best snack ever!

alphabet cookies!

what my boy wanted spell

what my girl spells, made up names for Playmobil kids!

ecstatic and creative

day 6 stuck inside, the kids are ecstatic, lots of extra TV time, outside snow playing, sledding, inside game playing, toy playing, all-day pajama wearing ecstatic!  We just finished off our last 2 boxes of cereal, we have one egg left, 2 bananas, 1 red pepper, a lemon and lots of cheese and a freezer full of frozen meat, bags of frozen veggies, a few Eggo waffles and a frozen pizza, we are good for a few more days.  Last night, I got a bit creative with whatever we had in the freezer (frozen bag of hot dog buns, but no hot dogs!) and I made hot dog bun garlic bread. I gotta say they were delicious, easy and obviously really cheap.  I just opened the buns, spread butter, sprinkled with crushed garlic and popped them in the oven for a few minutes at 350 until they were slightly golden brown, they went perfect with bolognese and pasta. 

I have been a bit stir crazy but my kids are homebodies, especially my Carter, they love being at home, playing and enjoying their toys, their rooms, the time with mom, the snow, movies, Kinect games, weird lunches, lots of snacks and reading in bed.  It turns out, that I really REALLY like my kids, 3 cheers for another day at home because our 2 wheel drive beemer is going nowhere!

coffee love

It's no joke that I love a great cup of coffee or two or even three and on super crazy days maybe even an afternoon cup.  Today, I am thankful for Coffee-mate coffee creamer, I love it even though it has high fructose corn syrup, as it turns out almost everything does and I don't have to the time or the money to shop all over Bellevue to find foods without it.  I did however break from my usually vanilla flavored creamer and got Belgian chocolate toffee, it. is. delicious.  It may be a big coffee drinking day for me!

Pork Katsu

This is such an easy and yummy dinner!

you will need:
thin sliced pork cutlets
Yoshida's Marinade and cooking sauce (Costco)
vegetable oil
Panko
2 eggs
mustard (optional)
milk
garlic
rice (we like brown)

let oil heat in a large pan while you get the pork cutlets ready. In a bowl mix 2 eggs with a splash of milk and a squirt of mustard, add a bunch of chopped garlic (I like a lot of garlic) mix well then dredge pork cutlets in egg mixture, then in panko, coat both sides of the pork in the panko and add to heated oil, cook 5 minutes on each side or until done.  Don't forget to start your rice too!  After all the cutlets are made and cooled slightly, cut them into long slices, put over top of the rice, microwave some Yoshida's and pour over top.  So easy and so delicious!  I serve it with a side salad, it's big hit with everyone.

I made this for dinner last night, so delicious!
 (I used pre-cooked lemon chicken from Trader Joe's, so it made the recipe even easier)

Hello...

Dinnertime may have just gotten a (easy) leg up in this household, Trader Joe's cookbook, yes, please!

day 18

Today, I am thankful for a quiet house (kids are at school) and my lovely cup of coffee (yes, I started drinking it again).

I am also thankful for homemade bread and a special eager three year old who likes to knead!
http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/11/04/homemade-bread-cheap-delicious-healthy-and-easier-than-you-think/

eeekkkks!

I am hosting a Pampered Chef party...and I am nervous!  It's not even until December 5th but I get all crazy silly nervous when hosting stuff, all my juniorhigh and highschool insecurites start coming out but in the end I will probably have a blast and really any excuse to have friends over for wine and cake is good, right? If you are interested in coming let me know or even interested in ordering something, you can from here:

 www.pamperedchef.biz/debhilbert

(go to shop online, add my name and you are set)

 

My favorite thing ever from Pampered Chef, I use it ALL the time.

Jeremy appreciate's this about 2 times a year when we
 need to carve a turkey or something else!

recipe of the week:

chopping and feeling good since the kids are happily playing w/ playdoh

brown rice is ready and starting to sautee the onions and celery



this recipe used a ton of dishes!

Chicken Almond Rice Casserole



Ingredients:
3 cups cooked rice (approx. 1.5 cups of uncooked rice) I used brown rice
2 tablespoons butter
1 med onion, chopped
2 cups celery, chopped   I used a about 1.5 cups instead
1/2 cup almonds, chopped
1 pound chicken breast, cubed into bite sized pieces (about 3 breasts)
1 1/4 cup mayonnaise  I used slightly less as I don't care for mayo
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
Salt and Pepper
1 box (5oz) of Stove Top stuffing mix
3 tablespoons melted butter
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  In a medium size saute/frying pan toast almonds for approximately 3 minutes on medium-high heat.  Remove almonds from pan into large bowl.  Add 2 TB of butter to frying pan and saute chicken pieces until no longer pink.  Remove chicken and add to the bowl with almonds.  Saute onions and celery for 3 minutes and add to the chicken/almond mixture.  Add rice, condensed cream of chicken soup, mayonnaise, and a little salt and pepper (to taste) to the bowl and mix everything until well combined.  Add mixture to a greased casserole dish (dish size can be anything from medium to 9×13).  Microwave 3 TB. of butter until melted.  Open the bag of Stove Top Stuffing and add melted butter to it.   Fold the bag at the seam and shake the mixture for half a minute.  Sprinkle the stuffing mixture on top of the casserole dish and bake for 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown. 

The verdict...
Jeremy, who usually dislikes casseroles LOVED it!  I, on the other hand who loves casseroles only thought it was so/so but I was thrilled w/ myself for trying a new recipe and "putting love" into it. It did help that my kids played with playdoh the whole time I made this and stayed out of the kitchen.  Carter and Theo both picked the chicken out, but they at least ate some of it! I made so much of it that I also gave some to my mom and her husband and they both liked it as well.  I got the recipe from savorysweetlife.com (she has more pictures) Enjoy!

look who has a new book...

I was flipping chanels last night and saw Jessica Seinfeld on late night Oprah and she has a new book!  I am very excited about this book as I don't love to cook and I am always looking for new/easy recipe's.  I might just have to buy this one full price!

sister in law cookies

I know have posted this recipe in the past but it's so easy and yummy that I can't resist posting again, plus I finally have a name for them!  Presenting...sister in law cookies since my SIL Melonee was the one who told me about them in the first place.

The recipe:

1 box cake mix (we like funfetti)

2 eggs

1/2 vegetable oil

drop round little balls on an ungreased cookie sheet, bake at 350 until very slightly brown, ENJOY!

Deceptively Delicious

I don't usually like to be deceptive but now and again (especially as a mom) life needs a little deception...especially if it's yummy!  I found this little book at a thrift store today for only $1.99 so how could I resist?  My kids are actually fairly good eaters.  They eat a ton of fruits and vegetables and by that I mean they eat at least one piece of fruit a day and at least one veggie a day, so needless to say I could do a little better.  My kids are borderline picky, they do eat well but I am more interested in expanding their repertoire.  Jessica has some great ideas and some amazingly delicious looking recipes.  I am particularly excited about the chocolate doughnut recipe with pumpkin and sweet potato hidden inside!

ahhhh...

can you smell that? I love meatball and spaghetti night!