Sunday:  leftovers

Monday:  Waffles, Strawberries

Tuesday:  Italian chicken strips, cous cous, salad

Wednesday:  Chicken and Dumplings

Thursday:  Dinner out with relatives
Friday:  traveling (fast food)

Saturday:  Hot Ham Sandwiches (these are very portable, I took a pan of prepared uncooked sandwiches with us when we visited family.  We just baked them at their house), salad

Last weekend I went to a nice thrift store with my sister-in-law.  I was so excited to find a "new" bread machine for only $6.99.  

If you have been following me for very long, you know that I sadly parted with my hand-me-down bread machine last summer when it quit working.  I was more than sad, I was kind of crushed.  I used my old bread machine once or twice a week making my favorite bread machine recipes.  

I wasn't sure if my new to me bread machine would even work, but I thought it was worth risking $6.99 for the possibility of making fresh baked goodies with ease once again.  I put it to the test the next day and made two loaves of cinnamon sugar pull-apart bread (one was for my church Mom's group meeting).  

I put in all of the ingredients and ran it on the dough cycle and in an hour and a half, I had perfect dough ready to roll.  I even used the time delay function to have fresh dough ready in the morning to make a loaf for the boys.  My new bread machine works beautifully and for a very small investment.  

One thing to think about if purchasing a bread machine from a thrift store is that it might not come with instructions.  Mine did not, but I figured it out pretty quickly since I have used bread machines in the past.  It's really not that hard to figure out and there are so many wonderful bread machine recipes online.  

I am several weeks behind on posting the menu plan.  So far behind that this Sunday night quesadilla meal is from Super Bowl Sunday.  Oh well, I'm a busy Mom so I'll give myself a little grace.  Here are some menu ideas.  If you are anything like me, you need ideas...and a maid and a babysitter...what else can we wish for?  Maybe a massage.  

Sunday:  Chicken Quesadillas, Homemade Tortilla Chips, Guacamole, Queso Fundido Dip

Monday:  Honey Lime Shrimp, White Rice, Salad

Tuesday:  Pizza (Papa John's has a $6 carryout pizza the first Tuesday of every month and the boys love it with the garlic sauce)

Wednesday:  Lazy Cabbage Roll Casserole

Thursday:  Baked Potato bar with bacon, sour cream and shredded cheese, steamed broccoli 
Friday:  leftovers

Saturday:  Slow Cooker Beef and Vegetable Soup

Congrats to two lucky readers entry #565 Shawn and entry #290 Seyma for winning free coupons for Purex detergent.  

Disclosure:  The Dial brand provided me with a sample of Dial Vitamin Boost Body Wash in exchange for a product review.  However, all the opinions expressed here are my own.  

We have had a long cold winter with lots of ice and snow.  My skin gets very dry every winter and I have to moisturize like crazy.  I have been using new Dial Vitamin Boost Body wash in the shower and have been enjoying the moisturizing benefits.  It leaves my skin feeling soft and moisturized and has a mild natural scent.

One winner will win 2 coupons for free Dial Vitamin Boost body wash.

Disclosure:  The Dial brand provided me with a sample of Dial Vitamin Boost Body Wash in exchange for a product review.  However, all the opinions expressed here are my own.  

Another week of menu plans.  Lots of comfort food this week since it is completely frozen outside.  

Sunday:  Frito Chili Pie

Monday:  Chicken and Rice Bake, Spinach salad

Tuesday:  Spaghetti and meat sauce, homemade breadsticks, spinach salad

Wednesday:  Homemade Pizza, leftover breadsticks, leftover salad

Thursday:  Chicken, Broccoli, and Quinoa Casserole, grape tomatoes

Friday:  Tater Tot Casserole, grape tomatoes

Saturday:  leftovers

Tater tot casserole is good and comforting on a cold winter night.  It's also easy and kids love it.  You can use your favorite frozen vegetables.  I used some green beans that I put up from the farmer's market last summer.  This recipe is great with ground venison too.  Delicious comfort food at it's best!

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef or venison
1 sweet onion, diced
salt and pepper or your favorite meat seasoning
1 lb. frozen green beans or your favorite frozen vegetables
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 lb. bag of tater tots (you will use almost the whole bag)

Directions:
1.  Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.  
2.  Brown ground beef and onion.  Salt and pepper to taste or use your favorite meat seasoning.  Set aside.
3.  Lightly grease a 9 X 13 baking pan with cooking spray.  Layer first the meat mixture, then the vegetables.
4.  Mix together both cans of cream soups.  (Do not add any liquid to the soup)  Spread the soup mixture over the vegetables.  
5.  Top the casserole with a layer of tater tots.  
6.  Bake uncovered for one hour.  

Disclosure:  I received products for review.  All opinions are honest and are my own.

We fell in love with our new GiggleBellies™ Award Winning Music Video DVDs.      Our family had been fighting the flu for about a week when our package arrived.  I actually found out the day before it arrived that I had contracted the flu too.  We needed a pick-me-up and GiggleBellies™ came to the rescue.  

The first night we had our new GiggleBellies™ DVDs, we played the Sweet Songs and Lullabies DVD for the boys before they went to bed.  It was the perfect selection of sweet lullabies to help our boys settle in for the night.  We enjoyed listening to it too.  The DVD includes our favorite "You are my Sunshine" and nine more whimsical tunes.  The boys all love snuggling with their new Elephant, Peanut too.  

The GiggleBellies™ Volumes 1 and 2 are perfect for energetic kids.  When we walked in the door today from preschool pick-up, my two and four year olds were so excited to see each other that they could not stop chasing and wrestling with each other.  After several fruitless attempts to try and get them to settle down, I put in the GiggleBellies™ Volume 2 DVD.  Immediately, they settled down and started watching with me.  I was able to get them to sing along with me and put their extra energy into singing and dancing to "If You're Happy and You Know It".  

Parents will enjoy singing along with the videos too.  Many of the songs are classics that we all know and love.  Visit the GiggleBellies link below to watch video previews and see what their site has to offer.  Here is a special coupon code, mom2014, which will save 10% off your purchases with no minimum purchase amount.  Coupon code expires on March 31st, 2014.

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Disclosure:  I received products for review.  All opinions are honest and are my own.