Tasty Tues~Smoked Paprika Chicken and Dumplings

  I love to try to make food stretch.  Raising 2 teenage boys has never been easy in the food department.  Can’t wait until the 3rd and 4th ones gain that growing appetite!  While the men in my family are really plain meat and potato kind of men, I try here and there to make something a little more creative. 
   So this week I thought I would my version of Chicken and Dumplings.  Everyone LOVED it!  I only  used 2 chicken breasts instead of the usual 4 or 5 that I cook when making a baked chicken dish!

     What you need:
     2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, 2 T olive oil, 1T garlic, 1tps red pepper flakes, 1 Smoked Paprika, two cans of carrot, 2 packs of biscuits

What you do: 
  Cut your chicken into cubes and saute in skillet in olive oil and seasonings, until no longer pink.  Add to the chicken 8 cups of broth or stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for about 60-90 minutes. 
                                        
     Make a roux.  This is a mixture made with fat (like butter) and flour.  You want to use equal parts of each.  For this I used 3 T of butter and 3 T of flour.  This is a basic recipe and can be used in soups and gravies to thicken them.  Add  this to the soup and then add your carrots.  Bring this to a boil and let it boil for about 10 minutes to thicken a bit.  As it is thickening cut your biscuits into 6 or 8 pieces each, depending on size of biscuit to start with.  Drop the biscuits pieces into the pot a couple at a time.  You will want to stir continuously.  Stirring the pot will keep the biscuits from sticking together.  Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy with a salad and crusty bread!

Homemade Laundry Detergent!

     In my quest to find more natural cleaning products I came across the Duggar Family laundry recipe.  I have been using this recipe now for about 3 years and I think that it works BETTER than my old orange bottled detergent, keeping the name to myself!    Since this recipe makes so much I find myself making it only about 3  times a year!  You can check out their recipe here.   

     When I decided to give this a try I went out and purchased the Felts Nap soap, a funnel and a grater that I could keep with the soap making stuff, and Joe picked up a 5 gallon bucket with a lid.  Wasn't that sweet?

 

Once you have your stuff gathered, you are ready to go!   

     First you need to grate the soap.  The reason that you grate it is because you are going to melt it on your stove top.  I do  have to admit that I never thought that I would be grating bars of soap!

Then you are going to take your mound of soap and put it into a sauce pan with water and boil it, stirring until all the soap is dissolved.  Don’t worry it only takes a few minutes.

Once all the soap is dissolved put it in the 5 gal bucket filled half way with hot water and stir.  Then you add your washing soda and borax and stir some more. Once all that is mixed, fill the bucket the rest of the way with water.  This is what it looks like,  very watery!

     So we wait!  And wait!  Did I mention, you wait! Yep, you need to let it cool so that it can all jive together.  Put a lid on it or wrap it with Saran Wrap and wait until morning.  I don’t have a picture of this, sorry.   However, it gels together kind of weirdly looking.  You will see.  You should stir it a bit.  Now, I have seen recipes where people have purchased a paint stirrer that attached onto a drill and they mix it up this way.  I don’t have one of those.  I use a very long handled Spaetzle tool.  It stirs up really easy.  I have also just used my hand!  I suck my hand down in the bucket spread out my fingers and mixed it up.  It is soap after all! 

       Now you have your very own detergent!  You can do what ever you want with it, like add essential oils. I  love Lavender!  You can also use Tea tree oil or really any scent you like!   It doesn’t smell bad without the oil so this is optional.  It has a light clean smell to it.

      The only thing I don’t like about this product is that it does clump back up.  I have seen many recipes where people fill those plastic water containers that you can slide into your fridge with the spout on them.  I wouldn’t want to have it gel back up in that.  When I knew that I wanted to try this out I started keeping my detergent bottles.  So now I just fill those up when I am finished.  Then before each use I give the bottle a little shake just to keep it all mixed up, not a big deal at all, especially when you realize how easy it is to make it and how much money you save by using it.

  By comparison I have found that it costs between .01 and .09 cents per load of homemade laundry soap and .25 and .35 cents per load of store bought brands!  We all like saving money, don’t we? 

I have also read other recipes where people have successfully used Ivory, or actual homemade bar soaps.  I did try it with Ivory and I have to say, it didn't turn out like this does.  I just stick with this one.

I hope that you enjoy making your laundry soap as much as I have!

Tasty Tues~Texas Ranch Chicken and Pasta

    

     I love making dinner in the crockpot!  It makes dinner so easy whether you have a crazy or lazy day.  I have used salad dressing packs to season or flavor dishes so why couldn’t I use a dip packet?  I thought I would experiment.

     What you need:  6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (or 3 large cut in half as I did)
                            2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
                           1 packet of Texas Ranch Dip Mix (I used it from Heavenly Dips.)




       
All you need to do is put the chicken in the crockpot.  Mix the soup and dip packet in a bowl until blended.  Pour the mixture over the chicken and cook on low for 6-8 hours. 



    
        When the chicken is finished it has a nice gravy with it.  Serve over mashed potatoes and gravy or your favorite pasta.  I chose angel hair pasta and steamed broccoli for this dinner. 
    The verdict is in and the fact that there were absolutely no left overs I think says it all!
Don’t like Ranch?  Try it with other dips!  
Enjoy!

3 Things Thursday!

   Is it Thursday, already?  WOW!  The time is flying by, I guess that is what happens when you are having fun. For this week’s Three things, I thought I would share Do It yourself (or DIY) projects.  Why you may wonder?  Well, first of all I learned a new skill.  I learned how to knit!  This wasn’t an easy task for the uncoordinated gal in the past.  I got invited to a Knit night and thought I need to go give this a try again.  Now let me paint a small picture for you.  A few years ago my G-ma in law attempted to show Joe and I how to knit (or maybe crochet I just know it was yarn and a non sewing needle).  Anyhow, it was Joe and I at her kitchen table.  She was so patient with me and explained a few times the process.  Well needless to say, Joe had made a long string that he couldn’t get the second row, however that was by far a lot better than mine!  I just couldn’t get it, let alone master it like Joe {well he did master compared to me }.  I never picked up the large needle again, until now.  So I am making a pink scarf for my daughter for Christmas.  I am so excited about it.  She doesn’t know it is for her yet so please don’t share.  Check it out!

     Now on to the 3 things I like about these projects:

    First of all, when you work on the project with your family you either make memories or have
quality time.  Why is there a difference you ask?  Well, I remember a time a few years ago when we decided we wanted to plant a natural fence of pine trees.  Well my hubby had the trees delivered and they left a dolly for us to use.  Let me just say I was so grateful for the dolly.  Now Joe had a friend plant 7 of the first 10 with him.  However the last 3 trees I volunteered to help with the next day.  BIG MISTAKE!  So, Joe got the tree on the dolly and pushed it to the hole.  Next he gives it a tug  while turning it to get it in the hole.  All I needed to do was to hold the dolly…easy enough, right?  NOT!  In one big motion Joe slips and goes in the hole, said tree goes in the hole, dolly tree was on goes in the hole and then I go on top.  Yep!  I felt like we were in a 3 ring circus.  No one was hurt in this process, including the tree.  As you can see in the picture we accomplished that natural fence between our house and the road!  Many, many memories have been made as we have added, changed and made our house a home.   
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
Secondly, you can be a creative as you want.  Whether or not you are using and idea you found on the web, the home improvement store or your BFF you can customize it any way you want.  We custom made shutters for our house.  Joe took 3 panels of wood and then laid a cross bar to connect them.  Okay that may not explain it very well.  Here is a picture of a similar one.  We both cut the wood, the older kids and he nailed them together and I stained them.  Then the two of us hung them.  Now every time I look at them I know that it was something we made and remember the time we spent together working on it.

  Finally, how cool is it to say that you did it!  Especially when it comes to your family or your home.  I love to look around my house and see how we have made it a home.  My hubby and son made a sofa table for a 4-h project. It sits behind my couch an is a reminder of the time they spent making that for me.  We could have paid the nursery to plant the trees and purchased the shutters at the local hardware store.  I think it is more special when you DIY!  

Tasty Tues~Cheezy Chicken and Bacon Tortillas

                I am always looking for different things to make for lunch.  As I was browsing the pantry I found a can of chicken.  I knew I had bacon in the fridge so I thought I would experiment.  I took the chicken and put it in a bowl.  To that I added cooked, crumpled bacon and shredded cheese, and threw in a dash of salt and pepper and mixed it up.

.

I have put the flour tortillas in the oven before and they have dried out a little so I spritzed them with oil and placed one on a foil lined cookie sheet. 

I divided and spooned the mixture on the tortillas, placed a tortilla top on each and spritzed it with oil.  Popped it in the oven until they were warm, turning after the first 3 minutes, and viola!

    

                                                      It was hit! Hope you enjoy it too!

Three Things Thursday!

  

  Since I am back in the swing of running I thought I would share 3 things about running.  First of all let me just share a few things….I was NOT coordinated as a child, teen or young adult.  I tell people …as a child I couldn’t chew gum and walk at the same time.  Obviously that is a bit of an exaggeration, however it really isn’t that far off.  Believe it or not, running does take some coordination.  I don’t consider myself a runner.  I am more of a running hobbyist, I think.  I like to run and I have worked up to 5 miles a day 6 days a week in my past.  Now I am starting over and currently only do 3.1-3.5 miles.  Not bad for only two weeks into it, right?  I will get there eventually!
So here are three things I like about running!
        Stress reliever.  My best runs have actually been when I was feeling overwhelmed, stressed or upset about something.  I actually went 15 miles one time when I was stressed out.  I have yet to hit that mileage again in one run!   Fortunately,  I am not usually upset.  However, I am  a wife (of 17 years) a mother {of 4~two teenagers and two tweens plus 2 labs they each count for 2 do they not?  By my calculations I am a mother to like 8 kids! }, a homeschooler, an active church member as well as the wearer of many other hats.  I know this is the same scene for many.  I have yet to hear anyone says something like “Oh My, this is the 15th day in a row where I don’t have anything to do but sit on the couch.” I wouldn’t like 15 days of that, but a day or two may be nice.  Anyhow for me, give me my headset and my treadmill and I am good!  I feel so energized, relaxed and a sense of calmness after a run!  I recommend it to anyone. I know that not everyone shares this same desire.  My husband is one of those people on the other side of the fence.
       Health benefits.  I don’t think there is really that much to say about this that doesn’t apply to any physical activity.  As we all know it is healthier to move a bit every day than to not. So here is a public service announcement:  Get up and get moving to some form or exercise!  It doesn’t have to be running! That it for this announcement!  I am not going to bore your with the health statics of exercise either.  We have all heard or read them at some point.
      Challenging.  Running can be very challenging!  You can set weekly or monthly goals for yourself like running so many miles by a certain date or so far in a certain amount of time.  I personally have on my bucket list to run a marathon.  I don’t’ know why but I have wanted to do this since I was about 20 years old.  My hubby says “You want to run for that long? Why?”  Yep that is me!  Like I said I don’t know why I just have wanted to do it for a few years.  One day I will make it!
SO those at three of the things that I like about running!  Want to share your 3 Things Thursday or read others?  Hope on over to Heidi's Head and check it out or link up your list.
Happy Thursday!
                                               

Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing By Sally Lloyd-Jones & Jago

              I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review by Zondervan.
       Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing by Sally Lloyd Jones and Jago is a beautifully illustrated, well written book of thoughts on faith.  It has truths from the Bible in a stand alone story format.  This format give the book a lot of flexibility.  I think it makes a great bedtime story or evening devotional that you can do. 
   
Each story has a bible verse that it is highlighting with that verse listed on the page as well.  For example, one story talks about a donkey and how stubborn they are and how they don’t like to be led.  It goes on to explain how God doesn’t want us to be like a donkey.  The verse for this particular story is Psalm 32:9 that states “Don’t be like a horse or donkey, that doesn’t understand.  They must be led with bits and reins, or they will not come ear you.”
     I think that Sally Lloyd-Jones does a great job of explaining and painting a picture for the reader or child of that particular thought, verse or story.  For kids, this puts the Bible into perspective.  One story talks about a donkey.  Sally uses a stubborn animal who doesn’t like to be led or close, to explain that God wants us to be close now stubborn and always running from him. What a great example for kids! What a great book of Biblical truths!

You can purchase this book alone or in this nice little set of the book story cds. The deluxe set comes in a sturdy, nice box with Velcro closure.  Would make a great gift!
            You can check out this book and other titles like this from Zondervan!
                                Thank you to Zondervan for the opportunity!