Chicken, Broccoli, Cheesy Macaroni

This dish came to me last night after searching in the pantry and fridge for what the heck to cook! I haven't made it to the grocery store so the pickings were getting slim. And, I'm always trying to find a one-dish shoved full of whatever goodness I can put in there that me and my picky eater son will eat. What came about ended up in a Get In My Belly category. I must say, Dang it was good!

 Ingredients:

Cooked Macaroni or whatever shells you like

3 Cooked and Diced or Shredded Chicken

3 Cups Cooked Broccoli

4 oz Velvetta

1 Cup Colby and Monterey Cheese

1 Cup Cheddar Cheese

3 Tbsp Butter

3 Tbsp Flour

1 1/2 Cup Milk

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Cook your macaroni according to directions on the package. Make your rue, which means, melt 3 tbsp butter then add 3 tbsp flour and salt and pepper. Stir constantly over low-medium heat. Gradually add your milk then all cheeses except the Cheddar...still stirring. Have one of your kiddos do this.

Cook your chicken until done. Cook the broccoli until done. I usually have the frozen broccoli and put mine in the microwave covered in water and added salt for about 8 minutes.

When the macaroni is finished, drain and pour in your cheesy mixture. Add the broccoli and chicken.

Pour into 9x12 dish. Cover with cheddar cheese. Put in the oven 375° for about 15-20 minutes.

DIY Flower Hair Clips for Under $1 ~ Money Saving Fashion Idea

I absolutely love this site...A Thrifty Mom. She has the greatest ideas! I will be doing this at my daughter's birthday party in May! Keep the great ideas coming!

DIY Flower Hair Clips for Under $1 ~ Money Saving Fashion Idea

My Shoe Addiction-Chooze Part 1

Since you're getting to know me...I have one bad obsession with shoes! Oh. My. Goodness!!!!! I went to Wilkinson's Mall last week for a pair of Toms pink sparkly pair that I had try to contain myself from for a week (it seemed like forever) and found my newest obsession....Chooze's shoes! Can I say again...OH. MY. GOODNESS. Total love at first sight! Let me tell you why...
Wait...first. This is not a paid endorsement! Just in case you wanted to know :)

LOOK AT THEM!! Though I have OCD, I cannot tell you how these are so tickling my OCD-thingy. They match, but they don't!

Second..at the end of the year, they donate to anti-poverty proceeds to help women. How awesome is that?
Third..kids can be creative even on their feet!
And finally...we adults can have as much fun as the kids because they come in women's!

Aaahh...I feel better about expressing myself! Should I get my son a pair first? Ha!

Chicken Pot Pie

When my grandmother died a couple of years ago, someone made this recipe for my grandfather and I. It was delicious and I learned how to make it and added my own spin on it. I took care of my grandfather for almost 2 years and made this for him every week. It pretty much has all your nutritional needs except for fruits. And, I would have put that in if I could have! The only thing that really takes time is cooking the meat. But, other than that, it's pretty easy and nutritious.

Ingredients:
3-4 Chicken Breast
2 Cans of Bisquits or Crescent Rolls
1 Family Sized Bag of Frozen Veggies
1 Large Can of Cream of Chicken .. or
1 Regular Can of Cream of Chicken and 1 Regular Can of Cream of Mushroom
1 Can of Sliced or Cut-up Potatoes
1/4 Grated Onion
4 Tbsp Butter(or whatever you like..I'm a Paula Deen kind of cook)
Seasonings

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large pot, put in the frozen veggies, potatoes and whatever other veggies you'd like and almost cover with cold water. Grate some onion and add butter, salt, pepper and whatever other seasonings you'd like. I like the flavor onions give, not the texture. Boil and then simmer for at least 15 minutes. Meanwhile, boil and cool chicken into pieces or shredded (whatever kind of texture your tongue likes).
After your veggies have cooked, add your cream of chicken/mushroom. Stir well and add cooked chicken.

Pour in a 9x12 pan.

You can either put bisquits or the crescent rolls on top.Cook for about 20 minutes or until the bread is golden.

YUMMIIEEEE!!! Enjoy!

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Pineapple Sprite Cake

I have been seeing a lot of 'pins' on Pinterest about Sprite Cakes. So, I thought I'd try my own version after reading all of the comments people posted. OMG...It turned out ah-mazing! Super moist and easy and quick to do. We were going to my mother in laws after church, so I put this together in no time before we left. I also added it to JustAPinch.

Ingredients for this cake:
1 Box Pineapple Cake Mix
1 Large Can Crushed Pineapple
1 Egg
12 oz Sprite
1 Large Container of Cool Whip

Mix together well the cake mix, egg, sprite and the juice of the can of pineapple. I also put in about 2 tbsp of the pineapple. If you don't add the egg, the cake will be flat and not fluffy.

Put in a greased pan. Bake 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until a knife or toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for about 5 minutes and put the crushed pineapple on top of the cake. Let cool completely. Add the Cool Whip and woila!!! Totally deserving of getting in my belly!

Other variations:
Use any other cake mix and add 20oz of the Sprite. If you want a Weight Watchers version, use Diet Sprite and fat free Cool Whip.

As you can see, it didn't last long at all!

HAPPY EATING!!

Easy CrockPot Chili

Easy CrockPot Chili
After researching different chili recipies, I came up with my own version to get my picky eater son to eat it. I hope it works well for your family! Let me know if you made any changes and what you think of it.

Ingredients:

2 lb	meat, hamburger or turkey
2 can(s)	chili beans
1 can(s)	black beans, canned
2 can(s)	rotel, drained
1 can(s)	southern ranch beans
1 can(s)	pinto beans
1 can(s)	kidney beans, canned
1 pkg	chili seasoning
2 can(s)	seasoned tomatoes for chili
1 tsp	salt and pepper
1 tsp	garlic

Variations:
Small cutup veggies to add more nutrition.
If you want more heat, don't drain the Rotel or add the hot kind.

Directions:
Add all the canned items and the chili seasoning to the crockpot and stir well. Turn on low heat.
Season with salt, pepper and garlic and cook your hamburger or turkey well and drain.
Add to the crockpot. Cook for about 2 hours.

I usually start this when my youngest takes him afternoon nap and by the time everyone get home for the evening, we have supper! Then off to all the activities the kids have.

You can also view my recipe on JustAPinch.com.

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My love of Lite Brite

As a child of the 80's, I loved all things colorful! Going on Etsy, you will find so many vintage toys and other things to revive stashed away memories. That brings us to my addiction...the Lite Brite

I so loved this thing...and I never had enough black paper! I would so play with this, even at my ripe old age of 30-something. I think my kids would love this also!

Blogging with a toddler

Hello all! I'm sorry that I haven't been posting a whole lot. I've realized that trying to do ANYTHING with a year old, trying to walk, trying to climb, yelling, temper-throwin' little man makes it a little hard to do!!
I've got so many ideas, but only one me and so little time! If anyone has any ideas how I can be better at this, let me know!

The Big Happy 1st Birthday!

The birthday party was a success! Well...except for the cake. Though tasty, it was screen printed and was $55!!!!! Holy cow! I'll go to WalMart next time, thank you! Today my little man turns 1..actually at 11:13am! I can't believe time has gone by so fast. I know...we all say it, but it's so true. We've had to put him in the big boy carseat because he's so big. I stare at him in the rearview mirror and he smiles at me...(warm fuzzy kitten feelings!)
Now to get started on the girl's 12th birthday party...baby blue and zebra....