Food for thought

What mom really has a lot of time to cook? I know I don’t! I have to say that I use the heck out of my crock pot! I use it at least twice a week! Making roast, enchilada filling, BBQ chicken, soup, chili and many other delicious things! Tonight I am going to share a couple of recipes. Also, do yourself a HUGE favor and get crock pot liners!! LIFE SAVERS!!!

This first recipe is for Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup. This one is a favorite in our house!

You’ll need:

1 Box Chicken or veggie Broth or Stock

4 Ounces of Sour Cream

1 Cup chopped celery

1 Cup shredded carrots

2 Cup Milk (or Heavy Cream)

2 or 3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

Noodles of your choice (I use Egg Noodles)

Salt, garlic and poultry seasoning to taste

I season the chicken with poultry seasoning, garlic and salt and put it in the crock pot with the broth, carrots and celery. I let that cook in the crockpot on high for 6 hours and then I shred the chicken, add the sour cream, milk and noodles… I cook the noodles before I add them to the soup but you can add a little more liquid to the soup and then put in the dry noodles to cook for the last hour (you can also use canned biscuits cut into quarters instead of noodles and have dumplings!).

The next recipe is another one made up and have played with over the years… Enchilada filling!

I get the biggest can of red enchilada sauce they have, a can or black beans, a can of diced tomato and 2 or 3 chicken breasts and cook it on high for about 6 hours or low for 8. Shred the chicken, use a slotted spoon to drain sauce off the filing and roll up in tortillas, use the remaining juice and goody to pour over the top, cover with cheese and bake at 350 until cheese is melty (about 10-15 min).

My last recipe isn’t crock pot but is sooooo yummy!!! Iron skillet cookie!!

You’ll need:

1 Stick Unsalted Butter
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Egg
1-1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in an 8 inch cast iron skillet on med heat on the stove, add both sugars and the vanilla and remove from heat. Let stand about 5 minutes and then add the egg to the butter and sugar mixture (you want to wait the 5 min so the egg won’t cook in the skillet before you add all your ingredients), whisk it well into the butter and sugar. next you’ll add your flour, baking soda, and salt, and (very carefully) stir until smooth and well-mixed. Lastly, stir in chocolate chips. Place in the oven for 15 minutes, or until starting to turn golden on the top and around the edges, but soft in the center.

I made this cookie tonight after dinner and there wasn’t a bite left! It’s really good with caramel ice cream on top.

Happy eating!

Agree to disagree

After a discussion with a fellow mom the other day I felt the need to step on a soap box for a moment…

Nobody is going to do things exactly the same way you do them. We all raise our children differently. There is nothing wrong with breast feeding or bottle feeding, cloth or disposable diapers, circumcision or no circumcision, making baby food or buying it, daycare or no daycare, turning your car seat around at the minimum requirements or waiting a little longer or even having your daughter’s ears pierced as a baby or waiting until she asks for them. As long as our children are growing and are loved, what is the big dang deal?

We all make decisions for our children hoping they are the right ones but chances are we will all make some wrong decisions. Zoey (almost 2) drank a little Dr. Pepper yesterday, this is a rare treat in our house, but it kept her awake half the night! Parenting FAIL!

I am a semi stay at home mom (I work 2-3 days a week) and I am fortunate enough to have family that keep my girls for me while I am at work. I am so thankful for that because a good daycare is really pricey! I wish I could stay at home with my girls all the time but that is MY preference and I surely don’t look down on moms with a different preference! Some moms have to go back to work and have to put their children in daycare while other moms chose to go back to work so that can provide more for their children and show them what a working mom looks like. These are all fine options!

I chose to breast feed my girls and I am so lucky that I CAN! I make enough to feed my baby (and even donate to a few moms and babies that wanted breast milk) and both girls had a great latch from the start! Some moms chose not to due to medication or preference while other moms try but have supply issues or baby just won’t latch. Formula isn’t poison.

With my first I had a mild PPD and for a while I thought I was just sad for no reason because I had a strong connection to my baby but I was so miserable if I didn’t have her with me (not just “oh I miss my baby”). That made going back to work full time really hard! Some moms have different forms of PPD and others are lucky enough to never have it at all! It isn’t my fault that I had PPD and if you are dealing with it, it’s not your fault either! Call your doctor and talk to some girlfriends that have dealt with it before. Maybe you can help someone that is dealing with it now if you have dealt with it in the past.

My point is, we all have different circumstances and do things differently but that doesn’t mean that my way is right and your way is wrong. Who am I to judge what another person does? We are all doing our best and rather than tearing each other down for things they do differently why not build each other up? As moms we have enough “mom guilt” on our own without things like the “iphone mom” post that circulated all over facebook a few weeks back. You’re doing the best you can and that is all anyone SHOULD expect from you! Remember, friends may come and go but your children will be in your life forever. Do what is best for them, love them and protect them as best you can because as they grow they will become our closest friends.