BBQ Chicken Sandwich

It doesn't get any easier than this! If you have leftover chicken, tossing in BBQ sauce makes the perfect meal. Confession time: I've even used canned chicken for this recipe. I like to buy lots of chicken when it's cheap (like $1.88/lb this week at Albertsons) and cook it, shred it, then freeze it. For my easy shredded chicken directions click here. I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to BBQ sauce, fancy or store-brand satisfies me. I always give it a dash of black pepper and let it do its thing. Toasting the bun makes these even yummier, and serve with some crunchy veggies or fries.

Husband Rating: 4 stars

6 hamburger buns

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken

1/2 cup (approx.) BBQ sauce

Over medium heat, stir together chicken and BBQ sauce until hot. Toast buns. Spoon chicken over buns and serve.

(See, I told it you it was easy!)

Valentine Party

Especially now that I have a little one I want holidays to be more special. I've been thinking a lot about traditions that I want to establish. I don't want every holiday to end with my son getting a stack of presents and a pile of candy though, I want something more.

For Valentines we've come up with some ideas and we're ready to paaarty! We're hosting our party on Monday the 15th, since that day seemed to work better for everyone we invited.

For the menu we're having Crockpot Lasagna (my mom's making it, she says it's amazing and will pass along the recipe) and I'm using my 2 coupons for free Papa Murphey pizza. I'm throwing together a salad, homemade breadsticks and some type of chocolate gooey dessert.

Now, here's the part I'm most excited about - Be Mine Boxes. I printed out these boxes on card stock and decorated them with each person's name. I put a piece of red paper through the paper shredder and crinkled it at the bottom.

Each guest has been instructed to bring an item for everyone that will fit in their box. After dinner we'll open our little boxes and see what we got. The only rule is, it has to fit in the box.

Here are some ideas: A quarter or dollar bill, a piece of gum, tootsie rolls, love notes, Hershey's kisses, peanut butter cup, lip gloss, IOU coupons, gift certificates, mini candy bars, lifesavers, and much more!

I'm excited to see what creative ideas people come up with!

I've included a blank box pattern so you can decorate your own. I'm imagining this as a long-lasting tradition. When my little guy is older he can decorate his own box and hopefully look forward to Valentine's Day every year.

Sassarella Boutique

Need a new, super-cute tote? Sheena at Sassarella Boutique is giving away this beauty:

It's easy to enter, visit the Blog for details. Visit the Website to order any of her cute (and cheap!) items. Keep your eye on her growing inventory, she's always adding something new!

Want tuna for 10 cents?

Look what I got for $1.06 today at Albertsons. Woot woot!

How do you feel about a can of tuna for 10 cents? I know, I can't pass up this deal either.

Albertsons has Bumble Bee tuna on sale for 50 cents per can. If you go here you can print a coupon for $1 off 5 cans. Hit back on your browser and you can print it twice. Albertsons has doublers in their weekly add, I don't get the paper so I'm just grabbing one at the store.

Here's the scenario:

-Buy 10 cans of tuna - total $5

-Use two $1/5 coupons - total $3

-Double the $1 off coupons - total $1

$1 for 10 cans of tuna, that's 10 cents each, take THAT Walmart!!

I also grabbed the $1/2 boxes of Ronzoni smart taste pasta from here. They are on sale for $1 at Albertsons, so if you use the coupon and a doubler = FREE 2 boxes

Just a side note: I have a "junk" email account that I use to register with companies. Free, easy, and it doesn't junk up my regular account.

Mozzarella Sticks

On Christmas Eve we decided to give these a try. They are so delicious at restaurants and I wanted to see if we could reproduce the taste. Wow!!! These were so gooey and delicious. We fried ours, but I bet you could bake them and still have excellent results, I will try that next time. A 16 oz. brick of cheese made 20 sticks. Serve with a marinara sauce. Wouldn't these be fun for your next party?

Husband Rating: 5 stars

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

16 oz mozzarella cheese

Oil for frying

Slice brick of cheese into 20 equal strips. In a shallow bowl beat eggs. In another bowl stir together the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and garlic salt to blend. Dip the cheese in the egg mixture, then dip into the bread crumb mixture. Pat with your fingers to get the crumbs to stick. Place the cheese sticks on a baking sheet. Repeat the dipping process in the egg and breading mixture to coat the cheese a second time. Cover and freeze for at least 2 hours, but not more than 2 days. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Fry the cheese until golden brown, about 1 minute on each side. Serve with marinara sauce.

Here's what the cheese looks like right before I put it in the freezer:

Soft Tacos

Mmm, soft tacos. This recipe is so easy to throw together and husband always enjoys. You can have fun with the toppings too; like if I have leftovers olives, green onions, guacamole, salsa or nacho cheese you can always dump it on top. I like to warm my tortillas up on a skillet so they are warm and crispy, versus the soggy microwave variety. I have pre-portioned chunks of ground beef in my freezer, so I just grab them out and put them right in the pan to cook. This meal requires no forethought - love that! And seriously, who doesn't love a soft taco?

Husband Rating: 4 stars

8 oz. ground beef
6 tortillas
2 Tbsp. taco seasoning
2 Tbsp. diced onion
Toppings: Lettuce, sour cream, diced tomatoes, grated cheese, salsa, etc.

Cook ground beef in a skillet over medium heat. Drain any grease. Stir in diced onion and taco seasoning. If dry, add 1 Tbsp. of water. Place a spoonful of taco meat in the center of a warmed tortilla and layer with toppings. Roll and serve.

Sharing

We are moving in 2 months. I keep looking around my little office wondering what to keep and what to get rid of. I'm in major spring-cleaning-de-clutter-garbage mode. I'm sick of moving things that we don't use, but I hate getting rid of things that I might need. I would love to reduce my cluttery office to 3 or 4 super cute totes.

In the meantime, I've been making some printables for primary. On Sunday I taught the children about how Jesus Christ is our older brother, and He is the Son of God. That makes us royal children of God. This is was our coloring activity, the children drew on jewels and shapes.

Several weeks ago I needed dice for the children to roll during a game. All the dice I had were tiny, I wanted something big and visible. I made this cutie pie, the instructions are attached. I printed it on cardstock, cut and folded and vuualah!