Broccoli Turkey Casserole

I had some leftover turkey breast and wanted to try something different, and this casserole turned out wonderfully! The whole family enjoyed it and I will definitely be making this again!

1/2 cup chopped carrot

1/2 cup bell pepper

1/4 cup green onions

1 TB butter or margarine

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup

1 1/2 cups chopped turkey

1 pk of frozen broccoli cuts

1 cup cooked wild or long grain rice (I used long grain)

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup milk

In a large skillet, cook carrot, bell pepper, and green onions in hot margarine until a crispy tender. Remove from heat and stir in soup, broccoli, turkey
rice, moz cheese, and milk. Transfer to a a 2-quart baking dish and sprinkle with extra moz cheese.

Bake, covered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Then uncover the dish and bake for another 20 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

You could also use chicken instead of turkey...like a rotisserie chicken from the deli, and you could replace broccoli with artichoke. Since it is hard enough to get my crew to eat broccoli...I will have to use artichoke when the folks come over!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

My very own pot of gold! Since I am a busy momma on a schedule...and budget..I whipped up these cookies to share at Jonathan's preschool by using premade cookie dough. Using my coupons, I was able to purchase the dough at a discount. I had stockpiled some icing, so I simply added some green food coloring to add to the tops and then sprinkled on some green sugar I had left over from Christmas. I then placed my little treasures in a gold container, ready for little ones to hunt and find! It only took me about a half-an-hour to complete this project from beginning to end!

Sleep Tight!

This week, I have been implementing the "sleep rules" after learning about them from Amy Clark on momadvice.com last week. Jonathan had always been a great sleeper...until he went into a "big boy" bed about a year ago. The constant drinks of water, potty breaks, and ONE more stories have been driving me crazy, and sometimes can last over an hour! It was time for my 4-year-old to go to bed, stay there, and GO TO SLEEP! Dr. Weissbluth was Amy's guest last week on her podcast and I learned a lot! I guess I really knew it all...but I need the easy steps to put it all together. Here are the four simple rules that I tell Jonathan at bed time:

1. Stay in bed
2. Close your eyes
3. Stay very quiet
4. Go to sleep

The good Dr. suggests making a poster of these rules with your child so that your child can see them and feel like a part in the rule making. Since Jonathan cannot read and I cannot draw...I opted to skip this step. The Dr. also suggests giving your child a reward immediately in the morning after following all of the sleep rules.

MOST importantly is the silent return! I have seen this on the Nanny, but I have been horrible at doing it. It only took ONE time for me not to talk to my son when he wandered out of bed the first night and gently put him back in bed. Of course, it helped that I explained to him beforehand that mommy was not going to talk to him if he got out of bed...which I think he was checking to see if I was going to follow through. This time, I did!

The week as been great, so far! Jonathan really likes the rules and likes the small rewards he has been getting surprised with when he wakes up. Since I am already at work when he gets up in the morning, the little notes from me congratulating him on a good job have been holding the most value to him. A hot wheel was also a big hit.

Let's hope he can keep it up when the rewards stop!

Bring It On!

I am sooooo ready for warmer weather! Unfortunately, it will be awhile before I can put the ole swimsuit on and head to the outdoor pool....but LUCKILY, there are some great water parks that are very kid friendly for these lasting winter months! As you can see, Jonathan loves going to the water park...and I love the muggy humid air that envelops the place. We went to two separate water parks last winter, and have our date scheduled for this year in late March....which will be a practice run for our Myrtle Beach vacation planned for June...I can't wait!

The Century Center Loves Us!

I came across this picture on the Century Center's website today and thought I'd put it up here. They love Cat Country 99.9 too!

Making Heart People

I have been substitute teaching at my son's preschool/daycare and yesterday I had so much fun making Valentine heart people with a bunch of 4-year-olds! We made them to hang from the ceiling in the infants' classroom because the babies love looking at the bigger kid's artwork.

I invite you to take time to do this simple craft that we have all done in the past with your children...I had a blast!

All you have to do is cut out hearts for the body and face and strips of paper for the arms and legs. Fold the strips to create accordion limbs, draw on a face and there you go!

The Truth of a Child

Last night, Jonathan and I were sitting in the car waiting for Daddy to return from inside the grocery store...a perfect opportunity to people watch. I noticed this very trim woman carrying a gallon of milk in one hand and about four grocery bags in another. I thought to myself that she must work out a lot to be able to carry that much across the parking lot like that. Then she beeped open her pretty white Lexus SUV....and a tingle of jealousy ran through me. So, I mumbled out loud, "I want to be skinny and drive a Lexus." Then, from the back of my mini-van I hear two words uttered from my four-year-old...."Too late."

I guess that ship HAS sailed.....south.