Cheesy Potato-Chicken-Bacon Casserole!

I don't make a lot of casseroles, not because I don't like them but because most that I've tried are pretty, well, blah.  Who wants to have blah for dinner?!  Not me.

This on the other hand is absolutely not blah...more like nom! nom! nom!

This recipe was actually born out of necessity, you know one of those nights where you just look at your pantry with a blank stare?

Alright, here we go!

Ingredients:

2 Large Chicken breasts or Thighs

2 Russet Potatoes, diced into cubes

1 Package Pre-cooked Bacon, chopped

1/2 Cup Diced Yellow Onion

1 Tbs Garlic

Chicken broth

3 Green Onions, thinly sliced
3 Cups Shredded Mexican Blend Cheese

Marinade:

1/2 Cup Olive Oil

1 tsp. Salt

1 Tbs Pepper

1 1/2 Tbs Paprika

6 Tbs Hot Sauce

Directions:

1. Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a bowl and poor half into a large pan on medium-high heat. Get the marinade hot and add the potatoes and onions: stir to coat, saute for 5 minutes.

2. Add in the garlic and saute for one more minute, then add in enough chicken broth to almost cover the potatoes. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are done.  If there is too much liquid remaining in the pot towards the end just remove the lid until all liquid cooks off.

3. While the potatoes are cooking, dice the chicken into cube and mix into the remaining marinade. Let it marinate at room temp until the potatoes are done.

4. When potatoes are done, place them in the bottom of a well greased glass baking dish: set aside.

*Turn on your broiler, it should say 500*

5. Return the pan to the heat and quickly cook the chopped bacon.  Add the bacon layer on top of the potato layer, then add a layer of shredded cheese and a layer of the green onions.

6. Return the pan again to the heat and throw in the chicken.  Cook on medium heat until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add on the chicken layer and top with a final layer of cheese. 

7.Cook under the broiler for 5 minutes until the cheese is gooey and crusty...And....EAT!

This recipes is great for week nights and can easily be pre-assembled for all you busy fans out there.  

Please tell me what you think and how it turned out for you!

Happy Cooking!

Mommy Shortcuts

A dear friend mentioned she heard something about "mommy short cuts" on T.V.  

and I had to wonder what that really meant. I Googled it! I found tips, thoughts, tricks, ideas and even confession from other moms on what they do to make their life easier.

 Some of these ideas though (albeit bright as they were) seemed exhausting! 

And then I realized, they may seem like extra work in the moment, but could be extremely handy 

when you need that smidge of extra time! 

So I've put together my own list!

1.Pick your battles. So I just let my kids eat an entire box of fruit snacks in one day...it's fruit right?! As moms I feel this is an important tool to have in your repertoire! 

2. Do extra prep.  There are some veggies I don't use ALL of at one time, and instead of wasting it I "extra prep" it. Chopping celery?  Chop the whole darn thing and freeze what you don't use. It keeps just fine and you can scoop out what you need as you need it, sans prep!

3. Make double batches. Some meals are really easy to make huge batches. Chili,  spaghetti sauce, soup etc.  It seems like you can solve world hunger when you make them, so eat what you need that night and freeze the rest!  TIP: freeze flat in a zip-lock bag to save storage space in your freezer.

See!? Nice and flat, lots of space.

4. Use your microwave. So I love to cook yummy from scratch meals BUT I value my time. Use the microwave to help a mutha' out. I bake my potatoes in my microwave for instance: poke holes all over, light coat of oil and salt, and cook for 11 minutes on a plate uncovered.

5. NEW MOMS: don't waste your money on a diaper bag. Really who wants to haul around 2 bags everywhere?! Go get yourself a really nice giant purse and throw everything in there: diapers, wipes, 1 toy, a zip-lock bag of clothes,  & a nursing cover/bottle & formula. It all fits I promise.

6. Pre-prep your coffee pot the night before.  I hate trying to set up my coffee in the morning: I'm half awake and almost always forget something...like water...or the coffee.

7. Meal plan. Not only will this save you time but loads of money! The less random trips you have to make during the week, the more time and money you save. I plan one weeks worth of meals at a time and if I run out of something, I'm just out and the kids will have to suck it up! They're young, they'll get over it. (Stay tuned for my meal plan blog later!)

8. Make your kids help with the chores! My daughter is 1 1/2 and loves to be told to throw away or put things away and to help me with laundry.  I went all Pavlovian on her and trained her with positive reinforcement, a.k.a. high-fives.  She does something awesome (like puts her dirty clothes in the hamper) she gets a high-five...or fist bump, whatever she's in the mood for that day. Plus chores play triple duty: they help you out, teach independence and strengthen gross motor skills.

9. Immediately unload groceries and then some: if it doesn't stay in it's cardboard, then take it out.  For example: I buy multi-packs of fruit cups, yogurt, and apple sauce and they all come in card board.  I take them out of the cardboard and stack them in the fridge: cardboard gets recycled immediately and my fridge is neat!

10. Weekly meal prep! One night, pre-measure and put all ingredients into containers/bags for each meal that week. I have giant Tupperware boxes and I'll put my protein on the bottom (separate zip-lock bag), veggies, and pre-measured spices into it. We usually will have rice which can easily be thrown into a rice cooker while the rest of our meal is sizzling away!  Spending one hour chopping and measuring saves lots of hours the rest of the week!

It seems most of MY time is eaten up by meals, 

but eating is kind of a big deal so I guess that's not so bad!

You work hard moms! You deserve every second of "me time" 

or alone time with the hubs that you can get!

If you have any more mommy shortcuts PLEASE comment below or on my Facebook page! 

Happy Shortcutting!

Spring Cleaning! Rules, Tips and Tricks for a Cleaner Home!

It's that time of year again!
No, not tax season...well that too, but time to purge our homes of any
residual souvenirs and junk from the following year (or years!). I am inherently tidy, but being a military
family only adds to my anal-retentive-anti-hording tendencies.
Also, since we tend to move a lot I don't get as much of an opportunity as the average family to "collect".
BUT even I can build up a wealth of junk (see above!)!

Less clutter creates less stress and a happy home for everyone!

Fortunately for you, my adoring family, friends and followers, I have a few rules, tips and tricks I follow to keep my home clear of clutter!

THE RULES:

1. The 6 month rule.  This is the mother of all rules. It rules all the rules on the rules about clutter.

If you haven't seen it or used it in 6 months it goes: you do not need it!

Of course there are exceptions to this rule like holiday decorations, regularly worn clothes and a small sampling of your children's memories and art. However these exceptions have rules of their own!

2. Holiday decorations: If you didn't use them the last holiday, they go.

TIP: Store holiday decor in clear totes and write on the outside with a marker what's in them! 
Organize by holiday to make it easier to go through later.

3. Regularly worn clothes: If they are hanging up in your closet and you didn't wear them while they were in season, they go.

TIP: place a sticky note on each piece of clothing, 
at the end of the season take out anything that still has a sticky note!  

See the purple sticky's?! This is a freshly purged closet ready for the next purge!

4. Children's memories: this is tough but, only pick your top 5 from the holiday art, 1 or 2 pieces a month from school art, and keep only hospital things from when they were born.  Kids bring home tons of paper, do not keep it all!

TIP: Display your child's art on a string, at the end of the month 
you'll see how full it is and be forced to purge it!

Your child's "masterpieces" don't have to be displayed in a fancy way, they'll just be happy to have a place of honor!

5. Detach yourself. This is the hardest part because it's really easy to attach yourself to things.  But remember they are just things!  Don't get sucked into the "but I might use that next holiday" or "maybe I'll wear that again!" Because you wont...and you wont. Sorry.

Take all that stuff and donate it or have a garage sale, but only have a garage sale if you are really going to have a garage sale! Most of the time people just end up piling up their stuff in the garage and then what's the point?!

Tips and Tricks:

1. Use nice baskets as storage.  I have baskets everywhere, under end tables, in my TV stand, corners and closets. With little (even big!) kids it makes for a much faster clean up!

2. Always put it away.  Never just set something down somewhere to put it away later, you wont and the clutter will just build! It makes the end of the day a lot easier to put away too.

3. Have a "junk drawer". Or basket if you're short on drawers in your house.  This drawer is for those small little things like pencils, pens, scissors, rubber bands, note pads and such. You can throw stuff in this basket and let it get messy without feeling bad!  I usually go through mine every 6-ish months.

4. Use the entire week to clean.  Some like to do all their cleaning on one day, and that's fine, I just find it easier to space out the cleaning through the week.  One day I dust, the next is bathrooms, vacuum and then wash floors. Breaking it up lets you feel accomplished that day AND it saves you time throughout the entire week.

5. Always make your bed! For some reason I always feel like I really have my, *ahem* stuff together when my bed is made!

6. Keep Counters Clear. If it doesn't have to be on the counter then it doesn't need to be.  In my kitchen I use the 3 appliance rule: only 3 or less appliances get to stay on the counter!  Everything else goes in a cabinet or pantry.

Now you don't have to use all of these rules, you don't even have to do them at all. These are just what I go by to help keep my home clean, it's what works for my family! I hope these rules, tips and tricks can help inspire you in your own spring cleaning purge!

Happy Cleaning!

DIY Door Bumper: BRILLIANT!

For all you mommies out there, we all worry about our little ones smashing their fingers in a door. We also hate that *click* sound the door makes when we check on our children at night with the great dread of waking our children from their slumber: THE HORROR!  

Well, here's my solution:

The pool noodle is extremely versatile is it not?! So far you've already seen me use it as a wreath form, and now this?! The possibilities are seemingly endless!

Here's what you'll need:

- 1 pool noddle (dollar store!)

- Serrated bread knife

1. Cut the pool noodle to size.  For one door bumper, cut one 6-inch piece off the pool noodle (see photo above)

2. Cut down one side of the foam, creating a slit down one entire side.

3. Slip over the edge of your door! 

How awesome is that?!  You don't even have to be crafty or creative to make these things!  I have them on every interior door of my house.  It's really nice knowing my children wont smoosh their little fingers OR lock me out of a room.

Please like and comment below with your thoughts or experience with these bumpers!

Happy Crafting!