My Life as a Mom

Zesty Italian Chicken (SUPER EASY)

3.03.2010 19:04 Posted by Amanda 0 comments

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (Medium thickness)

1 Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing 12oz container

Parmesean Cheese (the stuff in a shaker)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees,Clean chicken and place in a glass lasagna pan, Pour Zesty Italian dressing until chicken is half submerged and sprinkle parmesean cheese on top of chicken generously and cover with foil then bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Take out and put more parmesean cheese on top of chicken and recover with foil bake another 15 minutes then let sit for a few minutes and serve.

ham/asparagus/swiss Crepes

19:03 Posted by Amanda 0 comments

CREPE RECIPIE: 2 eggs, 1 1/4 C. Milk, 1 C. Flour, 2 Tbsp. Veg oil or melted unsalted butter, and 1/4 tsp. salt.... mix all ingredients together and chill at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

YOU WILL NEED: 8 oz. cooked ham, chopped (but i use sliced deli ham, chopped), 1 C. shredded Swiss Cheese, pepper to taste, 1 lb. fresh asparagus spears, trimmed and cut in half, and 10 prepared crepes.

FOR THE SAUCE: 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, 1/4 C. flour, 1 C. low-sodium chicken broth, 1 C. milk, 1/4 cup stone-ground mustard, s&p to taste, chopped fresh chives.

1) preheat oven to 400 degrees. coat a baking sheet with nonstick spray.

2) Combine ham, swiss, and pepper in a bowl. Place 1/4 Cup ham mixture and 4 asparagus (which i steam while making crepes... i don't like crunchy asparagus) halves down the center of each crepe; roll.

3) arrqange crepes seam side down on prepared baking sheet. bake crepes until cheese4 has melted 15-20 minutes.

4) while crepes are baking, melt butter for the sauce in a saucepan over medium heat. whisk in flour; cook about 1 minute. whisk in broth and milk; bring mixture to a boil. reduce heat to med and simmer sauce for 3 minutes. whisk in mustard, s&p, and chopped chives; simmer to heat through. top crepes with sauce. this makes about 6 crepes for me... the recipie says 10, but i disagree.... guess i make them too fat :)

Mac and Cheese Recipe

19:00 Posted by Amanda 0 comments

Ingredients
1 lb box of macaroni
1 stick butter
1 lb extra sharp cheddar cheese shredded minimum
1 TBS dry mustard
25-20 oz whole milk
2 TBS sifted flour
1/2 cup italian bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375
1. Prepare Macaroni according to box, drain and set aside
2. In a very large frying or sauce pan on MEDIUM heat, melt butter
3. Add dry mustard and cook for 3 minutes
4. Add flour and cook for 3 minutes
5. Add milk stirring continuously. DO NOT LET BOIL
6. Blend 3/4 shredded cheese stir continuously until melted. DO NOT LET BOIL
7. Mix macaroni & cheese sauce until well blended. Pour in large baking pan.
8. Sprinkle bread crumbs and remaining cheese on top and bake for 45 minutes or until top is golden brown

The Military Wife

2.28.2010 11:45 Posted by Amanda 0 comments

The average age of the military wife is 20 years old.She isn't old enough to buy a beer, but is old enough to manage a whole household on her own and maybe she has a kid or two.
She probably never saw herself loving a man who was in the military, but she loves him regardless. Her penmanship has improved over the last few months, due to the excessive letter writing she has been doing. She cries alot,because she misses the man she swore to love. Her life isn't complete without him.
She looks very tired, because of her many nights without sleep, due to a late night phone call that never came or a call that came and kept her up all night, just because she heard his voice, she is too overjoyed to sleep.
As a wife, she is classified as a dependent, but she is totally independent. She tends to her household, her kids, her school work, and her job, all without her husband.
She manages to wear a smile, even though inside shes crying. She understands that the man she loves has to go far away. She understand that he can be taken away from her in a moments notice. She feels a great sense of pride and probably cries whenever she hears the National Anthem, sees a flag blowing in the breeze, or watches the news and hears about another death in Iraq, she worries that it might be him. She goes weeks without a call or a letter, but she writes him whenever she gets a free moment.
She knows how to convert civilian time into military time. She knows how to iron his clothes and how to get the creases just right.
Before he left she used to complain if she didn't see him for a day or two, but now she gets annoyed when she hears someone complaining about not seeing their boyfriends. She may not have seen him for months but she remembers everything about him, every scar he has, the way he smells,whether or not he snores.
She has every picture of him and them out and in frames, she stares at them for hours on end, she has read every letter at least 40 times. Even though her man is a half a world away, she still manages to go on with her life, as he would want her to.
You may not know what she looks like, but as soon as you see her in the store you'll know that her husband it a world away without even having to speak to her. Shes the one who's half frowning half smiling, she has at least one Support out Troops pen that she wears and one thats on her car. Half her wardrobe is based on his military branch. She owns lots of stuff that has his branch on it. She never knew that could love the color camouflage green, tan, navy blue, red or black so much.
Next time you see her, you'll know her, thank her for what the man she loves is doing. She will greatly appreciate it and she will smile and thank you, and just because you thanked her she will smile the rest of the day!