Chicken Pesto Pizza

We love going out and having a good time. One of our favorite places to go serves an amazing chicken pesto pizza, but going out costs $ and I'm all about saving some moolah these days!

The other night I was thinking, I can totally make that chicken pesto pizza at home. So I decided to go for it. I didn't look up a recipe I just winged it - and it turned out pretty great. The hubby and I loved it. Here's what I did:

Ingredients:
-Pre-made pizza crust (because the store was out of the dough - and I don't want it bad enough to make my own!)
-Pre-made pesto (to me it's cheaper & easy just to buy a jar then make it)
-1/2 lb boneless/skinless chicken breast
-Feta cheese
-Sun-dried tomatoes
-Italian Cheese
-Olive Oil
-Artichokes (which I wound up not using)

Drizzle your crust with olive oil.

Cover crust with pesto.

Dice and cook your chicken.



Add chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, feta and italian cheese to your pizza.

Bake for about 15-20 mins at 350 degrees.

Yum! It was so good. It tasted really close to the one we get out. Their crust is better, but I think I can work on that and maybe find a better option out there.

The great thing about it was - I spend about what I'd spend on the one pizza out, but I got everything to make two pizzas and I had enough ingredients left over to throw them in with some pasta and have chicken pesto pasta, which was great too! Ahh, I love saving $$$!

Stalker Saturday!

I'm super excited to be featured in this week's Stalker Saturday!

Stalker Saturday is hosted by Sippy Cup Mom and Stash Mama. They are so thoughful to share the love with us newer bloggers! Thanks Melissa and Candice!

So go check me out! Wooo!

Baby's Ballin' On A Budget

As I prepare for this switch, I've been excited to search for new things for Baby Boy and I to do together. I've been looking for exciting things for us to do, where we can bond, all while remembering that we're (as we refer to it in my house) 'ballin' on a budget'.

He's 19 months now, so he's really getting to the age where he likes to engage in activities and be around others.

Here's some fun things that I've come up with so far that I'm super pumped about that won't break the bank:

*Go to the library/local bookstore for storytime. - This will get us out and about and we'll meet new mommies and little ones. I checked my library and they offer a Tuesday and a Saturday storytime. It will also introduce Baby Boy to the library - Lord knows I haven't been there in 10 years, since I was in high school and I went to check out the Cliff's Notes for a book I was supposed to read! As for the bookstores, I know Barnes & Noble offers storytime in their stores (although mine currently doesn't). - FREE

*Go to the art museum. - I know, I know, I too am  picturing my child running wild up and down the halls while dragging his hands on the clean white walls knocking off all of the priceless art. BUT our local art museum has a little program specifically for toddlers that's all about shapes, colors and textures. - $13

*Have art class at home! - I looked up some super cool art projects for toddlers and I can't wait to try them out. I found a great non-toxic recipe for fingerpaint from Craft Blog. I also want to try the 'toddler stained-glass'. You just take clear contact paper and let your little one stick pieces of construction paper, confetti or whatever to it, then you simply back it with another piece of clear contact paper! - Less than $5!

*Set aside a day to go to the local playground. We do this all the time and Baby Boy (and his cousin Baby Girl) looove it! It's great exercise for us all - the kiddies playing and the mommies chasing after them!

*Join a dance/gymnastics/music class together! I checked my local gymnastics place and they offer a Mommy & Me class on Friday mornings. It's very interactive and again gets us both up and moving. - $30 for 4 sessions

*Check out local parks or gardens. In our town we have a 130 acre park that has playgrounds, an old timey general store, old schoolhouse buildings and churches, a planatarium and nature trails. They're always and forever having events there and I need to put in the time to check it out more often. We also have a botanical gardens, which could be a fun place for a picnic! - Admission to the park Adult/$4, Kids 3 and under/FREE; Admission to the gardens/FREE!

*Get involved in your city/town. - Here we have little festivals and street markets throughout the year. Once it cools down (I live in the dirty south!) it'll be great to take Baby Boy out and stroll him around. - FREE if you bring your own snacks/drinks or $5-$10 for snacks from vendors.

See, now who says you can't have fun while 'ballin' on a budget'!

Morning

As I wake up this morning to the smell of freshly brewed coffee, the sound of my husband in his office flipping through sheet music and clothes in my dryer tumbling away - I'm thankful. So thankful that I have the opportunity to make my life what I want. That I have the freedom to come and go as I please. That I have the choice to say, I want to make the necessary changes to be able to stay home with my beautiful baby boy.

I thank the Lord for blessing me with a husband {who is supportive of any dream I could ever imagine}, a baby {who never ceases to amaze me on a daily basis}, a family {who has always been there for me and always will}, a home {that is the roof over my head and the place where my memories are made}, & a church {that has made me realize so much over the past year}.

I have everything I need or could ask for and I'm so thankful.

Cable {To Have or Not To Have}

I'm still trying to think of ways to save. Still analyzing everything, to see what's important and what's not. So as you know we've cut out ALL eating out and we haven't veered a bit. Well........okay that's a lie, we totally veered for like 2 weeks straight, but we refocused and we're getting back on track. The truth is we've been super busy and since I'm currently still working full time sometimes it's hard to stay completely committed, but we're definitely trying!

So since we totally went crazy and ate out for a solid 2 weeks, yesterday I freaked and began micro-managing the bills again. Okay, I'll admit I kind of enjoy micro-managing the bills.......the hubby, the dog....pretty much anything. However it's not confession time - let me get back my story.

The biggie.....the cable?! My husband, has for a while now, wanted to cut it off. I've been the one that was like, 'Are you kidding me that's not American!' {in a total bratty voice}. I've been throwing the idea around in my head, but I've yet to actually do it. I mean can I actually do without Teen Mom on a weekly basis? Well I came to the realization that since I'm nearly 30 I should probably just suck it up and move on from Teen Mom.

So I did it. I cut back to just basic {pretty much just local channels} cable and internet.

Savings: $75.00/month!

We have Netflix which we can watch through the xBox 360. It's only $8.99/month and it's unlimited streaming for {Wonder Pets and Backyardigans and even Hoarders and Chopped!} and of course DVDs through the mail.

I tweeted about my new accomplishment and was surprised at all the positive feedback I got.

Check it:

It's nice to know we're not alone in this crazy, trying to save, cable free world. I feel good about it. One step closer to my goal.

Pantry Raid!

So Katie {one of my all time FAV blog-Mommies} over at Cleared for Takeoff decided to initiate a pantry raid {not to be confused with panty raid} for us Mommy bloggers!

It's pretty self explanatory, you just take pics of your pantry {empty, full, messy or overly organized} and humiliate yourself by sharing them with the world! Nah, it shouldn't be too bad. I told Katie, I'd participate but that I'd have to (1) go to the store first because we had NO food in the house and (2) organize because it was a jungle in there! She said, no, no we want to see the real you.

Okay Katie, I didn't go to the store {and to my surprise we had plenty of food} but I did clear the jungle a bit and face the labels out {so I could get my product placement $$, of course!}.

Well here goes...

Ahhh!

So you have...syrup on the top left, followed by a baking shelf that might as well not exist other than to hold the tea bags used to make sweet tea

{can't be from the South and not like sweet tea}.

Next you have a heap of spices & herbs...these I use alot.

BabyBoy's shelf is looking pretty bare! You got Enfamil formula they keep sending me in the mail {he's 18 months old people!! he's off the formula - thank heavens! and where were you when we was 6 months and going through a can a day!?}

Moving right along..

Top right, boring...just bread and crackers followed by super fun baskets - YAY! They keep up with all the small stuff.

Now the canned food. So apparently there's been a pumpkin shortage of some sort and Libby's canned pumpkin is selling like hotcakes on eBay for nearly $10/can! Unbelievable! So I read about this yesterday and I found these 2 that had been in my cabinet waiting to be turned into a pumpkin cheesecake for nearly a year. They'll be on eBay by the weekend!

Lastly boxed goods along with my fav - Trader Joe's Soup!

I did it all for you Katie! To see more Momma Pantries check out Katie's Pantry Link Party!

Wordless Wednesday

(Quite possibly the latest Wordless Wednesday ever, none the less it's still Wednesday....I think.)

Labor Day Fun

This weekend we decided to relax and enjoy our 3 day weekend. I put the laundry and dishes on hold (didn't have to twist my arm for this one!) and we headed for the beach! It's only a 90 minute drive for us - the weather was perfect and we were so excited to see how BabyBoy would do in the water.

AHH, look out here comes the Plum Wonderful family!

So when we got there I had plans to take pictures of my gorgeous boy. I had it all planned out. I dressed him in a cute shirt that would surely bring out those beautiful blue eyes, his shorts were casual, his hair would be blowing in the wind....but he had different plans. He didn't want his feet to touch the dry sand. So I only got 1 good picture! It was good enough to frame....

...it kinda looks like an artsy-professional shot...right?

Swim time came and he did amazingly well!

He loved the water!

It was a blast!

We made such wonderful memories! We packed a lunch and just had some good ol' free fun. Can't wait to take him back since he did so good. Fun, fun time!

Why can't every weekend be 3 days!?

Checklist for Life

So I'm having difficulties keeping all the things I want to accomplish, organized in the ol' vault (aka my head). I need some structure...some organization....I need what every woman uses, what my mother lives by....I need a CHECKLIST! I want to make a checklist of the things I need (want) to accomplish within this little transition time I'm going through.

I'm just gonna dive right in.

Checklist for life - well...part life, part just crap that needs to get done!
{in no certain order}:

*Quit my job (Ha! Maybe I should start out with something a tad more reachable in a short amount of time, to get me motivated...though still, it remains on the list)

*Get avocado & salsa verde for the recipe I'm cooking tonight (much more attainable)

*Buy the leather couch I've been eyeing for months (so much for cutbacks that month!)

*Cut off the cable, we just don't use it enough and we're addicted to Netflix through xBox (now I'm back on track)

*Finish painting the windows on the outside of our house

*Make a new bedskirt for our bed

*Get all crafty like Something Old to Something New (Momma needs some new clothes!)

*Try some avenues for extra income (Surveys? I just don't know if I can sit for 2 hrs to make $3. Once, I did one and got $16 for 20 mins...not bad, but I don't think it's very common. - we'll see)

*Finish baby boy's, baby book...he's 18 months old...it's time

*Clean out/organize my laundry room (...it's a hot mess)

*Detail my car, Get the hubs to detail my car

*Organize my recipes

*Scan mine and my hubby's old baby photos (I'm not just trying to think of things now...I've been wanting to do this for a while...weird I know)

*Get artsy with baby boy

*Make a coupon binder (you have to be organized to keep up with couponing)

*Spring clean, in the Fall (sell on eBay what we don't use or need)

*Sign up for Mom & Me dance/music class

*Get our dog, Nala to the vet for her yearly shots (poor baby, she and I both dread it every year)

*Decide what baby boy will be for Halloween (last year his costume was hands down the best ever....going to be hard to top it. Elvis lives!)

Enough with Elvis, back to checklist-land. Well, I guess that wraps up the list for now. It definitely helps clear my mind a little. I live by checklists. There's something about seeing it written out that helps. It'll be fun for me to see what actually gets accomplished, what becomes unimportant and what just sits there.