March 29, 2013

March Kiwi Crate Review

I signed Marley up for a monthly subscription to Kiwi Crate back in November. She loves getting them in the mail and making each little craft.


This month the theme was Secret Agent. Her crate had two crafts, a periscope and a disguise kit. 

It also had an invisible ink pen. That's probably the coolest part! 


She jumped right in and was able to make the disguise masks herself. 




After she was done playing with the masks I helped her make the periscope. Sometimes the crafts require a lot of adult help and sometimes they don't. 

We spent some time spying Mike while he was outside fixing his car. 


This is the sixth crate that Marley's received. I have been very pleased with all of them. 

Interested in signing up? Just click here


This post is in no way sponsored by Kiwi Crate. I was not compensated for my review.

Crock Pot Sour Cream Chicken

I've been using my crock pot a lot this month. It's so nice to just throw everything in there in the morning or afternoon and have it ready when we're ready to eat dinner. I found this recipe and I tweaked a few things but it still turned out amazing. Mike added this chicken to his list of the best meals I've made.


4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 (10 oz) cans cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste


Mix sour cream and both cans of mushroom soup in a small bowl. 


Place chicken in bottom of crock pot and sprinkle some salt and pepper on top. Spread sour cream mix over top. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours.


This could be served over rice or noodles or just by itself.  

We're not big sour cream fans but I didn't taste the sour cream at all so don't let the fact that it has sour cream in it scare you away. 



March 28, 2013

Crock Pot BBQ Pork Chops

I originally bought pork chops to make pulled pork sandwiches. But once I cooked them I decided to just have them whole instead. I had some left over barbeque sauce from Dickey's so I used that, but just use your favorite.



Pork Chops
Chopped onions
bbq sauce
pepper
1/2 cup water


Place half of the bbq sauce and 1/2 cup water in bottom of crock pot. Place onions and little more bbq sauce on top. Repeat layers again. 


Cook on low for 7 hours.  If you wanted to shred them you would do that now. They tasted just as good leaving them whole though. 



March 27, 2013

Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

I've had this recipe in my recipe box for years. I'm not exactly sure where I got it from either. All I know is that these biscuits are so good. 


2 cups bisquick
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1/4 tsp garlic powder


Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix bisquick, milk, and cheese together until they a soft dough forms. 

Drop large spoonfuls of the dough onto a cookie sheet. 


Bake for 8-10 minutes at 450 degrees. 


Mix together butter and garlic powder. Spread onto biscuits once they're done cooking. 


This recipe should make between 10-12 biscuits. Mine were on the large side so I only got 8. It just depends on how large you make them. 



No Peek Chicken

I've heard people in one of my facebook recipe groups talking about no peek chicken. It takes a long time to cook so I had to make sure I made it on a night when I would be home long enough to make it.  It's fairly easy to make and fairly inexpensive too.


1 box Uncle Ben's Long Grain Wild Rice (original recipe)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can water 
(You can add another can of water for moister rice.)
Chicken breasts or tenders




Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix soups, water (1 or 2 cans) and rice in your baking dish. 


Place chicken in dish. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 2 1/2 hours. Don't peek! 


It was really good and really filling. 


March 26, 2013

Lasagna Roll Ups

I saw this recipe on pinterest, of course. I've made regular lasagna before, but wanted to try this since it was rolled up. It was sort of messy and took longer than a regular layered one would, but it was nice to have them all separated into little squares when it came time to get them out of the pan. Mike said it was the best lasagna he's ever had. I think next time I won't roll them up, but I will still make it with the same ingredients.


2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lb lean ground beef
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 (15 oz) container Ricotta Cheese
1 large egg
1/3 cup parsley 
2 1/4 cups grated Mozzarella Cheese
3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
12 uncooked lasagna noodles


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together ricotta, egg, salt, pepper, parsley, 1 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese until mixed well. 


Boil noodles in water with olive oil until al dente. Brown ground beef and drain grease. Return to pan. Pour in spaghetti sauce and simmer on low heat until noodles are done. 


Pour 1/3 cup of the meat sauce onto bottom of 9x13 baking dish. 


Lay noodles out flat one at a time. Layer some of the cheese mix and then some meat sauce onto each noodle. Roll them up and place them into dish seam down. 


(I lost one noodle while cooking)


Place remaining meat sauce and cheese mixture on top spreading evenly. Cover with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese. 

Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. 







Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole

I don't know anyone besides my mom that doesn't like bacon. In our house we love bacon and ranch. I think Marley could eat ranch by the spoonful if we let her. So what's better than bacon and ranch together?! I know! Add some chicken in there too. Yum! This casserole was really good. It did make a lot so I have some in the freezer for those nights when I don't feel like cooking.


1 lb. bacon, fried and crumbled (I used bacon bits)
2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken 
2 tablespoons of ranch seasoning
1 lb. bow tie pasta
2 jars of Alfredo sauce
1/3 cup of evaporated milk or regular milk
4 cups shredded Italian cheese blend


Cut chicken into cubes. Mix in ranch mix, evaporated milk and half a jar of alfredo sauce. 


Cook pasta al dente. Drain and return to pan. 


Pour half of a jar of alfredo sauce into bottom of 9x13 baking dish. Spread evenly. 


Begin layering casserole starting with half of noodles, then half the chicken mix, half of the second jar of alfredo sauce, half the bacon, and half the cheese. 


Repeat layers with remaining ingredients.


Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 







March 25, 2013

March Citrus Lane Review

This is the second month that both kids have received the Citrus Lane boxes. Mason also received the box in January, but at that time they didn't offer boxes for children older than 3, but now they do. I was pretty pleased with what was in their boxes. I did, however, decide to cancel Marley's but only because she gets Kiwi Crate too and she seems to like that more.


 The boxes came on Marley's birthday so she thought they were a present for her. 


Here's Mason's box. He got Art Cards from Wee Gallery, a Green Ring Teether, an Easy-to-go feeding set, two packets of food from NurturMe, Calendula Weather Protection Cream and a $20 coupon from Just Fab (for me)

Citrus Lane always sends on item for moms too. Last month it was facial toner. 


Here's Marley's box. She got a Cloud B Slumber Pillow, Ivy & Bean Paper Doll Set, Jungle Tattoos, Just Bananas and another $20 from Just Fab.  

Her favorite things were the pillow, and the tattoos. She did play with the dolls which shocked me, because she doesn't normally play with dolls.  


Citrus Lane boxes are $25 a month and they send age and gender specific items. If you want to sign up, just click here.



*I was not compensated for my post. I did not receive the boxes for free. However, all links are affiliate links*

March 24, 2013

Mexican Pizza

My food of choice from Taco Bell is either the chicken quesadilla or the mexican pizzas.  When I made the taco bake a while ago it reminded me of the mexican pizza, but wasn't quite it. When I found this recipe on pinterest I had to try it. It was pretty good, but not an exact replica of the Taco Bell version.


1/2 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 15-oz can refried beans
4 9-inch flour tortillas
1/2 cup salsa
2 cups cheddar cheese


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown ground beef. Drain off fat. Mix in chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper. 


Place tortilla on cookie sheet. Place half of the refried beans and half the meat on a tortilla. Repeat steps to make other pizza.  Place another tortilla on top and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Place half of the salsa on top and cover with cheese. 


Bake for another 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Slice and serve.  This recipe makes 2 pizza.