Can YOU help ME?!

Around 20 months ago I got a text from one of my best girlfriends in college…Jamie.  Her niece Claire, had cystic fibrosis. Claire is 3 days younger than Grace, and is one of the cutest little girls...ever.  I can’t even imagine being an Aunt, or mother going through that.  However, they have taken  the news with stride and are living life to the fullest.  I am asking that each one of you…yes you…my fellow blog reader, donate a few dollars and minutes of your precious time.  

Please let me introduce you to Jamie…

This was taken at our college graduation :) 

Let me introduce you to Jamie & Claire 

Claire:) 

Please help us to support finding a cure for those living with Cystic Fibrosis, including my girlfriends niece Claire, by making a donation towards Team Claire(for my friend Jamie) for the Great Strides Walk. Every donation helps to bring us one step closer towards finding a cure and making a difference in her future. Thank you so much to those that donate, you have no idea how much it means to me…and Claire's whole family!


Please click on the link below:) 


http://www.cff.org/Great_Strides/JamieRaymonda

Mama P’s Goulash

Well, it’s that time of the week again and I can report that I have a new recipe! Last week I just simply did not have time.  This week I am hoping to get back on track!

This is one of Scot’s FAVORITE meals… however, I do not make it a lot…maybe once or twice a year.  He was in for a real surprise when he got home from baseball yesterday…hope you enjoy it…  It is from my mother in law Deb:)

The ingredients…minus the ground beef 

which you will see in the next picture

And bring on the ground beef! 

Brown the ground beef and drain the excess fat

Chop up the pepperoni into bite size pieces…

I like to quarter a slice.

Combine half the mozzerella cheese, ground beef, pasta sauce, pasta & pepperoni into a large oven safe bowl or casserole dish

Top it with the remaining cheese 

Bake @ 350 degrees covered for about 15 minutes, after 15 minutes take the tinfoil off and let the top get browned for about 15-20  minutes.  

 Add a side of garlic bread or salad and 

you have a perfect meal :)

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef

4 cups of Mozzarella cheese 

1lb of rotini pasta (cook as directed on box)

1lb pepperoni

1 large jar of Traditional Prego Sauce (45 oz)


Directions

Brown ground beef
cook pasta according to box
cut pepperoni into slices and quarter to bite size

Combine 2 cups of Mozzarella cheese, ground beef, pasta & pepperoni and put into a large casserole dish.

Top with the remaining two cups of Mozzarella cheese

Bake @ 350 degrees covered for about 15 minutes, after 15 minutes take the tinfoil off and let the top get browned for about 15-20  minutes.  

Spring has Sprung...

We haven’t been on the computer much lately because it’s SPRING! Well technically it’s still winter however it was 70 degrees yesterday…I would say thats spring weather!

This past weekend we went to Rocky Point for their St. Patrick’s day parade!! We had such a great time and loved every single minute! The parade lasted about an hour and a half…Haley and Grace LOVED it!

Yesterday,  Haley, Scot & Grace took the first bike ride of the year.  They all had such a great time. Yesterday was also our first real day to play outside at our new house.  The girls had a ball!! I can’t wait for the HOT weather to be here so we can BBQ for lunch & dinner, go the town pool & beach…and just relax with our neighbors.  

Leave the CC’s at home :)

MARCH = CASH ONLY

This month Scot and I have decided to go with a CASH only approach to life.  We have taken all but one CC out of our wallet ( have to have one for emergencies).  We tried this in November and it was awesome! We only spent what we had on us and not a penny more. With whatever we have left over in the week it goes in an envelope for other expenses we might have thru the year…new clothes, oil changes, birthday presents & etc…you get the point.



I know this must sound extreme…but we have to start saving money somehow. I thought we didn’t have much planned for 2012…boy was I wrong…here’s a run down of what we have in store for us...

March-Nada
April- Nada
May- 24th-27th Scot’s in Tampa for a Bachelor Party
June- 1st-3rd Scot’s Annual Camping Trip
      8th Dave Matthew’s Band Concert @ SPAC
      10th Haley’s Dance Recital
      22nd Chris & Steph’s Wedding
      23rd- July 3rd- NC to visit Scot’s family
Aug   1st-4th Camping w/ The Carter Family!!!
      4th-17th Vacation in Pburgh for everyone:)
      25th Scot’s 30th Birthday “SURPRISE”
Sept-Nov Nothing as of now ;)
Dec   28th-Jan 8th Vacation in Pburgh :)

It’s going to be a crazy EXPENSIVE year for us…one that we did not plan for.  We tried to not go anywhere but Pburgh and NC.  I guess that didn’t really happen :) However, we wouldn’t have it any other way!

TGIF

Thank goodness it’s Friday!! That is ALL I have to say about that ;)

Yesterday, I had a tooth pulled…def got put under for it.  The whole procedure took less then 18 minutes:) My tooth hurts a little bit and I am only allowed to eat soft food…UGH I want a big ol’ juicy cheeseburger & fries! LOL However, its Friday during lent so I will stick with a tuna sandwich:)

Enjoy Haley’s school photo :)

CRAZY

This week has been CRAZY!! A little run down of my week

Monday-

• Haley had school (8:40-11:25)
• Scot, Grace & I went to the gym (9-10:30)
• From 12:30-1:45 Grace was evaluated for her speech  (she did not qualify…will go into more detail later)
• Dentist appt. to clean our teeth 2:45-4 for Haley, Scot & I.  Found out that Haley has two cavities…she LOVES to brush her teeth but has “kissing tonsils” which forces her to be a mouth breather and pretty much caused the cavities (all of her other teeth are PERFECT:)…I guess toddlers are more prone at her age…When she’s 4 and a half she will get her tonsils & adenoids out…thank god…I can hear her snoring downstairs with the tv on! 
• Dinner quick @ Applebees…we got home @ 6:30 gave the girls a bath and they went to bed…

Tuesday

• Gym for the 4 of us 9-10:30
• Found out (which I already knew) Grace did not qualify for speech…she excels in 4 out of 5 areas, physical, cognitive, social-emotional & adaptive…which are all on a level for being 2 yrs. old…she’s only 18 months.  She has a mild delay for speech.  They said that sometimes when you excel in some areas you could be delayed in another.  She will be reevaluated in August if she has not made MAJOR progress. Which comes to why they called me Tuesday morning…her pediatrician said she might have some hearing loss due to the fact she has had 5-6 ear infections…I have hearing loss & a hearing aide.  So with that information we set up to have her hearing tested…
• 11:30 Dr Appt. for MOI to get new glasses 
• Left our house at 1:45 to pick up the prescription from her pediatrician to have hearing tested
• Grace had her hearing tested @ 2:30 and her hearing is PERFECT:) Thank goodness
• We had an hour to spare until MY dr’s apt for an ear ache so we went to Baskin Robbins & Dunkin Donuts
• 3:30 - My dr’s apt to find out which I already knew…Ear infection for moi!! 
• 4:00 picked up my prescription @ Walgreens where Grace proceeded to be the devil child I know she is…she would not walk but crawl thru the isles of Walgreens and then proceeded to LICK the ground…YES GROSS!! So I had her screaming at the top of her lungs because she did not want to be carried and had to wait almost a half hour for my script.  UGH
• 5:00 picked up McDonald’s for the girls while we went to the Laundromat to do the girls laundry…did not get out of there until 6:30
• 6:45 picked Pizza up for Scot (he worked mon night until tuesday so when he got home he stayed up until after my eye appt) 
• Arrived home at 7:15…gave the girls a snack and they hit the hay

Wednesday

• Haley had school (8:40-11:25).  Scot, Grace & I went to Walmart & Shoprite during school
• Came home @ 10 and put Grace down for a nap until 12
• Madison arrived at 12:30 and left around 5 ( a little girl who I babysit 1-2 days a week) 

Thursday (today)

• Grace woke up @ 7am…Haley @ 9pm… we are now relaxing (It’s 11 am)
• Dance Class @ 1pm for Haley
• @ 2:45 I am off to the oral surgeon to get a tooth pulled…UGH!!!  

So you can see I have been EXTREMELY busy lately.  I do apologize for not getting a recipe out yesterday but I frankly have not had time.  I am not sure how my tooth pulling will go, but I am supposed to make Chicken & biscuits for dinner tonight.  So providing I do have the time to take pictures and what not…I will post the recipe tomorrow:) 

1st House guests

Now that we are finally settled in our house we are having our first guests this weekend!! We are super excited to spend time with Anna, Matthew & baby Cameron.  All will be quiet on the home front this weekend.  I will be back in action on Monday with some pictures from this weekend.  I hope you enjoy your friday & weekend:)

Broccoli & Cheddar Quiche

Well…here it is 9pm and I am just sitting down to blog.  First of all, I do want to say I never got a chance to make this quiche.  However, it does look amazing and that is why I am sharing it with you! I found it the other day while surfing the web ;)  If you do end up making this, let me know, as I want to know how it turned out:)


Broccoli & Cheddar Quiche


1   cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1

cup each chopped onions and broccoli

5

  eggs

1/3

cup miracle whip 

1/3

cup milk

1

cup shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1

frozen deep-dish pie crust (9 inch)

• HEAT oven to 375°F.
• COOK vegetables in skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium heat 5 min. or until crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
• BEAT eggs, dressing and milk in medium bowl with whisk until well blended. Stir in vegetable mixture and cheese; pour into pie crust. Place on baking sheet.
• BAKE 40 to 45 min. or until center of quiche is set and top is golden brown. Let stand 10 min. before slicing to serve.

Next week I hope to have more time to actually prepare a dish and share it with you! 

Fat Tuesday

Happy Fat Tuesday :) 


How do you celebrate Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras?  Did you know that Fat Tuesday always falls the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent?  Do you normally “give up” something to “do” something for Lent?  This year I have decided to give up wine & soda…and there will be NO cheat days! For my ALL TIME FAVORITE holiday, St. Patty’s day, I will enjoy some vodka if I REALLY want to drink:)  


Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys Fat Tuesday and the beginning of Lent tomorrow! Don’t forget to get your ashes tomorrow! 


Stay tuned for a meatless quiche tomorrow! I can’t wait to share!

My loves

There are many things in this world that make me smile… but a few of them are :

• Grey’s Anatomy & Private Practice
• Bottles of wine
• Coasters
• Big wine glasses

All of which I am enjoying tonight.  Super excited for the cross over event :) 

OH and yes, you are probably thinking…didn’t she give up wine… YUP! I am indulging and breaking that little rule.  I am just going to measure every ounce I drink and count my points.  Everyone has to have their vices :) 

Spring Fever!!

Do you have it?!  I know our family does! We are SO ready for some nice…hot…spring weather;) I saw my sister in law’s picture on facebook yesterday of her toes in the sand while wearing flip flops…why oh why can’t we live down south?!  I guess I can wait another 1-2 months for some spring weather!

Wednesday’s Recipe this week will not contain an actual recipe but a theme of CHICKEN.  Two days ago I roasted a chicken and It was WONDERFUL! I normally buy a 5-6lb roaster…and its good for about 2-3 dinners for 4 ppl. You REALLY have to dissect it though for all its worth;) I HIGHLY recommend purchasing a Deep Covered Baker by Pampered Chef… I use it all of the time especially for roasting chicken:)

Tonight I am making a fresh salad and putting chicken on top for Scot and I.  The girls will also have chicken, mashed potatoes & green beans.  There are million different things you could do with “leftover chicken” but here are a few if you are lacking any new dishes...

1. Chicken Enchiladas
2. Chicken & biscuits (Scot’s FAV…my MIL’s recipe..and I have FINALLY perfected it…will post the recipe another week…stay tuned”
3. Chicken Salads
4. Chicken, cheese & spaghetti sauce (basically cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and put chicken in a 13x9 pan…pour sauce on top and top with mozzarella cheese…bake at 400 for about 30 min until the cheese on top is melted and a browned.  Add a little penne/spaghetti and you have a nice left over dinner
5. Chicken taco’s
6. Chicken Nacho’s
7. Chicken quesadilla’s (another one of our favorite dinners!…saute green peppers & onions in a little bit of olive oil…season with salt & pepper… once sauteed make your quesadilla that contains…the mixture, cheddar jack cheese, chicken, chopped tomatoes, and anything else you want to add to the mix…) 
8. Chicken soup
9. Buffalo chicken dip (rather then use the can…use fresh!)
10. BBQ Chicken sandwiches!

Hope you can use at least one of the ideas if you are in a pinch for left over chicken :) 

Happy Valentine’s Day!

First off let me just tell you, I despise this “holiday”… but for the sake of my children & hubby I try to embrace the day :) There's no real reason I am not “in love” with this holiday…just not one of my favorite days… BUT I AM learning to like it :)  This year the hubby & girls went over and beyond with the gift giving.  They bought me a new…

Handheld video cameara!!!
Thank goodness it’s waterproof:) 

With a little video already on it…

I love it already and can’t wait to use it this summer at the beach!!!  

Jaja’s 30th…

Things I have learned in the past 24 hrs

1. Do not take a random taxi from Queens to Manhattan without a meter…it will set you back 45 $…it was 4 miles away!!! 
2. I can’t party like it was 2001… 
3. My feet, legs, stomach & head hate me… 
4. Having a pulled pork sandwich & jalapeno poppers at 3 am is the best…Unless you are Lindsey ;) 
5. I have the best girlfriends EVER…
6. Jaja and I haven’t seen each other in 6 years…and it was as if we never missed a beat. 

Last night we celebrated Jaja’s 30th bday in STYLE at Taj II in Manhattan.  Enjoy some pictures from our evening:) 

Kicking the Habit

And no I don’t mean smoking…I do not smoke.  I am going on 3 days of no

…and I want to SCREAM! The caffeine headaches are crazy! With giving up DC I am trying to drink more water… That also sucks too…I DESPISE water!  Does anyone have any tips on how you drink more water during the day?!

On a good note.  I have completed day 4 on Weight Watchers…and feel great! I also ran/walked 3.89 miles in an hour on the treadmill this afternoon… not great…but not bad since I haven’t been on the treadmill since early August.

Wednesday’s Recipe…Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps

This past weekend we went to a super bowl party at Chris & Steph’s house:) We had such a great time and enjoyed the delicious food!! We just want to say thanks to our great hosts for an awesome super bowl party.  


I am featuring one of the recipes that Steph’s, sister Rebecca made. Rebecca made Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps.  They were AMAZING! I didn’t get a picture because they went like hotcakes! However, if you do want to see what they look like, go to the food network and look it up.  


Wednesday’s Recipe:


Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (about 4 breasts)
• 1 (1-pound) package sliced bacon
• 2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons chili powder

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes. Cut each bacon slice into thirds. Wrap each chicken cube with bacon and secure with a wooden pick. Stir together brown sugar and chili powder. Dredge wrapped chicken in mixture. Coat a rack and broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place chicken wrap on rack in broiler pan. Bake 350 for 30 to 35 minutes or until bacon is crisp.

You will not be disappointed with this crowd pleaser! Hope you enjoy the recipe and the photos down below from a great day! GOOOO GIANTS!!!! 

Steph made the BEST guac:) 

Grace is enjoying the game with Uncle Chris!!  

WOOHOOO

THE GIANTS WIN… THE GIANTS WIN… THE GIANTS WIIIINNNNNNN!!!!!

OK, I think I have it out of my system…well for the 5 minutes that it will take me to write this blog.


Now, on to more important things like trying to lose weight and Weight Watchers.  A month ago I was going to start back on WW.  Well, I just wasn’t into it.  Now, looking at the scale and realizing I have a wedding to attend in a few months…I am wayyyy more motivated now.  I am trying to organize my life so that I clean on a weekly basis, work out every other day, make healthy meals & have fun w/ my kiddies & husband. It all starts today.  In a few minutes when Scot comes home from bringing Haley to school I will be jumping on the treadmill. Lets hope that I live and will be able to blog another day;)  Until tomorrow, enjoy today :)

Game Day Chili

What do you make for Super Bowl Sunday???  My favorite is chili. My recipe comes from my sister-in-law Caryn.  I LOVE the recipe and have been making it for years. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.


Chili 

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
3/4 cup water
1/4 t pepper
1/4 t hot pepper sauce (or to your liking)
3 t chili powder
2 cloves of minced garlic
28 oz crushed tomatoes (undrained)
1 can tomato soup
1 can tomato paste
1 can diced green chiles
1 can red kidney drained & rinsed

Directions:

Brown the ground beef then add peppers & onions for about 5 minutes… stirring frequently.

Add all of the ingredients to the crockpot for a minimum of 2-4 hours on high.  I usually cook it for 6-8 hours on low.

Just call me a slacker

Slacker here…

UGH, this move has been a great one, but very time consuming! Yesterday, I babysat from 6:30am-4pm.  While I LOVE the little girl I sit for, it was pure chaos in my house yesterday. It had nothing to do with babysitting, but the fact that I was exhausted after she left and had to take Grace to the dr’s.  While changing Grace’s diapers I found she had a horrible rash all over her legs!! 2 hours later and PM Pediatrics to the rescue we had a diagnosis.  Grace had a horrible ear infection (NOT the reason we went) and has eczema.  So… hence the delay in the recipe category! I PROMISE I will be back on track next week.

I am hoping to get snapshots of the new house tonight.  No guarantees though;)

Until then, have a great day…and make SURE YOU are rooting for the BIG BLUE this Sunday!!!

Our first dinner

We have been in the house a little over 24 hours and I have already made our first dinner.  We had a delicious roasted chicken with mashed potatoes & corn.  Everything seems like it is fitting into place.  FINALLY:)

Today…  I finished the kitchen…Scot cleaned the tub and I put everything away in the bathroom :) When we first moved in I was NOT happy with the teal tile.  I decided to use that to my advantage and look around for SOMETHING… ANYTHING to go with it.  So happy I found the PERFECT set from Target to use as my shower curtain and towels. 

More pictures to follow:)

WE SURVIVED!!

Thank goodness this day is about to wrap up.  It has been an incredibly long and tiring month… I am happy to say that all of our hard work has paid off.

We started our day at about 7am…and carried our last box into our new house at about 10:30am.  We finished up at the apt around 9:30 after starting to load the Uhaul at 8am.  NOT bad! That might not seem like a lot of time, but it was a continuous stream of hard work.  Before this morning we had about 3/4 of our stuff moved into the house.  Thank goodness for our minivan!  

75% of our “stuff” has been put away and have found new a “home” in our house.  Tomorrow we will tackle the kitchen, bathroom & kids room.  Our office/guest room, toy room, master bedroom and living room are pretty much complete. 

This move wouldn’t have been complete without the hard work of our friends and family.  I would like to say a big thank you to you all…

Mom P, Thank you so much for helping us with our curtains! We wouldn’t have been able to do them without you!! It was so great to see you!! I can’t wait for you to come visit again so you can see the final product!! 

Chris, A HUGE thanks for helping us paint, instal new electrical outlets & moving today.  

Steph, Thank you soooo much for organizing the toy room & helping keep the girls outta our hair;)

Lindsey & Jesse, thank you sooooo much for making the trek from Queens to help us move today.  We couldn’t have done it without you! Hope you enjoyed the pizza & wings:) 

Anthony, THANK YOU soooo much for helping us this morning, bright and early! Thank goodness we will be able to watch tv with just ONE remote;)

Kenny, Thanks for using a paintbrush for 20 min…lol…Thank you for helping us move the treadmill and outside stuff… Your brother in law’s truck was a godsend!  no Taco Dip for you since you got drunk last night and slept thru your alarm today! LOL

Mom, Thank you SOOOOOOO much for bringing us down Rigatoni, Spaghetti Sauce, Michigan kit, twice baked potatoes, and chicken cordon bleu!! The meals were a life saver…thank goodness we didn’t have to cook every night AND pack! A huge thanks for helping us clean, pack & organize our new house. WE love you lots!

Once we get everything settled I will post some pictures.  I hope everyone enjoys the last few days of January as I am happy it’s ending:) 

Wednesday’s Recipe….or not?!

Packing/moving…UGH…not fun!

Sometimes moving makes you desperate ;)

I am taking a break this week from having "Wednesday’s recipe." We are in the midst of packing/cleaning/moving…and quite frankly I haven’t had time to research a new recipe let alone cook anything.

My mother came to visit yesterday and brought us a “Michigan kit.”  It came with 16 hot dogs, 16 rolls, Michigan sauce & onions :) She also brought homemade spaghetti sauce, rigatoni, chicken cordon bleu & twice baked potatoes :) We have enough food until Sunday, which is perfect because we move on Sat!

I hope you all enjoy your week and come back for a new recipe next week :)

Blessing in Disguise

Do you ever hear the comment “we only see you at weddings or funerals?!”  Well, that comment was certainly true this weekend.  We went upstate to mourn the loss of Scot’s grandmother “AKA Grammie or Great-Grammie.”  Life will not be the same at 5 West Decker Street again.  This weekend, Scot’s family came together in a way I have never witnessed before.  I was fortunate to meet extended family members who will never be forgotten.  We have made plans to go to Western NY and visit Niagara Falls & family. I also got to spend time with my sister-in-law Dena at our house on Long Island.  We laughed, cried & drank too much, but had entirely too much fun doing it. It was true blessing in disguise for the Pedrick Family.  We will always miss Grammie but love what she has done for others.  Grandpa put on a beautiful memorial & reception afterwards.  Hope you enjoy some photos from a great weekend!