yay, junk mail!

I get alot of "junk" mail at my gmail account. Omaha Steaks, Vistaprint, Target, just to name a few.  Many of them have to do with babies (track development by week, Zulily, kid friendly recipes, etc).  I am so glad I opened one of these emails today - the newborn pictures they took in the hospital when Hadley was born!  What a sweet afternoon treat for this mama!  I'm not gonna lie, I get a little teary-eyed when I look at these....just another reminder of how fast this little one is growing up on me!

Love for electronics

Hadley LOVES electronics.  Remotes, computers, cell phones, oh my!  I bought her a toy cell phone...but of course, her love for 'her own' cell phone does not compare to that of my cell phone or her daddy's cell phone.  She is pulling up on everything now and crawling fast!  She 'helped' do the dishes this week!

Murder Mystery Birthday!

Our friend Cara turned the big 3-0 last week. Her husband planned a big surprise to celebrate - a limo from Knoxville to Chattanooga and then a Murder Mystery Dinner Party.  It was such a great idea and a lot of fun!  They included several people in the show from our group....hilarious!  I laughed the whole time - definitely would love to do one of these dinners again!

Picking up the birthday girl

Our group

Meal Planning Tuesday

Meal Planning Monday Tuesday!  I am so proud of myself.  I planned meals for 5 nights this week, BEFORE going to the grocery store this past weekend.  I've never loved leftovers so much as I do now that I'm a full-time working mom :)

Sunday - Ratatouille Bake (recipe below - this was Hadley friendly too, she loved it)
Monday - leftovers
Tuesday - Chicken Poppy Seed casserole (recipe below)
Wednesday - leftovers
Thursday - Tacos
Friday - Family cookout

Ratatouille Bake

1 tablespoon olive oil

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

2 cups peeled and diced eggplant

2 cups chopped zucchini

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes (I would use 2 cans, it was a little dry)

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1 (8 ounce) package frozen cheese ravioli (I used the kind in the fridge section)

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).  Spray a 2 1/2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir the garlic, onion, and eggplant with the garlic until the vegetables have begun to soften, about 8 minutes. Stir in the zucchini, bell pepper, tomatoes, basil, parsley, salt, and black pepper; bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

Cook the frozen ravioli as directed on the package; drain. Spread the cooked ravioli in a layer into the bottom of the prepared baking dish; spoon the hot vegetables over the ravioli. Sprinkle with the cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven until the casserole is bubbling and the cheese is melted, about 20 minutes.



Chicken Poppy Seed Casserole

 

 

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - diced (I used 3 chicken breasts)
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup (I used cream of mushroom and garlic)
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream (I used french onion sour cream based on the reviews)
2 tablespoons dry sherry
Salt and pepper to taste
8 ounces buttery round crackers, crushed
1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions

Preheat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Place the diced chicken breasts on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish sprayed with a nonstick cooking spray. In a bowl combine the soup, sour cream and sherry. Pour or spoon mixture over the chicken. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top.

Mix the poppy seeds and crushed crackers and sprinkle mixture over the chicken, salt and pepper. Drizzle the melted butter or margarine over the cracker/poppy seed layer and bake covered in the preheated oven for 30 to 45 minutes (take cover off for the last 5 minutes).  Let stand a few minutes before serving.

*Based on the reviews (and because I had some time last night after Hadley went to bed), I mixed the diced chicken breast, sour cream, soup, and poppy seed and refrigerated over night. I'll top with the cracker mixture tonight just before I bake it.  Serving this with fresh broccoli.


I love allrecipes.com.  Check it out if you haven't!

Someone likes spaghetti!

We made spaghetti one night for dinner this week and gave some to Hadley (she's never had it before).  She loved it and totally had a melt down when it was gone!  She literally licked the bowl....messy for sure!

Being sweet one morning this week!