Cutest Kid Contest

My youngest - Connor - is running for Cutest Kid in a contest being held by Red Oak Photography now through Wednesday at 11:59 pm. All you have to do is vote for him and if we get the most votes, we win a free mini session! To vote for Connor, you can click on the link above or click HERE. Then "like" the page for Red Oak Photography on Facebook. Once you have "liked" the page, go to Connor's picture HERE and "like" that as well. Comments do not count as votes, only clicking the like on the page and the photo count. Here is the picture you will be voting for if you choose to do so:

We went out for a quick bluebonnet shoot and he decided to scream "HI!!"

I apologize for the hush in blog posts this week. My house has been kind of crazy and I have had a few  extar business leads. Want a look? Here are some logo designs I built this week...

If you or someone you know are starting up your own business or already have and are in need of logo design or just graphic design in general, please visit my Designs by Jen Etsy Shop

Quick Health Update

Y'all, I just wanted to give a quick update on my health. I wanted to keep this separate from my recipe posts for searching reasons to not be annoying for anyone who isn't hear for this.

If you were hear in December, you may have seen that part of my journey right now is including trying to lose weight and become healthier. I have recently started a new medication for recently diagnosed (but long-overdue) chronic migraines called Topiramax. I was warned by the doctor that a "side effect" is that I would likely loose weight. I laughed pretty hard at that one and told him to sign me up!

In December, I weighed in at 220 lbs. Since then, I have actually lost weight and gained it back again, getting as high as 228 lbs before getting on this new medicine. I started the medication around the middle of March so it has been just about one month now. I got on the scale yesterday and I was down to 206.4 lbs. I am down 22 lbs since December! I was in a size 20, sometimes even those were fitting tight, and today I out on my size 16 Calvin Klein blue jeans again for the first time in months.

Now I know it is probably mostly from this medication, which makes me feel full a LOT of the time, so I don't eat as much as I do. I have also eliminated soda from my diet completely, reduced my Starbucks intake from about 4-5 times per week down to about 1 time per month (and instead I have coffee at home = 130 calories per cup x 1 per day). I also have increased my water intake and increased my activity levels with being at home and the amount of housework I do on a daily basis keeping up with the cleaning and children to ensure the house stays clean.

I feel great. I know this is not the end goal, but it is a start, I don't see a huge difference, but I am posting a head shot from tonight because I felt like I could see a difference in my face from tonight versus when I started the blog in Nov/Dec. You be the judge, but don't let the lack of hair/make up fool you.

OMG my eyebrows are caa-razaay!! So sorry... But I am stoked that I am losing weight. :)

{Slow Cooker} 5-Cheese Lasagna Soup

This recipe is so easy and a yummy take on a family tradition! My family loves Italtian food, and pastas especially. Lasagna has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid, but I remember my mom always hated cooking it because she would get home from work at a regular time (5-6 pm), have to prep everything, then still let it bake in the oven for at least an hour before we could eat. It was never a weeknight meal. Well, folks, things have changed!

I introduce you to my new favorite tradition, Slow Cooker 5-Cheese Lasagna Soup.

You will need the following for this recipe:

• lasagna noodles (oven ready if cooking in quick amount of time, otherwise not necessary)
• 1 can/jar spaghetti sauce
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes, not drained
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 container Italian blend cheese (Asiago, Parmesan, Romano), shredded
• 4 oz cottage cheese
• 6 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded 
• 1/8 tsp. celery salt
• 1/8 tsp. seasoning salt
• 1/8 tsp. basil
• 1/8 tsp. each salt & pepper
• 1 1/2 cup water

Here is what my ingredients looked like:

I obviously chose to go the quick-cook method tonight... Don't judge me.

I buy onions every once in a while in bulk, dice them all at once and freeze them to avoid frequently torturing myself. So these are my frozen, diced onions. Same difference. Deal with it peeps. It's an onion.

I used roughly 1/3 of the block of the mozzarella you see in this picture. If you know me, you know I don't measure much at all when I cook so pretty much everything in my recipes are guestimates... Just like the 4 oz of cottage cheese because it was a little less than half full... :)

Step 1: Brown the ground beef with the onion, garlic, and seasoning (season salt, salt, pepper) to taste. I prefer not to drain it so that later it keeps better flavor in the "soup," but if you drain it or have a lean cut of beef you can add extra water.

Step 2: Once the beef is completely cooked through (and drained if you are going to), add in the canned tomato products and the celery salt, basil, and any extra seasonings you may wish to add in. If you like a kick, you could add in a dash of red pepper flake at this point.

Step 3: Once you have added in the tomato products, give it a good stir and let it simmer for about 15 minutes to let the flavors soak in while you shred the mozzarella if you are a procrastinator like me or, like me, you had a bunch of munchkins running around your ankles whining at the time, occupying your thoughts and you hadn't gotten that far, yet. If you have already shredded the cheese, go get a drink and let the sauce bubble a few minutes while you break up the noodles.

Step 4: See.. Told you to break up those darn noodles... It is easier to eat the soup if you have them broken in advance since soup tends to be eaten with a spoon and spoons don't normally cut very well.. Break up the noodles and place at the bottom of your slow cooker. Then top with a layer of your sauce mixture that should be nice and hot by now.

Step 5: I didn't get a picture of the cheese mixture, but mix all of the cheeses together in a medium/large bowl (mozzarella, Italian blend, cottage cheese, etc). Mix it up as best you can. Spoon that over the sauce mixture. You want to use about 1/3 of it on each layer unless you are doing really thin layers, but I am normally always able to get 3 layers in my large slow cooker. Then repeat the layer process again and again until you are all out of the food!

Step 6: The end result before closing your slow cooker should look like the picture above, with cheese on top. Just cover and cook. If you are using oven ready noodles, you can cook on high for 2-3 hours before eating (really it is done in about 2) or on low for 4-5 hours. If you are using regular noodles, cook on high for 5 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. When you are ready to serve, just give it a good stir and you will see this:

I hope you enjoy the soup! We had it tonight and I am stuffed from half a bowl of it! It is great with a salad and veggies, garlic bread, etc... :) Love y'all!

BTW, keep posted for the new blog to be revealed at the end of the week... We are moving to a bigger and better site to combine our business and blog into one! It will be a transition, but I hope you will move with us. 

Oh and PS! I would love for any reader to comment >>> My husband does not count, but thanks, babe. Seriously, guys. I have been feeling kinda down and it would be nice to know that someone out there is for reals actually into this blog and not just reading it because they know me. I enjoy writing and I feel like this is a way for me to really express myself honestly in a way that a lot of people don't get to see the me I know. So, if you are actually into the blog legitimately, or have gotten something from it, learned something new, enjoyed a new recipe, etc, I would love to hear about it in the comment section of one of the posts that it is relevant to or this one. I will totally send you a hand-written Thank You card from little ol' me to you and it would make my day to know I made a difference to someone. 

Thanks, guys!

Weekly Checklist Printable

I am trying to come with an easier way of making sure I not only keep my tasks organized so I have a schedule for the week, but so I can make sure the tasks were done. Having as many kids around as I currently do, I tend to forget if I have already done a certain task (such feed the dogs or take my medicine... or eat). 

I made this printable to help me maintain the organization of the weekly schedule so I know I am still keeping up with all of it and I can look back and see that I did it. I made a blank version for y'all if you want to use it (just comment and let me know). My personalized version is highlighted on the days I want certain things done. 

So for mopping the hard floors in the house, it works best in my schedule to do so on Sundays and Thursday when I have the least amount of people running around the house. To remind me of this, I highlighted the box in a light yellow. You can do this to the blank version with a yellow highlighter if you wish. :) Then, once a task has been completed, you just check it off so you know it is taken care of. 

While typing this post, I was reminded of something I have been meaning to ask... Could any of y'all recommend a good free or cheap document sharing site that might allow me to load my documents such as this printable onto a database and then include a link in this blog post for anybody to click on and download? How do I do that? I am not even sure where to start... I am still new to the blogging world. 

Here you go!

Personalized Version

Blank for your personal use :)

{OMG} Restaurant Style Salsa at Home

One thing I have played around with for years is salsa. I have a love/hate relationship with this stuff. 

You see, I cannot tolerate real spicy food. Not even moderately spicy foods. Like "hot" Pace picante sauce is too spicy for me... that kind of "can't tolerate spicy food." But I LOVE eating chips and salsa when we go out to a good Mexican restaurant. For this reason, I have always tried to make my own recipes or find recipes and alter them into my own versions. I have made some good ones before but this one takes the cake. I do not have pictures of this recipe in the making, only the final because I was making several recipes at once and trying to get my son off to soccer practice that my dad was taking him to, yet keep an eye on my toddler and 6 year old while my husband was at work. I am sure you know what a can of tomatoes and chopped veggies look like... 

Gather up the following ingredients:

• 28 oz can whole tomatoes, drained
• 2 10 oz cans Rotel
• 1/2 c. chopped onion
• 4 gloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 1 c. fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1 serrano pepper, seeded & finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin

Combine all of the ingredients in your blender or food processor. Blend until you have a nice consistency (to your preference). I prefer the way it is after about 30-45 seconds so it isn't so chunky. When it is to your liking, put in your container and refrigerate for at least on hour. Serve with tortilla chips or over food. Yum!

It made a whole (large) applesauce jar full of salsa!

Chili Dog Casserole

Here is a kid-approved lunch that will be gone in a matter of minutes! Just make sure to cut up the hot dogs into bite size pieces once you have plated them for safe eating!

You will need tortillas, 1 can of chili, about 4 oz of colby cheese, and 6-8 hot dogs.

Roll each hot dog in a tortilla like a blanket. 

Place the wrapped hot dogs in the casserole dish.

I originally cut off 1/4 of the 32 oz block of cheese, but then only needed 1/2 of that, so you only need about 4 oz, not 8 oz.  

Shred the cheese.

Top the wrapped hot dogs with the can of chili. 

Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the chili.

 Bake in the oven for 350 degrees for 30 minutes to heat thoroughly and melt the cheese.

Enjoy!

Kickin' Chicken Enchiladas

I have been scouring Pinterest for cheap and easy recipes that will feed the mouths of babes easily... The more mouths it feed and the less it costs, the better. If it is delish, that is WAY better. :) I found a recipe that I thought was a winner so I decided to give it a whirl. It didn't even have a name, but it seemed pretty easy. You just dump a few canned goods on top of some FROZEN chicken meat into your crock pot, add some cream cheese, and cook it 6-8 hours. Done.

Let me back things up by saying that I enjoy following fellow blogger, The Pintester. She is HILARIOUS! She is a little crude, so for my mother-in-law (and likely, most of my husband's fam), I don't recommend. You probably wouldn't appreciate the humor or language used. If you dare to visit the website, don't say I didn't warn you. Either way, I love reading through her fails and wins, and most of all, getting the comfort in knowing that I am not the only one who sees these amazing pins that seem so attainable and then fail so hard... I say all of this because one of the things she is well known for is not having the proper ingredients. Here is where I got my big-booty ego and decided to wing it.

The recipe called for:

• 2.5-3 lbs chicken breast tenders, FROZEN
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can rotel
• 8 oz block cream cheese

This is the picture from the original blogger. Original Blogger

You are supposed to put the FROZEN chicken tenders at the bottom of your crock pot, then put your cream cheese on top of it. Then dump in the canned ingredients. Cover and let cook on low for 6-8 hours, stirring every 2 hours.

First of all, I had chicken breasts, not tenders. I hate shopping at the dang Walmart that is close to my home because I can never find the tenders which is what I prefer, but I am not willing to drive further away to a bigger store where I will spend way more money to get chicken tenders. So I settle every time on the chicken breasts.

Second, I only had about 3 oz left of my cream cheese, not 8 oz. To make sure I didn't lose cheesiness (... is that really a word??) and creaminess, I added a can of cheddar soup to the mix.

Third, I also struggled to find Rotel at this stupid Walmart during my last trip. Granted, I was suffering from a serious migraine, toting an extra child in addition to 3 of my own, my husband was in an electric cart-thing due to a broken leg (looooong story), following me asking too many questions, and I don't know the layout of this store, yet. Not knowing the layout of my regular grocery store tends to cause me a high (I mean EXTREME - not exaggerating) level of anxiety. For this reason, I prefer to go with my husband and no children and treat it as a date so he can help me remain focused and not go crazy. I found the canned tomato section last time but for the life of me couldn't fine Rotel. Since then, we went back for our next grocery trip and Jeremy walk right up and grabbed it. I swear, they were not there. Must have been out of stock or saw me coming... I did, instead, have "tex mex style diced tomatoes," which were used as an alternate.

So aside from substitutions and adding some minor seasoning, I followed the instructions. After 8 hours (since I used breasts, I wanted to ensure thorough cooking), I served this Mexican stew-esque dish wish pan-warmed tortillas.

Jeremy and I both thought it was "okay" and filling, but a little lacking. It could use some fresh cilantro if used to make tacos to give it that fresh taste, or maybe a dallop of sour cream? It was too soupy as-is for us. We had a ton of leftovers and weren't real sure what to do with it, but in our current financial situation, we were NOT going to waste the food. So we debated over options, but then I came up with a good one we could both agree on... Enchiladas. :)

Genius!!!

So basically, you take this mixture you just created above, and roll it into corn tortillas. I did mine dry tonight but they kept breaking. You could dip them in warmed chicken broth if you want so they are more flexible and have more give without the tear. I just had kiddos running around like mad and parents coming to pick them up soon and wanted to start working on homework with the kids to get them all finished up at a reasonable hour tonight. So you fill the tortilla, roll it, place it in a baking dish. Continue doing so until you have filled the dish. I had enough (with our LEFTOVERS) to fill two dishes, so you may want either two LARGE or three small dishes. Once you have used all of the filling and are done rolling, open a can of green enchilada sauce and pour over top of each of the dishes. I used a large 28 oz can for ours because we like ours with lots of sauce - and I apologize, but the can was all jacked up from being dropped and I forgot to get a picture. Our family prefers to buy the blocks of cheese and shred by hand (for cost-effectiveness and for taste/quality), so I then shredded about 16 oz of the Colby Jack marbled cheese to top it all of. Next, just pop them in the preheated oven and bake at about 375 degrees for 45-55 minutes or until the cheese is nice and melty and browning on top.

Here is the final recipe:

• 2.5 lbs chicken breasts/tenders, frozen
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can black bean, rinsed & drained
• 1 can rotel
• 1 can cheddar soup
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 16 oz Colby jack cheese, shredded
• corn tortillas
• 28 oz green enchilada sauce
• 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, optional
• 1/8 tsp sea salt, optional

Step 1. Cook chicken (frozen), corn, beans, rotel, soup, & cream cheese on low in crock pot for 6-8 hours or until cooked through, stirring every 2 hours as needed.

Step 2. Roll filling into corn tortillas and place into baking dishes until dishes are full. Top with green enchilada sauce. 

 Step 3. Top with shredded cheese as desired and place in oven to bake for 45-55 minutes at 375 degrees or until cheese is melty and browned on top.

Ta da!!!