Cheesy Chicken and Rice

Another slow cooker recipe!  This one was tasty, and it was a good comfort food.

What you'll need:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 large onion, chopped 
• 1 -8 ounce box Zatarain's Yellow Rice Mix, cooked according to directions
• 1 cup cheddar cheese
• 1 - 10.5 ounce can cream of chicken soup (regular or fat free)
• 1 -15 ounce can whole kernel corn, drained

What you'll do:

1. Place chicken in bottom of slow cooker.  Scatter chopped onion over top.  Spoon cream soup over top of that.  Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours.  A few minutes before serving, add in cooked rice, corn, and cheese. Stir to combine. 

Tip-  I cooked the rice a night before and put that in a bowl with the corn and cheese.  When I was ready to serve, I pulled the mixture from the fridge and heated it up for about 10 minutes.

Mr. Whoa rating:
√√√√

Ruby prayed that I would drop a little.

Flash from the past....

Week that is.  Flash from the past is a little segment I'd like to add to my already partially neglected blog.  It will feature pictures from the past week/month/etc of some fun things going on in my life.  I can ramble on and on about shit, but pictures are more fun.

I had my nephew overnight this week.  He is a little spitfire, but we have a lot of fun together.

My new wedding ring....$4.95 at Pier One.  ;)

Photo booth on the Mac is quite fun.  Bloom got a kick out of it.

Hello Kate.  Thank you for holding my now empty wallet since I bought you.

Ruby's a piss because he got a bath.  Wahh.

Nerding out in Target

Star Wars Monopoly.  He quit because I was winning ;)

Ice cream waffle for breakfast.  I am the best aunt ever.

TTC!

Tator Tot Casserole

No silly...not trying to conceive.  Tater tot casserole.  Its been quite chilly outside, so some comfort food sounded fantastic.  This used to be a favorite of mine growing up, but do you think I found my mom's recipe after she passed?  I found one on Pinterest that seemed easy enough.

What you'll need:

1.  1 pound of ground beed
2.  One medium onion, chopped
3.  One can of cream of celery soup
4.  16 oz bag of frozen tater tots
5.  1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
6.  Salt and Pepper

What to do:

1.  Preheat oven to 375
2.  Brown ground beef, add salt and pepper
3.  Add chopped onion, cook until tender
4.  In a casserole dish, combine and mix cream of celery soup and ground beef
5.  Top mixture with tater tots
6.  Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes, until its bubbly and tots are golden brown
7.  Remove from oven, top with cheese, return to oven till melted

Mr. Whoa rating:
√√√√

It felt like it was missing something, and my mom always added veggies to hers.  It was good tho.  Nothing leftover!

Cheese-stuffed meatball sliders

I bought a Taste of Home magazine the other day and decided to give a new recipe a try.  I don't usually buy cook books or magazines because internet recipes are free, but it was an impulse buy.

I love meat balls, and I found a recipe that reminded me of tailgating.  With football season in session, I thought this would be great.  I was fooled.

What you'll need:
1.5 lbs of Italian Sausage
16 cubes of part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 jar (24 oz) of spaghetti sauce
1 jar (8.1 oz) of prepared pesto
16 dinner rolls, split and toasted.

What you'll do:
*  Divide sausage into 16 portions.  Shape each portion around a cube of cheese.  Place on a greased rack in a shallow baking pan.  Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until meat is no longer pink.
*  Meanwhile, in large saucepan combine sauce and pesto and bring to a boil.  Add meatballs, heat through, and stir gently.  Serve on rolls.

I used little slider buns instead of rolls.  I also added some provolone cheese to the bun.

Mr. Whoa rating:
√√√

He liked them, but I did not.  I think next time I would do half pork sausage and half italian sausage,  It was too spicy for me.  

Nine month review....

Hey friends....if you haven't noticed I kind of go MIA from my blogs.  Am I trying to leave you in suspense?  Not really....I'm just a lazy turd sometimes.

Well its been 9 months since I've turned the big 3-0 and I was looking at the list I made in January.  I haven't conquered most of what I wrote down, but I have taken care of a few things that were weighing on my shoulders.  I have a little time left to get the others done, and if I don't, no biggie.  There are bigger fish to fry.

1. Travel somewhere I have never been.  Well I haven't really done this yet, but I did get to Las Vegas again. 
2. Make a pie from scratch.  Scratch pie: 1  Jajo 0
3. Run a half marathon.  This is one I am really sad about not doing.  I've been saying for years that I want to do this, but I haven't yet.  Its hard when I work Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, and most races are held on the weekends.
4. Pay off three credit cards.  This is one I am super excited about.  I have paid off all of my debt (except for three cards that are interest free, and will be paid off before its applied).  I still have my car and my student loan, but thats not bad debt.  I feel good on pay day because its not gone before I get it.
5. Save and maintain at least $1500 in my savings.  Check....super excited!
6. Try a new recipe a week.  I haven't been the greatest at this, but I'm hoping since Mr. Whoa took a new job and its getting colder, we will cook at home more.
7. Skate in a roller derby bout.  I am so sad about this one.  Due to my new work schedule I had to put derby on the back burner for awhile.  I didn't have enough vacation to use every month for the bouts.  Maybe next year.
8. Finish the downstairs bedroom.  This is in progress!  The wallpaper was a bitch to get off, and I hate to paint anyway.  I hired it done.  I wanted to surprise Mr. Whoa, but he caught me.  Oh well...will post pics when "I'm" done.  :)
9. Lose 20 pounds.  I haven't lost 20, but I've lost about 8.  I am also proud to report that I've lost seven inches on my waist.  :)
10. Host a holiday party.  Maybe Turkey Day or Christmas.  I am not looking forward to the holidays at all....will be hard with out mama.
11. Not buy anything for an entire week.  Probably not going to happen.  :p
12. Start therapy.  I keep bouncing back and forth on this one.  One day I feel like I need it, another day I don't.
13. Eat at The Melting Pot.  Still haven't been there  :(
14. Hire a cleaning service.  I found a coupon, filled out a quote request, and the assholes haven't called back.  I'll look at a different company soon.
15. Read six books.  I've read one called Waiter Rant.  Its about a waiter of 15-20 years in the industries talk about his most off the wall experiences.  I loved it, quite funny.  If you've been a server or a bartender, you need to read this.
16. Finish my tattoo.  Finally finished it!  Lots of time and money put into it, but it looks great.  When I'd wear cut off shirts at work this summer, the guys would see the top part thinking it was something dainty.  They asked what it was, so I showed them, and yeah, they were pretty impressed.
17. Take a spa day.  I need this.  Bad!
18. Pay it forward.  I still need to do this.
19. Take a cooking class.  I still need to do this.
20. Burn 10,000 calories in a month.  I am almost certain in my 10 week class I did burn this many, but I was an ass and didn't keep track.  I am thinking about signing up again, so this time I will be a bit better.
21. Participate in the home delivered meal program.  The agency I used to work for has the HDM program (better known as Meals on Wheels) and I used to love to fill in.  Its so fun seeing their faces when you bring them a meal, especially in a lot of cases you are the only person they see that day.  Sad, but true. 
22. Take care of me, medically.  I have been seeing the dermatologist on a regular basis, and they have helped with my break-outs.  My awesome doctor sent me a letter saying she was moving to Colorado, so I need to find a new doctor.  I need to do that soon because my stomach issues are crazier than ever.
23. Have a make-up lesson.  Still need to do this!
24. Get prettied before I go out of the house, at least twice a week.  I've actually been pretty good about doing this.  Its so easy to throw on yoga pants and go, but Ive been trying to wear jeans and do my hair.
25. Detox my closet.  Since I am off all week, I figured the least I could do is clean.  I finally started doing this.  I was getting ready to prepare for a garage sale, and then I stumbled across a Facebook group called Cedar Valley for Sale.  I posted some stuff hoping to make a little money.  I woke up the next morning and had 96 Facebook notifications.  96!  In less than a week I have made over $300, and people are still asking about my stuff.  
26. Be Mrs. Hallmark.  I have been really good about this, except doing my thank-yous from my mom's funeral.  Any time I sit down to do them, or go through her stuff that has taken over the garage, I feel like a 500 pound man is sitting on my shoulders.  I can't deal with that kind of closure yet.
27. Get my 401K rolling.  Yes I know.  I know, okay???
28. Plant a garden.  This was a huge fail.  I tried.  I bought stuff.  I tried to til and I got tired.  Maybe next year.
29. Go horseback riding.  I need to find a place to do this, especially with fall coming.
30. Don‘t sweat the small stuff.  I go back and forth on worrying about things.  This year has been a lot harder than last year.