Yum-o Dinner!

This is proof that there WAS dinner in the pan before Stevie SNARFED it all! I think I found a recipe that he loved! I have decided to try a few new recipes and see if I can get out of my doldrums...something new...mix it up LOL! Tonight I decided we would try "Chicken Spaghetti"...I mean...we like chicken and we like spaghetti...sounded like a winner to me! Plus it had gobs of cheese and who can go wrong with that?

Hungry yet? Here's the recipe:

Chicken Spaghetti

12 oz. uncooked spaghetti, broken in half
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream
1/2 cup milk (I actually forgot this step--so ours was a little thicker OOPS)
1/4 cup butter, melted, divided
2 tbsp dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp garlic pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 to 3 celery ribs, chopped
1 can (4 oz.) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
5 cups cubed cooked chicken
1-1/2 cups crushed cornflakes
Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain. In a large bowl, combine the soups, sour cream, milk, 2 tbsp butter and seasonings. Add the cheeses, celery, onion and mushrooms. Stir in the chicken and spaghetti. Transfer to a greased 3-quart baking dish (dish will be full). Combine cornflakes and remaining butter. Sprinkle over the top. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until bubbly. Makes 12-14 servings.

Okay...few changes I would make. I used real mushrooms. I sauteed them with the chicken, but would also add the celery and onion so they were not crisp as much in the casserole. Because my kids adore spices, I also added some smoked Paprika, Italian seasoning, and some crushed red pepper flakes. I also doubled the cornflakes on top--since that is their favorite part of casseroles. I think it would make a pretty good casserole with ziti or penne pasta too--just depends on what your family likes!

Owie...Ouch...Oh My!

Owie!!! My poor kiddos! Call it attack of the slacker mom who is just struggling to keep her head above water the past couple years I guess! (Gee...nothing else on my plate...move from Miami to Idaho, hubby deployed to Korea, a move to Texas, hubby deployed to Iraq, surgery and ICU for me, a move to Maryland...I know, excuses...excuses) *sigh*

Anyways...the kids are getting ready to go to YW camp (I CANNOT believe my BABY goes into YW in less than a month) and Scout camp, and they needed their physicals and immunizations checked. Good grief...what a miserable experience for them! Missy needed SIX shots! Look at her poor arms:


Three on one side and three on the other! She about wiped out their Bugs Bunny supply of Band-aids. (Which is actually kind of funny I just realized--a few weeks ago I made her watch "Looney Tunes" when she informed me at Six Flags she had never watched Bugs Bunny and Daffy--Poor underpriveleged child--we had to have an improptu YouTube remedy!) She was still smiling though when she got home. She said she didn't cry--just said "OUCH" a lot!

Battle wounds! Maybe they didn't dare complain since they know I have to shoot insulin twice a day LOL! Kimmy had sat and told them how HUGE the needle was and HOW MUCH is was going to hurt (gotta love big sisters) so maybe it paled in comparison to her stories?

Stevie just looks Hoo-ah with his--he only got 3 bandaids--outdone by his little sister! We babied them appropriately...lots of hugs and kisses and even took them to the movies tonight to see "Clash of the Titans" It will give them something different than their owies to complain about since it didn't follow the Greek Mythology very much. As the kids said, "It has Perseus and Zeus...well, that's about it!"

My Mother's Day Field Trip!

I LOVE to take drives and look at all the beautiful areas where we live! For Mother's Day, Steven took me on a drive to Frederick...beautiful farmland, trees, flowers and a then a fun town to look at and explore! One of my favorite parts of the town was the AWESOME bridge mural. An old concrete bridge was completely painted to look like a stone bridge. It was amazing! Be sure to read about it at http://bridge.skyline.net/history/ I KNOW we will have to go back and explore some more! (Plus Kimmy says there are geocaches--so gotta do it!) Anyways, here are a few pictures from my FUN day!

My Compliments to the Chef!

If you hear: "Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun" what does that mean?? BIG MAC!! My kids love Big Mac's (and I gotta admit...their mom is pretty crazy about them too) I know...they are totally unhealthy and all that...but there is something about that Big Mac sauce that is just YUM! The kids always laugh at me because I tend to tie Big Mac into a lot of our homeschool lessons--mostly as a joke anymore though. It started during a boring lesson a few years ago...they were starting to get restless and I came out with some big story about "early explorers looking dilegently for...Big Macs" and the rest is homeschool history! It seems like one lesson or another ties into Big Macs quite often anymore! It has become the family joke *grin* Stevie has a speech coming up and decided he would do it on "Big Macs". I can't see a problem with it (his dad did a speech on "History of Pizza" and Kimmy did one on "Chocolate" in college) He's going to tell about the time his dad and I won free Big Macs at the store when Steven was able to recite the Big Mac jingle last year and then he decided to talk about trying to create his own Big Mac...so tonight was the "Quest for Big Macs!"

Shhhh...the secret sauce (according to "Top Secret Recipes") is Kraft Thousand Island Salad Dressing! It tasted pretty close to it *smile*

The finished product! Ours were a little taller--I think they use squishier buns--but we just squished them down after the picture!


The chef...in his "Guy Fieri Burger Eating Pose" Elbows out, mouth ready for that first BIG bite!

I'm Lovin It!

Wow...I am behind...YET AGAIN!! I am not sure how a whole month got away from me *grin* I always have the BEST of intentions and take loads of "blog-fodder" pictures, but lately it seems I am drowning in work! It's been a busy month at the zoo crew...hopefully I can catch up a little and share some fun times! We've celebrated Stevie's birthday, got the geo-caching bug, been sightseeing like crazy and had family here to visit! Life is always nuts! In the midst of it all, I have struggled with allergies and a killer cold, so I'm not functioning on all brain cells LOL! So...here's to a new month...hopefully this one can have LOTS of blog entries!

Take a Picture...It Will Last Longer!

My sister once asked me "When is enough enough?" I didn't think much about it and just kind of laughed it off but that question has been going through my mind a lot lately since this move. When is enough enough? When do you have enough clothes? Or stamps? Or kitchen tools?

This move was a killer! We thought we were so prepared, but ended up reloading our truck twice due to loading problems...ended up giving lots of stuff away that didn't fit...just struggling because of STUFF! So...as we have been unpacking, I have said "Enough IS enough!" and we are trying to declutter! Obviously we have WAY too much (and moving into a house with 1/3 less space is helping this decision). We have been making weekly runs to the Goodwill, the library (to donate books), the recycling center, etc...but it is a slow process and not as much fun as buying all the clutter in the first place. It must be a shopping high...to find that great deal, to find just what you are looking for, to wrestle the last one from the other frantic shopper *smile*...but we have to find other ways of getthing that euphoria. We are making the decision this year to "Make memories...not clutter" at our house! I am trying to use the money we would shop for and take the kids places and see things...rather than buy things!

A friend back in Texas was chronicling on her blog a quest to get rid of 100 things...and she took pictures of them. It was very cute but I am not that patient LOL! Here is my latest get rid of bag (and I dropped off another one filled just as full to the Goodwill):


One thing I have started with the kids is: If it was really special to you but you don't feel the need to keep it, take a picture! We have been able to get rid of many things with this saying that they really thought they needed *grin* This was a unicorn wand that Kimmy has had in her bedroom for over 14 years (even though it is gastly ugly) just because it brought happy memories of her time at the Renaissance Festival) Well, now she can just look at her picture!


I know it's just the first step in a lifetime of changes, but it is a big one in ours! I always love to read clutter books (My kids ask "How many clutter books can one have until they are clutter too?) but still have problems "Just saying NO" to that cute __________ (insert any word there *sigh*) How do you keep clutter away?