Deanna's Dreams

ICopic Weekly Challenge

2011-10-28T14:58:00.000-07:00

Here is my entry for the iCopic Weekly Challenge.

This week, the challenge was to make a card using mainly orange and black. I didn't have any plans to make Halloween cards, so I opted instead to use one of the images offered for the 5th CDAC Progressive Challenge found here. I am also entering this card there.

Card Challenges

2011-10-28T14:52:00.000-07:00

I'm entering the following cards in the 5th CDAC Progressive Challenge found here.

Copic Sketch Markers :)

2011-10-28T14:37:00.000-07:00

After many hours of internal debate, I finally decided to step into the world of Copics. Copics are alcohol based markers that are blendable, taking coloring to a whole new level! I hemmed and hawed over buying some, mostly because I'm cheap and didn't want to waste money on something I might decide wasn't for me. But I went ahead and purchased a few (there are over 340 colors!!) and took a beginner's class to learn the basics on using them.

I am still in the learning stages, but here are a few cards that I've 'colored':

Cards - Long Overdue

2011-10-28T14:19:00.000-07:00

Wow, I have totally been AWOL! So I decided it was time to at least put up some pictures of what I've been up to lately.

Here are some of my cards that I've made recently. And after this, I will tell you about my newest craze - Copics!

Awesome Giveaway at The Crafter's Cafe!

2011-08-23T14:26:00.000-07:00

The Crafter's Cafe Best Blog/NING candy evah!

Check out how to win this awesome candy including COPICS at the Crafter’s Café blog.

Ribbon Weaving

2011-08-11T13:17:00.000-07:00

I learned a new technique last night from the forums at Scrapbook.com. Its ribbon weaving! There is a new video each week of a new technique to try out. I just discovered this forum yesterday, so I'm enjoying browsing through the topics.

Here's the final card I created with my weaving:

I took this picture with my phone, so excuse the imperfections! :)

A few cards I made recently

2011-06-25T13:04:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd post a few more cards that I've made recently. I'm having fun making these and I just got a new embossing machine, so I'll be an embossing fool for a while lol.

Without further ado, here they are: (Sorry, all were taken with my phone camera)

The first is an anniversary card for a sweet couple celebrating 40 years! Right below is a close up of the background. I'm not sure how well you can see it, but I like how the white on white turned out.

This next card was to uplift a friend who is going through some really rough times:

This next card I just made trying out the new digi stamp and paper I got as freebies from Create with TLC:

A birthday card using more images from Create with TLC:

A going-away card:

Father's Day cards:

And two thank you cards:

That's it for now...now to go play with my embosser!

Wedding Card

2011-06-21T19:41:00.000-07:00

I want to share with you a card I made for a friend who is getting married. I'm still a newbie at making my own cards, but I'm sure having fun with it!

I made the background with my Silhouette. The cake is a sticker that I bought and I made up the saying (I didn't 'make it up' lol, but I designed it with paintshop pro) and got the frame design around the verse from Silhouette also.

Then I added some ribbon and a bow. That sounds awfully easy, but this card was probably the hardest I've taken on so far. The background was painful...making sure it didn't rip while getting out all those tiny cutouts! And the pink part of the frame was really hard to align. But I am happy with how it came out!

Here it is: (Sorry for the quality of the photo...I took it with my phone)

Hand-made Cards

2011-05-14T10:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I have no excuse for not posting for ~~almost six months~~ a while. :)

The last six months included a major surgery and six weeks off work, no freezer meals, little couponing...as well as lots of changes with our family, including a new daughter-in-law.

So I won't bother to try to catch up, but rather, I'll get right to the point of this post!

I've been making greeting cards! With my Silhouette that hubby bought me for Christmas. I am still just a beginner, but I'm having a ton of fun with this.

Here are the cards I made this last week:

A Mother's Day card for my Mother-in-Law. We will be celebrating Mother's Day this Sunday, so I'm not late. :)

Another card for my Mother-in-Law; this one from the boys.

A birthday card for my niece:

Two cards for hubby's birthday; one from me and the other from the boys...I'm sure you can figure out which is which:

A birthday card for my Sister-in-Law. Hmmm...I should probably make an Aunt card from the boys.

A wedding shower card. I really like how this turned out. It was my first time using the print & cut feature of the Silhouette.

And two baby shower cards...for two different friends. :)

Next on my list is to make a wedding card, two welcome baby cards, a congrats card, a graduation card, and father's day cards.

I think my Silhouette will be quite busy!

Menu Plan Monday 11/08/10

2010-11-08T19:59:00.000-08:00

I can't believe another week has passed! 2011 will be here before we know it!

Here's what's on our menu for next week:

Monday – Korean Tri Tip, Brown Rice, Broccoli
Tuesday – Pork Chops w/FF Onions over pasta
Wednesday – Chicken w/Salsa, Salad
Thursday – CP Roast w/white potatoes and carrots
Friday – Crunchy Chicken Tenders, Cheesy Potatoes
Saturday – Spaghetti, Salad
Sunday – BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Three crockpot meals (Korean Tri Tip, CP Roast, and BBQ Chicken),
Three quick and easy meals (Pork Chops, Chicken w/Salsa, and Spaghetti) and
One new recipe (Crunchy Chicken Tenders).

Menu Plan Monday 11/01/10

2010-10-31T15:04:00.000-07:00

I never got around to posting my menu last week, so I'm posting this week's menu plan a day early this week to be sure I get it done.

Monday - Thursday we will be eating from our freezer. Friday and Saturday are both new recipes for us - I hope my family thinks they are as good as they sound. And Sunday is another freezer meal.

As always, I'm sure things will change a bit, but for now, here is our plan:

Monday –Rotisserie Chicken, Cheesy Potatoes
Tuesday – Mini Meatloaves, Corn on the Cob
Wednesday - Black Bean Salsa Chicken, Salad
Thursday – Chicken ‘n Rice Casserole, Broccoli
Friday – Smothered Pork Chops, Asparagus
Saturday – Chicken Tortilla Pie (I don't recall where I found this recipe)
Sunday – Stuffed Buffalo Chicken, Salad

What's on your menu this week?

Salsa Chicken and Rice Recipe & Review

2010-10-13T16:35:00.000-07:00

I tried a new recipe out last week and the whole family enjoyed it!

Our new recipe of the week was Salsa Chicken and Rice. I found the recipe at a blog called A Little Bit of Everything.

Here is the recipe (as I made it) and I will follow it with a review.

Salsa Chicken and Rice

1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice - cooked
2 cups Chicken, cooked and shredded
2 cups shredded Montery Jack Cheese
2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese
2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup
1 1/2 cups Medium Salsa

Cook rice and chicken if not already done. Shred or cube chicken.

(I usually have cooked chicken in my freezer for meals like this. I made rice for another meal a few days before and just made enough for two meals and froze what I needed for this casserole.)

In a greased casserole dish, layer the rice and then the chicken.

Combine the soup and salsa in a bowl and spread on top of the chicken. Top with cheeses.

Bake at 350 degrees until hot through and bubbly.

* * * * *

Next time I make this I will try using Rotel in place of the salsa. The original recipe calls for either and I am curious to see if it will taste the same with Rotel.

There were a few bits of the rice that were overly crispy and I think a thin layer of salsa or Rotel underneath the rice might be a solution to that.

I plan to include this recipe in my future freezer plans and make up Salsa Chicken & Rice meal kits with the rice in one bag, the chicken, soup, and salsa in another, and the cheese in a third.

Overall, the recipe was enjoyed by everyone. It was easy to assemble, which is another plus. I'm thrilled to have found another item for my freezer sessions!

Bargains Update

2010-10-11T19:45:00.000-07:00

Well, as I suspected, Rite Aid did not have any of the Pro-X Cleanser. So I came up with a new plan and I'm quite happy with the results. Here's what I did:

6.99 Folgers
4.99 Nyquil Sinus
4.99 Dayquil Sinux
2.99 Sucrets
1.49 Blistex
3.56 (4) Gain
-5/25
-1/10 Wellness Cold
-1 Folgers mq
-8 (2) $4 Nyquil Sinus mq
-1.50 Sucrets mq
-4 (4) $1 Gain mq (forgot to remind cashier to price adjust)
=5.62
-4 UPR
=1.62

I got back $5 in UPR (for some reason I got two for the coffee) and will get back 2.99 and 1.49 in SCR (for the Sucrets and Blistex). So almost free coffee and we have cold medicine for Winter!!

I also popped into CVS to see if they had received any of the Vitality Toothbrushes that I got a raincheck for two weeks ago. The shelves were still empty, but the manager said he would try to special order them. I sure hope I can get some before my coupon expires the end of the month.

While there, I did the P&G Deal - Buy $25 get $10 ECBs. I picked up two Charmin and one Bounty. The store I shop at is super as they take expired CVS coupons as well as expired ECBs. I was able to use a $5/$25 coupon and $6.50 in ECBs so I paid about $11 for it all (after ECBs). Not a super deal, but way better than paying full price.

Bargains I'm 'Chasing' This Week

2010-10-09T17:31:00.000-07:00

I skipped my 'Bargains' post last week because I didn't see anything I wanted/needed. There were definitely some good deals at the different stores, but since I live in an area where tax is determined before coupons, it can put a damper on the great sales.

I did manage to run to Rite Aid and threw together a transaction that included a Schick Razor, coffee for work, and some candy. After coupons, it cost $1.45 for everything. If I had had more coffee coupons, I might have tried to get more.

This week I've put together a plan for Rite Aid, but finding sufficient stock may throw me off. I'm still not finding much to make me want to hit Walgreens or CVS this week, but that might change once I get my Sunday paper tomorrow.

Rite Aid

Trans. #1

16.19 Olay ProX Cleanser (17.99 - 10%)
4.99 Airwick
3.99 Comtrex
=26.17 + 2.42
=25.17 + 2.33 tax
=27.50
-5/25 Rite Aid coupon
-1 Wellness Beauty
-2 Olay mq
-4 Airwick mq
=15.50
-10 Rite Aid Gift Card
-5 UPR from last week
=.50
Get $12 UPR & 3.99 SCR

Trans. #2

16.19 Olay Cleanser
4.99 Airwick
4.99 Pediacare
=26.17 + 2.42 tax
=28.59
-5/25 Rite Aid Coupon
-1 Wellness Beauty
-2 Olay mq
-4 Airwick mq
-1 Pediacare mq
=15.59
-12 UPR from previous transaction
=3.59
Get $12 UPR & 4.99 SCR

Trans. #3

16.19 Olay Cleanser
3.00 Dove Shampoo
1.78 (2) Gain Dish Detergent
3.00 3/3 Candy snackpacks
.99 Halls Cough Drops
.18 Now & Later (.20 - 10%)
=25.14 + 2.33 tax
=27.47
-5/25 Rite Aid Coupon
-1 Wellness Beauty
-2 Olay mq
-2 Dove VV
-1 Dove mq
-1.78 (2) $1 Gain mq adjusted down
-.50 Halls VV
=14.19
-12 UPR
=4.19
Get $11 UPR

Trans. #4

16.19 Olay
1.78 (2) Gain
2.99 Sucrets
1.99 Palmer’s Lip Butter
1.49 Blistex
1.00 Candy Corn
=25.44 + 2.35
=27.79
-5/25 Rite Aid Coupon
-1 Wellness Beauty
-2 Olay
-1.78 Gain
-1.50 Sucrets
=17.51
-12 UPR
=4.51
Get back $10 UPR and 6.47 SCR

Total:
10.79 Cash
5 UPR
10 GC
=25.79
-10.00 UPR
-15.45 in SCR
=.34 net cost

Then I'll submit the receipts for the Olay Rebate: Get $20 back for spending $50

I also have heard that there might be a $5 coupon for Olay ProX products in Sunday's paper - if so, this will be an even better deal.

Menu Plan 10/11/10

2010-10-09T17:14:00.000-07:00

I'm posting my menu plan early this week since I've got it done. I normally post it on Monday's and link up with Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday link. Since her post isn't up yet, I'll have to remind myself to come back and link it on Monday. Edited to link to this week's Menu Plan Monday.

Anyhow, here's what I've planned for next week:

Monday – Mini Meatloaves, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
Tuesday – Buffalo Shrimp, Rice, Mixed Veggies
Wednesday – Chicken Ziti, Salad
Thursday –CP Chicken ‘n Stuffing, Roasted Veggies
Friday – Turkey Burgers, Salad
Saturday – Tacos, Refried Beans, Spanish Rice
Sunday – Ranch Chicken

If you look too closely, you'll notice a few meals that are repeats from last week!

No, we are not eating the same things two weeks in a row! Last week didn't go precisely as planned. After having my car break down on Monday, our week turned out a bit differently than anticipated. Carpooling with hubby was great in my estimation - I loved being chauffered around - but I don't think he loved it as much as I did. Having to alter his schedule to fit mine threw a kink in his week I think. :) (Car is fixed - thanks again to hubby!)

Which led to eating out one night and ~~begging~~ asking kiddo to make dinner one night and he chose spaghetti. (Maybe because I forgot to defrost anything??)

Hopefully, this week we will follow our plan a bit better. Time will tell.

October To-Do List

2010-10-05T18:28:00.000-07:00

Each month, I am posting a To-Do list.

Not a list of things that I know I will accomplish - but rather things that I wish to accomplish in addition to the regular to-dos of my life.

Here's my to-do list for October:

Around the house:

-Clean and organize bathroom drawers and shelves
-Re-label shoe boxes with labels that will stay on
-Go through 2 of my dresser drawers
-Spend 1 hour working in the dining room

On the crafty side

-Paint the pot for kitchen utensils as well as some clothes pins
-Work on clothes pin kitchen holder idea
-Create new printable and upload (maybe recipe cards?)
-Begin working on new graphics set for store

In the Kitchen

-Try one new recipe each week
-Week one –
-Week two –
-Week three –
-Week four –
-Organize Recipe Binder

Spiritually

-Continue memorizing Romans 12
-Work on Changed Into His Image daily

So...what things do you think you might be able to add to your everyday doings? Why don't you create a list for yourself? I know I won't get everything crossed off my list, but every item I can cross off is one step closer to where I want to be.

Menu Plan Monday 10/4/10

2010-10-04T16:39:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe it's Monday already! The weeks seem to be flying by.

Here's what we will be eating this week:

Monday – Fajitas, Refried Beans, Mex Rice
Tuesday – Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti, Rolls, Salad
Wednesday – Mini Meatloaves, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli
Thursday – Chicken ‘n Rice Casserole, Green Beans
Friday – Upside down pizza, Salad
Saturday – Salsa Chicken and Rice, Corn on the Cob
Sunday – Poppyseed Chicken, Breadsticks, Salad

Looking for more menu ideas? Check out I'm an Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday Linky!

September To-Do List -- Recap

2010-09-30T20:02:00.001-07:00

You may recall that I posted a September To-Do List at the beginning of the month.

My thinking was to challenge myself to complete these items by posting them here.

Here's how my list turned out:

September To-Do List

Around the house:

~~-Clean off my side of closet shelves in order to~~ Done
-Get shoe boxes labeled and in closet I'm not sure whether to mark this as done or not done...I did get my shoes in the shoeboxes labeled with super sticky post it notes. Which proceeded to fall off. And my shoes are still half as messy as when I started. I don't know if this is going to be a solution to my shoe mess or not.
~~-Go through clothes on rocking chair~~ I managed to fill a large trash bag with clothes to get rid of. I now need to clean out my dresser drawers to make room for what's left.
~~-Organize coupon binder~~ Done! I'm super happy now that my coupons are once again organized. It makes finding what I'm looking for so much easier.

In addition, I was able to completely clean up my desk area as well as the drawers of my nightstand. Woohoo - two more things I won't have to do!

On the crafty side

~~-Make up new Awana dues boxes~~ Done - I had to actually do these twice as I first tried to use Mod Podge and it didn't turn out, so I tore them apart and redid them.
-Paint the pot for kitchen utensils as well as some clothes pins Not Done :(
-Figure out clothes pin kitchen holder idea Not Done :( I think I'm scared to try out the spray paint I bought. I need to do this!
~~-Finish up Menu Plan printables and upload post~~ Done

In the Kitchen

~~-Try one new recipe each week~~ Three out of four!
-Week one – Broccoli Chicken Casserole
-Week two – Crockpot Chicken Marsala
-Week four – Quicker than delivery Pizza

Spiritually

-Continue memorizing Romans 12 I slacked a bit on this - I still have a few verses to go.
-Work on Changed Into His Image daily I didn't do too well here either - I really need to take a closer look at my priorities as my spiritual progress was really lacking this month.

I don't like all that red! But I do like the green!

It's time to start thinking about my October To-Do List. What items am I procrastinating on? What new things would I like to try? What really needs to be done?

I challenge you to make up a monthly to-do list also! Not for the things you already know you will do, but to challenge yourself to get some extra/fun/new things done.

Bargain Shopping Update

2010-09-30T19:53:00.001-07:00

This week's bargain shopping went about as I had expected.

I was able to complete my Rite Aid shopping without any problems. That's two weeks in a row with happy Rite Aid shopping! I was able to complete the Olay deal and I stocked up on cat food. I don't know if better deals come along on cat food as I've never needed it before, so I figured this was a good enough price for now. I bought 30 cans, which will last for a while and I can now keep an eye out for better deals.

CVS was out of the Vitality toothbrushes, but I was able to get a raincheck. I hope they get new stock in before the coupon expires as I'm wanting to try out this toothbrush. I'll have to check back next week and see.

I did go to Walgreens, too. I walked in the store, walked around, and walked back out. Although they had lots of free after RR offers, I still would have had to pay tax for stuff I didn't need or want. So I bought nothing at Walgreens this week.

I did pop into Target for some shredded cheese. They have Kraft cheese on sale for $2 and I used two of the $5/5 coupon to get 10 packages of cheese for $1 each. While the girl was scanning the cheese, the catalina machine printed out a $1.50 Kraft coupon, which she grabbed and scanned before I was able to give her my coupons. I was wondering if that might cause a problem, but she took my two coupons also and I ended up paying $8.50 for 10 packages of cheese. Those babies are now snuggled in my freezer until I have need of them.

That's the sum of my sales/coupon deals for the week.

Did you score any great deals?

Menu Plan Monday 09/27/10

2010-09-27T18:07:00.000-07:00

Each week I take the time to plan out what we will be having for dinner every night. Since I cooked up a 4-month freezer cooking session before school started, my menu planning is really easy. I have 5 of the 7 nights covered - in the freezer and ready to be baked/thrown in the crockpot/grilled/etc. So all I have to come up with is two menu ideas each week. And if I’m struggling, I can always plan a night out. Or breakfast for dinner. Or something else that is just as easy. But even when I don’t have freezer-ready meals, I find that menu planning is a MUST!

I try to cook one new recipe each week. I enjoy trying new recipes, but my family gets a tad bit weary of ‘new’ if I do it too often. Especially if the ‘new’ recipes don’t turn out as tasty as I thought they would be. :)

This next week is an easy week as I am planning a pizza night for Wednesday as we will be gone all day. Our ‘new’ recipe will be Chicken Broccoli Alfredo.

Here’s what we will be eating this week:

Monday – Oriental Pork Chops, Brown Rice, Salad
Tuesday – Parmesan Chicken, Roasted Potatoes
Wednesday – Pizza
Thursday – Chicken Enchilada Casserole, Beans
Friday – Chicken Broccoli Alfredo, Rolls
Saturday – Swedish Meatballs over pasta, Salad
Sunday – Ranch Chicken, Baked Potatoes

Our ‘new’ recipe last week was Quicker Than Delivery Pizza. I liked the idea of a no-rise crust and I had everything in the pantry for this. I made two pizzas and two breadstick pizzas.

I hate to say it, but I’m a pizza snob. Once upon a time, we used to own a pizza parlour and I am usually pretty critical of pizza, whether made at home, from frozen, or from a pizza place. The recipe I used tonight was just okay. The crust was a lot like frozen pizza crust – it was tasteless and too thin. But it was super easy so I’ll keep it around until I find a better one.

Don’t forget to head over here to download some free printable Menu Plans!

As usual, I'm linking up with Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday!

So what’s on your menu this week?

Bargains I'm 'Chasing' This Week

2010-09-25T12:12:00.000-07:00

As I've stated before, this is not a 'Deal Blog'. I don't currently have the time or desire to blog about all of the deals out there. If you are looking for the best drugstore and grocery deals of the week, there are a ton of blogs out there that will detail them for you. I follow quite a few myself and I also read at Slickdeals. For the next few weeks, I will also post links to my favorite deal blogs at the end of my 'Bargains' post.

Here are the deals I will be chasing this week:

Rite Aid

Olay is on sale this week buy one get one 50% off. And if you buy $30 you get $10 in UPRewards. I’ll match this with the coupon ‘buy two moisturizers, get eye roller free’.

I actually didn’t get this coupon in my Sunday inserts, so when I heard about it, I checked on ebay and bid on a listing for 10 of these coupons and 10 $1 off Olay coupons. I paid less than $2 for the lot. I have had good luck ordering coupons on ebay, but to get a decent price, you need to order them before the sale begins – otherwise everyone is wanting them and the prices go up.

I want to do this deal for two reasons – I am almost out of moisturizer and the deal is a small moneymaker even after tax. Added to that, I can use this purchase toward the rebate that Proctor & Gamble has out where if you buy $50 in P&G products, they will send you a $110 value coupon book. There’s also talk of a new Olay rebate coming with this week’s inserts, so that might be something also.

21.99 Olay eye roller
4.25 Olay moisturizer at 50%
7.64 Olay moisturizer at 90% (My current wellness discount is 10%)
=33.88 + 3.13 tax
-$5/25 Rite Aid coupon
-$1/10 Wellness skin care coupon
-$19.99 Max value of free eye roller coupon
-$2 (2) $1 Olay coupons
=9.02
-$6 UPRewards from last week
=3.02 oop
Get back $10 in UPRewards

My second transaction will be for items I need – not the best prices one can find, but still pretty good – and if I don’t buy toilet paper and paper towels this week, someone’s gonna’ be in trouble!

$12 (30) cans Friskies Cat food
$5.49 Bounty Basic Paper Towels
$5.49 Charmin Bath Tissue
$1.25 Theater style candy (Julu Bees, Julu Fruits or Red Raspberries)
.88 Now and Laters
=25.11 + 2.32 tax
-5/25 Rite Aid Coupon
-2 (2) $1/15 Friskie mq
-$1 charmin mq
-$1 bounty mq
=18.43
-$10 UPRewards from previous purchase
=8.43 oop
Get back $6.88 in UPRewards ($3 Friskies, $1 Charmin, $1 Bounty, $1.88 candy)

If I do this second transaction twice, I will have purchased over $50 in P$G products in all three transactions and I can send in for the coupon book rebate – but I’ll wait to see if Olay comes up with a better rebate.

Not a money making week, but lots of product with a low oop.

Target

Kraft cheese is on sale for $2 (shredded or chunk)
Use $5/5 printable coupon
=$1 each

Walgreens

Although there are several free after RR sales this week, none of them excite me. I don’t have any RR that I need to roll, so I think I might skip Walgreens this week.

CVS

I may grab one of the Oral-B Vitality Rechargable Toothbrushes for hubby. They are on sale for $23 with $13 ECBs and there is supposed to be a $10 coupon in this weeks inserts. If I get the coupon, it will be free after ECBs. The limit is two, so I’ll think about doing this. I do have some ECBs to use toward this, so we’ll see.

If I decide to do it, here’s what my transactions will look like:

$23 Vitality
$5.49 Charmin
=28.49 + 2.64 tax
-$5/25 (This coupon is expired but I think my store will still take it)
-$10 Vitality mq
-$1 Charmin mq
=15.13
Use $6 ECBs
-9.13 oop
Get back $13 ECBs

$23 Vitality + 2.13 tax
=25.13
-10 Vitality mq
=15.13
-13 ECBs
=2.13
Get back $13 ECBs

If I do shop CVS this week, I won't do the 2nd Rite Aid transaction twice. Either way, I'll have over $50 in P&G Products so I will definitely send in for the rebate.

Not a killer week - but I'll have enough cat food and toilet paper to last for a while. :)

Here are links to my two favorite deal blogs:

Coupons, Deals & More

My Frugal Adventures

So what are your must-do deals of the week?

Free Printable Menu Planners

2010-09-23T17:34:00.000-07:00

Since I make up a menu plan each week, I decided to create a printable menu plan that I could print out - something I made myself and that would give me a bit of variety each week.

I played around a bit and came up with these:

It is a bit hard to see the background in these small pictures, but it looks like this:

Since I find menu planning such a great help, I would love it if having a printable menu plan helps you to jump on board and start planning your weekly menus. So....I decided to offer these printables to any of my followers who wants them! Not a follower? Easy, just click on the 'Follow' button!

Then click here and your download should start immediately.

I hope you enjoy these! And I hope you find menu planning as helpful as I do!

Linking to the following link parties:

Show & Share Day

Hooking Up With House of Hepworths

Garlic Dijon Chicken - A "Dump" Chicken Recipe

2010-09-21T16:24:00.000-07:00

This is one of the 'dump' recipes I made during my last freezer session. A 'dump' recipe is just what it sounds like - just dump all of the ingredients into a ziplock bag and freeze. There are many to be found online - just google 'dump chicken recipes' and you will find a variety of different ideas.

I don't know where I found this one, so if you know who I can credit, please let me know.

Garlic Dijon Chicken

4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 Cloves Minced Garlic
4 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
2 Tablespoons Lime Juice

Combine the garlic, mustard, and lime juice in a ziplock bag. Add chicken and let marinate for several hours. **I freeze it at this point. The chicken will marinate as it thaws.** Cook or grill as desired. I usually bake it at 350 degrees for 35-40minutes or until done.

I really liked how this came out. It had the right amount of flavor - not too strong and not too subtle.

I will definitely include it in future freezer sessions!

Bargain Shopping Update

2010-09-20T16:53:00.000-07:00

Whew!

I'm tired from all the running around I did today after work....but what a great bargain day!

I found everything I was looking for plus a few extra items.

At Walgreens, my favorite cashier had saved her coupon inserts for me! Isn't that sweet? I ended up with 4 Gain Dish Detergents, 6 cans of Cream of Chicken soup, and 4 Butterfinger bars (like I really need those, huh?).

I love the CVS I shop at - they happily honored my expired ECBs even though they expired over a month ago! So I picked up some soda, deodorant, and a few other things to use them up. Got back $4 in ECBs for future trips.

Now, I will admit I was dreading Rite Aid. I seem to always have problems using coupons at both of the Rite Aids that I shop at and my plans for today involved lots of coupons. I was also worried about finding enough of the items I wanted to buy so I could use my $5/$25 coupons.

Well, I ended up with the nicest two cashiers I have ever had at Rite Aid! I did have to shop at both stores, but I found everything I had planned to buy! I also got some cheap coffee for work.

I ended up with 4 John Freida shampoos, 2 Bounty paper towels, 14 Quaker Oatmeals, 2 Coffees, 2 Listerine, 2 Crest, 4 A&H Spinbrushes (these I stuck away for stocking stuffers), 2 A&H toothpaste, 1 Swiss Miss, and 1 Sensodyne.

I spent $11.85 - have $6 in UPRewards to use and will get back $6 in rebates.

Not too shabby!

I'm really trying to buy only things we will actually use. I have a closet full of stuff that I've picked up cheap or free and I really don't want any more stuff that will just be sitting in a closet. Anyone need any Dulcolax?

Menu Plan Monday 09/20/10

2010-09-20T15:48:00.000-07:00

Have you made up your menu plan for this week yet? Do you regularly plan your weekly menus?

I have found that menu planning, although a bit time consuming at first, is a huge timesaver in the long run! And it saves us money also, as I go to the store with a list and avoid buying things 'just in case' we might need it.

So, without further ado, here's what we will be eating this week:

Monday

Mexican Penne, Refried Beans, Salad
This is already made and in the freezer. I'll top it with a bit of cheese and bake.

Tuesday

Garlic Dijon Chicken, Potatoes, Salad
I marinated this chicken and froze it. It is one of the 'dump' recipes I am trying for the first time from my recent freezer plan. I'll probably either roast or bake the potatoes, depending on how much time I feel like spending that night. I will post this recipe later this week as I don't know where I found it to give proper credit.

Wednesday

Chicken Spaghetti, Rolls, Fruit
Another freezer meal that is ready to go.

Thursday

Sue Sue’s Casserole, Green Beans
This is one of the few ways I can get my kids (and myself) to eat peas. For some reason, the combination of foods in this recipe masks that gross pea flavor. :)

Friday

Lasagna Roll-ups, Garlic Bread, Salad
I plan to make extra of these and flash freeze. I'll then freeze some sauce in ice cube trays to have ready to go for quick lunches.

Saturday

Quicker than delivery Pizza, Salad
This is my new recipe of the week. I'll probably make two - one cheese and one pepperoni.

Sunday

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, Potatoes, Salad
Chicken and bbq sauce will cook in the crockpot and be ready for a quick meal before church Sunday night. Lots of salad this week 'cus a friend gave us a few heads of lettuce which I need to use up.

So, that's the plan for us this week. So easy - freezer cooking has really made a difference about how I feel about cooking dinner on busy nights.

I will be linking this plan up with I'm an Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday Party! Click on the link to find hundreds of menu plans to help you get started or just to find some new recipes to try out!

Bargains I'm 'Chasing' This Week

2010-09-19T16:50:00.000-07:00

First off, let me state that this is not a 'Deal Blog'. I don't currently have the time or desire to blog about all of the deals out there. If you are looking for the best drugstore and grocery deals of the week, there are a ton of blogs out there that will detail them for you. I follow quite a few myself and I also read at Slickdeals.

But I do coupon. I usually buy four newspapers each week as well as print out coupons from the internet. And I look for those deals that match coupons with sales for even greater savings. Most of the deals I shop for are not ones I find myself. I love that there are people out there who are willing to do it for us! One day soon I will post links to some of the blogs I follow but in the meantime, I want to start tracking what deals I am chasin'.

So this week, here's my plans:

Rite Aid

Trans. #1

$10.00 (2) John Freida Shampoos
$ 7.96 (4) Quaker Oats
$ 1.76 (2) Bounty Basic Paper Towels
$ 2.99 Listerine Zero
$ 2.99 Crest Pro-Health Toothpaste
=$25.70 + ~2.38 tax
-$5/25 Rite Aid Coupon
-$6.00 (2) John Freida coupons
-$1.00 Rite Aid Wellness 1/10 Hair coupon
-$4.00 (4) Quaker coupons
-$ .50 (2) Bounty coupons
-$2.00 Listerine coupon
-$1.00 Rite Aid Video Value Listerine coupon
-$ .75 Crest coupon
=7.83
Will get back $10 UPRewards ($3 for John Freida, $4 for Quaker Oats, $2 for Listerine, and $1 for Crest)

Trans. #2

$10.00 (2) John Freida Shampoos
2.99 Listerine Zero
2.99 Crest Pro-Health Toothpaste
1.69 Trial Size Sensodyne Toothpaste
7.96 (4) Quaker Oats
=25.63 + ~ 2.37 tax
-$5/25 Rite Aid coupon
-$6.00 (2) John Freida Coupons
-$1.00 Rite Aid Wellness 1/10 Hair Coupon
-$2.00 Listerine Coupon
-$1.00 Rite Aid Video Value Listerine coupon
-$ .75 Crest Coupon
-$1.50 Rite Aid Video Value Sensodyne coupon
-$4.00 (4) Quaker Coupons
=$6.75
Will use $4 UPRewards from previous transaction and pay $2.75 (UpRewards cannot be used towards tax)
Will get back $10 UPRewards ($3 for John Freida, $4 for Quaker Oats, $2 for Listerine, and $1 for Crest)

Trans. #3

$17.98 (4) Arm & Hammer Spinbrushes (BOGO this week)
3.99 (2) Arm & Hammer Toothposte (BOGO this week)
3.98 (2) Quaker Oatmeal
=25.95 + ~2.40 tax
-$5/25 Rite Aid coupon
-$8.00 (4) $2 Spinbrush coupons
-$1.50 (2) $.75 Toothpaste coupons
-$2.00 (2) $1 Quaker coupons
-$1.00 Rite-Aid Wellness Oral Care Coupon
=10.85
Will use $8 UPRewards and pay $2.85
Will get back $7 in UpRewards ($5 for Arm & Hammer, $2 for Quaker Oats)

After all three transactions, I will have paid out $13.43 and will have $15 in UPRewards toward future purchases.

If I can find them, I plan to buy more Quaker Oats as they are free after coupons and UPRewards. There is also a Single Check Rebate for $5 back if you buy $25 in certain products and Quaker Oats are included.

There is also a $10 SCR (Single Check Rebate) available when you spend $25 in Oral Care products. I already submitted for this rebate last month, so I cannot do it again.

The biggest hurdle will be finding everything I want to complete each transaction. I fear the stores near me will not have enough oats, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. I'll be sure to get rainchecks tho, because Oatmeal is something we go through a lot of.

Other deals I'll check out while at the store:

Crest White Strips $29.99 - Get $15 UPRewards
Use $5/25 Rite Aid coupon and $5 White Strips coupon
= 4.99 after coupons and UPRewards
Not a bad price and I've been wanting to try these.

Campbell Select Soups $2/3 - Get $1 UPReward
Use $1/2 coupon
= free after coupons and UPRewards

Walgreens

.89 Gain Dish Detergent w/in-ad coupon
-$1 Gain coupon
=free (cashier will have to either adjust up the detergent or adjust down the coupon)

I have four coupons, so I hope to get four of these

.89 Campbells Cooking Soups (Cream Mushroom and Cream of Chicken) w/in-ad coupon
-$1.50/3 coupon
=.39 each when you buy three

.49 Butterfinger candy bars w/in-ad coupon
-$1/2 coupon
=free (I need my candy for energy as I'll be heading to Rite Aid after Walgreens)

.99 Kleenex w/in-ad cpn
I probably won't get any of these, but there are coupons out there so I might change my mind.

CVS

2.99 Right Guard Deodorant - Get $2 Extra Care Bucks (Limit 3)

I'll buy 2:

=5.98
-$3/2 coupon
=2.98
Get back $4 in Extra Care Bucks

I have almost $10 in expired ECBs (Extra Care Bucks). My store has been good about taking expired ECBs in the past and I'm hoping they will honor these. If so, I will look around and find some other things to pick up with my $10.

That's my plan for tomorrow afternoon. I shall see how it all plays out.

Menu Plan Monday 09/13/10

2010-09-14T17:52:00.000-07:00

On the menu plan for this week is:

Monday

Korean Tri Tip, Noodles, Salad
A yummy dish that goes from freezer to crockpot. My family loves the flavor of this dish. I have made this several different ways - with ribs, roast, stew meat, and tri-tip. I found the flavor too intense with the stew meat and not intense enough with the ribs and roast. I now make sure that the pieces of meat are cut up into four or five large pieces. This way the flavor is enhanced without being overpowering.

Tuesday

Pork Chops w/French fried onions, Rice, Veggies
My mom used to make this when I was younger. It is so easy and I love the way the flavors blend. Just place pork chops in a baking dish, cover with a can of cream of mushroom and sprinkle with ¾ can of French fried onions. Bake about 40 minutes and add remaining onions when done.

Wednesday

Chicken w/Salsa, Rolls, Fruit
I’ve seen this recipe many places on the web, so I don’t know who to give credit to. But it is a simple, tasty meal. Top chicken breasts with 2 tb. salsa and sprinkle with cheese. Bake til done.

Thursday

CP Roast w/potatoes and carrots
Another recipe I borrowed from mom. Place a roast in the crockpot and sprinkle with one packet of dried onion soup mix. Add one can of cream of mushroom soup, two cans of whole white potatoes (drained) and a few handfuls of baby carrots. Cook on low all day and dinner is ready and waiting for you.

Friday

Grands Taco Melts, Celery sticks
A variation of a recipe from the Pillsbury site. Cook ground beef and season with taco seasoning and salsa. Then flatten out the grands biscuits to line the cups of a cupcake pan. Fill with beef mixture, top with shredded cheese and bake. A fun, yummy meal.

Saturday

Stuffed Shells, Spanish Rice, Salad
I still need to make these…

Sunday

Stuffed Buffalo Chicken, Baked Potatoes, Cauliflower

I’m linking up with I’m an Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday.

Last week's menu - In Review and Honey Bun Cake Recipe

2010-09-14T17:42:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can’t believe another whole week has passed!

I have a recipe to share with you that I think you will love!! It’s not my original recipe; I found it here.

I’ve made this cake twice and each time I was asked for the recipe. It’s just that good. The name of this cake is Honey Bun Cake – but my son has renamed it Death Valley Cake because of the crater in the middle. Both times I made this, the cake fell after taking it from the oven. The first time, I didn’t check for doneness, so I made sure to the second time. But it still fell – not as bad the second time, but enough for the glaze to puddle a bit in the middle. But, even with it falling, I will definitely make it again.

So here’s the recipe, followed by a review of last week’s menu plan.

Honey Bun Cake

1 yellow cake mix (with pudding in the mix)
8 oz. sour cream
4 eggs
2/3 cup oil
½ cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup powdered sugar
4 tablespoons milk

Lightly oil and flour a 9 x 13 baking pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine first five ingredients and mix for two minutes.

In small bowl combine brown sugar and cinnamon.

Pour ½ cake mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle with ½ of the brown sugar/cinnamon mix. Repeat.
With a table knife, swirl through the cake mix to gently distribute the cinnamon.

Bake for 35 minutes or until done.

Mix powdered sugar with the milk and pour glaze onto cake immediately after removing from the oven.

Swoon.

Here’s last week’s menu plan:
Monday – Teriyaki Turkey Breast, Salad, Stuffing
Tuesday – Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
Wednesday – Black Bean Salsa Chicken, Salad
Thursday – Enchilada Casserole, Refried Beans, Salad
Friday – CP Chicken Marsala, Garlic Pasta, Broccoli
Saturday – Stuffed Shells, Spanish Rice, Veggies
Sunday – Stuffed Buffalo Chicken, Baked Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus

I goofed on scheduling a potluck at church – I planned it for this coming weekend instead of last, so I had to switch up Saturday and Sunday of last week with this week. So last Saturday, we had Rotisserie Chicken for dinner and I planned for leftovers on Sunday as I knew we wouldn’t be too hungry after eating all that yummy food at the potluck.

All in all it was a good week. I was looking forward to the Stuffed Buffalo Chicken, but I'll have to wait a bit longer as I moved it to this week. The Chicken Marsala was good, but I was a bit disappointed in the texture of the chicken. I think it might have been better if the chicken breasts were cut into smaller pieces to soak up more of the sauce.

Strikethrough!

2010-09-09T18:55:00.000-07:00

Isn't this cool? I ~~figured out all by myself~~ googled how to strike thru text.

I never knew how and it is super easy! But you probably already know that. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm the only person who didn't know how to do this.

Just in case there is someone out there who doesn't know how, ~~you, too, can google it~~ you simply put an s inside <> before the text and an /s inside <> at the end of the text that you want to strike through. Like this:

I'm tickled pink!

It doesn't take much to amuse me!

Menu Plan Monday 9/6/10

2010-09-07T19:36:00.000-07:00

Yikes....it's already Tuesday! So, I'm late, late, late in posting this!

Our plan for the week:

Monday

Teriyaki Turkey Breast, Salad, Stuffing
Since Monday was a holiday, I didn't preplan a freezer meal. But in the meantime, I came across a marinated turkey breast that I had picked up on markdown in our freezer. Time to eat it!

Tuesday

Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
I mixed up the meatloaf and froze it raw. Let thaw and bake. Easy, peasy.

Wednesday

Black Bean Salsa Chicken, Salad
Also premixed and frozen. And a crockpot meal, too!

Thursday

Enchilada Casserole, Refried Beans, Salad
One of my favorite freezer meals. I make up a meal kit with the meat mixture ready to go. I package the tortillas and cheese in separate bags and have it all in one larger freezer bag. Ready to assemble and cook and the kids love it!

Friday

CP Chicken Marsala, Garlic Pasta, Broccoli
This is our new recipe for the week. I will post a review and, if we like it, the recipe later this week.

Saturday

Stuffed Shells, Spanish Rice, Veggies
I have a confession to make....I never completed the stuffed shells when doing my freezer cooking. I know - bad. So Saturday I'll be making two of these and freezing one for later this year.

Sunday

Stuffed Buffalo Chicken, Baked Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus
This is a good and different way to make chicken. I don't like blue cheese, so last time I made this I used mozzarella cheese. This time I bought pepper jack cheese. I think pepper jack will blend well with the buffalo marinade.

So, how do you plan your meals? Do you plan weekly, monthly, or longer? Or do you wing it each day?

That's all for now - I'm off to link this post to I'm an Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday party.

Last week's menu - In Review and Recipe

2010-09-06T19:46:00.001-07:00

We did fairly well in following last week's menu! I'm proud of us!

Here's what I planned:

Monday – Asian Pork Tenderloin, White Rice, Veggies
Tuesday – Enchilada Casserole, Refried Beans, Salad
Wednesday – Meatball Sandwiches, Fruit
Thursday – Dump Italian Chicken, Pesto Noodles, Salad
Friday – Out to eat with the Girls – Pizza for the guys
Saturday – Chicken Broccoli Casserole, Rolls
Sunday – Chicken Enchiladas, Ranch Style Beans, Spanish Rice

Tuesday we went out for Pizza. It was my birthday and the whole family got together. It was so fun! I love it when we can all get together - it is sometimes hard with all the different work schedules.

So we didn't eat the Enchilada Casserole on Tuesday and we didn't eat Meatball Sandwiches on Wednesday. :(

I can't remember what we did Wednesday, so it must not have been too thrilling!

The rest of the week went as planned except I didn't make the Ranch Style Beans on Sunday. Hmmm...maybe I can work them into next week's menu.

The Chicken Broccoli casserole was really good and I will definitely make it again. I found the recipe at Taste of Home and it is here. Here is the recipe with the changes I made or will make next time:

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

1 1/2 cups water
1 package (6 ounces) chicken stuffing mix
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 1/2 - 2 cups frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of broccoli soup, undiluted
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil. Stir in stuffing mix. Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, layer chicken and broccoli in a greased 11" x 7" baking dish. Top with soup. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of cheese over soup. Fluff stuffing with a fork; spoon over soup. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 6 servings.

September To-Do List

2010-09-01T18:15:00.001-07:00

I made up a list of things I would like to get accomplished during the month of September.

Around the house:
- Clean off my side of closet shelves in order to
- Get shoe boxes labeled and in closet
- Go through clothes on rocking chair
- Organize coupon binder

On the crafty side:
- Make up new Awana dues boxes
- Paint the pot for kitchen utensils as well as some clothes pins
- Figure out clothes pin kitchen holder idea
- Finish up Menu Plan printables and upload post

In the Kitchen:
- Try one new recipe each week

Spiritually:
- Continue memorizing Romans 12
- Work on Changed Into His Image daily

By posting it here, I hope to have some accountability. Wanna' make up one of your own? Just think up a few things you wish to accomplish (not regular things you will do anyway, like laundry). Keep it doable by not overloading your list.

So...I invite you to tell me what's on your list!

Menu Plan Monday 08/30/10

2010-08-30T17:57:00.000-07:00

Woohoo, we get to start eating from my last freezer session!

Here's our plan for this week:

Monday

Chicken Penne, Salad
I hadn't planned originally on this, but needed to make a casserole for a friend whose Mother passed away and this was easy to double and I had most everything needed to make it. I just cooked up two boxes of penne, mixed in 5 cups of shredded chicken (frozen), 2 cups of cheese and 2 jars of spaghetti sauce. Placed in two casserole dishes and topped each with another cup of cheese (each) and baked @ 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Tuesday

Asian Pork Tenderloin, White Rice, Veggies
I used Pork Roasts this time (they were on sale) and will see how they turn out.

Wednesday

Meatball Sandwiches, Fruit
Frozen meatballs with marinara sauce and cheese on toasted rolls.

Thursday

Dump Italian Chicken, Pesto Noodles, Salad
Chicken breasts marinated in Italian dressing.

Friday

Out to eat with the Girls – Pizza for the guys

Saturday

Chicken Broccoli Casserole, Rolls

Sunday

Chicken Enchiladas, Ranch Style Beans, Spanish Rice

I expect a few changes this week as Tuesday is my birthday and I know my family will want to do something. I am figuring we will all be a bit tired Tuesday as it is my son's first day of school and I have a long day at work, so we'll play it by ear.

I'm linking to I'm an Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday. Check out all the plans linked for some great dinner ideas.

Last week's menu - In Review

2010-08-30T17:26:00.000-07:00

Each week I will review the previous weeks' menu. This is so I can go back and see what worked and what didn't. I can also track just how well we are doing staying on our menu plan.

Here was our original plan:

Monday – Pesto Chicken Bake, Noodles, Corn
Tuesday – Pizza Party for Johnny
Wednesday – Broccoli Chicken Casserole, Rolls
Thursday – Pork Chow Mein, Fried Rice
Friday – Southwest Chicken Pie
Saturday – Steak, Baked Potatoes, Salad
Sunday – Teriyaki Meatballs over rice, Mixed

Wow, I think we failed. Monday and Tuesday went well and I found a new love in Pesto, which I wrote about here.

Wednesday, I made the Southwest Chicken Pie and it was delicious. I had way too much filling, so I froze the extra. I think the filling will freeze well and this may make it into my next freezer plan. It is a nice, different, meal.

Friday we were invited to a barbeque, Saturday we took a friend out for her birthday, and Sunday we were invited to the house of friends. I did make a new cake for dessert and plan to post about it in the next few days.

That leaves Thursday and I can't remember what we did that night! Wow, age must be really affecting my memory. :)

So we tried two new meals which were both hits, one which will work for a freezer plan. I've put the Broccoli Chicken Casserole on next week's plan and hope to get to try it out.

Back to School Teacher Gift {First Attempt at Mod Podge}

2010-08-28T13:09:00.001-07:00

Here's a Back-to-School Gift I made for my son's teacher. It started out as a bit of a joke when we bought several packs of red pens.

Two years ago, my son got a demerit in class for not having a red pen. When he told me, I thought he was joking. I didn't think any teacher would give a demerit for not having a pen. Demerits in this school are used for excessive talking, disrespect, and other behaviour issues. I couldn't imagine not having a pen would fall into this category. Of course, I am one of those moms who will always jump to the defense of my sons. Usually without thinking. And he's not the perfect angel I sometimes think he is. *cough*

Demerits are not unknown to my son...he has collected more than his fair share over the years. And I'm not kidding when I say more than his fair share. But two years ago he fnally figured out he could behave and he was actually tryng not to get any demerits for the year. I knew he was (finally) making a true effort to not get any demerits. So the red pen demerit grated a bit.

To be fair, the teacher had a right. She had been forever reminding the kids to bring their red or green pens for grading each day and finally told the kids that if they didn't remember, she would be handing out demerits. And she followed through on her word. And to her credit, she told me that if that was the only demerit he got for the whole year, she would take it back. Which he did. And she did. I was thrilled my boy who had received 30 demirits in three months in the 7th grade was able to get zero (ok, actually one, but she did take it back) in the 9th grade.

So after that loooooong story, when I found the $1/1 Target Bic Coupon last month, I bought four packs of red pens for her. I also had picked up a ton of pencils either super cheap or free and figured I'd give some to her also.

So....how to present them?

I remembered this container I had saved from a Vocalpoint sample:

If you haven't registered at Vocalpoint, stop what you are doing and go do it right now! Then send you the coolest samples and super great coupons.

Anyhow, when I received this container from Vocalpoint, it had some Crystal Lite samples and coupons in it. I love how they find such cute ways to deliver their samples. And when I saw how cute this way, I couldn't throw it away. I knew it would come in handy sometime. Here's a pic showing the top and bottom separately.

I had some scrapbooking paper laying around and found this cute Fallish (yes that is now a word!) paper with apples. How appropriate! I grabbed a solid coordinating paper for the inside and cut them to size.

I had bought some Mod Podge last time I was at Michaels after seeing all the cute projects people have made with it. I decided this was the time to try it out. Holding my breath, I jumped right in. Remember, I had no idea what I was doing. But it really wasn't all that hard.

I slathered a layer of Mod Podge on first, smoothed the paper in, and ‘painted’ on another layer of Mod Podge. My brush was way too big and made it harder than it should have been, but it was all I had.

And here is the final result.

Yes, it’s not perfect. But I am working hard to reign my obsessive need for perfection. Usually I try to make things better and end up making them worse. I thought it came out kinda’ cute and now the kids won’t have to fret about remembering their red pens!

New Friend Friday

2010-08-27T20:22:00.000-07:00

I started this blog mainly as a way to keep track of my stuff...my menu plans, my freezer cooking, the occasional craft, etc. I have discovered so many great ideas by following blogs and am becoming slightly addicted. I love finding new blogs because that means finding new ideas.

Today I am trying something new by joining in on New Friend Friday hosted by Trendy Treehouse.

If you would like to check it out for yourself, click on the button above and you can join in on the fun also!

Recipe Binder

2010-08-26T12:16:00.000-07:00

I'm curious. How do you keep track of your recipes?

I've kept my recipes in a document folder on my computer for a long time, but I found that I was printing them out each time I wanted to use a particular recipe so I wouldn't have to take my laptop into the kitchen. See, I'm a messy cook. And I don't want to ruin my laptop. But printing out the recipes each time I used one got to be a pain and a waste of paper.

So, last year I started a recipe binder. I purchased a small binder (5 1/2 x 8 1/2) and a small 3-hole punch and began filling it up. I did good for a while, but like most things, it began to get messy as I got lazy.

Here's the mess I have created:

This morning I was reading some of the blogs I like to follow and I came across this post at Clean Mama. It was the inspiration I needed to tackle my recipe binder and get it organized before school begins. Wow, I can’t believe how dirty this binder was. This picture looks better than it really was:

First things first, I want my binder to be pretty. After making the binder front for my son (that he surely won’t use), I decided my recipe binder needed a pretty look. So I fooled around a bit and came up with this:

Much better, don’t you think? So now I need to get it organized. I know I have dividers somewhere around here. I just need to figure out what categories I want to divide the recipes into. Should I go with Chicken, Beef, Etc. Or by cooking methods like Freezer, Crockpot, Grilling? Or perhaps a mix of both along with a Favorites tab?

Binder Front Subway Art

2010-08-25T12:02:00.000-07:00

I've noticed that the web is full of DIY Subway Art lately. You can read how to make a friend board here. And Tatertots & Jello actually hosted a Subway Art Party! Check it out to see all of the amazing projects that have been made.

Yesterday, I finished up the last of our back-to-school shopping....my son needed a new binder and he had a specific one in mind. So off to Staples we went so he could buy a one-touch binder...you know the kind...that you can open the prongs with one hand. They are a bit more expensive, but since we have everything else he needs already in our stockpile of school/office supplies, I figured it was okay.

The binder he got this year was made by Avery and has the plastic pocket on front and back where you can slip in photos, pictures, etc.

So, when we got home, I was thinking about his binder and started playing around with Paintshop Pro. This is what I made:

I printed it out and slipped it inside his new binder and said, "Look what I made for you!"

Lol...he was a bit stunned. Let's recall that he is 16. And he said one word:

"Why?"

Whyyyy?

So now I know....16 + Subway Art = No thanks.

But I still think it is cute and a younger boy or girl might really think it is cool. Or maybe I am just a bit wacko.

I have linked this post to the following:
Spotlight Yourself Party at It's So Very Cheri
'Look at Me' Party at It's FUN to Craft

Pesto

2010-08-24T11:33:00.000-07:00

I couldn't wait for my weekly review to post about last night's dinner. We had Pesto Chicken Bake. I can't figure out where I found this recipe, so it anyone knows, let me know so I can give proper credit.

Pesto Chicken Bake

4 Chicken Breasts
1 jar Classico Pesto Sauce
Noodles or Rice

1. Place chicken in baking dish. Put a spoonful of pesto sauce on top. Bake @ 350 until done. (35-40 min.)

2. While chicken is baking, cook and drain pasta or cook rice.

3. Stir some pesto sauce into noodles (or rice) and serve.

When I went to the store to buy the Classico Pesto Sauce, I couldn't find it. I stared at the shelf of pasta sauces, specifically the area with the Classico sauces, as if my piercing stare would make it magically appear. Am I the only one who thinks that if I look hard enough, I will find what I'm looking for?

Well, my store doesn't carry Classico Pesto Sauce, but I did find a small jar of Pesto. For $4.59!!! Yikes. It was about half the size of the other pasta sauce jars and, in my opinion, expensive.

I bought it anyway and boy am I happy I did.

You see, I have never cooked with pesto before. In fact, I don't think I have ever eaten pesto before. Like my son said, "It's greeeeen."

But I wanted to lick my plate clean. It was gooooooooood! And son asked for seconds, too.

So now I'm on the hunt to find the perfect recipe for pesto. I have seen that you can make it up and freeze in ice cube trays. This is something I NEED to do a) because it is yummy and b) because it has got to be less expensive to make it yourself.

So if anyone has a tried and true recipe for pesto, I need it!

Menu Plan Monday 8/23/10

2010-08-23T11:44:00.000-07:00

Every week I make up a menu plan, including the weekends, to follow. I find this saves me time, money, and most importantly, unnecessary frustration. I was initially inspried to plan our weekly meals by reading about it at I'm An Organizing Junkie. She hosts a menu planning party each week where you can link up your own menu plan and find inspiration from hundreds of other people who also link up their plans. This week's plans are here.

Here's what we will be eating this week:

Monday

Pesto Chicken Bake, Pasta, Corn

Tuesday

Pizza Party for Youngest and Friends

Wednesday

Broccoli Chicken Casserole, Rolls

Thursday

Pork Chow Mein, Fried Rice

Friday

Southwest Chicken Pie

Saturday

Steak, Baked Potatoes, Salad

Sunday

Teriyaki Meatballs over rice, Mixed Veggies
Using meatballs from our freezer

I will bake extra chicken Monday to use in Wednesday and Friday's meals. Several of these recipes are new to us and I will post how they work out. I'm always on the lookout for new recipes that will freeze well - hopefully some of these will make the cut. ;)

What's on your plan this week?

Last week's menu - In Review and Mexican Penne Recipe

2010-08-23T11:43:00.000-07:00

I plan to start reviewing our weekly menus so I can refer back later and recall what worked and what didn't.

To refresh our memories, here's what we ate last week:

Monday – Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
Tuesday – Spaghetti, Salad, Garlic Bread
Wednesday – Rotisserie Chicken, Corn on the Cob, Ranch Beans
Thursday - Chicken w/Salsa, Broccoli, Pasta Roni
Friday – Mexican Penne, Salad, Rolls
Saturday – Big Salad w/chicken, cucumbers, tomato, etc.
Sunday – Eat Out or Leftovers

The first half of the week went as planned. But I returned to work this week. And I was tired this week. :) Really tired. Having meals ready to go was a lifesaver!

Thursday was our youngest's birthday, so we took him out to Olive Garden to eat instead of eating at home. So that chicken stayed in the freezer for another day.

And Friday, I forgot to take the Penne from the freezer. Without knowing this, hubby went to the store and bought a roast and cooked it in the crockpot. So that worked out perfectly!

And Saturday, some friends invited us out to dinner. We couldn't refuse, could we?

I need to admit something here...when I plan a day like Sunday - eating leftovers - I should know better. With two grown sons in the house, there are rarely leftovers around by Sunday. Unless I make something they don't like.

I'm happy with the week and since I've already featured the Rotisserie Chicken Recipe here I will leave you with the recipe for Mexican Penne which I originally found at Food.com. My boys love this for dinner! I love it because it is easy and freezes well!

Mexican Penne

1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. box Penne pasta, cooked as directed
2 16oz. jars salsa (I prefer a chunky salsa)
1 15oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups Mexican cheese (or whatever you have on hand)

1. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box.

2. Cook the ground beef, drain.

3. In large bowl, combine the beef, salsa, and black beans. Mix well.

4. Add the pasta and half the cheese and mix.

5. Place in baking dish and top with remaining cheese.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Freezer directions:

Slightly undercook the pasta so it is still a little bit firm. Follow the above directions thru #4, without adding the cheese. Place in freezable dish or ziplock bag and freeze.

When ready to eat, thaw. Place half of the mixture in a baking dish, top with 1/2 cheese and repeat.

Bake as directed.

Scripture Memorization

2010-08-22T14:36:00.000-07:00

I have a hard time memorizing bible verses. I want to know the Bible. It is God's commandment that we know the Bible. But keeping it real, it's not possible to memorize all of the Bible...it's just too big. And memorization is hard.

However, there are many verses that I desire to know...to be able to pull them out of my brain when I need them. But let's face it...my brain isn't what it used to be. I just might be getting old. **shudder**

I posted about a memorization system here that I thought would really work. And it did. For about three weeks. Then I stopped doing it.

The hardest part for me is memorizing the reference as well as the verse. What I mean is, I can memorize the verse, but can't always remember where it is in the Bible.

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Psalm 119:11

I had to look up where that verse was. Now, I knew it was in the 119th Psalm, but I couldn't recall if it was verse 10 or 11. And that's an easier one to remember.

The other thing I have a problem with is context. So many times I hear verses pulled from the Bible and used out of context. I don't want to do this.

Now, why am I writing about this? For accountability.

Earlier this summer I decided that I would try to memorize certain parts of the Bible. For instance, I knew most of the 23rd Psalm, but I couldn't recite the whole Psalm without a few stumbles. I kept at it until I could state the whole Psalm without gaps....then I pictured writing it out in my mind, seeing each word. Then I mentally defined each phrase, making sure I understood it. I love that I can fall back on this Psalm when I'm troubled, when I'm frustrated, when I'm needing comfort.

And now I'm working on Romans 12. Why Romans 12? I can't really say, except that I felt pulled to that particular chapter. I wondered myself why I felt I needed to memorize this part of the Bible. The following week, I ran across a post online about Romans 12:1. Then in church, our Pastor referenced Romans 12:1 as well. Then the next week, he mentioned Romans 12:2. It was as if God was telling me that this section of the Bible was something I needed.

There is a lot to learn in this chapter. I don't mean a lot of words to memorize (although that is also true), but a lot of lessons. Each verse is powerful and by memorizing the passage in whole, I am focusing on each point over and over again and I am not just memorizing words, but I am absorbing God's Word.

Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
Romans 12:15

I have always loved this verse. Maybe it isn't a typical verse that people choose for memorization. It tells me how important it is to be with fellow Christians. In times of joy and in times of sorrow. Celebrate with them in times of happiness and cry with them in times of sadness. Simply said, be there for each other.

Okay so here's my progress. I've got verses 1-3 down. Verses 4-5 come and go. I've got verses 6-9 down. Verses 10-15 are almost solid. 16-20 are still to be learned. And verse 21 I've known for awhile:

Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:21

Romans 12
1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

3For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

4For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

5So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

6Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

7Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;

8Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

9Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

10Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

11Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

12Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

13Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

14Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

15Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

16Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

17Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

18If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

19Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

20Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

21Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

A side note. My son goes to a Christian school. His freshman year of high school, he had a Bible Quizzing Class. He had to memorize 8-10 verses every week. As I struggle with memorizing, I am amazed at how much those kids learned. Two weeks ago he went to a summer camp and they had a week-long contest on memorizing verses. He took 1st place for reciting 88 verses. He would have done more, but couldn't find a counselor at the end to do the last 12 verses. He knew them because of the Bible Quizzing Class. But the fact I love is that he retained the verses a year and a half later...and so can I.

Making Strawberry Jam for the Freezer

2010-08-21T17:54:00.000-07:00

One of the things I wanted to do this summer was making freezer jam. Have you ever tried this?

I have never canned. I would like to learn how, but just the idea of buying all the equipment sounds daunting.

So, when I heard about freezer jam, I thought it would be a nice alternative to canning.

This was so EASY!

I bought the pectin at my grocery store. My store only stocks Sure Jell, but there are other types out there. And I picked up strawberries when they were on sale 'buy one get one free'.

To make the jam, I just followed the instructions that came with the Sure Jell. I used my food processor to puree the strawberries and left them just a bit chunky so the jam would be hearty.

You will need 2 cups of strawberry puree. Add to the strawberries 4 cups of sugar. This amount of sugar seems like a lot, but I went ahead with it as all I had read online stressed to follow the instructions exactly. I didn't want to ruin it by changing the recipe.

While the strawberries and sugar are melding (like that word?), boil some water and the pectin in a small saucepan. I don't recall how much water, but the instructions tell you. Once the strawberry/sugar mix has sat for the required time (I think 4 minutes, but again, read the instructions), you just mix the pectin/water mix in and gently stir.

I used the small screw-top ziplock containers and the recipe filled three of these. Let them sit at room temperature for 24 hours to complete the jelling process and then pop into the freezer. I kept one in the fridge to use now.

Review: I was a bit surprised when my son commented on how sweet the jam was. I didn't think anything would seem too sweet to a kid, but there you have it. I am curious to see if the ones in the freezer taste as sweet. If so, next time I will buy the pectin that is for sugar free or less sugar recipes. In fact, I think I will try this either way as less sugar is a good thing.

Cost Analysis: It wasn't too expensive to make this. You would definitely want to make jam when the desired fruit is in season to get the best price on it. I've never paid attention to the pectin, but I'm sure it goes on sale from time to time and I will be watching for a sale/coupon match-up in the future to stock up for next year.

Overall, I consider this a success. I like knowing what ingredients go into the food I serve my family and I had fun making this. It was super fast and I just feel good knowing that I made it.

I will definitely do this again!

My Freezer Cooking Menu Plan - September thru December

2010-08-17T19:31:00.000-07:00

I have been posting about my freezer cooking the last few weeks here and here. And I promised to post links to the recipes. So here you have it! I am linking to the original recipes and have changed some a bit, so each week I will try to update the recipes with my changes as well as posting any recipes that don't have links.

Let me ask you...does this look like a great, awesome, wonderful idea? It was hard while doing it, but my friend, these meals are done! I won't have to think, shop, chop, prep, or cook for five days each week! Well, yes, I will have to cook, but it will be easy cooking. Like popping something in the crockpot or oven.

So here's the plan...and yes, it will change, as life always throws unexpected curves our way. But that's okay too, as these meals will keep as long as I want them too.

08/30 – Asian Pork Roast
08/31 – Enchilada Casserole
09/01 – Meatball Sandwiches
09/02 – Dump Italian Chicken
09/03 –
09/04 –
09/05 – Chicken Enchiladas

09/06 – Garlic Dijon Chicken
09/07 – Meatloaf
09/08 – Black Bean Salsa Chicken
09/09 – Stuffed Shells
09/10 –
09/11 –
09/12 – Stuffed Buffalo Chicken

09/13 – Korean Tri Tip
09/14 – Pork Chops w/French Fried Onions
09/15 – Chicken w/Salsa
09/16 – CP Roast
09/17 –
09/18 –
09/19 – Rotisserie Chicken

09/20 – Mexican Penne
09/21 – Chicken Spaghetti
09/22 – Sue Sue’s Casserole
09/23 – Lasagna Roll-ups
09/24 –
09/25 –
09/26 – BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

09/27 – Oriental Pork Chops
09/28 – Parmesan Chicken
09/29 – Swedish Meatballs
09/30 – Chicken Tortilla Casserole
10/01 –
10/02 –
10/03 – Ranch Chicken

10/04 – Chicken & Beef Fajitas
10/05 – Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti
10/06 – Mini Meatloaves
10/07 – Chicken ‘n Rice Casserole
10/08 –
10/09 –
10/10 – Poppyseed Chicken

10/11 – CP Chicken ‘n Stuffing
10/12 – Buffalo Shrimp
10/13 – Chicken Ziti
10/14 – Turkey Burgers
10/15 –
10/16 –
10/17 – Steak

10/18 – Spaghetti
10/19 – Honey & Soy Chicken
10/20 – CP Chili
10/21 – Hamburgers
10/22 –
10/23 –
10/24 – CP Greek Ribs

10/25 – Asian Pork Roast
10/26 – Enchilada Casserole
10/27 – Teriyaki Meatballs
10/28 – Lemon Garlic Chicken
10/29 –
10/30 –
10/31 – Chicken Enchiladas

11/01 – Rotisserie Chicken
11/02 – Meatloaf
11/03 – Black Bean Salsa Chicken
11/04 – Stuffed Shells
11/05 –
11/06 –
11/07 – Stuffed Buffalo Chicken

11/08 – Korean Tri Tip
11/09 – Pork Chops w/French Fried Onions
11/10 – Chicken w/Salsa
11/11 – CP Roast
11/12 –
11/13 –
11/14 – BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

11/15 – Mexican Penne
11/16 – Chicken Spaghetti
11/17 – Sue Sue’s Casserole
11/18 – Lasagna Roll-ups
11/19 –
11/20 –
11/21 – Chicken Tortilla Casserole

11/22 – Oriental Pork Chops
11/23 – Parmesan Chicken
11/24 – Meatball Sandwiches
11/25 – Thanksgiving
11/26 – Leftovers
11/27 –
11/28 – Ranch Chicken

11/29 – Chicken & Beef Fajitas
11/30 – Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti
12/01 – Mini Meatloaves
12/02 – Chicken ‘n Rice Casserole
12/03 –
12/04 –
12/05 – CP Greek Ribs

12/06 – CP Chicken ‘n Stuffing
12/07 – Buffalo Shrimp
12/08 – Chicken Ziti
12/09 – Turkey Burgers
12/10 –
12/11 –
12/12 – Poppyseed Chicken

12/13 – Lemon Garlic Chicken
12/14 – CP Chili
12/15 – Rotisserie Chicken
12/16 – Hamburgers
12/17 –
12/18 –
12/19 – Honey & Soy Chicken

12/20 – Meatloaf
12/21 – Garlic Dijon Chicken
12/22 –
12/23 –
12/24 – Traditional Prime Rib Dinner
12/25 – Christmas
12/26 –

Rotisserie Chicken

2010-08-17T16:50:00.000-07:00

I know I've mentioned this recipe several times in the past, but I wanted to write a post about how I like to prepare this chicken. I originally found this recipe here at food.com (what used to be recipezaar.com).

Lots of people think it is silly to make a rotisserie style chicken when you can easily buy a precooked chicken at most grocery stores for about $5. This is true, but when whole chickens are on sale, you can get a much larger chicken than the precooked ones for the same $5. That means lots more meat and we usually can get two meals from one chicken.

Another plus of this recipe is that it freezes well. I like to pick up several chickens (when on sale, of course) and prep them all at once. It just makes it easier to make several when you've got all the spices out. I've even made up little bags of the seasoning using snack bags to have on hand.

And another reason I like to make these myself is that my husband is on a healthy food kick and he prefers chicken without the skin. So I skin the chickens before seasoning and freezing and they still come out great. (And I've been known to plop a frozen chicken in the crockpot and have never had any problems....just don't tell the food police that 'cus cooking from frozen is a no-no.)

Here's the recipe:

Rotisserie Chicken

3+ lbs roasting chicken
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic salt

Skin the chicken (I use my kitchen shears and this makes it pretty easy to do). Remove the guts and any visible fat.

Mix up the seasoning in a small bowl.

Place chicken in a ziplock bag. (If not eating right away - otherwise skip this part.)

Then sprinkle spice mix on the chicken, making sure to cover all sides. It's less messy this way than seasoning it before putting it into the bag. Seal bag.

Freeze.

Thaw out overnight in fridge and cook in crockpot on low. I've cooked these as long as 12 hours and they still taste great. The longer you cook it, the more the chicken will fall apart.

I like to have a few of these on hand for those times you want to take a meal to a friend. I have an extra crockpot that I put it in and don't have to worry about how long it takes to get it back.

So there you have it: an easy rotisserie chicken recipe that really is better than buying store bought.

My Menu Plan for the week of 8/16/10

2010-08-15T14:28:00.000-07:00

I have discovered that menu planning makes my week flow so much smoother. I've been a bit lax this summer and haven't made up weekly menu plans regularly and I have seen the ugly results ... we've resorted to eating out way too often, which messes with our (hubby's) budget. And our meals made at home have been haphazard and thrown together at the last minute.

So when I realized that I have to work next week, I figured a menu plan was in order. I've spent the last few weeks cooking ahead for when I officially go back to work in September and I ended up with a few extra meals so I am going to use them this coming up week to make my transition back to work a bit easier.

Here's what we will be eating:

Monday
Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

Tuesday
Spaghetti, Salad, Garlic Bread
(Using pre-cooked ground beef in the freezer)

Wednesday
Rotisserie Chicken, Corn on the Cob, Ranch Beans

Thursday
Chicken w/Salsa and Cheese, Pasta w/Garlic Sauce, Broccoli
(Such an easy way to make chicken, top chicken breasts with 2 tablespoons of salsa and a sprinkling of cheese and bake - Yum!)

Friday
Mexican Penne, Salad, Rolls

Saturday
I'm thinking a big salad w/tomatoes, cucumbers, and leftover chicken from Wednesday

Sunday
We will either eat out or have leftovers

All of the main dishes are already prepped and in my freezer as I write this, which is a real relief knowing how easy my meals will be to prepare. And my grocery bill for this week will be really small as I only have to buy the veggies and a few other things like milk and fruit.

I will be linking this to Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday. Check out her post to find tons of great menu ideas from all the different people who link to her blog.

Freezer Cooking Continued

2010-08-11T13:41:00.000-07:00

Okay, I will start this post by saying that I should be cooking. Right. Now.

Instead I'm laying in bed messing on my laptop.

And it is 1:30 pm. Ugh.

Anyway, I've been continuing working on my new 4-month freezer cooking plan. I wrote about the chicken part here. I did pick up the rest of the chicken breasts I needed and finished that part.

I think Safeway got the 'memo' that I was gonna be cooking 'cause they are nicely accomodating me by putting the meats I need on sale for me. :)

This weekend, they had ground beef on sale for $1.69/lb. It was the 80/20, which is higher in fat content than I like to buy, but hey, $1.69/lb. Need I say more?

So I picked up 25 lbs. of ground beef. I used 12 lbs. and made up a big huge - really big - bowl of meatloaf mix. I then packaged up three bags of mini meatloaves and four larger meatloaves. I wasn't really meaning to make up so much meatloaf....it just kinda' expanded on me.

I've also made two meals of Enchilada Casserole and two meals of hamburgers. I found this cute tupperware patty maker that I bought way back when people used to actually have tupperware parties. Do they have those anymore? I haven't been invited to one in years. Come to think of it, I haven't been invited to any home parties in a long, long time. Hmmm....maybe it is something personal?

So...what I should be doing right now is the following:

Two of each:

Mexican Penne
Lasagna Roll-ups
Sue Sue's Casserole
Crockpot Chili

Then I'll have to head back to the store for more meat. Hubby is beginning to grumble. Yes, it does add up cooking like this.

But it saves us way more than it costs. Last time I was able to cut our grocery bill down to $60 a week. That was with four freezer meals a week. Now I'm cooking for five meals a week and expect our bill to drop even more. Not too shabby.

I am going to post my menu plan calendar next with links to all of these great recipes in case any one else wants to jump on the crazy cooking train!

Edited to add:

Okay, I pried myself out of my bed and did do some cooking. I made up the Chili and ended up with four freezer bags worth. I usually double the recipe for one meal as my family tends to eat a lot of this, but a double recipe wouldn't fit in one freezer bag. I'll have to make a note to myself to pull out two at a time if everyone is gonna be home.

I also made up the Sue Sue's Casserole (this is the only dish my kids will eat that has peas and mushrooms in it). This too makes a lot, so I reserved some for tonight's dinner.

And, I cooked up the beef for the lasagna roll-ups.

Then, I found another five pounds of hamburger in the fridge. I guess I bought more than I thought. I'll have to figure out what to do with it tomorrow.

Freezer Cooking - A new plan

2010-08-06T16:30:00.000-07:00

In January, I took on a somewhat crazy project of planning/cooking/prepping our weekday meals for the four month period of February – May.

I wasn’t sure if I was going slightly crazy as I purchased all of the food needed. Yikes. But over several days, I surged forward and filled my brand new freezer with approximately 70 meals. I planned out a calendar with meals for every Monday – Thursday (my work days) and each weekend I pulled out that week’s dinners.

I have to say it was a huge success! There were days when I was so tired and had no desire to cook dinner. How wonderful it was to know that dinner was either ready to pop into the oven or already in my crockpot.

That being said, I have decided to do it again! I work for a small community college, so my busy work times are during the Fall and Spring semesters. September will begin the Fall 2010 semester and I want to be prepared for it so I have been planning and cooking.

I am about half way through and I believe that the hardest part is done. Here’s my progress so far:

Safeway had whole chickens on sale last week for .79/lb. This is about the lowest they go, so I picked up five of those babies. One was for Sunday’s dinner, so I threw it into the crockpot with some random seasonings. The other four were to be cooked up for shredded chicken for various meals. Sunday night I threw all four into my nesco roaster (I don’t use my roaster very often, but I sure am glad I have it for projects like this one). I slow cooked them all night and Monday morning I separated the cooked chicken from the broth and threw it all in the fridge. And I proceeded to ignore it all day. :)

Instead I went to Safeway Monday and bought four more chickens. My husband began to wonder if the eggs were hatching in the fridge.

Tuesday, I pulled out the cooked chicken and spent a few hours separating meat from bone, skin, and all the other gross stuff one gets from a whole cooked chicken. This was/is my least favorite part of freezer cooking, but once it was done, I had about 24 cups of cooked chicken! All ready to assemble for the freezer.

Then I took the other four whole chickens, skinned them and rubbed them down with the spice mix I use for Easy Crockpot Rotisserie Chicken. They went straight to the freezer. I’ve found this chicken is great for those times you want to take a meal to a family…I plop one in my crockpot and deliver it, crockpot and all, to the family and they have a nice cooked chicken ready to eat in a few hours. I’ve been known to throw the chicken into the crockpot frozen and it still comes out wonderful.

With the shredded chicken meat, I assembled the following meals over the next few days (two of each):

Chicken Enchiladas
Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti
Poppyseed Chicken
Chicken Ziti
Chicken Spaghetti
Chicken Tortilla Casserole

Oops, I forgot to mention that Saturday I also made up a ton of meatballs. I ended up with six meals worth of meatballs. We will use them for Meatball Sandwiches, Swedish Meatballs, and maybe pasta w/meatballs.

Back to the store I went on Wednesday, ‘cos they now have boneless/skinless chicken breasts on sale for 1.88/lb. I absolutely love that the sales are matching up with my cooking plan! I bought a ton of these and have put up the following:

Ranch Chicken
Italian Chicken
Stuffed Buffalo Chicken
Garlic Dijon Chicken
Honey & Soy Chicken
Lemon Garlic Chicken
Chicken w/Salsa
Parmesan Chicken
BBQ Chicken

I ran out of chicken so I need to run back and pick up four more packages to finish up the following:

Chicken & Beef Fajitas
Crockpot Chicken ‘n Stuffing
Rice & Chicken Bake

And that will finish up the Chicken part of my meal plans….next I’ll move on to the pork and beef. Looking at what I have left, the chicken was definitely the hardest part, so I should finish up next week and will have meals ready to get us through ‘til Christmas time! Wow, I am so excited to be getting this done!

Why I Menu Plan

2010-08-04T11:37:00.000-07:00

I started making a weekly Menu Plan last summer. In fact, it was last August, so I have been making weekly menu plans for almost a year now. I find there are multiple benefits to this!

- It saves us money!

I find that making a weekly menu plan saves us money! By making a plan for each week of what we are going to eat, I find we eat out less often. Those last minute decisions to grab take-out or fastfood still occur, just not as frequently. That's a big savings.

I also find that if I do my weekly shopping with a complete list of what I need, it cuts down on those smaller grocery store runs to pick up one or two things. Lets be truthful, it's nearly impossible to run into the grocery store for one or two things and not grab about five or six more needed items. Not to mention the wasted time and money on gas.

And if I'm really on top of things, I can plan our menus around the grocery store sales for the week, saving even more.

- It saves me mental anguish!

How many times do you stare into the refrigerator before dinner and feel like you are being given a complex puzzle to put together? Just how can you combine those meager ingredients together and create something great for dinner?

Maybe it is just me, but my creative juices don't kick in when I'm pressured to figure out what to cook for dinner. Spaghetti makes its appearance way too often here!

If I've got a plan, I don't have to think. I pull out what I need (which I have 'cos I shopped from my menu plan list) and dinner is on its way!

- We get to try new recipes!

Because I'm better prepared, I usually can try out a new recipe each week. Not only have we found some new family favorites, we have more variety each week.

So how do I do it?

There are lots of menu plan helpers available on the internet. Lots of different ways to organize your weekly menus. Ideas on how to plan each week.

Some people plan on having a certain type of meal for each day of the week. Like this:

Monday - Mexican
Tuesday - Italian
Wednesday - Something new
Thursday - Breakfast for dinner
Friday - Family favorites
Saturday - Eat Out
Sunday - Leftovers

Others prefer to stick to a certain main ingredient for each day of the week:

Monday - Chicken
Tuesday - Beef
Wednesday - Vegetarian
Thursday - Breakfast
Friday - Seafood
Saturday - Pork
Sunday - Leftovers

You get the idea.

I don't do either of these, but I do keep them in mind. I try not to plan on chicken two nights in a row (yes, it does happen) or three different Mexican flavored dishes in a week (I love mexican so this is sometimes a challenge).

I do try to plan at least one new recipe to try each week. To make this easy, I keep a word document on my desktop titled 'Menu Plan Ideas'. As I'm browsing around during the week, if I come across a recipe I'd like to try, I copy and paste the URL to this document so I can find it easily when I do my weekly plan.

When I am ready to plan my week, I open a blank document and title it 'Menu Plan 080110'. I then type out my Monday - Sunday and any special plans we have for the week. Wednesdays and Sundays are always busier nights for us due to church, so I plan easy meals for those days. Usually something in the crockpot. Then I check out my new recipe ideas and put in any I want to try for that week. I next check last weeks menu plan and reschedule any meals that never made it to the table. At this point, I'm almost done, but the hard part begins 'cus I have to fill in the rest of the blanks and my mind conveniently goes blank. So I open the folder with all of my saved menu plans and start browsing thru them, picking out meals that we haven't had in a while.

I usually type up my grocery list right on the same document so I know what I need for each meal.

So there you have - the why and the how! And believe me, it gets way easier the more you do it!

Dry Beans in the Crockpot

2010-07-28T10:58:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to try cooking beans from their dry state for a long time.

This obviously isn't something new to most people, but it was uncharted territory for me. I wasn't much of a bean eater as a child and my mother never cooked beans from dry. But the past few years, I have discovered there are lots of different types of beans available and they can be quite tasty. Well, not real tasty by themselves, but I use them in lots of different dishes now.

I have one chili recipe that I double when I make it and it seems like I'm using 246 cans of beans in that one recipe!! If you don't have a stockpile of canned beans that you got for really, really cheap - this can get to be quite expensive.

Therefore, this summer was my summer to try cooking beans from scratch. I had heard of people cooking beans in their crockpot, and since I LOVE using my crockpots, I knew this was the way to go. Can I just say: Too. Easy.

Here's how I did it:

Buy the bag of dry beans that looks like a bag of little dry rocks.

Open bag and sort through the beans, discarding any broken or shriveled beans. Also discard any other bits of real rock, etc.

Rinse well and put in crock pot.

Fill with water to cover beans by approximately two inches.

Put in refrigerator overnight. (Some say you can leave it out if it is not too hot, but I didn't want to take a chance.

The next morning, take out beans from fridge and drain and rinse. They will be almost twice their original size.

Fill again with two inches of water.

Cook on low until beans are fork tender. (Be careful not to overcook unless you plan on mashing them.)

Once cooked, I divided them up into freezer baggies and froze them flat. I put about 1 3/4 cups in each bag to be equivalent to one can of beans.

Easy peasy!

I have so far cooked up black beans, white beans, and pinto beans. Lima beans will not cross my threshold. I started with the small bags in the store, but next time I will buy the larger bags for greater savings.

Making beans this way is not only cheaper, it makes me feel like I am giving my family a fresher product.

Here's where you tell me that this is old news and that EVERYONE knows how to cook beans in their crockpot! Oh well, everyone but me, but now I know how too!

5.47 lbs. of Ground Beef

2010-05-03T18:57:00.001-07:00

Why is it that the grocery store's idea of a max-pack of hamburger equals 5.47 lbs? I mean, really, who has a use for that amount? 6 lbs maybe, 4 lbs sure (at least these sizes would be easy to divvy up). But 5.47 lbs??? I think they do it purposely so that we use more per meal.

What I do is buy 2 packs. Smart huh? Don't you have recipes that call for 11 lbs of raw meat?

So, what do I do with 11 lbs of meat? (I know you're dying to find out.)

I usually cook it up and divide it up into meal sized portions. My favorite way is to boil it. I know that sounds nasty, but I have found it is the easiest way to precook large quantities of hamburger at one time. Here's how I do it:

-Pull out two stock pots (the big pots you cook soup in).
-Divide the meat as you like. I usually do about 4-5 lbs in one and the rest in the other.
-Add enough water to cover the meat by about an inch.
-Turn burner on high and bring to a boil, stirring every so often.

It doesn't take long to cook and the meat will separate as you stir. Once done, drain and return to their respective pots. The meat does separate much more than when you saute it, so be prepared for this. Some don't like this texture, but it doesn't bother my family any.

At this point, I season each pot. The smaller pot gets taco seasoning (1 packet or the equivalent per pound). I sprinkle it on dry and stir to distribute. The larger pot gets garlic and onion powder. I don't measure it, just guesstimate.

Then I bag each up into quart size freezer bags, flatten out, and freeze. I find 2 cups per bag works well for our family. You can experiment to find what fits your family size.

I use the taco seasoned meat for tacos (duh), mexican dishes, burritos, enchiladas, etc.

The garlic/onion mixture works great for spaghetti, pasta dishes, and even mexican dishes if you run out of the taco flavored mix.

If I don't need cooked ground beef or buy more than two 5.47 lb packs, I will also make up some mixes with the remaining raw meat.

I like to make up several meatloaves at a time and freeze. (I figure if I'm mixing one, I might as well mix three.) I will also put together some hamburger patties and if I'm feeling really adventurous, I might even make up some meatballs. These I will either cook and freeze or flash freeze raw and package up.

So what do you do with your 5.47 lbs of ground beef?

Menu Plan Monday 05/03/10

2010-05-03T18:30:00.000-07:00

Wow, I have been lazy lately! I plan menus each week, but the weekends seem to get away from me. So we either eat out or I throw something together quickly - instead of preparing what I had previously planned on and shopped for!

So this week's menu plan has a few dinners carried forward from last week....

Monday - CP Layered Beef ‘n Taters
I'm not sure why, but this burned on the bottom and sides of my crockpot. It was still edible, but had a bit of a charred taste. I think my new crockpot cooks much hotter than my old one.
Tuesday - Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti, Salad
I really like this casserole! I think I will add a bit more buffalo sauce before cooking this time.
Wednesday - Creamy Cheesy Chicken, Veggies, Rice or Pasta
An old standby that is super easy to throw together before work.
Thursday - Creamy Paprika Chicken, Not sure what sides yet
I didn't really care for this last time I made it, so I plan on tweaking it a bit. I have no idea how, but I'll add something to it to before or after cooking.
Friday – Spicy Chicken ‘n Rice
A holdover from last week. I really want to try this so I'm hoping Friday will be a slow day.
Saturday – Crockpot Kielbasa ‘n Dirty Rice
And another holdover from last week. This might not get made as I'm hoping to go see my mother-in-law for Mother's Day. But since I haven't confirmed with hubby, one never knows.
Sunday – Mother's Day
Can I say I'm not cooking? I don't care if we eat at Taco Bell, I'm not cooking! :)

And a recap from last week:

The Balsamic Beef didn't thrill me, but I used a larger chunk of beef than the recipe called for and probably should have adjusted the balsamic vinegar accordingly. My bad.

The Oriental Porkchops were delish! They cooked in the sauce and were so tender they fell apart (oops) but I shredded them and mixed with brown rice and poured a bit of the sauce over it and I think I found a new way to serve these!

If you need more menu ideas, be sure to check out the links at Organizing Junkie's site!

Menu Plan Monday 04/26/10

2010-04-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

This week we will be eating.....

Monday - Hamburgers, Salad
Supposed to be on last week's menu, but flexibility is our middle name! I mixed these with dry onion soup mix, put a bit of cheese in the middle and grilled them on the George Foreman. Fast, easy, and yummy. These will become part of my next freezer plan.
Tuesday - Swedish Meatballs over pasta, Salad
Cheating a bit here as I bought up a bunch of meatballs at Safeway when they had them on sale.
Wednesday - Chicken topped with Cream of Chicken Soup & Parmesan Cheese, Veggies
Thursday - Balsamic Beef ‘n Pasta, Salad
This is a new recipe and I'm hoping it is a keeper as I'm getting a bit tired of our standby crockpot roast recipe.
Friday – Spicy Chicken ‘n Rice, Veggies
Another new recipe; it sure sounds like something my family will like.
Saturday – Crockpot Kielbalsa ‘n Dirty Rice
And yet another new recipe. I love to try new recipes!
Sunday –Oriental Porkchops, Salad

If things go like most weeks, we won't get to all of these meals this week. We usually end up eating out one day a week. Eating from the freezer is great for our lifestyle as I know the food won't spoil if we don't eat it right away. I also like to swap my planned meals to different days during the week depending on our schedule.

So that's the plan...we will see how it goes!

Ultimate Beef Stroganoff

2010-04-23T13:56:00.000-07:00

I originally found this recipe at My Kitchen Cafe. The original poster changed blog locations and hasn't yet added this recipe to her new site so I will post the recipe here.

Ultimate Beef Stroganoff

2-3 pounds stew meat
1 tsp. salt
dash of pepper
1 onion, sliced
¼ tsp. garlic salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ cups beef broth or stock (made up from cubes or granules)
1 tablespoon ketchup

Put first four ingredients in crockpot.

Mix next four ingredients in small bowl. Pour over meat.

Cook in crockpot on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.

When cooked make a simple roux by whisking 1/3 cup flour with enough apple juice (about 5-6 tablespoons) to make a thick but still pourable flour mixture. Whisk the roux into the crockpot and add 4 ounces sliced mushrooms.

Cook on high for 15-30 minutes. Then stir in ½ cup sour cream. Serve over pasta, rice or baked potatoes (pasta is my favorite option!).

*Freezable Meal: The leftovers of the stroganoff can be frozen. I store the leftovers in a freezer-safe container and then thaw in the refrigerator (usually takes about a day) and reheat over medium-low heat in a saucepan on the stove.

Here's how I prepped it for the freezer:

First cube beef, then combine first four ingredients in a ziploc bag. In a second quart or sandwich size bag, combine next four ingredients. Put both bags in a large freezer bag and freeze.

When you want to cook, put beef mixture in crockpot and pour sauce over it - cook on low all day. Continue with roux once done.

Note: I've made this three times, each with variations.

The first time I didn't have apple juice, so I substituted broth. It turned out really good.

The second time, I made it exactly like the recipe. I didn't care for it as much as it was a bit sweet from the apple juice. Family didn't notice.

The third time, I simply mixed in a can of cream of mushroom soup into the crockpot and served it over noodles. Worked like a charm with no effort at all.

We are actually eating this week....

2010-04-23T13:30:00.000-07:00

...even though I didn't post a menu plan!

I tend to get busy with life. And forget that I wanted to regularly post our menu plans so that I would be able to go back and use them for those future weeks when I have no idea what to cook.

So...better late than never...here is what we had/will have this week.

Monday - Ultimate Beef Stroganoff
The link is no longer working for this recipe so I am guessing the original poster removed it for some reason. I will post the recipe right after this post. (Although I did cheat a bit when making it this week - I didn't make the roux, but instead mixed the beef with a can of cream of mushroom soup - it was still good.)
Tuesday - Mexican Penne
This recipe is one that I love. Even after freezing, my family still really likes it. I was worried that the pasta would lose it's texture after freezing, but it doesn't and I plan on putting this on my next freezer cooking plan. It's a keeper!
Wednesday - Roast
In the crockpot w/cream of mushroom soup and a packet of onion soup mix. Throw in a bunch of baby carrots and some cut-up potatoes and dinner is done.
Thursday - Sue Sue’s Casserole
This is another tried 'n true recipe that freezes well. Sue Sue's casserole is one of those meals that is perfect for giving away or for potlucks.
Friday – Hamburgers
I plan on mixing the ground beef with a packet of dried onion soup mix - maybe putting some cheese in the middle. I want to come up with something a bit different than regular hamburgers that I can add to my next freezer plan.
Saturday –Fajitas
I will be using the fajita seasoning mix I posted about here or the mix here.
Sunday – Porkchops
This is a recipe my mom used to make. And so easy. Simply put porkchops in a baking dish, cover with cream of mushroom soup and french-fried onions and bake. My family loves it and I love how easy it is to make.

That's it for this week and next week will (hopefully) be posted soon.

Menu Plan Monday 04/12/10

2010-04-12T18:33:00.000-07:00

Well, this week will be a bit different as hubby is out-of-town for a few nights.

My first thought was "I'm not cooking!" Then I mentally tallied up how much take-out or fast food would cost. It is so much cheaper to eat at home. And after I spent a whole five minutes this morning throwing a chicken and some potatoes into the crockpot, I realized that dinner doesn't have to always take a lot of time to prepare.

That being said, I retain the right to change this week's plan at a moment's notice!

Here's our tentative plan:

Monday – CP Chicken w/Red Potatoes
Tuesday - Little Caesar's or Domino's (we will probably eat leftovers instead)
Wednesday – Eat Out
Thursday - Pancakes w/Eggs or maybe something else
Friday – Korean Tri Tip
Saturday – Pork Chops, Rice
Sunday – Chicken w/Salsa & Cheese

Such an easy week! Wednesdays are always rushed, so I will stick to something simple that day. I will have to run to the grocery store to get the green chilies for Friday and the french fried onions for Saturday. And the salsa for Sunday. But that's four whole days away, so I've got plenty of time. And maybe I can convince hubby to take us out to dinner Sunday after church like I did last week!

So that's my imperfect plan...what are you eating?

Taco/Mexican Seasoning

2010-04-09T18:30:00.000-07:00

Continuing on with my make-ahead seasoning posts....

I like to keep several packets of seasoning around for quick fix meals like tacos and other mexican dishes. I also like to make up several bags of mexican meat to freeze when I can find a good sale on hamburger.

In the past I've used this recipe, but I'm not completely satisfied with it. I think the red pepper flakes make me feel like the spices aren't well mixed.

So, next time I'm needing a mexican seasoning, I plan to try the following:

All-Purpose Mexican Seasoning

2 T. chili powder
1 T. cumin
1 T. garlic powder
2 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper
1/8 t. cayenne pepper

This comes from 'FishMama' and you can view her original post here.

Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning

2010-04-07T14:35:00.000-07:00

This seasoning is one of my favorites for chicken! Whenever whole chickens go on a good sale, I buy up a few just for this. I clean the chickens and remove the skin. Then I put it in a ziploc bag, rub on a packet of this seasoning, and freeze. When I want to use it, I plop it into the crockpot and let it cook on low all day. It always comes out great. I have even put it in the crockpot frozen (even though the freezer cops warn against this) and it was still great.

I like to make up several packets of seasoning at once. This saves a ton of time. I originally found this recipe here at Recipezaar.

Rotisserie Chicken

1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic salt
3 lbs roasting chickens
1 cup chopped onion

You will love this!

Fajita Seasoning

2010-04-07T14:30:00.000-07:00

Next week I plan to try out this fajita seasoning I found at About.com. If we like it, I will make up several packets to have on hand. Fajitas are a new item for my next Freezer Cooking Plan and I want to find a good seasoning mix for them.

Fajita Seasoning

•3 Tbsp. cornstarch
•2 Tbsp. chili powder
•1 Tbsp. salt
•1 Tbsp. paprika
•1 Tbsp. sugar
•2-1/2 tsp. crushed chicken bouillon cube
•1-1/2 tsp. onion powder
•1/2 tsp. garlic powder
•1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
•1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
•1/2 tsp. cumin

This will make the equivalent of three seasoning packets.

Make Ahead Mixes

2010-04-07T14:12:00.000-07:00

I am wanting to prep some make-ahead mixes to keep on hand.

Right now, I'm just in the planning stages, but I figured this would be a great place to start cataloging the different mixes I want to prep. That way I will have them all in the same place once I'm ready to throw them together.

Having different seasonings and/or mixes ready to go takes half the work out of preparing items in the kitchen.

So far I want to prep packets of:

Rotisserie Chicken seasoning

Fajita seasoning

Taco seasoning

Prime Rib seasoning

Hidden Valley Ranch Copycat seasoning

I also would love to make up some mixes for muffins and such.

I've found that ziploc snack size bags work perfectly for the seasoning packets. I'm guessing the quart size bags would work well for larger mixes.

Menu Plan Monday 04/05/10

2010-04-05T18:31:00.000-07:00

Wow, it has been awhile since I've posted my weekly menu plan!

That doesn't mean I haven't been making weekly menu plans - in fact, I have come to rely on my weekly menu plans to get me through the week! The last few weekly menu plans have been based on my four month freezer plan that I posted about several months ago. Let me say this - having my weekday meals ready to go with little to no effort has been a lifesaver! Some nights I'm so tired and I know that I have would resorted to fast food or pizza many times rather than prepare dinner at home.

This week, since I'm home for the week, I will be cooking. The original meals that sit in my freezer will fit nicely into Sunday slots as those days are usually busy and I like to have something easy for those days also.

Here's what we will be eating this week:

Monday – Enchilada Casserole (left over from last week)
Tuesday - Chicken Spaghetti, Roasted Cauliflower
Wednesday - Taco Pasta, Green Chili Rice
Thursday - Wonton Manicotti, salad
Friday – Potato Soup
Saturday – Chicken Bacon Lo Mein
Sunday - Crockpot chicken

The wonton manicotti is a recipe I made up from some ideas I got online and if it turns out I will post the recipe here. The crockpot chicken will be a whole chicken that is in my freezer right now. I will throw it into the crockpot with some spices and let it cook away.

That's it for this week - what are you eating?

For more menu ideas, check out Orgjunkies site with links to hundreds of ideas.

Menu Plan Monday 02/15/10

2010-02-15T16:32:00.000-08:00

Another Monday...another menu plan!

This week's menu looks like:

Monday - Teriyaki Chicken (from freezer - chicken marinated in teriyaki sauce), Ranch Beans, Salad

Tuesday - Pork Chops - Pork chops smothered with cream of mushroom soup and french fried onions, Rice, Green Beans

Wednesday - Korean Tri Tip (from freezer to crockpot), Noodles, Broccoli

Thursday - Chicken w/Salsa & Cheese - super easy - top chicken breasts w/a few tablespoons of salsa and a bit of cheese and bake, Corn Medley, Rolls

Friday – BB game – eat out

Saturday – Chicken Enchiladas, Spanish Rice, Refried Beans

Sunday – Chili w/bread bowls or French bread (I will double this so we have some leftovers - hopefully)

A pretty simple week!

Menu Plan Monday 02/08/10

2010-02-09T18:59:00.000-08:00

Our menu plan for this week:

Monday – Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, veggies (I threw this in the crockpot yesterday morning before work - it was okay, but is better oven-baked.)
Tuesday – Mexican Stuffed Shells, Spanish rice, salad
Wednesday - Black Bean Salsa Chicken, salad
Thursday – Polish Sausage Sandwiches
Friday – Basketballgame – eat out
Saturday – Almost a Meal Casserole - This recipe seems to keep getting passed over...hopefully I'll get to it this week.
Sunday – Rotisserie Chicken, roasted asparagus, rolls

I mixed things up a bit from my original plan for this week due to some travel plans. The boys will be on their own Thursday night and I have some Polish Sausages that need to be used up, so sandwiches will work fine for that night.

Last weeks CP Teriyaki Chicken was a bit of a disappointment. I think it cooked too long. I might try it again on a day when I can shorten the cooking time. The Broccoli 'n Beef was quite good and was pretty easy to make.

Reviewing last week's menu plan

2010-02-06T15:11:00.000-08:00

I am thrilled with how the first week of my 4-month freezer plan turned out!

Dinner time was stress-free and it was nice to have well-thought-out meals that took little or no time to prep! Don't you just love it when a plan works like you want?

We did change up Friday night's meal plan as our son had his first basketball game and since they won, the team and parents went to pizza. So Almost-a-Meal Casserole has been shifted to next week's menu plan. I've also decided to leave Fridays off during basketball season as we are at the gym until late. We'll have to sacrifice by having pizza or fast food....it'll be hard but I'm sure we will survive. :)

I'll be posting next week's menu plan shortly!

Blog Appearance

2010-02-01T20:04:00.000-08:00

Just so everyone knows....I do know my blog looks funky!

The header is off center and the background is not tiling seamlessly.

I was trying to fix it, but then decided to (maybe) go a new route and go with wordpress. But I know nothing about wordpress...so that may or may not happen.

I'm frustrated that I cannot find the fix to this easily, so if someone happens to stumble across my blog and knows how to fix this, would you have compassion on this newcomer to blogging and pass along the info?

Recipe Review - Crockpot Potato Soup

2010-02-01T19:48:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago, I tried a new recipe for the CrockPot. I had a craving for something warm as it had been raining for 2,387 days straight and Crockpot Potato Soup seemed like the perfect thing to fight the chilly weather.

I found the orginal recipe on a blog I follow named Saving and Giving.

Let me say that I could not stop eating this soup! I absolutely loved it and want to make it again real soon...like tomorrow! My family didn't rave about it as much as I did, mostly because my son thought it would be potato 'n cheese soup....no cheese in this soup. My husband is always concerned about calories, so he was trying to figure out just what was in it before giving an opinion. And maybe they figured I was raving enough for everyone as I did comment on how much I liked it once. Or twice. Or maybe a few more times than that.

So here's how I made it (I usually change a recipe a bit for some reason)

Crock Pot Potato Soup

6 cups water
1 cups diced ham
5 cups potatoes - diced - We leave the skins on.
8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
A handful of minced onion - I didn't measure it.
1 tsp. garlic
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup celery, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp. dill**
2 tsp. chicken bouillon**

**here's my biggest change. I used 1/2 tablespoon of dill and 2 tablespoons of chicken bouillon. Not because I like dill so much but because I wasn't paying attention and grabbed the wrong measuring spoon....oops!

I cooked it all day and when dinner time was approaching; after looking in the crockpot, I was frantically thinking of an alternative for dinner as it didn't look like it was going to turn out. The cream cheese was clumped up at the top of the 'soup' and it looked downright watery.

So I pulled out a box of instant mashed potatoes and started adding a few spoonfuls at a time. This thickened up the soup nicely and soon we had the most wonderful soup in the world!

So try it....you'll not be disappointed!

Menu Plan Monday 02/01/10

2010-02-01T19:13:00.000-08:00

Wow, the week is finally here where I get to start reaping the benefits of my Freezer Cooking Adventure!

The first four nights are pre-planned and are prepped and ready to go. How cool is that?

Here's what we will be eating this week:

Monday - Asian Pork Tenderloin (CP) We had this for dinner tonight with rice and broccoli. It was still partially frozen this morning, but I popped it into the crockpot and let it cook all day...wonderful!

Tuesday - Enchilada Casserole - The meat mixture is already prepped and I'll just have to layer it in a casserole dish and pop it into the oven! So easy! I'll serve it with a salad and maybe some beans.

Wednesday - Meatball Sandwiches - Will be made from frozen meatballs, topped with cheese and marinara sauce. An easy dinner as we have Awana's on Wednesday nights and very little time to think about dinner.

Thursday - Italian Chicken - This is a 'dump recipe', just dump chicken breasts and Italian dressing in freezer bag and freeze; the chicken will marinate as it thaws. I just realized I planned on making roasted asparagus to go with this and didn't buy any asparagus at the grocery store!! I think I'll wait and see if it will be going on sale Wednesday...and either way pick it up on my way home Thursday. Let's just hope I don't forget!

Friday - Almost A Meal Casserole - This is a new recipe for our family. I am planning on making it up earlier in the day Friday and was planning on serving it with Corn on the Cob. But in trying to find the link (which I still cannot find) I realized that it has corn in the casserole, so I will have to figure out a different side to go with it. Sides are always difficult for me. If I cannot find the link, I will try to post the recipe later this week.

Saturday - Beef 'n Broccoli - I will serve this over brown rice.

Sunday - CP Teriyaki Chicken - I'll serve this with noodles and veggies. Sunday is another busy day so I love using my crockpot and not worrying about dinner.

I never did get around to posting last week's menu, but it was pretty basic. I did try my hand at making stromboli and was happy with how it turned out. I will make it again. I used the Pillsbury refrigerated pizza dough and filled it with pizza sauce, salami, pepperoni, sliced mushrooms and lots of mozzarella cheese. Next time, I'll make two!

Coming up next is a review of the Potato Soup I made the week before. I still can taste it!

Menu Plan Monday 01/18/10

2010-01-19T19:18:00.000-08:00

I'm late with this post as I just couldn't seem to plan our menu this week! Last night I was opting for eating out and hubby said he'd pick up something at the store. He suggested spaghetti and I said ok...I already had everything we needed and the ground beef was precooked, so it was an easy fix.

So here is our week's worth of meals:

Monday - Spaghetti, Salad, Rolls
Tuesday – Chicken Enchiladas, Refried Beans, Salad
Wednesday – Eating out for son's birthday!!
Thursday – Turkey Burgers
Friday – Potato Soup
Saturday – Buffalo Chicken Strips
Sunday – Hamburger Helper (I found 2 boxes when cleaning out the pantry - I have no idea when or why I bought them, but we will eat them.)

It was really hard planning our menu this week. I think it was from cooking so much the last few weeks - I completely lost my menu planning creativity!

Freezer Cooking ~ Finally finished!

2010-01-16T13:30:00.000-08:00

I took on a project the last few weeks that had me questioning my sanity!

I decided to prep/cook dinners for my work days for the upcoming semester. I work Monday - Thursday, so we are talking approximately 64 meals!!

I started by downloading a calendar of the months February - May and then penciled in dinner ideas for each day. After completing two months worth, I then repeated them for the second two months. I tried to use meals that could be cooked ahead and frozen, partially prepped and frozen, or quick and easy to prepare meals.

Next I started buying the items I would need. I was fortunate that the grocery stores were nice enough to put the meats on sale for me :). I had been saving up for this, but it was a stretch on my grocery budget to buy meat for that many meals.

Then I started prepping/cooking. I spread it out over a few days and it went pretty smoothly. I finished a few days ago and my freezer it packed!

Here's my plan I used:

2/01 Asian Pork Tenderloin (CP)
2/02 Enchilada Casserole - I prepped the meat mixture and bagged up all the necessary items in large freezer bags and will assemble prior to cooking.
2/03 Meatball Sandwiches - Will be made from frozen meatballs, topped with cheese and marinara sauce.
2/04 Italian Chicken - This is a 'dump recipe', just dump chicken breasts and Italian dressing in freezer bag and freeze; the chicken will marinate as it thaws.

2/08 Rotisserie Chicken (CP) I've made this several times and it is yummy!
2/09 Meatloaf
2/10 Black Bean Salsa Chicken (CP)
2/11 Mexican Stuffed Shells

2/15 Korean Tri Tip (CP) I have tried this recipe with ribs, roast, and tri-tip. Will add chilies the day of.
2/16 Pork Chops - An old favorite, bake pork chops w/cream of mushroom soup and french fried onions. Easy but tasty.
2/17 Teriyaki Chicken - Another 'dump' recipe; chicken breasts frozen in teriyaki sauce.
2/18 Chicken w/Salsa & Cheese - Another quick 'n easy recipe, top chicken with a few tablespoons of salsa, sprinkle w/shredded cheese and bake.

2/22 Roast (CP) Top w/cream of mushroom soup and dried onion soup, add two cans of white potatoes and a bag of baby carrots and cook on low all day.
2/23 Mexican Penne
2/24 Ultimate Beef Stroganoff (CP)
2/25 Sue Sue’s Casserole (I'm always surprised by how good this tastes as the ingredients just don't seem appealing to me.)
3/01 Oriental Porkchops
3/02 Chicken Breasts topped with cream of chicken soup & cheese
3/03 Swedish Meatballs over pasta - I adapted this from the recipe found here.
3/04 Chicken Enchilada Casserole - I prepared the meat mixture and will layer the day of.

3/08 Creamy Cheesy Chicken ( CP) This I will just throw together in the morning.
3/09 Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti - I broke one of my cooking 'rules' with this recipe as I have learned from experience never to make ahead meals that I haven't tried first - but I did taste it before freezing and wanted to devour it right there and then!
3/10 CrockPot Layered Beef ‘n Taters (CP) I prepped the meat mixture and will finish in the morning.
3/11 Creamy Paprika Chicken (CP)

3/15 Crockpot Chicken ‘n Stuffing (CP)
3/16 Slow Cooker Italian Chicken (CP)
3/17 Greek Turkey Burgers - Frozen uncooked.
3/18 Chicken Ziti

3/22 Buffalo Shrimp
3/23 Boboli Pizza **
3/24 Polish Sausage Sandwiches **
3/25 Spaghetti **

** I am hoping to replace these last three meals with something else...I ran out of ideas at this point.

And from here on, the recipes repeat:

3/29 Asian Pork Tenderloin
3/30 Enchilada Casserole
3/31 Meatball Sandwiches
4/01 Italian Chicken

4/05 Rotisserie Chicken
4/06 Meatloaf
4/07 Black Bean Salsa Chicken
4/08 Mexican Stuffed Shells

4/12 Korean Tri Tip
4/13 Pork Chops
4/14 Frozen Entrée from Store
4/15 Chicken w/Salsa & Cheese

4/19 Roast
4/20 Mexican Penne
4/21 Ultimate Beef Stroganoff
4/22 Sue Sue’s Casserole

4/26 Oriental Porkchops
4/27 Chicken w/Cr of Chicken Soup & Cheese
4/28 Swedish Meatballs over pasta
4/29 Chicken Enchilada Casserole

5/03 Creamy Cheesy Chicken
5/04 Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti
5/05 CrockPot Layered Beef ‘n Taters
5/06 Creamy Paprika Chicken

5/10 Crockpot Chicken ‘n Stuffing
5/11 Slow Cooker Italian Chicken
5/12 Pizza/Takeout/Leftovers
5/13 Chicken Ziti

5/17 Sue Sue’s Casserole
5/18 Boboli Pizza
5/19 Polish Sausage Sandwiches
5/20 Italian Chicken

5/24 Asian Pork Tenderloin
5/25 Enchilada Casserole
5/26 Meatball Sandwiches
5/27 Rotisserie Chicken

My plan is to make pulling tomorrow's dinner from the freezer part of my evening routine. Lots of these can be thrown in the crockpot or oven frozen, but not all, so if I can get in the habit of pulling them out the night before, I won't have to worry about that.

I will plan our weekend meals on a weekly basis as I have been doing up 'til now and will try to base them on whatever is on sale at the grocery store.

I'm excited to see how much our grocery budget will decrease by doing this.

If you are looking to get into OAMC (once a month cooking) or for a few ideas to try out freezer cooking, check out the following blogs or just google it!

http://www.onceamonthmom.com/
http://freezerfriendz.blogspot.com/

And a great website on crockpot cooking:

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

Munu Plan Monday - 01/11/10

2010-01-11T20:05:00.000-08:00

Here's my menu plan for this week!

For more menu ideas visit Organizing Junkie's website here.

Monday 1/11 – Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Veggies

Tuesday 1/12 – Chili Verde, tortillas, salad

Wednesday 1/13 – Ham Steaks or Ham 'n Cheese Grilled Sandwiches, Au Gratin Potatoes, veggies

Thursday 1/14 – Spaghetti, salad, rolls

Friday 1/15 – Beef Tenderloins, Asparagus Casserole (from last week)

Saturday 1/16 – Quiche

Sunday 1/17 – Leftovers/Eat out

Memorizing Bible Verses

2010-01-11T19:37:00.000-08:00

I came across a blog post last week that made me think about my progress in memorizing scripture…or perhaps I should say my lack of progress.

This past year I have felt compelled to memorize scripture, but my success has been minimal. I have been able to memorize a few verses, but I have failed in memorizing most of the references, which I feel is really important.

Anyway, this blog post I found was about a way to memorize scripture and I think this might work for me. The original post can be found here (and she found it here.). I don’t know who the person is who wrote it and I cannot say that I do or don't agree with her spiritual convictions, because I haven’t read through her blog and don’t know what they are. But I really liked the way this memorization system is set up and I’ve set about to make one for myself.

I will outline it here:

I used some heavy scrapbooking card stock that I had at home to make up 40 index card dividers. I labeled these: Daily, Odd, Even, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and the numbers 1-30.

You start by placing your first verse behind the daily slot. This is to be reviewed daily. Once you feel you know it, move it behind odd and place a new verse behind daily.

Then each day you will review your daily verse plus on odd numbered days of the month you review the verse behind odd. Each time you master a verse, every verse is moved back by one spot.

You will eventually be reviewing four verses a day: the daily verse, the odd or even verse, the verse behind the day of the week, and the verse behind the day of the month. For example on Monday, 1/11/10, you would review the verses behind daily, odd, Monday, and 11.

So when a verse feels comfortable, you will still review it every other day and then later once a week and then eventually just once a month.

So I’ve got my dividers and my verses ready to go – now I need to find a box to hold it all. I will probably end up with an index card holder to begin with until I can find a cute box as a more permanent holder.

Menu Plan Monday 01/04/10

2010-01-05T01:58:00.001-08:00

Here's my menu plan for the upcoming week. There are a few meals carried over from last week, but that seems to be the theme around here.

Monday 1/4 – Chicken Casserole, frozen veggies, potatoes

Tuesday 1/5 – Crock Pot Layered Beef and Taters, salad

Wednesday 1/6 – Buffalo Shrimp, Rice, veggies

Thursday 1/7 – Spaghetti, Salad, Garlic Bread

Friday 1/8 – Chicken California (using turkey), corn on the cob

Saturday 1/9 – Creamy Paprika Chicken, Asparagus Casserole, Rolls

Sunday 1/10 –Tacos, Beans, maybe rice

Review of Slow Cooker Oriental Pork Chops

2010-01-05T01:57:00.001-08:00

Made the Slow Cooker Oriental Pork Chops last night.

In one word...Keeper!

I didn't brown the chops first - but I'm sure they would've been even better if I had. And I forgot to thicken up the sauce, which would have made it better also. I also doubled the sauce as it didn't seem like enough.

Even with all my changes, the whole family liked this. I promptly made up two more meals in freezer bags for upcoming dinners.

Two freezer meals down, a whole bunch more to go!

Review of Paula Deen's Layered Meatball Casserole

2010-01-05T01:56:00.000-08:00

Last night I made Paula Deen's Layered Meatball Casserole. Before I give my opinions, here are the changes I made to the recipe:

-I used frozen meatballs. The recipe calls for 16 ounces, but I used two 12 oz packages of Mama Lucia's frozen meatballs (on sale this week for 10/$10).
-I used fresh mushrooms as I apparently didn't read the recipe thoroughly before shopping and didn't have canned.
-I chopped up one large tomato - it seemed enough so I didn't use the second.
-I didn't have fresh leaf basil, so I just sprinkled on some dried basil. I have no idea how much.

So...I'm not sure if I will ever make this again. It was good, but seemed to be a bit more prep than I anticipated. The recipe states 15 min. prep. It took longer than that!

The meatballs weren't so good, but that is not the fault of the recipe. I think it I had used homemade meatballs, this would have been really much better.

This makes a lot!!! It was almost overflowing in the baking dish I used. Only three of us were home to eat and I had half left over after we were finished eating.

I froze some in lunch sized portions and will be interested in seeing how it is after thawing. This would make great work lunches!

Two Great Recipes!

2010-01-05T01:55:00.002-08:00

We tried two new recipes last week that will be added to our favorites! A Prime Rib Marinade and Land of Nod Cinnamon Buns.

The first was for prime rib. Every year, we have a traditional Christmas Eve family dinner - just me, hubby, and the boys. We have fixed prime rib each year, with varying degrees of success. We usually use a farberware rotisserie to cook it, but haven't been overwhelmed with the results. This year I wanted to try something different and found this recipe....boy was it good!

We will be using this from now on and I plan to try it on some roasts and steaks throughout the year.

PRIME RIB & STEAK SEASONING MARINADE

1/4 cup black (course) ground pepper
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup garlic powder
2 tablespoons paprika
1/4 cup onion powder
2 tablespoons MSG (can omit) meat tenderizer
2 tablespoons seasoning salt
1 tablespoon celery salt

Combine ingredients.
Rub 1/2 cup of seasoning per 10 lbs. meat. Rub and massage seasoning in with soy sauce after all wet, work the seasoning in very well! Keep adding more seasoning until you have the amount needed. Place in refrigerator and let seasoning soak into meat for 24 hours before cooking.

Make 1" thick slices in a large onion (more if needed) to line down center of a pan which is large enough to fit your piece of prime rib on. Use onion slices to make a bed to place meat on top of.

Cook 350° for about 2 hrs or more, depending on the weight size of the prime rib.

**Note: I did not have MSG or seasoning salt, so I made the rub up without both. It was delicious! I cut the recipe down by 1/3 and used it all on a 5+ lb. cut of prime rib.

The second recipe was for the very bestest Cinnamon Buns!

Land of Nod Cinnamon Buns

Ingredients:
20 frozen dough rolls (or 1 frozen bread loaf, thawed (approx. 1 hour) until sliceable and cut into 12 pieces
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vanilla instant pudding
1-2 Tbsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup raisins (optional)
1/4-1/2 cup melted butter

Instructions:
Before you put the cat out and turn off the lights, grease a 10" bundt pan and add frozen rolls. Sprinkle with brown sugar, pudding powder, cinnamon and raisins. Pour melted butter over all. Cover with a clean, damp cloth. (leave out at room temperature). Turn out the lights and say goodnight!

In the morning, preheat oven to 350 F. and bake for 25 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes and then turn out on a serving plate.

**Note: I didn't use raisins as we (I) don't really like them. I didn't measure the vanilla pudding, just poured the contents of a small box over the brown sugar. These were so very good!

Menu Plan Monday 12/28/09

2010-01-05T01:55:00.001-08:00

This week I am trying out some new recipes that are freezable. I am getting a new freezer next week and plan to fill it up with some meals over the next few weeks. I return to work at the end of January and would love to have a bunch of meals ready to go for next semester.

Here is the week's plan:

Monday – Leftovers, turkey sandwiches
Tuesday – Chicken California (using turkey), corn on the cob
Wednesday – Crock Pot Black Bean Salsa Chicken, Salad
Thursday – Paula Deen’s Layered Meatball Casserole, Green Beans
Friday – WW Chicken ‘n Cheese Casserole, Asparagus Casserole, Rolls
Saturday – Slow Cooked Oriental Pork Chops, UnFried Brown Rice, Veggie
Sunday – Chicken Alfredo (frozen Viola meal)

I love using my crockpot too, so combining crockpot recipes with freezer cooking seems like a plus. I will try to come back with reviews of the above recipes throughout the week.

Menu Plan Monday...

2010-01-05T01:53:00.000-08:00

....except today is Thursday!

I'm posting this early as I usually make up my meal plans on Fridays to go through the following Sunday. This way, my meal plans overlap three days, giving me time to grocery shop and make adjustments.

I missed posting last week, but I did make a plan and stuck to it. I would hate to go back to the old days of never knowing what I would be fixing for dinner...we'd have spaghetti often!

Anyhow, here's my meal plan for the upcoming week:

Friday:

Chicken bacon rollups (from freezer meals)
Green Bean Casserole

Saturday:

Cheese and Chile Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Veggies

Sunday:

Polish sausage sandwiches (to use up Polish Sausage on sale two weeks ago)
Salad

Monday:

Buttermilk Baked Chicken
Au Gratin Potatoes
Veggies

Tuesday:

Taco Salad w/Chips

Wednesday:

Shanghai Chicken and Noodles

Thursday:

Cheese-Stuffed Meatloaf
Mashed Potatoes

Friday:

Greek Turkey Burgers
Salad

Saturday:

Enchilada Stack
Corn

Sunday:

Pasta w/sauce
Salad

I'm still struggling with finding a variety of sides that my family will eat - namely vegetables. We eat a lot of salad and frozen vegetables, but I want to add more fresh vegetables to our meals. I have some asparagus that I will try roasting this week and will have to browse the produce dept. to see what else I can find.

Reviews on last posted meal plan: We loved the Chicken California and the Chili's Copycat Chicken Tenders were pretty good also (I baked these rather than frying and will bake a bit longer next time to crisp them up a bit more).

Menu Plan Monday 09/21/09

2010-01-05T01:50:00.001-08:00

I've been following Menu Plan Monday at http://orgjunkie.com/ for about four weeks now. I've been successfully planning and (for the most part) sticking to my weekly menus. This week is the first time I will be posting my menus and linking back.

I actually plan my weekly menus on Friday. This is my day off and works best for me. I try to plan thru the following Sunday, so some days overlap - giving me some leeway in case I don't get to it on the scheduled day.

Here's this week's plan:

Friday - French Bread Pizza, Salad

Saturday - Crockpot Easy Chicken over Egg Noodles

Sunday - Tacos, Refried Beans, Salad

Monday - Quiche, Fresh Fruit, Waffles

Tuesday - Beef Burgandy over WW Egg Noodles

Wednesday - Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Salad

Thursday - Creamy Chicken 'n Biscuits, Veggies

Friday - Copycat Chili's Boneless Buffalo Wings, Celery Sticks

Saturday - Chicken California, Au Gratin Potatoes

Sunday - Twice Baked Stuffed Potatoes, Caesar Salad

I will be back later this week to add recipes.

Tutorial - Deleting Stray Pixels in Photoshop

2009-06-27T15:05:00.000-07:00

Fixing stray pixels can be difficult if you've never done it before - not the actual process, but figuring out how to do it. So I figured I'd write up a tutorial to help anyone out.

Here’s how I do it:

Open your image in photoshop Go to Layer > Layer Style > Stroke

Click on 5 and use red for the color like this:

You should have a nice clean red line around your image, but you can see here lots of extra red and it’s thicker in some places than others.

Zoom your image to 400% and click on your eraser tool. Run the eraser around the outer edges of your image and the red line will even out. At this zoom, you don’t have to get it perfectly even, if it is a slight bit jagged, it will still look nice and clean at 100%.

Here’s a before and after:

Once done, go back to Layer > Layer Style and unclick stroke. Then save the image.

I hope this helps! Feel free to ask questions if this still isn’t clear.

New Scrapbooking Kit with my Oriental Dragons!

2009-04-18T12:58:00.001-07:00

Wow! Foxys Designz has created an awesome kit with my Oriental Dragons!

I love what she has done with these!

Blogs Up.....Now What?

2009-04-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, I've got my blog up - now what do I do with it?

I guess now the fun starts adding everything! Bear with me as this is all new to me!