Soothing the Strep.

I've been sick on and off for the past 3 months. It's been real fun. /sarcasm

But a few days ago, I noticed a familiar tickle in my throat. One I hadn't felt in a good...6-7 years, but one I could recognize very well. So, I grabbed a flashlight, went into the bathroom, and took a look at my throat.

Yup. That's strep.

But it's worse this time than when I was younger. This time, it was just one tonsil, and something happened. I don't want to say it ruptured, but there was a whole mess of not good stuff coming from it, running down my throat. I couldn't eat, I could barely swallow my own saliva. It was getting harder to open my mouth, and God forbid I move my tongue. So, since Kyle was at work, a great friend drove me and Gabey to the hospital so I could get looked at before it got any worse, and I got my antibiotics.

But I was still having an issue with eating.

Back in the day when I used to get strep throat atleast once a month, no exaggeration, I used to eat mashed potatoes all the time. And for someone who's trying to lose weight, this wasn't an option.

Enter some broccoli cheese soup.

It has all the comfort and warmth that you want.

But it's only 80-100 cal. per serving. I'm okay with that.

Loaded, please.

Kyle and I rarely get out of the house, so every now and then we'll give the kids dinner, put them to bed, and then I'll make a dinner just for us. Typically, we do this and I make us some fried chicken with a potato on the side. Baked potato, mashed potatoes, whatever. It's just a typical southern meal. 

And you can't hate on some southern food.

I really enjoy potato skins. Too much, actually. But I never liked wasting the innards. It just doesn't feel right. So, my potato skins are typically more like twice baked potatoes. But it's worth it.

The Queso Competition

Yep, I'm at it again! My next test!



And yes, I was still eating the pretzels. They're gone now, though.
This recipe can be found here.

The Queso Competition

I'm on the hunt.

I'm scouring the interwebz to find the best cheddar cheese cause for my pretzel nugz. We consistently have blocks of cheese in the house. But never the sauce.

IT'S MAKING ME GO MAD!

So, I made some pretzel nugz...

LET THE MATCH BEGIN!

First up: Answer Chosen Best Via Yahoo! Answers.

You're so cheesy.

I don't know about how you do things in your home with your family, but when it's summer our family butts heads. Mainly, it's me. I hate the hot weather. Summers in Missouri kill me. I'll suck it up to take the kids to the park, but I hate the outdoors. And it doesn't help that I'm a mosquito magnet. There's only one thing we can agree on.

Summer = Grilling Time.

A lot of burgers happen, and these take the cake.

It looks like a typical burger, but there's a nice surprise inside.

Cheesy Peasy

Cheese is a HUGE staple in this house.

Mainly because of Kyle. >.<

We all dig on cheese, but Kyle? He LOVES cheese. He's infatuated with cheese. Cheese and him go hand and hand. There's never such a thing as "too much". *sigh*

On the upside, it helps me throw some veggies into food without him making bad faces. So I guess it's a win.

I wanted something easy, simple, and different tonight for dinner. We all love pasta/italian. And pasta goes with cheese well. I debated macaroni and cheese, but I bet I'd never hear the end about how it's not his Aunt Terry's, but it's good.

I'm okay with that, though. Terry makes some bomb mac and cheese.

So, I threw some stuff together in a dish and BAM. Dinner.

I love easy and cheap dinners.

Sugar And Spice And Everything Nice.

It's not just what little girls are made of.

Especially my little girls. Those kids..ugh. I think they got a bit too much of me in them for now. I'm hoping it's getting out of their systems before they hit the teens. Because if not, I'm screwed.

Anywho.

Cinnamon rolls are a favorite in this house. Mainly for Kyle, but I dig them, too. Kyle misses having a Cinnabon around pretty much everyday. If there's something on TV about them, he HAS to watch it. 

He's not obsessed or anything.

So, when I get the chance to, I like to make him some cinnamon rolls. They aren't Cinnabon worthy, but good enough for us.

Also, you'll never get your cinnamon rolls to taste like Cinnabon. They use a different kind of cinnamon. Now, you MIGHT be able to buy the cinnamon directly from them, but no company in the US will sell it.

Truth be told, I'd rather be eating these than paying an arm and a leg for a cinnamon roll.

I'm pork's and poultry's worst enemy.

It's no big secret. I love chicken. It's a family thing, I think. Me and my dad could eat chicken most, if not all, of the time. Don't even get me started on some turkey. Birds must hate us.

I definitely dig on some pig, too. Bacon is good times, but sliced ham? I love it. Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches? Yum. Yum all day long.

So, you know, you just HAVE to combine the two. And throw some cheese in there.

HOW MOUTH WATERING DOES THAT LOOK?!

Are you ready for some FOOTBALLLLLLLLL?!

Sports in general, actually. And I'm talking REAL sports. CONTACT sports.

Specifically in this household, football and hockey.

Now, during the hockey season, Kyle and I can get along for the most part. I'm a Flyers fan. He's a Blues fan. However, football season is a different story. He's a Rams and Steelers fan. I'm a Patriots fan (BUT I can't freaking stand Tom Brady). The only thing we can really agree on is the food.

And a staple in that food is effing potato skins. 

I think it's an unwritten rule. You eat potato skins when you watch sports. That's just how it is. Which is why sports bars seem to have THE best potato skins around. But I had to try atleast. And I was pretty successful.

/drools. I love Football season.

Potatoes Are The #1 Side

Atleast in my life, potatoes are the #1 spot for a sidedish. I could live on potatoes, I think. They're completely versatile, delicious, and just amazing. Especially when they're potato skins and it's the superbowl. Yum. Calories FTW!

So, since I end up making potatoes a lot, I try to find ways to change them up. Can't have them be monotonous all the time. Right?

Nom. Delicious. Especially paired with some bar-b-q chicken.

An asian..cooking...mexican?

For some reason, whenever we have someone over I'm obligated to make these. Not anything else, just my burritos. They're simple and quick, so I don't complain, but it kinda confuses me, to say the least.

Large tortillas FTW. Also make great baked nachos.

Mixmixmix.

Beans, beans, the magical fruit....

Everything tastes better with cheese.

Mac and cheese..on pizza?

I was always adamantly against the macaroni and cheese pizza at Cici's. "Macaroni and cheese is a meal in itself! It doesn't belong on a pizza!" Well...I tried it and, like it was the crack of the pizza world, I was hooked. I craved it. But the only downside is Cici's is in the next town over, a trip we can't usually make just randomly, and we can't always afford to go out. We have a lot of kids. And Kyle, who eats like a bottomless pit. So, I had to try and figure out how to make this. I finally attempted it today and, I'm glad to say, I'm fairly proud of the results. I may do some tweaking here and there, but not too much.

At first when I had it in the pan, I swore it looked more like a casserole. But after it was baked...

Yay! It looked like a pizza..kinda!

It's a pretty simple recipe. Definitely something I could do again and again.