A New Website to Visit!

I love how certain people...you have never met...become a sweet, godly encouragement to you!

I came across a lady Tabitha...on Facebook.  Her Facebook name is Simply My Kitchen and the link to her Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/simplymykitchen1?fref=ts . I love her FB page because it is all about working in your home and kitchen...one of my heartbeats and loves. :)  

She also has a great website Simply My Kitchen... http://simplymykitchen.com/.  

This morning, she sent me a personal e-mail saying I hope all is going well with our church and my night job.  It was a special blessing on a Friday morning...from someone I have never met...but truly cares.

Take time to visit her on Facebook and like her page!  And then visit her website. :)  I think you will be blessed too! :)

Have a wonderful Friday!

School Days

Tuesday morning, I babysat for the 3 Traynor boys.  Thought I would include a few pictures of the kids this day. :)

This is John - or as Summer affectionately calls him - Johnny Baby Appleseed.  LOL!

They all do school - the Abeka video program.  This was Sierra's first day of Reading Circles.  She knows how to read from her K-4 year so reading blends - she flew through them. :)

Addie doing her 4th grade work.  She is such a great independent worker in school.

James and Thomas.  James is in K-5 with Sierra.  Thomas is in 2nd grade with Autumn.

And Baby Johnny. :)

Rainy, Rainy Wednesday

Haven't posted in a few days...actually lack of computer time...and just a lot of my heart and mind. :)  

So I will catch back up here.  I will start with yesterday.

It was a perfectly beautiful day!  It rained and stormed off and on all afternoon and evening!!  LOL!  I know, that doesn't sound like a beautiful day to most.  However, we don't receive a lot of storms - thunderstorms are almost non-existent here.  And when it rains, it usually is a sprinkle for 2 seconds (literally - I am not kidding!) and then it is over.  So, yesterday, it just rained and rained with dark skies.  I love those afternoons when it is dark and you can have your lamps on...Christmas lights twinkling...candles burning...and something baking in the oven!

So even though, I probably had something else to do (like ironing - LOL!)...I decided to do some baking.  Ahhh...baking therapy, I call it.  I used to not do hardly any baking but I have enjoyed it more and more lately.  And a dark, stormy and rainy afternoon...is literally the perfect day to bake!

That morning, I had got a large amount of bananas on sale for 3 lbs for $1.  So I decided to bake up some mini banana bread loaves with it.  I made 6 batches - one batch ended up in the bottom of my oven.  LOL!  The pan is very heavy and it slipped and literally just flipped and there went all the batter into the oven.  They were so fun to make!

I also baked two buttermilk pies.  Yum!  I will try to share the recipe with you.  I love buttermilk pie - it is a taste of an old-fashioned Christmas.

I hope you also had a blessed Wednesday!

Thanksgiving Photos...Gone Crazy!

Ha ha!  Well, it happens every year.  I get busy with the meal and hosting and forget to take pictures.  Here are a few pictures that Shannon took at the end of the night.

Autumn, Summer, Addie, Johnny, Thomas, Sierra and James

*Only the girls are mine. LOL!

Block out the diaper wipes and soda can.  

My husband with our daughters-Autumn and Addie.  And a crazy man in the background.

The end of Thanksgiving 2012.

Papa Vern and his munchkin - spoiled rotten!  LOL!

Thanksgiving Preparations

Here are a few pictures of our Thanksgiving preparations.  Every year, we invite many folks from our church to join our Thanksgiving dinner.  This year, we had 20 folks for dinner and 6 folks come after dinner.  It does take much planning and preparation for an event like this.

While cleaning, I decided to clean out the bookcase.  We took out any doubles of books that we had...any books that we just don't need/use, etc.  I then took out a shelf to make the second to the bottom shelf larger and that is my new section for my large cookbooks. :)  Always nice to freshen and purge a neglected area.

This year, we decided to make name place cards for the table.  I simply printed these off of the internet, glued to a piece of black construction paper and cut them.  Fold and add the names and you are done. :)

The girls were SO excited doing this project!  It was a lot of fun.

Then for the napkins...I don't have enough matching napkin rings...so we made simple ties out of hemp.  I loved this look because it is a bit rustic.  And easy.  And again, the girls loved helping.

What do you think?  We thought the table turned out very beautiful!  Simple.  I used to use real plates...but the dishes had overwhelmed me finally.  So this year, we went to styrofoam plates and plasticware. :)

Even the kids had special place settings. :)

A drink station is a nice thing for an all day event.  I offered coffee, hot cocoa, hot tea and hot apple cider.  Outside in a cooler with ice was soda cans and water bottles.

I made the coffee in the large pot.  I used my coffee pot (not pictured) for hot water.

I set up a table above for all the side dishes for the meal.

The buffet was for desserts and appetizers.

One of the turkeys...this one was going into the smoker.

Thanksgiving Clearance Sale

What a busy week!  Yesterday morning, Addie and I went early in the morning to do a little secret Santa Christmas shopping.  That is a secret until Christmas. ;)

While we were out, we found 75% clearance on fall items at Big Lots.  Here are some of the great deals we found. :):):)

A set of two towels and two baskets - Harvest theme.

A fall wreath and two wreath hangers.  The sunflower one I will use in the summertime. :)

A nice green mat for my kitchen.

Two of these pumpkin bouquet arrangements. :)

These classy candle holders.

My wreath on our front door. :)  So pretty!

Home Video: Sierra-Psalm 100

This is Sierra.  She is five years old and is in K-5.  These are her memory verses.

Home Video: Autumn-John 14:1-6

This is Autumn.  She is 7 yrs. old and in the 2nd grade.  These are her memory verses for school.

Home Video: Addie-Isaiah 53:7-12

I took a few videos of the girls saying their memory verses for a grade for school.  This is Addie - she is 9 yrs. old and in the 4th grade.

An AWESOME week at CVS!

OK... RUN, don't walk to your local CVS!  They are having an awesome 4 day sale including TONS of items for FREE!  I made two trips already - one before church and one after church and here is the breakdown.

These items are FREE without any coupons!  

So even if you don't coupon, you can grab these deals ASAP!

Playdough Soft-Pack

ThermaCare Heat Wrap

Charmin Basic Toilet Paper Single Roll

Kleenex (3-Single Packs) - You can get two packs for free with this item!

Powerade Drink

Coke 1 liter

Kraft Mac-N-Cheese

Nips Hard Candies

The Nature Valley granola bars are $2.99 with $2 ECB back.

Listerine Mouthwash is $2.99 with $2 ECB back. - This is limit 2 so you can get this deal twice.

The items in this picture that are FREE with Extra Bucks (no coupons needed) are:

Glade Oil Warmer

Children's Advil

Hot Wheels Car

Starbuck's Double Shot

Carmex

Advil-10 count

Cepacol Sensations Lozenges

The Finesse hair spray was $1.99.  I used a $1 MFR.

Crest toothpaste - $2.75 each.  Received $2 ECB for each tube.

Lady Speed Stick and 2 sticks of Right Guard deodorant - Buy one for $2.99. Used 3- $1MFR coupons.  Received $2 ECB for each stick.  All were FREE!

So the grand total I paid for all these items (not including tax)...was $.68!!!

That is because I used coupons for the FREE items.  So I could apply that savings onto the other remaining items I was paying for...and BAM!  You have a really great day in couponing. :)

This was one of my receipts this morning. :)

All my Extra Care Bucks to use for the next month!

Recipe: Lemon Chicken Breasts and Veggies

Here is a tasty crock pot recipe great for a Sunday dinner!  In fact, this is our meal for today. :)

Lemon Chicken Breasts and Veggies

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh baby carrots
• 3 cups cubed red potatoes
• 1 package (14 ounces) frozen pearl onions, thawed
• 2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
• 6 bone-in chicken breast halves (10 ounces each), skin removed (I used boneless/skinless.)
• 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

• In a 5- or 6-qt. slow cooker, combine the carrots, potatoes, onions and celery. Top with chicken. In a small bowl, combine the soup, water, lemon juice, parsley, thyme, pepper and salt. Pour the soup mixture over chicken and vegetables. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or until a thermometer reads 170°. Yield: 6 servings.

Couponing for Week of 11/13/12

At Walgreens:  Dry Idea Deoderant- 2/$6.  Used $2/2 Walgreens coupon.  Used $3/2 MFR coupon.  Final cost:  $.50 each.

Palmolive Dish Soap:  $.99.  Used 2-$.25 MFR coupons.  Final cost:  $.74 each.

Renew Contact Solution:  $6.99.  Used $2 MFR coupon.  Received $5 RR.  FREE!

Barrettes:  $2.99.  Received $2 RR.  $.99.

At CVS:  Good deal on diapers.  I bought 3 packs of Huggies for $10 each.  Used 2-$3 MFR coupons and 1-$1 MFR coupon.  Received $10 ECB for spending $30. 

Total cost:  $4.33 per pack.

Date Day :)

Yesterday, my husband and I worked on cleaning out the garage...cleaning the smoker and fryer for cooking the turkeys...and mowing and prepping the lawn the last time for winter.  After our work in the morning, we went on a date.  So nice!!

We went downtown...here are a few pictures of the Truckee River through downtown.  The prettiest area down there. :)

They were finishing the Christmas tree and putting on the star just as we walked by. :)

We then used our Groupon we had bought for a little sushi place called Sushi Saga.  It was a newly remodeled restaurant and we really enjoyed it!  All for $22!  The sushi was yummy. :)

And in case you make think that is wine...it is Diet Pepsi.  You can notice the ice and straw.  LOL!  (I only say this because someone referred to it as wine...and believe me, it is not. :)

Our favorite...the Nevada.  Above!  

Walking back to our van...gotta love Reno. :)

Wednesday...

Tuesday night, I picked up a shift from 8pm-8am...working on a little extra Christmas money. ;)  After work Wednesday morning, I ran a few errands...did a mailing at the post office, bought stamps, dropped off books at the library, made two deposits at the ATM and bought some things at Wal-Mart.

Then time for school and coffee!  My husband has a few days off of work and we worked on some future ideas for the church.  Then he was so very sweet and made me fried potatoes and a delicious omelet.  YUM!  Anything I eat that I don't have to cook...tastes so good. LOL!

Then we headed off to town.  My husband and two daughters went to pass out church postcards downtown with one of the men from our church.  I took the other girls and went couponing at CVS and Walgreens.  We also washed and vacuumed the van.  I am always excited to get my couponing in and I will share those deals later.

We then met back up with my husband we made a visit to the Cruz family.  We talked over the memorial service with the family.  It was a good visit and we love the Cruz family!

Then we stopped at Burger King for a quick dinner and then headed to the McFarlin home.  We had a sweet visit with Pam and Sandy.  Pam has been going to California for chemo treatments and it has been a lot of her and her father, Bro. Vern.  But praise the Lord, she is now able to start taking her radiation treatments right here in Reno!  With winter coming on (and having to drive over the mountains to California), we are so thankful for this answer to prayer!! Praise the Lord!

I hope you had a wonderful Wednesday!

Recipe: Ranch Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Every time I try a new recipe, I am thrilled when I found one that I call a "keeper"!  A keeper recipe is good enough to make over...and over.  LOL!  I am a fan of any Mexican inspired food...so I especially loved this one!

Ranch Chicken Enchilada Casserole

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (They can be frozen. :)

1 packet dry ranch dressing

1 packet taco seasoning

1 can (2 cups) chicken broth

The initial prep for this recipe takes seconds. Place the first four ingredients in the crock pot and go!

After the chicken cooks, you simply cool and shred.  Then layer the corn tortillas, chicken, cheese and ranch dressing.

The finished product!

Remember how I said I love the slow cooker liners?  This was after I cooked the chicken and then took it out for the casserole. Yes, pretty messy.

Literally, seconds later!  I took the liner out and placed in the garbage, wiped down with a wet sponge and a little Dawn...and dried with a dish towel.

Took about 30 seconds.  Yay!

--------------------------------------------------------------

Put in slow cooker and cook on low for 3-6 hours. (It will depend on how hot your slow cooker is and if you use frozen or fresh chicken.)  Let cool and shred with two forks.  I let the shredded chicken sit in the juices and soak up the goodness and cool in the slow cooker.

To make the casserole, layer in a greased 9x13 pan...6 corn tortillas, shredded chicken, shredded cheese and drizzle of ranch dressing (mine was a generous drizzle! :).  Do a second and third layer. You will end with the cheese on top. 

Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes on 350 degrees.  Yummy!