Chore Chart

I have been wanting to make a chore chart for RJ forever. So I spent a little bit of time on Pinterest looking at different ideas. I knew I wanted something with pictures. Even though some are not age appropriate yet for him, I LOVE the way it turned out and the simplicity of it!

South of the Border Sandwiches

These were SOOO yummy and different for a sandwich. They had a little more "prep work" than a normal sandwich would take which I was not thrilled about, but the end result was worth it!

Here's what you need.
1 loaf French Bread, sliced in about 1' slices (I used about 1/2 a loaf for 2 of us)
1/2 cup chopped olives
1/2 tsp Chili Powder
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Mayo
1/3 cup Sour Cream
1/3 cup green onions, chopped
Sliced turkey (deli, leftover, or lunch meat)
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
2 ripe avocados, sliced
shredded or sliced cheese

1) Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl, combine olives, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Mix well and set aside about 2 Tbsp of this mixture. To the remaining olive mixture in the bowl, add the mayo, sour cream, and green onions. Mix well.
2) Place sliced bread onto a cookie sheet. Spread each slice with the mayo mixture. Top with sliced turkey, tomato, and avocado. Sprinkle the top with shredded cheese or place sliced cheese on top. Finally, top each slice with some of the reserved 2 Tbsp olive mixture.
3) Bake for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

No Bake Energy Bites

Basically, these are a "granola" ball. I was leery of them when I came across the recipe, but I really liked them. I usually ate one either right after a run when I would be hungry or mid-afternoon when the "snackies" started to bother me. I am not sure if they gave me more "energy" but they were definitely more filling than most snacks I would normally reach for, so that is a bonus for me...and of course the other "approval" test is whether RJ likes them, which he did!

Super easy and fast:
1 Cup oats
1 Cup coconut
1/2 Cup chocolate chips
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
1/2 Cup ground flax seed
1/3 Cup honey
1 tsp vanilla

1) Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Let chill in refrigerator about 30 minutes.
2) Roll into whatever size ball you want (mine were about golf ball size). Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a bout a week.

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

So YUMMY!!! Thank you Pinterest for giving me a Chinese Food dish that I like! Oh and the 3 year-old at my house LOVED it too!

For the Chicken:
3 to 4 chicken breasts, cubed
salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch (I used maybe 1/2-3/4 cup)
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 Cup oil

For the Sauce:
3/4 Cup Sugar
4 Tbsp ketchup
1/2 Cup Vinegar
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp garlic salt/powder

1) Preheat oven to 325. Season the chicken with salt and pepper (I just mixed my salt and pepper in with the cornstarch). Place cornstarch in a shallow container and eggs in another. Dip chicken into the cornstarch and coat well. Then dip into the eggs and coat well.
2) Preheat oil in a skillet. Place the egg coated chicken into the heated oil and cook until browned, but not cooked through. Once browned, transfer the chicken to a greased 9x13 pan.
3) Mix all the sweet and sour sauce ingredients together. Pour evenly over the chicken in the 9x13 pan.
4) Bake for one hour, turning the chicken every 15-20 minutes to ensure it gets evenly coated with sauce.Serve with Fried Rice. Delish!!

Newborn Pink Chenille Blanket

I recently finished up my second chenille blanket. Can I just say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE the way it turned out!?!?! It is WAY cute.
Due to my human error while cutting the fabric, this one turned out slightly smaller than the first chenille blanket that I ever made. It's finished size is about 29.5'x40.5'. Despite that, it is the perfect "snuggle" size or "newborn" size blanket.

This is a close up.And the finished project.

Cheesy Cracker Barrel Brunch Casserole

Another "breakfast for dinner" meal that was super easy and super fast and super yummy! Again, I can take zero credit for this recipe as I am stealing it from Pinterest. We LOVE egg casseroles at our house, but we just don't have time to do actual breakfast meals for breakfast, so we do a LOT of breakfast for dinners. I have also tried a LOT of egg casseroles. This one, for its simplicity, has been the best. RJ had 2 servings!!!! (huge for my non-egg eating boy!)

Here are the basic and simple ingredients:

4 Cups Croutons (your pick on kind)

1/2 Cup diced ham (I honestly eyeballed it)

12 oz sharp Cheddar Cracker Barrel Cheese, shredded (I didn't use...I don't like sharp)

8 Eggs (I used 10)

4 Cups Milk (I used 3 since I used more egg)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp onion salt or powder

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/8 tsp pepper (I never measure my spices either)

1) Heat oven to 325. Spread croutons in the bottom of a greased 9x13.

2) Evenly scatter diced ham and shredded cheese on top of croutons (which is why I eyeballed the "1/2 cup" stated above)

3) In a mixing bowl, beat eggs. Add milk and the spices and mix. Pour over the croutons, ham, and cheese in pan.

4) Bake for 40-45 minutes until an inserted knife comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes.

5) Serve and enjoy with Salsa and/or additional cheese, if desired.

Makes 8-10 servings

Note: I also think that it would be super easy and yummy to substitute sausage or crumbled bacon in for the ham, or if you are feeling "meaty" do a mix.

Additional Note: I have discovered when I start a blog post on my phone and then finish it on the computer that the formatting does weird things. I have yet to discover if there is a fix for this. I apologize for any oddness in the format of the post.

Batman/Spiderman Blanket

My friend Hannah and I have been wanting to do this blanket for her little boy for A LONG time, but since the fabric is "characters," it was way expensive at the time. The fabric finally went on sale, and this is the finished product.

I LOVE the way it turned out. :-)