Roark and Roll

This week, we have an abbreviated week because we’re actually leaving town this week {not this past weekend like we thought}. Glad we figured out the date mix-up early in the week!

Monday – Life Group (Fruit Salad)

Tuesday – Cilantro Chicken Salad with raw veggies

Wednesday – Fancy Hot Dog Recipe over pasta

Thursday – Cilantro Lime Shrimp with asparagus and rice

Friday – Kitchen closed

Saturday - Kitchen closed

Sunday - Kitchen closed

This week, there was a sale at Aldi on whole fryers. For just $3, we bought a 4.5 lb whole chicken for dinner. After finding this recipe from 100 Days of Real Food, I was inspired to make a home cooked meal we could both enjoy.

Not only did the house smell divine! We had a great meal and chicken to cook with for the rest of the weekend. We also saved the bones to make her Chicken Stock in the Crock Pot. If you have time you can also use this RECIPE to make your own stock on the stove top.  I’ve heard chicken stock {or any with meat bones to boil out the marrow} is great for the congestion that comes with seasonal allergies and colds.

We cooked the chicken on high for the time she recommended, and then left it on “warm” for the rest of the day until dinner time. It was so tender and {literally} fell of the bones, it brought back memories of grandma’s house and home cooked meals during childhood. {That’s gotta be good!}

Here’s the recipe if you’d like to try it yourself – belive me, it’s not as difficult as it may sound or you think it is. You can do it!

The Best Whole Chicken in a Crock Pot

{From 100 Days of Real Food}

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne (red) pepper
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 onion
• 1 large chicken

Directions

1. Combine the dried spices in a small bowl.
2. Loosely chop the onion and place it in the bottom of the slow cooker.
3. Remove any giblets from the chicken and then rub the spice mixture all over. You can even put some of the spices inside the cavity and under the skin covering the breasts.
4. Put prepared chicken on top of the onions in the slow cooker, cover it, and turn it on to high. There is no need to add any liquid.
5. Cook for 4 – 5 hours (for a 3 or 4 pound chicken) or until the chicken is falling off the bone. Don’t forget to make your homemade stock with the leftover bones!

Can you believe we’re already into May?! This year is almost halfway over and it has gone by faster than any other I can remember. Must be that we’re so busy getting settled and exploring our new town.

To celebrate the “May Flowers” that are supposed to come, here are some fun calendars to enjoy. Hopefully, the weather will realize it’s Spring and warm up for us a bit. {These 40/50 degree days are getting old}.

 {via RedStamp.com}

 {via ashleybrookdesigns.com}

 {via Smashing Magazine}

This will be a short week, but still a good one! We’re taking a short trip at the end of the week {together, not separate this time}. I’ll have more updates on that later on…

Monday – Leftovers from weekend

Tuesday – Ham & Beans with cornbread

Wednesday – Chicken Chili with broccoli

Thursday – Bagel Pizzas with veggies

Friday – Kitchen closed

Saturday – Kitchen closed

Sunday – Kitchen closed

UPDATE: If you missed this deal, you can still save 35% off Yes To products on their site with this link. It is a great substitute to paying full price when you don’t have to.

This weekend, I found a great deal on a new line of all natural skin care and beauty products. “Yes to” uses natural products with lines themed to various vegetables – carrots, cucumbers, etc.

I have tried the Yes to Carrots lotion and am looking forward to trying out their line of skin care. With specialized lines for all types of skin and solutions (calming, acne and brightening), I think this will be a great regime to start. They even have a line of products for babies. Their all-natural products would be a great benefit for yourself or your children {or soon-to-be children – you know who you are }. You can read more about their commitment to perfection on their site, too.

Right now, PlumDistrict.com has an offer for $15 for $35 Worth of Natural Skin and Hair Products to Yes To. Through 4/30, you can also use the promo code MOM25 for an extra 25% off on PlumDistrict’s site.

Has anyone else tried these products before? What did you think?

Last night, I was able to participate in my first ever Bowl-a-thon. It was to benefit the local chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters. Not to say I am a pro at bowling, but we did have a lot of fun.

Here is a link to my company’s blog with a great recap of the night – http://blog.greatwolf.com/blog/tales-from-the-den/the-wolf-pack-gives-back

Monday – Life Group (Chocolate Cookie Dough Brownies)

Tuesday – Spicy Meatball Subs with chips

Wednesday – Ham Tetrazzini with salad

Thursday – Leftovers

Friday – Date night

Saturday lunch – Spring salad with garlic bread toast

Saturday dinner – Lemon Pepper Tilapia w/ broccoli and rice

Sunday lunch - Chicken Chili with cornbread

Sunday dinner – Leftovers

Breakfast meals - 

Egg McMuffins Copycat

Blackberry scones

Healthy Homemade Pop Tarts

And that’s exactly where we’ve been.. {for the most part}

Last weekend, we went our seperate ways to visit our families. Eric went to Columbus to watch his brother run a Tough Mudder race…

 {Eric, Courtney w/ her cute baby bump, and Josh after the race}

And I went to see my family for the weekend. While I was there I had the chance to meet my new niece – Baby Sloane!

{isn’t she a cutie}

{Egan playing with is birthday gift from Uncle Eric and Aunt Amanda}

{Look at the elephant!}

After a long trip back {in strong storms and rain}, we had a couple of days together before I left for a work trip. Luckily, I had overcooked last week and didn’t have to worry about grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning or anything else in the short turnaround time. The biggest hassle was unpacking and repacking everything.

It was all worth it, and we even had the chance to go down to Wirgley Field yesterday to watch the Cubs play the Cincinnati Reds {or the other way around if you ask Eric}. Even though it was pretty chilly, we still had a good time.

  {Reds weren’t winning when we arrived — and the Cubs only scored one more run before the end. Maybe next time!}

 {Still smiling after the game — look how close we were able to “sneak” a seat}

A little R&R is in our near future and then it’s back to work. I don’t know how we manage to keep ourselves so busy, but time has just flown by. Only eight more days left in April!

{Flowers Eric surprised me with on Friday night — What a man!}

Monday - Life Group (Slow cooker green beans)

Tuesday - Lemon Soy Tilapia w/ Rice and Cheesy Broccoli (eMeals)

Wednesday - Tamales & spinach salad

Thursday - Leftovers

Friday - Both out for work

Saturday breakfast - Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole (eMeals)

Saturday lunch - Meal at the ballpark

Saturday dinner - Kitchen Closed

Sunday lunch - Orzo Spinach Soup w/ Crackers

Sunday dinner - Broccoli & Ham wrap with fruit salad

We only bought an eight-pound ham for Easter, but man did it take a while to cook it all up. I’m sure some people had a few of the same challenges from their leftovers, too.

Here are some of the recipes I’ve used {and frozen for later} -

1. Crock Pot Ham and Beans {froze the leftovers for later}
2. Cha Cha’s White Bean Chili {because I soaked too many beans from the last one}
3. Ham Broccoli Braid {frozen for next week}
4. Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole {From eMeals menu for next Saturday}
5. Ham Tetrazzini {also frozen for later}

All of these took just a few hours over the course of a couple of days to prepare. Hopefully, this will do it for our “ham fix” for a while. Anyone else have some good recipes to share for ham leftovers?