A Fire Under My Buns

My guy read the previous post and asked me, "What is the big news?". 

No news really...just life...three lil' ones...lots of daily laughs at the things they say...some moments of frustration tossed in...and all the other things that encompass the life of a busy family.  We are blessed.

This morning we wrapped up our fall Bible study completing "Me, Myself, and Lies." Ever done it?  This is the first Jennifer Rothschild study that I have done.  There were many practical takeaways.  

We ended the actual study a few weeks ago and have filled our last two week with guest speakers.  Today, a friend came and spoke on meal/menu planning and freezing food to have on-hand.  She really got me excited to take our meal planning to the next level. --that's some serious lingo regarding making a menu--  I already love doing this, but I get really excited over new ideas and always enjoy conversations like this with friends.  It is a fun way to serve and care for my family (even though that is hard to remember at 5:30 when I'm chopping veggies while trying not to fall over a child or trying to keep another from eating all of the pantry contents before I get the food on the table) and I do love cooking.  I love it even more when I realize that I am the person that the Lord chose to care for my family in this way. My planning and preparedness brings glory to the Lord because I am doing it to promote peace in our home.  

Isn't it great how realizing our purpose, in any role, gives joy to daily tasks? 

Before this session, I started compiling a month-long menu of my family's favorite meals.  I'm fine tuning it now.  I would love to share it when I get completed.  

I would love to know how others meal plan.  What works for your family? I am ALWAYS open to make adjustments. 

Brownie Fruit Pizza

The recipe? 

Sure! 

We are all friends here.  

And besides, I just learned it this weekend too. 

I don't actually have the recipe so I will just give you the informal version.

Brownie Fruit Pizza

Bake a box of brownies as directed on in a round pizza dish.

Beat together one block of cream cheese, one can of pineapple, and 2 Tablespoons of sugar.

After the brownie is cooled, spread the mixture on top.

Top with your favorite fruit (strawberries, bananas, kiwi, etc.)

Voila!

Yadda, Yadda, Yadda & A Recipe

Remember the cough that I told you about? As it turns out, I have bronchitis. And strep. And pleurisy.  If you've not ever been visited by the little ailment referred to as pleurisy, then just continue reading.  If you have had pleurisy, thank you for the little grimace you gave when reading this.  Ouch.

I assumed that I probably had bronchitis.  According to WebMD, bronchitis usually runs its course and then passes on without medical intervention.  I am a problem solver.  It must be in my DNA.  My cerebrum functions much more like a male's, I'm sure. I think that is why I liked research papers... I get an adrenaline rush from researching.  Thus, my love for WebMD.  I can self-diagnose.  I must be a doctors worst nightmare.  But back to the point; I thought my cough would run its course.  But it lingered.  And didn't get any better.  In fact, it got worse.  So our household went to the doctor.  My older two have strep also and my hubby was given an antibiotic too.

Because of all of this, we didn't go to small group last night and it was the perfect evening to stay home and play outside.  It. Was. Gorgeous.  We enjoyed some playful family time.  One of our neighbors and her sweet daughter also walked down to meet us.  They were great and I was so excited to meet some of the people who live around us.

For dinner last night, we had shrimp which Noah calls shramp.  There is no cute story with this, it's just funny when he says it.  He sounds like he has an odd accent.

Speaking of dinners, the Southern Living flop recipe was a lemonade cake.  I don't have the recipe on hand, but who would want a bad recipe anyway?  In defense of the cake, we had to make a slight ingredient alteration because the grocery store near by did not carry exactly what we were looking for.  I really think that if we had not done so, it would have been much better.  It wasn't gross, just tart.  REALLY TART. TOO TART.  So if you have a great lemonade cake recipe, you should share it and help the cake redeem itself.  Because every cake deserves a good redemption story. Right?

The recipe that we liked was a Chicken & Bow Tie Pasta. It was easy and yummy.  Two words that make my heart leap.

Chicken and Bow Tie Pasta

Ingredients

• 1  quart water
• 4  skinned and boned chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• 8  ounces  uncooked bow tie pasta
• 1  cup  chicken broth
• 1  celery rib, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 1  small onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 1  (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
• 1  (8-ounce) package pasteurized prepared cheese product, cubed
• Garnish: chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

Bring 1 quart salted water to a boil in a Dutch oven. Add chicken, and cook 12 minutes or until done. Remove chicken from water with a slotted spoon. Add pasta to water in Dutch oven, and cook 10 minutes or until tender; drain. Keep warm.

Heat 1/4 cup broth over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven; add celery and onion, and cook 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in chicken, soup, cheese, and remaining 3/4 cup chicken broth, stirring until cheese is melted. Toss with pasta; garnish, if desired. Serve immediately.

All of the dutch oven stuff is nonsense to me, just cook chicken and add it. It kind of has a chicken spaghetti taste, but was much easier and I prefer the bow tie pasta over spaghetti noodles.

It was really good and would be a great meal to take to a friend who has had a baby or surgery or just to show your love.  We were cooking for a group so we doubled the recipe and it made a heaping amount. So it would also be a good recipe to use when cooking for a large group.

My family loves pasta.  In fact, we had a different pasta dish for lunch today my grandma asked Kayt if she liked pasta and she said, "Yeah. It's my favorite!"  with her little head cocked to the side like she does when she talks.  It's pretty cute.  And she is pretty funny.

Chicken Chili

Don't worry this blog will not be all about chicken, I just wanted to share an easy recipe that my entire family loves. :)

This winter has been unusually cold and snowy so our dinners have been bombarded with soups and crock pot recipes.  Winter and the slow cooker go hand-in-hand for me. Do they you? This is a recipe that I received from girl I taught with in Keller several years ago. I loved it then and now it is one of the kids very favorites. I serve it with corn bread that I cook in my lovely, new cast iron skillet that I received for Christmas (thanks, Mom).  You know that you are a real grown-up when a cast iron skillet and a mop bring a smile to your face. Humph.

I wanted to share this in time for you to make it at least once before the outdoor grill lures you away from the slow cooker.


Chicken Chili


4 Chicken Breasts cooked and cut into bite size pieces
1 Medium jar of salsa (I prefer Pace for this particular recipe)
2 Cans of Great White Northern Beans (juice and all)
1 block (1 lb) of Monterey Jack Cheese cubed
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 cup water


Put all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low for several hours. Keep the lid on so that condensation will remain in the chili. 

Recently, I've began cooking an entire chicken in my crock pot over night with just a bit of chicken broth, shredding the chicken, and then using it for this recipe and many others. It is more cost efficient.

Hope you enjoy!

I'll Show You Mine If You'll Show Me Yours

If you were worried about me not actually having time to post the recipe I had promised (like I was), no need to worry, Kayt woke me up very, very early this morning so that I would have ample time to do all that I needed today. Thank you, princess.

I found this recipe in a cookbook given to me by my grandma for Christmas. It is a cookbook compiled from her small town Baptist church. If there is anything the ladies from small town, Baptist America know, it is how...to...cook!

I am a pasta lover! It is my absolute favorite and it used to always be my food of choice. As I have gotten older, Mexican food has also taken root in my heart and we have developed this new love affair. But being true to my roots, I wanted to give you a simple pasta recipe that sufficed me and the meat eater in my family. 

Manicotti Casserole

1 pound hamburger meat (or ground turkey)

1 box manicotti noodles

1 large jar of Ragu sauce

1/2 pint cottage cheese

1 pound grated cheese, mixed longhorn (or cheddar) & mozzarella 

1/2 cup mayonnaise or miracle whip

garlic salt

pepper

Mix cooled and cooked hamburger meat, mayo, cottage cheese, and half of the grated cheese together. Add garlic salt and pepper. Boil manicotti shells with a teaspoon of oil in water. Boil until soft, but firm. Fill manicotti shells with meat mixture. Lay in a casserole dish (9x13). Pour Ragu sauce over noodles until all covered. Pour the rest of the grated cheese over it. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. 

This is a really simple recipe that everyone in our family enjoyed. The meat made it harty enough for my husband and my kids ate a ton of it. I served it with steamed, fresh green beans and garlic bread. Hubby isn't much of a salad eater or I would have served salad with it also. :) Stuffing the manicotti shells is not hard, but does require a bit of time and getting your hands dirty so be prepared. It's worth the mess though. 

If you are participating, make sure that you leave the name of your recipe and a link to your blog on this post. Mr. Linky is down so just leave a comment. Even if you commented yesterday, please do so again today so that we have all of our recipes in one blog entry so that we, mainly I, can go back to all of them at a later date. 

Thanks for sharing your amazing meals. Hope you enjoy the manicotti!

You Have Been Cordially Invited

To A Recipe Swap!

Who: You, your momma,  your neighbor, and anyone else that wants to join

What: A place to find yummy, blogger-approved meals

When: Tomorrow, 2/3/09

Where: Here and @ your blog

Why: Why not?

I spent most of the month of December and the first two weeks of January trying brand new recipes. I searched my cookbooks and the internet for each evening meal with the hope of expanding my repertoire of recipes that are easy and delicious. With all of the new recipes I prepared, I found several that were satisfactory, but only a select few that were a hit. 

To be a hit, it had to be tasty, easily prepared and assembled and given the IngramGang Seal of Approval by the king taste-tester and the grubby taste-tester assistants. 

Because I always enjoy finding more recipes that I can file away in the 'go-to' section of my recipe box, I have decided to ask for your help. Yes, you. Yes, even you that cannot cook. 

If you would like to participate, pull out one of your favorite, family-friendly recipes and be ready to post it tomorrow. 

I will post one of the recipes that I recently discovered that my family really enjoyed. In return, I would like for you to do the same. I will either put up a Mr. Linky or just ask you to leave a comment. With numerous participants, we could have enough recipes to last us until summer or better yet, until Jesus returns! 

There are not any 'rules' per say. But, let's keep the meals to dinner options only (for now). And please only post a recipe that you have previously made and enjoy. You know, one of your 'go-to' recipes. It can be cooked in a slow-cooker, in the oven, or on the grill; the more variety, the better!

Let me know if you are in and be ready to post your recipe tomorrow! I cannot wait to see all of the yummy meals that we discover. 

Who is up for a recipe swap?