mmmmmmm....

...pizza roll...

if you like pizza but you wanna change it up a bit. this is for you!
tastes like a pizza. just looks a bit different.

good ol' comfort food.
husband is sure to love it :)

first, roll out some pizza dough onto a jelly roll pan.
next add your toppings. we just added pepperoni because that is all we had in the house.
i think green peppers, sausage, chicken&jalapenos, or mushrooms would be good too.

add as much cheese as you would like. we like it cheeeeesay :)
it ain't easy bein cheeesay :)
oh, and add some italian seasoning too

then start rolling the dough until you have a log lookin thing.
{you can add red sauce if you want, but i think it would be hard and messy to roll}
you choose though.
put it in the oven at 400 for 15 minutes....and voila!


yum yum yum!!!!
love.

make this.
you will thank me later that you did.
just sayin'!! :)

xoxo

ps stay warm friends....25 below brrrrrrrrr

we made the switch....

...from luvs...

to...bum genius


we will see how this CD-ing journey goes. i know it isn't for everyone, heck! i don't even know if it for us yet....we will see starting this weekend.

the fact that i figured it will save us around $2,000 by the time mason is out of diapers.....i'm sold!!

if anyone out there in the blogospere uses CDs or has any insight using CDs.....
...i would take some loving advice :)

and some random thoughts from my ADD brain:
TGIF TGIF TGIF!!!!!! we finally made it to the best day of the week :)
ahhhhh yeeea :)

my sweet older sister just got ENGAGED yesterday night!!! yippeeeeeee :)
i think she has had this wedding planned for a few months now :) they could probably throw this shin-dig this weekend if needed....{hi amanda!!!}
i'm so happy for them! love you both manda and phill :)

going consignment shopping this weekend and hoping i snag some sweet deals :)
i really do love being a cheapoooooo!

i wish the sleeping fairy was at my house last night. being up since 3:30 isn't my idea of getting rested :) and the worst part...mason was sleeping! it's one thing to be up because of your kids, but no...i just couldn't find that peaceful rest....blah!

enough from my brain......

have a fab friday and enjoy your weekend!!!!
xoxo
melinda

embrace the camera: jan 27

happy thursday friends!!!

i really need to use my moby wrap more often. mason loved it!!
i never want to put mason down once i get home but i need my hands free when i'm making supper....this is the perfect solution!
i can be hands free and have mase on my hip at all times :)

and when mase isn't on my hip, he's on my boob (jk jk jk)
we play and explore our world :)

i know you want to join in on the embracing fun!! it's your lucky day, you just head right on over to emily's blog and link up!!!



xoxo
melinda

mason's musings....

...life is busy right now. very busy....
...juggling being a mommy, wife, and teacher is getting the best of me....
....i'm.exhausted...

however, i am thankful husband is home with mason 3-4 days a week to capture what i miss out on. gosh. typing that hurts. i hate missing out on mason's musings. shouldn't that be my job, to capture every waking moment of mason's life???
not now. the Lord has different plans. His plans not my plans.

mason has been getting bigger and bigger and stronger and stronger with each new day.
i mean heck, he's already in 12 month old clothes and he's not even 6 months old yet!!!

husband has caught some moments we will treasure forever....thanks mr.!!!!

enjoy friends. enjoy.


seriously, is he trying to crawl. i thought he was still my little snuggle bug!?!???



sidenote: husband is an avid deer hunter.
daddy went to cabelas and mason was spoiled and got his first buck. it's his new favorite toy :)



his exer-saucer is also one of his favorites. i struggle with this thought though. to be a baby wearer or use toys for entertainment? i guess what works for us and mason is the exer-saucer for now.

have a fabulous evening friends!

xoxo

ps-something is coming in the mail tomorrow afternoon that i have been waiting for! but i'm not sure i should be excited.....you will have to come back to see what it is :)

a peek into ....

mason's room during his evening naperoooo......

this scares me. thank God we saw him before he was out for the night. he was sawin logs and content as could be though.
jeepers mase.
give your mom a heart attack why don't ya.

a not so healthy supper....

...but...
....it is a new favorite :)

instead of a bacon cheeseburger.....
...its a bacon cheese chicken

so this is what you'll need:
6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/4 C. teriyaki sauce
1/2 C ranch dressing
1C. cheddar cheese
1/2lb. bacon

pretty much, i had everything at home except the teriyaki sauce. i would bet that is the same for you. i don't know about you, but i HATE (and yes if i was talking to you i would yell hate) going to the store to get ingredients for every meal. i don't have a pantry fullllll of foooooood. although i wish i did. not to mention the closest store is 10ish minutes away in a different town. yes my town is a suburb and has a population of 63. i know you are alllll jealous of this small town.
hahahahahaha.

ok, ok, ok i'll get back to cooking.

first you are going to fry your bacon. i always cut the bacon in half before i even open the package of bacon. like this. {i learned this from my m.i.l.}

place the bacon in a large skillet on med./med.low.
to be quite honest i kinda suck at frying bacon. i always look at it and think, it's close but could go longer. i let it go longer and frick, it's too done. the trick is{in my opinon}when you think it could go a bit longer, that's when you should take it off the burner.

this is when you need to take it off the burner. or a bit sooner.
with your tongs, place bacon on a plate with a paper towel on top to soak up the grease :)

you will have some grease left in the skillet. pour most of the grease out, like in a glass jar, can, etc. don't pour down the drain. that's bad. leave just enough grease to make a thin layer on the bottom of skillet. this is what we will sear our chicken in. it gives it a nice yummy flavor.

pre-heat your oven to 350 and spray a 9X13 or 8X8 pan with pam or something similar. this is what we will put our chicken in, when we are done searing it.

place your chicken breasts in the skillet with that left over grease. sear 4-5 minutes on each side or until they are lightly browned.

When both sides are browned like above, place the chicken in the 9X13 pan or 8X8 which ever you use.

now cut the bacon into small bits. i use a scissors but you could stack them up and cut with a knife too.

yuuuuuum :)

now back to the chicken that is in your baking dish. pour the tariayki sauce over the chicken boobs. like so.
next cover with ranch dressing. i used light dressing just because that is what i had on hand. but you could use the KRAFT BRAND with bacon in it.
now top with cheese. like so.
and your bacon pieces.
now bake you chicken in the oven at 350 for 25-35 minutes. until the chicken juices and chicken are no longer pink.

can't believe i didn't take a picture of the finished product!!!!! ahhh!!!!!!
i guess i was too excited to hurry up and eat it!!!
just take my word for it......it looks freakin amazing!!!!!
trust.me.

happy cooking!!! :)

goodbye...

...to another great weekend....

this weekend was pretty low key. took MANY pictures of my little babe. had some diy/craft time with a sweet friend o'mine {hi!...stine!!}.
had a couple drinks, girlie drinks. went to church...

...and while i'm on the subject of church....ever since mason has been about 3 months old, it seems like church can't get over fast enough(that sounds horrible, so let me explain) i mean it is a long time for little ones to sit and not squawk. maybe it's just a pet peeve of mine to hear littles in church being loud to the point where i focus on them and not the message. so this sunday mason was getting really antsy and i could tell at any moment he was gonna get real unhappy and let us know about it(what happened to the days where he would sleep all through church...come on!)but i glanced at the clock and we had at least 10 more minutes. come one! lets wrap this message up and call it a day....this little is gonna flip at any moment. so where was i going with this??? i'm not real sure....just missin the days of sleeping all through church i guess :)

some weekend photos of maseypoo

we have started feeding mason oatmeal in the evenings right before bed because he had been waking up in the middle of the night just starving. i guess a 6oz. bottle isn't enough on its own. jeepers. we're gonna have a rollie pollie ollie on our hands :) bring it! love me some chubby baby :)

mason has a bad habit of scratching the crap out of his face in the middle of the night. it has been so bad that his cheek was bleeding in the morning....seriously mason?!?!???
despite his battle wounds....he couldn't be cuter....right?!!? i thought so :)


...another post about our other diy makings.....
this didn't touch the tip of the iceberg :)

hope you all enjoyed your weekend very much

....time to study my eye lids....

xoxo
melinda

embrace the camera: SNOW DAY! {jan 13}

today's pictures are from this week when we had a snow day!

i'm not so sure who enjoys them more....students OR teachers???!?!?

i know i was one HAPPY teacher sunday night when i got a phone call letting me know we were going to have a snow day on monday!!! yippeeeeeeeee!!! i was doin some major fist pumping in the living room!

cheers to snow days..with my boys :)

my bambeeno all bundled up. AND his first snow experience :)

gosh. i could eat him.

last year i had many snow days away from school..........which is how we ended up with our little lovie mason :)
haahah i can hear ya shouting...TMI TMI TMI!!!!
JUST SAYIN!! :)

want to embrace the camera with me??????
come over and join in the fun!!!




have a fabulous day my friends :)
xoxo

i promised mr. i would....

cook more in 2011....

not that i have to justify my statement but i will anyways....it's not like i NEVER cooked, it's just i didn't that OFTEN. maybe like a nice meal once a week, then of course you have left-overs that lasts a day or more, and then the good old standby...frozen pizza. then before you knew it the week was over already. then back to a cooked meal again.

so anyways enough of that ranting....we are trying to spice up our dinner rotations :)

tonight's meal: grilled chicken pasta in tomato sauce
you could also you shrimp if that is your thang :)

so you wanna try it? this is what you'll need:

1 lb. bonless, skinless chicken boobs
your favorite steak seasoning
1/2 pound penne pasta
2Tbsp butter
2Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 C chicken broth
1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce
1 C heavy whipping cream
salt&peppa (to taste)
1Tbsp parsley
1Tbsp basil

first, rinse your chicken in cold water and lay on wax paper.
the cover with another sheet of wax paper. use a meat mallet and pound the breast so that they are even in thickness. you want them to be even thickness just because i think they cook more evenly is all.
cover your chicken in your favorite steak seasoning. we used a chicago steak seasoning. you could also use like montreal steak seasoning or even lowrys seasoning too. whatever your little heart desires :)
So...
you could grill the chicken next OR if it is like snowing like crazy and colder than the artic where you are at like me :) then you can cook them on the stove top. we chose to use our stove :)

i use 2Tbsp butter & 2Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet. let that get nice a hott like then place your chicken boobs in the skillet and flip in about 5 min.
**once the chicken is done...you will be tempted to eat all of it plain b/c it's soooo yummy but refrain! you will be happy you did :)

now, make your pasta. in a large pot, add your water and a Tbsp salt. salt? yep. it will give the noodles a delicious taste! bring that water to a boil then add your penne pasta. i used like 3/4 of a 1lb. box of pasta and that is enough for you and your mr. plus a day of left overs or lunch for work the next day.

now to the heavenly tomato sauce.......
heat 2Tbsp butter and 2Tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. add the garlic and stir occasionally until the garlic is tender. you won't want to let your garlic too brown because then you are close to burning it. it should take like 3-5 minutes.

add your chicken broth to the garlic, butter, and olive oil and turn to medium high.
now let the chicken broth reduce while we cut up the chicken. it should be cool enough to handle by now.
now go back to your chicken broth. i wondered why in the heck you have to let the chicken broth reduce? i didn't really know what that meant. if you are like me :), you want it to reduce so that your sauce isn't too soupy or runny. it should reduce to like 1/2 or so.

so pour in your tomato sauce.
then pour in your heavy whipping cream
add 1/2 tsp salt & pepper, 1Tbsp dried parsley & basil...
or if you want, you may buy fresh and chop them up but that sounds like too much work, i'll stick with the herbs from my cupboard :)
and stirrrrr
then taste test it! if YOU think it needs more salt and/or pepper, please do so!

so now you will drain your pasta and put right into your tomato sauce and mix all together until ALL the noodles are covered.

you may also add your chicken to that mixture so it can heat back up.....OR....you can just add your chicken to the top of your pasta on your plate, like we did :)

fancy, ey?!?!??
are you huuuuungry yet!?!?!


here was my audience, making sure i wasn't messing up or anything :)

hi mom!!!!

happy cooking!!!!! :)

i think i want....

...one of these for my classroom!!!! eeeek!

cutest classroom pet ever, ey?!?! yep. i thought so too.

he will live at school during the week and with us ehlys on the weekends. that sounds like a good plan to me.
i just hope ted wouldn't mind. but seriously how could you say no? plus our kids would learn the responsibility of taking care of a living thing. am i really trying to justify getting one? yep. i think so.

oh.m.gee. where would i find of these lovelies? hmmmm????
going to research now.

pictures via {weheartit}

have a fabulous weekend, y'all!!!
xoxo