C - Cream Cheese Chicken Topped with Bacon

If you are like me, you get tired of the same old things. That is exactly how this recipe came to be. It is super delicious and I always have these ingredients in my fridge!!

This one has been a huge hit with my family. We have made it a few times and it is always devoured. I like it because it is easy, but looks like a lot of work. The fact that I always have these things makes it wonderful when I need to go to the store. I usually serve this with roasted vegetables and mashed potatoes. This particular night, it was fresh tomatoes, fresh corn, and fresh Dixie Lee peas with rice. :) Man I love summer food!!

So here is goes!

4 boneless/skinless chicken breast (pounded out to 1/4 inch)
Salt and pepper
4 tablespoons cream cheese
4 slices of bacon
Mrs. Dash Table Blend or your favorite spice combo

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 13x9 pan with Pam.
2. Pound out boneless/skinless chicken breast until they are about 1/4 inch thick (I am not Martha Stewart. So I don't measure. Just guesstimate at your measurement.)
3. Salt and pepper one side of the chicken breast.
4.Sprinkle Mrs. Dash's Table Blend.
5. Dot a tablespoon of cream cheese (pinched into small pieces) onto the chicken.
6.Roll the chicken up with the seam on the bottom.
7. Salt and Pepper the top.
8. Cut the bacon into thirds and place on top of the chicken.
9. Bake for 45 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.

Enjoy

Marshmallow Firecrackers

Are you still looking for a last minute craft to do with your kiddos?

 These marshmallow pops are super easy and yummy!

(Don't you just love my fancy stand?)

 Check out these easy steps...
1. Melt white chocolate or almond bark.
2. Dip cake pop sticks in white chocolate and insert stick into the marshmallow.
3. Once they are set, dip marshmallow into the white chocolate and shake off the excess.
4. Dip chocolate cover marshmallows into colored sprinkles.
5. Allow to cool on wax paper.
 Done!

 If you are like me, you have some chocolate left over!

 You could dip some cookies or make come festive candies!!!

 My girls are so excited they can hardly stand it!! (lol...even though they are totally faking it here!)

B is for Babyfood

Well, at baby boy's check up the doctor gave us the thumbs up for starting baby food!

What was that you said, good doctor?!?

Real food?!?

Does the good doctor realize this is just a new born baby?

He cannot possibly be old enough to start real food! I mean he is only....uh oh! He is 5 months old! He is old enough to start eating real food!!

Where is the time going? At this rate I will be begging Daddy-o for another baby by the end of the year!
Shh...don't tell him!!

But that does bring up another chore that mommy gets to tackle. We don't "do" store bought baby food. I know it would make my life a ton easier to just purchase it. However, we are on a budget and it tickles me to save that money. So the savings are well worth my time.

We (by 'we' I mean me) decided to introduce foods on a weekly basis. I also chose to introduce new foods on Tuesdays. That gives me a chance to make new foods on Mondays.

First up, sweet potatoes!!

This is by far one of the easiest foods to prepare.

Wash and place your sweet potatoes on a tin foil lined pan.

It is as simple as roasting your sweet potatoes at 400 degrees for 45 minutes (sometimes they take up to an hour). The potatoes should be tender to touch. Once they are cool enough to handle, peel and dispose of the skins. You can either mash the flesh with a potato masher or throw them in the stand mixer with the whisk attached. The stand mixer does an awesome job getting the job done. I wish I would have thought about this when I was making food for the girls! That is it! The sweet potatoes are made!! Easy Peasy!!

He LOVES sweet potatoes!!

Next up, peas!!

These are also super easy. You can use fresh or frozen peas. I used frozen. Place the peas in a steam bag or a steamer. Follow the direction for the bag or steamer. Once the peas are steamed, begin mashing them through a fine strainer. This part is a little long and boring. But soon you will have nothing but skins left in your strainer. Throw the skins away and store the flesh. 

This will be really thick!! I freeze the food as is. Upon defrosting the food, add breast milk, formula, or water. Mix it well until you get the desired thickness. 

I wish I could tell you Baby Boy likes peas, as well! But he gags! haha

Maybe they will grow on him!?!

Oatmeal Cereal
Sassy Sue loved oatmeal cereal! So I thought, why not try it with Baby Boy? That is when I found that yucky word: "wheat gluten"!!
::Gasps::
So that is where her first gluten came from!! :( I did not know I was poisoning her at such a young age!

As many of you know, Sassy Sue has Celiac Disease. Celiac is a genetic disease, which means she got it from either me or Daddy-o. Knowing that piece of valuable information makes us look at feeding this little guy a little differently. We will not introduce wheat or gluten into his diet until we are able to determine if it effects him.

I thought we would just skip oatmeal altogether! But she can have gluten free oatmeal, so I decided to make my own. And boy was it easy (and gluten free)! :)

1. You simply put the rolled oats (not instant) into the blender and grind into a powder.
2. Sift to remove any large pieces.
3. Cook 1/2 cup of ground oatmeal with 2 cups boiling water for 10 minutes.
4. Cool.
5. Mix with your fruit of choice.
6. Serve or freeze.
    The End!

Now how easy was that?? AND!! It tastes great!!

Storage

There are many ways you can store your baby food. I like simple! So the old fashioned ice cube tray comes to play. Simply, scoop the food into the tray and freeze. Once it is frozen, remove the cubes and place them in an airtight container. Make sure you label your containers and date them!! They all starts to look the same when you get into other foods and you don't want them to be eating old food. One ice cube is enough to feed Baby Boy one meal if it is mixed with breast milk. I simply grab a cube out of the container, defrost, mix it with milk, and he is ready to go.

Benefits

Like I already said, the first benefit is the price. The second benefit is the health. I know exactly what I am putting into his food. There is never a question about freshness or taste. Which brings me to number three: a good eater. Homemade baby food tastes worlds better than store bought food! I would actually eat this stuff!!

Stay tuned for more baby food posts. I will be working on carrots, blueberries, pears, and many more in the next few weeks!!

With Love,
Kenan

A is for Chunky Apple Chicken Salad

Here in Grangerville we eat A LOT of apples! There are some times of the year that we will go through 4 bags of apples in a week! Did you catch that?? 4 bags!!

We do everything from muffins to chicken salad. Chicken salad is one of my all time favorite things to make, especially in the summer! 

Here in the south it has been hot and muggy. We have had crazy thunder storms every afternoon for well over a week. And a few weeks ago, it rained for about 10 days straight! ::gags:: And when it gets hot, I do not want to cook, nor do I want to eat! So we snack! And I usually have a container of chicken salad hanging out in the fridge. 

This is a super easy salad! Think of it in twos.

2 cooked chicken breasts shredded 

2 ribs of celery (finely chopped)

2 pink lady apples

1/4 cup finely chopped bread and butter pickles

1/2 - 1 cup mayonnaise (this varries on how juicy the apples are)

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1/8 teaspoon paprika

Mix the ingredients in a medium bowl. Chill for at least 1 hour prior to serving. Enjoy!!

I serve this with Glutino Crackers. But you could use your favorite cracker or pita chip! And every chicken salad needs a side of fruit.

I hope you guys enjoy this super easy and tasty lunch!!

Much Love,

Kenan

I'm back with TWO announcements

Well! I'm baaack!!

I have been on a wonderful little blogging vacation to drink in the joys of motherhood. Our sweet baby boy arrived in late January!! He is such a little blessing. I cannot explain the love and joy he has brought into our lives.

This baby has been a balm to my heart. I cannot wait to share our precious gift with you all!

 He is such a sweet baby and his sisters are absolutely in love!! But more on that later!

I am here today to announce a weekly blog hop with some friends. The girls and I will be going through the alphabet a letter at a time. I am so very excited about this blog hop. I am pumped to be getting back in the swing of things. I am pumped that you guys are going to get to experience the ends and outs of our crazy lives. Get ready for honesty. Get ready for recipes. Get ready for chaos! :)

Much Love,
Kenan

Until We All Come Home...first book review

I have read some great books in my life. But recently, I won a book from another mommy blogger at Organized SAHM. Thanks, Tara!!

This book came with great reviews so I was SUPER excited about picking it up. But it did come with a warning! The warning was very simple, "You won't be able to put it down!"

Boy, was she right!

Until We All Come Home by Kim de Blecourt was an adoption story like I have NEVER read!

Admittedly, I am not familiar with the in's and out's of the local adoption process and much less familiar with the process abroad. But, I did not expect to read about how twisted and corrupt the Ukranian foreign adoption process was.

Kim spent nearly a near in Ukraine solely devoted to bring HER son home. During much of this time she was without her husband in a male dominated land. The last few months of the process, Kim cared for her own daughter as well as the son she was adopting. It was then she found herself trapped (for nearly two weeks) in a small apartment with two young children who had an abundance of energy.

It seemed that God was saying "no" every time there was an easy path to be taken. However, Kim would cry out and He would answer every time!!

If you are looking for a wonderful page turner, I strongly recommend Until We All Come Home by Kim de Blecourt. You will not be disappointed!

Enjoying the Little Things

There are many reasons I love home schooling.

But now that I am being forced to have more down time, I have been able to enjoy the little things with the girls.

For example, today we were able to take a walk for the first time in a few weeks. :) We talked with the neighbors and totally enjoyed our 70 degree December morning!

But this afternoon, Libby (THE bulldog) was whining to go out, as soon as I sat down to rest. Trying to put her off a few more minutes, I rubbed her belly. This worked for a millisecond until she started routing around in the basket of blankets.

You will never guess what she found! A roll! Yup, a dinner roll!!

I guess, yesterday, when I wasn't feeling well a dinner roll (in a ziplock bag) ended up in the basket of blankets.

Libby quickly ran out the back door to bury the roll. And the girls were on the chase.

It is great to be able to enjoy the little things with these crazy kids (and bulldog) of mine!

(This was taken at Easter, but it shows exactly how much the girls love Libby. They HAD to include her in the egg hunt. I think they may have been cheating a bit!!)