Quick and Easy Garlic Parmesan Knots

I read a lot of Little House on the Prairie during my formative years.

a lot a lot a lot!

I think that's probably part of the reason that I enjoy making breads and yeasty things from scratch.

But, sometimes you just need to be fast.

And, who are we kidding, if Caroline Ingalls had tubes of buttermilk biscuits available to her, I bet she would have kept a tube or 2 in her fridge.

You use the mighty refrigerated buttermilk biscuits to make these...

I got the recipe from here.

I will admit, that I'm investigating how to make these from scratch, but the quickness and ease of using refrigerated buttermilk biscuits can't be beat!

Here's what you need!

That's 7.5 ounce tube of refrigerated buttermilk biscuits, 3 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, and 1/2 teaspoon each garlic powder, oregano, and parsley. 

Oh, I got the biscuits at the "expensive" grocery store.  They were 55 cents.  Not bad at all!

First off, you roll a biscuit into an 8-12 inch rope/snake...playdoh style.

Theoretically, this is a good way to involve your children.

I say "theoretically" because you cannot care if they roll it evenly.  

If you care, you will start to twitch and sweat.

It will not be perfect.

The dough might get oddly warm from their hot little hands.

Just push past that or else your stress level could ruin what is a great learning/bonding experience.

Somehow I managed to push through.

Whew.  

Nobody was emotionally scarred.

Now that you have the snakes, tie a knot and tuck the ends in.  Mine varied from great knots to clumpy things.  It's all good.

We aren't going for perfect; we are going for tastey!

Put them on a baking sheet.

Next, melt your butter and stir in the seasonings and cheese.

Brush the seasoned butter on the knotted dough.

You should have about half of the butter mixture left after brushing the dough.

Bake the knots at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Brush with remaining seasoned butter and serve.

Like all bread, they are best when they are warm.

Enjoy!

April Menu

Whew...it took me a while, but here it is!  

So, seeing as we've eaten the recipes from the first week, let me tell you my thoughts :)

The Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore was amazing.  I served it over egg noodles.  It makes a ton and reheats well for lunch leftovers :)

The Bacon Corn Pasta was okay.  I made a substitution that might have made it too dry.  I think I might try it again, though, because...bacon!  

I didn't make the Garlic Lime Chicken because Aaron was out of town and I didn't want to make something big for just me and the girls.  I let them pick their own lunchable (because Leah always begs me and I always say no) and own fruit at the store for supper.  They all got the pizza lunchable and didn't really like it.  It made me oddly happy :)  

The Best Pasta Dish Ever really is awesome...such an interesting combination of ingredients.  I didn't make it, because I was tired.  I had leftover chicken cacciatore again.

We liked the Homemade Cheeseburger Helper.  I used mild cheddar instead of sharp cheddar which is what the recipe calls for.  That was a mistake.  You kind of lose the cheese taste when you use the mild.  I'll be sure to, you know, actually follow the recipe the next time I make it :)

Fish Sticks...I was having a girls night out, so Aaron made fish sticks and tater tots for the girls.  Yeah, it was their favorite meal of the week.

This brings me to answering a question that people often ask me: What happens if I don't want to make what's on the menu?

Answer:  I don't.  I am wild, edgy, unpredictable, and impossible to categorize.  Or something like that.

I would say that I make the assigned meal about 80% of the time.  I switch days around about 15% of the time and do something totally different about 5% of the time.  

I just reeeeeally like not having to figure out what to make for supper that morning.  Even though it takes 2 or so hours to figure out a menu a month at a time, it's a good investment of time for my peace of mind and stress level.

Tuesday, April 1  Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore 
Wednesday, April 2  Bacon Corn Pasta
Thursday, April 3  Garlic Lime Chipotle Roasted Chicken
Friday, April 4  The Best Pasta Dish Ever
Saturday, April 5  Homemade Cheeseburger Helper  Fish sticks :)
Sunday, April 6  Leftovers  Silly Cereal Supper

Monday, April 7  Mini Bagel Pizzas
Tuesday, April 8  Taco Salad Dippers  Buttermilk Berry Cake with Ice Cream
Wednesday, April 9  Greek Chicken Pita Pockets with flatbread
Thursday, April 10  Breakfast Quesadillas
Friday, April 11  Pizza
Saturday, April 12  Grilled Cheese  Breakfast Bites
Sunday, April 13  Leftovers  Silly Cereal Supper

Monday, April 14  Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps with flatbread from Thursday
Tuesday, April 15  Tex Mex Enchilada Casserole
Wednesday, April 16  Hot Dogs
Thursday, April 17  out of town
Friday, April 18  out of town
Saturday, April 19  out of town
Sunday, April 20  out of town

Monday, April 21  Huevos Rancheros
Tuesday, April 22  Honey Beer Chicken (make extra chicken for Wed) Garlic Shells
Wednesday, April 23  Confetti Chicken Bake (make half batch)
Thursday, April 24  Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce
Friday, April 25  Pizza
Saturday, April 26  Skillet Mac and Cheese  
Sunday, April 27  Leftovers  Silly Cereal Supper

Monday, April 28  Carribean Rubbed Pork with Mango Salsa
Tuesday, April 29  BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
Wednesday, April 30  Hashbrown Egg Bake

Things I Like

Here's a quirky little edition of things I like :)

I like this!

What is there not to like about ice cream with caramel and popcorn on top?  It was the ultimate salty and sweet taste explosion!  You should seriously try it.  

Here's a great little compilation of quotes from Mr. Rogers.  Super touching.  



Pus, here's Mr. Rogers autotuned...which is actually respectful and touching :)

I like being the mom.

Sometimes I still feel a little bit like I'm playing house and not the actual mom.  But then I sign a note "love, mom" and it hits me that I am indeed the mom.  I like that :)



Here's a short blog post about drinking coffee with 2 hands.  It's something that I really related to and would like to try more often!



I like this yogurt!

It's so yummy and full of good texture with the toasted almonds and chocolate bits.  It's more of a dessert yogurt, but however you classify it, it is undoubtedly delicious!



Remember when I was telling you about the super cool Bible app for kids?  It's called...wait for it...the Bible App for Kids.  I know!

I love the stories that are on the app, plus it gets even better!  There are parent resource pages to go with each story which includes questions, personal application, Gospel tie ins, prayers, and coloring pages!  Check them out!  I think we'll be using them this summer.



I like stashing Christmas presents away for later!

The girls get so many awesome Christmas gifts from family, that it can be easy to lose track of them all.  For the past couple of Christmases, I've been setting a few aside, and the girls don't even notice!  I pulled out this awesome Doc McStuffins painting pad and Gracie and Maggie had a great time with it!

I also like that Gracie is sticking her tongue out in concentration :)



I hope your week is full of things you like!

A Glimpse into the Random Bits of My Quirky Life: Tums Edition

Edited June 11th:  Hi And Babies Don't Keep Friends!  When Kristi announced her link up, I immediately knew this was just the post to link up!  I'll have something "fresh" next time, but for now, please enjoy the ridiculousness that is my life :)  I'm looking forward to reading on commenting on YOUR stories, too!

There was a scene in Armageddon, the box office hit thriller starring Ben Affleck, when this crazy guy is sitting on a nuclear warhead and an astronaut looks at him and sternly says, "Get off.  The nuclear warhead.  Now."

On a side note, maybe Armageddon wasn't a box office hit thriller, but I believe that I still own it on VHS.

Additionally, Ben Affleck is part of my favorite celebrity couple.

STOP MAKING FUN OF ME!!!

I can't believe I even like that movie, because I pretty much hate space.

As in outer space.  I am a fan of personal space.  

Aaaaaaaaaanyway, I have moments like that astronaut...when I say things that are so utterly ridiculous that I can't even believe that those words just came out of my mouth.

I feel like, as parents, that happens more than we'd care to admit :)

So, in light of Armageddon, space, nuclear warheads, Ben and Jen (Jen and I are pregnancy buddies seeing as I was pregnant the same time as she was...twice.  STOP MAKING FUN OF ME!!!), and embracing the quirky, I will occasionally be giving you...

I'll say "you're welcome" already.  Really, there's no need to thank me.

Last Wednesday, Gracie had a hard time falling asleep.

The above picture is from a different night.

And yes, those are bitten peeps being pulled around on a xylophone.

Anyway, the girls got to bed around 8:15 which is late for them.  They are used to being in bed around 7:30, but our friends were over to watch Survivor.

And we ate puppy chow.

I love puppy chow.  For people.

The girls went to bed well which is always a huge bonus.

But, around 9:45 Gracie began making some rumblings which woke up Maggie, and Maggie called out on her behalf.

How generous.

You do need to understand that I value sleep.

I particularly value the sleep of my children.

Because it leads to more sleep for me.

We are all happier when we are all sleeping more.

It seemed like Gracie hadn't slept.  It was one of those things that I could just kind of tell, and that problem needed to be rectified immediately.

So, I crawled into the bottom bunk with her, brushed her hair away from her face over and over again (known as "softing" when I was growing up) while we whispered about our favorite things and told the other that they were beautiful, pretty, cute, and adorable.

I left her to sleep, but that only lasted like a minute until she was needing attention again, because she missed me so much.

Apparently I am that awesome.

This time, though, I pulled out the big guns.

FIGURATIVELY.

I had already given her one of the bracelets I wear (courtesy of Leah from the rainbow loom) so she could feel close to me.  I decided to bust out the washable red marker to draw hearts on our hands.

I took this picture the next morning :)

Look!  We're heart buddies now.  We can just look at our hands and feel close to each other.

Apparently, I think my life is a Hallmark movie.  Because, really, who does something so cheesy?

Additionally, if Gracie gets a heart tattoo on her hand when she's older, we'll all know why.

The heart buddy thing, although touching, wasn't exactly effective.

Next, Gracie and I cuddled on my bed.  We closed our eyes, and I asked her to imagine a night sky full of stars.

She asked if she could imagine Elmos instead.

I agreed. 

We whisper counted 20 Elmos.

Then 20 stars and 20 sheep and 20 cookies and 20 fill-in-the-blanks.

While cuddling with a usually very busy 3 year old is endearing and lovely, it was after 10 at this point and she didn't seem much closer to being ready for bed.

And then I said, "Gracie, would a Tums help you sleep?"

Whadaya know!  She thought a Tums would surely help her sleep!

I gave her half of a Tums, laid her back in bed, and she was out.

Tums...Mommy's favorite placebo :)

So, tell me!  What's the most ridiculous thing you've ever said out loud?

Linking up with:

Project 365: #13

We had a nice little week!  I hope you did, too :)

Day 87:

Blue tongues are awesome!


Day 88:

We had the first nice day in forever, and the girls played outside for hours!


Day 89:

Aaron matched 56+ pair of socks.  Husband of the year award!


Day 90:

The girls declared that Monday was Hello Kitty day.  Apparently Gracie wasn't as excited about it after school...


Day 91:

Maggie and Gracie were making a craft for a friend.  They were using these cool mosaic rocks that I've had forever!  Gracie kept saying, "Maggie, these cool rocks are so cool!"  What can we say!  They are, indeed, very cool!


Day 92:

Well, looky there!  All of the laundry is folded and put away...for a few hours at least :)


Day 93:

I loved being on a field trip with Leah.  I think she was pretty happy, too!


Have a happy weekend!

We are Fools for April

I'd be lying if I said I'm naturally really into April Fool's Day.

I'm by no means against it or anything, but it's just not my thing.

Or, as Steph put it, it's not a holiday that lends itself to a cookie decorated in its honor :)  

But, for whatever reason, the girls have really been looking forward to it, so I thought I'd play a little trick on each of them.

I played an egg trick on Maggie!  I got all of the egg out of the egg shell and replaced it with curly ribbon.

I told Maggie that she could crack an egg.  She was very eager!

I handed her the egg...

and she tapped it on the counter and began to pull it apart.

But, wait a second!

There's ribbon inside!

April Fools!

Gracie had the ol' frozen cereal trick!

I put her cereal in the freezer the night before.  I sent her to her room and set the frozen cereal out with a tiny bit of fresh milk on top.

She sat down and suspected nothing.

But, man, that was some hard cereal!

Gracie was really perplexed and a very good sport!

April Fools!

Or as Gracie said all day, "April Fools Day!!!"  She would make cute jokes like, "Mom, you don't have ears!  April Fools Day!"  Super adorable!

Leah had to wait until after school for her trick.  She knew it was coming and was ready to check it off her list of the day's activities :)  She literally came into the house after school asking me when I was going to trick her!

For Leah, I opened a flip top can of peaches from the bottom and emptied out all of the peaches and juice.  I didn't open about an inch of the bottom of the can.  I replaced them with mandarin oranges and juice.  I hot glued the heck of the bottom of the can so the oranges stayed in and didn't leak. 

I told Leah I was pretty worn out and could really use her help getting ready for supper.  

I asked her to open the can of peaches and dump them into the bowl.

She was genuinely happy to help!  

I kept saying, "Thank you so much for helping me with the peaches."

How do those peaches look?

Are you sure those are peaches?

Wait just a second.

Those are not peaches.

April Fools!

Gotcha!

And, no foolin', I hope your day is great!

I'm currently on a field trip with Leah's class...it's my first!  I'm pretty excited :)

Date with Tres

Aaron will very often take the girls out on dates...one at a time.

Then, our friend, Bri, took each of the girls out on a date...one at a time.

Sometimes, the girls ask for me to take them out on a date...one at a time.

I always think it's so sweet, but a little bit funny, because we are together all.the.time. 

But, there is something special about some time with just you and your mom, so Gracie and I had a little coffee date.

She got her special drink.

We have this super cool Bible app for kids on our tablet (more about that later), and they came out with a new story, so we went through that together.

Gracie was very happy :)

Then, she played a little lego game...

She puts her hand on my hand quite often, and on my face...

which is quite adorable <3

We had a great little date complete with cuddling and coffee.

Have a great day!

Oh, and about the title of this post...I sometimes refer to the girls as their birth order number in Spanish :)