Busy and Doing it ALL

Oprah always says "If you're doing it right, being a stay at home mom is the hardest job!" I for one like to know and feel that I can do it all! I can take care of my kids, cook, bake, come up with activities, set an example,take my boys to explore the world,and have a clean, organized house! I enjoy volunteering at their schools, being a helper for Wednesday nights church activities, being the cheerleader on the side lines for sports 3times a week, doing endless hours of volunteer work for the army, tuck my kids in to bed every night after their favorite book and curl up with my soldier to watch the "The King of Queens."  With wanting to do it all and have it all it requires scheduling, preparation, and commitment! One thing I have been doing for a while is preparing meals in advance. Ladies Ladies Ladies....meet your best friend... Your freezer!! Take a couple hours out of the week for several meals, rather then an hour or 2 every night! Your second best friend, always loyal is...your crockpot! I used to think crockpot = soups. Incorrect. Crockpot to me= dinner on the table without all the work and saving some pennies!  

 Buy in bulk, check sales going on in your local markets, and get busy!

Since this guy was little, I ALWAYS had him in the kitchen with me. I hear moms say "I don't have time for that because I don't want to take time away from my kids." Wrong again! Bring them in the kitchen with you! Have them help you and make something they are proud of and can feel excited!

 

Recipes:

Teriyaki
1\2 bag of baby carrots
One red onion
1. 20oz can pineapple (undrained)
2 garlic cloves
2 chicken breasts
1\2 cup teriyaki sauce
Cook on high 4 hrs or low 8 hrs...serve over rice

Garlic Honey Chicken
2lbs chix breasts
3 garlic cloves
1\3 cup soy sauce
2\3 cup ketchup
1\4 cup of honey
5-6 hrs on low eat with a side of rice or potatoes! :)

Veggie Beef soup (makes 2 bags)
Prepare ahead...one lb of ground beef with 2 cloves of garlic and one chopped onion
Then add
1\2 bag of baby carrots
2 celery stalks
3 red potatoes (per bag)
1\2 T Worcestershire sauce per bag
1\2cup of beef broth per bag
Salt & pepper to taste
1 T sugar per bag
Place in crock pot with 1.5 cups of water & 15 oz beef broth cook on low 8 hrs.

Salsa chicken (yummy)
6-8 chicken breasts
2. 15oz black beans
1 family size frozen corn
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans green chilies
1 jar of salsa (of your choice)
1 pkg of taco seasoning of your choice (we use the taco bell)
2 cups of cheddar chz.
This is good in a shell of your choice.

 

                                                                    Scalloped potatoes and Ham
                                                               12 potatoes diced
                                                               2 cans of cream of potato
                                                               2 cans of water
                                                               2 ham steaks diced
                                                               8 oz cheddar chz
                                                               4 cups of broccoli
                                                       Salt and pepper to taste. Low for 8 hrs.


                                                           For my smoothies I do 1\2 cup of each fruit (my picks are banana, mango, blueberries, strawberries) then 1\2 cup of yogurt then freeze. When making I put 1\2 cup of coconut milk and spinach or kale with protein powder.

 And loaded burgers I just did 2 lbs of ground beef, onions, and cheese, mix, make patties (I have a fancy patty maker that makes big, thick burgers) I freeze these individually then put in a big Ziploc!