Not your NORMAL Chicken, Rice & Brownies

As usual we don’t have the same boring meal we have to mix it up and all of these were amazing. NOW the chicken and rice both are low fat, the brownies NOT so much! Thankfully those went to church so we didn’t have them sitting around the house to tempt me .

First off we had a very yummy chicken the recipe called for thighs but I don’t do bones, I know were nutty. So I used it for breast meat and put the sauce as a marinade and let it sit in the fridge for 12 hours then baked it. I’m lazy like that, I LOVE my delay button on the oven and that way I can go to the gym and when we return home it’s done. Asian Glazed Drumsticks by my girl Gina at Skinnytaste.com.

Yummy is all I can say about this Wild Rice, Barley and Asparagus Pilaf. the boys ate it with out the asparagus. Now the recipe has you do the rice and barley in steps on the stove. I did it in my rice cooker that also has a steamer on top! I’m all about the quick and easy here and it turned out perfect!!

And now this is FAR from healthy but as we know portion control is key. The church had a BBQ/Potluck so I whipped up these Oreo Brownies With Buttercream Frosting. I used brownie mix from the bulk section at Winco and used a oreo knock off because I’m cheap … lol.

Now let’s talk about PEOPLE at potlucks! What the heck as soon as I cut them people ran up and then got picky on wanting to get the largest one! Then people grabbed more then ONE before anyone else could get one! Of course the first in line where the people who brought NOTHING! It really irks me when we have maybe 9 dishes and there is 60+ people wanting food. NOW some I understand others have no excuse!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

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Wow another weekend I think I sat down at one point!

It was one of those amazing weekends that kept us a moving!  Saturday was the day of stuff as much as you can in one day.  Saturday was a busy day at work and then some running around then off to a bouncy house party!  Since we live in the North West it of course rained but the kids had fun anyways!  It was a great time plus it was at a friends house that I haven’t seen since High School.

Then after the birthday party we head back home to meet Cole’s school at the Rainier’s Game.  Can I say again how much I love this school.  Our tickets came with a hotdog, chips and a drink.  The boys actually did really well.  Caden got a bit antsy but it was fun and for you who know me know I HATE baseball and I actually enjoyed it.

Then Sunday after church we headed to a friends house for a little play time.  I then thought we would go to a park. So after 2 places and a no go I thought what the heck let’s go to McD’s and the kids can play.  This is when I almost went postal!  There were around 20+ kids running screaming.  When a BIG dad came marching up to me screaming at me I need to check my kid and he was out of control and he threw a young kid?  I was WTF?  Cole is a lot of things loud and has tons of energy but I HAVE NEVER seen him throw a child.  Then the guy brought the mom over to me to show the back.  I made Cole apologize but I was beyond words.  If I was on my game I probably would have smacked the dad.  I talked to Cole and Caden later and he said in tears he never threw the kid.  He did trip and accidently pushed him.  I was so furious that guy made me feel so small along with all the NASTY looks I got from other parents that had no clue but immediately made my son the bad guy.  NEXT time dude you get in my face you’ll be on your arse!!

It was my turn to make dinner for the youth group at church so I whipped up a great potato soup (I added in some spinach to give them a little more veggies).  I know most of these kids only eat fast food so I love to make sure I give them something new each time it’s my turn.  The youth group leader came up to me on Sunday to tell me how much they enjoyed it! Got to love that!

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Meatballs Galore & What to do with Zucchini!

As you may have guessed by now meatballs are a favorite around here.  On my mission to eat healthy I’ve been looking for those great recipes with the flavors we love but not with all the calories.  I have found two great meatball recipes and then some yummy zucchini pancakes .

First off are a favorite that Rick (who we all know rather eat fast food then good food, went back and ate the ALL the left over meatballs).  Swedish Meatballs are a hit I must say!

New on the menu was a healthy spaghetti and meatballs.  The taste of these were great and what a great way to get broccoli in your meal also!

And what to do with Zucchini out of your garden well of course make some Zucchini Pancakes!

I'm linking up to: Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesday,Tuesday at the Table, Delectable Tuesday, Delicious Dishes, Totally Tasty Tuesday,Hearth and Soul and Thursday Recipe Swap Meet.

BBQ Pizza (maybe not so healthy) so I threw in a low fat bun recipe =D

So yes we had a not so healthy dinner for pizza night the other night.  BUT I did stick to portion control so I don’t feel so bad .  We all deserve a little pleasure. 

Rick loves the BBQ pizza at Papa Murphy’s but they only have it during the summer so I went to my gal Alex’s website for a BBQ Chicken Pizza.  I love her site if you haven’t been there go there, sign up for her FB feed that is what I love to see .

So feeling guilty about my pizza splurge I went to find a healthy roll for our dinner later in the week I headed over to Spark People (which is a great site for motivation & recipes) for this Bread Machine Whole Wheat Buns.  I did the dough in the machine and then formed the balls let rise and then in the oven to finish them off .

I'm linking up to: Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesday,Tuesday at the Table, Delectable Tuesday, Delicious Dishes, Totally Tasty Tuesday,Hearth and Soul and Thursday Recipe Swap Meet.

Was that Sun we saw this weekend? Soaking it in!

It was a relaxing weekend around here … well at least Saturday was I actually (know don’t fall over) sat down on the couch and watch a DVD. I’m a little slow as you know with some TV series so I’m now into Criminal Minds and Netflix send me over the first season (well at least one of the cd’s).
Caden of course enjoyed his time, slept with daddy, was my taste tester and of course tried out his music abilities on his friends Barbie keyboard .

Sunday was a super sunny day so we headed up to my parents to test out the new helicopters my parents bought. It was slow going trying to get it to go up then all of a sudden Cole got it and up it went, and up and up. Then it started to go sideways. We shut the power off on the remote thinking ok it will drop down. But NOPE it just kept going at one point it did come back towards us for a glimmer of hope then it squashed it by flying away and then down it went into the forest … lol.

Bapa went back home and our friend Khari came to meet us at the park. We had fun playing tag and enjoying the playground. We even enjoyed some watermelon!

We started our 2nd month of swim class, Caden still doesn’t like going on his back I think it is because he get’s water in his ears. I’m going to try those wax things in his ear next time. Cole on the other hand is doing so well that his teacher thinks he is probably ready to already move up to the next class! Way to go Cole!!

And for your viewing pleasure we have a yummy cupcake that I made for Cole’s class as a belated birthday. His birthday was on the previous Sat with the holiday (Good Friday & Easter) his class had Thurs, Fri & Mon off. So we couldn’t do a real party on his day. Since we live in Washington and don’t see sunshine that often I made suns. Of course I’M a NUT and put the candy corn backwards … lol but it still worked! I made Banana Cupcakes and then Sunshine Cupcakes.

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A Birthday Party day before Easter am I crazy??

I didn’t think about it when I scheduled Cole’s 7th Birthday party that it would be the day before Easter (ugh). So it was a little crazy for me planning the party and making sure it all went off with out a hitch. Ok who am I kidding … just a party with out a melt down. hehe

The party was a HUGE success, I believe we had 23 kids show (that includes siblings). At first I didn’t have enough adults in pool (had to have an adult for every 3 kids under 7. So we had one grumpy lifeguard at first. But then we had enough adults and the hour & half flew by.

Then my AMAZING friends helped me turn a empty room into party central in 15 minutes!! They are freaking awesome, I don’t know what I would do with out them. Pizza arrived and the kids eat 6 pizza’s in no time FLAT and all cupcakes gone . Cole was a little shy while everyone sang to him then great gifts. That last pic is of the mess my house was left after the boys opened up every gift.

Then a little egg dying .

The boys had a great egg hunt at church. We then had a brunch with my parents. The boys were so excited to do a egg hunt at their house, but their furnace crapped out so they had to go get a new one. Of course when I got home it poured rain so I did one inside .

For the yummy cakes I made a blue velvet cupcake mix.

Then in the ice cone’s (with a little white cake mix to look like waves). Then we went up to my moms to frost them and make the pool themed cupcakes! They were so cute and a HUGE hit with the kids .

Remember to link up to my girls at Thursday Recipe Swap Meet.

Carb Overload day (2 Breads & 2 Dog Treats)

Happy Tuesday Everyone! Hope you all have a fabulous day and find a yummy recipe for yourself and maybe even that favorite 4 legged friend in your life. (Remember to click the recipe tab to see what you need to make them).

I found this great recipe for Olive Parmesan Bread on Eat Better America. I thought it was great the boys not so much, but hey I'm the one that counts (Rick isn't a bread person).

And the bread winner with the boys was the Whole Wheat Bread Recipe I found on Finding Joy in my Kitchen. It is very yummy, I let the bread machine do the dough kneading and then put it in the oven.

I found these dog treats on All recipes "Delicious Dog Treats" tweaked it a little and here is what we got.

And another recipe from my girl at Doggy Dessert Chef for Fortune Cookie Dog Treats. Jake enjoyed these ones.

I'm linking up to: Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesday, Tuesday at the Table, Delectable Tuesday, Delicious Dishes, Totally Tasty Tuesday, Hearth and Soul and Thursday Recipe Swap Meet.

We Continue Our Ground Turkey Journey

Happy Tuesday, well I'm not so sure it's happy but well it's another day. My little negative voice (aka person who drives me nuts) is trying to now work others around me to I swear make me loose my mind! One day they will get it that commenting on my weight! UGH, I'm inserting my head in the oven now :). So onto food because that helps keep my skinny ... hehe.

First off is a super yummy recipe! Debbie does healthy did one version and I went with the original roll version from Once a Month Mom. I'm in love with these meatloaf rolls!

Last on my list was a Cheesy Broccoli Rice. Come on don't let the name fool you I used brown rice, ground turkey and 98% FF Cream of Mushroom. Now take that hater!!!

I'm linking up to: Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesday,Tuesday at the Table,Delectable Tuesday, Delicious Dishes , Totally Tasty Tuesday, Hearth and Soul and Thursday Recipe Swap Meet.