Twins 1st Birthday

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Love Books...Check out Paperback Swap

Have you guys heard about this club? I have been using this site for about a year and I love it. I know some of you guys love books at your house too and I thought you would be interested. I have recieved books on parenting, spiritual growth, cookbooks, fiction, etc. If you decide to sign up pls click the link in this blog or put down my nickname (taychambers) as the referrer...I'll get another book credit!

Some of my Faves!

I've been spending so much time reading other people's blogs that I haven't taken time to write on my own! Planning our meals and cooking them has brought me so much joy lately. I have a few sites that I browse around daily for inspiration. Here are some of my faves (in no particular order).

Joy In My Kitchen

SnoWhite is the chef of this blog. She has great pictures to go along with her made from scratch recipes. I find that her food is easy to make, tasty, and full of ingredients that normal people use. I have made several of her dishes including Penne with chicken and spinach and Smothered Aussie Chicken I've also tried two of her bread recipes. This whole wheat bread is delicious and I'm sure I won't be trying a new recipe for wheat bread as I've found "the one." This breadstick recipe was fun to make and reminded me of the breadsticks from the Olive Garden.

Life As Mom


Jessica is the Mom of this blog. One of my favorite features is the Ultimate Recipe Swap that's held on Thursdays. Each week, bloggers from around the country join this blogging carnival with their recipes that goes along with the theme for the week. Jessica also has another blog called, "Good and Cheap Eats." This is where she posts all of her recipes and tips for eating on a budget. Jessica has 6 kids, so her meals are very family friendly and full of variety. Recently, she has started a freezer cooking day at the beginning of the month. You can read about it here. Tomorrow is the twins 1st birthday! We're having a party and I'm serving pizza using Jessica's homemade pizza dough. We had it a few weeks ago and it is very good.

Lynn's Kitchen Adventures



I haven't tried any of Lynn's recipes yet, but I've spent a lot of time drooling over her pictures. Her recipes look healthy, tasty, and easy to make. I'm looking forward to trying some of her easy cheesy bread and mexican pizza.

Some websites and blogs that have great recipe indexes are Kraft Foods, Taste Of Home, Food Network (check out Paula Deen, The Neely's and Rachael Ray), Amy's Finer Things, Tammy's Recipes, and The Sister's Cafe.

Those links should keep you busy for awhile! What are your favorite sites for recipes?

An Early Christmas Present

I have been wanting a breadmaker for a long time. Thanks to my sister, Joy, I now have one! I'm so happy and grateful. I couldn't get a picture of the one that she brought me to post at the top of the page, but here it is. This morning I made my 1st loaf of bread. It was ok...but I'm not giving up. I found another recipe thanks to SnoWhite. This is the one that I'm going to try next. My plan is to start making pizza dough for Family Pizza Night on Saturdays and to make bread for us to eat throughout the week!

Thanks Baby Girl...you've made me a happy woman!

Menu Plan Monday...or Tuesday!

Well, I've had our menu done for quite some time...I'm just a little late posting it. I tried something new this month and made out our menu for the entire month, instead of just for one week. It's so hard to get to the grocery store, so while my Mom was in town I stocked up for the entire month.

As I'm writing, I have a 10 lb. turkey in the oven! I'm going to use the meat throughout the month for a few meals. I brined it...you can read more about that here. From what I hear, once you brine a turkey, you will never want it any other way. It should be very juicy and flavorful. I'll be sure to let you know!

Here's our meal plan for the week.

Monday- Shepherd's Pie remix (I changed it up a bit)
Tuesday- Turkey, Collard Greens, Mac and Cheese, Homemade Bread (more to come on that!)
Wednesday- Turkey Pockets (kinda like this, but a little different)
Thursday- Turkey Divan (substituting turkey for chicken), Rolls
Friday- Fried Fish, Fries (we've been having fried fish on Fridays for several months. I love family traditions!)
Saturday- Homemade Pizza (trying to start a new tradition of Homemade Pizza with my own dough on Saturdays)

Check out orgjunkie.com for more menu plans!