Bout of Books Read-a-thon *Daily Updates*

I've been trying to read more(as though I suddenly have more spare time!) so I signed up for this read- a-thon. I'm hoping to get a few books read this week!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 7.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I'll keep you updated on how things go!

UPDATES!!!

Books I hope to read: The Fault In Our Stars; The Hunger Games; and I'd love to say that maybe I could get to Catching Fire  and Mockingjay too but I think I'm being ambitious!!

5-13-13 today starts the book-a-thon

Book: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Pages read:  80!

#insixwords: I can not put it down!

5-14-13

 book: The Fault in Our Stars

Pages read: got another 55 read so that puts me at page 135.

#insixwords: overwhelmed by emotion, not even halfway.

5-15-13

Book: The Fault in Our Stars

Pages read: 35 for a grand total of 170

#insixwords: not as far as id like :(

As a side note, I truely wish I had more time in my day to dedicate to reading. I haven't read nearly as much as I'd have liked by this point in the week, however, I'm so glad this challenge forced me into picking a new book. I am loving this one and can't wait to find out what happens.

5-16-13

Book: The Fault In Our Stars

Pages read: 98! For a total of 268

#insixwords: there's no way to sum up how I'm feeling in just six words. I have a mere 50 pages left and wish I could just keep my eyes open to finish. I'm crying and smiling at the same time.

5-17-13

Book: THe Fault In Our Stars

Pages read: finished for a total of 311

#insixwords: absolutely overwhelmed by this amazing book. 

While I didn't read nearly as much as I originally planned during this challenge, I did finish this book in under a week which hasn't happened in a very long time. I can not say enough about how much I loved this book. Extremely well written, beautiful story about the struggle of coming to terms with mortality and love. 

5-18-13

I didn't get any time to read today. This made me feel lousy about my challenge efforts, but only one day out of the week to have not read is pretty good for me.

5-19-13

Book: The Hunger Games

Pages read: 40

#insixwords: Sucked in, looking forward to more!

Taco Tuesday With a Twist

It's no secret that we love Mexican food in this house. Tacos are a staple around here on a late work night because they require little effort. They can get a little monotonous though.  I love this recipe I found for a Taco Pasta Bake. It's still easy enough for a weeknight, but keeps dinner interesting.  I've adapted the original recipe slightly to kick it up a bit.

 

My version of Taco Pasta Bake calls for:

1 lb ground turkey/beef

1 box of ziti/penne/bowtie pasta of your choice

1 cup of water

1 packet of taco seasoning (or the homemade version here)

8 oz low fat cream cheese

1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 10 oz can diced tomatoes & green chilies - You know I love Ro-tel but this brand was on sale for like $.38 a can at Walmart so we gave it a whirl, it didn't disappoint.

 

 

Boil pasta as directed. While that's cooking, brown the meat and drain the fat. Mix in the water, taco seasoning, and tomatoes. Simmer for about 5 minutes until some of the liquid has reduced.

 

Add the cream cheese and stir. Simmer over low heat until the cream cheese has melted completely. Combine pasta and meat mixture in a casserole dish and top with shredded cheddar.

Bake uncovered at 350 for about 20-30 minutes.

Yum!!! Of course, if spicy's not your thing, you can disregard the addition of diced tomatoes and green chilies. What did you have for dinner tonight?

 

 



Sunday Supper

I've been under the weather for a few days now. It started as severe allergy suffering and turned into a cold with my allergies exacerbating it. Yesterday we spent the day with our friends Shawn and Maggie and little Mr K was whiny and miserable all day. I think he's been feeling the effects of allergy season lately too. It all caught up with me today. I went to Target early this morning to grab a few things and then we spent the afternoon lounging around with the windows open and the boys playing with their "new" Hot Wheels track.

I actually got to take a little mommy nap this afternoon while K did too. So needless to say, I was thankful today for my Crock Pot.

Last week, after I posted about Chicken Stroganoff, my coworker told me she was going to try it. However, she didn't feel like going to the store and winged it a little by using a Ranch packet instead of onion soup like it called for. Her husband loved it. This got me thinking about wanting to try a Ranch Chicken. I found an easy recipe for Creamy Ranch Chicken over at BudgetSavyDiva.com. It called for chicken breasts, sour cream, cream cheese, ranch dressing mix, shallots, garlic powder and pepper. I nixed the shallots and added shredded cheddar right before serving. This was rather easy. The sauce was a little on the thick and lumpy side so I mixed in a little milk at the end to thin it up a bit. My hubby enjoyed it thoroughly. It wasn't my favorite but I'd make it again.

Back to the grind tomorrow..Mondays come so fast these days.

Up next on the blog..A twist on the classic taco Tuesday.

 



So Many Thoughts, So Little Time

I have quite a few things I want to talk about today. I don't get to blog as often as I'd like so you get to read all of thoughts of the past week in one mish-mosh run on post today! This weekend didn't start out so great. Wednesday I came out of work to find this lovely crack in my windshield. No explanation as to how it got there.

So my hubby spent Friday afternoon at Safelite getting my windshield replaced. That night we went out to dinner with my dad, step mom Lisa, Jill, and Frank. We went to Brio in Cherry Hill. I was excited to see that they have a light menu now. Their food is great and the lighter lemon chicken was delish! I love that they have "shooters" for dessert. Little shot glass sized desserts so you can have just a taste and not feel completely horrible about it!

Saturday we hit up Target and stopped in for a visit with my mom and Jim where K ran around the yard for a while. All three of us took a long nap in the afternoon and it was great. For dinner, I made "OMG Chicken" which I found on Pinterest. The original recipe calls for Mayonnaise but there were several suggestions on Pinterest and an update note on the original post that suggests substituting Greek yogurt or low fat sour cream for a healthier version. I used low fat sour cream. I added some garlic salt for a little extra flavor. Its pretty amazing how juicy the chicken is. Definitely an easy, quick, weeknight dinner.

After K went to bed, the hubby and I watched This is 40. It was actually a longer movie than I expected but really a great story. There were some parts that were hysterical and some parts that were touching and hit close to home. I think most couples that have been married for a while can relate to some of the struggles and antics that occur.

Bonus: Some members of the Flyers show up in a club scene!

Sunday morning I finished my library book. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Its about two illusionists that are pitted against each other by their teachers and the circus is the setting for their competition. I have to admit that it took me quite a few chapters to get into it, but at some point it grabbed me and I couldn't wait to find out what happened. I thought it was an interesting read. Definitely would recommend it.

Yesterday was Earth Day and I did my part in helping out the environment! Zoya nail polish is offering a great deal through April 26 on their site. You can order their polishes for 50% off(minimum purchase of 6 bottles) by agreeing to ship back to them an equal number of bottles of other brands of polish that aren't so environmentally friendly so they can dispose of them. No brainer. I ordered 7 bottles and my coworker jumped on my order and got her own 7 and we got free shipping on top of a great deal! I can't wait for them to come in! Check out their blog post about it here.

I'm off now to try and upload the 100 or so pictures I took during our morning at the Discovery Museum with the little cousins! I'll post them soon!

 

Tasty Tuesday

I came home from work today to find a package on my doorstep! I love coming home to boxes. I know I'm the one who ordered it in the first place but that was like a week ago so it's a totally new excitement when it's delivered. It was my lunchboxes that I had ordered from Builtny.com. They were featured on Good Morning America's Deals and Steals last Thursday and were 70% off! That's not a typo, yes, 70%! I got one for me and one for K for a total of $16.37 including shipping. They were originally $24.99 and $19.99. Can't beat that with a stick.

I love a good deal and they are so cute! Oh and did I mention that I received a nice thank you note AND a free gift just for ordering as a loyal watcher of Good Morning America? Great company that I will now order from again due to fabulous customer service!

 

So after I got over the excitement of my lunchboxes, I had to figure out what to do for dinner. I had found this recipe on Pinterest a few weeks ago for Chicken Stroganoff and decided today was just as good as any to give it a try. It's a very simple recipe. It called for fat free sour cream but I used low fat instead - I just can't do fat free, it doesn't taste right. Also, my chicken wasn't frozen so it only took about 4 hours in the crock pot. I served it over egg noodles, which have recently become a request by my husband. I had expected this to be a little bit heavy of a meal but it wasn't at all. A little of the sauce/chicken mixture went a long way on the noodles and it was tasty and light but still a hearty, filling dinner. It will be a repeat in our house!

 

 

Chicken Stroganoff

1 lb chicken breast

1 can 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup

16 oz low fat or fat free sour cream

1 packet onion soup mix

 

Place chicken in crock pot, mix other ingredients together and pour over chicken. Cook on low for about 4 hours(longer if frozen). Shred chicken and serve over pasta of your choosing!



I do have to say though, the highlight of my day may have just been seeing a post on Facebook that NBC is confirming a reunion season of Friends in the works for 2014. My favorite show of all time! So stoked for this possibility!!!!!!

Happy national grilled cheese day!

Ok so I do think its ridiculous that there is a day for everything under the sun now. However, I'm definitely on board for grilled cheese day! Who doesn't love grilled cheese?
The Pop Shop in Collingswood, NJ has about 30 grilled cheeses on their menu and have been celebrating this whole month with a special grilled cheese every day. Today was jalapeno popper grilled cheese. Guess who was super excited and drooled on her phone when she saw the picture of that?! Yep, this girl right here..and Kenny did too. We were going to go for dinner but A) we are trying to save some money and B) if you've ever eaten in the chaos that is the Pop Shop's dining room then you understand why after a long week, I opted to try and make this at home!
Their Facebook page said it was cheddar, jack, cream cheese, jalapenos, and fritos. I used sourdough bread because its my favorite. I put a thick slice of cheddar on one side and a thick slice of colby jack on the other. Added a few slices of jalapenos, and a couple dollops of cream cheese right on top of that on one side. The trick to making this was to grill each side of the sandwich seperately for a few minutes to melt eveything. Then I threw a couple of tortilla chips in there right before I put the sides together and let it grill for just another minute or two. The cream cheese got all gooey and melty..soooo good!!
Kenny added a few slices of turkey breast on his.
What's your favorite kind of grilled cheese?

My Little Man

My baby boy is 22 months old and slightly behind in the speech department. Not for any particular reason other than he just is. At his 18 month check up the pediatrician that we saw(not his normal doctor-ugh!) said that he had a delay and ordered a hearing evaluation and wanted us to start early intervention speech therapy right away. Knowing my son, and not feeling as though there was anything really wrong, I was not thrilled with this. I went ahead and did the hearing evaluation, and just like everyone thought, he was fine. My brother in law(who is an OT with major pediatric experience) did an off the record, informal early intervention type evaluation and felt he was developmentally right on target. So I got a second appointment, this time with his normal pediatrician. What a relief that was because she completely agreed that at this stage in the game there was no cause for concern. He's just simply doing things in his time- just like he did with rolling, crawling, and walking. She felt as though with a little extra encouragement from us, he'd be on the right track. He's doing great and learning new words every day. He's on the shy side when it comes to talking to others, but he talks a blue streak to me and his daddy. Could he be further along? Absolutely. Is there anything wrong with him or his development? No way. I've learned that all kids do things at their own pace and learn differently. He's on his own right path and doing great.

With all that being said, the point of my post today is to share that yesterday he said "I love you Mama" and "I love you Dada" for the first time! I had tears in my eyes it had me so happy! No greater sound than your kid telling you they love you!

 

I managed to get him to say it again for the camera, even though he's usually Michigan J. Frog when I pull out the phone or camera!

Such a proud mommy moment that I just had to share!



Midweek Deliciousness

My friend Steph blogged the other day about Jalapeno Cheddar Turkey Burgers that she had made and I immediately wanted them. I think by now you can tell I have a love for all things jalapeno! I couldn't stop thinking about them so I made them last night. You can find her version here. After looking at the original recipe, which you can find here, I decided that I liked how Steph made them more so I followed her recipe with a few tweaks for the picky eater I have (and no, I don't mean my son). I used ground turkey, 2 and 1/2 jalapenos chopped finely, and a whole crap load of cheese. I didn't have paprika and I'm not allowed to use chunks of onion(see the comment about picky eater), so I used garlic powder, onion powder, some chili powder, salt, and pepper. It was a little too cold out to grill so I pan seared them for a few minutes on each side and then threw them in the oven at 350 for about 15 minutes. They were so good!!! Steph was right, no condiments needed.

To go with them, I made some homemade tortilla chips and a queso dip that was supposed to be a Qdoba knock off. It was just okay. I was being lazy and already had jalapenos on hand so I substituted them for the poblano peppers and I could only find savory garlic cooking cream so I think it could have been a lot better with the right ingredients. I also omitted the cilantro because I'm not a huge fan. I will give this recipe a try again and do it as its written. We ate it anyway, of course.

Today I made a meal that has recently become a favorite around here. White Bean Chicken Chili. I LOVE chili. All kinds of chili but I think this one is at the top of my list. Its light and filling and it doesn't feel weird eating it in the spring(even though mother nature still hasn't figured out that it is indeed spring!). I use 2 cans of chopped green chiles and omit the onion. I also threw in a small amount of chopped jalapeno that i happened to have on hand from yesterday's dinner. It calls for a packet of taco seasoning but I found McCormick's White Chicken Chili seasoning at Shoprite the first time I made this and I've used that every time since.

 This isn't spicy at all, which is surprising around here, I know! Even little K was shoveling it in tonight. I served it with rice, sour cream, shredded cheese, and a little squeeze of lime juice. What did you have for dinner tonight?