New Recipes

I don't know about anybody else but I know that I get stuck in the rut of cooking the same recipes over and over and over! And then I get burnt out on cooking...and that leads to eating out more...and that leads to spending more money... and yada yada... you get the picture :) So... my mom had given me a few new recipes awhile back and I've came across a couple more that looked tasty. I thought I would share the recipes that I plan on trying the next couple of weeks! Y'all should try them with me and let me know which are your favorites! Here they are...
1.King Ranch Casserole
2.Sausage-Rice Casserole
3.Ritzy Turkey (or chicken) Casserole
4.Crockpot Goodness

ooookkkayyyy totally didn't realize that three out of the four that I planned to try are casseroles!!! So... I guess if your family doesn't like casseroles than these aren't for you! It's perfect for me because Travis LOVES casseroles of any kind! I have a feeling all four will be a hit! On to the recipes!
KING RANCH CASSEROLE
3-4 Chicken Breasts (cooked and chopped, cubed, shredded...You pick!)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can Rotel
1-2 Cups of shredded cheddar cheese
1 small package of tortillas (corn or white)

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9x13 pan with broken up pieces of tortilla. Mix your chicken, soups and rotel together. Pour mixture over the broken up tortillas. Cover the top of your mixture with shredded cheese. Bake at 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

Doesn't this sound DELICIOUS!? Serve it with a salad and maybe some french bread!
SAUSAGE-RICE CASSEROLE
1 16 oz Box Uncle Ben's white rice (cooked)
1 pound ground sausage (cooked)
2 small onions, chopped
1 4 oz. can mushroom pieces
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 stick butter

Cook your rice. Brown your sausage. Combine all of the ingredients EXCEPT the butter. Spread into a 9x13. Melt the butter and pour it over your mixture. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Again, I would serve this with a salad and some warm bread!
RITZY TURKEY (or chicken) CASSEROLE
1 can french green beans
1 can corn
1/2 Cup chopped celery
1/2 Cup chopped green pepper
1/ Cup chopped onion
1/2 Cup Sour cream
1 can cream of celery
1/2 Cup slivered almonds
2 Cups of cubed turkey or chicken
1/2 Cup of melted butter
2 packages of Ritz Crackers

Combine all of the ingredients (Except ritz crackers and butter). Spread into a 9x13. Top with ritz crackers and melted butter. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes
CROCKPOT GOODNESS
4-5 chicken breasts
2 (1oz) packs of ranch mix
1/2 Cup water
2 cans Cream of chicken soup
8 oz. cream cheese (cubed)
sliced mushrooms (as many as you like)

Place chicken in the bottom of your crockpot. Mix the ranch mix, water and chicken soup together. Pour over your chicken. Cook on low all day. One hour before serving add your cream cheese and sliced mushrooms.

Serve over noodles.

Gifts and Freebies!

Yay for the weekend being here! Tomorrow is the first Saturday since this summer that Travis will be home in the morning!!! Every other Saturday has been spent in football meetings and last weekend he went on a fishing trip to the Coast. We're going to celebrate him FINALLY being home by going to IHOP:) our fav!!!
Our family is so blessed by the generosity of our family and friends...especially this past week! One day this past week I received a very unexpected package from one of my dear childhood friends Adrianne. It was FULL of goodies for the kiddos and me!!! Adj...I know you read our blog... so THANKYOU for such a generous and fun gift:) It REALLY made my day!!!
Another gift we received this week was a table and chairs set that the kid's Nana bought them for Christmas. She was gracious enough to let them have it early so that we could start putting it to good use!
Now... on to the freebie portion of this post! :) I had fully intended on purchasing our Christmas cards this year UNTIL I came across a website where you can get 100 picture Christmas cards for FREE!!! You don't have to buy anything... you don't even have to pay for shipping and handling! You design your Christmas card and then check out with two seperate promotional codes...and voila...that's it! You have until November 30th to order. Here's what you do...

Go to http://www.seehere.com/
Click on Photocards
Design a 4x8 photo card.
Order 50 of them.
Procede to the checkout and use this promotional code: freebies4mom-1109.
Then you will do the same thing one more time for another free 50 using the promotional code: newbaby

And that's it!!! Somebody I know has already received their cards so yes... it really is the real deal!

Have a great weekend everybody!!!


Sporting their new matching shirts from Adrianne!
ALL of the goodies that she sent!!! :) I'm excited to try out the pumpkin dessert mix... anyone ever used one before?
Pancake Monday!!!
Outside enjoying the warm weather...
Happy Fall!!!

Found it:)

Just in case you missed the last post my camera has been MIA for a couple of weeks! I found it... in the couch :) I don't know why I didn't look there in the first place! Seems like every time something is lost at our house it has either disappeared in between the cushions of the couch or underneath it!
The past week we have been enjoying the BEAUTIFUL weather! I can't believe it's November and that Thanksgiving and Christmas are around the corner. Hard to get into the holiday spirit when you are sitting outside enjoying the 78 degree weather! There have been a couple of days when I've dressed Emma in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt... so weird to do so in November!
This is just a quick post... mostly to catch up with some pictures :) Have a great Friday night!

OH... and I don't know if everybody has seen this or not... but Pizza Hut is running a special right now where any pizza, any size, any topping, any crust is only TEN BUCKS!!!! It's the perfect treat for a Friday or Saturday night! I think the special runs through the 15th. We ordered a stuffed crust double supreme pizza last night and boy was it delish! Happy Weekend!

Macey, Emma, Tyler and Maci (Tyler and Maci are Emma's cousins)
I was cleaning up the living room when I heard Emma in her bedroom talking to Macey...
"Macey...come heah... Emma hold you"
I walked in to see Emma holding Macey on her lap:)
I took these before we headed to playgroup at church first thing in the morning! Emm loves to pick up the pumpkins to show how strong she is ha!

And of course what's a post without pictures of little man! :) Don't tell Travis... but in the picture above Colt is watching Emma's princess movie... Colty loves it:)

French Bread and Pizza Rolls

Once again I have lost my camera... I'm so frustrated with myself! I'm just praying it shows up sooner than later...it's killing me not to take pictures of the kids on a daily basis! :) So since I don't have any recent pics of the babes I'll post a little recipe that I've been meaning to share. I had taken the pictures a couple weeks ago and I suppose now is a great time to post!
This recipe is a FAVORITE at our house! Pizza Rolls take a little time to make but they are SO worth it! This recipe makes 2 dozen large pizza rolls...sometimes I double the recipe because these are perfect to keep in the freezer. I keep them in giant freezer bags and whenever somebody wants a quick snack I can put them in the microwave for about 30 seconds and you instantly have a delicious homemade treat! You can put any filling in them you choose... here are some of my favorites that I do....
-Canadian Bacon and Pineapple (SO delicious!!!!)
-Pepperoni, sausage, green peppers and mushrooms

Also, the french bread recipe that I use for these makes delicious french bread (duh :) ). Instead of making the pizza rolls you simply roll it into a loaf and bake for the same amount of time. I love to make homemade french bread to go with our winter soups and stews!

Alrighty...here's the recipe!

FRENCH BREAD
2 Tablespoons yeast
2 1/2 C. water
2 Tablespoons sugar (I always add a little more than this...I like our bread sweet!)
2 teaspooons salt
2 Tablespoons oil
7 1/2-8 Cups flour

Don't be intimidated if you haven't ever used yeast before. It's very easy!
Your water will need to be roughly between 95 and 105 degrees. Basically pretty warm. If it's too cold the yeast will not "awaken" and if it's too hot (above 110 degrees) the heat of the water will kill your active yeast. Pour your water into your bowl. Next you will mix in your yeast and sugar. The sugar acts as food for the yeast as it "awakens" in the water. An easy way to know if you've activated your yeast is to just set your bowl aside in a warm place for about 10 minutes. If you see foam or bubbles at the surface of the liquid you will know that the yeast is alive and ready for baking. If however you see none of that then I would suggest you dump that out and start over. Once you have your activated yeast go ahead and add your salt, oil and flour.
Knead your dough for 10 minutes.
Then let it rise in a warm area (I find that letting it rise on my oven that is pre-heating works wonderfully!). I usually let mine rise for about 20 minutes.
Once risen you can either shape it into loaves for french bread or keep going to make your pizza rolls!
For french bread bake 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

PIZZA ROLLS
1 Recipe of French Bread
2 pint jars of pizza sauce
2-16 oz. packages of finely shredded mozzarella cheese (I like lots of cheese...one package per pizza roll)
Desired toppings! Pepperoni, italian sausage, pineapple, canadian bacon, onion, mushrooms, peppers, etc.

Roll out your french bread dough into 2, 14x24" rectangles. Spread each rectangle with sauce, cheese and toppings. Roll up lengthwise like a jelly roll or cinnamon rolls. Slice each roll into 12 individual pizza rolls. Let rise 20-30 minutes. Bake 20 minutes @ 400 degrees.

And there you have it! I promise they are not hard to make at all! If you have any questions please ask! Another great thing that I love about these is that they are SO inexpensive! A great way to cut down on your grocery bill!



Roll your dough into a ball to let it rise
I place my dough back in my bowl, cover with a clean towel and set on top of my pre-heated oven to rise.
Assemble like you would a pizza
Roll it up!
Cut into slices and place in your pan
The finished product.... they are SO wonderful! Pizza Rolls are also the perfect meal to bring to a family in need... easy to transport and they satisfy even the pickiest eaters!

Wish my luck in finding my camera... I'm hoping it turns up sooner than later!
Have a great Sunday tomorrow!