My new kitchen staple...

So if you enjoy cooking and loving having flavor in your food and don't have a lot to spend then this is for you...Shelb introduced me to Chicken Base for her recipe, Chicken Florentine. Since then I have found I use this new kitchen staple quite often. I use it when a recipe calls for Chicken Stock or Broth. I simply use 1 tsp for every cup of water. This tub has 91 servings and cost around $5. That is so much cheaper than buying chicken stock and I think they flavor is much richer than that of stock.

Here are just a few ways I have found uses for this stuff:

Rice: When boiling water for rice I add a teaspoon for every cup of water and then add the rice. Yummy!

Chicken and Dumplins: I made homemade stock with chicken, onions and celery but added a couple of teaspoons to the stock. Delicious!

Chicken Gravy: I use a cup of water, 1 tsp of base and about 2 Tbsp of flour. Make like you would regular gravy. Fabulous!

The Chicken Base doesn't have to be refrigerated either and doesn't spoil like store bought chicken broth. So much money I have wasted in the past with stock I didn't use!

I highly recommend this stuff!

What is easier than...

Beef, Beans and Rice?

Here is what we had for dinner.

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked white rice ($0.20)
2 cups water
1 pound ground beef ($1.99)
1 onion, chopped (.49)
1 (15 ounce) can red beans, drained and rinsed ($0.56)
1 (10 ounce) can Rotel (I used hot) ($0.85)

Total: $4.09!

Step One:
Cook the rice according to the package directions (Usually, boil water and add rice. Cover, lower heat and cook for 20-25 minutes until all water absorbed.)

Step Two:
While the rice is cooking sauté chopped onion with a little butter or oil for about 2-3 minutes. Add ground beef and cook meat until no longer pink.

Step Three:
Rinse Pinto Beans (Red Beans) and pour until a casserole dish. Add the can of Rotel.

Step Four:
Once done add the meat and onion mixture as well as the cooked rice to the casserole dish. Mix all ingredients together.

Step Five:
Cover and back in a 350 Degree oven for 20-25 minutes stirring once. Enjoy!

**I added some Cajun seasoning that I had on hand for a little extra flavor. Yummy!

**If you have some extra cheese you can sprinkle on top when done baking.

Happy Father's Day

Today is a bittersweet day. Shawn and I are both blessed to have amazing fathers that have loved us unconditionally but we are not able to spend the day with either of them.

To my Dad:

Thank you for being my rock. You have guided me to do the right thing and be a strong person my entire life. I have your humor and your hot headed temper. I thank God everyday that I'm your baby girl.

To Shawn's Dad:

Thank you for raising an amazing man. Thank you for teaching him to love and provide for his family. Thank you for supporting him in whatever he chooses to do. You are his inspiration. Thank you for welcoming me into your family and treating me as if I have always been a part of it.

Happy Father's Day to all you Daddy's out there!

Budget Friendly Meal

Hello friends!

In light of recent events with the uncertainty of my job we have had to set ourselves on a strict budget for groceries. I am used to making lists when going to the store and making meal plans but our situation has forced me to be a little more creative in my meal planning to stay within budget. Hamburger Helper only tastes good for a short time!

I would like to share with you my mother's recipe of Goulosh. The first time I made it for Shawn he had it in his head he wasn't going to like it. He was used to Goulosh that had corn and green beans and whatever else was thrown in. This is not that type of Goulosh. It is inexpensive to make and super easy to throw together. It has been a family favorite for as long as I can remember. As you go along you might want to add your personal touch. I have added green chilies to the meat and onions as well as chopped jalapenos when I have them on hand. And, to make it easier I am even adding pictures!

Ingredients:

1 LB Hamburger Meat ($1.99)

1 Onion, diced (optional but adds a lot of flavor) ($0.49)

2 8oz cans Tomato Sauce ($1.00)

2 C Water (or fill each tomato sauce can with water)

1 Pkg Taco or Enchilada Sauce Mix (see picture below) ($0.50)

1 Pkg Macaroni Deluxe Meal (picture below) ($1.50)

Total: $5.48!

Step One:

Saute diced onion for 3-5 minutes in butter or olive oil. Add Hamburger Meat and cook until no longer pink. Drain grease (or not if there isn't much in there) and add back to pan.

Step Two:

Add the seasoning package to the meat and stir until the meat in evenly coated.

Step Three:

Add the 2 cans of Tomato Sauce and 1 C of water to mixture. Stir incorporate sauce, water, meat and seasoning. Bring to a boil.

Step Four:

Once mixture comes to a boil add the noodles of the Macaroni and Cheese. Don't add the cheese yet!

Step Five:
Turn the heat down to medium low and cook for about 10-12 minutes or until the noodles are done. You may have to add a little bit of water to help finish the noodles. Once the noodles are done add the cheese sauce from the foil pouch. Mix it in with all the other goodness and you now have a huge pot of Goulosh that will easily feed a family of 4!
Sorry, didn't take a picture of the final product because I was too busy stuffing my face!

I hope you enjoy this budget friendly meal and I will add more as we go along. Until then, take care friends and God bless!

The last 2 weeks...

I can't believe it has been 2 weeks since I've posted. Actually, I can. We have a very busy month for June so far. I don't have many pictures but I will share what I have.

The first week of June was spent with Shawn's parents and brother. They came down from OK and we had a great time. We went to Schlitterbahn and had a blast! Shawn drove them around town and showed them some sites. Even though it could have been better for them if he would have let them out of the car! We did go down to South Congress will full intentions of window shopping all the cute shops there but it was SO hot and we parked so FAR away that we stopped at the first place that had an outdoor patio for Nova and cold beer! Needless to say, we didn't make to any shops. We had a few drinks and then walked back towards the car to watch the bats take off at sunset. Below is a pictures of Nova diving into the bushes. He had enough walking and was so hot. Poor puppy.
I can't forget about this one. Shawn's Mom is so creative and instead of getting Shawn an OSU shower curtain for the bathroom she made him one instead. It is so neat and Shawn loved it!

After Shawn's family left we spent Friday night together hanging out and then I was off to Dallas to see George, Reba, Blake Shelton and a newcomer Julianne Hough. I had no idea who Julianne was but was going for George and Reba. On my way to Dallas I got stuck in traffic. At 12:00 on a Saturday! There is many reasons why I do not like that area of Texas and this is one of them.

On to the concert we go...Below is a picture of the stadium from the parking lot. There were so many lots to park and Kelly paid $40 for parking! It was outrageous! After we parked we walked to eat at Joe's crab shack and then headed back to the stadium.

When we returned to the stadium and tried to enter the closest gate to us we were DENIED because our ticket only allowed us to go into a certain gate number, which was on the OTHER side of the stadium! That was very ridiculous to me and my feet were quite upset as well. When we finally made into the stadium it was packed every which way we turned. To make it worse, no one working there knew were section numbers were and it was an absolute madhouse trying to find our seats. We were told to go one way and then told another. But, we finally made it. The first act was already on when we were seated but we didn't mind since neither Kelly or I had ever heard of Julianne Hough.

So, we are checking out the stadium and listening to the music and I make a comment to Kelly that this Julianne chick looks a lot like Leann Womack. She said she thought the same thing. We went back and forth on how she looked like here depending on the angle of the picture that was on the jumbotron. I then make a comment to Kelly that she sings Leann Womack songs beautifully and sounds very similar to her. Kelly agrees. But, it wasn't Leann Womack we said to each other. We could not get over how much she looked like her, sounded like her and was covering Leann Womack songs. Well, that's because it WAS Leann Womack! We didn't know for sure until she was done with her set and the announcer came on and said "Leann Womack ladies and gentlemen."

Next, was Blake Shelton. He put on a great show! I was not so sure about these big jumbo screens at first but they are presented in HD and you can really see the artist's emotions while they are performing. This is Blake opening a Miller Lite saying "This isn't my first one of these today."

Next, was my all time favorite artist, Reba! She puts on an awesome show. It was nothing as extreme like the ones I remembered but she doesn't really tour that much anymore. She was still amazing!




And of course she had to do an encore performance of Fancy...and a wardrobe change was involved. Classic Reba!


Then there was George. Man, he looks good! He gets better looking with age for sure! He put on an awesome show and I am so glad that I was able to attend the concert this time!



We didn't stay for the encore performance. We were trying to beat the 60,000 fans that were there and avoid getting stuck in traffic. We had an awesome time. Thanks Kel, you are the best!


This is a view of the stadium at night when we left.
Last week Shelb and Mike came down for the ROT rally but I don't have any pics to post of that. We had a great time. And of course, Shelb and I had to have our sushi fix. It was awesome. We tried a new place, Musashino. I even ventured out and had Fatty Tuna! It was so buttery and melt in your mouth good!

Now it is back to our day to day life. As many of you know, my stores are closing in the next week or so and I am on the job hunt. Please keep us in your prayers and pray that God will guide me towards a job/career that is suited for Shawn and me. I will keep you posted on the progress!

Take care friends and God bless!

Memorial Day Weekend!

I know it's late but here is what Shawn and I did on our 3 day weekend.

On Saturday we got up early and drove to Dallas for the Texas State Women's Bowling Tourney. We stayed with my Aunt, thanks Kel! I bowled horribly on Saturday. I bowled better on Sunday morning. My team was awesome. Thanks for letting me bowl with you ladies! Can't wait to do it again next year in Austin!

On the way home on Sunday we had to stop at Braum's. If you have never eaten Braum's ice cream then you have no idea what you are missing. Thanks to my MIL I have a new found love: Peanut Butter Hot Fudge Sundae. Delicious! Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream, Peanut Butter Sauce, Hot Fudge Sauce, Whipped Cream and a Cherry...what could be better?

On the way back we thought we were going to run into to some bad weather. Evidently, it rained the whole weekend in Austin while we were gone.

We missed the rain and when we got home we headed out to hang out with Stacey. We didn't see enough of her so we went back out to the lake house on Monday. I made my should be famous scalloped potatoes and her brother Tommy made Lamb Shanks. I was a little nervous but it was delicious! Thanks to Stacey for having us out!

I can't forget that we finally met Stacey's nephew, Matthew. He is so adorable!

That was our 3 day weekend. We had a great time! Shawn's parents arrived in town this past Saturday. We went to Schlitterbahn on Sunday and had a great time, I don't have any pictures though. Hopefully, I will get some pics of all of us from this week. I will leave you with this though...the below picture is what I came home to last night. Shawn's parents surprised us with a house warming gift. They are so amazing and we are so blessed to have this time with them!

His Mom made it even more special with the flowers and wine! After dinner we moved it to the Patio where I can enjoy my coffee in the morning, dinner and wine in the evenings all while listening to the birds or watching the lighting bugs!