What's Cookin' Wednesday

We have a smiler on our hands, ladies and gentlemen (are there any gentlemen that read this blog??). She's a little stingy at times but they are 'oh, so sweet' when they emerge!!

Today, we're having Chicken Stir-Fry. It's a recipe I got from my good friend Jennifer (who got it from her mom I believe). Every time I make it, I wonder why I don't make it more often because it is super easy and very good!

What you'll need:
3 Tbsp Corn Starch
1 1/4 cup Water
1/3 cup Soy Sauce
1/3 cup Light Karo Syrup
Oil (I use Olive Oil)
Chicken Chunks
3 Garlic Cloves
Vegetables of your choice (I use broccoli, onion, baby carrots, peapods)
Water Chestnuts
White Rice
Chow Mein Noodles
Cashews

What you'll do:
1. Make the sauce. Mix corn starch and water until smooth. Then mix in soy sauce and Karo syrup.

2. If you have a Wok, use it! Otherwise, use a pan on the stove like me :) Heat 2 tbsp oil and fry chicken chunks with garlic. Once done, remove from pan and set aside. I just put the meat in a small bowl.


3. Heat 2 more tbsp of oil in the pan and fry veggies.


4. Add meat and sauce. Bring to a boil until it's thick.


5. Serve over white rice and top with Chow Mein noodles and cashews!!

Happy Easter!

The Easter Bunny was good to us again this year.....but he said we had to go to church before he would visit since that's where the true meaning of Easter is learned!
Here's a conversation that occurred at our house on the evening of Good Friday. On the nightly news (which is rarely on at our house), Katie Couric was talking about how people in Jerusalem walked Jesus's path on the way to the cross to die.

Maysen: Jesus died?
Me: Yes, baby, he did.
Maysen: Why did he die?
Me: He died for our sins because he loves you.
Maysen: He loves me? (With a big smile on her face--she thought that was pretty cool).
Melts my heart and lets me know that we are raising our kids right--in the way of the Lord--and that they actually do pick up bits and pieces from going to Sunday School each week!!

We were able to have our first picture taken of all 5 of us....can't believe it took so long...Mylie is 7 weeks old tomorrow! Aren't we a cute bunch??


Then, after church the Easter egg hunt commenced and the loot was gathered :) My parents and brother had joined us for church, and then my sister and her husband joined all of us for Easter lunch.


Easter is a difficult time for many people because it's another time when they are reminded of loved ones they've lost and difficult times they've gone through. The days leading up to Easter were filled with darkness and sadness, but then Sunday comes and gives us hope. "In the dark times in your life remember the true meaning of Easter; that even though sometimes it still feels like Friday, Sunday is coming" - Rev. Scott Grotewold

What's Cookin' Wednesday

The good ol' chicken breast is a staple in my kitchen, but I'm always looking for something different to do with it. This recipe is super simple, but jazzes up a plain chicken breast especially if you're entertaining or just looking for something a little different.

Creamy Baked Chicken Breasts

What you'll need:
4 chicken breasts (or as many as you need to feed your family--I usually make 5 so Brandon has leftovers for lunch the next day)
Swiss Cheese slices
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1/4 cup milk
1/2 stick margarine
2 cups crushed stuffing (I use Pepperidge Farm brand)

What you'll do:
1. Place raw chicken breasts in bottom of 9 x 13 pan.


2. Put Swiss cheese slices over chicken breasts.


3. Mix together soup and milk and spread over cheese layer.


4. Melt margarine and mix in crushed stuffing. Spread over the top.


5. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serve.



This is a great one to make the night before if you want a good meal the next night, but will be rushed for time. Enjoy....it's one of our favorites!! How do you jazz up your plain chicken breasts??

**It's always a good night when all three girls get a bath and warm cozy jammies on!!

What's Cookin' Wednesday

I went back to Weight Watchers last week. I like WW. It works. What I don't like is the mental block that I get thinking that I'm deprived of foods I like. I'm really not deprived at all, it's just that initial mental feeling that one gets when trying to lose weight. My goal is to lose 20 pounds by the time I go back to work next August. That's the last 10 pounds of baby weight...plus 10 more.

I'm a comfort food girl.....Chinese is my weakness! I also happen to love a good meatloaf. What!? It's Meatloaf, I know, but I like it and it's comfort food. I didn't know if I would want to spend my WW points on meatloaf so I built the recipe before I made it to see how much it was going to cost me. Only 5 points per serving!! Bring it on! I can handle that! Note: Because I'm a nursing mom, I get 50 points a day right now--5 points isn't that much! I would get 36 points a day if I wasn't nursing....still a good amount of points.

I've also gotten to experience being a Stay-At-Home-Mom since Mylie was born. This means I catch some good cooking shows or cooking segments on talk shows. Today's meatloaf is a conglomeration of recipes from my mom, friends, and cooking shows/segments.

What you'll need:
2 lb lean ground beef (I use 93% lean)
2 slices of bread-crumbled
1 egg
1/4 cup skim milk
Dash of Garlic Salt, Salt, Pepper
1 chopped onion
Splash of Worchestershire Sauce
Large squirt of ketchup (Technical, huh? These last two ingredients are via the cooking shows)
Ketchup (to spread on the top)

What you'll do:
1. Mix together ground beef and bread.

2. Add the rest of ingredients and mix well.

3. Press into loaf pan.


4. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Put ketchup on top of loaf for last 20 minutes or baking.


Bonus recipe:

Oven Roasted Butter Potatoes

What you'll need:
Potatoes
Olive Oil
Butter
Aluminum foil

What you'll do:
1. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and drizzle lightly with olive oil.

2. Slice potatoes to desired thickness and place on aluminum foil with three large dollops of butter.

3. Bake in oven with meatloaf for 1 hour.


What are some of your favorite comfort foods? Have you ever tried to lose weight? What was your biggest hang-up?

**Monday night we dyed Easter Eggs. M&M are so excited for Easter to come....they ask every day if it's Easter yet.

Tiny Dancers

Myah and Maysen had their first dance recital this weekend. They danced to a song called "I See a Princess" and they did a great job! Nana and Papa, Grandma and Grandpa, Kiki and Ric, and Cousin Caden all came to watch.

1 Month Old!

Miss Mylie is one month old today! Here she is in all of her adorableness!!

She still spends most of her day sleeping....so peacefully!!
As you can see, she's growing well!

Pretty in Pink at 4 weeks (on Tuesday, March 5)

What's Cookin' Wednesday

Today, I get to sit and smell supper cookin' all day in the crock pot...it's wonderful (and very easy!)

Crock Pot French Dip Sandwiches

What you'll need:
1 beef chuck roast (approx. 3 lbs)
2 cups water
1/2-3/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
1 bay leaf
3-4 whole peppercorns
French Rolls (I have found Pepperidge Farms Soft Hoagie Rolls to be my favorite!)

What you'll do:
1. Place roast in crock pot. Add water, soy sauce, and seasonings. Cover and cook on high for 5-6 hours or until beef is tender. Remove meat from broth and shred with forks. Place back in broth to keep warm.

2. Serve shredded meat on hoagie rolls.


I also wanted to share that I'm excited about a new show on TLC tonight: Extreme Couponing. Kind of strange, I know. However, I do use coupons. I'm not one of those people who has hundreds of them, but I have been known to save $20-30 on one shopping trip by using coupons....totally worth it. I don't think I could ever go to the 'extreme' some of these women have because I simply don't have the time--one lady had so many coupons, she saved 94% on her grocery bill! However, I will not pay full price on groceries if I don't have to. Do you use coupons? What are your other money-saving strategies??