So yesterday, I had planned to make brown sugar chicken. When I got home, the chicken wasn't fully defrosted, so I had to go with someting else. Since i had everything I need for the month, I pulled out stuff that didn't need to be defrosted. I went with the bubble up pizza.
I love this recipe for several reasons. One, it's cheap. Two, it's super easy. Three, I have an awesome soux chef who loves to help with the prep work. Before I forget, here's the recipe. http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222520352/
It takes like 5 minutes to put together. Cutting the biscuits takes the longest, except when I have Nathaniel cut up the pepperoni. We tried a knife, a pair of scissors, and finally settled on him tearing it into pieces. (He needs help wit his fine motor skills, so I figured we practice while cooking together.) He doesn't like it as much as regualr pizza and told me he didn't want to eat it.
For once, I was fine with that. I made him some pasta and made the pizza for Pat and I. I put in minced garlic, pepperoni and onion. I also used a shit ton of cheese. No really. On the side of the package it said "shit ton."
ANyway, I baked it up and Pat and I had it for dinner and I had some for lunch and still have half a pan left. Lunch tomorrow is served! Especially since we were really hungry tonight and have no leftovers. Brown sugar chicken and cheesy corn casserole.
Speaking of the corn casserole, It tasted pretty good reheated after being frozen. Nathaniel liked it when we had it the other day (when I made it) but he didn't like it tonight. That's ok though. He ate all his carrots. ;) Tomorrow is another new recipe... crock pot beef and broccoli. Can't wait to see how it turns out!
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Head Vs, Heart
**I started to type this yesterday, March 12, 2013, but I couldn't get through it all. Here is what I remember of what I had planned to say. This is also why I couldn't put the recipes in my previous post.**
Ugh. I just can't stop crying today. My head is battling with my heart and that always makes things difficult. Two years ago today, I had my second miscarriage. And my heart is breaking.
My heart misses what will never be. My heart longs for the baby I lost. My heart is full of pain today.
But my head, oh my head! My head knows that if I'd had that baby, I wouldn't have my sweet wonderful Veronica. I sit watching her and she is next to me laughing. She waves at me and gives me a smile, as if to say "Mommy, I was meant to be here with you, not the other one."
So while my heart breaks, my head rejoices in the new things my daughter discovers every day. My heart aches with pain but also with the joy she brings.
When your head and heart are battling, there will be no actual casualties, but it's a hard fought battle.
Ugh. I just can't stop crying today. My head is battling with my heart and that always makes things difficult. Two years ago today, I had my second miscarriage. And my heart is breaking.
My heart misses what will never be. My heart longs for the baby I lost. My heart is full of pain today.
But my head, oh my head! My head knows that if I'd had that baby, I wouldn't have my sweet wonderful Veronica. I sit watching her and she is next to me laughing. She waves at me and gives me a smile, as if to say "Mommy, I was meant to be here with you, not the other one."
So while my heart breaks, my head rejoices in the new things my daughter discovers every day. My heart aches with pain but also with the joy she brings.
When your head and heart are battling, there will be no actual casualties, but it's a hard fought battle.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Recipes
I will try to remember to include links to recipes when I post about some new food that I've made. Or type out the recipe, if I can't link it. So here goes:
Shredded buffalo chicken. This is really one of our favorites. It's so easy, makes a ton, and tastes great as sandqiches, nachoes or on salads. We make it twice a month. http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723221653656/
The Italian pork chops that I made tonight. They were good, by the way. I just would have like a crispier coating. http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222598977/
The crack potatoes that we had tonight. (Technically the third pan of a previous batch.) http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222479328/
This is the brown sugar chicken we're having tomorrow. http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222497742/
We're having this cheesy corn casserole with the chicken. (One pan out of the four it made) http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222584836/
Ok, so that's all I've got right now. I'm getting pretty darn tired and the baby is ready for bed too, I hope. But don't worry, I'll get more up here as I continue the experiment.
Shredded buffalo chicken. This is really one of our favorites. It's so easy, makes a ton, and tastes great as sandqiches, nachoes or on salads. We make it twice a month. http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723221653656/
The Italian pork chops that I made tonight. They were good, by the way. I just would have like a crispier coating. http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222598977/
The crack potatoes that we had tonight. (Technically the third pan of a previous batch.) http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222479328/
This is the brown sugar chicken we're having tomorrow. http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222497742/
We're having this cheesy corn casserole with the chicken. (One pan out of the four it made) http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222584836/
Ok, so that's all I've got right now. I'm getting pretty darn tired and the baby is ready for bed too, I hope. But don't worry, I'll get more up here as I continue the experiment.
Pork chops, crack potatoes and green beans
So I was planning on making pork chops, crack potatoes and green beans for dinner tonight, but I think that might change a little. I have the green beans and a leftover pan on the potatoes (I found the recipe on pinterest and it made 3 pans from one recipe). But I might change the pork chops.
I was scouting out my pinterest this morning or last night, I'm not sure now which it was. ANyway, I found a recipe for parmesan gralic chicken. It had just 4 ingredients- parm cheese, garlic powder and a packet of Italian dressing mix and chicken. Well, I have all of those in the house, but I will try it out on the pork chops.
The chops I bought last week, the day before the sell by date and got $3.00 off the package. They cost $2.64. Yeah, they're bone in, which I don't like, but I can cut the bone out to save that much (on pork chops anyway. Not on chicken. Yuck!) The parm cheese will cost about 35 cents worth and the rest of the stuff for dinner I already had on hand. So sinner tonight will cost $3.00.
I know, right? 3 bucks! To feed three people! Even if I added the price for the other stuff, it would come up to about $6.00 for the potatoes, beans and chops. I am thrilled with how this is going. I will write tomorrow and review the chops, but if you read this and follow me on Pinterest, the review will be up tonight, on my "Pin there, done that" board. (Cute name, isn't it? IT's the things I've done or made. Tee hee.)
I was scouting out my pinterest this morning or last night, I'm not sure now which it was. ANyway, I found a recipe for parmesan gralic chicken. It had just 4 ingredients- parm cheese, garlic powder and a packet of Italian dressing mix and chicken. Well, I have all of those in the house, but I will try it out on the pork chops.
The chops I bought last week, the day before the sell by date and got $3.00 off the package. They cost $2.64. Yeah, they're bone in, which I don't like, but I can cut the bone out to save that much (on pork chops anyway. Not on chicken. Yuck!) The parm cheese will cost about 35 cents worth and the rest of the stuff for dinner I already had on hand. So sinner tonight will cost $3.00.
I know, right? 3 bucks! To feed three people! Even if I added the price for the other stuff, it would come up to about $6.00 for the potatoes, beans and chops. I am thrilled with how this is going. I will write tomorrow and review the chops, but if you read this and follow me on Pinterest, the review will be up tonight, on my "Pin there, done that" board. (Cute name, isn't it? IT's the things I've done or made. Tee hee.)
Sunday, March 10, 2013
My New Experiement
Where to start? Pat and I are pretty much broke. Like to the point that all my credit cards are maxed out, and we can afford to pay the mortgage and daycare and at the end of the month we have about $3.00 left. Yes, 3 measly dollars.
SO at work last week, I wrote down what our bills are and how much our income is. We made enough to pay for everything, so what's going on? After spending weeks looking at our spending habits, I found we are hemmorraging money on food. Take out lunches, breakfasts on the go, and "I don't feel like cooking" dinners out. Ridiculous amounts. Hundreds of dollars a month. Hundreds!!!
I decided it was time to stop that. I'm tired of scraping by, or scraping up money to buy clothes for the kids and diapers and formula for Veronica. I had recently started cooking big batches of side dishes, and planning out what meals to eat them with, so I figured that maybe I could do that for two weeks at a time. I knew that I would have about $160 for groceries, but I really wanted to find how far I could stretch that. SO I planned for the month.
Then I made my grocery list. I needed 17 chicken breasts, 7 pounds of ground beef, a pound of chuck roast, and 2 1/2 pounds of cube steak. Then there were all the little things I needed, like garlic, tomato paste, enchilada sauce, cheese, biscuits and a million other little things. I went to Aldi first, to get whatever I could that they carry. I used to turn my nose down at their products, but I can't afford to do that now. And I'll never go back.
The first time I shopped at Aldi, I took my reciept to Jewel and compared prices. It was ridiculous. I had spend $35 dollars at Aldi. The same items at the cheapest price Jewel offered totalled around $65. A few dollars is one things, but 30? Crazy. But I digress.
I am still very picky about my meat, but the chicken is pretty good, so I got all the chicken there as well as the chuck roast, although they didn't have any one pounders. I had to get two, which for me just means two meals from it. The price differences just get me though. I spent 65 cents on a packet of ranch dressing mix. At Target, it would cost a dollar more. It's the exact same stuff!
But I'm getting off track again. It happens a lot. So armed with my grocery list and $160, I hit the stores. I spent $127.43 at Aldi, got all the meat I listed above, plus 80 other items. Then I went to Jewel. I got wing sauce, 2 cans of enchilada sauce, and 2 bags of stir fry veggies, 2 cans of broccoli cheese soup and the cube steak and spent almost $25. Ridiculous I say! Now, if you add those together, I spent just over $152.
HOLY SHIT I had done it!!!!
We are not just eating crap, either. I have a ton of yummy things planned for the month. I made a batch of twice baked potato casserole yesterday. I was able to split it into three different meal portions, so there's three sides there. (All in the freezer.) I made a cheesy corn casserole that I was able to make 4 pans out of one batch. We ate one, and I froze the other three. There's 7 different sides taken care of. I have lots of frozen veggies, and I will add those to the meals too.
I also did a lot of the prep work. One night we are having fajitas, so I already cut the chicken into strips, and did the same with the onions and peppers. All of that went into one bag (chicken in a bag in the bag) so I can just take it out the night before so it defrosts. Same with the chicken stir fry. The chicken is all cut up into bite size pieces. (No more I don't have time excuses!) The ground beef is separated into bags and labeled with what it's supposed to be used for.
I know how ridiculous this sounds, but I am very excited. Yesterday was March 9th. I don't need to go back to the grocery store for anything other than baby food and milk until April 5th. I have plenty of leftovers for lunch, and Nathaniel eats both breakfast and lunch at shcool, which is going to help me cut down. I also am really working on portions, so this will help.
Tonight I made shredded buffalo chicken (one of our favorites!!!) and as usual, it was delicious. Three chicken breasts, a bottle of wing sauce and a packet of dry ranch mix. Chicken was $4.68, wing sauce was 1.77 and ranch dressing was .65. Add in a buck for the hamburger buns and dinner for both Pat and I plus lunch for the next two days cost $8.10. Four servings is just about 2 bucks per serving. How can you beat that? PLus it tasts so damn good!
Sp my new experiment is seeing if I can actually make this work. I am really hopeful that I can. Wish me luck!
SO at work last week, I wrote down what our bills are and how much our income is. We made enough to pay for everything, so what's going on? After spending weeks looking at our spending habits, I found we are hemmorraging money on food. Take out lunches, breakfasts on the go, and "I don't feel like cooking" dinners out. Ridiculous amounts. Hundreds of dollars a month. Hundreds!!!
I decided it was time to stop that. I'm tired of scraping by, or scraping up money to buy clothes for the kids and diapers and formula for Veronica. I had recently started cooking big batches of side dishes, and planning out what meals to eat them with, so I figured that maybe I could do that for two weeks at a time. I knew that I would have about $160 for groceries, but I really wanted to find how far I could stretch that. SO I planned for the month.
Then I made my grocery list. I needed 17 chicken breasts, 7 pounds of ground beef, a pound of chuck roast, and 2 1/2 pounds of cube steak. Then there were all the little things I needed, like garlic, tomato paste, enchilada sauce, cheese, biscuits and a million other little things. I went to Aldi first, to get whatever I could that they carry. I used to turn my nose down at their products, but I can't afford to do that now. And I'll never go back.
The first time I shopped at Aldi, I took my reciept to Jewel and compared prices. It was ridiculous. I had spend $35 dollars at Aldi. The same items at the cheapest price Jewel offered totalled around $65. A few dollars is one things, but 30? Crazy. But I digress.
I am still very picky about my meat, but the chicken is pretty good, so I got all the chicken there as well as the chuck roast, although they didn't have any one pounders. I had to get two, which for me just means two meals from it. The price differences just get me though. I spent 65 cents on a packet of ranch dressing mix. At Target, it would cost a dollar more. It's the exact same stuff!
But I'm getting off track again. It happens a lot. So armed with my grocery list and $160, I hit the stores. I spent $127.43 at Aldi, got all the meat I listed above, plus 80 other items. Then I went to Jewel. I got wing sauce, 2 cans of enchilada sauce, and 2 bags of stir fry veggies, 2 cans of broccoli cheese soup and the cube steak and spent almost $25. Ridiculous I say! Now, if you add those together, I spent just over $152.
HOLY SHIT I had done it!!!!
We are not just eating crap, either. I have a ton of yummy things planned for the month. I made a batch of twice baked potato casserole yesterday. I was able to split it into three different meal portions, so there's three sides there. (All in the freezer.) I made a cheesy corn casserole that I was able to make 4 pans out of one batch. We ate one, and I froze the other three. There's 7 different sides taken care of. I have lots of frozen veggies, and I will add those to the meals too.
I also did a lot of the prep work. One night we are having fajitas, so I already cut the chicken into strips, and did the same with the onions and peppers. All of that went into one bag (chicken in a bag in the bag) so I can just take it out the night before so it defrosts. Same with the chicken stir fry. The chicken is all cut up into bite size pieces. (No more I don't have time excuses!) The ground beef is separated into bags and labeled with what it's supposed to be used for.
I know how ridiculous this sounds, but I am very excited. Yesterday was March 9th. I don't need to go back to the grocery store for anything other than baby food and milk until April 5th. I have plenty of leftovers for lunch, and Nathaniel eats both breakfast and lunch at shcool, which is going to help me cut down. I also am really working on portions, so this will help.
Tonight I made shredded buffalo chicken (one of our favorites!!!) and as usual, it was delicious. Three chicken breasts, a bottle of wing sauce and a packet of dry ranch mix. Chicken was $4.68, wing sauce was 1.77 and ranch dressing was .65. Add in a buck for the hamburger buns and dinner for both Pat and I plus lunch for the next two days cost $8.10. Four servings is just about 2 bucks per serving. How can you beat that? PLus it tasts so damn good!
Sp my new experiment is seeing if I can actually make this work. I am really hopeful that I can. Wish me luck!
Monday, January 7, 2013
Honesty
I started Atkins again. I know that I have a lot of weight to lose. It's damn near disgusting how much I need to lose, but I'm actually not even focusing on that.
I want to live. That's what I'm focusing on.
Life.
I want to see my kids grow up. I want to dance with them at their weddings. I want to see them grown and happy.
So, for the first time in my life, I am going to focus on myself. I have realized that I need to love myself, or I won't take care of myself. How can you care for soemthing you hate? In that vein, I am going to admit how much I weigh, no matter who reads this- strangers, sisters, whomever.
I weigh 287 pounds. Yes, you read that right. 13 pounds under 300. 20 of that is leftover from when I was pregnant with Veronica, and another 20 was leftover from Nathaniel's pregnancy. But the pregnancy ended 6 months ago. Yeah, I dropped 32 of it in the last 6 months, but most of that was right after I had her. Not good enough.
So we start again. Today I planned out breakfast, lunch and dinner. I brought my gym shoes to work and WALKED after school. I did 30 minutes. It was awesome, and very empowering. If I can do it today, after being off work for two weeks, I can do it any day, right? I know that I can. I have salads for lunch (working on liking the veggies- it ain't easy) and make good tasting eggs with veggies and cheese for breakfast. Dinner is easy, I just take out the carbs, right? It sounds so simple when it's written out like that.
Then why the hell is it so hard? I pray that it gets easier. And for the first time I feel like I really have a great support group- my mommy's club. They were so incredible today when I asked them to wish me luck that I would do it.
And, ok, I have one really vain reason too. Mom's getting married in April. (I know, right? Entry for another day, another time.) I want to look good. Not just alright, but good! I have nothing that will fit and nothing that I want to wear, and I hate going shopping for clothes. I don't want it to be like that for the wedding. Ok, and I want to feel like I look better than Jen. I won't no matter what, but I want to feel like I do. That's all I'm asking for there.
So, good luck to me as we do this again, and hopefully, for the final time. I can do this. I can do this. I CAN DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!
I keep chanting "I'm gonna have a healthy body, next year this time I'll be a hottie..." I think if I keep having days like this, I will believe it soon enough.
I want to live. That's what I'm focusing on.
Life.
I want to see my kids grow up. I want to dance with them at their weddings. I want to see them grown and happy.
So, for the first time in my life, I am going to focus on myself. I have realized that I need to love myself, or I won't take care of myself. How can you care for soemthing you hate? In that vein, I am going to admit how much I weigh, no matter who reads this- strangers, sisters, whomever.
I weigh 287 pounds. Yes, you read that right. 13 pounds under 300. 20 of that is leftover from when I was pregnant with Veronica, and another 20 was leftover from Nathaniel's pregnancy. But the pregnancy ended 6 months ago. Yeah, I dropped 32 of it in the last 6 months, but most of that was right after I had her. Not good enough.
So we start again. Today I planned out breakfast, lunch and dinner. I brought my gym shoes to work and WALKED after school. I did 30 minutes. It was awesome, and very empowering. If I can do it today, after being off work for two weeks, I can do it any day, right? I know that I can. I have salads for lunch (working on liking the veggies- it ain't easy) and make good tasting eggs with veggies and cheese for breakfast. Dinner is easy, I just take out the carbs, right? It sounds so simple when it's written out like that.
Then why the hell is it so hard? I pray that it gets easier. And for the first time I feel like I really have a great support group- my mommy's club. They were so incredible today when I asked them to wish me luck that I would do it.
And, ok, I have one really vain reason too. Mom's getting married in April. (I know, right? Entry for another day, another time.) I want to look good. Not just alright, but good! I have nothing that will fit and nothing that I want to wear, and I hate going shopping for clothes. I don't want it to be like that for the wedding. Ok, and I want to feel like I look better than Jen. I won't no matter what, but I want to feel like I do. That's all I'm asking for there.
So, good luck to me as we do this again, and hopefully, for the final time. I can do this. I can do this. I CAN DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!
I keep chanting "I'm gonna have a healthy body, next year this time I'll be a hottie..." I think if I keep having days like this, I will believe it soon enough.
Monday, October 8, 2012
So I Guess It's Been A While
What can I say? I've been busy. I don't even know the last time I entered anyhting on this blog. THere's just been so much going on lately. More than that I guess is the fact that I've just been so damn tired every day.
I went back to work the first day of school in August and it's been pretty much non stop since then. I have had a very difficult time adjusting my time and patience with working and being a mom. If I'm honest with myself, it's been fucking terrible.
The first day of school, I came home and cried. I told Pat that chase could take the house, but I wasn't going back to work. And it wasn't becuase I missed my children. I did, obviously, but I knew they were safe and happy. It was just that I hated the students in my classroom.
The second day, I made Pat take us out for dinner and I got drunk. Yeah, that bad.
The third day, Nathaniel was acting out really bad and I had just had it. I got up and tore after him, ready to yell and scream at him. He stood there, terrified out of his mind saying "No Mommy, no!" That was the end of that. I just sooped him up and cried and cried.
Since then, I have left all the school bullshit at school. It's been much better since then.
SO that's that.
Veronica is now over 3 months old. I can't believe how much faster the time is going this time than it did when Nathaniel was a baby. She (other than today) is an incredible baby. Since she was 6 weeks old, she's slept all night. She goes to bed around 8 and sleeps until 6:30. I often have to wake her so that she can eat breakfast before she goes to daycare.
Nathaniel decided about 2 months ago that he was done using diapers. He started by peeing twice at school and then I sent him in underwear two days later. That was it. He's had maybe 4 accidents since then, and he even sleeps in underwear at night. He is so good at going on the toilet that you'd think he'd been doing it all his life.
Pat is doing well. Working long hours for crap pay, but at least he's employed. That's kind of all we ask for now. I mean, everyone works long hours and doesn't make enough money, right?
As for me, well, I have started Atkins again. I lost 7 pounds last week. I;m sure it would have been more if I had exercised and drank more water. I have to do better this week. ALso, my high school reunion was this past weekend. I went to the football game, but didn't bother to go to the actual reunion. With our budget being so tight, I couldn't justify spending $150 for Pat and I to sit at Balmoral race track with a bunch of people I didn't like 20 years ago.
God, 20 years. Where has it gone?
But, after the game, I was able to leave the school with my head held high and on my own terms. I feel like that part of my life has finally ended and I can close the book on all that shit. Then, I went to go get something to eat, since the salad I had eaten wasn't enough. I stopped at Micky's to get a patty melt ad fries. Oh, how I love those fries! I sat in the drive thru and they made me wait. While waiting, the theme from Rocky came on. How many more signs did I need? I did not order anything to eat. I was able to pass up fries and junk food. I was (am) very proud of myself. I was even able to resist it all weekend long.
Coming up we have a very busy month full of tempting junk food. The week is Pat and my 4th aniversary, and we will be going out to get something to eat. The weekend after that is Pumpkin Fest in our town. We'll be going and Nathaniel is very excited about going on his hat ride. The weekend after that is both Larry's 6th birthday party and Amber's confirmation party. Then it's Halloween- candy. If I can get through this month, it should be smooth sailing.
Wish me luck!
I went back to work the first day of school in August and it's been pretty much non stop since then. I have had a very difficult time adjusting my time and patience with working and being a mom. If I'm honest with myself, it's been fucking terrible.
The first day of school, I came home and cried. I told Pat that chase could take the house, but I wasn't going back to work. And it wasn't becuase I missed my children. I did, obviously, but I knew they were safe and happy. It was just that I hated the students in my classroom.
The second day, I made Pat take us out for dinner and I got drunk. Yeah, that bad.
The third day, Nathaniel was acting out really bad and I had just had it. I got up and tore after him, ready to yell and scream at him. He stood there, terrified out of his mind saying "No Mommy, no!" That was the end of that. I just sooped him up and cried and cried.
Since then, I have left all the school bullshit at school. It's been much better since then.
SO that's that.
Veronica is now over 3 months old. I can't believe how much faster the time is going this time than it did when Nathaniel was a baby. She (other than today) is an incredible baby. Since she was 6 weeks old, she's slept all night. She goes to bed around 8 and sleeps until 6:30. I often have to wake her so that she can eat breakfast before she goes to daycare.
Nathaniel decided about 2 months ago that he was done using diapers. He started by peeing twice at school and then I sent him in underwear two days later. That was it. He's had maybe 4 accidents since then, and he even sleeps in underwear at night. He is so good at going on the toilet that you'd think he'd been doing it all his life.
Pat is doing well. Working long hours for crap pay, but at least he's employed. That's kind of all we ask for now. I mean, everyone works long hours and doesn't make enough money, right?
As for me, well, I have started Atkins again. I lost 7 pounds last week. I;m sure it would have been more if I had exercised and drank more water. I have to do better this week. ALso, my high school reunion was this past weekend. I went to the football game, but didn't bother to go to the actual reunion. With our budget being so tight, I couldn't justify spending $150 for Pat and I to sit at Balmoral race track with a bunch of people I didn't like 20 years ago.
God, 20 years. Where has it gone?
But, after the game, I was able to leave the school with my head held high and on my own terms. I feel like that part of my life has finally ended and I can close the book on all that shit. Then, I went to go get something to eat, since the salad I had eaten wasn't enough. I stopped at Micky's to get a patty melt ad fries. Oh, how I love those fries! I sat in the drive thru and they made me wait. While waiting, the theme from Rocky came on. How many more signs did I need? I did not order anything to eat. I was able to pass up fries and junk food. I was (am) very proud of myself. I was even able to resist it all weekend long.
Coming up we have a very busy month full of tempting junk food. The week is Pat and my 4th aniversary, and we will be going out to get something to eat. The weekend after that is Pumpkin Fest in our town. We'll be going and Nathaniel is very excited about going on his hat ride. The weekend after that is both Larry's 6th birthday party and Amber's confirmation party. Then it's Halloween- candy. If I can get through this month, it should be smooth sailing.
Wish me luck!
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