Tag that sneaky chicken!!

First off, you all know how hubby earned himself some brownie points yesterday with saving my sanity, right? Well, today he's earned even more! I got to sleep in until 7:30 y'all!! woop woop!!! 

Now granted, I was up at 3:30 feeding B, and then oops! She spit up everywhere, so I had to change her, clean myself up, and change her diaper...so I was back in bed at 4:30. So, I guess it was only fair I got to sleep in, right?

Tag!



So here are the rules:


1. You must post the rules.
2. Post 12 fun facts about yourself on the blog post.
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create 12 new questions for the people you tagged.
4. Tag 12 people and link them on your post.
5. Let them know you've tagged them!





12 Interesting things about me

1. I graduated from college when I was 20 years old, from the beautiful Flagler College. And was hired as a teacher when I was 20 too….pros and cons, really.


2. My husband and I “eloped” to Jamaica to get married...everyone knew, so it wasn’t a real case of eloping.

3. I am an only child, but I have 2 half-siblings and 3 step-siblings.

4. I am a couponer (not an extreme one though). In fact, I got my husband into it now….he even has his own coupon page you can “clip” from. So if you are a clipper, clip from his site! He gets paid for each coupon you clip (it’s pennies, but still—all those pennies add up!) Insert shameless plug ha!  http://www.bigbargainbook.com/coupons.html

5. I have an addiction to the Food Network. Haha!
6. My dream house is a little abode with the beach as my backyard. But with all the hurricanes we had, insurance prices will NEVER let us buy my dream home, sadly.
7. I LOVE to travel! I have been to London, Paris, Germany, Rome, Venice, Costa Rica, Jamaica, and all over the U.S. And until my husband met me, he had NEVER been on an airplane! It’s still like watching a kid every time we take off! Lol
Autumn's first plane ride

8. I’ve wanted to be a teacher ever since 3rd grade...and ironically, I taught 3rd grade for 7 years of my teaching career (so far).
9. I forced my husband to marry me—hahaha! Not really, but that’s a long story.
10. I played all kinds of sports growing up—softball was my favorite.
11. I swear I have ADD….I can never sit still, hence, I am ALWAYS cleaning and moving furniture around in my house and classroom.
12. I am excited to start working out again—only a week and a half until I get the go ahead from my doctor!!
yep - that's me! boo-ya!!

Now, for my "tagged" questions....I'm going to use Holly's since she was the first to tag me!



Crisscross Applesauce


1. What is your favorite kind of candy? Would you believe that I don't really like candy?? True fact. I'm more of a baked-goods kind of person. But I do like me some Dark Chocolate covered pretzel M&M's....ooh - hey! There's a coupon on my hubby's site for that!!
2.  What is something you are really uptight about? Hmmm...I would go with clutter!! I can't STAND it - and my husband is REALLY good about making it!! AHHHH!!!! lol
3.  Is your car clean right this very minute? To me?? Probably not - but to other people's standards? possibly.
4.  What's your "favorite" household chore? To DE-CLUTTER! lol!!  Seriously. Just picking up around the house and doing the dishes makes me feel so much better! Is cooking considered a chore?? Because that's a favorite of mine too!
5.  Do you miss Oprah? Nah - never really watched her - and doesn't she already have another show??
6.  Do you play an instrument? Do I still??? I don't know - but at one point I could play the Tenor Sax (yes, I am a band geek and proud of it!!), the piano, and the guitar!

This is my brother playing the guitar with Autumn a while ago..


7. What's your favorite piece of technology? Oh bother...I HATE technology...I actually really love it, except when it breaks or stops working...which is randomly of course. But I would have to go with my new SMART washer and dryer! yee-haw! lol
8.  Do you have a social life? ha!! Yes...and no. Not like I used to - it's hard when you don't have any family around to watch your kids (FREE of charge).
9.  Are you a phone talker? UGH!! I ABHOR talking on the phone - I hate it with a passion.
10. Do you text? yes please :) it's in lieu of talking - gotta communicate somehow..lol.
11. What's your favorite piece of furniture in your house? The kitchen nook table. My hubby found it at a garage sale for $20 and it's where everything happens...remember this pic??

12.  Does anything make you squeamish? Not a lot anymore, but I will scream when I see a cucaracha running out of his hiding spot...then I SPLAT him!! lol


Ok, I'm not going to tag anyone because well, TONS of you have already done this post....sorry!!


But to make it up to you, here's a 


Sneaky Recipe



Sneaky Chicken Nuggets


(raw meat picture below!!!)

Ok, so I  have learned to like a LOT of food. And coming from a girl that used to only like mac& cheese (Kraft, of course!), spaghetti, hot dogs, and hamburgers, this is a HUGE milestone!

But one food remains that I can't make myself to like - SPINACH! And I KNOW how wonderfully good it is for you - TONS of vitamins and antioxidants. SO, I have started sneaking it into my recipes - A LOT!

What I do is I buy a box of frozen chopped spinach, thaw it and then puree it in my food processor until it's all fine (you'll have to add in some water to help it thin out a little). Then I divide it into 1/4 cup bags and then freeze them. 

So, for this recipe, here's what you need:




-egg
-water
-pureed spinach
-crushed bran flakes (another sneaky thing I do a lot is when things call for breadcrumbs, I use 1/2bread crumbs and 1/2 bran flakes.  I just buy a box of Bran Flakes cereal and put it in the food processor and then voila! Fiber-filled bread crumbs :)
-salt and pepper
-flour
-chicken
-and canola oil



Then your breading station setup:

The spinach is in with the egg and water...
and the bran flakes are in with the bread crumbs



Dip the chicken into the flour mix, then the egg mix, and then the bread mix. I put them all on a plate and then put them all in the pan at the same time.


Ok, so I was going to take more "cooking shots" but then B started crying to get fed...so hubby took over - nothing hotter than a man cooking, right?? lol. 
(p.s. the vacuum and broom are out because A took the flour and started "dusting" the floors with it! ahhh!!! lol The joys of cooking with a 2 year old.)

And here you have the final product!


A LOVES them...she even asked for 2nds



...and that whole plate is gone between the 3 of us.  I usually freeze a stash so hubby has a quick fix for lunch for A while I'm working, but today, none of them made it into the freezer! lol

Ok, it's beautiful outside!! I must go out and play now :)
Hope y'all had a great Monday!!
I promise to have a school-related post tomorrow - I have an idea for it :) But hubby is back to work tomorrow (24 hours), so we'll see how my day goes!

And here's another thought...I'm going to be bummed when I go back to work and won't have time to blog as much as I do! What will I do?? ah! lol

6 comments

Melodee said...

how fun, loved reading your interesting things:) don't even think about back to work yet, haha, just have fun with the little ones and blogging during quiet times!

Stacy said...

What will you do?? You mean what will WE do???? Dieeee Dieee.... OK ...so I already thought you were gorge....as in us... gorgeous...but that pic of you and A is beautiful!! I need a work out buddy that is as excited as you...seriously, we can carpool bt states right?
Stacy
2nd Grade Paradise

Lisa at Fourth and Ten said...

I loved learning more about you! Considering how stressful my wedding was, I wished we had eloped too!
Lisa
Stories From Second

Jen R said...

Lisa- Yeah! I had heard that from so many people, so I convinced hubby to elope -lol! And he's SO glad we did!! We did come back and have a reception a few weeks later though :)

Fitbecky said...

I could totally see myself hanging out with you if I lived closer! We have a lot in common. I bookmarked your husband's coupon site! I really don't like candy either, but heaven forbid me to get around dark chocolate peanut M & M's! I can't wait to try your newest recipe! My 3 year old loves chicken, so I will have to see what she thinks of this one. Thanks for sharing Jen!

Becky
2nd Grade Rocks!

Kristin said...

I would like to know more about the story of you forcing hubby to marry you!
Love that picture of Autumn with your brother playing the guitar!!
A Teeny Tiny Teacher

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