Friday Recipe - Salsa Chicken with Rice

This is a dish that is quick to prepare and uses very few ingredients! Love these kinds of dishes for busy week nights.

Salsa Chicken
INGREDIENTS:
4-6 chicken breasts
1 c salsa
shredded colby-jack cheese (the Mexican blend cheese tastes good on this dish too)
tortillas, warmed
white rice, cooked

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Lay chicken breasts in dish. Cover with salsa. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until juices run clear.

Spread cheese over top of chicken and salsa. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes or so, until cheese is melted.

To serve: Place a scoop of rice on plate. Top with a chicken breasts, be sure to collect some of the salsa and juices from pan also. Serve with a warm tortilla on the side.

When your husband says "Don't plan anything for my 50th birthday"...

I think you should NOT listen to him. Just sayin'.

For a couple months my husband all but threatened my life if I planned ANYTHING for his 50th birthday coming up on March 1. Then his mom told me she was going to plan a party anyway. I decided I should warn my husband and he said "Well, you tell her I won't be there." So I took the hints that he really didn't want something.

Now, as we are just a few days away from his birthday, I am getting vibes from him that he really didn't mean all that.

I am so confused and so upset.

Bottom line: There is no big party planned. There are no big surprises involved. There are, however, a few nice little things planned for him to enjoy his weekend - but now he won't cooperate and is sending me signals that maybe he did really want a big "to-do" after all.

Where's that bleach bottle?

Yesterday morning I started not feeling well. My head hurt. Then my stomach. After we ran some errands I ended up in bed for the rest of the day sleeping and hanging over toilet waiting for the inevitable.

Mr. Man fixed lunch and cleaned that up. Then he kept the kids entertained so I could sleep. Then he made dinner. Cleaned that up and then went to the grocery store for me.

I am so lucky he didn't have to work this weekend and was there to take care of me!

I still don't feel 100% today... getting there, but still not great.

Meal Plan for Feb 20 - 26

We ended up with several unexpected invitations to dinner last week so there are 3 meals on this week that are carried over from last week. I already bought the stuff to make these dishes so I just added them to this week's meal plan.

SATURDAY:
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - tuna noodle casserole / peas
Dinner - Baked Ziti / salad / garlic rolls

SUNDAY:
Breakfast - cinnamon toast
Lunch - Left overs
Dinner - Ribs / crash hot potatoes / corn / bread

MONDAY:
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - Meat roll ups / crackers / fruit / jello
Dinner - Beef Stroganoff / Rice / Salad

TUESDAY:
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - Spaghetti O's / Fruit / Cheese stick
Dinner - B.F.D. (Breakfast For Dinner) - Eggs / bacon / hashbrowns / toast

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - Burrito / Fruit / Carrot sticks / Cookie
Dinner - Mexican Chicken with rice

THURSDAY:
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - Meat roll ups / Crackers / cheese stick / fruit
Dinner - Chicken / Cheesy broccoli / applesauce

FRIDAY:
Breakfast - Toast / eggs / applesauce
Lunch - Pizza / Salad / Fruit
Dinner - Mozzerella chicken / Garlic pasta / Crusty bread / salad

Friday Recipe - Mexican Dip

This is one of my favorites. I like this with a brunch meal, but it is good any ol' time. I got this recipe from a party I went to with my sister and her husband, it came from my brother-in-law's aunt. Sweet lady who knows how to throw a party! This dip is so, so, so, good!

Mexican Dip
INGREDIENTS:
2 (8 oz) cream cheese, cubed
1 large avacado, cubed
1 (12 oz) jar of salsa
1 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c sliced black olives
1/2 c sliced green onions

Sprinkle cubed cream cheese in a 10" round dish. Layer remaining ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Serve warm with tortilla chips and/or veggie sticks.

For printable version of this recipe click here

How early do you let your kids outside?

I have a question for you all:

How early do you let your kids go outside to play?

When I was growing up my mom said we couldn't call people (and by calling I mean by telephone and/or ringing someone's doorbell) or go outside to play before 9:00 am. During the summer time I think we were allowed to go outside at 8:00 am but still couldn't call people before 9:00 am.

I have mentioned our neighbor kid before who gives me trouble sometimes. He likes to conveniently leave right at clean up time, he gets into my things without asking, he destroyed Mr. Man's wagon, he has rearranged furniture in my house to his liking... So anyway, this kid rang my doorbell at 7:40 am this past Saturday. We had all stayed up a little late watching a movie as a family Friday night so we were all still asleep. I stumbled down to the door and told him we were all sleeping and that when the kids got up and were ready to go out I would send them outside. He said ok and then I watched him as he ran across the street to another kid's house.

I went back to bed and no sooner did I get settled then Spirit came in and asked who rang the doorbell. When I told him even he, at 9 years old, said "It is ONLY 7:40 in the morning!" We laid there for awhile and a little after 8:00 Lady Bug joined us. Then at 8:25 the doorbell rang again. Yes I was furious. Yes I flew down the stairs like a mad woman. Yes I opened the door and said (I didn't yell, but I was firm) that it was WAY too early to be ringing my doorbell and that we still weren't up and that I would send the kids out when they got up and had breakfast.

So after we all got up and were dressed and fed I let the boys go outside (Lady Bug had no interest).

I would NEVER let my kids go ring someone's doorbell that early, especially on a Saturday but probably not any day of the week (unless of course they were expecting us). Am I over reacting? How early is too early to let your kids go out and start ringing doorbells.

I will also add in here that I know we are more "family-oriented" than some of our neighbors. The neighbor kids have told me that we take too long to eat meals, they have also commented that they don't even sit down as a family and each person just eats when they want to. We treasure our Saturday mornings together. Sometimes all 5 of us will lay in my bed and watch TV or just talk. I don't want to over react to this poor kid if I am all wrong here.

So, tell me your thoughts on this.

Cleaning house

A friend of mine said one time "Cleaning house while the kids still live with you is like shoveling snow while it's still snowing!" So true, so true. But we can't just NOT clean the house. That would be gross.

I spent 6 hours scrubbing my house yesterday while Mr. Man was at work. The kids helped a little and cooperated very nicely. I did my kitchen last, on my hands and knees scrubbing my old tile floor. Boy it was sparkling and I felt good. Tired, but good!

I had just headed upstairs to lay down on my bed and relax for a minute when Lady Bug came in from outside. She said "Mom, I fell in the mud and got my hands dirty."

I got up to help her wash hands.... as I look down the hallway that she trudged through I noticed mud on the carpet in a little trail from where she had come in the back door and all the way through the kitchen and up the stairs.

I said nothing, but grabbed her and took her to the bathroom where I took off her boots. She looked at me with tears in her eyes and said "I'm so sorry momma." I said it is ok, but there is mud on your boots that got on the floor." As I was cleaning her hands up she said "I'll clean it up momma."

We headed downstairs together and cleaned it up TOGETHER. My floor was no longer sparkly in the kitchen, but I didn't care. She had fun outside and then she and I giggled together while we wiped up the mess and vacuumed the floors.