Comfort Food

For this week's recipe swap, decided to use a classic "Comfort Food" recipe... Chicken Casserole. It's one of our favorites that just makes you feel cozy when you eat it! It's a very common, but a GREAT casserole!

Chicken Casserole

2 Cups Diced Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
1 Box of Stove Top Stuffing
1 Can Cream Of Chicken Soup
1 Can Chicken Broth
2-3 cups of Cheddar Cheese; shredded
1 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Garlic
1-2 tsp. Ground Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
Saltine or Ritz Crackers For Top Of Casserole; crushed
Mix all of the above ingredients except your crackers in a large bowl and mix well. Pour into a greased casserole dish. Sprinkle the top of your casserole with the crackers crumbled up well. Bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees. Enjoy!

Hope you are having a great week. I am much better! Thank you so much for all the cards, notes of concern, phone calls and just being nice to me. My chiropractor is helping me out so much! I've been seeing Dr. Nall since March of this year, and my scoliosis has improved so much. (He was out of town this last weekend... figures, huh!) I even slept the night through last night - WOW! He's taken a "crippled" woman from Sunday and now I can move so much better by Wednesday... it's amazing. Now I'm not healed - just better! LOL!

Thanks for stopping by! Hug the ones you love! Have a great "rest of the week"!

Down and OUT...

Down and OUT was my physical well-being this weekend!

ARGH! Thursday, I could feel my lower back "going out" - should have made a call for "meds" then... but our family traveled to Tulia for Alex's last football game of the season. 

(The 7th graders did WIN their game - it was awesome; picture

 is of Alex and a group of 7th graders in the Tulia Pizza Hut after the game!  Go Bobkittens!)

But I paid for the trip and not calling on Friday... couldn't even get out of bed... served breakfast by crawling around in the kitchen floor... didn't phase my kids... they just kept on eating without comment! I was IN PAIN - but went to school anyways. My classes are behind from my absences with Aric's illness and did not want to get them further behind. By 4th period - I was in TROUBLE! Even got down in the floor, trying to release the tension and then couldn't get up - EMBARRASSING!  

What does anyone do in dire straits? "Call the mom!" Made a dr.'s appt and my mom came and took me to the clinic - in and out within 30 minutes (OMG!) 2 shots and lots of meds - an order of "at least" 3 days of bedrest and no straining, bending or picking up anything... I was ready to mend! Took the rest of the day off. I want to take a second and make a "SHOUT OUT" to all that helped me Friday - I work with some awesome, caring ladies (& men) and it was nice to know that people care. THANK YOU SO MUCH! I love the place I work at - because of the people who also work there!

It's been a long weekend. Aric played his last play-off game for flag football Saturday and the Super Bowl was held Sunday. I was there... sitting in the car! It was GREAT! Another trophy!

    

For a woman to have "Bedrest" - it's impossible... I've got cooking, cleaning,

washing - I am again reassured that if I die... PLEASE make sure that my husband takes a wife home from the funeral... it's something that will reassure me that my boys won't starve and have clean clothes and a clean home. How do you handle this issue in your household? I'm so serious!

On to better days... How are you? Hope things are well! Enjoying the FALL! "Love it!"

Pumpkin Bread Recipe

Pumpkin

- the International Fall Icon

Who doesn't like a slice of warm PUMPKIN BREAD? The aroma alone is heavenly - to me! 'Tis the Season, huh! Love, love, love all the Fall and Harvest decorations, recipes and weather! Here's this week's recipe swap - a classic! Enjoy!

PUMPKIN BREAD

3 1/3 cups Flour
2/3 cup Vegetable Oil
4 teaspoons Cinnamon
4 Eggs
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1 can (15 oz) Pumpkin
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
2/3 cup Water
1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
1/2 cup Pecans chopped (optional)
2 2/3 cups Sugar

Instructions:

Sift dry ingredients together. Beat sugar and vegetable oil together until blended (mixture will still look dry). Add eggs, 1 at a time, until blended. Add pumpkin and mix thoroughly. Add dry ingredients a little at a time, alternating with water. Mix in pecans Pour batter into 2 9x5x3 loaf pans. Sprinke tops of loaves with cinnamon sugar before baking. Bake at 325 for 55-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool for 15 minutes before removing from pans. Enjoy!

You've got a loaf to share and one to eat! Have a great day! Thanks for stopping by!

New Fall Family Pic

 You saw us in our "Halloween" family picture in the last post...  Here's a couple of "normal" family pictures that Ging took while Andy was here for the weekend!  Hope you are off the having a great "Fall" week - can you believe it's NOVEMBER?

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from the whole family!

Spooky Cupcakes!

So my kid surfs the net to find the Perfect Halloween Cupcake and wants me to make 24 for his Halloween party on Friday...

Technology... WOW and he's only 10 years old!

This cupcake idea was on the Better Home & Garden website here... included is a pic of my cupcakes creations for the party - argh! I cheated and used PAPER for the eyes - my son wanted me to just mold up some fondant... "fondant" - How does my kid know about fondant? LOL!   Okay - (I give myself a B+... such the teacher, huh!) We're ready to party today and tomorrow.  Have a great time celebrating Halloween and be safe!  Thanks for stopping by!

All my chicks in the nest...

Yes!  I am a "Mother Hen" and it feels SO GOOD to have all my chicks at home!  If you've ever had one of yours "out of the nest"  - ya know what I mean.  Andy Hayes is HOME!

Andy had pick-up trouble about 45 minutes from Hamilton, Alabama (on the other side of Tupelo, MS) - so his dad had to come and retrieve him and his pick up and haul them both back.  So after putting on tires on his dad's pick-up - leaving at 7 PM and traveling ALL NIGHT - he's finally in Texas!  We were leaving at 7:30 AM for school and Andy came in and crashed after lots and lots of hugging!  Praise the Lord - he made it safely - thanks for the prayers!  We're off to a GREAT weekend!

Here's Alex on SPIRIT DAY - dressed up in his Bobcat (oops!) Bobkitten Blue and White!  These 7th graders will be playing the Friona bunch tonight!  Our JV Bobcats headed up that way at lunch and we've got reports of Friona having snow already - argh!  I'm sure that they will return with great stories of the game!  LOL!

Aric has returned back "to the living" so to speak after his illness and missing 2 1/2 days of school!  Here is his Indian Adobe dwelling structure for Texas History!  Hope he has a good day back at school.  There are so many out with sickness!

Hope you are having a great Thursday!  Thanks for stopping by! 

Need a quick Halloween treat...

Here's an awesome website to find "oodles" of Halloween treats, crafts, food, gifts, tags, ideas, ... all kinds of things - especially if you are in need for a quick treat for a Halloween party for this weekend!

http://www.skiptomylou.org 

Check it out! I used the bat "candy bar" holder - too cute!  She

 includes the template and colored label.  Just right for a quick gift or when you need 20 of them - LOL!  We used "Snickers" for Aric's class and "Hershey" bars for the 2 & 3 year olds Bible class.  They are so "batty-cute"!  Hope you like the website - if you're like me... you always need a quick idea for something - hee hee!  Love, love, love the "candy corn" section - WOW!

The little boys will have a FIT when they see that I posted this picture of them... just a very funny pic of a "crazy" minute in the Vannoy household  this week- goofy boys! LOL!  Hope you are having a great week!

BEWARE... We're contagious!

Watch out!  We've been bit by the flu bug - argh!  Aric (my youngest) began not feeling well on Saturday - by Sunday, we were fighting down a fever giving him 400 mg ibroprofen every 6 hours... by that night - his fever was spiking up to 104... Monday, we learned after visiting our family doctor and Aric's football coach (LOVE a small town!) that Aric not only has the FLU, but also STREP - argh~  

After a big shot in the rump, we're alternating Motrin and Ibrophrine every 4 hours and added Amoxicillin and Tamiflu.  TAMIFLU must be liquid gold... I paid $68 for a 1/3 of a bottle! Aric gets 2 ML twice a day for 5 days of this medicine!  Thank goodness that Aric takes his meds without complaining (much)!  

The clinic did NOT clarify if its the standard, classic flu or the new H1N1 flu... it takes 72 hours and $400 to type the flu... and they've stopped doing that, but heard on the radio that 90% of the flu out there now is the H1N1... great.  Aric is not feeling bad, until his fever comes up and he does complain of a sore throat.  At least, Aric is still young enough to cuddle up and love on!  Yes, I'm exposed... but I have special "MOM" genes, right?  I've taken off Monday and Tuesday - Wednesday will be KV's duty!  Aric can return back to school when his fever is gone for a good 24 hours without the use of meds.  We'll see!

I've "Lysol'ed"everything... stripped and washed sheets - hot washed all of our towels... everything that I know of, so this won't spread to the rest of us.  What do you think... is it "karma" or will all of us get the flu and/or strep ANYWAYS??  And Andy Hayes is planning a trip to Texas this week - ARGH!

Oh well, life is an adventure!  

Found a faster & yummier way for baking "Turtle Brownies" - Hey!  When home, I love to bake - so we're baking as we get well!  Yesterday it was a Dr. Pepper Cake and today its brownies!  

  

Back in the day, I made these type of brownies (chocolate brownies with caramel in-between) and they weren't easy to assemble, but wonderful to eat!  - today I used 2 brownie mixes and 1 caramel apple wrap package and made them - "easy-peasy" and they are SO GOOD!  Just

 mixed up one box of brownies, put the caramel wraps on top, added the 2nd box of brownies and cooked for 55 minutes at 325 degrees!  And for about $4.00 + eggs and oil!  Good stuff !

Hope you all are staying HEALTHY and away from the FLU or STREP bug!  Thanks for stopping by - say a prayer that we recover quickly!  Hug the ones you love!

Halloween is coming and so is ANDY!

Andy Hayes has plans to visit this weekend! 

We are SO EXCITED! Andy is my 1st born son and a college student in Alabama - and he hasn't been in Childress, TX since March '09... we all miss him very much and can't wait for his visit! Please say a prayer that he will reach Childress safely! He'll be bringing an empty trailer because he will be loading up and traveling back with a bunch of items for his new home in Tuscaloosa, AL. "Roll Tide!"  Hopefully his hair will be blonde and short... but we don't care!  Hope you have a great weekend!