New

As many of us who get really into blogging for a while do, I have been a little slack for the past week or so about posting! Sometimes life gets so mundane that I don't feel like I have anything to write about, but I just like reading blogs to see what is going on with people I don't get to see very often, so I will write on! Today has been a great day; Ben's friend Matti Grey came over to play in his new swimming pool...let's see, I had ladies' devotional at my house last night, so Ben and Brad went out alone for 2 hours and came back with a Little Tykes T-ball set, a new (and might I add HUGE) pool, and an electric pump. I guess that's the risk I take when I send them out on their own. Many of you can recall the enormous bear that still takes up half of my den on a daily basis. Anyway! Ben loves it, and I love to see this smiling face, so that is all that matters!
Ladies' devotional was amazing last night! I had eleven girls over, made WAY too much food, and had a great conversation based on ways that we, as Christians, can identify with Springtime! (I'm sure you can think of oodles of correlations as well!) I do love how everything is so new in Spring! The trees, once dead-looking, suddenly are covered in new leaves. Vegetables, which start as tiny seeds, flourish into healthy and beautiful foods for us to eat. There were several applicable verses, but one of my favorites is, "Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him." Psalm 34:8
Speaking of new beginnings and growth, I was able to get a few of my pots planted this weekend. This is only my second year having a container "garden," and I have never really had a green thumb, but I am learning! I am most excited about my edible plants like this basil and rosemary (to the left) and my porch tomato below. My porch is absolutely blazing hot in the afternoon until the early evening, so I can only really plant full sun plants in my back yard. Herbs and veggies are perfect for the porch! I, with the help of my dad, also planted 2 tomato plants with cages in the back yard. This is our first experience with tomatoes, so if it goes well, we plan on planting more vegetables next year. I envy people who can go out in their yard and have their ingredients for lunch or dinner! We want to do that too! Finally, last year I planted a large palm tree in my largest planter, and we only planted annuals (don't come back every year) in our pots. I hate to spend so much money on annuals that won't be around for long. So, this year, instead of palms, I planted 4 arborvitae bushes in my 4 larges planters and surrounded them with annuals. That way, I spent less money on annuals plus, we will have 4 beautiful shrubs to plant in front of our shed out back at the end of the summer! I got the idea from a gardening magazine ,but I will be using it every year! Hope all is well with you! Happy week!

My lazy Sunday afternoon boys:)

Hi, everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend; we definitely did. We mostly did yard work on Saturday; thanks to my parents for their help, and we rested today! This was my favorite kind of weekend! I got really busy last week, so I didn't get to post much, but this week is looking a little clearer...we'll see!
I wanted to share a couple of things/recipes with you in case you are interested. I have always been a shopper who thought it was silly to buy a whole chicken uncooked when you can buy a rotisserie chicken already cooked and delicious for $4.99ish. But after this week, I am now convinced that, although rotisseries are great for quick, last-minute meals, a small roaster chicken is such a great value due to its ability to create multiple meals that my family loves! As I said last week, I was able to buy a 4 pound all natural roaster on sale for @2.75. I must admit I was a little terrified because I had never cooked a whole chicken before, and that just seems like something a mother or grandmother is supposed to be able to do...(wait, I am a mother now:). After quizzing a few people about their cooking methods, I decided on the trusty crock pot because why slave over a stove when you can throw it in and forget it! Here is the "recipe" I used, and the chicken fell of the bone and tasted awesome!

Roasted Crock Pot Chicken

1.)I cleaned, washed, removed parts from the chicken and patted it dry.
2.)In a small bowl, I mixed 4t salt
1t cayenne pepper
1/2 t garlic powder
2tsp paprika
1t onion powder
1/2 t black pepper + anything else you want to throw in.
3.) After rubbing the chicken (over and under the skin) with olive oil, I rubbed on the spices.
4.) I made 3-4 balls of wadded aluminum foil to place in the bottom of the crock pot.
5.) I placed the chicken on top of the aluminum foil and turned the pot on low for about 61/2-7hrs...YUM. (served with a pasta/veggie side,green peas, and crescent rolls). Then...
6.) I put skin and bones back into crock pot and added 4-5 cups of water to liquid remaining.
7.) Turn crock pot on low and let it go overnight. Strain liquid to remove skin/bones and you are left with amazing homemade chicken stock. Let it sit in the fridge for a night, skim the fat off of the top, and make recipe #2 with part of the remaining chicken.

Creamy Chicken Rice Soup

I know it is a little warm outside for soup, but this is amazing! Ben gobbled it up and called for more "hoop." I served mine with cornbread, and the next day, we ate a small cup of it with a half of a chicken salad sandwich (of course made with the last of the chicken from the crock pot!)
I chopped my chicken and added chopped celery, chopped and peeled apple, chopped walnuts, a little mayo, and salt and pepper. So good.
For most of you reading this, the fact that a chicken goes a long way is common knowledge, but I guess I didn't realize just how far! I have a small family now, but you can at least probably get two meals out of it with a family of 4. Also, you can obviously use your chicken in your favorite casserole, etc. too. I am definitely going to keep my eyes peeled for great prices on chicken from now on; what a value!
Ok, one last picture for the day. Kroger is again having a "mega" event, so this is a great time to stock up on grocery, cleaning, or personal items. This is a picture of what I bought today; I am going to do my regular shopping and a little more mega shopping tomorrow, but it is easier to go on Sunday afternoon while my two boys are napping! This is $57.10 worth of groceries that I bought for $14.38 today (20 items so that's .72 each). If anyone reading this is not a coupon person but wants to be, (and I'm not talking crazy stock-pile women) I would love to help; just ask! Or check out this article on "Learn to Coupon" from southernsavers.com, which I have put on here before. Happy shopping!