Cheesy mac n cheese

Okay, I've done homemade for months now, but I went a step further and made the sauce from scratch instead of melting cheese on the pasta like I usually do. Results were super creamy!

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1 cup butter
Cheese, cubed
Seasonings (I used sage, rosemary, garlic, and white pepper)
Macaroni
Panko

Heat your milk, butter, and cheese over medium low, stirring constantly to prevent the milk scalding. Once your cheese starts to melt, add your seasonings and cook your pasta. Pour your sauce over drained noodles.

I baked ours. You bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Pour noodles into a casserole dish. Mix in panko. Pour the cheese sauce on top. The panko helps everything hold tight while baking.

Chocolate covered strawberry froyo

So I discovered I had yogurt that was unopened and needed to be used PRONTO. As in, expiring soon. Yeah...my go to is frozen yogurt! I modified this recipe, so I'll give credit at the end of my post.

Ingredients:
Full container of strawberry yogurt (cherry would be tasty too!)
1/4 cup cocoa powder, plus 1 tbsp
1tbsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3-4 tsp sugar

Combine everything in a bowl and mix well. It will take a bit to get all the powder lumps broken up. Pour into your ice cream maker according to manufacturer instructions. Mine took about 45 minutes to really set. You get a good cocoa bite at first, then yummy strawberry!

Recipe compliments of chocolatecoveredkatie.com, modified from her brownie batter froyo.

Flavoring Up Cheap Pasta Sauce

Okay, so when I get groceries, I shop on a budget. I spend between $80-$100 a month on basic groceries to feed a family of 4. We spend about $50 every 6-8 weeks on meat. That is without coupons, so I know we could end up saving more if I did use coupons. That said, when I buy pasta sauce, I buy whatever is on sale or is the cheapest. Normally, that means we keep Ragu on hand. I've found that their Alfredo sauce is extremely and horribly bland and lifeless. Blah. So I wanted to flavor it up last night for our baked spaghetti!

Take one jar of Alfredo sauce, shredded cheese, and seasonings. Last night I shredded Colby Jack and Sharp Cheddar cheeses. Mix the Alfredo sauce and the shredded cheese together. I think I had a half cup of sauce and close to a cup of each cheese. Add seasonings. I opted for Oregano, Thyme, and Garlic Salt. I poured it over the spaghetti and mixed it all together, then baked it. However, you can also put it in a medium pot and cook it on medium heat, stirring constantly, until an even sauce results.

My mom does not like Ragu (bland and flavorless), but she said she thoroughly enjoyed the flavors last night. And she's not one to just smile and eat something if it's not that good. Both my kids devoured most of their adult-sized helpings (gotta love growth spurts!), and my husband literally asked me what brand the sauce was that I had used. :)

Spiced Pork Sirloins

Okay, James cooked last night, but this is my brain child. The seasonings were a bit heavy handed, so not quite what I wanted, but I love that he cooked and tried to follow how I do it. Had the seasonings been in better ratio, it would have been tasty!

Ingredients:
Pork Sirloin
Creole seasoning
Salt
Sesame Seeds
Panko
Cilantro
Eggs (2)

Preheat your oven to 350. Mix your seasonings with the panko and sesame seeds (the seeds give a nice little crunch!). Be careful not to over salt your mix. Beat your eggs in a small bowl. Wash your room temp sirloins in the egg, then dredge in the panko mixture. Bake for 30 minutes.

As my husband learned, you don't want to get too much Creole seasoning or salt. You also want to make sure you mix the seasonings with the panko really well for even distribution.

Cheesy Chicken Pasta Bake

So boiling chicken to shred is one of my favorite techniques. The chicken stays so tender and moist! I needed a quick and easy way to use chicken that would fill up a toddler and preschooler who have hit growth spurts at the same time.

Ingredients:
Chicken breast
Pasta of choice (I used ziti)
Seasonings
Cheese of choice (I used mozzarella and colby jack)
Pasta sauce if you like

Set a stock pot of water on to boil. Once boiling, add your raw chicken breasts. Boil for 15 minutes. Let rest for another 10 on a cutting board after they cook. Boil your pasta until just about al dente. Drain well (I used a slotted spoon to dish it into my baking dish to make sure all the water was removed from the pasta). Mix in your cheese(s), seasonings, and chicken. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. It should get nice and gooey while the chicken stays really moist. Both my kids ate small, adult-sized portions of this and loved it!

Something a bit different...a life update

So I have taken to using my blog to share recipes that I have tried. Cooking has been my realm to have a break from work, kids, dog...my own escape. However, there has been so much going on that I decided it was a time to actually give an update.

Today is closing day on our new home. I am so beyond excited, as any Facebook friend can attest based on my postings! This will allow us to provide our kids with so much more stability for the kids since we will no longer have to think about if/when our lease is up and where we would move. The kids have picked out their own rooms with no fighting. We have a large living room that is perfect for entertaining. Kitchen counters and cabinets were just installed 2 years ago. Large backyard, plenty of play space, quiet street, friendly neighbors (we met one last night on our final walk through!). I can't wait to get moved in and really make it ours!

James recently hit his first anniversary at Northern Oaks. He loves his job. He got a significant pay raise, and a 98.3 out of 100 on his review! I am so proud of the dedication he puts into his job. Our new neighbor we met last night actually knows him from Northern Oaks since she goes up frequently to visit one of her friends, who just so happens to be one of James's residents. He will be starting school in January to do a bridge program in order to receive his RN. His D.O.N. gave him a glowing letter of recommendation, and has said she wants to keep him on after he completes the 1.5 year program. I am so proud of him for going after this. He has wanted to get his RN for so long!

Mady is being the little energetic diva that she has always been. Her language has really taken off. Some days that little girl can talk circles around me! She is up to 5 and 6 word sentences routinely, and has begun using the word "and" in her sentences. I can still tell when her brain is working faster than her mouth can go. Lol. She gets caught up and tongue-tied before she figures out what she wants to say. She has such a little personality too! Hands on the hips, one finger out at me, and she loves to say, "You no tell me no Momma!". She gets in trouble, but we struggle not to let her see us laughing. Just the other night, she got The Look (moms, you know what look I mean!) for harassing Adair. She attempted to hide from me by covering her eyes up. You know, because The Look doesn't exist if she cannot see it. I almost busted out laughing in front of her. I just started laughing thinking about her response. She has started understanding that if she calls Roscoe, he will come running to her. She even tells me, "Momma, that my Roscoe. You no tell my Roscoe no. I put my Roscoe outside.". It's so sweet. She and Adair get along so well. If they are not together, they miss each other so bad. She constantly wants to take care of him, telling me he wants water or a snack, etc. It really makes my heart smile to see how she wants to take care of him and be with him nonstop.

Adair has adjusted pretty well to moving back to Texas after spending 4 months with his mom in California. We have had him home a little over a month now. It's been an adventure this past month for sure! He is such a sweet and loving boy. He still doesn't 100% understand not putting his hands on Roscoe's mouth since the dog loves to play and chew (playfully) on hands. We are getting there though. It's tough since he's been away from Roscoe for 4 months, and our pooch is quite playful and energetic. He loves playing with Mady. Except at daycare. Then it's the normal "OMG, my little sister is so ANNOYING!" mentality. lol. But he certainly defends her if she gets picked on. Typical "I can pick on her but nobody else can" thought process. He has made good strides in his speech, thanks to speech therapy started here and continued by his mom. He's not 100% where other children his age (4) are, but he's made such incredible advances. He loves sharing with Mady, and he is still obsessed with running nonstop! Our house is filled with happy squeals and shrieks that kill my eardrums nightly, but I LOVE it.

We just did our second evaluation with a local psychologist for autism. We are trying to figure out what is going on since there are still several things that just don't seem "normal" (I absolutely HATE that term and rarely use it). We are hoping to get the results soon so we know what else we can do to help him learn skills to conquer this world he lives in. He is going to do Speech Therapy, PT, and OT at West Texas Rehab, just waiting on that all to get going. I'm excited for him to do therapies at such a great facility.

Roscoe is still living in that puppy stage. We have had him for about a year now. He is a total bundle of energy. He will lay by the backdoor all day and whine to be in, then race through the house for about 30-45 minutes. Crazy pooch! He is phenomenal with the kids. They love sitting with him, hugging him, and playing with him. Although, at times I think Mady enjoys his toys as much, if not more, than he does! We have started training him to sit calmly with us on the couch. He loves to cuddle up on my lap, chest, wherever there is sitting space he can squeeze into. lol.

As for me, I've been keeping busy with packing, trying not to stress over the move, prepping both kids for the move, and my normal duties (work, cooking, house, etc.). It's crazy to think that just a year ago Mady and I were moving into our rental with James, getting everything set up for Adair to move in a few months later. It's so crazy to think about how much our lives have changed in just a year. And I wouldn't change any of it!

Pan seared steak

Okay, so most my dishes/cooking vessels are packed up, and I didn't feel like busting out the George Foreman. lol. So I used a skillet to do a light sear/fry on sirloin. Super tasty!

Ingredients:
Steak
Seasonings (I went with chili powder and garlic salt - everything else was packed!)
Olive Oil

I put enough oil in my medium skillet to thoroughly coat the bottom. While the oil was heating, I seasoned the steaks. I suggest a slight over-seasoning since the oil absorbed some of my meat's flavoring. Once the oil is hot, put your steak in. Sear it for 3-5 minutes per side, depending on how you like your steak cook. I did about 3 minutes per side and got a nice medium.

We served black beans with this.

Had I not had most my kitchen packed up, I would have kept with the chili and garlic, but I think adding a cheese crisp to the steak, or a parmesan crust with the steak being finished in the oven to get a nice color to the cheese.

Oven Roasted Chicken

So whole chickens were on sale at HEB a few weeks ago. I decided to buy one and figure out what to do with it later. This past Saturday was that later. lol. I decided to try roasting the chicken, which meant I needed to borrow Mom's roasting pan. So I just invited them over. (This is beginning to sound like "If you give a mouse a cookie, he'll want a glass of milk..."). The result was AMAZING.

Ingredients:
Whole fryer chicken (mine was about 5 lbs.)
Melted butter
Herbs of choice (I opted for sage, oregano, paprika, and garlic powder)
Potatoes
A few tbsp of butter

Wash your chicken under cold water. Make sure all the straggly feathers were plucked, since nobody likes eating a feather! Preheat your oven to 375. Set your chicken on the roasting pan. Make sure all the innards were removed. Chop your potatoes. My chicken carcass held about 1 medium sized potato chopped small. Stuff in the carcass. Add the seasonings and butter. Mix it all with a spoon. Baste your chicken with the melted butter (or olive oil if you don't want too much butter). Cover all of the carcass really well. Sprinkle some of the seasoning on top. Roast for 1.5-2 hours, checking every 30 minutes to rebaste as needed. My bird took roughly the full 2 hours. I also made roasted potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms with the bird. This served 4 adults and 1 bottomless pit preschooler, with some left over for lunch the next day!

You do not have to stuff the chicken with potatoes. You can just add herbs for extra flavor if you want.

The skin should come out golden brown and crispy. The chicken is ready when the juices are running clear. This was soo tasty, and very fork tender. James cut it with a knife off the bone, but otherwise you didn't really need a knife at all!

Creamy Ranch Pork Chops

Okay, I got this recipe from www.crockingirls.com. Amazing crockpot recipes! I made 1 modification though.

Ingredients:
Pork chops
1 can cream of chicken soup
6 mushrooms, sliced
1 package Ranch seasoning
1 can water

Put the sliced mushrooms on the bottom of your crockpot. Layer the chops on top. Sprinkle the package of ranch on top. Add the soup. Add 1 can of water. Cook on low for 6 hours. Super easy, super tasty!

Juicy chop roast

Okay, this meal was an "Uh-oh, I have no chicken stock, beef stock, clear soup, soda, etc." This discovery was AFTER I put my chops and veggies in my crock pot. So I got creative. Haha!

Ingredients:
1 pkg thin pork loin chops
2 russet potatoes
2 small red delicious apples (or whatever apples you have on hand)
Sweet green onions
Carrots
BBQ sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Apple Punch juice (or whatever juice you have on hand)

DO NOT PUT YOUR MEAT IN FIRST! Normally you would, but thin chops stick to the bottom and end up getting tough. My suggestion: put your potatoes in first, then your meat. Add in the rest of your veggies. Dice your apples and add those. I used half a bottle of Brown Sugar BBQ sauce and 1-2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce. Add in your fruit juice until it's about half-way full. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

This will end up nicely sweet. If you don't want it as sweet, add a spice. Next time, I'm planning on trying a pinch of ginger. Mady ate everything except the carrots (little goofball!), and James finished off all of my tough meat, so it couldn't have been too bad!

Zebra Cake

This is my friend Beca's favorite thing that I have ever made. lol. She begs me to make it when she's in town even. Haha!

Ingredients:
White cake mix
Gel food coloring

Mix the cake mix according to directions. Separate it into 2 bowls. Add the gel food coloring of your choice (holds up better in the mix without watering it down too much). Now comes the fun part! Alternate scoops of white and colored batter, layering them into 2 greased cake pans. 9" worked best in my opinion. Keep layering the mixes until you have none left in the bowls. Bake the cakes at 350 for 30 minutes, or until your toothpick comes out clean. Ice the cakes and enjoy! When you cut into them, they will have an awesome zebra pattern!

Oreo Balls

This is super easy and super yummy!

Ingredients:
1 pkg Oreos
1 pkg cream cheese
candy coating chocolate (white chocolate is great on these!)

Crush the Oreos really well. A blender or food processor helps with this. Or, put them in a bag, give your kids a rolling pin (or toy hammer in Mady's case), and let them go to town! They need to be basically a find powder. You don't want any clumps. Let the cream cheese reach room temp. Mix it in with the crushed Oreos by hand. Hand roll the mixture into balls and set on a cookie tray lined with wax paper. Set them in your fridge for at least 1 hour to harden a bit since they will be very soft from the heat of your hands.

While your Oreo balls are in the fridge, melt your chocolate. I like to get the ones that come with the microwaveable tray. It makes the melting much easier. Mix it all to make sure all the chocolate bricks are fully melted. Roll the balls to coat them in the chocolate and set them on the wax paper to let the chocolate harden.

Triple Dessert Bites

Okay, I found this idea on Pinterest and had to try it. I had forgotten about it until another friend posted about doing Pinterest-inspired desserts today. I've tried it with crushed Oreos and whole Oreos. Whole make it WAY better.

Ingredients:
Brownie batter
1 pkg Oreo cookies
Chocolate chip cookie dough

Make the brownie batter and cookie dough according to the boxes (or recipes). Preheat your oven to 400. In a pan (I lined mine with parchment paper) pour your brownie batter in first. On top of the batter, put a single layer of Oreos. Top your Oreos with the cookie dough. I used chocolate chip, but really I think any cookie dough would work great. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until your cookie dough is fully cooked.

These are super easy to serve since the Oreos provide for the perfect guide to cut them apart!

Toaster Tarts

Okay, not a meal, but a quick, easy, and healthy breakfast option that I made for Mady today.

Ingredients:
2 slices of bread (we love our whole wheat bread!)
butter
Jam/Jelly
Fresh fruit (optional)

Cut the crusts off the bread. Lightly butter one side of each slice of bread. Spread a thin layer of jam/jelly. Not so much it goops off everywhere, but enough to get a yummy taste. Add fresh fruit if you want. Put the unjellied piece of bread on top of your jellied piece. Squish the edges together either with a fork or your fingers. Pop in the toaster and enjoy!

This is similar to a poptart, but much, MUCH healthier! I want to try some cinnamon honey butter with strawberry slices next time to see how Mady likes it. She ate up the grape jelly one this morning.

Crock Pot Chicken Stew

Okay, I will admit that while tasty, this ended up being way too sweet. Definitely need to make recipe modifications to it!

Ingredients:
Chicken breast
Sweet potatoes
Carrots
Onion
Garlic
Brown Sugar
Chicken Stock
Chili Powder

Put the chicken on the bottom of your crock pot. Chop up your sweet potatoes and add them. Dice your onion and garlic and put in. Add baby carrots. Top with brown sugar. I ended up putting way too much in (I forget how much sugar sweet potatoes contain). I suggest only doing maybe 1/8 c, if even that much. Add chili powder and chicken stock. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

My suggestions for modifications:
Russet potatoes instead of sweet potatoes for a much less sweet taste.
If you want to use the sweet potatoes, only do a sprinkling of brown sugar.
Add more spice with the sweet potatoes, like Cayenne or even Curry.

Sour Cream Pork Chops

Ingredients:
Sour Cream
Sage
Paprika
Ground White Pepper
Thyme
Shredded cheese
Pork Chops

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. I used an 8x8 casserole dish for my pork chops. Put your chops in the dish. Season one side only. Top with sour cream. Sprinkle cheese on top. I used mozzarella, but a sharp cheddar or colby jack would be very tasty with the sour cream topping. Bake for 30 minutes.

Buttery Goodness Schnitzel

Okay, I still follow the general recipe from my German cookbook my wonderful mother-in-law gave me, but I made a few modifications this time around! I will say I do not make any sauce with my schnitzel, and I had intended to saute onions but just forgot to.

Ingredients:
Pork Chops (we used thick cut sirloin chops, and I did not tenderize them)
Flour
2 eggs + 2 tbsp water, lightly beaten together
Breadcrumbs
4-5 tbsp butter
Seasoning

Salt both sides of your pork. Put your flour (at least 1 cup, but again, I don't measure) on a plate or sheet of wax paper. Same with your breadcrumbs. Season your flour (I used my go to seasonings, paprika and garlic salt. Not too German, but hey, it was good!). I also seasoned my breadcrumbs, just enough to smell the seasoning lightly over the breadcrumb smell. Dredge your pork in flour on both sides, then dip in egg. Dredge them in the breadcrumbs. Let rest 15-30 minutes. At the end of the rest time, melt you butter in a medium-large skillet over medium heat. Fry your chops until golden brown on each side, about 4-6 minutes. You want to fry your chops in batches. If you are doing a lot of chops, set them in an oven heated to 200-250 degrees to keep them warm. I do suggest adding more butter for each batch you fry to prevent them from burning.

The flavor should be a delicious, buttery taste. Your chops should come out a beautiful golden brown color. Ours had a slightly salty taste that we felt really played well off of the buttery taste. James said his Oma and Opa would have loved them, and he's not one to butter me up when it comes to cooking. lol.

Oven "Fried" Chicken

Okay, so I was initially going to make actual fried chicken, then pretty much felt lazy after a long day and didn't read all the directions on the recipe, so my chicken did not soak in buttermilk for 2 hours. Plan B: baked chicken. Let me just say James was totally raving about this! It even had a nice, crispy skin!

Ingredients:
Chicken (I used leg quarters)
2 eggs, beaten
Flour
Breadcrumbs
Paprika
Ground white pepper
Garlic salt
Sage

Preheat the oven to 400. Dredge your chicken in flour, then dip in the 2 beaten eggs. In a separate bowl, mix your breadcrumbs with spices. When mixing with breadcrumbs, I spice by smell since breadcrumbs can drown out spices. Dredge your chicken in the seasoned breadcrumbs after the egg dip. Put in a 9x13 casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes for bone-in pieces, 35 for boneless.

I honestly think this recipe was better than fried. Next time, to give the chicken more flavor, I think I am going to try seasoning the flour a little bit. The skin crisps up very nicely as well!

Chimichanga

Let me preface this by saying I didn't feel like making a sauce, and by the time this hit the table, James didn't think it even needed a sauce! This is not kid tested since Mady got to have a sleepover with her Uncle Nut.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 small yellow onion
half a bell pepper (I used a green one)
Julio's seasoning
Cumin
Ground Cayenne pepper
Garlic salt (or plain white salt)
Large fajita-sized tortillas
Melted butter

Start your beef browning over medium heat in a large skillet. Stir occasionally. While your beef is browning, chop your onions and bell pepper. Put those into a small skillet and saute over medium heat. Preheat your over to 350. Shred cheese (I prefer using block cheese, so I shredded Colby Jack). Before taking the beef off the heat, add your seasonings and mix well. Move to a cool burner. Finish sauteing your onions and bell pepper. Spoon the meat onto a large tortilla and top with the onion mixture and shredded cheese. Fold the tortillas like an envelope around the meat and place on a cookie sheet, seam-side down. Brush the top of the tortillas with melted butter. I sprinkled the tops with some additional Julio's. Bake for 8 minutes, until the burritos are starting to turn a pretty golden color.

Potato Roast (Side Dish)

This is by far one of my favorite side dishes to make. All of my family loves it. I got the idea from the Perini's cookbook, but tweaked it to make it my own. I do something different every time I make it.

Ingredients:
4-5 medium russet potatoes
handful of mushrooms (this is really to your preference)
1 small yellow onion
Butter
Seasonings of your choice

I chop/dice everything, then mix it into the casserole dish.

Dice your onion. If you like a lot of onion, feel free to add an additional onion. Put it into an ungreased 9x13 casserole dish. Next, slice up your mushrooms. I didn't count today, but I probably use about 6 mushrooms in most casseroles. Chop your potatoes. I cut mine in half, then each half into quarters before chopping them. Put them into your casserole dish. Add several dollops of butter (or Greek yogurt if you don't want all the fat). Add your seasonings. I used crushed red pepper, paprika, garlic salt, and ground white pepper on mine. Mix everything together so that the seasonings and butter coat everything. Put in the oven for 60 minutes at 400 degrees. Your potatoes should be fork tender when they finish coating.

The best thing about this dish is the ability to change up what you cook with the potatoes. I've done plain potatoes, cooked asparagus with them, even done green beans and carrots. Always comes out as a super tasty side dish!

Pizza Balls

This was a huge hit with my family, especially the kids!

Ingredients:
Cheese
Pepperoni
2 Cans of biscuits
Parsley
Oregano
Melted butter
Pizza sauce

Cut the cheese into small blocks. We used cheddar and mozzarella. Flatten out the biscuits. Put a piece of pepperoni sandwiched between 2 pieces of cheese and roll the biscuit dough into balls. Brush the tops with melted butter after putting them in a casserole dish. I believe I used a 9x13. Sprinkle the tops with parsley and oregano. I added garlic salt as well. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until the pizza balls are golden. Heat up the pizza sauce to use as a dipping sauce.

Brown Sugar Peach Boneless Ribs

James thought this sounded weird at first, but the ribs were beyond juicy and tender! He even asked me to cook it again. Haha!

Rib Sauce:
2 medium-large peaches
Brown sugar (I don't measure, just a little more than enough to coat the peaches)

Chop your peaches, skin on, into small pieces. Put the peaches into a bowl. Coat the peaches in brown sugar. Set the bowl in your fridge overnight to allow ample time for the sugar to pull out juices.

Put your boneless ribs in a square casserole dish. Mine was a 9x9. Pour the sugar and peach mixture over the ribs. Bake at 400 for 40 minutes. I added canned green beans as our side dish. The peaches become very tender and give a lot of flavor to the ribs.

Fried Tilapia

I decided to try on a whim frying up tilapia. I wanted to try something other than baking with citrus. Oh man, this was super tasty! I put roasted potatoes with it.

Fish Fry Ingredients:
Tilapia (however many pieces you want)
Fish Fry (we used Zatarain's Seasoned fry)
Oil

Thaw out your fish if it's frozen. Completely dry all excess water off the fish. Heat your oil in a medium skillet. Coat both sides of your fish in the fish fry breading. Put the filet in the oil, frying one side at a time. I used a little over an inch of oil to fry. Drain the excess oil (put the filet on a paper towel).

Roasted Potatoes:
3 medium potatoes
Creole seasoning
Garlic Salt
Butter

Chop your potatoes into bite-size pieces. Add a few good sized dollops of butter. Sprinkle on the garlic salt and Creole seasoning. Bake for 40 minutes at 400 degrees.

I do suggest adding your own seasonings to the the fish fry. It was a bit bland for my family's tastes, but gave a nice crust to the tilapia.

Spinach Stuffed Shells

I had just about forgotten about this recipe until I was talking to my sweet friend Jessie. :) This was my first time making a vegetarian meal, and of course that was due to it being Lent! Adair wasn't a fan, but Mady ate 2 shells by herself. :)

Ingredients:
Spinach (you can use frozen)
Tomato sauce
Large shells
Ricotta cheese
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese

Boil the shells until just before they are al dente. After they finish, mix the cheeses with fully thawed out spinach (chop fresh spinach if you're going that route). In a casserole dish (mine was a 9x9), cover the bottom with some of the tomato sauce. Spoon the spinach mixture into each shell and set in the dish, the open side of the pasta facing the side (think of how a football is facing prior to kick off. The open side of the pasta is the lacing of the ball). Once the dish is full, top with more tomato sauce. Bake for 20 minutes at 350. I also added a sprinkling of Parmesan and some Parsley prior to baking my shells. It makes a delicious vegetarian dish!

Also, if there are any shells that you didn't stuff, you can freeze them for later use. :)

Sausage and Pasta

Okay, I know the title sounds boring. I'm just not in an imaginative naming mood. lol. This, however, is probably one of Mady's new favorite recipes that I have tried out.

Ingredients:
Pasta (I used medium shells, penne or rigatoni would work well also)
4-5 sausage links (like what you would typical grill)
Sour cream
Ground cayenne
Garlic salt
Sage

Cut up your sausage into small bite-size pieces. Put into a medium skillet. Add your sour cream immediately. Cook over medium-high heat (but not too high in order to avoid the fats from the sausage getting too hot. Fat splatters hurt). Let the sour cream cook down. Yes, it looks kind of weird, but ignore that part. Add your spices once your sour cream has cooked down.

In a separate pot, cook your pasta like normal. After you drain your pasta, add your sausage mixture and mix well.

The sour cream cuts down on the sharp bite of the sausage. You don't get a heavy sour cream taste, it's just slightly sweeter without being really sweet. If that makes any sense at all. Mady normally doesn't eat sausage links, but she was chowing down on this one!

Baked Boneless Pork Ribs and Skillet Potatoes

Ingredients:
Boneless Pork Ribs
Paprika
White Pepper
Ground Cayenne
Garlic Salt
BBQ Sauce
Brown Sugar

Put your ribs in a large bowl. Add your seasoning to your tastes (I don't measure my seasonings. I usually do 2-4 good dashes per spice, depending on what the spice is). Top with brown sugar and BBQ sauce and let marinate for 1-2 hours in the fridge. Preheat your oven to 400. Put your mixture, sauce and all, into a small casserole dish. Mine was an 8x8. Bake for 30 minutes.

Skillet Potatoes:
3-4 small-medium Russet potatoes
Paprika
White pepper
Garlic salt
Butter

Cube your potatoes and put in a large skillet. Add your butter and spices. Stir continuously, otherwise your potatoes will stick to the skillet. Take them off the heat once your potatoes have browned.

Swiss Bacon Chicken

Okay, I HAD to come up with a new way to bake chicken. So I decided to rummage through my fridge for inspiration. Here's what I came up with!

Ingredients:
Chicken breast
Slices (I used 3) of Swiss Cheese
Bacon
BBQ Sauce

Place 1 1/2 slices of Swiss cheese on the chicken breast. Wrap each breast in bacon, with the ends of the bacon under the chicken the best you can. Bake in an oven set at 400 for 30-35 minutes (it depends on your oven. Mine is temperamental and doesn't like to work correctly).

I served my chicken with green beans. It was a hit with Mady for sure!

Asian Beef Roast

So I get tired of the same ole, same ole pot roast. Carrots, beef, and potatoes only get me excited so much. James thought I was crazy for this, but I decided to do an Asian style roast. It turned out way better than we expected, although it could have used slightly heavier seasonings.

Ingredients:
Rump Roast
Beef Stock
Teriyaki Sauce
Coriander
Cumin
Ginger
Egg noodles
Peas

Put the rump roast into your crock pot. Make the beef stock according to directions. I added an extra cup of water since I didn't want a heavy beef stock taste. Add a generous amount of Teriyaki sauce. Crush the coriander (I used a mortar and pestle). Add all spices into the crock pot. Set the crock pot on Low and leave it for 6 hours.

Before you serve dinner, cook the egg noodles and peas. Serve the beef and juices over the noodles and peas.

Yarn Letters

Okay, the title sounds boring, but the results are so adorable, and fairly easy!

Supplies:
Wooden letter of your choice
Skeen of yarn

Wrapping can cause hand cramps. I took several breaks. Also, if you're starting out, I don't recommend the wooden letters with curly ends. Those are difficult. Mady's "M" took me 2-3 hours, whereas Adair's "A" took maybe 45 minutes. My instructions are based off of doing the letter A.

Start at the base of the letter, where the Serif part (the foot, if you will) is at. Wrap the yarn vertically around both sides of the foot. Hold the end when you make the first wrap, then cross over the end upon the second wrap to secure it in place. Once the foot is totally wrapped vertically, wrap it horizontally. Start at the bottom of the foot and wrap up.

Continue to wrap your yarn upwards on the letter. For letters like A, once you get to the cross bar, do a few wraps diagonally into the corner, then wrap vertically on the cross bar. Continue that process around the sides of the opening of the A (or whatever letter you're doing). Do a few diagonal wraps from the peak of the opening to the top. I secured the end of the yarn by wrapping it under the tightly pulled yarn.

Repeat the steps for the other side of the letter. When you get to the crossbar part, wrap your yarn horizontally across the entire length. Continue to wrap straight up. It's okay to double wrap some areas. Pull the yarn end under the pre-wrapped part to secure it.

That's it! You're done!

Crock Pot Pulled BBQ Pork

Okay, I'm stealing this idea from a friend who blogs about her cooking adventures and recipes. Thanks Danielle!

As my mother puts it, I have become quite a good cook. :) It was always there, I just had to feel like cooking! Last night, Mom and Dad came over for dinner. We did pulled BBQ pork, roasted potatoes, and black beans with corn. The beans definitely needed to soak longer (they were a bit crunchy), so they got left in the pot soaking over night. lol. Anyways, the rest of dinner came out great!

Pulled BBQ Pork
2 packages of Pork Loin Backribs (I used about 2 lbs)
1 bottle of BBQ sauce of your choice

Put the pork loin into your crock pot. Add the BBQ sauce (the entire bottle!). Set your crock pot on low for roughly 8 hours. That's it! It shreds really easily by dinner time.

Roasted Potatoes
4-5 small to medium potatoes (I used russet potatoes)
Butter
Paprika
White pepper
Garlic salt
Cilantro
Parmesan Cheese

Skin and chop the potatoes. I quartered them, then quartered each quarter. Put them into an ungreased casserole dish. Mine was an 8x8, but the size is determined by how many potatoes you use. Add several large dollops of butter (nobody said this was a healthy dish!). Use seasonings of your choice. I listed what I used. No exact measurements again, I just add a few good dashes to get a good coating. Sprinkle with the Parmesan Cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. The top potatoes will be nice and crusty, with the bottom ones soft and tender.

The beans and corn were easy. Soak the beans (the longer, the better. Overnight, if possible), then cook them. I added corn and cilantro straight to the pot of beans. Serve warm or cold, both ways are tasty!

Next time I try a new recipe, I will remember to take photos.

It's been a while

It's been a while since I actually blogged. Let's see. What's new.

A few months back, we decided to put the kids in separate rooms. That has made a world of difference. The night terrors stopped almost immediately for whatever reason. Both kids seem to love having their own rooms, and bedtime has become somewhat easier, other than a stubborn little girl who tries to turn pajama time into a game. Haha!

Mady has started talking in sentences. She is currently spending the month of July with her dad, so when I have gotten her for my weekend, it was incredible to see her progress. She just absolutely blew me away. She gave me a kiss after having an M&M cookie and got chocolate on me, so now she tells me her kisses are "chockit". lol. She finally got a (small) haircut. She is rocking bangs now and looks like a 2-year-old. We are thinking about getting her into swim lessons. She just loves the water, and can kind of float when she loses her balance and goes under. Oh, and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree with her. She seems to enjoy drinking (yes, drinking) pool water. Oh joy! She is also one smart kiddo. I was hiding the water ball at the pool from her. She kept asking Gram, "Where it go?" Once she got the ball, she started hiding it from me, asking, "Where it go Momma?" She would then produce it from behind her back and crack up. Mady also enjoys throwing it and shouting, "Go get it Momma!"

Adair is out in California until October. It's rough. We all miss him. Mady constantly asks, "Where's YaYa?" (She can't say Adair, so she calls him YaYa.) Apparently, it threw his mom for a loop since he's started calling himself YaYa. She doesn't like the nickname, but hey, when his sister has come up with a name that she can say for him, that's what is going to stick. Oh well. They're 2 and 3 after all. He has started Speech Therapy at the very least. We are hoping he will do Occupational and Physical Therapy while he is out there as well. We got all the referrals sent with him to California so that he can keep doing therapies. We have about figured out he's roughly a year behind (with speech at least). When Mady's speech exploded, that was the same time Adair's did, so it's helping us mark his development. His mom says he is having fun out there. He gets to go to MUCH larger zoos (which I know he loves), and the beach. That child loves sand! We get to Skype every so often with him, and Mady just adores seeing her brother on the computer and shrieking "YaYa! Momma, there's YaYa!"

James and I will be married 3 months this Saturday. As he put it, it seems so much longer since November will mark 3 years that we've been together total. We are going this afternoon with Mom and Dad to look at 2 houses with the thought of exploring the possibility of purchasing. I just don't see the point of throwing $10,000 in a year away on a house that isn't ours and that we can't do anything to. Our current place has a gate that "latches" into the side of the house via mortar that has been routered out (unless the wind blows over 5 mph, then the dog has free run of the neighborhood. Thanks gate!). Our fence has been "repaired" multiple times, yet still has stability issues. Our landlord has "repaired" it by screwing 2 boards horizontally across the front of 2 parts of the fence, and has filled holes they created (seriously, who puts a new fence section over a tree root, creating roughly a gap about a foot in height next to the tree?) in the same manner. Our a/c unit is too small for the house, so we got told not to set our thermostat below 81 (81 in West Texas? How is that going to help us reach a little bit of comfort INSIDE?). Needless to say, I have a bad taste in my mouth from renting now. Oh, and we have to attempt to cover exposed tack strip with small runners, which the kids and dog now trip over. The joys.

Roscoe is closing in on a year old now. I think the digging in the backyard has stopped. He has mostly quit chewing on electrical cords outside. I wonder if he figured out he gets tethered, which he hates, when he chews on cords? He gets to start Obedience Classes Saturday. We have GOT to break him of eating the kids stuffed animals. Doors have to stay shut currently or he will destroy Mady's bed. But, the kids adore him, so off to Obedience Class he goes.

Running on Empty

So last night was a very rough night, which led to a rough morning. Adair gave us about 4 hours of solid sleep before he began waking up and screaming nonstop. And we went to bed at our normal time, around 10. The kids were down around 8:30. I knew it would be rough when it took us almost an hour to get him to stop screaming.

We do the same bedtime routine nightly: story, prayer, song, water, hug, kiss. We make sure the nightlight is on (he will freak out, screaming "Stars!" until it goes on). It was working for us until about a week and a half ago. He now will demand hugs and/or kisses for close to 10 minutes if we let him. I literally have to tell James when to step away and start making Adair go to bed. It kills us and wears us out, especially since Adair will only allow James to put him down, comfort him, anything at night. So I'm no help at all for the bedtime routine, unless James isn't home. Then I can get him down fairly easily.

Like I said, 4 hours of good sleep. We eventually put Mady in bed with us, James put earplugs in, and we let Adair scream himself out. We can't figure out why he screams. Anytime he wakes up, morning, night, naps, whenever, he will scream until we physically take him out of bed. James is running on fumes and pure exhaustion today.

This morning, there were tantrums nonstop from the time he woke up. Part of them came from him wanting the TV on (his mom would allow him to watch TV every morning for the 4 months she had him while she got ready for work), and the other part, well, we don't know what caused them. He woke up at 6:20, and by 7 a.m. was already in time-out.

We child-proofed our house the other night. I got tired of having to lock our bedroom door once he was up just to get dressed (plus, the kids seem to love destroying our bedroom), so we now have doorknob covers on every door in the house. If a door is closed and he is up for the day, and one of us happens to be behind that closed door, we end up with an epic meltdown, complete with him practically beating down the door.

We have the first evaluation March 26, but I am hoping that we can figure something out that doesn't make this bedtime routine last for an hour or more, and that we can get a few more nights of sleep before then. Full nights. I think I can count the full nights of sleep on one hand in the almost month we have had him back.

Maiden Voyage if you will

As many of my friends know, James and I are getting married April 28. I thought I would start a blog to chronicle everything we've gone through, are going through, and will encounter, especially since we are both coming into the marriage with children who are 18 months apart.

Needless to say, life is interesting in our house. Some days are great and easy, and others are trying and wear us out, and all we want is a sanity break by mid-afternoon. I had the, shall we say, privileged to stay home for 3 days with both kids. If you ever want an adventure, stay home with a 2-year-old and a 3 1/2-year-old. I was never happier to see James than at the end of that first day.

It wasn't all bad. Our kids usually get along really well (up until 2 hours before dinner is cooked). What's trying is that there is some speech delays with Adair, which I'm sure makes him frustrated, especially since we force him to tell us what he wants. We are also dealing with some intense tantrums, so we are taking things one day at a time.

This blog not only chronicles what I mentioned before, but it's our outlet for when we need that Sanity Break. We believe Adair might have some form of autism (too many symptoms to really list here that he is exhibiting), and we have multiple evaluations with different groups set up for the next month or 2. We aren't certain that he has it, but it's worth getting him evaluated to rule it out and see what's going on. It makes daily things a battle sometimes: trips to the store without Mady make him very withdrawn and nervous, for example. Or if we do dinner earlier than what he wants it to be, he has a meltdown and won't eat until it's the proper time.

Mady tries to help him. We can tell she understands that there is something going on with him, she just doesn't know what. She will try to lead him away when he's angry or upset, and ends up getting hit/kicked/pushed. It's obvious she doesn't understand what's going on, and it hurts me to see both kids hurting and confused and not being able to help either. I kiss the boo-boos and wipe the tears, but I wish there was more that I could do for both of them. I told my mom that I consider it a victory if Mady is only pushed into a wall once during the tantrums, which is slightly sadistic (in my views) to say.

I pray the evaluations help shed some light on what is going on with my sweet stepson. It hurts me to see how he reacts and acts out and know that I don't know how to help him right now.