Meals, Menus and Recipes OH MY!

Update: last week Kel and I went on vacation. it has been since january that we were able to take days off work and go! We visited his Grandma and Aunt (and two uncles) in Kentuckiana (the border of Kentucky and Indiana- Louisville basically). It was, so relaxing and Cecelia was the perfect baby the whole trip. Then we got home and Cecelia raced off with Grandma and Grandpa for the weekend while Kel and i took the train down to St. Louis to visit dear friends!

I used to go to STL all the time and visit my friend, but two years ago she got a house down there and this was the first time i was able to visit her. We had an amazing weekend. Wine, friends, haunted houses, afternoon naps and no baby. This was the longest and further i had even been away form Cecelia, and although much needed i missed my baby girl SO much and am happy to be back home with her.

Kel and i know this is our last week off for a long time. The holidays coming up are more of a chance to work than visit everyone. Kel gets paid extra to work around the holidays and i just picked up a seasonal job.... so this was our last break for a bit!

Kel and i spent every possible penny we could on treating ourselves to wine (yes we hit multiple wineries) and food, so when we got home we had an empty fridge and very low grocery budget! We also ate like crap all week and are very ready to get back to balanced, clean and yummy.... so i dug into my coupon bin and started planning a menu! My budget was $60 total and i successfully got everything i needed for the week. Never fear, because here is my menu and recipe plans for the week.

• Sunday: lemon chicken and roasted red potatoes

• This is a whole Chicken roasted in the oven, you will need:
• whole chicken (remove giblets and pat dry)
•  4 lemons
• spices (rosemary, thyme, garlic)
• set oven to 400 degrees, salt and pepper inside and outside of whole chicken. sprinkle with seasonings. add juice of two whole lemons to the inside and outside of chicken (very liberally). take other two lemons and pierce multiple times with a fork them place inside the cavity of the chicken. reduce heat to 350 and put breast side down in roasting pan and cook for 25 minutes. flip the chicken so breasts are up and cook for another hour (until done). let chicken cool a few minutes them remove the lemons. squeeze juices onto the chicken form extra lemons and sprinkle remainder of seasonings over the chicken. mix the juices a bit and pour over chicken and potatoes. then EAT!
• the red potatoes i quartered and put wedges into muffin tins. cover with same seasonings as the chicken and i covered in olive oil. before putting the oven (350 for 30-45 minutes) put a clove of garlic in eat muffin spot in the tin. so yummy. 

This chicken we ate for dinner then to save time and money i used what was left (the breasts)  and pulled it from the bones. then this is the chicken i used in the lasagna for thursday! there was even enough for some sandwiches throughout the week too!

• Monday: Rice Krispie fried chicken strips over spicy rice 

•  cook minute white rice- kinda self explanitory
• i used THAI Chili Sauce on the rice! so yummy, gives it a kick without killing it and not too saucy. My favorite but use whatever sauce you like
• to cook the chicken you will need:
• chicken breasts
• flour
• egg (whisked together)
• rice krispies
• seasonings (i use garlic and rosemary and salt)
• olive oil (vegetable or canola oil works too, we use olive for the allergy reasons)
• cut the chicken into strips. heat the oil on the stove top until sizzling. one at a time cover chicken in flour, then put in eggs then in crushed rice krispies mixed with the seasonings (breadcrumbs are the traditional thing to do, i prefer the rice krispies because it's amazing and allergy free, but do whatever you want!). Cook in the oil until golden brown and cooked all the way through. put over the rice and eat. Cecelia (1yr old) ate more than i did she loved it so much. 

to lighten this up bake it instead of frying it! 

• Tuesday: Buffalo Chicken Pizza 

• basically 
• take pizza crust and roll it out (we make a homemade whole wheat crust for a healthier and allergy free option)
• sauce it-make a sauce out of ranch and buffalo sauce according to your preference.
• add mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses
• add chicken (prebaked with red pepper flakes, olive oil, italian seasoning, etc and cut into small cubes)
• bake per crust's specifications
• SO YUMMY!

• Wednesday: Alfredo, Spinach and chicken lasagna bake

• first i made an alfredo sauce. to make this light and healthy i made one batch of alfredo sauce and mixed it with a batch of cauliflower garlic sauce.  i LOVE LOVE LOVE this. Kel would not have guessed it was mostly vegetable ever and it was such a yummy and creamy. both of those recipes are on my pinterest
• then i added steamed spinach (kel HATES cooked spinach but he couldn't really taste it mixed into the sauces and it adds some pretty color)
• i cooked the noodles and laid them out. i added a layer of sauce, noodles, layer of shredded chicken (from sunday) with 4 cheese Italian blend shredded cheese, noodles, sauce, noodles and topped with chicken and cheese!
• Bake at 425 for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown and gooey

This is a GREAT freezer meal! i made half for the freezer for another week and half for wednesday. The longer you let it sit (i made it Sunday for wednesday's lunch) the more the sauce sets and absorbs flavor. make this a day or two in advance, put it together and don't bake it until you are ready to serve it.

• Thursday: Crock Pot Chicken and Rice

•  this is the perfect things for revamping leftovers. take everything and throw it in the crockpot for a couple of hours and enjoy. 
• i use the leftover chicken from the week cut into cubes or shredded, add in with rice and the buffalo sauce, ranch, Thai sauce and some water. add in seasonings per your liking and top with crushed rice krispies.
• i like to add cheese or some leftover alfredo sauce to it as well! 

• Friday: leftovers 

  So i got these recipes form pinterest, friends, my favorite TV show The Chew and a couple i just made up! if made consciously and correctly then they can be healthy and guilt free. Again all for $60 (i used some coupons but not enough it would have added for than $5) and a lot of the supplies are things you already have. 

counting my blessings (it's about time)

Things have been bleak for awhile. I've had a really hard time trying to pull myself out of the dark. I tried so hard to focus on the little good things, but for a couple weeks i found none.

Today however, i have many blessings to focus on and be grateful for.

(in no particular order):

• This week my sister brought home two BEAUTIFUL girls (ages 3 and 1.5). I got to meet them yesterday and they are so sweet and beautiful and i am so happy to have them join our family. My Goddaughter is such a cutie (the younger one). i can't wait to see  her and Cecelia become friends! And the older one took to me right away and let me help her on the monkey bars and show her how to climb on the playground equipment!

•  I also got to have my nails done for my friend Jessi's wedding that i'm in on Sunday! i got pampered AND lunch with an amazing old friend.  Seems small, but it's been so long since i had someone take care of me!

• Last night i got to see most of my good great friends that i have known most of my life (preschool, grade school, high school and beyond) as we celebrated my dear friend's wedding shower/bachlorette party. We stayed in, talked, laughed (a lot). She moved a year ago to Florida and last month she moved to Washington (the state) and i have not gotten to see her! It was great to catch up and hang out. I miss all my friends, i can't seem to get enough of them!

•  I got a job! It's starting as Seasonal work for a retail store that i LOVE. It's VERY EARLY morning hours but i wont need a babysitter and i'll get tons of time to see my daughter in the afternoon. It will be weird going back to work, but i am SO very ready. I have to be honest, it's not the world's most glamorous job, but i am SO VERY HAPPY to be working there and for an opportunity. I've worked much worse jobs and this will help my family SO MUCH!

• As previously stated i got to hang out with friends last night.... and this morning i got to sleep in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! until 10am (seems lame, but anyone with kids knows how AWESOME that it)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i woke up to a happy husband and baby and a cup of coffee. within 30 minutes of being awake BOTH went down for a nap! This is so beautiful. i get to sit in my QUIET house, in my PJs, blogging and catching up on the TV shows i missed last night. no baby touching my computer, my husband talking through my tv shows, coffee (in my new SUPER LARGE Harry Potter Coffee Mug my friend got me from Harry Potter World... she rocks) and cake for breakfast (so yummy)!   

- i just reread that and i sound like my parents and i'm not ashamed! It's the little things and life that matter- like hot coffee and watching 1/2 hour of TV without having to pause and rewind! 

• I also have an action packed weekend: rehearsal dinner tonight, Family pictures and Oktoberfest tomorrow, wedding Sunday! So excited!  

• Next week Kel and i are going on vacation! It's our two year anniversary so we are getting out of town with Cecelia. We are going to Louisville area to visit his Grandma and Aunt and Uncle. I LOVE seeing them and staying with them. This will be our first trip more than two days with Cecelia's allergies. I am not as nervous as i thought i'd be. Monday i will cook a week's worth of grab and go food (lots of calzones and homemade poptarts) for her! His grandma is SO excited to see Cecelia (and us) and we are just as excited to see her!

• then in a week we are taking the train to St. Louis to visit and stay with a friend (no cecelia) until Sunday. Haunted Houses, autumn drinks, no kiddo, and good friends! Words cannot describe how long we have waited for this and are looking forward to this.

In short it's been a hard couple of months but with lots of Prayers i ma hoping to be on the up!  I am blessed with an amazing family that loves and supports me, beautiful friends i can go to with anything and love seeing and hanging out with (no matter how much time has passed), an job to get me back in the grind and providing for my family, oh and an amazing husband and PERFECT daughter.

Time to get up, dust myself offand get back out into the world. 

News!

It's been a crazy couple of days for news of all kind!

First on Wednesday i had an interview for a job i have been waiting for months to hear about. The interview went really well.... or so i thought until Thursday when i got the call that they went with the other candidate. I am taking it pretty hard. I've heard/read/received more rejection in the past two months than i  thought possible. the worst part is that i keep hearing "you were great but the other person is more qualified" or that i am "over qualified for the position." the absolute worst is just a generic email "thanks for applying, but we have gone another route in filling this position, however we will let you know if anything opens up." I am so sick of it and so beyond discouraged!

For GREAT new i found out i will be an Aunt again X2! My sister got a call that she will be adopting two little girls, ages 3 and 1! I am really really excited to have two more nieces! and to top it off Kel and I were asked to be Godparents for the one year old! I am SO SO SO SO excited to meet my Goddaughter! It's such a special story and situation! Cecelia gets to have two cousins on one side of the family her age (literally her grade in school, and they will all be going to the same school- God willing- so Cecelia will have TWO cousins in her class in school) and one cousin on the other side of the family in her age! Plus two additional older cousins to grow up with her!

Then i suddenly realized it's been two months since i lost my son. I was doing great for awhile but lately this has hit me pretty hard. If i see a picture of JP2 or the letters JP i loose it. I also know a LOT of women due between January and March and i am still adjusting to the thought it's not me. Every night Cecelia and i say our prayers and ask for her brother JP to pray for her. She points up a the ceiling fan-we have wind chimes hanging from them-and we ring them when we talk to JP. She is such a sweetheart and loves babies, her baby doll or anything in a baby swing or seat. She would be such a good big sister and it kills me that she wont get to hold her brother. Aside form when she put my mother's doll in the toilet (hey, Bitty Babies need to go potty too!), she would be an amazing big sister!

It's so hard, balancing happy and sad news! It all came in one hour. I'm so excited to see my sister's prayers answered! All of our prayers really, we have all been hoping and waiting to see her/our extended family grow! I never thought that my daughter would be the only white kid in the group, and now that we have it that way i would not change it for the world! On the other hand, i'm so discouraged and trying very hard not to let depression set in. I have a lot to be thankful for, but i also have had so much taken away from me in the past few months! i've never really felt this helpless in my own life. It's really not a good feeling, at all!

you know you are "grown up" when you have a crafting party!

these are everyone's creations from two of the crafts! they all kind of matched our personalities and look different even though they are the same supplies and process.

 

My friends and I got together and had a "pinterest" party. What we did-everyone picked a different craft and brought all the supplies to have 4 people complete that craft once. We did each craft and at the end of the night went home with 4 different decor things instead of just a pile of supplies! it was SO much fun! We already are planning our next one (Christmas themed). 

The inspirations was that we all have houses or townhouses now (or very very soon!) and not enough money or resources to fully decorate them for the seasons the way we would like. So to save a buck, decorate our houses all while having a jolly good time, sign me up! Total i THINK we all spent $15 or less on our supplies for 5 people to each do a craft! not bad at all. If we had each done these 4 crafts ourselves with all the supplies it would have cost roughly $50-$75! Instead for $15 we did all of these! 

 

They all ended up being fall themed and SUPER cute. 

the finished product!

• First my friend K picked a twine covered vase filled with seasonal flowers and ribbon. Hers took the longest but was SUPER cute and easy to make. 

• supplies: included vases, twine, hot glue, flowers and ribbon.
• directions: start at the bottom and hot glue the twine to the vase in a circular pattern. first put on glue then twine and press to seal it. You go round and round until the vase is covered. Once done you add flowers and a ribbon!
• Tips: use a pair of scissors to put the twine into the glue to keep it tight and eliminate gaps. Hot glue is HOT! Also one roll of twine did all 4 of our vases, don't go twine buying crazy! Finally dont rush.

My glittered pumpkin!

my painted pumpkin.the other side is a traditional jack-o-lantern face

• Next my friend L brought supplies to decorate "faux-kins"- fake pumpkins. so much easier than real pumpkins, last more than one week and you can do whatever you want to them. 

• supplies: pumpkins, paint, glue, glitter, brushes, chalk
• directions: decorate your pumpkin! i glittered one and painted another. to glitter you apply pain or glue (i used Modge Podge)  and liberally apply glitter to the glued area. To paint you design (we used chalk it worked well) and paint however you want. 
• Tips: use a garbage bag or newspapers underneath glitter (not your friend's sidewalk unless they want a sparkled walkway) and do it outside if possible! Also use chalk to outline your design first. 

i hot glued on my ribbon and the cute pumpkins!

• My friend M brought all the supplies to make tea light candle centerpieces!  this idea i LOVED and have in the middle of my table! already. 

• supplies: vases, mini acorn and pumpkin pieces, candles, ribbon
• directions: put your candle in the vase, add the acorns and pumpkins and decorate the outside with ribbon.
• Tips: we counted out how many of each pieces could be used for each one. that way someone didn't have a bunch and the next person have none.

 

•  Finally my project was to decorate wine bottles with letters and glitter. 



this really has an R on it, the glare hides it



my friend L did the "BOO" and it's my fav!

• supplies: wine bottles (cleans, stripped off labels, and dry), stencils, modge podge, brushes, glitter, spray paint (black- or any dark color) and spray paint glitter finish. 
• directions: empty wine bottles and spray paint them black. then you stencil modge podge, add glitter and finish with  the glitter spray. for each step make sure you wait until it's completely dry before doing the next.
• Tips: lots of air flow/well vented area. actually just do it in your garage or outside- spray paint is strong. also soak the bottles long before you strip them or you will be scrubbing all day.

These are all the crafts i did! i will spend the day putting them up and decorating some more!

 So this is how i spent my Friday nights. We all brought a snack to munch on (K- i need you the give me that dip recipe, i'm addicted) and some wine and "Lemonade." I am really excited for the next party we will have. I am planning my Christmas craft already! I also am hoping to plan a cookie day (around christmas time), where everyone brings a cookie recipe and we spend a day baking cookies or sweet treats together! My mom does that with her friends and it gives everyone a ton of cookies to take to work, give to babysitters, etc!
I really encourage everyone to find a friend (or two or three) and do this with. Pick a craft you are comfortable demonstrating and is relatively simple and share it! It really saved us all some time, money, supplies and it was a blast! 
 
The only downside was that i missed a couple of our friends who have moved out of state (J and M) more than usual. this is RIGHT up both of their alleys and  they would have loved this. Maybe next time we do this we will all have to pitch in and do two extra of each craft for them and send a care package! I especially was thinking (okay laughing a little, but mostly bummed for her) of my friend M who is snowed in (I KNOW, FIRST WEEK OF OCTOBER! it's 80 here and snowing there- tough break)! I really like the idea that next time we send them a sampler care package so their places look pretty too and they know we are thinking of them!
 

What's your favorite craft to do that is fall decor/themed (halloween, thanksgiving or just fall)?

HAPPY OCTOBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CONFESSION: i have $12 in my checking account for the next 10 days~

This might seem scary and daunting to a lot of people, but it is a personal accomplishment for me. Neither my husband or I is very good with budgets and math and money, but we do ok most of the time. if i am being really honest kel and i consider it a great month if we get all the basic bills paid and fill one of our cars up ALL the way with gas.

The reason i see starting October with $12 in my checking account: for the first time in MONTHS kel and i paid every single bill in full and got started on all of our recent medical bills (from my surgery in August).

This seems stupid, every single family in America pays bills, but for me to say i paid EVERY SINGLE BILL, on time and in full plus i have $12 in my account at the first of the month in an awesome feeling.

• there are no bills waiting on my desk to be paid
• there are no creditors or collectors calling me because I missed or was late on a payment
• there is no fear that next paycheck wont cover all my bills
• there is enough food in my house and freezer for a week, bonus points it's food i LIKE and not just ucky food left in the freezer because i don't like it (although i might stop by for dinner at my parents one night this week)
• i have 2 things i sold on craiglists i am waiting to get picked up for some extra cash for the week
• i have an additional $10 cash in my wallet

There are still a lot of medical bills i only paid minimum payments on them, but i got the first one paid off completely and am hoping to get them paid off soon.

This is very personal for me, i know all my friends and family know we are not rolling in money and most people i know are in a similar situations. I would never normally consider posting this for all the world to see how desperate and broke we are, but today it is not about that. I am NOT broke (yet, the moment this is posted my car will break and i will be begging for money) i have $12!

On another but still positive (get it, my account is NOT negative) note it is OCTOBER! the best month of the year. this year i have a TON going on,

• a good, very dear friend of mine gets married. i am a bridesmaid and we are putting on a showers and party and fun (oh my)
• it's another friends' birthday and i have something fun up my sleeve for her
• i resolve to make a new apple or pumpkin recipe every day that i am home
• i have a dozen fall crafts for me and cecelia to make,
• kel and i are celebrating our 2nd wedding anniversary (yay)
• we have a trip to Indiana/Kentucky to visit some family (who i miss and love and can't wait to see)
• and FINALLY i get to go see a friend (the same one who has a birthday this month) down in St Louis who i STILL have not see her house after YEARS! this will be our first trip out of town without Cecelia the weekend after our 2nd anniversary for Kel and I! i'm pretty pumped!
• then it's halloween! yay! 

My final random note for the day is that i started  Christmas shopping! Now i HATE when Christmas pops up before Thanksgiving. I love the reason of Christmas but the whole season overall is just not my favorite. However this year i started planning gifts and ideas for people. I decided Kel and I were going to start buying gifts now when we had a spare twenty here or there. This past week i sold almost $100 of stuff on craigslist.com and i bought my mother-in-laws gift (part 1) and kel and i went out to eat and i bought a few other small gifts. I love the idea that we wont go broke this christmas. I love GIVING gifts and with my theory of starting early while we have the cash means i can actually give people the gifts i want. i am also making a lot of the gifts so i have gotten started on that too!




p.s. i might be proud of my $12 but if anyone needs a babysitter or knows of work, let me know!