Sawyer's Christmas Pageant

With the crazy weather we've had, I was worried we wouldn't get to see Sawyer perform in his 2nd Christmas Program with Messiah Lighthouse. It was cancelled due to the snow last week but they were able to squeeze it in this past Tuesday. His teacher asked if he could wear his chicken Halloween costume again to be one of the animals in the stable...he of course loved it.

It was super hard to get pictures because we were hiding a few pews back so he wouldn't see us but here is what I managed to snap along with a short video.

The babies were like animals in the stable

His favorite teacher Penny playing the violin

Sitting watching the other kids perform

A few from where we were hiding

For a second we thought he spotted us, nope just daydreaming

Just looking at the ceiling

Maybe I should crawl around

Sawyer's turn to take center stage with the group

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The whole group

Kitchen Experiments: Crescent Roll Chicken Enchiladas

Our family loves anything that involves cheese and bread so when I found this yummy recipe while scouring the web for dinner ideas, I knew it would be a hit. It is like little pockets of cheesy/chicken goodness. It is super easy to put together, I made them in about 10 minutes.

I did change it up a bit on a couple things. I added our new favorite cheese (Velveeta Shreds Queso Blanco, yum!) and spinach. I have been trying to incorporate hidden veggies in our meals for Mr. Sawyer, he didn't even notice the spinach. I also did 2 cans of crescent rolls instead of one (luckily I had an extra) because the filling made way more than enough for just one package. We had ours with some Skinny Girl Sangria and it was a delicious meal, Sawyer had milk of course.

Thanks OhBiteIt.com for the idea!

Original recipe here: http://www.ohbiteit.com/2013/01/crescent-enchiladas.html

INGREDIENTS

2 Container (8ct.) Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

3/4 Cup Milk

1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese (Fiesta Blend)

1 Cup Velveeta Shreds  Queso Blanco

1 Can of Chicken Breast

1 Can of Cream Of Chicken Soup

1 Can of Chopped & drained Green Chiles.

1/2 Can Chopped & drained Spinach

STEPS

1. In a medium bowl combine the chicken and 1 cup of the Cheese ( I mixed the two kinds). Break up the chicken and incorporate the cheese with a fork. Set aside.
2. In another medium bowl mix together the Soup, Milk, Green Chile and Spinach. Set aside.
3. Lay out the 2 containers of Crescents and add about a tbsp. of the Chicken mixture to the wide end and roll it up.
4. Spread a small scoop of the Gravy mixture into the bottom of the casserole dish and place the filled and rolled Crescents in.
5. Pour the remaining gravy over the top of the Crescents, making sure to cover them completely.
6. Sprinkle the top with the remaining Cheese.
7. Bake it uncovered at 350 for approx. 25 minutes.

If you can tell he is saying "Emmm!"

Perfect mix!

Kitchen Experiments: Cheesy Ranch Chicken Chili

I'm a little bit obsessed (okay maybe a lot) with Chicken Chili recipes and when I see variations I have to try them (see Previous Chili recipe here: http://johnkarihamra.blogspot.com/2011/09/kitchen-experiments-white-bean-chicken.html)
I actually made this a few weeks back for the Dexter Season Finale with the Johnson's but forgot to post it. It is very savory & cheesy plus there is ranch involved, what's not to love? My mom tried it with turkey last week and it was also delicious.

Cheesy Ranch White Chicken

INGREDIENTS

·      2 TBSP butter

·      2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil

·      3 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into bite sized pieces, salt and peppered

·      1 medium Yellow Onion, diced

·      2 cloves Garlic, finely minced

·      2 cups Chicken Broth

·      3 cans (15 ounces) Cannellini Beans drained and rinsed.  They can also be called white Kidney Beans

·      2 cans (4 ounces) diced Green Chilies

·      1 tsp Salt

·      1 1/2 tsp Cumin

·      1 tsp dried Oregano

·      1/2 tsp Black Pepper

·      1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper

·      1 packet (1 ounce) dry Ranch Dressing Mix

·      1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese, plus more for garnish if desired

·      1 cup Sour Cream

·      1/2 cup Whipping Cream

·      1 TBSP chopped fresh Cilantro

Step 2

STEPS

1. In a skillet over medium high heat, melt butter in olive oil and brown pieces of chicken in 2 batches. 
2. Once all chicken is cooked, set aside and lower heat to medium - medium low. 
3. Sauté onions until soft and translucent, about 2-3 minutes. 
4. Add garlic and allow to cook slightly.  Make sure to check often, burnt garlic is pretty gross!
5. Transfer onions and garlic to a pot and add chicken. 
6. Add in the chicken broth, beans, green chilies, Ranch packet, and seasonings and bring to a boil. 
7. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for 30 minutes. 
8. Turn heat off and add in the shredded cheese, sour cream, heavy cream, and cilantro and stir to combine. 
9. I served with oyster crackers and more cheese, yum!

Adventures in baby-food Making: Chicken

Making home-made pureed meat is probably the last thing I would ever see my self doing! It sounds gross and weird BUT I committed to attempting to make all of Sawyer's food and making meat should be no different. Of course I decided to start with chicken because I'll be honest I know NOTHING about cooking red meat or even ham so we are starting with what I know and then I will try to teach myself.

Usually we buy SmartChicken because it is hormone, antibiotics and preservative free. Dillon's now has a brand of chicken (Simple Truth Organic) that is exactly the same as SmartChicken but tons cheaper (like half). It worked great! We added some frozen carrots, half an onion and we had already made broccoli for dinner so threw a few florets in and it made a really nice Chicken Dinner for Sawyer.

Dillon's new SmartChicken- like chicken breasts

Steps

1. Add chicken and vegetables of your choice (we used frozen carrots & half an onion) to a pot covered in water

2. Cook on medium to high heat for 25-30 minutes covered until meat & veggies are very soft
3. Strain out stock in a separate container to use for processing.
4. shred or cut chicken into smaller pieces.

5. Put into a food processor, blender or Baby Bullet add some of the stock from cooking to the blender. I added about 1/2 cup. Puree. 

6. Put in storage containers, freeze or refrigerator depending on when you plan to use them. (Here are some rules of thumb – 3 days in refrigerator or 30 days in freezer)

Made 38 oz. of food which is more than 9 servings for Sawyer

The Math

This turned out to be way cheaper than I anticipated. When I think about cooking meat, I expect it to cost a lot. With just 2 chicken breasts, half a bag of frozen carrots, half an onion and some already cooked broccoli, the total only came to $4.02. That's a whole chicken meal practically! It made a ton too!

HOME-MADE

2 chicken breasts at  $3.27 for 1.37 lbs, half a bag of frozen carrots for 50 cents and half an onion for 25 cents – made 38 oz of baby food = $4.02

Total cost per ounce = 11 cents

STORE BOUGHT

Gerber 3rd Food Chicken & Mixed Vegetable comes in 1 – 6 oz. jar for $1.25 each,
so 38 ounces = $6.33

Total cost per ounce = 17 cents

TOTAL SAVINGS PER OUNCE = 6 cents

1 day of Gerber 3rd Food Chicken & Mixed Veggie (1.5 containers or 9 ounces per day) = $1.63

1 day of Home-made Chicken & Veggies (9 ounces per day) = 99 cents

Total Savings per day = 64 cents

Total Savings per week (7 days) = $4.48

Total Savings per month (30 day month) = $19.20

Total Savings per year (365 days) = $233.60