Chicken Nugget Recipe

I am always keeping an eye out for good, easy, kid friendly recipes. EASY being the key. I don't know about you but dinner time is the witching hour at our house. We're all hungry, tired and cranky. I'm trying to get dinner ready and my hubby usually isn't home from work yet. So the easier the recipe the better.

Plus, I love trying new things. I found a recipe for Herbed Chicken Nuggets on AllRecipes.com the other day. The nuggets turned out to be awesome! So much healthier that the kind you pull out of the freezer, and they didn't really take that much longer to make.

Herbed Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs, seasoned
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Trim any fat from chicken and cut into 1 inch cubes.
3. In a bowl beat the eggs with the water and add the chicken.
4. Combine the parsley, thyme, red pepper, bread crumbs, wheat germ, basil and ground pepper. Stir in the oil with a fork and mix well to distribute evenly. Pour seasoning mixture into a resealable plastic bag and the chicken pieces to coat.
5. Place coated chicken pieces on the prepared baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes, turn the pieces and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

-----------------------------------------------------

I left out the red pepper flakes and instead of adding the oil to the dry mixture, I sprayed the nuggets with oil when I placed them on the pan.

Hope you like them. Let me know how the nuggets turn out if you decide to try the recipe.



3 Day Potty Training = Epic Fail

I am the mommy of a 23 month old and a 3 month old, which means I change a lot of diapers. So naturally, potty training has been on my mind. How awesome would it be if Cameron would start using the big girl potty? Not only would we be freeing ourselves from the nastiness of a toddler's diapers, but we would be saving a fortune.

I have heard a lot of positive feedback about the 3 Day Potty Training method, which says at 22 months a kid is ready to potty train. In short, they tell you to go all out. Trash the diapers, get out the panties and stock your toddler's every move to make sure a single "potty" doesn't go unnoticed. Theoretically, over the course of three days they start to catch on and by the end of day three they are consistently going in the potty. Sweet. I like it. Three days of pain in exchange for no more poopy toddler diapers. Sign me up. One weekend and we'd be in the clear.

I was wrong. We were 4 days into it this morning and we still weren't having much success. We had gone through a gazillion pairs of panties, it was a fight to get her into the bathroom and at the meer mention of the word potty she started to tune me out. I pulled out all the stops: we had a potty chart, gummy bears, stickers and we danced the potty dance like there was no tomorrow. But it wasn't enough.

I had no idea what to do. Should I quit and put her back in a diaper? What if she was one try away from it clicking? I desperately wanted her to get it. Not only so we could be diaper free, but to prove to everyone that she could do it.

Then I realized, I couldn't keep pushing her for the sake of my pride. She wasn't ready, even if the 3 day method said she should be. She's smart, she knew what she was doing and she was choosing not to go potty the big girl way. I mean come on...I was bribing her with gummy bears and the potty dance, what's cooler than that? So I put her back in a diaper and decided we'd try again in a few months. I'm not going to lie, I was super frustrated. I just wasted three days of my life and potty training was a complete and utter FAIL. But what can you do?

I tell you all this to let you know it's OK if you you don't succeed on the first attempt. If you do, awesome. But if you don't, there's no shame in postponing your efforts. Even if it seems like every other person in the entire world has a kid who potty trains with no problem in a day or two. You're a good Mommy and if nothing else, you've given yourself the opportunity to practice your potty dance, and there is nothing wrong with that!

Bedroom Door Signs

I am not a huge fan of the TV, so I'm always looking for fun projects that get us off the couch. This morning I was going through some boxes of old scrapbook stuff, (I haven't scrapbooked in years, it's just way too much of an undertaking these days) and I found some fun paper, ribbon and chipboard alphabet stickers. I got the idea to create name signs for the girl's bedroom doors.

Cameron helped me stick the stickers to the paper and then attach them to the paper with glue. Then she found a picture of herself in the pile of pictures that we have sitting in our office area. She was already putting glue on the back before I even realized what she was doing, so we went ahead and put it on the paper too. I added some ribbon and tada...we have bedroom door signs.

Boutique Hair Bows

My sister-in-law taught me how to make these bows a few months ago and I absolutely love them...and so do my girls! It is not unusual for my almost two year old, Cameron, to pull a bow out of her drawer and bring it to me me so I can put her hair up "pretty". Or sometimes she'll me to give Sydney a bow "Nee bow". Cameron has also been really into Mickey Mouse (and crew) lately, so when I saw this Minnie Mouse ribbon at Hobby Lobby it only took a second for me to toss it into the cart. Bonus, it was 50% off.

These are the things you'll need:

Ribbon of your choice

Clips

String

Hot Glue Gun

Scissors

Lighter

NOTE: Ribbon with wire doesn't work quite as well as ribbon without.

Start with your thickest ribbon, the ribbon you want to be the base of your bow. Take one end of the ribbon and make a loop.

Take the other end of the ribbon and create another loop, opposite your first loop, by wrapping the long end back behind your first loop.

Now create a third loop by bringing the ribbon back across the front of the bow. This loop will be on the same side of the first loop.

Create a fourth and final loop by taking the long end of the ribbon and wrapping it behind the back of the bow.

Gather the ribbon together in the middle. I like to create a W shape to help give the bow the fullest possible appearance. Once you have the center of the bow gathered together, clip it using one of your clips. This might take a few tries before you get it how you like it.

Cut the long end of the ribbon leaving enough to create a tail.

 Take a piece of string and tie it around the center of the bow. I  usually wrap the string around several times. The string will not be visible at the end, so don't worry about how it looks. Leave the long ends of the string, no need to cut them yet. Remove the clip and the first part of the bow is complete.

Take your next ribbon and repeat the first steps to create a second bow. This one should be slightly smaller than the first so it can sit on top of the first one.

Once you have the two bows take the long ends of the string on the big bow and use them to tie the two bows together. Cut off all excess string.

Now we will create the center of the bow. Cut about a three to four inch piece of the ribbon you want to use for the center. Create a loop with the ribbon. It should look like a breast cancer loop.

Take the end of the ribbon that is in the back and string it though the hole and pull tight to create a knot.

Now put some hot glue on the back of the knot and glue to the center of the bow so you cover the string.

Flip the bow over and thread the bottom of the clip (the flat side) between the string and the ribbon.

Take one end of your knot ribbon and wrap around to the back of the bow and slide it in between the sides of the clip. Squeeze a small drop of hot glue under the ribbon and affix it to the clip. Cut off the excess ribbon.

Take the other end of the ribbon and slide it between the clip and hot glue it to the other side of the ribbon. Cut off the excess ribbon.

Cut the for ends of the bows to the length you like them.

Run the flame from your lighter across the ends of the ribbon to prevent them from fraying. NOTE: Be very careful with this step. You only need the flame for a second. If you leave it there for too long you can catch your bow on fire. I've totally done this before! 

You're done!

 The fun part about these bows is you can make a ton of different variations using different ribbons and changing the amount of layers you do, etc. I like to get together with friends and share ribbon too so I don't end up with a million bows using the same ribbon.

Don't get frustrated if your first couple bows don't turn out exactly how you'd like them to. You'll get better and better as you practice more. 

Happy bow making! 

Clutter Wars

I saw a sign on Pinterest the other day:

I love that! It really helps me put the messy state of my home into perspective.

My natural tendency is to be an organization nut. I know I'm a nerd (my husband tells me that all the time), but I feel a strange sense of satisfaction when everything is put away in its own special spot. When things start piling up, it doesn't take long for me to get irritated.

Now that Cameron is a toddler, I'm realizing that the days of having a neat, tighty house are long gone. It literally takes seconds for her to pull out every single toy from the basket in our family room. Isn't it amazing how quick their little hands can move? At first, I trailed behind her trying to pick things up as she went, but I quickly learned I was fighting a never ending battle.

Rather than get frustrated, I've resolved to make my best attempt not to contribute to the mess. So whenever I see an opportunity to make a home improvement that can assist with the clutter, I'm all over it.

Coats, were the most recent offender in our clutter wars. Our hall closet is tiny and just doesn't have enough room to hang everything. Running up and down the stairs to grab coats out of the upstairs closet was getting exhausting, and those coats were definitely not making it back up to the closet when we got home. The result: coats were starting to pile up all over the place. I love the idea of a mudroom set up, with lots of hook and cubbies, but unfortunately our house just doesn't really have the space for something like this.

Photo courtesy of ana-white.com

So instead, we decided to hang some simple hooks on the wall behind our garage door. And to make the space a little more kid friendly, we added a second row of hooks at toddler level. Now Cameron can pick out what coat she wants to wear and she can help hang it up when we're all done.

Simple, yes. But we did what we could with what we have, and for the most part our coat clutter in check. Now rather than worry about coats cluttering up my life, I have a little more time to figure out how to encourage my children to make memories that are a little less messy!

Why hello there!

Let me start by introducing myself.

My name is Rachel and I'm 29 years old. I'm the wife of an amazing man, Ryan, and mother of two sweet little girls, Cameron and Sydney. I always knew I wanted to have a family, but I could have never guessed how much I would enjoy it!

I graduated from Baylor University with a degree in Marketing and spent my first several years post-grad, working in the corporate world. I learned a lot and got some great experience, which has proven to be extremely valuable.

Two years ago when I had Cameron, Ryan and I decided it was best for me to quit my job so I could stay at home with her. As anyone who has made that decision knows, it's a hard one to make. It wasn't so much that I loved my job (because I definitely didn't) but it was all the uncertainties that I struggled with. Could we survive on a single income? Could I get another job if I needed to? Would I be lonely? But ultimately, I decided it would be too hard to give 100% to everything I needed to—marriage, kids, work—and if one had to go, it should most definitely be the job.

It was a great decision and I haven't looked back for a second. I love being at home, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I joined a bible study, made some mommy friends and even scored a part time marketing position that I can do from home. It really has been a perfect combination.

I love to spend time with my family, play outside in the sunshine, run, try new recipes, watch movies and read....and of course write. I love Jesus Christ and believe with my whole heart that he died to save me from my sins, and it is by his grace alone that there is any hope for me.

When I got pregnant with Cameron in 2009, I started a blog to update all our family and friends on the pregnancy. Over time that blog has morphed into a summary of all the happenings in our life. It's so fun to look back and see how we've all changed and grown over the years. I'm slowly working on transferring all those blog entries into books so we have them forever. I'm so thankful to have all those memories written down, it's amazing how quickly you begin to forget!

As I became more of a blogger, I started following more and more fun blogs. There are so many fun and interesting mommy blogs out there. At some point I had the realization that what they were doing wasn't hugely different, or unique, it was just mommies sharing their experiences and ideas. I decided to take a shot at creating a mommy blog of my own. So welcome to Messy Kitchen, Happy Kids.

My inspiration:

Photo courtesy of Simply Designing 

Because let's face it, when you look back years from now, it's not going to matter whether or not your kitchen was clean, you're going to remember the happy times you got to spend with your kiddos.