BBQ Chicken Corn Casserole and Loaded Hashbrown Casserole

I've been in an adventurous mood when it comes to what's for dinner. I've tried a lot of recipes recently, but last nights was one of my, and Nate's, favorites.  You can't go wrong with with as much sour cream and cheese as was in these dishes! It was super quick, easy, and eaten. Did I take pictures of my process, nope. But I promise, it only took me about 10 minutes to throw these together.

I got the recipes from Plain Chicken. I've been following her blog and trying a lot of her recipes. My waistline shows it. :)

BBQ Chicken Cornbread Bake

• 1 can of corn
• 1 can creamed corn
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 box cornbread mix
• 1 stick of butter, melted
• 3 cups cooked chopped chicken*
• 1 cup BBQ sauce
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

* I used 1/2 of a whole chicken that I had cooked and frozen a few weeks ago. A rotisserie chicken would be great too!

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly spray a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray.

Mix together corn, creamed corn, sour cream, cornbread mix and butter.  Pour into prepared pan.  Bake 30-40 minutes minutes, until casserole is almost done.

Toss chicken with BBQ sauce

Remove cornbread casserole from oven.  Top with chicken mixture and top with cheese. 

Bake an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted

Hashbrown Casserole

• 2 (16oz) containers sour cream
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2 (3oz) bags real bacon bits
• 1 large (28 - 30oz) bag frozen hash brown potatoes - shredded kind

Combine first 4 ingredients, mix in hash browns.  Spread into a 9x13 pan.  Bake at 400 for 45-60 minutes.

I divided this into 2 8x8 pans and froze one to enjoy later.

2 months

 

Age: Molley is 2 months old
Weight: 12 pounds 8oz 
Length: 23  inches
Sizes: She is in size 1 diapers and finally filling out 0-3 month clothes.
Eyes: Dark blue
Hair: Dark brown peach fuzz hair
Sleeping: She sleeps best when she is swaddled. She is sleeping more at night now. We usually get a 6 hr stretch, followed by a 4hr one, and then a 3hr one.
Eating: She is getting more consistent with feeds, usually 4oz every 3-4 hours. She is on generic Similac Advanced now. Seems to work best for her.
Milestones: Smiles!! And lots of "talking"
Memorable outings: We've been so many places the last month. She met her great grandma Knight, Connor Prairie, the zoo, museum, Maybe her fav was shopping at the mall?
Favorite toys/activities:  She is starting to love her playmat more and more, and her bouncer. She also likes talking to the wall and watching David play.
Words/sounds: Lots and lots of cooing.
Nicknames: Sweet Pea, Bright Eyes
Funny moments: We love watching David grow in his big brother role. When she is fussy, he runs to help. At the dentist, the receptionist held Molley while David watched me get my teeth cleaned. When she cried, he lept into action, first taking her paci to her, then her blanket, then insisting that the hygienist stop so I could make a bottle. He loves her so much!
Looking forward to: Still waiting for no night time bottle, but I also like those early morning smiles.

Center of It

Keeping faith can be hard, at least for me. There are days when I wonder what God is thinking handing me the things he does that day. Like, really God, you think I can get through this standing on the other side? There are days when I think God has forgotten about me, like I'm a lost cause and he's moved on to greener pastures. Then there are days when I know he is standing right beside me holding my hand. Those are the days that I need to hold on to and know that he is always there, I just sometimes take that for granted.

 

Yesterday was a day that I forgot God was there. Molley had a rough first day at daycare. I wasn't ready to come back to work, and when I picked her up and she hadn't eaten much all day, hadn't slept, I thought that's it, I'm quitting and staying home. I know I can't do that, and I do love my job and the people I work with. I would miss that, and Molley would miss out on all of the fun David has had being in school there. It just seemed that God was giving me more than I could handle at once. He wasn't, and I know that she will be fine and it's just an adjustment period.

 

I heard this song on my way to work this morning, and I think it's just what I needed to hear. I've heard it before, and never paid attention to it. This morning, something told me to turn it up and listen. No matter what - good, bad, ugly, God is right there in the center of it all.

 

"Center Of It" by Chris August

 

Somedays I'm feelin' like I
Can't win, can't get it right and it
Don't matter how hard I try
Today is not my day
When it feels like I'm going crazy
And it looks like nothings changing
Come sun come rainy day
You are still the same

In the dark, in the light
In the morning and night
In the good, in the hurt
In the places I hide
When I rise, when I fall
You'll be there through it all
At the start, at the end In the center of the center of it

Some nights I lay awake and I
Can't push these thoughts away
I'm worried where I'm gonna go
Where I'm gonna be are You gonna be there for me
When it feels like the doors are closing
Gotta trust that You're doing something
Come sun come rainy day
You are all I need

In the dark, in the light
In the morning and night
In the good, in the hurt
In the places I hide
When I rise, when I fall You'll be there through it all
At the start, at the end
In the center of the center of it

There will be days I will forget
Everything You've done for me
But when I go back there again
I'm reminded

In the dark, in the light
In the morning and night

In the dark, in the light
In the morning and the night
In the good, in the hurt
In the places I hide
When I rise, when I fall You'll be there through it all
At the start, at the end
In the center of the center of it
The center of it all, the center of it
In the loss, in the win
In the beauty and the sin
At the start, at the end
In the center of the center of it

 

Back to Work

Well, the day came. Maternity leave is over, and back to work I go. 8 weeks does not seem like enough time.

I had mixed feelings about this day. I am so excited to see all of my friends at the River and to get back into the swing of things. I know my to-do list will be long, and it will be a few days (weeks) before I'm fully into the groove.

I am not so excited to leave Molley and David full time. I have grown to love our schedule at home and all of the things I was able to do with them both. It wasn't always easy, and they both got on my nerves at times, but they're mine and I love them. I know that we will still have our late afternoon and evenings together and that we will get into a new routine at home. As many of my mom friends have told me, the build up to the first day is worse than the day itself. I think they are right.

Getting ready to leave

In the car ready to go





Outdoor Adventure

David is in a huge adventure phase. He wants to go on adventures everyday. Sometimes it's just finding a bug outside, and sometimes Nate comes up with things that are even more fun, like camping in your backyard.

The sweet set up

 

 

 

Even Molley came out for the fun.

 



 

We talked about doing this all summer. Alas it was stinkin hot. The weather is perfect now, so Nate thought they'd better do it before it got too cold.

Can I just say that when we told David what he would be doing, he was jumping up and down and kept asking us if he really got to sleep "in there".

The whole evening was a blast. We started a fire, roasted some hotdogs, and then made some smores.

 

 

We asked David to help Nate get some wood for the fire. He told us that he just had to do something. We turned around and found him standing on the deck just like this.

 



 

 He wanted his "friends" to come on his adventure. Just so you know who he invited, their is George, a bat, his baby, a frog lovey, and his blanket. He wanted to go get more friends, but we told him that he had enough.

 

As it got dark, we got him all ready for bed. He was no where near tired, and I came inside to get Molley settled, so who knows what time they went to bed. They did stay out all night, depsite my bet that they would be in before midnight.

 



Breakfast Cookies

When I told David that I was making cookies for breakfast, he said "WHAT! You can't have cookies for breakfast!" Yes you can kiddo, when mommy uses Pinterest to find new recipes to try.

The original recipe came from here, but I can't just take it an use as it. Tweaks must be made. Although I will say, I didn't make that many to this one. If you don't like banana or peanut butter, these are not the cookies for you.

2 ripe bananas, mashed until creamy (thank you magic bullet)
1/3 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
2/3 cup applesauce, any kind *
2 scoops protein powder **
1tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups oatmeal (can use quick oatmeal or old fashioned oats) ***
1/2 cup chocolate chips (milk or dark)



* I used cinnamon because that is what I had. Sugar free would make the cookies even better for you.
** I used vanilla, again because that is what I had. Chocolate would also be yummy. You can add less if you want. I wanted to pack a little more protein in mine. You can also leave it out all together.
*** I made them both ways, both equally good to me. I liked the texture of the old fashioned oats, but David liked the quick oats better.

Mix together banana, applesauce, and peanut butter until creamy. Add vanilla and protein powder until mixed. Add the oats and chocolate chips.



Drop onto cookie sheet. You can make them as big or little as you want, plump or flat. (We opted for drop cookies because Molley started screaming before I could flatten them out. ) Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, depending on thickness. You can bake longer if you want crispier cookies.

 

Nate is not a fan of these, but David and I like them. I like that they are good for you (minus the chocolate, which you could leave out) and I know what has gone into making them. If you notice, it made 23 cookies. It would have been 24 if David and I had sampled the batter (no eggs, so you can eat it without baking).



Rainy Weekend

The weather this weekend has sucked. It's been humid, cloudy, rainy since Friday evening. Gross. And no fun if you are 3 and want to play outside. Also no fun if you're the parent of said 3 year old who is driving you nuts.

We went to the Children's museum Saturday with our friends Matt and Mary, and their kiddos Alice and Ben. He had a blast playing with Alice, or at least playing in the same area as Alice. He also, after days of asking, got to see a crocodile. (I picked him up from school on day and he said he wanted to go find a crocodile. I asked where we would find one, he said the river. I asked where we would find a river, he said behind our house. For the record, there is no river behind the fence.) He was so excited!



Molley also enjoyed the museum, at least the parts where she had her eyes opened.

Today it rained harder and most of the day. By 3, I was tired of David asking to go outside, we we went outside and played in the puddles and the rain (no lighting, and we came in when it started to thunder.) He thought I was nuts saying he could play in the rain, but once he got out there, we both had fun running and jumping in the puddles.

 

 

 

 

It's so much fun doing the things with him that I did as a kid!