Turkey Pot Pie

Last night was my very first attempt at making a pot pie. I used left over turkey and it came out pretty good. I would make a few changes though. First I forgot to get roll out dough (BC no way was I going to make my own lol) so I used 4 frozen in pan pie shells, two I had to peel away to use for the tops so they weren't very pretty lol. I also was in such a rush I forgot to add the frozen peas I bought (The recipe didn't call for any but I wanted some in there) I am not sure what I would do to change this recipe but it was a little dry, I loved that it cut easily without all the juicy everything falling out but I think maybe it would be perfect with less potatoes or more milk/water, I also would use more turkey, the recipe called for 1 1/2 C if I remember correctly but I added 2 C and I prob could have used more too since it made 2 pies. Other than those few changes it was actually amazing. It had a great flavor and was pretty easy too. Maybe just some gravy over the top would make this perfect. The hubby loved it (at least he said he did lol) I think I can freeze these once they are put together and not cooked yet I am going to be researching some recipes soon because I have a huge bag of meat still left over that I am afraid if I don't find a recipe for soon it will go bad.
Here is the recipe I followed

Good luck if you are making a pot pie, I pretty much use that website for every recipe I am hunting for, I can always seem to find one that sounds like it is exacly what I am looking for.

iphone/ipod charger deal

Click here to get an extra ipod/iPhone charger for under 2.00 shipped. This is amazon and the prices change pretty quickly so this may not last long. It is nice to have an extra around. I keep one in my suitcase for traveling. I also have one that I got for my computer I don't use the plug of course but I keep a USB attached for my phone most of the time anyway. Just thought this was a great deal to share. I also keep one in my car and by the side of my bed I am just realizing this may be a problem lol I have considered keeping one in the kitchen actually since I often look up recipes on my phone while cooking and my battery just can't keep up..... wow

What to buy now

I think that a lot of people this time of the year are thinking of paying off Christmas debt. We only pay as we go, we do not use credit cards regularly at our house. There is no Christmas gift debt to pay off. Right now I'm looking at deals to stock up my gift closet. I don't like having to rush out and buy a gift at the drop of a dime. I like to be able to go upstairs and grab something nice and be able to wrap it up without even leaving the house. This is a great time of year to do that. January is a great time to buy exercise equipment for yourself or someone you know that is into working out a lot. Lots of stores put this stuff on sale because this is the time of the year that people swear to change the way they eat and exercise (until about Feb. anyway) This is also a great time to buy linens, such as sheets and towels, things like that because for years there has been "white sales" where stores sell linens at a great price so in January have your eyes open. I like to take the week after Christmas and the second week after for buying toys and holiday decor because stores have marked them way down. This year I hope that you will think about shopping all year to prepare for Christmas and birthdays so you are spending less. Keep your eyes open for sales on great items so you can give great gifts for a great price. I will keep you posted on all the great deals I cash in on :)

I forgot to show pics of my rein-beer :)

Today my friend asked me why I didn't post pics of my rein-beer so I am doing that as to not dissappoint. :)

Best Turkey Recipe EVER EVER



Finished product

 On Christmas day I cooked my very first Christmas dinner. I am going to tell you all about how to cook a turkey perfectly! My turkey came out as the most moist turkey that I have ever eaten and I'm not just saying that because I made it lol. First thing you need to know is depending on how big your turkey is you will need to defrost it many days in advance. At the bottom of this blog I will post a link to the website I followed. My turkey was 13 pounds (that is what the tag said, speaking of tags I thought turkeys were very expensive and I only paid about 10.00! FOR A WHOLE TURKEY!) I asked my grandma (Maw-Maw Ruth) about defrosting and I knew I needed about 4 days but I wasn't sure of the best way to do it. The method she suggested I used. I took a clean ice chest and dropped the turkey in (wrapped and still with the netting on the outside) then I covered it with cool water from the tap, not warm because it needs to thaw slowly. Online I read that it is good to thaw it in the fridge but my maw-maw said that using the ice chest would free up the space in the fridge and the ice chest will still keep the bird cold. So on Christmas Eve I took out the turkey and unwrapped it and totally washed it. On the skin I found some of what I thought was feather stuff lol (sorry I really don't know the technical term) I rubbed the entire bird making sure to get under the wings and everywhere... It seems a little gross but it is all so worth it in the end, I kept imagining women from a hundred years ago whose husband would kill an animal and bring it in and the wife would clean the animal before cooking it, I was thinking I wonder if this is kind of what it felt like back then. Anyway inside the cavities, yes you have to look in/put your hand in there, where you would find the head there is a little bag thing that has all the "giblets" which is the liver and all of that, you have to pull that out  I think that some people keep that and cook it but I just trashed it. After that you need to reach into the other cavity and you will find the turkey neck which I also trashed because I don't think I would ever have a desire to eat that. I read online that you should weigh the turkey once it is washed inside and out (inside meaning in the cavities) and drained, to drain it I just shook it in the sink for a second. I put it in the pan I was planning on baking it in and then I put it on the scale ( I just used the one we weigh ourselves on) and it said 12 pounds even, the website I found said this is important because sometimes the giblets and ice that may be frozen inside the cavities could add a pound or two which could cause you to overcook the bird. I then melted about 3 tablespoons of butter (I say about because I really didn't measure and the site I used said you don't need much and I wasn't really sure what that meant lol because not much to one person might be a lot to me) then I took some Thyme and put that with my butter, I didn't have fresh I used the kind you buy in the seasoning section at the grocery, that also said don't go overboard only use a little bit. I then set that to the side so I could take the skin away from the turkey, not pull off or cut it but pull it up starting between the legs and just gently pull it away from the meat. Take the butter and thyme and rub it between the skin and the meat, take note that I said rub it not just pour it in. DO NOT put butter on the outside of the skin. Then take salt and pepper and rub into the outside of the skin, all over, I put it under the wings and everywhere on the outside turning over to make sure you get it all. Then I put the little plastic thing that was holding the legs together originally back on so the legs would be back where they need to be to keep moisture in (I was worried that it would melt in the oven but I read somewhere either online or on the tag from the turkey that it wouldn't so I just trusted that and it didn't) I used a metal pan and covered it with aluminum foil. I put it back in the fridge since I would be cooking it in the next 24 hours. On Christmas day I preheated the oven to 475 and cooked the turkey for 20 minutes then without opening the oven I reduced the temp to 250 and cooked it for 20 minutes for each pound so 20 minutes times 12 pounds was 240 and then I divide that by 60 to find out how many hours that was and it was 4 so I set my timer and didn't come back until it was done. I cooked the turkey breast side up. Amazing site on "How To" for your turkey
This site has pics of a lot of the things I described on here. Later this week I will let you know what we will be doing with all of our left overs :) I see lots of amazing sammiches (yes I said sammich!) to come :) Good luck and let me know how you do. Maybe you can try this at Easter, if your family celebrates, it is suprisingly easy and you will do great if you try it!!!

Rein-beer

OK so this is a cute under 10.00 idea to bring to a party or someones house during the holidays. I already had the googly eyes and puff noses and pipe cleaners but if you don't then you can get them at the dollar tree for only a dollar each. I used my hot glue gun (if you don't have one they are around 5.00 at hobby lobby for a small one like I have) I'm sure you could use regular glue or super glue but this was easiest for me. I then just glued the parts on. I used hot beer that isn't chilled because I didn't want it to sweat while out on the counter. It only took about 5-10 minutes to do the whole 6 pack. :) Merry Christmas to you all.

Christmas Day!

Ok so I just finished prepping the turkey, green bean casserole and now I am working on two casseroles for breakfast tomorrow morning. I am hoping that all I will have to do is turn on the oven and stick a few things in. I will have to make the stuffing on the stove, I am using a cheater box so that will be easy. I am also making a couple pies that will be super simple, one pumpkin and one pear, my grandma gave me pears that she jarred with seasonings and juice all ready to go all I have to do is put them in my crust. I already baked Santa's cookies and now I am making lunch for today. I am so excited. Rylan woke up this morning and ran to the tree he said he wanted to check and make sure Santa didn't come early, I went too because I wanted to know too lol. I am also making some rein-beer today :) I saw an idea online to use little red puff craft balls and googly eyes and brown pipe cleaners on beer bottles to make them look like reinbeer :) I am excited to see these completed I'll try and remember to post pics. I am hoping to find a super simple perfect recipe for french toast casserole (from what I understand there are lots that you prep the night before so all you have to do is pop it in the oven) I'll let you know. I am also looking for a sausage egg hash brown casserole dish for in the morning.  My dad and step mom and little brother will stop by on their way to my grandmas house and we will exchange gifts too. I am making breakfast for everyone and I am so excited about staying home with my baby and taking him for his first ride on his new bike (he will get it tomorrow of course) When we get home from my step dads family party tonight we will put out the reindeer food in the yard and we will also make elf doughnuts (cheerios with dipped in chocolate and sprinkles on them) before bed but that will only happen after we go look at lights!

FREE ice cream cupcake!!!!

AAAAAAHHHHHHH! Oh how I love ice cream, cupcakes, and freebies! Tomorrow is national cupcake day and marble slab is giving away free ice cream cupcakes from 4-7... go here to see if one in your area is participating!


Sad moment... none by us :( lol guess I will have to eat Christmas candy instead... bummer hahaha

Have you seen this?

I just ordered a pair of the gloves that let you use a touch screen without taking your gloves off. Click here if you are interested on how to get a pair shipped to your house for only 3.00 (that includes free shipping) The site is called save more and when you are new you will get a 10.00 free credit and you can use the credit to buy the gloves and it comes with free shipping. I don't think you will be able to get them before Christmas but it is still a fun gift if you know someone who uses an iphone or touchscreen device. I am not sure how many days are left on this deal but their deals usually only last a few days then you wait until the deal is over and they send you a voucher which you will use at the company website for whatever product you selected. I have gotten free slap watches (two of them), and one of those power bands, from time to time they also have great 1/2 off deals on gift cards (you usually can't use your free credit on those) I've gotten 10.00 to CVS for 5.00 and I have also gotten 10.00 to subway for 5.00. It is an actual gift card they sent too not some weird thing where you have to jump through hoops to use it. I actually took my gift card to subway and used it in conjunction with a BOGO coupon and was able to make multiple meals out of  it :)

Santa's Reindeer!!!!!!

So tonight another mom gave me a link to a site, a guy has a farm and he owns reindeer and he has set up a live feed of them online, he feeds them (I'll have to get back to you on the time) but when he does he dresses up like SANTA! This guy makes my heart smile! I love this! So anytime you can go here and see them and what they are doing. On the site you can donate a dollar to help him feed them I don't know how you would do it or if it is a secure site or not because I did not choose to donate but I see it on the site anyway. I remember as a kid the news channel we watched at my dads would always on Christmas Eve do a "tracker" and let you know when Santa was headed to the US. They would have "sightings" from people who would call in or whatever and they would say well he was just spotted in New York so he will be headed to Louisiana in the next hour or so lol it would help parents rush kids to bed I think lol. I showed Rylan and he was too interested in getting something to eat to be concerned with it but we will try again. I hope you like it :)

Today...

Well today was crazy! We had the class party so that was a lot of fun! The "Santa's sack" race was a success, the kids had a great time and the teachers and parents all thought it was a super cute game. The ornament craft was also a success, the kids enjoyed stuffing them and the parents couldn't wait to get home and hang them on the tree. I came home and passed out with Rylan! I haven't taken a nap with him in forever I was so worn out lol I have been keeping myself up late and getting up early, for no reason really other than late at night is the only time I really feel like I can relax and not have to get up every five minutes to take care of my boys. Speaking of my boys let me brag on my first boy for a minute...

Prescriptions

If you are one of my army wife readers, don't forget to move any prescriptions that you and your family have at Walgreens before the new year because they will no longer be a provider for Tri-care... You can go in and they will give you a print out of any that you have on file with them.

As promised... How to make a great cake

Today I am making the cake for Rylan's class Christmas party that is Tomorrow. I will be posting as I go today a little "How To" on making a cake that looks expensive but is actually fun and inexpensive. I purchased all of my ingredients first which include, fondant (you can get this at Walmart now or at a craft store like Hobby Lobby) I buy the big pack which is around 18.00 but it lasts a long time and it will make multiple cakes, you can purchase a box which is only a pound of fondant for around 6.00 and that will make one cake and you may have a little left over.  Then you need to get the color for the fondant (unless you buy the precolored but that is more expensive) they are about 2.00 each and I already had red so all I needed was green. Then I got my cake mix (2 boxes) and my icing (2 cans) I am cheating this time and doing my cake the easy way lol. I usually don't use all of the two icings but I would always rather have too much than not enough. I also use melted white almond bark (you get this in the baking section for making chocolate covered pretzels and all) to "glue" on any decorations that I will add.

Number 19 complete

So I just thought I would take a look at my list of things to do before I die and see if I have completed any of the things on my list. While Rhett was in surgery last week I actually completed number 19.... I got ordained

Finishing up some projects

This weekend I finished up the snowman soup packets and the ornaments. I was up typing way to late when I was typing the snowman soup because I noticed the next day I left way too many mistakes in my grammar and spelling lol. Sorry about that to all my teacher friends out there... Here are some pics to see my work :) I love both of these and I must say that they both took little to no time at all once I had all of the things I needed to make them. I made 5 ornaments in under one hour and the packs of "soup" Rylan helped me put all the things into baggies (it is amazing what a bribe of 2 Hershey's kisses will get you around here!) and so all I had to do was the typing and stuffing of the papers and that just took me about 5 minutes :)



this is the bag full without the note/poem





my last blog about the "soup" will tell you what this note says





60th wedding ann party invite



my favorite



Our Wedding <3

So on the ornaments I love the one that had cream paper and brown writing, it went great with the ribbon I had. That was def. my favorite. I love the one I made with our wedding invite of course, it just doesn't exactly match my tree lol, I love that my invite had a ribbon with the invite though because I used it to make the bow on it. I went today to Michael's to buy more ornaments and I got smaller ones too because if you notice two of the ones I already made are only half full and so I think they will look cuter in smaller balls. The invitation was just smaller paper. I bought extra ones too because I think I will make one for a friends baby shower that I went to. I think that will be a fun memory to relive every year at Christmas. I really took less than 15 minutes to do each one of these.. It was a lot of fun for me too. I hope that they love them and I still have more to make so I hope I remember to post pics of those too.

I just realized I never actually wrote about how I made the ornaments, I will quickly give a lesson lol.

You take the invite you wish to use and cut into strips making sure not to cut out any words, then you take each strip and roll it around a finger, when you place the little roll of paper into the hole at the top it will spring out like a little spring. That is all you do! Use all the pieces of paper carefully stuffing until the whole paper is in the ball then you put the top back on and add a cute ribbon! EASY

Snowman soup

Tonight and tomorrow for Rylans class party I am making a cute addition to the gift bags, snowman soup. I will take a pack of hot chocolate (1.00 for 10) and place it in a clear plastic bag maybe I will use a Ziploc bag then I will drop in about 10-15 mini marshmallows, a couple Hershey kisses (I like the white and dark swirl ones) and a candy cane. If you wanted to for this you could drop all of these ingredients into a cute coffee mug. At my dollar tree they have a whole aisle of cute mugs for only a dollar so this would actually be a great gift idea for a teacher or neighbor or just someone who you know that gets sick this winter and you would just like to cheer them up. I bet your coworkers would love this too! You could probably make 10 of them for under 20.00, 10.00 for 10 mugs, 1.00 for 10 packs of cocoa, 1.00 for 20 cellophane bags with twists at the dollar tree, 2.00 for a huge bag of marshmallows, 1.00 for a box of 10-12 candy canes, and that leaves 5.00 for chocolate lol..... anyway there are tons of cute sayings on line I'm sure I don't particularly love this one but it makes sense and so I am going to continue to search since I am getting my supplies tomorrow, I am planning on mainly making the tags tonight.

When it's so cold that you hollerr and whoop
It's time to bring out the snowman soup!

Pour the packet in a mug and add the marshmallows too,
now drop in the kisses that are special like you.

Add hot water, use the cane to stir it, although it's hot do not fear it,
sip it slowly until you will feel the holiday spirit.

I'll slip in a cute little pic of a snowman on the note card attached :)

cute gift tag idea

I saw this idea last week and I thought I would share it with you, since Rylan can not read but is so interested in all the presents under the tree. I think this is the perfect way for him to be able to hand out gifts without any help from an adult. I am going to print from my computer pictures of the people we love (prob in sepia tone) and tape/glue them on each package accordingly. He will then be able to go under the tree and pull out each gift all by himself. He will also be able to shake and smell what gifts he has :)

As a kid I remember my mom used to wrap our gifts in two different papers and not tell us which paper belonged to who so we would sit for hours shaking and smelling gifts and begging to open one. My brother and I would sit together and try to figure out which paper was for who so we could only shake our own and not waste time guessing on the other persons gift... I knew many years in a row which paper was mine because I always got a holiday barbie and they almost always came in the same package. I still never knew what was in the other boxes though, I also remember asking over and over and over again if I could open one. I hope Rylan will do that one day, shaking and guessing presents is so much fun, trying to guess by the weight what it might be or by the size and shape of the box or if it had to go into a gift bag or not...

homeless helper?

I just saw a cute idea for helping the homeless without giving them money. If you feel bad for people standing on the street corner here is something you can do that will only take a few dollars (if you use coupons) and will truly help someone if they are truly homeless. It is called a blessing bag. You take a Ziploc bag, of your choice, and fill it with things that would be of help to someone who does not have a home. You might put travel size toiletries in there, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrush, or a bar of soap. You could also put some single serving high calorie food items, a protein bar, cereal bar, individual apple sauce (with a spoon of course) also a great idea would be to stick in a to go bottle of pain medication, such as Tylenol or Advil. Any individual edible item would work great in there. You can either do a gallon size bag with a lot of stuff or a sandwich size with a little less stuff and be able to make more bags. Anyway this is a great idea for all year round not just around the holidays, I would also suggest making bags and just taking one and keeping one in the car until you are ready to hand it out, then once you give one away grab another one from home and you will be ready for the next person in need.

Great ornament gift idea

This week I am making an ornament for myself and Rhett and I will also be making a few more for some friends that were married this year.  What you do is take their wedding invitation and cut it into long strips, leaving the lines of words connected then roll it up and stuff it into a clear ornament. I will probably use a plastic one, they are about .75 each at Michael's if you can get them on sale. I will put a pretty ribbon on the top like this pic I will probably try and use one that matches the invite. I think I will add a cute note that says "Cheers to you both on your first Christmas as Mr. & Mrs." I will also add the year somewhere. I am making mine too and I am pretty excited. I have this weird thing about keeping invitations from people so I am glad that I do now that I have this great craft to do :) I also have a wedding that we are invited to at the end of the year that we will make one for and I may buy a few extras in case I want to make any of these during the year.

My mail box 12/5

This week I got back a Brita water filter rebate which means I just got paid to shop once again. I bought an 8.00 Brita water pitcher at Wal-mart and used a 5.00 coupon so I paid 3.00 out of pocket. I submitted a rebate to them for 10.00 back if I sent in my receipt and my UPC from the box, I can not find the rebate for you anymore I guess it is no longer available. I got the check back today meaning I got paid 7.00 to buy that pitcher. I also got my coupon in from my Disney movie reward order for a free box of popcorn I will probably use that to put with a movie bucket that I got for someone on my Christmas list. I got another JCPenny certificate in the mail today and I went and used it on a scarf for someone else on my Christmas list. I am looking forward to hopefully making it to Victoria Secret at some point this week and see how much my gift cards are worth. I will let you know.

magnolia garland

This week I made magnolia garland from my yard. I made it to decorate for Breakfast with Santa because we wanted it to look nice without spending a lot of money! I am pretty proud of it! I will be selling it in the future :) These pics do this no justice!!

This is a close up of it on the mantle where pictures with Santa took place.

Christmas eve

I just want to say that at our house, we always leave cookies and milk for Santa (dad) and carrots or other veggies for the reindeer (mom) but this year we will be leaving elf dognuts too.... (I don't know who will eat them but I can't wait to make them! They are simply cheerios that you dip in melted choclate then in sprinkles.... AHHH I can't wait to make them! I'll post pics... this is going to be so awesome

I am such a kid lol

Free Music

Have I ever told you that you can get free songs on your iphone/ipod every week? I just downloaded 5 I think. On Itunes on my phone they have lots of free ones on the main page. At the bottom you select music then at the top there is a box that says free songs. Every Tuesday it changes. I guess they have extra for Christmas. You select the free song and it goes straight into the music on your phone! Easy!! Amazon is also offering free songes every day until Christmas. I just downloaded one but I'm not sure where it went on my computer to be honest lol. When I figure that out I will share with you how to get it.

Childrens Christmas party idea

 

Today I am making party favors for Rylan's class party. I am making puzzles. I wanted something cute and inexpensive and also something that everyone else won't already have seen. (I like to pretend that I am Martha Stewart on the weekends lol) I already had all of the supplies that were needed for this project. I needed Popsicle sticks (you can get over 100 for a dollar at the dollar tree usually) regular school glue, and print outs. I was thinking that if you didn't have access to a printer or copier you could use magazine cut outs too and I bet that would still be super cute.  First I searched the web looking for cute free clip art to print. I found a Rodolph and an elf that I loved so I copied them onto regular white copy paper. I used a slicer paper cutter that I have that

 makes straight edge cuts easily. You could use

 scissors if that is all you have I just thought this

 would be quick for me. I got out my craft Popsicle

 sticks, that is what will be the puzzle pieces. I read

instructions online that say you should cut the paper

before gluing them onto the sticks but for me I think

 it will be easier to glue onto the sticks then use an

 exacto knife to slice each one into separate pieces.

 First I tried making glue lines on each stick and placing the paper on top. I did not like it this way, it was not that easy I found that putting the glue on the back of each square and then laying it on the straight sticks was very easy. I pressed them down lightly to make sure the glue was all over since these papers are going to be cut into small strips later. I let them dry for over an hour before I started cutting them. I was not sure exactly what I was going to use to cut them since this was quite spur of the moment.  I found a pocket knife that was quite sharp. Once they were dry I bent them before cutting each one because some of the glue soaked through and made the sticks stick together.

 Bending them also gave them a little gap so it was easier to fit the blade in for

 straight cutting. Once I cut the first one apart I realized that the children would

 not have a box or any pic to know what the puzzle was supposed to look like

 so I decided I would number the sticks on the back in case they are not sure if

 they are doing it right. I found it was easier to do this before cutting them apart. I took 100 calorie ziploc bags and wrote on the bag what kind of puzzle was inside for example "Elf Puzzle" then stick the pieces inside. I made 20 puzzles, 2 for each of the 10 children in the class. I got elf hats and Reindeer headband antlers from the dollar tree for them to each choose from. This party should be pretty cute. The week of the 14 of Dec. I will be making the cake and I am planning to blog all about it so stay tuned........ Oh and by the way, this project of 20 puzzles took about 3 hours. Now, before you go OMG!! That time includes browsing the web for the perfect pics and printing and figuring out if I had enough sticks to make 20 or not and figuring out the hard parts and what was easier, I even took time in the begining to blog about it lol I decided to just finish tonight after I was done since I was turning into a 5 year old with glue all over my fingers.

Christmas show

Today Rylan's class put on a program at a local old folks home, I was so excited I ran out the house to make it in time to watch my baby! I got in the car and got back out again because I realized I wanted to grab the video camera so Rhett could see it too. I got there got a great seat right in front of our baby. I pressed the button to record and watched. When it ended I pressed the record button again to stop and a big red dot came up and the letters REC were also in red.... I was confused for a split second before it hit me.... I really did that! I watched the whole program with the camera on pause... WOW I am just putting things in the hat to get that mom of the year award every day lol. I was pretty disappointed because it was very cute, especially when he finally realized I was there, the first half of the first song he was turned around being nosy looking at all of the other kids and what they were doing lol. He turned around and his smile was so big when he saw me! It was priceless.