Crockpot Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

I made this yesterday and the kids loved it!

Throw the following into the crock pot-

1 package chicken breast (raw and cubed or even leftover chicken)

1 chopped onion

3 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can rotel tomatoes

2 cans nacho cheese soup

1 carton chicken broth

2 cans of corn

Cook on low all day while you are at work. Serve with crushed corn chips, sour cream, salsa, or anything you like.

My first T-shirt Scarf

I found a website that has 10 T-Shirt Scarf Tutorials so I thought that I would make one with the kids.  Here is what we came up with-

You can find more at-

T-SHIRT RUFFLE SCARF TUTORIAL

DIY T-Shirt Scarf

braided scarf tutorial - this one requires a little sewing

Teacher Crayon Art

The kids made these for their teacher for Christmas.  

We used-
$4 frame from Dollar General (glass removed)
1 box of 64 crayons (made three frames with one box)
1 large print out of the teacher’s initial (set at 500 using arial)
Hot glue gun

The instructions that we used are HERE.

It took about 30 minutes to do each one and cost $5 to make each.

Pumpkin Fluff - 3 ways

I love this recipe because it can be made for different diet plans.  I use it when I am doing low cal and low carb. 

#1  Pumpkin Fluff

     1 (16 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
     1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix

     1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin

     1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

In a bowl blend dry pudding mix and pumpkin till light. Add spices,
mix to distribute. Fold in whipped topping. Refrigerate until serving.

 

#2  Pumpkin Fluff ( Low calorie style)
1 (16 ounce) container frozen lite whipped topping, thawed
1 (5 ounce) package instant  sugar free vanilla pudding mix

1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

In a bowl blend dry pudding mix and pumpkin till light. Add spices,
mix to distribute. Fold in whipped topping. Refrigerate until serving.

 

#3  Pumpkin Fluff (low carb style)
1/2 heavy cream
1 (5 ounce) package instant sugar free vanilla pudding mix

1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

In a bowl blend dry pudding mix and pumpkin till light mix in heavy cream and water. Add spices,

7 Up Biscuit Recipe

I saw this recipe over at I Heart The Mart, one of my favorite couponing sites!

7 UP Biscuits  ( I used Sprite)
2 cups Bisquick (coupon HERE)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup 7-up or other lemon lime soda
1/4 cup melted butter
Cut sour cream into biscuit mix, add 7-Up. Makes a very soft dough.
Sprinkle additional biscuit mix on board or table and pat dough out. ( I made drop biscuits) Melt 1/4 cup butter in a 9 inch square pan. Place cut biscuits in pan and bake at 450 degrees until golden brown.






My review- They are awesome. They remind me of the cat head biscuits that my grandfather made when I was little. 

Weight Loss Update!

It has been a long time since I did a weight loss update.  Here is the last photo update.  I have lost another 20 pounds since then!

I am at 176 pounds right now and it feel great. 

2 Ways to Refill Lysol Soap Dispenser Quick and Easy.

I got several Lysol Soap Dispensers free with coupons a few weeks ago.  I was looking for a way to refill it to save money.  I have found two ways that work well.

This method requires a drill.

 This is my method of choice.  A quick fix with a butter knife!

If you happen to get some free or cheap bar soap you can make your own liquid soap to refill it!  Check out Savvy Housekeeping for a liquid hand soap recipe and how to! 

Dryer Vent Pumpkins



My Fall decor on top of the piano.



This week my girls and I spent an afternoon making Dryer Vent Pumpkins.  We looked at instructions on several sites including

Smilemonsters

DLTK

Shingleroof



We made the pumpkins and then hot glued them together.  Then I did a coat of gold spray paint.  From there the kids took over.  They used cut up pieces of an old wash cloth to rub their paint on. For the stems we used twisted brown paper sack.




How cute are these?!? 



When life gives you leftovers, what do you make?

We had a BBQ for Labor Day and had some ribs left.  I had promised my 7 yr old that we could have omellets today so it worked out great.  I chopped the meat off the ribs and sauteed that with some bell pepper and onion.  They came out great! 

What is your favorite ways to make over leftovers?

Our Weekly Menu- Cutting cost using coupons!

Most of my readers know that I started couponing awhile back. I usually do not make a weekly menu but this week is hectic so I did. I thought I would share my menu using items that I got couponing and the cost to feed my family of 5. If you would like me to break it down more as to how I came up with that figure just ask in the comments.

Sunday

New - Velveeta Cheesy Skillet (free with coupon)

Fresh Veggie Salad

Green Beans

(cost for my family of 5- $5.50)

(Cheesy skillet was free, 1/2 lb hamburger was 1.50, fresh veggies from farmer's market was 2.00, dressing was .49 a bottle, green beans were .50 a can and we used 2 cans. That comes up to 4.99. The rest covers any small usage of butter, spices, or etc.)

Monday

Sausage Gravy

Biscuits

Scrambled Eggs

Turkey Bacon

(Cost of meal for my family of 5 - $6.00)

Tuesday

Baked Chicken Pasta

Cucumbers with Ranch

Corn

(cost of meal for my family of 5- $4.50)

Wednesday

Tuna Melts

Peas

Veggie Mac & Cheese (new from Kraft and very yummy)

(cost of meal for my family of 5- $3.00)

Thursday

BBQ Pork Chops in the crock pot

Deviled Eggs

Steamed Carrots

(cost of this meal for my family of 5 - 4.00)

Friday

Beef Veggie Soup

Cornbread

(cost of meal for my family- $6.00)

Weight Loss and Guest Blogging

If you recall I had lost about 60 pounds and then just stopped. http://mrssuziehomemaker.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-weight-loss-journey.html


I have had trouble getting over that hump but with the help of my friend April, some cleaner eating, and Skinny Body Care I am back on track. I will be writing a blog post at April's Blog http://achilly33-myfitnessjourney.blogspot.com/ with updated weight loss photos and a little more how I have done it.

Until then here is a link to the new supplements ( Skinny Body Care) I have been taking- http://Kansas.EatLessFeelFull.com

They have a new infomercial coming out so you will be hearing about them all over the place very soon.

Look for my updated weight loss photos on April's blog this week. They are awesome!

Salad Makeover!

I was looking for something low cal for supper. The first thing that came to mind was a salad but honestly I was not in the mood for one. I looked at the ingredients that I would have had in my salad and went another direction with them.

* I started with some chopped raw boneless skinless chicken breast.

* I put them in a bag with 2 TBS of low cal/low fat raspberry dressing for about an hour.

* I then started steaming 1 c of broccoli and heated up 1 tsp of oil in a skillet.

* The chicken went into the skillet while the broccoli was cooking.

* While those "got happy" I shredded a large carrot.

* As soon as the chicken was done I removed it and I tossed the carrots in and sauteed for about 1 to 2 minutes.

* I stacked them up on a small plate and it was awesome!

Here is the calorie breakdown-

1 c steamed broccoli - 50 calories
1 large shredded carrot- 30 calories
4 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast- 120 calories
2 TBS Raspberry Vinaigrette Fat Free Dressing - 30 calories

1 tsp olive oil- 40 calories

That is only 270 calories! This was almost enough for 2 people. It's a big serving!

Also I will be a guest blogger on My Fitness Journey very soon! Check it out at

http://achilly33-myfitnessjourney.blogspot.com/