Italian Chicken in a Creamy White Wine Mushroom Sauce

So this weekend was crazy at our house. We had big plans to visit my mother in law. Well our car had other plans because the battery died and it seemed like everyone with the same car had the same issue recently because 4 of the places closest to us were sold out of the battery we needed. But it is really funny how things work because honestly we had this “forced” time where we couldn’t leave the house. We spent that time around the dinner table streaming movies on the laptop, cooking, and making our Thanksgiving invitations. So we really turned lemons into lemonade this weekend J Since we had to wait to go to the grocery store I wanted to make the best of what we had and Chicken over a Creamy White Wine Mushroom Sauce. My family loved this meal. So I wanted to share the recipe with you  because it was AMAZING!!!

Ingredients:

For the Chicken:

4 Boneless Chicken Breasts

1 Teaspoon of Italian Seasoning

Pinch of Onion Powder

Adobo to taste

For the Sauce:

½ Yellow Onion Diced

3 teaspoons of Diced Garlic

2 cups of Sliced Mushrooms

2 tablespoons of light Olive oil

4 tablespoons of Butter

1 Cup of Dry White Wine

1 ½ Cup of Heavy Whipping Cream

And any kind of pasta (I used spaghetti)

  

1.   Heat up a Dutch Oven or Pot with a lid and coat the bottom with the Light Olive Oil. Once the pan is hot add the onions and let the sauté until almost opaque.

2.   Add the butter until melted and then add the mushrooms and garlic. Let them brown for about 3 minutes and add the wine. Bring the wine to a boil. Let it boil for like 3 minutes with the lid on and then bring down to a simmer.

3.   Now start on the chicken. Pound out the chicken breasts so they are thin. Sprinkle with the Italian Seasoning, Adobo, and Onion Powder.

4.   Put a Pan on High heat to get the pan sizzling hot with some olive oil. Turn down to medium high and place the chicken breasts in the pan. Do not touch them!!!!!!! (I learned this on Master Chef J) Let them cook for 4mins- 5 minutes and then flip over and do it again. Also you can start your pasta now.

5.   Add the cream to your mushroom sauce in the other pan turn up the heat boil for 1 min and then let it simmer while you finish the spaghetti and cut up the chicken. Keep Stirring!

6.   Plate your delicious meal and tell me how it came out in the comments below J

Consequence Jar

  The Consequence Jar.

So I am trying to teach my kids to be accountable. But sometimes I am not so accountable myself when it comes to discipline. The word consequence has become nothing more of an empty threat around here because most of the time I am too frazzled to come up with a good consequence on the spot. So to alleviate this I created the consequence jar. I found the idea on pinterest and I came up with consequences that would fit our family and age ranges.  I want to point out the grace one. Sometime you get a free pass. God has grace for us but just because we didn’t have a consequence doesn’t mean we didn’t learn a lesson. J

• Put on your bathing suit and clean the shower.
• Write a letter of apology
• Copy a bible verse of moms choosing
• Put on your bathing suit and clean the shower
• Sweep the kitchen floor
• Wipe the cabinets in the kitchen
• Vacuum daddy’s office
• Organize the homeschool bookshelf
• Dust all the electronics
• Read a book to your baby brother
• Go to bed 30 minutes early
• No TV before bedtime read a book instead
• Be the server at dinner time.
• Clean the bathroom sink
• GRACE
• Write a letter about how much you love someone
• Sing a song with William
• 25 push ups
• Frankenstein for 7 minutes 

Our 2nd Grade Learning Space Homeschool Room

So we are officially in 2^nd Grade!!!!! Yay!!! I am so excited to start this new year off.

To wind down the last couple of weeks of summer together as a family we created a learning space. We wanted to make sure that Steven had a place to really concentrate on his work now that school would be a bit more intense.

So we decided to turn our Lanai into a homeschool room. It is a very small space so we needed to maximize our space the best we can and we only had about $120.00 to do it with.  

Here it is our new Homeschool room!! I am so proud of how it turned out. Now that we are on our second week of school I will say that it is working so much better than working in the living room. Especially since my youngest is much more mobile now.

 The chairs, table, blackboard, black lamp, paper organizers, magazine files and little clock are all from Ikea. The Bookshelf is from Target, and the rolling cart is from Jo-ann Fabrics. (Get a 40% off coupon and then buy) 

How did you set up your learning space? I would love to see some pictures! 

If you have any questions about our learning space please feel free to ask me.

Ice Water Challenge Accepted!

So I completed the Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS today. On top of completing it we are also sending a donation as a family to support ALS.  I encourage all of my readers to take the challenge even if you do not have the funds to donate it helps spread awareness where there was none.

 I wanted to add the website to where you can donate. Also check to see if your employer with match your contribution! www.alsa.org    It really is a great oppourntunity to raise awareness.

So here is the video if you are interested!! Have a great day!!

My Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS

Staying Active in my Industry while being a Stay at Home Mom

Since I have been a stay at home mom I have been looking for ways to stay active professionally. I was granted access to write blog posts on Linkedin and I wanted to share that with my followers here :)

You will find what I write on Linkedin has a bit of a different tone but I think that it is so important to stretch all my writing muscles.  So please check it out. Also I made my first infographic today on http://www.easel.ly/  I hope to add more pizazz to my blogposts so that I can pin them to my pinterest page.

https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140630160147-147841250-improve-employee-engagement-in-one-year

Low Cost Summer Fun Ideas For Boys

Our Family's Not so Bummer Summer List

My husband won a Facebook challenge that the children’s ministry at our church put on.  Steven won a scholarship for a week of Winshape Day Camp. We were pumped up but I was really worried. The camp started his first week after school ended and I was worried that he would expect a high action for the rest of the summer.  How can I make this summer awesome? Here is what I have working against me:

• I don't drive. So everything we do I will have to get ahead of time or be within walking distance.
• I do not have a ton of money. There it is people honesty in its purest form. My budget can be a deal breaker.

 I would dedicate some time over the weekend because Steven was going to have a sleepover at his grandma’s house with his cousin Gia. Steven loves Gia but we don’t get to see her that often because they live 3 hours away. By the time I had to go pick up Steven I had nothing. I had pinterested, googled, and nothing seemed exciting enough. I felt so defeated. 

http://signifyd.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/tumblr_mmyrbiliya1rfzzkxo1_500-i-dont-know-what-to-do.gif

So I get to my mother in law’s house feeling frustrated.Steven runs up to me and the first thing he says is “Mom I want to make a Not So Bummer Summer List like Judy Moody with Gia. We can Skype and talk about the things we do!”

http://thisisginasblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/katy-perry-celebration-dance-in-fireworks-music-video-gif.gif?w=640 

So we sat together as a family and came up with a list. We narrowed it down to 25 things. Some are free, some are very low cost and a  few big things. We made a poster to hang in his room and to show Gia. We are going to put stickers next to the things that we do. 

L=Low Cost F=Free B= Bigger Cost
 1.     Make Ice Cream  (L)
2.     Build a fort in the living room (F)
3.  Visit all the parks in the city(L)
4.     Learn a magic trick (F)
5.     Make Slime  (F)
6.     Ride a Roller Coaster (B)
7.     Ride a Horse (B)
8.     See a scary movie (F) (This will be free because he is not ready for movie theatre scary movie yet at home I can control it and I hope to find something a tiny bit scary so get his feet wet so suggestions are welcome)
9.     Go on a hike (L)
10. Go fishing (L)
11. Stay up ALL night(F)
12. Visit a Photo-booth(L)
13. Go Bowling (L)
14. Visit a farm or farmers market(L)
15. Go to the beach (L)
16. Write a letter and mail it (F)
17. Tie Dye a shirt (L)
18. Make a banana split (L)
19. Picnic (F)
20. Roll down a hill (F)
21. Bake a cake (L)
22. Try to surf (L)
23. Decorate the house for summer (like a party) (F)
24.  Road Trip (B)
25.  Movie Marathon Day ( watch movies as a family ALL DAY) (F) I count this as free because we have Netflix and Amazon Prime that we already pay for so it will not cost anything extra out of the budget.

Now I am really excited for this summer. All of the big items we will do on the weekend with my husband.   As we go through the list I will be sure to post pictures and keep you updated.

So tell me what are some plans that you have for this summer?  How do you organize your summer activities? Do you have any recommendations for a scary movie first timer?