Cheesy Hashbrown Potatoes

A good friend just asked me for this recipe, so I decided to post it here for easy reference.

Creamy Hashbrown Casserole

1 package (32 oz.) frozen Southern-style hash brown potatoes, thawed
1 pound process American cheese, cubed
1 can (10 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
2 cups (16 oz.) sour cream
cup butter or margarine, melted, divided
2 Tbs. chopped onion
tsp. paprika
2 cups cornflakes, slightly crushed

In a large bowl, combine hash browns, cheese, soup, sour cream, cup butter and onion. Spread into a greased 13 x 9 x 2 baking dish. Sprinkle with paprika. Combine cornflakes and remaining butter; sprinkle on top. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 50 60 minutes or until heating through.

Enjoy!

Blessings,

Lisa

Menu Plan Monday, March 29,2010

Welcome to another Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie. We did a pretty good job at following last week's menu, except for Friday and Saturday. We had cheese pizza on Friday and Chili Dogs on Saturday. This week will be another busy one!

Sunday~Turkey Cutlets with Pan Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

Monday~ Weeknight Lasagna Toss, Salad and Garlic Toast

Tuesday~Halupki (Cabbage Rolls) from the church, Hard Rolls

Wednesday~Take Out--Fundraiser Night at School for a former student who had Hodgkin's Lymphoma

Thursday~Going to see The Wizard of OZ musical, dh and the kids will have hot dogs and macaroni and cheese.

Friday~Beer Battered Fish, Pierogies and Corn

Saturday~Pizza and Wings for Family Movie Night

Have a week full of blessings,

Lisa

Easter Card Exchange

I pulled the Cricut out of storage today to work on a few cards for the Easter card exchange with the gals at MHH. I like the green ones the best. I'm now off to address and mail them!

Peace and Blessings,

Lisa

Small Successes~March 25, 2010

Welcome to this week's Small Successes. I'm positive that these are small successes, but still important:

1. I started a prayer journal as a dialogue with God. It helps when I write things down and my prayer time seems a bit "deeper".

2. We have finally gotten to the final contract phase on the new house, so all the big decisions have been made and we should be on our way soon!

3. I finally was able to fix the drawer in my classroom that was sticking out because of something stuck behind it. It's a 3 foot drawer, so it was quite the affair, but I'm so thrilled that I did it myself.

Blessings and peace,

Lisa

Menu Plan Monday, March 22, 2010

Welcome to another Menu Plan Monday, hosted by Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie. This week's menu will be fairly simple. We have so many things going on in our life, it has been hard to keep up with cooking every night. I miss the consistency in our life and can't wait for this house to be sold and the new house to be ready! Prayers for my sanity would be appreciated. ;0)

Sunday~ Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce over Spaghetti, Veal Parmesan, Salad

Monday~Kielbassi and Kraut, Mashed Potatoes

Tuesday~ Dinner Out

Wednesday~Chicken Soft Tacos, Mexican Rice and Corn

Thursday~Stuffed Green Peppers, Mashed Potatoes

Friday~Fish and Macaroni and Cheese, Coleslaw

Saturday~Pizza and Wings

Have a week full of blessings,

Lisa

Spring Time!

Today we took a ride out to camp to see how everything weathered the winter. We're pleased to say that everything held up well. I took a picture of the camper, because, well, I wish I was actually camping....

DD poses on the steps

DS enjoying the sunshine


Lake Raystown at the Shy Beaver launch area

After checking out camp, we stopped at our lot (which we now own and have an "official" address for!) so DH could show me where the house will sit. It will be on the left side of the photo. The lot is 9/10 of an acre, so this pic shows only about 1/2 of it.

Another view....

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Lisa

Lemon Basil Chicken Recipe

Recipe card design customized with Smilebox

This is one of our all-time favorite recipes for grilled chicken. Since the weather is so nice today, we're having it for dinner!

Enjoy!

Blessings,

Lisa

Holiday and Seasonal Celebrations Board

I would like to extend an invitation to my blog readers to join me at the Holiday and Seasonal Celebrations Board to discuss all things holiday and seasonal, as well as for daily chit chat. You can join at http://holidaycelebrations.yuku.com/

Hope to see you there!

Blessings,

Lisa

Menu Plan Monday, March 15, 2010

Welcome to another Menu Plan Monday, hosted by Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie. Since we ate out, not good for the budget or our health, three nights last week due to house showings during dinner time, I'm hoping to cook at home every night this week. Here's our plan for this week:

Sunday~Homemade Spaghetti and Meatballs at my mom's

Monday~Late meeting, dh and kids will have Hot Dogs and Macaroni and Cheese

Tuesday~Beef Tips and Gravy over Noodles, Green Beans

Wednesday~Best Grilled Pork Chops, Rice Pilaf and Steamed Carrots

Thursday~BBQ Chicken Burritos, Salad

Friday~Beer Battered Fish, Pierogies and Coleslaw

Saturday~Pizza and Wings

Have a week full of blessings,

Lisa

Honey Chicken Drumsticks Recipe

I found this recipe in the March/April 2010 issue of Sandra Lee Semihomemade magazine that my mom shared with me. As you can see in the photo, I used thighs as well as drumsticks when making this recipe. We enjoyed the chicken. It came out juicy and tender.

Honey Chicken Drumsticks

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

3 Tablespoons water

3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup dijon mustard

1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 (4lb package) chicken drumsticks

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together honey, sugar, water, vinegar, mustard, garlic and oil. Add chicken to bowl, tossing to coat.

3. Place chicken in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until done.

Enjoy!

Blessings and peace,

Lisa

What's new?!

Spring isn't too far away. There are some daffodils and tulips sprouting in our yard. The temps are warming and the days are getting longer. I love it!

The daffodils are popping through the soaked soil.

It has been raining all day and the flooding has started. Fortunately for us, we haven't been affected and shouldn't be since we're on the hill. The rivers are swollen with snow melt and the additional rainfall.

Our home during the February Snow Storm

The house has been on the market for one month today. We've had four showings, all with positive comments and one very low offer. We have been back and forth with the person making the offer, but we can't come to a compromise. I'm positive that something better will come along. The original offer was 18,000 below our list price. It's very frustrating.

On the new home front, we've been choosing carpeting, counters, flooring and fixtures. It's been exciting. I hope we've made good choices. The house will be under contract this coming week and as soon as we close on the loan they'll set things in motion. We hope to be in the new house by July 15th.

Did you know that I"m a children's book addict? This is one part of my storage that I recently organized in my classroom. It should make finding my favorites for each theme much easier!

The kids are doing well. Hockey season is officially over. Our team finished the season in first place. We're looking forward to dd's dance recital in June. We have a family wedding in June as well and another in August. It's going to be a busy summer. It will be short too, since I return to work on August 19th! That's the earliest we've ever started school.

My brother is recovering from his fall from the ladder. His back is healing nicely and he should be brace-free on April 8th. Praise the Lord for his healing. Thank you all for your prayers!

We're as busy as ever! I miss my MHH friends....can't wait until the connection problem clears.

Peace and blessings,

Lisa

Buffalo Chicken Dip

It's our turn to host the guys for Poker Night. DH requested this for the party.



Buffalo Chicken Dip

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, boiled and shredded

1 12 ounce bottle hot sauce

2 8 ounce packages of cream cheese

1 16 ounce bottle Ranch dressing

1/2 cup chopped celery

8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese or Cheddar Cheese, grated

In a 13x9x2 inch baking pan, combine the shredded chicken meat with the entire bottle of hot sauce, spreading to make an even layer.

In a saucepan, combine the cream cheese and ranch dressing over medium heat until smooth.

Pour this mixture evenly over the chicken. Sprinkle with chopped celery and then shredded cheese.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until bubbly. (Watch that the top doesn't get browned.) Let stand 10 minutes.

Serve hot or warm with Doritos "Scoops" (you need a sturdy chip for this!) or celery sticks.

Small Successes-- March 11, 2010

Good morning! It's been another hectic week here! I am longing for life to slow down. It just doesn't seem to, inspite of my best efforts. Here are my small successes for this week:

~I have exercised 4/5 nights in the last week. My weight is slowly coming down, but I haven't gained anything back. I haven't been making the best food choices because I'm stressed (yes, I am a stress eater!), but am going to do better today.

~I have most of my shopping done for the kids' Easter baskets.

~I've survived 3 showings of our house (and all that goes into preparing for that!) without totally losing my mind. lol

Hope you find success today!

Blessings and peace,

Lisa

Menu Plan Monday 3.8.10

Welcome to another Menu Plan Monday, hosted by Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie. I'm excited to share that we will be home for dinner every night this week! Hockey is over for this season. We will keep busy though. Our house is still on the market and we're making decisions every day about the new house. It's exciting and overwhelming at the same time.

Here's our plan for this week:

Sunday~Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce over spaghetti, Veal Parmesan and Salad

Monday~Kielbassi and Kraut, Mashed Potatoes, Veggie

Tuesday~Beef Tips and Gravy over Noodles, Corn

Wednesday~Fried Pork Chops, Haluski and Green Beans

Thursday~Poker Night

Friday~Beer Battered Fish and Pierogies, Coleslaw

Saturday~ Pizza and Wings for Movie Night

Have a week full of blessings,

Lisa

Just Think Quote

Just Think you are here,
Not by chance but by God's choosing.
His hand formed you
And made you the person you are.
He compares you to no one else - you are one of a kind.
You lack nothing that His grace can't give you.
He has allowed you to be here at this time in history
To fulfill His special purpose for this generation.



Dayspring is offering a free printable of Roy Lessin's "Just Think " quote on their website. You can download it here:http://www.dayspring.com/free/files/JustThinkPRINTABLE-1.pdf

Blessings,

Lisa

Menu Plan Monday 3.1.10

Good morning and welcome to another Menu Plan Monday, hosted by Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie! It's March! That means spring is just 20 days away...can you tell I'm excited about that? I'm done with the cold and snow. I'm ready for sunshine and warmth. The sun did peek out yesterday for a minute and our dd screamed, "The sun is out! The sun is out!" while running through the house and dancing along the way. LOL

Onto the menu....it's another busy week, so I'm hoping to cook at least a few days....hockey, dance, religious ed and more hockey. Everything happens at dinner time, so it makes it a challenge.

Sunday~Pizza and Wings (had hockey)

Monday~Dinner at the Rink

Tuesday~Take Out (Game)

Wednesday~Tortellini Alfredo with Chicken, Tossed Salad, Garlic Toast

Thursday~BBQ Pork Sliders, Curly Fries, and Baked Beans

Friday~Beer Battered Fish, Haluski and Green Beans

Saturday~Beef Patties in Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Steamed Carrots

Have a week full of blessings,

Lisa