Friday Recipe - Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole (easy)

This is a simple dish that is prepared in the microwave. It is such a good side dish and goes with many things.

Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole
INGREDIENTS:
1 (10.75 oz) can of cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 (8 oz) jar processed cheese spread
1 c uncooked instant rice (MUST be instant)
1/2 c milk
dash of pepper
1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped broccoli
1/2 c chopped onion
1/2 c chopped celery
1 (2.8 oz) can French's fried onions

Combine soup, cheese, rice, milk and pepper in a microwavable safe 2 qt casserole dish. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 12-14 minutes, stirring half way through. Add in remaining ingredients and cook for another 5 minutes (or until broccoli is tender) Sprinkle onions over the top and microwave for 1 minute more.

Emotionally all messed up today

Last night the elementary school sent home paperwork for us to fill out to send Lady Bug to kindergarten this fall. WHAT???

I have been on a roller coaster emotionally ever since. On one hand we have been talking about this day for over a year because although my van needs replacing it runs ok most days so we decided that we would wait until Lady Bug was no longer in daycare (at $800/month) and we would use some of that money towards a new car payment. But now that the day is actually here I am sad. My baby is going off to kindergarten. She is still such a baby, she can't go to school, can she??

As I dropped her off at daycare/preschool today I was teary eyed. I am not ready for her to go to kindergarten. I guess, the reality is that she WILL go to kindergarten and I have until August to get ready for it!

New Year, new me??

Eh, not so much.

I am not dieting. I am not exercising any more than I did in 2009. I am not trying to be more organized or any of that. But, one thing I started that is new to me this year is along with my regular journaling, I am trying to keep a "Family Memory Book" also for 2010. I want to document all the things we do as a family and then put it together in a binder or a book at the end of the year. I was inspired by this article and decided I could easily do that. I made up some pages on the computer and stuck them in my 3-ring binder I use for my journal. I printed off calendar pages that I can jot down our events. Then I also made a "Daily Happenings" page and there I can put in the date of the important events and mark down what we did, who was there with us, etc. Then I also did a Summary page and at the end of the month I will go in and sum up/ highlight what happened each month and my feelings about how the month came together.

I am hoping that if I can do this for several years that we will enjoy reading these over the years. I think it might be interesting to look back and see what we did, who was there, how often we may have gone to a special place, etc.

Some Christmas pics

Ok, ok, ok - I know it is already January, but nevertheless here are some pictures from Christmas!

Here are the boys being lazy after hoopla of Christmas. They were watching a new movie.




Here are the boys really excited and checking out their gifts.

Here is Lady Bug showing off ONE of the Barbie things she got!

2010 roars in with a BANG!

It all starts with Thanksgiving. Then we jump to Christmas and move right on in from there to New Year celebrations. For some it all settles down from there for a bit, not in my house though. We go from the New Year celebrations to a week and a half break and then it is Spirit's birthday. After that we get a 2 week break before Mr. Man and I celebrate our wedding anniversary. After that we have 1 week before Lady Bug's birthday. Phew! Finally after that we get a full 3 weeks before we celebrate Mr. Man's birthday. From his birthday we get a month and a half break before Lefty's birthday. Then it seems like forever and a day before my birthday.

This year is a milestone for Lady Bug - she will turn five, a milestone for Mr. Man - he will turn fifty, and a milestone for our marriage - we celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary!

The point I am making here is I have been shopping and preparing for Spirit's birthday the last couple of days and frankly I am tired. I wish that after Christmas I wouldn't have to be in the stores (which are still crowded with people doing returns and shopping the clearance items!) I am ready for a break from the hustle and bustle of everything. IRGH. In addition to Spirit's birthday I am working on our 10 year wedding anniversary plans and also Mr. Man's 50th birthday celebration. I am feeling very "celebrated" out right now!

It will be a good year but busy! A good busy though. I am only complaining a little bit!! Hee hee.

Meal Plan for Jan 2 - 8

The holidays are over and the kids will be heading back to school Monday! YAY! oh shucks. As a result of this awful event joyous event, our meal planning is back to normal. We won't be eating out or attending parties or even eating on the run as much! Phew! I love the holidays, but sometimes the chaos that comes with it is more than I can handle!

Here is this week's meal plan in my house:

SATURDAY:
Breakfast - monkey bread / juice or milk
Lunch - sandwiches / chips / fruit
Dinner - Hawaiian meatballs and rice

SUNDAY:
Breakfast - cereal / milk
Lunch - Quesadillas / apple slices
Dinner - Beef Stroganoff (Spirit has been requesting this for weeks) / applesauce

MONDAY:
Breakfast - cinnamon toast / milk
Lunch - Meat roll ups / fruit / crackers
Dinner - pork sandwiches / applesauce / corn (these are Mr. Man's specialty so I am off the hook for cooking tonight!)

TUESDAY:
Breakfast - cereal / milk
Lunch - PB&J / chips / fruit
Dinner - Spiral sliced ham / broccoli rice casserole / rolls

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast - cereal / milk
Lunch - meat roll ups / crackers / fruit
Dinner - Spinach and Cheese Ravoli / salad / garlic bread

THURSDAY:
Breakfast - cereal / milk
Lunch - meat roll ups / crackers / fruit
Dinner - Burritos / spanish rice

FRIDAY:
Breakfast - cereal / milk
Lunch - PB&J / chips / cookie / fruit
Dinner - Pizza

Friday Recipe - Monkey Bread

I know there are lots of recipes out there for this, but here is the recipe I have been using for years:

Monkey Bread
INGREDIENTS:
2 cans Grands biscuits
1 c sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 stick butter
1/2 c chopped nuts (optional)
1 c brown sugar

Combine cinnamon and sugar in a large resealable bag. Cut each biscuit into quarters. Shake in a bag with cinnamon and sugar. Arrange in a 9x9 baking pan (or a bundt pan) that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Melt butter and mix in brown sugar, bring to a boil and lower heat, cook 2 minutes. Mix in nuts. Pour over biscuits, lifting edges so that the mixture can reach bottom of pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.