The easiest chicken & dumplings EVER!

So the weather cooled off this week and by that I mean got below 100 degrees!! I took advantage and made some chicken & dumplings. I don't believe I've ever made them before but I had an idea how to cook them.

The deeper I got into cooking them, the easier they were!! Rotisserie chickens were on sale at Walmart for $2.49 each so I grabbed 2. I used both of them but it was A LOT of chicken. Here's what I did...

• 2 Rotisserie chickens (or you could boil a whole chicken or use chicken breasts but this is supposed to be EASY so...)
• 24 oz. pack of MARY B'S DUMPLINGS (I only used about half but next time I'll use more.)
• 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cans of cream of chicken soup
• 32 oz box of chicken broth (or use the broth off of what you have after boiling -- if you boil your chicken!)
• small onion
• handful of frozen mushrooms
• real bacon pieces (or 4-5 strips of bacon - crumbled)

Now you can do this the easy way like I did or you can do it the not as easy way. You can cook your own chicken. You can roll out your own dumplings, make your own soups & broth and fry your bacon. But who has time for that??

• Dice a small onion (or buy the frozen, diced ones), chop frozen or fresh mushrooms and saute them together until they are soft. Add a handful of the bacon pieces or the crumbled bacon you cooked!
• In a large pot, pour in chicken broth and all 4 cans of cream of mushroom/chicken soups and the onion/mushroom/bacon mix. Add a cup of water too. You may need to add more water bc you want it to be a thin liquid. The dumplings are gonna soak up a lot of the water. Let it come to a low boil.
• The dumplings come in long, thin strips & need to stay frozen until you get ready to drop them in the pot. Cut each strip into 4 dumplings & drop them in the mixture one at a time. This is a little time consuming but you need to be quick bc they begin to thaw pretty fast!
• Let the dumplings boil on low/medium for about 30 minutes or so and then add the chicken. Let it cook another 20 minutes or until the dumplings are cooked. They're thin and don't puff up like my mama's HOMEMADE dumplings. ;)

And that's it, friends!! This was so easy!! It takes an hour or so to cook but you're not doing much work in that hour. Make sure to stir occassionaly and add water as needed. Let me know what you think!! It made enough for 6-7 people to eat. Feel free to share. Everyone needs this recipe!!

Be blessed. Stay dry. And pray for South Louisiana. 

Crockpot Chicken

If you know me, then you know I'm late for everything. Posting blogs on time is no exception. Here's the recipe for tonight's crock pot chicken. I found it on Pinterest! Y'all this is so yummy. I do not like "chicken on a bone" but this is by far one of my favorite meals. Saying it's simple is a definite understatement. Here's what you do:

- First, combine spices in a bowl for the rub.

• 3 tsp salt
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

- Clean your chicken & remove giblets and neck. Rub spice mixture all over the chicken. You could stop here, put it in a ziplock bag and let it marinate over night. But if you don't have time, then you can totally skip this step. I never marinate it!!

- Slice a large onion & spread it across the bottom of the crockpot. Put the chicken on top of the onions.

- Cook on low for 8 hours. It will literally fall off the bone!

And that's it my friends. That. Is. It. As the chicken slow cooks it makes enough juice for the chicken & for a yummy gravy (super thin) over your rice or potatoes!

Now for your side dishes. I take the veggies (they're on your shopping list), slice them, lay them flat and S&P them. I put them on skewers but you can just pile them in a baking dish if that's easier. Trust me, it's easier!! Bake on 350 for about 20 minutes. You can also sprinkle some fresh grated parmesan cheese on them. Super yum!

- instant rice or potatoes -- just follow the directions on the package. :)
- corn on the cobb -- just boil it in seasoned water (creole seasoning, salt & pepper) as the package directs
- cornbread -- same thing. Make it like the package says!

Such a good dinner. So good. So easy. And super cheap to make!

Be sure to save your leftover chicken for tomorrow's dinner. Go ahead and debone the leftovers and refrigerate them.

Peace out, my friends!

Not so breakfast casserole!!

So, this was a new dish for me; my own version of "Hash brown Casserole". I would definitely NOT call this a breakfast dish and I am truly sorry for that. But on the plus side... it was delicious!! Irelyn didn't like it but I didn't expect her to. James for sure loved it and I liked it too! We will definitely have this again! So here's the scoop :)

- brown the sausage (I did this first thing this morning and stuck it in the fridge.)
- while the sausage is cooking, cook hash brown as directed; S&P to taste and 1T garlic/herb seasoning (I used "Simply Potatoes" w/diced onions already in the bag. These are in the egg/milk section of Walmart.)
- add mushrooms (I also found a really good frozen brand of mushrooms. Check your freezer section for so many options if you're like me and let fresh veggies go bad.)
- add sausage, cream of mushroom soup, rotel and beans; mix well. (I used chili beans and it was so good with them!!)
- spray a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray & pour in your meat/potato mixture.
- cover with cheese...I mean go cheese crazy on it!
- bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.

- while that's cooking, fry up some eggs (1 per person at least). *Optional: you could also scramble your eggs and add them to the meat/potato mixture before baking it.
- when the dish is done baking, lay the eggs on top of the casserole and dig in!!
- you can also dice up some red onion, tomatoes, jalopenos, bell peppers or any other topping you'd like! We used sour cream too!

PS. Sorry there are no pictures or videos. I'm a slacker today. Let me know what your family thinks of this dish!!

Servings: 6
Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Sesame Stir Fry

So I'm having trouble with the video for tonight's recipe!! Hopefully I can get it together and upload it tomorrow. Don't forget, this will be your dinner tomorrow night! Here's the recipe for Sesame Stir Fry!!

1.5 to 2 pounds of pork (stew meat), chicken breast or beef

1 pack of McCormick's Sesame Stir Fry (feel free to use 2 of these if you want extra sauce)

1 bag of oriental/Asian vegetables

2 cups of instant rice

2 T Oil

- Marinate your (thawed) meat. Whatever meat you use, be sure it's in approximately 1-1 1/2" chunks. I season my meat with a 10 minute teriyaki marinade (1/3 cup), salt & pepper (to taste), creole seasoning (1-2 teaspoons - depending on how spicy you want it, you could also leave this out completely!) and garlic & herb seasoning (1-2 tablespoons). You can season your meat with just salt & pepper though. You know your family's seasoning preferences so season accordingly!

 

- Heat your oil over medium heat. When it's hot, add your meat. Cook your meat for 10-15 minutes or until the meat is cooked thoroughly.

- Add the McCormick Sesame Stir Fry sauce and stir it well. Then stir in the frozen veggies!! Simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes. Stir 1-2 times.

 

- While that is cooking, make your instant rice. If you prefer to use "real" rice, then start your rice before the meat!!

Servings: 5-6

Cook time: 20 minutes

That's it, guys! This is my go to meal when I need something quick & easy. And it's so good. My family LOVES it! Let me know what your family thinks about it. And if you have any questions, let me know and I'll do my best to give you an answer!! 

 

Shopping List

I've been waiting for today all week! I did all of my shopping yesterday so I could get everything ready for you guys today:) First of all, if you're local or have a Super 1 Foods nearby, they're having a killer sale on ground beef. It's not the best lean/fat ratio but it's perfect for tacos, spaghetti and casseroles! And you get 5 pounds for less than $9!! What what??

Anyway...

I'll share the grocery list for each recipe and you can decide if it's something you want to try or not!

This week we have "Asian Monday" as I like to call it!! It's the most simple meal I've ever cooked. And it's really inexpensive too! I call it SESAME STIR-FRY. There are only 4 -- you heard me -- 4 ingredients!! You can choose between chicken or pork. I use pork because I usually get pork stew meat on sale for less than $3 and it's perfect for this dish. But chicken would be delicious too! So you need:

- 2-3 boneless chicken breasts OR one pack of pork stew meat
- McCormick Skillet sauce "Sesame Stir-fry". This is less than $2 so if you want extra sauce grab another one!
- Asian/oriental mix of frozen veggies
- instant rice
- frozen egg rolls (if you'd like)

Tuesday's meal is what I like to call "Soul Food Tuesday"! This is one of my favorite nights because I love fried, soul food. This week we're cooking BEEF TIPS & GRAVY. Yum!! Again, I got my beef tips on sale at a (semi) local grocery store for around $2 a pack! Feel free to substitute the beef tips for a bag of frozen beef meatballs or use some of that on sale hamburger meat I talked about earlier if the the beef tips are out of your price range!

- 2 pounds of beef tips (this will feed 5-6 people so use your judgement on how much you need for your family!)
- brown gravy mix (I am not ashamed!!)
- cream of mushroom soup
- instant mashed potatoes (I'll share my favorite below!)
- can of whole kernel corn
- frozen sweet cream corn
- frozen breaded okra (YUM!!)
- crescent rolls

Wednesday is going to be awesome! Who doesn't love breakfast for dinner?? We sure do. We'll be cooking a yummy HASHBROWN CASSEROLE for dinner Wednesday. And good news for you! You could actually throw this together the night before and just pop it in the oven Wednesday! Sweet, right??

- frozen hash browns or diced potatoes (They're side by side in the store.)
- 1 pound of ground pork sausage
- 4 eggs
- lots of shredded cheese (cheddar, pepperjack, colby, whatever you like)
- can of Rotel
- cream of mushroom soup
- can of kidney beans (optional)
- veggies of your choice (mushrooms, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, jalapenos)

Thursday is Crockpot Thursday. It doesn't get much more simple than dumping everything in a pot and not worrying about it for 8 hours right?? We'll be cooking CROCKPOT CHICKEN and boy is it worth the effort you put in to it! You'll need...

- whole chicken
- onion
- fresh, summer veggies (squash, zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes)
- instant rice or instant potatoes (whatever your family likes best)
- corn on the cob
- a cheap bag of cornbread (Jiffy if you'd like)

And finally, Casserole Friday!! If you have leftover chicken from last night, feel free to debone it and use it in this dish! If not, you'll need...

- chicken of your choice (Super 1 has thighs on sale for super cheap so I'm using these but feel free to use 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
- instant rice (AGAIN!! It's cheap and we love rice!!)
- cream of chicken
- chicken broth (save it from the chicken you boil!!)
-  shredded cheese (cheddar)
- French onion dip (by the sour cream...took me forever to find!)
- French fried onions
- salad of your choice; ingredients for my favorite salad are bag of spinach, shredded cheese, pecans, pepper & garlic fried onions, bacon pieces (NOT BITS) and strawberry vinaigrette dressing.

And that my friends is your meal planning and grocery list for next week. I am going to assume you could probably put any of those meals in a crockpot and cook it on low for 8 hours but I haven't tried so that's up to you!

Do a quick food inventory of your cabinets and fridge BEFORE you go to the store and shop. You might have some of these ingredients!! If you have ANY questions about this list, please let me know!! I'm so excited to cook with you! Also these are the seasonings I use; salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, ground Thyme, paprika, cayenne pepper (or crushed red pepper), Zatarain's Garlic and Herb seasoning, Zatarain's creole seasoning, Zatarain's dehydrated bellpeppers and onions. If you don't have each of these, don't feel you need to go spend all your cash on the Zatarain's products. Just the basics will do :)

Samiches!!!

I love a good, ole sandwich! We had "big boy" sandwiches for lunch today and my husband says, "Did you already take a picture of this for your blog?". Haha. He said it was definitely blog worthy. And I have to agree with him.

Sometimes I get so caught up in cooking a huge meal that I forget the easy, peasy meals! It's so simple, I almost feel silly sharing it with you!

Here's a tip. I always, always, always buy my meat on sale. I hardly ever buy meat that's regular price. I go to Walmart, Brookshires, Super 1 and any other store running sales once a week, usually on Thursdays. I can honestly say I luck out almost every week on finding meat on sale. It's normally pork and chicken but I buy it up anyway. (Having a deep freezer helps a lot here. You can find a small one on sale for less than $150 quite often.) Anyway, last week I found loaves of French bread on sale for 50 cents!! I bought 2 loaves and put them in my freezer for a rainy day. I also bought a pound of Great Value ham and froze it too! I'm learning to freeze things until I need them or else they ruin.

Getting to the point -- today I pulled out the lunch meat & French bread and made some crazy, awesome poboys! I fried up a few pieces of bacon, sliced a tomato and red onion, toasted em in the oven and it was on!! Hubby was happy & full and I didn't do a whole lot of work to fix his lunch.

So just remember this -- don't kill yourself cooking and don't NOT cook because it's time consuming or too much trouble. There are simple solutions. Follow my blog and I'll help you out the best I can!

And don't forget -- THIS THURSDAY -- I'll be posting your shopping list for next weeks dinners! #mealplanningmakesmehappy #asianMonday #soulfoodTuesday #breakfastfordinnerWednesday #crockpotThursday #casseroleFriday

*Walmart is where I get most of my on sale meats. I only go to the other places if they run an ad for something I want. I know you were thinking I'm crazy getting y'all running around town to all the stores! I don't do that & I sure don't expect you too! Just check your local sale papers for the best prices!

Meal Planning 👊🏻

I know how busy moms and dads are these days!! When supper time rolls around, the last thing you want to do is think about cooking.

• What's in the freezer?

• What do I have?

• Did I even go to the grocery store this week?

• Crap, I didn't thaw out the hamburger meat.

• I need new meal ideas.

• What's something quick?

I could go on & on bc these are thoughts of mine almost every day! I've had several people show interest in meal planning but never give it a shot. I don't know why bc it's great! I try to meal plan Monday through Friday. 

I screw it up a lot. Sometimes I just don't feel like cooking. And we grab take out. Sometimes I forget to thaw something out and my fam is too hungry to wait. And we grab take out. Sometimes I didn't realize I was out of everything. And we grab take out.

Take out is taking over our funds (and my thighs and bottom side)!! And I know I would much rather have a home cooked meal over Johnny's Pizza any day. (No offense, Johnny's!! I do love me some pizza!!)

So after (very little) thought and consideration, I've decided to meal plan and prepare recipes for YOU!! We'll try it out for a few weeks and if you love it, I'll keep it up. If you're not in to it, then I'll go back to my day job. #momlife

I'll send out a grocery list on Thursday and you'll have the whole weekend to shop. Sunday evening, I'll post the recipe for Monday's dinner. Monday, I'll post for Tuesday's dinner and so forth and so on.

I'll start with my family's favorites! For the most part, they'll be quick(ish) meals but we do like good, ole home cooking that may take some time. I'll even prepare crock pot lists and recipes for you.

So, get ready for some yummy food and hopefully some extra time and happy mouths!

I will prosper & succeed

Today I read Joshua 1 but focused on 1:1-9. In this passage, to me, God is faithful, trustworthy and giving. 

I'm thankful for his "encouragement" to Joshua & to us!! He said over and over "be strong & courageous. Do not be afraid!!" That's really encouraging to me that the God of the universe is encouraging us and has our back!

I'm thankful that he WANTS us to be blessed, prosperous and successful.

And I'm thankful that with him on my side, when I'm leaning on him for direction, when I'm putting him first in ALL areas of my life -- he's got my back. No one can defeat me. I may go through troubles but I won't be defeated!!!

And I learned that God wants to & will take care of me. He wants me to be blessed & succeed. He has promises for me. "No one will be able to stand against me as long as I live. For GOD will be with me as he was with Moses. God will not fail me or abandon me." (Joshua 1:9) (I changed this to make it personal for me!)

We should be strong and courageous bc God is on our side!! And we have special instructions too. Joshua had the law that Moses wrote (the Torah aka Genesis through Deuteronomy) but we have the whole bible to help us walk through this life. 

"Study his word. Meditate day & night. Obey everything written in it." (Joshua 1:8)

This is how we prosper & succeed!!

I am a Representative of Christ

Today I'm reading Colossians 3:12-27. Here's how God spoke to me today!! 

We are representatives of Christ. In this world, if you misrepresent the company you work for, they would punish or fire you. I am SO thankful that our God operates high above & beyond our worldly standards.

In God's "business", He shows & freely gives grace & mercy for our screw ups and shortcomings. We'll never be fired!! And if we choose to quit, He will ask us to come back over & over. His love never fails or gives up on us.

This is encouraging to me!! It makes me want to be his best and hardest working "employee"!! It makes me want to be all the things that He is. So I will. I will go above and beyond for God bc of who his is and what he has done for me. I hope this encourages you and you do the same. 😃

 

#babybumpsins - Unforgiveness

What if the consequence of your sins resulted in a baby bump? I’m talking about the little sins that we don’t even consider sins. I’m talking about gossip. I’m talking about lying. I’m talking about deep, secret sins that no one knows about. I’m talking about unforgiveness, jealousy, bitterness. What if instead of being able justify these things or keep them private, they were there for all the world to see. What if we carried around a big, ole baby bump?

Last year a woman I knew got pregnant and she wasn’t married. She didn’t even end up staying with the father of her child.

OH. MY. GOD.

I’m not close to this woman at all but we have mutual friends and are Facebook friends. Sometimes you find out more about a person on messy Facebook than you can in person.

This girl was run through mud. I mean, she was supposed to be Christian. She was on the worship team for crying out loud. How could she even show her face in church much less still be in “leadership”? People judged her so very hard. I judged her so very hard. And then I was immediately convicted. Hard core convicted. And then God gave me this series. #babybumpsins

It seemed like every time I turned around, another unmarried woman was getting pregnant. These women WERE Christians and held leadership positions in their churches. And the greater church body gave them crap. Every single time someone else got pregnant, I felt more and more led to start this series. I also think there are appropriate ways to deal with and properly conduct this type of situation and leadership roles within the church. But that’s not what this blog series is about.

By the way, did you know that being pregnant IS NOT A SIN??? It’s premarital sex that is the sin. And in God’s eyes sleeping with your significant other is no different than carrying around bitterness & unforgiveness. Oh wait. He actually does say something about forgiveness. “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:14-15)

Please know that I’m not trying to justify premarital sex or having a child out of wed lock. The bible speaks specifically on that too. I’m just trying to point out that we tend to be one sided when it comes to sin. We normalize the “little sins” and make a super big deal about other ones. The Holy Spirit is ever so faithful in convicting us of our OWN sins…if we allow him and listen. He really doesn’t need our help when it comes to other people’s sins.

The whole purpose of this series is remind US of the “little sins” and how they are VERY REAL SINS. And hopefully next time you see an unmarried, pregnant woman, you won’t jump to judgment. I want to focus on 4 things that I feel we (as Christians) sometimes forget are sins. The first one is unforgiveness.

God, our loving & gracious Father, sent his perfect & flawless son to this wicked place we call earth. They had a plan. A plan that was so full of forgiveness and grace. I mean really just think about it for a minute. They’re in their perfect place and they see our hot mess of world. God says, “I need you to go”. Jesus says, “Whatever you need, dad”. They knew what was going to take place. They knew the pain & suffering they were about to take on. They knew what they were getting in to. And they knew that THIS would build a bridge for forgiveness & eternal life. And because God loves us so much, he put this plan in to motion and sacrificed his spotless lamb. (John 3:16)

Wow. It literally leaves me speechless. I have another story for you.

I didn’t have the greatest relationship with my dad. Neither of us are affectionate. He’s a little gruff and I am a little (a lot) sensitive. He was also really strict and that didn’t fly so well with me as a teenager. I just didn’t like him. Other things happened between us that caused me to put up walls of unforgiveness, resent and bitterness. There was a while there that we didn’t even speak. I was convinced that he didn’t love me or care about me. So I shut him out of my life. I didn’t like him.

How many people don’t like God & shut him out of their lives? It’s been going on for longer than we can even fathom. Yet He knew this. And He still sent the Perfect One. He still forgives us. Who am I to hold a grudge or decide to not forgive someone??

My dad had an accident and was moments from death. I forgave him. Immediately. No questions. The things that once hurt me were nowhere to be found. Forgiveness hasn’t been easy for me in other areas of my life. I really feel like the only reason I was able to forgive my dad was because he almost died and my eyes were opened. But how do you forgive someone who isn’t on their death bed?

You can’t. Only God can work that out in you. Your forgiveness grows through encountering God and meditating on His word. Draw close to Him and your heart will become more like His. This is how you forgive. Be obedient to the Father today. Decide you want to have a forgiving heart & spirit. Say it out loud, “Father, I forgive them,” and get alone with God and begin to learn who He is. And let the miracle of forgiveness take over your life!!

“God, I repent for the unforgiveness I have been holding against people. I want to know you more. I want my heart to mirror yours. Begin a work in my heart. Give me compassion for those who I hold things against. Let me love as much like you as possible. I know these things only come with getting closer to you. Holy Spirit, please draw me to spend more time in the word, getting to know the Father. In Jesus’ name, Amen”

Toddlers and Social Media

There once was a time when I thought "toddlers" were 2-3 year olds. I have been mistaken. My 18 month definitely toddles. And climbs. And gets in to everything, all day long. She also doesn't play with toys that often. She would prefer an iPhone or a laptop. And if neither of those are available then a remote will do. She's definitely a child that requires a lot of attention from mommy. And mommy's attention is always devoted to social media.

Speaking of that...

Last night, I was on my phone doing something lame. Irelyn kept climbing in my lap & pushing my phone out of my face. I kept snapping at her and putting her down. She needed my attention & I was playing Criminal Case. A Facebook game was more important than my daughter. Now I don't do that subconsciously but it was happening!

So I decided to do something about it. 

I deleted all social media apps & games from my phone!! I'm doing a social media detox. Cold turkey.

I'm hoping to see specific results from this too. My house will be clean. My kid will go outside more. My husband and I will have conversations that I actually remember. I will get back to my blog. :) Yay for you!! I will join a gym. (I'm NOT super pumped about this!!) 

And most importantly, I will be getting to know my Heavenly Father better and on a much more intimate level.

I can't wait to become a better wife, mother, friend and Christian over the next few weeks. Hopefully I'll be able to start a new blog series, #babybumpsins. God laid this on my heart several months ago. I've been "too busy" to work on it but I should be able to find the time now.

Keepin' it real in the dirty south...

Real hot & humid...

Irelyn's Mama

Taco Pasta Bake

Oh. My. Gah. This was the quickest and easiest thing I think I've ever cooked. And I LOVED IT. So did the hubs so yay for me (and Pinterest)!!

This meal took me 15 minutes to prepare. And to me that is priceless!

Taco Pasta Bake

What you need:

• 1 box of Ziti pasta
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 package taco seasoning
• 1/2 package cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cup shredded cheese

Ok. So as you see, I added a few ingredients of my own. And so should you!! You can't have a 'Mexican dish' without Rotel and refried beans!! Kidney beans would've been great too!

What you do:

• Boil your pasta
• Brown ground beef (I cooked mine ahead of time & froze it) & drain
• Mix taco seasoning & 1 cup of water to ground beef for 5 minutes
• Add cream cheese, Rotel and beans. Simmer on low until cheese is melted.
• Put pasta in casserole dish; mix in 1 cup shredded cheese.
•  Top pasta with beef mixture & gently stir it.
• Top with remaining cheese (PLUS A WHOLE LOT MORE FOR ME)
• Bake at 350 until cheese is melted.

For real, this was so simple and delicious! Especially since I had precooked my beef! Toss together a salad and a side of corn. This was perfect. It was cheap and easy and my kinda supper!!

The perfect one is awake from her nap so I'll have to cut this one short! But you should definitely cook this for supper one night this week! Your family will love you!

Prep Time: 15 minutes (if you precook your beef)
Yields: 6-8 people

Chicken Lo Mein

You call it a One Pot Wonder. Everything goes into one pot and you cook it at once. Pretty convenient if you ask me! Tonight, well today at lunch, I tried this recipe, Chicken Lo Mein. I must say, it was a pretty quick and easy dish. And tasty!

Chicken Lo Mein

What you need:

• 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast (I used 2 breasts)
• 1 - 13.25 to 16 oz. box of linguini or fettuccini pasta, broken in half (I used whole wheat linguini)
• 4 medium carrots, peeled and cut in thin 3" long strips
• 1 medium red bell pepper, cut in 3" long strips
• 1 bunch green onions, white part sliced and green part cut in 3" long strips
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 t garlic powder
• 1 t corn starch
• 1 T sugar
• 1/2 t red pepper flakes
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 t EVOO

What you do:

• Add the chicken, then the pasta, then the remaining ingredients to a large stockpot and cover. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Stir and reduce heat to medium-low. 
• Cook covered for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.Cook until most of the liquid is gone and chicken is cooked through.
• Remove the lid and let the dish rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Prep Time: 15 min.
Yields: 4-6

Veggies cut in 3" long strips

 

If you do not have a garlic press ~ INVEST in one!

I am a control freak. So 2 things happened in this recipe. 1 - I boiled my chicken separate while I was slicing and dicing. And 2 - I added more liquids than it called for. I definitely would add more liquid but not as much as I did. I added the rest of the water I boiled my chicken in. Didn't hurt the meal. Just made it very juicy. Oh and I also added 1/4 cup extra of soy sauce. If you add more broth/water, then definitely add more soy sauce.

This meal was stinking good! It was very different from anything else I've ever cooked. I would, however, "modify" it to fit our family a little better. Next time, I will add more chicken and possibly some shrimp. I will cut the veggies into smaller pieces. And I will add broccoli, sliced yellow onion and water chestnuts for sure!

As far as price goes, I came out of pocket on this meal just under $10. I already had the chicken and the seasonings. And I will be able to get a lot more uses out of the cornstarch and soy sauce. We've eaten off of this meal twice and there's still at least two more servings in there!

I give this meal an overall 4 Stars. Definitely something you should try at least once.

Thanks for reading! 

5 STAR Food

I've been really excited all day to cook this meal and share it with y'all! I cooked Parmesan Baked Tomatoes and French Onion Chicken Sandwiches and both were fantastic! My husband likes everything and anything but he still really, really enjoyed this meal.

Let's not wait any longer. Here's the DL.

Parmesan Baked Tomatoes

What you need:

• 2 tomatoes
• 1/3 freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 t. oregano
• salt & pepper
• olive oil

Here's what you do:

• Slice tomatoes and place on baking sheet
• Sprinkle with cheese, oregano and salt & pepper
• Drizzle with olive oil
• Bake on 450 for 10 minutes

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Yields: 12 slices

Ok. Walmart only had tiny, baby tomatoes so I used 3 tomatoes. Recipe called for 1/3 cup of cheese; I probably used more like 2/3 cup. But this was a very quick and easy dish. It tasted like pizza!! It was very good but I'm not a fan of cooked tomatoes. It's a texture thing I do believe. Will I cook this again? Yes. My husband LOVED these. Bonus for me because this was as easy as fixing a bowl of cereal! It wasn't a cheap meal per say. The tomatoes were $2.50 and the cheese was $3.25 for the bag but I only used 2/3 of a cup! I already had the oregano and s&p and olive oil. $6 for only one dish isn't that great. Sorry penny pinchers!

I give 5 stars for the taste, 1 for the texture and 2 for price.

French Onion Chicken Sandwiches

What you need:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved
• 1 T EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 1 T granulated sugar
• 4 slices Swiss cheese
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 4 sandwich-sized King Hawaiian buns
• non-stick cooking spray

Here's what you do:

• Preheat grill to medium-high heat
• In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and sugar, stirring well to combine. Cook the onions for 25 minutes, stirring frequently, until deeply caramelized.
• Pound the chicken breast halves until they're about 1" thick. Coat with the nonstick spray, then place on the grill. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, turning over once halfway through.
• Top the chicken with the cheese, cover once more and cook for an additional 2 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden brown.
• Build the sandwiches by dividing the spinach among the buns, place the chicken on top followed by a generous helping of the caramelized onions.

Prep Time: 5-7 minutes
Yields: 4

I didn't really know what this recipe meant by halved but I sliced it and made 2 out of each breast. Think butterflying the chicken. I also don't like Swiss cheese so I used Pepper Jack cheese. I used an electric skillet to grill the chicken. I have no clue how to operate a real grill! Oh, and I used regular hamburger buns because I didn't see that it said use delicious ones.

I doubled this recipe thinking we'd have leftovers and we definitely did not. Not because we're little piggies or anything. The chicken I bought was on sale for a reason & it did some serious shrinking. I ended putting a whole breast on each sandwich.

THIS SANDWICH WAS HEAVENLY. No. For real. I loved it so much and so did James. The Hawaiian rolls would have taken it over the top. I spend about $8 on this meal. The cheese was $2.74 for 10 slices but I have another meal I will use the rest on. The bag of onions was $5 but I have a lot of onions leftover. The buns will be used in another meal also and so will the spinach. I will buy better chicken next time. This sandwich is worth the extra money on good chicken.

I give 5 stars for everything concerning this dish!! It will be a weekly meal in the Sharp house!

These were the most simple dishes. I started cooking at 4:07PM and was done at 4:59PM...and that was making sure everything was picture perfect. I had to make sure each onion and tomato slice was perfect. And I also took a ton of pictures to make it look all fancy and professional for y'all.

I absolutely loved this inspiration I had! Can't wait for the next recipe!!

Until then...

Feeling inspired...

When I feel inspired, I better jump on that train while it's at the station. Once it leaves, I never think of it again.

So, last night, as my insomnia kicked in, I decided to check out some meal ideas on Pinterest. I hadn't been on in a few months and holy mother of Elsa!!! Have the meals always been so enticing??? 

I love to cook. It's probably one of my favorite things to do. I also love to grocery shop. I know, I know. I'm insane. So take these two things, combine it with Pinterest & my new blog...BAM!!! Inspiration!

Here it is. During the month of June I'd like to try several different recipes a week, document the whole she-bang and write a blog about it. I'll give tips, how to's, try it or don't try it, pictures, shortcuts, etc. I will be incorporating the freezer meal fad with my meats to see if it's worth the time you save vs. quality and taste of the meat. And, for all you penny pinchers, I will try my best to do cheap-ish meals. I will be scouring Walmart for the best prices I can find. :)

Exciting right?! You better believe it!!

Warning: I do not cook very healthy. I do not use organic, gluten-free, low fat or any other healthy ingredients. I do, however, use fresh and frozen vegetables. That should win me some points, right?

Until we meet again...

#TBT

Here we go. It's Wednesday, May 29, 2013. I wake up around 11am and think to myself, "Flo should be in town Sunday but let me go ahead and take a test, ya know, just for the heck of it."

Catch up: I took my last birth control pill at the end of April. We were going to try and have a baby! I mean, I was almost 30 and you know folks can't be having no babies this late in life. Plus, we had both been hippies back in the day, if you know what I mean, and that can cause sterilization. So, I had made up my mind that it would definitely take us forever to get pregnant. Surely.

Back to Wednesday. I tinkled on a stick and it said yes. Well, actually it said "pregnant." I was shocked. How could I be pregnant?? I've only been off the pill for a month! It was supposed to take 6 months for this to happen. Right? Wrong. Way wrong. So, here I am, pregnant.

Oh. My. God. I'm pregnant. What am I going to do? I don't even like kids.

Complete fear.


Oh. My. God. I'm pregnant. Ahhhh...I'm having a baby!

One thought later, complete happiness.

I've learned that hormones are in complete control of your mind, body and soul once you conceive. One year later ~ hormones are STILL in complete control.

Thank God James would be home for lunch in like 15 minutes. For 15 minutes I paced, cried, had a cheesy grin, paced some more, went back to look at the test, shook like a leaf and tried to think of a clever way to tell him. He walked through the door, I held up the test and blurted, "You know what this says?"

So special. So clever.

I finally convince him that I was for real and not playing a joke on him and we called our parents. Neither of them answered, so I took a picture of James poking his belly out like a pregnant woman & I held the test out in front of him and we sent them a picture. (Kicking myself that I didn't save this picture somewhere.)

They answered then.

I knew I wasn't very far along so I didn't want to tell a lot of people. I wanted to get out of the 'danger zone.' I had never been pregnant before and didn't know if I could even carry a baby. Plus, I had only taken one pregnancy test.

Remember what day it is? Wednesday. Know what event takes place on Wednesdays? Church.

Fast forward to 6 pm. Just getting ready to start church and our pastor walks up to me (in front of everyone) going on about me being pregnant. What the crap? I haven't even told my family. Here he is telling our church. I scan around looking for James and see him, phone in hand, showing people the picture. Dude, for real? Of course, I had a meltdown. We left church. I flipped out on him. (Hormones...)

So we had to make hurried phone calls to our family and tell them before the church grapevine took our precious news public.

This is pretty much how I remember this day.

I am completely in love with this little girl. I am completely in love with being her mommy. I can't imagine life before May 29, 2013. I can't imagine Irelyn not in our picture. She is the sweetest baby. I know I will fall more in love as she gets older. But today, one year later, I can't imagine being any happier.


My life isn't perfect but it's perfect for me.

Happy Throwback Thursday!!

I was 5 weeks when I found out. This ultrasound was at 7 weeks.