Happy Friday!

The calendar says it's this teacher's summer vacation but it doesn't feel like it with the two professional development days and preparing for summer school.

Since I was so excited about school ending last week, I forgot about some of the other cool stuff that happened - so I though I would shared some additional fun from the past two weeks.

1. Uh, have you ever Zorbed? It's basically a human-sized hamster ball. What you see up there in the big picture is what I saw when I walked my very eager students out to field day last week. I have to say the parents who thought this one up made about every 6th grader's dream come true on the last day of school with renting not one, but two of those puppies. And let me tell ya, they are a workout!

2. New easy dinner alert: Grilled Pesto Shrimp Skewers. Or say to hell with the skewers and just put the shrimp in the oven to bake for about 8 minutes.

3. I finally qualified for an Influenster Vox Box! Free samples always make for a great mail day. I'll be sharing what I got soon.

4. Kick off to summer mani in "Cabana Boy".

5. Even though, I semi-whined about my summer spending habits on Wednesday, I feel on top of my budget game. When you get paid two month's worth of salary at once, I feel as though it is necessary to know where your money is going. One less thing to worry about this summer!

Bonus: My Sleep Number bed is being delivered on Wednesday! I can't wait to finally sleep on it and share all about it. I keep hearing such great things from my friends who already have one.

This weekend I'm putting the final touches on my summer school lesson plans, having a patio dinner with a sorority sister and fellow teacher, and a Card's game on Saturday night. Hopefully the rain can stay away so we can have some fun!

Have a great weekend!

Swiss Chicken is one of my favorite Sunday night dinners. It cheesy, chicken-y, and delicious.

My mom started making it about 10 years ago and it quickly became one of our family favorites. This dish is in heavy rotation at our house, usually made about every two weeks. A pan feeds us for dinner and gives us leftovers for lunch.

I'm pretty sure that the recipe came from either Kraft or Campbell's, and a quick Google search for 'Swiss Chicken' will bring up a plethora of similar recipes but this is how I do it:

Source

Swiss Chicken
Ingredients:

• 4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I use frozen)
• 1 can of cream of chicken soup
• 4-5 slices of Swiss cheese
• 1/4 cup milk
• Stove Top Stuffing for chicken
• 1.5 tbsp margarine or as I call it, stick butter.

Place chicken breasts in a foil lined baking pan. Combine soup and milk, pour over chicken. Place a slice of cheese on each chicken breast. Sprinkle on stuffing mix, don't be stingy. Place a pat of margarine on each chicken breast. Cover with foil and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. Remove foil for the last 10-15 minutes so the stuffing can crisp slightly.

My oven is crazy so I end up having to cook mine for like an hour and half but it is still SO worth it. I usually like to make some broccoli and cheese rice as a side.

Have you made anything delicious lately? I am back on my meal planning kick after taking two weeks off. This week I'm keeping things simple with burgers, shrimp pasta, smoked sausage, and breakfast for dinner.

Have a great week!

I like to reflect each week on what totally rocked and link up with Lauren over at From My Grey Desk.

This week, my world is better because:

1. 12 in '12 baby! My STL Cardinals are currently playing in the NLCS AGAIN. It feels unreal to be back in the same position we were last year. AND I get to go to Game #5 tonight to hopefully see them clinch the pennant.

2. Fall just showed up. One day this week as I turned onto my street I was bombarded by fall colors. We are still dealing with up and down temps but the colors are finally getting on track.


3. I got my school picture this week and it reminded me that I am becoming my mom. Slowly but surely...it's happening.

Oh my, it's been awhile! I've been meaning to blog for the past two weeks and it has just been crazy town at work and home with early morning meetings, moving my Grandma to my parents house, and trying to pretend like I'm 20 again going out Friday AND Saturday nights with various social engagements (let's be real, if I was really trying to pretend I was 20 I would be going out every night of the week).

God. I'm. Old.

In between all that I've been busy in the kitchen. My Pinboard is bursting with new recipes to try. I don't know what it is about fall but it makes me wanna cook.


First up, I tried the Baked Potato Grilled Cheese.

Say hello to what's been missing in your life. It's pretty much everything I love on a sandwich. Potatoes, cheese, bacon, sour cream, green onions, and butter.

Please stop what you're doing right now and go make this sandwich.

And don't skimp on the bread - make sure it is a nice crusty French bread. Trust.

Next, a chicken dish known as Chicken Kiev.


Pretty tasty but labor intensive and too much handling of raw chicken. The inside is stuffed with green onions, parsley, butter, and garlic.

Lastly, Garlic Pesto Chicken with Tomato Cream Sauce.



This was very reminiscent of the Pioneer Woman's Penne a la Betsy I tried a while back. This recipe was easier to make and still packed a flavor punch. Plus, the recipe made a ton so there are leftovers for lunch this week. Score!

So what have you been up to, any good recipes I need to try? Leave 'em for me in the comments!

It's Friday?

On summer vacation the days just seem to melt together so color me happy that it is the best of all days of the week, Friday! I'm linking up with Lauren over at From My Grey Desk for her High Five for Friday party.

My top 5 favorites from this past week:

1. I'm feeling motivated. I attended some amazing professional development this week that really makes me wish it was August already so I can implement some of the new learning that took place this week. Crazy right? I just spent four weeks counting down until summer and now here I am wishing I was at school. Dork!

2. So far I have cooked every meal at home this week. This is a personal victory as I don't think I have ever not ate out even just once in a week. And I'm on track to continue this trend...amazing what a little planning can do.

Pesto Seared Salmon with Lemon Couscous ...fancy!

3. Cheesecake stuffed strawberries rocked my world this week. Another Pinterest inspired recipe that definitely lives up to the amount of times I've seen it repinned.

4. Pedicures with my mom and sisters.



5. Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Flea walked across the stage on his hands!

Hope you had a great week and an even better weekend!

Looking at my latest pins it appears that I'm hungry for new and interesting dishes. Now that I have the time because it's summer my goal is to make dinner every evening - not only to stay within our budget but to expand our dinner repertoire beyond tacos, hamburgers, and Swiss Chicken. I worry about the day we ever have children and getting them to eat vegetables because we would be the worst examples as parents!

This "Green Monster" smoothie supposedly doesn't taste what it looks like. I need to get my hands on a blender to try it out for myself. Anyone ever tried this before?



The BF bought a pork loin on whim last week and I had to figure out how to cook it - this seemed like an easy and simple option, it's on the menu for Thursday with some mashed taters.



This lovely desert is on the menu for tomorrow night - so excited to try it out however I'm nervous because I don't have an electric mixer and it might be difficult to give the cream cheese the right consistency. I'll post the results tomorrow, wish me luck!



Ok so not all of my pins were food but this still belongs in the kitchen - it's cheap, easy, and cute!



And I don't know where this pin fits in but I really want an infinity ring. I blame my slight obsession with the infinity symbol all on Pinterest. Our six year dating anniversary coming up and even though I've been super obvious about wanting it we usually don't do presents beyond sentimental stuff so it might just be a little present to myself.

 

Like what you see? You can follow me on Pinterest and see more good stuff on the daily.

Pin anything good lately? Link up with The Vintage Apple and leave me a comment so I can check them out!

       

This week, I sat down and actually planned out all the meals for the week and even went grocery shopping on Sunday. I even printed this cute meal planner from IHeart Organizing - it was simple and perfect!

It felt great to come home after school each day and already know what to prepare and have everything on hand. How have I not done this sooner?!

One of the recipes I made this week was the bomb.com (do people still say that?)

It was found on Pinterest on one of the many marathon, procrastinatory pinning binges that have become my weekday nights. What is it about online grad school homework that makes you not want to do anything but what you're supposed to?

But back to the crazy good recipe, it's known as Penne a la Betsy from The Pioneer Woman (who I am quickly becoming a big fan of). Basically, it is some garlic, onion, tomato sauce, heavy cream, white wine, and basil that come together with some penne noodles to  really blow your mind. The first time I tasted the sauce I immediately thought I didn't make it. It was like restaurant good.


It was quite the production to make, at least at our house it was. When it came time to add the wine (why I wasn't drinking any already, not quite sure) we realized we still have not purchased a cork screw. No problem I thought, just Google "alternate ways to open wine bottle".

Which then lead to this scene.


Needless to say we weren't successful and had to pause cooking to run to the store to pick up a corkscrew and a new box of penne because I had already cooked the noodles and lets just say noodles are food not meant to be "rested"

Anywho, I highly recommend trying the recipe out for yourself, you won't be disappointed.

Have you tried any new recipes lately? Ever try something from Pinterest that was a total flop? (I am just waiting for the Pinterest fail blog to pop up**). Tell me about it!

** Someone's already on the ball, check out PinterestFail

Have I told you that I am trying not eat out in the month of November? Well, I am. And I have even given a cute little nickname...."No Fast Food November"

The month of October was a wreck on my personal eating habits, I blame it mostly on being too tired and of course the St. Louis Cardinals post season. I just wanted to come home with some Jack in the Box or Wendy's or McDonald's or...you get the idea, and veg out in front of the tv. And while the fast food wreaked havoc on my body (why, hello extra five pounds) it also took a sizable chunk out my income...to the tune of almost $230! To be fair, my fast food trips were usually feeding Christopher and myself. But still...OMG.

Here enters No Fast Food November.

And so far it is has been delicious and on track, I have only eaten out for a school lunch with my co-workers and a bachelorette party this weekend.

Some ways I am staying on track included buying a Crock Pot. People at work couldn't believe I didn't have one. I made a delicious pot roast with potatoes and carrots last night. Swiss Chicken on Friday night. And tonight....Houlihan's Potato Soup.

I followed the recipe I found on GroupRecipes.com and I kid you not, it is the exact same as Houlihans. It was heavenly! Chris had never tried it before and easily ate up two huge bowls. My man was impressed.

It did take some time to prepare though. The recipe says 40 minutes, but it was more like and hour and a half from start to finish. This was mostly due to the fact that I added bacon (which is shown in the picture, but not in the recipe. Trust me, spend the extra time and add the bacon, it's worth it!) Luckily, I had the good sense to bake the potatoes yesterday. But it was a fun, Chris helped cook and it was a nice little Monday night.

Did I mention there were leftovers? I now have my lunch for tomorrow, score!

So far, I have spent more money on groceries, but I feel better about myself for not hitting the drive thru and hopefully I will be able to keep my promise to myself. Something to aid me in my plan will be next when I spend the WHOLE WEEK with my students in the woods. Yep, it is Outdoor School time. And there is no fast food in sight. Thank goodness!

What about you? Cook anything good lately? Or have you fallen into a fast food rut?