Recipe of the Week: Egg and Cheese McMuffins

This week I decided to make a bunch of new things. I can tell I need to get back to work soon, because I am becoming quite the Suzy homemaker around here. So far this week I have tried homemade cinnamon rolls, stromboli, and egg mcmuffins. Tomorrow I am attempting crockpot bbq chicken and chewy granola bars.

So as I am getting ready to go back to school and David is leaving early in the mornings, I started looking for easy breakfast ideas. One of my favorite mommy websites (money saving mom) makes freezer friendly recipes each week. She made these McMuffins that she found on another website, and I thought I would try them. They were SUPER easy and are going to be easy to warm and go in the mornings. (Pictures are on the website attached at the bottom. As soon as mine finish I will post my own pics)

Ingredients:
12 large eggs
shredded cheddar cheese (8 oz bag)
12 english muffins
bacon or sausage (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the eggs in a greased muffin tin. Please the tin in the oven for 15-20 mins until the eggs are cooked throughout. While they are cooking, toast the english muffins. This can be done in the oven or toaster. Once the eggs are done, place the bottom of the english muffin on a cookie sheet. Layer the egg and cheese and then put the top of the english muffin on top. If freezing, put them in the freezer for an hour or two to release some of the juices. After the hour or two, wrap the egg mcmuffins in foil or plastic wrap and place in a ziploc bag. Reheat in the oven for 20-25 minutes or heated throughout.  

http://www.macheesmo.com/2010/03/breakfast-sandwiches/


Tomorrow I will be attempting to make one of our favorite snacks in the Evanina house, chewy granola bars. I am also going to make crockpot bbq chicken. I will keep you posted with how they turn out.

Crying it out...

This cry it out thing is the hardest thing I have had to deal with as a mommy. I hate hearing Mollie cry at night when I put her into bed and she is not asleep. When she was younger, I would rock her to sleep. Then once she was good and sleeping, she would go in her crib or pack n play. Now, I am in the process of having her learn how to put herself to sleep. I put her down when she is almost asleep, but she immediately wakes up and has a hard time putting herself back to sleep. She cries and cries. Last night when we put her down at midnight and 4, she cried for about 45 minutes each time until she finally fell asleep. It is gut wrenching to hear your baby cry and not be able to go get her. I could get her, but it would just defeat the purpose of having her learn to fall asleep on her own. We need to start working in this direction, because I am going back to school in 3 weeks. I can't be up all night rocking her to sleep, when I have to get up at 4:30 in the morning. Everything I have read says that the crying time will get shorter and shorter. It is just so hard right now when no one is getting sleep and she is crying her heart out. Here's to hoping tonight is better...

Recipe of the week: Chicken Taco Bowls

It just so happens that my first 2 dishes posted are Mexican dishes. I promise that I don't eat Mexican food every night, but I do LOVE anything that is spicy. This recipe was SOO easy and convienent, especially with a baby that is fussy in the afternoon and evening. I am working to find things that I can make in the morning or the night before, and then just have to stick in the oven before we are ready to eat.

One of the best things about this meal is that it goes in the crockpot. Easy, fast, and cooks itself! I got this recipe off of a blog that I follow for Money Saving Mom. She actually takes this recipe and freezes it for later in the week. As I was cooking, it wasn't the prettiest meal I have ever made, but it tastes great! It was a little spicy for my liking, so I will probably modify that a little bit next time. But David LOVED it! He had 3 bowls.

Chicken Taco Bowls

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. chicken breasts
16 oz jar of salsa
1/2 lb frozen corn
1 tbsp. chili powder
1/2 tbsp. cumin
1/2 tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. of salt and pepper
2 c dry rice
8 oz. shredded cheddar

Add everything except cheese and rice with 1/4 c water to slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hrs. Cook 2 cups of rice according to directions. After 8 hours stir crockpot mixture with fork to shred chicken. In serving bowls, layer rice, taco mix, and shredded cheese.



Food in the crockpot after I just shredded the chicken




The finished dish



Recipe of the week: Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

During the past few weeks, I have decided to try a new recipe every week. I have those staples that everyone knows, but I am getting tired of just cooking those things. David and I are also working hard to eat in and save money. So, I have decided to put the new recipe of the week on my blog to hold myself accountable.I am always looking for new recipes... so please feel free to email me your favorite!

Here is the first one compliments of my friend Rocky... I tweeked it a little bit due to what I had in my pantry.

We served these with mexican rice. I am going to start taking pictures of the recipe. This one was gorgeous and looked DELICIOUS! It was yummy and will be added to the rotation of meals in the Evanina household.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas:

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons honey
5 tablespoons lime juice (1 large lime)
1 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded (I used rotisserie chicken)
8-10 flour tortillas
1 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded
16 ounces enchilada sauce (green or red)
10 ounces diced tomatoes with green chiles
 
Directions:
1- Mix the first four ingredients and toss with shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour.
2- Mix the enchilada sauce and can of diced tomatoes
3- Fill flour tortillas with chicken and small amounts of cheese and enchilada sauce mixture, saving about 1 cup of cheese and sauce to sprinkle on top of enchiladas and place in 9 x 13 baking pan
4- Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top.

Mollie-Weeks 5 and 6

Our little girl is growing so fast! We just fall more and more in love each minute of every day! Lately we are working to increase her sleep time at night. This has been hard for all of us involved, because we are on the cry it out portion of the steps. Mollie LOVES to be held while she is falling asleep. We are trying really hard to put her down when she is drowsy, not sleeping. Many nights this results in a crying baby for a few minutes before she finally gives it up and falls asleep. We are also working on increasing her food at night time so that she will sleep for longer during the night. Our poor little girl just doesn't get why she has to eat so much. But... the nights she has lots to drink, we get 4-6 hours. One day she will wish that we would feed her whenever she wanted to eat. :)

In the past couple weeks, we have started getting some smiles (real smiles) and a lot more personality. She will look at people when they are holding her and will watch toys as they are moved from side to side when she is laying down on her mat. We do tummy time every night before bath time. She scoots her little feet like she wants to move but can't figure it out. We know it is early for crawling  (and we are nowhere near there) but we love watching her try to figure out what is going on. Mollie still loves to be cuddled and held as much as we will let her. I have got to get it now when she will still let me cuddle all day!

She is eating between 3 and 4 oz every 3 hours during the day. Sometimes she will eat all 4 oz. others she will just take 3 oz. I am hoping to move her to 4oz all day very soon. She loves the premade bottles and premixed formula. The powder is not her favorite, but she will take it. Good for her, because that premade stuff is EXPENSIVE!

Here are some more of our favorite pictures from the past couple weeks...

One month already???

We can't believe that our little girl is already 1 month old! She is already getting so big and growing so much! Today we had her 1st month appointment. The doctor was very pleased with her growth and said she is looking perfect!

One Month Stats

Weight: 8 lbs. 7 oz (+ 2 lbs) and the 25 percentile
Height: 20 5/8 in. (+ 5/8 in) and the 30 percentile
Head: 14 3/8 in ( + 1 1/8 in) and the 25 percentile

Feeding: Mollie is now eating 3-4oz every 3 hours throughout the day and night. Sometimes we will get a 4 hour break during the night.

Sleep: She sleeps for about 3 hours at a time when sleeping on her belly (during the day), and about 2 hours when on her back. At night, she sleeps for about 2 1/2 hours -3 hours at a time.

Activity: Right now Mollie loves her boppy and will lay on it throughout the day. A lot of the time she will fall asleep on it. She is looking around, recognizes certain voices and sounds, letting Toby lick her feet and hands, and gets startled with loud noises.

Soothing: Mollie loves to be swaddled from the waist down. She loves to be talked to and walked around the house when she is worked up. She LOVES her pacifier! It is gold in the Evanina household.

Here are some of our favorite pictures from the past month: