Easiest chicken recipe ever.

Here's my dedication to becoming a better housewife. I give you recipes. (Off the back of the mayo jar.) Just kidding (about the housewife part, not the mayo part that part's true). I'm an awesome housewife. I cook, clean, organize, grocery shop on a budget, find things when they're lost, make appointments, remind everyone of what they need to do, I'm supportive, and well you get the point. I'm good. With the help and recommendation of a friend I started planning the weeks dinners on Sunday, and made out my grocery list to accommodate said dinners. I use to HATE cooking. Mostly because I'm indecisive, and hated the clean up. Since starting to plan my weeks out ahead I have began to love cooking. So, when 4pm rolls around on Wednesday my exhausted brain doesn't have to decide what's for dinner. LOVE IT. I love finding new and yummy recipes, I love recipe swapping (please feel free to do so!), and I love feeling so organized and possibly so domesticated.

My aunt, who is a wonderful cook, called to tell me there was a very simple, but yummy recipe on the back of the mayo jar. I ignored her for about a week (meaning I just didn't make it), and then this week she reminded me of it. Probably after I complained that I didn't know what to make. Things have been crazy around here since my husband is trying to start his own business, and so I've been slacking also. Well, I'm getting my butt into gear! Sort of. Anyway, I totally planned out this week, but somewhere along the lines got messed up and didn't have anything to make. This is when I probably complained to my aunt, and was reminded of the mayo recipe. So, I made it. She is a blessing, always is, and never fails. The recipe was a breeze, yummy, and I will make it again.

I'm sharing: (not that you couldn't find it o the back of the mayo jar either, but whatev)
Original recipe found HERE

Parmesan Crusted Chicken
Prep time: like 2 minutes
Cook time: 20-25

1/2 cup Best Foods Real Mayonnaise (and I bet you could use the light or Olive Oil kind and it would be just as good!)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
4 tsp. Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs

Combine mayo and cheese. Spread on chicken, then sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake at 425, 20 minutes or until thoroughly cooked.

I put the chicken in a 8x6 glass baking dish spread the mayo & cheese on top only and sprinkled with bread crumbs. I also greased the pan with Pam because, even though it didn't say, I didn't want to chance it sticking. I guess one could assume since it didn't say you don't have to, but like I said I'd rather not take my chances. You know I love scraping baking dishes oh so much! Anyway, was a great and fast recipe. I also have mayo, always have chicken breasts (the frozen in a bag ones anyway), and always have bread crumbs. I just happened to have the grated parm. And if you don't have Italian bread crumbs, use plain, but just add whatever spices you like.

Maybe when I get this blog thing organized enough I'll start posting my weekly menu on Sundays. No promises though. Oh and now I'm totally sitting here with the mayo jar on my computer desk. Don't you DARE ask me why I didn't just copy it off the web page. Some things just can't be explained.

Here's what we think of it

The twinsies in their room for the first time after remod

Connor already trying to figure out how to get those stickers down:


What mom?


This is what Cayden thinks of it, boring! *yawn*


Just kidding


"Yeah, it's cool. Now lets call our friends and let them know"


Cuties!

Remod of the twins room

Since we moved into this house, a year ago, I have wanted to paint the boys' room. Well, for once my procrastinating paid off. I originally wanted it blue. Thinking it was a nice boyish, easy color. I officially have decided on red. Everything in their room is blue. In fact since the day they were born everything they owned has been blue. I'm sick of blue. Also, a nice red wall will look really good up against their blue race car beds. That is the real reason I chose red. I thought it would be fun to do before & after pictures.

Before:








Pretty boring, huh? Granted, they usually have LOADS (and I mean LOADS) of toys, blankets, and shoes everywhere. They have a toy organizer, and hamper, etc... It's not really THAT boring. I mean the color.

Here's the after: (left side of room)


Closet:


Entering their room:


Floor/Baseboards:


Right side:


Center (what you see when you walk in):


Back: (We did the a/c vent, light switch, and outlet covers in silver)

New Giveway at Imperfects blog!

I want to win this giveaway, because I failed HORRIBLY at making my own camera strap covers, and being unemployed makes it impossible to afford the luxury. Though, once I can afford it I will definitely purchase from Shealynn's awesome Esty store!

Check out how to enter the giveaway:
Imperfect's blog giveaway HERE She also sells awesome items from her store The Pleated Poppy!

Also check out the awesome prize:
Shealynn's awesome Esty store HERE

Check it out and win one of these:

Cabbage Soup Diet Day 1

Here's one I haven't tried, the infamous Cabbage Diet. It's not what most people think. You don't throw some cabbage in a big pot of chicken broth and eat it for a week. You don't eat raw cabbage for a snack, or dessert. In fact the soup consists of plenty of yummy veggies like mushrooms, carrots, celery, green peppers, green onion, of course cabbage, as well as Lipton Soup Mix, and any spices you like.

Day 1: Cabbage soup and all the fruit you want except bananas. Drink unsweetened tea, black coffee, cranberry juice, or water.

I had herbal tea with an apple for breakfast. A mix of cantaloupe, mango, and kiwi for a snack, and my cabbage soup for lunch. More fruit for snack. My stomach hurt from all the fruit, but otherwise I wasn't starving... yet. Two glasses of water (I need to pee) and another cup of tea.

Ate more cabbage soup for dinner, and the rest of my fruit mix. Made the mistake of trucking the entire family to Home Depot for one can of paint (for $27!!! Holy sh*t!), and man I had to pee THREE times while we were in there. Told my husband I felt like I was pregnant (not really) he just glared at me. Maybe that is what sparked the conversation later in the evening while getting ready for bed, about how having children has ruined changed our life so much. I even got him to talk a little bit about our nonexistent sex life. Apparently we're on a push-pull cycle. He wants it, I don't, I want it, he doesn't. Of course I told him he's lying, when don't I want it?

I did fantastic on the diet, until about 9pm when my oatmeal raisin cookies called my name. Good thing is now there are none to call my name for the rest of the diet. (Way to turn a negative into a positive Nikki! *cheers*) So basically Day 1: FAILED. I'm not starting over I'm just continuing but getting back on track.

This always brightens my day

I got a better (still crappy camera phone) video of my youngest walking:


She's all kinds of fire. I now am a mother to 3 awesome toddlers/preschoolers. I no longer have an infant. I am both sad and over joyed. My kids are amazing.

Weight Loss Saga Part II

Every day I wake up beginning a diet. By lunch I've lost track, gave up, and/or binged. Usually deciding to hell with it with a bowl of ice cream, yes in the middle of the afternoon. Thinking about losing weight CONSUMES me. There is not a moment in the day I'm not thinking about my weight. I think about how heavy I am, have gotten, how to lose it, today is the day, new diet, counting calories, starving myself, eating whatever the hell I want, and my favorite: I'M SO FUCKING FAT.

I use different things to motivate me, whether it's just my pants don't fit, or a special event sometime in the future. Last year it was a friend's wedding, this year it's my cousin's wedding. Then sometimes I try to tell myself it's for my kids, so I can live longer, it's just for myself, it's for my husband, it's because I want to be a hot ass skinny bitch and saw HA I CAN DO IT. Truth is, so far I can't. I'm lazy, unmotivated, and I'm fat. By doctor's I'm clinically obese (not enough to qualify for surgeical help), and my BMI is way above any kind of remotely healthy level. I have no health problems however, I'm just fat.

I tried medication, I've spoken to a doctor, I've tried Atkins, South Beach, Weight Watchers, drugs/pills, not eating, not thinking about it, exercise, Slim Fast, MediFast, liquid detox, Hollywood diet, detox pills, never touching fast food again, no soda, lemon tea, etc! If it's not surgery, I've tried it.

I'm not a small person to begin with. I don't know that I would ever be (or want to be) smaller than a 9/10. I'd be ECSTATIC with even a 16 at this point. Size 12 would be preferable. I've set small goals, large goals, short term, long term. Nothing's work, and I can't stick with anything. I eat when I'm sick, stressed, depressed, happy, sad, angry, bored, hungry, and not hungry. I love food. I just don't want to be fat anymore, and I also don't want it to consume me every day of my life.

Edit: Oh and I totally have to add that I have literally BEGGED God to help me do this. You know, they have those "I went to Church, and prayed for help through this & lost 183lbs!" diets. I'm not trying to make a joke out of it, I literally prayed for God to help me get through the next day without shoving fatty foods in my mouth liked I'd never eat again. I think He's looking down laughing at me though, because I just get fatter.

But she's my third

Why does my third child actually feel like my first? Why do I feel like I've never done this before, which inevitably makes me feel like I am doing it all wrong?

It hit me yesterday afternoon, because this is my first time doing this. When the twins were just about 7 months old, mommy went back to work (that would be me, yes). Someone else dealt with my kids for onwards of 9 hours a day Monday through Friday. Not only that, but shortly after returning to work we lost our house, and moved in with my in-laws. So, I had live-in babysitters also. However, the main thing was that I didn't get off work until 5pm, left the sitters by 5:30pm, home by 6pm. Feed the boys, played or bathed, and then put them to bed. They were always amazing sleepers. Never needed to be rocked, never went to bed with a bottle, promptly switched to sippy cups at 12 months no longer needing bottles, and never even had to decide whether I should try CIO (crying it out) because they never cried. I was blessed (or maybe just in for a horrible awakening with my next baby, yes?). Sometimes I'm sad, because I feel like I missed a good year of their life from about 7 months to 18 months. I really don't remember much. A majority of our belongings were in storage, I wasn't on the computer much, and I hardly took photos. A good chunk of the twins early toddlerhood is missing because of this. I'm making it up for it now, that's for sure. I enjoy every minute with them and every milestone. I laugh, because I thought two's were hard, and people say three's are harder, and I'm having more fun now with them than I am with my one year old daughter.

My daughter... my princess. My sweet, sweet pumpkin. I love her to death. I love to kiss her, hug her, hold her. I didn't care that she never slept through the night as an infant. I embraced my alone time with her at midnight. She is my last, and unfortunately, I cannot change my mind on that decision as it is made permanent by tubal ligation (note: for future post why I made that choice and how I'll always regret it). However, she has recently become the biggest pain in the butt I have ever had to deal with. I've ruined her that's for sure. Always giving into to every little cry of hers, always giving her a bottle when she woke in the middle of the night even at 11 months.

My wieght loss saga

My battle with weight loss... could be a blog in itself. Unfortunately, it would be repetitive, and boring. So, I don't subject you to that kind of suffering, I only talk about it when I need to.

I have dealt with weight issues my entire life. However, only actually beginning 7 years ago did I have a problem. Throughout my childhood I was just bigger than most girls. Being 5'7" didn't help, but I also have an athletic build, not a small or petite frame. Even when thin I have many curves. Seven years ago I managed to eat enough Taco Bell to gain 95lbs in one short year. I went straight from my thinnest to my heaviest. Now, I could blame the Nachos Bell Grande, or I could also blame my addiction to ephedra, and my oh-so-healthy diet of nothing but 1 large Jamba Juice a day my entire senior year of high school for the reason I ballooned to a plump 232lbs during my 2nd year out of high school. Regardless of why, it still happened, and I am still here, 7 years later, paying for it. In the past 7 years I have flung hopelessly into the arms of every crash diet, as well as hopelessly failed. I'll lose the initial 10-15lbs, sometimes even 20lbs, but then gain it all back and then some.

I plateau typically at 220lbs, and it took 4 years to get below that. Months before meeting my husband 4 years ago I had finally broke 220lbs. I was 206lbs. Obviously, I'm glad, but what in the hell was I thinking moving in with a man while trying to lose weight and on a record!?! Someone, pleeeeeeease tell me! (We all know relationships make fat people fatter.) Getting pregnant (with twins!?) was the end of me. While being a heffer I somehow managed to maintain a nice looking stomach. Let's just say that is no longer a quality I boast about, neither my boobs.

After having the twins, luckily, I quickly returned to my typical 220lbs. Fluctuating between that and the 230's was normal for me. Then when they were 7 months old I went back to work, and started Medifast. I lost 16lbs before finding out I was pregnant again shortly before the twins first birthday. I was heartbroken all my recent efforst were once again a bust. Even though I swore to keep my weight gain to a minimum, my precious bundle of joy had other plans. My youngest daughter made sure I had undeniably strong cravings for all things chocolate and sugar, while residing in my ever growing womb. The only thing healthy I craved were oranges, and I still believe the excessive amount I ate made them unhealthy. Luckily, however I kept the weight gain to a non excessive level of about 40lbs. Had she taken the 3 weeks extra she was suppose to, I'm sure it would have easily been 90lbs by 40 weeks gestation.

After Kinsey, however, I was not able to lose it. I was at home with 3 under 2, my husband working 2 jobs, struggling to breastfeed, and fighting postpartum. Weight and weight loss were far from my mind (for once). Kinsey finally being a few months old, me getting into my routine with having 3 children to care for, as well as a husband, I finally decided to join Weight Watchers... for 6 weeks.

In 6 weeks at WW I was able to lose 13lbs. Then why only 6 weeks you ask, because that's how long our tax return money lasted (for our things-we-could-live-without budget), as well as WW's special promotion. Not only was I no longer able to afford going to the weekly meetings, my weight loss started to diminish, as well as my motivation. Slowly I gained the 13lbs back, as well as 10 more. Then the holidays came, my marriage was hitting a rough spot, and I was beginning to find myself often depressed over these things. Let's not forget, all the while, I am trying to raise my kids to be happy, confident, and healthy human beings.

... to be continued.