My Simple Little Coleslaw Recipe

This is a very simple recipe I came up with on my own last time I attempted to lose some weight.  I say attempted, because I lost weight the weight, but then gained it all back later when I went "off" the weight losing path.  I do really good with losing weight as long as I know I'm going to get a reward at the end if I manage to take the weight off.  I must have motivation before I even bother with trying to lose weight, otherwise, just forget it, I won't stick with it.  As you can tell by my words, I don't have the motivation at this time, but I'm hoping to get it back soon.  However, only time will tell.

Below is the low calorie recipe for coleslaw that I want to share with you.  I hope you like it.


Jen's Low Calorie Cherry Coleslaw

14 oz bag of Dole Classic Coleslaw Mix
8 fluid oz of Light Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing
2/3 cup of Premium Dried Tart Montmorency Cherries

Mix all the ingredients.  Eat and enjoy.

Makes 5 servings at 160 calories or 6 servings at 135 calories.  Not too bad in my opinion.

Our Day At The Park

Today was pretty busy.  We had to take Papa Jerry to his dialysis treatment today.  That was something very new for Colton and I to experience.   I'll have to say, Colton acted very well today at the Dialysis Center.  The nurses all commented on how well behaved he was, so that made me very proud of him.  It's very hard on little kids to stay couped up in a room for very long, but the key was he played with the tablet most of the time we were there.  That tablet has been a life saver so many times, I'm so glad we made the purchase last year.

We stayed with Papa for a couple of hours thru his treatment, then I decided to take Colton to the Park next door and see the ducks.  He had fun with that.  He kept trying to persuade them to come closer to him, but it didn't work.  He even squatted down on there level to try to entice them, still to no avail.

All I can say was he was very persistent.  This time though, it didn't pay off.  Oh well, maybe next time we can bring some crackers and lure them in.

Next, we headed straight to one of the playgrounds so he could climb and slide.  He enjoyed that.

At the end of our adventure, he wanted to circle around the park once more to find the lookout that has the telescopes.  We drove around until I found the lookout fort.  He kept telling me he wanted to "cwimb the waddew to wook at the ducks."  It cracks me up how he pronounces his l's.  You actually do climb up this ladder and once you get to the top, you can look through the telescopes.  He just pointed the telescopes to the ducks.  I'm assuming he saw them, I don't know.

Finally, I was tired, so I asked him to take some pictures by the bridge and then we'd have to go pick up Papa.  He agreed as long as I would let him climb up to the lookout one more time before we left, so I agreed.

After he knew we had to leave, this is the last picture I got of him being sad.  He did NOT want to leave.  He loves to play at this park.  I told him we would come back soon and we will.

Until next time........................

Monday Night Play Time

Last night, we hung out with Angel and Katie at their house for our Monday night get-together.  We all had a good time.  After we ate supper, we took the kids outside to run off some energy.  Katie had a bike that Colton was really excited to try out.  I was trying to teach him how to pedal so he could take off and go.  He finally learned how to at the end and then didn't want to get off the bike.

Angel took Colton for a ride in the basket of her new bike.  Her new bike was cool, I even took a spin on it.  I loved it, you didn't have to balance like you do on a normal bike since it has three wheels!

While Angel was riding Colton on her bike, I was watching Katie.  She is hilarious.  She was riding her bike, but then immediately saw a dandelion in the grass in which she did not hesitate to jump off her bike and run to pick it and then blow.  The kids love the smallest things in life, how precious.

Next Colton played with Katie's Mater bubble maker.  That was pretty cool and he really enjoyed himself.  Anything for the kids to run around and burn energy I'm all for.

After that Colton decided he wanted to ride Katie's bike again, but first he had to chase her down.......and let me tell you........she is FAST on that bike.

At last, she decided she would give him another turn.  I definitely see a bike in his future; possibly as a Birthday gift.  He would have a blast with that.  You have to definitely check out the last picture of his face showing that he did NOT want to get off the bike.  Priceless!

 It soon started to get dark, so we let the kids play some kick ball.  They kept throwing the ball around, but didn't seem to want to kick it very much.  Finally, Angel showed them a couple of times to kick it and then they finally listened.  I didn't get very many pictures of that since it wasn't very light outside, but here are the ones that turned out OK.

This picture is too funny not to show.  The ball had rolled over onto the other side of the driveway and Katie was waiting for Colton to retrieve it so they could play some more.  I caught this picture of her waiting "patiently" for him to bring back the ball so they could keep playing.  It's just like a woman having to always wait on a man.  HA HA HA HA!

We all had a good time and can't wait for next Monday night.  We'll see what excitement it has to hold for us, hopefully I'll have more to share then.

Crock Pot Salsa Chicken

Are you looking for a quick, easy, good tasting meal?  One that makes your taste buds water?  Look no further, I've got a wonderful recipe for you!  I made this for dinner Saturday night.  Mom came over to eat with us and she loved it too.  This is one of those easy crock pot meals that I'm now obsessed with.  It's somewhat spicy, so if you like spicy, this is a good one for you to try.  It's really tasty too.  The only thing really to say about this one is YUM!  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.  I found the recipe here, but I made one change to it, I used a whole cup of sour cream instead of just a half cup.  It made it much better in my opinion.  Next time I may even live more dangerously and try it with 2 cups of sour cream.  I love sour cream.

Crock Pot  Salsa Chicken
From recipes.sparkpeople.com

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup salsa
1 package taco seasoning
1 can cream of mushroom soup (condensed)
1 cup sour cream

Add chicken to slow cooker.  Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken.  Mix salsa and soup together and then pour over chicken.  Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.  Remove chicken and cut in pieces or shred it with two forks.  Add sour cream to the crock pot mixture and stir until completely blended.  Now place the chicken back into the crock pot and mix.  Serve over rice or noodles.  I served it over rice and thought it was delicious that way.

Our Sunday Afternoon

What a gorgeous day we had today.  It was a wonderful Sunday all together.  First, we went to church and had a beautiful service this morning.  Next, mom had us kids over for lunch and fixed a Grandma Puddin meal.  It was pinto beans, cornbread, fried taters, macaroni and tomatoes and last but not least a coconut cream pie.  YUM YUM!  We were in heaven today, let me tell you!  Scrumptous food and good family visiting time.

After us girls cleaned up the kitchen, we all headed outside to watch the boys.  Colton had brought his Gator to Nan's house for the boys to play with.  Uncle Gabe had went outside to start all of mom's lawn mowers to get prepared for this wonderful Summer of mowing!  Woo-hoo!  Don't we all look forward to this mowing season..........NOT!

Anyways, here are some pictures of Colton riding his Gator and chasing Uncle Gabe and his cousin Noah on the lawn mower. 

Here are the pictures of Gabe and Noah on the lawn mower.

Next are the pictures of Colton giving up chasing them on the Gator and just running after them to catch them.  Apparently, he didn't think his Gator was fast enough to get the job done.

And finally, he caught them!  I knew he could do it.  That's my boy!

Next we headed into the house for NAP TIME!  Oh what fun that was putting them down for a nap, but eventually they went to sleep.  Thank the Lord!

Potty Training - Take Two

First of all let me say, I hope this story I'm about to tell helps a mommy somewhere that is having trouble with potty training.  If I can just give you an idea to try that you hadn't thought of yet, that will be worth it all to me.  Bear with me, here it goes........

Sharing this with everyone is very exciting for me.  I have tried so many things to get Colton potty trained with the "number two" stage or as I call it, the "poo poo" stage.  It's not even funny the things I've tried.  To get him to go in the potty, I've rewarded him by giving stickers, letting him call and talk to "his Patrick" as he calls him, over the phone.  Patrick is his cousin that lives in Oklahoma and he really thinks his cousin is "IT".  I've tried giving him M&M's, I've sat with him and read him a book to try and get him to go.  We've listened to the potty videos with songs and dancing on them.  I mean you name it, I've tried it.  Nothing was working.

I was so frustrated, I didn't know if he would ever be trained.  This was driving me crazy.  I mean he is going to be turning four years old close to the end of July.  What kid is NOT trained by then?  People think you are not doing your "motherly" duty if your child isn't trained by four years old.  They don't come out and say those words to your face, but you know they are thinking it.  You can just tell by their expression on their face when they realize your child is NOT yet potty trained.  A mom just knows these things.

Anyways, I had received advice from everyone on how to accomplish this "potty training" thing.  Their ideas just weren't working either, so thank the good Lord above..........it just wasn't me!  I was beginning to think all hope was lost when my mom a.k.a. Nana, had an idea.  She said let's try this...........we'll reward him with a mini size candy bar of his choice.  If he will go "poo poo" in the potty like a big boy, then he will receive a mini candy bar each time he does the deed.  I agreed that she had a good idea.  We talked to Colton to "offer the deal", he accepted, so the challenge was on.  We went to the store, Nana bought him the candy bars of his choice, which were Twix.  The boy loves chocolate!

The experiment was on.  I asked him if he had to go several times that evening, but he would just say no.  I kept asking and he kept saying no.  He would say "NO" with such a tone too.  He would say it with an attitude like, "why do you keep asking me when I don't have to go!"  It was several hours later when you will never believe this, but he told me he wanted to sit on the potty and try to go "poo poo".  I was thrilled, I sat him on the potty and low and behold..........who would have thought it was possible............he went "poo poo".  I was dancing, I was giving him praises of what a good, big boy he was, I was clapping my hands............I was doing everything to enjoy this moment!  The only words out of his mouth were the following, "Call Nana, tell her to bwing me my candy baws."  Now if that wasn't motivation, tell me what was?  I found it hilarious, he knew exactly what he had done and he wanted his reward and he wanted it right now.  Who says kids aren't smart?   PLEASE!  They are geniuses, pure geniuses.


He has done really well after that day.  He's only went "poo poo" in his pull-ups on accident one time so far.  Every time now, he goes "poo poo" on the big boy potty!  I couldn't be prouder of him and more thankful for my mother and her idea.  To me...........I believe if you find anything that works for your child, whatever it is, how silly others think it is, STICK WITH IT!  Every child is different and if you figure out what their motivation is to go "pee pee" or "poo poo" on the big potty, you better jump on it.

Homemade Potato Soup

I've been wanting to make Potato Soup lately, but didn't want to take the time to peel the potatoes.  I decided today was the day I was going to take the time.  My mom used to make Potato Soup that was so good, so I tried to find the closest recipe that reminded me of the soup she used to make.  I found one and just used it as a basic guideline.  I made several adjustments to it, so I could adjust the flavor to be how I remember her Potato Soup tasting.  It wasn't exactly like hers, but it was pretty close, plus it tasted good too. 

Homemade Potato Soup

6 large potatoes, cubed
1 large onion, chopped
5 Tbsp butter or margarine
4 chicken bouillon cubes
6 1/2 C water
2 C milk
1/2 C flour, mixed with water
salt and pepper to taste

Put potatoes, onion, butter, bouillon and water in the crock pot and cook on high for 8-9 hours or until potatoes are tender.  Then thirty minutes to an hour before serving, add flour mixture and milk and stir in to thicken the soup.  Once the soup has thickened, you are ready to eat.

Our Monday Night Ritual

Today was a busy day.  We went to visit Papa Jerry at his house.  He hasn't been feeling all that well, so we thought we might try to help perk him up.  I think it worked some, you know grandparents, they like to see their grandkids.  I believe it rejuvenates them.

After lunch, we headed outside to play with water guns.  However, the gun had a crack in it so it didn't hold much water, so we kept having to refill it with water several times.  We couldn't find the other water guns in the house, so Colton decided we needed to go to the store to get a new water gun.

Next, we headed to Angel's house for our Monday night get-together of mommy visiting and the kids playing.  Tonight after dinner, they jumped on the trampoline as you can see below.

They also sat down long enough to color in the activity book together.  This was about the only quiet part of the evening and I was taking pictures during it.

I figure as much as they played, jumped, fussed and argued tonight, Angel and I might get some peaceful sleep tonight.  One can only hope that they played that hard.  HA HA HA HA!  I'm just teasing, they were both good tonight and I love getting together to visit and let the kids play.  Colton always asks me, "Can we go play at Katie's house?"  They may fuss some of the time, but I know he likes being with her.  I'm glad he has a good little friend.

HOMEMADE MACARONI AND CHEESE

I took this recipe to yesterday's church pot luck dinner.  I made a large pot since we were having a big gathering.  There was only about two or three spoonfuls left in the pot when it was all said and done.  I believe everyone enjoyed it, so I thought I'd share another easy recipe.

Jen's Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

1 lb shell macaroni
1 1/2 sticks butter
5 1/2 C milk
1 lb Kraft Velveeta cheese (cubed or sliced)
salt to taste

First, cook macaroni (any kind you want, I just like the shell) according to the package.  After that is finished, remove from stove top, but do not drain yet.  In another pot on stove top, add butter and milk.  Turn heat to medium high.  Once that gets hot, add your sliced Velveeta cheese and start stirring.  Stir constantly so it won't stick to the bottom.  Once that has all melted, remove from stove.  Now drain your macaroni and place in a large crock pot.  Pour over the melted cheese and keep in crock pot on low until ready to serve.



I love to cook food for large groups, but then when I only have to cook for my family, it is hard for me to figure out how to get the appropriate serving size fixed.  I tend to have a lot of left overs from everything I end up cooking.  Oh well, one day I'll learn.

Another Church Pot Luck Dinner

I took this to one of our church pot luck dinners several months ago.  After we were cleaning up the kitchen, a few women came to me to ask for the recipe.  Several of their kids liked it, so they wanted to prepare it as a side dish for their family.  I'm glad they enjoyed it, it makes me feel good when people are fond of a dish that I brought.  I think it is one of those dishes, that you can eat a little bit and be satisfied for a long time, but it is good while it lasts.

I received this recipe from a girl at work last year.  I made a few changes to it though, because I wanted it to taste a little spicier than what she had made it.  Here is the recipe once I changed it up a bit.  It's  another easy crock pot recipe that I hope you enjoy.

Crock Pot Spicy Cheese Cream Corn

2 blocks (one 8 ounces and one 3 ounces) Philadelphia cream cheese (softened or cubed)
1 stick of butter
1 can Frito Lay jalapeno cheese dip
3 (16 oz) bags of frozen corn
salt to taste

In a 3-4 qt slow cooker, combine all the ingredients.  Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or until it is heated through and the cheese is melted.  Stir well before serving.

The Peanut Butter Fudge Taste Test

Well I finally made the two different batches of peanut butter fudge.  I performed my own taste test and picked a favorite.  Grandma Martin's peanut butter fudge was good, but not as good as the other recipe I found of a newspaper clipping in her old recipe box from long ago.  I actually found the creamy, smooth, "melt in your mouth" fudge I've been dreaming about.  How exciting and fun this was!  Let me tell you, this fudge I chose is yummy.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did eating it.

Creamy Peanut Butter Fudge  -  (Jen's favorite pick)

1 C peanut butter
1 C butter (salted)
1 tsp vanilla
1 lb powdered sugar

Place peanut butter and butter in medium sized pot.  Make sure you cut the butter into 2 inch pieces before placing in the pot so it will melt faster.  Melt peanut butter and butter over medium heat on stove top stirring constantly.  Once it has melted and is smooth, take off stove and stir in vanilla.  Now stir in powdered sugar until smooth.  Place foil completely inside the 9x9 pan, make sure you have extra foil on both sides of the pan.  Pour fudge into the pan.  Must refrigerate for 2-3 hours.  Once it has set up, grab the foil on both sides of the pan and lift out the foil.  The fudge comes out very easy.  Pull the foil down on all sides and cut your fudge.  Eat and enjoy!

Hint: Make sure you place your foil in the 9x9 pan completely before you start making the fudge.


The above recipe was my favorite.  However, I'll go ahead and share my Grandma Martin's recipe for peanut butter fudge also.  Who knows, you might want to do your very own taste test sometime.

Grandma's Peanut Butter Fudge

2 C sugar
1/2 C milk
1 (7 oz) jar of marshmallow creme
1 1/3 C creamy peanut butter (your favorite kind)

Over medium-high heat, boil the sugar and milk on top of the stove for three minutes.  Remove from stove and immediately add the marshmallow creme and peanut butter into the boiled sugar and milk mixture.  Stir until completely smooth.  Pour into a greased 9x9 glass dish or pan.  Refrigerate for at least two hours.  Enjoy!

My Food Cravings

Do you ever have food cravings?  Something that you really want and you want it right now?  When you think about it, you can almost taste it?  I know what you are thinking at this exact moment, so let me stop you in your tracks and put your mind at ease.  NO, I am not pregnant.  This week I have been craving some homemade peanut butter fudge.  I want that creamy, smooth, melt in your mouth peanut butter fudge.  Do you know about the kind I'm talking about?  It's awesome.  I've never made any peanut butter fudge myself, but I've been on a mission to find the recipe I've been craving.

I was searching through my Grandma Martin's recipe box and found a couple different recipes for peanut butter fudge.  However, I don't know which one was the melt in your mouth kind that I remember.  So now I'll have to make both recipes just to find out which one I've been dreaming about.  Oh poor me!!!  Just kidding, I can't wait to make the peanut butter fudge recipes, it won't be a problem for me to make two batches and do a taste comparison.  :)

Once I make them and perform my taste test, I'll let you know my favorite pick of the two and get back with you.

Caramel Frappe For Two

My sister, Stephanie, got me hooked on caramel frappes from McDonald's last year.  Her family had come down to visit and we had went to the Nature Center for the kids to walk and burn off some extra energy.  Afterwards, we were thirsty and wanted a treat, so we headed to Mickey D's.  It was Happy Hour, between 2 and 4 when you are able to save one dollar on shakes, mcflurries or frappes.  I had never tried one before, so I decided to give it a try, what could it hurt?  Oh my goodness, if I only knew!  It was absolutely dreamy, I'm not kidding, it was delicious!  It was hook, line and sinker from then on.  I then just waited for the days I was off work so I could drive thru McDonald's at Happy Hour time to buy one.  I then got brave and looked up the calories on-line.  Holy cow, those small caramel frappes have 450 calories in them.  That isn't a snack, it's more like a meal!!!  I decided then I needed to find a recipe that would come as close to what they were but without all those calories.  That's when I found this recipe and adjusted it a little bit so I could get it to taste as close to what McDonald's sells.  It's still not exactly what they sell, but it's close enough for me and I'm happy with the calories.  Here it is:


Caramel Frappe for 2
from www.food.com


½ cup hot water
2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
2 tablespoons Maxwell House international cafe sugar free French Vanilla
2 tablespoons Smuckers sugar free caramel ice cream topping
2 cups ice (may need more ice if you like it icy)
½ cup 2% milk
3 equal packets and 1 sweet-n-low packet or you can use 4 or 5 splenda packets
1 big squirt of rediwhip whipped cream in a can

In a heat-tempered, glass measuring cup (2 cup size), heat water in microwave, on high, for about 40 seconds.  Add instant coffees. Stir until both are dissolved.  Add caramel to coffee mixture and stir.
In blender or smoothie machine, place 2 cups of ice. Add 1/2 C milk, and then the coffee/caramel mixture.  Add your sugar substitute choice.  Process on "ice crush" setting until ice is small enough to go through a standard straw.  Now pour half the mixture into a glass, squirt the rediwhip whipped cream on top and enjoy.

Depending on one's taste, milder or stronger versions of this can be achieved by increasing or decreasing each ingredient.


I hope you enjoy this recipe.  I made it exactly like I typed above in the recipe and counted the calories.  This has 120 calories for each serving and it makes two servings.  I think this is a lot better than 450 calories that you would get from McDonald's, don't you?

Maybe Next Time

Ever have one of those days where you are swamped with house work and you can't see any end in sight?  You don't think you can hold your head above water any more?

Well today was NOT one of those days.  Colton and I were home and we had a big play day prepared.  We played with building blocks and we put a big fire truck puzzle together.

We spent the rest of the afternoon outside enjoying the beautiful weather.  He rode his gator and got it stuck in a big mud hole.  Once we got it out, we decided to clean it.  What a mess!  I hooked the hose up and went to town spraying it down.  Mud was flying everywhere and Colton was laughing.  Go figure with a boy laughing at flying mud!  He kept wanting to have his turn to spray the Gator with the hose.  Watch out though when a boy gets a hold of the water hose, you never know what he's gonna spray.  Needless to say, at the end of our cleaning, we were both wet.  We had a great time today spending time together.  I do have one regret though, I forgot to take pictures of our eventful afternoon outside with the Gator.  I guess I was too interested in getting it clean, that it totally slipped my mind to take pictures of the dirty Gator.  Oh well, maybe next time I'll remember the camera.

Watch Out.......The Boys Are Driving!

Saturday was a beautiful day.  We went outside to enjoy the warm weather here in March.  Colton picked me a tiny flower of some kind in the grass, which was so sweet.  You can see it below.

He is such a thoughtful little boy.  Once we were outside for a bit, we decided to head over to Gabe and Ashley's house to let the boy's ride their truck and gator.  We've been wanting to get together for some time now so they could play since Noah can now drive his truck.

They both had a blast chasing one another.  Colton hit Aunt Ashley's tree that was growing, I don't think he was paying much attention to where he was going.  Noah hit their guttering coming off of the down spout.  Those silly boys just don't watch.  They did enjoy themselves though, so that was the most important thing.  After they got tired of chasing one another, they decided to ride together.

I'm so glad they have each other to grow up with.  They need that cousinly connection.  They have so much fun together and they love each other so much, I'm so thankful for a good family.