RECIPE REVIEW: Chicken-Bacon Stuffed Pizza Rolls

Oh. My. Goodness. RUN to your kitchen right now to make these!  I will be making several batches of different variations for the freezer.  They are definitely OAMC worthy. 

Our Best Bites: Chicken-Bacon Stuffed Pizza Rolls

They are absolutely incredible! I used my own pizza dough recipe (I put italian seasoning and garlic in the dough) for these, but otherwise followed the directions exactly. Which, I have to say is rare for me. I almost always start with a recipe and then end with something completely different by the time I finish "tweaking" it.

To make these freezer-friendly, assemble as the recipe states and then freeze the dough balls on a cookie sheet.  Once frozen, transfer to a freezer bag.  They are time consuming to make, so doing several batches at once and freezing will save a whole lot of prep time when I'm ready to serve them. 

The kids have already put in requests for Ham & Pineapple, Pepperoni, Sausage, and I am thinking that a Mushroom/Onion/Muenster Cheese combo would be awesome. 

Now go make some of these pronto!  I guarantee any man in your life would enjoy some of these today, since it's Father's Day. 

Introducing.... Daringly Donna

Guess what I've been working on the past few months?

The start of this:

Awesome logo courtesy of

photographer / graphic designer extraordinaire Angel Ruff.   

Want to see what Daringly Donna is all about? 

• Check out my Facebook Page. (and "like" me while you're there!). 
• Head on over to my Etsy Shop.  I'm in the beginning stages of adding items to my shop, but more will be added every day.

You can also find my goods at the Pendleton Farmers Market, beginning Thursday, June 3rd.  I'll be there every week, so come out and visit me! 

Menu Plan Monday: May 17 - 21

Weekly Menu Plan

May 17 - May 21

Monday

Marlboro Man Sandwiches
Mixed Berry Cobbler

Tuesday

Roast Turkey
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Veggies
(I'm out of broth, so I'm roasting the turkey in the deep freezer for the bones.  The hubby and kids won't complain about a little Thanksgiving dinner in May!)

Wednesday

Clean out the fridge night 

Thursday

BBQ chicken
Rice
Creamed Corn
Dessert = cookies at the preschool
(quick and easy night --- little man is singing at his pre-school's end of the year program)

Friday

Spaghetti Dinner with a group of friends

What is your family having for dinner this week? 

A Little Scarlet O'Hara Upcycle Project

Mother's Day Gift for Maw Maw (Mr. Mudpie's step-mom)

"Maw Maw" is an avid baker.  She is known for her beautiful cakes and her mean biscuits.  BUT, I think her true specialty is the little confections she gives all of us kids every year at Christmas.  All year, I look forward to receiving the bucket of yumminess from her.  Fudge, cookies, bon-bons, and my favorite..... chocolate covered cherries.  They are to die for.  So, an apron was only fitting.  You really can't have too many aprons.... they're like kitchen towels.  You can always use more. 

She likes wearing a specific style of apron, that is very different from the type of aprons I have made before.  She likes simple - I like girly ones that accentuate "the lovelies" as Mr. Mudpie calls them.  (Did I make you blush just then?!) 

Here's where the upcycle comes in:  When I picked out a window treatment for my kitchen window, the valance I wanted came with a set of 2 panels, which I didn't need.  Becky suggested a long time ago that they would make great aprons.  Perfect! 

I cut the curtain panel down, sewed a pocket and added some double fold binding, made from stash fabric.  It was a perfect gift for her, and I think she would be proud that I made it with materials on hand. 
Before (a lonely set of curtain panels): 

After (a cute, functional apron for Maw Maw to wear while making me goodies cooking dinner): 

Like this apron?  An identical one will be appearing in my about-to-open Etsy shop very soon! 

Fun at the Firehouse

Our local fire department hosted community day today.  Everyone in town was invited to come check out the fire department, climb in the trucks and eat some hot dogs.  Oh. my. goodness.  The chili they put on those hot dogs was out of this world.  Better than any chili I have ever eaten before. 

                   

(in case you didn't know... you can click photos to view larger)

The kids got to spray the fire hose to knock down traffic cones....

They got to climb in the trucks...

And drive an antique fire truck...

And climb up the GIANT ladder!...

Then TJ decided he doesn't like heights and begged the nice fireman to "get me down right now please"...

But the funniest part of the whole event was the fact that TJ is terrified of the Fire Dog.  He's never been scared of characters before, but this dog freaked him out.  Especially when he talked.  It was pretty funny.  Taylor, of course, had no fear and loves characters.  I took a picture of this, but was laughing so hard it came out blurry.  Oh well. 

It was a fun morning out!  We came home with full bellies and drenched in sweat.  Hope your Saturday was fun and a little less sweaty than ours!

Cabin Quilt: quilt top

Back in January, my mom and I went on a fabric run to find fabrics for a quilt she wanted me to make.  We ended up at Viking Sew & Quilt shop in Greenville, SC.  It's the sister shop to my local quilt shop, Heirlooms & Comforts.  We had already ordered two fabrics from Etsy, but we needed to find all of the others.  Viking did not dissapoint!  We got some great stuff, most of it on sale. 

And then it sat in a basket in my sewing space.  And sat some more.  I just could not get motivated to work on it.  It may have been the fact that we didn't really have a concrete plan in mind.  In February, I spent about an hour and ripped the focal fabric into 3 panels and bordered them all with a red print.  I also made some pinwheels with 2 of the other fabrics.  Then it all went back into the basket to sit until now.  The middle of May. 

Last night, I get the kids to bed, clear off the dining table and decide to sew SOMETHING.  I've been mass producing hair clips for the past week, so I wanted something non-girly to work on.  Out came the quilt basket.  After a few layouts, and some design consulting via Blackberry Messenger with Becky, I decided on the layout. 

So, at 9:30pm, I start cutting and sewing.  At 10:30pm I realize the darn thing is too small.  WAY to small.  So, I spend another hour playing with borders to come up with something that works.  Another hour of sewing on those borders and I finally have a quilt top.  At 12:30am, I hang it up on the wall to get a crappy-middle-of-the-night-with-my-camera-phone picture, step back and think "uh oh.  this thing is huge!"  

She wanted a throw quilt for her couch big enough for her and dad to snuggle under together.  I think this should do it! 

Unquilted Size:  55" x 78"  (a very generous sized lap quilt)

Next up:  Make the backing, baste, quilt and bind  

Hey Becky -- I see a basting party at the library in the near future! 

Saturday Fun Day

Saturday, I loaded up my two kiddos and two of their buddies for a morning of strawberry picking.  After about a dozen u-turns, getting a little bit lost, and one car-sickness emergency pit stop, we finally made it to the farm.  There was an abundance of strawberries in the field.  Red, bursting berries as far as the eye could see!  It was great!  And you'll have to just take my word on it, because we were having so much fun we didn't take a single picture.  I know, I know....

We finished up picking berries and it was only 9:30.  Hmmm.... what to do next?  We loaded up and headed for the playground before the rain hit.

After playing for a bit, we headed over to the soccer field to run off the sugar high from all of the strawberries.  The boys got tangled in the soccer net and we almost had to cut TJ out.  I have no idea how that boy gets his head stuck in so many random places! 

TJ and Evelyn decided they were going to pick flowers for the mommas.  So sweet! 

 
After all of this, we were getting seriously hungry for lunch.  And what fun day would be complete without a trip to see "the sample ladies" at Sam's???  Saturday just happened to be the Spring Tasting day, where they had about 16 sample stations set up.  We visited every single one of them.... well, except 2 that were offering energy drinks.  NO THANK YOU!  These kids need no help in that department! 

Let me tell you... all 4 kids made me proud.  They were so polite.  Every sample lady (and man) they visited, they said please, thank you, and have a nice day.  It warmed my heart.  Especially after seeing a couple brats running around and dropping food all over the floor.  grrrrr... where were there parents anyways?? 

The day continued with playdates at both of our houses, some flower pot painting, fruit kebob making and a meltdowns by both of my children.  Lets just say that I need to stock massive amounts of granola bars and take away the glitter baton when more than one elementary aged female is in the house. 

Hope your Saturday was fun-filled too! 

Menu Plan Monday - 4/26 - 4/30

Weekly Menu Plan

May 2 - May 7

this week's menu coming to you a day early!

Sunday

Lunch - Turkey Paninis, Fresh Strawberries

Dinner -  Alice Springs Chicken Quesadillas, Chips & Salsa

Monday  (oh my! I can't wait for this dinner!)

Pork Machaca

Steamed Rice

Creamed Corn

Lima Beans

Corn Bread

            

Tuesday

Chili Lime Tilapia

Homemade Rolls

Kids Choice Veggies

Wednesday

Stuffed Shells

Garlic Bread

Thursday

*Homemade Chinese Night* 

Beef & Broccoli

Steamed Rice

Egg Rolls

Friday

Dinner with my parents

Produce Score!

My favorite time of day to grocery shop for markdowns is around 3:00, right after school lets out.  The reasoning is this:  at my local Bi-lo store, the morning shift leaves around 3:00.  Just before leaving, they mark down any items that need to sell right away.  This is the BEST time to find cheap meats and produce.  As long as you use / freeze them right away, they are still perfectly good items. 

Today, I was on the hunt for produce and Bi-lo did not dissapoint!  Today's haul:

Bagged Salad Mix - $0.99  (reg price $3.29)
2 Mushrooms - $0.99 each (reg price $2.99)
9 Blackberries - $0.50 each   (holy cow!!!  reg price $3.49, on sale for $2.50, had $2 mark down stickers)

I was planning on buying a salad mix and mushrooms anyways, so finding them on markdown was awesome.  I have wild blackberries growing my backyard that we pick, but they won't be ready for several weeks, so these will hold me over until then. 

Total Spent - $7.47
Regular Price - $40.68

Savings of $33.21

Confessions of a Fast Food Junkie

Lately, I've been doing a little too much of this.....

That would be the floor board of my van.  *ducking my head in shame now*

..... and not enough of this....

You see, first the kids were sick.  Then we went camping for Spring Break.  Then I was sick.  So, I had reasons for not stepping foot in the gym for almost 3 weeks.  Not good reasons, but reasons nonetheless. 

Let me tell you - 3 weeks of eating crap food and not working out make me feel like hell.  I'm not kidding you.  I had no energy, lots of headaches and was in a generally foul mood.  Sunday night, I said no more.  I've been to the gym every day this week and am finally starting to feel human again. 

"Brown" Rice the Gilbert Way

Growing up, my mom always made her family's "Brown Rice". Now, this is not actually brown rice. It is white rice baked into a state of deliciousness. There is nothing healthy about it, but it is truly comfort food at it's finest.

Brown Rice the Gilbert Way

makes a 9 x 13 casserole dish

 

Ingredients

1 cup converted rice, uncooked
2 tablespoons butter
1 can beef consomme
1 can beef broth
1 can sliced mushrooms
small onion, diced
splash of olive oil

Directions

1. Melt butter in casserole dish.
2. In a small skillet, saute the onion in a splash of olive oil until translucent.
3. Add rice, mushrooms, onions and liquids to casserole dish and stir.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. 

Menu Plan Monday - 4/19 - 4/25

Weekly Menu Plan

April 19 - April 25

 Monday

Lunch: 

Leftovers Clean-up

Dinner:

Pork Chops on the grill (sundried tomato basil marinade)

Gilbert Family Brown Rice

Corn

Broccoli

Tuesday

Dinner:

Enchiladas

Taquitos w/ dipping sauce

Wednesday

Dinner:

    my kids love breakfast for dinner!

Pancakes & Turkey Sausage Links

Thursday

Dinner Out at Osaka!

(Mom's spending the night, so we can do some early Friday morning thrift store hunting!)

Friday

Lunch:

with Mom before she leaves town

Dinner:

~ we'll be camping! ~
Smoked Sausage

Baked Beans (crock pot item)

Corn on the Cob

S’mores

Saturday

~ we'll be camping! ~

Breakfast: 

Bacon, Scrambled Eggs, Cheese Grits

Lunch:

Hot Dogs, Chips, Salsa, Fruit

Dinner:

Flat Iron Steaks

Baked Potatoes for the guys / Baked Sweet Potatoes for the girls

Big bowl of Salad

Apple Pie a la mode

Sunday

~ more camping! ~

Breakfast: 

Pancakes, Sausage Links

Lunch: 

Hot Dogs / Sandwiches

Dinner: 

Chicken on the grill

Great big bowl of Salad

Oh how I love French Bread Pizzas

The plan was to make Italian Beef Sandwiches tonight, but I decided to switch it up.  French Bread Pizzas were just what we needed!  In fact, we were so happy to be having them for dinner that we made them at 3:00, instead of waiting until the "normal" dinnertime.  And you know what?  We do that a LOT!  When it's just me and the kids home for dinner, we'll eat dinner around 3:30 when everyone gets home from work / school and then just have a snack around 6:00 before they start the whole bath/bedtime thing.  Reversing snack and dinner works just great for us. 

I'm sure everyone knows how to make French Bread Pizza, but in case you don't.... here's how we do it. 

French Bread Pizza

Ingredients

French Bread (we used french rolls, since we had planned to do sandwiches)

Pizza Sauce  (you can get a huge #10 can at Sam's for less than $2.50)

Cheeses

Italian Seasoning

Toppings of your choice

Directions

1.  Preheat Oven to 375 degrees.

2.  Slice your bread the long way, like you would to make a sandwich. 

3.  Hand over the bread to each family member to make their own.  (I LOVE dinners like this!)

4.  Everyone can spread sauce, cheeses, seasoning, toppings to their liking.  Once they've loaded up their pizzas, plop them all on a baking sheet and toss into the oven for about 12 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. 

Enjoy!

See that one with huge chunks of pineapple?  That's Taylor's.  :)

Tater Tot making her pizza

Mr. Mudpie pouting on the couch.  He thought when I said "come to the table!" that dinner was already done.  haha!!  Apparently make-your-own is not his thing.

TJ waiting for his to be done

Sorry, there are no pictures of the finished pizzas.  Oops!  We were all really hungry and I didn't think to take a picture until it was too late. 

Weekly Menu Plan - 3/29 - 4/2

Weekly Menu Plan

3/29 - 4/2

Monday  (use it up night!)

Italian Beef Sandwiches**, Edamame Salad, Strawberries, Pineapple

** Italian Beef Sandwiches:  Shredded pot roast (from the freezer) and grilled onions piled on an italian bread roll and smothered in melted cheese. 


Tuesday

Spaghetti, Garlic Bread, Salad


Wednesday

Firehouse Subs - Kids Eat Free Night!


Thursday

Orange Chicken, Sticky Rice, Broccoli, Dessert Wontons**  

** Dessert Wontons:  I take pre-made wonton wrappers and fill with a quickie apple pie filling (finely chopped apple, sugar, cinnamon, ginger).  Fill wontons, fold into a triangle, deep fry until crispy and dust with powdered sugar.  sooooo delicious!


Friday                 

Dinner at the cabin! 

Weekly Menu Plan - 3/21 - 3/26

Weekly Meal Plan

3/21 - 3/26

Sunday

I've got a house full of stomach virus people (except me for now), so it will be crackers and applesauce for them and Chicken Lettuce Wraps for me.


Monday

Pork Chops, Twice Baked Potatoes, Kids Choice of Veggies


Tuesday

Eat on the road.  Going to visit my new niece Bryce!!!


Wednesday

Easy Baked Tilapia, Breaded Shrimp, Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits, Kid's Choice Veggies


Thursday

Pioneer Woman's "Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich"    sooooo good!  you MUST try this one!  


Friday

Go Out! to celebrate our anniversary that was last weekend.  Anyone want to babysit??? 

Friday Night Sew-in Accomplishments

As expected, I didn't get nearly as much as I wanted to done.  I'm happy though -- I got the 3 items I needed for today done.  Here's a look at them...

Crayon Roll for Barak:

Owl Pillowcase for Abby:

Horse Pillowcase for Aly:

Effortless Pot Roast

By request, here is my favorite Pot Roast recipe for the crock pot.  I haven't made this in a while... I'll have to make it next time roasts go on sale!

Effortless Pot Roast

Ingredients


2 (10 3/4 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
1 1/4 cups water
5 - 6 lb pot roast

*** If you have a small family and only want to do a 2 - 3 lb roast, just use 1 can of soup, 3/4 cup water and the onion soup packet.  Although, I don't know why anyone would cook a 3 lb roast, when they could cook a 6 lb roast in the same amount of time.  Leftovers can be frozen and are awesome used instead of ground beef in some tacos the next day.  But then, I've said before that I'm a cook-in-big-batches kind of girl. 


Directions


1.  In a bowl, mix cream of mushroom soup, dry onion soup mix and water.

2.  Place pot roast in slow cooker and coat with soup mixture.

3.  Cook on Low setting for 8 to 9 hours - the longer the better. 

If you like a thick gravy, you can thicken the juices with a little cornstarch/water mixture right before serving. 

Friday Night Sew-In!

Tonight, the girls at Handmade by Heidi and Crafty Vegas Mom are hosting "Friday Night Sew-In".  It's a night, once a month where you dedicate the evening to working on some projects on your crafty to-do list.... sewing, knitting, crocheting, scrapbooking, whatever.

The plan is this:   tonight you work on your projects, Saturday you post pics or blog about them, and Sunday they are giving away some goodies!  Want to join in too?  Go HERE to sign up. 






My Sewing List for tonight, in order of importance:

• Owl Pillowcase   (Abby's birthday - need for tomorrow!)
• Horse Pillowcase (Aly's birthday - need for tomorrow!)
• Crayon Roll  (Barak's birthday - need for tomorrow!)    are you noticing a procrastination trend, here??
• Cushion Reupholstery Project
• Hooded towel

Since I won't be starting until around 7:30, I'm guessing this is where I will run out of steam.  If I have enough energy, I want to work on these:

• Finish cutting fabric for Cabin Quilt
• Baby Shoes (2 pair boy)
• Burp Cloth (3 boy)
• Prep supplies for some hand sewing projects to take on our camping trip

Crock Pot Taco Soup (Just for you Lara!)

I don't know about the rest of you, but I *heart* my crock pot.  It gets used and abused a lot around here.  Today, the crock pot was kind enough to cook a pork roast for me so that I could turn it into Cuban Sandwiches. 

At 5:00 I arrived home to a cranky husband and two hungry kiddos.  Because I had taken 5 minutes earlier in the day to load the crock pot, I had homemade Cuban Sandwiches on the table within 15 minutes of arriving home.  (It would have only taken 10, but there were a couple meltdowns and one poop incident.)  And as a bonus.... I have leftover pork for tomorrow night!

One of my favorite crock pot soups to make is Taco Soup.  Quick, easy and cheap.  And if that's not good enough -- it freezes great.  Freeze any leftovers in individual servings for when you need a quick lunch or hearty snack. 


***** This is one of those meals that I consider a "pantry meal", meaning I almost always have all of these ingredients in my pantry.  Having about a dozen pantry meal recipes at the ready is crucial for every home kitchen.  You never know when you might get sick and not want to shop, have a sudden pay loss, or even a natural disaster.  This meal could easily be made over a camp stove (just omit the perishable garnishes).  As someone who grew up in the land of hurricanes, it is a survival instinct to have food on hand to feed my family in any situtation.  I'll step off my soapbox now.  :)

TJ's Favorite Crock Pot Taco Soup

Serves 8

Ingredients


1 can pinto beans
1 can white beans or kidney beans
1 can yellow corn
1 can Rotel tomatoes & chilies (I like the one with lime)
1 big (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes ** in the summer time, dice up a few overripe tomatoes from the garden
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies
1 packet taco seasoning mix
1 packet hidden valley ranch dressing mix
1 lb shredded chicken, ground beef or any meat you have hanging out in the fridge

handful of chopped cilantro
handful of chopped green onions


*** Optional Garnishes:  tortilla chips, shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa, avocados, guacamole, etc.

Directions

1.  Cook meat and drain, if not using leftovers from fridge.

2.  Add all ingredients to crock pot except cilantro and green onions.  Do NOT drain cans of veggies.  Just open the cans and dump the entire contents of cans into the crock pot. 

3.  Stir it & cover it.

4.  Cook on low for 4 hours, or high for 2 hours. 
     Do NOT take the lid off!  Every time you take the lid off, it takes up to 30 mintues for the crock-pot to resume the temperature.

5.  If it's done before dinner, keep it on Warm or Low until serving time. 

6.  When ready to serve, add in cilantro and green onions.  yummy!  Let everyone add whatever garnishes they like to their bowls, and enjoy.  :) 

Broccoli Cheese Rice Casserole (with OAMC directions!)

This is one of those great standby recipes that you can throw together in a pinch.  Or even better, keep one assembled in the freezer, so all you do is throw it in the oven!  The best part is it doesn't contain any Velveeta or Cheese Whiz type fake cheeses.  I don't know about you, but those "cheese" products scare me. 

I usually add chicken to mine so I can make it a one-dish dinner.   But it's great as a side dish too!

Broccoli Cheese Rice Casserole

serves about 6

hmmm.... this is one of those not-so-pretty recipes.  it tastes great though!

Ingredients


2 (10 ounce) boxes frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
2 cups cooked rice (I use brown rice, but white is fine too)
8 ounces shredded cheddar or colby jack cheese
2 (10 3/4 ounce) cans cream of whatever soup
1 small onion, chopped
olive oil


Directions

1.  Cook onion in a little bit of olive oil in skillet until done.

2.  In a greased casserole dish, add all ingredients and mix well. 

3.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until hot and bubbly.



To make ahead and freeze: Mix all ingredients together in a bowl (cooked rice, not raw) and spoon into one or two casserole dishes, cover, label and freeze.
From frozen:  cook 1 hour and 10 minutes or so
Thawed:  cook for about an hour