Dinner last night and music

Just wanted to make a recommendation of a new artist I found on itunes today.  It's Shwayze and Cisco.  Happy music.  I bought Island in the Sun and Butterflies.  I am in such a good mood!

On to food.  I was so happy with dinner last night, I wanted to share.  I was going to do grilled cheese cuz we didn't have much time.  Then I remembered I had fresh parmesan cheese and decided to do my kids' favorite.  We call it WHITE SPAGHETTI (although last night I used penne pasta)  Here's what went down....

-Water on to boil for whatever pasta you want....cook that when ready...I ususally get the stuff that cooks in 3 minutes...angel hair pasta or the small version of penne or bowties etc....

-Bowl of warm water and THRIVE chicken - about 2 cups.  Soak until the rest of food is done. Yup, that's it.  Chicken that tastes like you just cooked, and cut it up, but it just sits while you do the rest of dinner!

-Bowl of warm water and THRIVE broccoli - a sprinkle of how much the kids will put on their white spaghetti....sits while you do the rest of dinner

-my favorite alfredo sauce http://allrecipes.com/recipe/quick-and-easy-alfredo-sauce/detail.aspx

That's it!  Dinner in 20 minutes even with all the usual distractions (like kids, homework, washing all the pans cuz they are dirty...you know)!

Now here's another fun part.  I doubled the sauce so I can do another easy dinner this week.  Another favorite that I got from my friend LeighAnne Taylor.  You cook diced chicken in a skillet (if I have time, or I just use THRIVE if not) with Red Pepper Italian dressing....so it's getting all flavored up while its hanging out with the yummy dressing in the hot pan.  What a party. When the chicken and you are ready, dump in the alfredo sauce and heat.  Put over pasta and yumm-oh!  Easy and yummy!  I have done this for a huge crowd of extra teenage boys too.  So nice to have a secret weapon ready for a fast meal that is easy to double, or triple. hehehe.  I don't like alfredo sauce from a jar.  It has a funny taste to me.  Although, in this recipe its fine.  So if you don't have a stash of fresh sauce, the jars work well too!  Enjoy!!!

Well, if you need better measurements, try a pound of chicken, half the bottle of dressing, and a jar of alfredo sauce.  But, if you are like me, just pour in what looks good or however much sauce you have left. ha!

What a waste of time!

  

I had a friend once tell me how frustrated she is in the consumption of time it is to go to the grocery store. She sat and counted how many times you handle one can of veggies before it ends up in your cupboard.....1-You take it off the shelf and put it in your cart. 2 -You take it out of the cart and put it on the belt to be purchased. 3-The cashier takes it, scans it, and it gets put into a bag. 4- The bag goes in the cart. 5- You take it out of the cart and put it in your car. 6- You take it out of your car into your house and put it on the table or floor. 7- Then you finally take it out of the bag and put it on your shelf. HOLY COW!!! What a waste of time! Mulitply that by ALL you purchase at the store and we are wasting a ton of time! I love that my Shelf Reliance items come to my door and I only have one step... to open the box and put it on my shelf!

I set up a THRIVE Q  here .  It's like Netflix for food.  I have an overall plan of what my family uses and then a shipment comes to my home every month based on the dollar amount I decide.  We do $200 a month for my family of eight.  I get most of my meats, fruits, veggies, dairy, and snacks in the mail.  Boy has that cut down on my time shopping!  I do a Costco run every once in awhile and that's about it!  This program has redefined dinner at our house and I LOVE it!!!  Find out more here.  Next time you are grocery shopping and laughing at the number of times you handle a can, think of this post. :)