Small World At Walmart

I went to walmart today. Shocker I know. But while looking in the kitchen section for a christmas present for my mom I seen a guy just a bit older then me grabbing all the utensils I list to buy in my cookbook and the living guide. My first thought was no way. Then I peeked at his cart that was full of paper towels, trash bags, laundry soap, dish sponges, kitchen towels, dish drainer, trash can, ect. I thought it cant be. The world is not this small. Why did i asume my writing was involved? Because in all my life I have never seen someone buying like that. I went with my brother when he did but that was my doing so it doesnt count.

So I put it out of my mind and finished my shopping. I swear people think the world ends tomorrow because everyone had full carts. However at the end was a check out lane with only one full cart so i got in line. Then i realized it was the guy from before. I got to get a good look at his stuff now and realized hewas buying all top name brand items and the expensivesizes of them.

Obviously i hadn't let myself believe it was because of my book but since i had it free yesterday it seemed more likely. Then i felt a bit bad. His total was just under $400 forthe same things my brother bought for just under $200. The only difference was brand names and product sizes.

So whats the lesson here? There isnt one. I just thought it was interesting so i wanted to tell you guys about it. Just think of the odds. A stranger living in my town, who read my book, shopping at the exact time i was. Too unlikely.

Open Faced Chicken Cordon Bleu

I got the idea a few days ago when I saw my Kroger had chicken breasts on sale. I was trying to think of something different to make and the idea came to me.

I started where I always start with chicken breasts... A knife. I like to use a knife with ridges.

Lay down plastic and set the chicken on one half. Then make a cut about half way down in the center.

Fold the plastic over the meat to make a plastic and meat sandwich. Pound the meat to about an even 1/2 inch thickness.

I mixed the coating and patted it on both sides. Then placed the chicken on a foil lined cookie sheet.

I spread the ham over the top.

Then covered it with pasta sauce and topped that with cheese.

And heres why the foil. The sauce and cheese don't always stay in place, but they will leave a nasty mess.

Home Made Ravioli

I've been thinking about trying it for a long while, and I don't know why I didn't until now.

I divided the dough into three then rolled them out and cut them in 4 each. Heres the cut pieces on the plate.

I scooped the filling onto the dough then brushed around the edges with water to make them stick together.

I folded it in half, pressed around the edges, then trimmed it with a knife to get rid of the extra dough.

I set the folded but uncooked ravioli in a strainer to keep the dough from sticking. I find that glass bowls attract stickiness.

I cooked them in a pan 1/2 full with boiling salted water. I should have taken a picture but I forgot. This is the cooked ravioli.

And here's the finished meal. I just topped it with pasta sauce and parmesan cheese.

Quick Chicken and Rice, Potatoes, And Christmas tree

A couple days ago I made the updated version of my quick chicken and rice from the poverty cookbook part 2. it was so yummy! It's basically the easiest comfort food ever if you use a can of chunk chicken.

I spread it out to that it would cool faster. And of course I had to have the shredded cheddar cheese.

Yesterday I made mashed potatoes and chicken chunk gravy. 

Here are my potatoes. My husband and I both love the potato skins, and their really good for you too, just make sure you wash them.

Heres my gravy and seasonings. The seasonings are already in the pan but I wanted to show you them. Onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, curry powder, cayenne, and a chicken ramon seasoning packet. I also added a can of chunk chicken but that was after the picture.

(please excuse the dirty bottles, I never really looked at them before)

This ended up really good, as usual. Both of these meals were comfort food, which is really what I love to cook.

And for my christmas tree:

I've had the angel on top for as long as I can remember. Same with the pink trim. My husband and I bought the tree and ornaments last year, and I bought the gold trim this year. This lights I also had for years before hand.

My mom would let each of us kids decorate a section of the tree with our own decorations when we were kids, but most of my ornaments were either broken over the years of use or just didn't go with anything (like my Precious Moments ornaments).

Saturday At My Parents' House

Like all other Saturdays (used to be Friday but my husband had a schedule change) we drive the 75 miles to see my parents.

This Saturday we had my moms stir fry.

Mom uses paper plates to save on dishes while we're there.

My mom used her general recipe that's in the poverty cookbook for beginners. But Saturday she used a whole chicken breast, a fresh onion, and a bag of frozen stir fry vegetables.

Also Since my baby's birthday was the 27th we celebrated with my parents Saturday by making the Chocolate Cake from the poverty cookbook for beginners.

Mom found a recipe for twinkie filling so we thought we'd try it. If you find one you're self (I don't have it otherwise I'd link it) make sure you use unsalted butter because we didn't since we didn't have any. It still came out good, but it'd have been better. Also in my opinion a whole stick of butter is a little excessive.

My mom about to start injecting the twinkie filling into the cake. It was just barely underdone when we took it out so it collapsed in the center a little.

After a little while of injecting. It was cool because you could see the cake bulging up around the injector while she filled the space. Some bulged out after removing the injector.

After filling the cake as much as we could we ended up adding powdered sugar and coco to the remaining filling to make it a frosting and spread it over the cake. It was really really good!

Unfortunately my son fell asleep before we could serve the cake so I guess we'll just have to try again next week... I won't say no to cake!

Updated The Poverty Cookbook Part II FREE 12/03/12

I got the updated version of The Poverty Cookbook Part 2 up just in time for the free day today. So If you want to get the updated version then just go to 'manage kindle' on you're amazon account page. It'll come up with a list of the books and other digital content you have. Simply delete the book then go download it again for free today only.