Baking Day

Ok so I had big plans - but realized that I really needed to do a bit more cleaning and tidying and a little less mess making.
I had planned to make the following:

Diced Italian Chicken (for my salads at lunch)
Baked Oatmeal
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sweet Potato Choc. Chip muffins
Whole Wheat French Bread Rolls
Pizza Dough

I actually got to do the chicken, oatmeal, and cookies. Those were the "important" ones anyway. Hubby doesn't much care for muffins (at least not the healthy ones I make...) and DD doesn't LOVE them so no biggie.... I have no idea whats going on for dinner this week, DH is working some crazy hours and he doesn't even know what they really are yet. He'll be gone next week from Saturday until Friday so no need to cook anything elaborate for this week or next.
So my recipe for baked oatmeal is quite simple:

3 cups old fashioned oats
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup applesauce(in place of oil/butter)
2 eggs
1 cup milk

mix all ingredients in a small bowl
pour into grease pan (I use a 9x9 square)
bake at 375 for 30 minutes
until lightly browned on top and sides

makes about 4 servings

I usually cut it into squares serve in a shallow bowl and pour a little milk over. Mine gets strawberries and brown sugar and Kaleigh's gets what she chooses...usually raisins or chopped almonds, sometimes nothing. Her i mash a lot more Mine I leave a bit more "chunky" - I wish I had a picture but I was far too hungry for that this morning.....LOL

Here's my chicken (well 1/2 of it - I had already eaten the other half in my salad for lunch.....is there a trend here?)

I just diced up some white meat pieces from a rotisserie chicken I had gotten on markdown at Kroger and sauteed it in a little (free) Kraft light italian salad dressing. Yum!

My chocolate chip cookies were a new recipe I used from the bag of Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix. I use this for pancakes all the time, but I figured I'd use up some extra chips I had in the pantry (the were the swirled ones) and try the cookie recipe.
One of the best Chocolate Chip cookies I've ever made....it was well worth it!!!

Again recipe made about 2 dozen....obviously they are not all here - lol.

So that was my exciting day of baking - I'd take a picture of the rest of my day but you don't want to see piles of dirty socks and underwear do you?

Stay tuned for a pregnancy update later this week - and hopefully some ultrasound photos!

I'm baaaack

Ok so a tidbit of news.....I'm 23 weeks pregnant (today actually). I fell off the face of the earth as soon as I found out I was expecting because I was barely able to take care of myself and my daughter most days. I lived on the couch and the bed as much as one can with a two year old.

But I'm commited to giving this a go once again.

I'll start off slow and see what works and what doesn't as the weeks go by...I just hope everyone is inspired to stay with me and provide feedback via comments and e-mails!!

Coming up later today...results of my meager baking day.

Works For Me Wednesday

It's Works-For-Me-Wednesday over at Rocks In My Dryer - check it out!

Playskool's Busy Ball Popper has got to be one of our MOST favorite toys! I say "our" because no other toy pleases Kaleigh and I on almost all levels! It's fun, got great music, not too loud, but not so quiet that it's boring for her... and it keeps he busy for quite some time. Which is amazing because usually the only thing keeping her busy is ME (or the dog for a minute).

I fist saw this thing at a playdate when Kaleigh was 9 months old. The kids all loved it so much they were literally fighting over it. We made a rule from then out if the playdate was at your house and you had a ball popper - it had to go away in the closet for the morning/afternoon! NO JOKE!

I bought it for her soon after that - and it has been out ever since. We frequently rotate her toys and put some away in the closet for a few months so she doesn't get bored - but this one has NEVER gone away.

Kaleigh is two now!

This definitely works for me!

CVS Deals - Thurs, Fri & Sat ONLY!!

This is CVS's version of black Friday...the great part is it starts Thursday. So you bet as soon as I have gotten up and dressed - I'm sneaking off to CVS! Forget showering - I'll probably be back before either of my other family members wake up!!

If you are new to the CVS game - please see here for a complete tutorial. Better than I could do considering I've only been at this less than a year!

These are the best deals I see.

Colgate Total Toothpaste $2.99 - $2.99 ECBs (Limit 2)

Use $1.50/1 printable here or $1/1 from the 11/02 SS

=$1.00-$1.50 OVERAGE!

Aussie Hair Care$2.99-$2.99 ECBs (Limit 2)

Use $1/1 from the 10/12 P&G

=$1 OVERAGE

CoverGirl Smoothers pressed powder $5.99-$5.99 ECBs (Limit 1)

Use $1/1 from the 10/12 or 11/2 P&G

=$1 OVERAGE

CoverGirl Smoothers liquid foundation $7.99-$7.99 ECBs (Limit 1)

Use $1/1 from the 10/12 or 11/2 P&G

=$1 OVERAGE

L’Oreal Colour Juice sheer lipgloss $6.99 - $6.99 ECBs (Limit 2)

Use $1/1 printable here

=$1 OVERAGE

Sally Hansen maximum growth nourishing nail color $3.79 -$3.79 ECBs (Limit 1)

=FREE

Johnson's Soft Lotion $5.69-$5.96 ECBs (Limit 1)

Use $1/1 printable here or $1/1 from the 11/2 RP

=$1 OVERAGE

Bic Soleil Single Razor $5.99-$5.99 ECBs (Limit 2)

Use $3/1 from the 11/2 SS

=$3 OVERAGE

Garnier Nutrisse Cleansing Towelettes $5.99-$5.99 ECBs (Limit 1)

Use $1/1 from the 11/9 RP

= $1 OVERAGE

Maybelline Mineral Powder Liquid Foundation $8.99-8.99 ECBs (Limit 1)

Use $3/1 from the 10/26 RP or $2/1 from the 09/21 RP

= $2-$3 OVERAGE

Magnavox Universal Remote or Philips Headphones $6.99-$6.99 ECBs (Limit 2)

=FREE (GREAT STOCKING STUFFERS!!!!)

Gatorade G2 $1.49 -$1.49 ECBs (Limit 3)

=FREE (anyone know if these are any good - I got some free powerade zero not too long ago and it was terrible! Are these comparable?)

Hershey's King Size Milk Chocolate Bar $1 -$1 ECBs (Limit 1)

There's a B1G1 coupon out somewhere I think!

= FREE

Schick Quattro Razor or Trimmer $7.99 -$6 ECBs (Limit 1)

Use $2/1 printable here or $4/1 in the December All You magazine

= FREE (or possible overage)

Playtex Gentle Glide Tampons $3.99 -$3 ECBs (Limit 1)

Use $1/1 from the 10/5 SS

=FREE

(TMI But if I'm not pregnant soon I really needed these!)

Choose one of the following:

- Rival Crock pot 5 qt

- Black & Decker 12 cup Digital Coffee Maker

- 3-in-1 Grill- Electric Griddle

- Oster 10 cup rice Cooker

- Retro Style Hot Air Popcorn Maker

- Home Exclusives Rotary Waffle Maker

$19.99 -$10 ECBs= $9.99 (limit 1)

FREE Dr. Pepper

Go here to request your coupon for a free 20 oz. Dr. Pepper, good through 6pm EST time today You can request up to one coupon per person in your household.

The site is running pretty slow so if you have trouble call 1-800-696-5891 and make your request by phone.

Remember it is one per person in your household - so technically I could get 3. Me, Matt and Kaleigh.

My Thanksgiving Recipes

You can view my full menu here - it does have some links to recipes I'm "borrowing" for Thursday. But these are all of the menu items I will be making from scratch(or close to it) based off of a family recipe, or one of my own creation!

Pumpernickel Bread Bowl










1 loaf pumpernickel bread, round or oblong
1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 16oz container sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1 pkg Knorr Vegetable Recipe mix
3 green onions, chopped

Combine all ingredients (except for bread), chill for a few hours for best taste.

Carefully cut out a hole in the middle of the bread to make a hollow inside for the dip. Cut the "insides" into bite sized pieces. arrange these on a platter around the outside of the hollowed out bread.

Spoon the dip into the bowl and serve!

My husband HATES spinach - but will still devour this dip!
I am making this dip on Wednesday night and I will cut the bowl and fill on Thursday afternoon.


Sweet Potato Casserole
4 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted



Topping:
1 cups brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup butter
½ - 1 cup chopped pecans, optional

Mix sweet potato, sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla, and butter together and spread in a 9x13-inch dish. Mix topping ingredients together and sprinkle over top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

I am making this Wednesday too - assemble, cover and refrigerate - bake on Thursday morning/afternoon.


Apple pie








1 pie crust (confession - I usually buy the Pillsbury ones - cheap (with seasonal sale and coupons) and easy. I have enough cooking to do as it is.)
6-8 green apples (use 8 eat the leftovers - better safe than sorry)
1-2 tsp lemon juice
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp butter/margarine

Crumb Topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup softened butter/margarine
1/4 cup walnuts (use "pieces and halves" BUT pick out and make smaller the really BIG halves)

Core and peel apples, then slice
Unroll crust an place in pie plate
mix sliced apples in a large bowl with the lemon juice, sugar, flour, and cinnamon
transfer mixture into pie crust
dot apples with butter

In a food processor or in a bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add the flour and walnuts and process or stir until the mixture forms medium-size crumbs. Evenly sprinkle the top of the pie with the crumbs and place the pie on a baking sheet. Bake for about 50 minutes or until the crumbs are lightly browned.

I'm actually making two apple pies, today, and freezing them. I will bake one on Thursday - the other in a few weeks or so.

Pumpkin Pie









This is kind of a cop out recipe... (and I have no picture)
I make the recipe on the back of the can of Libby's Pumpkin Pie Mix and put it in a graham cracker crust! YUMMY! One year I will make it from pure pumpkin and real ingredients....I swear.
I was however thinking of making this sometime - just not on Thursday. Easy Pumpkin Cream Pie.
I'm in love with all things pumpkin so we may do this one in a few weeks.

I will make this Wednesday too!

Menu Plan Monday

It's Menu Plan Monday over at "I'm an Organizing Junkie"

Here's what we're eating this week...

I have no idea how much I will have leftover from Thanksgiving dinner - so we'll have to see how far the leftovers go and how sick we are of them!!!