Recipe of the Week

In honor of my last brunch at CBS tomorrow, here is this week's recipe...

Sausage Cheese Muffins (what?! i didn't say it was good for you!)

1 (1lb) pkg ground pork sausage
3 cups Bisquick
1.5 cups shredded cheddar
1 can of condensed cheese soup (who would actually make cheese soup?)
3/4 cup water

-Preheat your oven to 375 and grease those muffin tins or line them with paper.

-Cook the sausage in a large skillet, stirring it until it crumbles and is no longer pink. Please drain it (let's be somewhat healthy...at least get off the fat that you can see!) and let it cool!

-Combine the sausage, Bisquick, and shredded cheese in a large bowl. Make a well in the center.

-Stir together cheese soup and water. Add to the well in the sausage mixture. Stir it just until dry ingredients are moistened.

-Spoon into muffin cups, filling to top of cups. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Yummy!

*They are best served warm, with a cup of coffee, and maybe even a bowl of strawberries. Now you know how I roll! I'm a dork.

Wordless Wednesday

I'm not even going to try to explain...we are just messed up parents!

Recipe of the Week

Its been a while since I've done my recipe of the week, but I thought I would get back into it. I will say however that I am not a very adventurous cook, but I like to try new recipes all the time. And when I find a good one, I like to share! So none of my recipes are "original"...they are copied!

King Ranch Casserole
(from Southern Living...my favorite recipe source)

1 onion chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced

Saute those things in butter. Start with onion for 6-7 minutes. Then add pepper and garlic for 3-4 min.

After these are done, add the following...

1 can cream of mushroom
1 can cream of chicken
1 can rotel, undrained
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp ground red pepper (or less)

Simmer, stirring occasionally for 8 min.

Take above ingredients, along with 3 cups cooked chicken, 3 cups shredded cheddar, bag of tortilla chips (we like to use the hint of lime ones!)

Assemble like this...
half chicken
half soup mixture
1 cup cheese
half chips - crushed
Repeat layers once.
Top with remaining 1 cup of cheese.

OR, do like this... (my personal preference)
Throw all the chicken in the bottom of a 11x9 (greased), then pour all soup mixture on top, layer some cheese on top of the soup, then hand crush some chips over cheese. (Add one last layer of cheese for the last 10 min of cooking.)

Cook about an hour or until bubbly. Let stand 10 min.

P.S. Have some extra chippies on hand for eating with the casserole. My hubby likes to eat it as if it were dip!

Throw some corn on the stove or microwave and call it a meal!

Just in case you haven't heard...

One thing I love about the blogging world is that you get so many fun ideas from others. I wanted to share two things with you that we at the Martin household LOVE.

One is this DVD:

If your kids are learning their letter, letter sounds, or beginning to put those sounds together to read, then this DVD is perfect! It is only about a 30 minute movie and has a catchy little song for learning the letter sounds. After watching it just a few times, Micah already picked up on half the alphabet. Yes, the TV taught my kid and I'm proud of it! Ha! Anyway, it is a great buy!

The other thing I wanted to share with you is the Highlights' Magazine High Five. It is specifically made for preschool up to early readers. Micah was given a subscription for his birthday a couple of years ago and he absolutely love it! He can do the Hidden Pictures and other puzzle-type pages on his own, and we read the short stories to him. The other cool thing is they have an audio version on the internet, so sometimes he will just sit with it in front of computer and it reads it to him! Either way, he LOVES it!

What are some ideas you have found that you love?

4 Months

Wow! I can't believe Haleigh is 4 months old today!

Here's the latest on the princess of the house...

-She still is very content watching her brothers play, although I am beginning to see her getting restless. I'm sure she can't wait for the day when she can join in the fun!

-Just yesterday, Caleb came over and used a burp cloth as her blanket, rubbed her belly, and said "Sshh, ni-night." Caleb still feels the need to take care of his baby sister...and let me tell you - it's ADORABLE!

-Haleigh is now sleeping 12 hours at night!!! Yay!!

-She is now taking a bottle!! Yay!! I left her last weekend for 24 hours for a short women's retreat and she did really well taking the bottle!

-She is still sucking her thumb, but will also take the paci...we shall see which one will prevail!

-I'll find her stats out at the dr when we go, but I know she is growing! She has been at the top of the charts for her weight, and about 75% for her height.

-She has gone through a little bit of separation already. She knows when I drop her off, she watches me leave, and puckers out the bottom lip. She is a momma's girl!

-Her hands are in her mouth CONSTANTLY! Teething, maybe...micah got his first two teeth at four months.

-She's laughing! Or should I say learning to laugh! Sometimes it is the cutest little giggle, and sometimes it comes out as this force of noise - mostly when she is tickled!

Always?

One of my goals this year is to read more. I enjoy reading most of the time, but it has just become one of those things that has gotten pushed aside in the midst of life. But in addition to spending time in the Word, there is much wisdom in so many books that are out there...and a lot of books that shouldn't even be in print! I am currently reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan.


Let's just say it is really good. Its funny, I actually started reading it last summer. And you know those times you pick up a book to read and its just not the right time. You can't get into it. Well that was me. I read the first three chapters and just wasn't feeling it. Then I decided to pick it back up and I've been flying through it. It's the right time!

One of the things I was challenged with I want to share with you. Recently, I've been reminded of the verse "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" (Phil 4:4) In my day to day life at home with the kids, constantly cleaning, cooking, etc, it is really easy for me to get bogged down, stressed out, and almost have a pity party. I get overwhelmed and feel like I just can't do it all. I get in a rut where I don't enjoy the very thing I've wanted to do all my life. How selfish of me! So then I read this in the book...

When I am consumed by my problems - stressed out about my life, my family, and my job-I actually convey the belief that I think the circumstances are more important than God's command to always rejoice. In other words, that I have a "right" to disobey God because of the magnitude of my responsibilities.

Worry implies that we don't quite trust God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives.

Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace toward others, or our tight grip of control.

Basically, these two behaviors communicate that it's okay to sin and not trust God because the stuff in my life is somehow exceptional.

So by the grace of God, may I rejoice more in the midst of all of my circumstances whether I see them as "good" or "bad". And if you need a book to read, I highly recommend this one!