Today Was A Good Day AND 20 Dinners in 20 Days, Day 4: Cilantro Lime Chicken

Today was a good day! <---Ice Cube Voice

I was up 6:20 am because...It was $1 flip flop day at Old Navy. This is not only awesome because I love flip flops, but also because it is a great chance to build my supply for my Etsy store, which you can check out here. I brought Cartier with me, well because where else was he going to go at 6 in the morning, but also because you can only buy 5 per person, and I wanted 10.  Even though the line looked like this when we got there:

We were out in less than an hour and it was virtually painless.

10 pair haul, good variety of sizes and colors

We had a chance to break the all time temperature of 118°, but luckily we only his 115° :-P

Another reason today was a good day, I FINALLY found the tropical flavors of Daily's Frozen Pouches:

If you haven't tried these, and you are over 21, then you are missing out my friend. I've been seeing the advertisements in magazines and on commercials but I had only seen the regular flavors (the margarita was my favorite, that may change once I try these).The best part? They were buy 3 get 1 for $.01.   I get a lot of enjoyment from these little things in life. 

After my morning of amazing morning of bargains, I finished 3 loads and laundry cleaned both bathrooms and vacuumed, and I still made it to a fierce Zumba class @ 12:30. 

Then Cartier and I got to hang out at my best friend and Zumba instructors house, since her pool has less undesirables than the pool in my apartment complex.  Guess what?  It was AWESOME!

Two Knucklehead McSpazatrons (SpongeBob Movie Reference)

  So all in all, we found a great way to beat the heat.

On to Day 4's dinner, Cilantro Lime Chicken and Rice Bake, yes bake, I decided to turn on the oven.

I got the idea from this blog but I changed it a bit to suit the ingredients I had on hand. For example; I bought Fresh and Easy's Creamy Cilantro Lime Salad Dressing, instead of making my own, and I skipped the sour cream.

My ingredients 

My favorite new salad dressing find

First I covered the chicken in dressing and baked at 350 for about 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and has an internal temp. of 170 

Microwaved steamed brown rice package, mixed with the juice of 1 lime, about a quarter cup of chopped cilantro and a dash of sea salt 

I took the chicken out of the oven and added the rice and about 1/2 cup of shredded monterey jack cheese and back in the oven until the cheese is brown and bubbly, about 10 minutes 

 Now I am going to share the recipe for...wait for it...THE WORLD"S BEST GUACAMOLE...EVER! Everytime I make it I get a ton of compliments and request for the recipe, and It is so super easy, it is definitely my go to dip! This recipe makes just enough for my son and I but it can be doubled, tripled, quadrupled...you get the idea.

Chop 2 ripe avocados then add the juice of 1/2 of a lime (more or less to taste) let it sit for a couple of minutes then mash, I used a fork for this but if I was making a big batch I'd use the hand mixer.

I recommend this tastefully simple season salt, because it has all the yummy seasoning I'd add. You can buy it here. If this is  not available use sea salt, minced garlic, a dash of pepper, and a half dash of cumin, red pepper flakes.

Add a little more than 1/4 cup of fresh Pico, try to drain as much liquid as you can before adding

I used fresh cilantro (2 tablespoons roughly chopped) today because I had it on hand, but this stuff is a huge time saver and still tastes great!

I like these Trader Joes Organic Corn Dippers, but this guac is delish with any corn chip and on all of your favorite dishes.

Quick tip: If you have any leftovers (and that is a big if) store in an airtight container, press a piece of plastic wrap right on top of the guac, then cover with lid, I promise you that this will keep it green and fresh overnight.

World's Best Guacamole, Seriously!2 ripe Hoss avocados, mashed
juice of 1/2 a lime
approx. 1 tsp. Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
2 tbsp chopped cilantro or 1 tsp cilantro paste
1/4-1/2 cup of fresh pico de gallo

Combine all ingredients and chill. Serve with corn or tortilla chips.

Everything was so delicious AND there was enough left over for enchiladas the next night, and I added the rest of the leftover chicken to a boxed pasta salad the following night, so I got 3 dinners in one #Boom.

Update: It took me 3 days to finish this post, because I was absolutely exhausted from my "productive day" so maybe I'll take it easy going forward ;-)

20 Dinners in 20 Days, Day 2: Crock Pot Mac and Cheese

I am on a roll. I had the most productive day today since summer began.  I completed a canvas project for my BFF that I've been planning for what seems like forever. I'm working on a few more so I'll do a tutorial once I finish a couple more, but here is a sneak peak:

She has the same 3 birds tattooed behind her ear and she is a huge Bob Marley fan and she was thrilled.  Not to toot my own horn but I was pretty proud of myself too.

 I also made a sourdough starter, for bread I hope to bake when it cools off a bit (not anytime soon since it is forecasted to be over 113 degrees for the next 5 days, yikes).

So I was looking for something easy, breezy to make for dinner.  Nothing says easy like the crock pot, and Mac and Cheese is always delicious.

I found a bunch of recipes on pinterest, but nothing that I really loved so I decided to take a chance and wing it a little. Spoiler alert, it worked out.

Here's what I did:

I bought the Ragu cheese sauce by accident, but I'm glad I found a way to use it.

I cooked the noodles to Al dente, which for the whole wheat pasta was about 7 minutes

While the noodles were cooking I mixed the cheese sauce with  1/2 tsp of salt and pepper, 1 cup of milk , 1/2 cup each of mozzarella and Cheddar

As an afterthough I also added 1 tbsp of butter and 1 1/2 tbsp of flour 

I had these in the fridge so I threw them into the sauce too.

Added the noodles and stirred to combine. Then  let cook on low in the crock pot for 3 hours stirring occasionally.

Cartie's plate, the first of three helpings :-)

 This came out smooth and creamy and yummy, and again no oven!

*There were a ton of leftovers, since I still haven't mastered cooking for two, so I added a can of tuna and some peas and carrots and Day 3 Tuna casserole #BOOM

Crock Pot Mac n Cheese

1 Jar Ragu Double Cheddar Sauce

Shredded Mozzarella and Cheddar Cheeses 1/2 cup of each

1 Cup of Milk

1 tbsp of Butter

1 1/2 tbsp AP Flour

Dash of Parmesan Cheese

salt and pepper to taste

1 13.5 oz box of Elbow Macaroni cooked to Al Dente

Combine ingredients and cook on low for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, stirring occasionally.

This was really easy and good, not as good as the old fashion oven baked version, but a nice summer option.  Do you have a go to mac and cheese recipe? Thanks for reading I already have a great idea for day 4 that I can't wait to share...until then stay glitzy!

20 Dinners in 20 Days...Day 1 Crock Pot Au Gratin Potatoes with Chicken

So we had company all last weekend. It was a nightmare, and I definitely will think twice about inviting any not in my family to stay in my home, but that is another story.  Having company I did not cook at all from Thursday to Sunday.  Cartier was thrilled with all the McDonald's he got to eat, but by Sunday I think we were both feeling like the Berenstain Bears after they ate too much junk food.

 

That is why I am starting 20 Dinners in 20 Days. We have 22 more days until we go back to Chicago to visit  my parents.  My plan is no fast food, no dining out until we leave.

For the first day I chose something easy...Au Gratin Potatoes with chicken.  It was super easy and the Crock Pot let me avoid turning on the oven.

I used a box of Au Gratin Potatoes, because ain't nobody got time for cutting up potatoes :-)

I mixed all the ingredients as listed on the box, 2/3 cup of milk, 1 3/4 cup of water and 2 tablespoons of butter and let it cook on high for about 1 1/2 hours. 

I chopped up some chicken that was left over from a store bought rotisserie chicken and added it with a little bit of shredded cheese

Served up with a salad and some steamed broccoli 

Au Gratin Potatoes With Chicken

1 Box of Au Gratin Potato Mix (I used Betty Crocker)

1 3/4 c. boiling water

2/3 cup of milk

2 tablespoons of butter

1 c. chopped cooked chicken or ham

1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Spray the inside of the crock pot with non-stick cooking spray.

Mix the first 4 ingredients together in the crock pot, cook on high for about 1 1/2 hours or low for about 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

Added chicken an additional cheese and continue to cook until bubbly. Serve warm.

I thought it was pretty good, and Cartier scarfed it down like someone was going to take it from him :-)

He said "Can I have more of that Cheesy Stuff?" So I'll take that as a positive review. I may not have been the healthiest meal ever, but it was easy and yummy and the broccoli and salad helped balance it out.

Now to figure out what to make tomorrow...hmmm. Until then...stay glitzy :-)

Summer Bucket List

Hello People of the Internet! 
I'm so excited to finally be starting my own blog. I have always been in awe of teachers that blog, create products to sell on TpT and Teachers Notebook, and still post pictures of their amazing classrooms and activities.  It all seemed so overwhelming and impossible...BUT then I realized that all of the fantastic blogs I follow on this here interweb had to start somewhere, so this is it.
In December of 2012 I relocated to North Las Vegas from Sycamore, Illinois.  I actually grew up and graduated from high school in Vegas, then moved to Northern Illinois for college.   Having spent the previous 7 years searching for a full time permanent teaching position, I jumped at the chance to have my own classroom.  My 7 year old son, Cartier, and I packed up our lives and headed west.
 I spent the next 6 months working on creating the "perfect" classroom and creating our perfect new lives   In the process of my many successes and many, many failures ideas for new projects and crafts got pushed to the back burner.  Enter my summer bucket list:

1. Start a blog 

2. Find a System to Organize CCSS Resources

3. Cook and Eat at Home More

4. Expand My Etsy Business

5. Finish at least 10 of the decorations/craft projects I started

6. Lesson Plans

I could go on and on, but 6 things seem manageable.  I'd rather be looking for more to do at the end of the summer than feeling bummed out because I didn't get to everything on my list.

Follow my blog to see how I fair in my quest to complete my summer bucket list.  I'll share a few yummy recipes, craft and lesson plan ideas, maybe even a few contest and freebies!

Until next time...keep it glitzy :-) (I'll keep working on a sign off)