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BBQ’d Chicken

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 31 March, 2014 No comment

Last night we had my husbands sister and her family over for dinner. They came into town last minute after finding out how quickly their mother had gone down hill with her fight in cancer.

We decided barbequing chicken and burgers would be a great way to spend some time together.

Michael did the marinade for the chicken.

Chicken Marinade:

5 chicken breasts
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp teriyaki sauce
Splash of lemon juice
¼ cup sweet chili sauce
Splash of grapeseed oil
Splash of rice vinegar
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 ½ tsp cinnamon

In a gallon Ziploc bag add chicken with ingredients and marinade for 6-8 hours for best results. BBQ when ready to eat!

This chicken is so moist and flavorful! The cinnamon is a key ingredient.

Here are the cousins playing in Cooper’s tent!

Mama Made a Boo-Boo

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 30 March, 2014 No comment

Boo-Boo time came last night and not only was it sad, but it was mother inflicted! :(

I was putting his jammies on and my thumb made quite the mark on his sweet little chin. It bled a bit but is holding up well. He’s a tough man!

Sometimes I wish he would cry longer as its okay to be hurt and cry. He’s so quick to recover from his little injuries, often I don’t know he hurt himself till I find bruises on his little legs during bath time. He’s so tough he barely makes a peep! Poor child!

Sweet baby!

Cinnamon Sugar Biscuits

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 30 March, 2014 1 comment

It’s been quite awhile, but I had this recipe for the first time at my sweet sisters house. She doesn’t live around here and she may have forgot about the recipe herself, but I haven’t and I remember it being very yummy.

If you haven’t figured it out already, I am a coffee lover and these go great with coffee. Coffee + Pastries = utter happiness in my book. :)

These are a biscuit/cinnamon roll mix. They have the consistency of a biscuit but you roll them as you do a cinnamon roll. They do not puff up as a cinnamon roll, but they rise like a biscuit. :)

Have fun with them!

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
¼ cup vegetable oil
¾ cup buttermilk
1 stick butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Coopers little hand helping me stir!

Mix first four ingredients together.

Stir in oil and buttermilk just until blended

Helping mama bake while eating FROZEN blueberries

On a floured surface, roll out into a rectangle and grease a 9×9 pan

Spread softened mutter across the top and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

Roll up and cut them into 1 1/2 in biscuits. They will not puff much as a cinnamon roll would, so you can place them close together in the pan.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. They should look a little goofy as they are not rolls but biscuits.

Add frosting is desired. (powdered sugar, milk/water)

Babysitter Trials

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 29 March, 2014 No comment

I absolutely love our current babysitter but I haven’t quite figured out how the wage works. Growing up when I babysat, I never knew what my wage was until the end of the night. When the end of the night approached I was given the money for caring for their sleeping child and watching movies on their couch. My mom always taught me to clean up after myself. Even if there were dishes in the sink that had been there prior to my arrival, I needed to clean them or put them in the dishwasher. The expectation was I was “working” for this family, so what they gave me is what I deserved and I needed to be thankful.

Now, having my child I’ve come to see that babysitters have learned to set a competitive wage while us as parents seek for the proper fit. Babysitters these days aren’t “applying” for a job but simply waiting for you to accept their wage. This caught me off guard immensely for a couple reasons. First, aren’t we teaching our children to work and appreciate what they are given? Second, why are our young kids setting the boundaries for the parents?

I haven’t been able to answer these two questions as every babysitter out there is currently setting the wage for our family. My husband and I haven’t figured out how they ‘nickel and dime’ us but it has worked. I have found date night to be extremely expensive even when it only consists of golfing. I’ve also found many people who really want to babysit for us as my son is extremely easy going and sleeps a lot leaving our couch to be kept warm while the television flickers a movie or TV show.

The battle within me is the one aspect that my husband continues to remind me “you get what you pay for!” But there is still part of me that disagrees a little bit when you have a young highschool girl watching TV or on the internet while your son sleeps. My mind can’t quite grasp the concept that I can easily pay over $100 for our date plus babysitter. When I look at my bills at the end of the month and having a babysitter 4 times a month, it begins to look outrageous to me.

Look Mommy, I’m still small enough to crawl in….

The trials of babysitting has been an ongoing issue since my son has been born and it seems we can’t find a babysitter as back in the ‘old’ days; pay what they are worth at the end of the night. I don’t have a problem paying what these girls ask, my problem is that I don’t simply get the choice in deciding what this as they set the wage prior; not me.

Moment of Truth: The trials of not having family around to simply drop Cooper off when needed is a big struggle for me. The struggles of having babysitters that pay an arm and a leg is also a struggle of mine. The end result: I’m thankful I have a little munchkin that is worth paying any amount of money for no matter how his mama feels about the circumstances. :) I must flow with the change in times! Is it worth the battle of a few bucks an hour to have my child in safe hands?

I would love to hear your response…

Turkey Mac N’ Cheese

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 29 March, 2014 No comment

Turkey Mac n’ cheese helps add a little protein to the meal. I made this for dinner and love the fact that I can make it early in the day while my son is sleeping and then wait to bake it until we are ready to eat. This is how I try and live my life to avoid the hassle of cooking while my toddler runs rampant all through the kitchen. :)

This is a quick, easy meal that provides the utmost comfort meal in the end. I love comfort food, I love easy cooking, and most of all I LOVE tasty food!

Ingredients:

1 lb elbow macaroni
6 tbsp butter
¼ cup whole wheat flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic salt
½ tsp paprika
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheese
2 cups cubed turkey
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 sleeve saltine crackers, crumbled

Cook the macaroni according to package instructions.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan melt butter.

Stir in flour and whisk until fully smooth. Add salt, pepper, garlic salt and paprika.

Add milk and bring to a boil, cook for 1 minute stirring constantly. Mixture will thicken.

Remove from heat and add the cheese and mix well.

Add turkey and mushrooms and mix well.

In a greased baking dish, add noodles. Top with sauce mixture and mix until fully coated.

Sprinkle with crumbled crackers and drizzle with EVOO.

Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until heated through and bubbly.

Cooper has been devouring this meal as he finally began to eat again. Makes mommy so proud! :)

Ditch Digging Update

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 28 March, 2014 No comment

UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE!

Woo-hoo updating with good news. I officially stopped digging. I officially hired someone to dig. And he officially found the problem. YAY!

Two weeks later the problem has been found- not solved, but found! Our pipe collapsed at the break between the plastic pipe and cement. This is good news all around. No major problem but a collapsed pipe that doesn’t require any further digging or any further snaking. It’s going to get resolved within the next couple days. Our nice young man who has been digging even helped temporarily fix the problem to get us through the next couple days until it is officially fixed this weekend.

6 feet long 4 1/2 feet deep

The temporary fix

Yay! The problem still lies ahead as my husband will be doing the plumbing fix to save us thousands of dollars so the prayer is that he can figure it out and fix it properly. BUT I am happy to report that from here on out should be easier than we had previously expected!

Cheddar English Muffins

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 28 March, 2014 No comment

I’ve made a couple recipes for English muffins and this was a good twist with the cheddar. I made these this afternoon while the rain poured down, Cooper napped, and our ditch continued to get dug by our hired hand that was not myself. It was a good day for baking as I proceeded with blueberry coffee cake after the muffins and cinnamon sugar biscuits. Yes it’s a lot of carbs but they hold for good breakfast treats with coffee and we are taking some treats over to my mother-in-law this weekend.

Try them out and see how you feel about them.

Ingredients:

2-3 cups flour (don’t use whole wheat, it doesn’t rise properly)
1 tbsp sugar
2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp salt
¾ cup warm water
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tbsp cider vinegar
½ cup cheddar cheese

In a stand mixer combine 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt.

Add water and oil; beat well for 2 minutes. Add egg and vinegar and beat another 2 minutes.

Add cheese and mix remaining flour just enough to for a stiff dough. (you may not use the remaining cup of flour)

On a floured surface roll dough into a 1/2 inch thick circle and use a biscuit cutter to cut your circles. Or use the top of a cup if you don’t have a biscuit cutter.

Place muffins on a greased cookie sheet and cover with a tea towel. Let rise until doubled in size.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Flip muffins and bake another 10-15 minutes until fully cooked.

Cool on a wire rack.

Moment of the Day

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 27 March, 2014 1 comment

This was a precious little moment that simply made my day brighter!

Something about these tiny little shoes on the large floor simply made me smile as I love the spring colors and my little man who wears them. I was remembering when I was pregnant and folding the first load of baby clothes and how little the newborn outfits were. I remember my husband and I envisioning what those moments would look like once he was in the precious little clothes. Here we are now almost 2 years later and I’m still shocked when I see the little things spread out upon the floor. His cute little tootsies and chubby little fingers are the little things I rejoice in.

I am thankful for my little man and blessed to have him healthy as a horse. I couldn’t ask for a better child and a better two years with him. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with him as he becomes a little toddler officially within the next three months. I am thankful and blessed that I can stay home with him and give him all the hugs and kisses he so deserves.

Thanks little Cooper for being my little baby to hold and snuggle so dear! Thanks to my amazing husband for allowing me to stay home with him as this is one of the biggest blessings I could ask for! Love you both beyond words can describe.

Seafood Alfredo

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 27 March, 2014 No comment

After our lovely Costco Trip I made a yummy seafood pasta dish for dinner the following night. Boy was it AMAZING! My husband absolutely couldn’t stop talking about it. He loved the white sauce and acted as if I have never made this dish before. I was grateful for his happiness but was beyond concerned why he thought it tasted so much better than previously. (I am choosing to believe it’s because our family has been deprived of good food since I refused to shop until our Costco trip)

So here is the delicious recipe my husband can’t stop talking about:

Ingredients:

1 lb mushrooms, sliced
½ lb asparagus, chopped
½ lb tofu (omit if you do not prefer)
1 lb large shrimp
1 tsp garlic salt
2 tsp parsley
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 lb linguine pasta
Cream sauce ingredients click on recipe below

For cream Sauce:

Click here for recipe

De-tail the shrimp and cut tofu. Set shrimp aside.

In a large saucepan add mushrooms, asparagus and tofu. Begin cooking on medium heat.

Once they begin to cook, add seasoning and shrimp. Cook until no longer pink.

Remove from heat and add creamy sauce.

Meanwhile cook pasta according to package instructions and toss all together.

Serve with garlic bread and Caesar salad.

Free Money

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 26 March, 2014 No comment

Free Money? Well not quite! We have the American Express Costco card that brings cash back for Costco each year. My husband used to travel all the time for work and we would book his travels with our AMEX card and take the reimbursement to rack up our cash back. This year we received just over $400 to spend at Costco. Every year we stock up on meat and products that last a long time.

We received our coupon in the mail 6 weeks ago, but little did I know that I tossed the coupon directly into our recycling bin and put it out for garbage day. Blah, I was so annoyed with myself as I was checking the mail daily waiting anxiously for the arrival of this dear coupon. It was as if I was a small child waiting for my pink Barbie to come in the mail.

After tossing it and finally realizing what I had done, I called AMEX and they informed me they would be sending another coupon with the next billing statement. Finally 6 weeks later it arrives in my mailbox putting the biggest smile on my face to now be able to fill our freezer and panty full of goodies again. I had avoided a big grocery trip knowing this was coming and I didn’t want to overflow my freezer and not have room. So I patiently waited….well I tried to be patient at least!

Last night we took the trek to Costco as a family not only purchasing all of the goodies we had hoped for but just as every year prior, we spend more than the allotted amount. I’m not sure how it happens as the hundreds of dollars we are given seems to be an incredible amount, yet we still manage to go above and beyond. My lists are simply tossed out the window once entering Costco. The glorious riches of Costco products take over my mind. :)

After the hours spent shopping, Cooper was beyond tired and needed dinner. I stood in one of the longest lines-to-date for a polish dog for Cooper as Michael and I would be having steak and Caesar salad that he was entirely uninterested in. If his disinterest came solely from steak I would question whose son he is, but considering he is adverse to food entirely, I quickly push these thoughts aside. Unfortunately, after that immensely long line, Cooper refused any form of food the remainder of the evening. I was quite annoyed as his little body hasn’t been interested in food recently concerning his mama as usual. So sweet little man went to bed on a hungry tummy while I spent the remainder of the evening putting items away and reorganizing them while my husband watched Breaking Bad and I took in what I could. (I’ve found myself to become quite the fan of this show!)

Needless to say, I would recommend any of you who utilize Costco to the fullest, such as I to get the American express card to receive your delightful coupons in the mail on an annual basis. It saves a lot of money when you buy in bulk and stock your freezer. I also appreciate the fact that Costco has high standards with their food products allowing me to not be weary of what I am purchasing.

Moment of Truth: Check your mail thoroughly before tossing your “recyclables” into the bin.