the start- Laundry - Drop your drawers here!

I was finally fed up. with everything.

Tripping over stuff every time I came in through the garage.
Shoes. Laundry. Boxes. Cords. Rugs. Brooms.
I was fed up with hearing my husband ask what I did today.
"here's dinner and your son hasn't been given up for adoption." What more could he want?!? 
My son isn't that bad, but I get 5-10 minutes in each station.
Each station being:
1. the highchair
2. the johnny jump-up
3. the dishwasher
4. the magnets on the fridge
5. the pool toys
etc.

So naturally whatever I could get done in each of those 5-10 minutes is all that really got done. I dedicated all of my son's naptimes plus folding the laundry during play time to accomplish this:

Minus sorting through my "fan" mail, which I never want to do. Shred, shred, shred, I don't need 20 credit card offers from the same place in 1 month!!!




Anyway, this is my start.

It can only get better from here, right?

my dining room

As some of you know, I moved into my house about 9 months ago. It took a little bit but alas there's only a couple of unnecessary boxes still unpacked and our storage room full of totes of stuff we can't decide what to do with. Did I mention we have hoarding on both sides of our family?

sigh.

I decided when I was packing that our hoarding tendencies had to change. I got rid of several boxes worth of junk before and after our move. Maybe I should clarify, my junk.
With some rearranging and sudden lack of walls, all my previous decorating items have found new homes. Always a good thing, I think. I realized I had a lot of unnecessary things and really... less is more...

Anyway, to the dining room.
Another room that has had some difficulty. Our dining table comfortably seats 4, in a pinch seats 6, and yes, you guessed it- uncomfortably seats 9 people. After that I run out of chairs anyway. Oh, and there's no room for food and plates after 6 people. Somehow our Brady Bunches have done it, and to me it looks like a clown car exploded in my dining room.

Don't tell my families I said that.

I just realized how pathetic my dining room looks. 

So I have been telling my hubby for about a year that we need to get a bigger table. and we need a bigger table. and we want a bigger table because we need a bigger table. Either he picked up on my hints or he heard me the first time and I've been nagging ever since. oops. 
Off we went to the furniture stores searching the clearance and/or dinged up section (who pays full price for something you're gonna have 3 kids hammering on in 5 years anyway?) I looked at the prices and walked away. All I wanted was some wood planks tongue and grooved, biscuit joined, or glued together with 4 legs or a middle stand.

Or so I thought.

And so started our project to make me a dining table. It's not just some wood planks with 4 legs. It's got planks here and there, outer edge planks, a disappearing leaf- which means it has those gear things so it expands, and some tricked out pedestal legs. In theory. 

It's taking forever. Hopefully we are still married at the end of this. Just kidding. But seriously someone is gonna die. Again, just kidding. Maybe. You see the sarcasm right?
The picture is our dining room, with the first half of the top of the table. Yup, 3 weeks after getting the walnut wood and that's what we have to show for it. Don't get me started on the last 3 weeks, but  at least we have a start. I can not wait to get new slipcovers for the chairs. Those slipcovers are so last decade. yawn.

Well, wish us luck. and by us, I mean me. I'm off to tackle the clown car clothes explosion in my laundry room.

my cute little man 

low-down two-timin' pasta.

ok, so not so "low-down", i love the two-timin' name. Like they're working against each other, but they really aren't. Who would have thought to mix Marinara and Alfredo sauce?!? someone on pinterest, of course.

So I found this recipe here.

The flavor was pretty good, my hubby is still waiting for a big flavor kick tho. (maybe I'll add red pepper flakes next time.)

I also added about 1 cup of cooked Italian Sausage.

1 box penne pasta

1 (15 oz.) jar Alfredo sauce 

1 (24oz.) jar Marinara sauce (i picked sautéed onion and garlic) 

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to directions and drain.  

Mix the sauces together in a large bowl.

Add the mozzarella and stir to combine.  Then toss in the penne and toss to coat.

Pour pasta into 9x13 baking dish and cook on 350 for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with shredded parmesan cheese and bake for another 5 minutes. 

Yup, that easy. We had it with a side of veggies and garlic bread.

Smothered Chicken Casserole

I love this recipe made with a few modifications. I put it in the crockpot, minus the flour. I used thin spaghetti instead of angel hair. I made the caesar dressing from a packet.
I wasn't able to let it marinade as long as I wanted so extra caesar dressing went in with the rest of it!

Ingredients

1/2 cup prepared caesar salad dressing
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts


4 slices bacon

8 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 cup onion, diced
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
3 tbsp butter
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated

2 C fresh tomatoes, diced
1/4 C fresh parsley, minced

1 lb thin spaghetti

Instructions

Marinade chicken breasts in caesar dressing for at least 3 hours, up to overnight.
Cook bacon until crisp, remove from pan and drain off all but about 2 tbsp of the fat. Heat pan to medium-high heat.
Remove chicken from marinade and cook in bacon fat until well browned. You don't have to cook the chicken through, just get some color on it. Remove chicken from pan and place in casserole dish.
Drain off all the bacon fat from the pan and add 3 tbsp of butter. Once melted stir in the onion and mushrooms. Cook until soft and starting to caramelize- 5-7 minutes.
Stir 3 tbsp of flour into the onions and mushrooms and cook for 1 minute.
Stir broth and cream into the flour mixture, bring to boil -constantly stirring- for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
Stir in salt, pepper, lemon juice, cheese, and parsley and pour over the chicken in the casserole dish. Top with fresh tomatoes and bake, uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and chicken is cooked through.
While the chicken is baking, cook 1 lb pasta on the stove-top and drain.
Remove chicken from the oven, stir pasta into the sauce and serve topped with crumbled bacon and more fresh parsley.

snow day and s'mores

Several inches of snow have been dumped across Midwest and I am loving it... Sadly I'm stuck inside for the most part. I really would rather not fall on anything slick with my little mister on my hip.
So I am enjoying it from afar and where it's much warmer...

And I made some s'more goodness. 

Yes, you want to know how to make this.

4 squares of semi-sweet baking chocolate

2 tbsp of butter

Melt on low in a saucepan. Stir every couple minutes.

1 package from a box of graham crackers 

1/2 a bag of mini marshmallows

Line a 9x13 pan with wax paper or foil.

Break the graham crackers into their indicated quarters and then each of those quarters in half and spread them out in the pan. Don't crush them. 

Sprinkle with marshmallows.

Scoop melted chocolate in small spoonfuls onto crackers and marshmallows. (don't be exact, just scoop out the chocolate evenly over all of it, not one pile in the middle.) 

Gently stir mixture with your chocolate spoon. Keep mixture spread out.

Freeze for 45-60 minutes or until chocolate hardens. 

Break mixture into smaller pieces (chocolate will melt on your fingers so do this quickly). 

Pop the mixture in the fridge until you want to serve it. 

Make sure everyone gets some. This is like food crack.

Quesadilla Casserole

Another Pinterest recipe! (I have no idea where it originated (sorry!) it was repinned like crazy from lots of places- I bet it's in a Betty Crocker cookbook somewhere)
This one was another relatively easy one- I just cooked up all the meat saucy goodness when I was prepackaging my freezer meals.
This recipe does usually call for a can of black beans, but since my hubby is severely allergic to beans I have left them out.

Meat/Saucy Goodness:
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp minced garlic, can use dry or fresh
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp oregano
15 oz. can of tomato sauce
1 can of corn, drained
1 can of chopped green chiles

4-6 flour tortillas*

2 cups cheddar cheese

*I used a smaller pan and cut the tortillas down to fit the 9"x9" casserole dish. You can use a 9"x13" pan and cut and overlap the tortillas to fit.*

Brown ground beef in a large pan or dutch oven. Stir in onions. Cook on low for 5 minutes. Add Seasonings. Stir in canned ingredients, simmer for 5 minutes.

 ~At this point you can either continue the recipe and finish it for a meal now or freeze for later.~

Spread a heaping scoop of the beef mixture on the bottom of a casserole dish. Top with tortilla(s). Sprinkle with cheese. Repeat until you run out of the beef mixture. Top with remaining cheese.
Bake at 350 for 15- 20 minutes.

For freezing: Allow the beef mixture to cool for about 15 minutes and then bag it in a labeled Ziploc. When you wish to complete the recipe, thaw for a few hours and then reheat in a large pan and continue with the instructions.

Mexican Chicken

I found this recipe on Pinterest, it's everywhere so you can't miss it. In fact I think I had already pinned it 3 times before I actually tried it. Should have done it sooner. When there's only a few simple ingredients, it's an easy throw together dinner. And come on, who doesn't want that. every day.

I put it in the crockpot while I was prepping some other meals. So it ended up with some additional ingredients.

I'd give this 4 stars (maybe 5). one for easy. one for crockpot. one for juicy chicken. one for flavor.

So here's their version: 

MEXICAN CHICKEN 

1 pound boneless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon Seasoning for Tacos
Salt, to taste

1/2 cup enchilada sauce
4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
3 green onions, chopped
Sprinkle the chicken on both sides with taco seasoning; grill or sauté. Cut the chicken into cubes and place in a greased 8x8" baking dish; season with salt to taste. Add the enchilada sauce and toss to coat the chicken. Sprinkle the cheese over the chicken and bake at 350º for 10-20 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Scatter the green onions over the top.
Makes 4 servings
Can be frozen
Per Serving: 266 Calories; 12g Fat; 33g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 3g Net Carbs

And my version:
1 pound boneless chicken breasts
1/2 package of taco seasoning
1 tsp minced garlic
1 can enchilada sauce
1/2 can of chopped green chiles
2 tbsp of chopped green peppers
3 green onions, chopped

Pour all ingredients except chicken into crockpot. Stir to combine all ingredients. Add Chicken. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 or more.
Serve on a warm tortilla and top with cheese. I also topped mine with lettuce and tomato.