Wednesday, March 4, 2015

A Brave and Beautiful Mama



Meet 
Mama Whitney

She is BRAVE
BEAUTIFUL
STRONG
FAITHFUL
LOVING
AND
DID I SAY
BEAUTIFUL?

Well she is all of that and MORE!
AND
She needs are love and prayers.
Please take some time today to head over to her blog
and leave her a note of encouragement and love.

Go HERE to her blog.

"I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, 
there can be no more hurt,
 only more love."
~ Mother Teresa




Saturday, February 28, 2015

Chicken Pot Pie - Skillet Style



How good does this look!
GOOD
REAL
GOOD
Baby Girl #2 really likes, (correction) 
really LOVES
a
GOOD
Chicken Pot Pie
So we have studied many recipes and created 
our very own favorite pie!
We like to make it in a skillet as it makes the crust really crispy!
Crispy is important!
So here ya go mamas!

Chicken Pot Pie - Skillet Style 
3 Cups of chicken breasts diced and cooked (can be a rotisserie chicken if you like)
1 Cup of  diced celery
2 Cups of carrots sliced
3/4 Cup of onion diced
2 Cups water
1 Tablespoon of Knorr's Caldo Con Sabor de Pollo (or any other chicken bouillon)
2 Tablespoons of flour
1 Cup of Half and Half
1/2 Cup of water
Dash of nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons of butter or margarine 
1 box of refrigerated pie crust

Take pie crust out of box to bring to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 425.
Cook carrots in a soup pot with 1 Tablespoon of butter and 1 cup of water for about 8 minutes on medium heat. Add onions and celery, cover pot and cook 5 minutes.
While this is cooking whisk the tablespoon of Knorr's in a small bowl with the 1 cup of water and set aside. Add flour and mix to coat all veggies evenly. Slowly add the chicken flavored water to the pot while stirring constantly. It will continue to make a thick sauce. Add half and half and continue to stir over medium heat. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to pot. Add cooked chicken to the pot and stir on low heat for a few minutes and then turn off the heat. Butter your cast iron skillet with the remaining butter.
Line the skillet with one pie crust. Put the skillet in the oven for about 5 minutes. The sides may fall down but it doesn't matter. Take it out of the oven and add the chicken and veggie mixture and take the remaining pie crust and lay on top. Make a few slits with a knife to vent. Place the skillet in the oven and cover lightly with a sheet of foil. Cook for about 30 minutes and then add 5 minutes without the foil on top.
Take it out and EAT!
I like to serve this with a crisp green garden salad.
Such a comfort meal that mamas love to feed their babies!
















Check out more recipes



Monday, February 16, 2015

Mama Goes Shopping on Etsy






Mama LOVES a GOOD shop!
I needed a gift for a sweet high school graduate
so I grabbed my laptop and visited Etsy.
I landed on Miss Amber's
darling shop titled
Cute name is it not!
Her jewelry is amazing, 
customer service is superb
and her prices are perfect!
Thank you Amber!
I am a HAPPY Mama!

Branch Necklace | Sterling Silver or Gold Filled Chain | Simple Twig | Twisted Tree Branch | Nature Curved Branch Necklace | Delicate



Yellow & Gray Earrings | Lemon Onyx | Gray Moonstone | Bezel Set Gemstones | Gold Earrings | Bridesmaids Jewelry | Dangle Earrings


Double Layer Initial Necklace | Dainty Two Initials | Sterling Silver | 2 Chains, Tiny 1/4" Discs Tags, Personalized with Birthstone Crystal


Anchor Necklace in Sterling Silver - Mint Aqua Chalcedony Aquamarine Seafoam Bridesmaids | Wedding Bridal | Everyday Nautical | Delta Gamma

Purple Glass Earrings | Fall Bridesmaids Dangle Earrings | Team Colors | Crystal Drop Earrings | LA Lakers Vikings LSU Colors | Topaz Plum



Saturday, February 14, 2015

Naked Cupids and Some Cupcakes!


Mama was baking some Valentine's Day 
treats and she needed some HEARTS!
I found these little naked guys
I stole a few hearts from them to finish off my treats!
Thank you little naked guys!
and
oh and I almost forgot…….
Happy Valentine's Day to all the Mamas
out there in Blogland!
Papas too!
XXOO
The AMAZING Graphics Fairy 
graciously allows you to print her graphics 
to assist you in your Valentine projects!






Visit The Graphics Fairy to see 
more of her amazing images!


Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Guns and Coffee - Texas Mamas


Baby Girl #1 and I were back to Texas recently.
I enjoyed stuffing my face with Mexican food,
several trips to Whataburger and maybe some 
fried chicken and such!
(but you didn't hear that from me)
As you are aware this mama really likes her
Starbuck's cocktail around 2:00pm.
While I was tooling around I saw this!
What an amazingly brilliant bumper sticker!
GUNS
and 
COFFEE
Yes, in TEXAS the mama's can drive around
packing guns and caffeine!
So you best NOT
MESS
with 
these BAD Mamas!
No sir!

Missing some good Texas Food?
Check out these favorite Texas Recipes!

Tex Mex 7 Layer Dip


Saturday, January 31, 2015

Mama Loves Crayons!





NO 
this 
is 
NOT Candy 
NOR Soap
NOR Vitamins, 
          Drugs or 
              Jello Shots

It's CRAYONS Silly!

Who doesn't LOVE crayons!

Mama decided to be a little crafty today and melted down some old crayon stubs
to make some pretty new chunky ones! 

Here is how I did it.


Peel the paper off of the old crayons.
Spray the inside of muffin tin or oven proof baking mold.
Drop the crayons in the mold.
Bake it for about 10 minutes in an oven at 275 degrees.


Let them cool nice and long.
Pop them in the freezer if you have to!
Then POP those babies out and
get to coloring!



Nice and CHUNKY for little hands or old hands like mine!
So fun to do with the kids or NOT and say you did!  ;)



Sunday, January 25, 2015

Mama LOVES A Good Burger!




Oh how I LOVE a good burger!
In Texas we grill our burgers outside and then bring them inside
to dress them up nice and pretty!
My hubby always laughs at me because by the time
he has finished his burger I am about done "fixin" mine up!

Usually I like mayo and mustard on my buns but every
now and then I like some special Texas sauce!

My special Texas sauce tastes a little like the sauce from
In N Out
Just a little.

Here is my recipe………
Texas Special Sauce
1/2 Cup Olive Oil Mayo
1 1/2 T Ketchup
1 T Apple Cider Vinegar
3 t  Sweet Pickle Relish
3 t chopped white onion
1 drop of Tabasco

Stir it up, chill and then slap it on a burger bun! Good on burgers, chicken, and even shrimp poboy sandwiches! 
YUM!!


Saturday, January 3, 2015

Baby Cakes


Baby Girl #2 Can BAKE A cake!
I mean REALLY BAKE a cake!
She made her very first wedding cake!
It turned out beautiful, tasty and so very moist.
It was all from scratch.
She tried out three recipes and had a taste test.
I was so proud of her! She baked it the day before 
and decorated it the morning of the wedding so it
would be fresh and perfect!
It was a LONG drive to the venue
but the cake made it safe and sound!


Vanilla cake from scratch!


One layer at a time!


Buttercream Frosting



3 Layers!


Here she is with her cake at the wedding!
Pretty girl
Pretty Cake
Proud Mama

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

"Summer Lovin" Part 1



Summer for this Colorado family means a pilgrimage 
to
TEXAS!
This pilgrimage consists of family, fun and food.
Not always in that order.
FOOD
in
TEXAS
is 
CRAZY GOOD
I mean
CRAZY GOOD!
Even fast food is Good!
The first food stop is usually in Amarillo, Texas.
We have mapped out the nearest and newest
WHATABURGER!
If you have never had a Whataburger
then you are surely missing out.
SOOOOO YUMMY!



I have tried to reproduce the WHATABURGER
without success but I do have some Texas recipes that I have perfected
that hold me over until I can get me some Whataburger!


Texas Sausage and Cheese Crescents!
To DIE For!


Mama Colleen's Amazing Queso!
Go HERE


Granny's Icebox Cookies!
YUMMMMMM
Go HERE!


Horrible Photo
but it tastes soon good!
King Ranch Chicken Casserole
Go HERE!

More recipes HERE!
I'm so hungry!

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Mamas Who Do The Right Thing



I have always been a firm believer in Karma. At minimal just do 
the right thing and good things will come back around to you.
I try to teach my kids to do the same.

So here is the deal……
I sold a book on Amazon.
When I went to ship the book, I flipped through it and saw that 
there were pencil marks on some of the pages.
I went back to look at my listing and saw that I listed the 
book's condition as NEW.  So obviously it wasn't new.
I erased almost all of the marks but  few remained.
I shipped the book to the new owner in TEXAS.
I also enclosed a note explaining my mistake in the description
and that I would happily refund them the money in full
if they wanted to look for another book.
I also included a $5 bill which brought the cost of the book down to
what  a book in "almost new" condition would cost.
Being that I am from Texas, I also added a note at the end that said,
Texans Take Care of Texans!
Several weeks later I received a letter in the mail from the customer who bought the book.
She and her mom wanted to thank me for my honesty.
Honesty? I had just done the right thing!
They went on to say that it was rare to find this honesty and that
in gratitude they were gifting me with a $25 WalMart gift card!
How beautiful is that?
All I had done was
THE RIGHT THING
and
I had been rewarded Ten Fold 
AMAZING
SO
What's a Mama to do?
I sent the gift card to school to donate to the orphanage my daughter 
serves at in the summer. I then sent a message to Brittany and her Mama
letting them know
I Was Paying It Forward
So I challenge you to do the same.
Every single deed, big or small contributes
to making the world a better place.
oh
and 
one
more 
thing
At the bottom of the letter she wrote,
TEXANS TAKE CARE OF TEXANS
You Gotta LOVE it!




Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Here Comes Peter Cottontail!


Pulling these Sugar Eggs out of the closet!

I made these over 15 years ago!
NO ANTS!!
Yippee!

New post coming very soon!
Go HERE 
to
HOP
to 
EASTER
PAST

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Mama is Getting Pretty Tired of the COLD!


It is always about this time of year that I start yearning for 
COLOR!
I WANT IT
I REALLY WANT IT
I want to step out on my patio and see
FLOWERS!
PRETTY FLOWERS!
Mama will just have to be patient
as it is going to be a little while before that happens.
SIGH…..
I can just sit and stare at Baby Girl #1's
latest oil painting!
It has COLOR!
I miss watching her paint in the kitchen.
Just another thing I have to be patient about.
Wishing you a beautiful and colorful day!

file:///Users/hollin/Downloads/pinterest-bc6b6-4.html


file:///Users/hollin/Downloads/pinterest-bc6b6-4.html

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Mama's Easy Crockpot Breakfast Casserole



Not the prettiest of photos but it taste so good!

Mama's Texas cousins came in town to see snow!
They drove all day and most of the night to get here.
I wanted to have a nice warm breakfast
to fill up them up before they headed
to the mountains to play.
I decided to try my usual breakfast casserole
BUT
in the crockpot instead of the oven.
Mama
was
nervous
But guess what? 
It worked like magic!
I fooled my cousins to thinking I was
up all morning cooking up a storm.
They awoke to the smell
of eggs and sausage.
The crockpot did all the work!
Mama
slept
in
So needless to say it was a big hit and I will
most definitely be making it again!

Crockpot Breakfast Casserole with an Italian Twist
8 -10 beaten eggs
10-12 slices of bread (cubed) any kind of bread may be used. (I like to use french bread)
3 Cups of whole milk
2 1/2 C mozzarella cheese (really any kind of cheese is fine)
1 lb. Italian sausage crumbled, cooked and drained
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper (more or less to taste)
fresh spinach and or sliced mushrooms can be added if desired. (no more than 1/2 C each)


Optional add-ins 
1/2 Cup Chopped onions
1/4 Cup Jalapeños
1/2 Cup Bacon
1/2 Cup Chopped Cilantro

Directions
Grease the sides of the crock with butter. Make layers in the crockpot of bread, followed by sausage, followed by cheese, ending with a cheese layer. Beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper together. Pour over crockpot mixture, cover and turn on low. Cook for 8-12 hours. Put it on before you go to bed and wake up to the smell of an amazing breakfast. Serve with fresh fruit and you are done!



Here is another amazing breakfast idea for you! This can also be made ahead, frozen and reheated
when you need them! Everybody will ask you of this recipe!


Go HERE for the recipe!


Cousins!