Pizza Soup

Here is another Easy Peasy recipe..Pizza Soup. Way better than plain tomato soup!Everyone loves this soup, I just add a grilled cheese sandwich and you have a great school day lunch!

Ingredients: 

1lb ground beef

2 cans condensed tomato soup(26oz), undiluted

1 jar Spaghetti Sauce

15-20 pepperonis, chopped

4 cups water

1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

• In a large stock pot, cook beef until no longer pink,drain. Add soup,spaghetti sauce,pepperoni,water, and seasoning, bring to a boil. 
• Reduce Heat; Simmer,uncovered,for 15 minutes. 
• Add cheese, cook and stir until melted. 
• Garnish with additional cheese 

*This recipe makes enough to have plenty of leftovers and enough to put in freezer for another meal!

From Taste of Home

Sara's Mixed Up Rice (Santa Fe Style)

I found a recipe for "Grandma's Rice Dish" from Taste of Home. I made it one time and it reminded me of a frozen meal that I use to eat called Sante Fe-Style Beans and Rice. So I took that recipe and I added my own twist to it, and this is what we got!

Ingredients:

1lb lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green onion
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 can diced tomatoes,undrained
1 can whole kernel corn,drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
6 bacon strips(I use turkey bacon but regular bacon is great too)
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese,divided
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 Tbsp butter, melted

• In a large skillet, cook the beef,onion and green pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink;drain. Stir in the rice,tomatoes,beans,corn,bacon,chili powder,garlic powder and salt. Bring to a boil;remove from the heat. Add 1 cup of cheese and stir until melted. 

• Transfer to a greased baking dish(11x13). Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Toss bread crumbs with melted butter,sprinkle over top of cheese. Bake uncovered,at 350 for 15-20 minutes. 

This is definitely a comfort food! My kids like finding trying to find the bacon hidden in with everything else! 

Chicken and Veggie Hodgepodge

I really like those recipes that are "bottom of the barrel". You know the ones where you can use up the last of things and those ingredients that have just been around for awhile and you need to do something with them? This is one of those recipes for me.
I have had a package of ground chicken and 2 cans of mixed veggies sitting around for a while and I finally decided to do something with them, so out came this recipe. :-)

This is a very simple recipe and very filling! Sissy says "Not bad mom". So I thought I would share here in case anyone else has a few cans of mixed vegetables staring at them every time they open the pantry door.

Ingredients:

1lb ground chicken

2 cans mixed veggies, drained and rinsed

1 can green beans, drained and rinsed

1 can corn, drained and rinsed

2 cups elbow macaroni

2 cups cheese-I used Colby Jack,Asiago,and White Cheddar(each one only had a little left so this was great to use them all up)

Emirel Seasoning

Garlic Powder

Onion Powder

Pepper


1. Cook elbow macaroni according to package directions.

2. Cook ground chicken with a little olive oil and seasoning in skillet, until no longer pink.

3. Once the chicken and macaroni is cooked add all ingredients to a large bowl and stir to combine, taste it and see if you need to add more of each seasoning.

4. Place everything in a greased casserole dish. (You can top with more cheese if you want)

5. Bake in oven for 20-25minutes.

Pushing Forward and September Menu

After some inspiration from fellow bloggers I am *Pushing Forward* :-)

I can't believe it is September already guys! We have had so much happen so far this year.
Some of you already know this but, Big Daddy had to leave his job at the beginning of the year, so we took a role reversal for about 6 months where he stayed home with the kids and I worked...a lot!
This in turn made me push things that I love to do to the wayside, this blog being one of them. I just didn't have time y'all, and when I did I was just too tired!
Big Daddy went back to work in June and things are finally coming back together.
We started homeschooling at the beginning of August and we LOVE it, it is a big adjustment for us but, we are loving all the freedom that we have!
I hope to get back in the groove of things here and continue to post recipes and menus, but also I want to start sharing our homeschool journey as well!

I am starting out by posting this September menu. We have a lot going on in the month of September so I decided to just do the menu for the whole month to make things easier.

Breakfasts Choices: 
*Cereal with Fruit
*Shakes
*Smoothies
*Biscuits & Gravy,Eggs and Sausage
*Eggs and Toast
*Oatmeal and Kefir
*Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins and Kefir

*Pigs N Blanket and Eggs
*Waffles and Fruit
*Pancakes and Eggs
*Yogurt and Fruit

Lunch Choices:
Lots of Left Overs 
*Sandwiches
*Grilled Cheese
*Chicken Nuggets
*Pizza
*Burritos
*Tuna Salad
*Pizza Soup(recipe coming soon)
*Homemade Bread,Cheese,Fruits and Veggies
*Salads
*Smoothies
*Minestrone Soup

Dinner Choices: 
*Goulash with Salad and Green Beans
*Lipton Chicken with Crescent Rolls
*Bratwurst with Peppers and Onions
*Hamburgers,Homemade Fries, and Baked Beans
*Aprils Quiche
*Crabby Patties
*Lasagna Subs with Salad and Green Beans
*Crazy Mixed Up Rice Dish(recipe coming soon)
*Hot Wings with Homemade Fries and Roasted Veggies
*Aprils Simple Red Beans and Rice
*Taco Casserole
*Unstuffed Zucchini

*Steak,Baked Potato,Salad, and Beans
*Turkey Kielbasa and Summer Veggies 

*Soup Beans and Cornbread,Kraut and Wienies, Fried Taters
*Chili {Wendy's Style}

*Grilled Chicken Salad
*Veggie Soup and Cornbread
*Pork,Taters, and Kraut

*Taco Chili with Rice 

:-)

Adjusting my focus and catching up!

Someone asked for my email the other day, and I thought "Hmm, I haven't check that in a while." 4,000 messages y'all!! Seriously! Arghh! So as I am sitting here deleting them(wishing there was a delete all button but knowing I wouldn't use it if there were) I came across one email from Google, the subject, "Registration for SmokyMountainMomma.com will expire soon"  And I thought  "Smoky Mountain Momma, Oh ya, that's my blog...OMG my blog is going to expire!" HaHaHa
Needless to say I need to check my email more often! I have hopefully updated everything where it won't "expire"

I saw this on Facebook this morning, "when life gets blurry adjust your focus". And it hit home!
The last few months have just been crazy! But, it's time to sort it all out and adjust the focus. So I thought I would start here with this blog I love.

*My last post left off on what to do on Snow days. We had lot of snow days in January. The kids loved playing in the snow!

*February came and went with Big Daddy and I celebrating 12 years being together and 9 years married! :-)

*Sissy turned 9 in March. We celebrated with a big sleepover at our house.
 We were also surprised with 11 baby bunnies! (ours were suppose to be 2 girls)

*In April we had a fun Easter at our house with family, lots of yummy food and egg hunts.
 We took a family beach trip, and Big Daddy and Sissy got to ride on the Darlington Race track with the track president.
And we came home to 8 more baby bunnies!!!!

* So far in May we have took the kids to the Ripley Museum and putt-putt golf (when they had local days)

And Sissy had her field day..

Something new going on, we have decided to homeschool the kids starting in August. I have been pouring over everything to do with it lately and talking to all the homeshool moms I know, to make sure I am on the right path. I will share more once I get everything figured out. :-)

Things I am loving right now,in no particular order-

Aprils Quiche
She has lots of good recipes and meal plans too

Tennessee R.E.A.D.S.
Have found lots of books on there for homeschooling too

Homeschool Facebook groups

Brother has just got in to Dragon Tales in the last week and he loves it! And I love that he loves it and gives EvantubeHD a break for awhile!

Lemon Water- I have been drinking lemon water every morning instead of coffee. :-)

This Sweet Potato and Chicken Soup from SimplyTaraLynn.com
I make it about once a week and eat on it all through the week. It's great!!


You will notice that I have not been couponing as much as I was. There are many reasons but maybe I will pick it back up again. I also didn't take pictures of all of our bento lunches lately either. (Things fell to the way side after certain life events)

Moving on...
Next week is the last week of school for Sissy and then we have 2 full months of fun stuff to do. Like going to the pool, going to sleep away camp(Sissy) having a big yard sale, lot of birthdays to attend, park play time, walking at the river walk, going to Cades Cove, going camping, etc...

Everything is coming back in focus...  :-D

Things to do on a Snow Day

I love snow days, really I do, I just don't like so many snow days together so close to Christmas break! ;-) Anyone else digging deeper in their bag of tricks for these extra snow days?
I put together this list to share but also for myself to refer to! Hope you find something you can use in here!

First if you have enough snow go outside and play!! Make a snowman, Sled, Make snow Angles, have a snowball fight!

1. Bake Cookies (kids love to help out with this!)

2.Find silly videos to watch on YouTube.

3.Take Dry Erase Markers and color on windows.

4. Make a fort.

5. Make Vegetable soup(let the kids help).

6. Have your kids put on a play, and film it!

7.Turn up the radio and have a dance party.

8. Use masking tape to make a road for cars on the floor.

9. Skype family and friends.

10. Play "I spy".

11. Play Cards and Board Games.

12. Snuggle up on the coach and watch a movie. Netflix has some awesome ones!

13. Make paper snowflakes- Fold a piece of paper in half. Then fold down the 2 corners to make a triangle. Cut and arc around the open end to make your snowflake into a circle. Cut out random pieces to give your snowflake it's unique look. Open it up, add some glitter or draw designs on it, hang it up.  
OR COFFEE FILTER SNOWFLAKES 

14. Stay in your PJs all day 

15. Play with Play-dough 

16. Have an indoor picnic

17. Color :-) 

18. Indoor Easter egg hunt 

19. Make a Pinterest craft

20. Start reading a new book 

21. Make Hot Chocolate, we like ours with graham crackers! 

22. Have the kids pretend to be the news team and have them report the weather to you, and film it. 

23. Host a magic show or a talent show, and video it. 

24. Make SNOW CREAM  OR  CHOCOLATE SNOW CREAM 

25. Write a book! Fold multiple pages of paper(construction or printer paper) together 

26. Make a BIRD FEEDER 

27. Make RAINBOW GLASS 

28. Make a marshmallow snowman by gluing marshmallows on construction paper 

29. Make SLIME 

30. Make FLUBBER

31. Make FLUFFY BATHTUB PAINT and let the kids play in the tub awhile.

32. Make an IVORY SOAP CLOUD

33. BUILD WITH MARSHMALLOWS AND TOOTHPICKS

34. Build your own ARTS AND CRAFTS BOXES

35. Have an indoor photo shoot

36. Fizzy Fun- Drop vinegar colored with food coloring onto a pan filled with baking soda. Sheer minute of colorful fizzy fun!!

37. Puzzles

38. LEGOS

39. Inside Scavenger Hunt

40. TAKE A NAP!! :-)

41. Draw a large scene on a big roll of craft paper. Or let them lay on the craft paper, outline them and let them draw/color in themselves!

Menu 1-13/1-19-14

Big Daddy is still home with us this week, and Sissy is going back to school(hopefully) so things are still up in the air! I did make a menu like last week with no particular order!
I am also getting ready to work on my meal prep for the week, in hopes that it will help out a lot! We will see! ;-)  Hopefully lots of lunches too!

Breakfasts:
Smoothies x 2(for me)  and Waffles,Greek Yogurt, and Blueberries(Brother)
Oatmeal,Kefir,and Walnuts
Cereal with Fruit
Egg and Tomato Sandwich
?

Lunch:
Turkey Meatloaf Muffins with Mixed Veggies
Chicken Sausage with Mixed Veggies
Grilled Chicken and Salad
Sandwiches with Veggies
L.O. x 2
?

Dinner:
Chicken,Veggies,and Sweet Potato
Taco Salad with Pic de Gallo
Kielbasa with Veggies
? x 2
Chicken Fajitas/Quesadillas with Spanish Rice
Pancakes,Eggs, and Bacon

Sunday Meal Prep:
Baked Chicken for Salads
Salads
Cut Veggies
Turkey Muffins

2014 Goals

8 days into 2014...I think I am done with my list! I was trying to make a realistic list of things that need to be done and things that I really want to get done in 2014. There is a lot going on right now that I am just letting unfold, so I want my goals to be obtainable.
Will be lots of changes in 2014 but we will accept them and move on :-)

House:
*Organization (Upstairs and Downstairs)
*Cabinets/Ceiling in Kitchen- Both need painted and I want to organize my Pyrex on top of cabinets.

Marriage:
*Dates-Plan ahead
*Overnight Trip
*Work together on our healthier life journey

Finance:
*Maintain OSF
*Use Cash book for Yard Sales/Thrift Stores

Family:
*MOVE/EXERCISE
*Continue on Real Food journey
*Chores(Need a better approach)
*Family Vacation
*Farmers Market
*Family and Individual Kid Pictures
*Camping
*Hiking- (This has been on my goals a couple times now...TRUTH, I am lazy BUT, I am terrified of bears/snakes...yes really!)
*Sign Abbey up for GoodReads and keep track of books better
*Sunday Lunches
*10 Pinterest projects
*Take Abbey to a concert(Her wish for 2014)

Personal:
*Continue Weight Loss-2 more pant sizes
*Connect More outside of Facebook!
*20 books
* Blog more
*Write in Cursive more(FYI, if you don't use it you lose it)
*Learn how to use my camera...really
*Unplug from computer more
* More creative with kids lunches
*More Meal Prep on Sundays
*10 Pinterest Recipes
*"Take the phone off the hook and disappear for awhile"   ;-)

Menu 1-6/1-12-14

Well better late than never, running behind today.
We have been preparing for this cold/stormy weather most of the day. Getting groceries, making sure everything is good to go, like flashlights,batteries,etc.. Whether anything happens or not at least we will be ready! :-)

Our menu is different this week because Big Daddy is home with us for a while, and if Sissy goes back to school on Tuesday or not. So I just wrote down lists of what we could have and then we will decide that day what to make!

Breakfasts:
Smoothie x 2
Oatmeal,Kefir,and Walnuts x 2
Cereal with Fruit
Eggs,Bacon,and Toast
?

Lunch:
Crock Pot Chili with Rice
Chicken Sausage and Mixed Veggies
Sandwiches with Fruit
L.O. x 2
? x 2

Dinner:
Venison Pot Roast using THIS recipe (from Pioneer Woman) with Mashed Taters and Green Beans
Turkey Kale Tacos  with Corn
Baked Spaghetti  with Green Beans and Toast
Grilled Chicken Salad
Chicken,Mixed Veggies, and Sweet Potato
? x 2

I also got stuff to make Tuna Casserole, Pancakes, and we have lots of things to pull from the freezer and stockpile!
We bought extra Bolthouse Smoothies because they were on sale B1G1 :-)
Lots of fruits and Veggies and some snack food. No "treats" from the store because Big Daddy made cake!! :-)

2013 Goals Update

I am VERY happy with my goals from 2013!!! I did 25/39 or 64%!!!
Looking forward to seeing where 2014 takes us  :-)

Home:
*Make a "Home Binder" like this one.
 * I DID do this! Hopefully I will get a post up about it soon, as I am still tweaking it to the way I want it!

*Garden (Making some changes of how we did it last year)
 *Garden was some better this year, however, with all the rain that we got we did not get any tomatoes...not one!! We had plenty of cucumbers,zucchini,and yellow squash though :-)

*Flower Beds (Big Daddy wants to redo them)

*New Oven (Mine is like 30yrs old)
 * We got a new(to me) oven in September! Working great :-)

*New Recliner
 * Got a new(to us) Leather Recliner and Leather Couch

*Estimate/Do paved driveway
 *We did get an estimate, and it was more than we wanted to pay right now.

Finance:
*Maintain Emergency fund (We call this the "Oh *&^% fund) HA HA- New glasses,tires,appliances,etc..

*Add to savings

*Pay down 50% debt

* Buy 2013 Christmas throughout the year (I do this by shopping thrift stores and yard sales)
 * I always do well at this :-) Anyone that does not do this should really consider it! Saves lots of money!

*Cash Book-(I was given a simple cash book, to keep better track of the cash I spend)
 * Did not do this...could not get in to it...will try again in 2014.

Marriage:
*Date Nights
 * We have had a few sprinkled through out the year, thanks to my Momma,Daddy and his Step Dad(Papaw) for watching the kids!!

*Overnight Trip

*Time together more during week

Family:
*Myrtle Beach
   *Decided not to go this year

*3 camping trips

*Abbey Softball
 *She played baseball so she could play kids her own age, she didn't love it

*Both kids swimming lessons
 * Abbey did hers over the summer, we decided to wait on brother

*Kids Birthday pictures

*Park/Picnics

*Titanic Museum

*Cherokee
 *We did this on our "Adventure"

*Sunday Lunches with Family

*Get rid of Brothers Passy
  *We did this with no problem :-)

*Keep track of Abbeys books read

*Work on Brothers preschool learning(colors,shapes,numbers,etc..)
 * Brother is doing great on these!

*Shadracks Light Show
  * We carved out a perfect time and Papaw got to go with us too! Kids had a great time and got to see Santa!

Personal:
*Drop 2 pants sizes (Doing good with this, lost 10lbs so far and so has Big Daddy)
 *I DID THIS!!! 25+LBS DOWN  WOOT WOOT!

*Eat Breakfast (Been doing Juice)
 *EVERY day now!

*Juicing (Juicing fruits and vegetables for breakfast and snacks)
 *I love juicing, BUT I do not do it as often as I was because I realized very quick that I was not getting the fiber from the produce and my body didn't like it at all! I love me some smoothies though with fresh spinach and Kale!

*Use Crock pot more
 * 2-3 Mondays out of the month I make a soup in the Crock-pot to eat on through out the week! I have used it more this year, but still looking for more REAL FOOD Crock-Pot recipes!

*Read 12 books
 * I ended up reading 34 books this year!!! You can check out what I read HERE

*Write "Thank You" cards more often

*5 Hiking Trails(at least)

*15 Pinterest recipes
  *Yes, I got this in the bag! LOVE me some Pinterest!

Pinterest Hits

*10 Pinterest projects
 * Yes

*Blog More
 * I did slack some on my menus but, I posted recipes and kids stuff through out the year :-)

*Unplug more

*PATIENCE
 * I have noticed that I am not yelling as much as I was...but maybe need to keep this on list for next year as well! HaHa  ;-)