In the Kitchen with Jason: October Feast Casserole

This is one of the tastiest dishes we've ever had, and it's quickly become a staple meal in our home. The recipe comes to us courtesy of my Grandma Dorothy - thanks, Grandma!

Ingredients

• 4 medium potatoes, cooked
• One onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon, thyme
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 pound smoked sausage, thinly sliced
• 2 cups frozen peas, rinsed and drained

Directions

1. Slice potatoes.
2. Cook onion in butter until tender.
3. Blend in flour and seasonings. Gradually add milk, stirring until smooth.
4. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is slightly thickened.
5. Place half of sausage in bottom of 2 quart casserole.
6. Add half of potatoes, half of peas and half of sauce. Repeat layers with remaining ingredients, ending with sauce.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Please enjoy!

-Chef Jason

Beauty Fix: Best Bargain Buys, Part 1

I'm all for saving money where I can, and beauty is one area in which I don't like to spend a lot of money. I keep my beauty routine incredibly simple and rarely wear color cosmetics. Over the next few months, I'm going to share the best bargain buys of beauty that I've tried and loved. I'll also share the few beauty items that are worth splurging on. Please always keep in mind that I'm sharing what my own experience has been with these items - you may choose to buy the cheapest item if that item has worked for you, or maybe you need to purchase a higher quality item if you've had problems with less quality items.

Onto the bargains!

This is one bargain buy that really isn't a bargain buy, in terms of the fact that you can get the same type of item for much, much cheaper. But if you have issues like I do, you'll want this item: clinical strength deodorant. Clinical strength deodorant is much more expensive than regular deodorant, but regular deodorant doesn't work for me. Even if I just sit on my butt and work for 8 hours typing, I smell like a man who's worked in the fields all.day.long. I've tried regular deodorant and it only minimally takes away my natural scent. Clinical strength deodorant completely masks my natural scent so I don't scare away my husband. You'll also appreciate clinical strength deodorant if you have sensitive skin. I do - particularly in my armpit area. I itch a lot less when I use clinical strength deodorant and the appearance of my skin improves over time when I regularly use it as opposed to when I use just any deodorant. My pick: Secret Clinical Strength Deodorant in Lavender scent

A smile is truly the most beautiful thing anyone can wear. And teeth is one of the first things I notice about a person. Taking care of one's teeth can be a struggle, at least when it comes to flossing. Floss picks make flossing easy and quick. You can read more about why I love floss picks so much here. There are many brands of floss picks one can purchase. I've tried many kinds, but there's one brand that clearly stands out. My pick: DenTek Comfort Clean Floss Picks

One odd thing about me is that I really don't like hand cream. My hands feel icky and wet after I use it, so I just generally tend to stay away from hand cream. But my skin is really, really dry and this past winter/spring, my skin started cracking. I don't know if it was all the pregnancy/new mom hormones or what, but the cracks hurt and were ugly. Despite the fact that I don't use hand cream, I always have a lot of it on hand. I knew just which hand cream would take care of my hands, and it certainly did. You'll find no better hand cream. My pick: Neutrogena Norwegian Hand Cream

I think one thing every woman collects to a certain extent is perfume/scents. I have several and really enjoy being able to put on whatever scent best matches my mood that day. If you enjoy simple, clean scents, though, and are on a budget (and who isn't on a budget, really?), you'll get the best bang for your buck and scent by using essential oils. Just put a little dab wherever you desire - I prefer my wrists, neck and behind ears. A little goes a loooong way and a big bottle will last for months and months. My pick: lavender essential oil

There you have it - part 1 of my favorite bargain beauty buys! So tell me: what are your favorite bargain beauty buys?

This Book Room: Once Upon a Prince

Susanna Truitt never dreamed of a great romance or being treated like a princess---just to marry the man she has loved for twelve years. But life isn’t going according to plan. When her high-school-sweetheart-turned-Marine-officer breaks up instead of proposing, Susanna scrambles to rebuild her life.

The last thing Prince Nathaniel expects to find on his American holiday to St. Simon’s Island is the queen of his heart. A prince has duties, and his family’s tense political situation has chosen his bride for him. When Prince Nathaniel comes to Susanna’s aid under the fabled Lover’s Oak, he is blindsided by love.

Their lives are worlds apart. He’s a royal prince. She’s a ordinary girl. But everything changes when Susanna receives an invitation to Nathaniel’s coronation.

Additional notes: This is the first, and currently only, book in the Royal Wedding series.

My thoughts: There are several things I liked about this book that I felt were unique: the characters weren't struggling with their relationship with God. The book reminded me a lot of the Princess Diaries - the first book since that series that was similar enough but still unique. The story line was predictable but not overly so - the struggles seemed real, and I was genuinely curious as to how to the plots would wrap up.

If you did enjoy the Princess Diaries as I did, you will enjoy this book. I don't really follow any royal news because... well, I just don't care that much. But I find it interesting to read fiction accounts of royal life. This account is honest, if nothing else. More than anything else I've read or seen, this book portrays the struggle one faces when taking care of an entire population. As Nate put it in the book, his life is not really his own.

I seriously appreciated that the two main characters had a firm grip on their relationships with God. Too often, I feel like Christian fiction books include characters who don't yet believe in God or did believe and don't anymore. I'd rather read about someone firmly entrenched in their relationship - it's so uplifting and encouraging. Susanna was such a breath of fresh air - in fact, she reminded me of a friend, particularly when she leaves herself open to whatever God has planned for her. That's so courageous but so, so good.

I walked away from this book feeling happy and joyful. A fun, fun book.

Thanks to Litfuse Publicity Group for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

In the Kitchen with Jason: Peanut Butter Crispy Rice Treats

This recipe has simple but fun ingredients. The treats are easy to make and tasty to eat. We will definitely make them again. You can view the original recipe here.

Ingredients

• 6 cups rice cereal
• 3/4 cup chunky peanut butter
• 3/4 cup honey
• 2/3 cup dried chopped cherries

Directions

1. Measure out the cereal in a big bowl and add the chopped cherries. Stir.
2. Put peanut butter and honey in a pot. Stir while heating on medium heat on the oven until the peanut butter and honey are melted and thoroughly mixed.
3. Add the peanut butter and honey mixture to the cereal and cherries. Stir until all the cereal is coated.
4. Pour the mixture into a 9 x 13 pan that has been coated with cooking spray. Press the mixture down.
5. Refrigerate until ready to serve (at least 1 hour).

Please enjoy!

-Chef Jason

This Book Room: The Face of the Earth

When Mitchell Brannon’s beloved wife of twenty years kisses him goodbye one morning, he has little idea that his life is about to change forever. Mitch returns from work early that evening, surprised Jill’s car isn’t in the garage. But her voice on the answering machine makes him smile. “Hey, babe, I’m just now checking out of the hotel, but I’ll stop and pick up something for dinner. Love you.” Hours later, Jill still hasn’t returned, and Mitch’s irritation turns to dread.

When the police come up empty, Mitch enlists the help of their next-door neighbor, Jill’s best friend, Shelley, to help search. As days turn into weeks and weeks into months, Mitch and Shelley’s friendship grows ever closer––and decidedly more complicated. Every lead seems to be a dead end, and Mitch wonders how he can honor the vows he made to a woman who has seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth.

My thoughts: This book was absolutely riveting. In most disappearance cases, it seems there's always some sort of evidence, some way to find out what happened in a timely manner (although it may not seem timely to loved ones). But in a case where someone disappeared and there are no leads? I can't imagine what that would feel like.

Unfortunately, Mitch knows exactly what that feels like. I felt such empathy for him - not knowing where his wife was or if she was alive. As the story continues, it's obvious how much Mitch's wedding vows mean to him. "For better or worse, until death parts us." But he doesn't know if his wife is dead or alive!

For me, this struggle made the story. What would I do if Jason disappeared but I never knew if he was dead or alive? Could I move on and find another? Perhaps it is morbid, but we regularly have conversations about what we each should do if the other should die before Bug is grown. I've made it quite clear that Jason should find a wife and a role model for Bug. But what if he doesn't know that I'm dead? What if I'm just gone?

I read this book in less than 24 hours. That's how good the story was. The ending was bittersweet - that's all I say. You must read the book to find out how the story ended!

Thanks to Litfuse Publicity Group for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

In the Kitchen with Jason: Crockpot Chicken Tacos

We love our crockpot. It makes cooking with Bug so much easier. We throw something in there the morning of or the night before and we don't have to worry about if Bug will be sleeping when we need to prepare dinner at 5 PM. This recipe was really, really easy, and it tasted good, too. It has earned a spot in our kitchen binder, that's how much we liked it.

Ingredients

• 2 large or 3 medium skinless, boneless chicken breasts {we used 2 large}
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 3 Tbsp lime juice
• 1 cup of cheddar cheese
• 1 cup of salsa
• 1 cup corn {frozen or canned}
• Sour cream
• Tortillas

Directions

1. Plop chicken breasts at bottom of 3 quart crockpot.
2. In a small bowl, mix chili powder and lime juice.
3. Slowly pour about half over the chicken breasts. Flip the breasts and pour the rest on the other side.
4. Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours.
5. Shred the chicken and add salsa and corn. Stir and cook for another 45 minutes.
6. Set the crockpot to off and stir in the cheese.
7. Grab a tortilla and plop some chicken mixture on it. Top with sour cream.

You can view the original recipe here.

Please enjoy!

-Chef Jason

Saving the Moola: April in review

I know I say it practically every month, but boy, this year is sure going by quickly! I'm so happy with how well April went. Jason started a new job! He'll keep working at the library for now, and we're both so excited about his new other job. He's been working a ton of hours, but we know it'll all be worth it in the end. When he's gone, he misses Bug a lot, and she misses him, too, I can tell, but the harder and smarter we work now, the more we can enjoy her later on when she'll actually remember making memories with us. And believe me - the second he gets home, he scoops Bug up and loves on her until he goes back to work again.

Jason starting a new job really helped our finances. And I know it'll help in the coming months. Our goals are on my heart and mind every day: to be debt free by the end of this year and have saved a fifth of our emergency fund. I'm praying every day to stay strong in our budget. While it seemed we spent a lot of money in April, when I review just what we spent money on, it was all groceries. This doesn't really bother me since most of our expensive purchases were for a trip to Sam's Club where we buy things in bulk (and then these things last us for several weeks or months). But starting in May, I plan to be as diligent as I have been in the past when it comes our grocery budget. This won't be fun necessarily, but it is necessary.

I'm heading back to work in May, and I'm so excited! I've never not worked for this long. I'm looking forward to working, but I'm anxious about how everything will work: Jason working two jobs, me working one job and us taking care of Bug. I know everything will work, though. As Jason and I always say to each other, "We'll make it work. We always do."

We said that a lot to each other mid-April when we started having car trouble. Since we have one car we share, when we have car trouble, it's not really fun. In fact, it can be a downright disaster. Thankfully, this time, it really wasn't! For part of the car trouble, we just needed a new key made. We knew both of our keys were going and it was just time (after the car didn't start one too many times). We also had a scare 45 miles from home when our battery died. Thankfully, someone gave us a jump for free and we had our battery checked later on in the month. It was bad, so we replaced it. We also discovered one of our tires was nearly bare, so we ordered a new tire and had that put on. So all in all, the month of April wasn't very fun in terms of our car, but it just spurs us on toward our financial goals all the more. We're planning to buy a new-to-us car in 2014 - or at the very least, hoping we'll have saved enough to be able to do this. The sooner, the better. Our car is 14 years old, so it's really getting up there in age.

Changes to our budget in terms of household expenses were needed. We upped our laundry budget due to the fact that Bug uses cloth diapers and a lot of clothes and other items. We also bought a second cell phone and added another line to our cell phone plan. We're very grateful that Jason's working a second job to help cover some of these extra costs, but we're also planning to be very diligent in every area of the budget we can so we don't really feel the extra costs.

If you're like us and trying to meet your financial goals and looking for ways to earn extra money, you'll want to check out Plink. You can read about this program in detail here. Plink is a fantastic way to earn gift cards while enjoying a night out shopping or dining. If you link your Plink account to a rewards debit or credit card, it'll be like getting double rewards!

May is promising to be an exciting and challenging month. I can't wait to see how it all turns out!