Camping trip

So we went on our camping trip right after school let out but I totally forgot to share any of the fun with you all. We had a great trip despite the heat and the bugs. Most of these pictures are from our hike and nature related.

We went to Jones Lake State Park here in NC.  It was so peaceful and enjoyable to have the chance to unplug from the world.

Someone wasn't happy that mommy wouldn't hold him the whole drive up.

Hubby loved his hammock too

So let's go on a hike on the I believe 5 mile hike. Gotta double check that map before we go even though we had a small one with us.

The youngest looking at the water since he had never seen it that color before. lol

 

very long foot bridge with my daughter and I at the other end.

Our 2nd oldest son or child number 3 

The oldest getting some puppy love while we took a break at the outlook.

By the time we were done we had covered 5 miles in 2-3 hours which isn't bad considering the heat. lol We spent the mid day all just chilling at the camp site not doing much moving since the heat was so nasty. 

So what adventures are next......we shall see

Quickie Individual Chicken Pot Pie

Ok so I decided to buy some 10 oz ramekins and choose the ones from Pioneer Woman that come in awesome colors. Well hubby has been asking me for chicken pot pies and I was to tired the other day to do it all from scratch.


 So I bought a package of chicken thighs (that were on sale), a bag of frozen mixed vegetables, and 2 boxes of ready to use pie crusts. Well in the spirit of making them quick I used soup for the gravy type liquid that is in them and I had some already at home.

 First thing I did was pop the chicken thighs (boneless work best or can be done with leftover chicken)  and popped them into the crock pot on high for 3 hours or so. Time will vary based on how your crock pot cooks mine is faster than some.

 Once the chicken was done cooking I let it cool enough that I didn't get burnt when shredding it with my fingers. In a large bowl shred your chicken, dump in frozen mixed vegetables (cause I am to lazy to thaw), a large can of cream of chicken soup, little cracked black pepper, and a small can of cream of mushroom or celery ( I used celery cause that was what I had). Mix all of that up with a spoon and we r ready to put into ramekins.

 I filled the ramekins (all but one) right up to the top and sat them aside while I worked on crusts. Now I am also being lazy here and didn't want to have to find the right size cookie cutter so I rolled out pre-made pie crusts and flipped over the unused ramekin and used it to cut enough to cover the 9 filled ones and the one I'm cutting with. Fill that one and place them all on a large baking sheet. Put the crusts on top and brush with melted butter and cut a small x in the center of each to release the steam.

Now there was still some left over filling so I used some of my smaller ramekins and filled those following same method as the big one. I baked them on 350 until the crusts were nice and golden brown.

So quick to make and tasted so yummy.

Week 1 of summer vacation

So we started our summer festivities before the kids got out of school. lol We all did some tie die shirts for fun and some for our camping trip.

I only got pics of hubby and 2 of the kids working on it but I do have pics of all of the finished shirts and the bag. Here is each kid with theirs and 2 other favorites but we did do more than this.

I also decided to make some dough nuts using a recipe from the  Pioneer Woman blog but mine didn't not come out looking like hers but man were they tasty.  I didn't do the regular glaze that she did we ate them plain round and I made some that I filled with buttercream. 

I also got a little bored and started playing around with a caramel candy and made a rose just like i used to do with tootsie rolls. I have to say though that the caramels are more finger friendly.

 Also this week our third oldest turned 8 and he wanted a camo spiderman and hubby needed some cupcakes for work. I used my favorite extreme chocolate cake recipe but I used a cup of coffee in place of the water. I have to say the batter tastes nasty but the cake is so yummy. I have used it with the icing recipe that comes with it and also with buttercream.

Well that has been the last 5 days for us here. lol Hope you all are having a great week so far.

Summer is almost here

       Summer is quickly approaching and that means kids home all day and me having to find a way to entertain and teach. lol So what are we going to do this summer.....Well we have at least 1 trip planned and who knows how many others.

  Well hopefully I will have loads of things to share with you guys this summer. Currently I am working on figuring out the type of cake for my soon to be 8 year old sons cake. What flavor and what design you ask, well that I have no clue yet. Hopefully when I figure it out in the next 2 days I can share. lol Today is Friday and his birthday is Monday so not much time there but as always I will figure it out.