OMG Chicken

Seeing as it is summer, and I have an abundance of time on my hand (is there every really such a thing as an "abundance of time"), I decided to start trying all of these recipes I have been pinning. I also decided to blog about it and let you know whether or not they are worth the effort of preparing.

OMG Chicken is the first recipe I decided to try. It had 4 ingredients.

1 cup of sour cream (I used fat free)
1/4 cup of grated Parmesan (in the green can and I would have used fat free if I had had it)
Italian Bread crumbs
5 chicken breasts, deboned (of course)

•  Mix sour cream and 
Parmesan cheese together in a small bowl.

• Cut chicken breasts into strips. This will make them cook faster, allow for smaller portions, and in able you to stretch this meal into 2 nights. (Left overs are amazing!)
• Lay strips in the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 pan.
• Spread sour cream mixture over top.

• Sprinkle bread crumbs over top. 

• Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes, until bubbly and brown on top

I served it with steamed broccoli, frozen corn on the cob (Sacrilege in the South during the summer, I know!), and Uncle Ben's Brown Rice. 

The calories in one serving of the chicken is 140. The total calories for my entire meal (Yes, I am counting, and yes, I have a super cool app for that) is 200 because I only had a spoonful of the rice. Oh yeah, don't let the picture fool you! I serve all of my personal meals on a salad plate. It ensures that I eat less!

What was the verdict? Super easy to prepare. I already had everything on hand. It was not only tender enough to cut with a fork, but it was also juicy and quite tasty. However, I do think in order to call it "OMG Chicken", it needs a little something more. I will probably add some garlic salt to the sour cream mixture. That and maybe a little rosemary or thyme. 

Under Sink Organizing

A few weeks ago I wrote a post on wanting to get organized. Well, I have finally started. It was a small project, but it made a world of difference.

This is what the cabinet under my sink looked like. This picture does not even do justice to how absolutely disgusting it was. I mean, I am a mom of three little girls and a full time teacher. There are many other things that require my time other than the cabinet under my kitchen sink.

I decided the best way to organize it was to group like things together. So I pulled everything out of the cabinet and grouped them into categories: cleaning, dishes, and pesticides. I could have made more categories but I honestly didn't have any more containers. 

To make the containers, I used a diaper box, a trash bag box, an old bucket, and a shoe box. Then I made my on Mod Podge with 50/50 Elmer's Glue and water. I used it to add a new and much more attractive look to the boxes using wrapping paper. I made labels and then I sprayed it with an acrylic clear coat to protect it. 

Check out how much better it looks:

The cost of this project? $1.00 for the bottle of glue. That's it! I have a feeling this is just the beginning of my Mod Podge projects! 

Leslie's Caramelized Flatbread

An appetizer like no other!

*Disclaimer* If you are counting calories, you are not allowed to even look at this recipe. You will try to change it and ruin it and then not be able to enjoy the absolute deliciousness!


A bag of shelled pecans
3 onions
1 cup Brown sugar
Crumbled blue cheese
2 sticks of butter
8-10 slices of bacon
Package of ur favorite flat bread ( she uses sundried tomato)



1. Melt butter and brown sugar.

2. Pour pecans into pan and let them caramelize until tender.

3. Lay out wax paper on cookie sheet and allow pecans to cool until crispy.

4. In the mean time, fry up bacon and lay it out to cool.

5. Next chop onions into 1/2 inch slices and caramelize (don't rush it).

6. Once pecans have cooled crumble or chop or beat (with a mallet) them into tiny pieces.
7. Crumble bacon.
8. Spray both sides of flat bread with Pam and then lay flat bread onto greased cookie sheet.
9. Crumble blue cheese on top of flat bread.

10. Dip caramelized onions out of pan with fork to drain some of the butter off.
11. Place onions on top of blue cheese.
12. Follow with crumbled pecans and bacon.

13. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.
14. Now indulge in something so good it should be sinful!

P.S. Can you tell that I have acquired an iPhone?

Birthday Fairy

I had to share this....

A friend of mine just posted this picture on Facebook:


The birthday fairy visited her birthday girl during the night! What a great idea!! I am a firm believer that birthdays should be super special days. We have signs, special breakfasts, elaborate feasts, parties done all out, and all kinds of other activities. But I have never thought of the birthday fairy.

She hid 4 single dollar bills inside 4 balloons and left pixie sticks, some "homework" books, and other gifts around her room all courtesy of the birthday fairy. I know it made the day super special!


I am definitely doing this on the next birthday!!!

Orderly Organization

This summer is all about organization for my home, my classroom...my life.

I am completely redoing my classroom. Check out my Pinterest board on my new theme. I have cleaned out, decluttered, and deposited tons of "junk" into the trash. I am excited about getting organized for the upcoming year. My most important year since I will be teaching my daughter and my niece in the fall!

I am also "planning" on doing some major organizing in my home. I have a Pinterest board completely dedicated to getting organized. There are so many great ideas out there. I know that getting organizzed can make our hectic lives a little less stressful! Three kids, a full time job, a football coach for a husband, dance, gymnastics, daycare....all of these things make for a busy life. This busy life needs as much organization as possible.

What are the best things you have done to help organize your life? Do you have some "must-dos" for me? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Also, it would probably be a lot easier to do this if I would stop "pinning" ways to get organized and actually get started getting organized.

Excellent Eggplant Parmesan

One of the best things about living in the South is the abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables. So what do you do when someone gives you a bushel of delicious eggplants? You make Excellent Eggplant Parmesan!

Ingredients:
4 Medium to large eggplants
4 eggs, stirred and in dish for dipping
2 cups of Italian bread crumbs
1 Large jar of spaghetti sauce
2 cups Shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups Shredded Parmesan cheese
Olive oil
Angel hair pasta

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350.
Step 2: Pour 2 tbsp olive oil in pan or skillet and heat.
Step 3: While olive oil is heating, peel and slice eggplant into 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch round slices
Step 4: Dip eggplant slices into eggs and then coat with bread crumbs.

Step 5: Brown breaded eggplant slices on both sides in skillet.

Step 6: Cover bottom of 9 x13 dish with a little less than half of spaghetti sauce.
 

Step 7: Lay eggplant out on top of sauce.

Step 8: Sprinkle half of mozzarella and half of Parmesan on top of eggplant.
Step 9: Pour the rest of the spaghetti sauce on top and then repeat layers ending with cheese.
Step 10: Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.
Step 11: Serve over cooked angel hair pasta.

I Totally Get It

For the last seventeen days, my husband has dropped off of the planet. (See my previous post on Man-i-tis) I have 3 busy girls who I am running to dance and gymnastics and every where else under the sun. On top of all of that, we are trying to sell our house. Why? Heck, if I know! We are just seeing what will happen.

Well, you know what is happening....we are about to sell it! We have a couple who is very interested. They have seen it once and have informed us that after they come for the second viewing today, they will be making an offer! Oh My Goodness! Not quite sure if we are ready for this....

But that is neither here nor there. The point is that they are coming to see the house today, and yesterday I realized that our yard looked more like a field of overgrown weeds than the well sculptured oasis that sells houses. With my husband down and out, there was only one thing to do....I had to mow the grass.

Now I realize that some of you are saying, "What's the big deal?" Well if you knew my Bella Swan Clumsy self, you would understand. I have had 11 wrecks in my life. I injure a new part of my body everyday sometimes more than once a day, and I frequently mess things up due to my lack of patience and my need to do things the quickest way possible (which is not always the most correct way).

So I grab a water bottle, a hat, sunglasses, and my iPod and head out to the shop to crank up the lawnmower. Ten minutes later and I am still sitting there. My husband has to drag his sick tail out there and help me jump the piece of @#$* lawnmower off because it won't crank for like the 20th time in a 6 month period.

Finally, we get it going and I take off on my mowing adventure. Adventure should not be the word I should use to describe this task: peaceful would be much better to describe it. First of all, I have my favorite tunes blasting and am able to sing at the top of my lungs. Secondly, I get to ride around on this cool little toy (who doesn't love this!). Finally, it is difficult for wee munchkins to bother you on the lawnmower. In fact, for 2 hours no one bothered me!

2 solid hours of nothing but time to myself? I totally get it now! I totally get why men like to mow the grass. I like it too! In fact, I love it. Watch out, Brian! You might just have lost you job!!

Man-i-tis

Man-i-tis-(noun) the state in which a man behaves extremely sickly almost to the point of death but is in fact only inflicted with a mild case of something, like the common cold or stomach virus or even a headache. 

Man-i-tis is something that all women with significant others (that are men) are quite familiar with. It happens every time our big, strong men get sick. They are suddenly on death's doorstep and require much babying, love, and exemption from all household chores/parenting activities. It doesn't matter whether or not we (the women) have just been inflicted with the same sickness during which we continue on with our lives as normally while "sucking it up" because we don't have time to succumb to the bed like we desire, they will be soooooo sick. 

I know that you (women) know exactly to what I am referring and are probably standing whilst applauding in agreement. However, I am quite certain that upon reading this every man I know is shaking his fist at me in disgruntlement for drawing attention to this ploy of sickness. But man-i-tis is a true infliction, one that most every woman in America has experienced at some point in time.

My man has it so bad that he could be standing next to a woman that feels nauseated, and he will suddenly start feeling queasy. It won't matter that the woman was in fact pregnant and was nauseated because she smelled something that offended her pregnant self. He will still come down with the stomach virus and be down for the count for at least 24 hours.

So you can imagine what I thought when 2 weeks ago my husband started complaining of being achy all over after hearing about several children at school who had tested positive for the flu. He felt well enough to go play golf and convinced me even more that he was only infected with man-i-tis. When he got home from the course, however, he went straight to bed.

By Monday, I realize is probably a little more than man-i-tis. I make him go to the doctor where he tests positive for the flu. The FOR REAL FLU...in May...seriously?!?! Wednesday it is even worse when it should be getting better. He heads back to the doctor for a steroid shot and x-rays. X-rays which reveal his flu has now turned into pneumonia! OMG!

Over the weekend, he just gets worse and by Tuesday he has lost over 10 pounds (10 pounds which he didn't need to lose), is not getting enough oxygen, and is admitted to the hospital. His left lung is full of junk, and he is so weak he can barely walk.

I feel like a huge jerk!! My big, strong man is sick, really, really sick! He undergoes antibiotics, steroids, and breathing treatments 24/7. I split my time between my girls at home and being with him at the hospital. Thank goodness for help from my family or I truly might have gone off the deep end.

Finally, on Friday, he was released. He is still sick and weak, but at least he is home and slowly recovering. It will take a while for him to get back his strength, and his lung may always cause him to be a little short of breath. It is definitely not going to be the fun, productive summer that we thought it would be.

I did learn one thing: Man-i-tis is a pain to deal with but it is 10,000 times better than seeing your big, strong man beat down with pneumonia. As much as I complain about it, I will take man-i-tis any day!