One of the best things about being a mommy blogger is the ability to blog anywhere. Right now I am sitting in my bed, while hubby (who is currently unemployed.) has charge of our almost 3 year old. Yay for mommy time!
With my husband being unemployed at the moment, money is tighter then it usually is, so going out to eat is a no go for now. But I had a strong craving for Chinese. There is this Orange Chicken that comes from a delivery place that we order from when we visit my in-laws and it's one of my favorite take out meals, so on a whim and an intense desire for Orange Chicken I got creative with my cooking last night and made my own. This isn't the most healthy recipe, but it was oh so good, and in many ways was better then the one we get from take out! Ingredients: 2 Large Chicken Breasts 1 C Bread Crumbs Olive Oil For The Sauce: 1/4 C Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce 1 tbs Rice Vinegar 2 tbs Light Brown Sugar 2 tbs Honey 1 tsp Minced Garlic 1 Halo Orange 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes (optional) 1 tsp sesame seeds Directions: 1. Cut chicken into bite size pieces. 2. Place chicken into a ziplock bag with bread crumbs and shake to coat. 3. Pour olive oil in large frying pan & pre heat. 4. Place chicken in pan & cook til golden brown & crispy on the outside. 5. While chicken is cooking combine all ingredients, except for the orange, in a small sauce pan. 6. Use a small grater to grate skin of the orange into zest, then peel & chop orange into small bits and add to sauce mixture. 5. On medium heat slowly stir sauce until sugar is dissolved. 6. Once chicken and sauce are finished toss both in a bowl to coat chicken and sprinkle with sesame seeds. 7. Serve with rice or your favorite sides. By the way: We've decided that every friday is RECIPE FRIDAY! So come back next week for another delicious recipe.
0 Comments
You Rock Fellow Mom! Being a member of quite a few pareting groups on facebook on other sites there is a scary trend that is arising, it started when we were in grade school and has now followed us onto social media and sometimes even into our real mommy lives! BULLYING! I can't tell you how many innocent posts have turned into some wicked mom on mom drama. Sadly, we forget one KEY thing that ties us all together. We are all moms.And once in a while we could use a little compassion, after all, we are all doing our best to do what we think is best for our kids. And with that I want to say You Rock Fellow Mom!! Breast Feed? You Rock! Formula Feed? You Rock! Vax? You Rock! Non-Vax? You Rock! Working Mom? You Rock! Stay At Home Mom? You Rock! Send Your Kid To Public School? You Rock! Unschool? You Rock! Feed Your Family Organic? You Rock! Visit The Drive Through A Little Too Often? You Rock! The list could go on and on. There are things that I fully support, and things I will openly tell you that I don't agree with. But as long as you love and are doing what you think is best for your family, I will say YOU ROCK! No matter the choices you make, being a mom can be tough. Even the seemingly best of moms have bad days. . So I want to challenge you today to PM, Tweet, or text at least 5 other moms today and remind them that YOU ROCK FELLOW MOM! A little compassion & kindness can change someones day, but you never know when it could change someones life! TOTAL SCORE! I made this for dinner the other night, and brought some across the way for Mama Carol & Papa Al to try. Papa Al told me if there was any leftovers I was more the welcome to send them over! If you know Papa Al, then you know that him asking for 2nds is about the biggest compliment you can receive when it comes to food.
I know you are dying to make your own so here we go: What you need: 1 Box Lasagna Noodles 32oz Skim Ricotta 1/4tbs Basil (chopped or dried) 2 C Cooked Chopped Chicken breast 16oz Bacon 1 Jar of your favorite Alfredo Sauce (I was able to find Prego Alfredo w/Bacon!) 1 1/2 C Shredded Mozzarella Cheese Fresh Baby Spinach (optional) What You Do: 1. Cook Lasagna noodles according to box directions, rinse with cool water so you can easily handle the pasta. 2. Arrange bacon on an oven sheet and bake at 400* until crispy (you can always pan fry, but baking it is sooo much easier, and less messy!), Drain grease, once cool crumble bacon. 2. While pasta & bacon is cooking, I took the time to mix my basil and ricotta together. Once the bacon is crumbled I added a little over half of the crumbled bacon to the ricotta & basil mixture. ( Resist the urge to eat it, and hold remaining bacon for later). 3. Pour 1/2 c Alfredo sauce at the bottom of your pan. 4. Line up lasagna noodles for easy filling. Spoon & spread ricotta mixture (ricotta/basil/bacon) over noodles, sprinkle with chicken & add spinach (if desired). 5. Once noodles are lined/filled, Start at the bottom and roll them up! Place in your pan and cover with remaining Alfredo sauce. 6. Sprinkle with cheese & top with remaining bacon. 7. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and insides are hot. 8. ENJOY YOUR CREAMY BACONY HEAVEN! I served mine with a side salad, but broccoli would be amazing as well! For years I've been trying to save my family money when grocery shopping. I've spent hours clipping coupons, making menu plans and then making lists. The coupons only got me some free conditioner, 15 bottles of mustard, 39 packs of high sodium prepackaged noodles, and about 10 boxes of mac & cheese, while the menu planning & list making took more time to make and plan then it did to shop for, and I always wound up forgetting ingredients, or making last minute changes because some of the items I had listed were too expensive. It lead to spending more money and just being over all frustrating when it came to meal planning. Then one day, I forgot my list and didn't feel like going back home or trying to recall everything on the list. I try to avoid a lot of processed or pre-made foods, so I do what I can to stick to the outside ring of the store (produce, dairy, meat, bakery). So I started in the meat section. Instead of grabbing the meat needed for a pre-planned list of meals, I was able to browse through and find what was on sale. This made it easy for me to take part in special B1G1 Deals or managers specials. I'd just try to keep track of the amount of meals I'd get from each package, some packages were only worth 1 meal, but others were family size that I could use for 3-5 meals. This also worked for produce. I could shop for what was on sale, and I'd even take part in those fruits and veggies that were on their way to turning bad within a day or 2 and were super cheap(I'd simply cut them up and freeze them when I got home). Due to so much shopping I know the staples we use in our house Things like eggs, cheese, spaghetti, frozen broccoli, ect. The only time I make a list is if there is a special recipe that I want to try that I know we don't usually buy the ingredients, or wouldn't have them on hand. And to be honest, I shop with a toddler and my hubby so even with a short list I almost ALWAYS forget something!! Once we get home I separate any large packages of meat into smaller bags and get out my trusty notebook and take an inventory. 5 meals worth of chicken breast? 2 beef roasts? 3 packs of pork chops? the list adds up and goes on. Once I have an inventory of the meat that I have, I start to build meals around it. Using the staple items I just bought or that are still living in the pantry I plan my menu. I then scan through the now fully planned month of meals and see what may still be needed, maybe a packet of gravy, or a pack of hot dog buns, odds and ends here and there but over all I have everything I need. Shopping and meal planning this way has not only saved my family money, it has saved TIME! I used to spend a good 3-4hrs menu planning & list making. Now that time can be spend cuddling with hubby (or the dog) watching a movie or blogging. You too can save money by skipping the clipping! Comment below with your favorite way to save money when grocery shopping. The mission started years ago when Pastor Al (Mama Carols Husband) was traveling with his parents. He didn't know it at the time, but God would later (years later) call him back to the Appalachian Mountains to spread love and the Gospel - which in all cases are- or should be the same thing. Originally Mama Carol was supposed to go with him to help hand out food, clothing, and personal care items but she broke her foot a couple weeks ago and will not be healed in time to travel, so Mama Dawns middle son, 14, Will be assisting Pastor Al. We are asking for prayers as they travel and take Jesus to a people who due to their location and poverty don't have easy access to the things we take for granted in our lives.
Poverty in the Appalachian Area: How's your heart? Feburary is American Heart Month. How do you keep your heart healthy?? In addition to a diet full of whole, non proccessed foods, studies have shown that regular physical activity helps lower colestrol as well as stress, and helps to control weight. Don't push too hard, even starting out with 10 minutes a day is enough to get you on the road to a healthy heart. Not sure what foods help a healthy heart? Oatmeal Brown Rice Raisins Nuts Berries Beans Peppers Oranges Spinach & Green Tea And thats just a short list! Most all whole foods are heart healthy! Let's forget about the pizza,wings, chips & dips we all enjoyed yesterday and get back on track to a healthy heart!! |
Mamas:Mama Carol Recipes:
Like Us:Categories:
All
|
Photos used under Creative Commons from clkohan, Dyanna Hyde, Michael's Cookie Jar, B*2, ohsarahrose, HannahWebb, rocknroll_guitar, bochalla, ccharmon, Ashley Coombs, Ava R., swambo