Marvelous Monday: No mo Suppahtime rut~Part 5!

Before we begin today's fun, we need to cover one item of bidness. I've been getting some feedback from peeps trying to comment but having trouble. I had tightened comment securities to eliminate those dirty spam comments but didn't mean to cut out your comments! So...if you are having fits trying to comment, please let us know at our Facebook group (since I'm assuming you wouldn't be able to comment on this) and let me know what it does when you try to comment or give me any info. that might help me resolve this issue. I would greatly appreciate it because we would LOVE your comments!

Some days, quick, go-to, easy, tried and true recipes are the ticket to dinnertime sanity. As I mentioned here, it seems many of my fav sisters had the same problemo- a recipe rut. So the recipe sharing began. Thanks to them, you can get outta your suppahtime rut, too, because we're sharing them with you! First, let's review:

Curry Chicken with Brown Rice (Caroline L.)
Homemade Sloppy Joes (Mandi B.)
BBQ Chicken Pizza (Mindi S.)
Black Beans and Rice/Baked Potato Night (Katie L.)

Now, for today's fun! In case you haven't heard me mention like a million times, I big fat heart this time saving, cost saving, flavor bursting tip to getting vein free (gag), grizzle free (double gag), white meat chicken breast.

If you didn't believe my the first 30 times I mentioned it, the proof is in the puddin'. So, here's your puddin'.

I recently bought two packs of those split chicken breasts when they went on sale for .99/lb. Each pack had 3 breasts and did not cost over $3 each (normally close to $8 each). Whipped those babies up in the crockpot like the tips says and here is everything I was able to make with STILL some left over.

• Chicken Nachos
• 4- Musing Foodie's Chicken Enchiladas adding black beans and green chiles
• 24 mini-Nacho Cups for freezer- using leftover Enchilada filling and Trader Joe's whole wheat ready made pizza dough. Babies LOVE these.
• Chicken Divan
• 6-Musing Foodie's Buffalo Chicken Squares- substituting biscuits cuz I was outta crescent rolls).
• 2-Buffalo Chicken wraps (w/ regular ole whole wheat tortillas using leftover buffalo chicken square filling)
• 24 mini-Buffalo Chicken "cups" for freezer (same principle as nacho cups using leftover buffalo chicken square filling). Hubs loves these and requested them to pack in his lunch.
• ...plus I gave the babes some of the chicken straight up for a dinner AND I have a whole tupperware of it in the freezer for a later date.

Convinced yet? That chicken tip really is the ticket to stretching a little bird breast a looooong way. Tell us some recipes you've come up with using this tip so we can be sure to stay out of our suppahtime ruts.

Happy Monday. Have a Marvelous one!

Stay at Home Saturday: No mo suppahtime rut Part 6

One of my favorite dishes to try when we go out to eat on vacations (especially the beach) is fish tacos. They just feel vaction-y to me. At home, it seems like everytime I get on Facebook, someone I know is checking into Cabos Fish Taco, a local hot spot,  for some seaside flavah. Do you have a favorite go-to place for fish tacos?

Turns out, fish tacos are one of Ashlie's favorite things to make at home when needing to get outta her suppahtime rut. Here are her tried n' true taco tips. If you're not a seafood lover, perhaps you may like to try these tips w/ a lil' poultry?

Growing up we had tacos often, but never did I have a fish taco until a few years ago in San Diego.  They were okay, but the best ones I've tasted so far are those made by my amazing sister-in-law.

It's SUPER easy.  Choose your fish.  I buy frozen tilapia on sale at Aldi's or Bi-Lo.  Thaw it, then marinade it.  There are lots of way to do a marinade, but I simply buy those McCormick Grill packs.  I like the Mojo Lime.  YUM!

After marinading for about 15 minutes, bake as you normally would (about 20 minutes).

Next, decide on your toppings.  I like fresh cilantro, avocado, lime juice, lettuce, Rotel chilis, a little cheese, and sour cream.  Last time we had these, I also made the quesadillas from "Deceptively Delicious".  One of the hidden ingredients for that recipe is blending 1/4 cup of light sour cream with 1/2 canned navy beans drained and rinsed.  That actually tasted pretty good, so we used that instead of simple sour cream with our tacos. ;-)

A really good and easy side for this is to take a can of fiesta corn

Drain it and marinade it in a favorite dressing (think vinegar based, like Italian).  Then, serve over spinach or lettuce leaves.

Can't get much easier or more colorful than that!
-Ashlie

Stay at Home Saturday: Savory Smackerel~No mo suppah rut Part 4

We took a little break last week for some Memorial Day inspiration, but today, we're going to resume our regularly scheduled Get outta your suppahtime rut Series. First, let's not forget the quick, easy, go-to recipes already shared from women just like you.

Curry Chicken with Brown Rice (Caroline L.)
Homemade Sloppy Joes (Mandi B.)
BBQ Chicken Pizza (Mindi S.)

Today, my girl, Katie L., has TWO quick, easy, go tos that happen to also be a couple of our favs~especially if we don't have a plan and the "5 o'clock pantry stare" bites. Katie says:

1.Black Beans and Rice is cheap and sooo good. It's a staple for us. Ground beef, yellow rice, onions, green peppers, black beans, sour cream, etc. You can really but whatever you like on there. Even some fresh guacamole is good.

I'm gonna interject and say this is also FABULOUS with a little salsa thrown in there, this chicken and mozarella cheese!

2. My other suggestion is make your own baked potatoes. Put a bunch of toppings out and let your family pick what they want on there's. Chicken, beef, cheese, veggies, etc.

Just me interjecting again-pop those babies in the microwave and they take no time. These are also fabulous with that same chicken, salsa, guacamole, deli ham, mushrooms sauteed in olive oil and cooking wine. She's right--the list is endless!

See!!!! Cooking dinner doesn't have to be intimidating or laborious with a million steps that require a million dishes to clean in order to be yum. Sometimes some of the best meals are the simple ones. Thanks for the idea(s), Katie.

Happy Saturday! Stay cool out there.

Love,
Hannah

Wednesday in the Word: There's a sermon in that...#3

A couple of weeks ago, I explained how if my husband had a nickel for everytime I see something and say, "There's a sermon in that!" He would have lots of extra spending money! Shall I share my latest visual?
We recently had a little staycation at a nearby lake. One evening, my hubs was fishing and out of the blue, saw a fish making a ruckus on top of the water. Upon closer look, he realized a snake was escorting the fighting fish to the bank of the lake for suppahtime.
We watched the whole scene for a loooong time...the snake getting the fish right where he wanted him so he could devour him, the fish fighting, the snake getting the fish's head in his mouth, the fish fighting, the snake fighting to keep the fish in his mouth, the fish fighting some more.

It was actually quite creepily amazing as you can see in this video.

After this went on for what seemed forever, the snake caught a glimpse of my husband. Just like that, after all of that fighting and work, that nasty snake released the fish and cowardly reatreated.

What about the fish? Well, his fight was not in vain. He happened to still be alive and swam away to freedom!

I'm sure you know where I'm going with this but my mind couldn't help but make the parallels with what Satan tries to do to us and how we are called to keep fighting. The whole snake/fish scene flashed through my mind again as I was reading this entry from the Daily Light.

I am with thee to save thee.

Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee. And all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob. — Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my rightousness.

JER. 15:20. Isa. 49:24 26. Isa. 41:10.

Keep fighting, sisters. Eventually, the enemy WILL retreat. You have all of the strength, protection and help needed in the Lord!

Marvelous Monday: A Savory Smackerel~No mo suppah rut Part 3!

Some days, quick, go-to, easy, tried and true recipes are the ticket to dinnertime sanity. As I mentioned here, it seems many of my fav sisters had the same problemo- a recipe rut. So the recipe sharing began. Thanks to them, you can get outta your suppahtime rut, too, because we're sharing them with you!

Tonight, we're having the Coconut Milk Curry Chicken! Last night, we had another EASY PEASY that my friend, Mindi, shared. There are two GOLDEN NUGGETS that you can put to use to make her tip extra easy and yum.

1. Remember this chicken tip? Use that moist (sorry, don't like that word), flavor filled frozen chicken to save time. OR you can even use rotisserie chicken, too.

2. Trader Joe's and our local chain, Harris Teeter...oh and we've even gotten it at Publix at the beach, too!...have balls of white and/or whole wheat pizza dough already prepared and all you have to do is spread it on a pizza pan. It's only like 1.99 and SO good. I usually find it in the deli area by the deli cheese and meats, pre-made subs and take and bake pizzas.

That being said, here's Mindi's GREAT go-to dinner tip to get you outta a supper rut. My hubs told me I should patent it last night he likeyed so much. Thanks, Mindi! ;)

Homemade BBQ Chicken Pizza
For homemade pizza (and using frozen shredded chicken) I love to make BBQ chicken pizza.  I keep bacon in the freezer and just cut into bits and fry them.  Use some of the leftover grease to caramelize red onions.  Spread BBQ sauce on the pizza crust, top with shredded mozzarella or mont jack cheese, shredded chicken, onions and bacon bits.  Sooo yum.  It's one of our favorite homemade pizzas.  Not sure if this will go over well for the kids.  I usually make two pizzas.  One with pepperoni or just cheese and one BBQ chicken.

Happy Monday! Have a marvelous one.

Stay at Home Saturday: Savory Smackerels~Mary Mary, How does your garden taste?

I hope our lil series on No mo suppahtime rut has indeed helped you get outta your recipe ruts. It seems that series could go on for weeks but we are going to switch gears a bit. Perhaps we will one day return to it as the need arises. Now, it's time for a new series!

I am blessed that my hubs has taken up gardening as his hobby. There is definitely a satisfaction to "livin' off the land." Before his gardening days and even now for the produce that isn't "in", the roadside and local produce stands are one of our favorite parts of summer. It allows you to support the local farmers, the produce is fresher than in the store and you can't beat the prices. It's a win win!

So here is the question...if you aren't a canner, you have produce coming out your ears that you don't want to waste and you've shared the bounty...what can you possibly do with all of this summertime produce?!? It's time to be creative, girls. Hence our new series Mary, Mary how does your garden taste? where we are hoping to brainstorm and share some substantial ways to put your garden and local produce stand purchases to some serious use.

Let's start with this fine specimen, shall we?

Perhaps you've heard the quote, "A cucumber should be well sliced, and dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out." Come on. There HAS to be something more you can do with cucumbers than put vinegar on them, use as a salad topping or make pickles.

Here are my thoughts:

• I'm dying to make a yummy cucumber sauce. I'm talking Magianno's style. Do any of you have a surefire recipe you're willing to share?
• Musing Foodie kindly shared a homemade buttermilk ranch recipe that you will want to drink. Perhaps we can twist her arm to share it here. We wanted a light dinner last night so I melted some smoked gouda on flatbread, topped with cucumber slices and drizzled it with this dressing. It was so refreshing and a hit with even my meat-loving man.
• I know I love a hotel and/or spa or when I enter its lobby or waiting area and there are water pitchers full of ice cold water, cucumber, lemon and/or mint. You could do this at home for a refreshing treat!
• Then, we have orzo. Once again, Musing Foodie pulls through with delish orzo which I reviewed here or another orzo I've made and love is here.

Sooo....have you come up with any outta the box ways to serve up those cukes?!?!? Do tell b/c I have mucho begging to try out your tricks and I don't see canning pickles in my near future. Coming next week...peaches!!!

Stay at Home Saturday: Get outta your Suppahtime Rut!

One week. Two separate groups of friends. Two separate emails. Same cry for help.

First email went a little something like this:
If you have a meal plan for the week, would you mind sharing it with us all?...I am stuck!  What are you making/serving this week?  I need inspiration and ideas!


...and the second one:
hey girls...
looking for a little motivation to getting back to cooking dinner on a more regular basis...seems lately im tired of fixing the same stuff over and over and can't come up with new ideas. i know yall are all busy but if you have a second will you send me your favorite (easy) 'go-to' dinner idea/recipe? just something that you tend to fix often because family likes it and its easy. im hoping this will get me in the mood to cook! im sure {hubs} is hoping too :-) thanks!


Between these two groups of friends and two emails, let me just say that I received quite a collection of great ideas....and YOU are going to benefit! I'm in the process of compiling them all together and will share the ideas with you over a period of time. Meanwhile, we'd love for you to also share your helpful tidbits so we can add them to the collection while we're at it.


For today, I'm going to share one recipe that immediately grabbed my attention because it's different from my usual repertoire. It peaks my interest and I can't wait to try it! Better yet, it's for the crockpot. How I love those crockpot recipes! Thank you, Caroline L....


Curry Chicken with brown rice

• Stick chicken breasts in the crock. 
• Add 2 cans of light coconut milk, 1 can chopped green chilis, dice a small onion, a heaping TBS of Curry powder.
• Let is cook all afternoon.
• Serve over rice.
• Can add veggies but my crowd likes their veggies straight up. 

Marvelous Monday: A Savory Smackerel~No mo suppah rut Part 2!

Life has been CRAZY! Doesnt it seems that's always how May is? That's when quick,go-to, easy, tried and true recipes are the ticket to dinnertime sanity. As I mentioned last Saturday, it seems many of my fav sisters had the same problemo- a recipe rut. So the recipe sharing began. Thanks to them, you can get outta your suppahtime rut, too, because we're sharing them with you!

Here's the second recipe that caught my eye. I've tried various Sloppy Joe recipes. Some hits. Some flops. This one looks like a hit to me. Mandi B. says:

I have the same problem. A rotation of about four or five things. Here is one of our favorites...

Homemade Sloppy Joes

1 lb of ground turkey (beef) works too.
1 can of tomato sauce
1 sweet potato/yam
onion
garlic
worschester sauce
chicken/beef broth
brown sugar

Skin the sweet potato and cut it up.
Boil it till soft and mash-add brown sugar as desired
(set aside)

Brown the meat with chopped onion and minced/chopped garlic.
Add worschester sauce and splash of broth.
Once brown add tomato sauce and mashed sweet potato.

We eat the on toasted hamburger buns. My sons like it with Ranch and I like it with hot sauce.

Enjoy and have a MARVELOUS Monday!