Saturday, August 13, 2011

Dinner, Movie and a Makeover

Tonight we decided to spend some good quality time with the kids. We don't get a lot of nights that we can do this because of our crazy schedule :( Sometimes by the time the weekend gets here we are just so burnt out and tired - and we miss the kids and the kids miss us.........sometimes we all just end up being crabby lol........those are not the good weekends as I'm sure you can imagine! HOWEVER, tonight we were determined to spend some quality time with the kids and have a good time (and cross our fingers for no tantrums) Dinner was not the recipe I am posting - sorry! Dinner was actually orange chicken stir-fry but I didn't get any good pictures of it and (gasp) I used a jar of non-organic sauce instead of making my own. I was tired - I usually am on Saturday's because I work an early shift (this is the reason we don't go to church every Sunday - by the time Sunday rolls around we are exhausted and we just want to get some sleep with a big family breakfast/brunch after, instead of getting up early yet another day and rush to get somewhere on time) Sometimes you have to make exceptions for your sanity lol. So the recipe is actually from a couple of days ago and is one of my favorites :) It has all of the qualities I like for a home cooked dinner - cheap, easy, quick, healthy, and delicious. (and the kids will eat it all!)


So, anyways, I need to tell you about the makeover! Emma got a makeup set for her birthday earlier this year and only used it a couple of times. Well she remembered it today and asked if we could do makeovers ( I have no idea how she even knows what a makeover is......) So after dinner we got everyone involved ( yes including daddy lol) Both kids had a lot of fun smearing it all over mine and daddy's faces.........did some hardcore washing of the faces after..........crossing my fingers that neither of us breaks out from the grease!





Then after we were done we did a photo shoot and settled down on the couch with some popcorn and blankets to watch Rio - which we all enjoyed :) So all in all it was a really good night and some quality family time that we all really needed. Now daddy's upstairs doing homework and I'm writing this drinking my iced latte wishing my sinuses would calm down - but enjoying my latte nevertheless.


Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

2 cups of my homemade BBQ sauce - or your favorite brand
2 large chicken breasts

*put the thawed chicken breasts in the crock pot
*pour in BBQ sauce saving about 1/4 jar
*turn on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours - when it is done it will shred itself when you stir it :)
*add the rest of BBQ sauce

This makes for awesome leftovers - great for pulled BBQ chicken sandwiches with some slaw on top, BBQ chicken quesadillas, BBQ chicken salads, BBQ chicken tacos, and whatever other combo you can come up with :)


Homemade BBQ Sauce
*adapted from thegalleygourmet Western Carolina Tomato-Based Barbecue Sauce

makes about 2 quarts

2 tsp onion powder
1 40-ounce bottle of ketchup (I use Simply Heinz)
2 1/2 cups water (20 ounces) to rinse the inside of the ketchup bottle
3 8 oz cans of tomato sauce
2 cups white distilled vinegar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup unsulphured molasses
1/4 cup yellow mustard or Dijon mustard
Juice of 1 lemon
1 Tablespoon Kosher salt
1 Tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
can add smoke flavoring to taste

*using a large pot - add the ketchup; rinse the bottle with the water and add to the pot.
*stir in the tomato sauce, vinegar, sugars, molasses, mustard, lemon, salt and pepper.
*bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 3-3 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
*remove from the heat and allow to cool.
*store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week or in the freezer for up to six months.
I used freezer safe canning jars - it made enough for 5 jars.
Enjoy!

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