended the class when an average of 93.5% so I am happy. It was that dumb B that I got on an exam but meh. Its still a 4.0 so I can't complain right? Next up is Advanced English Comp (a 425 class..eeek!) and its sad to say that I am so ready for it to kick my butt!! I hate writing and this class is extremely reading and writing intensive. Fun times right? NOT! 

Leave you with some tunes...currently playing on my iTunes:

BK Gift Card Winner AND Ode to Sidekick...

I hope you all had a great weekend!! Mine entailed getting better, cleaning and getting homework done. Ah college, how I did NOT miss thee! 

First, the winner of the BK Gift Card. Random.org selected winner number:

#3

Wendy Rozema

Congrats to winner and thank you for the entries! I will be emailing her today and if I hear nothing back in the next 48 hours, I will be choosing another winner. 

Next on the blog agenda...

My Sidekick died. And by died I mean that it spiked the pavement.

Apparently, it didn't have a lot to live for. And that put me in a rock and hard spot because come April of 2013, TMobile loses this customer. So did I deal with that ghetto fab phone OR just buy one off of craigslist? 

So I did what any respectable person would do and bought one off of Craigslist! 

I scored a Blackberry Bold 9700 for 130$ so I am happy. I love it. I didn't think I would like going from Android to Blackberry but I do. The email and texting is so convenient. The camera is blah but oh well. Its gonna hold me over until April when we can sign on with Verizon. Then its iPhone 5!! 

Can you tell I am slightly excited??? 

What's on your menu tonight? 

Tonight we are having Mediterranean Chicken (in the crockpot), scalloped potatoes and some veggie (thinking some corn or something). Maybe even a ceaser salad to go with it. Not sure yet! 

Heathers Corner on Sunday!

Heather has been SUPER busy working for an amazing restaurant in Savannah BUT after much hounding, I got her to finally set up another recipe (nah, she loves that she gets her own spotlight!). This is her newest:

Shredded Chicken for Mexican Yumminess!

4 Chicken Thighs

1 Medium Yellow Onion

4 Tomatillos

1/2 Tbsp Red Pepper Flakes

1 Tbsp Cumin

2 Tbsp Minced Garlic

1 Tbsp Chili Powder

1/2 Tbsp Salt

1/2 Tbsp Pepper

1/2 Cup Tequila

1 49.5 oz Can of Chicken Broth

8 oz Pepper Jack Cheese

2 Limes

Cast of Characters:

Clean the tomatillos and cut them into quarters.

 Take the skin off of the onions, and dice.

 Put everything except the cheese and limes into a pot and give it a good stir. 

Cover and simmer on low heat for 2.5-3.5 hours, or until the chicken shreds apart easily.

 Raise the heat a bit until the broth and tequila have almost completely evaporated. Turn the heat off and add the pepper jack cheese into the mix and melt.

 Zest and juice the 2 limes and add to the mix as well! Make quesadillas, chicken tacos or chicken burritos! YUM!!!

Like with any of her recipes, if you try them, let me know how they are and I will post the review!! :D 

ENJOY!! 

30 Day Yoga Challenge

BRiley is my total yoga guru. She swears by it. Got her man into it. She even does hot yoga like 20+ times a month. (Can we say BA??) Hearing her talk about how much she loves it AND how easy it is to at home...I ended up in an auction for a friend's preschool.

I won. I got a yoga for beginners DVD and a super pretty mat. 

I love the design on it!

 I have done it a few times and really love some of the poses. BUT since getting pregnant, I can't do just regular yoga anymore. I really want to stay active because having talked to some of you ladies, its going to help me in the long run for delivery AND post partum. Plus I have told N that once the baby is here, I want to start doing yoga classes and possibly inch my way into hot yoga with BRiley. (I know when she reads this, she will squeal because she's been trying to get me to go for a LONG time now!). Running is great cardio but you need something you can stretch your muscles out. Plus having a newborn at home, I mean really how much workout time am I gonna get the first couple months? Oh wait...probably none. So yoga...heck yeah.

I saw on another blog I read about the 30 Day Yoga Challenge and instantly signed up. This is a way to stay accountable and actually get into the yoga groove. Its only 30 mins a day, I am sure all of us have 30 mins somewhere in our day we can commit to that. Plus its getting me active, once again, without always have to hit the gym (where I can only walk...fun times....not). So sign up with me...I triple dog dare ya! 

(Note: I had to order a prenaatal yoga DVD so I will be 2 days behind. Think I am gonna look on the net for some yoga poses I can do while pregnant!)


Whats for dinner? Tonight I am having Pioneer Woman's Chicken Soup. NOM! 

No Color Run :(

So no Color Run this year for me :( Registration for Seattle sold out in less then 24 hours. Its on their Seattle page website that apparently it set some record selling out. Poo. Poo on that. BUT at least people got in and that is cool. Maybe next time! 

So the recipe for the Cajun Chicken Alfredo is insanely simple. It makes a ton of food and leftovers in this house are always good (makes for delicious lunches). I will have the recipe posted at the end of this post. No pictures as by the time it was done, I was dying of hunger. No really. My stomach was growling up a storm!

Game of Thrones on Sunday WAS amazing. I like that I am still on the 1st book of the series (so far there are 5 out) because for the most part, I have NO idea what is going on. But at the same time, I looked up certain characters to see their fate and it pains me to see some of them. The thing that anyone must know about George R.R. Martin is he is NOT scared to kill every one. He really is not! LOL In all honesty, that kinda makes me mad because I am like But but...he was awesome!!! If you haven't started watching yet, you must. Its amazing and it totally has me waiting each week for Sunday night! Plus one of the character is named Arya and that is definetly a front runner for a little girls name ;-D

Tonight is Wednesday so that means AWANA night. Next year he starts First Communion classes. I see my schedule totally being eaten up by various sports and classes...fun times. But going to be totally worth it! 

Tonight on the menu is Hamburger Helper. Yes I know. Not the healthiest but Wednesdays are either grab and go or whatever can be cooked quickly :D 

What are you having for dinner? 

Cajun Chicken Alfredo with Penne Pasta

1 package of chicken breasts or chicken tenders

1 box of penne pasta 

1 jar of your favorite alfredo sauce (I use Classico Four Cheese Alfredo)

Cajun Seasoning (liberally)

1. Dice up chicken into bite size cubes. Put into frying pan with some EVOO.

2. Start the water for Penne Pasta. When boiling, add pasta and cook al dente.

3. Add cajun seasoning, as much as you want. (I use Tony Chacere's and its amazingly delicious). Cook chicken thoroughly.

4. Once chicken is done, add alfredo sauce. Heat up.

5. Add everything to cooked pasta and voila, done :D

Enjoy!

One of those weekends...

Ever have those weekends where it seems like you need to use the week to recoup? 

Yeah that was my weekend.

Saturday I got up and went off. First to Costco which let me tell you, not sure WHY I haven't been using my membership this entire time. Its way cheaper then the commissary and its also because everything is bigger no doubt. But seriously, I buy those bags of the small bags of chips for Other Chef's lunches...28 bags for 13$. At Costco, 50 bags for 13$. Foldgers Classic Roast...I buy the big 270 cup container, 13$. At Costco the big 540 cup container is 13$. So yes...score! Not to mention the other things that I got. But honestly, I did about 90$ of my grocery shopping there...for a grand total of 150$. Not too shabby huh? Plus I scored a new toaster. Ours is sadly dying. So I got a Kitchen Aid stainless steel one with LED read...50$. On Amazon, its like 20$ more plus shipping. Can you tell I am IN LOVE with Costco yet? 

Then Little Man was treated to Chuck E Cheese. Ours was completely remodeled so its less trashy inside. Never a big fan of places like that but meh, he loves it. He had a blast. More then half a large pizza was eaten between the three of us and everyone went home happy. Win-Win.

Next stop was PetsMart. Grabbed a couple things for the cats and the dog. Then we headed home to sit for like 20 minutes.

Then off to Silverdale (an hour drive) to get a bookcase my friend was giving away. Hey, save me 90$ with a free bookcase? Heck yeah! Little Man has so many books he definetly needs a newer one so that was win-win again for us :D We ended up at eating at a place called Hop Jacks for dinner and it was delicious! Seriously the best lemonade I have ever had (Huckleberry which was FABULOUS)! The salad...I got the chicken tenders salad. I kept eating and eating and eating and seriously never made a dent in it. It was HUGE. Went home seriously stuffed :D 

Then rode the ferry home and got seasick. Nice huh? So apparently, me and ferry's don't mix! 

Sunday same thing. Got up and headed to Ashley Furniture Homestore to get Little Man a new bed:

He loves it. Its a panel bed with an option to add the drawers later. The only reason we didn't was because each side was another 225$ (which was actually more then the dresser) and we thought that was kind of a rip off. If we decide to add them later, we might. But for now, nah. It works without it. He is also getting the big bedroom downstairs which he is REALLY excited about. His room is just too tiny for everything in there and I need that bedroom for something else SO he is getting this big bedroom:

Facing the door from the one corner

Standing inside the hallway in the door.

His walk in closet

I have heard about 20 times this weekend that he is a "big boy" and needs a "big boy" room so yeah...no argument there! Plus the room's been empty since about October of 2010 so this works big time :D

Finally got home and Game of Thrones was on not too long after. Excellent episode. I can't wait for this season and I can't wait to finish this book! Over halfway done so be looking for a review soon :D 

On the menu tonight: Chicken Cajun Alfredo with Penne Pasta

What did you do this weekend?? 

What is on your menu tonight?

Guess what???

I can eat again!! 

Its so glorious to be able to eat food and not worry about how I am going to feel later. LOVE IT! 

This morning I started it off with ham and mushroom scrambled eggs with some colby cheese. AH-mazing. N and her 18 month old thought so too since I made enough for us all :D

So I want your favorite recipes since I am making my menu again, since I can actually eat. So spam me! Give me your favorite recipe!! 

GO!

I miss it...

I miss the gym.

I miss running.

I miss putting in my headphones and just getting my workout in and feeling fantastic afterwards. 

I have been horribly sick the last 4 weeks. My Doc put me on Ensure because I haven't been able to keep anything in my system. My meals lately have consisted of chicken broth, Saltines, Ensure and some fruit. Nothing to really write home about. 

Hence why the cooking part of my blog has slacked. I miss cooking :( Other Chef has been doing all the cooking lately and I am totally grateful for that but I feel bad. 

Tonight its broccoli and cheddar soup. Let's hope that I can actually enjoy it!!

"Don't be surprised if I get up and make more..."

So on Valentine's Day, I made N and the kids dinner. We both had to be away from our Valentine's (hers is deployed currently) and I didn't want her to be alone so I said Be my Valentine this year! After NO hesitation, she told me yes and so our amazing relationship (spur of the moment one) was formed. She's lovely and takes care of me. Yes she does ;-D

I didn't know what to make so of course I consulted the trusty Pioneer Woman for some ideas. At first, I thought I would cook Steak Diane. Then I said Nah. So I decided on some Chicken Piccata. I texted her and she said "That is yummy! I just had it last week!" Well...that is out the window. So I decided on Beef with Snow Peas. So insanely simple and so insanely flavorful! First time I made this recipe was last year for Easter!

At the commissary I tried to find ginger but had to settle on the already minced, in a tube ginger. Still works!! In fact, I think I had more ginger flavor using that then I had using fresh ginger! I also bought two bags of snow peas cause I didn't know how much we would manage to eat. I get to her house (mind you after cutting my hand open too, that was FUN!) and get down to cooking. She's standing next to me and goes "Don't be surprised if I get up and make more snow peas." I said really? (I had only opened the one bag) Her response is "Oh yeah, my kids love vegetables." Sure..sure N. Sure. I had jasmine rice going in the rice cooker so you can imagine the scents right now. Rice cooking, ginger, soy sauce...nom nom nom.

We get down to eating and guess what DOESN'T happen?!? None of the kids want to eat the snow peas. Not even her son, who eats EVERYTHING! So sure sure N, sure. Go ahead and make some more...mmhmm.

It was amazing (like all the things I cook, duh! ;-D). Not a single leftover was left. All plates were clean, save for the snow peas. Definetly another winner from PW! If you haven't made this yet, DO IT. You will NOT regret it!!

Scentsy Winner, A Recipe and my Menu

First I will start off by saying thanks for the quick entries for the Scentsy Beach Plugin Warmer. The winner is...

(now its weird, one of my comments didn't have a number next to their name (if anyone knows why, please let me know how I can fix that) so I had to count. Thank goodness it was only 9!!)

#7!! 

#7 is mommysap! Please contact me as soon as you see this so I can get it mailed out in a timely fashion (hoping as early as tomorrow!!). Email me at soljersterATgmailDOTcom. Thanks!! 

I know I have been slacking in the cooking department and that is...well that is nothing except pure laziness. I have made quite a few new recipes but sadly, no pictures. I tried to take a few with my phone but that just didn't work. I will still post the post about them but sadly, no pictures. Yes, bad food blogger.

About a week ago, I made Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole . One word...AH-Mazing. I loved it. Other Chef loved it. Little Man loved it. Definetly a keeper for sure!! It was kinda funny watching Little Man put all the mushrooms to the side and say to me "Here Momma, you can have these." Aww, aren't you a sweetheart? Nothing really to report about it except its amazing. Seriously. And so easy and quick to make!! You won't be disappointed!! (Recipe at the link!)

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

This grocery period is full of a LOT of new recipes. A lot of which, I have never cooked before. So that makes this food blogger extremely excited and nervous all at the same time! Most of my recipes came from Tasty Kitchen again, seriously...how amazing is that website? And almost ALL the recipes I have gotten off of there, have been amazing. If you haven't checked it out yet, you need to! 

Upcoming Menu Choices (mostly dinners but there are some breakfasts and lunches too):

Flank Steak with Snow Peas and Jasmine Rice

Killer Club Sandwiches

Fried Round Steak, Potatoes Au Gratin

Make-Ahead Muffin Melts (I'll make Wednesday night)

Skillet Parm Cheese, Broccoli and Rice

Eggs in Ham Cups

Bacon, Hashbrown and Egg Casserole

Italian Chicken Soup

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Wrap

Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches with Onion Butter

Creamy Chicken and Broccoli over Rice

Cheesy Potato Fritatta

Ranch Potatoes (will go with steak and steamed broccoli)

Chicken Noodle Soup Casserole

Nutella Oatmeal with banana

Broccoli Cheddar Chicken Crescent Braid

Creamy Chicken Casserole

Creamy Chicken Spaghetti

Ricotta Scrambled Eggs

Poppy Seed Chicken

Risotto

LOTS of good eats which means LOTS of happy stomachs around here! Which also means lots of cooking, lots of messes and lots of picture taking :D