The Snow is Coming...

*information for this post was in part supplied by Hormel Foods through their Hormel Extended Family Blogger program. No compensation was received for this post.

or that is what the forecast says. Fortunately for us, it is a quiet Saturday evening at home. We have had a busy weekend already with working out, a couple of soccer games, a trip to the grocery store (before the storm rush), and continued work on organizing the house.

One of the 'projects' that I am continuing to work on is clearing out the freezer. At the end of December, I had succeeded in reducing the freezer contents so that I could move the items from the deep freeze into our refrigerator freezer. Now, I have started to restock the freezer through sales, but continue to work on eating those items that had been in the deep freeze - to help ensure proper rotation and that the food doesn't get old.

Today was the unplanned day in my menu plan. Looking in the freezer, I saw that I had some popcorn chicken on hand. My son is a huge fan of Chicken Bacon Ranch (anything), so I suggested that they have Chicken Bacon Ranch sandwiches for dinner tonight. They are tasty and satisfying.

We took some sausage rolls that we had left from Philly Cheese Steaks earlier this week, filled them first with the popcorn chicken, added some ranch and topped with some Hormel Black Label Bacon.

The kids enjoyed the Chicken Bacon Ranch Sandwiches, but I went for a grown up grilled cheese. Two slices of crusty bread, provolone cheese, bacon and a slice of tomato. Toast it up in the oven for an amazing grilled cheese.

Whether you prefer a meaty sandwich or a gooey cheesy sandwich, you can't go wrong with having bacon in your dinner on a cold winter's night.
No compensation was received for this post. Product samples and thought starters are provided by Hormel through the Hormel Extended Family Blogger program, in which I participate. All opinions are my own or that of my family.

T-shirt Quilt - Project Repat

No compensation was received for this post.

A few years back, one of my friends made a quilt for their child using their old t-shirts. I really liked it. Ever since then, I have been considering making or having someone make one for me. I have quite a collection of t-shirts set aside for the project, but haven't yet pulled the trigger. When I heard about an opportunity to check out the t-shirt quilts made by Project Repat, I jumped at the chance.

Check out this video:

Now, I just need to sort through and narrow down which t-shirts to use. Of course, I will share my finished project with you when I get the quilt back. No compensation was received for this post. I received a credit that can be used towards the purchase of a quilt. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

Back to Routine

It is so hard for me to believe that the holiday break is over. Starting tomorrow, it is back to our normal routines. As part of the normal routine, I actually sat down and did the week's menu plan. Recently, I had been only planning a few days out, which was fine, but I did find us running to the store more frequently during the week. I was able to successfully empty my deep freeze to defrost it over the holidays, unfortunately, I moved some of it to my refrigerator freezer...so, now my goal is to use all of that up...it helps ensure rotation.

This week we are trying a few new recipes and enjoying a few family favorites. Winter sports and winter workouts for spring sports are starting up, so we are starting to have a few night time activities and a few weekend events entering our schedule.

Sunday
cereal
leftovers
Cincinnati Style Chili

Monday
Chicken Patty Sandwiches and Qrunch Burgers

Tuesday
Crockpot Lemon Chicken

Wednesday
Personal Pot Pies

Thursday
Chipotle Glazed Meatloaf

Friday
Spaghetti Gratin

Saturday
TBD

Now that the kids are back to school, breakfast will be cereal, oatmeal or toast most mornings and lunch will be a mix of the hot plate lunch at school or a packed lunch from home. My husband and I will stick with our standard routines. I do hope to get back to packing more. I seem to eat better when I pack, plus I am hopeful that it leaves me some time to walk at lunch(if the weather allows).

This post shared at Menu Plan Monday.

Really Little Green Pouch - review/giveaway

No compensation was received for this post. A complimentary sample was provided for the purposes of this review. All images courtesy of Little Green Pouch.

A while back, I shared with you about my experience with a new product, Little Green Pouch. One of the concerns that I had with those pouches was that they were a little bit bigger than felt right for the kids and I found myself filling them part-way. So, when I found out that they had a new product, appropriately named Really Little Green Pouch, I was excited to try them out. The Really Little Green Pouch is a convenient 3.4 oz size, compared to 7 oz for the original.

The smaller pouch offers all of the same features as it's larger version. It is dishwasher and freezer safe. The pouch is marked with a line to show 2 oz fill, as well as the maximum fill at 3.4 oz. The pouch is reusable and has a spot on back for labeling the contents/owner of the pouch.

They are easy to fill with a interlocking zipper bag closure (like on your sandwich bags). They are sold as a 6-pack and can be bought directly from Little Green Pouch or find them on Amazon.

As with the larger pouches, we filled these with an assortment of things. I liked that not only could I choose what to put in them, but also that I had more control over the ingredients and texture (some of the pouch items that I have bought and tried were too smooth, I like a little texture to my nourishment). We used them for smoothies, which we are a big fan of at my house. It is not only a great way to use up the assorted fruit in the house, but you can even sneak in some veggies for more nutrition. I would also use it as a way to pack homemade applesauce (we have been enjoying cranberry apple sauce over the holidays - yum!) and treats like pudding. You can find a great collection of ideas/recipes on Little Green Pouch website.

They are great for packing in lunches and also for packing in the bag on my bike when we head out for family bike rides. Since they are freezable, we could even use them as a small ice pack and ensure the contents were still cold at lunch time.

What would you put in your Really Little Green Pouch?

Giveaway!
Courtesy of Little Green Pouch, I am able to giveaway to one A Busy Mom of Two a 6-pack of Really Little Green Pouch - 3.4 oz. Reusable Pouches.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Giveaway will remain open through January 12th and is open to residents of the USA. Winners will be selected through Rafflecopter. The winner will have 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.


No compensation was received for this post. A complimentary sample was provided for the purposes of this review. All images courtesy of Little Green Pouch.