National Tree...WW

Taken on Monday--Logan and Lucas had sooo much fun!!






For more Wordless Wednesday fun, go here or here!

Have you seen this??

Logan LOVES to watch this...he calls it the dancing house! He dances right along with it!!


Here is another one I found...


And another...


And this one set to Christmas Shoes.



Wow--there are a ton on You Tube! Who knew so many people have so much free time?? And man....can you imagine trying to sleep with all those lights on!! Some of the ones I saw included spot lights in their light display!!

Menu Plan Monday...

This past week we tried the pecan chicken I found on Carrie's blog. Oh my---it is super yummy!! My husband was disappointed I didn't plan it into this week's meals. I had already planned the menu for this week before we tried it (as we ended up having it for lunch on Saturday). However, I promised him we would have it again next week....he asked that we have it all 5 days!!! Oh yeah--it is that good!! We were bad and even scraped the extra crunchies from the pan onto our rice!! Amazing!!


*=new recipe

• Breakfasts: I'm making a crustless quiche* that will last a couple of days, oatmeal, cold cereal, toast with jam

• Lunches: chicken salad on whole wheat tortilla, ham and cheese on whole wheat tortilla, pb and j, chicken strips, pasta, salad

• Monday--pumpkin chicken enchiladas*, rice, beans, salad

• Tuesday--kielbasa and cabbage skillet*, buttered noodles

• Wednesday--chicken broccoli cheese casserole*, salad--I was excited to find the casserole recipe, because the creamed soups actually have a good amount of carbs in them
  

• Thursday--meatloaf, creamed spinach* (for me), mashed potatoes, corn

• Friday--spaghetti squash lasagna style, bread, salad

For more menu plan Monday fun, head on over to Laura's at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Deck Your Blog Contest...

Wow...it seems I stumbled upon this contest without a minute to spare.

I was in the process of decking my blog for the holidays, but what a nice little incentive to win something. Hurry....go check it out and deck your blog, too!

Poor Man's Eclairs

I got this recipe from my sister, who I believe got it from her MIL.

Poor Man's Eclairs

Butter a 9x13 pan. Layer bottom of pan with graham crackers. Combine 2 pkg. (4 serving size each) instant French Vanilla pudding with 3 cups cold milk. Add an 8 oz. carton of Cool Whip. Spread half over graham crackers. Top with another layer of graham crackers and the rest of the pudding. End with graham crackers.
Melt 2 ounces bitter chocolate with 2 Tbsp white Karo.*
Add:
2 tsp. vanilla
3 Tbsp soft butter
3 Tbsp milk
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Mix well. Spread over top layer of graham crackers. Refrigerate 24 hours.

*I have also seen a recipe where you don't have to make the chocolate topping. You simply purchase one tub of chocolate icing, microwave it until it melts (stirring often) and then pour it over the top layer of graham crackers.

Both SUPER yummy!!

Guilty Pleasures...

This week's Flaunt it Friday challenge is to share your guilty pleasure.

I am sure my first one is one that most people can relate to. CHOCOLATE....and lots of it!! Chocolate pies, chocolate ice cream, chocolate cookies, brownies, candy bars, etc.... I don't discriminate...I love them all equally!! Problem is, I am diabetic. I don't care what you say, the sugar free, low sugar stuff just ISN'T the same!! So, for me, it truly is a guilty pleasure. I have found that if I allow myself just one square of chocolate, the craving goes away and my blood sugars don't have to pay the price. Here is one of my favorite chocolates. They have a Lindt store in my local mall and I have to stop in for a sample when ever I am there.


Next, I am a reality tv junkie!! Survivor, Amazing Race, Extreme Makeover, Top Model, The Bachelor, Beauty and the Geek, Top Chef, Project Runway, and the list goes on. However, the one that my husband questions the most is My Super Sweet Sixteen on MTV. I don't really know why I like it, but I do. Mostly because I think it is insane how much parents spend on their kids for a party!! I watch it just to see how crazy people are. When I turned 16, I had a few girls over and we spent the night watching movies and eating pizza!! I am spoiled in that we have a DVR that allows me to record two shows at once just in case my reality shows overlap each other.....and they often do!

WW...Having fun with daddy...

For more Wordless Wednesday fun, go here or here or here!

Easy Turtle Candies aka Poor Man's Turtles

I got this recipe from a friend on a message board a few years back. It is soooo easy to make and super yummy. My sister has a recipe called Poor Man's Eclairs and I joked with her saying these are Poor Man's Turtles.

Poor Man's Turtles

Ingredients:

• 30 rolo candies, removed from wrapper
  
• 30 pecan halves, toasted (the original recipe didn't say to toast them, but I think they taste better)
  
• 30 butter snap pretzels (they are square)
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 
2. Place pretzels on a baking sheet and place one rolo on each pretzel. 
3. Place in oven and bake for about 4 minutes or until chocolate becomes shiny. 
4. Remove from oven. Using a pecan half, press down on the rolo to smash it out to cover the pretzel. 
5. Cool completely.
   

Back into the swing of things...MPM

Last week we FINALLY got around to trying the homemade corn dogs and the oven fried chimis. They were both very good. I was skeptical that the chimis would crisp up, but they did!! I was also too lazy to melt butter (recipe calls for margarine), so I just brushed them with peanut oil. I learned a trick while making the corn dogs. My first one looked a little funny, but I learned that if you put the corn dog in and let it cook for just a second and flip it, it keeps the batter from spreading out flat. This way you keep the corn dog looking more like a store bought one. Of course, with a deep fryer, you wouldn't have this problem.



This week I am really focusing on getting things back in order menu wise. The last three weeks have been off. On top of that, I am diabetic and have not been watching what I eat. So, I am really trying to plan better meals so that my blood sugars are in a good range.

*=new recipe

• Monday--Smoky Appalachian chicken breasts, sauteed spinach* (for me), green beans (for the boys), baked potatoes

• Tuesday--Philly cheese steak sandwiches, tater tots (for the boys), salad

• Wednesday--pecan chicken*, brown rice, steamed broccoli

• Thursday--chili rellenos casserole, rice and beans (for the boys), salad

• Friday--Greek Lemon Chicken soup, salad, bread sticks

For more menu plan Monday fun, head on over to Laura's at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Working on my blog....

In case you can't tell, I am working on a new look for my blog. If you happen upon it often, you may see several new looks while I make a final decision. For now, I have to leave it like this because I am off to run some errands!