Dinner, Drinks, and a Little Dirt.

Extending the celebration of love a little longer over here. This past weekend was our turn to host our monthly dinner club, and I jumped at the chance to use the Valentine's Day theme for our rotation. 

 It was such an easy dinner to plan, and the Hubs made such an amazing dish on the Big Green Egg that my mouth is still watering for it days later.

While he spent the day cooking, the Cutes and I put up some fun decorations, filled the house with beautiful flowers, and made some yummy appetizers, sides, and dessert.

We found these Strawberry Cheesecake popcorn snacks at Target earlier in the week, and thought they would be the perfect little snack for all the kids. Oh my, they are scrumptious. I might have taste tested a bag or two when setting up for the party. Possibly three. 

For libations we chose to put out our new favorite drink, The Moscow Mule. Carrie Beth wrote about this delicious cocktail last month, and as a follow up is guest blogging over at The Avenue to share the yumminess.

I think what I get excited about most when planning the dinner club menu is the dessert. The Hubs usually likes to take the reigns when it comes to the main course (and I happily let him), but dessert I claim as all mine. One of our dear sweet friends son is highly allergic to peanuts and dessert is always a fun way to find a creative peanut free option.  

The Oreo Truffle (aka Dirt Dessert) is one of my all time favorites, and I was so excited to see that I could make a peanut free option.

The dessert is super easy and always a crowd pleaser. I've seen it done in several different ways with both traditional Oreos and some of the specialty flavors and not a one disappoints. 

Here's the quick recipe in case you are in need of a little chocolate comfort on these cold winter nights. 

Oreo Truffle/Dirt Dessert: 

Ingredients: 

- 2 (3.5 oz) pkgs of French Vanilla pudding

- 1 (8 oz) pkg of cream cheese

- 1/4 cup of butter

- 3 cups of milk

- 1 cup of confectioner's sugar

- 1 (12oz) container of whipped cream

- 1 pkg of Oreo cookies

Instructions: 

1: Crush or food process the cookies and put aside. 

2: Mix pudding, sugar, cream cheese, butter, and milk. Whisk until creamy. 

3: Combine mixture lightly with whipped cream.

4: Layer bottom of dish with Oreo crumbs and top with some of the pudding mixture. Alternate layers ending with Oreo layer on top. 

5: Place in refrigerator and let cool for approximately 45mins. 

Trust me you will not be disappointed. Your chocolate loving taste buds will thank you.

Hope everyone has a fabulous Hump Day, and stays warm and toasty inside on this freezing day!

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Kitchen Confessions {Bacon Blue Cheese Chicken}

Last week when I was getting over my stomach bug, but not quite able to eat anything but a few crackers, all I could think about was food.  I spent the time I couldn't actually eat, planning what I would eat in the next couple of days when I was finally better.  Chick-fil-a was definitely on the list and I looked through my recipe books to plan a few meals I hadn't made in a long time.  One of those is one of my Mr.'s favorites, Bacon Blue Cheese Chicken.  We first had this dish at his grandmother's house years ago and I knew I needed the recipe ASAP.

Bacon Blue Cheese Chicken 

Ingredients 
4 boneless-skinless chicken breasts
3T minced onions
2T Parsley
2T Basil
1T Poppy Seeds
16 oz. jar of Marie's Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing (I did use the low-fat option)
Chopped Bacon (I used the little bag of 100% bacon pieces found in the salad area)

Directions 
Combine onions, parsley, basil and poppy seeds in a small bowl.  Rub spice mixture on each chicken breast to cover.  Place chicken breast in a glass baking dish.  Pour jar of dressing over the chicken breast.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 40-50 mins.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with chopped bacon.  Bake another 5 minutes.  Enjoy!

This isn't low-fat or low-calorie or even super healthy, but y'all, it is good and to me that is what matters. My kids eat it because they love anything with bacon.  Anything.  They also love ranch dressing, which I told them this had, so they ate it up. It's so delicious and easy to make, which is always an added bonus.  I made roasted sweet potatoes and a salad to have with ours and the whole meal was a hit!

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My Little Valentine's

Hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's weekend and spent time with their loved ones! The weekend kicked off our week long Winter Break, and I couldn't be more excited. A whole week without a schedule and some snuggling by the warm fire with the family...fabulous! 

A few weeks ago, I saw that the Ringling Brother's  and Barnum & Bailey Circus was coming into town over Valentine's weekend, and I immediately purchased tickets for our little family.  

I remember loving going when I was a little girl, and thought it might be a fun way to celebrate Valentine's Day together with The Cutes. 

Saturday morning everyone was bouncing off the walls with excitement, and luckily we purchased tickets for the 11:00a.m. show because I am not sure the littles could have handled the anticipation much longer. 

Making it to the show was definitely a feat though. Just as we were about to turn onto the highway though we heard suspicious noises coming from the backseat from Little Cute's direction. We pulled over and then poor thing gets sick everywhere. And I do mean everywhere. 

We turn the car around and headed home for a clean up and a quick change. We determined by her demeanor that it was just something random and headed back on our journey. 

We knew we were a little pressed for time, but we had built plenty of wiggle room in originally so we were still hopeful we would arrive right on time for the show. 

Then we hit the city of Atlanta. A city infamous for the worst traffic ever. Even on a Saturday. We missed the memo that there was a major cheerleading competition, The Voice auditions, and an all day rap concert occurring all at the same time in this end of the city. Oops. 

We sprinted from the parking lot to the gate (thank goodness for all that running training), and luckily saw that we weren't the only ones to arrive thirty minutes late. 

We arrived in our seats just in time to catch a few fun acts and the infamous elephants. The Cutes, not really knowing what the circus was previously were now beside themselves with excitement. It made the  crazy journey to get there more than worth it to see their huge smiles. 

Blurry pic of us finally making it, but it's the only pic of all four of us. 

The intermission began shortly after we arrived, but even then The Cutes wouldn't take their eyes off the stage. Clowns were entertaining everyone while the rest of the cast and crew took a break and they even loved this part. 

Once the intermission ended, it was non-stop entertainment. One act after another was so fun, and filled with all sorts of unique performances and animals!

Little Cute surprised us. She loved everything and clapped non-stop even during the performances. Being so young we thought it would lose her attention, but she ate it up.

I think my favorite part was the trapeze act. They were so high up and didn't miss a beat. I would be so nervous!

Cute informed me his favorite by far was the clowns. He could not stop laughing about them.

All weekend he told everyone he saw the clowns and they were funny because they chased after the sandwich. Now, I saw a lot of memorable things during the show, but a sandwich was not one of them. But he assures us there was a sandwich chasing clown, and that it was, in fact, quite hilarious. 

Before we knew it the show was over. As a family we had so much fun. As parents we loved that we got to experience something new with our little valentine's, and see the joy on their sweet faces. 

It was a great day and we already can't wait until the next time the circus rolls into town. And next time we will be prepared with ponchos, back up outfits, and leave four hours early to combat Atlanta traffic. 

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Montana Trip - Part 3

This week I blogged about my trip to Montana. If you missed it, Part 1 of our trip is HERE and Part 2 is HERE.

For our last full day in Montana, we decided to go skiing at a nearby resort.  I had not skied in at least 4 years so it was fun for me to get back on the mountain.  It really is like riding a bike and it just sort of came back to me.

We explored the mountain all morning and worked our way to the different runs as I got more and more comfortable on my skis again.  There was hardly anyone there that day so that meant no waiting in lift lines which was an added bonus.

Later that night we enjoyed a cocktail hour complete with an ice bar and delicious h'ordeuvres outside under the moonlight.  

The next thing we knew, fireworks started and they were spectacular!  

 After dinner and dancing with a band we sat down at one of the faux Blackjack tables that was set up.  I'd never played before and this was the perfect introduction playing with pretend money.  It was really a great way to end our vacation.

While we had an amazing trip, I was excited to get home the next day and see my kiddos!!!  I missed them and the sense of routine, so coming home was just as exciting as heading out there.

Jen and I hope you all have a very Happy Valentine's Day tomorrow and are able to spend it with the ones you love most!

A Bright Valentine + Free Printable

Oh my! This week the Mamas' homes have been taken out by the stomach bug. Poor Carrie Beth just couldn't kick it, and then Monday night rolled around and not one, but both Cutes came down with it. Even with over four years of motherhood under my belt, this is our first experience with the stomach bug, and then to be tag teamed. It wasn't pretty.

Around the 18 hour mark, I ran out of floor cleaner, my laundry detergent was running low, and my giant supply of Costco paper towels had taken a massive hit. The fear was real people. 

Luckily around normal nap time both Cute's rested comfortably, and the icky part seemed to be behind us. I had survived! I felt like I earned had earned a new mommy badge of honor (not sure if it was one I wanted in the first place), and I celebrated the only way I knew how - I crafted. Well, to be honest, I could think of a lot better ways to celebrate...a nap, a hot shower, a really large glass of wine... but Cute's Valentines were due so crafting it is. :)

I was so excited about this year's Valentines. I asked Cute what he wanted to give to everyone and he responded with Nerf Guns. Considering that would probably be frowned upon at school I had to let him down gently from that idea. 

Cute has become obsessed with flashlights, so I asked him if he thought that would be fun and he got so excited. We headed to the local dollar store in hopes that they would have some inexpensive flashlights we would purchase for all his classmates. 

We found these fun pink, black, and blue ones, and they were perfect for this project. We purchased the necessary amount, plus one because Little Cute was not about to give up owning a fun pink flashlight, and made our way home where I designed this quick Valentine. 

I printed them on card stock and then cut them out. 

Then I hole punched them and attached them with ribbon through the lanyard hole.

Super easy and simple. My kind of craft.

I loved how they turned out and was glad we were able to find a fun non-candy treat I think the kids will enjoy. 

It might be last minute for you to use these for your Valentines this year, but if not here is the printable for you to enjoy or have on hand for next year. It can also be used with anything that "lights" - glow sticks, glow in the dark objects, etc. 

To download the free printable, 

click HERE. 

Here's hoping for a germ free rest of the week and a Happy Valentine's Day!

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Montana Trip - Part 2

Happy Wednesday!  I hope all of you are having a great week.  I'm fighting off the never ending stomach bug, and hoping to finally kick it here soon.  I'm dreaming of my days back in Montana for sure. :-)  If you missed it, click HERE to read about the first part of our trip.  

On our second full day there we had some fun stuff planned.  We did an archery class/lesson that was really fun.  After a little instruction and practice I was channelling my inner Katniss Everdeen!  It was so much fun and I surprised myself with how well I did.  There were all sorts of different targets (some bulls eyes and some fake animal ones) set up throughout a course we went through next so we got to put our practice into play.

After our archery we had a quick lunch and then were off to try our hand at ice fishing!  I had fished as a little girl off my grandparents dock on the waterway, but that was about the extent of my knowledge and this was totally different.

First of all, just walking out onto a frozen lake was an experience.  They gave us these spike things that fit over our boots so we wouldn't slip when walking around.  We were assured there was a full 9-10 inches thick of ice on top of the water, but hearing little creaks and cracks can be a little nerve racking.  Apparently those noises are actually a good thing because it means the ice is expanding and getting thicker.  Still, I just pictured it splitting like it does on cartoons.

We sat on buckets, got all set up with our poles and bait and waited.  We were shown little movements to make with our poles to bounce the bait off the bottom off the lake so I just kept doing that over and over and guess what?!?! I was the first one to catch a fish!!!

If it look like I was scared, that's because I kind of was.  Getting these fish up through the hole on the ice without them knocking themselves off the hook was the tricky part, but once my guy was up he was WAY bigger than I had expected.  The fishing guy took it off the hook and tried to hand it to me.  As he did that, the fish turned with it's big mouth right at my face and nearly knocked me off my bucket.  Ha!  I was laughing so hard, but it was really a lot of fun. That big ole' fish was tossed back in and they knew others would be biting soon because they travel in schools.

Sure enough, my honey was the next one to reel one in.  

Only he wasn't one bit scared of the thing and grabbed right ahold of him.  

After all that fishing excitement we were off to get ready for the Super Bowl party that was planned for the evening.  Everything at this ranch is over the top, and this party was no exception.  Greeting us as we walked in were giant ice sculptures that looked like the Super Bowl trophy.

Inside was a giant screen set up for the game, more ice sculptures in the shape of football players, and more food than anyone could possibly eat! 

It was an incredible way to watch the game and since it was such a close game it was just that much more exciting.  

Be sure to check back on Friday for Part 3 of our trip!  

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