Honey Garlic Chicken

I tried out another new recipe tonight that I got off Babycenter Cooking for your Family. Its a winner at our house!

My daughter said this was too sweet, so next time I will use less brown sugar and more soy sauce. I also used chicken tenders since thats what I had on hand.
But over all, its a fantastic quick dish!

Honey Garlic Chicken
Niki5959

INGREDIENTS
1 onion, sliced
1 large package of cut up chicken pieces
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda

DIRECTIONS

Place onion on bottom of crock pot. Place chicken on top of onion. In a large bowl, combine the honey, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and brown sugar. Stir until honey and sugar are completely dissolved, then stir in the baking soda. The mixture will begin to foam. Pour over chicken and cook on low until done

NOTE: I turned the chicken about halfway through to make sure both sides were covered with the sauce.

Free Theater Tickets!

WHAT? Free Night of Theater 2009
WHEN? Various dates
WHERE? All around the US
HOW?

Visit Free Night of Theater 2009
Find your city and see the listings for various live theater shows
Many options for both adults and children
Note when the sign-up begins for that particular show!
Many sign-ups begin tomorrow, October 1st!
Set an alarm....and be quick.

Thanks to A Frugal Friend for heads up on this!
She said tickets go fast so set a alarm!

I love Texas but....

I'm a born and raised Texan.

I love Texas. I love the Lone Star. I love cowboys(not the football team) and rodeos. I love country music.

I love BBQ. Oh sweet BBQ.

I love the Aggie's.
OK, well I don't like" love" them, but being married to an Aggie you kind of have to take one for the team so to speak. So I "love" them in my own sort of way.

What I do not love about Texas is the weather! I want to experience all 4 seasons Mother Nature has to offer! I want to see the leaves change colors. The leaves here in Texas go from green to dead. There is no in between, no beautiful reds, yellows, or oranges. Just green and then dead!

I mean look at this picture?!

Breathtaking isn't it?!
Now, being in Texas, I do not get to see beautiful things like this. We get blistering heat and cool winters. I don't even think they should be called winters if you do not get snow!

It is autumn after all and I was sweating walking to get my daughter from school.
That is just not right!
This should not be happening! I should be able to send my kids to school in jeans and a light jacket in autumn, not shorts and a tshirt!

Please Mother Nature, please bring us good ole Texans some real fall like weather! We really are awesome people and we deserve it after the scorching summer!

Wordless Wednesday

My 8 month old is growing up too fast! He should not be pulling himself up already!

No Peek Tips

This is another Babycenter Cooking for your Family recipe. Its also a family favorite! My daughter just loves it!

We do not use the mushrooms since no one really eats them and we serve them over buttered egg noodles.

I wish I had a picture, but I forgot!




No Peek Tips
(fourwonderfulboys)

2 lbs cubed stew beef
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can mushrooms
1 pkg dry onion soup mix
1 pkg dry brown gravy mix
1 c. ginger ale or 7 up


Layer ingredients in proceeding order. Cover and bake at 300* for 3 hours.

Or Make in the slow cooker for 6hrs on low. Serve over rice or the egg noodles.

Menu Plan Monday~ September 28th

Well my menu last week went out the window when I was diagnosed with the flu on Wednesday. I do not think I have ever felt so bad! Luckily I found some tamiflu so I was feeling better by Saturday and on Sunday I felt like my old self! I will disinfecting my house though today and most of the week!

We do have another busy week ahead, Math Night, Cheer Practice and 2 games this week!

So here is our menu, it looks like last weeks since I didn't get to make a lot of what I wanted last week with being sick.

Monday- Math Night- No Peek Tips(crock pot recipe), buttered noodles, and green beans

Tuesday- Quesadillas, rice and beans

Wednesday- Cheer Practice- Honey Garlic Chicken(Crock pot and New recipe), rice, and broccoli

Thursday- Football game- leftovers

Friday- Sesame Ginger Pork Tenderloin(crock pot and new recipe), rice, and veggie

Saturday- Football Game- Roasted onion potatoes and sausage, salad

Sunday- Breakfast- Sausage, egg, and potato wraps.

As always, head over to The Organizing Junkie for a ton of menu plans for this week!

Wordless Wednesday

3 Pictures for Wordless Wednesday Today

Jake Sitting up on his Own!

Madison Cheerleading

And Christopher Smiling

Crossiant Paninni

So I saw Giada de Laurentis make these one day on Food Network. Obviously hers were more grand and had different ingredients but I knew I had to make them for my family! And you do not need to rush out and buy a paninni press to make these. If you have a George Foreman Grill (this is what I use) it will work, or just cook in a skillet and press down on top of the sandwich with another skillet that is pushed down with a heavy can.

There is really no recipe. You just get the crossiants from the bakery at the grocery store. Your favorite lunch meats, cheeses, greens and tomatoes if you wish. My family just wants meat and cheese. So usually we have turkey breasts, ham provolone cheese, and for hubby and myself I add pepper jack as well.

Layer all those ingredients on the crossiant and press in the George Foreman Grill. Cook until the cheese is melted. Easy as pie and yummy too! I usually serve these with a soup!

Famous Baked Potato Soup

I love soup. Even when it is not cold outside, which is not often living in Texas. So to get my soup fix, I just have to make it when I want it and if its hot outside I cut the A/C way down to make it feel like its chilly outside!

Tonight we had Famous Baked Potato Soup! Its a crock pot recipe and its one of my trusted recipes I found on Baby center Cooking for your Family Board. I usually top mine with shredded cheese, bacon bits, sour cream, and if I happen to remember to get chives. This time I didn't have the chives. I also scale it down to fit our family. And this time I sauteed the onions with some garlic before putting it into the crock pot.
This is a family favorite, even my hubby who does not like soup, will eat this. My daughter loves it and I wish I could say that my oldest son would eat it, but he is weird about his foods and he will not touch this with a 10 foot pole!

So here is the recipe, add it to your must try file today!

Famous Potato Bacon Soup (crock pot)
Amy (ajays)


8 cups coarsely chopped peeled potatoes
1 small onion, shopped (1/3 cup)
1/2 pound bacon, crisped, drained, and crumbled
1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened
3 cans (14.5 oz) each reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 (10.75 oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/4 tsp. pepper


In a 4-qt. crock, stir together the potatoes and onion. Stir in the bacon. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, and the pepper. Add the mixture to the crock. Cover and cook the soup on low heat for 8-10 hours or on high heat for 4-5 hours. If you like, mash the potatoes slightly for a thicker consistency before serving.

Menu Plan Monday~ September 21st

Another Manic Monday! And also another Menu Plan Monday!

We have a few things going on this week : Cheer practice and our second football game. I am trying out a few new recipes. A few are not new, but I plan to post the recipe along with a picture after I make them so they can be a easy reference for my blog readers. My crock pot is getting a workout this week as well! I'm using it for 4 meals this week!

Monday- Croissant Paninni's and Famous Potato Soup(crock pot)

Tuesday- Meatloaf Muffins, Mashed Potatoes, and Corn on the Cob

Wednesday-Cheer Practice Night- No Peek Tips(crock pot), Buttered Noodles and Green Beans.

Thursday- Game Night- Honey Garlic Chicken(crock pot and new recipe), rice and broccoli

Friday- Leftovers

Saturday- Cheer Practice- Homemade Pizzas

Sunday- Sesame Ginger Pork Tenderloin(crock pot and new recipe), rice and veggie.

As always, check out The Organizing Junkie for more great menu plans!

Baby Darby needs you!

I am a member of a great online Natural Parenting Community called Granola Chicks.

One of our members Janna, has 11 week old Darby who needs our thoughts and prayers!
Baby Darby has had 2 surgeries this week. She has a condition called Biliary Atresia. This is a condition of the liver and will result in her eventually needing a liver transplant.

Monday Darby had a surgical procedure called a Kasai procedure. This is a temporary fix for a serious problem. Wednesday, Darby was rushed back in for an emergency surgery due to internal bleeding, after taking care of this she quit breathing in recovery.

As you can imagine this has been very difficult for Darby's mom and dad. They live about one and half hours from the hospital. With every minute being so critical, Darby's dad has missed a lot of work. They have 4 other children, one that is just a toddler. I hope that you can find it in your hearts to help them out a little. Every little bit will help them through this difficult time.

Brandy over at Not So Average Mama has set up a donation site where you can help this family. Head on over to her site and click the donation link to help this family during a very difficult time. She also has a banner she is asking people to post on their sites to get the word out about Baby Darby. Remember every little bit helps, whether is 1.00,5.00 or more. You can help this family out in one of their darkest hours. Send them you thoughts and prayers as well.

Wordless Wednesday

My Jake's Smile

Flu Season is coming!

I love cooler weather! LOVE IT!!!

There is a drawback however.....the dreaded flu season!

I know when I get the sniffles or flu, it's hard to
remember all the supplies I need to make a speedy recovery.

Here
is something that will make shopping for flu season items a no-brainer!

Just click this LINK to get your PDF printable shopping list!

Quiznos Deal!

I'm not a big Quiznos fan, but I am a big fan of FREE!



If you can not get that coupon to print, try this link.

VMA Round Up

This Sunday was the MTV Video Music Awards. The only reason I was remotely interesting this year was because of Robert Pattinson and the cast presenting a new New Moon extended trailer. OK and if I am being honest I wanted to see what Kristen Stewart would show up wearing(she ended up looking amazing!) and see this strange character called Lady Gaga(which BTW I was shocked at what she wore!).

I had no idea when I set out to watch that in one night I would be appalled and then in awe of the human race.

First up was the tribute to Michael Jackson. And while I am not a MJ fan, it was very awesome to see Janet Jackson performing her duet song with her brother. That definitely brought a tear to my eye. She did a good job.

Within 10 minutes of the show starting, Taylor Swift(who I love) won for Best Female Video. During her acceptance speech, a poor excuse for a human being, Kanye West got up on stage(I'm sure he had had a few drinks) and took the mic from Taylor and said, " Im happy for you Taylor and I'm going to let you finish, but Beyonce had the best video of all time!". Beyonce was in the audience looking shocked and appalled at one of her musical colleagues. Taylor looked absolutely mortified and when the mic was given back to her she looked as if she wanted to run of the stage crying. What was she to say or do at that point?! Poor girl. I am not saying I do not like Beyonce but Taylor deserved her moment to shine and that was taken away from her by someone who is known to be a complete jerk. I was never a big fan of Kanye West to begin with, but believe me, anything that has to do with that man is now on my list of "have nothing to do with". he does not deserve the publicity he is getting for this, he does not deserve any award he might win or any money from any record sales he might have now.

After this horrible episode the night was pretty adventurous. Lady Gaga performed and well, that was very interesting to say the least. Beyonce performed and did a fantastic job.

And the main reason I watched, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner came out to show the extended New Moon movie trailer. *Swoon* I love Rob. The trailer gave me goosebumps. It was amazing and I'm literally counting down the days till New Moon hits theaters.

Next, is the moment when I began to feel like there are good people out in the world. Beyonce won her award for Video of the Year, and as soon as she took the stage she said she remembered being 17 at scared at the VMA's with Destiny's Child. She said everyone deserves to have their moment and she wants to give Taylor hers. Beyonce invited Taylor back up on stage to accept her award. True class from Beyonce. It really shows how much of a bigger person she is than Kanye and that she did not stand behind his actions. Hats off to Beyonce for allowing Taylor to have her moment during her own special moment.

In conclusion:
1. Taylor Swift is amazing. She handled the situation the best she could. Poor girl was so out of her element....a country singer at the VMA's...but she did it! She won!
2. Kanye West...well I have a few choice words I could use for him, but this is a family blog and they will be kept to myself. Do not buy any of his albums or anything associated with this so called man.
3. Lady Gaga....wow...thats really all there is to say about this one.
4. Robert Pattinson....SWOON! Ready for New Moon!
5. Beyonce....wonderful, gracious, and caring woman who reminds us that there are good people out there.

~Menu Plan Monday~ September 14th

This Menu Plan is full of easy fast meals since we have something going on almost every single night this week. So, nothing too spectacular but family favorites at our house!

Monday-(Curriculum Night at DD's school)- Shredded BBQ Sandwiches and Oven Baked Fries.

Tuesday- Eggplant Parmesan (with eggplant from my garden) and salad

Wednesday-(Cheer Practice)- Hot Dogs, Mac and Cheese, green beans.

Thursday-(MNO for me at Texas Roadhouse)- Quesadillas and rice for hubby and kiddos.

Friday- Eating Out- Kids are headed to the church for a couple hours so hubby and I can have a Parents Night Out.

Saturday-(Madison's first football game to cheer at)- Sesame Ginger Pork Tenderloin in Crock pot with rice and broccoli.

Sunday- Grilled Chicken and baked potatoes.


As always, head over to The Organizing Junkie to see hundreds of menu plans that could inspire you!

Jazz up Store Bought Cookie Dough

We are not big cake eaters in this house. The kids just lick the icing off and throw away the cake and I do not like cake...AT ALL! So when there is a birthday we usually just do cookies or cake balls.

Today is hubby's birthday so I thought I would make him some peanut butter cookies. I would normally do these from scratch, but I'm pretty lazy on Sundays. Its my day to get things ready to start the week and just hang out.

So I bought store bought cookie dough and wondered how I could make this store bought cookie dough awesome!

And this is my creation!

All I did was melt some almond bark in a bowl in the microwave and put on the cookie. A few cookies I add Reese's Pieces Peanut Butter Chips used for baking. You could do this for any kind of cookie and with any toppings you like. My hubby loves peanut butter and chocolate so that's why I went this route for my family! They are super yum and super easy!

So anytime you need to jazz up some store bought cookies, try this out!

Gap Outlet Semi-Annual Baby Sale

The community at TwitterMoms.com has teamed with the Gap Outlet to bring you, your readers, and your followers an exclusive printable barcode coupon! Use it when shopping at any Gap Outlet location to receive an additional 10% off the already reduced prices during the Gap Outlet's Semi-Annual Baby Sale. Shop ahead ahead of the holidays to stock up on quality and style at value prices.

You are also invited to share this coupon with your friends and followers! Shop Gap Outlet stores and save up to 40% off the already low Factory Store prices during the semi-annual Baby Sale taking place now through September 24th. You’ll find irresistible prices on clothes for newborns, infants, and toddlers up to 5 years old. Shop any of the 200 Gap Outlet stores in the US or Canada(Find Your Local Store Here)

If you can not get the coupon posted to print, please go HERE to print.

Remembering...

We will never forget!

** This is a picture I have in my home. I hang it proudly and to remember those who lost their lives on 9/11/2001. My dad is a retired firefighter, firefighters are the silent heroes among us. Please take a moment today to remember those who lost their lives today 8 years ago, remember those silent heroes who rushed in to a burning building to try to save those who were still stuck inside and remember those families who lost the ones they loved most.

Super Late Wordless Wednesday

Im a few days behind, I know, but things have been crazy to say the least!

Here is my Wordless Wednesday- Jake's first Astros game!

Zhu Zhu Pets Giveaway Winner!

Alright, its time to announce a winner for the Zhu Zhu Pets Giveaway!


And todays winner is.....Post Number......

17!!!

Post # 17 is...

Birdie said...

MY fav. Zhu Zhu add on is the Hampster Car & Garage....every Hampster has to have one!!! birdson@roadrunner.com

Congrats! I am sending you a email and you have 48 hours to respond. If you do not respond in those 48 hours I will choose a new winner at random!

Thanks for playing and thanks to everyone else for following my blog!

~Menu Plan Monday~ September 7th

I hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend! Ours was pretty action packed. Friday night, hubby and I went out to a nice dinner and celebrated 5 years of marriage. Saturday we went to a friends house for a swim and BBQ party. Sunday we went to the Houston Astros baseball game. We love baseball in my family so this was a huge treat!

Unfortunately all that fun was upset by my daughter feeling a little under the weather. We thought she was just run down from so much fun, but it turned into a fever late last night. So now, our labor day will be spent taking care of her and disinfecting my house. I have one son who has breathing issues when he gets sick and then a 7 month old so when one gets sick we have to totally de-germ the house and get the sickness out quick. So that is the game plan for this labor day. I wish I could say it would be fun, but you gotta do what you gotta do when you are a momma!

So this is my menu plan for this week. Nothing too exciting. But hopefully you can find inspiration from my menu plan for your own!

Monday- Grilled chicken and ribs, baked potatoes, and corn on the cob.

Tuesday- Pancakes, bacon, eggs and fresh raspberries

Wednesday- Whole Wheat Spaghetti and garlic bread.

Thursday- Hot Turkey and Cheese Sammy's with veggie sticks

Friday- Homemade pizzas and salad

Saturday- Grilled Sausage and Peppers(Hot Dogs for kiddos)

Sunday-My hubby's birthday. His birthday last year was pushed aside since we were riding out Hurricane Ike in our playroom. SO I plan to make it up to him this year. Grilled steak with thinkly sliced onion rings on top, corn on the cob, cornbread, baked potatoes. Instead of cake we are doing peanut butter cookies dipped in chocolate. His favorite things on the menu!

As always, head over to The Organizing Junkie for other great Menu Plans! There are literally hundered's to see!

Help out a great cause!

Do you have a small business or make some neat crafts?

Miracle Diapers is looking for your help! They are having their annual holiday fundraiser and are looking for business or individuals to donate items to be put on auction to help out the Miracle Diapers Organization.

You can read more about the fundraiser here.

Please help out this fantastic cause! This organization works very hard to get cloth diapers on as many babies as possible!

Butter Cookies~ Coffee's perfect mate!

I love coffee. I love it even more than I love sweet things. And when I can find something perfect to have with my coffee I jump at the chance!

I found a blog recently called Full Bellies, Happy Kids. Talk about a great blog! She has tons of recipes that are geared towards kids! I stumbled onto her Butter Cookie recipe and thought, "hmm what a great cookie!" They are super easy, super fast and you always have the ingredients on hand! Plus, the recipe makes a perfect dozen! I hate how most recipes make you make like 4 dozen cookies! I mean really...who needs 4 dozen cookies in their house? I know I don't!

So try out this recipe! No the cookies are not super sweet, but they are so good! Especially with a cup of coffee!

EASY BUTTER COOKIES

• 1 stick of butter (may use margarine)
• 1 cup flour
• 5 tablespoons of sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

Mix ingredients together and roll into balls.
Press down with a fork.
Sprinkle a little sugar on top of each cookie.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Easy Mexican Night~ Taco Melts

Oh how I wish I was the genius that thought up this recipe!

This is a delicious flaky hot sandwich! Its a biscuit wrapped around your favorite taco ingredients! Whats not to love?! Flaky biscuit, taco fillings, and hot melted cheese!

Add this to your menu plan and you will not be disappointed!

Taco Melts

1	package (1 oz) taco seasoning mix
2/3	cup water
1 1/2	cups salsa
1	lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef, cooked, drained
1	can (16.3 oz) Pillsbury® Grands!® refrigerated biscuits (any variety)
1	cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese or Mexican cheese blend (4 oz)
1	cup sour cream, if desired

1.	Heat oven to 375°F.
2.	In medium saucepan, cook taco seasoning mix, water, 1/2 cup of the salsa and cooked ground beef until thickened.
3.	Press each biscuit into 6-inch round. Fill each with taco mixture and 1 tablespoon cheese. Fold dough over filling and press to seal. Place on greased cookie sheet.
4.	Bake 9 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with remaining salsa, cheese and sour cream.

Free Child Safety Kit

Kids can be so vulnerable and trusting. To help you keep your kids safe, you can get a safety kit from one of the most popular home safety companies, ADT.

You can request a free Child Safety Kit for EACH child in your family at this link.

Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery.

Labor Day= Free Chicken Sandwich

On Labor Day(Monday, September 7th), wear your favorite sports team logo into any Chick-Fil-A from 10:30am to close and you get a free Chick-Fil-A Chicken Sandwich!



Click HERE for more details

Easy Crockpot Chicken

Wednesday nights are the worst right now. We have cheer practice from 6:30-8! And getting home at 8 is tough on the kiddos. So I make sure I always have a easy dinner ready and waiting for them to eat before we leave.

I had planned to try out a new recipe tonight, Chicken and Potatoes in the crock pot, but my new obsession with the series True Blood caused me to stay up way to late last night and I have been dragging all day! I couldn't even muster up enough energy to cut up the potatoes! And to top it off, I realized about 2pm today that there was no dinner in the crock pot and I needed something fast!

I remember that my awesome friend Lin(who is nicknamed Sparkle) @ That Lin Chick had told me about this super simple meal she makes her family on just such occasions.

This is her recipe. I posted my variations with * next to them.

Easy Crock pot Chicken

Chicken breasts (I used 4 tonight)
Cream of(enter the soup you like here). I used a broccoli cheese and a *cream of broccoli. Lin's recipe calls for 1 can, I used two to make more sauce
Veggies of your choice! (I used fresh broccoli and carrots)
* 1/4 cup of milk
*seasonings of pepper, garlic salt, and onion powder-to your taste
* 1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar

Place chicken breast into crock pot. Top with soup. cook on low 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours. About a hour before it is done add your veggies. Fresh veggies take a little bit longer than frozen. Serve over rice or noodles.


This is like a one pot wonder! Its got your protein, your veggies, your dairy....it has it all! it is so super tasty and simple!

And yes I'm still dieting, this is the only portion I will get! After this one I will snack on celery and cucumbers for the rest of the night, that's if I'm still hungry!

Wordless Wednesday

First Day of First Grade

Need help counting calories?

I am in a contest with a group of Online friends to see who can lose the most weight by October 30th. We started last week. I did not do too bad, lost 2lbs, but it was a struggle for me. I love my carbs! I have zero motivation to sit and write down and count my calories or even try to figure out how much 17 pretzels have.

Luckily I came across this website that does it all for me!



SparkPeople is a website that not only tracks your calories for you, it can track your fitness, how much water you have drank and more! You fill out a fitness assessment and it calculates how many calories, carbs, fats, and proteins you should have each day.
Then when you have something to eat you just go log it into your nutrition area and it calculates the calories for you! No counting for yourself!

Not only do I love that it tracks everything for me, but I love how easy it is to use and that there is a community of other SparkPeople trying to lose weight too that I can turn to for motivation and help. I also love the recipe index with healthy recipes submitted by other SparkPeople! Tried and true recipes is my kinda thing!

So if you are trying to lose weight or just trying to eat healthy and want to see how you are doing, try out SparkPeople today!