Holy Wow, House Hunting is Crazy!! Part 1

That's right, folks, it's crazy!  Fun, but crazy!  Where before weekends consisted of cleaning and fun, they now consist of house hunting and...that's pretty much it.  You get so emotionally attached to some houses, and even the process, and it's so hard to not let it get the best of you.   But you can't, because that perfect first house is out there for everyone:)

The first part of course is to find a realtor that is right for your personality.  We were so lucky to be referred to Margaret Snow Reagan, a realtor with over 30 years of experience in the area we wanted to look in.  You're bored?  Okay, on to the houses!

I think we've seen 20 houses or so...we started with this gem

I bet when I said "gem" you thought it was going to be ugly, right??  No, we loved this house - open floor plan, huge closets and bedrooms, amazing yard, and a garage!  We knew going in this house had an offer on it that was already accepted, but we still wanted to see it, just in case that offer fell through - admit it other house-hunters, you sometimes hope other people's offers fall through for whatever reason...we all have that evil side when it comes to house hunting!  The problem with this house, the cows across the street.  Don't get me wrong, I love me some cows, and we even had one when I was really little that I fondly remember, but the smell in the summer...ehh not the best.  Here are some other photos of this house - again pluses were huge bedrooms/closets and open floor plans...minuses were probably a smaller size kitchen and the cow smell:)

I apologize in advance for this and all posts in relation to house hunting that show photos - I don't know how those realtors/whomever make their house photos look so amazing - I am BAD at taking house photos!

The same day we also saw this lovely house...lovely downstairs, for short people only (okay for me, not okay for the husband) upstairs - it was built in the 1800's!

The downstairs of this house was amazing - 2 offices, beautiful floors, a beautiful sunroom, and a huge pantry.  Upstairs broke my heart - small bedrooms/closets and very low ceilings.  If only the husband wasn't so tall;)  A great house for someone though:)  But oops, looks like I've deleted the rest of my pictures from this house!

The final house of this, our first Saturday of searching, was amazing - picture a cute yellow Cape...yes, I forgot to take a picture of the outside - oops!  Beautiful yard, amazing open kitchen to a family room, 4 bedrooms, and the biggest dining room with fireplace that I've ever seen.  The problem - the red blinking light thing about 30 feet from the driveway...and a single-car wide driveway - no good!  Backing into the road is never a good idea!  Here are the highlights:

See, I told you my pictures were bad - I didn't even get the fireplace in this one!  You'll all have to let me know if Part 2's pictures are any better:)  Expect that later this week, as tomorrow night Melissa and I are taking a cooking class - thanks for the awesome birthday present bff!

I wish I could just eat nachos for dinner, but I'll make a nacho chicken bake instead:)

Happy Thursday, everyone!  Remember, it's my Friday this week, so I'm in an especially good mood:)  That will all change once I go and play Bejeweled and can't get over 150,000, but anyways...

Tonight!  Worked late, and was supposed to make Chicken Whatchamacallit from www.cookingfororzo.com, but on the way home, I started craving Mexican-type food.  We were supposed to have the chili cornbread casserole from theweatherincascadia.blogspot.com tomorrow night, but the husband is going out, and I don't want to make such a big meal for myself (Wendy's anyone?  maybe sushi:)), so the Whatchamacallit got bumped and tonight became Mexican night!  I had obviously defrosted boneless chicken breast, so I had to think of what I had that I could make Mexican-style.  So easy!  Nacho Chicken Bake!  Pretty much the simplest meal to ever make, and so yummy!  I've made it before, but the husband didn't remember it, and he was loving it!

You will need:

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast or more, whatever suits your needs - cut into small pieces, about half the size of your palm each
• salsa or taco sauce
  
• sour cream
• nacho chips
• any kind of shredded cheese - I used Kraft Natural Monterey Jack and Cheddar
• anything else you may like!  I used avocado
  

Really, that is all you need, and everything is stuff that alot of us have on-hand all the time!

Preheat oven to 400.  Cut chicken pieces, if you bought them in larger pieces, into the half palm sized pieces and place on a foil-covered baking sheet.  Cover with as much salsa, then sour cream, then nacho chips (or broken up) as you'd like!

Oh, and excuse our mail in the background;)  Bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on how big you really cut your chicken pieces (mine were palm sized and I took them out at 17 minutes, just when the nachos were really starting to brown).  Add shredded cheese on top of the nachos and place back in the oven.

Bake for an additional 11 minutes or so, until the cheese has melted to your liking, and double checking to make sure the chicken is completely cooked through (I like to cut the biggest piece to check, or you can use a meat thermometer and make sure it reads 165 or more).

 

I then topped mine with avocado, which perfected it for me!  We paired this with a nice Spanish rice mixed with cherry tomatoes and enjoyed a nice meal together while watching Seinfeld and Jeopardy:)  More than you needed to know, okay;)

Like I said, this is a perfect in-the-pinch meal when you want to deviate from your "plan."  I rarely deviate from my menu plan, but was so happy tonight with the outcome of this!  How can you not want to eat this!

I don't mean my husband's leg, I  mean his plate full of good food!

I hope some of you will try this out - cheap, quick, yummy, and again full of places you can add your own touches.

I hope you all have a great night and I'll talk with you tomorrow  - I don't know what I'll be sharing yet, but it will be something:)  Wish me luck in Bejeweled;) 

I never thought I would make it to the blog today!

I know, it's Wicked Cheap Wednesday, but I've got nothin as they say:)  Today was a 9 hour workday, home to make dinner, and then cooked for 2 more hours - stromboli for Christmas Eve tomorrow night, Meatball Bubble Biscuits for Christmas Day, and from-scratch tollhouse cookies (with my special ingredient, coconut) for work tomorrow - all while listening to the Grinch and then a lovely Nicole Eggert Lifetime holiday movie:)

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas Eve and Day - make sure to take it all in!

Hopefully I'll have something for you on Saturday...we'll call it "Saturday Savings" ;)

Merry Christmas!!!  Time to write out the husband's Christmas cards if I don't fall asleep first ... also at midnight, it will be 2 years since we got engaged (married since) - thanks for proposing babe, I sure am happy and the luckiest:)

I can't find my good engagement photos that we took the night off...so these will have to do:)

Oh so tired!...but I have to get you this Crab Rangoon Recipe!

I am all shopped-wrapped-worked out today, and it hit me all of a sudden about 11pm!  I am awaiting one last gift that is coming tomorrow, and I am done - woohoo!  I love shopping, and I always make sure to get gifts people will really like, not just to get them a gift, but it tired me out this year, even though most of it was done online and one day at the local mall.  I feel very accomplished to be all wrapped up and ready to play Santa...Santette?  Mrs. Claus?  Whatever;)

Anyways, the next party food I made was Cheaters Crab Rangoon website.  I originally found it on the Kraft website, but it is since gone.  After panicking a bit, I found the exact one at grouprecipes.com.  One of our friends, Ed, told me he ate 9 of them (I think there were 18 total) so I think people enjoyed them:)  I don't care for crab rangoons, so I didn't have any, but from the feedback I received I'll definitely be making them again:)

You will need:

• 1 can (6 oz) white crabmeat, drained, flaked 
• 4 oz of cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions
• 1/4 cup mayo
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 12 wonton wrappers ***I actually was able to get 22 out of this mixture!  Maybe I could have filled the wrappers more, but I didn't want to overflow them and make them not a one-bite app. 

What to do:

• Mix crabmeat, cream cheese, onions, garlic powder, and mayo in a large bowl.  Preheat oven to 350.
  

this was after I had used some

• Spray 12 (in my case, 22) medium muffin cups with cooking spray and gently place one wonton wrapper in each cup, allowing edges to naturally extend above the sides.
• Fill evenly with crab mixture

• Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes, or until edges are golden brown, filling if heated through, and bottoms are slightly crispy, not "wet" from the cooking spray.  Serve warm and garnish with additional green onions if you'd like.

I have one simple recipe left to share - and since tomorrow night is going to be crazy busy for me - get out of work at 5, make dinner, help cleanup dinner, make stromboli, make meatball bubble bites, make cookies for a friend at work, get presents together, fix nails...etc etc...I'll post it now:

Cracker bites:

You will need:

• One box of Melba cracker, or cracker of choice
• 2 large tomatoes, cut into small pieces
• fresh basil leaves, shredded into small pieces
• any kind of cream cheese you would like - I used garden herb

So easy - spread cream cheese on each individual cracker, and top with basil and tomato = quick success!  A nice bite sized treat with a good mix of flavors and textures:)

Now, obviously my goal is to get back here at some point between now and Christmas Day, but if not, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all!  I can't wait to hear about your days with family and friends, and I hope you enjoy some good food that we can talk about...and maybe even some not so good food that we can try to make better for next time:)!

~Chey

Yay for the Annual Christmas Party!

I'm back!  Melissa and I once again threw a fabulous get together for a great group of our closest friends.  Great food, great drink, great weather...well a blizzard started at some point during the overnight, but it just added to the holiday feel:)  I already can't wait for next years!  I believe this was our 5th one, maybe 4th, and I hope we continue to co-host together at one of our houses for many many years to come!

Before the party, though, came the menu preparation and the cooking of course!  Melissa and I wanted to make sure there was plenty of variety, mostly finger foods as it wasn't a sit down meal, plenty of different flavors and textures; really just plain ole good, yummy food for everyone to enjoy!  I'm hoping that Melissa will post what she made and I can connect you over there to see it, but I made:

• fudge - same recipe I've posted before, always a hit!
• buffalo chicken dip, with celery, carrots, pretzels, and pumpernickel bread for dipping
• meatball bubble biscuits
• crab rangoon bites
• crackers with herb cream cheese, basil, and tomato

I wish I had some leftovers right now!  Our guests were also kind enough to bring some yummy treats food-wise and drink-wise, so a big thank you to them as well!

I'm going to have separate posts for each recipe so it's not long and you can jump to the ones that interest you most - please let me know if you think of anything, especially an appetizer, that I can bring to my in-laws on Christmas Day:)

Here's a couple photos of the party to enjoy :)

party food, picture stolen from Melissa:)

Myself and the husband :)

My version of the Elaine dance from Seinfeld:) 

I'm here and what I've been/am up to!

I know when my parents start telling me "your last blog was about beef stew earlier this week" that I am mucho behind!  I apologize for sure - I wasn't sleeping well so I was feeling sick again, then we did our tree thing - bought a tree, decorated it, all while watching Christmas Vacation, then I had my yearly shop til we drop Christmas shopping extravaganza with my brother, and then we celebrated my dad's bday!   WOAH!  Busy! 

Here is what I've been up to - sorry for what may be a long long post!

I don't even remember which night at this point, but one night I made ribs, just store-bought, already bbq'd up ribs, as it was a busy night for us - made some corn muffins, french fries, corn, and honey glazed carrots to go along with it for a pretty quick and easy meal, but one that leaves you full and smiling from the finger lickin!

Thursday night - new recipe!  Made Thai Chicken Crescent Pot Sticker Sandwiches from the Pillsbury emails/recipes I subscribe to.  At first I was very .... let's just say I was wondering why I chose to make this recipe.  It came out better, and tasted better, than I thought it would for sure.  It's not something I would eat often, but it was a nice change:)

You will need:

• 2 tbsp plain yogurt or sour cream ***I freaked out over this, I don't like EITHER, but knew it was needed, so I used sour cream***
• 1 tbsp peanut butter - I used chunky style
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tsp soy sauce (I used a few more splashes)
• 1 cup cooked chicken breast
• 1 1/2 cup shredded carrots ***I didn't use these because the husband isn't a fan of carrots - next time I definitely WOULD use them, though, as that crunch is needed***
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
• 1 can, 8 oz, Pillsbury refrigerated crescent rolls
• dipping sauce if wanted - Pillsbury suggested mango chutney, but I just made a sauce of apricot preserves, about 1/2 cup, lime juice, and a pinch of ground mustard and melted it all together over low heat on the stove

Heat oven to 375.  Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray.  In a large bowl,  mix sour cream, peanut butter, curry powder, ginger, garlic powder, and soy sauce.  Add chicken, carrots, and cheese - mix well. 

Unroll crescent roll dough and separate into 4 rectangles.  Place on cookie sheet.  Firmly press the perforations to seal.  

Spoon the chicken mixture onto each rectangle.  Bring the 4 corners up over the filling on each one and press edges to seal shut.

Bake 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.  Dip into dipping sauce, add sour cream on top, or just eat as is:) 

Like I said, better than I thought, had a nice bite to them because of the curry powder, but it's something I'd eat every week.  A nice change though:)

So that leads me to today, as Friday night = enchiladas and last night dinner at my parents' for my dad's bday.  This is what I'm cookin' up, and working on today (and add laundry and cleaning the kitchen, I already did those, but didn't take photos)

A nice cherry cobbler in the crockpot

Yup, a Thanksmas dinner for just the 2 of us :)

And yes, that is a pile of scrapbooking/card stuff I'm working on for the holidays - I hope to get to this because this, besides blogging, is fun and relaxing!


Happy Sunday, everyone!  I'll be back with more pics from our feast tonight - fingers crossed.  I'll leave you with this:

"Wicked Cheap Wednesday's" - Volume 1

- photo care of kraftfoods.com

Thank the husband for this title and idea;) This time of year, well really anytime of year, everyone really tries to cut corners, right? Maybe because of all the crazy gift shopping for people, or even the extra grocery store trips for parties, donating to food pantries, etc, is why we really try to cut down the weekly grocery bill this time of year. I introduce "Wicked (it's a Massachusett's thing) Cheap Wednesday's" where I will do my best to post affordable and non-nasty meals to make that will hopefully leave you with a full belly, and maybe even some leftovers for the next day's lunch or dinner!

My first pick - Kraft Magazine's (I'll get to this, too) Baked Pizza Mac. Sounds awesome, right? Well it is!

You will need:

• 8 oz of your fave spaghetti or pizza sauce
• 1 7.25 oz package of mac and cheese - prepared as directed on the package
• 1 lb ground beef, cooked
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
  
• 1/2 tsp dried basil leaves
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400. Combine prepared mac and cheese dinner, 2/3 of the meat, and about 3/4 of the spaghetti sauce, egg, and seasonings. Spoon this mixture evenly into a 9 inch pie plate (or I've even used a 9x13 inch pan). Top with the remaining meat and 1/4 spaghetti sauce; sprinkle with cheese...and yes, of course, add crushed red pepper if your guy/girl is like my guy:)

Bake for 15 minutes, then let stand/cool for 5.

For the 2 of us, this usually lasts one full dinner and either lunch or one of our dinner's the next night. I usually serve it with a garden salad and garlic bread if there's a brand on sale that week:)

This recipe costs, without trying to break down and figure out how much 1/2 cup a bag of shredded mozzarella cheese costs, 8 oz of spaghetti sauce, etc about $9.50 if you already have the egg, dried basil leaves, and garlic powder. If not, it's worth it to buy those items because you can use those ingredients in so many other things! Here's the breakdown I came up with:

• spaghetti sauce - store brand - $1.50 - and you'll have plenty left over for other meals
  
• mac and cheese - $.50 - store brand
• hamburg - around $5.00
• mozz cheese - $2.50/bag store brand

Throw in the salad and maybe some garlic bread, and add on about another $5. Hopefully you already have the salad items as part of your grocery list weekly anyhow....you do, right??

**You don't know how many times I've been planning my weekly meal/grocery list and felt stumped. What do I do, go to my Kraft Magazine. I began subscribing before it cost anything, but when I got the mailing stating it was going to cost money, of course I was alittle annoyed. When I saw that I could get two years, so eight magazines at least (as it comes out quarterly and then sometimes special issues, plus a free cookbook) for $17.98, I definitely felt it was worth it. The magazine comes with great recipes of all types - crockpot, dinners, desserts, sides, appetizers, you name it, plus coupons and even helpful lists like what to always have in your pantry. I'm sold! I suggest that you all subscribe to this, or at least peruse their website to see if you like the recipes and feel it be worth it for you to subscribe.

Dinner time here - today I ate an egg, toast, and some grapes without having to see them again, if you get what I mean:) Tonight I'm going to try to eat some dry turkey and potatoes, so wish me luck!! And OH - if I can keep my dinner down, I can't wait to watch Top Chef tonight! Go Jennifer!

Another crockpot success - pulled pork!

So, today went, well, interestingly - is that a word?? Anyhow, the homemade Christmas card design I had in my head was a bust, so I had extra time to spend making sure the pulled pork came out just right;) This is an adaptation of a recipe actually taught to me by my husband (thanks babe!) - so easy, smells good, and we'll have enough for leftover sandwiches for a few days :)

You will need:

1 pork roast shoulder or butt - we used the butt tonight, and ours was 3.75 lbs bone in
1 white onion, chopped
1/3 cup ketchup
2 tbsps yellow mustard
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
1-2 cups bbq sauce
hamburger or bulky rolls - any kind of roll really that you will enjoy this gloppy mess on
your preferred kind of sliced cheese - we used American cheese from the Stop and Shop deli

Let pork defrost, if frozen, overnight. It takes about 40 minutes to prep, and 8 hours on low to cook in the crockpot, so if you want to be having dinner by 6:30pm, start at about 9am (this is on a Sunday where I can sleep till 9am, not 5:45!!).

Ready to start, let's go! Cut pork off of the bone and into chunks, about 3 inches long, but really the chunk size doesn't matter as long as they are not too big. Place pork into your slow cooker. Add onion, ketchup, mustard, vinegar, salt, and pepper.



Cook on low 8 hours OR after 3.5 hours on low, put on high for 2 more hours = 5.5 hours.

Use a fork and knife to shred the pork inside the crockpot. If it had too much liquid, strain in a strainer. Stir in bbq sauce and any other additives you may like - for us, we use, of course, crushed red pepper:)



Now scoop the mixture into your roll, cover with cheese and enjoy with your favorite side - honey glazed carrots, chips, salad, whatever you would like:)

Thank you to my husband for introducing this lovely meal to me many years ago:)

Now, back to fuming about the cards, some tollhouse pie (thanks mom!), and checking and checking the papersource site to see when my shipment is coming;)

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve, everyone! The pumpkin pie is baking in the oven (about 6 mins left!) and I'm happily here writing from the warmth of my home - it's cold in New England today!

Anyways, I'm just making tacos tonight in preparation for Turkey Day - no, I'm not cooking tomorrow, but I don't want to make a meal where we'll have leftovers b/c I'm sure my family will send us home with a ton of them...and then I'll be looking for crazy turkey recipes!

I wanted to hopefully open up a discuss today about a few things:

1. Rachael Ray's cookbooks, specifically 30 minute meals - has anyone ever been able to really make one in 30 minutes? Do you find for most you have to go to a specialty grocery store to get some items? I'm, unfortunately, not a fan...

2. How/what is the best way to get rid of greasy oil when cooking something like hamburg in a fry pan? I've tried to do the whole lid covering the pan as much as I can, just tipping the pan, etc, but something always falls out. I read today that using a baster and sucking the greasy stuff out that way is the best - has anyone ever tried this? Any other suggestions?

3. Last one! Today when making my pumpkin pie, I had leftover filling (not just the filling from the can, but the whole mixture) - what do you do with it??

Happy Thanksgiving, and don't be afraid to show how grateful you are:)

That's Amore, Chicken Cacciatore!

Thanks to Carol Sherwood in NY for this recipe from my calendar of crockpot recipes. I have made this recipe numerous times and it's a fave not only of myself and my husband, but now my family who greatly enjoyed it last night; some were even to full for brownies and vanilla ice cream afterwards! This recipe makes 6 servings and is a perfect family meal - enjoy!

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves
28 oz jar of whatever spaghetti sauce you would like - most come in 24 or 26 ounces, so I just go with one of those, no problem
2 green peppers, chopped or sliced in as small/large of pieces as you would like
1 onion, again cut how you would like
2 tbsp minced garlic
***you can also add mushrooms and any other seasonings, like crushed red pepper, oregano leaves, etc***

Place half of the chicken in a layer on the bottom of the crockpot. Mix remaining ingredients, besides the chicken that is left, in a large bowl. Spoon half of this mixture over the first layer of chicken. Add remaining chicken and top with remaining sauce. Cover and cook on low 7-9 hours.

I like to serve this with angel hair or any type of pasta really, a nice garden or tomato/basil/mozz salad, and some garlic bread - yum!

Tomorrow, the pumpkin pie recipe and the Halloween meal we had tonight...oops;)

Crockpot Sunday, but this week it's on Saturday:)

So tonight my parents and brother are coming over to have dinner with the husband and I, and probably for some cribbage or some other game they want to teach me. Usually I do a crockpot meal every Sunday, but this weekend it will be Saturday, just for them:)

One of our fave crockpot meals is chicken cacciatore. I find anything chicken comes out best in the crockpot b/c it stays so moist. So, I'm off to get that started as it takes about 9 hours to cook on low; I'll post the full recipe and pics later or tomorrow. Enjoy your Saturday, and post your fave crockpot meals!