White cake with strawberries and whipped cream/cream cheese icing

Yes, another food post, but this one is so yummy I had to post it. You know how you can picture something in your head the way you want it to look and taste but it usually (for me) doesn't turn out the way you think/hope it will? This one does! Here is the recipe I used:

1 white cake mix ( I used Duncan Hines)
1 container strawberries, rinsed and chopped into small pieces (I bet you could use frozen as well).
1 8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 16 oz Cool Whip, thawed
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp milk or heavy cream or half and half

1. Follow the directions on the cake mix and bake the cakes. I used my 9 in pans.
2. Allow the cakes to cool completely.
3. Chop up your strawberries and mix into 4-6 oz of Cool Whip (any more and it will run down the sides of the cake--guess how I know that:-)
4. Spread the strawberry/Cool Whip mixture on top of the first cake. Put the second cake on top of the first.
5. Mix together the cream cheese and sugar until all mixed together. ( I used the Kitchen Aid mixer for the frosting).
6. Add in 8 oz of Cool Whip and mix together until fluffy.
7. Add in the vanilla and milk or heavy cream or half and half ( I used half and half).
8. Mix everything together until creamy.
9. Spread icing all over the cake, starting in the center and spreading down the sides. This actually made enough to generously cover the whole cake.
10. Enjoy!
My kids LOVED this--Emma has already requested it for her birthday in April:-) Shon even enjoyed it (which is saying a lot). I will definitely be making this again.

Another day, another trip to Sam's:-)

So today Will was at school so I had to go to Sam's as soon as I dropped him off. I wanted to beat the crowd and was thankfully able to do that because of my in-laws getting our Sam's card for us. They are business members so I can shop early:-) I was in and out in 30 minutes--even though I ended up with way more than was on my list ( it had 3 items--I walked out with about 15:-) I then headed to the mall and spent my Gymbucks I earned (which basically means I spent more money to save 1/2 off:-) I picked Will up from school and came home and relaxed until the older kids got home--it has been extremely cold here the last few days so I really wanted to just cozy up by the fire and stay warm:-) We ordered pizza tonight and the kids are all in their pjs watching the Disney channel while Shon watches the WWE for laughs on tv. Just another normal evening at our home:-)

A cleaning tip:-)

For those of you who know me well, you know I really don't enjoy cleaning--I enjoy staying home but am not really all that bothered by dust (mom, don't get too "twitchy"). So shockingly, with four kids, we had a few stubborn carpet stains. I found a recipe for a carpet cleaner that I wanted to try. Mix equal parts ammonia and really hot water into a spray bottle, and liberally spray the spot you want to treat. Get out your iron and a clean white towel. Place the towel onto the spot you just sprayed and put your iron on towel (have it on the steam setting). You just iron back and forth and the spot is supposed to come up. I have to say this worked really well on most of the spots I tried it on--the carpet looks a lot better:-) I wish I had taken before and after pics but I was trying to get it done before I had to go get Will from school, so I was being quick.

Lasagna roll ups

Another recipe post--I like having these on my blog because they are easy to look up for future reference. I made lasagna roll ups tonight--a recipe I found on Pinterest (it is my go-to spot anymore for recipes:-) I also made parmesan pull apart bread (thanks Reba) from a friend's blog. Here is the recipe for the lasagna:

1 lb ground turkey ( or ground beef)

1/4 onion, minced

1 tsp garlic

1 can petite diced tomatoes

2 cans tomato sauce ( there is only 1 in the picture, but I added another one)

1 Tbsp parsley

1-2 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp oregano

mozzarella cheese (however much you like to cover the meal)

ricotta cheese

1 egg

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

lasagna noodles ( I used 8)

1. Boil your water for the lasagna noodles. Cook until al dente.

2. In saucepan, saute onion and garlic together ( I forgot to do this and added them to my ground turkey that was already browning. You can use a little olive oil to do this step).

3. Add turkey and cook until no pink remaining.

4. Add seasonings and tomato sauce and diced tomatoes.

5. Simmer for about 20 minutes.

6. In small bowl, beat egg and then add ricotta cheese, parsley, and parmesan cheese. Stir together.

7. Lay lasagna noodle on paper towel. Pat dry. Spoon ricotta cheese mixture across noodle. Add a little bit of meat sauce along the noodle (if you put too much on it will squish out the sides--not that I know that from personal experience or not:-)

8. Roll up the lasagna noodle and place in sprayed dish. Repeat until all the noodles are in the pan.

9. Put more meat sauce onto each noodle. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese all over the dish ( as much or as little as you like--we like a lot of cheese).

10. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, or until bubbly:-) Enjoy!

New washer and the laundromat:-)

Here is a picture of the new washing machine we had to go and order today. The man at Lowe's promised me it would be in my house in less than seven days:-)
I was attempting to start my enormous pile of laundry yesterday, and the first load I did would not finish--it kept throwing an error code with 1 minute left. When Shon got home, he was able to get the door unlocked, but that was it. I should preface this by saying we had a repairman come look at the washer in August, and he told us it needed a new motor control board, which runs $700 for the part alone. So we knew it was only a matter of time. I attempted this morning to do another load of laundry, and it flat out would not start a cycle at all--I tried all of them. After talking with a sweet woman from Sears and finding out what they had in stock, we almost went with a Kenmore Elite, but the price tag was just too much for us right now. SO we picked out a Samsung, which is what we were leaning towards anyway.
However, we literally had 4 full laundry baskets and a huge hamper full of towels that needed to be washed. Shon suggested we head to the laundromat, so that is what we did. Apparently it has been way too long since I have been to one. I figured it wouldn't be more than $1-$2 at most to wash the clothes. The huge washer was $5.50 (!) and the smaller ones were $2.75. Thankfully it was only $.25 to dry, but the dryers needed to run about 3 times for 1 load. I left Shon at the laundromat and went and picked up Emma from ballet and supper for everyone at McDonald's. The kids ate in the van while we finished the laundry. We ended up bringing home about 3 loads that were still damp, so my dryer is working overtime right now. However, it was pretty great to be all done with all that laundry in less than 2 hours (washing anyway). I'll post a picture once my pretty new washer gets here--it has steam and everything:-)

Homemade chicken n dumplins

I was in the mood for chicken and dumplings and found several recipes online. I picked the ones I liked and combined them to come up with one of my own--and it was delicious! Here are the ingredients used:

1 package boneless skinless chicken breast tenderloins

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 cans chicken broth

salt and pepper to taste

a pinch of garlic powder

1/2 onion, diced

1-2 celery stalks, diced

10 mini carrots, chopped small

Half and half, to taste

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

salt to taste

1 cup milk

2 Tbsp butter

In crockpot, place chicken, 1 can broth, soup, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Stir together and add celery, carrots, and onion. Cook on high for 4 hours. Shred chicken in pot and replace lid. Add in half and half to make creamy. In medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut butter in with pastry cutter or 2 forks. Stir milk in with fork until dough forms. Roll dough out after sprinkling surface with flour. Cut into squares after rolled flat ( I used a pizza cutter). Drop dumplings into crock pot and cook for 30 extra minutes on high in the crock pot. Serve warm!

As an extra note, the kids all loved this--even Will--he ate seconds:-)

Homesick

As I was sitting in church this morning I realized that I still would rather be back in Northwest Arkansas. I hate that I still feel like this but why hide the truth? Moving is just as hard when you are 35 as it is when you are 11. There are still cliques no matter how old you are, and it is just as hard for me to make friends at this age as it is at age 10. I mean, I am friendly and can really talk with just about anyone, but a true friend who really knows you is very hard to come by:-) Don't get me wrong, I am making friends, but right now I really miss "home".
All of this to say, I am praying for peace and contentedness for where I am right now, even though it is not where I would have chosen for me. There is a reason that we moved here, even if I don't see it and might never see it. Thanks for listening to me ramble:-)