Ohhhhhhh, Christina!!!!! :)

Here is the Chicken and Dumpling recipe I use, I double the recipe though:) Click on the picture to enlarge it. If you can't read it let me know, and I will type it out. It is out of my Betty Crocker Cook Book. It is easy and very yummy:) Let me know if you try it.

Wednesday!

I have to bring a corn dish to school tomorrow. So after I asked on my facebook for ideas, I decided on the Corn and Black Bean Salsa:) All the ideas I got were fantastic, and I will try them all for my family. Alexis liked this one for her class. So this is what I will bring:)


BLACK BEAN AND CORN SALSA

1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 11 oz. can whole kernel corn, drained
1 t minced fresh jalapeno pepper
1 avocado, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/3 c. chopped fresh cilantro (or subst. 1 t dried cilantro)
1/4 c. diced red onion
1/4 c. fresh lime juice (about 2 limes, squeezed)
1 t. salt
tortilla chips for dipping

Combine all ingredients except avocado and chips. Cover and chill for at least two hours. Add avocado just before serving. Serve with chips.

I have to go to the market and pick up some of the ingredients today, and I also need a few other things too:)

It is chillier today then yesterday, and it is supposed to rain this weekend, YaY! I just love rainy days. Just in time for the Holidays too. I love being home all cozy on rainy days, especially when my kids are home with me.

We are going to have turkey for ThanksGiving, and Albertson's is having a sale, buy one get one free, so I will have one for ThanksGiving and one for Christmas!

Last night with the steak, I made asparagus with hollandaise sauce, rice, rolls and a salad.

Tonight it is either going to be chicken or what I may find at the store, we shall see.

I spent part of the day yesterday cleaning and cutting all my fresh veggies, so they will be ready when needed. I did string beans, broccoli, and I cut up brussell sprouts, they are all cleaned, cut and ready to be cooked.

Have a wonderful Wednesday, the weekend is almost here!!!

Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday! Hope everyone has a wonderful day. It is a little chilly out, not too bad though. It is supposed to be in the 60's today. I have a long sleeve shirt on, for some reason, I stay colder then anyone in my family. I will want the heat on, and my husband has the fan on him, go figure. Today was music day and Alexis was so excited to start playing her violin. She needed a binder too. So we went to Michael's after school yesterday and we bought a bunch a stickers with a music theme to decorate her new binder. She was rather proud of it:)

One of my favorite things in my kitchen is my bread machine. I use it quite a lot. I make bread, rolls, bagels etc. I don't cook the bread in the machine, because I don't like how it comes out, so I let the bread machine do all the kneading and rising and then I do the rest. I use my oven to cook it. I have had this bread machine for so long, I can't tell you how many years. It was one of my very favorite Christmas presents from my husband though. I said to him, what will I ever do if this breaks, and he said, Honey, I'll get you a new one...LOL.

These are dinner rolls I made this week. They are so soft and fluffy:)..and they have just simple ingredients...flour, eggs, yeast, sugar, butter, salt, water...that's it:)

I have my Holiday book out, and it it is keeping me on track and motivated~~~ I copied Fly Lady and added my own touches to her Holiday Journal.

I am still working on organizing my kitchen, so hopefully by the end of the week, it will be all done.

Dinner, is going to be beef loin sirloin steak:)

I can't decide if I want to put Little House or the Walton's on for background noise, hmmm...I am patiently waiting for Christmas music to start playing on the radio:)

Monday!

Happy Monday! I have been organizing my kitchen. I want it completely organized by the end of the week. I have to do it a little at a time, because I have other things to take care of too, like laundry, cooking, cleaning and taking care of the children and my husband:) I finished my spice cabinet, and my tupperware. I am going to organize underneath my island today, that should be fun. I have a lot of neat things under there:) On the stove I'm making chicken broth for Chicken and Dumplings for tonight's dinner. The house smells really good.

I found this new flavor of tea at the grocery store; Egg Nogg Tea. It tastes pretty good:) Very Festive:)

I made Banana bread over the weekend. My husband took a piece before I could get a picture of it whole...LOL. He wanted a warm piece, can you blame him?? It was really easy to make and tastes very good. The recipe is below the picture.

(Recipe courtesy of Simply Recipes)

Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
Method
No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

~~~~~~~

Well, you already know we are having Chicken and Dumplings for dinner, I will also make a salad to go a long with it.

I am all caught up on laundry...and I mean all caught up, bedding and everything. I am going to try and keep on top of it.

After this week, there will be no school all next week, for Thanks Giving break~~~YaY!!!

Have a great Monday!!
XOXO

Happy Sunday!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday!!

I have some ripe bananas, so I am going to be making some banana bread. I also want to make some Pumpkin bread too:)

Question: Who will be cooking ThankGiving Dinner? I will!!!! I just love to cook, especially on the Holidays!

XO

Saturday!

Today we are going to the music store and buying Alexis a Violin. She will be taking lessons at school for two years. She is very excited and so am I:) Do any of your children play the Violin? Hopefully in the future we can get a piano, because I would love for her to learn to play. Learning to play the piano has always been on my list for me too, so I want to learn too:)

Then, after that, we need to get some shopping in. I just Love, Love, Love Costco! If we buy in bulk, it really seems to save money in the long run. The meat section has really great deals. The eggs, 5 dozen, I can do so much with eggs. With the Holidays approaching, stocking up will really help. Do you like Costco? .....Oh, and you can't forget all the samples they give out. My kids just love going too:)

Well, my coffee is waiting for me, and I have to start breakfast!
Happy Saturday:)
XO

Friday~~YaY!

It is Friday and all is well. Kevin made it home safely yesterday from up north. I had a pasta bake all ready for him for when he got home, with homemade rolls and a salad. He likes pasta bake
much better then regular spaghetti.

(Photo courtesy of Taste of Home)

Okay, today, I am going to go through my spice cabinet, and boy does it need it. I bet I find all sorts of things I didn't know I had. I will also make a list of what I need. A lot of cooking will be going on in this home with all the Holidays coming. Cooking and Baking, and decorating. I just love this time of year.

(Not my spice cabinet..LOL)
I wanted to take a picture of mine but my camera was not charged, so I am charging it now.

There is a radio station here in Cali, and starting on Thanksgiving, they play Christmas music 24/7 until Christmas. I can not wait. I have the radio in my kitchen, since that is the room I am in the most. I have season four of Little House on the Prairie on the TV, for background motivation:) It is early here, and my kids just finished breakfast and are now playing games. Little Kevin is old enough now, that he and his sister can actually play games that they both like and understand.

Have a wonderful Friday.

Tonight's menu will consist of split chicken breasts. Does any one have a a recipe for them, I would like to try something new, tried and true:)

Happy November!

Can you believe it is already November? I hope you had a wonderful October, we sure did. Halloween was great! Now, I am getting ready for ThanksGiving, I can not wait! I went grocery shopping yesterday, and guess what I found??? EGG NOG CREAMER, YaY!!! I am enjoying a cup of coffee with it right now:) They only had two holiday flavors, so I am patiently waiting for the rest of them to come out. I am doing Thanksgiving this year, and I love every minute of it. I am planning my menu already. This week I am doing something sort of like a spring cleaning, but more of a fall cleaning. Cleaning out drawers, cleaning things that have been neglected. Soon, we will get our carpet cleaned so it will look nice for Christmas, and I can't wait to put up the tree:)

My children have a four day Holiday this week, so I am so happy they are all home. It has been quite chilly this past week, and since the time change, it gets dark at about 4:30~~~So I start getting sleepy at about 6:30...LOL. I love the Fall and winter days:)

Well, I have a load of laundry in the dryer, and one in the wash. My whites are in the dryer and my linens are in the wash. I hope to get to my bedding today. My husband was also out of town this week, I am so excited he will be home this afternoon, DOUBLE YaY!

I have also noticed a few of my favorite blogs to read have shut down:( Makes me sad, as for why they left:(

Well, I must get off for now, I have hungry kids waiting for breakfast:)

Last but certainly not least; it is Veteran's Day, I am so thankful for all the men and women who have served and are serving our beautiful country under God. Bless everyone!

Happy Sunday!

Have a great day everyone!

It is a cold and wet day here in Cali.

Crockpot is going and I have to do some laundry today:)

Happy Fall!

Happy Tuesday!

It is a cold, wet day~~~I am just loving this weather!

I am making homemade chicken and dumplings for dinner!

My house smells like Fall:)

I slept on my neck wrong the other night, so I was a bit out of commission, it is feeling a bit better, but I didn't get anything done yesterday, so hopefully tomorrow, I can catch up:)

HOT!

Can you believe it was 106 degrees here in Southern California??!!! HOT, HOT, HOT!! Well, all I can say is I am very thankful for the A/C, I would not have been able to get anything done in this sweltering heat! Our summer was very cold, and now it is very hot. Well, it sure isn't stopping me from getting in the Fall spirit:) I have been decorating and today I am doing some baking:)

You would not believe the laundry I have knocked out. I am washing EVERYTHING!!...and it feels so nice to get so much done.

Tonight's dinner is going to be something with Hamburger, either cheeseburger pie, or mushroom burgers, have not decided yet:)

For those of you here in Cali, stay cool, for everyone else, stay warm...LOL

Happy Fall!

Happy Monday!

We had a good weekend, and was it HOT!!!! I can't wait for it to start feeling like fall. I have been decorating the house for Fall, LOVE IT!

Today is picture day for my daughter, she looked so beautiful:)

....and for me today, LAUNDRY!!! Whoe else will be joining me on Laundry duty?

Have a great Monday!

Lunch Time Talk:)

We had an early lunch today. Mainly because, we had an early breakfast too. School days we are up bright and early so sometimes lunch gets served early. I print out the lunch menu off of Alexis's school website and put it on the fridge, then on certain days she will buy her lunch, especially on the days they serve, teryiaki dippers. Also on really cold days she will buy her lunch so she has a nice hot lunch to fill her tummy. No matter if she buys or takes her lunch, I always pack things in her lunch pail. I buy those packs of carrots with ranch for dipping, apples, string cheese, yogurt, a hard boiled egg, crackers, chips, goldfish,all kinds of cut up veggies, cookies, etc..I am sure you get the picture. I can't seem to find a thermos at the store,( I have looked everywhere, you think it would be simple to find, I don't want a huge one, I found those, I want a small one to fit in her lunch pail) I would like to send some hot soup on days too. Today, she took her lunch, I made a turkey and cheese sandwich, an apple, yogurt, string cheese, carrots with ranch, gushers and a juice. Tuesdays are her early day, so she will be home shortly after lunch. Today for Little Kevin I made him little pizzas, cut up apple and tomatoes(He loves those cherry tomatoes) and some cottage cheese. I know it is early, so he will have something a little later. He seems to be a grazer. Dinner is normally at 5:00.

What are some things you pack for your children for lunch. I would love to hear what you all do:)

P.S. It is almost Fall~~~~YaY!!!!!!!!!

Monday!

Hope everyones weekend was wonderful! Mine was very productive. I just got very motivated the last couple days, and I am still going. I worked really hard organizing my daughter's room, it is so nice now. Sometimes, I would get so overwhelmed with things I didn't know where to start. My house is never dirty, but the piles of clutter here and there were really getting out of control. Well, I have put all the clothes away. I have a full bag of things I am throwing away, kind of like the flylady, where she says to throw out 27 things, I think mine was more like 47(there was nothing worth donating, trust me)...LOL. I have started decorating for fall. I have baked bread, made a cheesecake. I even have some cans of pumpkin ready to make a pumpkin pie~~~YaY!! can't wait to do that. I am just waiting with anticipation, for when the stores start stocking there stores with pumpkins. OH, and what about all those holiday coffee creamers, and egg nogg, YUM!!!!!!!!!

For dinner, will be steak and potatoes:) Have a wonderful Monday! I am so excited for Fall:)

Happy Friday!

Busy morning!! School, Dentist, Walmart and then Albertsons. Corn on the Cob was only 10 cents an ear:) I am now home, and I am making bread. I also made a cucumber salad. Tonight's dinner with be boneless pork chops with onions and mushrooms, loaded mashed potatoes (box)..and Corn on the cob of course...LOL.

My husband has been in Northern California all week and should be home anytime now, YaY!!

The weather here is really nice, cool in the mornings and evenings and warmer during the day.

I am so happy the weekend is here, I just love having my whole family home.

OH, I bought the Ped Egg today and I have to say it does a pretty good job. My heels were not looking so great. I wear sandals all the time, so I guess it did a number on my heels, but now they look a lot better:)

Have a great Friday!!!!!!!!!

Friday:)

I have mentioned these videos before and they are just so fun. "Nancy Today" is such a heartwarming lady, and welcomes you in to her home everyday to share her home with all of us. She does cooking, shopping, cleaning and so many other topics on her videos. Her humer and take on life is just precious. I sure wish she was my neighbor:) Here is one of the videos. Check it out! I guarantee you have never seen eggs cooked like this....LOL. I hope you enjoy this video and all you have to do is google her and I think she has something like over 6,000 youtube videos up. LOVE THEM!!




Tonight, I am going to make a Shepard's pie for dinner. I will also have a salad to go along side of that. Last night with the chicken I made, I also made macaroni and cheese, corn and a salad:)

Have a wonderful Friday everyone!

P.S. still working on getting all the laundry put away..LOL

ETA: Scroll down my side bar to turn my music off:) so you can hear the video:)

Thursday!

Pumpkins! I can't wait to buy some.
I want to make pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, bread, soup, etc...oh what fun the Fall season is!
I put Fred out yesterday, and am contemplating when to start decorating the rest of the house.

Last night for dinner, I made these Italian sausages stuffed with four cheeses, they were really good. Tonight I am going to do something with chicken. We went to the Costco, over the weekend and stocked up on lots of good stuff. I asked about the mini sweet peppers I bought, and I am really not sure what to do with them, so I have been putting them in salad, and Alexis likes to eat them as a snack. I also bought eggs at Costco, they come in a pack of 5 dozen. I love eggs, there are just so many things you can do with them. My kitchen always has to be stocked, with Milk, eggs, butter and bread:)

School starts next Wednesday, I am not thrilled about that. We will be getting Alexis a new back pack and lunch pail this weekend, and some other things for school. I do love school supplies though...LOL.

Happy Thursday!

Welcome Spetember and Fred!

He's Back....LOLPlease, everyone welcome my dear scarecrow Fred back. He is so happy to back. Everytime I go through the front door he makes me smile. I know it isn't officially fall, but Fred really puts me in the mood for all the wonderful days to come:) I love getting the home ready for the holidays.

I did a lot already this morning. I did all my laundry, but now, I have this huge task of putting them away. I need to bring them upstairs off my dining room table. I can't stand the clutter on my table, so I am going to work hard and try and get it all put away. Then on to kitchen work:)
Oh, also, I bought a bag of mini sweet peppers, and now I am at a loss of what to with them. Any ideas or recipes? My daughter just enjoys eating them right out of the bag:)

Happy Wednesday and welcome September!

Hi!

How is everyone doing out there in blog land? Things are doing well here. School starts very soon. I am not a true fan of summer, so I am very excited for fall to start. Fred will be making his appearance very soon. You all know who Fred is, right?...LOL.

Our vacation was awesome, and I am going to tell you, I DO NOT LIKE FLYING!!!!! Oh, how it scares me. Little Kevin did pretty good on his first airplane ride, my other children are pros. Anyway, I feel like I really need to do a lot around here, but to tell you the truth, I have been watching you tube videos of "Nancy Today" Oh, bless her heart I just love her videos, they make me smile!! Have any of you watched her videos? They are just so heart warming. Her food stock is just incredible...WoW!!
Have a great Monday:)

XO

I am Back:)

Happy Thursday everyone! We just got back from vacation. We were in Georgia. I have mounds of unpacking to do, and laundry too. I will be back to posting soon. After the unpacking and putting away, we have a major shopping trip to do. I came home with many mosquito bites. I was also able to meet one of my dear blogging friends, which was awesome. I will talk more about our trip and what not soon. I first have to get my home in order.

xo