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So I got this message from Google recently and really do not know how much I have to explain or add. So this is my formal "warning" to protect myself. I use google adsense and Amazon. I really have no clue about it's cookies. But I my goal is someday to know. I hope this work :D 

Bacon Mac and Cheese

So this summer with the chaos in the house we got lazy with the cooking.

Last night I made a scratch made Bacon Mac and Cheese. My macaroni and cheese connoisseur still complained. He said it was good but still missing something, I am pretty sure he is giving me a hard time because he had 2 insanely large plates. 

Everyone thinks making macaroni and cheese is difficult and time consuming, I promise you it really is not. 

To start boil pasta. While I was boiling my pasta I set everything else up. 

 Shred the cheese this will make the rest simple. 

Drain the pasta out and I used the same pot for everything. 

Cook the bacon until nice and crispy. and set it aside. 

In the bacon fat toss the onions, salt/ pepper ( I used my Tex- Mex blend) and equal parts flour. 

The flour and fat will make a rue and that will thicken the milk creating a white sauce which we will add the cheese creating a cheese sauce. 

So I added about 2 cups of milk, and you simmer until it starts to thicken. 

Chop up the bacon and add with the cheese. 

Mix until the cheese is nice and melted and the bacon is well incorporated. 

Add the pasta and mix until everything is coated. 

Now enjoy the beautiful bacon macaroni and cheese.  I served with green beans. 

I will try to remember to price everything out and do my budget prices but it should come to about $2 a person depending on what kind of cheese you use. Better taste comes from the stronger flavored cheese. 

Looking Wreath

I talked about major changes coming because we just needed it in the house. The positive attitude has helped so much in accepting things that I can't change. When we lived in Maryland and Desmond nearly died we ended up drowning in debt so things like decorating for the holiday was limited. 

 This year is the first time we have the extra to decorate so here it is. 

First I bought a really nice black wreath with orange bow. Everyone is starting to pull out Christmas stuff so Halloween is on sale and this baby cost me $20 

Next I took cheap ping pong balls....

googly eyes and a hot glue gun.

I glued the eye on one side.

 I glued a small piece of wire on the other side to twist it on the wreath.

This is my lovely bowl of googly eyeballs ready to go.

Then slowly add the eyes. 

Voila it is done, I plan on buying a few more glow in the dark eyes to add on because I feel like it is missing something but have not decided yet. 

Tomato slow cooked chicken

I am always taking pictures and I can never remember which picture actually make it up and which ones don't. I started this article and stopped so many times I totally forgot which story I was going to share with it.

My background is Hispanic. I am not a pureblood but my mom is from Panama and I grew up for the most part with her family. I spoke Spanish at home for years and my Mami Abuela made sure I knew how to cook. She also tried to teach me how to crochet and sew which is something I did not master until recently. So my version of comfort food is Spanish or Spanish type food. This is my quick toss it in the pan Spanish style chicken served with rice.

This is also considered low budget because I used 2, (3 if a want a ton) chicken breast and feeds about 6 people. 

2 cloves of garlic

2 chicken breast 

1 large onion 

rice 

can of tomato or 3 medium tomatoes 

oregano 

salt and pepper 

parsley 

1 cup of  Chicken broth

Sautee onion and garlic until translucent with seasoning and salt and pepper. Add chicken until browned. Add tomatoes and broth and simmer until liquid is reduced. Make rice and serve.  

This meal came to about $10 ( I forgot how much the chicken breast is going currently) 

which puts it at about $1.70 per person. :) Happy eatings

Mustard pork

I am not a huge fan of fall, it means Summer has ended. The days get shorter and colder, then the snow comes. Okay I just do not like cold and to me anything under 70 is way to cold, some days 70 is to cold.   One of my friends brought me homemade mustard and

 I had to make a delicious fall meal. 

While oil is heating season the pork really well then brown. 

Now chop up carrots, and onions ( if you want to add parsnip) I tossed in mustard and salt, pepper as well as paprika with oregano, parsley, basil, and thyme.

Set meat aside so you can put the veggies on the bottom. This will rise the meat over the juices and let it get a slight crispness to it and the veggies will roast in the liquid adding flavor.

Coat the meat with mustard and paprika then bake at 450 until cooked through.

Roast potatoes with salt and pepper. 

Slice meat and serve. 

Quick grilled pork

We have recently started shopping at Bj's and I came across a buy one get one free for dressings. We got a caesar and a balsamic but unfortunately I was the only one who liked it on salad but it worked on the pork.

I figured nice hot days require grilling but I can not use my grill unless I want to deal with stupid landlord rules. This is where the cast iron comes into play. I truly love my collection :)

I marinated the pork over night. 

I grilled the pork on my cast iron pan and added pepper.

I tossed the asparagus in oil with salt and pepper. 

As I let the pork rest, I grilled the asparagus. Which makes this dinner perfect for 

really hot summer days. 

I chopped up the asparagus and grilled some onions and made a quick salad. 

The plating was simple I put potatoes on the bottom with a pork on top and a salad to the side. 

Budget planning : I buy the pork in bulk at $12 and I get 6-8 meals. Potatoes cost about 1 to 2 dollars and asparagus during the summer is about $4  and an onion is maybe a dollar. 

this meal for 6 people is about $8 coming to $1.50 each. 

Pepper Steak

                                                 
There is nothing worse than working hard all day and all the sudden remembering you have 3 hungry kids and a husband to feed. I am not a huge fan of the crock pot but from time to time the thing has saved my butt a few times. After the insanely long weekend I caught a fun head cold which in turn has made me moody and not pleasant, I also do not want to cook. So savory pepper steak it is.

 ½ inch thick strips of beef 

Salt and Pepper

2 cups of pepper and onions 

1 can diced Tomato

1 cup chicken broth

1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce 

1 tsp Tex- Mex seasoned salt 

                                             Toss in a crock pot and serve with rice. 
                                               I also made green beans. 

As for the budget of this meal the total for 6 people ( I had enough for 2 people) and a lunch set up as well. The meat was $4 and a can of tomato, half a bag of pepper and onion blend and rice brings the total at the most $10. This makes the meal about $1.50 per meal. 

Bridging part 3: Powder Puff Derby!!!

I just realized I missed the post about finishing up our Girl Scout year. Sorry :(

To finish up the year girls got the honors of making their own cars and parents as well as other family was welcomed to join in on the races.

We started with a check in and weighed all the cars. This year we were not strict on the rule but next year we will be following the Cub scout Derby rules. 

While I ran check in Justin set up the tracks. 

The girls were so thrilled that after the race the girls did not want to stop. 

Everyone was excited to show off the cars and want to do it again. 

Brook won and there was no competing against her car this year. Maybe next year we will make some adjustments to our car. 

We finished the year with a bang! 

Tri weekend

Things have finally been slowing down in our house ( YAY!!). I have been become some version of Zombie mom running on coffee and soda. This weekend was the Triathlons, yes I meant for that to be plural not because I would ever do it, but because Yasser did it!!!

I have to say I am extremely proud of my little girl who I am noticing is not so little anymore. Yesterday it was in the 60s and just pouring rain and it was horrible, yet she keep going and never quit.

Justin ran beside her and cheered her the entire way she was the only kid to actually swim and was in last place most of the way ( she is insistent she was in 11th) but she was proud of the fact she finished and she should be. Today was not any better and it was colder but Justin did his run and although his time was not as good as last years he finished.  He did it with a flat tire for 7 miles and in the freezing cold temperature ( it was in the 50s today).

So as I sit here sniffing and coughing from a lovely cold I caught standing on the side lines taking picture I can't help but to think how amazing my life has become. I married a man that even if I get pissy he is there. I have kids who never give up no matter how hard things get. All I can do is try to keep calm and remember that cheering is all I can do.

Turning a new page...

Things got beyond crazy. We had a ton of Scout things take place and Yasser has been training for a triathlon. We had a yard sale and got rid of a ton of things, still working de-cluttering and organizing. The boys have had a ton of evaluations, and meetings. Next week we start therapy again but we are only having speech this year. We also start scouting again. Over the next few weeks school blogs and cooking ( oh how I missed my cooking) will be posted. Hopefully we can get into the swing with everything again.