Minnie Mouse Dress

 This was, by far, the easiest "upcycling" that I have ever done.  I am always on the lookout for shirts to turn into dresses for Smunchie.  Well, this one was on Target clearance....for $1!  A steal!  Granted, it had one of those asinine sayings on it (if you love shirts that say things, I apologize for offending you).  Well, that part was easily cut off.  I added sleeves and voila!  A new dress!  The best part--since it was a slim fit Junior's shirt, I didn't even have to redo side seams OR hem it!

Siblings

 

You would be hard pressed to find siblings that love each other as much as Lil G and Smunchie.  Just in case you think that it's only when we're watching.....

Anniversary

It is hard to believe that Greg and I have been married for eight years and together for nearly fourteen.  

8 years of marriage
3 homes
3 cities
1 dog
5 jobs
1 graduate degree
2 babies

It doesn't seem so impressive written down.  But....

 it's magic.

Mullet dress

 I finished Smunchie's upcycled "Mullett dress" (as it was affectionately dubbed by Greg).  Basically, a dress that's "business in the front but a party in the back!).

 The bones: an old t-shirt and pair of pants, courtesy of Greg.

 The result!  Super cute!

Cereal Necklace

Lil G has been working on the final 'p' sound at school.  On Thursday, practiced looping Fruit Loops on a necklace.  He was pretty excited :-)

Recipe #13: Cream Cheese Chicken

This recipe seemed too good to be true.  Basically, a dump recipe that you don't have to thaw before sticking in the crock pot.  Could it be tasty?  IT COULD! Amazingly, this actually was delicious, though next time, I will wait to add the cream cheese until the end of the cooking time (the freezing process made it slightly grainy).

Cream Cheese Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken breast
• 1 can (10.75 ounces) cream of chicken soup
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1 packet dry Italian dressing mix (I used 1 cup italian dressing)

Directions:

Place chicken, soup, cream cheese, and seasoning mix in slow cooker. Cook on high 4-5 hours or low 8-9 hours, or until chicken is cooked through. Serve over hot cooked rice or mashed potatoes, or noodles, if desired.

Freezing Directions:

Mix soup, cream cheese, and dressing mix. Place raw chicken in freezer bags. Pour sauce over chicken, seal, label, and freeze. To serve: Place bag contents in slow cooker. No need to thaw. Cook on high 4-6 hours or low 8-10 hours, or until chicken is cooked through.

Recipe #12: Pecan Crusted Chicken

Another freezer meal.  And this one was great!  It was moist, flavorable and quite easy to make.  The cooking trifecta!

Pecan Crusted Chicken

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 C dijon mustard
• 6 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp water
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp season salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425F.  Place chicken breasts in a gallon size freezer bag.  In a small bowl, combine mustard, honey, water, lemon juice, season salt and pepper.  Add marinade to chicken, turning to coat well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer for extra flavor.  Mix pecans and breadcrumbs in a shallow dish.  Remove chicken from marinade and discard any extra.  Coat chicken evenly with pecan mixture.  Place on baking pan and bake 15-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Freezing Directions:

Place chicken breasts in a gallon size freezer bag.  In a small bowl, combine mustard, honey, water, lemon juice, season salt and pepper.  Add marinade to chicken, turning to coat well.  In a quart size freezer bag, combine pecans and breadcrumbs. Place small bag into larger bag with chicken.  Label and freeze.  TO SERVE:  Thaw in fridge, removing bag with pecans and breadcrumbs.  Mix pecans and breadcrumbs in a shallow dish.  Remove chicken from marinade and discard any extra.  Coat chicken evenly with pecan mixture.  Place on baking pan and bake 15-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Servings: 4

Nine Months Old

 Yup.  It happened.  She kept growing.  Smunchie is now NINE months old! So crazy!  She is such a light in our lives, laughing and babbling all the time.  Her favorite thing in the world?  Her big brother, of course!

Recipe #11: Glazed Carrots

As a general rule, I don't cook my vegetables with soda.  But, I found this recipe and it looked intriguing, so I decided to give it a try.  In general, we all liked them, though Lil G told me that he prefers "plain carrots".  Go figure.

Glazed carrots

Ingredients

• 1 pound carrots, approximately 7 medium, peeled and cut on the bias 1/4-inch thick
• 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• Heavy pinch kosher salt (I used regular, as I was out of Kosher)
• 1 cup good-quality ginger ale (I used *gasp* Diet Ginger Ale, since that's what we had)
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder (I used 1/4 teaspoon, because I'm a chicken)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves (I ommitted)

Directions

In a 12-inch saute pan over medium heat, combine the carrots, butter, salt and ginger ale. Cover and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, remove the lid, stir, and reduce the heat to low. Cover again and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the lid, add the chili powder and increase the heat to high. Cook, tossing occasionally, until the ginger ale is reduced to a glaze, approximately 4 to 5 minutes (It took closer to 10 minutes). Pour into a serving dish and sprinkle with the parsley. Serve immediately.

QOTD (archive): God

QOTD: "God" ~ 12/05/12

Lil G: "Mama! Someone's here!!" (cue dog barking)
Me: "I'm in the shower. Who is it?"
Lil G: "I don't know who they are!" (he had looked out the window. Front door was locked)
Me: "Do they have a clipboard?"
Lil G: "Yes! And bibles!"
Me: "Don't worry about it then."
Lil G: "Why are they here?"
Me: "They just want to tell us about God. But we already know about God, so it's ok."
Lil G pauses. Then yells at the front door.

"IT'S OK. WE ALREADY KNOW ABOUT GOD!"

QOTD: An intro and "Cracks"

I have decided to start trying to document some of the funny things that my kids say. Well, right now, it's really just the funny things that Lil G says, as Smunchie is not too verbal yet.  I am sure that I will not have a quote every day but in keeping with this being documentation of our lives, I think it prudent to write down these lovely words so that they are committed to memory.

Quote of the Day (QOTD): "Cracks"~ 01/02/13

Me: "[Lil G] do you know that you are a sweet little boy?"
Lil G: "And I'm a good little boy, because I know all about cracks" (we had talked about cracks in the sidewalk earlier)

Recipe #10: Spicy Black-Eyed Peas

We're southern.  Well, actually, I (Erin) am from the south. Texas, to be exact.  So, given that heritage, it is imperative that we eat black-eyed peas on New Year's day.  Imperative to me, anyway.  In theory, it brings good luck for the coming year.  In reality, it brings deliciousness to tummies, whether or not luck is involved.

Greg has complained in the past that black-eyed peas are "bland".  So, I made it my mission this year to make some non-bland peas for us.  Well, I think I succeeded, with this recipe from Paula Deen.  Everyone seemed to like the peas (save Lil G), so I think this recipe is a keeper!

SPICY BLACK EYED PEAS

Ingredients

• 4 slices bacon
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 (16-ounce) package dried black-eyed peas, washed (I used 4 (12-ounce) packages of fresh peas)
• 1 (12-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles (I used "mild")
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon chili powder (I used 1/2 teaspoon)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups water (I ended up using about 6 cups)

Directions

In a large saucepan, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon, crumble, and set aside to use as a topping for the peas. Saute the onion in the bacon drippings until tender. Add the peas, diced tomatoes and green chiles, salt, chili powder, pepper and water. Cover and cook over medium heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the peas are tender. Add additional water, if necessary. Serve garnished with crumbled bacon.

Minnie Mouse Smunchie

 Lil Miss Smunchie, wearing her outfit from Disney World, from her Papa and Tutu.

Recipe #9: Chicken and Cheese Lasagna Roll-ups

Chicken.  Cheese.  Pasta sauce.  Noodles.

YUM.

This recipe goes a loooooong way. And it freezes well.  'Nuff said.

CHICKEN AND CHEESE LASAGNA ROLLUPS 

Ingredients:
3 cups chopped cooked chicken (I used shredded chicken.  Because I'm lazy and always use shredded chicken)
1/4 cup milk
1 cup Ricotta cheese
1/8 teaspoon white pepper (I used black pepper)
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
8 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups Prego Spaghetti Sauce (I used homemade pasta sauce)

In medium bowl, combine chicken, cheeses, milk, and pepper

Spread 1/2 cup mixture on each lasagna noodle; roll jelly-roll fashion

In a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, spread 1 cup spaghetti sauce (I used 2 8 by 8-inch dishes)

Arrange lasagna rolls, seam-side down in sauce in baking dish

Top with remaining spaghetti sauce

Cover

Bake at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes or until hot

Serve, if desired, with additional Parmesan cheese.

Mommy's lil helper

Apparently, Lil G thought Smunchie needed some more toys.