Air Freshener

The best room air freshener....

Sorry to have been away.....

Life has been very busy for us lately. Last week we had our 3 year anniversary and the following day was my daughter's 18th b-day...followed by her graduation party a couple days later....WHEW!!!!



Crazy that my daughter officially is a graduate. There was so much going on in the last months before she graduated. The graduation party put the finishing touches on her high school career. Now time to prepare for college.

My husband and I started back to Weight Watchers. The first week we lost 8 pounds together. We have SO much more to lose though.

My 9-year-old is just finishing up his homeschooling and looking forward to a nice break. It looks like we will be homeschooling again for 4th grade as well.



The baby is creeping quickly up to his first birthday...SAD how time flies....he has been a handful in the past couple months, between cutting 8 teeth at once, learning to crawl and then crawling to get into everything...but the good news is he is finally off his reflux medication WOOOOHOOOOO!!! Seems like he finally grew out of it. I honestly thought he would be one of the cases that did not grow out of it. He only occasionally seems to have what seems to be an upset stomach...but few and far between.



I have been focusing on how to be a homemaker..STILL. After losing my job in January, I have been really trying to figure out how everything fits...such a life change. I am NOT complaining, but it is just taking some adjustment...and now I have to learn how to be a Mom to a college student..UGH!

My husband is enjoying his new job and said the other day that he is really happy with life....I HAVE NEVER HEARD HIM SAY THAT!!! Praise God that he feels blessed ;) I always used to have to tell him he had to count his blessings before bed...cause he seemed to deal with being discontent quite a bit. He is an excellent provider, a great husband and a wonderful father...and I am the blessed one!

We are hosting my parents 40th wedding anniversary in a couple weeks, I am excited to celebrate such a wonderful event with all my family and have the house and yard filled with loving people and life....I am so thankful for parents who know God and who have submitted to him for 40 years!



Well, I am going to wrap it up for the night. I have Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cups baking...smell so good...don't know how my kids sleep with the wonderful smells. They are only 2 points per cup...YUM...cannot wait to have one in the morning. I think now I can get a little more regular with my blogging. Hope I have not lost many visitors ;)

See you all tomorrow!

Super Healthy Hummus

Found this on Recipezaar and it is out of this world. Only 1 point per 1/4 cup too :) In case you might be concerned that the points are correct, I did put it in the recipe builder on Weight Watchers and it is only 1 point per 1/4 cup...yippie!

Super Healthy Hummus

SERVES 6

3 garlic cloves, minced, more if you like
1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 (19 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

Combine everything in blender or food processor and process until smooth.
The blender gives the best result.

If you need more liquid to make a nice consistency, add a bit more yogurt.

Chill.

Serve with pitas or as a veggie dip.

To see more great recipes visit Grocery Cart Challenge here

Outdoor Wednesday

For more Outdoor Wednesday visit A Southern Daydreamer here

Cheesy Kielbasa Bake (makes two, one to eat, one to freeze)

I got this recipe from Allrecipes. It was very good and I loved the fact that it makes two and I got to freeze one.

Cheesy Kielbasa Bake

INGREDIENTS
12 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni
2 pounds kielbasa (Polish) sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onion, chopped
2 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced
2 medium carrots, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (26 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 green onions, chopped

DIRECTIONS
Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain and set aside. In a large skillet, brown the sausage in oil over medium heat. Add the onions, zucchini, carrots and garlic; cook and stir for 5-6 minutes or until crisp-tender. Stir in spaghetti sauce and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15minutes.

In each of two greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dishes, layer a fourth of the macaroni and meat sauce. Combine the egg and ricotta cheese; spoon a fourth over sauce. Sprinkle with a fourth of the cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. Repeat.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Uncover; bake 15 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Serve one casserole. Cool second casserole; cover and freeze for up to 2 months.

To find more recipes visit Grocery Cart Challenge here

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Santa Anna Black Bean Casserole, Raspberry Crisp

Tuesday: Candace's Chicken Casserole

Wednesday: Cheesy Kielbasa Bake

Thursday: Band Banquet

Friday: Pinto Beans and Rice in crock with Sweet Cornbread

Saturday: Baked Potatoes (Crock) w/ toppings.

Sunday: Ground Beef Vegetable Soup, Bread

For more Menu's check out Organizing Junkie

Cantaloupe Bread

This recipe was taken from Recipezaar...it had almost five stars for all the reviews it got. I also tried it and it was very delicious...my husband loved it.

Cantaloupe Bread

Ingredients
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups granulated sugar
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cantaloupe, cut into 2 inch chunks and pureed (about 2 cups of puree, you can pulse so that bits of fruit remain)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1 Mix eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla.

2 Add pureed cantaloupe to mixture.

3 Sift dry ingredients; add to liquid.

4 Pour into 2 greased and floured 9x5 loaf pans (or spray them with Baker's Joy).

5 Bake 325°F for 1 hour or until done.

6 Check after 50 minutes.

7. Can also be made into muffins.

8 Bake for about 25-30 minutes.

To see more great recipes visit Grocery Cart Challenge here

Outdoor Wednesday

Today has been rainy with some sunny moments. I love the raindrops on the flowers. I also posted a picture of my front door. Working on making it look welcoming...still needs some work. Enjoy your outdoor Wednesday!









For more Outdoor Wednesday visit A Southern Daydreamer here

Bill's Birthday Menu

I wanted to do something for my husbands birthday but he has to work afternoons today so I was not sure how to make his birthday special. I decided that food was the answer....cause you know that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach...if you want to try any of these wonderful recipes out, the links are located below their pictures :)



Apple Raisin French Toast Casserole










Pizza Braid








Darn Good Chocolate Cake

Cheerio Breakfast Cookies.....or Bars

The recipe was written as cookies but I made bars instead...just watch how long you cook them for so they cook through :)

Cheerio Breakfast Cookies/Bars(as seen on Recipezaar)

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 egg
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour
1 cup old fashioned oats or quick-cooking oat
1 cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups Cheerios toasted oat cereal

Directions
1 Heat oven to 375°. Stir together sugar, butter, peanut butter, water, vanilla and egg in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients except cereal. Gently stir in cereal.

2 Drop dough by rounded 1/3 cupfuls 4 inches apart onto ungreased large cookie sheet. Flatten dough to about 1 inch thick.

3 Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before removing from cookie sheet. Store loosely covered.

4 If using spread, use only stick that has more than 65% vegetable oil.

5 High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Increase bake time to 14-16 minute.

6 (The recipe doesn't say how many servings it comes up with, but I went with 12 cookies, but of course, if you want Jumbo ones then they will be bigger and you will get less cookies).

To see more great recipes visit Grocery Cart Challenge here