Worldless Wednesday - Z Dancing!

I mentioned on Monday that we had planned to go to a free concert last night. Well, we did and it was great!! The kids both had a fabulous time. It was at a Christian bookstore that had a kid's area, which Z was more than entertained at for the hour and a bit that the concert lasted.

He took breaks from playing every few minutes to do a little dancing. He gets his moves from his dad. :oP

Check out more Wordless Wednesday pics over at 5 Minutes for Mom!

Tasty Tuesday - Rigatoni with Chicken & Spicy Cream Sauce

I'm in love with Philadelphia Cooking Creme. Every recipe I have made with it has turned out wonderfully. It's not a cheap product, unless you are like me and able to find it on sale and stack coupons to get it for FREE - $0.50! I created this recipe last week just using ingredients I had on hand and it turned out amazing.

Rigatoni with Chicken & Spicy Cream Sauce

1 tbsp. vegetable oil

2 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/3 cup chicken broth

1 tub Original Philly Cooking Creme

1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies

mozzarella cheese

hot cooked pasta (I used rigatoni, you could use whatever you like...)

Cook chicken in a medium pan until done, 5-6 minutes. Add garlic powder and chicken broth, cook for 3 minutes. Add cooking creme and diced tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes or until heated through. Serve over hot cooked pasta. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

The awesome thing about this recipe is that you can substitute regular diced tomatoes for diced tomatoes with green chilies if that better suits your family's tastes. I thought this would be too spicy for my kids, so I prepared them something else, but my daughter asked for a bite and didn't seem to mind that it was a bit spicy.

Check out more Tasty Tuesday recipes over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam!

You can see all of my own recipes here.

Menu Plan Monday - May 23

Wowee, it's the last full week of May...and the week before we leave on vacation! The theme of this week's plan is: Simple. Got a lot to do and don't feel like messing around too much in the kitchen. So here you have it:

Monday - Spaghetti with Chicken & Sundried Tomato Alfredo, Salad

Tuesday - Going to see Abandon perform a free acoustic show...so, something out.

Wednesday - Saucy Franks, Macaroni, Green Beans

Thursday - Chicken Strips, Stuffing, Corn

Friday - Burgers or Leftovers

Saturday - Headed out of town!

For anyone who is wondering, I used my new food processor last week to make pizza dough and it turned out wonderfully. Made for some delicious grilled pizzas!

You can check out more menu plan ideas over at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

What I'm Printing!

Here is a list of high value and otherwise interesting coupons I'm printing this week!

$1/2 Coca-Cola Products (20oz)

$1/2 Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs

$0.55/1 Vlasic Relish, Peppers or Pickles (Relish on sale at Meijer for $1.19 through 5/29)

$0.50/3 Stonyfield Yogurt (6oz) (on sale at Meijer for $0.60 through 5/22)

$0.50/1 Driscoll's Berries (when you sign up to receive their e-mails)

$0.35/1 Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Grahams

Wordless Wednesday - Mommy's Helper!

To many, this may just look like a boring pile of laundry. To me, it's exciting!! My dear husband taught my 4-year-old to fold towels a few weeks ago, and she has now taken it over as "her job"!

Most days it is sad for me to reflect on how quickly my kids are growing up. But when it comes to them learning life skills (and helping me out!), it makes it so much less sad.

Isn't she beautiful? :)

Check out more Wordless Wednesday pics over at 5 Minutes for Mom!

Tasty Tuesday - Pizza Pinwheels

I'm so excited that I just have to share...my friends at UPS delivered my Mother's Day gift today! A lot of people might be insulted to receive such a practical gift...but not me! My old food processor died a couple of weeks ago. It was super cheapo and had been slowly falling apart for about a year. Finally it decided that it didn't want to spin the blade anymore, and that was the end of it. I found my new one on Amazon on sale, and it has a dough blade! Can't wait to try it out by making some pizza dough on Thursday.


It even came with a how-to DVD...sounds like some great evening entertainment! =oP

Now onto this week's recipe. Found this one over at AllRecipes, but changed it a bit to suit my family's tastes. (My kids don't like pepperoni...*sigh*)

Pizza Pinwheels

8 servings



1 (8 oz.) can refrigerated crescent roll dough
1 cup shredded italian mix cheese (You could use mozzerella)
24 slices pepperoni (I used mini pepperoni)
1 (14 oz.) can pizza sauce (we probably only used a half a can)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. On a large baking sheet, pinch the 8 crescent roll dough triangles into 4 rectangles. Layer each rectangle with pepperoni and even amounts of cheese. Roll tightly lengthwise and slice each into 4 or more pieces. Use toothpicks that have been soaked in water for 30 minutes to help hold the pinwheels together.

Bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Serve with pizza sauce for dipping.

I only put pepperoni in half of them. My daughter thought they were fantastic. I served them with spinach salad to make a complete meal, but they would also make a great afternoon snack!

Check out more Tasty Tuesday recipes over at Balancing Beauty the Bedlam.

You can see a complete list of my recipes here.

Menu Plan Monday - May 16

Hard to believe May is already half over! We leave for our trip at the end of next week! So excited to get away! My meal plans for the next two weeks will be using a lot of things I keep on hand in my pantry and freezer. Too busy these days to do too much bargain hunting and I really don't want to leave my house full of food!

Monday - Pizza, Spinach Salad

Tuesday - Bruschetta Chicken & Pasta (using a Philly Cooking Creme that I got for super cheap awhile back)

Wednesday - Pulled Pork, Beans

Thursday - Pulled Pork Pizza on the Grill

Friday - Burgers, Onion Rings

Saturday - Hubby will be out with friends....I think I'll get takeout....

Sunday - Possibly having Couple's Group here?? I'll probably make Pizza Pinwheels (recipe tomorrow!) and Spinach Salad.

Check out more menu plan ideas over at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Wordless Wednesday...on Thursday!

Didn't want to skip two weeks in a row, so here are some Wordless Wednesday pics on Thursday. Mother's Day edition!!

My kids both LOVE to run!

A certain little boy was extremely uncooperative when it came time for picture taking.

Love these little people!!

Check out more Wordless Wednesday pics over at 5 Minutes for Mom!

Tasty Tuesday - Cinnamon Loaf

I know I hinted that I would be posting a recipe today for stroganoff, but what I made yesterday just turned out okay...not worth posting, really. I made these mini loaves last night and they were so good I decided share them with you instead. :)

This recipe is adapted from another one in my family's favorite recipe cookbook that we put together a couple of years ago. I really am related to some good cooks.

Mini Cinnamon Loaves

1/2 cup margarine
2 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sour cream
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder

Cinnamon Sugar:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon


Cream together margarine and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla, mix well. Alternately beat in sour cream and sifted dry ingredients. Beat until fluffy. Divide 1/2 of the batter between three greased mini loaf pans. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly between the three pans. Cover with the remaining batter. Swirl knife around through the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, and then remove to wire rack to cool completely.


I find that these loaves freeze really well. I wrap them in saran wrap and then in heavy aluminum foil. No freezer burn!

Check out more Tasty Tuesday recipes over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam!

You can see all of my recipes here!

Menu Plan Monday - May 9

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a nice Mother's Day! I had a really good day...we went out to breakfast and since it was such a beautiful day, we were able to spend a few hours walking around in the park taking pictures of the kiddos. I'll post some later this week! :)

Here's my plan for this week:

Monday - Beef Stroganoff w/ Macaroni & Mixed Vegetables (recipe hopefully coming tomorrow!)

Tuesday - Grilled Hot Dogs, Baked Beans (bumped from last week)

Wednesday - Chicken Stirfry & Brown Rice

Thursday - Tuna Macaroni & Cheese, Salad

Friday - Pizza (not sure what kind yet...)

Saturday - out

Sunday - Taco Salad

Check out more menu plan ideas over at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

What I'm Printing...

Here are a few high value and otherwise interesting coupons I'm printing this week:

$0.75 off Starbucks Ice Cream

$1 off Kraft Homestyle Macaroni & Cheese Dinner

$3.50 off Huggies Diapers

$1 off Maxwell House Coffee (on sale at Meijer for $2.50 this week)

$0.50 off Yoplait Kids Cup Yogurt (on sale at Meijer for $1.67 this week)

Be sure to check out my Coupon Database to help you search for more great coupons!

Tasty Tuesday - Sweet & Sour Meatballs

This is one of my all-time favorite recipes. My mom made it all the time when I was growing up. It is based off of a recipe from a Betty Crocker cookbook that she got as a wedding gift almost 30 years ago.

Sweet & Sour Meatballs

Meatballs:

1 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs (I make my own...it's SO easy!)
1/4 cup milk
2 tbsp. finely chopped onion
1 tsp. salt
1 egg

Combine ingredients in a large bowl.

Mix well with your hands.

Shape into 1-inch balls. (I like meatballs really small...I have a major aversion to raw ground beef, and I like to guarantee that my meatballs will be cooked all the way through!) Heat 1 tbsp. of oil in a large frying pan and cook meatballs until they are brown on all sides, approx. 15 minutes. While they are cooking, prepare the sauce.

Sweet & Sour Sauce:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 large can pineapple chunks
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 tsp. soy sauce

Combine ingredients, stir and add in cooked meatballs.

Now if your house is anything like my house, the hour between 5 & 6 p.m. is when everything seems to fall apart. That is why when I make this recipe, I usually prepare it in the early afternoon and throw it in my slow cooker on high for 4 hours. If that doesn't work for you, you could put it in a casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for an hour. I usually serve this with warm rice or egg noodles.

Check out more Tasty Tuesday recipes at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

Also, be sure to check out all of my Tasty Tuesday recipes here.

Menu Plan Monday - May 2

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you all had a fabulous weekend! My meal planning last week was basically a waste of time...I didn't feel well all week and ended up not really making anything that was planned. Oh well...I'll try again this week!

Monday - Tuna Patties (bumped from last week AND the week before), baked mac & cheese

Tuesday - Sweet & Sour Meatballs, Rice

Wednesday - Grilled BBQ Chicken Pizza

Thursday - Burritos

Friday - Hot Dogs, Baked Beans

Saturday - Something takeout

Sunday - Mother's Day...not cooking!!!

My main goal over the next couple of weeks is to find something that my son will eat for lunch on a regular basis. He is a terrible eater, and would live off of crackers, pretzels and yogurt if I would let him. I'm desperately trying to get him on some sort of eating schedule before my husband and I take our trip to Seattle, otherwise grandma is really going to have her hands full!!

Check out more menu planning ideas at I'm an Organizing Junkie!