The Thanksgiving line up

So folks, this year is the first year I will be cooking and hosting Thanksgiving!! Yes, it is very exciting, but also very nerve wracking... so what do I do to ease the pain, PINTREST of course!!!! I am very much a "go big or go home" type thinker, and due to the fact that I will be hosting Thanksgiving in my HOME the only option I have is to "go big".  So as I'm planning my line up I will share my thoughts, links, and after the fact I will share pictures.!!!
Appetizers:
Loaded Sweet Potato Skins
Turkey Inspired Veggie tray
Spinach Dip (in a Hawaiian Loaf)
Jelly Meatballs  (I buy store bought meatballs, but will be using this sauce)

Main Meal:
Smoked turkey (courtesy of my amazing husband!)
The ever famous Campbells green bean casserole
My own amazing Mashed potatoes
Sweet potatoes with marshmallow topping
Cranberry sauce
STORE BOUGHT Hawaiian rolls :) (there are just something to important to mess up!!)

Desserts:
Apple Pies in Apples
Pumpkin Cake Rolls (yes multiple!!! one with nuts, one with out, and one with powdered sugar)

Drinks:

Halloween

With Daddy starting his new job a few months ago, we have been soaking up all our time with him!!! We had an amazing Halloween and Daddy was able to be with us for the whole thing!!! We were on our way to the Harvest Festival at a local church and we saw Ironman and Mickey Mouse!

We went trick or treating and had a wonderful night with friends!!!

FABULOUS HALLOWEEN 2013 :)

CrockPot Chicken and Dumplings

Today is a Crock Pot kind of day! Not knowing what to make, I headed to the most amazing recipe source known to man... PINTREST!!!!! My husband has been talking non stop about chicken pot pie and chicken and dumplings, not being a fan of chicken pot pie dumplings it was!!!!!! Crock pot chicken and dumplings, easiest thing I've ever thrown together!!!!!!!!
3 chicken breasts (thawed)
2 tbs butter (salted stick butter)
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
14 oz of chicken broth (I use bullion cubes with water)
one white onion (minced)
Throw it all in the crock pot (in that order) and put it on high or 2 hours and then then next we'll do the dumplings!!

Welcome to my kitchen

I am a wife and a mother of two young boys. I love cooking and I love a challenge, so cooking on our families single income paycheck is my monthly game! We chose to have me be a stay at home mom, and I love that choice everyday! It also gives me a good amount of time to meal plan, cook, and Pintrest ;). If you haven't discovered Pintrest yet, first of all get out of the dinosaur era, and let it TRANSFORM YOUR COOKING!!!! So here's a little background... I got married at 20 and was NOT A COOK by any stretch of the word, I could bake like a madman, but cook...not so much. I could make the basics, Mac n cheese (from a box), salad (from a bag), and I could buy the heck out of fast food! But once we had our oldest son I made a deal with myself. I would be "that mom".  The mom who all the kids wanted to eat dinner there, who always had awesome after school snacks, and "that wife" who packed her husband the best and most braggable lunches. Two years later, I'm finally getting the hang of it, and this blog is my written proof of my struggles, success and "chaos in the kitchen"!
Enjoy!