My poopy blogging skills

Well I definitely am not very cut out for this blogging thing. I am realizing that I am quite impatient. My thousand dollar wish disappeared quite quickly as I decided I wanted  to build my own furniture and bought several tools that I would need. And taking the time to write tutorials for my crafts? I don't know how people do it. I have finished several projects already, but have unfortunately not taken pictures of any of the steps....impatient. But I will still try to do it here and there, and will at least post my craft projects for view. Most of them are pretty self explanatory anyways. New Years Resolution I guess...

Skyler is 10 months old!

Oh I am growing so so fast, and although I gave an update less than 1/2 a month ago, I just couldn't wait to tell you all the BIG NEWS! Shortly after my last post I started to army crawl, which really means I had my face planted in the carpet and scooted awkwardly several feet. But... one week later I just figured it out and realized I can crawl and my hands and knees! Woohoo! I'm still becoming a pro, but I am soooo anxious to get into all of moms nice pretty things! She will have no idea what hit her.

Skyler is 9 months!

Well technically I am coming up on 10 months. But I did have an appointment at 9 months and I weighed 15 lbs 8 oz. and was 28" tall! I am growing up sooooo fast! There are soooo many things I love. I love to sleep through the night, eat anything and everything (including a special incident of poop), I love to roll, and boy I just can't wait to crawl, I get closer and closer  everyday! I started getting my first tooth at 9 1/2 months, and although it was painful I handled it like a pro. I also learned how to wave hello this month :) Mommy did catch me standing up on my own a few times, and don't tell Santa, but I even got into my christmas presents early. I just love life, and LOVE my mommy and daddy too!

Finally some Family Pics!

Our friend was so nice to go out with us and take pictures. He has no photography experience, but he did a great job, and the best part it was free!!! I think they turned out soooo CUTE! Here are some of my favorites.

Lemon pepper chicken and au gratin potatoes

So I have to give a shout out to http://www.modernparentsmessykids.com/ which is where I get many of the meals that make for my family. She has a 6 week calendar of meals with recipes and shopping lists. I don't quite follow it to a T, but my family has come to love many of her meals. Today, I am making a delicious lemon pepper chicken with Au Gratin Potatoes.

Lemon Pepper Chicken:

• 1/4 cup (plus 2 tablespoons, if roasting) EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 lemons, divided
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely grated or pasted
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Salt
• 1 3- to 4-pound chicken, skin removed and cut in pieces

I just simply put all the ingredients in a zip lock bag, mix, and marinate the chicken for 15 min. before throwing it on the grill. To save time, today I plan on making 3 batches so I can simply freeze 2 more meals of the marinated chicken.

Au Gratin Potatoes

4 russet potatoes, sliced into 1/4 slices

1 onion sliced into rings

salt and pepper to taste

3 T butter

3 T flour

1/2 t Salt 

2 Cups milk

1 1/2 Cups cheese

I always add more cheese and this recipe makes at least a serving size of 4. Preheat oven to 400. Layer all the potatoes on bottom of a 1 qt dish. Then in a saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Add the rest of the ingredients and slowly melt to consistency, leaving the cheese for last. Once the cheese is melted, layer over potatoes, cover with foil and bake for an hr. 

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Happy Halloweenie!!!

Well this is Halloween #2 as a couple, and #1 as a family. I don't think Mr. Skyler really knew what to think of the holiday, and it made me think to myself.... "hmmm... this really is a weird holiday". I mean it's a bunch of people dressing up and asking for candy. Well the good news is, I like candy. So since Skyler isn't old enough to go trick-or-treating yet, we decided to play it low key this yr. and make the big splash next halloween. So I found a simple and cheap outfit for Skyler. He really did look quite adorable for how simple it was. My lil mummy, although he was quite taken back while I was trying to make his mummy legs. Anyhow, we ran some errands, and then when daddy got off work we went and visited some friends, while Daddy and I enjoyed some candy. We also made it to a pumpkin carving patch and saw all the displayed pumpkins carved. And we ended the night at Lindsay and Marty's home watching army of the dead. I won't lie, it was very entertaining. Hooray for our first Halloween as a family!

Beef, or should I say Deer meat stew

Well I went ahead and made this stew, hoping to have some left over to freeze. I have yet to try it, so hopefully it turns out well. I'm not the best cook, but I'm definitely improving.

Ingredients:
6 med Idaho Potatoes- chopped and peeled
1 lb baby carrots
med onion-chopped
Deer meat
14 oz dice tomato undrained
10 oz tomato and green chili undrained
1 cup beef broth (depending how soupy you like it)
t. ground mustard
t. salt and pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper

1. peel and chop potatoes, then put in slow cooker. 2. Top potatoes with the carrots, onion, and then meat. (I used frozen dear meat, but you can choose other meat to cook and throw in)

2. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a separate bowl, then pour over meat.

3. Cook on high for 1 1/2 hrs, then turn to low for another 6-7 hrs.

Since I went to the store I decided to buy some red and green peppers. So I went ahead and chopped them up, then put them in freezer for 3-5 min before putting in a freezer bag. Now I have peppers ready for an afternoon snack, or future fajitas!

What's cooking?

Travis and I have been trying, and actually doing pretty well at making freezer friendly foods to help ease the cooking burden. So in hopes to continue to do so, I plan on making a big batch of the same food at least once a week so that I can freeze all the extra. To start, I will give you a peek at what I have in my freezer now... much of which I have on hand every month. After giving you a lil peek, I'm gonna start another post of the beef stew I plan to make today. FYI... My family consist of only my husband, 8 month old son Skyler, and I so it doesn't take much to get leftovers. But feel free to change the recipe size to match your own family needs! Here we go.... my freezer contains the following

Store bought

Several pkg of butter

Tortillas

Juice concentrate

bagels

hashbrowns

sweet potato fries

frozen vegetables

burritos

cool whip

Meats

smoked sausage

ham and turkey luncheon meat

Ham

Ground turkey

Chicken

Deer meat

sausages

fish

shrimp

pork chops

Homemade

Cookie dough

rolls

italian meatballs

lemon pepper chicken

breakfast burritos

shredded cheese

taco meat

chili

santa fe chicken

BBQ chicken

A thousand dollar wish

If you were granted $1000 to spend on whatever you wanted, what would it be? This is assuming you can spend it on wants, and not needs. Well, I have been giving this a lot of thought. We are blessed to have a good savings, as well as food storage, and money set aside for more necessities. After much dedication, we have become debt free, and have a savings to help us live for 6 months without problem if Travis were to lose his job. So... to celebrate our accomplishments, we are going to take some of our extra money to splurge on the things we want. What will I do with my share? Well I might get a few lil things for myself here and there, but I've decided to see how much I can transform my home with 1000 to spend. So I will be keeping a list of what I buy, and what I do with it. Hopefully, there will be a positive transformation in the Plott home. I spend all day, everyday, here in this home. So the chance to make it mine is going to be such a fun task. I've already dipped into the budget, and bought a qrt. of brown paint to re-finish my cabinets in the main bath. Unfortunately for now, the major changes ie. new toilet, shower, etc. will be a long time wait. But making do with what we have, and a small budget, large transformations can still be possible. I hope....The doors are down, the cabinets are halfway sanded, and I'm excited to show you the $15 difference paint will make while I finish transforming the bathroom.

Skyler meets his family