Day 25 Refrigerator Raspberry Oatmeal

Day 25 of 365: Refrigerator Raspberry Oatmeal


My lunch time at work has recently freed up and I decided to take on lunch duty a few times a week at my school. It's not a bad gig and you get paid to eat your lunch and supervise students. Anyway, I was browsing my boards for some lunch ideas that don't require a microwave. I am really getting sick of sandwiches and yogurt. I saw Raspberry Vanilla Refrigerator Oatmeal and had to try it. I had most of the ingredients, even the seedless jam from a Christmas cookie recipe.

You will need:

1/4 cup uncooked old fashioned rolled oats

1/3 cup skim milk

1/4 cup low-fat Greek yogurt

1-1/2 teaspoons dried chia seeds (I didn't use these because I couldn't find them)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon raspberry jam, preserves, or spread

1/4 to 1/3 cup raspberries (cut each berry in half), or enough to fill jar

 

In a half pint (1 cup) jar, add oats, milk, yogurt, chia seeds, vanilla, and raspberry jam. Put lid on jar and shake until well combined.

 

Remove lid, add raspberries and stir until mixed throughout. Return lid to jar and refrigerate overnight or as long as 2-3 days. Eat chilled.

 

I made these in a pint jar and then put them in 4 oz jars that I had already for baby G's homemade food. They were perfect size to take to lunch or bring as a quick breakfast.

These were super yummy! The hubby said he liked the texture but couldn't taste them because he had a bad cold. I will be making these again but I will be trying it will blackberries, blueberries and maybe strawberry-banana.

I won't say talk to you tomorrow because it has really been hard for me to post lately but I will say talk to you soon!

Day 24: 52 Week Money Challenge

Day 24 of 365: 52 Week Money Challenge

Since college I have had a goal to stay in all 50 states by the time I'm 30. Well I will be 30 at the end of this year and I still have 13 states. I have the entire Northwest left plus Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Arizona and New Mexico. The last state that we were saving for our 5 year anniversary is Alaska. When the hubby and I got married we planned on taking a cruise to Alaska when we made it to 5 years. Well here we are (a few months shy) planning for Alaska, but it is not our last state :( We like to visit new state during my breaks from work. So we are being proactive and saving for Christmas Break to visit Arizona!!

When we went to Hawk's doggy birthday party a couple weeks ago my brother's girlfriend showed me a pin she was trying. The 52 Week Money Challenge! I found this on my boards pinned over a year ago. I was inspired to try this challenge to save for our family vacation. I really like that its small amounts over the year and its a big amount of cash at the end! My brother's gf put it in a cute jar and printed the label so they can cross the amount each week. Here is my attempt at the pin:

Here's what you need:
-Money
-weekly dedication
-a place to put the money
-the check list (here is a link to a site that you can print the list from: Challenge list

I also think this would be great to put away in a savings account. If the money isn't there then you wont be tempted to take it out early and spend it. By the way, it's not to late to start now. All you have to put in is $21 and you could do that over the next week. Take the challenge with me, you'll be happy at the end of the year!!

Well talk to you tomorrow!

Day 23 Mini Chicken Pot Pies

Day 23 of 365: Mini Chicken Pot Pies

Having your best friend in New York is hard at times, but luckily she calls me often (I am terrible with calling people). It is great that every time we talk I feel like she never moved away and that we pick up where we left off. Anywho, the other day she got a moment away from the house and gave me a call...she WILLED me to answer the phone and I did :)! She was going to get more ingredients for these mini chicken pot pies and told me how easy they were to make. So I put them on my list of things to try and actually found a pin to go along with it.

I bought all the ingredients but waited awhile to make them because they required cooked chicken and I always thought about making them last minute and forgot to cook the chicken. Well during the second "cold day" I cooked the chicken in the afternoon and it was ready to go for that evening's dinner. I have a few complaints about them though. After cooking them for an additional 5 minutes than the recipe called for, the biscuits were still raw inside and the filling was not hot. I had quite a bit of filling left over so I just over filled the pot pies and I don't know if that cause it but I did not like that they were a little raw inside and not as hot as I would like. Other than that, they were delicious. I was told they needed a little flavor but I found a recipe that had seasoning and cheese in them. The hubby really liked them and had the left overs for lunch for a few days. So here is my first attempt at Mini Chicken Pot Pies:

 

Here's what you will need:

 

1 chicken breast, cooked and diced                       

1 (14.5 oz) can cream of chicken soup  

 

1 cup Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers frozen mixed veggies                         

                   

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese            

                   

1 tablespoon Herbs De Provence (I used only a teaspoon and I used Italian seasoning)                    

                   

1 teaspoon onion powder       

                   

1 teaspoon garlic salt (I would do less because my filling was pretty salty            

                   

2 (10 oz) cans Pillsbury biscuits                        

Directions

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees

              

In a large bowl, combine the cooked chicken, cream of chicken soup, frozen veggies, cheese, herbs and spices.

 

 

Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin and place the Pillsbury biscuits into each cup, pressing into the bottom and up the sides.                            

 

Evenly spoon the pot pie mixture into each biscuit cup. Slide into the oven and bake for about 15 minutes. Check at the 12 minute mark.                             

 

Let rest for about 3 minutes and dig in!

I served these with cheddar rice. I wish I would have also had a salad. But it was a great weekday night meal.

Talk to you tomorrow!


 

Day 22: Garbage Disposal Refreshers

Day 22 of 365: Garbage Disposal Refreshers

During that last "cold day" break I started a bunch of pins. Some of them needed a day or two be completed. These pins were some things I have been meaning to try because they seemed easy but they were useful. I worked on these pins in between taking care of a very sick baby G. He has to have breathing treatments three times a day and his naps are all over the place.
Today's pin falls in the "For the Home" category. I love having a garbage disposal but I hate that smell it gets every once in a while. These garbage disposal refreshers were easy and cheap. The hardest part was grating the lemon peel (I actually zested the lemon because I don't have a small enough grater). I also used a melon baller to create the half sphere shaped pods. The parchment paper is essential because they peel right off after drying over night. Here's how mine turned out:

 

 You will need:
-1/2 cup of salt
-3/4 cup of baking soda
-1/2 tsp of liquid dish soap
-lemon (peel and juice)-baking sheet
-parchment paper
-small scoop
-sealable glass jar

 

Step 1: Mix together baking soda and salt. Make sure there are no lumps.
Step 2: Grate lemon peel and add to the baking soda and salt mixture along with the liquid dish soap.

 

 Step 3: Squeeze the lemon juice into the mixture (about 3 tablespoons)

 

 Step 4: Stir in the lemon juice until the mixture resembles course sand.

 

Step 5: Cover a sheet pan with parchment paper, use a small spoon or scoop to mold the half rounds, and then tap them out onto the pan. Allow them to dry over night.

 

Every time the garbage disposal starts to get smelly, throw one or two of these down the drain and run the disposal. Instant refresh! I like these because they are cheap and easy to make and my kitchen smells good!

Talk to you tomorrow!