Discoveries

So I discovered some nifty things today. I went shopping with Danger like we always do the day after payday. He was very good while shopping with me, like he usually is, and so we went out to lunch. Now us going out for lunch meant we went to KFC and got Go-Cups. For $2.49 a piece for a meal that fills us both up, that's pretty awesome. He eats 1 of his tenders and his fries, and I eat my 2 piece tenders and his other one. Good deal.

While shopping, we meandered down the cookie aisle, we needed more graham crackers and I came across some walmart brand cookies that looked awesome. 

They look exactly like Girl Scout cookies but cost about 1/2. The caramel coconut (Samoa) ones are $1.88 here. The other 2 are $1.48 each. The Fudge Mint ones are quite a bit smaller than Thin Mints but there are more in the package. They all taste almost equal to their Scouting counterparts. Shark and I have always thought the Great Value brand tastes pretty close to the real thing. We like the fake Oreos and now these. I am so excited I found these. I'm hoping they stick around after the Scouting cookie sale.

When we got home, we ate then he went to nap. I started putting all the food away. One thing we bought was a big 10lb tube of ground beef. We're stocking up on meats in prep for our spend less month of February. I would like to have some protein around so I can just whip things up using what's in our pantry. Anyways, while I was getting ready to cut it up into 1lb parts, I was looking at the package and noticed it had some markings on it. 

How awesome and useful is that?!

I feel pretty good today. And these little things made it even more awesome. 

Day of Fulfillment

Alright, so there are days, even weeks where I don't cook dinner.... It's not that we don't have food at our house.... But when I look in the fridge, all I find are ingredients! Ugh! That's the worst!

So I've been searching the Pinterest for CrockPot Freezer Meals... I love my crock pot, I love being able to dump a bunch of stuff in there and have a meal when Shark comes home. And for the most part, the meals are pretty delicious! And way easy. In the summer I lean heavily on the crock pot, I don't want to turn the oven on!

So I found a CrockPot Freezer recipe gold mine! I stumbled upon Baked In the South, and decided to make ALL of her recipes. She's got 5 parts! This link goes to Part 5, because parts 1-4 don't link up part 5. But part 5 links up the other 4. She's got about 5 recipes per post, so that's A LOT of food.

 Please ignore how disgusting my freezer is.... I bought berries from Dollar Tree... once the packaging froze, it cracks and broke open... Lesson learned.

It feels so good to have a freezer full of meals. I made 20! And no repeats either. Although I did have enough of some recipes to make doubles, I figured we'd try them out first, see if they were tasty, then make more.

Also, I ended up not having a few things, I thought I had more than 1 can of cream of mushroom soup, so I put on the bag the things I needed to add when I put it in the crock.

So easy, and I bought all the ingredients (expect for the stew beef!) with my bi-weekly grocery budget! It worked out so good!

Just beating myself

So the past 2 weeks have been pretty rough.

Getting a pace maker has been kinda rough on me. The surgery wasn't so bad, but it was still a surgery. Shark and I have been married for 5 years (HOLY FREAKING CRAP!!) and we've dealt with as many surgeries. Ugh.

Anyways, so it's been emotionally hard on me as well. Yeah, surgery sucks, people with their hands all under my skin and what not, bruises upon bruises and stitches upon stitches. But when left to my own devices, my brain starts getting carried away. I'm 26, and I've got a pacemaker. It's hard having your body fail on you, not do what it is supposed to do. It's also one thing to know what's going to eventually happen, and another thing to have it happen. I have known my whole life my heart's function and imperfections. And for some reason, this emotional break down did NOT happen with the open heart surgery, but decided to wait until this. Maybe it's because I have a kid now... Maybe it's that dark and daunting thought - what if something happened and I wasn't around for my kids????

So anyways - after all this turmoil and emotional and physical pain, Shark and I have been planning this little vacation. When we first started planning it, Shark's parents would watch Danger. Well, after them watching him for the past 2 weeks, we knew their schedules wouldn't allow any more "play" time. So we decided to take him with us. And 1 day shy of the 1 week anniversary of my 2nd surgery and on the 2 week anniversary of my 1st one - we went on vacation.

My mom has this timeshare thing, and since we didn't have the moolah to go to Mexico, they found a timeshare exchange week here in Utah. We headed out to Snowbird, which is an awesome resort in the winter, but it's pretty freaking awesome in the summer as well! For one, you can SEE the landscape around you. And the landscape is BEAUTIFUL! It was so pretty and so wonderful up there. Even if we did have a little brat boy with us.

We found a pond and a play ground, and he went nuts. Just played all over. He went on this spinning swing, and got spun off, he didn't like the landing, but he perked up once he got to a slide. He was so tired out. Then we went to a nice restaurant, where I got sushi!

The hotel had amazing restaurants, I tried sushi for the first time, and rather enjoyed it. I explained to the server that I had never had sushi and was planning on trying it. He talked with the chef and then brought out some of the specialties for us to try for free! And then we got free dessert because we were celebrating our anniversary. (Oh, didn't I mention? Shark and I are having our 5th anniversary this year! This MONTH!!)

We went to the pool, which I thought Danger would LOVE, cuz you know, he loves baths.... NOPE! He hated every minute of it! It might not have been that bad if there had been a little kid wading area, instead of just a pool with lanes, but Shark held him the entire time. I couldn't really get in the water (surgery!) so I sat on the steps. It was still fun. Once Danger got out and dried off (it's chilly in the mountains!) he ran around the pool like it was his job. He climbed the rocks and threw wood chips. He tested the hose and made sure the gate was locked. He was so cute.

And then we got up and had breakfast, and they were doing some menu revisions, and the chef brought out this BBQ teriyaki pulled pork to show the manager. Well, the waitress came back around to fill up drinks, and I joked that we could be the testers if they needed us to be, we would sacrifice to test the food. Well, she brought it around and told us to enjoy! It was sooo amazing!

There were little ground squirrels all over and some rock chucks. We fed a little ground squirrel, after the day before some came right up to my toes and walked with us. After that, Shark kept bugging me if I brought food, which oddly enough, I didn't have any in my purse the whole weekend! I always have something in my purse for Danger.

It was a pretty awesome weekend for us. Little Man has been pretty cute too... Even tho we were kinda disappointed that we had to bring him - it turned out to be fun. It all worked out. :)

I love my boys.

Menu for March 25 thru 30

So here's my menu plan for this week. (I'm going to try to post my menu plan every Sunday...)

3-25 : Tacos
3-26 : Brown Sugar and Balsamic glazed pork
3-27 : Slow cooker bacon wrapped apple chicken
3-28 : Crock Pot French Dip Sandwiches
3-29 : (Finder's Keeper's) Shark is out of town, so it's just Danger and me.
3-30 : Shrimp Noodles
3-31 : Easter at in-laws

I'm planning a daily theme menu thing. You know - Mexican Monday, Pinterest/Favorite Tuesday, Chicken Wednesday, Meat Thursday, Fish/Favorite Friday, Noodle Saturday, Soup Sunday.

Maybe those days'll work - we'll have to see.

I'm pretty sure all of my recipes fit into those groups.

I need to lay down a plan, and stick to it. It's hard for me to plan my meals, I never know what to make. So I figure if I have a daily theme, that'll keep it straight and keep my recipes in rotation. (I think some months we end up having tacos once a week....)

So we'll see how this goes. I'll let you kno!

menu and week plan

**UPDATE : I forgot a day in my menu plan.... So I added my meal and added the day... **

Ok, so I get it, it's Wednesday.

You're probably asking yourself, "What's this chick doing planning meals and making a week plan on Hump Day?!"

Well, Shark's schedule is backwards of most normal people's. He works nights. His work week starts on Wednesday nights. SO, me being his loving amazing wonderful awesome wife, I have changed my schedule around to fit his.

Also, Thursday is my day off from babysitting and it is also the day we get paid!

Do you know how much easier/faster it is to go shopping on a Thursday than a Saturday?!?

MENU :
2-7 : Frozen Pizza
2-8 : Crock Pot Dump Meal (One day I got ambitious and made these crock pot freezer meals.)
2-9 : Crock Pot Chicken with rolls and corn
2-10 :  Stuffed French Toast with fruit
2-11 : Bacon & Pea Mac & Cheese
2-12 :  - Our Valentine's Day -
2-13 : Soy Sauce & Brown Sugar Salmon with Garlic Asparagus
2-14: Chicken Taco Chili with chips and rolls
2-15 : Bacon Ranch Slowcooker Chicken over potatoes
2-16 : Spaghetti with garlic bread
2-17 : leftovers and veggie night
2-18 : Slowcooker Buffalo Chicken Sandwich with celery
2-19 : Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers
2-20 : Chicken strips with corn
2-21 : Crock pot Honey Seasame Chicken with eggrolls

So there you have my meals planned out for the next 2 weeks.

I'm planning on taking Danger shopping with me on Friday this week. I have an appointment (more headache stuff....) on Friday and I need him to be awake long enough to fall asleep right before my appointment. That way Shark can watch him while he gets ready for work....

Yeah... So for these 6 weeks I'm seriously planning on making dinner every night. It needs to happen. I have been far too lazy lately.

So Danger has been watching his dad too much! He just dropped some food and smashed it deeper into the sofa... JUST like his dad!

My weekly plan is to go shopping on Friday, then my appointment. Saturday we're just chilling. It's a long week for Shark so it's me and little man. Sunday we chill. Monday we've got nothing planned. Shark is done with his class this semester! Tuesday is our Valentine's Day cuz Shark works on Thursday. So we have coupons to a BBQ place. (I have told him there is NOTHING wrong with using coupons on dates, if we can get something free, I'm all for it!) After that, we're pretty open. We haven't really had anything planned.

Maybe I'll continue taking Danger to the library on Mondays. They have a free kids discovery zone thing. They read, the kids sing and dance and shake maracas....

Also, I'm hoping to make and Ikea run...

We've got plans to go to the children's museum.

My SIL wants to get together more and craft some.

We went to IHOP's Free Pancake night.

We'll see what we can get done in these 6 weeks. Yeah.... Little man has been pretty darn cute. We might go for a walk today. He's just rolling around on the floor. He handed me his boots and his shoes. And when I balanced them on his head instead of putting them on his feet, he decided he'd try to put them on himself.

My handsome do-it-yourselfer! I sure do love that guy!

Half a cow richer!

We got our tax return back, and we bought half a cow. Well, in processed meat. We got 300 lbs or steaks, roasts, and ground beef! My upright freezer is full!! I'm so exctied! Before we got the truck load of meat, I had to clean out our freezer.

Shark has apparently always worked for businesses that give out turkeys for Christmas bonus, which I don't mind in the least. The past few bonuses {not sure I'm spelling that right.} we've given away the turkeys, cuz I don't know how to cook a turkey, and I did NOT want to screw it up for my turkey-loving husband.

Well, last year, we got a turkey, and it was so happily just sitting in my freezer, until who knows when. Well, then we put in our order for half a cow, and I figured I needed to make room in my awesome upright freezer for those 300 lbs of cow coming my way. So I decided to try cooking a turkey. I had my paper bag and I started cooking my turkey. By the time Shark woke up that day, the turkey was done and then we were heading over to Shark's folks' house to have a nice turkey dinner. It turned out beautiful.

Anyways, I put all the other food from the freezer into 2 coolers while the freezer defrosted. Eventually, Shark went out there and hosed it down, and then dried it off. I bought some laundry baskets that fit my freezer, and thank goodness they were big enough to fit all the meat!

Yup. I measured my freezer, then went on down to Wal-Mart, and found some baskets that fit perfectly! Freaking awesome! Plus, now I didn't have to fit a turkey into one of those laundry baskets, cuz it really would NOT have fit with the cow!!

So yeah. Look at those awesome laundry baskets! I love these baskets, they have handles on all 4 sides, so they are made to be pulled and pushed on the long sides! Well, at least they are reinforced on the long sides. {And I checked them to make sure they don't get brittle when frozen, I know those clear shoebox totes get brittle and break when put in the freezer, that's why I went with laundry baskets.}

We're also in the process of growing our food storage. I just bought 25lbs of flour. Yup. I did that. And I put it in 1 of my orange buckets under my Christmas shelves. It fit, but my bucket is now shaped like an egg... I might need to open the bag and make it fit in the ROUND bucket. But I need to open the bag anyways, my 2qt canister of flour is empty. {I emptied it trying to find the perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie. I haven't found it yet, but when I do, I'll tell everyone!}

Anyways. That's what's been going on this week, us buying our cow. I really am so excited to go shopping in my own freezer. Shark grilled up some steaks and they sure are tasty!

So I've been MIA lately. Sorry. Little Man had his 4 month check up last week but the doctor postponed his shots a week so he could get over being sick.

The doctor said Danger has RSV. It sounds big and scary, but really it's bronchitis and croup that turns into pneumonia in really little babies. So anyway, the doctor prescribed a nebulizer, so every 4 to 6 hours we hold him next to a mini air compressor so he can breath in the medicine mist. He has been sleeping pretty good besides being sick, yeah he coughs but it doesn't wake him up, and we've had a humidifier going in his room since he started coughing.

So needless to say, my sleep-o-meter has been on E for the week. I have been exhausted! Shark took Little Man fishing and let me sleep and I was still way exhausted. Ugh. Yeah, it doesn't seem to matter how much sleep I get, it isn't enough.

I have cooked dinner 3 days in a row! Woot Woot!

Ooh, anyways, I got my new toy! My new awesome camera came! I'm so excited, and I'm way excited to learn the tips and tricks.

One day at a time.

Recipe Thursday

I figured you all like to eat, cuz I know I do. I love food. I've decided to share some of my recipes with you.

My first recipe to share is : All American Cheeseburger Soup

I found this recipe in Better Homes and Gardens. I tried it, and we love it! Ooh, eat it with pickles!

Cheeseburger soup
1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 stalk celery
2 T flour
(2) 14-oz cans beef broth
2 medium potatoes
(1) 14-oz can diced tomatoes, drained
(1) 8-0z package shredded cheese (2 C)
(1) 6-oz can tomato paste
¼ C ketchup
2 T mustard
1 C milk

Toasted buns
Cheeseburger toppings: pickles, onions, lettuce

-In stew pot, cook beef, onion, celery, & garlic over medium heat until meat is brown & veggies are tender. Drain. Sprinkle flour on beef mix, cook & stir 2 minutes.
-Stir in broth & potatoes, bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat. Simmer, cover for 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
-Stir in tomatoes, cheese, tomato paste, ketchup & mustard. Cook & stir until cheese is melted & smooth & soup comes to gentle boil.
-Stir in milk; heat thru.
-Serve with toasted buns and cheeseburger toppings.


*We highly recommend with pickles, it’s tastes pretty dang good.*

This is not my personal recipe, I got it from Better Homes and Gardens. Also, I didn't take a picture because whenever I take pictures of food, it always looks bad. So I didn't even try this time. :)

how bad

So how freaking bad am I?

We just, {like seriously YESTERDAY!} started our "fat-off" diet/get healthy thing. And of course you know I've signed up for every single free birthday coupon under the sun.

Chili's sent me a free Red Velvet Molten Lava cake coupon.

Texas Roadhouse sent me a free appetizer OR free sidekick of ribs coupon.

Krispy Kreme has free donuts on your birthday.

Applebees sent me a coupon.

How freaking bad would I be if I went to all of these places and just chowed down?



Did I mention Shark's family is taking me to Rodizio Grill tonight for my birthday?

I'm terrible.

birthday

So, I completely spaced (it's been that kind of month, year actually!) My brain has been missing since I got pregnant and clearly hasn't returned now that I'm no longer harboring a fugitive...

Shark had a birthday on the 5th! I went all out and made him a cake! From scratch! I can totally check off number 65 on my List! I made the cake from scratch AND the frosting from scratch!

I used Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate cake recipe. And I used the Chocolate frosting recipe at the bottom of the cake recipe. Both turned out great tasting.

I did have an oops, tho. I didn't take the cakes out the pans after they cooled a bit, so they got stuck in the pans. I shook 1 round out of its pan, but the other 2 would not budge, so I ended up scraping them into a bowl. Shark ate the cake bits with frosting and thought it was awesome. Also, I doubled the frosting recipe because it says it makes about 2 cups... and in my head, 2 cups is just not enough frosting for a cake. So I had a TON leftover frosting.

It ended up turning out pretty good. I used the cake bits and the left over frosting for my holiday Cake Balls. I love making these, they are delicious! (That'd my hand not his!)

I got Shark really big peanut butter cups! They were a 1/2 pound each! I found them in the Christmas candy aisle at Wal-Mart. Delicious!

Love to birthdays! ♥

the truth

So, Shark's mom invited me to Education Week down at BYU last week, and I went. Shark and his brothers have a few names for Education week : Mom Camp and EFY for moms. It really was EFY for moms, but there were dads there too. It sorta felt like all there was were pregnant ladies and moms. It was pretty fun. So we walked around BYU campus all week, learning about the gospel. It was way fun! The food was amazing!

Maple Bar with bacon!

Butterfinger donut!

Last week Shark started his night shift at work. He'd been training the week before, but last week, he got going on his shift. It was rough starting out, but I think he's got the hang of it. He works tonight, and he's sleeping. So he should be rested for work. He likes his job so far. Monday he had a zone get together at Boondocks, we went to that. He got to know some of his coworkers more. It was pretty fun.

This week is my last week at the Trading Post. I'm happy and sad. I have been exhausted lately, exhausted on a level I never knew existed. Yesterday I was too tired to stand up and make some sandwiches for us for lunch. Thank goodness Shark stepped in and made them. I'm sad about work because I love my job, and I love the people I work with. I'm happy because I get more time to get things ready for Little Man, and I get to rest as much as possible. Most of the things I have to get ready still are things I can do from my couch (which are always the best things to have to do!)

Lately I've been playing music on my phone, and putting it on my belly. Little Man just kicks and rolls and moves around. It's pretty fun. I love feeling him move around and wiggle. It's been so much fun to move my belly and have him retaliate and kick. At night when I lay down, he starts his tumbling routine, and I love grabbing Shark's hand to feel him move around. I love Little Man already and am so very excited to see him in 3 months. I love being pregnant. I love showing off my growing belly. And even though all I really do is complain about him kicking me ALL DAY, I really do love it. It's a feeling that I can't really explain too well, and it really does feel weird, but I love it. {He still has room to roll and twist and he kicks all day. Next month he won't have so much room, and he'll really be kicking me all day long!} It's fun to see Shark's face when Little Man kicks his hands. I haven't even met this little guy yet and I love him and adore him.

That's it so far. Oh that, and I'm seriously considering a trip up to Idaho Fall for some Buffalo Wild Wings. That's the closest one... Any one up for going with me and Shark one of these Tuesdays?!

You gotta have what you love!♥

Oreo-Stuffed Chocolate Chip cookies

I'm posting the recipe and some pics.

It's not like you need a tutorial if I include the recipe right?

Here's the story of how I found these :

PINTEREST.

{sigh}

I love it. I got hooked on it and for a week solid I was logged in and pinning everything I saw.

When I'm on Pinterest, my computer bogs down. Like I have never had a computer bog down.

I used to work with 3D graphics programs, like 3 at the same time, to coordinate pipe, and those NEVER bogged my computer down. Ever.

But Pinterest does. Not sure why. Myabe because of all the MILLIONS of awesome freaking ideas and wonderful people on there loving and pinning the same things (and different things) that I do. Maybe...

But I found this blob of amazingness.

WE LOVE THEM!

I make them as bribes treats for my coworkers. I also made them for Shark's Going-Away Party at work. Next Thursday is his last day, and apparently parties are FRIDAY things.

RECIPE :

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together with a mixer until well combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
In medium bowl mix the flour, salt, and baking soda. Slowly add to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips until just combined.
With a cookie scoop, form balls with the dough. Place one ball on top of an Oreo cookie, and another ball on the bottom. Seal edges together by pressing and cupping in hand until Oreo cookie is fully enclosed with dough.
Place onto parchment or silpat lined baking sheets and bake cookies for approximately 13 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 package Double Stuff Oreo cookies

I used too much chocolate chips {I can't belive I just said that!} but the only reason the dough fit around the Oreo is because Shark was molding the dough around them. Pretty much forcing it to do his bidding and cover that Oreo.

At first we put 6 on a pan cuz I wasn't sure how big they would get. It turns out, the normal 12 on a pan works great.

Enjoy your awesome treat! They really are amazing!

Love to those who share great recipes! ♥

Bountiful Baskets

Alright, for those of you who know me : you know I am NOT an early riser. Not a morning person. I'd love to just sleep until noon every day! (sigh) But alas, that is not possible.

It certainly wasn't possible this morning! We've been talking to people at church about a food co-op program called Bountiful Baskets. Well, I figured I'd take a look.

I registered and then ordered my first share of fruits and veggies. The pick up time was 7:00 AM this morning. It wasn't very far to go to my "team site" - there are lots to pick from depending on how far you want to drive I guess.

So my alarm went off at 6:30, I got up, put my contacts in, and hopped in my truck. I took the red truck, we're trying to sell it, and who better to sell it to then people who are food co-op, right? (Ok, my thinking was, these are frugal people, if they need a vehicle, they aren't going to be buy it new, so might as well drive that once, in case one of them is looking for a new little red truck!)

I waited in line, got my 1 basket of fruit and my 1 basket of veggies and loaded into my laundry basket then into my truck. I started on my way home.

I get home with my heavy basket of produce and I called Shark upstairs to see me bounty! It really is a ton!

Then he says, "I drive that truck all over, for hours a day and not one person ever calls. But you put a pretty girl in a truck with a for sale sign, and bam! The phone starts ringing!" Apparently, on my way to the co-op, some one called him (it's his number on the truck!) to ask him about the truck.

Next time, I'll have to remember who people would be calling! Anyways, this Bountiful Baskets thing seems pretty awesome. I'm excited to do it. I don't think we'll do it each week, because we don't eat tons and tons of fruit and veggies. (Maybe once we have the Little Man and he starts eating foods and stuff, we'll do it every week...) But I think for now, every other week, maybe. I mean, $15 a week for awesome produce is NOT bad at all!

Go to BountifulBaskets.org to find a site in your area and to learn about more!! It's not just a Utah thing, they've got this program all over. It doesn't hurt to take a look!!

Love to those who are eating good in the neighborhood! ♥