Ready For School?

Hello Friends -

This month has been so busy and I have been so focused on doing what we can before school starts that I've had no time to write. Sophia is very excited to start school next week and Austin starts the week after her. I'll have a little more time on my hands a few times a week to get those big "cleaning out the ___(fill-in-the-blank)____" jobs done and other projects on my 33 goals list. For those of you like me who have a little extra time here are a few sites that I have found to help me out.

Help with cleaning your house:
http://www.flylady.net/

Help with at home activities to supplement what the kids are learning in school:
http://www.learningpage.com/free_pages/home.html

Help with making a quick grocery store shopping list (at the bottom of the page, no need to register):
http://www.mygrocerychecklist.com/

Help with getting in a quick devotional/weekly encouaragement:
Queen of the Castle By Lynn Bowen Walker
*This book provides recipes, quick tips and lots of encouragement. It's my go-to devotional when I just have 5 minutes.

These are just a few that I've used to help me get through those crazy days and weeks. Hope that you find something that will help you too.

As always, here's a recipe that you might find time to use. It's quick, easy and DELICIOUS!

Chicken Pesto Panini's

1 red onion, sliced into 1/8th inch rings
2 tablespoons butter
1 jar pesto sauce *found in your pasta isle
8 slices of provolone or mozzarella cheese
1 Rotisserie chicken, breast meat cut off and sliced for sandwiches
1 loaf pre-sliced artisan bread *I use portuguese bread, but you could use whatever you like

*Saute the red onion slices in the butter in a medium skillet. Cook for about 15 minutes or until they start to brown and caramelize.
*To make the sandwiches, spread some of the pesto onto the inside of both the top and bottom slices of the bread. Starting with the bottom slice, place one slice of cheese on top of the pesto, then add some caramelized onions. Next, put some sliced chicken on top of the onions and top with another slice of cheese. Place the top slice of the bread, pesto side down onto the sandwich.
*You can either make these on a panini press, George Foreman grill or in a skillet using another heavy pan or brick covered with tin foil to "press" the sandwiches.
*Cook about 5 minutes each side or until they are golden brown and resemble a "grilled cheese" sandwich with melty cheese dripping out of the sides.
*Serve with fruit, veggies and kettle chips.

Get some quality time in with your kids these next week...you'll be glad you did!

Until next time,
Kirsten

Shoppers Beware

Hello Friends -

In light of higher costs of pretty much everything these days everyone needs to be aware of how to save a few pennies here and there. As I was grocery shopping the other day, I did as I always do. I was looking not only at the sale tags at Cub Foods in Apple Valley, but I was also looking at the price per ounce on the original price tag that is usually found under the item you want to buy. People, this is one of the best ways to get more product for your money. I know that people say, buy the store brands and buy the sale items. These are great tips, but they aren't always the rule. Here are a few products I bought that day and how I save by looking at the price per ounce.

~Cub packaged chicken breasts, more plump and juicy than the leading Gold 'N Plump
Cub $3.89 per pound Gold 'N Plump $5.18 per pound
*This is where buying at the meat counter yields you more chicken, better flavor and juicier meat EVERY TIME!

~On average, buying 3 pounds of hamburger (in the 3 pound tube) saves you at least 5-10 cents vs. buying single pound tubes. However, check if there's a sale on the pound tubes.

~Land O' Lakes 1/2 and 1/2 cream is 8.7 cents and ounce vs. Cub brand at 9.3 cents an ounce.
*Checking the ingredients, LOL is pure cream and milk, Cub has a few additive ingredients

~St. Ives face scrub for the 10 ounce tub you pay 54.9 cents an ounce vs the tube at 69.8 cents an ounce.

I didn't have time to price all my items out, but these are a few I buy A LOT of so I'm always saving when I take the extra few seconds to check out ounce price. Also, using coupons in addition where you can will also help cut cost, but that's a given.

This past week I had the pleasure of making a meal for a family in need at our church. I didn't have a ton of time so I made my quick chicken pasta salad with a nice and easy dessert. Since I missed my recipe last time, here's 2 for 1!

Chicken Vegetable Pasta Salad
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Servings 10 - 12

1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
2 packets Good Seasons Dry Italian Mix
2 tablespoons milk *more if you'd like
1 box rotini pasta, cooked, drained and cooled
3 cups chicken breast, diced
2 cups raw broccoli florets
2 cups raw cauliflower florets
1 cup shredded carrots (buy the bag in your produce dept.)
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 - 3/4 cup crumbled bacon

*Mix the sour cream, mayonnaise and dry italian seasoning mix. Add a little milk to thin out if necessary.
*Cook pasta according to directions and drain. Add ice cubes into strainer full of pasta to cool down quickly. Drain well.
*While the pasta is cooking, get your broccoli and cauliflower florets cut up.
*Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl and put in fridge to chill and blend flavors at least 30 minutes to an hour.

For Dessert

1 container Philadelphia Ready to eat Cheesecake Filling
18 mini graham cracker pie shells or 1 large graham cracker pie shell (In your baking isle)
Fresh berries, cherries or other fruit
OR
Chocolate, caramel and toasted pecans (turtle cheesecake)

Fill each mini pie shell or the large pie shell with the cheesecake filling. Top with fruit or turtle toppings. Enjoy!

Have a great day,
Kirsten

Surprise! Surprise!

Well, I haven't had time in the past two weeks to update everyone on my life, but I had to tonight. I have some awesome news!

Little background to this story is as follows: I was invited to be a guest on a special show Andrew Zimmern from Bizarre Foods was shooting this past Tuesday, July 29th. I declined due to the content of the show, not because of the foods that would be eaten, even though they chose me as one of 10 guests. So even though I would have liked the opportunity, it was a matter of principle. So I didn't get to meet Andrew Zimmern or be a part of his show (on Travel Channel) which is awesome.

So Today, Sat. Aug 2nd, my brother called me to invite me to the Twins game as he had extra tickets. I said yes and took the kids down to the game. We were walking from gate F to gate C where my brother was and at gate D was a tent and there were free t-shirts for none other than Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods. He was in the tent, which was extra, and was signing the shirts for those outside of the tent area. So I brought the kids to my brother and went back down to meet Andrew and get our shirts signed. A few minutes later I hear my brother call out "Hey Skoglund, get over here!" and I started yelling, "I'm over here, I'm not in the tent!" all the while thinking, my name is not Skoglund anymore, why is he calling me that, and he looks at me and points into the tent! THERE WALKING OVER TO MY BROTHER WAS MY DAD! I had been standing there for like 10 min and didn't even see him. I couldn't believe it...It was awesome to see him, he sat and talked with us for a while and my brother invited him to come see us in our section and my dad did. He came and talked with us for a while and it was such a blessing. So Surprise! Surprise! You never know where or when! That was the BEST baseball game I've ever been to and I didn't even watch the game. Good thing, they lost! I'll add a recipe soon...Kirsten