Whirlwind of a Week...Literally

This week we were pounded with storms and power outages.  But we were very lucky compared to the devastation in Alabama and the flooding that happened to middle Tennessee a year ago.

*Knocks on wood*  Our home received little to no damage from the horrible weather.  I am grateful for that.

Here's the area behind our home after heavy rain.  The thing in the middle is a drain, all the water was gone within an hour of the rain stopping.  We're higher than it looks in the photo.

And here are some pictures I snapped on one of my daily routes...

Farewell Joey!

Don't know who Joey is? Read HERE

Joey emerged into a beautiful buttermoth (not sure if he's a butterfly or a moth) yesterday.  He's been living on top of the refrigerator for a few days and I didn't even notice his new self until Jeremy asked if were going to finally let him go.  I told him I just checked the day before and he was still a cocoon, he assured me he wasn't (and he was right).  I couldn't let him go until Connor saw him in the morning.  6 am Jeremy reminded me to free Joey.  He's quite a caterpillar/buttermoth activist, who knew?!

Joey hadn't practiced with his new wings so he kept walking every where.  I finally took the stick and helped him to a tree.

Thanks Joey for the learning experience, bonding, and changes. :)

Easy Chicken Parmesan with Pasta

Here's another of my quick to make dinners.  I love me some pasta, obviously my hips don't.  Oh and guess what, I made my family a dinner every night this week (go me!).

Ingredients:
Boneless, skinless chicken (I used tenderloins)
1/3 cup of Italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan
2 eggs, beaten
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Linguine noodles
Marinara sauce

Preheat the oven at 375. In shallow dish, dip chicken in eggs then into another shallow dish of the bread crumbs and Parmesan, place into lightly greased baking dish.  Repeat.

Bake for 30 minutes.  In the meantime, prepare your linguine and heat your marinara sauce.  When the chicken is done, sprinkle on mozzarella and bake for an additional 2 minutes or until cheese melts.  After draining your pasta, add some of the marinara sauce and toss.  Use the remainder of sauce on top of chicken.  Ta-Da!

Celebrating a Great Man

We spent the weekend in Corbin, KY to celebrate Jeremy's grandpa's 80th birthday.  It was a blast as always with The Ws.  Jeremy's cousin came in from San Diego and it was a big surprise for Papaw R. :)  We love spending time with Jay & Jeanne and their kiddos, we don't get to see them very often. B had 1 too many sugary snacks, too many people around, some sleep deprivation, and a strange environment that brought out some ugly terror in the bambino.  C played and played with his long lost cousins. Saturday was party day!  And the weekend ended with a visit to church, a production of "The Passion Play," and Chinese buffeted lunch.  :)

"Wow" Them In Minutes

That's what the recipe stated in a magazine ad and that's what it delivered. Even I was "wow"ed the first time I made this. I hate cooking. I know I'm a stay at home mom and all, but I really do hate cooking. If I could hire a personal chef, I so would! Unfortunately, I am the personal chef for my family and well, it sucks. My husband often jokes about the times he comes home from work, ready to relax from the day and eat a great dinner with his fabulous family, only to walk in the door to find nothing on the stove and me looking at him like, "what? did you want me to make dinner?" Like it was going to magically appear from the food fairy or that I just didn't expect our family to eat that night. He's right and it's true.

I have my moments of putting forth an effort. Last night was one of them. We've been eating take out Chinese almost once a week from this great place close to our home. It's getting expensive. Granted the $18 for 2 combos will last us 2 meals, but it needs to stop.

This a great recipe to try for Sweet & Sour Chicken. It's easy and trust me that's #1 on my cooking demands! The recipe calls for pineapple chunks and pineapple juice but since I didn't have it on hand I left it out and we both thought it tasted better. So that can be optional.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp vegetable oil, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 cup sweet and sour sauce, 1 medium onion and 1 medium pepper (green, red, whatever) cut into chunks, mushrooms (I use canned), 20 oz canned pineapple chunks and 2 tbsp pineapple juice reserved, 1 lb chicken breast cut into 1" pieces, white Minute Rice.

Cook Minute Rice as suggested. Set aside.

In skillet, add veg oil on medium heat, add in onion, pepper, & mushrooms. Cook til crisp. Remove and set to the side.

My helpers

In same skillet, add chicken. Cook thoroughly and until brown.

Add in remaining ingredients and cook until heated through. Serve over rice. Yumm-o!

Introducing Our New Pet...

Joey, the caterpillar!

With 2 boys to clean up after, we will not be getting a "real" pet for a very long time!

I went jogging the other night after the boys went to sleep.  As I was coming into the house from the garage I spotted this little fellow by some shoes.  I had to get it for C, I knew he would be over the moon about it.  Thankfully we had an almost empty peanut butter jar I could use.  Cleaned it up, added some leaves, grass, & sticks, poked some holes and set him aside til morning.  C was very surprised about his surprise in the morning. :)

C chose the name Joey.

The caterpillar has been quite the learning process for our family.  I don't think Jer has ever had one before, he keeps telling me to let it go, that it's dying or it's already dead, and that we're being cruel to nature.  One night while the boys were asleep, we read all about the caterpillar into butterfly process.
And today, C & I agree that Joey is going to be a moth and not a butterfly.  We've based our hypothesis on google images of butterfly cocoons and moth cocoons, butterfly caterpillars and moth caterpillars.  And yes, Joey has already started becoming a cocoon, so he's not dead (yet).

 

And just like any other annoying pet, we're gonna have to bring him with us on our trip to Corbin, KY this weekend. Hope we don't forget him there!

Substituting a Frappuccino

In honor of Lent, I have given up Starbucks.  It has been 31 days since my last drink there.  I'm not Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, or of Angelican denomination.  But I am a Christian.  I like the idea of giving up something that has taken over you so that you reflect on a spiritual connection and fight temptation.

Starbucks has always been a weakness of mine.  Their coffee is delicious but I hate that I will spend $4-5 on something meaningless such as a drink, it's selfish of me...that $4 adds up when you go more than once a week.  And as frugal as I can be sometimes, I never think of their drinks as frivolous spending, which they completely are.  Therefore, I gave up their products during the Lent season.  I haven't even given in on Sundays, which some believe are exempt from the 40 days.

However, this lovely spring weather has had my taste buds longing for a blended iced coffee (Frappuccino).  I decided for breakfast I would make my own.  And it was quite tasty if I do say so myself.  I think it would have tasted better if I was able to enjoy it out of a straw.

Recipe: (thanks to that instant cappuccino mix, although I added in the creamer)

In blender add:
2 oz Coffee Mate Sugar Free Hazelnut creamer
2 oz Skim Milk
3 tsp Folgers Cappuccino mix
Handful of ice

Blend until smooth and voila!
Calories: about 110