Author: Lois Houston

I'm a sweet tea drinkin' southern gal who loves to cook, bake, crochet, and read. Check out my blog for posts about parenting, faith, books, crafts, planning, baking, cooking, and life in general.

What I’m Reading Right Now

What I'm reading right nowI’ve been tossing back and forth between books since finishing Juliet. It was such a good book and I was having trouble deciding what I wanted to read next. There were quite a few books I wanted to read, but my budget wasn’t allowing me to go nuts and buy them all right now. And they are on “wait” at the library, so I had to decide to either read a “real” book that I already had on the bookshelf at home, or an existing book already on Beatrice.

I got lucky and Barnes & Noble had a Free Friday book that looked promising. I’m hooked now. Big Girl is reading a library copy of the same book, which is fun because we can talk about the story as we go. 

There are six (or seven?) books in the series, so I am sure B&N will get their tithe at some point, unless we get lucky and find them either at a used bookstore or the library. I may just go ahead and purchase the “real” book so that Big Girl and I can share them more easily. She likes to take her books to school and read them when she has free time and I’m not too keen on letting Beatrice take a trip to school.

So, now I am reading Septimus Heap, Book One, Magyk which, although, I think, a children’s book, is really very entertaining.  It’s about a family of wizards who adopt what they think is an abandoned baby girl but who turns out to be a princess who was rescued just as her mother, the queen, was killed.  It’s all twists and turns and lots of fantasy and magic, but it’s a nice escape from reality right now.  The story is engaging and the characters are interesting, if not too deeply developed (so far).

Big Girl is really enjoying it, which I love, and hates to put it down at night when it is time for lights out. I think it will be fun to read together and have something to share, especially if she makes it past the first book and on into the others in the story.

 

Who knows, maybe some Harry Potter will be in our future one day?

What are you reading right now?

Menu Plan Monday ~ 31 January

It’s a rainy, gloomy day today. I’m watching the little birdies outside my office window as they are gobbling up the seed we’ve put out for them  Greedy little things, they are.

Of course, they are not as bad as the squirrels,which Little Bit calls “woodchucks” after the silly Geico commercial.  She runs out on the porch and shouts “Hey you dang woodchucks! Stop chuckin’ mah wood!”  It is too adorable – and effective!

I have a lot going on at work this week – many little projects that make up one huge project and they are all at the “critical point” this week.  Hoping all comes together and there are no complications – although I’m sure there will be  a few.

Here’s what I have planned for the week, dinner-wise.  I’ll be honest, I’m not sure how it’s going to go – SuperMan may get rained out because of the weather, and work may change my cooking plans.  If SuperMan is home, he will get to cook and then my menus usually change.

But here is what we are planning.

That is probably it – the girls have their Father/Daughter dance on Friday night, so they may go out to eat before (they usually do) and then they have a Father/Daughter date night on Saturday at Chick Fil A – yes, that means I have TWO nights “off!” Whatever will I do with myself!?!

What are your menu plans for your family? Join us over at orgjunkie.com for more ideas.

Just How Many?

SuperMan had a couple of rain out days this week. He spent some time rearranging and decluttering things – that’s what he likes to do…strange, I know.

Anyway, as he was doing so, we realized one thing -  I have a LOT of crock pots.

I don’t think I’ve made any secret of my love of crock pots – and the fact that I use them very frequently – often 2 or 3 times a week.  Whoever invented the crock pot has my undying love. It is a busy mom’s dream come true (that and about 4 hrs of uninterrupted sleep).

Most people I know have one crock pot. If they have any at all.

Me?

Well, let’s just say I’m an overachiever.

ahem.

Yeah, let’s say that.

Before I show you how many I have, let me tell you this – I have only purchased one of these (maybe two, I can’t remember)  myself.  The rest have been gifts.  Well loved, greatly appreciated gifts. (someone knew they key to my heart was through cooking appliances)

And, truthfully, I use every single one of them.

They all have a purpose to which they are best suited and I love putting them to use – especially when it means I’m serving up some love to my family and friends.

Okay, enough stalling…

Here’s my crock pot family.

The girls tell me there is “Big Daddy,” “Momma,” “Big Sister,” and “Baby.”  I think the other one is a cousin or something.

hee hee

IMG_0235

Yes, you do count FIVE crock pots.

But aren’t they a cute family?

Cheesy Chicken Pasta

I mentioned on my Facebook page that I was trying a new recipe – one that began as a recipe in one of my new cookbooks but ended up as it’s own entity entirely, thanks to my additions and subtractions as I was making it.

I started with some leftover chicken – from the Crockpot Rotisserie Chicken we’d had for dinner the other night. I diced it up into bite-sized pieces.

While I was doing that, I boiled about 1/2 pound of ziti pasta.  As it was cooking, I got a hugemongous stock pot and added the following to the chicken: a can of cream of mushroom soup, milk, Velveeta, cream cheese (stay with me here) some mozzarella and some “Italian cheese blend” I had.  I also sprinkled in some garlic and house seasoning.  Once the pasta was cooked and the cheeses melted, I mixed it in, too, and dumped it all into a 13×9 casserole.  Oh, and I added some leftover bacon (cooked) that we had hanging around in the fridge.

Let me just tell you, it was a decadent, rich, gooey delight last night. One that SuperMan and Big Girl devoured. Little Bit is not much for casseroles, so she tasted it and stuck to her usual choice of cereal (when dinner is not to her liking, that is) but we all enjoyed the new menu item.

I hope you give it a try. It’s a great way to use up some leftovers – and feed a crowd – on the cheap.

I’ve got a surprise for you all in the works… I’ll share more soon, but I’m hoping you’ll be as excited as I am.

Here’s the recipe in case you feel like being cheesy:

Big Girl’s Cheesy Chicken Pasta

 

Ingredients

1 cup Milk
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
8 ounce Velveeta cubed
8 ounce Mozzarella shredded
8 ounce Kraft Four Cheese Italian Blend shredded
8 ounce pasta uncooked, ziti
1/4 teaspoon Garlic powder
1/2 cup Butter cubed
4 slices Bacon cooked crispy & chopped
8 ounce Cream cheese cubed
2 1/2 cups Chicken cooked, cubed

Instructions

  1. Cook pasta al dente (not too soft)
  2. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, combine soup, cheeses, milk, butter and garlic powder. Stir until cheeses melt.
  3. Add chicken, heat through.
  4. Drain pasta. Add to sauce and mix thoroughly.
  5. Transfer to a greased 13×9 pan.
  6. If desired, sprinkle with parmesan and mozzarella for a topping.
  7. Cover, bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
  8. Uncover, bake an additional 5-10 minutes until top is golden brown.

Yields: 10 Servings

Print

Would this get you to climb the stairs?

If you had a choice between stairs & an escalator, which would you choose?

What if the stairs were way more fun?

http://www.facebook.com/v/686979186115

How cool is this?

People are so creative.

I love it.

More Silliness

I just love these cartoons.

And, because I’m a little sleep deprived today and my brain is not forming coherent thoughts, I don’t think a “normal” post is in the cards.

I hope you enjoy:

comic strip

Hibernating sounds really good to me right about now…

Menu Plan Monday ~ 24 Jan

Woo!

What a busy weekend!

I feel like I need a weekend to recover from the last two days, but I know that this week is going to be just as busy/crazy as the last. Lots going on for us over the next four or five weeks and we have something going on almost every weekend and most weekends it is two or three things.

Needless to say, I’m taking my vitamins, making sure we all get lots of sleep, and falling back on my planning instincts.  That’s the only way we’ll make it through all of this in one piece, I think.

Part of that is my menu planning. Someone told me this weekend that they admired me for “being so organized” and planning my family’s menu for the week. I told her that it was really just a survival tactic, because otherwise, I would fall back on bad habits of take out and fast food dinners and that’s not good for our bodies or our budget. 

And, if I have the menu plan, I at least feel like something in our lives is under control, even when other things are not. Being able to stop in the middle of a hectic day and cook what I have already planned out is like an oasis in the middle of chaos for me.

And then I can jump back in to the craziness and keep going, knowing everyone’s tummies are filled and happy.

Here’s what’s on tap for the week this week – we’re “eating down” as my step dad says  – making use of leftovers to make room for more good cooking next week:

  • Pasta Fagioli (one day I’ll have to tell you the story about my soup making experience this weekend. That deserves a blog post all of it’s own)
  • BBQ sandwiches – from the leftover pork roast from last week
  • "Baked" Chicken – this was on last week’s menu but didn’t get made so I need to get that bird cooked and soon!
  • Chicken Tenders  and homemade fries w/ salad (fallback on a night when SuperMan is late)
  • Creamy Pasta with Chicken (made w/ the leftovers from the Baked Chicken – this is another new recipe from the new cookbooks)
  • Sloppy Joes (fallback if I need another dinner item one night)
  • Friday Night Mexican (out)

What are your dinner plans this week?

Hop on over to orgjunkie.com for some more menu planning (and more) ideas.

Thank you

I’ve been blogging for about three and a half years now… Most of that time I figured I was just “talking” to myself… I didn’t think (or care, originally) that anyone was “listening.”

It was more about getting all this conversation that goes on in my head all day OUT of my head and SOMEWHERE other than my head.

But it’s grown into so much more than that.

I’ve “met” some wonderful fellow bloggers and scrapbookers.

I’ve heard from you as you’ve de-lurked to comment on posts – or to tell me in person how much you enjoy reading my ramblings.

And I’m touched and thrilled that you actually LIKE me!
(I sound like Sally Field now, don’t I?)

I have been really enjoying your comments and interactions (PLEASE don’t stop!) and I finally feel like I’m not just talking to myself like a crazy person.

So, I wanted to THANK YOU for reading my silly words and for sharing my life.

I hope I continue to keep you (relatively) entertained in the future.

I’d love to know what you like (and don’t) about my blog so that I can continue to learn, grow and make it better.

And I’d love it if you keep coming back for more (and commenting!)

Thank you.

From the bottom of my silly little heart.

Saturday Silliness

comic strip

One of my “resolutions” – which I don’t make – is to be more active this year. Yoga is on my list. As is walking (maybe even *gasp* running) and finding more ways to move my body.

What about you?