one of THOSE weeks

Okay so its more than just THIS week but this is the week the one that has ended up with my ulcer finally having me curled up in a ball, puking and is horrid pain. Its stress and I know it. Not just the usual crap, mostly its working on 1208 and now add in having to get our car fixed because I lent it to some one who didn't take care of it. Of course this has Donovan and I both edged out because we didnt need to add an allignment to all of our other expenses. Its rather depressing to have someone you view as a friend treat your things with no respect and then not even show the least gratitude for it. Whole thing is just sad and I guess should be just put up to a ;ife lesson but doesnt make it any easier.(Donovan is just pissed)

Rhiannon finally did it, she bought herself a moped! She cant get her license for a few months but it gives her some learning time as well as study for the test time, January will come soon enough.(she is gonna scream I got what pictures I have lol, she didnt want anyone else watching her practice)

We spent all afternoon today hunting for a helmet and eye protection, with zero luck. If it was affordable they didnt have her size, if they had her size the price was outragous! So amazon to the rescue! We found this one, DOT approved, and the WW2 style she wanted, for 30 bucks complete with goggles. Of course she had to add her own flair so she found an obnoxious pair of steampunk style goggles

She would have liked another color but neon pink had to do. She got 1 others but I didnt get pictures of them, she said they were big and bug eyed. I can already see a large goggle collection as well as at least a black version of the helmet in the coming months(she inherited my addiction for eye ware)

Epic cool stuff

Okay so most people who know me know that virtual education is something I strongly beleave in and support(we did help sue the state of OK to help secure our rights to a better education option) Our charter school is awesome and we have the BEST teacher on earth(hand picked by yours truly and Rose)! Today she and I came up with the idea to hold a parents info meeting and recruitment night. She is so totally on the ball, she has the room at the library secured, the PSA going up on our cable info channel, and has contacted the news, radio and paper. I plan to go drop flyers around town for the next few days so we can get the word out even better. Then we figure we will bring in some of the kids computers that the school provides and put them on the samples of the curriculum, some of the books and such we have got with learning funds and then have parents and a few kids there to answer questions along with the teacher.

So if anyone wants to join us or knows anyone who may have kids who will benefit from the program we will be at the the Lawton public library on Wednesday Aug. 7th at 6:30 to 9. (If I get really industrious there may be cookies.....lol)

Zombie Lessons part 2

LESSON 2- Travel, morality and survival

The decision has been made as to where we plan to go.  In our case this is our Uncles farm which is 165 miles from our current location by normal travel however to avoid major areas and interstates we mapped out a path that while it adds 75 miles is safer. (we mapped out on a physical map the route we would take then used google earth to look at each small town along the way to gage an idea of amenities and safe routes in case of problems)

My Uncle agrees to our family coming to stay there. He says he has room for 4 more able bodied families if they don’t mind living in the barn/outbuildings while the land is worked and property fortified.

Questions-

   Who do you decide to quietly invite on the trip?

 How do you justify your choices?

   What supplies and amenities do you expect those that you chose to provide for themselves?

Knowing what is available at the farm our first priorities are fuel to get there, food for the coming months, any possible canning/food storage supplies and any and all medical supplies we can find.

The RV has a 55 gallon tank and gets 12 miles to the gallon average, how much gas will we need to insure that the RV will make the trip?

(a minimum of 20 gallons but should try to keep it filled and gather any possible extra for generators etc that we can get)How do you justify your choices?

   What supplies and amenities do you expect those that you chose to provide for themselves?

What food supplies do you feel would be important? Why?

My examples are-

Dried beans- they are shelf stable for long period of time and provide excellent nutrician

Dehydrated herbs and spices-they add flavor and help to keep up the immune system as well as moral

Canned fruits and veggies-shelf stable and needed for nitrician

Canned milk-safe for 2-3 years

Dry pasta-shelf stable carbs

Dehydrated meats/jerky- preserved meats can be used for stews easily

Flour

Cornmeal

Oats

Sugar

Honey

Peanut butter

Grits

Cocoa

Coffee

Cooking oil

baking soda/powder

Corn starch

Farina

Dry milk

Rum/vodka/whiskey-serves both medical and non medical needs

Yeast-full on starter will need to be maintained whenever possible also can be used for small beer to make drinking water safe

What medical supplies would you see as needed?

Cold and allergy meds

Ulcer/acid reflux meds

Rubbing alchohol

Peroxide

Pain/headache meds

Vasoline

Soap

Silk thread/needles

Sheets for bandages

Antibiotics if possible

Feminine hygene needs

Bleach

borax

washing soda

quart and pint jars-sterile storage as well as canning needs to possibly come

tooth paste

hemmeroid cream

duct tape(yes it is sterile and VERY multi-purpose)

Packing the van needs to have any supplies immediately needed going in last, people will have to do their best to fit in around the supplies. With the extra people and needs do you feel a second vehicle would be needed or would it be better to try to stay together? If we are taking extra vehicles we can possibly gather more supplies, however its makes defense and logistics change....is it worth it? Security of our people and supplies is the most important thing so after weighing the possibilities what is better, multiple vehicles or a single larger carrier?

After figuring out the moral questions of who and why we chose to take certain people we have to  decide if the needs of our group surpass the need to maintain civil morality by not stealing the things we may need? Would you feel okay taking the neighbors propane tank? What about taking food or fuel? Raiding a vets office for medical supplies? What are your arguments for or against?

Travel will be slow no matter how many vehicles we are taking. The overload of vehicle weights, the need to travel rural roads, and security means travel will be at 35 to 45 mph turning it into a 5-6 hr trip. Slower speed does allow for a spotter and shooter to be on the RV for safety. The decision does need to be made ahead of time what we will do should we encounter other travelers. If they act peacefully do we simply pass without suspect? If they are stranded do we stop and offer help from our own meger supplies? How do we assess the risk of stopping? What if we encounter hostile non infected people? Are people in our party comfortable with deadly force? Shooting an infected will be VASTLY different than shooting a hostile but normal human even if they are bent on doing you harm.

Zombie Lessons

Zombie lessons

Okay so my kids need to learn about some parts of history that they just find wholely uninteresting such as how the pioneers lived. My kids would rather pull out their eye teeth than read stuff like what they refer to as "little outhouse on the prairie" I cant blame them, I DETEST the books myself but they are a good example of how much hard work has to go into life to survive and thrive when needed.

So this gave me the idea to try and teach some of the things only from the stand point of the zombie apocolyse. Survivors would be the new "pioneers", there would be some creature comforts not had by those heading west in the 1800's but the would be a slew of new issues such as finding fuel and avoiding the undead hords.

Lesson 1-Bugging out

The CDC and FEMA have issued a state of emergency. The dead are rising and attacking the living. They are reccomending that people stay in their homes until help can be brought to them. We have held a family meeting and feel this notion isnt safe it is just meant as an attempt to prevent chaos.  The only reccomendations they have had is to fortify our homes, wait things out as best we can and if attacked sever the central nervous system.


These are the things we know-
1- The dead revert to a state of feral instinct, they kill and they eat whatever is not like them. They base kills on site and smell like a feral dog.

2-Sound attracts them. They are attracted to gunfire, alarms, noise in general. This means guns are not always the best idea.

3- The general population is full of panic stricken, sheep like people who are going to clog any major roads

Our assets-

1-The majority of infestation issues are in major cities. Few have been spotted in the area but they will likely increase

2- Despite the warnings Grandpa wants us to take to the hills, he is offering us his motor home since he plans to stay with grandma to "take care of things"

3- We have enough non perishable food to last our family for at least 60 days

4- weapons are a nessasary evil, we are lucky enough to have some knowledge outside the norm and possess things such as 3 machetes, butchering equipment and a crossbow in addition to 2 rifles and 4 hand guns

5-the generator but the question is keeping enough fuel on hand

Our needs-
1-fuel. People are greedy and rarely think outside of their own immediate needs so fuel while expensive is available.

2-Camping equipment such as cold weather gear, water purifying tablets, energy bars, gatoraide powders, lanterns and oil, propane, vitamen suppliments to make up for what our diets may lack, extra clothing and blankets

Decisions we need to make-

Project 1- Map reading and course plotting

On a map of comanche county as well as the state of Oklahoma find our current location and attempt to find what would be a safer area to hide out and wait for the crisis to pass. Look at the topography, the distance from major populations, and the ability to protect ourselves when choosing the location. Plot the route to and possible escape routes from the location of choice.

Project 2- Making a bug out bag

Traveling light is going to be a huge necessity but the need for mental comforts as well as caring for physical needs will be there. What would give you strength or comfort? A special stuffed animal, a book you can read over and over? Cards to pass the time?

Journal entry/ discussion-

   How do you think you would feel in this situation? Do you think your survival instincts could kick in and help you handle the whirlwind of preporations and planning or would fear take over and make things even harder for you

I know, I know its a goofy lesson plan but it has the kids excited and they are thinking and writing so its good. I will share our results and the next lessons as they come.

It's not the heat and humidity but people and stupidity.......

Seriously, has everyone who goes to Wal-mart taken complete leave of their senses? They park like they are quite possibly drunk, dress like I am not sure what(I couldnt figure out how to snap a picture of the woman my size stuffed into the zebra print tube 3 sizes to small, complete with frosted eye shadow and lipstick and streaky orange home spray tan), and allow their children to act like maniacs!!!! I thought I could maybe escape the ghetto factor by going to the Quannah Parker store but no, if nothing it was worse and had to deal with rude employees to add to the fun.


   I am not saying by any means my kids are perfect but come on folks! No parent is required to put up with kids throwing temper tantrums, especially in public! To me that bag of chips and loaf of bread was never worth putting up with the stares and embarassment of my kids acting like complete shitheads. My children LEARNED there are consequinces for their actions! By 3 they knew I was willing to leave a cart full of groceries to go to the car and "discuss" their behavior......not worth the fit.  Kids arent grounded in reality these days and then their parents wonder how they end up failing in school, getting in trouble with the law, and getting pregnant all in middle school. They are never made to face up to the things they do and are taught it isnt their fault, or to blame others and society as a whole. Gee and then I get asked why my kids are so much better behaved and goal orientated? Why is it so shocking my 13yr old wants a JOB??? She wants a car, things like that and doesnt want to rely on anyone but herself, thats better than alot of adults I know! I find it sad that she cant even go work some piddly paper job in this day and age.

Okay enough of the soapbox since I havent updated this in forever.....

Its t-minus 4 days and counting until we cut the clutch of cinnie/spider eggs. We are excited but reserved, between the power outage, the silly psyco mom etc we hope we get a couple out of the 8 at least. We will know in a few days.(yay) I am excited!

We finished the deed on 1208 last week, its been such an experiment in the gross beyond gross hoarder cleanup. (I would trade it for a cute cabana trailor like above....lol)  Not having a truck has hindered us but its just a slow down not really stopping us. I wish I could afford a dumpster but good god that is close to 200 bucks tacked onto the city bill. I may have to suck it up in order to get the stuff done. It wont kill me anyhow...lol. I will post pictures of where we are at this coming week.

Summer silliness

Being Home schooled our kids are on their so called slow month with it being summer. So far this is torture for ME! 30 min of reading and 90 min of school work is NOT to much to ask in my opinion but getting Gareth to do it is like pulling teeth. Rhiannon and Angel were'nt a problem at all. They both did something educational this week. Gareth on the other hand think he ought to eat, play outside, play video games and watch TV.


Chores have been an issue with both kids. We have had spare kiddos so much fun was had all weekend but this house looks like a hurricane went through it. Rhiannon had to get the dishes done before leaving with Dillon today. I am tackling laundry and trying to beat it into submission with little luck.


I swear I need a maid

Disgusted with the Universe

Last night Donovan saw a person throw out a python at the corner of 11th and cache, before he could switch lane the paniced animal got into traffic and was hit.......why is it if something doesnt have fur people assume it doesnt have feelings? I wish I had been there to get a plate or better yet follow them home and insure they be dealt with like any other scum.

We are starting to re-publish the Red river reptile rescue info again on craigslist as a result to try to prevent this from happening.(I hate spring) If anyone has space and ability to take in reptiles please let me know and we will add you to our network list

Suprises, stress and stupid people

Well the psyco cinnie snake suprised us with a clutch of 8 eggs, it made for a mad rush around but thankfully I had the incubator already and just had to set everything up and wet some vermiculite. I am fairly confident about the 5 she was coiled around but the other 3 we will just have to wait and see. Come july 11th we should know for sure.


As of this coming week the house next door becomes our lock stock and barrel. On one hand I am excited at the prospect of the project, on the other I am terrified at what we may have gotten into. The elderly gentleman we are buying from and his son who passed away in the house a couple of months ago were alchoholic hoarders. Needless to say the clean out and bug issues are a monumental task alone. So now there are 2 possible courses of action;

1) The various issues are to much and we knock it down and haul it away. This means I have a fabulous large yard and am happy still

2) The most likely scenario is while GROSS the house is saveable and we have our work cut our for us (Please let there be 1000's of dollars in hidden cash and treasures in that crap pile) Then we have a rental or flip for proffit house. Thankfully we have friends who are looking for a cheap place who can do the work in exchange for ubber cheap rent(like paying my home improvement loan payment) Which in that case means hazmat suits to go through everything because I am NOT getting another roach dive bombing my hair!(Yes I had a complete girly momment with screaming freak out included)I know the bug guy is coming first and foremost. This will require a pro.

My List of stuff for the new house overhaul includes:

Insurence
Pest control
dumpster service
pest control
applience removal
new heat and ac units(at the least heater, they may have to do with window units for AC)


   The final corkers on my last week have been the weather causing my head to want to explode and stupid people! Prime example..... We do reptile rescue, its not a huge thing like dogs and cats but it was a need we could fill. We spotted an add on craigslist where a woman was giving away a ball python to an experienced handler because it had become aggressive. This can happen for various reasons, so I emailed her and introduced myself. We ended up going to Duncan of course. The woman flat out LIED to us. First off the snake is not 3-4 years old, she is maybe 2. Then she had her on cedar shavings which had her skin irritated(gee no wonder she was pissy)and then the woman has the bomb shell of mentioning she works in a pet store. WTF??? I have worked in a crappy pet store and know better than to put a reptile on cedar so why doesnt she. On top of all of it she was scared of the snake so when Rhiannon just reached in and picked it up her eyes got rather large.

    She is just a pretty young normal, my guess is the lasy bought her of craigslist and had zero clue what she was doing and did no research. Why she felt the urge to try to justify anything to us is beyond me. Like Rhiannon said thats what rescue is for, we know when we come out that you got in over your head, we know you messed up, we know why we do what we do so these people arent doing anything to make themselves look better in our eyes. Needless to say after a bath and being placed in an isolation tank on proper substrate she is a perfectly happy animal with no signs of aggression.

What a craptacular last 2 weeks

What can I say about the last couple of weeks other than BLAH!  I dont know if its the fact Donovan had AT(annual training) or what but it seems like so much stuff went wrong. First off I couldnt seem to get the ulcer to stop giving me fits, so I either felt like puking or was doing so about 75% of the time. Then add to that the weather flip flopping so I have had a massive headache and top that off with the fridge futzing up then the car having a major malfunction not once but twice. I was about to the point of meltdown by the time Donovan got home.(Oh yeah and dont forget 2 weeks with the kids no break) Needless to say by Saturday I was more than happy to send Rhiannon on her babysitting job and leave Gareth with his Father so I could go to Chris's Birthday BBQ.

We did get out to the KLAW yard sale last friday. Thats always pretty fun. I got Rhiannon a taser gun which I know seems a tad weird for a 13yr old but she does ride her bike to babysitting jobs and such and its less for people than the stray pit bull the idiots around here wont take care of and allow to get out. She has already had one friend get to watch her weinie dog get mauled while out for a walk, I dont want my kids to be on the recieving end of an attack like that.

On a good note the garden is taking off nicely. We planted tomatoes, 3 different kinds of peppers, okra, cuccumbers, yellow squash, watermelon, rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano, and spicey globe basil. So far its all looking really good. I cant wait til we start getting produce out of it! I missed having a garden last year so bad. Even our grapes are looking like they are about to explode with fruit! I stopped counting at 48 bunches that have set on. I may have enough to make grape jam this year!!! I would love to be able to make jam and salsa again this year to can!!

I am trying to get out of a cooking rut. I need to get some of the stock of home cooked convience foods made again. I think its time to make up hot pockets, beirocks and a few other things. I made soft tacos tonight with kidney beans and loads of onions, pablano peppers and tomatoes in the meat. I think I will freeze half of whats left for later in the month and use the rest to make a mexican style spoon bread later this week. I have been playing with the idea and if it turns out I will post pictures and the recipe later this week.
    I recently was given a huge box of bisquick so I have been playing around with various recipes from their web site. My kids love the sausage balls appitizers so I expanded on that idea for a sausage, cheese and herb biscuit. I added 2 cups grated cheese, a cup of cooked crumbled sausage, 1/2 cup chopped spring onion, 1tsp dried rosemary, 1/2 tsp dried oregano and a tsp of granulated garlic to the standard drop biscuit recipe. I used a small ice cream scoop(about a 1/4 cup)to measure the dough and baked it on parchament paper at 325 til browned. They turned out fabulous to go with eggs and just by themselves. It makes for a nice quick breakfast.

Rhiannon and I nearly had all the laundry caught up, then Donovan came home after not doing laundry at all during AT so we are now at defcon 4 again. If we are home, we have a load in the washer and dryer at pretty much all times. Tomorrow I have to take down the mountain of clean clothes and beat it into submission so we can get stuff cleaned up again.

Plants, gardening, spring and exhaustion

Well I hope everyone had a good earth day on Sunday! I for one spent my day looking for plants, fixing the fridge and starting our planting. We had a few of our herbs that winter over like my washtub of peppermint, some sage and some oregano. I am really hoping that this year is better for growing than last year. We definatly missed the canned veggies and salsa as well as the fresh stuff due to the draught and heat.

I am a huge fan of the old wash tubs as planters. This square one came from an elderly neighbors yard. It got raised on bricks for stability and drainage and then my rosemary that had taken over my kitchen window got transplanted out here. So far it just has the regular rosemary, the creeping rosemary and spicey globe basil in it. I need to  add thyme and sage or maybe some thai basil as well. For anyone who doesnt know it the white pellets are moth balls. We have a huge issue with cats wanting to use our planters as litter boxes(our cats stubs being the worst) they cant stand the moth balls smell so problem solved! They work on a multitude of critters so its so worth the time to do.

We have also found in recent years they seem to give us higher yeild on the tomatoes so its a win/win.

Rhiannon and the neighbourhood kids cleared my garden spot for me. So tonight the rest of the stuff for out there like my squash and watermelons will go in the ground....now to find motivation...lol. I am just tired today period.

AT, chaos, snakes and life(oh yeah and new recipes)

I am waiting on the new incubator(Yay amazon prime, it will be here Monday). Poor Ruby, she looks like she could drop anytime. Kali has little pea sized folicals so I am hoping we are well on our way to some good clutches this year. Rhiannon is planning to set up a web cam and run a live feed when they start hatching so everyone can see. We have high hopes to get multiple spidars this year.(an albino is probably to much to hope for but it is possible) I will probably keep any female morphs we get with an eye to future projects.(I want to work on spinners and some bumble bee's). Tomorrow is feed day again for the juvies. I cant wait til Maya, my little orange dream is breed ready.

I am looking at building a set of racks for our bedroom to reduce the amount of tanks we have in use. I'm not overly fond of them but as the collection expands it becomes a needed item. I plan to print off the instructions and talk with the gentleman down the street about making it. He is one of those ubber crafty types and does awesome work. Then I just have to get 12 inch flex watt and new tubs.

This has been one of THOSE weeks. I am so glad we had decided this would be our slow week with school! With Donovan getting around for annual training the house has been in other chaos. Getting him around for 2 weeks in the field is always such an uproar that no matter how much I miss him, the 2week break is nice so I can CLEAN. Its driving me nuts that at present Gareths room is in better shape than ours. I am totally planning to pull everything out of our room and re-organizing. We also have plans to go geocaching, Rhiannon has joined the youth center on base and is going to art club starting this week and has state testing.

I have been in susie 50's housewife mode. Today I  baked most of the day. I made cookies for the home school group meeting tomorrow and to freeze, a double batch of Irish soda bread so that Gareth could take a loaf to some of the neighbors, I can take a loaf tomorrow possibly and some to freeze for later.

This week I have been experimenting with casseroles again due to being bored. The first was a recipe they were sampling at walmart before easter, I modified it to make a meal instead of a side dish, went with fresh ingredient where I could and added meat and veg


Ham and hashbrown casserole

5 cups grated potatoes
4 chopped spring onions
2cups sour cream
1 can cream of celery soup
1 cup or more chopped steamed asperagus or 3/4 cup frozen peas
3/4 cup chopped ham
2cups shredded cheese

Mix the first 6 ingredients together and spread in a buttered casserole dish, cover in cheese and bake at 350 for 30 min

The second was one of those I didnt have the things I thought I did so I improvised


Enchilada suprise

1 carton of philly cooking cream
2 cups sour cream
2 cups chopped chicken of turkey meat
3 cups grated cheese divided
1 can grands biscuits
1 can corn drained
1/2 cup green salsa or more to taste

Mix meat, corn, and two cups cheese in a bowl. Roll each biscuit out flat and place a small amount of the filling inside, rolling it up burrito style. Line up in a 13x9  sprayed pan and par bake at 350 for 10 min. Mean while mix the remaining filling with the cooking cream, the sour cream, and salsa. Spread over the hot biscuit burritos and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Return to the oven for 30 min and enjoy

more stuff I cook

Bacon Cake

Yes its true, it is sinful, it is great and it is really really easy

1 box chocolate fudge cake mix(super moist is what I usually go for)

Milk

eggs

1 lb bacon

1 tub chocolate fudge frosting or make your own


(A good rule of thumb is if the recipe calls for a pound of bacon you should cook 2, especially if the family is home!)

Cook your bacon extra crispy. Cool and crumble, reserve drippings

Mix the cake mix, 3 eggs, 1 and 1/4 cup milk and 2/3 cup bacon grease. Beat until smooth.

add 1/3 of the crumbled bacon to the batter. Spray a 13x9 pan with cooking spray and bake at 350.

One the cake is cooled frost and top with crumbled bacon and enjoy.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CHICKEN PASTA BAKE



 1 pound penne pasta

 2 pounds ricotta cheese

 ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese

 1 (12-ounce) can fat-free evaporated milk

 1 egg

 1 tablespoon garlic powder

 1 teaspoon salt

 ½ teaspoon black pepper

 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and well drained

 1 (10-ounce) package or 2 cups cooked chunked chicken breast

 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare penne pasta according to package directions; drain. Coat a 9" x 13" baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, evaporated milk, egg, garlic powder, salt, and pepper; mix until well combined.

3. Stir in broccoli and cooked chicken; mix well. Add penne and toss gently until well mixed; pour into baking dish and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

4. Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes then remove foil and bake 5 more minutes.
===================================================================

DEEP DISH PIZZA CASSEROLE

 1 pound ground round

 1 (15-ounce) can chunky Italian-style tomato sauce

 1 (10-ounce) can refrigerated pizza dough

 6 (1-ounce) slices mozzarella cheese, divided

 ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Cook meat in a nonstick medium skillet over medium-high heat, stirring until meat crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain, if necessary, and return to skillet. Add tomato sauce, and cook until heated.

2. Meanwhile, unroll pizza dough, and press into bottom and halfway up sides of a lightly greased 9 "x 13" baking dish (see Notes). Line bottom of pizza crust with 3 slices mozzarella cheese. Top with meat mixture.

3. Bake, uncovered, for 12 minutes. Top with remaining 3 cheese slices, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake 5 more minutes, or until crust is browned and cheese melts. Cool 5 minutes before serving.

Spring has sprung, the snakes are coming out of the winter slump and of course this means the two big bimbos cant help but be annoying as possible. This started with Kali dumping their water tub tonight. She and Ruby are now playing on my desk while i try to type. Its time to get the incubator prepped for sure, Ruby is looking lumpy...lol.

   Its big trash pick up here in Lawton right now so our day was consumed with clean up. The city deciding not to do this for a full year has lots of people, like us needing to clear garages and such. Our back yard is finally cleaned up the way I want it. Now to get plants in the ground. My Oregano, Sage, peppermint and Lavender all wintered over nicely. We are hoping to get dect tomatoes and peppers at the very least, maybe some squash too.

The stuff I cook

Recently a friends husband who does alot of cooking asked about some of my recipes. Good and cheap are always populare so I have started to work on compiling the info about what I cook and a break down of the general costs. I plan to post the recipes here so anyone who is interested can check them out. Not everything will have a cost breakdown but you will get the general idea. I cook good hearty stuff that will almost always have leftovers to use as lunches for my husband to take to work and the kids and I to have at home. (One of the best parts of virtual schooling is my kids arent eating the starch/sugar and chemical filled yuck they serve at schools)

Chicken Tortilla soup

1 chicken breast

1 onion

1 pablano pepper or 1 can green chili's

2qt chicken broth(I used 6 cans as theats what I had)

1 can rotel like tomato and chili's in a can

1 can corn

2 cans beans

2tsp granulated garlic

2 chicken boulion cubes

grated cheese

tortilla chips

Fry, grill, bake or broil the chicken breast until done and browned.(Brown means FLAVOR) Allow to cool while you chop the onion and pablano if using fresh, use a small amount of oil and cook until soft in the bottom of your stock pot. Add rotel, chicken broth, chicken cubes, garlic and corn to the pot as well as the green chilies if using canned. Cook on low whil you thinly slice your chicken breast and chop into small pieces, add to pot as well. Cook on low for 15-20 min making sure the onions are clear and flavors have time to marry. Rinse the beans in a coninder with cold water and allow to drain, add to soup and cook another 10 min. Serve with grated cheese on top and tortilla chips on the side to crush into the soup.

COST BREAKDOWN-

Chicken breast- 1/5 of a 3lb bag $7 for bag at walmart $1.40

Corn-walmart 68 cents $0.68

Chicken broth-$1 qt dollar tree $2.00

rotelish tomatos-$.50 big lots $0.50

Bean-68 cent walmart $1.36

onion-$1.25 for a 3lb bag at savalot $0.25

Pablano/green chili $0.75

Grated cheese-$3 for a pregrated pak $3.00

Tortilla chips-$1 at dollar tree $1.00

Total est servings-10-12 large

Total cost-$10.26

Cost per serving-$0.85-$1.03

At our house this does 2 full meals for 4 people plus 2 lunch size portions to either freeze for future use. Depending on portion sizes you can probably get more servings out of it.

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Super quick potato soup

1 onion-fine chop or grated

1 envelope instant mashed potatoes(any flavor)

1/2 bag potatoes obrien(the frozen home fries ones cheap as you can get)

1 qt chicken broth

1 cup water

1 T garlic

2 T butter

2 chicken cubes

1 can evaporated milk

1 can cheddar cheese soup

Meat of choice- Ham, bacon, cooked bratwurst, leftover roast etc just whats on hand

Cook onion in the butter until soft, add water, broth garlic, cubes, and the obien poatoes, Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer. Add meat. Mix milk and cheese soup in a sepereate bowl until smooth them add to the pot. Stir in the instant potatoes and cook until the soup thickens slightly, if needed thin with milk or water til the consistancy you prefer. Serve with crackers .

This is SUPER cheap, can use leftover meat up and nearly all the ingredients are under a buck.

Est servings-10/12

Total cost est-$6.50 including 1/2 a box of saltines

est cost per serving-$0.54-$0.65 each

Motivation, birthdays and turning 40

The kids and I have suffered for the last week from a BAD lack of motivation. School work, house work, cooking.....it all suffered as a result. I dont know if it was the weather or just pre-spring blahs but good grief. The 40th birthday in question wasnt even my own, Donovan turned 40 on Friday with about the usual amount of fanfare we celebrate everything around here with....very little. He got his cherry so called cheesecake that he loves and a nice roast for dinner, plus I ordered him a new laptop so in all it was a pretty good birthday

Getting back on track with school and workouts this week is dragging...lol. Today has been a fight with Gareth on Math. Yet he zoomed through language arts and language extentions with zero issue.  Thankfully I am taking them to the YMCA tonight so he can run off some energy. Todays unit on magnetism has been frustrating and ammussing to say the least.

Ugh its Monday.......again

So far this has just not been the month for any of us. Lack of motivation, children who want to be pills, and just a severe case of blah have plagued our house for the last couple of weeks. Now with the weather no one even wants to get out and go to the YMCA today for class and Gareths rock climbing. Apathy at its best. Tomorrow we are headed to the nursing home to spend some of Valentines day with Grandma and Grandpa then back home for school work and chores. (Can we say blah yet again, like I said the weather has just sucked the majority of the fun out of me....lol) And I was just reminded we are suppossed to go swimming tomorrow as well. Yay...bluhhh

Gareth has been really getting into using the rock wall since we joined the YMCA. He likes swimming but the My time/rock wall is "his thing". We have been there at least 3-4 nights a week since we joined so its been worth the investment. He made it to the top and touched the ceiling the first time and that was it, he is sooooo hooked.  Rhiannon and I have been doing more of the swimming classes and she really enjoys the Y acheivers group.

Tomorrow is Valentines day, what does that mean around here? Nothing...lol. We are so romantic neither of us can remember our wedding aniv. date without looking it up. My theory though is if you need a day to show some one they are special then really you dont think that much of them, they should know it every day.