~Tortellini Soup~

I had this over Christmas at my in-laws house.  My husband and I LOVED it.  I'm pretty sure we each had 3 bowls. Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo goooooooooooooooooooooooooood!

Tortellini Soup:

1 lg chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 T olive oil
3 cans beef broth (14 oz each)
1 14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes
1/2 or 3/4 cup Picante sauce ( I used salsa because I didn't have this)
1 T basil
1 diced green pepper ( I didn't have, but my salsa had some green pepper in it.  Close enough:))
3 diced carrots
3 diced stems of celery
1 lb browned ground beef
1 pkg cheese tortellini

Cook onion, pepper and garlic in oil until tender (approx. 6 minutes).  Add remaining ingredients (except tortellini) and bring to boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are to desired tenderness.  Add tortellini 10-15 minutes before serving. 
You just need to heat through the tortellini and that doesn't take too long, so watch it!

We topped this with Parmesan cheese and served with homemade Italian herb bread.

~Pumpkin Gingerbread Muffins~

I got this recipe from here.  If you don't know her you should definitely check her out.  She has great tips on how to make healthier foods that your kids will enjoy, as well as tips on how to save money and keep the little ones entertained. 

I am a huge fan of pumpkin.  I love pumpkin bread, bars and now muffins. Unfortunately my husband does not share this love, so I never make anything because then I will eat. it. all.  Not a good thing for my dieting.  I actually made this recipe for some friends of mine who just had a baby.  I wanted to make a desert that was somewhat healthy as these friends are also aware of what they are putting into their bodies.  It made a huge batch and I kept a few at home for my family to enjoy, but not enough for me to engorge myself.  To my pleasant surprise, my husband loved them!!!  Yay for me... I mean, I'm glad I can please my husband by making something both delicious and healthy. 

Pumpkin Gingerbread Muffins:

1cup all-purpose flour                                                        

1 cup whole wheat  flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 350°F. s
Spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray

In a large mixing bowl, stir together flours, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and sugar. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together oil, eggs, vanilla and pumpkin.
Add to flour mixture and stir to combine.

Spoon batter into prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes, or until done when tested with a toothpick.
Move muffins to a wire rack to cool

Londa topped hers with a maple powdered sugar glaze. YUM!!! 
But they are just a delicious without the glaze. 

Note:  I like to make mini ones because they are bite size if you have a large mouth like mine.  Then you can justify eating 12 of them because that is just 12 bites, and 12 bites isn't too much of anything.... right?!?

Also, one can of pumpkin puree is just under 2 cups, so I like to double my recipe and freeze a batch, or take some to nice neighbors who snow blow our driveway for us because our little snow blower cannot handle some of the Iowa snowstorms, or when the street plow goes by and pushes 2 feet of snow at the end of our driveway.  I have nice neighbors.  And that was not this year.  This year we have yet to get any measurable snow and it is suppose to get close to 60 today.  60 in January, in Iowa???  I know....weird!

~Lantern Love~

There are a couple of things that I am slightly obsessed with..... red velvet cake anything and lanterns.  Unfortunately one is totally not good for you and the other usually costs more than the cash I have to spend on it.  I do have a few around my house and they are always displayed somewhere.  Every single one, which means all four of them.  I know, poor me:( 
So today I'm envying sharing some fab finds on the internet.  I can dream, can't I???

Side note:  if you google "lanterns" and it suggests "lanterns on the lake"  it is not really pictures of lanterns on an actual lake.  It is a rock group.  Kind of a weird name for a rock group if you ask me, but whatever!

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~Low Carb Bacon Wrapped Chicken~

    First note:  this is low carb, not low fat.  That being said, let's continue

 A few years ago I tried the ever (at the time) famous low carb Atkins diet.  I didn't do it to a "T".... I don't do anything to a "T", but I worked hard at cutting back on rice, flour, bread, pasts.... you know, all the GOOD stuff.  I ate eggs for breakfast, salad for lunch with dressing a chicken or salmon and then LOTS of meat and veggies for supper.  If I had a good day I would allow myself to have either sugar free chocolate pudding or sugar free jello.  Honestly the diet wasn't that bad.  I had a huge headache for the first several days as my body was detoxing from the previous overload of carbs, but other than that, It was easy peasy.  This was a recipe that I had taken from a low carb cookbook and my family loves it!!

        Second note:  I no longer do the low carb diet (because I just love carbs too darn much) but I still try to limit the carbs.  Pasta is ok, just not every night.

        Bacon Wrapped Chicken:  Chicken breasts flattened to 1/4 inch thickness ( I found this to be extremely messy and hard to do, so I just fillet it lengthwise and don't worry about the thickness)

Container of Onion and Chive Cream Cheese

1 pkg bacon

        Third note:  The recipe also called for butter, but you don't need it.  You don't need the extra fat and the chicken stays just as moist without it.

Fillet the chicken breasts in half lengthwise

Soften the cream cheese and then spread on each half with a spoon (Softening really makes this easy.  I didn't find that out until last week.  Oh well!)

Roll up the chicken starting on the short side.  Then wrap it up with a couple of slices of bacon and place in a baking dish.

It should look like this:  Yumm!!

Bake at 400* for 40-60 minutes (it depends on the thickness and size of the chicken breasts that you are using.  I like to move the dish to the top of the oven and turn on the broiler for the last 5 minutes.  It makes the bacon a little more crispy.

Fourth note:  The chicken breasts will appear pink next to the bacon because the bacon does it's thing and kind of smokes the chicken.

I like to serve this with rice and green beans.  You will have to imagine that lovely plate because we again ate it before I thought about taking a final picture. :)

~Abort Mission~

That is how I felt on Saturday. Beaten down, defeated, Weak and weary. I had just blogged about completing my first week of one of my new year resolutions. I had left out of my post that I didn't start those daily chores until my kids went back to school on Wednesday and that I was still determined to get EVERYTHING done, so I squeezed Monday and Tuesday's chores into Wednesday and Thursday which were also days that I was gone for the majority of the day working and running some errands. WHEW! Talk about run on.... I think I do that a lot in my writing as well;)

Managing to get everything accomplished, especially on the shortened time frame, made me feel like super woman. I had cleaned, shopped, worked, made home cooked meals, ran kids to activities and so forth, and i survived! That was until yesterday. Apparently it only takes a ravine, a few extra kids, a husband in charge while I shop for more tile, and one hour. That's right, one hour to destroy my perfect house.

I might be exaggerating a bit. It was really only two bathrooms who had a confrontation with the dirt from the ravine. The dirt won by the way. The rest of the house just looked like a stuffed animal toy factory had thrown up all over. I had no idea we had so many stuffed animals. Either neighbor kids are contributing to my youngest child's obsession or Toy Story is true and the animals come to life, and breed.

As I was cleaning the bathrooms, again, I started to laugh hysterically. I hadn't really cleaned these bathrooms in a while. A quick wipe down or just the toilet in the half bath. The kids bathroom scares me so I try not to venture into it if I don't have to. I have never had this happen before. That is, until I decide to deep clean, even wash the rugs (which now have to be rewashed because my middle son got dirt all over them, then took a shower and got water all over the rug). Do you know what dirt and water make? That's right.....it's mud. How can I be mad though. Oh, I was at first, but it is just so comical. They did nothing wrong. The dirt wasn't even from their shoes. Somehow it just got on every inch of D's clothing. He said he's sorry.....I said I forgive him and God is giving me another week to clean them again.

How fortunate am I!

~Free 2012 Printable Calendar~

    I LOVE FREEBIES!!!!  Especially pretty freebies that help me with my goal of staying organized.  I have calendars absolutely everywhere.  In my purse, on the refrigerator, in the pantry, on the ipad, in my family binder..... and I use them all.  The one on the fridge is mainly for meals and events that might require me to think ahead for the meal, but otherwise they will have the kids' schedules.  I can't seem to keep up with everything, or I tend to forget when someone gets picked up or dropped off.  It's just good for me to have a calendar readily available at all times.

I found this website last year after googling free calendars.  It is perfect for my computer nook.  It is pretty and yet has a fair amount of room to write stuff for each day.  I have mine framed in a dollar tree frame and I use a wet erase marker on it so I can add and take events off easily.



She just posted this years free calendar!!  Enjoy, and thanks 505 Five O' Five Design + Paper!!

~New Year Resolutions: Week One~

    Well, week one of 2012 is almost over and I have completed one, of however many weeks there are in a year, of my new year resolutions.  Mission Organization.  Actually it's just one step in the process, but a HUGE one and a very important one to me. 
    I showed you my family binder here and it has not left my side this entire week.  I spent a day last weekend, filling in some of the freebie forms that I had printed out, including the daily to do's.  I only put chores on the days and then I have a daily to do that I fill out every evening with places I need to go, things I need to get, what's for supper and what I need to do for the following day.  It's a great form where I can gather all of my information into one place and I actually leave my binder open on the table all day long so I can check things off my list.  I love making those check marks.
 
So my cleaning schedule that I have created consists of this:

Monday:  Clean hardwood floors

                 Clean master bath

                 Vacuum upstairs

Tuesday:  Dust upstairs

                 Clean kids bath

                 Vacuum Main level

Wednesday:  Clean half bath

                      Dust Main level

                      Vacuum downstairs

Thursday:  Dust downstairs

                  Clean downstairs bath

                  Wash bedding

                          Week 1 and 3- master and E's

                          Week 2 and 4- boys

Friday:  Grocery shopping (yes, that is considered a chore in my world)

              Wash windows

                           Week 1- upstairs

                           Week 2 - main level

                           Week 3- downstairs

                            Week 4- off

Saturday and Sunday have been left open to have fun with the family or do other projects that don't need to be done weekly.  I also do laundry and dishes every day.  OH... and sweep my hardwood floors.  I hate crumbs.

I just finished my chores for today,  my daily to do has everything checked off and I am ready to relax and enjoy an "at home date night" with my husband. 
This is just a beginning draft of my chores.  I know that there is a possibility that I will have to add something, move something, take a day off... and I am OK with that.  Having a guide will hopefully keep me motivated and help me not to forget things.  There were a couple of times today that I thought I could just skip something.  The basement bath wasn't bad, the windows could wait for another time, but I kept going and pushing myself and the reward of a clean house (it was clean until the kids came home from school;)  is well worth the work and effort.

So.... I'm curious.  Do you have a cleaning schedule?  How long have you had it and have you kept up with it?  Am I missing something on my list?  I would love to hear your responses!!!

~Double Chocolate Brownies~

Can't eat just one.  Trust me.... I tried.....and failed......miserably.  Elizabeth actually named these herself and since she is the one who makes them, I let her name them, and lick the spoon, and the bowl, and take the first taste test, because that is what the cooks get to do:)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C sugar

3/4 C flour

3/4 C cocoa powder

3 eggs

3/4 C butter, melted

3/4 C chocolate chips

Directions:  Mix everything but the chocolate chips

Add the chocolate chips

Mix again

Pour into a greased 9x13 pan

Lick the spoon

Bake in 350* preheated oven for 20-30 minutes

Then lick some more!!!

The finished product was eaten before a picture could be taken.  YES, they are THAT good!