since i only have 2 of the kids this week, its easier to plan dishes. i took parker to the grocery after school and asked what she wanted for dinner. she replied, "LEMON CHICKEN!" i paniced. ive never made lemon chicken before, let alone ate it. so i thought, how hard could it really be?! at first i started goggling recipes and decided i would make something up myself. parker helped and it turned out delicious.  i just kinda grabbed things around the kitchen i thought would go well and this is what we came up with. 

enjoy!

Lemon Chicken

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 lemons
1.5 cup EVOO
3 diced garlic cloves
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp cilantro
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

- preheat oven to 400 degrees
- in medium sauce pan heat EVOO, garlic cloves, salt, pepper, 1 lemon juice. bring to boil remove immediately
- pour into 13x9 oven safe dish
- place chicken in dish, coat with olive oil
- rub cilantro on chicken
- zest 2 lemons, add zest to chicken and oil
- squeeze 1 lemon over chicken
- sprinkle with salt and pepper
- slice zested lemon and place in dish
- place in oven and bake 30 minutes or until chicken is golden brown
- remove and cover for 5 minutes with foil
- serve over rice
-enjoy!

this past friday, i thought it would be fun to make something different for the kids for dinner. so we decided to make brinner (breakfast for dinner).  we made a huge fruit salad and the kids wanted waffles. so i thought why not make it more fun and let them design their own waffles. it was super easy and the kids loved it. they had so much fun creating different patterns and designs. im thinking next time doing rainbow pancakes or cookies! 

Rainbow Waffles

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 3 minutes (per waffle)

- make batter according to box and for the amount you'd like to make
- seperate batter into baggies
- add food coloring to bag
- seal bag and mix with hands 
- cut tip off corner of bag
- squeeze onto iron
-cook and enjoy!

this week i decided to make lasagna for the kids for dinner. one of my kids doesnt like meat sauce so i made part of it without it and just used extra cheese sauce in replace of it. the original recipe i followed was difficult, so this is a edited version of Hunt's lasagna that should be easier to follow! try it! let me know what you think! or any tips on making it better!

Home Made Lasagna

Prep Time - 20 Min
Cook Time - 45min- 1hr
Serves - 10 medium servings

Ingredients

1llb ground chuck
1 package Italian sausage
9 lasagna noodles
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 can (14oz) dices tomatoes
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
1 tbsp italian seasoning
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
16 oz (1.5 packages) ricotta cheese
1/2 cup parmasean cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese

-preheat oven to 350 degrees
- in large sauce pan brown ground chuck and sausage over medium heat
- add onions and garlic and let simmer for 3-4 minutes
- add crushed and diced tomatoes and stir occasionally for 3-4 minutes
- add salt, pepper and italian seasoning and let simmer for 10 minutes, stir occasionally
- cook noodles according to package or use oven 
- in separate bowl mix together ricotta cheese, parmasean cheese, eggs, salt, italian seasoning and mix well
- grease 13"x9" oven safe dish
- line bottom of dish with meat sauce
- spread cheese mixture on top of sauce
- layer noodles
- add meat sauce, cheese noodles, meat sauce and cheese
- top with mozzarella cheese
- cover with foil and place in oven
- cook for 45 minutes, uncover and cook for 15 minutes
- let sit for 10 minutes and serve!!

today i decided to make some banana bread as an afterschool snack. the kids loved it! i used raisins instead of nuts because im not a fan of cruchy stuff in my soft bread. i also use whole wheat flour for the first time (i used it a couple days ago when i made another of my famous pot pies [recipe below or click here] and i love the way it tasted!) using whole wheat flour makes it healthier and more flavorful! but you can use regular flour if thats what you have at home!

check out the recipe below and try it for yourself. it turned out super moist and delicious!

Banana Raisin Bread

Prep time: 5 min
Bake time: 45 min

ingredients:
1.5 c whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins (substitute w/ nuts)
3 tbsp applesauce 
4 tsp plain yogurt
1/3 c honey
2 eggs
2 bananas

- preheat oven to 350 and grease loaf pan (9x5x3)
- mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in bowl
- in mixing bowl cream applesauce, yogurt, honey and eggs until smooth
- continue to mix while adding flour mixture slowly
- mix in bananas
- fold in raisins
-pour in loaf pan
-bake for 45 min (cover with foil half way through if top in browning too fast)
- will be done when toothpick comes out clean
- slice and serve!

ive talked a lot lately on social media (facebook, instagram and twitter) about how much money i save while shopping at target. today, i decided to show people exactly how much money you would save by shopping at target over walmart. Since walmart talks about how great their store brand products are i decided to show how target store brand is cheaper. and honestly, its better quality (look at the difference in the lunch meat Walmart brank looks like Spam, where target brand is real ham). there are two cases where walmart is either cheaper by a few cents or the same price but in the end, it is cheaper to shop at target. 

for the most part, target always has cartwheel coupons for the products i buy. but also, by having a RED CARD you save 5% off every time. i have the debit version. which means theres no extra charge. its linked to my checking account and is taken out of my account the same day (some stores it takes 2 days). for a while i always thought the RED CARD was just a credit card, but its NOT! they have a debit version and you get the exact same perks. its awesome

below is my shopping comparison of target and walmart. check it out. 

                                Target Total                                         Walmart Total 
                                     31.54$                                                     34.33$          
             tax (8.25%)  + 2.60$                            tax (8.25%)  + 2.83$
                                     34.14$                                                     37.16$
                                              Total Savings = 3.02$
even though it is just a few dollars, if you buy groceries once a week, you save 12.08$ for the month and 144.96 for the year! for me, a recent college graduate, with students loans to pay... thats a lot of money!

i hope this is an eye opener for some of you and you make the switch! of course im lucky here in texas where we have super targets so theres a larger variety of grocery options which also means prices can be cheaper. but for the majority of the products, they are the same price at regular targets.

*target prices reflect cartwheel coupon and 5% off with red card. 

when the kids walk in the door from school, the first thing they do is go straight to the kitchen to find something to eat. usually they go for easy mac or ramen. but lately we (the parents and i) have decided to try and get the kids to eat healthy, natural foods instead of all the processed easy mac and ramen stuff. the kids love nutella and i thought, why not make an all natural, healthy smoothie for the kids after school to hold them over until dinner. after some experimenting, i came up with this recipe. trust me, at first the kids were kinda against it, mainly because they aren't big fans of bananas (i love them though) but after trying them, they love these smoothies. they are all natural, really healthy and with the spoonful of nutella, just the right amount of sweetness they like after school. 

let me know if you try these. or if you have any suggestions to make them better or more tasty (im always open to new ideas)

enjoy!



Nutella Fruit Smoothies

Prep time - 2 minutes
Cook time - 1 minute
Yields - 1 serving

ingredients:
- handful of frozen strawberries
- 1/3 banana
- 1.5 cup of ice
- 2 tbsp nutella
- 1 tbsp chocolate syrup
- 1/2 cup milk

- place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth
-pour into glass and top with whipped cream (if desirable)

enjoy!

recently at work i decided to sit down with the kids and plan out the next weeks's menu to help their parents plan for groceries and to help my life and everything go a little easier. this past week one of the most requested meals were 'cowboy burgers.' at first i had no idea what these kids were talking about. i thought at  first it was a texas thing or maybe it was something their parents had made for them before. but after doing some research i learned that they are actually a Whole Foods product. i, being cheap and kinda against Whole Foods decided that i was going to make these myself.  turns out it was super easy to make. if you can make a regular burger, then you can make these. 

enjoy!

Cowboy Burgers

prep time - 5 minutes
cook time - depends on how well you want your burgers cooked (5-15 min)
yields - 4 burgers

ingredients:
1 lbs ground beef or turkey
1 red onion
1 jalapeno
1 garlic clove
1 giant handful of mexican mix cheese

- heat grill (or stove top)
- dice onion, jalapeno, and garlic. 
- in bowl mix veggies, meat and cheese
- form patties with hands (makes about 4)
- place on grill (or stove) and cook until preferred preference
- place on buns and top with favorite toppings

enjoy!

earlier this week really wanted to make something different for lunch. and since the kids were home this week, i figured now would be the perfect time to try. i wanted to cook something healthy but cheap but also something i know they will eat. i came up with chicken pot pies. originally i wanted to make personal size ones but then i realized that they dont have enough oven safe dishes so i decided to just make one big one. after searching for an hour for a recipe that seemed easy for me to make for lunch but also something the kids would eat. i changed the one i found a little bit, just to make it faster. 

overall this was super easy to make. just took a little time. the recipe is below along with exact step by step pics. this was the first time i think i had my camera catch every single step! yay!

enjoy!

chicken pot pie

prep time: 30 min
bake time: 25-35 min

ingredients:
2 pre-made, chilled pie crusts
1 rotisserie chicken
1 bag frozen mixed veggies
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup butter unsalted
1/3 cup AP flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1-3/4  cups chicken broth
1/2 cup milk

-preheat oven to 425
-spray glass pie dish with cooking spray. place bottom crust in greased dish
- shred chicken. 
-in saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter. add onion and cook for 3-4 minutes, stir often
- add salt, pepper and flour. gradually add milk and broth. continue to cook and stir until its bubbly ( you may need to increase heat to achieve bubbles as needed)
- stir in shredded chicken and thawed mixed veggies (as much as desired for both). continue to stir until sauce is thickened. remove from heat. 
- pour into bottom pie crust. top with second crust and seal the edges. 
- cut slits into top to permit airflow
- bake 25-35 minutes (if edges begin to brown too much cover with foil after 15 minutes of cooking)
- let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving

enjoy!

last week here in dallas we got our first taste of winter for the season. as an ohioan, this was nothing new to me. when we lived in mississippi when i was younger, we had an ice storm that was even worse than  what we just got here. however, since they dont get this weather very often here, the entire city shut down for what felt like a week (but was more around 4 days). these photos were captured the first morning after the storm. parker was outside playing in the sleet bright and early in the morning. FYI- the ground is covered in sleet, not snow. my mom kept thinking it was snow. lol