Glazed Cinnamon Scones

With a promise to make something special for breakfast (and no syrup for pancakes), this is what I came up with to eat this morning...

Scones:
2 c. Bisquick
1/3 c. milk
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg

Mix and form into 8 inch circle.  If it is sticky, use a little more Bisquick.  Place on greased cookie sheet.

Sprinkle top with sugar and cinnamon:

 

Bake at 425 degrees for 12 minutes.  While baking mix glaze topping...

Glaze: 

1 c. powdered sugar

3 tsp milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

 

(we didn't really like the vanilla flavor in the glaze, but I think I accidentally put in a whole tsp.)

 

 

Remove from oven, cut into triangles and drizzle glaze over top.



 

Then they are ready to eat!  My girls (6yrs and 10 years) loved them!  So quick and easy.

Two Minute Mirror Makeover

So, I have been going to paint the trim on our bathroom mirror since before we put it up.  Our bathroom is decorated in black and white, the mirror had a multicolored flower design around the edge... didn't match at all.  The other day, I saw some zebra striped duct tape and thought, that would be so easy, why haven't I thought of that before?  It literally took me two minutes to redo the mirror.  It is taking me longer to write this post than it took to do the project!
Here is the mirror before:

 

Here is what I used to redo it, yep that's it, just a roll of duct tape and a utility knife:

I put the tape down one side at a time, and trimmed the tape by running the knife down the edge of the frame:

Here is the finished mirror:

Cream Cheese Sausage Balls

So, I have been trying to get things ready for my daughter's shower that is in two weeks.  I found this recipe for cream cheese sausage balls, which you can make ahead and freeze.  You don't cook them until the day you want them, you just make them up and freeze them raw.  But, I am all for anything that saves time on the day of, especially since I am doing all of this by myself.  I have made sausage balls before, but not with the cream cheese in them. 

Cream Cheese Sausage Balls

1lb hot sausage, uncooked (I had coupons for some turkey breakfast sausage, so I used that and added some crushed red pepper, because it was not hot)
8 oz. cream cheese, softened (zap it in the microwave for about 45 seconds and your are good to go)
1 1/4 c Bisquick
4 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded

If you are making them ahead, mix it up (I ended up using my hands, because it was too thick and sticky for any of my utensils to do any good), make balls (about 1").  I decided to flash freeze them so they wouldn't freeze all together in a clump.  Just put them on a cookie sheet in the freezer for thirty minutes to an hour, then put them into a ziplock and back in the freezer.  This is a picture of them getting ready to flash freeze:

 

 

 

If you cook them right away, preheat oven to 400 degrees, bake for 20-25 minutes or until brown.  If frozen when cook, add a few minutes to the baking time.

 

I cooked up a couple to make sure they tasted good :)  Yummy!  They are a little fluffier than the ones that don't have the cream cheese, which I like.  They did stick to the pan, so I suggest spraying the pan first, or using foil (which I like, because you can just lift them off the pan to cool and put on another sheet of foil for the next batch.



More Chicken OAMC recipes

So, there is really no rule to the OAMC.  Sometimes I do all of them in one or two days, and sometimes I just make several when I do cook.  Yesterday I made Black Bean Taco Soup for dinner, and made an extra for the freezer.  Today I made two recipes that involve cooking a lot of rice.  One for tonight and five for the freezer.  These are two new recipes that I have not tried before, but they are both super easy.  They are a little time consuming because you have to cook the rice (and I had to do it in two batches because my big pan lid doesn't seal right, so I had to use a smaller pan.)  Anyway, here they are:

Oh, the Black Bean Taco Soup is not a chicken recipe, but it was very good!

Black Bean Taco Soup  (This makes 2 bags, I adjusted it a little because I have a big family)

1 lb  lean ground beef (I used two lbs of taco turkey)
1 med chopped onion (I used onion powder to satisfy the kiddos)
1 pk mild taco seasoning mix
1 16oz bag frozen corn
1 can black beans ( I used 2 cans and this recipe said to drain and rinse, but I did neither, there didn't seem to be enough liquid to make it a soup)
1 can stewed tomatoes ( used one can diced tomatoes and one can of rotel, instead of the can of chilis)
1 8oz can tomato sauce (I used a 15oz can)
1 4oz can diced green chilis
1/4 cup olives (optional)

Brown meat and onion, drain.  Mix in other ingredients and put in bags. (I added a little water, like I said it wasn't "soupy" at all)
Write on bag:  thaw overnight, cook on high for 1-2 hours or low for 2-3.5 hours.  Serve with tortilla chips, cheese and sour cream.

Tex Mex Chicken Casserole (makes 4 casseroles, I added a little rice and made 3)

4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
8 cups cooked rice
2 cans rotel tomatoes (I used on can rotel and one can diced tomatoes, so it isn't too spicy for kids)
2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
2 cans black beans, undrained
1 small can black olives, drained (I did not use these)
6 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Mix everything together except cheese.  Divide into 4 pans, top with cheese, cover and freeze.  I used ziplock bags, so I will add the cheese when I cook them.
Write on package:  thaw overnight, bake at 350 degrees until heated through and cheese is melted (everything is already cooked, so it just needs to be heated well)

Chicken Casserole (Makes 3 casseroles)

4 shredded, cooked chicken breasts
5 cups cooked rice (I used more rice to make enough for my family of 6)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup chicken broth
2 bags frozen peas and carrots
1 tbsp. salt
1/2 tbsp. black pepper
3 cups French's onions (I did not use these)  for topping
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese  for topping

Combine cheese and onions together for topping if using pans.
Combine rest of ingredients and separate into 3 pans or bags.  If using bags, seal and freeze.  If using pans, put topping on meals, cover and freeze.

Put on package:  thaw overnight, cook at 350 degrees until heated through.  If used bags, put cheese and onions on top before cooking.

We are eating one of these tonight :)

Wonderfully Awesome and Easy Zesty Chicken

I just had to post this recipe.  I was in a hurry to find something to throw in the crockpot on the way to church so we would have lunch when we got home.  This recipe is simple, simple, simple!

Zesty Chicken
3-4 chicken breasts (I used a pack of about 12 small boneless chicken thighs that I picked up on sale)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 package of cream cheese cubed
1 package zesty Italian dry dressing mix

put it all in the crockpot and let cook 4-5 hours on low.  Serve on rice or noodles.

I strongly suggest using chicken that is boneless, because it fell apart when I stirred it, which made it better to put over the rice.  I stirred it once to make sure the cream cheese was mixed in good right before I served it.  It was sooooo good, and the kids loved it too.  This is definitely a keeper!

OAMC Chicken recipes (and one ham)

I have been on a roll today... even had time to throw together 7 meals for the freezer.  Still have some more to do, but did the ones that don't require cooking right now.  Here are the three recipes I used:

Sweet BBQ Hawaiian Chicken (this amount makes one bag)
4-6 Boneless Chicken Breasts
1/3 c BBQ sauce
1 20 oz can Pineapple Chunks, undrained
1/3 c low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed (I did not use this because I used brown sugar BBQ sauce)
1 Tbs corn starch

Write on bag:  thaw overnight, cook in crockpot on low for 8 hours.  Serve over rice.

Salsa Chicken  (this amount makes one bag)
4-6 Boneless Chicken Breasts
1 c salsa
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 can cream of mushroom soup (I used cream of chicken)
1/2 c reduced fat sour cream (do not put this in bag, you add this at end of cooking)

Write on bag:  thaw overnight, cook in crockpot low for 6-8 hours, stir in sour cream and serve over rice.

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham (this makes 2 bags)  (I had a lot of ham, so I made three bags, one without the broccoli and I split the soup between the three, but added a whole can of water to each bag.)
12 potatoes cut into 1/4 inch round slices or a large bag of frozen potatoes
(I used frozen hash browns, the little square ones.  I have heard that sometimes fresh potatoes turn black when you freeze them, and I have used the hash browns in other recipes)
2 cans cream of your choice soup (I used potato)
2 cans water
4 ham steaks, cubed
8 oz (1 c) cheddar cheese
2 c broccoli (I used frozen broccoli pieces)
salt and pepper

Write on bag:  thaw overnight, cook in crockpot on low for 8 hours.

These were super easy, I got all 7 bags done in about 20 minutes.

Dyno-mite Blocks!

So, I saw some cute blocks someone painted on Pinterest and decided to make some for my soon coming grandbaby.  His nursery theme is going to be dinosaurs, so I am throwing my daughter a baby shower with the dino theme and thought these would not only be cute in the baby's room, but also as a centerpiece on one of the tables at the shower...

First I had a friend cut out some wood blocks for each letter in his name... Helix.  The blocks I had cut were an inch and a half thick and five inches wide.  The height I decided based on each letter.  The tall ones I did 8 inches, the short ones, five, and the "I" I had cut 6 inches.  Then I spray painted them with white primer.

 

 

 

You have to wait in between coats, and it took several to cover.  I let them sit overnight.  I then painted each block a different color, which took two coats. 

I painted the sides and back brown.  Then came back and outlined the front color in a thin stripe of brown and painted the letters on the colored side.  The paint was shiny, so when I painted the brown on top of the colors it was a little streaky.  I came back and used a foam paint brush and this covered well.

Once the letters dried, I added dinosaurs, a tree limb, and grass to the blocks.  You can use any theme you want!  This is what I ended up with:

I am happy with the way they turned out, I realize now, that it might have been easier and quicker and probably neater if I had decopaged letters and dinos on, or if you have a circuit, that would work great too.

Cheap and Easy Laundry Soap

I found this recipe on Pinterest last year.  A friend of mine made the liquid clothes soap and loves it.  I found the process for the liquid to be too messy.  I usually buy liquid clothes soap because I have had problems with it clumping in the wash, but you only use a tablespoon or so of this, so there isn't enough to clump.  It takes less than ten minutes to make and lasts forever.  I made some of this this past summer and just now was starting to get close to the bottom of the bucket... I probably had another month's worth left. 
This is what you need:

 

I found everything at Walmart on the clothes soap isle. 
1 box 20 Mule Team Borax
1 box Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda
1 large box Arm and Hammer Pure Baking Soda
1 Box Oxi Clean
1 bottle Purex Crystals (these are optional, but they make everything smell nice)
2 bars of FelsNaptha laundry soap

Other sites say to microwave the felsnaptha soap.  This is supposed to make it puff up and easy to crumble.  I found that it did puff up, but it got kind of gummy, not really crumbly, and I burnt my fingers on it.  It was really easy to grate fresh out of the wrapper.  I used a cheese grater.

Once you grate the bar soap, you just put everything in a bucket and stir it together.  I did half at a time.  Then you use 1 tablespoon per load of laundry.  I put in a little more if I have a super large load.

So busy!!!

We have had so much going on the last week!  My husband and I are youth pastors at our church, and we had a hamburger dinner/ Bible study on Wednesday night (thanks to a very sweet couple at our church!).  We have been doing a Bible study on the Napoleon Dynamite movie.  I know, you're thinking "what could they possible use that for in a Bible study?"  but, it's actually pretty good.  This week we looked at Napoleon's brother Kip and vision.  Anywho, we also had Allie's pageant on Friday night.  She did not win, but she had a really good time.  There were 21 girls in her division (kindergarten).  They are so funny at that age!  She really wanted the pretty crown, but everyone got a trophy, and when she found out we were going to a "gratulations" dinner, everything was all good.  Saturday we took the youth (we had 18 people in all) to the Road Show concert in Bossier, LA.  It was awesome!  We had such a good time!  I got to hear a couple of bands I had not heard before, loved the Vertical Church Band, and some that I already know and love... Third Day and Skillet.  Another of my faves was there, Jamie Grace.  I saw her at last year's Winter Jam concert, and was supposed to see her at a Mandisa concert we went to (but she was sick that time).  When she got on stage, her guitar kept messing up and she has no band, so she had to sing to the background music.  She really did pretty good, considering... I felt bad for her, you would think that a concert that big, someone would have come to her rescue, but they just kind of left her hanging.  She was a good sport about it though.  Sunday, we had church of course, and then had to go pick up the girls from another town at my parents, since they are not in the youth and did not go to the concert.  Today, back to work!  I got home and found out that the schools will be closed tomorrow, just in case the roads get icy.... hmmm.  And I find out that the four day weekend the kids are getting is actually a 5 day weekend!  I love my kiddos, but good gravy!  They will be climbing the walls if we don't get some good weather over the next weekend!  I have not had time to work on my chicken OAMC recipes, so it's a good thing I stocked the freezer last week :)  We are having some of the enchiladas I had in the freezer tonight, and then watching the new Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2.  I will get those OAMC things posted as soon as I get to them, may be next week before I have a chance to cook that much again!

OAMC at it again

The thing about once a month cooking, is it saves you time later on... but you have to have time now to cook that much all at once!  I had Monday off, and I fully intended on getting more cooked than I did, but I ended up helping my husband knock a hole in a concrete wall at the church for a door to our new youth room.  I only had half a day to cook, but I did get quite a few casseroles done.  I think I ended up with 17 casseroles and 4 batches of peanut butter banana muffins, which isn't half bad.  I got all of the casseroles that had ground meat in them done.  I think next week I will concentrate on the chicken recipes.  OAMC is a good way to stock up on meals, but it also saves a little money.  I had a few of the ingredients at home, but had to buy most of them.  I think I ended up spending about $150.00 on all of the groceries (that included a few extra household items)  which is pretty good for 17 meals... probably 120.00 was for the casseroles which comes out to about $7 per meal for a family of six.  I had some coupons for $1 off any Jenny O ground turkey, so all of my recipes with ground meat used ground turkey, which we use a lot, and you really can't tell the difference if it is mixed in with other stuff. 

The muffins I made are peanut butter banana muffins, they do not have any dairy in them, and I replace the regular flour with wheat flour... the peanut butter and banana flavor make it where you really can't tell there is wheat.  My daughter hates wheat and she didn't even know.  Of course I let her eat a few of them before I told her, now they are one of her favorite breakfasts.  I make these whenever we have bananas that are getting too ripe to eat, and we had several bananas ready for muffins when I started my oamc cooking on Monday, so I whipped up 4 batches while I cooked ground meat for the casseroles.

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. applesauce (unsweetened)
1/2 c. mashed banana (one banana)
1 egg white
1 c. whole wheat flour (or white)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder

Mix the first 5 ingredients, then add in the rest.  Preheat 350 degrees.  Bake muffins for 20 min.
If freezing, let them cool, wrap each one in saran wrap and put in ziplock bag.  When ready to eat, put wrapped muffin in microwave for 15 seconds.

I made six different dishes on Monday... some I doubled, some I tripled, one I made four of... you just have adjust the recipes as needed.  I usually cut back on some of the cheese for each recipe, some of them call for a lot of it, and this saves a little money also.  Here are the recipes I used:

Beef enchiladas (got this from www.amandathevirtuouswife.com  she has a lot of really good stuff on her blog, so you should check it out.)

1 pk burrito sized flour tortillas
1 lb ground meat
1 19oz can red enchilada sauce
1 16 oz can refried beans
1 pk taco seasoning (I used ground turkey that came seasoned with taco, so I didn't add this)
8 oz shredded cheese
sour cream to serve on top when cooked

1.  Brown meat, drain, and add taco seasoning.
2.  Stir in refried beans.
3.  pour 1/2 can of enchilada sauce in bottom of pan.
4.  fill tortillas w/meat mixture, roll up and put in pan.
5.  any leftover meat mix can be put on top.
6.  pour remaining enchilada sauce on top and sprinkle with cheese
7.  cover, freeze
8.  Let thaw overnight, bake 350 degrees for 45 min to 1 hour

Easy Pizza Pasta  (got this from www.recipezaar.com )

This is enough for 2 9x13 casseroles:

2lb ground meat
1 large onion (I use powdered so the kids will eat it)
1 clove garlic (powdered again)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2 26oz jars spaghetti sauce
16 oz rotini pasta, cooked and drained
5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (I only used about 3 cups, I mix it all up and put in ziplock bags instead of pans for the freezer and it works nicely)
8 oz pepperoni

1.  brown meat, onion, and garlic... drain.
2.  stir in pasta, spaghetti sauce and 3 cups cheese.
3.  put in pans, sprinkle with remaining cheese
4.  top with pepperoni (again, I mix it all together and put in a ziplock)
5.  freeze
6.  thaw in fridge overnight, bake 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes, till hot.

 

Make Ahead Cheeseburger Casserole (this is one of the kid's favorites  www.recipezaar.com )

makes 2 casseroles:

4lb ground meat (I usually use one lb per casserole)
garlic
onion
2 cans cream of potato soup (their recipe calls for mushroom, but I don't like them)
2 cans cheddar cheese soup
2 20oz pks of frozen French fries (you can use any kind, but the Oreida Crispy ones work best)
salt and pepper to taste

1.  brown meat and drain
2.  add onion and garlic
3.  stir everything together except fries, pour in pan
4.  top with fries
5.  freeze (I put everything but fries in a ziplock and put with French fry package in freezer.
6.  thaw overnight, bake 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes or until fries are done.

Beef Noodle Bake  (www.food.com )

1lb ground meat
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup small curd cottage cheese
1 cup sour cream
8 oz egg noodles, cooked and drained
(you can add cheese on top, but I did not)

1.  cook meat and drain
2.  add tomato sauce, salt, garlic, onion, and pepper, simmer for 5 min
3.  combine cottage cheese and sour cream, fold into noodles
4.  pour in noodle mixture and top with meat mixture.
5.  freeze
6.  thaw overnight in fridge, keep covered and bake 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Western Casserole (the kids love this one too  www.recipezaar.com )

You can add doritos on top when cooking to make it crunchy, we have it with and without... Don't add them if freezing, because they will get soggy)

1lb cooked ground meat, seasoned with taco seasoning
1 10 oz Rotel tomatoes (sometimes I just use diced tomatoes so it isn't too spicy for the little ones)
1 15oz can ranch style beans
8 oz tomato sauce
3/4 cup Minute Rice, uncooked
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

I mix all of this and put in a ziplock to freeze.
Thaw overnight, bake 350 degrees for 45 minutes, you can also sprinkle with cheese on top and bake for another 15 minutes.

Beans and Franks Bake  (We have not tried this one, but it was very simple to put together and you don't have to cook anything before you freeze it.  www.food.com )

2 pks of cornbread mix
1 28oz can baked beans
4 hot dogs sliced
1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
onions
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1.  prepare cornbread batter according to package and set aside
2.  combine beans, hot dogs, bacon, ketchup, brown sugar and onion
3.  put in baking dish
4.  sprinkle with cheese
5.  top with cornbread batter
6.  cover, freeze
7.  Remove from freezer at least 30 min before cooking
8.  cover and bake 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  Uncover and bake 15-20 min more or until heated through.

(I did not put in ketchup or brown sugar because I used the sweet baked beans.  I also added a lot more hot dogs and did not use the bacon because I forgot to get it)

It only took me about 3 or 4 hours to get all of these done.  Which is pretty good, considering I only have to remember to thaw stuff out the night before now.  Hope this post was helpful!

You Make My Heart Glow

So, the other day we made Allison's valentines with the wands that I had picked up on clearance.  Today, we made Brianna's valentines.  I bought some glow bracelets at the Dollar Tree, they had some packages with 7, instead of the normal 5, for a dollar. 

Then, we printed out "Valentine, you make my heart glow"  (I added her name on there and fit 4 on a page).  Cut slots on each end and slid the bracelet through the slots.  I do have to add a warning:  these bracelets are very easy to set off.  You have to be extra careful when putting them through the holes.  Once they are turned on, they will run out...  We only popped three or four in the process, luckily I bought an extra package.  We will see if they all make it to school...

"Wand"erful Valentines

Quick Post!  I love all things Pinterest!  I had picked up these wands for like 50 cents (a package of 8) when the Dollar General put them on clearance last year...

 

I saw this great valentine idea on Pinterest to use wands and a card that said "I think you are 'wand'erful".  The link for the card printout did not work for me, so I made my own...

Then I snipped a spot on each corner to stick the wand through and tada --

Allie's valentines for school!  She loved the idea, she is all about wands ;)  Now, I have to find an idea for Brianna's... off to Pinterest!

The Dress

So, it has been a while...  I started a cleaning business and it has really taken off.  Fortunately I can set my own hours (I'm in good with my boss, lol), so I only work when the kiddos are at school.  Two of my kiddos are in high school, both of the boys have girlfriends and do sports, so they are out and about a lot.  The girls are both still in elementary school, but they are becoming social bugs, which requires a lot of riding around from me.  That on top of all of our ministry commitments leaves not a lot of time for blogging.  However, I have decided to give it another go this year... we will see.

So, the dress.  Well, the girls each have school pageants coming up really soon.  I have known they were coming all year, as they do every year, but didn't really think about it until the first registration form came home from school.  Allie got her form a couple of weeks ago, and the pageant is in a week and a half.  So the hunt for a dress was on.  I went to the "big city" and talked my husband into going to three or four dress shops.  (He waited in the car after the first one, but he was very nice and patient about it.)  My intention was to rent a dress to save a little money.  The first shop used to rent (back in the dark ages when I was in school), they no longer do that, but the lady said she would be willing to rent me a dress (only had one choice) for $150.  I thought that was a little steep seeing as how we wouldn't get to keep it, so I continued on to the other stores.  The second store had nothing under $300 (not happening for a Kindergarten school pageant).  The third store was a second hand shop that had only dressy stuff.  They did not have anything in my girl's size, but had a website that I could look at and they would order from for me.  Those dresses were a little more reasonable, but still more than I wanted to spend ($150).  I thought, if they can order from a website and add their fee to the price, surely there is a website that would sell straight to me. 

 

I found the website!  I was so excited.  The dresses were beautiful and cheap!  I found Allison the perfect dress for $95 (pictured above), and Brianna picked one out that was $69 (even better).  Allison's dress said it would ship out in 2 days and be at my house within 8 days, perfect!  A day or two passed and I checked the sight to see if it had shipped.  There was a tracking number, yay... and a note from the seller that China was on holiday for the New Year and the workers would not be back for 20 days.  It stated that they would begin working on the dress when the workers returned.  I messaged the shipping company and the tracking number belonged to a package that was destined for Australia... what?????   I was freaking out!  I messaged the company that was the go between (it is like an ebay for china) and they said they could not do anything.  That after four days I could begin the process of asking for a refund.  Then the seller had to agree to the refund and it would take a few months.  This was not what I wanted to hear, the pageant was pending.  I contacted the seller and after several rounds of "no workers, I am so sorry dear friend."  I finally asked if they had any other dresses in stock that were the same size.  She quickly got back to me and gave me three pictures to choose from.  We found one that was an acceptable replacement and then she promised to have the dress shipped out asap.  My friend joked that we should pray it was not a Barbie dress, lol (not funny at the time, but I was a little worried.)  Biting nails, pulling hair, the lady finally sent me a UPS tracking code and when I looked it up, it said it was headed to my town.  God is good!  (We had been praying all week that this would work out!)  So, the dress arrived, and I learned an important lesson...  you can get just about anything cheaper from China... but you better make sure they are not on holiday before you order!  (Come to find out, my sister-in-law has ordered a dress for her wedding from China also... I told her that she better find something else, because it probably won't get there until after they are hitched.

                                                           The Replacement Dress

          Brianna's Dress (white), hope it gets here in time!  I was promised that the workers would make it as soon as they return and that I will receive it by March 3rd.  (Her pageant is on March 7th!)  I will be really nervous that week until it gets here!!!