What We Did... volunteering is hard.

Our weekend started out with a rare occurrence... no alarm clock. This is such a blessing. We awoke to the sun and Peyton stirring in her room.  It, for us, was a pretty laid back weekend.  It's nice to stop and breathe for a day or two.

I started planning my garden for the season.  I will share more on that at another time. I'm kind of a dud when it comes to planting. It's all about knowing my limitations.

Before

After

These photos were taken by his leader.
I didn't have my camera on me. 

Saturday we attended a service project for Funston's Cub Scout Troop. They volunteered to tear out all of the over grown mess in the "butterfly garden". It required three chainsaws. Funston busted butt. The little guy really has a giving heart. It doesn't hurt that he can make anything into a game, either.

Try either of these cookie recipes. We have given them both a thumbs up! I have two MUST DOS when making chocolate chip cookies. These are two alterations I do to any and all of my chocolate chip cookie recipes. You end up with the perfect chewy cookie.

1. Use 1/2 butter and 1/2 butter flavored Crisco.
2. Double the vanilla.

Obviously, I also substituted Reese's Pieces for chocolate chips. They turned out pretty good.

Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip Cookies

5 Ingredient Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

We saw Boss Baby. You can wait until Redbox, 

Justin started Funston out on our smaller four wheeler. He did really well. Justin thinks he is ready to take it out next time we go. I don't know if this momma is ready. It is pretty nerve wracking. I got over it with Briana, and I am sure it will be the same with Little Man. It is hard to see them get so big. 

Until the next time I catch you up on what we did... 

Iced Coffee

Iced coffee is not difficult to make, so you  don't have to spend a weeks pay to make your own. I like coffee, a lot. My hubs and I have date nights based on trying new coffee houses. Here is my version of iced coffee...

1/2 cups of:

Pre- sweetened coffe drink (I use Bolthouse Salted Caramel)

Cold/old coffee (what is leftover from my 5:30 am brew)

Ice

You can simply mix everything and leave it "on the rocks" or you can blend it. I use my stick blender. I feel like it makes it frothier. Also sooo easy to clean up. I like mixing the brewed coffee and the premix because I am a tightwad and this makes the expensive drinks last through 4 iced drinks. I also have been known to freeze my coffee in an ice cube tray and then you don't need to water it down with regular ice. But you will need to add extra liquid, more coffee if you want or some milk. 

Drink up!!

Rosemary, brown sugar, cayenne pepper... Almonds.

My office recently went out to eat for a coworker's birthday to a local sweets shop called Cravings. They had some amazing desserts. One thing we tried and I instantly became obsessed with were these almonds. It was love at first bite. Soooo good.

I searched the internets for a recipe. I found several that seemed about right. I mixed and matched to find something that seemed right to me. You can't even imagine how happy I was. Immediately had to work almonds into my budget. I wanted to enjoy them again very badly. 

Here is what I did:

Ingredients:

2 cups almonds- I used raw, some sites recommended unsalted but roasted. 

1 egg white

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp rosemary dried

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 300. 

Beat egg white until frothy and no liquid egg whites remain but stop before you have meringue. 

Combine everything but the almonds into egg whites and mix thoroughly. 

Add almonds. 

Cover a baking sheet in foil. Spray with non stick spray.

Pour almonds onto sheet and smooth into a single layer. 

Bake 15 minutes. 

Stir almonds and smooth back into single layer. 

Bake 10 minutes. 

Let cool. Stirring on cookie sheet occasionally. 

Eat. Enjoy. 

Shredded Jalepeno Popper Pork Sammies!

I recently discovered the best recipe. I had to share. Even my shy-to-new-things hubs liked it!!! Spicy, creamy, sweet, all rolled into one sandwich. It was very very good.

I found this recipe here...  Just to give credit where credit is due. ;)

I made a few changes to work for our family. Here is my very slightly tweaked version. Oh and this is full fat and wonderfully bad for you.

Ingredients:
Sourdough bread- sliced
Tub of cream cheese (whipped)
butter
frozen Bird's Eye chopped jalapenos
6 lbs Boneless Pork Roast (2 separate roasts 3 lbs each)
frozen Bird's Eye chopped onion (about 2 cups- eyeballed)
2 tsp. chopped garlic from a jar (if you haven't noticed, I buy some things already chopped and ready, I am lazy like that)((I know not as good as fresh, but onions make me cry, I don't like to have garlic fingers, and the peppers are super handy to have around))
3/4 c. Rice Wine Vinegar (recipe called for Apple Cider... I forgot to pick it up while grocery shopping, and had rice wine on hand)
3/4 c. dark brown sugar
2 tbsp chili powder ( I used chipoltle chili powder because I had it, but I think I will cut this down some next time, a little too much spice for my family's taste.)
2 tbsp. Worcestershire (totally used spell check)
One bottle of Cookies Sweet and Smokey BBQ sauce (keep .5 cup divided for later use)
2 tbsp. dijon mustard
1 red onion- fresh
olive oil and salt.

Okay... what I did:
In the Morning: 
 I made a single serving of some jalapeno cream cheese for my sammy, everyone else got plain cream cheese. They don't do spicy very well. I mixed about 2 tablespoons cream cheese with one tsp of the frozen jalapenos, then put into the fridge to meld all day.
I mixed BBQ sauce (remember to reserve half a cup), mustard, sugar, chili powder, Worcestershire and mustard together in a bowl. I placed the frozen onions and garlic in the bottom of my crock pot, put the roasts on top and smothered it in the sauce I mixed up, and poured the vinegar on top of that. Set the crock to cook on low for 10 hours.
After work:
Took the roasts out of the crock- cooled for about 5 minutes while I drained the crock sauce into a bowl using a colander to catch any bits of onion and what not to make a smooth sauce. Reserve this sauce in your bowl for now. Slice your red onion, cook on low to med. low in a sauce pan with a drizzle of olive oil and pinch of salt until soft and golden and yummy. While onion is cooking shred the pork and place back into the crock pot. Remember your BBQ sauce from this morning? Add it to the pork. Mix it up. If needed add some the strained crock sauce until meat is moist enough for your liking. Put the lid on and keep the crock on low.
Okay... here is where it goes from good to down right amazing.  Remove onions from skillet, add a pat of butter and let melt. Take the bread, coat it with your schmere (cream cheese, yo) put some of the onions on the cream cheese, add some pork and put another slice of bread on the top, you know, make a sammy. Place sammy on the melted butter and let it get golden brown. I can fit three sammies in my skillet. Remove sammies onto a plate once golden on side one. Add butter to skillet and repeat goldenization process on side 2. I served our dinner with a side salad with cilantro dressing and corn. Also, my kids did not get any onion, I would recommend extra onion if everyone likes it. I would also go with the jalapeno cream cheese by Philadelphia if everyone likes the heat. It is just less waste to make my own small batch myself.

Try it, I promise it does not disappoint. Thanks to the original poster. We have a new recipe in rotation now. We also have a ton of meat leftover. I plan to freeze it.

Yumm!

Menu for June 9-15

I haven't been using my Monthly Meal Planner as of late. It is still really handy, and I go to it for some ideas, but I have been trying an online weekly planner. Shrinking on a Budget offers great weekly meal plans grocery lists provided for a really inexpensive price. I found it through Pinterest. I paid $6 for six months worth of weekly meal plans. I find that I spend around $150 each week at the grocery store anymore. Prices are on the rise, and having that menu planned out for me can be very convenient. I just cross off what we don't need, and sub out some of my family's faves for the recipes I know they won't touch. I have PICKY eaters in my family, so not every week works for our needs, but I have gotten some amazing new recipes to add to our catalog. Here is what we are eating next week. I made this menu myself, we are taking a break from the  unfamiliar for my family's sake. They like safe and comfortable. Lunches and Breakfasts included! Happy eating-

Sunday, June 9-
Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with salsa and whole wheat toast with fresh fruit (canned always subbed for fresh for my allergy ridden child- usually applesauce or light fruit cocktail or grapes- the lone fruit she can eat)
Lunch: leftovers from last week (spaghetti and BBQ)
Dinner: Turkey Tacos with corn tortillas and black beans

Monday, June 10-
Breakfast: Oatmeal (old Fashioned, not quick cooking) flavored with Cinnamon, raisins and honey
Lunch: Mom- Salad with turkey lunch meat and Cilantro dressing and green salsa, fresh fruit and carrots with hummus. Snack: raw almonds and pecans.  Kids and Hubs: Turkey sandwiches with multigrain Pringles, fruit, juice/gatorade/water, dark chocolate square ( or squares if you are a grown man) and a cheese stick.
Dinner: Shredded BBQ crock pot chicken (can also be done with pork if it is on sale) on Whole Wheat Buns, Sweet potato fries (and regular fries for the picky ones), green beans.

Tuesday, June 11-
Breakfast: Granola Bar with Yogurt
Lunch: Mom- Same as day before (change up fruit for some variety) maybe use leftover BBQ chicken instead of lunch meat. Kids and Hubs- Ham and Swiss Sandwiches, fruit, chips, and sweet treat.
Dinner: Pizza- Flatouts with Marinara and fresh Mozzarella. Pepperoni and veggies for toppings. Salad on the side with low fat dressing or Olive Oil and Vinegar,

Wednesday, June 12-
Breakfast- Cereal and fruit
Lunch: Leftover Pizza with side salad and Raisins.
Dinner: Grilling out baby~ Chicken, Steak and Hot Dogs- Corn on the Cob- fruit cocktail and baked beans.

Thursday, June 13-
Breakfast: Granola Bar and Yogurt
Lunch: Pulled chicken salad sandwiches from leftover grilled chicken, chips, fruit, carrot sticks.
Dinner: Fish Sticks- Mac and cheese- fruit cocktail and green beans.

Friday, June 14-
Breakfast:  Oatmeal (old Fashioned, not quick cooking) flavored with Cinnamon, raisins and honey
Lunch:  Mom- Salad with turkey lunch meat and Cilantro dressing and green salsa, fresh fruit and carrots with hummus. Snack: raw almonds and pecans.  Kids and Hubs: Turkey sandwiches with multigrain Pringles, fruit, juice/gatorade/water, dark chocolate square ( or squares if you are a grown man) and a cheese stick.
Dinner: Spaghetti with whole grain pasta, low sugar pasta sauce- salad with low fat dressing.

Saturday, June 15-
Breakfast: Whole Grain pancakes with fresh fruit and Maple Syrup
Lunch: Picnic style lunch with Sandwiches, deviled eggs, chips and fruit.
Dinner: Leftovers (anything that is left gets pulled out- hodge podge meal. Yum!) Peanut Butter and Jelly sams are thrown in if there are not enough leftovers.

Whipped Cream Cupcakes- Cookies and Cream Style

The cupcakes were a Whipped Cream Cookies and Cream Cupcake with a Stabilized Whipped Cream Frosting. The cookies could be optional, but why?! They are light and fluffy. Not too sweet. So, so good.

Ham Chowder

This is a staple for my recipe book. I originally got the recipe from Once a Month Mom. It freezes beautifully. The image above comes from the website the recipe was originally published. You must try this soup!!! Uh-May-Zing!!!! Even my kiddos like it, well, not true, my son likes the crackers and cheese that I put on the top. He once told me that soup "makes him sick". What a jokester.

Just a note about freezing and then thawing. It will look GROSS. It will look like something went horribly and terribly awry. It didn't, I promise. Just heat it up and all will go back to looking like soup. I now realize that my statement above about it freezing beautifully will be misleading. I should say after freezing and reheating it is beautiful. Before the reheating, you will not want to eat it at all., but you must press on and cook the soup.

Chicken and Waffles Makeover

Okay, a coworker of mine told me she was having chicken and waffles for MLK Day. I thought it sounded so good. Unfortunately, I am watching my calories again, and fried chicken and waffles smothered in butter and maple syrup don't exactly scream "Eat me, dieter!" So I thought, makeover chicken and waffles. Here is what we had...

Honey Breaded Chicken Strips (Baked) and banana pancakes for me, real waffles for the kiddos and hubs.

 

Cookie Scoop and Pinspired Cookie Balls

I got a cookie scoop!!!! I am so very excited to have a cookie scoop. Oh, the small joys in life.

See? Isn't she a beaut???

Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispie Treats

I made these for the fam a couple weeks ago. They were a HUGE hit. I wanted Rice Crispie Treats, but I also wanted Peanut Butter. This is what I came up with. There may be a better recipe out there, but I did this on the fly and with what I had on hand...

Pinspired- Pancake Muffins

This is another wonderful Pinterest idea. Use your favorite pancake mix. Pour into mini muffins tins. Top with yummy toppings and bake. Not only do the pancakes all turn out the same, but you don't have to cook them at different times or watch your family eat theirs while you cook yours. No more pancake breakfast in shifts!!!

2nd Place Pie... Not too shabby!

My brother- in- law got hitched last weekend. He and his bride are amazing people. Their wedding was a blast, and they had some very unconventional reception ideas. First being a taco bar- AMAZING!!! Second- a pie contest. The wedding party judged pies, and guess what?!?

Bacon Cheeseburger Chicken and 7 up Bread

This is a favorite in my family. I found it through Once a Month Mom . This site was very helpful when I was doing freezer cooking. Several of our monthly rotation recipes will come from them. This site led me to
Bacon Cheeseburger Chicken

7 Up Bread was a Pinterest find. Yummo!! We have a similar recipe that was grandmothers.'s for rolls, but this is simpler. It is easier for an everyday recipe. I will share my grandmother's recipe around Thanksgiving- bake them and you will be the most popular at dinner. But in the meantime- make this...

Hot Cross Buns

My daughter broke out her recorder the other day and played "Hot Cross Buns" for about a half an hour (blerg!). This prompted the kids to ask about hot cross buns. They wanted to eat them. I decided to oblige. I did a google search and quickly found out hot cross buns are hard. By hard I mean, they require yeast. Mommy doesn't do yeast. I am scared of yeast. I can do baking powder and/or soda. Those are my leavening agents. Needless to say, I redid the search and added "EASY" to the buns. I found the following recipe on cooks.com