Happy Homemaker Monday {1/28/2019}

Hi Lovelies!

Good afternoon everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. We had a somewhat relaxing weekend. We went outside as much as possible since the weather is supposed to turn cold again this week. I cleaned the house, did some baking, and some reading.

Anyway, let's get started with this post, shall we?

The weather. It's in the 40s today with lots of cold wind! For the rest of the week we are supposed to be in the 40s and 50s. I am so ready for Spring!!!!

Right now I am... sitting at the dining room table typing this post. 

On my reading pile. Right now I am reading Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult (almost finished) and then it's on to Two by Two by Nicholas Sparks for February.

On my tv.  Beverly Hills 90210, Baywatch, Boy Meets World, Sons of Anarchy, A Million Little Things and the Masked Singer

On the menu this week:

Monday- Chicken with pasta and green beans

Tuesday- Creamy Ranch Chicken with potatoes and carrots

Wednesday- Mini Meatloaves, mashed potatoes, green beans

Thursday- Spaghetti and garlic bread

Friday- 

Saturday-

Sunday- Pizza and breadsticks

On my to do list:

Laundry
Kitchen
Write and schedule blogs for the next two weeks (by end of the this week)
Update planners and bullet journal
Tidy bedrooms
Clean bathrooms
Vacuum all rooms

Looking around the house: The house is a mess. Every room needs to be tidied and the clothes are piling up in the laundry basket.

Bible verse, devotional, or quote:

In the Kitchen- S'mores Cheesecake

Hi Lovelies!!!!

 I finally found a recipe that combines my two favorite desserts--- s'mores and cheesecake!!! This recipe looks so delicious and I cannot wait to make it this fall. I searched and searched the interwebs until I found the right recipe to make this yummy concoction from the Kraft website. So, here is the recipe that I found and one that I hope to keep in my recipe binder. Enjoy!!

 S’Mores Cheesecake

 

 

Ingredients

Crust

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Cheesecake

3 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup marshmallow creme

1 tablespoon vanilla

4 eggs

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup milk chocolate chips (6 oz)

Topping

1 cup milk chocolate chips (6 oz)

1/4 cup whipping (heavy) cream

Steps

• 1 Heat oven to 425°F. Spray 10-inch springform pan with cooking spray.
  
  
• 2 In small bowl, mix all crust ingredients. Remove 1/2 cup mixture for topping; set aside. Press remaining mixture evenly into bottom of pan. Bake 5 minutes or until crust is just turning deep golden around edge.
  
  
• 3 In large bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed, stopping to scrape side occasionally, until smooth. Add brown sugar, marshmallow creme and vanilla, and beat until smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Use rubber spatula to stir in cinnamon. Sprinkle 1 cup chocolate chips over crust. Pour batter over chips.
  
  
• 4 Bake cheesecake 15 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 225°F. Bake 55 minutes longer or until cheesecake is set around edge and center is almost set but just slightly wiggly. (Do not insert knife to test doneness because hole could cause cheesecake to crack.) Turn off oven, open oven door slightly and allow cheesecake to cool to room temperature. Remove from oven, cover loosely with foil and refrigerate at least 3 hours.
  
  
• 5 In 1-quart saucepan, heat 1 cup chocolate chips and the whipping cream over low heat, stirring occasionally, until chocolate chips are melted. Spread over cheesecake and sprinkle with reserved 1/2 cup crumbs.
  
  
• 6 Cover with foil and refrigerate cheesecake 1 hour or up to 48 hours. Run metal spatula along side of cheesecake to loosen and remove side of pan before serving. Store any leftovers covered in refrigerator.

Blogging Goals for 2019

Hi Friends! I know it's been awhile since my last post and I am sorry for that. We have had a busy week with appointments and such. Right now I am working on  a new blogging schedule and I hope to start adding in a few weekly blog post this week. Tonight's blog post is all about my blogging goals for 2019.

Now, I'm not going to be buying my own domain and I won't be taking any fancy photography classes.... but I do have a few goals that I would like to achieve this year:

 1. Increase my page views.

2. I would love to gain more loyal readers.

3. Create a posting schedule. I always have a difficult time keeping up with a posting schedule, so my goal is to start posting at least 4x per week.

4. Add weekly posts (i.e. In the kitchen Tuesdays and Friday Favorites)

5. Comment on more blogs.

6. Learn how to use Ad sense and to install it on my blog.

7. Sponsored posts 

What are your blogging goals for 2019?

In the Kitchen- 7 Meal Planning Tips and Tricks

Today I wanted to share a few of my meal planning tips and tricks.  Several of you have told me that you struggle with this, so I hope this is helpful!

It does take time, but I have settled into a good pattern.  Hopefully these tips will be of good use to you.

7 Meal Planning Tips and Tricks

1. Plan your meals around your life, not the other way around.

Think about the activities for the week first.  If you have an extremely busy day/night, that is not the time to try any new elaborate recipes.  Are there any nights that you will not need to prepare anything?

2. Have some regular “easy” meals in your arsenal.

I have several of these – rotisserie chicken shows up on my meal plans a LOT.  They a bargain item at Sams Club (where I usually get mine), plus I can usually make 2 meals off of one, AND homemade chicken stock if I need some.  I also have a couple of crock pot meals that fit into this category.

I try to balance my week with a few easier meals and one (or sometimes two) higher effort meals.

3. Have a few emergency meals up your sleeve as well.

I also have a couple of emergency meals (Stouffer’s lasagnas, etc.) in my freezer.  We don’t eat those all that often, but I figure it is better than take-out or fast food.  I have pulled these  out when I am unexpectedly home with a sick kid, or when I have not been able to get to the grocery store.

I am trying to get better about making double of my own home-cooked meals, and freezing half as well.

4. I only try a maximum of one new recipe a week.

It takes more time & energy to make something new, so I find it easier to work in one new recipe a week.

5. Check the freezer, fridge and pantry to see what I have on hand before writing out my meals.

If I need to use something up, I can work that into my plan for the week.  I am trying to get better about using what is on hand first.  This reduces spoilage and makes the best use of your grocery budget.

7. I keep good notes.

This is one of my favorite meal planning tips, and it has really helped keep me organized!  I keep my meal planning in a Microsoft document.  A few benefits of this include:

I save links to recipes we have tried and liked.

I have started saving a list of ALL of my past meals.  This gives me something to choose from i am drawing a blank.  If I just sit down with a blank sheet of paper, sometimes I cannot think of anything to make!  This really helps!

I have a tab for recipes that I want to try.  If I see something that I know I want to make eventually, I will capture that along with the link (or page number if it is in a physical cookbook).  I can pull from these when I do my meal plan.

Do you have any meal planning tips and tricks?  Share with us in the comments!

Friday Favorites {1/11/2019}

TGIF......Anyone with me?I 'm definitely that the weekend has arrived, and I can't wait to spend as much at home with my little family as possible. Before I go to bed, I just wanted to pop in a share a few of my favorite things with you. So, keep scrolling to see what I've been loving lately.....

Friday Favorites

Favorite space: The laundry room. I have been looking for some inspiration for my laundry room, I saw this and immediately fell in love with it!

Favorite beauty find: Belif moisturizing eye bomb. This looks amazing!

Favorite reminder:  This one of my favorite quotes!

Favorite fashion find: This outfit just screams fall to me.

Favorite recipe: Chicken pot pie casserole. I made this the other and it was a hit with my crew.

Are you loving any these favorites like I am?

4 Reasons to Start a Bullet Journal

If you've ever talked to me at all over the last few months, you've probably seen the blue and white striped notebook that never leaves my side. Now, even though I'm not keeping a diary or keeping a journal of all the things that I hear and see throughout the day that blue and white striped notebook is still very important. That's because I've recently put myself into the family of bullet journalists.

Bullet journaling is a fancy way of saying "I'm making my own planner out of to do lists and habit trackers". Now, don't get me wrong, I loved the Life Planner and the Lily Pulitzer planner. It's just that neither planner worked for me. Taking a notebook and a pen and designing my own layouts is what has started working for me.

If you are finding that it's difficult to keep your life on track and regular planners are just too hard to keep up with, then here are four reasons why you should start your own bullet journal.

4 Reasons to Start a Bullet Journal

1. You can make it how ever you like.

Even though there are general guidelines for bullet journals, ultimately the journal is something you create and work on until you're pleased with what you have created.

 2. It's just a bunch of "to do lists".

To do lists are a whole lot more satisfying to check off then just writing your tasks in your planner.

3. You can keep track of anything and everything.

I tend to keep track of meal plans, books that I want to read, movies and tv shows that I want to watch, habits, bucketlists, routines, and cleaning tasks.

4. It will definitely keep you organized.

Even though I still use a planner, my bullet journal also helps me stay organized.

Do you use a planner or a bullet journal?

In the Kitchen- Slow Cooker Mississippi Chicken

Slow Cooker Mississippi Chicken is amazing and you only need 5 ingredients to prepare! This chicken is so tender and juicy that it melts in your mouth.This chicken is so simple to prepare in the crockpot.  This is a simple low carb recipe too!  If you are new to the low carb high fat lifestyle this recipe is perfect for you! So simple and tastes delicious! It's one of my family's favorite meals!

You start by placing in your chicken to the bottom of the slow cooker. Next you sprinkle the ranch packet and au jus packet over the roast. Top it off with a stick of butter and pepperconi’s.  That is it, hard to believe really. Now it’s ready to slowly cook all day in the crockpot. It really is that simple!  Trust me it doesn’t taste like you only spent 5 minutes prepping this yummy recipe once it is done.

I served this Mississippi chicken with some rice pilaf, mac and cheese, and some cheesy green beans. 

Slow Cooker Mississippi Chicken

Ingredients

3-5 lb chicken breasts boneless
1 packet of Ranch Seasoning mix or homemade mix
1 packet of au jus mix
4-6 pepperoncini (I keep these out. My husband and kids don't like them)
1 stick of butter 1/2 cup

Directions

1. Place the chicken in a 6QT slow cooker.
2. Sprinkle both packets of mix on top of roast.
3. Place pepperoncini on top of roast along with the stick of butter.
4. Place lid on slow cooker and set to low for 8-10 hours.
5. Shred chicken in slow cooker with juices.

Serve and enjoy!

 

Friday Favorites {1/4/2019}

Hi Lovelies!

Starting tonight and every Friday I will be posting my Friday Favorites. Friday Favorites will consist of things like recipes, DIY projects, fashions, books, etc. Basically just anything that I like that I find on the interwebs. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the first installment of.......

Favorite twist: Creamy Brie Four Cheese Mac and Cheese with Buttery Ritz Crackers. This looks like a delicious recipe, however, I have never thought of this particular combination for mac and cheese. I can't wait to try it sometime.

Favorite DIY: Washi tape notebooks. I have recently discovered the world of washi tape and I'm loving it.

Favorite treat: Gingerbread Cookie Cups with White Chocolate Mousse and Caramel. White chocolate mousse? Yes, please!!! I so want to make these for New Year's Eve.

Favorite Fashion: I'm loving this color combination for the winter months. So girly!

Favorite plate: Famous Pulled Barbeque Chicken. This recipe looks so delish!

Favorite place: Ireland. Beautiful.  I have always wanted to visit Ireland. It's on my bucket list. One day... one day.

Favorite sip: Cranberry Splash Punch. I think this would be fun to serve around Valentine's Day.  In my opinion anyways.

Favorite snack: Microwave Potato Chips. As soon as my mandolin comes in the mail I'm so making these little guys!!! These would be fun to serve at a Superbowl party with some french dip sliders. So yummy!

Favorite find: Perfect picture wall. I have always wanted to do this to my walls. I have already started so I just hope that it comes out the way that I want it to.

Favorite slurp: Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup. This looks so hearty I can't wait to make it sometime next week.

Favorite Bite: Cheesy Oven Fried Ravioli. I have made these one time and they did not turn out well at all. I think I'm trying this one soon!

Favorite sweet: Cinnamon Sugar Apple Noodles. This looks so yummy!

What are some of your Friday Favorites?

January 2019 Goals

Here we are finally in 2019!Yesterday I shared my goals for the new year, but this morning I am sharing just my goals for January. Hopefully this will inspire you to share some of your goals as well!

In January I want to....

Read at least 2 books
Practice Yoga 2 times a week
Work on Instagram growth
Have blog posts written through the month of February
Start planning A's birthday party
Have two at home date nights with the Husband
Drink more water
Track my food daily using My Fitness Pal
Walk at least 1 mile 5 times a week
Eat healthier (more fruits and veggies)
Cut all sweets ( I have a major sweet tooth)

Do you do monthly or yearly goals? I would love to know some of your January 2018 goals?

2019 Goals

First, I wanted to start off this post by wishing everyone a Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe New Years. Since we were all feeling under the weather, we decided to stay home, had some dinner, and played a few games. I can't believe that it's time to share my 2019 goals! I plan to share my January 2019 goals this week too.

In 2019 I want to......

• Read at least 24 books
• Have a successful year blogging
• Set up a sponsored post
• Set up a fitness plan and actually stick to it
• Eat healthier
• Have at least 2 at home date nights with the Husband and actually sit down and plan them with him
• Take the littlest to the library more often
• Work on my goals for social media

Something new this year that I am giving myself is a word for the year, I have seen so many people  do this, and it made me curious enough to try it for myself.  My word for the year is PATIENCE. I need to practice patience in my everyday life, especially as a SAHM. I need to have patience with my husband and children, and I need to have patience in general.  Just patience all around.

What are some of your goals for 2019? Do you have a word?