Chicken Meatloaf

Chicken Meatloaf

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground chicken
1 egg
½ c Italian bread crumbs
¼ tsp. basil, oregano, thyme
¼ tsp. ground pepper
1 large chicken bouillon cube
2 c hot water
2 Tbsp margarine
2 c Stove Top stuffing mix

Directions:
Dissolve the chicken bouillon cube in the 2 cups of hot water. Add 1 cup of the chicken broth with the 2 Tbsp of margarine and stuffing mix – mix well and set aside. In a large bowl combine the ground chicken, stuffing mixture, remaining 1 cup of chicken broth, egg, bread crumbs, herbs and ground pepper. Mix well with wooden spoon. Grease a loaf pan and add mixture to pan. Cover with tin foil. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. for approximately 30 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked. Put in fridge until ready to prepare to eat. *** Remove meatloaf from fridge. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Warm meatloaf in oven for approximately 15-20 minutes. Serve with corn and steamed veggies. Enjoy!

Cold and Flu Season

And so the fun begins with the Cold and Flu Season in our home. Both of our daughters have a cough, runny nose and fever - ugh! We are visiting the doctors today to check for ear infections (as my toddler was saying her ear hurt last night). I'm hoping it is just ear infections and not something worse or unknown because that poses another set of drama to put my poor kids through (urine samples, blood samples, testing, ugh!) - and I feel as though we have been through enough of that lately with my 6 month-old having a UTI and then being diagnosed with a grade 2 reflux of the urethra (which thankfully most kids grow out of but the testing and procedures to get to that point are not fun.) Keeping my fingers crossed that it's just the simple ear infections as I know how to treat those.

Sleep the past few nights has been spotty at best and I'm starting to feel the effects of the cold and flu season as well (thankfully enough I can take things such as Zicam which seems to help me ward off the worse of it). I'm hoping to get a decent night's sleep tonight as I'm starting my new job tomorrow and would like to not look like "death warmed over". (Isn't it odd how many phrases and sayings you find yourself using as a mother that your own mother used frequently?)

I hope everyone else out there is happy and healthy and stays so.

Tomato Meatball Soup

Here is a recipe I created about a year ago. I passed the idea by my husband who thought it sounded pretty good and I've made some enhancements since then. I also made it for my family (parents, siblings and grandparents) who all seemed to like it as well. Let me know what you think.

Tomato Meatball Soup

Ingredients:

• 10 3/4 oz can of condensed tomato soup
• 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 2 14 oz cans of chicken broth
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1/8 tsp rosemary
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• fresh group pepper (to taste)
• 12 frozen mini meatballs
• 1 extra large chicken bouillon cube (dissolved in 2 cups of hot water)
• 1 c orzo pasta

1. Cook the frozen meatballs as directed on the package. Cut in eights - set aside covered in tin foil to keep warm.
2. In a large pot combine the condensed tomato soup, diced tomatoes, chicken broth and herbs. Bring to boil and add dissolved chicken bouillon cube to pot.
3. Once pot is boiling, add orzo pasta. Boil on high for 10 minutes stirring frequently. Add meatballs. Let simmer on medium for 5 more minutes stirring occasionally.
4. Serve with fresh bread and salad - Enjoy!

Dreams

Dreams
Each day is like a work of Art that's yet to be designed;
An empty canvas waiting for the dreams that fill your mind.
You talents and your strengths are like the colors you can use
to paint the pictures of your life in any way you choose.
~ Unknown

I don't remember where I pulled this from - but if anyone does know please let me know and I will post it. I want to say it's from a book or cover of a journal or something.

Make Your Own Twinkle Tiaras (courtesy of "Klutz", "Chicken Socks" and "auntie L")

Make Your Own Twinkle Tiaras (courtesy of "Klutz", "Chicken Socks" and "auntie L")

This was fun to create with my 2 year-old. There are some small pieces but as long as there is adult supervising (who does not might getting glue everywhere) it's fun. Try it! A tiara makes every little girl feel like a princess!!

Pom-Pom Pals (courtesy of "Parents" Jan 2009 edition)

Pom-Pom Pals (courtesy of "Parents" Jan 2009 edition)

I decided to try this craft with my 2 year old daughter. It ended up being a little more difficult that I expected (mind you I'm not very strong in the artsy crafty area) but it was still fun. Here are the directions (with my comments included in parenthesis):




What you will need:
- 1 skein of thick yarn (I used regular width yarn and they still came out OK)
- Thin book, approximately five inches tall (I apparently did not read the directions carefully as I used a smaller book - about 3 inches tall - hence probably why I had some difficulty in this area)
- Scissors
- Assortment of craft supplies (chenille stems (pipe cleaners), beads, pom poms, googly eyes, craft foam, felt, buttons, feathers, etc.)
- Glue (lots of it)

1. Wrap yarn (loosely - I wrapped it too tight the first time and could not get it off the book!) around a small book 80 - 100 times, until yarn is 1 1/2 inches thick on each side. Slip the yarn carefully (very carefully) off the book (in one piece).
2. Cut a 6 inch strand of yarn from the skein; knot it tightly around center of yarn bundle. Snip each loop until the pom-pom forms. Trim as needed.
3. Decorate the pom-pom with craft supplies. Use chenille stems (pipe cleaners) for arms and legs, feathers for ears, a bead for the nose (ours did not get noses or ears - I'll have to remember that for next time) or get creative (with your own ideas).

This was a fun craft in the end and I would definitely do it again.

Snowman

A snowman made with my 2 year old daughter out of paper and various felt and foam shapes. One of my finer artsy-crafty moments I must say! (To those of you who do not know me I do not consider myself very creative - however, I will say that since having children my creativity has increased some!)