Monthly Archives: October 2010

Menu Plan Monday & Recipe for Zucchini, Spinach & Chicken Pasta

Posted on by
6


I am so ready for the Thanksgiving Holidays! We get the whole week off for Thanksgiving and I can’t wait! There’s so much to get caught up on, plus I want to go work at the Food Pantry that Tuesday to help give out Thanksgiving dinners to needy families.
This week is going to be another week of easy menus. I enjoy cooking, but after a day at work and then tutoring and blogging after work, I don’t have the energy most days to cook anything very extensive!

Here’s our tentative menu for the week:

Monday: Rotisserie Chicken, baked potato, and salad (a super easy meal for a Monday)

Tuesday: Use left-over chicken for the recipe below.  This is a revised recipe:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zucchini, Spinach & Chicken Pasta

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 cups cooked Barilla Plus Rotini Pasta
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1 zucchini, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 10-ounce package frozen, chopped spinach
  • 2 cups cubed cooked chicken breast OR canned chicken breast
  • 1 jar pasta sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

PROCEDURE:

Cook pasta according to directions.  Saute onion in olive oil in sauce pan for a couple of minutes.  Add frozen spinach to onions and then place zucchini on top.  Cook until barely tender.  Mix pasta, onion, spinach, chicken, pasta sauce, salt & pepper in casserole dish.  Top with cheese.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wednesday: Left-overs from Tuesday

Thursday: Chef Salad

Friday: Homemade Pizza

Product Review: Family Dollar Holiday Entertaining & Gift Items

Posted on by
3


I was excited when a large box arrived on my doorstep, and when I opened it…this is what I found!  I knew that Family Dollar was sending me something, but I had no idea it would be this big!

Inside this beautifully wrapped package were all sorts of goodies. There were things for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas!


In my gift basket for “Halloween Happiness,” there were Spooky Lollipop Rings and Halloween Suckers plus a Halloween pumpkin. (Family Dollar has good prices on their candy for trick or treaters! Note the Lollipop Rings are just $2.) For Thanksgiving, there were several things: an apron (a bib apron with two large pockets AND with DuPont Teflon fabric protector to protect from stains), two holiday dessert recipes from the Family Dollar Holiday Recipe and Coupon Booklet, and a fall leaves bowl.

By the way, you might want to get the Family Dollar Holiday Recipe and Coupon Booklet to help with your entertaining needs and your budget.

The “Christmas Corner” included a Family Dollar Christmas Toy Book which has 24 pages of value packed Christmas toys, affordable for every family.  Our daughter (Christi from Frugal Novice) was visiting when I opened my Family Dollar “Fall Entertaining Toolkit” basket of goodies.  When she saw the toys they sent me, which are in the Family Dollar Toy Book, she was impressed and said that she would definitely be going to Family Dollar to purchase some toys for gifts.

They have $5 toys for kids of every age, and they feature popular name brands like Hot Wheels, Disney, and Bakugan.  In fact, they sent me a Bakugan toy.  I have to admit that I had no idea what that was, but our daughter was very familiar with Bakugan toys.  When I gave it to our grandson (Christi & Brian’s three year old), he was fascinated with it.  In the picture, you can see our grandson, dressed in his red pajamas, playing very intently with his new toy. He liked it so much that he slept with it that night, and even went to sleep with it clutched in his little hand.  It was definitely a hit!

.

Family Dollar has everything from kids’ favorites like full-function Radio Control Kid Cruisers to $5 board games to Kidget clothing for newborns-toddlers to hot-priced electronics.  They have play huts for $10 such as the Disney’s Tinker Bell and Disney’s Princess.  They have something for everyone!  What is really impressive is their great selection of $5 toys and gifts.  Also available are wrapping paper and seasonal home decor accents at great prices. No wonder they’re one of the fastest-growing discount chains in the United States and also a Fortune 500 company.

If you visit Family Dollar.com, you can enter the Family Dollar Holiday Dream Dash Contest for a chance to win a 90 seconds holiday shopping spree in one of their stores.  You can enter now through November 19, 2020.  Be sure to go back and vote the week of November 22nd.

Note:  Family Dollar offers a 10% discount on bulk toy purchases of $100 or more, perfect for the charitable gift-giver!

Friendly Friday 10/29/10

Posted on by
3


Welcome to Friendly Friday!

Remember, YOU can host the link list on your blog too! Just click “Get the code here…” at the bottom of the list. The code is different every week, so be sure to get the new code when hosting Friendly Friday on your blog. Hosting the list is a great way for everyone to get even more traffic to their blog.

Thanks for joining the Friendly Friday celebration hosted by Christi at Frugal Novice, Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier and Charla at Healthy Home Blog! We invite you to join us every Friday to make more friends in blogville, get more blog followers and follow other great blogs out there.

To join in the Friendly Friday celebration, include your family-friendly link in our list, follow the hostesses in the first 3 spots and then start blog hopping! Visit other blogs on the list and comment to give them some blog love. Then take a minute to follow them through Google Friend Connect – this is a good way to keep up with other blogs, but also lets us show support to each other! Please DO NOT list your giveaways here, links must be to either your homepage or your Friday posting with your blog title. All others will be deleted.

When people comment on your blog and let you know they’re a part of Friendly Friday, return the favor and follow them back. This way everyone gets traffic and followers out of participating, and it’s a win-win situation. We would love for you to also grab our Friendly Friday button and post it on your blog and/or in a post – the more bloggers that find out about Friendly Friday and participate, the better!

Spotlight on Friendly Friday Followers! We love your participation and want to show it! In addition to gaining followers, each week we’ll select three blogs at random and will feature links and a write-up for those blogs in the content of next week’s Friendly Friday post. There are so many seriously wonderful blogs out there, and this will be a great way to highlight some of those each week. Say hello to the lucky chosen 3 for this week (and feel free to stop by and give them a little extra love):

Julie and Adele are two sisters who find and share bargains with their readers at Coupon Cents Sisters. Julie is in Connecticut and Adele is in Georgia, but the distance doesn’t stop them from teaming up to work together on their great blog. You’ll find tons of freebies, deals, and coupons – plus a great reference list of when to find sales on various types of items and Couponing 101 tips!

Molly at A Day in Mollywood is married to her best friend and has two adorable little boys, Landon and Brigham. She writes about her thoughts on everything from dealing with depression to parenthood. Her blog is also filled with photos of the aforementioned adorable little boys – and what’s a better day-brightener than that?


“Pink Power Ranger Mom” at Linus & LuLu is a wife, mom, and teacher who loves to cook, create pottery and crafts, and garden. She writes with a sense of humor and shares everything from family stories to recipes to photos of decor. All the photos she posts make you feel like you’ve got a little window into her fun family life!

144 Entries

Continue reading →

Christmas Decorations

Posted on by
Reply

It’s already that time of year when people are starting to plan how they’re going to decorate for Christmas.  Some go all out with elaborate outdoor Christmas decorations, themes, and even a synchronized light show to Christmas music.  Some go for a subtle look and have a few lights in strategic places in their yard.  The same thing applies for indoor decorations as well.  Some people have every part of their home decorated, while others have mainly a Christmas tree and a few decorative touches here and there.   Whatever the decorations consist of, it’s being with family and friends to celebrate Christmas that counts the most!

Making Healthy Choices

Posted on by
1

Many people are health conscious nowadays.  They take vitamins and supplements, try to eat healthier, try to get more exercise, and try to make healthier lifestyle choices.  Some might even do a colon cleanse such as the dr. schulze program.  More and more people are eating organic foods and opting for a more natural diet by eating less processed food and less fast food.  Some even grow their own food, thereby making sure it is the most natural and pesticide-free food they can eat.  If you’re wanting to live a healthier lifestyle, then start out with one or two healthy changes in your life and gradually add in more.  That way, these changes will become a habit instead of a short term change.

Behind on Sleep

Posted on by
Reply

When you have little ones, it’s sometimes hard to get the sleep you need.  Our daughter, son-in-law, and two little grandsons came to visit this past weekend.  Our daughter, Christi, and s-i-l had four hours sleep the night before from staying up late working on a freelance job.   Their three year old doesn’t know to sleep late on Saturday mornings and so he was up early the next morning.  Christi and her husband were definitely behind on sleep!   They didn’t take sleep aids but just tried to squeeze in naps here and there. They did get a better night’s sleep Saturday night, so that helped!

Exercising

Posted on by
1

My exercise program fell by the wayside when I started working full time.  I do a good amount of walking during the day so that helps a little bit to balance out the times I’m sitting or standing.  I try to go for a 20-30 minute walk several times a week, but I’ve only walked once this week so far.  I’m not trying to build up big muscles so I don’t need creatine. I just want to do light aerobic exercise for the health benefits.

Menu Plan Monday & Recipe for “Spooky Spiders”

Posted on by
7

We had a wonderful weekend with our daughter (Christi from Frugal Novice), son-in-law, and two little grandsons.  The oldest grandson, who is three years old, got sick with the stomach virus and was so pitiful!   He said emphatically, “Stop that, throw-up!  Stay in my mouth!!”  We were all thankful when he felt better!

Well…this was not the most appetizing topic to begin with…sorry about that!  Let me get on with our menu.

Monday: Left-overs

Tuesday: Salmon patties, salad, carrots

Wednesday: Rotisserie Chicken, baked potatoes, salad

Thursday: Leftover chicken, corn, green beans

Friday: Texas Chicken Vegetable Soup (just a little spicy)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Spooky Spiders” Peanut Butter & Crackers (from Gooseberry Patch’s “Kids in the Kitchen, Year ‘Round Fun”)

INGREDIENTS:

  • Creamy peanut butter
  • Buttery round crackers
  • Mini pretzel sticks
  • Raisins
  • Red cinnamon candies or mini candy-coated chocolates
  • Candy sprinkles

Spread a small amount of peanut butter on a cracker.  Put 4 pretzels on each side for the 8 legs of a spider.  Top a second cracker with a small amount of peanut butter and gently press onto first cracker.  Add raisin or candy eyes and decorations to top cracker (peanut butter will hold them on).

Product Review: 100% Egyptian Cotton Sheets from CSN Stores.com

Posted on by
Reply

How many of you are familiar with CSN Stores, the easy way to shop online? We became familiar with them earlier this year, and we’re impressed with the quality of their merchandise and their prompt delivery. Both times, we received our order within several days.  And both times, we were very pleased with what we ordered from CSN.
Recently, CSN gave me the opportunity to review one of their products, and I chose the Luxor Treasures King-Size Sheet Set with 100% Egyptian Cotton.  After the sheets arrived, I washed them and put them on the bed the very next day.  I couldn’t wait to try them out!

We are very pleased with these sheets!  My husband has remarked several times how much he likes them.  They are definitely high quality sheets, and we would recommend these to our family and friends.  In fact, I have already recommended them to our daughter.

With these sheets, though, you do need to make sure you follow washing instructions and take them out of the dryer as soon as they are dry.  If you don’t, they will wrinkle.  So just set the timer and take the sheets out as soon as the timer goes off.

* CSN provided me with the sheets for this review. However, I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review.  This is my honest opinion of their product.


Friendly Friday 10/22/10

Posted on by
10


Welcome to Friendly Friday!

Remember, YOU can host the link list on your blog too! Just click “Get the code here…” at the bottom of the list. The code is different every week, so be sure to get the new code when hosting Friendly Friday on your blog. Hosting the list is a great way for everyone to get even more traffic to their blog.

Thanks for joining the Friendly Friday celebration hosted by Christi at Frugal Novice, Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier and Charla at Healthy Home Blog! We invite you to join us every Friday to make more friends in blogville, get more blog followers and follow other great blogs out there.

To join in the Friendly Friday celebration, include your family-friendly link in our list, follow the hostesses in the first 3 spots and then start blog hopping! Visit other blogs on the list and comment to give them some blog love. Then take a minute to follow them through Google Friend Connect – this is a good way to keep up with other blogs, but also lets us show support to each other! Please DO NOT list your giveaways here, links must be to either your homepage or your Friday posting with your blog title. All others will be deleted.

When people comment on your blog and let you know they’re a part of Friendly Friday, return the favor and follow them back. This way everyone gets traffic and followers out of participating, and it’s a win-win situation. We would love for you to also grab our Friendly Friday button and post it on your blog and/or in a post – the more bloggers that find out about Friendly Friday and participate, the better!

Spotlight on Friendly Friday Followers! We love your participation and want to show it! In addition to gaining followers, each week we’ll select three blogs at random and will feature links and a write-up for those blogs in the content of next week’s Friendly Friday post. There are so many seriously wonderful blogs out there, and this will be a great way to highlight some of those each week. Say hello to the lucky chosen 3 for this week (and feel free to stop by and give them a little extra love):

You haven’t seen cuteness until you’ve met Gillian Grace. The star of the show over on Webbisodes, mom Shannon writes a blog filled with amazing pictures, delicious recipes, everyday life and fun reviews and giveaways with an all-around welcoming southern charm, y’all. You won’t be able to leave without a smile on your face from seeing the sweet grin on adorable GG’s face!


A place for crafts, recipes and inspiration, Amie at Kitty Cats and Airplanes displays her talents for sewing, cooking painting or crafting in all aspects of life. From tasty recipes to step-by-step tutorials anyone can follow, you’ll find multiple posts that will inspire you to get creative and make your own craft or project to give as a thoughtful gift… or keep for yourself to enjoy. This adorable wife, teacher and homemaker does it all!


Deals, steals, coupons, reviews & giveaways and delicious recipes are the name of the game over at 2 Boys + 1 Girl = One Crazy Mom. With money-saving sales and ideas that aren’t to be missed and menu plans to inspire you in the kitchen, Melanie shows how to raise three happy kidswhile saving a ton of money along the way!

181Entries

Continue reading →

Bedtime

Posted on by
1

Since my alarm clock goes off at 5:30, I try to get in bed earlier now.  It’s hard, though, because when our kids were in high school and staying up later then I got to where I’d stay up until midnight a lot of nights.  There’s no way I can do that now. I take time-released melatonin to help me get to sleep and aim to get in bed at 9:00 to read and then be asleep by 9:30.  But it’s usually 9:30 or 10:00 before I get to bed.  Not too bad!   Some people take a natural sleep aid but one should always check with their doctor before taking herbs or supplements.

Holiday Weight Gain

Posted on by
Reply

My weight is staying stable so that’s a good thing!  However, I know the holidays are just around the corner and that means being around all sorts of sweets and holiday goodies.  Nearly every year, I put on five pounds from Thanksgiving to New Years Day, but the weight comes off with some exercise and eating sensibly.  I don’t need weightlosstablets but just need to eat in moderation and go for walks several times a week.  That usually does it for me!